“In Hebrew, Shuk is a market,” Soltz, a human resources senior, said. “We’re centralizing the theme around that this year. There’s going to be booths around the room, a bunch of Israeli food, all the stuff to make it look like that.”

The event takes place from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. in the second floor ballroom of the Union. The event is free and set up as an open house for people to come and go. The first 300 people attending will get a free t-shirt.

The room will be set up like a marketplace with booths around the room, varying from educational booths about things like the Dead Sea and Western Wall, to a photo booth and raffle station. Soltz said this year’s biggest attraction is Artists4Israel.

“They do graffiti and murals; basically, they work to promote Israel through art,” Soltz said. “So we’re having two artists come to our event this year. People can see their work and even take canvases home with them.”

Human development and family studies senior Ilana Woronoff volunteered to help set up Israel Fest. She said the committee has been planning since about mid-September. Though this is Hillel’s eleventh year having Israel Fest, Woronoff said she thinks it’ll be different from previous years.

“We’re incorporating the theme into everything this year,” Woronoff said. “It’s not just on the t-shirts.”

Wornoff said the event is a great way for people to learn about Israeli culture in a non-politicized way.

“I think it’s important because we’re going to show all aspects of Israel,” she said. “We’re trying to get every aspect in a positive event. It’s not a political event; it’s cultural. We want to show how much we love Israel without using any forceful tactics, if those are the right words to use.”

International relations senior Samantha Drasnin agreed. She said she thinks Israel Fest’s purpose is to go beyond the politics and instead portray the culture of the country.

“I think Israel is so politicized that people forget that there’s a people there and it has it’s own culture and they’re not political beings," Drasnin said. "So this is a way to remind people of that.”

Drasnin said she’s been to Israel before and is looking forward to Israel Fest’s portrayal of the Shuk.

“I love being in the vibe of Israel,” Drasnin said. “The Shuk is something special; there’s nothing like it. It’s like its own little world.”