I went to the rally in Washington, DC on Monday, April 15, 2002. Yes, there's a community-wide connectedness now, stronger than before, and its glow continues. That's good. It will light the days to come. However, even more importantly, we made a statement. With a week's notice - for some, it was far less than that - more than 100,000 of us dropped everything, put our other lives on hold, made the necessary arrangements, and went to support Israel and Judaism. We came in buses, we came in trains, we came in planes and we came in cars. We spoke all sorts of languages and looked all sorts of ways. Yet, we stood together as one for Israel and for justice.
As wonderful as this is for Judaism, and long overdue, it wasn't just Jews who were making the statement. Granted, they were the vast majority, as they should be, but there were many Christians as well. Church groups had come, as well as other people that were not specifically affiliated, nor Jewish - like me.
I'm not Jewish and I was born well after World War II. I have always asked myself what I would have done 50, 60 or 70 years ago had I been around. Would I have stood for something or would I have turned away? What would I have done the morning after Kristalnacht, with smoke still rising and shards still falling and only the cries stilled? How would I have responded to seeing my first Star of David on someone's lapel?
Now, it is my turn.
What Israelis who weren't there need to know is that it's not just American Jews that cause this country to support Israel; rather, it's the majority of all of us, especially Christians, who fully support Israel. We can't control what the rest of the world does. ?Never again? should mean just that, but, unfortunately, there is no guarantee. What it does mean, unequivocally, is ?Never again Israel by herself.?
We all made exactly that statement at the Washington rally for Israel and its message should still be resounding. They should hear us in the Oval Office, on Capitol Hill, in every state house in the United States and, perhaps, in government offices all over the world. Savvy politicians everywhere should now understand how strongly the citizens of the United States support Israel. I don't know what the foreign press reported, but their correspondents could have seen for themselves. As the Capitol police try not to publicize the true figures, for security reasons, some papers will even downplay the turn-out, but we were there, more than 150,000 strong, with well over 1,000 buses.
Furthermore, the Washington rally absolutely justified and celebrated every pro-Israel piece I've written in the past six months, every e-mail I've sent and every phone call I've made. Now, I have faces to go with my mission. I found out that, even though I may not have known it at the time, I had sent a letter on behalf of the woman on the Metro, with family in the Toronto area who are too afraid to speak out. I sent a letter for the man sitting directly across from her that argued that that was all the more reason to speak out. One of my letters was for the Orthodox group on the grass, reciting a prayer and another was for the Hassidic gentleman that gave me his pre-paid Metro ticket when I needed one. One was for the stranger who waited for me and kept me from getting lost and another was for the group of students that was singing and clapping and waving signs. One was for the guy in the yarmulke who gave me a poster. Another was for the Russian immigrant who thinks that enough is enough and that whoever tangles with God's people will find out what that means. One was for the musical group in the subway and another was for the wave of men in black who wanted to know if I had prayed lately and gave me a printed brochure with suggestions. And one was for the anonymous individual who stuck an ?I Love Israel? bumper sticker on my back.
So, I had a great time that Monday in the Capitol. The sticker's now on my jeep windshield, the brochure's in my Bible, the poster's awaiting the next rally and the prepaid ticket still has some free rides on it.
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Beth Kennedy is a writer from Taylor?s Island, Maryland.
As wonderful as this is for Judaism, and long overdue, it wasn't just Jews who were making the statement. Granted, they were the vast majority, as they should be, but there were many Christians as well. Church groups had come, as well as other people that were not specifically affiliated, nor Jewish - like me.
I'm not Jewish and I was born well after World War II. I have always asked myself what I would have done 50, 60 or 70 years ago had I been around. Would I have stood for something or would I have turned away? What would I have done the morning after Kristalnacht, with smoke still rising and shards still falling and only the cries stilled? How would I have responded to seeing my first Star of David on someone's lapel?
Now, it is my turn.
What Israelis who weren't there need to know is that it's not just American Jews that cause this country to support Israel; rather, it's the majority of all of us, especially Christians, who fully support Israel. We can't control what the rest of the world does. ?Never again? should mean just that, but, unfortunately, there is no guarantee. What it does mean, unequivocally, is ?Never again Israel by herself.?
We all made exactly that statement at the Washington rally for Israel and its message should still be resounding. They should hear us in the Oval Office, on Capitol Hill, in every state house in the United States and, perhaps, in government offices all over the world. Savvy politicians everywhere should now understand how strongly the citizens of the United States support Israel. I don't know what the foreign press reported, but their correspondents could have seen for themselves. As the Capitol police try not to publicize the true figures, for security reasons, some papers will even downplay the turn-out, but we were there, more than 150,000 strong, with well over 1,000 buses.
Furthermore, the Washington rally absolutely justified and celebrated every pro-Israel piece I've written in the past six months, every e-mail I've sent and every phone call I've made. Now, I have faces to go with my mission. I found out that, even though I may not have known it at the time, I had sent a letter on behalf of the woman on the Metro, with family in the Toronto area who are too afraid to speak out. I sent a letter for the man sitting directly across from her that argued that that was all the more reason to speak out. One of my letters was for the Orthodox group on the grass, reciting a prayer and another was for the Hassidic gentleman that gave me his pre-paid Metro ticket when I needed one. One was for the stranger who waited for me and kept me from getting lost and another was for the group of students that was singing and clapping and waving signs. One was for the guy in the yarmulke who gave me a poster. Another was for the Russian immigrant who thinks that enough is enough and that whoever tangles with God's people will find out what that means. One was for the musical group in the subway and another was for the wave of men in black who wanted to know if I had prayed lately and gave me a printed brochure with suggestions. And one was for the anonymous individual who stuck an ?I Love Israel? bumper sticker on my back.
So, I had a great time that Monday in the Capitol. The sticker's now on my jeep windshield, the brochure's in my Bible, the poster's awaiting the next rally and the prepaid ticket still has some free rides on it.
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Beth Kennedy is a writer from Taylor?s Island, Maryland.