Las Vegans rally at the ‘March for Israel’ in Washington, D.C.
It was a sea of humanity pleading for some humanity.
Draped in white-and-blue Israeli flags, clutching signs that read “We stand with Israel” and images of hostages taken in Hamas’ October 7th terrorist attack on Israel, tens of thousands of demonstrators took to the National Mall in Washington, D.C. on Tuesday to show their support for the country.
Las Vegan Noa Peri-Jensch, chief communities officer for the Israeli-American Council, was among a contingent of around 50 locals that traveled to the “March for Israel” to take part in the massive rally.
“What made me want to come here is that enough is enough,” Peri-Jensch said after the march. “We’ve never seen such strong anti-semitism here in America, and we felt that we needed to come together and make sure that the Jewish community — and anyone who is pro-Israel — takes a stand.
“There’s nothing more profound than coming to Washington,” she continues, “to the National Mall, where all big decisions are made, and big protests are done. It was a moment in history for the Jewish community and the pro-Israeli community, to show the world — and to show the administration — that we just can’t take it anymore.”
Peri-Jensch was joined in her delegation by members of Jewish Nevada, the Anti-Defamation League and around 15 students from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, she said.
Upon arriving in Washington on Monday, some of them also met with Nevada Sen. Jacky Rosen, the chamber’s lone Jewish mother.
With October 7th being the single deadliest day for Jewish people since the Holocaust, which took place prior to the founding of Israel in 1948, Peri-Jensch says that she felt particularly compelled to speak up for a people who didn’t always have a voice.
“Here’s the thing, the Jews before 1948 couldn’t stand for themselves,” she notes. “They were prosecuted, six million of them, murdered in the Holocaust.
“But since we do have a state now,” she continues, “there is the state of Israel, it’s sort of our home — no matter where we live around the world, we always know we can go back home. So being there was standing on behalf of the six million Jews who could not march together. We are united, no matter where you are.”
As she traveled to the airport to return home on Tuesday afternoon, Peri-Jensch’s thoughts turned to the people in the country she’d just rallied for.
“I think it made the people of Israel proud,” she says. “I think the Jews in Israel, they see this march, they know that they are not alone. They know that America supports them.”
Contact Jason Bracelin at jbracelin@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0476. Follow @jbracelin76 on Instagram