By Talia AlbertsThe Daily Northwestern
On Thursday night, an Evanston bar was transformed into a Tel Aviv nightclub complete with an Israeli DJ, hummus and pita.
The second annual Israel IndepenDANCE Party took place at Tommy Nevin’s Pub, 1450 Sherman Ave., in celebration of Israeli Independence Day on April 24.
The first event of the week, a screening of “The Long Way Home,” an Academy Award-winning film about the role of Holocaust survivors in founding the state of Israel, was held Monday. The event was co-sponsored by the Simon Wiesenthal Center and drew crowds from both Northwestern and Chicago members of the Wiesenthal Center.
Weinberg sophomore Sam Kleiner, co-president of Students for Israel, said the film was relevant because Israel has played a key role in the treatment of Jews in a post-Holocaust world.
Students for Israel and organizers for the IndepenDANCE party spent Wednesday guarding The Rock, publicizing the party, handing out pita and hummus and engaging in conversations about Israel.
Kleiner said Students for Israel conducted many internal meetings to discuss better ways to be advocates for Israel on campus.
A main focus was beginning a big publicity campaign for Harvard Law Prof. Alan Dershowitz, whom they are bringing to campus on May 10.
At Thursday night’s party, Israeli DJ Adorno, who attends the University of Illinois, played a mix of trance, techno and authentic Israeli tunes. He has deejayed in popular clubs all over the world, from Tel Aviv to New York. Before attending college, he served as a paratrooper in the Israeli army.
Mitchell Bekritsky, a Weinberg junior and IndepenDANCE party organizer, said he is proud that the event appealed to a wide crowd of people.
“It was really fun last year,” Bekritsky said. “It has a broad appeal. People you would never guess were Jewish and maybe weren’t even Jewish were there having a great time.”
He said one of the reasons that the event is so popular is that it focuses on a different aspect of Israel.
“I think it gets a message across that is not just political,” he said. “(Israel is) a place that has a vibrant culture and instead of focusing on politics like usual, we celebrate the culture.”
Although attendance was not carefully measured during this year’s party, organizers said they planned for about 300 guests.
Kleiner said that celebrating this year was particularly important in light of groups such as Hezbollah and Hamas that vow to destroy Israel.
Cydney Topaz, director of student life and community initiatives at Hillel, said celebrating Israeli Independence Day is important regardless of where you live.
“I think Israel has accomplished a lot in the 59 years,” Topaz said. “It’s important to recognize all the great things they’ve accomplished and it’s really exciting to celebrate that.”
Reach Talia Alberts at [email protected].
