COLUMBIA – Many mid-Missourians came together in Columbia on Monday to express their sadness and anger towards the current events in Israel.
One rally was organized by Chabad Jewish Center of MU and Mid-Missouri. Many students and community members rallied at Speaker’s Circle on MU’s campus.
The Vice President of Students Supporting Israel, Ilay Kielmanowicz, spoke to the crowd about his anger and sadness for his family and people back in Israel.
“This is something that I, in my life, have not seen before,” Kielmanowicz said.
Kielmanowicz was born in Israel but moved to the United States in 2016. The majority of his family still lives in Israel.
“I have cousins that are babies, they don’t even know what the definition of war is,” Kielmanowicz said.
While living in Israel, Kielmanowicz said he has personally hidden in bomb shelters, but “nothing like this.”
The Rabbi for Chabad, Rabbi Avraham Lapine, says the rally was one way to get the message of support out to the public.
“The best way we believe to fight hatred and terrorism and also to encourage humanity to be there for one another, to reach out to one another and that’s what we hoped to accomplish,” said Lapine.
The other rally was organized by local Missourians in support of Israel. They rallied at the intersection of Ninth Street and Broadway in downtown Columbia.
Many students that attended the rally at Speaker’s Circle walked downtown to join that rally.
Kielmanowicz’s message was, “This is a human issue and it should be treated as such. There is no both sides.”
KOMU 8 News reached out to American Muslims for Palestine. The organization did not respond for comment.