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‘The world can see that we are together’: March for Israel attendees say they delivered a powerful message
WASHINGTON (JTA) — Hannah Kaplan, a senior at Tiffin University in northern Ohio, can identify exactly one other Jew in the school’s student body of approximately 3,000. There are also a few Jewish professors, but no Hillel.
She says she’s felt lonely since Oct. 7, when Hamas’ attack on Israel killed 1,200, sparked a brutal war in Gaza to depose the terror group and led to a reported spike in antisemitism across the United States. Kaplan, who has relied on her lacrosse team for comfort, says there aren’t many pro-Palestinian protests on her campus — but she’s also feeling the absence of Jews.
So she got a seat on a bus leaving from Ohio State University and took the seven-hour ride to Washington, D.C., for what ended up being perhaps the largest Jewish gathering in American history on Tuesday — the pro-Israel rally on the National Mall.
“It’s important for me to be around people who I really associate with, and can identify with a community,” Kaplan said. “I’m so pumped and so ecstatic that so many Jewish students and so many Jewish people were able to come out in support today. It makes me feel like we really have a strong community. It makes me feel hopeful.”
The pull Kaplan felt — to be around many, many other Jews at an uncertain time for both Israel and American Jewry — was shared by attendees across the hundreds of thousands who filled the grassy expanse in the nation’s capital for two hours on Tuesday afternoon. Dozens of people who spoke with the Jewish Telegraphic Agency mentioned their support for Israel when they described what they hoped to hear at the rally. But mostly, they said, they were excited to be in a crowd of their own.
“When I heard about this rally, I felt it was so important to come and bring my daughter so that we can be here and stand with everyone,” said Marnie Atias, who flew with her 15-year-old from Milwaukee. Another daughter moved to Israel shortly before the Oct. 7 attack and works at Hadassah Medical Center in Jerusalem. Arias added, “The world can see that we are together.”
Marnie Atias and her 15-year-old daughter flew from Milwaukee for the March for Israel, Nov. 14, 2023. (Ben Sales)
The crowd was a mix of young and old, with a large proportion of Orthodox attendees, in part a reflection of the decision by Jewish day schools and universities to cancel classes and bus students, and in some cases their families, to Washington. Clusters of men gathered outside the event before it started for afternoon prayers.
Politically, attendees seemed to reflect the broad pro-Israel tent that the organizers had hoped for, with right-wing demonstrators standing in the same crowd as a “Peace Bloc” organized by progressive Jewish groups. Signs mostly declared broad support for Israel, opposition to antisemitism, a call to free the hostages or condemnation of Hamas. Many held the hostage posters that have become a common sight in cities across the world, with more strewn in spots across the Mall.
A few signs made a “hummus/Hamas” pun, favoring the Middle Eastern chickpea paste while opposing the Middle Eastern terror group. Many people wore or waved flags that were half-American and half-Israeli. At least one person went a step further, wearing a tripartite flag that was one-third Israel, one-third United States and one-third Ukraine.
There were also some Jewish demonstration mainstays. A group from the activist anti-Zionist Hasidic group Neturei Karta protested outside the event’s security barricade. Emissaries of the Chabad Hasidic movement roved around the crowd, seeking men who could put on tefillin, the prayer article worn daily by many observant Jews. A man sold Israeli flags ($10 each) from a cart, along with pins with messages such as “Go to Hell Harvard” — a reference to recent accusations that the university has not done enough to fight antisemitism — and “F— Iran” over a picture of former President Donald Trump.
There were also a significant number of Christians at the rally (and much to the chagrin of the liberal groups present, conservative evangelical Pastor John Hagee spoke from the stage). Kaylee Santalucia and her parents left Buffalo, New York, at 2:30 am, representing their church, on the Buffalo Jewish Federation’s bus to Washington. She said she felt God would play a role in saving Israel.
“I am feeling uplifted, hopeful, that we can come together and stand for Israel and just be supportive,” Santalucia said. She said she hopes to see “an end to the slaughter that Hamas is doing.”
But the vast majority were Jews. One man, from Toronto, made a sweatshirt that read, in all caps, “THANK YOU PRESIDENT BIDEN FOR YOUR MORAL CLARITY,” below a picture of the president. He stood on a chair, arms outstretched, one hand waving an Israeli flag and the other an American flag as he advanced a message that even some right-wing Jews have espoused about the Democratic president in the wake of Oct. 7.
Zach Mammon of Toronto made a shirt thanking U.S. President Joe Biden for his support for Israel and wore it to the Washington march, Nov. 14, 2023. (Ben Sales)
“His stance is seen around the world,” said the man, Zach Mammon. “He knows that, and we know that around the world.”
