WASHINGTON, D.C. — Talia, a college student from Florida, traveled to Washington, D.C., to be “the voice” of both her 98-year-old grandmother, a Holocaust survivor, and her brother, who is currently fighting in the IDF. A sign she bore aloft featured photos of both of them.

Tamara Listenberg, an Israeli studying at American University, came to the National Mall to honor the life of her close friend Eliad Ohayon, who was killed along with his father on Oct. 7 in the city of Ofakim in southern Israel. She also held a sign, one that read simply, “I’m here for Eliad Ohayon.”

Alexander Rapaport, a Haredi Jew from Borough Park, Brooklyn, who runs a well-known soup kitchen, felt he had to be on hand in Washington during Israel’s hour of need, though many in his community don’t ordinarily attend such rallies. “I believe in the message of coming out and supporting this cause,” he said.

These three attendees at Tuesday’s March for Israel — part of a pro-Israel crowd estimated to be nearly 300,000 — represent a cross-section of Israel supporters who packed the area from the West Front of the U.S. Capitol to the Reflecting Pool for what is being described as the largest such gathering in U.S. history.

Supporters of Israel waved Israeli and American flags by the thousands, and an equal number of signs signaled support for the Jewish state at a fraught moment and drew attention to the hundreds of hostages being held in Gaza. 

Speakers, including congressional leaders, high-profile celebrities and the families of those being held hostage in Gaza, took to the stage to voice support for Israel’s right to defend itself after Hamas’ Oct. 7 terrorist attack, as well as to condemn the subsequent rise of global antisemitism.

Israel supporters came from near and far to descend on Washington for the march, which was planned in just over a week by the Jewish Federations of North America and the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations. The organizers estimated that there were at least 290,000 attendees – a larger turnout than the two largest Jewish community rallies on the National Mall in D.C., during the Second Intifada in 2002 and in support of Soviet Jews in 1987, which drew 100,000 and 250,000, respectively. Conference of Presidents CEO William Daroff said that an additional 250,000 people watched the livestream of the rally online.

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Talia, a college student from Florida, traveled to Washington, D.C., to be “the voice” of both her 98-year-old grandmother, a Holocaust survivor, and her brother, who is currently fighting in the IDF. A sign she bore aloft featured photos of both of them.

Tamara Listenberg, an Israeli studying at American University, came to the National Mall to honor the life of her close friend Eliad Ohayon, who was killed along with his father on Oct. 7 in the city of Ofakim in southern Israel. She also held a sign, one that read simply, “I’m here for Eliad Ohayon.”

Alexander Rapaport, a Haredi Jew from Borough Park, Brooklyn, who runs a well-known soup kitchen, felt he had to be on hand in Washington during Israel’s hour of need, though many in his community don’t ordinarily attend such rallies. “I believe in the message of coming out and supporting this cause,” he said.

These three attendees at Tuesday’s March for Israel — part of a pro-Israel crowd estimated to be nearly 300,000 — represent a cross-section of Israel supporters who packed the area from the West Front of the U.S. Capitol to the Reflecting Pool for what is being described as the largest such gathering in U.S. history.

Supporters of Israel waved Israeli and American flags by the thousands, and an equal number of signs signaled support for the Jewish state at a fraught moment and drew attention to the hundreds of hostages being held in Gaza. 

Speakers, including congressional leaders, high-profile celebrities and the families of those being held hostage in Gaza, took to the stage to voice support for Israel’s right to defend itself after Hamas’ Oct. 7 terrorist attack, as well as to condemn the subsequent rise of global antisemitism.

Israel supporters came from near and far to descend on Washington for the march, which was planned in just over a week by the Jewish Federations of North America and the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations. The organizers estimated that there were at least 290,000 attendees – a larger turnout than the two largest Jewish community rallies on the National Mall in D.C., during the Second Intifada in 2002 and in support of Soviet Jews in 1987, which drew 100,000 and 250,000, respectively. Conference of Presidents CEO William Daroff said that an additional 250,000 people watched the livestream of the rally online.

“[My brother is] fighting right now because we promised my grandmother and all of the survivors ‘never again’ and never again is right now. My brother does not know I’m here right now because I haven’t been able to talk to him for a few weeks. He’s doing the physical fighting and I’m fighting for him right here,” Talia, who did not provide her last name to protect her brother’s security, told Jewish Insider. 

