Pro-Israel rally in Washington draws tens of thousands of supporters

By Philip Dine 
Post-Dispatch Washington Bureau 
St.Louis Post-Dispatch
This story was published in A-section on Tuesday, April 16, 2002. 

WASHINGTON - In what organizers called the largest pro-Israel 
rally in American history, tens of thousands of supporters of 
Israel gathered Monday on the U.S. Capitol mall.

They waved U.S. and Israeli flags and held banners expressing 
their solidarity with Israel's government and condemning 
Palestinian terrorists, and they roared with approval as 
political leaders stressed support for the survival of Israel.

Police officials said the crowd reached about 100,000, even 
though the rally was called only a few days ago.

Sen. Harry Reid of Nevada, the Senate's No. 2 Democrat, said 
the world must never again stand by when Jews are being murdered.

"We stand with Israel because Israel is a democracy and shares 
our values," Reid said. "We stand with Israel because Israel's 
enemy - terrorism - is also our enemy, and the U.S. has no better 
ally than Israel in our war on terrorism."

Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz was asked to speak at 
the rally by President George W. Bush, whose administration has 
come under fire by some conservatives and supporters of Israel 
for asking Israel to halt its military operations on the West 
Bank.

But Wolfowitz, the No. 2 official at the Pentagon, got a mixed 
reaction. He was cheered when he said that Bush stood in solidarity 
with the crowd's sentiments and added that "Terrorism must end, 
hatred of Israel must end, the murder of innocents must end."

But when Wolfowitz said that Israeli civilians weren't the only 
victims of violence in the Middle East and that innocent Palestinians 
were suffering as well, he was drowned out by chants of "no more 
Arafat."

As Wolfowitz continued, he was met with boos and chants, including 
"no double standard" and "no more PLO," and was forced to stop 
speaking several times.

The crowd quieted when Wolfowitz said that Palestinians must 
realize that the biggest obstacles to their hope for a state 
are the suicide bombers.

House Minority Leader Richard Gephardt, D-Mo., said: "Over the 
past several months, Israel has endured terrorist attacks 
unrelenting in their frequency and severity. Yet the Israeli 
people remain strong.

"Terrorism must not be supported, condoned or rewarded as we 
work for a resolution to this conflict. ... We will stand with 
Israel. We will stand for freedom."

While the largest contingents were from New York and the 
Washington area, banners identified large groups from the 
Midwest, including St. Louis and Columbus, Ohio. Some 200 from 
Indianapolis wore T-shirts reading "Hoosiers for Israel."

"All the Jews, including those in St. Louis, want to stand 
with the state of Israel in her fight against the terrorists," 
said Michael Oberlander, general counsel and vice president 
of Brown Shoe Co. Inc. in St. Louis. He attended with his 
6-year-old son, Noah, a kindergarten student at Epstein Hebrew 
Academy in Olivette.

"It's important to remember that the United States and Israel 
are standing shoulder to shoulder against people who commit 
terrorism," Oberlander said. He helped organize a St. Louis 
contingent of 160, which included two buses carrying 100 
people and 60 who flew or drove to Washington.

"We want to show the Jews in Israel," said Robert Cohn, editor 
of the St. Louis Jewish Light, "that even though we're thousands 
of miles apart, we hear their sorrow and agony and suffering. 
The other reason we're here is to show our support for the 
United States and President Bush. ... We hope President Bush 
will show the same moral clarity that he has shown in the fight 
against al-Qaida."

Stephen Lefrak, a professor at Washington University's medical 
school and a Central West End resident, said he attended the 
rally out of concern over spreading anti-Semitism.

"The Jewish people are facing a threat like they've never faced 
since World War II - because what we're seeing now is worldwide 
anti-Semitism, garbed occasionally but not always in anti-Israel 
terms."