US politicians, hostages’ families address scant crowd at pro-Israel rally in Washington
Event to reaffirm Jewish unity, bipartisan support for Israel sees markedly low turnout in massive venue; Schumer: After Amsterdam, ‘rallies like this needed more than ever’
of North America on November 10, 2024. (Charlie Summers/Times of Israel)
WASHINGTON, DC — A few thousand demonstrators convened Sunday night in Washington DC’s Nationals Park baseball stadium for a pro-Israel rally that stressed American Jews’ “commitment to unity” following last week’s presidential elections.
“The energy in the air is palpable,” said Michael Herzog, Israel’s outgoing ambassador to the United States, in prepared remarks that echoed across the baseball field to a scattered, sparse crowd.
Organized by the Jewish Federations of North America, which represents over 350 Jewish communities, the evening’s “Stand Together” event came a year after the umbrella organization staged a massive, nearly 300,000-strong rally on the National Mall in November 2023 – a powerful show of support for Israel in wake of Hamas’s October 7 attack.
Similar to the previous year’s, Sunday evening’s rally boasted a lineup of esteemed American and Israeli politicians, Jewish campus activists and family members of Israeli hostages.
But this time around, only a meager crowd turned up to greet the speakers, leaving the venue — which can seat over 40,000 people — almost empty.
“Hundreds of thousands of us joined together in support of the State of Israel and the Israeli people… Together we raised our voices, together we called for the release of the hostages,” Herzog recalled of last year’s “March for Israel” demonstration. /moar
11 November 2024, 11:12 amUpdated: 12 November 2024, 7:23 pm
https://www.timesofisrael.com/us-politicians-hostages-families-address-scant-crowd-at-pro-israel-rally-in-washington/