“When it comes to Jews, we always have to prove ourselves,” she said. “We always have to explain and justify our actions, whether in retaliation or not. I think that that’s rooted in antisemitism.”
As for the question of cease-fire, Shvartsman insisted the proposal doesn’t grasp the situation faced by Israelis.
“I think that people calling for a cease-fire maybe don’t fully understand that if a cease-fire happens, that’s probably the end of Israel,” she said. “That doesn’t mean that anyone who’s against the cease-fire condones what’s going on to the innocent people in Gaza. I just think that Hamas got us to the point where they left us no choice. It hurts us too — it does, whether people believe it or not.”
Sitting along the edge of the event holding a “Christians stand for Israel” sign were Amy and Rick Bookwalter, a Catholic couple from Manassas, Virginia.
“I come to the March for Life in January every year, and this is a march for life,” said Amy Bookwalter, referencing the anti-abortion rally that meets annually on the National Mall. “I love the Jewish people. I’m a gentile, obviously, but these are our brothers and sisters through adoption through Jesus.”
She said she hoped their presence at the rally would stand as a symbol against antisemitism.
“Hatred toward Jews is real, and it’s evil to the core, and it needs to stop,” Amy Bookwalter said.
This article originally appeared here.Written by Yonat Shimron, Jack Jenkins.