A couple who flew from Atlanta was decked out in all manner of Zionist apparel: Eric Fox wore a blue-and-white scarf on top of a T-shirt bearing the likeness of Theodor Herzl, the ideological father of Zionism. His wife Julie Fox wore a blue shirt with a white Star of David and an American-Israeli flag as a cape.
They said they were motivated in part to counter the images of mass rallies held by Jewish Voice for Peace, an anti-Zionist Jewish group that brought thousands to a demonstration at the U.S. Capitol weeks ago.
“Just to show what the Jewish point of view really is instead of what’s been shown on TV as far as Jewish Voice for Peace,” Julie Fox said. “That doesn’t represent most of us.”
She added, “We want our hostages back and we want Hamas gone and I don’t really think there is a way to have a two-state solution, unfortunately.”
Orna Tussia, left, and Devorah Selber, Israelis living in Philadelphia, hold posters showing the hostages held by Hamas during the March for Israel in Washington, D.C., Nov. 14, 2023. (Ben Sales)
Not far away, Carol Berkower wore a shirt from the liberal Israel lobby J Street that identified her as pro-Israel as well as pro-Palestinian. The group advocates vocally for the establishment of a Palestinian state. She said she owned the shirt before Oct. 7 but read it again before putting it on and decided she still agreed with it.
But she said she hadn’t come to the rally from her home in Baltimore to convince anyone. Rather, what brought her was concern for her cousin who lives in Kfar Aza, a kibbutz ravaged by Hamas. Berkower’s daughter is also a student at the University of Rochester, and Berkower wanted to be part of a large crowd showing solidarity with Jewish college students.
“I think we’re all together,” she said of the rallygoers. “Everyone I know in Israel is traumatized right now so I’ve been doing everything I absolutely could to stand for it.”
Another mother of a college student, Sarah Rubel from Westville, New Jersey, has a son at Tulane University, which was recently the site of an altercation between pro-Israel and pro-Palestinian protesters. She said she isn’t scared — she’s taking her cues from him, and he feels fine — but does feel sad, and felt a need to stand in solidarity with other Jews.
“I want all of Israel to see that we all support them,” she said.
Some protesters did come advocating for a specific set of goals. Orna Tussia and Devorah Selber, Israelis who live in Philadelphia, carried huge posters with the pictures of the hostages held by Hamas. Selber’s cousin is among them. They said they came to raise awareness for the hostages and to push for a large-scale prisoner exchange that would bring the hostages back in exchange for all of the Palestinian prisoners held by Israel.
“Israel and all of the world should see that it happened, this tragedy occurred, and we have hostages, there are still families there, we want them back as fast as possible,” Tussia said, “Bring back the captives, and then we’ll deal with the rest. First of all, bring back the captives.”
David Lender, at center, traveled with classmates from the University of Delaware to the March for Israel, Nov. 14, 2023. (Jackie Hajdenberg)
For David Lender, a sophomore at the University of Delaware who comes from an Israeli family, the rally was an opportunity to support his people. He arrived in Washington with a bus of about 20 other students from his school.
“Israel is my everything — it’s my home, it’s my family, it’s my people,” he said. “What I want people to understand the most — and this is a point that I’ve heard echoed throughout the rally, even from people just walking around — is that Hamas and the Palestinian people are two very different entities and I don’t want people to conflate one with the other.”
Eytan Saenger, a first-year student at Binghamton University, originally had a test scheduled the day of the march in Washington.
“But then I was like, ‘When else do I have the opportunity to stand with hundreds of thousands of people and stand here against the antisemitism that’s going on both across the country and on college campuses?’” he told JTA. “Fortunately, my campus has a lot of Jews — but even where sometimes I’m the only Jew in a class or something like that, I will know that I’m part of a greater people that can come together for each other in times of need, and hopefully also in times of strength.”
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The post ‘The world can see that we are together’: March for Israel attendees say they delivered a powerful message appeared first on Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
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Experts, Lawmakers Suggest Same Hateful Ideology That Motivated New Orleans Attack Also Behind Pro-Hamas NYC March
Palestinian Youth Movement protesters speaking in Times Square, New York City, NY, USA on Jan. 1, 2025. Photo: Ethan Johnson/SIPA USA via Reuters Connect
Some experts and lawmakers are drawing a link between the Islamist ideology that seemingly motivated the New Year’s Day terrorist attack in New Orleans and the pro-Hamas demonstration in New York City that took place hours later.
On Wednesday, hours after a US Army veteran who pledged allegiance to Islamic State (ISIS) drove a truck into a crowd of New Year’s Day revelers in New Orleans and killed at least 14 people, protesters marched through New York City, chanting slogans condemning both America and Israel.
