A mural was made by graffiti artists to promote peace in Israel in front of the Nott Memorial on Wednesday, May 23.

The event was organized by the Chabad, a Union Jewish student group, who invited Artists 4 Israel to come to the campus and create the mural with students.

The mural consisted of the words “peace,” “love” and “Shalom from Union” over images of the Nott Memorial. Jewish stars, hamsa hands and student tags of messages of positivity on the back.

“I think it’s a great event that brings a positive image to Israel, especially during hard times,” Chabad board member Rebecca Kaufman ’18 said.

She continued to say, “[Israel is] a great country that has a lot to offer. Most people don’t see that side of it, they only see what they see on the news.”

Chabad at Union is a chapter of Chabad on Campus International. According to Chabad on Campus International, there are over 185 permanent branches in North America and 250 branches internationally. There has been a Chabad group at Union for the past 11 years.

“We are a Jewish organization and Israel is part of our heritage. We want there to be peace and safety for everyone in Israel and the region,” Chabad advisor, Laiky Rubin, said.

Artists 4 Israel is an organization that aims to facilitate conversations about Israel.

In addition to their college campus programs, where they go to colleges and universities and create murals in public.

Additionally, they run programs meant to combat post traumatic stress disorder in the United States and Israel for soldiers, veterans and children.

The motto for the organization is “Art Based on Humanitarian Aid and Advocacy,” and their mission is to bring “beauty, healing and protection to communities and people ravished by fighting.”

“We want to open up conversation about Israel that isn’t about violence. It kind of opens up conversations about, ‘How can I get involved? How can I help?’… Rather than arguing with people, it’s inviting them to a discussion,” Artists 4 Israel Campus Curator Danielle Margiotta said.

Most of the artists hired by Artists 4 Israel are not Jewish.

However, the graffiti artists in the college programs have been to Israel and use their experiences and apply it to their artwork.

“They hire us because we’re street artists and we know how to work with people and how to adjust,” one of the artists, Aldo zar Sanchez, also known as Zar, said.

“I also like the fact that we’re promoting peace. You don’t have to be Jewish to like what this stands for and promote peace,” Zar continued.

The mural will be placed in the Chabad at Union Sukkah. According to Rubin, both the Sukkah and the mural represent unity.

“There’s other things besides ideas, there’s other things besides what’s happening in current events,” Margiotta said.

Margiotta continued, “It’s a very beautiful place. There’s a lot of culture, a lot of mixed culture and it’s not just Jewish. There’s a lot of Muslims, a lot of Catholics. The land means a lot of things to a lot of people.”