On April 19, the Connecticut College Hillel and Yalla Bina, the Arabic Language and Culture Club at the College, hosted the most delicious event on campus: The Jerusalem Food Tour. Because I recognize my own bias (I salivate if something is covered in tahini), I did not expect to see many people at the event. However, when I arrived at Cro, I was surprised. The room was like a falafel in pita—stuffed.

The combination of fattoush, tabbouleh and stuffed grape leaves produced a sense of nostalgia in me. I thought back to my family’s trip to Israel in 2014. Not only do I remember the trip to Israel because of the sites we saw, but also the tasty, fresh food we ate. My trip to Israel enhanced my culinary vocabulary with the flavors of the Middle East. However, when I returned to school a few weeks later, the only Middle Eastern item on the menu in the dining hall was hummus.

At Conn, anyone who lives on campus is required to be on the meal plan. Thus, the Jerusalem Food Tour put on by Hillel and Yalla Bina was a nice change of pace. Opinions of the Israeli-Palestine conflict were put to rest; everyone came together and stuffed their faces with some of the best food west of the Holy Land.

Caroline Glass of Yalla Bina said of the event, “It was really well-attended and it was nice to see everyone gathered together. We even ran out of food to prove this point.” If you are on campus the day of the event, be sure to stop by. Be-te Avon. (That’s Hebrew for bon appetit!)