In the wake of the firebombing attack against peaceful demonstrators taking part in the “March for Their Lives” event in support of the hostages on June 1 in Boulder, Colorado, the Baltimore Jewish community came out to support the local “March for Their Lives” on June 8 to show that they “will not be intimidated by fear and hate,” the Baltimore Jewish Council said.
The march has become a nationwide show of support for the hostages since Oct. 7, with chapters holding weekly demonstrations demanding the release of the hostages from Gaza and their return to Israel.
The local Baltimore chapter has been going strong for over 20 months, and it meets weekly outside of Har Sinai-Oheb Shalom Congregation in Pikesville.
“If we can get a big crowd out to show their support and their solidarity, with the Jewish community and hopefully some elected officials and other partners to show up and walk this Sunday, we think that’s important,” Howard Libit, executive director of the Baltimore Jewish Council, said before the event.
And the community delivered, with over 450 people in attendance at the march, a nearly tenfold increase from the average weekly attendance, according to event organizer Jay Bernstein.
Bernstein said that he believes people felt a need to come out in large numbers this week out of dual support for the hostages and to show courage in the face of people wishing the community harm.
“I think people were even more motivated to attend this Sunday because of what happened in Boulder and as a demonstration, not just of solidarity with the hostages, but a demonstration of our commitment to stand up for what we believe in and not be cowered or silenced or frightened by those who would do us harm,” Bernstein said.
Supporters brought several large Israeli flags, waving slowly in the slight morning breeze, along with dozens of handmade signs and clothing in support of the hostages and Zionism.
Prior to the march, supporters gathered around several community leaders, including Bernstein and Rabbi Rachel Sabath Beit-Halachmi from Har Sinai-Oheb Shalom as several people spoke about the moment the community finds itself in, the importance of continued community support and more.
The group made a video that was shared with the national Run for Their Lives group in which they expressed solidarity with the hostages and the victims of the attack in Colorado.
The video has been distributed weekly for the duration of the marches, along with dozens of others from groups across the country, but in this one, marchers addressed the attack.
They then read the names of the hostages, and supporters came together to sing the Israeli national anthem before beginning their march.
Outreach for this march began several days before, with a targeted effort from organizers to spread the invitation to rabbis, community organizations and individuals in the wake of the attack, and it quickly caught on.
“Jay and the people we have [here] have been so invested in it for every week since October ’23, and it’s a remarkable and dedicated effort. Given the events of this past Sunday, we thought there was an opportunity here to lift them up and hold up [the fact] that our community has been doing this,” Libit said before the event.
For Bernstein, the attack in Colorado served as a stark reminder that it easily could have been their group on the news after an attack, which energized them to continue the walk but with added security.
“The initial reaction, at least, that I had — I’m sure some of my colleagues had — was, ‘That could have been us.’ We’re walking, we’re not hiding the fact we’re walking every Sunday. People know about it. It’s been publicized. It’s been in the media, so that really could have been us,” Bernstein said.
He added that security has been present at marches in the past, but this week local police assisted private security to add extra protection.
As for what Berstein and other organizers are hoping from this heightened turnout, there’s a desire for the hostages to be released so they don’t have to come out again.
But in the event that the group needs to show up again for another week saying their names and calling for their release, Bernstein said there’s a hope that some people who attended for the first time will show up to marches in the future.
“It is difficult to maintain the momentum. To come every Sunday is difficult, and it’s kind of natural that after a while, some of the excitement wears off,” Bernstein said. “One of our challenges is to make sure people continue to know that the walk is continuing and to encourage people to attend.”
