Fifteen minutes into Sunday's Souk festival in Scudder Plaza, the line for falafels and baklava had already stretched from the Wilson School fountain to Washington Road.
The festival, which adorned the plaza with Arabian scarves and inflatable palm trees, represented the first-ever student-organized, apolitical event on campus to celebrate Middle Eastern cultures. Souk, which means "market" in both Arabic and Hebrew, was designed to showcase the similarities between the Arab/Muslim and Israeli/Jewish cultures that are often overlooked in political discussions.
"We wanted to demonstrate that there's more to the Middle East than just politics," Zvi Smith '09, president of the Princeton Israel Public Affairs Committee (PIPAC), said. "There's also a people, a sound, a taste. We can disagree on politics but still share cultural interests."
The event included live music by the Moshav Band and Yousef Shamoun, Middle Eastern food and games and hookahs for rent. Surrounding the fountain, New Jersey vendors sold Middle Eastern clothes, jewelry and spices at discounted prices to students and local residents.
Souk was organized by the student groups Salaam-Shalom, Salaam, the Muslim Students Association (MSA), the Princeton Committee on Palestine (PCP) and PIPAC.
President of Salaam-Shalom Benjy Gerut '07 came up with the idea for an Arab-Israeli event last fall and proposed it to the other student organizations. Around the same time, Smith and Saed Shonnar '08 — head of PCP and then-president of MSA —had been brainstorming ways to educate the student body about Middle Eastern culture and unify Muslim and Jewish students. The two talked with Gerut and decided to have their different organizations collaborate.
"We wanted to make Souk a brand at Princeton," Gerut said. "By creating an event that allows students to experience Middle Eastern culture, we hoped to provide them with a language to talk about the Middle East outside of politics."
After Gerut initially pitched the idea at the end of first semester, the different student groups met to design the event. The planning process lasted about two-and-a-half months and included obtaining permission from administrators, raising money, hiring a band, contacting local vendors and advertising on and off campus. To contact local residents, the student groups visited nearby mosques and temples and sent flyers to families in the Tri-State Area through the Center for Jewish Life's mailing list.
Financial resources were provided by the Center for Jewish Life, the Department and Program of Near Eastern Studies, the Fund for Intergroup Collaboration, the Frankel Foundation, ODUS, the Pace Center, The Transregional Institute, the USG Projects Board, the Venture Fund and the Wilson School.
When asked about the turnout for Sunday's event, Gerut said he was pleased with the crowd. Because people were free to come and go, he said the total number of visitors would not be monitored but said he expected about 2,000. Gerut also said he thought the event had been successful in bringing together the different student organizations.
"Somebody came up to me today and asked how difficult it was for such opposite ends of the spectrum to compromise on an event," he said. "Surprisingly, we didn't really have to make any compromises; we just focused on what our cultures have in common."
President of Salaam Sarah Karam '07 was also encouraged by the event and said she expects Souk to become an annual tradition.
"Everything seems to have gone smoothly," Karam said. "I look forward to what Souk will become in the future."
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