Rutgers students compete in ‘Amazing Israel Race’
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Rutgers students compete in ‘Amazing Israel Race’

A DOZEN TEAMS ran, danced, and competed around the campuses of Rutgers University in “The Amazing Israel Race.”

The Nov. 17 competition, sponsored by Rutgers Hillel in partnership with a handful of student clubs and organizations, was modeled after the popular reality television show The Amazing Race.

Students ran between stations, each of which had an Israel-centered activity, said Hillel director of Israel engagement Diana Diner. The first hour of the competition was broadcast live on the university radio station’s weekly Israel hour.

At the first station, students were asked to identify several Israeli songs, with the winning team getting a head start on the rest of the competitors.

Diner said among the other challenges faced was one cosponsored by the Hebrew Club, where students had to match Hebrew names of Holocaust victims with those listed on a memorial wall in the Douglass College Library. Another had students identifying the Israeli firms on a list of high-tech companies. One challenge, cosponsored with Christians United for Israel, asked participants to identify which cities on a map of Israel were important to faiths other than Judaism.

“We wanted to create a portrait of day-to-day life in Israel to show people Israel is more than just all about religion,” said Diner. “We wanted to teach them it has a high-tech industry, culture, and arts.”

The day also featured “fun” activities for the competitors, including setting up a falafel stand on the Livingston College Campus and racing to be the first team to sell five sandwiches to other students and teach 10 random students an Israeli dance.

— DEBRA RUBIN

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