Held at the Traditions Plaza in the Breezeway, Students for Justice in Palestine and Multicultural Programming brought Palestinian culture to FAU on Thursday, Nov. 6.

The Palestinian Culture Festival included dancing, food and scarves, all in hopes of teaching FAU students about Palestinian culture and tradition.

SJP President Shereen Aly said, “We like to educate people as well as have fun, give out food for free, give out scarves for free – just try to educate them as best we can.”

SJP handed out black and white scarves called keffiyehs. Historically, keffiyehs were worn by farmers to protect their faces from sand and dirt. More recently, the coloring of the scarves has come to represent Palestinian nationalism.

Members of SJP taught visitors a traditional dance, the Dabke – a circle and line dance performed during celebrations.

“I wanted to learn about the culture because I don’t know that much [about it],” said Sandy Jeudy, a junior who attended the event. “You hear things in the news, but you want to actually interact with the people to see what they’re like.”

Food was also presented for guests to get a little taste of Palestine. The spread included falafel along with chicken and beef shawarma. Knafa, a cheese pastry topped with a sugar sauce, was also served to satisfy those with a sweet tooth.

After a month and a half of planning, members of SJP were pleased with the turnout they received. “I found [today’s event] very successful,” Alexander Edward, a member of SJP said. “We had over a hundred people. I know that for a fact because we gave out all of our keffiyehs and there were many more [people] asking for more. [The event was] very successful and a very good showcase for Palestinian culture.”