Thousands of people stood together in Nationals Park on Sunday for the Jewish Federations of North America and Conference of Presidents of Major Jewish Organizations’ unity event, where speakers highlighted the need for the Jewish community and the wider world to combat antisemitism and to work to secure the release of the 101 hostages still being held by Hamas.

Yet the turnout for the event was a far cry from the 30,000 people that organizers had hoped would attend — a fact that was made more noticeable by the vast majority of the stadium’s 41,000 seats being left unfilled.

Comedian and actress Tiffany Haddish, who emceed the event, noted the lack of attendance. “Where are all the Jews at?” she joked. 

A spokesperson for the event acknowledged that the turnout was lower than expected, but noted to eJewishPhilanthropy that “tens of thousands” of people viewed the event via a live-stream. The location and requirement for attendees to reserve tickets seems to have played at least some role in the matter, with participants complaining that the ticketing system through Major League Baseball was difficult to navigate. In addition to the cold rainy weather in Washington, D.C., there were also security concerns in the wake of the attacks on Israeli soccer fans in Amsterdam last week.

Yet delegations from 220 federations and partner organizations nationwide braved the chilly, drizzling day to participate in “Stand Together: Unity, Strength, and Resilience” — displaying signs and wearing t-shirts that bore statements of their respective cities’ support for Israel. Several attendees also wore masking tape with the number 401 — marking the number of days since more than 250 people were kidnapped from Israel to Gaza, where 101 still remain hostage.

The rally was held as hundreds of delegations flew into Washington for JFNA’s annual three-day General Assembly, which commenced Sunday evening following the rally.  

The event also came a year after JFNA and the Conference of Presidents’ held the March for Israel, when a record-breaking 300,000 Israel supporters — from a wide range of political viewpoints — took chartered planes and trains and packed the National Mall roughly one month after the Oct. 7 terror attacks to show support for the Jewish state in its war against Hamas, condemn rising antisemitism and demand the release of Israeli hostages in Gaza.

The message of communal unity at Sunday’s event was marred somewhat by a decision by progressive Jewish groups on Friday to forgo the rally, accusing organizers of seeking a particular, non-confrontational form of unity.

“A rally for Jewish unity and a demonstration of strength within our community should showcase the diversity of those committed to the safety of Israelis and of Jews around the world and the various approaches to achieving those goals, instead of papering over such differences by promoting a noncritical perspective at the expense of others,” according to the statement, which was signed by Ameinu, Americans for Peace Now, Habonim Dror, North America, J Street, New Israel Fund, New York Jewish Agenda, Partners for Progressive Israel and T’ruah. All of those groups attended last year’s “March for Israel.”

The timing of Sunday’s event was significant — coming just five days after President-elect Donald Trump’s victory over Vice President Kamala Harris in Tuesday’s election — as well as Republicans winning control over the Senate and possibly the House. The election was a prominent theme of many speeches, including from hostage families and politicians.  

Speakers and performers ranged from politicians from both the Republican and Democratic parties to Israeli and American entertainers including Rep. Virgina Foxx (R-NC), Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-NY), Sen. Joni Ernst (R-IA), Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, Israeli Ambassador to the U.S. Michael Herzog, Israeli Maj. Gen. Dan Goldfuss, Israeli singer Idan Raichel and Five for Fighting’s John Ondrasik, whose most recent single, “OK,” was written about the Oct. 7 attacks. 

Whitmer, a Democrat, said that post-election “we must move forward and focus on solving problems.” 

“We stand with the people of Israel. We share their pain. We are committed to their safety,” Whitmer said to thunderous applause, particularly from Michigan’s federation delegations, even as Whitmer has come under scrutiny from Jewish leaders in recent months for a muted reaction to the spate of antisemitic incidents in her state. 

Orna Neutra, the mother of Israeli-American hostage Omer, said that the presidential election provides “a window of opportunity for the outgoing and incoming administrations to work together.” Several of Omer’s friends were seen in the crowd holding “Bring Them Home Now” signs and photographs of the lone soldier from Long Island who recently turned 23, his second birthday in Hamas captivity.  

Neutra said a hostage deal is “the only proven path to bring them back.”  Another hostage family member, Daniel Lifshitz, grandson of Oded Lifshitz and step-brother of Arbel Yehoud, echoed the urgency for a hostage deal in his speech. 

In pre-recorded remarks, Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) said “rallies like this are needed more than ever,” a reference to the antisemitic attack in Amsterdam last week. Schumer, who has been accused of delaying to advance a major bill aimed at addressing a recent surge in campus antisemitism, was the only speaker to be greeted with loud booing from the crowd.

Ondrasik and Torres stressed that combating antisemitism and supporting Israel were not the domains of Jews alone.

“In my mind one does not have to be Jewish to condemn the evil that is Hamas,” said Ondrasik, who is not Jewish, but whose wife, Carla Berkowitz, is.  

“People often ask me, ‘Ritchie, you’re not Jewish, you’re Black, you’re a Latino. Why do you speak out so forcefully and frequently against antisemitism?’” Torres said. “And I simply reply: ‘The question is not, why have I chosen to speak out? The question is, why have others chosen to be silent amid the deadliest day for Jews since the Holocaust?’”

“I see my freedom as a Black Latino from the Bronx as inextricably bound to the freedom of the Jewish people,” Torres continued. “It is progressive to defend Israel’s right to defend itself.”

Unlike last year’s March for Israel, where no rabbis spoke, Sunday’s rally featured two addresses from rabbis across the denominational spectrum: The U.S. Naval Academy’s Lieutenant Commander Rabbi Yonina Creditor and Executive Vice President of the Orthodox Union Rabbi Moshe Hauer. 

Jewish leaders in the “VIP” floor seats included JFNA Chair Julie Platt; Sheila Katz, CEO of National Council of Jewish Women; Elan Carr, CEO of the Israeli American Council; Rabbi Levi Shemtov, executive vice president of American Friends of Lubavitch; and Rabbi Rick Jacobs, president of the Union for Reform Judaism.