Hundreds of anti-Israel demonstrators descended upon the streets of Manhattan, sporting signs calling to “End Zionism,” “End all US aid to Israel,” and for “No War With Iran.” Many of these activists also carried Palestinian flags and bellowed slogans such as “intifada revolution!” — a slogan that many consider to be a call for violence against Israelis, Jews, and Westerners more broadly.
“We’re sending you back to Europe, you white b–ches,” a protester yelled at participants of a pro-Israel counter-demonstration. “Go back to Europe! Go back to Europe!”
The demonstration was organized by the Palestinian Youth Movement (PYM), a group that plans anti-Israel demonstrations across the United States. PYM has repeatedly praised Hamas’s invasion of and massacre across southern Israel last Oct. 7.
US lawmakers were quick to slam the anti-Israel demonstrations, accusing them of fomenting unwarranted hatred toward the United States and the Jewish state.
“These protesters in New York City are marching not to condemn the ISIS terrorist attack against their own country but to falsely accuse their own country, as well as Israel, of terrorism,” wrote Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-NY), one of the most strident allies of Israel in the US Congress.
“The hatred for America and Israel far exceeds the hatred for actual terror, apartheid, and genocide in the world,” Torres continued. “For an ideologue, ideology has more reality than reality itself.”
Rep. Mike Lawler (R-NY), another stalwart ally of Israel, also linked the New Orleans terror attack to the New York City demonstrations, saying that “hours after a jihadist sympathizer killed 10 Americans, pro-Hamas agitators are marching through New York City calling for a global intifada.”
“The governor and the mayor must put an end to this nonsense — now,” Lawler added. “Silence is not an option.”
Israeli diplomat Yaki Lopez similarly linked the two incidents, posting on social media that “pro-Hamas demonstrators chanted ‘intifada revolution’ in New York City while jihadist terrorists carried out a deadly attack in New Orleans, killing over a dozen Americans.”
“There’s little distinction between the actions of [the suspect in] New Orleans, who used a truck as a weapon and terrorist attacks in the West Bank where cars are used to run over Israelis,” added Joe Truzman, a senior research analyst at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies and editor of its Long War Journal. “It’s terrorism, yet there are people in this country who support ‘resistance’ and ‘intifada.’”
US federal agencies have established a link between domestic anti-Israel protests and foreign actors. Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines said in July that the Iranian regime has organized “influence efforts” to undermine trust in American institutions, adding that “actors tied to Iran’s government” have encouraged and provided financial support to rampant anti-Israel demonstrations. Haines also said that Iran has weaponized social media against the Jewish state and America, spreading misleading propaganda regarding the ongoing war in Gaza.
Meanwhile, experts have warned of a rising global terror threat in the year following Hamas’s Oct. 7 atrocities. Last May, experts explained to The Algemeiner that “lone wolf” terrorists inspired by ISIS and al Qaeda could carry out attacks on US soil, incensed by the ongoing war in Gaza and inspired by terrorist violence abroad.
“As I look back over my career in law enforcement, I’m hard-pressed to come up with a time when I’ve seen so many different threats, all elevated, all at the same time,” FBI Director Christopher Wray said in April.
The post Experts, Lawmakers Suggest Same Hateful Ideology That Motivated New Orleans Attack Also Behind Pro-Hamas NYC March first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Florida Man Arrested for Alleged Plot to Attack AIPAC Office
The 2018 AIPAC Policy Conference in Washington, DC. Photo: Guatemala Presidency / Handout via Reuters.
The US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) stopped an apparent plot to attack an office of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) in Plantation, FL, according to court documents filed earlier this week.
Law enforcement apprehended Forrest Kendall Pemberton, a 26-year-old resident of Gainesville, FL, on Dec. 25, the first night of Hanukkah, after he traveled to Plantation in search of the local AIPAC office, local and national media outlets reported.
Prosecutors alleged in their filings that Pemberton was in a rideshare vehicle carrying multiple firearms, including an AR-15 rifle, and ammunition when law enforcement officers stopped and arrested him.
AIPAIC, the foremost pro-Israel lobbying organization in the US, seeks to foster bipartisan support for a stronger US-Israel relationship.
The court documents reportedly did not specifically name AIPAC as the target. However, an FBI affidavit described an organization with the same mission statement as AIPAC and referenced identical language from the group’s website. The suspect’s search engine history also included queries for AIPAC and its former Plantation office, believing it was the current local office.
According to law enforcement, Pemberton initially scoped out the premises of the Florida site for entry and exit points before later attempting to return with weapons.
