"Coming together to support one of America's best friends at a time when we can understand the sort of horror that it has to face due to Arab terrorism is both a necessary and important thing and that is why as chair of the Amherst College Republicans, I encouraged the members of my group to come out to the rally," said event participant Theodore Hertzberg '04.
The rally started off and ended with the blowing of the shofar, the ritual ram's horn used for centuries to call the Jewish community to action. Participants held up signs and posters expressing anti-terrorism sentiments.
The organizers of the event, Amherst student Leora Maccabee '05 and UMass student Dan Yaguden, followed the horn-blowing by giving short speeches in which they explained the purpose of the rally and encouraged participants to write notes expressing sympathy to the families of the victims on available cards.
"I think that it was the best way for the community to unite together and not feel ashamed about our beliefs," said Maccabee.
Non-rallyers showed their support as they waved Israeli flags out the windows of their cars and honked as they passed by. Others contributed a total of over 300 dollars to the Israeli equivalent of the Red Cross, the Red Star of David.
The majority of the protest was spent on chants and Hebrew songs of peace, as well as a reading of the names of the victims. "Our chants were pro-Israeli, pro-peace, pro-democracy," commented participant Jonathan Shartar '03. "There were some agitators within the pro-Israeli group but the general atmosphere was definitely peaceful."
A moment of silence was held for the terrorist victims towards the end of the rally.
Also present at the event were approximately 30 counter-protesters from the five colleges, although none from Amherst College, who held the position that Israel should make more concessions to the Palestinians.
"It was not a surprise that there was a pro-Palestinian contingent but I was definitely discouraged by some of the statements that they were making," said Shartar. "A lot of their comments were along the lines of 'End the Israeli occupation.'"
The rally, which received national attention from such newspapers as The Boston Globe and The Springfeild Union-News, as well as coverage on local news programs, was organized by the Student Alliance for Israel (SAFI). It was held in response to the terrorist attacks that have killed over 400 people since September 11.
"Out of those 400 deaths, 133 of them happened just in this past month which really shows that violence against Israelis has kicked up. And a lot of these deaths were people our age," said Maccabee.
SAFI is a student-led five-college group promoting political awareness and exploring the cultural heritage of Israel. It began with the organizing of a vigil held at UMass for 26 Israelis that were killed in a terrorist attack last December. SAFI connects approximately 200 students through its online mailing list.
"It's great that SAFI is a five-college group and not just an Amherst one because we can get more participation from all over the place and find out about more events," said Maccabee.
Upcoming SAFI events include festivities next Wednesday celebrating Israeli Independence Day with dancing and food. Riki Mullu will speak later this month about her experiences as an Ethiopian immigrant in Israel and her work with youth immigration to Israel.