This afternoon thousands of people rallied on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. to support Israel in the month after a surprise attack from Hamas militants killed approximately 1,200 people and took over 200 others hostage, many of whom are still captive.

In response, Israel has launched a siege and airstrike campaign against Hamas in Gaza that has killed at least 10,000 Palestinians – most of them women and children. The country has since faced criticism from humanitarian groups and world leaders, along with calls for a ceasefire. However, Israel has rejected the idea until all of its hostages are freed.

In a show of solidarity with Israel, several groups (including the Jewish Federation of Greater Washington) organized the march to demand the release of the hostages and to push back on antisemitism, which is reportedly on the rise.

The pro-Israel march drew participants from around the country and the D.C. region, starting with an early morning minyan outside of the White House to share their gratitude with the U.S. and to pray for the people of Israel.

Nimrode Pantz, who is Israeli, was there with a handful of other volunteers just before sunrise. They’re part of Tsav8DMV, a local group of mostly Israelis, who set up 239 pairs of shoes meant to symbolize the hostages taken since Oct. 7.

“When you actually make it a personal item for each person, you realize each one is a person. It’s really heartbreaking,” says Pantz, who works in D.C. “We’re here calling for their immediate release on a humanitarian basis.”

Despite having lived in Rockville, Md. for the last 20 years, Moti Kachlon says he felt the pain of the attack on Oct. 7 on a personal level when friends were attacked by Hamas militants at several kibbutz – including Kfar Aza. “I guess we lost more than 50 close friends over there,” says Kachlon, who also volunteers with Tsav8DMV.

Like many others, Dvir Blivis says he wanted to highlight the loss of innocent lives through the display. But he also supports an end to the rule of Hamas, which he says are responsible for the murder and kidnapping of Israeli civilians.

“I think our goal is just to show the light, to show the life of the people. They have done nothing but sitting in their homes. And they got eviscerated, murdered – a horrible thing they went through. And some of them we don’t know even if they are alive,” says Blivis, who also lives in Rockville, Md.

Sam Lipson, who lives in Montgomery County, says he was motivated to come to the demonstration as a show of solidarity with other Jewish people. As a father, he feels disturbed by reports of increased antisemitism both in local schools and at universities.

“For me personally, it is mostly about community and just being among both supporters and other Jewish people right now to feel some sense of solidarity,” says Lipson.

His father, Kevin Lipson, flew in from Houston, Texas just to be at the demonstration with his son. He says he agrees that, in recent weeks, there’s been growing sense of antisemitism that concerns him.

“This is something that affects all of us. It affects Jews initially, but what starts with the Jews never ends with the Jews,” says Lipson, who previously lived in the D.C. region.

“I’m hoping that there will be a realization that the rise in antisemitism is unacceptable, that the hostages have to be returned, and that Israel has a legitimate right to defend its sovereignty as it has.”

Meredith Weisel, the regional director for the Anti Defamation League in Washington, D.C., says she came to the rally both in a personal and professional capacity, and to make her voice heard.

“I’m a very proud Jew. I’m a Zionist. I believe the state of Israel should exist. And I’m very, unfortunately, sad about what happened on Oct. 7,” says Weisel. “And I’m also really concerned about the rising antisemitism that we’ve now started to see here in the United States and here in this region as well.”

Since the war broke out, Weisel says she’s seen more reports of swaztikas being drawn in schools, along with people being targeted for being Jewish. Her daughter, Jaida, says she came to the demonstration to speak up against those reports.

“I feel like we have to speak up because we’re a younger generation,” says Jaida Weisel.