A woman with six family members held hostage by Hamas said she was serving as “their voice” alongside the 200,000 pro-Israel protesters who marched in Washington on Tuesday.
Alana Zeitchik, who lives in New York, said half a dozen of her cousins were kidnapped from a kibbutz and have been speaking out since the week of the attack. She was one of the speakers at the march.
Zeitchik told her life was “a nightmare” and “absolutely terrible,” as were her cousin Shahan, Shahan’s husband David, their three-year-old twins Emma and Yuli, Shahan’s sister Danielle and their five-year-old daughter.
“Every day I have to wake up and remember that six of my family members, six people that I love most in the world,” she said. “So it’s a living nightmare. “It’s like the worst thing you could ever imagine.”
Zeitchik posted several posts about her missing family on her Instagram account and on several networks, urging them to come home.
Alana Zeitchik, who lives in New York, said half a dozen of her cousins were kidnapped from a kibbutz and have been speaking out since the week of the attack. She was one of the speakers at the march
Zeitchik told her life was “a nightmare” and “absolutely terrible,” as were her cousin Shahan, Shahan’s husband David, their three-year-old twins Emma and Yuli, Shahan’s sister Danielle and their five-year-old daughter
She spoke at the march because she felt she had to represent her family to bring them back.
“I have a very large family in Israel and my family is not here.” I am here in the West. And that’s why it’s my duty to be their voice here and speak up on their behalf so that the world knows what’s happening to us.”
In a rare show of bipartisanship, new Republican Speaker of the House Mike Johnson appeared alongside Democratic Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries as they all pledged their support for Israel.
“The calls for a ceasefire are outrageous,” Johnson said. “Israel will cease its counteroffensive when Hamas no longer poses a threat to the Jewish state.”
Schumer also took the stage and said, “We will never forget the evil of Hamas,” while chanting “Bring them home” with the crowd.
The New York senator, the highest-ranking Jewish elected official in American history, promised: “We will not rest until we get all the help you need.”
In a rare show of bipartisanship, new House Speaker Mike Johnson spoke after Schumer.
Meanwhile, Jeffries also vowed to continue lobbying Congress in support of Israel, saying, “Hamas wants to wipe Israel off the face of the earth, so let me be clear, we will not let that happen.”
“Every day I have to wake up and remember that six of my family members, six people that I love most in the world,” Zeitchik said. “So it’s a living nightmare. “It’s like the worst thing you could ever imagine.”
She spoke at the march because she felt she had to represent her family to bring them back
“I have a very large family in Israel and my family is not here.” I am here in the West. And that’s why it’s my duty to be their voice here and stand up for them so that the world knows what’s happening to us,” Zeitchik told
The march featured signs depicting kidnapped Israelis and slogans reading “NO ARMS RUIT WITH TERRORISTS.”
Jacob Mitrani, 11, of New Jersey, waves Israeli flags during a March for Israel rally on the National Mall
Johnson was followed by House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, who also vowed to continue lobbying Congress to support Israel
Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (R-LA), House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY), and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) speak during the March for Israel
Democratic political analyst Van Jones was one of the first to speak to the crowd, saying he was praying for the return of the Israeli hostages.
“The Jews stood on the side of the civil rights movement and that is why I cannot remain silent today,” he said.
“I am a peace man, no more rockets from Gaza and no more bombs falling on the people of Gaza,” Jones added, leading the crowd to chant, “No ceasefire!”
Israeli President Isaac Herzog appeared virtually from the Western Wall in Jerusalem and thanked American allies and the Biden administration for “their moral clarity.”
“Jews in America must be safe.” “Jews around the world must be safe,” Herzog said. “Just as you stand by our side, we stand by your side.”
Among the speakers were the relatives of some of the hostages and actress Debra Messing.
The event was organized by the Jewish Federations of North America and the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations.
The Jewish Federations of North America said the event will “bring together communities from across the country to show strong solidarity with the people of Israel, while calling for the immediate release of the remaining hostages and condemning the rise in anti-Semitism.”
Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-NY) speaks on stage at the March for Israel
Protesters cheer as they take part in the March for Israel on the National Mall
Israeli President Isaac Herzog appeared virtually from the Western Wall in Jerusalem
The Jewish Federations of North America said the event will “bring together communities from across the country to show strong solidarity with the people of Israel.”
Crowds of supporters gather on the National Mall on Tuesday for the March for Israel
Yeshiva University in New York canceled classes on Tuesday and 2,500 students are expected at the rally, university president Rabbi Ari Berman told The Washington Post.
In addition, more than 250 New Yorkers traveled on five buses for a day trip to the capital to attend the rally.
Jewish students from Queens College in New York and the University of Maryland also traveled to D.C. to participate.
Additionally, a video posted on social media showed members of the Jewish Federation of Cleveland, Ohio, boarding a bus headed to the rally early Tuesday.
Although there were no direct threats against the demonstration, organizers said they expected the presence of counter-protesters and police said they would increase their presence and the National Guard was called in to help.
The event was organized by the Jewish Federations of North America and the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations
According to the Anti-Defamation League, the Gaza war has led to a nearly 400 percent increase in anti-Semitic incidents in the United States
The rally has already significantly impacted traffic in D.C., with parking restrictions and closures for much of the day. While the rally is scheduled to begin at 1:00 p.m. EST, gates are expected to open as early as 10:00 a.m.
Fourth Street from Constitution Avenue, NW to Independence Avenue, SW will remain closed until 5 a.m. Wednesday.
