Level: 4th grade and up.

Have you participated in any rallies in support of Israel?

Do you know people — both Jews and non-Jews — who attended a rally in your community or the big rally in Washington, DC on April 15, 2002?

More than 100,000 people arrived in Washington for an Israel Solidarity Rally on April 15. The participants came from all across the country. From Los Angeles to New York, from Maine to Florida, they came to express their solidarity with Israel and to support the war against terrorism. They came in about 2500 chartered buses, on trains, and on planes. They held signs in support of Israel and against terrorism. There were many speakers from the United States Congress, as well as both Israeli and American Jewish leaders.

A few weeks later, more than 50,000 demonstrators from all over Britain also traveled to London, the capitol city, to show their support for Israel.

What are some of the reasons and some of the goals for these solidarity rallies?

Here are some answers people shared with us. Please read them and then summarize each of the reasons and goals, as you understand them, in one sentence.

1. What are the three reasons/goals for participating in a rally in support of Israel that were offered? Can you think of another reason?

   a.___________________________________________________________________________________________
   ________________________________________________________________________________________________
   

   b. __________________________________________________________________________________________
   ________________________________________________________________________________________________
   

   c. _____________________________________________________________________________________________
   _________________________________________________________________________________________
   

   your reason ________________________________________________________________________________
   _________________________________________________________________________________________
   

2. Is participating in a rally enough to show support for Israel? What else can you do to show support for Israel, its soldiers, and its citizens? You can:
   1. Write letters to elected officials, Israeli soldiers, terrorist victims and their families.
   2. Find out about fundraising campaigns in your community to help Israel and join in the efforts.
   3. Strengthen your knowledge of the Jewish connection to Israel by reading and studying about Jewish history and the Jewish holidays.

Shoshana Glatzer, founder and director of the Teacher Center of the Bureau of Jewish Education of Greater NY for 26 years and the BJE Academy for Jewish Educators for 6 years, is now an educational consultant at the New York BJE.