One-hundred and forty-four Brandeis students traveled on three chartered busses - many others taking their own cars - to Washington D.C. for yesterday's rally in support of Israel. Far from simply a small gathering, the rally - which was planned in only one week and held from 1 to 4 p.m. in front of Capitol Hill - brought together individuals from across America: Many synagogues and private religious schools also chartered busses, and tens of thousands of other individuals traveled across the country to wave Israeli flags and express their support for the country.
Staged in light of the resent out-break of suicide bombings in Israel, the event sought to express American solidarity for Israel in the most recent outbreak of the Arab-Israeli conflict.
"There is a feeling in Israel that Americans don't support them, and I wanted to show them that we are behind them, even if I do not agree 100 percent with what Israel is doing," Deborah Winetz '02, who took part in the rally, said.
Winetz, along with the other students, boarded a bus from Brandeis at 10:30 p.m. Sunday night, to arrive in Washington D.C. in time for the 1 p.m. rally.
Upon arrival in D.C., the students took the Metro to the Capital - a relatively difficult task in itself: Nearly 354,200 passengers had taken the Metro by 2 p.m., 54,604 more than at the same time last week.
This traffic was not the only sign of the thousands of individuals who swarmed the city for the rally, many of those arriving by bus, for example, were unable to reach their destinations by 1 p.m. because the trafficwas simply too backed up.
Still, those who did make it to the rally were greeted by Israeli flags and signs.
"The most empowering and special part came as we were walking towards the rally." Sandi Intraub '02 said. "There was a lot of singing and spirit, very empowering and uniting. I got a positive feeling from the whole thing, no matter where we stand."
In addition to the acts of solidarity, the rally featured a number of prominent speakers: Representative and House Democratic leader Richard Gephardt (D-Mo.), Senator Barbara Mikulski (D-Md.) prominent writer and Holocaust survivor Ellie Wiesel, Former Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and former Mayor of New York Rudolph Giuliani, among others.
According to Winetz, the constant messages from the speakers encouraged a remembrance of the past and a denunciation of all kinds of terrorism.
"(The constant messages were) That we need to remember the past, that we can't be silent anymore. That any kind of terrorism is bad," Winetz said. "We support Israel no matter where we stand politically. People want peace in the end."
"There were a lot of comparisons between (Palestinian leader Yassir) Arafat and Sadam Hussein and Osama Bin Laden," she added.
Other speakers expressed concern over Secretary of State Colin Powell's meeting with Arafat.
"I thought sending Powell was a bow to the bombers," Democratic Representative Anthony David Weiner (N.Y.) said "But, that being said, I think President Bush has been for the first 13 months of his administration one of the best friends Israel has had."
Still not all speakers were greeted kindly. Some news sources - such as MSNBC - described a scene where Depute Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz, who arrived as Bush's personal representative, was drowned out by chants of "no more Arafat" as he told spoke of the plight of the Palestinians.
"Innocent Palestinians are suffering and dying as well,"Wolfowitz told the crowds. "It is critical that we recognize and acknowledge that fact."
Wolfowitz, had to pause to let the jeers end.
Winetz said that the incident was only a minor part of the rally.
"The rest of the rally had a positive, united feeling," she said. "(The response to Wolfowitz) was a divisive moment because some people felt that he was justified and some did not."
She added that many lost attention when Wolfowitz began to focus on the plight of the Palestinians as opposed to the Israelis.
While the rally was very peaceful, there were some pro-Palestinian counter-demonstrators. The group stood on the outskirts of the crowd and held signs, which prompted shouts of "Get out of here," from some of those gathered to support Israel. The police intervened, pointing the pro-Palestinian group to a different location.
Still, the counter-demonstrators seemed a minor barrier compared to the heat, which reached 90 degrees on the unshaded area near Capitol Hill.
According to the Associated Press, nearly 150 people were treated by emergency workers for heat exhaustion and 22 people were taken to the hospital by mid-afternoon on Monday - a number some expected to rise as those gathered for the rally dispersed at 4 p.m.
- Beth Seltzer contributed to this article