Thousands of people have come out to rallies worldwide in solidarity with Israel following the most recent war with Hamas in Gaza, and in protest against rising levels of antisemitism and severe anti-Jewish attacks in the wake of the conflict.
In London, hundreds of people braved the rain to gather close to the Israeli consulate, including leaders of the Jewish community, members of parliament and activists, in a rally organized by the Zionist Federation and the World Zionist Organization.
In Australia, the Jewish community staged rallies in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane that were also attended by hundreds of demonstrators, while numerous such rallies were scheduled in the US in New York, Atlanta, Houston, Los Angeles and beyond.
Among the speakers at the London rally was Israeli Ambassador to the UK Tzipi Hotovely, as well as two members of parliament for the Conservative Party, Theresa Villiers and Christian Wakefield.
Hotovely thanked the demonstrators for their support of Israel and said she was “moved” by the streets of London awash in the blue and white of Israel’s flag.
“Israel will continue to strive for peace. Israel will continue to be a force of good in the world: Israel will prevail,” she declared.
Villiers insisted on Israel’s right to self-defense, and denounced Iran for backing Hamas and creating unrest across the Middle East, as well as the severe antisemitic incidents that have taken place in the UK in recent weeks.
“Iran backed militias are creating havoc all over the region. We won’t have peace while Iran continues to arm terrorists,” she said, arguing that the UK should proscribe Hamas entirely as a terrorist organization, instead of just its military wing, as well as Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
“It has been appalling to see antisemitic incidents online and offline in recent days, and the government must take this very seriously,” Villiers said.
In New York, thousands of Jewish and pro-Israel demonstrators gathered at the site of the World Trade Center, flying Israeli and American flags and bearing numerous placards with different messages of support for the Jewish state.
Demonstrators heard from a series of activists calling out the recent spate of antisemitic attacks in the city, as well as dancing to some raucous Israeli music.
In Australia, at the rally in Melbourne, Zionist Federation of Australia (ZFA) president Jeremy Leibler lauded the unity of Jewish Australians in coming together in solidarity with Israel.
“We came from the Left and Right, from religious and secular backgrounds – to declare one simple message: Israel has a right to live in peace and a right to defend itself when attacked,” Leibler said.
“The people of Israel – and, indeed, the members of the Australian Jewish community – desire peace between Israel and its neighbors,” he said. “We welcome the recently announced ceasefire and call on the international community to ensure that Hamas is not able to rebuild its capacity to attack Israel.”
Several Australian members of parliament were in attendance at the three rallies, including MP Dave Sharma who attended the Sydney event.
According to the ZFA, “credible threats against the rallies” meant that the times and locations of the events were kept secret until Sunday, with a large police presence protecting demonstrators.
And in Germany on Thursday evening, hundreds of protesters turned out in Berlin in front of the Brandenburg Gate to rally in solidarity with Israel.
Aaron Sagui, deputy chief of mission at the Israeli embassy in Berlin, praised Germany for what he described as its “extraordinary commitment to the security of the State of Israel and to maintaining regional stability in the Middle East.”