(Jewish Group) On Capitol Hill, rally-goers agree that antisemitism is un-American.

[Behind the Aegis]

On Capitol Hill, rally-goers agree that antisemitism is un-American. But when Israel is involved, it gets complicated.

Several thousand people spent a sweltering afternoon in front of the U.S. Capitol at a rally on Sunday that denounced antisemitism as un-American and made the case that Jewish identity and support for Israel are inextricable.

Those were the unifying messages of the “No Fear” rally on Sunday, which drew about 2,000 people, but there were differences among the speakers and in the crowd on how precisely Israel figures in the fight against antisemitism.

Some of the most searing messages came from people who have suffered antisemitic attacks in recent years. A recurring theme among these speakers was that they never expected to suffer such attacks in the United States. Chabad-Lubavitch Rabbi Shlomo Noginsky, who sustained stab wounds in a July 1 attack in Boston, appeared with his arm still in a sling, and in evident pain.

“I was born in the Soviet Union in the city of St. Petersburg,” Noginsky said in Hebrew, having explained that he was still too pained to speak fluently in English. “I remember how even as a young child, I experienced terrible antisemitism. Never in my darkest dreams did I imagine that I would feel the same way here in the United States, the land of freedom and endless possibilities.”

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JTA and their long-ass headlines!

I wish I could have seen the actual breakdown of those in attendance. It would be interesting to see if it was only or mainly Jews who bothered to show up.

[Mosby]

1. One of the speakers

Link to tweet