Goldberg, Doran

Professor Encinias

CAS 115

10/11/2023

Yesterday, October 10th, I went to a pro Israel rally at the Los Angeles Federal Building.

A few days ago, Hamas launched a huge attack on Israel and went into south Israel. The

terrorists have been killing, raping, and beheading to say the least. Some people around the world

shockingly rejoiced in this horrendous action. As a proud Jewish man and future soldier of the

IDF, I want to be very active in my stance in support of the Jewish homeland. People from all

over the valley and Los Angeles showed up. It mostly consisted of Jews and Israelis, but there

were other supporters as well. There were also lots of Police and Sheriffs.

The rally had a few main purposes, the first of which was to show support for Israel and

the victims of this attack. The other reasons included to raise awareness that this is going on in

the world, combat anti semitism, encourage the US government to take supportive action, and

embrace community for emotional and moral support. My best friend’s mom, who is a rabbi, put

it pretty straight forward, “We are here today because we love Israel.”

Throughout the event there were various chants of “Am Yisrael High.” People were

waving Israeli flags and US flags alike, although there were significantly more Israeli flags.

Men, women, and children of all ages attended the event. My friend's mom spoke in front of the

whole crowd because she is a Rabbi/ Cantor and it was really cool to see her get to speak. There
were many other speakers as well, many of which were also leaders of the local Jewish

communities.

I was lucky enough to speak to an ex IDF soldier who I had recognized through him

wearing his beret. I asked him about his service. He was too old to be called back in the reserves

however, he told me he was considering trying to fly back and fight anyways. He told me, “This

beret I got a long time ago and my service ended. I still have my beret, I still have my love for

Israel.”

Here is a picture of my friend's mom, and my Rabbi/ Cantor, up on the stage: