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By: Abram Shanedling

Last Thursday, November 11, I joined more than 1,000 university and high school students, as well as community members, at the National Mall in Washington, D.C. to mark the 1600th day that Hamas has held hostage Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit.

Hasbara Fellowships co-sponsored the rally, organized by the ZOA chapter of the University of Maryland, and fellows from across the East Coast joined to demand increased pressure on Hamas to allow humanitarian aid to Shalit.

Hasbara Fellows at the 1600 for 1600 Rally (From left) Rachel Goldrich, Aliza Fishbein, Helena Bondar.

Hamas, recognized as a terrorist organization by the U.S. Department of State, has refused to allow the Red Cross or any other humanitarian organization to visit Shalit, violating the Geneva Convention.

Dan Berdugo, president of ZOA UMD, hatched the idea for the demonstration a little over a month ago, and quickly built a strong coalition of fellow pro-Israel student groups and national organizations across the Greater Washington area. But through strong outreach, the UMD organization was even able to draw students from Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and even Florida.

The rally itself, staged in front of the U.S. Capitol, featured Rep. Eliot Engel, D-NY, who reiterated the condemnation against Iran-backed Hamas. “Hamas is a terrorist organization using a poor Israeli soldier as one of my children, as a political pawn because they want to trade … for the release of terrorists,” he said.

Dan Arbell, the Israeli Embassy’s Deputy Chief of Mission, also addressed the crowd and praised the work of university pro-Israel advocates. “Today we can honor a young man who represents patriotism and freedom and is an emblem of hope that has united people across the world,” he said.

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Despite the crowd, I luckily was able to run into several Hasbara Fellows and would like to thank them for lending their time! (If your name isn’t listed, feel free to comment to this post and add that you were there!):

 

• Aaron Czinn (ZOA-UMD, University of Maryland)
• Scott Gross (ZOA-UMD, TerPAC, University of Maryland)
• Emily Alloy (SAFI, George Washington University)
• Rachel Goldrich (SAFI, George Washington University) – who was quoted in her campus paper
  on Monday!
• Lindy Wisotsky (SAFI, George Washington University)
• Helena Bondar (AUPAC, American University)
• Jacob Ross (AUSFI, American University)
• Garrick Weiss (AUSFI, American University)
• Aliza Fishbein (CHAI, Johns Hopkins University)

For a video of the rally, visit www.theisraelproject.org.