A few thousand pro-Israel demonstrators gathered at Nationals Stadium on Nov. 10 for an event of “unity, strength and resilience.” Dubbed the “Stand Together” rally, the event brought together Jewish Americans, Israelis and allies to stand with Israel, for the hostages and against antisemitism. Additionally, the event’s mission was to honor heroes and thank America and the U.S. Military for their support.
This event came a year after the historic March for Israel, where nearly 300,000 people gathered on the National Mall to show support for Israel in the wake of Hamas’s attack on Oct. 7. Smaller in comparison to last year’s rally, the Federation predicted for there to be around 40,000 people, however the turnout was meager compared to what the Federation expected.
“I think it was unfortunate that it wasn’t as full as it could have been, and I’m not sure why that was,” CESJDS parent Jen Blumenthal said. “But one thought that I have is, because of security, we had no way of knowing who were the speakers in advance. There were so many great speakers that it’s a shame that people weren’t able to know that in advance, and it might have been more influential on getting them to come.”
The event was organized by the Jewish Federations of North America, with over 150 organizations as co-sponsors, including JDS. JDS’ sponsorship enabled people to buy tickets through their delegation, which was the only way to buy tickets.
Because the rally was on the weekend, JDS did not provide transportation, however, the school did set parameters to ensure that students who wanted to attend could do so. JDS made it clear to the different departments that no activities could be scheduled during the time of the rally.
“We support the State of Israel, we support the Israeli people and so we want to ensure that our families have the opportunity if they’d like to take their children to the rally,” High School Principal and Head of Upper School Campus Dr. Lisa Vardi said.
Similar to last year’s event, the rally’s lineup of speakers featured American and Israeli politicians such as Israeli Ambassador Michael Herzog, hostage families including Omer Neutra’s parents and brother, Jewish college campus activists and prominent Israeli singer Idan Raichel.
As Raichel opened the show with his famous hit “She’eriot Shel Ha’Chaim,” crowds began to gather around the stage, standing shoulder to shoulder and singing along, setting the tone for the rest of the rally.
To close out the show representing NCSY, JDS senior Yedidyah Milner-Gillers offered closing remarks alongside student representatives from other Jewish organizations. Due to the rally going an hour over the expected time and the rain, Milner-Gillers had to significantly shorten his remarks.
“We were supposed to thank everyone for coming and talk about the importance of standing up for Israel, the importance of showing up, the importance of youth involvement within the Jewish community and the importance of unity of all Jews, regardless of opinions,” Milner Gillers said.
Despite the low turnout, Blumenthal, Milner-Gillers and sophomore Emunah Simkovich found it to be a worthwhile and meaningful experience.
“It was important to me because I wanted to show that I support Israel and that I want the hostages to be returned home, and also because there were families of some of the hostages at the rally and I want to show that we [are] there for them in America and that we support them overall,” Simkovich said.
