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In Washington, Jews manage to rally around an intentionally murky message. Will the unity last?
WASHINGTON (JTA) — I didn’t cover or attend the Free Soviet Jewry rally in Washington in 1987, but I’ve seen the photographs.
That rally, which drew some 250,000 Jews to the National Mall, was long considered a high point for Jewish street activism, the benchmark against which all demonstrations since have been measured. The rally apparently caught the attention of then-President Ronald Reagan and Soviet Premier Mikhail Gorbachev, who were to meet the next day. Over the next three years, hundreds of thousands of Jews left the “Evil Empire” for the United States and Israel.
The best-known photos of that rally show a sea of people under a “Let My People Go” banner. In its laser-focused call on the Soviets to end the oppression of their Jews and allow them to emigrate, that rally’s lack of complexity was perhaps its greatest strength.
By contrast, Tuesday’s March for Israel defied one simple slogan. The official organizers suggested three: “March for Israel. March to free hostages. March against antisemitism.” It was a multi-pronged rallying cry for complicated times: The war launched when Hamas slaughtered 1,200 Jews on Oct. 7 has whipped up as many crises as it has emotions.
That complexity and even confusion were reflected at Tuesday’s march. A lot of the people in the massive crowd — estimates, backed by data from the folks handling security, put it at some 290,000 — carried signs with names and images of some of the 240 people kidnapped by Hamas in the initial attack. “Bring them home” was a common placard. One Orthodox feminist carried a sign with a verse from Jeremiah: “She refuses to be comforted, because her children are missing.”
The Rhode Island Coalition for Israel unfurled a banner at the March for Israel rally reading, “Destroy Hamas — No Ceasefire,” Nov. 14, 2023. (JTA Photo)
Some signs thanked the Biden administration and Congress for giving Israel a wide berth, and significant financial backing, for its war on Hamas. Many of the signs echoed calls from the stage, including by Deborah Lipstadt, the State Department’s special envoy on antisemitism, to “stand shoulder to shoulder” against the anti-Israelism expressed as antisemitism at pro-Palestinian rallies and on college campuses.
Meanwhile, the invitation to “March for Israel” was less a slogan than a set-up to an old Jewish joke: One catchphrase, three opinions. For many in the crowd, it meant “no ceasefire” and spurning calls on Israel from around the globe to halt the attacks that have so far, according to the Hamas-run Health Ministry in Gaza, cost more than 10,000 Palestinian lives. (The chant was heard perhaps the loudest when Van Jones, the CNN commentator, called for “no more rockets from Gaza, and no more bombs falling down on the people of Gaza” — an even-handed statement that drew boos and obscured his main point about liberals who have abandoned pro-Israel colleagues like him.)
“Let Israel finish the job!” read one sign held by a rally-goer. “Thank you Israel for fighting terror,” read another. The Rhode Island Coalition for Israel unfurled a huge banner reading, “Destroy Hamas — No Ceasefire.”
But if there was one “for Israel” message, it was one of apolitical unity, expressed in the “Philly stands with Israel” and “Cleveland stands with Israel” signs that seem to have been coordinated by one of the rally’s two organizers, the Jewish Federations of North America. “Standing” doesn’t commit the stander to a specific political agenda, except in this case to the baseline belief that Israel is a country that deserves to exist and defend itself if its people or security are threatened. At bare minimum, many attendees said they were there to counter pro-Palestinian demonstrations — including many arranged by non-Zionist Jewish groups — that seemed to reject even that much.
That could be seen in the day’s prevailing aesthetic: the blue and white Israeli flag. Many wore the flag as a cape. College students and day school kids daubed it on their faces. Groups were handing out little Israeli flags. Before Oct. 7, the huge crowds in Israel opposing their far-right government’s judicial reforms had reclaimed the flag as a symbol of Jewish democracy. On Tuesday, it took on a particularly American meaning: to be Jewish here is to care deeply about Israel, putting aside the inevitable disagreements about what the country should be and what course it should be taking in its war on Hamas.
