Contributed by CAMERA intern Lilia Gaufberg
On October 13th, CAMERA fellow Jeremy Ginsberg, in conjunction with Gauchos for Israel, an EMET for Israel group, hosted an event titled ‘Hamsas not Hamas’ at the Santa Barbara Hillel. The goal of this event was to decorate as many Hamsas as possible, and to learn about Hamsas in both Jewish and Muslim cultures in order to show their commonalities. The hope was that through this event, the potential for peace would be illustrated. The event was a success: participants seemed interested to learn more about the history of Hamsas!
The event was publicized through newsletters and announcements. 25 people attended, and the participants expressed interest in having a similar event in the future!
The atmosphere of the event was relaxed, and the project was successful. In the future, Gauchos for Israel plans to advertise their events more in order to increase attendance.