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290,000 people show up for historic pro-Israel rally in DC, organizers claim

WASHINGTON (JTA) — Organizers of a pro-Israel rally at the National Mall in Washington on Tuesday claimed that 290,000 people showed up for the event, making it one of the largest gatherings of Jews in U.S. history at a time when an ongoing war in Gaza has sharply divided public opinion around the world.
An additional 250,000 people watched the event through a live stream, organizers added. Other Jewish marches that gathered over 100,000 people include one in 1987 in support of Soviet Jews and one in 2002 in support of Israel during the second intifada.
In more than three hours of speeches on Tuesday, a range of politicians, actors, musicians, activists and U.S. college students presented a strong front in support of Israel and spoke about the rise of antisemitism around the world since Hamas’ attacks on Oct. 7 and Israel’s subsequent war in Gaza. Many speakers also demanded the safe release of the more than 200 hostages still being held by Hamas in Gaza.
In a video from Jerusalem, Israeli President Isaac Herzog said “we will heal, we will rise again and we will rebuild.”
The message from the main organizers, the Jewish Federations of North America and Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, was unity. It was a rare moment that brought together leaders of both political parties passionately pushing a similar message.
“We stand here in a city often divided by partisan lines, but not when it comes to Israel,” said Harriet Schleifer, the chairwoman of the Presidents’ Conference. “Democrats and Republicans stand together — supporting the Israeli people as they seek peace, justice and the safe return of hostages.”
Schleifer also praised President Joe Biden, who has asked Congress to send more than $14 billion in emergency assistance to Israel. “President Joe Biden has been the steadiest ally and champion of our shared values,” she said. “We are grateful for his leadership.”
The message thrilled the audience, but subtle differences in messaging also emerged from the prominent Democrats and Republicans who spoke, and also between the Biden administration and Israel.
Mike Johnson, the newly installed Republican speaker of the House, said the United States would reject widespread calls for a ceasefire. “The calls for a ceasefire are outrageous,” he said to loud cheers.
Sen. Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, both New York Democrats, did not mention a ceasefire. The Biden administration opposes a ceasefire and backs Israel’s ultimate goal of dismantling Hamas but differs with Israel on the degree to which there should be pauses in fighting to bring humanitarian assistance into Gaza.
Biden is under intense pressure from a number of congressional progressives as well as some staffers in the State Department and elsewhere to force Israel to declare a ceasefire.
Sen. Jacky Rosen, a Jewish Democrat, and Sen. Joni Ernst, a Republican, also spoke. It was not clear why Kentucky Sen. Mitch McConnell, the minority leader, was unable to attend.
Beyond the politicians, celebrity speakers including Debra Messing, Michael Rapaport and Tova Felshuh called for Jews to wear their identities with pride.
“My name is Tovah Feldshuh,” began the Broadway star Feldshuh, repudiating decades of entertainment pressure on Jews to disguise their identities. “My Hebrew name is Tovah Feldshuh. My stage name is Tovah Feldshuh.” The audience cheered.
Messing, who has been active in campaigning for Democrats, alluded to the heartbreak many Jews on the left felt after failing to hear robust condemnations of Hamas by progressives after Oct. 7.
“I know you are alone, I know you are afraid, I know you feel abandoned by people you thought were friends,” she said. “Looking out today I know we are not alone, because we have each other.”
Three relatives of hostages being held in Gaza also spoke.
“We hostage families have lived the last 39 days in slow motion torment,” said Rachel Goldberg, mother of hostage Hersh Goldberg-Polin. “We all have third degree burns on our souls.”
An array of Jewish organizations across the political spectrum attended the event. The inclusion of some of the more right-wing speakers, including Johnson and Pastor John Hagee — the head of the influential Christians United for Israel group who is an opponent of LGBTQ rights — caused controversy before the rally. “A dangerous bigot like Hagee should not be welcomed anywhere in our community,” the liberal pro-Israel lobby J Street tweeted on Tuesday morning.
“There is no middle ground in this conflict — you’re either for the Jewish people or you’re not,” Hagee said in his speech on Tuesday.
But several speakers, including liberal CNN analyst Van Jones, called for the protection of Palestinian lives while emphasizing Israel’s right to defend itself, and that joint message was continually given a warm reception by the crowd.
“We must stand together to secure a just and lasting peace between Israel and the Palestinian people,” Jeffries said to applause.
Dr. Rochelle Ford, the president of Dillard University in New Orleans, a historically Black university, said it was time to “stand with Israel, and to stand with the Palestinians who suffer under Hamas’ cruel rule in Gaza.”
The rally started and ended with cries of “Am yisrael chai”— “the people of Israel live.”
“Do not cower, allow no one to make you afraid,” said Deborah Lipstadt, the Biden administration’s antisemitism monitor. “The message is built into the Jewish people’s most ancient history — Jews are strongest in their most broken places.”
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The post 290,000 people show up for historic pro-Israel rally in DC, organizers claim appeared first on Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
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After False Dawns, Gazans Hope Trump Will Force End to Two-Year-Old War

