Tens of thousands of people are expected to participate in pro-Israel protest in Washington DC to protest rise of anti-Semitic incidents since Hamas terrorist attacks

Tens of thousands of Americans are expected to gather in Washington DC on Tuesday to protest the increase in anti-Semitic attacks since the start of the war between Israel and Hamas.

People from across the country will travel to the “March for Israel,” which will take place on the National Mall and where demonstrators will condemn anti-Semitism and call for the release of hostages taken to Gaza by Hamas.

The event was organized by the Jewish Federations of North America and the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations.

Family members of some of the hostages, members of Congress including new House Speaker Mike Johnson and actress Debra Messing, among others, will speak.

The Jewish Federations of North America said the event “will bring together communities from across the country to show strong solidarity with the Israeli people, while demanding the immediate release of the remaining hostages and condemning the rise of anti-Semitism.”

Yeshiva University in New York canceled classes on Tuesday and 2,500 students are expected to attend, university President Rabbi Ari Berman told The Washington Post.

While there have been no direct threats against the demonstration, organizers have said they expect counter-protesters to be present, and police have said they will intensify their presence.

The rally has already caused massive traffic disruptions in DC, with parking restrictions and closures in Placer for much of the day. Although the rally will start at 1:00 PM EST, gates are expected to open as early as 10:00 AM.

Fourth Street, from Constitution Avenue, NW to Independence Avenue, SW, will be closed until 5 a.m. Wednesday.

Seventh Street from Constitution Avenue, NW to Independence Avenue, SW, 3rd Street from Pennsylvania Avenue, NW to Independence Avenue, SW, Madison Drive from 4th Street to 14th Street, NW, Jefferson Drive from 4th Street to 14th Street, SW, Maryland Avenue from Independence Avenue to 3rd Street, SW, Inbound 14th Street from 14th Street to Independence Avenue, SW and the 12th Street Tunnel are closed until 6:00 PM on Tuesday.

The October 7 Hamas attacks killed more than a thousand Israelis and kidnapped 240 – sparking the region’s biggest conflict in years.

More than 11,000 people have been killed since Israel began its counterattack in Gaza.

According to the Anti-Defamation League, anti-Semitic incidents in the US have increased by almost 400 percent due to the war.

CEO Jonathan Greenblatt said there have been attacks on businesses run by Jewish people, in addition to attacks on individuals and places of worship.

“I’m not talking about stores that produce IDF (Israel Defense Forces) T-shirts; “I’m talking about a coffee shop on Long Island, an ice cream parlor in the Bay Area, a restaurant in Chicago,” he said.

Greenblatt also raised the issue of the spate of anti-Semitic incidents that have occurred on campuses of Ivy-League colleges, including Harvard and Cornell.

The ADL Center on Extremism said preliminary data shows 312 anti-Semitic incidents were reported in the U.S. between Oct. 7 and 23, including harassment, vandalism and assault.

About 190 of these were directly related to the war between Israel and Hamas.

Examples cited by ADL include alleged physical violence; violent online messages, especially on messaging platform Telegram; and meetings where ‘ADL found explicit or strong implicit support for Hamas and/or violence against Jews in Israel.’

The Biden administration has warned that US schools and colleges must take immediate action to stop anti-Semitism and Islamophobia on their campuses, citing an “alarming increase” in threats and intimidation.

Last week, the Ministry of Education said there is “renewed urgency” to combat discrimination against students during the war between Israel and Hamas. The letter reminded schools of their legal duty to protect students and intervene to stop harassment that disrupts their education.

“The rise of reports of hate incidents on our college campuses in the wake of the conflict between Israel and Hamas is deeply traumatic for students and should be alarming for all Americans,” Education Secretary Miguel Cardona said in a statement. “Anti-Semitism, Islamophobia and all other forms of hatred go against everything we stand for as a nation.”

The University of Pennsylvania is just one of the Ivy Leagues in trouble after demonstrations by student groups seen as pro-Hamas.

The school is facing a civil rights complaint accused of being a “magnet for anti-Semites” after anti-Israel slogans were projected on several school buildings last week.

“From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free,” read a message that splashed across the John M Huntsman Hall on Wednesday evening. The slogan claims the land from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea, meaning the end of the State of Israel.

It comes after the prestigious school increased security and contacted the FBI following a series of reports of threats against Jewish students.

The Brandeis Center says it will file a complaint against the school, claiming it has “allowed the campus to become a hostile environment for its Jewish students, as well as a magnet for anti-Semites.”

The complaints “seek immediate and specific action to address increasing discrimination and harassment against Jews in violation of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.”

UPenn said Monday that several staff members received “despicable, disturbing anti-Semitic emails” threatening violence against Jews on campus, specifically at Penn Hillel, a Jewish organization on campus, and Lauder College House.

University President Liz Magill wrote: “These messages also contain hate speech, targeting the personal identities of the recipients. Penn’s Division of Public Safety was immediately notified and responded. Penn Police has also notified the FBI of this potential hate crime and a joint investigation is underway.

Magill also acknowledged “swastikas and hateful graffiti” and “chants at rallies, captured on video and widely distributed, that glorify Hamas’s terrorist atrocities, celebrate and praise the slaughter and kidnapping of innocent people, and to question its existence.’