After a series of violent acts sent a chill down the spines of many in the Jewish-American community, more than 100 people bundled against the cold—some wearing yarmulkes or holding Israeli flags—and gathered in Takoma Park on Sunday night.

Two shooters went on a rampage in a New Jersey kosher market, killing three people in what police say was an anti-Semitic attack. Soon after, a man barged into a New York home as people celebrated Hanukkah and stabbed five people. Even closer to home was the defacement of D.C.’s historic Sixth & I synagogue in early December with anti-Semitic graffiti. A 28-year-old man was arrested on vandalism charges with police adding an “anti-Jewish” bias to the charges. Many of these acts happened just prior to or during Hanukkah.

“It seemed like it would never end,” A.J. Campbell, one of the vigil’s organizers, told DCist. “It was eight nights of more reports and more reports. Instead of family and celebrating, we were talking about safety and security. Looking back on this year, it’s been an undeniable targeting of Jews.”

Campbell and other local Jewish activists quickly put together the vigil to coincide with a solidarity march in New York.

Shortly before the new year, a friend had posted to Facebook asking if there were any events happening around D.C., too. Campbell decided there should be. So on New Year’s Eve, while others celebrated, she gathered the other organizers to plan, securing a location in Takoma Urban Park and inviting interfaith leaders and local representatives to speak.

The event was closely monitored by police who had blocked off the area around the park.

Even with temperature plunging into the 30s, the crowd spilled into the street as the event opened with songs in both Hebrew and English. “Singing and dancing together will make us warmer,” one speaker joked.

Chevy Chase resident JoAnn Russell described moving from Nebraska, where being Jewish felt polarizing. She said she felt encouraged by the diverse community of the D.C. area and yet expressed her disbelief that even this city couldn’t staunch anti-Semitism.

“I can’t believe we are threatened because we are Jewish,” Russell said.

While speakers expressed their pain at recent attacks on Jewish Americans, much of the vigil was taken up by calls to action.

“Anti-Semitism tries to keep us in our circles, suspicious of one another and afraid. We will not let our children grow up in a place where Jew hatred is acceptable,” said Rabbi Rachel Hersh, a rabbi at Adat Israel and a member of the Jewish Community Relations Council.

Takoma Park’s Mayor Kate Stewart and members of the Montgomery County Council also spoke and, at times, lawmakers made both direct and indirect references to the Trump administration.

Montgomery County Councilmember Will Jawando called out the president by name for the rise in anti-Semitism. “He relishes the angry mobs,” he said. “Today that hate has put our nation on the brink of war.” He called on the crowd to register to vote and stand up in casual conversations to call out hatred. “What you do matters,” he said.

Maryland Rep. Jamie Raskin told the crowd of his Jewish grandfather, a Minnesota state legislator in the 1930s and 40s, who was the victim of anti-Semitism himself.

“There were members of the other party who would get up and leave whenever he stood to speak on the floor,” he said, adding that he wasn’t even permitted to go to his own party’s annual retreat as it took place in a club that barred Jewish people.

“We must stand up for everyone who is under attack by this new wave of anti-Semitism, racism, Islamophobia, and hatred towards minorities.”

D.C. saw an all-time high of 205 bias-motivated attacks in 2018, and was on pace to exceed that total as of the beginning of December.

Sponsors of the vigil also included the Sisterhood of Salaam Shalom, Jews and Muslims Acting Together, and the Interfaith Families Project.

Nazli Chaudhry, a member of the Sister of Salaam Shalom, promised to commit to holding local leaders accountable and thanked the leaders there tonight.

“With the rise in hate crimes and polarizing rhetoric, it’s easy to despair. But as Muslim and Jewish members of the sisterhood, we know that when we raise our voices and stand up for each other. We can withstand the tide of hate,” she said.

Campbell said it’s important to include people of many faiths at such vigils. “We need community, we need strength,” she told DCist. “When we hear someone say anti Semitic, that is hostile towards Jews, we need people to call them out. We need people to say, ‘That is not okay to say. I’ve stood with Jews at vigils and I’ve heard their pain and I’ve listened to their stories.’”