One sign carried in the “peace bloc” section of the March for Israel rally read “Pro-Peace, Anti Hamas, Pro Israel, Anti Bibi,” using Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu’s nickname, Nov. 14, 2023. (Via Facebook)
That broad-tent message even allowed some left-wing Jewish groups to join the march, despite their qualms that it might support a right-wing agenda and ignore the growing civilian death toll in Gaza. Americans for Peace Now, J Street and the National Council of Jewish Women made up a “peace bloc” with T’ruah, the rabbinic human rights group. “I stand with Israelis. I stand with Palestinians. I stand with humanity,” read a sign carried by T’ruah members.
In an email to T’ruah followers, the group’s CEO, Rabbi Jill Jacobs, said they’d be taking part “in a way that allows you to grieve with Israelis, stand with the families of hostages, support our Jewish community through rising antisemitism, and also grieve for innocent Palestinians.” That message also seemed an effort to reclaim the left-wing conversation from the anti- and non-Zionist Jewish groups. One sign carried in the “peace bloc” read “Pro-Peace, Anti Hamas, Pro Israel, Anti Bibi,” using Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu’s nickname.
It’s the rare Jewish event that can attract doves and hawks, black-hatted Orthodox Jews, queer Zionists waving rainbow flags, secular Israelis and busloads of suburban synagogue-goers of all denominations. And that’s perhaps why — despite the grieving Israeli families, the missing hostages, the unrelenting bombardment of Gaza — the rally took on a festive mood at times. People seemed genuinely relieved to loudly and safely celebrate their attachment to Israel in a crowd where Israel’s existence wouldn’t be called into question, its right to defend itself was taken for granted and wearing a Star of David didn’t mark them as “colonialists” or worse.
That there wasn’t a single slogan that can become the lasting image from this remarkable day isn’t a surprise. It feels obvious that if the organizers had picked one agenda — no ceasefire, free the hostages, stand up against antisemitism — they would have lost a large chunk of the crowd and potential allies.
But in service of a hopeful future, there’s one image that could endure — a message of unity that lasted at least for a few hours on Tuesday. A colleague saw a sign quoting Psalm 133: “How good and how pleasant it is that brothers (and sisters) dwell together.”
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The post In Washington, Jews manage to rally around an intentionally murky message. Will the unity last? appeared first on Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
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Syria’s Sharaa Says Talks With Israel Could Yield Results ‘In Coming Days’
Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa speaks at the opening ceremony of the 62nd Damascus International Fair, the first edition held since the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime, in Damascus, Syria, Aug. 27, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Khalil Ashawi
Syria’s President Ahmed al-Sharaa said on Wednesday that ongoing negotiations with Israel to reach a security pact could lead to results “in the coming days.”
He told reporters in Damascus the security pact was a “necessity” and that it would need to respect Syria’s airspace and territorial unity and be monitored by the United Nations.
Syria and Israel are in talks to reach an agreement that Damascus hopes will secure a halt to Israeli airstrikes and the withdrawal of Israeli troops who have pushed into southern Syria.
Reuters reported this week that Washington was pressuring Syria to reach a deal before world leaders gather next week for the UN General Assembly in New York.
But Sharaa, in a briefing with journalists including Reuters ahead of his expected trip to New York to attend the meeting, denied the US was putting any pressure on Syria and said instead that it was playing a mediating role.
He said Israel had carried out more than 1,000 strikes on Syria and conducted more than 400 ground incursions since Dec. 8, when the rebel offensive he led toppled former Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad.
Sharaa said Israel’s actions were contradicting the stated American policy of a stable and unified Syria, which he said was “very dangerous.”
He said Damascus was seeking a deal similar to a 1974 disengagement agreement between Israel and Syria that created a demilitarized zone between the two countries.
He said Syria sought the withdrawal of Israeli troops but that Israel wanted to remain at strategic locations it seized after Dec. 8, including Mount Hermon. Israeli ministers have publicly said Israel intends to keep control of the sites.
