Supporters of Israel rallied by the tens of 1000’s on the National Mall underneath heavy safety Tuesday, voicing solidarity within the struggle in opposition to Hamas and crying “never again.”
The “March for Israel” provided a powerful and bipartisan endorsement of one among America’s closest allies as criticism has intensified over Israel‘s offensive in Gaza, set off by the bloody Oct. 7 Hamas incursion.
Overlooking a sea of Israeli and U.S. flags, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, House Speaker Mike Johnson and the House Democratic leader, Hakeem Jefferies, came together on the stage and, with Republican Sen. Joni Ernst of Iowa, joined hands. “We stand with Israel,” Schumer chanted.
Yet underneath that projection of unity, Democrats are sharply divided over Israel‘s course and its treatment of Palestinians. President Joe Biden now is urging Israel to restrain some of its tactics to ease civilian suffering in Gaza after voicing full-throated solidarity with the Israelis in the war’s early weeks.
A succession of audio system took the stage to denounce the Hamas assault and what they stated was a virulent unfold of antisemitism internationally, “an embarrassment to all civilized people and nations,” within the phrases of Israeli President Isaac Herzog, who addressed the gang by video.
After “the largest massacre since the Holocaust,” he stated, “let us call out together, never again.”
PHOTOS: Thousands attend the ‘March for Israel’ on the National Mall
“No one will break us,” he vowed. “We will rise again. … There is no greater and just cause than this.”
Ernst stated Hamas‘ brutality cannot be overstated. “They murder babies,” she said. “They rape women. They abuse the elderly. How anyone in America could sympathize with these terrorists is unfathomable.”
Hamas militants stormed into Israel from Gaza in the surprise incursion Oct. 7, killing more than 1,200 people and taking more than 200 hostages. Israel has responded with weeks of attacks in Gaza, which have killed more than 11,000 Palestinians, according to the Hamas-run Health Ministry.
Rachel Goldberg, mother of Hersh Goldberg-Polin, who was taken hostage while attending a music festival attacked by Hamas, said the days since the attack had been “slow motion torment.”
“These children of God range in age from 9 months to 87 years,” Goldberg said of the hostages taken to Gaza. “They are Christians, Muslims, Jews, Buddhists and Hindu. Why are they being left underground in the dirt?”
The Homeland Security Department designated the march a “level 1” security event, the highest classification in its system and one usually used for the Super Bowl and other major events, two law enforcement officials told The Associated Press. The designation means the event required substantial law enforcement assistance from federal agencies, the officials said.
The FBI and Homeland Security sent a joint bulletin to law enforcement officials in Washington warning about the potential for violence or an attack inspired by the Israel–Hamas war, the officials said. But the bulletin said clearly that federal officials haven’t recognized any “specific, actionable threat” to the march, they stated.
The officers weren’t licensed to debate particulars of the legislation enforcement bulletin publicly and spoke to The Associated Press on situation of anonymity.
Many of the demonstrators on the “March for Israel” wore Israeli flags wrapped round their shoulders, flowing behind them, or held small Israeli flags of their fingers. Security was tight, with dump vehicles blocking entry to the mall and police dispersed all through the world and on horseback.
“I hope that it shows solidarity” with Israel, stated Jackie Seley of Rockville, Maryland, who got here with buddies from New York. “And I hope that it raises awareness for the hostages that are currently in danger.”
Melanie Lubin of Olney, Maryland, wore a flag half made up with the Stars and Stripes and half with Israel‘s blue and white Star of David. Asked concerning the dying toll in Gaza and criticism of the best way Israel has carried out its army marketing campaign, she stated: “I think everyone is concerned about what is happening in Gaza and to civilians in Israel. Israel is doing its best. This is a war. Israel did not start this war.”
