WASHINGTON, D.C. — Charleston Rabbi Victor Urecki said he’s glad his wife talked him into attending the March for Israel rally in Washington, D.C. Tuesday.
Urecki was in the middle of a sea of supporters for Israel when he called in to MetroNews “Talkline.”
“There are tens upon tens of thousands of people here,” Urecki said. “It’s my wife’s birthday and I wasn’t going to go but she said, ‘We need to stand with Israel. We need to stand with our people.’”
Urecki said the rise of antisemitism in the U.S. in recent weeks in reaction to Israel’s ongoing war against Hamas in Gaza is disturbing. The rally sent a strong message about support for Israel, he said.
“The Jewish people are here. The State of Israel after 75 years does not to need to explain its existence. (Israel) has a right to defend itself and America stands with it,” Urecki said.
He said what’s disturbing about the anti-Israel protests taking place on college campuses and other locations across the U.S. is the protests are not just about cease fire.
“It is actually a declaration against the very existence of the Jewish state. When you speak of ‘from the river to the sea’ it speaks of no existence of the Jewish state at all,” he said.
Urecki, who is the rabbi at the B’nai Jacob Synagogue, said he hopes the rally sends an even strong message that America stands with Israel.
“There are not just Jews here. There are Christians. There are people of all faiths, every single denomination of the Jewish faith all standing as one that we support Israel,” Urecki said.