WASHINGTON – Pledging their solidarity with Israel, 18 Northwestern students took part in a rally supporting the Israeli cause Monday after making a 13-hour bus trip to the nation’s capital Sunday night.
The idea for the National Rally in Solidarity with Israel, which took place on the steps of the Capitol and attracted thousands of people, was brainstormed only last week as a way for U.S. citizens disturbed by the escalating violence in the Middle East to show their support.
In the last 17 months, the conflict between Israeli and Palestinian supporters has seen hundreds of people killed and has left little hope for peace between the two sides.
At the rally, NU students carried Israeli and American flags, with some wearing the flags as capes and others using them as canopies to shade themselves from the intense heat.
“(Going to the rally) was so last minute so I didn’t really have any expectations,” said Jonathan Powell, a Weinberg freshman and president of Students for Israel. “But when I got there, the sheer magnitude of how many people came was amazing. The whole lawn was covered.”
While high-profile speakers such as House Minority Leader Richard Gephardt, D-Mo., and former Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu discussed their opposition to all forms of terrorism, the NU contingent stood near the middle of the audience with other students from the Chicago area as well as from the University of Wisconsin and Indiana University.
Most of the speakers, including former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, received rousing applause.
“There is no moral equivalent between the state of Israel and the Palestinian Authority,” Giuliani said.
Hillel Director Rabbi Michael Mishkin said he agreed with the rally’s emphasis on pushing for peace rather than focusing on the differing Israeli and Palestinian claims.
“I hope these students saw a lot of different perspectives, but one thing they didn’t debate was Palestine’s right to its own state,” Mishkin said. “We want peace in the region, but we came to D.C. to say that suicide bombings are an immoral way to reach that goal.”
The NU students, who only learned about the rally last Thursday, spent the bus ride making signs, munching on snacks and trying to sleep. The students said they hope to return to Evanston in time for class Tuesday morning.
Mishkin said he was not surprised that the students chose to attend the rally, even on short notice.
“This seemed to be planned at exactly the right moment,” he said. “A lot of activity was (happening) on campus this past week. Both sides have been active and vocal and I knew there were students who wanted to respond.”
Amy Kaelter, an Education freshman who had never attended a rally before Monday, said taking the two 13-hour bus rides was worth the sacrifice.
“Taking this bus ride is not like going into Chicago for the day, ” Kaelter said. “It was incredible to see people drop everything with so little preparation.”
