Demonstrators from across the US gathered on Tuesday on the National Mall in Washington in a vast show of solidarity with Israel as it wages war in the Gaza Strip in response to the October 7 attack by Hamas.

The rally, called the March for Israel, was intended by organisers to respond to critics of Israel, where about 1,200 people were killed in the attack, and meant as a loud signal to US politicians not to waver in support for Israel as calls grew for a cease-fire. In speeches by lawmakers invited to address the rally, there were no signs of such wavering.

“We ache with you, we stand with you and we will not rest until you get all the assistance you need,” said Senator Chuck Schumer, the majority leader and highest-ranking Jewish elected official in the country.

Following Schumer in a bipartisan lineup of speakers was House Speaker Mike Johnson. “The calls for a cease-fire are outrageous,” he said, setting off a “No cease-fire” chant from the crowd. “Israel will cease their counteroffensive when Hamas ceases to be a threat to the Jewish state.”

The march was arranged in a matter of days by the Jewish Federations of North America and the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations. Schools, synagogues and community centers sent buses of attendees. By the time speeches began, the Mall was crowded with people from Los Angeles, Houston, Miami, Boston, Philadelphia and other places around the country, waving American and Israeli flags and holding signs declaring support.

Tamara Wilkof, 71, was among the hundreds who had come to Washington on around two dozen buses from Cleveland. “It’s definitely a unity message,” she said, adding that she believed people had been galvanised by the surge in antisemitism.

New York Times News Service