Listenberg held the  “I’m here for Eliad Ohayon” sign in memory of  Eliad, 23, and his father, Moshe, who were murdered by Hamas terrorists on Oct. 7 in their home. Listenberg said Eliad was her close friend whom she met through volunteering. 

“He was the most amazing person, always charitable to children with cancer, children with disabilities,” she told JI. “That same Shabbat [before he was killed], him and his family hosted over 80 kids at their home. When the sirens started, he and his dad went to open up the shelters. They got everyone in but that wasn’t enough for them so they left, while hearing gunshots, and went to fight the terrorists. They were brutally murdered by Hamas.” 

Listenberg said she was nearly too upset to come to the march. “Anytime I think of him, I’m not able to do anything. Last week, I turned 24 and thought about how he’ll always stay 23 while I am growing up. But I was at his tombstone on Sunday and his best friend said, ‘He would laugh at us if he saw us all crying.’ He would be the person who does everything. We have to win this war for them – that’s how I got the guts to come back to America and stand here and tell his story.”

Listenberg’s friend held a sign that quoted one of the last texts she received from Eliad. “If we spread love with all our strength, we will succeed in beating the hatred,” the sign said. 

Buses and planeloads carrying attendees to D.C. were organized by local Jewish federations, schools, synagogues and Jewish community centers, including an estimated 12,000 day school students from across the country, according to Prizmah, the network for Jewish day schools. 

Prizmah CEO Paul Bernstein told JI: “The significant presence of Jewish day school students at the March for Israel demonstrates the connection of our schools to Israel and the dedication of school communities to standing united to combat antisemitism and call for a release of the hostages now. As we face the rising tide of global antisemitism, day school communities provide safe spaces for students and families to show Jewish pride and nurture students’ connection to Israel. The unity and strength expressed by school communities at today’s rally have instilled within us a profound hope for a strong Jewish future for Am Yisrael and Eretz Yisrael.” 

Orna Neutra, the mother of hostage Omer Neutra; Alana Zeitchik, the cousin of six hostages; and Rachel Goldberg, the mother of hostage Hersh Goldberg-Polin, spoke on behalf of the some 240 individuals abducted from Israel. 

Orna described Omer, a lone soldier in the IDF from New York, as “a 6-foot-2 big guy, always with a smile on his face.” When she mentioned his former school, Schechter School of Long Island, loud cheers erupted from a group of students in the crowd, and they did again when she mentioned his involvement in the United Synagogue Youth movement. Omer turned 22 just weeks ago, in Hamas captivity, Orna said.

Moshe Emilio Lavi, who attended but did not speak at the rally, told JI that his brother-in-law, Omri, was taken hostage from Kibbutz Nahal Oz on Oct. 7. “As of last week, he was confirmed to be alive but this is a fluid situation and time is of the essence. Every second that hostages like Omri are spending in the Gaza Strip is a precious second,” Lavi, whose sister and nieces survived the attack and were rescued by IDF officers, said.

Lavi, who now lives in New York, was born and raised in Sderot, a southern Israeli city that was also invaded during Hamas’ massacre. While in D.C., Lavi plans to meet with “senators and congresspeople from all [parties]… with the hope that they will keep the issue of hostages on top of their agenda. Civilians should not be subject to such a horrendous attack and should not be held unjustly.”

The State Department’s antisemitism envoy, Ambassador Deborah Lipstadt, told the crowd that the Biden administration “stands shoulder to shoulder against Jew-hatred.”

“Today in America we give antisemitism no sanction, no foothold, no tolerance, not on campus, not in our schools, not in our neighborhoods, not in our streets or the streets of our cities. Not in our government. Nowhere. Not now, not ever,” Lipstadt said.

“When protesters chant ‘peace and glory to the martyrs,’ that incites more hatred, more deaths,” she continued. “It is a danger to the values and underpinning of the stability and decency of any society anywhere in the world. Hate is not a zero-sum game, hate and violence directed at any member of our society because of who they are is un-American and wrong.” 

Speaking virtually from the Western Wall, Israeli President Isaac Herzog praised the unity of the global Jewish community after the Oct. 7 terror attacks in Israel. 

“Today we come together as a family, one big mishpacha, to march for Israel,” said Herzog, “to march for the right of every Jew to live proudly and safely in America, in Israel and all around the world.” Herzog’s paean to the power of unity extended to the halls of power in Washington, down the street from where activists gathered on the National Mall.

