SALT LAKE CITY — Thousands of people from Jewish communities across the country and their allies came together in Washington D.C. in support of Israel.
The "March for Israel" was held Tuesday afternoon on the National Mall in our nation's capitol.
Ron Zamir, the Vice President for Community Relations for the United Jewish Federation of Utah made the trip for the rally.
"I've been privileged to be here with part of our congressional delegation and leaders from all across the political spectrum, Republicans, Democrats, they're all here to support, to show support for Israel," said Zamir.
That included, Zamir says, four board members from the United Jewish Federation of Utah.
"For a lot of Jews in this country, this this is a release, a release of spirit, a release of hope and a practice thing we can do to show the world that we need our hostages back and we need to finish this, this war against this evil regime called Hamas," said Zamir.
The event was geared towards standing in solidarity with Israel, condemning antisemitism both here and globally, as well as demanding the release of those held hostage by Hamas.
"This is truly a march of Americans wanting to end a conflict and bring innocents home," said Zamir.
Musicians performed and speakers from the world, including Israel's President, Isaac Herzog, spoke via a feed from Jerusalem.
Representatives from both sides of the aisle, including Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), House Minority Leader Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) and House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) took to the stage to speak to the crowd.
Rep. John Curtis from Utah's Third Congressional District was also in attendance.
"I met one gentleman whose son was a hostage and he just wanted to talk about it," said Rep. Curtis. "He asked me how many children I had, and I said six and he said, you know, where they all slept last night and I said, yes, and then he became emotional and described to me that he didn't know where his son slept last night, he didn't know what type of treatment his son was getting."
Jewish leaders here in the Beehive State, like Rabbi Avremi Zippel with Chabad of Utah, also kept a close eye on the event.
" I think the last time we saw numbers of this quantity of Jews marching on Washington for any sort of cause, it was probably in the seventies and eighties towards the fall of the Soviet Union," said Rabbi Zippel.
Rabbi Zippel pointed to what, he says, was a stark contrast in what happened in Washington D.C. on Tuesday with imagery he says we've seen around the nation and the world for the past few weeks.
"The people there felt no need to cover their faces, to hide their identity to, you know, be there in any sort of secret fashion that they were openly pro-Israel and, and pro the good of the Jewish people in this country," said Rabbi Zippel.
Zamir spoke about what he hopes to see, long-term, after a rally like this.
"What I think every Jewish person I know hopes for is just peace and reconciliation," said Zamir.
In the short term, he stressed the importance of getting the hostages held by Hamas home.
As for what comes next, Rep. Curtis told FOX 13 News on Tuesday it's crystal clear that Hamas has to be removed. He added the United States Congress must figure out how we can support and be a part of that.
