Hundreds of thousands of marchers came to Washington D.C. Tuesday to support the state of Israel and oppose antisemitism. The rally was backed by a significant number of religious and political groups amid Israel’s current conflict with the terrorist group Hamas.
It is estimated that nearly 300,000 people came to the National Mall in support of the March for Israel. The effort was originally organized by a number of Jewish organizations.
Members of the two major political parties appeared at the event, with Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) wearing the Israeli flag as a cape.
New House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) spoke to the assembled crowd and spoke sharply in favor of Israel during its current struggle since the Oct. 7 attacks.
Johnson said that current “calls for a ceasefire are outrageous.”
“Hamas terrorists waged the bloodiest assault on Jewish life since the Holocaust,” he said.
Johnson cited the hundreds of hostages currently held by the Hamas terrorist group. He mentioned that an unknown number of the hostages are Americans.
“Israel will cease their counter-offensive when Hamas ceases to be a threat to the Jewish state,” Johnson said.
Johnson was supported by several other political leaders, including House Minority Leader Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY), who said that the “moral case for Israel is anchored in the painful history of the Jewish people.”
Rep. August Pfluger (R-TX) said that he had watched video recorded by Hamas of the violence and said that the “brutality that we saw this morning was the hardest thing that I’ve ever had to watch.”
“I stand with Israel,” the Texas Republican said. “We pray for those families that are still missing, your loved ones that are still being held, some of which are American. We stand with Israel.”
The event was well-received within Israel. Israeli President Isaac Herzog spoke to the crowd via video. He said that since the terrorist attack, Israeli society and the Jewish people have truly come together in unison. We feel our hearts beat as one. We hear our brothers’ and sisters’ blood calling out to us from the ground.”
