BEACHWOOD, Ohio — On Tuesday, roughly 1,700 Northeast Ohioans arrived in Washington, D.C. to attend the March for Israel, a rally that drew in tens of thousands of people from across the country to stand in support of Israel, call for the release of hostages held by hamas, and speak out against antisemitism.
On Wednesday, 3News caught up with three people from the Greater Cleveland area who went to Washington to attend. Susan Borison, the chair of the community relations committee at the Jewish Federation of Cleveland, woke up at 3 in the morning Tuesday to drive to D.C., getting home around midnight. She remembers the day as one of hope.
"I did not anticipate this — how it took my breath away, how beautiful it was, how hopeful it felt," she said. "Just to have so many people going to the same place with the same goal of finding peace in Israel, finding ways to reduce antisemitism in America, eliminate antisemitism, and the power of the people. It was hope walking together through our capital, with security making sure we were safe, and just feeling like there was no other place I'd rather be."
Borison said she was able to find and connect with family members and friends who were coming from other states to attend the march, and says while there were emotional highs of feeling love and support, she also felt moments of sadness and despair, especially when hearing stories from the families of hostages.
"It was a waffling of a day emotionally, and I think even if it hadn't been an arduous journey, it was emotionally draining and exhausting," she noted.
Jason Wuliger, co-chair of Cleveland's Israel Emergency Campaign, boarded a bus late Monday night and drove through the morning to get to DC. He said there were performers, music, poets, and elected officials present, and called the experience "uplifting."
"It was an amazing day of support for Israel, of support for bringing home the hostages, and standing against antisemitism here in the United States," he said.
Wuliger attended with his wife and their three children, whom he said felt it was important to be there.
"This is something that we've been watching now for over a month, and they haven't had a chance to really do something to help until now," he told us of his children's experience. "So being there and being counted was very meaningful to them."
Wuliger also noted the bipartisan support that was on display by some lawmakers at the rally itself, something also mentioned by Beth Wain Brandon, 2024 campaign chair for the Campaign for Jewish Needs at the Jewish Federation of Cleveland.
"We had Republican[s] and Democrat[s] all saying they stand with Israel and they stand with all of us, so that was amazing," Wain Brandon said.
For Wain Brandon, another impactful moment was hearing from families of hostages. About a week prior, she had the chance to meet with some families of hostages personally on a trip to Israel, which she described as a mission of solidarity.
"We met with hostages' families and we cried with hostage families, and we all hugged, and they were giving us the message that they were so grateful that we came and that they were also worried about us here in the United States and the rise of antisemitism," she recounted of her trip to Israel.
Wain Brandon, Borison, and Wuliger all say standing against antisemitism was an important mission of the March for Israel.
"We are fighting antisemitism and watching it rise in unprecedented numbers," Wain Brandon said. "So we wanted to stand together to say we are not standing for the levels of Jew hate that are going on in this country and around the world."