Festival brings Israel to IU

Like Lollapalooza bringing America's underground culture to audiences, Israelpalooza hopes to bring the culture of Israel to the IU campus.\nIsraelpalooza, "A Day for Israel," will take place from 2 to 5 p.m. Sunday in Dunn Meadow. The event will feature music by local bands, games, food and information about Israel and its culture. There will also be a walk in support of Israel, which will take place at 2:15 p.m. Participants will walk down Indiana Avenue, down Seventh Street to the downtown square and back to Dunn Meadow.\nThis event is free, but participants are welcome to donate money for Magen David Adom, the Israeli equivalent to the American Red Cross.\nThe main sponsor of this event is the Helene G. Simon Hillel Center at IU, which supports Jewish students on campus. Some students who are a part of the Hillel Center also took part in organizing Israelpalooza.\nNatalie Borg, who is in charge of marketing and publicity for the Hillel Center, said there will be information for those who are interested in visiting Israel, as well as a speaker who will talk about his experience in Israel.\nRachel Kaplan, an organizer of this event, said some of the musical bands participating in the event include Redhouse, 20 Minutes to Park, Josh David and Ladies First, who will be singing "Hatikvah," Israel's national anthem.\nBorg said she thinks many people are interested in Israel because of its past and its rich culture.\n"Israel is so diverse, and it has a lot of history and culture," she said. "This event gives people the opportunity to learn about it. It's a great event for all people of the community."\nKaplan said she hopes this event will advocate Israel's culture and make the campus more aware of the country.\n"We want to get Israel's name out there," she said. "It's not only for Jewish students, but for a lot of students interested in Israeli culture."\nKaplan said she thinks some people are interested in Israel because of its similarities to America and hopes people will learn a lot about the country from Israelpalooza.\n"It is the only democracy in the Middle East," she said. "It holds similar values to the United States, unlike other countries in that area. I think we should be well-educated about a country that holds similar values to the U.S. It is a country that is thriving"