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Chanie Cohen is getting her Master's in Jewish Education in New York.
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By Chanie Cohen
April 22, 2002
Originally published on Jewsweek.com.
I sit here, two nights after the solidarity rally in Washington, D.C. trying to put my thoughts of the rally down in writing to share with those who weren't as fortunate as I to attend.
I have searched and searched for some monumental emotion that I should be feeling and that I should be able to convey to you, my reader, about how the rally has uplifted me and inspired me, has been life-changing in some way. But the emotions and the feelings don't come. I am numb to what I should be feeling.
Staring at the mostly blank screen in front of me, I think … what has this rally done? What has changed since Monday afternoon? A few days ago, I decided to attend the rally to support Israel, and for the time that I was there, I was inspired to see the masses of people gathered at the Capitol, the largest rally for Israel since 1948. But now, a few days later? Has anything changed? We, at least I, are back to our daily routines, back to the normality of suburban American life. And the rally? Yes, it was given a front-page picture, but the story, our story, was buried on page A18 of The New York Times.
What have we accomplished? I spoke to a friend in Israel recently and asked her what everyone there heard about the rally. Her words astonished me. "What rally?" she said. Those words echo in my ears now, as I attempt to look deep inside myself and ask what I did by being there, besides being able to tell others that I went.
What if everyone that had attended that rally had pooled their money and sent half that amount of people to Israel? I have just read an astonishing fact. Israel has the highest unemployment rate in all of the Western world -- 23 percent. Practically a quarter of all Israelis don't have jobs because people are ceasing to do business in and with companies in Israel. The streets are empty, cafes close early, and children can't play outside by themselves.
What if all those people who were gathered at the Capitol were gathered at the Western Wall instead? What if we had stopped our lives, left our country's borders, and flown to Israel, even if just for one day, to give our money but more importantly, ourselves, to our brothers there. Would it have gotten any more press coverage? Probably not. But we might have made an impression on the people who need it most, that we, American Jewry, stand always and forever with them, and are willing to give our lives to defend our homeland as much as they and their 18-year-old sons are. That we, American Jewry, can not only give our money, but also give ourselves to you, our family in Israel.
In these thoughts, I seek not to belie the impact the rally may have had on others' heartstrings or even on President Bush himself, showing him the backing he has for his pro-Israel position, at least for now. I simply seek to look inside myself and ask what else I can do.
Many I have spoken to have been inspired and uplifted by the events of the day. But I have not been as fortunate. For me, the moment of inspiration, if I can call it that, comes when I look at my screen and wonder if I have the courage to extend beyond my reach, over the oceans, and into the land of Israel.
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