Nearly 200 run for Israeli Red Cross with CJL

Kate Fischl ’11 said that the run raised about $2,000 but could not confirm the final total as of press time.

The CJL student board “didn’t want to choose an organization that’s political or religious,” Jacob Aronson ’11, one of the event organizers, said.

Aronson, who is also a copy reader for The Daily Princetonian, said that the Israeli Red Cross will “help anyone in Israel, regardless of religion, race, ethnicity or partisanship.”

Though it is a secular and nonpartisan organization, the MDA primarily operates within Israel, providing for the blood needs of the Israel Defense Forces and the general public.

MDA was formed “as a result of the murderous riots of 1929, when Jewish farming and urban settlements were attacked by the Arab population,” according to the organization’s website.

Though not all participants were Jewish, many were drawn to the event as a means of aiding Israel. “Donating to the Israeli Red Cross is one way American Jews support Israel,” CJL Executive Director Julie Roth said.

Avital Hazony ’12, who is from Israel, was impressed by the turnout. “It’s … amazing that so many people care,” she said. “Israel is so far away.”

About 30 volunteers assisted at the event, Aronson said. Many were recruited through the American Red Cross of the Student Volunteers Council and Tigers for Israel, an Israeli advocacy group.

Participants Yoni Friedman ’10 and Menachem Lazar GS said, though, that people would be willing to donate their time and money to places besides Israel.

“We would have run for any good cause,” Friedman said.

The 5K race attracted people of varying ages and amounts of running experience. The youngest runner was 8 and the oldest 74 years old. About half the participants were not University-affiliated, Aronson said.

“This race was done with great professionalism. Out of all the races I’ve run, this is one of the best,” said Alan Penn, a 66-year-old man who came to the event with his wife Janet. Penn took first place in his age category, while his wife was second in hers.

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The couple lives in Rockville, Md., but happened to be in the Princeton area. They had high praise for the event and its organizers.

“The volunteers were very enthusiastic,” Janet Penn said. “There were people directing us at every intersection. Everything went smoothly, from registration to the brunch.”

The organization of the event was not glitch-free, though. For Aronson, the main challenge was getting the race approved.

“There was a lot of going back and forth between the Princeton Police Department and Public Safety on campus,” he said. “Sometimes I had to meet the police officer at 7:30 in the morning because of schedule conflicts.”