Across the Washington region, members of the Jewish and Palestinian communities and their supporters responded to the escalation in violence. At least 700 Israelis were killed Saturday, and as of Sunday, Israel had officially declared war against Hamas, which rules the Gaza Strip.
At synagogues and churches on Sunday, congregants and religious leaders prayed for peace. In front of the White House, a few hundred pro-Palestinian protesters called for the end of American aid to Israel.
Mayor Muriel E. Bowser (D) pledged support for the Israeli people and the Jewish community in Washington as she announced stepped-up police patrols at houses of worship and embassies.
“We join those around the world in calling for peace, condemning the tragic attack on Israel,” Bowser said Sunday on the social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter. “We pray for an end to this bloodshed.”
Synagogues across the region were filled with worshipers. They said memorial prayers. They sang “What a Wonderful World” and hymns of hope, healing and people coming together. Those from other faiths joined them.
“It’s terrifying. It’s upsetting,” said Linda Hirsch, a retired social worker from Bethesda, whose husband was a Holocaust survivor. “I worry for a place that I love dearly.”
Rabbi Jonathan Roos of Temple Sinai condemned the attack, calling the Hamas militant group “an antisemitic, fundamentalist mass murder organization.” Temple Sinai, he said, is a progressive congregation that has vocally opposed Israel’s occupation of the West Bank, supporting peace with Palestinians and the peaceful creation of a Palestinian state alongside Israel.
“And that is exactly why we condemn Israel’s attackers,” Roos said, adding that the attacks have shaken the Jewish community in Washington. Many at Temple Sinai have relatives in Israel or travel there to study, begin their careers or to connect with their religion and people.
Negotiations for a two-state solution between Israel and the Palestinians have been stalled for years — and while the violence appeared to erupt suddenly Saturday, it followed more than a year of escalating tensions in the West Bank and Gaza. This year alone has seen a spike in deadly attacks against both Israelis and Palestinians.
Hamas said the operation was in response to the years-long blockade of Gaza, as well as recent Israeli military raids in the West Bank and violence at al-Aqsa Mosque, a disputed religious site in Jerusalem known to Jews as the Temple Mount.
But its militants gunned down civilians on the streets and in their homes, including at least 260 people who gathered in the desert in southern Israel to attend an all-night music festival.
“Antisemitism and the hatred of Jews is a part of this,” Roos said in an interview. “Anyone who is inclined to sympathize with Hamas in this situation really needs to reckon with and confront the reality of their antisemitism and their hatred.”
The scene at the Northwest Washington synagogue was one of many playing out across the Jewish world on a weekend that normally is full of joy and celebration of Shabbat and Shemini Atzeret, a Jewish holiday. At Adas Israel Congregation in Cleveland Park, congregants were planning an emergency response to raise funds to support the victims.
“Tragically, we’ve once again waked up to the news of war in our beloved Israel,” Adas leaders said to congregants.
“Yes, we will pray for a swift end to this latest fighting.”
“Yes, we will pray for a lasting peace, a different future.”
“Yes, we will pray for our families and friends who will once again suffer terrible loss.”
“Yes, we will pray for the safe return of those held captive.”
“Yes, we will reach out to our loved ones deeply and directly impacted.”
While they prayed, a rally in front of the White House swelled to a few hundred pro-Palestinian protesters.
They were watched closely by about a dozen Secret Service officers, and later escorted by D.C. police officers. But the gathering, which included singing, chanting and dancing, remained peaceful. No counterprotesters appeared to be present.
The All Out for Palestinian Territories rally was organized by groups including Party for Socialism and Liberation, Palestinian Youth Movement, Maryland 2 Palestinian territories and others, according to a news release. It was among dozens of similar protests planned across the country.
Calling the day a “moment of victory,” organizers led chants calling for independent Palestinian territories and the end of U.S. funding for Israel. Some said they felt more hopeful about the future of Palestinian territories now than they had over their lifetimes.
“To put it simply, this moment is a new moment in our struggle, the struggle of the Palestinian people,” said Yasin Shami, 29.
Some protesters carried heart-shaped signs pasted with pictures of Palestinian children who have been killed in recent years of the decades-long conflict.
One was carried by Leslie Angeline, 66, who was visiting the District from California. She flew in this month to protest the war in Ukraine and said she was among those arrested at the office of Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) last week.
She protested her first war, Vietnam, at age 14. In between strolling the city and dining at Busboys and Poets, she wanted to be part of a response when she saw the declaration of another war in the news.
“I don’t support the violence on either side,” Angeline said. “But I don’t think it’s unprovoked. It is heartbreaking and an absolute tragedy that it has come to this.”
Shortly before 2:30 p.m. Sunday, the crowd, still a few hundred strong, began marching. As they left the White House grounds and moved south along 17th Street, they were met by a half-dozen D.C. police vehicles. Police redirected traffic.
“End detention, stop the crimes, Israel out of Palestinian territories,” the crowd chanted as it passed the Eisenhower Executive Office Building.
The gravity of the moment also was felt in Christian churches Sunday, where leaders prayed for Israelis and peace in the Middle East. Many condemned the attacks.
In Gaithersburg, pastor Dale O’Shields opened his congregation’s four services this weekend with a prayer for Israel and encouraged congregants at Church of the Redeemer — one of the largest Christian churches in Montgomery County — to continue to pray for peace in that part of the world.
“We certainly want to pray for that portion of the world, that God’s peace rests upon it,” O’Shields said Sunday morning. “We ask the Lord for a miraculous breakthrough and a miraculous peace to come that will be a lasting peace.”
Lilek, who has a flight back to Israel in two weeks, said the attack and war won’t stop him from returning to get his postgraduate degree. This weekend he was fielding messages from friends there who were being called up as reservists in the Israeli army.
“I love Israel. It has been a great place to live, and right now my life is there,” he said. “I want to go back and continue. And any Israeli would tell you that you can’t let these sorts of terrorism interfere.”
