Ben Raab, Contributing Photographer

A group of over 40 Yale students joined hundreds of thousands of people at the National Mall for a “March for Israel” rally on Tuesday afternoon. 

The march, organized in part by the Jewish Federations of North America, aimed to show solidarity with Israel, denounce antisemitism and call for the release of the more than 230 hostages currently held by Hamas. 

“I came here to show support, but also to feel supported,” Jesse Bross ’26 told the News. “To be part of such a large gathering of Jews, it’s powerful, it’s comforting to see so many people standing for Israel and demanding the release of the hostages.”

Yalies woke up starting at 4 a.m to make the six-hour drive to Washington, D.C. 

Danielle Frankel ’26 said that the early wake-up and long trip were “definitely” worth making.

“There’s strength in numbers, and I felt a responsibility to come and express my solidarity with Israel,” she said. “Our college campus can feel isolating, but seeing the large turnout was a reminder that as Jews, we stand together.”

The Yale trip and student delegation at the rally were organized by Slifka Center Rabbi Jason Rubenstein and Social Justice and Arts Fellow and Engagement Coordinator Aviva Green. Transportation to and from D.C. was provided for students by the Slifka Center for Jewish Life. 

The march, organized in response to the ongoing Israel-Hamas war, follows Hamas’ Oct. 7 surprise attack against Israel, when they killed at least 1,200 people in Israel and took more than 230 hostages, according to Israel’s Foreign Ministry as reported by the Washington Post. Israel responded with a formal declaration of war against Hamas, airstrikes and a ground invasion of Gaza, killing more than 11,180 people in Gaza from Oct. 7 to Nov. 10 and displacing more than two-thirds of the population, the Post reported, citing figures from the Hamas-run Health Ministry in Gaza and from the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. 

Organizers planned Tuesday’s rally in response to critics of Israel and to urge American politicians to continue supporting Israel amid growing calls for a ceasefire, the New York Times reported. 

Yesterday’s demonstration came just over a week after a large pro-Palestinian protest in Washington, during which thousands opposed Israel’s bombardment of Gaza and demanded a ceasefire. 

Speakers at Tuesday’s demonstration included American politicians — such as U.S. Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer — Israeli politicians, Jewish activists, performance groups, political commentators, families of hostages, Christian and Muslim activists and Jewish college students. Israeli President Isaac Herzog spoke remotely from Jerusalem.

Chants of “never again,” “bring them home” and “Am Yisrael Chai” — in English, “the people of Israel live” — arose between speakers, and signs with “Free Palestine from Hamas,” “end antisemitism” and “We stand with Israel” appeared in the crowd, as did pictures of Hamas-held hostages.

Among the group of speakers was also CNN commentator Van Jones, who was met with cheers from the crowd when he expressed his support for Israel but with erupting chants of “No ceasefire” when he called for an end to Israel’s bombing of Gaza.

The only counter-demonstration held near the rally that the News witnessed was by a group of Neturei Karta Orthodox Jews, who opposed the existence of a Jewish state before the arrival of the Messiah. 

 “1, 2, 3, 4, Zionism no more,” and “down, down the state of Israel,” they chanted.

Uri Cohen, Executive Director of the Slifka Center, expressed pride that so many Yale students were able to make the trip.

“This is a critical time in Jewish history, and everyone needs to do their part to help make the future better than the present,” he said. “For some, gathering with 200,000 fellow Jews and allies is a meaningful contribution to the effort. I’m glad Slifka Center has been able to facilitate this experience alongside so many others during this difficult time.”

New Haven delegations

Beyond the Yale delegation, the New Haven Jewish Federation also sent a group of over 100 people to the march on Tuesday morning. The federation chartered two full buses, with a full waitlist of others in the community eager to attend, Rabbi Josh Pernick, director of Jewish life and community relations at the federation, told the News.

The group consisted of people across the New Haven Jewish community, ranging from active synagogue members to less religious attendees troubled by the war and activity they viewed as antisemitic.

