Dikla Tuchman, Jewish Sound Correspondent
Hundreds of supporters gathered in downtown Seattle’s Occidental Park Sunday in a solidarity rally in support of the State of Israel. The rally was organized by the Pacific Northwest chapter of Israel advocacy organization StandWithUs and cosponsored by the American Jewish Committee, Hadassah, Sephardic Bikur Holim, Minyan Ohr Chadash, Congregation Ezra Bessaroth, Bikur Cholim Machzikay Hadath, Chabad on Campus, Congregation Ashreichem Yisrael, Northwest Yeshiva High School, Seattle Hebrew Academy, Torah Day School, NCSY and the Jewish Student Union.
StandWithUs regional director Rob Jacobs opened up the afternoon gathering by introducing the purpose of the rally and instructing participants not to engage the modest counter-protest cordoned off by a line of local police directly across from the main square.
“We really felt like the conflict had started back in the beginning of July and we were the only major city in the United States that hadn’t yet had a rally to show solidarity with Israel,” said Jacobs.
With the rally’s short notice and several factors like the I-90 closure and off-and-on rain throughout Sunday morning, Jacobs had not expected many folks to show up.
“It’s fabulous to see almost the entire park filled, which is astounding to me,” said Jacobs. “I had no idea how many people we’d have, and I was worried that we’d have just 100 people standing in the middle of the square, but we filled it.”
After opening the rally with his own words about the current heightened activity between Israel and Gaza, Rabbi Ben Hassan of Sephardic Bikur Holim said a few words of his own with regards to concern for the Israeli people and the desire for peace in the region, including a prayer for peace and safety.
The rally ended with a rousing recitation by the crowd of the Israeli national anthem, “Hatikvah,” and the American national anthem. As the crowds lingered and began dispersing, spirited songs continued among Americans and Israelis, many of whom wore Israeli or American flags around their shoulders. The counter-protest remained relatively quiet and very peaceful, standing silently with a strong police presence between the two groups.