Suspicions first arose surrounding Pemberton’s whereabouts after his father reported him missing to the police on Dec. 23. The father said he found a “concerning” note in his son’s backpack that “espoused anti-authority sentiments.” His father added that Pemberton often “espoused antisemitic views.”
An AIPAC spokesperson issued an identical statement to multiple outlets thanking the FBI for its work and saying the pro-Israel organization will not be intimidated.
“We take these threats very seriously and we are working closely with law enforcement concerning this matter,” the spokesperson said. “We will not be deterred by extremists in pursuing our mission to strengthen the relationship with America’s valued ally, Israel. We are deeply appreciative of the FBI’s work to stop this individual.”
Pemberton faces a federal stalking charge and is accused of traveling to AIPAC with the intent of “killing, injuring, harassing, and intimidating” people with the organization.
The post Florida Man Arrested for Alleged Plot to Attack AIPAC Office first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Antisemitic Hate Crimes in Massachusetts Reach Eight-Year High
The Boston skyline stands behind the Tobin Bridge and the city of Chelsea as seen from Everett, Massachusetts, US. Photo: Brian Snyder via Reuters Connect.
The US state of Massachusetts saw more antisemitic hate crimes in 2023 than at any time since government officials began tracking such data eight years ago, according to a report issued by its Executive Office of Public Safety and Security (EOPSS).
A striking 119 antisemitic hate crimes were reported to law enforcement agencies, EOPSS said, a total which, in addition to eclipsing 2015’s total of 56 incidents, amounts to a 70 percent increase over the previous year. Antisemitic hate crimes also constituted 18.8 percent of all hate crimes reported in 2023, a figure which trails only behind the percentage of hate crimes which targeted African Americans.
The report added that 68.9 percent of the antisemitic incidents involved property destruction or vandalism, a total of 82, while another 19 percent involved intimidation. Some physical assaults, six, were recorded or reported to the police.
EOPSS’s numbers fall somewhat below other figures reported by the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) in spring 2024, when the civil rights group said 440 antisemitic incidents occurred in the state in 2023, a 189 percent increase over the previous year. However, the discrepancy may be due to differences in methodology, as ADL reports include all antisemitic incidents, while EOPSS’s tally considers those which fit the legal definition of a crime and were brought to the attention of law enforcement.
The ADL has said, however, that their numbers and EOPSS’s are mutually inclusive.
“This report mirrors what sadly we’ve been tracking and responding to on a daily basis. There has been a marked increase in antisemitic hate incidents in the Bay State and in fact across the country,” Peggy Shukur, vice president of the ADL’s East Division, told The Algemeiner on Thursday. “The local increase reflects national trends. Our data showed that over 10,000 antisemitic incidents were recorded in the US since Oct. 7, 2023, an over 200 percent increase compared to incidents reported to us during the same period a year before.”
She added, “Behind every one of these numbers are people who have experienced the harm, fear, intimidation, and pain that reverberates from each of these incidents. The fact that numbers increase by 70 percent is a grim reminder that antisemitism continues to infect our communities in real and pervasive ways.”
As previously reported by The Algemeiner, antisemitism in Massachusetts has been an acute problem on college campuses, one to which school officials have allegedly hesitated to respond.
“I’ve become traumatized,” Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) student Talia Khan told members of the US House Committee on Education and the Workforce in March. “MIT has become overrun by terrorist supporters that directly threaten the lives of Jews on our campus. Members of the anti-Israel club on our campus have stated that violence against Jews who support Israel, including women and children, is acceptable. When this was reported to president [Sally] Kornbluth and senior MIT administration, the issue was never dealt with. Then, administrators pleaded ignorance when we reminded them that no action had been taken, saying that they either forgot about it or missed the email.”
Allegations of neglect have prompted civil lawsuits, including one against Harvard University which was recently cleared to proceed to discovery. Filed by the Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law (Brandeis Center), the suit centers on several incidents involving Harvard Kennedy School professor Marshall Ganz during the 2022-2023 academic year.
Ganz allegedly refused to accept a group project submitted by Israeli students for his course, titled “Organizing: People, Power, Change,” because they described Israel as a “liberal Jewish democracy.” He castigated the students over their premise, the Brandeis Center says, accusing them of “white supremacy” and denying them the chance to defend themselves. Later, Ganz allegedly forced the Israeli students to attend “a class exercise on Palestinian solidarity” and the taking of a class photograph in which their classmates and teaching fellows “wore ‘keffiyehs’ as a symbol of Palestinian support.”
Follow Dion J. Pierre @DionJPierre.
The post Antisemitic Hate Crimes in Massachusetts Reach Eight-Year High first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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