He said if the security pact succeeds, other agreements could be reached. He did not provide details, but said a peace agreement or normalization deal like the US-mediated Abraham Accords, under which several Muslim-majority countries agreed to normalize diplomatic ties with Israel, was not currently on the table.
He also said it was too early to discuss the fate of the Golan Heights because it was “a big deal.”
Reuters reported this week that Israel had ruled out handing back the zone, which Donald Trump unilaterally recognized as Israeli during his first term as US president.
“It’s a difficult case – you have negotiations between a Damascene and a Jew,” Sharaa told reporters, smiling.
SECURITY PACT DERAILED IN JULY
Sharaa also said Syria and Israel had been just “four to five days” away from reaching the basis of a security pact in July, but that developments in the southern province of Sweida had derailed those discussions.
Syrian troops were deployed to Sweida in July to quell fighting between Druze armed factions and Bedouin fighters. But the violence worsened, with Syrian forces accused of execution-style killings and Israel striking southern Syria, the defense ministry in Damascus and near the presidential palace.
Sharaa on Wednesday described the strikes near the presidential palace as “not a message, but a declaration of war,” and said Syria had still refrained from responding militarily to preserve the negotiations.
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Anti-Israel Activists Gear Up to ‘Flood’ UN General Assembly
US Capitol Police and NYPD officers clash with anti-Israel demonstrators, on the day Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addresses a joint meeting of Congress, on Capitol Hill, in Washington, DC, July 24, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Umit Bektas
Anti-Israel groups are planning a wave of raucous protests in New York City during the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) over the next several days, prompting concerns that the demonstrations could descend into antisemitic rhetoric and intimidation.
A coalition of anti-Israel activists is organizing the protests in and around UN headquarters to coincide with speeches from Middle Eastern leaders and appearances by US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The demonstrations are expected to draw large crowds and feature prominent pro-Palestinian voices, some of whom have been criticized for trafficking in antisemitic tropes, in addition to calling for the destruction of Israe.
Organizers of the demonstrations have promoted the coordinated events on social media as an opportunity to pressure world leaders to hold Israel accountable for its military campaign against Hamas in Gaza, with some messaging framed in sharply hostile terms.
On Sunday, for example, activists shouted at Israel’s Ambassador to the UN Danny Danon.
“Zionism is terrorism. All you guys are terrorists committing ethnic cleansing and genocide in Gaza and Palestine. Shame on you, Zionist animals,” they shouted.
BREAKING: PRO-PALESTINE PROTESTORS CONFRONT “ISRAELI” AMBASSADOR DANNY DANON AT THE UNITED NATIONS
1/5 pic.twitter.com/4G1VYEMGzV
— Within Our Lifetime (@WOLPalestine) September 14, 2025
The Combat Antisemitism Movement (CAM), warned on its website that the scale and tone of the planned demonstrations risk crossing the line from political protest into hate speech, arguing that anti-Israel activists are attempting to hijack the UN gathering to spread antisemitism and delegitimize the Jewish state’s right to exist.
Outside the UN last week, masked protesters belonging to the activist group INDECLINE kicked a realistic replica of Netanyahu’s decapitated head as though it were a soccer ball.
US activist group plays soccer with Bibi’s mock decapitated HEAD right outside NYC UN HQ
Peep shot at 00:40
Footage posted by INDECLINE collective just as UN General Assembly about to kick off
‘Following the game, ball was donated to Palestinian Genocide Museum’ pic.twitter.com/TQ84sgZhKr
— RT (@RT_com) September 9, 2025
Within Our Lifetime (WOL), a radical anti-Israel activist group, has vowed to “flood” the UNGA on behalf of the pro-Palestine movement.
WOL, one of the most prolific anti-Israel activist groups, came under immense fire after it organized a protest against an exhibition to honor the victims of the Oct. 7 massacre at the Nova Music Festival in southern Israel. During the event, the group chanted “resistance is justified when people are occupied!” and “Israel, go to hell!”
“We will be there to confront them with the truth: Their silence and inaction enable genocide. The world cannot continue as if Gaza does not exist,” WOL said of its planned demonstrations in New York. “This is the time to make our voices impossible to ignore. Come to New York by any means necessary, to stand, to march, to demand the UN act and end the siege.”
Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP) and Palestinian Youth Movement (PYM), two other anti-Israel organizations that have helped organize widespread demonstrations against the Jewish state during the war in Gaza, also announced they are planning a march from Times Square to the UN headquarters on Friday.
“The time is now for each and every UN member state to uphold their duty under international law: sanction Israel and end the genocide,” the groups said in a statement.
JVP, an organization that purports to fight for “Palestinian liberation,” has positioned itself as a staunch adversary of the Jewish state. The group argued in a 2021 booklet that Jews should not write Hebrew liturgy because hearing the language would be “deeply traumatizing” to Palestinians. JVP has repeatedly defended the Oct. 7 massacre of roughly 1,200 people in southern Israel by Hamas as a justified “resistance.” Chapters of the organization have urged other self-described “progressives” to throw their support behind Hamas and other terrorist groups against Israel
Similarly, PYM, another radical anti-Israel group, has repeatedly defended terrorism and violence against the Jewish state. PYM has organized many anti-Israel protests in the two years following the Oct. 7 attacks in the Jewish state. Recently, Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AK) called for a federal investigation into the organization after Aisha Nizar, one of the group’s leaders, urged supporters to sabotage the US supply chain for the F-35 fighter jet, one of the most advanced US military assets and a critical component of Israel’s defense.
The UN General Assembly has historically been a flashpoint for heated debate over the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Previous gatherings have seen dueling demonstrations outside the Manhattan venue, with pro-Israel and pro-Palestinian groups both seeking to influence the international spotlight.
While warning about the demonstrations, CAM noted it recently launched a new mobile app, Report It, that allows users worldwide to quickly and securely report antisemitic incidents in real time.
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Nina Davidson Presses Universities to Back Words With Action as Jewish Students Return to Campus Amid Antisemitism Crisis
Nina Davidson on The Algemeiner’s ‘J100’ podcast. Photo: Screenshot
Philanthropist Nina Davidson, who served on the board of Barnard College, has called on universities to pair tough rhetoric on combatting antisemitism with enforcement as Jewish students returned to campuses for the new academic year.
“Years ago, The Algemeiner had published a list ranking the most antisemitic colleges in the country. And number one was Columbia,” Davidson recalled on a recent episode of The Algemeiner‘s “J100” podcast. “As a board member and as someone who was representing the institution, it really upset me … At the board meeting, I brought it up and I said, ‘What are we going to do about this?’”
Host David Cohen, chief executive officer of The Algemeiner, explained he had revisited Davidson’s remarks while she was being honored for her work at The Algemeiner‘s 8th annual J100 gala, held in October 2021, noting their continued relevance.
“It could have been the same speech in 2025,” he said, underscoring how longstanding concerns about campus antisemitism, while having intensified in the aftermath of Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023, massacre across southern Israel, are not new.
Davidson argued that universities already possess the tools to protect students – codes of conduct, time-place-manner rules, and consequences for threats or targeted harassment – but too often fail to apply them evenly. “Statements are not enough,” she said, arguing that institutions need to enforce their rules and set a precedent that there will be consequences for individuals who refuse to follow them.
She also said that stakeholders – alumni, parents, and donors – are reassessing their relationships with schools that, in their view, have not safeguarded Jewish students. While supportive of open debate, Davidson distinguished between protest and intimidation, calling for leadership that protects expression while ensuring campus safety.
The episode surveyed specific pressure points that administrators will face this fall: repeat anti-Israel encampments, disruptions of Jewish programming, and the challenge of distinguishing political speech from conduct that violates university rules. “Unless schools draw those lines now,” Davidson warned, “they’ll be scrambling once the next crisis hits.”
Cohen closed by framing the discussion as a test of institutional credibility, asking whether universities will “turn policy into protection” in real time. Davidson agreed, pointing to students who “need to know the rules aren’t just on paper.”
The full conversation is available on The Algemeiner’s “J100” podcast.