“We, the people of Israel, are grateful to President Biden, his administration and so many members of Congress on both sides of the aisle,” Herzog said to loud cheers. “The moral clarity and bold actions of our American allies demonstrate the depths of the U.S.-Israel alliance, which is stronger than ever before.” Herzog condemned the rampant antisemitism that has erupted in the U.S. and abroad after the Hamas attack. “The hatred, the lies, the brutality, the disgraceful outbursts of ancient antisemitism are an embarrassment to all civilized people and nations. Jews in America must be safe,” he said. 

The event was scheduled around when Congress was in session and considering emergency supplemental aid to Israel, which Eric Fingerhut, CEO of JFNA, told JI was “an important element of this march.” 

The top leaders of the House and Senate pledged unequivocal bipartisan American support for Israel. After each spoke, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Sen. Joni Ernst (R-IA), House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) grabbed each others’ hands and held them in the air while leading the crowd in a chant: “We stand with Israel.” More than 100 additional members of Congress were at the rally on the National Mall as attendees. “The minute I heard of what happened on [Oct.] 7, I knew I had to go to Israel,” said Schumer. As “the highest-ranking Jewish elected official in American history, I not only had a desire to go to Israel, I felt a special obligation to go.” 

He continued, “I said to the Israeli people, ‘Israel, we in America have your back. America feels your pain. We ache with you. We stand with you. And we will not rest until you get all the assistance you need.’”

Johnson, who has been speaker for less than a month, said the U.S. “stands unequivocally” with Israel. Earlier on Tuesday, he joined hundreds of other members of Congress as they watched footage documenting atrocities committed by Hamas on Oct. 7.

“This morning, we watched the horrific film that was produced by Hamas, from their own cameras, as they committed the assault. It’s unspeakable,” said Johnson. “The auditorium was full of Republicans and Democrats in the House, and they wept as we watched the film together. Most couldn’t sit through it.” 

The members of Congress pledged to continue to support Israel in its quest to defeat Hamas. 

“Hamas brutally attacked Israel on October 7 because Hamas wants to wipe Israel off the face of the Earth, so let me be clear: We will never let that happen,” said Jeffries. “Congress will continue to support — in a bipartisan way — the State of Israel and Israel’s unequivocal right to exist as a Jewish and democratic state.”

Jeffries has faced pressure from his party’s left-most flank to call for a cease-fire, which he has declined to do. “The calls for a cease-fire are outrageous,” said Johnson, to loud cheers and chants of “No cease-fire” that erupted from the crowd.

Though each speech focused on the attack Israel suffered on Oct. 7, the congressional leaders also called attention to the antisemitism that has skyrocketed in the United States and around the world in the weeks since.

“We are here today as Republicans and as Democrats to assure you, we will not shrink back and shudder in fear as too many around the world already have. We will not sit quiet as antisemitism is being promulgated in campuses and classrooms around the country,” said Ernst. “The brutal reality of Hamas cannot be diminished … How anyone in America could sympathize with these terrorists is truly unfathomable.” 

The leadership of the congressional Bipartisan Task Force for Combating Antisemitism offered a prayer for the hostages. Rep. Kathy Manning (D-NC), a former JFNA board chair, read first in Hebrew and then in English from Psalm 130. “Out of the depths have we called to you, oh Lord,” said Manning. “Hear our voices, be attentive to our supplications and let us say together: Amen.”

Actors including Debra Messing,Tovah Feldshuh and Michael Rapaport addressed the crowd. “This is madness. This is terrorism. But we will win. We always have,” Messing said. 

Feldshuh, known for her portrayal of former Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir, added some humor into an otherwise somber speech. “My Hebrew name is Tovah Feldshuh, and my Starbucks name is Tovah Feldshuh,” she said. “I’ve played big houses but ain’t never played anything like this.” 

“Wow. I think Golda may be here today,” Feldshuh continued, as cheers erupted. 

The march drew participants from a wide spectrum of the Jewish community, ranging from the Zionist Organization of America to Americans for Peace Now, in addition to representatives of the Orthodox Union, United Synagogue for Conservative Judaism and the Union for Reform Judaism. Agudath Israel of America, which three years ago reaffirmed its opposition to Zionism, encouraged people to attend, sharing the poster for the march on X.

