Jewish & Arab Students Connect at NYU
NYU’s Washington Sq. News reports,
Jewish and Arab NYU students discussed their common bonds over hummus and tabouli at “Middle Eastern Culture Night: A Celebration of Similarities” last night at Pless Hall.
About 50 students attended the event, which featured Middle Eastern food, Israeli music, belly dancing and speakers from various Middle Eastern backgrounds. Arab Students United and the Bronfman Center for Jewish Student Life joined the Office of International Students and Scholars to sponsor the event.
We’ve done some stuff like this at U.Va. There’s a Jewish-Arab Sustained Dialogue here, which was on the small side (about 20 students, though including the heads of Hillel, the Arab Student Organization, and Students for Peace and Justice in Palestine, though not Hoos For Israel), but this year it’s about to blow up. And it’s sustained over the course of a year, not just for one-shot events. Though they did sponsor a big dinner for all the Jews and Arabs who aren’t in the dialogue at the end of last semester, which I think went really well.
There’s also a once-yearly event where all the Hillel kids go to the mosque on a Friday afternoon, watch prayers, and get a crash course in Islam 101, followed by a discussion, followed by all the Muslim Student Association kids coming back to Hillel for services (whichever ones they want to check out) and Shabbas dinner. That event obviously includes a lot of South Asian kids and not just Arabs, but I think it’s equally important. Every college Hillel should try to set up something like that; I think all the attendees have found it really helpful.