This past Sunday, Israel again brought me to Washington. Before 2023, I could barely recall the family trip that introduced me to sites like the Washington Monument but since Oct. 7, I have marched steadily in three separate rallies and gatherings to project my Jewish-American voice on behalf of my Israeli brothers and sisters in our nation’s capital. It’s almost as if we hope that the echoing loudspeakers blare loudly enough to be heard filtering through an open window on Capitol Hill to subsequently turn the head of some upper official who will slap his signature on the document that will change everything.
The Stand Together event had all the hallmarks of a rally for Israel: an unending lineup of powerful, stirring speakers, soulful musical performers, protesters outside for one to practice their booing skills on and, of course, kosher food. Only one thing fell short, and that was the myriad of empty stadium seats in Nationals Park. I had expressed optimism at the prospect of filled sections when I arrived at 1 p.m., but by 5, with the sky overcast, those empty chairs left me wondering why.
Besides the usual energy the programming yielded, this event was punctuated with the addition of a marked 401 days of hostages in captivity as well as the imminent Veterans Day on Monday, and one year since the march on Washington that drew around 300,000 from all corners of the globe. The event placed a strong emphasis on the union between America and Israel, as Israel’s ambassador to the U.S. Michael Herzog remarked, “Israel’s enemies are the enemies of the United States, and Israel’s victories are the victories of the United States.” This was also reflected in the emphasis placed on both Israeli and American soldiers and veterans, especially due to the timing of the event.
I welcomed the opportunity to listen to and connect with each individual who expressed themselves in a truly personal way. The family of American hostage Omer Neutra took the stage, with Omer’s brother, Daniel, shaking the audience with his resolute stature paired with his haunted eyes that spoke volumes and left me in tears. Israeli musician Idan Raichel got the crowd dancing between various guest singers, including a teacher from a music school started by victims of the attack on Kibbutz Nir Oz on Oct. 7. The strength emanating just through their presence allowed those gathered to feel the emotions that we seldom get the space to truly feel in everyday life as we reel from the Amsterdam pogrom, antisemitic attacks in New York and Washington, and constant invalidation as a nation by our fellow Americans.
Also on the roster were Rabbi Moshe Hauer of the Orthodox Union, American Belz singer Shulem Lemmer, who sang with stunning beauty the national anthem, and led the crowd in the Mi Shebarach prayer for IDF soldiers. Yarden Gonen, sister to hostage Romi, spoke fiercely to the crowd, saying, “If only a few of us shout, no one can hear us. If all of us shout, no one can ignore us.” Her recollections and the recollections of others of that terrible day and the hell that hostages like Romi are still experiencing found strange solace in the cold November air that eventually turned into raindrops, sending hundreds huddling beneath umbrellas and coat hoods. The mind likes to draw distance from terrible things, likes to fuzz the edges and curl them into something more bearable, but the truth is, it is not bearable; it is barely holdable. It is larger than a nation’s capability to mourn and yet we continue to fight on with countless bleeding wounds as we hope to survive just long enough to begin to heal. An IDF spokesperson put it articulately: “We are on a rollercoaster of pride at our achievements and moments of difficulty.”
The evening was closed out with Rep. Ritchie Torres being awarded the Courageous Leadership Award by UJA Federation of New York for his staunch support of Israel and the singing of Hatikvah, after which I made my way to one of D.C.’s kosher restaurants, Char Bar, which was vandalized last Friday night on the 86th anniversary of Kristallnacht. A restaurant worker shared how she got the call on Saturday morning from people living on top of the restaurant that someone had smashed the establishment’s front window. While the restaurant management have expected possible attacks in the past, especially when rallies like this one occur, they have never been the victim of one before. So far, the police have not made any arrests and are not investigating the attack as a hate crime.
Despite the shocking event, the restaurant was business as usual, with a line out the door of eager customers that included some of the rally’s performers, one of whom mentioned to me that he had a flight back to Israel the next day. Sitting next to a boarded up smashed window, joined together by Israelis and Americans alike in good conversation and even better food, was the ultimate display of our Jewish ability to dance between the deeply painful moments that are commonplace these days, and life’s beautiful opportunities for connection — and churros. Those, I recommend.