Seventh Street from Constitution Avenue, NW to Independence Avenue, SW, 3rd Street from Pennsylvania Avenue, NW to Independence Avenue, SW, Madison Drive from 4th Street to 14th Street, NW, Jefferson Drive from 4th Street to 14th Street, SW, Maryland Avenue from Independence Avenue to 3rd Street, SW, 14th Street entrance from 14th Street to Independence Avenue, SW and the 12th Street Tunnel will be closed until Tuesday at 6:00 p.m.
The October 7 Hamas attacks left over 1,000 Israelis dead and 240 kidnapped – sparking the region’s most significant conflict in years.
More than 11,000 people have been killed since Israel began its counterattack in Gaza.
People from across the country travel to the March for Israel on the National Mall
Before the rally, people pray on Pennsylvania Avenue in front of the White House
Jonathan Greenblatt, CEO of the Anti-Defamation League, said there have been attacks on businesses run by Jews, in addition to attacks on individuals and places of worship.
“I’m not talking about shops that produce IDF.” [Israel Defense Forces] T-shirts; “I’m talking about a coffee shop on Long Island, an ice cream shop in the Bay Area, a restaurant in Chicago,” he said.
Greenblatt also brought up the spate of anti-Semitic incidents that have occurred on the campuses of elite colleges like Harvard and Cornell.
The ADL Center on Extremism said preliminary data showed 312 anti-Semitic incidents, including harassment, vandalism and assault, were reported in the U.S. from Oct. 7 to Oct. 23.
About 190 of these were directly related to the war between Israel and Hamas.
Examples cited by ADL included alleged physical assaults; violent online messages, particularly on the messaging platform Telegram; and rallies where “the ADL found explicit or strong implicit support for Hamas and/or violence against Jews in Israel.”
The Biden administration has warned that U.S. schools and colleges must take immediate action to stop anti-Semitism and Islamophobia on their campuses, citing an “alarming rise” in threats and harassment.
More than 250 New Yorkers traveled on five buses for a day trip to the capital to attend the rally
Last week, the Education Ministry said there was “renewed urgency” to combat discrimination against students during the Israel-Hamas war. The letter reminded schools of their legal duty to protect students and intervene to stop harassment disrupting their education.
“The increase in reports of hate incidents on our campuses in the wake of the Israel-Hamas conflict is deeply traumatic for students and should be alarming for all Americans,” Education Secretary Miguel Cardona said in a statement. “Anti-Semitism, Islamophobia and all other forms of hate contradict everything we stand for as a nation.”
The University of Pennsylvania is just one of the Ivy Leagues facing distress after demonstrations by student groups considered pro-Hamas.
The school is facing a civil rights complaint as it is accused of being a “magnet for anti-Semites” after anti-Israel slogans were projected on several of the school’s buildings last week.
“From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free,” read a message read at John M. Huntsman Hall on Wednesday evening. The slogan calls for the land from the Jordan to the Mediterranean and means the end of the State of Israel.
The rally has already significantly impacted traffic in D.C., with parking restrictions and closures for much of the day
Although there were no direct threats against the demonstration, organizers said they expected counter-protesters to be present
The Jewish Federations of North America said the event will “bring together communities from across the country to show strong solidarity with the people of Israel.”
This came after the prestigious school increased security and contacted the FBI after receiving a number of reports of threats against Jewish students.
The Brandeis Center said it would file a complaint against the school, saying it had “allowed its campus to become a hostile environment for its Jewish students and a magnet for anti-Semites.”
The complaints “seek immediate and concrete action to combat increasing discrimination and harassment against Jews in violation of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.”
UPenn said Monday that several of its employees had received “vile, disturbing anti-Semitic emails” threatening violence against Jews on campus, particularly at Penn Hillel, a Jewish organization on campus, and at Lauder College House .
University President Liz Magill wrote, “These messages also contained hateful language that targeted the personal identities of the recipients.” Penn’s Department of Public Safety was immediately notified and responded. Penn Police have also notified the FBI of this potential hate crime and a joint investigation is underway.
The University of Pennsylvania is facing a civil rights complaint, accusing it of being a “magnet for anti-Semites.”
A clip surfaced purporting to show a UPenn student praising Hamas’ “glorious invasion” of southern Israel on October 7
Magill has also admitted to “swastikas and hate-filled graffiti” and “chant at rallies that were captured on video and widely distributed, glorifying Hamas’ terrorist atrocities, celebrating and praising the slaughter and kidnapping of innocent people, and questioning Israel’s right to do so.” “exist.”
Pro-Palestine demonstrations have taken place across the Western world since the height of the Middle East war last month.
Last Thursday, pro-Palestinian protesters occupied the lobby of The New York Times and demanded an immediate ceasefire in Gaza. At the same time, they accused the media of showing bias against Israel in their reporting on the war between Israel and Hamas.
In the latest in a series of near-nightly demonstrations since the war began, thousands marched through midtown Manhattan to protest Israel’s attacks on Gaza.
Earlier this month, tens of thousands of pro-Palestinian demonstrators marched from Washington to Paris to demand an end to the Israeli bombing of the Gaza Strip.
The marches reflected growing concern over the rising number of civilian casualties and suffering caused by the war between Israel and Hamas. Protesters, particularly in countries with large Muslim populations, including the US and UK. and France expressed disillusionment that their governments were supporting Israel while bombings of hospitals and residential areas in the Gaza Strip increased.