No rabbis spoke at the event. Evangelical pastor John Hagee, the founder of Christians United for Israel, gave a forceful defense of the Jewish state towards the concluding part of the program, saying Israel alone should decide how to act against Hamas. The inclusion of Hagee, who once said that God sent Adolf Hitler to carry out the Holocaust (and later apologized for it), was criticized by more progressive participants in the march.

In addition to Hagee, Rochelle Ford, president of Dillard University, a historically Black college in New Orleans; and Anila Ali, a Pakistani American Muslim and women’s rights activist, also spoke during a session called “Voices of Allies.”

Rapaport, CEO of Masbia Soup Kitchen Network and a Haredi Jew from Borough Park, told JI that while a few buses came from the heavily Hasidic neighborhood, many in his community chose to sit the rally out, despite supporting its cause. 

“They are supportive but they are not used to being in these sort of groups,” Rapaport said. “It’s not like this was advertised as there will be an area sectioned off, men and women separate. But I came and I wouldn’t ask for that,” he said. Rapaport noted that the organizers did try to accommodate religious marchers: the four musical performances — Jewish American rapper Matisyahu, Israeli singers Omer Adam and Ishay Ribo and the a cappella group The Maccabeats — were all men; most Haredi Jews — and some Orthodox Jews — don’t listen to female singers. 

“Personally, I’ve been exposed to these things. I go to a lot of things that I think are right that not everyone goes to,” Rapaport told JI. “I stood with our Yeminite neighbors when [Donald] Trump made the Muslim ban. Not everybody was there either but I try to express my opinion. I believe in the message of coming out and supporting this cause.” 

The march also featured speeches from college students about the surge of antisemitism that has hit campuses since Oct. 7. 

Noa Fay, a Columbia University student, referenced an open letter signed in late October by 144 members of Columbia’s faculty that called Israel an “apartheid” state while referring to Hamas’ terrorist attacks as a legitimate “military action.”

“I am a Black, Native American Jewish American woman and I will not be silenced…. I will continue to shout,” Fay said. “We are the Jews of the Diaspora, this is how we fight. We fight loudly and we fight peacefully. We are far from helpless, we are far from hopeless.” 

Thousands of Jewish day school students as well as college students from across North America — including those participating in groups such as Hillel, BBYO, Young Judaea — gathered for a pre-march rally in the same spot. 

One of the student speakers was Talia Shelef, 17, a recent graduate of Charles E. Smith Jewish Day School in Rockville, Md., who shared her experience as an Israeli teenager living in America on Oct. 7 – noting that her sister is currently serving as a lone soldier in the IDF. 

“I’m a teen leader of Israeli scouts,” Shelef told JI. “I’m setting the stage for the rally.” 

The march came amid a rise of violent antisemitic incidents since Oct. 7, including earlier this month in Los Angeles, when a 69-year-old Jewish man died after a physical confrontation with a pro-Palestinian protester. 

Jonathan Oswaks, a resident of Thousand Oaks, Calif., told JI at the rally that he witnessed the incident. “I’m here today to speak to some senators about the murder of my friend Paul Kessler, a Jewish man like myself.”

During a demonstration last month, Kessler got into an altercation with a pro-Palestinian protester. Medical examiners determined that Kessler was struck and fell backwards, hitting his head on the pavement and suffering a fatal head wound. He died a few days later. The examiners ruled his death a homicide, though police have said that this does not necessarily “translate to a prosecutable murder or manslaughter (gross, voluntary, or involuntary) case.” Police have identified the man who was involved in the altercation with Kessler but have not yet pressed charges as they are still gathering evidence to determine if he is criminally liable. 

The Homeland Security Department designated Tuesday’s march a “Level 1” security event, the highest classification in its system and one usually used for the Super Bowl and other major events, according to the Associated Press, which cited law enforcement. Security measures included snowplows as temporary roadblocks and military-style armored vehicles and according to one attendee’s Instagram post, security snipers on the roof of the Smithsonian’s Native American museum. 

Ahead of the rally, Fingerhut told JI that “showing up is the best way to address the security concerns, because the more of us that are there, the more secure we are together.” 

The historic turnout of nearly 300,000 would have been larger if not for a delegation of 900 people organized by the Jewish Federation of Detroit that was left stranded at Washington’s Dulles Airport after their bus drivers refused to take them to a pro-Israel event, Daroff said.