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Planes, trains and bus caravans: Ahead of mass pro-Israel rally, tens of thousands of Jews are descending on Washington
(JTA) — On Monday morning, Margie Maidman boarded a caravan of 10 buses from Boston to Washington, D.C., headed to a massive demonstration in support of Israel and against antisemitism.
The journey is eight hours each way, and most of the people on her bus, like her, are in their 60s and 70s. It isn’t the first time she’s gone to the National Mall to attend a mass rally. In 1987, she was one of more than 200,000 people to descend on Washington for another cause trumpeted by a wide range of Jewish activists: advocacy for Jews in the Soviet Union.
“The last time I did something like this was in the late 1980s,” Maidman, whose transport is organized by her local Jewish federation, told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency. “Aside from maybe women’s rights in Boston or something, I have not really been part of something on this scale.”
Tuesday’s march, organized by a big tent of pro-Israel and Jewish groups — including the Jewish Federations of North America and the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations — is expected to draw crowds in the tens of thousands. It’s attracting attendees who have long been active in local Jewish groups as well as those who aren’t familiar with Jewish organizational life but feel called to trumpet the rally’s message.
Buses and flights are being organized by local Jewish federations, schools, synagogues and Jewish community centers. Other Jewish and Israeli expatriate groups are bringing delegations of their own. Still others are driving, flying or riding to D.C. on their own. Organizers asked for a permit for 60,000 people to gather, though Jewish leaders hope for more than that to come. A pro-Israel rally in 2002, at the height of the Second Intifada — a Palestinian uprising that included a spree of terrorist attacks and clashes with Israeli police — brought more than 100,000 people to the capital.
“I have to do this, because I have to be there for the Jewish people,” Danielle Werchowsky, a resident of Arlington, Virginia, told JTA. “I feel very strongly about that, that we have to show solidarity because we’re getting so many of the messages from the pro-Palestinian big marches. And I don’t want the world to think that those voices are the only ones that count.”
Werchowsky, the mother of a college student, is one of thousands of American Jews who has become increasingly active in pro-Israel advocacy and efforts to fight antisemitism since Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on Israel. She is a member of multiple online activist groups, including Mothers Against College Antisemitism, the Facebook group that began following the attack that now has nearly 50,000 members. And she started her own local group, Arlington Parents Against Antisemitism.
As civilian casualties have mounted in Israel’s war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip, mass demonstrations across the world have condemned Israel and called for a ceasefire. In response, attendees told JTA they felt an imperative to show up and make a large showing of their own — changing their work schedules, overcoming their fears of being in large crowds and in some cases deciding to bring their children with them to Washington.
“I’m kind of uncomfortable being in large crowds of Jews. I am,” Werchowsky said. “I’m going against my comfort zone by going, honestly, but I’m doing it. If I don’t do it now, why should I expect — you know that old saying: if not me, who?”
Tomer Shani, an Israeli lawyer who has lived in New York for more than four years, is bringing his sons Jonathan and Ethan to the march. They will be traveling on a bus chartered by UnXeptable, an Israeli expatriate group that previously protested the Israeli government’s judicial overhaul but which pivoted after Oct. 7 to organizing relief efforts for Israel.
“We’ve been fighting for the most important thing, which was our democracy, and now we’re fighting for our very existence,” Shani said.
“I think desperate times call for desperate [measures] and traveling to D.C. seems to be not that desperate,” he added. “It’s the little we can do from here to support our people back in Israel and actually the whole western civilization, as far as I’m concerned, in my humble opinion.”
Maidman said that a highlight of the eight-hour bus ride was seeing familiar faces from the Boston area. Like other attendees, she’s not only hoping to make a political statement. During what can feel like an isolating moment, she’s also excited to rally among tens of thousands of other American Jews.
“I even cheer up a little with the idea of just being with so many Jews who care so much about Israel,” Maidman said. “I think the purpose of this march is not simply to make a statement to support Israel, but to support Jews in this country and to let people know: we are here and we matter.”
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The post Planes, trains and bus caravans: Ahead of mass pro-Israel rally, tens of thousands of Jews are descending on Washington appeared first on Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
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Love Thy Neighbor as Thyself. Really?
JNS.org – If I asked you to name the most famous line in the Bible, what would you answer? While Shema Yisrael (“Hear O’Israel”) might get many votes, I imagine that the winning line would be “love thy neighbor as thyself” (Leviticus 19:18). Some religions refer to it as the Golden Rule, but all would agree that it is fundamental to any moral lifestyle. And it appears this week in our Torah reading, Kedoshim.
This is quite a tall order. Can we be expected to love other people as much as we love ourselves? Surely, this is an idealistic expectation. And yet, the Creator knows us better than we know ourselves. How can His Torah be so unrealistic?
The biblical commentaries offer a variety of explanations. Some, like Rambam (Maimonides), say that the focus should be on our behavior, rather than our feelings. We are expected to try our best or to treat others “as if” we genuinely love them.
Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Liadi, in his classic text called the Tanya, argues that the actual feelings of love are, in fact, achievable provided that we focus on a person’s spirituality rather than how they present themselves physically. If we can put the soul over the body, we can do it.