“We are certainly seeing a spike in antisemitic activity [since Oct. 7],” Pernick told the News, citing the recent vandalism of Rep. DeLauro’s campaign office. “People are seeing these tragedies and wanting to get involved and speak out. This was an opportunity many in our community saw to get together, to do something meaningful, and engage in important conversations.” 

During the rally, Yale students, joined by the New Haven delegations, chanted and listened to several speakers as they stood among hundreds of thousands gathered in front of the Capitol building. 

Speakers call out Yale, other universities

Natan Sharansky, a Soviet-Israeli human rights activist and former chairman of the Jewish Agency for Israel, condemned Yale and other elite universities for fostering hateful rhetoric.

“[At] Harvard, Yale, Penn and Columbia, students have cheered this modern pogrom,” he said. “All those places that are supposed to be the bastion of light and wisdom. They speak about justice and they’re ready to welcome the killing of babies, the rape of our girls.”

The University did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

In the wake of these developments, student groups at Yale and other campuses have held organized demonstrations to call for a ceasefire and recognize Palestinian suffering. 

The American Defamation League has criticized groups at different universities for justifying Hamas’ attacks as “resistance” or chanting alleged hate speech such as “intifada” and “from the river to the sea, Palestine shall be free.” 

“I’m convinced that a lot of these college students don’t understand that’s an explicit call for the extermination of the Jewish people in Israel,” Mike Johnson, the House majority leader said of the “river to the sea” chant. “It is unacceptable for universities to allow Hamas apologists to assault and accost Jewish students on campus.”

Michael Herzog, Israeli ambassador to the United States and the older brother of Israeli President Isaac Herzog, stated that Jewish students are being “assaulted and silenced on college campuses.”

Antisemitism and Islamophobia on campuses and beyond

Since Hamas’ terrorist attack on Oct. 7 and its ongoing war against Israel, there has been a significant rise in antisemitism across the United States by nearly 400 percent, per a report by the Anti-Defamation League’s Center on Extremism. There has also been an “unprecedented” spike in Islamophobia and anti-Arab sentiment, a 216 percent increase, according to a report by the Council on American-Islamic Relations.

College campuses have been no exception. 

At Cornell University, a student — who has now been arrested — posted on an anonymous school Greek life platform at the end of October that he was going to “shoot up 104 West,” the school’s kosher dining hall. Later, posts from the same author threatened to “stab” and “slit the throat” of any Jewish male on campus. At Ohio State, two Jewish students were reportedly assaulted in an alleged hate crime. The facade of the school’s Jewish Center was later vandalized.

On Oct. 11, a “doxxing truck” emblazoned with the faces and names of students dubbed “leading anti semites” made its debut at Harvard University’s Cambridge campus. A similar truck visited Columbia University’s campus in New York City on Oct. 25, with a more recent appearance on Nov. 1. These public doxxing campaigns exposed mostly Black and brown people, some of whom are undocumented, Teen Vogue reported on Oct. 27 based on interviews with two Harvard students.

At Yale, the ongoing war has led to increasing tensions and student fears of personal safety. 

In a Nov. 7 Wall Street Journal opinion column, two Jewish alleged that they had been barred from attending a “Gaza Under Siege” event that was co-sponsored by multiple Yale academic departments. In response to the column, Nick Gaede Jr. ’61 told the News that he pulled his donations to the University — a decision he explained in a Nov. 12 letter in the Wall Street Journal. 

In Grace Hopper College, a student claimed responsibility for writing “Death to Palestine” on an entryway whiteboard on Oct. 9. 

To combat both antisemitism and Islamophobia, the U.S. Department of Education announced new steps on Nov. 14, specifically focused on college campuses. These include funding school safety efforts by the funding from the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act and “specialized resources designed to help educators, students, parents, and community members keep students safe from antisemitism, Islamophobia, and related forms of discrimination.”

The National Mall in Washington, D.C. was first planned in 1791.