Jesse Tisch
Jewish Review of Books, Nov. 17, 2023
“It was once said that the Nazis made murder feasible. Now, it seemed, Jew-hatred was feasible.”
“When we say never again, we mean it,” said Steven Rosen. He had arrived, via overnight bus, in Washington DC, and was holding a small, stark poster: “Free Gaza From Hamas.” “Two Jews, three opinions,” he said. Here, the math was simpler. “A million opinions, but one belief—this needs to end.”
Scenes from Tuesday’s enormous “March for Israel” rally were like that. Rosen, wearing jeans, Sauconys, and a calmly fed up expression, didn’t mean that the war must end. He meant Hamas. He was surrounded by tens of thousands, in the middle of the National Mall, who agreed wholeheartedly.
A strange feeling—of both threat and protection—prevailed early. A fleet of security guards arrived in the pre-dawn, at 5:30 am. By 8:30 am, a pair of thirteen-ton dump trucks formed a thirty-five-foot-long barricade across 4th Street, near the stage.
Soon enough, the mood began to lighten. People dressed comfortably, in jeans and sneakers. Israeli flags were everywhere: they sprouted from backpacks, billowed off of backs and shoulders. A sound system blasted Israeli techno music.
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