Emery Marches Their Way to Washington D.C.

After the tragic Hamas attack on Israeli civilians on Oct. 7, 2023, Jews around America wanted to come together to march against antisemitism and to save the hostages. Various Jewish organizations organized this march, featuring speeches by politicians and relatives of hostages abducted by Hamas, as well as some musical performances. Once news of this march spread to Emery, many Emery students and faculty wanted to participate in this assembly for peace, even though they would be taking time out of their busy schedules. But to travel across the country for a day of harmony amongst the frightening violence was a no-brainer. 

On Nov. 14, Emery students and faculty ventured to Washington D.C. where they stood protesting for peace in solidarity amongst 300,000 Jews, making this the biggest Jewish gathering in American history. Senior Elah Tuchshnieder spoke about how special this day meant to her. “I genuinely had so many emotions; I have family over there, family who are in danger. But seeing so many Jews and non-Jews come together to stand for peace and an end to this violence was an awakening I will never forget,” Elah said.

Many Emery students feel the sympathy Elah does, and Emery’s community wants to make sure that this volatile violence ceases. Emery’s students are strong and outgoing, and even through this horrifying period of violence, Emery’s student body is unbreakable as they stand together in solidarity. 

Senior Peri Toubin is also spreading awareness within Emery’s community to educate Jews and non-Jews about what is going on in this conflict. Toubin helped set out over 30 teddy bears around campus with a picture and a description of a hostage on each teddy bear, only showing a small fraction of the roughly 250 Israeli hostages taken by Hamas in Israel, showing how surreal this situation is.

“I had asked to help,” Toubin stated. “I had seen The Red Balloon online, a campaign to bring attention to the issue of the hostages, and I was inspired to spread awareness like they do worldwide to those in my school community so that people who don’t know the details about this conflict can have a better understanding.”

During this time of uncertainty and fear, Emery has maintained its motto, “The Power of We,” to stick together, even through hard times. Moving forward, Emery students are determined to continue spreading knowledge and awareness inside and outside the school community in hopes of reaching worldwide peace and comfort between Israelis and Palestinians.