Israel Immersion Through Food and Film

With the understanding that food and film are two of the best ways to bring people together and learn about a new culture, Penny Zhou set out to lead her itrek Microgrant project. 

A Sr. Product Manager at Amazon and itrek participant on the 2019 Wharton Israel Trek, Penny shared some highlights from her experience: visiting the Bedouin tents, seeing the Ramon crater, exploring the cities of Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, and the breadth of the trip – learning about the historical, religious, and geopolitical realities in Israel to the modern culture and partying. 

In May 2022, Penny hosted an Israel Cultural Immersion Day that had two components. It started with a visit to the Israeli film festival in Los Angeles. “I thought this would be a fun activity to do, and a fun way to introduce people to Israeli culture,” Penny said. She sent an invite out to people in her network – professionals in their 20s and 30s, most of whom had also been to business school. Some had visited Israel and some had not, and all had varying levels of knowledge about the country. 

Penny shared that her fiance helped pick out the movie, a 2020 film called “Here We Are.” The film follows an Israeli father who has spent his life taking care of his son with autism. There is a familial struggle – the mother wants their son to go to an institution that takes care of people with autism, but the father feels that he is the best caretaker for his son. The father and his son travel around Israel, running away from the mother – taking the train from one station to the next. “The movie was very heartfelt,” Penny said. “It was also very interesting for us to see the different landscapes in Israel – like now you’re in a port city! Now you’re in Jerusalem!” 

After watching the film, the intimate group of 8 people went to an Israeli restaurant in Los Angeles. Penny’s thinking was that dinner is a “fun, light approach to introduce people who may not be super familiar with Israeli culture to get some exposure.” Dinner was hosted at Nua, a new Israeli restaurant with a modern twist in the heart of Beverly Hills. “We got hummus, pita, and shawarma – and a few things I hadn’t tried before,” Penny shared. During dinner, the group spoke about the film. Perhaps most profoundly was the takeaway Penny discussed about the intersection between culture and family values: “It is very clear how strong family values are in Israeli society. Some of us were of Asian descent, and we felt there was a similarity there. You take care of your people.”

Penny’s goal was to introduce new people to Israel and Israeli culture – “if they knew nothing else about Israel, they would still have a positive memory from this event.” Her ambitions for this project started bigger, but her perspective changed, acknowledging that during the pandemic, it was safer to host a smaller event. Even so, Penny shared some wisdom when asked if she accomplished her goal: “It’s not so much about the quantity – if you reach a few people, and you can introduce a new culture to them, they learn about the food and a couple basic facts. Now, they have a positive impression of Israel and Israeli culture. I think that in itself is super valuable.”