Tens of thousands gathered at the National Mall in Washington on Tuesday for a rally in support of Israel and against the rise in antisemitism since the start of the war between Israel and Hamas.
Mariam Feist, CEO of the Jewish Federation of Northeast Florida, attended the rally and shared her takeaways on The Morning Show.
She said the three messages from the rally each resonated with her.
“The first was to demand the release of the estimated 240 hostages. The second was to combat the rise of antisemitism, not just here in the United States but worldwide. And the third was to show our support of the Biden administration and the senators and congressmen and government officials who’ve been supporting Israel’s right to defend itself, but we’ve had to strongly urge them to continue that support,” Feist said.
Another major theme “Let our people go.”
Families of hostages kidnapped by Hamas gave heart-wrenching details about the slaughter of Israelis at the hands of Hamas terrorists on Oct. 7. They demanded the release of the hostages but also expressed sympathy for the innocent Palestinian civilians who are suffering during the conflict.
They said too many people don’t understand you don’t have to choose and can feel sympathy for the anguish of both.
“Hamas is a terrorist organization. They control Gaza and they control the Palestinians who live there,” Feist said. “This is a fight against a terrorist organization and this is a fight for democracy and for freedom, not just in the Middle East, but worldwide.”
Israeli President Isaac Herzog addressed the crowd in Washington through a live video feed. Despite the thousands of miles separating them, Herzog told demonstrators they were united “to march for the babies, the boys and girls, women and men viciously held hostage by Hamas; to march for the right of every Jew to live proudly and safely in America, in Israel and all around the world.”
Feist worries that with the rise in antisemitism in America, that right is threatened.
“We need to combat this form of hatred and we need to do it collectively -- Jews and non-Jews alike,” Feist said.
Feist said she felt it was important that she be in Washington because this March for Israel was a part of history and as a community -- a community of Jews, Christians and Muslims -- we can peacefully make a difference.