Tuesday’s rally was both the largest ever pro-Israel gathering and the largest Jewish gathering in US history.
By Dion J. Pierre, Algemeiner
Jewish Americans and supporters of Israel gather at the National Mall in Washington, DC on Nov. 14, 2023 for the “March for Israel” rally. Photo: Dion J. Pierre/The Algemeiner
Washington, DC — Hundreds of thousands of Jewish Americans and pro-Israel advocates packed the National Mall in Washington, DC on Tuesday in a historic show of solidarity with the Jewish state amid its war with the Hamas terror group.
US Jewish groups organized the “March for Israel” to demand the release of hostages held captive by Hamas in Gaza and to demonstrate support for both the Jewish state and the Jewish community amid a global surge in antisemitism that has followed the Palestinian terror group’s Oct 7. massacre across southern Israel.
William Daroff — CEO of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, which co-organized the rally along with the Jewish Federations of North America — told The Algemeiner that 290,000 people were at the event, based on tallies according to those who went through the metal detector at the entrance. However, large numbers of attendees did not appear to have the required wristbands to go through security, making the actual totally potentially higher.
Either way, Tuesday’s rally was both the largest ever pro-Israel gathering and the largest Jewish gathering in US history.
Speakers included the famed human rights activist Natan Sharansky, US Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY), US Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (R-LA), and Israeli President Isaac Herzog, who appeared via live feed, among many other voices.
“The people of Israel are eternal, and no one will break us,” Herzog said, prompting an eruption of cheers and applause. “From the Jewish symbols of fulfillment of our ancient dreams to the American symbols of freedom, liberty, and democracy, thank you, thank you, the hundreds of thousands who have gathered from all over the United States, all people of good will, friends from different communities, faiths, and denominations who gathered today for this massive show of solidarity.”
The marchers, who traveled from across the US, represented a full spectrum of the Jewish communitiy and its allies. As one participant told The Algemeiner, it was an important display of unity and the peaceful intentions of the Jewish people.
“I think it’s beautiful. It just shows that we are in peace, that we come in peace, and we’re not interested in violence, and on the contrary we’re fighting that in the world and all antisemitism and hatred of all kinds,” said Beverly Mehl, from New York. “It’s very important to show strength, to do something and take action.”
Another rally-goer said that “seeing this mix of Jews — it;s really surreal. It lights something in my heart. I’ve never seen anything like it. It feels like we’re a nation again. No common enemy. No conflict.”
For others, the event elicited strong emotions.
“It was very moving,” said television personality and activist Emily Austin, who has received death threats and vulgar messages for coming to Israel’s defense. “The fact that 200,000 people from all over the country came to show their solidarity and support for one another was very emotional for me. Many politicians came to show their support, which meant a lot to everyone, especially the families of the hostages.”
Not everyone who attended the rally was Jewish.
“I’m here because a very good friend of mine was killed in Kfar Aza [a kibbutz in southern Israel],” said Carlos Chacon. “It’s the least I can do to be here. As a Christian, I know that Jews are our brothers. It’s our duty to defend each other. We have so many things in common.”
The scale and success of the “March for Israel” was striking given that it was organized in just a matter of weeks. Sharansky, the famed refusenik and international campaigner against antisemitism, highlighted the pressing need for a mass pro-Israel rally in a recent article for Tablet magazine and drew a comparison with marches in 1987 attended by hundreds of thousands to support Soviet Jewry.
“Immediately after the [Oct. 7] attack we found that all of us were being attacked, and so the world Jewry is feeling like one family, supporting one another, because I hear from so many who say they never imagined that they would be afraid in their countries,” Sharansky told The Algemeiner. “We all have to rally quickly to turn into one fighting family, and I think that’s what Jews are doing now and why this demonstration is happening.”
He stressed that unity among the Jewish diaspora is crucial — a theme that permeated the National Mall on Tuesday, especially amid a historic, worldwide surge in antisemitic attacks.
“As antisemitism began increasing in the United States, there was a strong desire for the Jewish community and supporters of Israel to come together and make a very strong and powerful statement and say we stand together with each other, with Israel, and against antisemitism,” said Gil Preuss, CEO of the Jewish Federation of Greater Washington. “I think it’s important for everyone to understand that the Jewish community is strong and united in its support for Israel, is strong and united that Hamas free the hostages, and is strong and united in its fight against antisemitism in all of its forms.”
About 240 hostages remain trapped in Gaza in the hands of Palestinian terrorists, according to Israeli authorities. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said over the weekend that a deal to release at least some of the hostages “could be” negotiated soon but declined to elaborate: “I think the less I say about it, the more I’ll increase the chances that it materializes.”
Netanyahu has ruled out a ceasefire to the ongoing war with Hamas terrorists unless all the hostages, who include children and the elderly, are released.