The steps of Old Main were covered in blue and white yesterday, not because they are the colors of Penn State but because they are the colors of the Israeli flag.

Hillel: The Foundation for Jewish Campus Life hosted a rally and celebration in honor of Israel's Independence Day at noon, with Hillel members handing out pins of the Israeli and American flags joined together and planting rows of small Israeli flags in the ground.

"We stand with Israel," read one sign at the rally. "The missing piece is the missing peace," read another. "America's fight = Israel's fight," read a third.

However, students who side with the Palestinian people in the conflict between the groups said the rally was unfounded. While Hillel ran an ad about the rally in yesterday's The Daily Collegian, another ad ran listing names of people who "denounce the occupation of Palestine by Israel."

"I don't see this as an occasion for anybody to celebrate," said Ramy Nasr, a member of the Coalition for Justice in Palestine who signed the ad. "I'm not sure why they are celebrating 50-some years of oppression of the Palestinian people." The rally began with a call to remember people who died in recent bombings in Israel or in other violence.

"I alone have 21 friends who have died," said Tuvia Abramson, director of Hillel. In Abramson's address to the crowd, he referred to a sign on Old Main lawn that called Yasser Arafat a killer of innocents and likened him to Osama bin Laden. He said he hoped the two were not alike, but said Arafat speaks of peace in English but teaches hate in Arabic. To many supporters of Israel, Arafat's promises in English are unacceptable.

"If Arafat arrested the guilty, said in Arabic, in Arabic, 'lay down your arms,' there would be no fight," said David Werner, who spoke as a representative of the Jewish community in State College and Bellefonte. Werner went on to explain similarities between Israel's fight to keep its nation safe and America's war on terrorism. He said just as Americans have the right to work in New York City without fear of an attack, Israelis have the right to go through the streets of Haifa without fear. Abramson also made reference to the situation in Israel, calling those who blew themselves up "homicide bombers."

"We have to make a distinction between a war where people fight each other and a reality where people -- evil people -- go and explode themselves," he said. "This is not a suicide, this is a homicide." Ofer Harel (graduate-sociology), a student from Israel, called the situation in his home country "a battle fought not on the battlefield, but in the streets, malls, restaurants and homes." Harel said Israel wants peace but will not give up in its fight to keep its nation. The crowd grew as passing students stopped to hear speakers in the rally. Not all attendees were Jewish or had roots in Israel.

"This is also just human. It's just love of your fellow man," said Bette Jackson, a State College resident. "You don't win anybody with hatred."

Jackson, who is Christian, said she heard about the rally on the radio and was one of many local residents who attended. The priest of a local Catholic church also came to the rally and addressed the crowd.

After the rally ended, some attendees began to debate the situation in Israel and American involvement in the country. The discussion escalated and voices were raised, while other students continued their celebration, singing songs in Hebrew and waving Israeli flags. Nomi Deutch, co-chair of the Israel Action Committee, who also spoke at the rally, said although it may have looked like an argument to some, it was a discussion.

"This is what needs to happen in the Middle East," Deutch said. "We need to talk."