Allow me to share the interpretation of the Ramban (Nachmanides), a 13th-century Torah scholar from Spain. His interpretation of the verses preceding love thy neighbor is classic and powerful, yet simple and straightforward.
“Do not hate your brother in your heart. You shall rebuke him, but do not bear a sin because of him” by embarrassing him in public. “Do not take revenge, and do not bear a grudge against your people. You shall love your fellow as yourself, I am God” (Leviticus 19:17-18).
What is the connection between these verses? Why is revenge and grudge-bearing in the same paragraph as love your fellow as yourself?
A careful reading shows that within these two verses are no less than six biblical commandments. But what is their sequence all about, and what is the connection between them?
The Ramban explains it beautifully, showing how the sequence of verses is deliberate and highlighting the Torah’s profound yet practical advice on how to maintain healthy relationships.
Someone wronged you? Don’t hate him in your heart. Speak to him. Don’t let it fester until it bursts, and makes you bitter and sick.
Instead, talk it out. Confront the person. Of course, do it respectfully. Don’t embarrass anyone in public, so that you don’t bear a sin because of them. But don’t let your hurt eat you up. Communicate!
If you approach the person who wronged you—not with hate in your heart but with respectful reproof—one of two things will happen. Either he or she will apologize and explain their perspective on the matter. Or that it was a misunderstanding and will get sorted out between you. Either way, you will feel happier and healthier.
Then you will not feel the need to take revenge or even to bear a grudge.
Here, says the Ramban, is the connection between these two verses. And if you follow this advice, only then will you be able to observe the commandment to Love Thy Neighbor. If you never tell him why you are upset, another may be completely unaware of his or her wrongdoing, and it will remain as a wound inside you and may never go away.
To sum up: Honest communication is the key to loving people.
Now, tell me the truth. Did you know that not taking revenge is a biblical commandment? In some cultures in Africa, revenge is a mitzvah! I’ve heard radio talk-show hosts invite listeners to share how they took “sweet revenge” on someone, as if it’s some kind of accomplishment.
Furthermore, did you know that bearing a grudge is forbidden by biblical law?
Here in South Africa, people refer to a grudge by its Yiddish name, a faribel. In other countries, people call it a broiges. Whatever the terminology, the Torah states explicitly: “Thou shalt not bear a grudge!” Do not keep a faribel, a broiges or resentment of any kind toward someone you believe wronged you. Talk to that person. Share your feelings honestly. If you do it respectfully and do not demean the other’s dignity, then it can be resolved. Only then will you be able to love your fellow as yourself.
May all our grudges and feelings of resentment toward others be dealt with honestly and respectfully. May all our grudges be resolved as soon as possible. Then we will all be in a much better position to love our neighbors as ourselves.
The post Love Thy Neighbor as Thyself. Really? first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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‘Nonsense’: Huckabee Shoots Down Report Trump to Endorse Palestinian Statehood
US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee looks on during the day he visits the Western Wall, Judaism’s holiest prayer site, in Jerusalem’s Old City, April 18, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun
i24 News – US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee on Saturday dismissed as nonsensical the report that President Donald Trump would endorse Palestinian statehood during his tour to the Persian Gulf this week.
“This report is nonsense,” Huckabee harrumphed on his X account, blasting the Jerusalem Post as needing better sourced reporting. “Israel doesn’t have a better friend than the president of the United States.”
Trump is set to visit Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates. The leader’s first trip overseas since he took office comes as Trump seeks the Gulf countries’ support in regional conflicts, including the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza and curbing Iran’s advancing nuclear program.
However, reports citing administration insiders claimed that Trump has also set his sights on the ambitious goal of expanding the Abraham Accords. These agreements, initially signed in 2020, normalized relations between Israel and the UAE, Bahrain, Morocco, and Sudan. The accords are widely held to be among the most important achievements of the first Trump administration.
The post ‘Nonsense’: Huckabee Shoots Down Report Trump to Endorse Palestinian Statehood first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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US to Put Military Option Back on Table If No Immediate Progress in Iran Talks
US President Donald Trump’s Middle East envoy-designate Steve Witkoff gives a speech at the inaugural parade inside Capital One Arena on the inauguration day of Trump’s second presidential term, in Washington, DC, Jan. 20, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Carlos Barria
i24 News – Unless significant progress is registered in Sunday’s round of nuclear talks with Iran, the US will consider putting the military option back on the table, sources close to US envoy Steve Witkoff told i24NEWS.
American and Iranian representatives voiced optimism after the previous talks that took place in Oman and Rome, saying there was a friendly atmosphere despite the two countries’ decades of enmity.
However the two sides are not believed to have thrashed out the all-important technical details, and basic questions remain.
The source has also underscored the significance of the administration’s choice of Michael Anton, the State Department’s policy planning director, as the lead representative in the nuclear talks’ technical phases.
Anton is “an Iran expert and someone who knows how to cut a deal with Iran,” the source said, saying that the choice reflected Trump’s desire to secure the deal.
The post US to Put Military Option Back on Table If No Immediate Progress in Iran Talks first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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