WASHINGTON — As the Pittsburgh Jewish community prepared to mark five years since the worst antisemitic attack in U.S. history, they first witnessed a terrorist attack on Israel that killed more Jews in one day since the Holocaust.
So when tens of thousands of supporters of Israel gathered on the National Mall here, members of that community showed up in force.
They carried signs standing with Israel and demanding the release of some 200 hostages taken by Hamas, designated as a terrorist group by the U.S., during its attack against Israel on Oct. 7. The attack killed more than 1,000 Israelis, the worst one-day loss of Jewish lives since the Holocaust.
“This is a moment not only in American Jewish history but global Jewish history,” said Linda Cherner, community relations director for the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh, which put together 10 buses to carry 400 area residents to the nation’s capital. “To see the deadliest terror attack against Jews, this community has felt that so deeply, it’s like reopening a wound.”
Besides Pittsburgh, rally participants came from cities across the U.S, including New York, Boston, Cleveland, Baltimore, Chicago, Los Angeles, Houston, Toronto, and, of course, Washington.
Call Tuesday’s rally a powerful response to the ongoing criticism of Israel — including a pro-Palestinian rally in Washington earlier this month — and a rise in antisemitism since the war began.
“It’s important to be here and make my voice heard,” said Zach Fellman, 16, who came to the rally with his brother, Jacob, 14, and their father, Rabbi Daniel Fellman of Temple Sinai in Pittsburgh. “It’s an important moment in our history and Israel’s history.”
They were joined at the rally by the Rev. Dan Hall of the First English Evangelical Lutheran Church in Pittsburgh and the Rev. Canon Natalie Hall of a Pittsburgh Episcopal Church. The October 2018 synagogue shootings sparked an interfaith dialog in the community.
“We stand in solidarity with our neighbors in Squirrel Hill,” Rev. Dan Hall said. “They came for them. They’re coming for me too.”
Israel supporters rolled out the heavy artillery for its counterattack. Where else would you see Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, two liberal Democrats from New York, clasp hands with House Speaker Mike Johnson, a conservative Republican from Ohio, and U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst, a conservative Republican from Iowa, and thrust their arms in the air?
“Even in its darkest days, the United States has always stood with Israel and we will do everything to see that that never ever changes,” Mr. Schumer proclaimed from the stage.
Ambassador Deborah Lipstadt, special envoy to monitor and combat antisemitism, spoke at the rally and promised that President Joe Biden and his administration would “give antisemitism no sanction, no foothold, nowhere, not now, not ever.”
In addition, the House Education Committee on Tuesday held a hearing on increasing antisemitism on campuses, and a bipartisan group of U.S. senators announced a resolution that “recognizes Israel’s right to self-defense and its operations to ensure Hamas can never again terrorize innocent Israelis and Palestinians” and calls on “all responsible nationals to “agree that Hamas is a terrorist organization that must be fought, dismantled and prevented from having the capacity to further terrorize Israel and the region.”
U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, a co-sponsor of the resolution that also warns Iran to refrain from expanding the conflict, said Tuesday’s rally will deliver an important message to the world.
“These voices need to be heard,” said Mr. Blumenthal, D-Conn. “This visual will send a powerful signal to the world about the support of the United States – bipartisan support — for Israel.”
It also showed the unity of American Jewry, which has clashed on issues such as a Palestinian state next to the Jewish state of Israel or the efforts by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to rein in the powers of the country’s Supreme Court. There were protest signs from both the American Israel Public Affairs Committee and J Street, which were on opposite sides last year when Rep. Summer Lee, D-Swissvale, first was elected to Congress.
“The past few weeks have been nothing short of challenging, but one thing our enemies have done is bring us closer together,” said Mor Greenberg, a publicist with Pittsburgh-based firm Coldspark, whose clients include the Orthodox Union. “The support our community received today from both left and right shows that common sense leaders have moral clarity and will support Israel's right to defend itself against a barbaric terrorist organization.”
The event took place at a time of increasing antisemitism, both in the U.S. and around the world, where Jews report being harassed on college campuses.
The ADL recorded 832 antisemitic incidents in the first month since the Hamas attack, up 316% from the same period a year ago.
“You’re seeing an uptick of antisemitism everywhere,” said Rabbi Shlomo Silverman, director of the Chabad at Carnegie Mellon University. “It’s hurtful and it’s not easy. This is a tough time. The Jewish people have to stand together.”
In some cases, student supporters of Palestine chant the slogan, “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free,” which the Anti-Defamation League calls “an antisemitic charge denying the Jewish right to self-determination, including through the removal of Jews from their ancestral homeland.”
Rabbi Silverman said such actions require an answer.
“Ultimately, we have to show that we’re strong and we won’t be intimidated,” said Rabbi Silverman, who organized a group of students to make the drive to Washington to attend the rally. “The response is: ‘We’re not going anywhere.’”
Jonathan D. Salant: jsalant@post-gazette.com, @JDSalant
First Published: November 15, 2023, 12:24 a.m.
Updated: November 15, 2023, 5:39 p.m.
