The sweet smell of hookah was in the air in Bruin Plaza on Monday afternoon as students in colorful costumes danced to fast-paced Arabic music.
The daytime event celebrating Palestinian culture included a bazaar where students sold T-shirts and traditional headdresses called kaffiyehs, and a tent for students to relax with pillows, rugs and hookah.
Live Free: Palestinian Awareness Week, which is put on by a number of student groups that make up the Palestine Coalition, began Monday with a cultural celebration in the afternoon and a fundraiser banquet with performances in the evening.
Event organizers estimated that a couple hundred students attended the daytime event, and roughly 300 people attended the banquet.
“I think it was great. It just showed some of the cultural aspects of Palestine that people aren’t used to seeing,” Pouneh Behin, a fourth-year French student who helped plan the event said of the celebration.
In addition to the cultural nature of the event, there was also a political theme, particularly in regards to the conflict between the Palestinian territories and Israel.
One of the tents set up during the daytime event was called The Art of Oppression. This included works of art by students that depicted a dead man lying in the street, a young boy in a coffin, a woman holding a gun and Arabic calligraphy ““ references to the ongoing conflict between Palestinians and Israelis in the region.
“Some people found it offensive and gruesome, but it’s supposed to evoke emotions. … It humanizes the Palestinians because it takes away the facade that these people are different from you and me,” first-year physiological science student Shahida Bawa said about the art.
There was also a large poster alongside the bazaar that contained historical information about the Palestinian territories and their conflict with Israel, maps of the region and political cartoons.
“This is a mainly cultural event, but we are going to have posters about the conflict so people can learn,” said Behin.
But Leeron Morad, president of Bruins for Israel, took pictures of the poster to document what he said he believed were inaccurate and anti-Semitic sentiments that were included.
“It’s worrying. … They aren’t acknowledging Israel at all. This is not a message of peace,” Morad said, referring to some of the political cartoons and a map of the region colored with the red, white, green and black of the Palestinian flag.
These colors dotted Bruin Plaza throughout the event as supporters walked around with flags and waved them from the stairs of the Arthur Ashe Student Health and Wellness Center during the dances.
Anna Nabel, a second-year undeclared student, said she enjoyed the event and was glad to have the chance to experience Palestinian culture.
“Not at every college do we have the opportunities to see so many different cultural performances,” Nabel said.
Later in the day, organizers sponsored a dinner banquet to raise funds for Maysoon’s Kids, a charity that benefits orphans in the Palestinian territories.
The event included performances by comedians Maysoon Zayid and Ray Hanania, as well as spoken-word artist Mark Gonzalez. There was also music and dancing during the night.
“I’m amazed that people were able to come out to sit together, eat, laugh, and at the same time support a cause to relieve suffering,” said Navdeep Tumber, a fourth-year biology student.
A number of tables were set up with pamphlets about everything from Arabic language classes to the history of the Palestinian territories.
There were items available for sale as well, including kaffiyehs and copies of a documentary on the Palestinian people.
A pledge class from the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity volunteered at the event as part of their community service requirement.
“Our house is really big in philanthropy, and rather than something like beach cleaning, I thought this was something where we could give more back. It’s fun too,” said Ryon Nixon, a third-year linguistics and anthropology student.
First-year undeclared student Salomon Hossein said the event was important because it helped students connect their own lives with those of Palestinians.
“Some people wonder what the culture of Palestine has to do with the whole political conflict, but I think it’s absolutely necessary that people are made aware of this culture because, especially in the American media, they are dehumanized and lessened to a statistic.”