Hillel sponsors first annual Israel Day

USF’s Hillel Jewish Student Center hopes to paint a realistic picture of the culture of Israel when it hosts its first annual Israel Day.

“There will be lots of information about Israel (travel opportunities) and there will be someone (at the event to talk to) about internships. Information on different cities in Israel will be provided by the Israeli consulate,” said Leaha Widrowicz, vice president of Israel programming for the Hillel Jewish Student Center of Tampa Bay.

According to a press release from Hillel, the event will feature Middle Eastern food, games, giveaways and performances by Hillel’s Israeli Dance Troupe. One of the featured activities is bracelet making, in which participants make a bracelet using their name in Hebrew, according to the press release.

Hillel is a Jewish organization,geared toward youth that sponsors social and charity programs, Widrowicz said. The press release said Israel Day “promises to be one of the biggest events that Hillel has planned.”

“The purpose (of the event) is to show Israel in a cultural light aside from political light,” Widrowicz said. “(We want) to show that Israel is not just Judaism, but a culturally diverse country.”

The event will also celebrate Israeli independence. Israel gained its independence on May 14, 1948, according to www.cia.gov .

“An imitation of the Wailing Wall will be in place,” Widrowicz added. “Notes put in this Wailing Wall will be sent to the real Wailing Wall (in Jerusalem).”

Special guest attendees include Rina Donchin, the director of the Hebrew department at USF, Nicky Spivak, executive director of Hillel of Tampa Bay, and Timna Zaray-Mizrahi, a representative of the Aliyah center in Miami, the press release said.

Widrowicz said that people should attend the event because it is a “better way to see Israel without the media’s perception.”

Israel Day will be in the Martin Luther King Plaza today, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.