Israeli journalist Yaron Deckel said last night that he can remember a time when he was afraid to drive between two buses -- let alone enter a coffee shop -- in his home country.

"I would be in a traffic jam, squeezed between two buses, and I would think, 'What if one blows up?" he said. "And I would go to coffee shops and think, 'Where do I want to sit if there is a chance of a terrorist attack?' Those thoughts are kind of unhealthy and weird for someone who just wants a cup of coffee."

Deckel, the Washington bureau chief for the Israeli Broadcasting Authority, addressed a crowd of about 60 last night at the Hub-Robeson Center's Alumni Hall as part of the first Penn State Israel Festival.

He has reported on Israeli politics since 1985 and is the only Israeli journalist to have been granted an interview with President George W. Bush.

Deckel said he spoke to the president about Israel's future last year at Bush's Texas ranch.

"I did find a real friend of the state of Israel in the president," he said. "It's not just something you see on television -- he really thought Israel was a close ally of the United States."

Deckel said the Israeli people's concern is the "Iranian threat."

"They promised to wipe us off the map, and they made those statements more than once," he said. "Iran wants to follow in North Korea's footsteps, and there is no doubt that a nuclear Iran is not healthy for Israel or the free world."

The Israel Festival, which was sponsored by Penn State Hillel, Caravan for Democracy and the Jewish Studies Program, also featured a cultural showcase.

Students handed out samples of snacks, including the Israeli national food, falafel, and Israeli cosmetics.

"We have Israeli Dead Sea cosmetics, like minerals and bath salts, that are really good for your skin," Elizabeth Silow (freshman-theatre) said. "And we have actual Dead Sea mud ... in Israel you see people walking all around with black mud over their faces."

Penn State Hillel executive board member Andy Hagen (junior-meteorology) said he hoped the event would raise awareness and offer Jewish and non-Jewish students a sense of unity.

"Israel is a really special place to the Israeli people, and hopefully we can get other students excited about it," he said. "A lot of people think of terrorism when they think of Israel, but that's not what the country is about."