Nestled on McDonough Plaza, Israel Fest, an event co-hosted by Emory Hillel, Meor Emory, Chabad at Emory, Eagles for Israel and other Jewish and Israeli organizations on campus, took place on April 21. With vibrant music and aromatic food, Jewish and non-Jewish students alike roamed around the festival, visiting tables decorated with the Israeli flag and yellow bracelets with the names of Israelis that Hamas has held hostage since the Oct. 7, 2023, terrorist attacks on Israel.
President of Emory Hillel Maya Rezak (25C) said Emory Jewish groups host Israel Fest every spring. The event comes as the Jewish community celebrates and remembers several significant events for Jewish and Israeli students at Emory University, including Passover, which took place from April 12-20, Yom HaShoah (Holocaust Remembrance Day) on April 24 and Israeli Independence Day on May 1. At the event, there were tables where attendees could write letters to Israeli Defense Force soldiers and the families of Israeli hostages still held by Hamas.
President of Emory Hillel Maya Rezak (25C) explained that the annual event creates a community for her and other Jewish and Israeli students on campus.
“I can speak personally as the daughter of an Israeli American, it's personal for me to share what my family's culture was growing up,” Rezak said. “It's really special for me to be able to share it with some of my friends who had never gotten the chance to visit Israel or to really be exposed to Israeli culture.”
Roxy Harary (28C) and Tessa Butler (28C) attended the event because they wanted to show their appreciation for the community of Jewish students at Emory. Harary and Butler both spent gap years in Israel before starting at Emory last fall.
“It's events like these that make us feel more at home with people who have had other shared experiences to the ones that we've had before coming here,” Butler said.
EIPAC co-President Rami Fabian (25C) said that Israel Fest is not only for Emory’s Jewish students to celebrate Israeli culture but also to share Jewish identity and community with other non-Jewish students.
“We want to be as welcoming as possible, especially in a world where a lot of us feel misunderstood, misrepresented,” Fabian said. “We want to connect with people from outside our community and educate them and show our perspective and celebrate our culture.”
On the evening of April 20, individuals chalked messages such as “IDF = Genocide” and “Free Palestine” across campus. Rezak and other organizers encouraged Jewish and Israeli students attending the event to focus on positivity.
“I've told people in my club, don't pay attention to the chalk,” Rezak said. “They don't know what they're talking about. We're not talking about the war right now. We're talking about, we are proud of who we are, and we want to celebrate it.”
Eamon Sinclair (25C), a Jewish student on campus, said that he was glad that all students on campus can speak up about their experiences and beliefs.
“It is amazing at Emory that people with every perspective [are] able to speak up,” Sinclair said. “Whether it's through chalkings, whether it's through conversation and classes and dialogue, whether it's through the Wheel or even an event like this. I'm very happy that I was able to walk by on my way home today.”
Even amid ongoing political turmoil in the Middle East, students like Harray were able to find joy and comfort in community through Israel Fest.
“It's just bringing light and beauty and hope and love and community,” Harary said. “And I think that it's such a foil to what we saw last year.”
Ellie Fivas (she/her) (26C) is from Cleveland, Tenn., and is majoring in political science and history on the pre-law track. She manages the Wheel’s opinion section and the Editorial Board. When she is not writing for her political column Electoral Ellie, she works in prison education, leads a human rights club and works at the Emory Writing Center. In her free time, you can find her reading trashy romances and The New York Times, basking on the Quadrangle and doing crossword puzzles.
