Student brings ideas from Jerusalem

Dan Lande returned from a three-week stay in Israel Nov. 30, where he participated in the General Assembly -- an annual gathering of representatives from Jewish organizations from around the world.\n"One thing that brought it all together," Lande said, "was that I saw Jews really taking the time to think about what's good for the Jewish state."\nLande, a senior involved in a number of campus organizations, said he hoped to bring some ideas from the Jerusalem conference to programs here at IU.\n"I wanted some tools to come back with that we can do on campus," he said. "Sometimes I feel so small, and I hate it. I feel so small, and I want to do big things."\nWhile at the GA, Lande heard from a number of leaders, including Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. He sat in on open forum discussions, saw the security fence and met the U.S. Ambassador to Israel Dan Kurtzer.\nBut Lande considered one event the most important.\nHe said the GA's participants, numbering 6,000, marched down Ben/Yehuda Street carrying Israeli flags. He said the people of Jerusalem came out from their homes to watch the marchers pass by.\n"We weren't just marching in the streets for Israel. We were marching in the streets for peace," Lande said. "I really feel like it brought back hope that there can be peace."\nLande, who also wanted to instill hope on a more personal level, took his guitar to Jerusalem and performed for small groups throughout the conference.\n"It didn't feel like it was a performance," Lande said. "It felt like we were sitting around a campfire. Everyone was together. Everyone was equal."\nHe said he wanted to bring that same togetherness to Bloomington and has organized an event to discuss peace in an informal setting. "Peace, Talks" will be held at 7 p.m. Thursday at Falafels restaurant, 430 E. Kirkwood Ave. \n"I would love to solve the Middle East problems over falafel and Turkish coffee," he said.\nLande said he believes this event will bring a wide range of people together through the connections we share: the love of food, music and listening to what other people have to say. But he said the night, filled with music, poetry and an open forum, will not be centered on political messages.\n"That's what I came back from the GA thinking," he said. "I just want to break down walls that have been built up."\nThe Helene G. Simon Hillel Center is also involved in the event. The cost is $6 for an all-you-can-eat dinner.\nSenior Danny Farahan, Lande's roommate, is also active on campus with Israel-related programs. He noted the significance of Lande's trip to the Israel.\n"It's important that the national community that was there sees the representation from Indiana," Farahan said. "It brings new outlooks and new ideas to the campus that wouldn't necessarily be here."\nRabbi Sue Shifron, executive director of Hillel, agreed.\n"I think it's wonderful for him to go because it's an opportunity for him to network with people from the Jewish Federation all over the world," Shifron said. "I think it really shows what a strong university IU is and the high caliber of students we have here."\nLande said he plans to implement some of the ideas he picked up at the conference, and he hopes "Peace, Talks" will develop into a bi-weekly event. His main goal is educating others and working toward peace in Israel.\n"Peace needs to start somewhere, and I think it can start here on campus," he said. "It can start today."\n-- Contact staff writer Michelle Perry at meperry@indiana.edu.