Hundreds of Pittsburghers plan to travel to D.C. Tuesday to join March for Israel

WASHINGTON — Hundreds of people from Pittsburgh are preparing to head to Washington, D.C. on Tuesday to show their support for Israel amid the ongoing conflict with Hamas.

The March for Israel is planned from 1 to 3 p.m. at the National Mall.

“This will be one of the largest rallies on behalf of Israel that the Jewish community has organized,” said Brian Schreiber, the Chief External Affairs Officer for the Jewish Community Center of Greater Pittsburgh.

Event organizers expect close to 100,000 people.

Schreiber will be among them. He lived in Israel in the 1980s and has been back several times since.

“When you have relationships, when you have friends and family and you see people in pain, you want to be there to support them and this is the opportunity to show that we care,” Schreiber said.

The march is being hosted by Jewish Federations across the country.

The Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh is sending more than 300 people on 10 buses.

“It’s so important right now to stand with Israel, and for the Jewish Federation, it’s just a great opportunity to bring people together at a time in which they’re hurting or in pain and introduce something positive and show our support,” said Adam Hertzman, the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh’s Associate Vice President of Marketing.

Tuesday’s rally in D.C. comes as the death toll in Gaza tops 11,000 — and 1,200 in Israel.

Monday night, on Carnegie Mellon University’s campus, students and faculty gathered for a candlelight Vigil for Gaza to mourn the lives lost.

>> Vigil held at CMU to mourn lives lost during war in Middle East

“I think the issue is that this conflict is being seen as a religious conflict when it shouldn’t be seen as a religious conflict. All religions should be respected and need to be respected, and that includes our Jewish brothers and sisters,” said Farida Abdelmoneum, a CMU student and Vigil for Gaza organizer.

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