In pics | Thousands march against antisemitism amid Israel-Hamas war in Washington after Paris
'March for Israel', against rise in antisemitism in Washington
Tens of thousands of people took to the streets in Washington, on Tuesday (Nov 14) for "March for Israel" to show solidarity with Israel amid its war with Palestinian militant group Hamas and condemn rising antisemitism.
The march in the American capital also comes days after more than 180,000 people across France, including 100,000 in Paris, took to the streets for a peaceful march to protest against rising antisemitism since the beginning of the war.
(Photograph:AFP)
Around 200,000 people joined the march
Organisers for the march on Tuesday, as per Reuters said that an estimated 200,000 people were attending to show US support for Israel, demand the release of hostages and condemn antisemitic violence and harassment.
Amid heightened security streets around much of downtown Washington were closed as people gathered in bright sunshine on the National Mall.
Protests and demonstrations have gripped several countries, including the US with both pro-Palestinian and pro-Israel groups taking to the streets since Hamas militants launched a surprise attack on southern Israel on October 7, killing at least 1,200 people and taking about 240 hostages back to Gaza, according to Israeli officials.
Israel has since retaliated with constant bombardment and ground operations on Gaza which according to the Hamas-run Palestinian health ministry has killed more than 11,000 people, mostly children.
This handout satellite image by Maxar Technologies shows demonstrators in support of Israel gathering during the "March for Israel" to denounce antisemitism and call for the release of Israeli hostages on the National Mall in Washington, DC, on November 14, 2023.
(Photograph:AFP)
Rise in antisemitic and Islamophobic incidents
Since the beginning of the war, advocacy groups have raised an alarm as the conflict has sparked a rise in antisemitic and Islamophobic incidents in the United States including violent assaults and online harassment.
People were seen draped in Israeli and US flags and holding signs showing the names and photographs of people kidnapped by Hamas, and chanted "bring them home" while other placards included "We have no where else to go" and "civilians who praise the slaughter of Jews are not innocent."
Tuesday's demonstration, however, was not the largest that Washington has witnessed, as protest on November 4 drew a larger crowd who called on the US government, Israel's main supporter, to call for a ceasefire.
(Photograph:Reuters)
Hamas 'not interested in peace'
“A ceasefire is a pause that would allow Hamas to rearm,” said Ariel Ben-Chitrit, 33, a federal government worker from Virginia, as quoted by Reuters.
While expressing regret for Palestinian civilians who are suffering and Gaza hospitals being subjected to extreme conditions he said the only way to end the conflict was to eliminate Hamas.
"Hamas has proven they are not interested in peace," he added.
Image shows woman yelling at members of the Neturei Karta, a group opposed to Zionism and the State of Israel during the rally on the National Mall in Washington, United States on November 14, 2023.
(Photograph:Reuters)
Biden administration rejects calls for ceasefire in Gaza
The Biden administration has repeatedly rejected calls for a ceasefire but has urged Israel to consider granting humanitarian pauses in fighting for civilians to move to safer locations and for humanitarian aid to enter Gaza.
Tuesday's demonstration was also joined by busloads of senators and members of the House of Representatives including Senator Chuck Schumer, the Senate's Democratic majority leader, and the highest-ranking Jewish elected US official.
"Hamas's goal was to scare us. Those perpetrating the poison of antisemitism and bigotry around the world are trying to scare us," said Schumer who rescheduled his weekly press conference to attend, as quoted by Reuters.
"But we will not allow history to slide back to the days of the Holocaust when Jews were targeted and murdered and butchered," he added.
(Photograph:AFP)
Thousands march across France against antisemitism
More than 180,000 people across France, including some 105,000 people in Paris, as per French authorities joined lawmakers on Sunday (Nov 12) to condemn a surge in antisemitic acts in France amid the ongoing war.
The protest, called by the leaders of France's two houses of parliament, was prompted by a three-fold increase in the number of antisemitic incidents compared with the whole of 2022, as per officials in Paris, since the beginning of the war on October 7.
The march in Paris was headed by Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne and former presidents Francois Hollande and Nicolas Sarkozy who held a holding a banner with the slogan "For the Republic, against antisemitism" and also led several renditions of the French national anthem.
(Photograph:Reuters)
Rise in antisemitism in France amid war
While France is now home to the largest Jewish population in Europe, given its own World War II collaboration with the Nazis, antisemitic acts today open old scars. French authorities have registered more than 1,000 acts against Jews around the country in the month since the beginning of the conflict.
President Emmanuel Macron, whose decision not to attend drew criticism from some politicians, published an open letter in Le Parisien newspaper supporting the march and said, "A France where our Jewish fellow citizens are afraid is not France."
He called on the country to remain "united behind its values...and work for peace and security for all in the Middle East". He also condemned "the unbearable resurgence of unbridled antisemitism".
(Photograph:AFP)