Palestinians walk past a residential building destroyed in previous Israeli strikes, after Hamas agreed to release hostages and accept some other terms in a US plan to end the war, in Nuseirat, central Gaza Strip October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa
Exhausted Palestinians in Gaza clung to hopes on Saturday that US President Donald Trump would keep up pressure on Israel to end a two-year-old war that has killed tens of thousands and displaced the entire population of more than two million.
Hamas’ declaration that it was ready to hand over hostages and accept some terms of Trump’s plan to end the conflict while calling for more talks on several key issues was greeted with relief in the enclave, where most homes are now in ruins.
“It’s happy news, it saves those who are still alive,” said 32-year-old Saoud Qarneyta, reacting to Hamas’ response and Trump’s intervention. “This is enough. Houses have been damaged, everything has been damaged, what is left? Nothing.”
GAZAN RESIDENT HOPES ‘WE WILL BE DONE WITH WARS’
Ismail Zayda, 40, a father of three, displaced from a suburb in northern Gaza City where Israel launched a full-scale ground operation last month, said: “We want President Trump to keep pushing for an end to the war, if this chance is lost, it means that Gaza City will be destroyed by Israel and we might not survive.
“Enough, two years of bombardment, death and starvation. Enough,” he told Reuters on a social media chat.
“God willing this will be the last war. We will hopefully be done with the wars,” said 59-year-old Ali Ahmad, speaking in one of the tented camps where most Palestinians now live.
“We urge all sides not to backtrack. Every day of delay costs lives in Gaza, it is not just time wasted, lives get wasted too,” said Tamer Al-Burai, a Gaza City businessman displaced with members of his family in central Gaza Strip.
After two previous ceasefires — one near the start of the war and another earlier this year — lasted only a few weeks, he said; “I am very optimistic this time, maybe Trump’s seeking to be remembered as a man of peace, will bring us real peace this time.”
RESIDENT WORRIES THAT NETANYAHU WILL ‘SABOTAGE’ DEAL
Some voiced hopes of returning to their homes, but the Israeli military issued a fresh warning to Gazans on Saturday to stay out of Gaza City, describing it as a “dangerous combat zone.”
Gazans have faced previous false dawns during the past two years, when Trump and others declared at several points during on-off negotiations between Hamas, Israel and Arab and US mediators that a deal was close, only for war to rage on.
“Will it happen? Can we trust Trump? Maybe we trust Trump, but will Netanyahu abide this time? He has always sabotaged everything and continued the war. I hope he ends it now,” said Aya, 31, who was displaced with her family to Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip.
She added: “Maybe there is a chance the war ends at October 7, two years after it began.”
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Mass Rally in Rome on Fourth Day of Italy’s Pro-Palestinian Protests

A Pro-Palestinian demonstrator waves a Palestinian flag during a national protest for Gaza in Rome, Italy, October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Claudia Greco
Large crowds assembled in central Rome on Saturday for the fourth straight day of protests in Italy since Israel intercepted an international flotilla trying to deliver aid to Gaza, and detained its activists.
People holding banners and Palestinian flags, chanting “Free Palestine” and other slogans, filed past the Colosseum, taking part in a march that organizers hoped would attract at least 1 million people.
“I’m here with a lot of other friends because I think it is important for us all to mobilize individually,” Francesco Galtieri, a 65-year-old musician from Rome, said. “If we don’t all mobilize, then nothing will change.”
Since Israel started blocking the flotilla late on Wednesday, protests have sprung up across Europe and in other parts of the world, but in Italy they have been a daily occurrence, in multiple cities.
On Friday, unions called a general strike in support of the flotilla, with demonstrations across the country that attracted more than 2 million, according to organizers. The interior ministry estimated attendance at around 400,000.
Italy’s right-wing government has been critical of the protests, with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni suggesting that people would skip work for Gaza just as an excuse for a longer weekend break.
On Saturday, Meloni blamed protesters for insulting graffiti that appeared on a statue of the late Pope John Paul II outside Rome’s main train station, where Pro-Palestinian groups have been holding a protest picket.
“They say they are taking to the streets for peace, but then they insult the memory of a man who was a true defender and builder of peace. A shameful act committed by people blinded by ideology,” she said in a statement.
Israel launched its Gaza offensive after Hamas terrorists staged a cross border attack on October 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 people hostage.
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Hamas Says It Agrees to Release All Israeli Hostages Under Trump Gaza Plan

Smoke rises during an Israeli military operation in Gaza City, as seen from the central Gaza Strip, October 2, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas
Hamas said on Friday it had agreed to release all Israeli hostages, alive or dead, under the terms of US President Donald Trump’s Gaza proposal, and signaled readiness to immediately enter mediated negotiations to discuss the details.