Washington, D.C
From protest to peace: A journey of faith in Washington, DC – opinion
We arrived at the protest rally just before the 11 a.m. start time. There weren’t many people there, and those who were, despite waving Palestinian flags, were more interested in shouting abuse at the assembled police officers and chanting about domestic American issues.
Then we realized that this wasn’t the main protest, but rather one of dozens of smaller rallies happening all over central Washington, DC last week, ostensibly to protest Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s address to Congress. What followed was three hours of walking through a dystopian hell, with masked youths chanting for Israel’s destruction, middle-aged men carrying swastikas, and young Americans screaming for an intifada on the streets of the US and Israel. A veritable sea of hate that threatened to swallow us whole.
We eventually made it to our hotel, and to the reason we were in DC: a conference of 250 young Christians arranged by the pro-Israel Christian organization, Passages. Often referred to as the “Christian Birthright,” Passages has for the last decade been bringing busloads of American college kids on 10-day trips to Israel to learn about the origins of their faith, as well as the story of modern Israel and the wider Middle East.
Now, with tourism to Israel in tatters because of the war, they pivoted and arranged this conference, in the seat of the American government – Washington, DC. What followed was four days of fellowship, learning together, touring the DC’s monuments, visiting the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, celebrating a traditional Shabbat dinner with an Orthodox rabbi, and much more.
It was a privilege to be invited, and to have the opportunity to teach about Israel, to such an eager audience. Everyone agreed with the sentiment of “Next year in Jerusalem,” and I know that many of the friends I made here in DC will be visiting the Holy Land as soon as they can. I was strengthened by their prayers for my family and for our brave soldiers, and heartened by their dedication to Israel in the face of such opposition.
The most impactful part of the trip was undoubtedly the final morning, when the siblings of two hostages, Or Levy and Romi Leshem-Gonen, shared the story of their loved ones. Our group are all lovers of Israel, and all know about the hostages, but I saw on their faces that this encounter will change them for the rest of their lives.
Unity in prayer
After the meeting, we walked together to the National Mall. We were a group of 250 young American Christians, a smattering of Israelis such as myself, my colleague Joanna Peled, and these two brave and broken hostage families.
We prayed together, in English, Hebrew, and Spanish (there were some representatives from a Spanish-speaking church in Texas). We prayed for peace, for reconciliation, and of course, for the hostages to return home, now!
I couldn’t help shedding tears of hope as we all sang “Hatikvah,” and prayed for the peace of Jerusalem. As our cries rang out loud and clear, I recalled that three days earlier the hatred and violence of the anti-Israel protest hung heavily on the air. Today, I reveled that I was on the right side of history. It was just love, peace, pain, and humanity.
The writer, a tour guide and educator, lives in Tzur Hadassah with his family.
Washington, D.C
Storm Team4 Forecast: A chilly, gusty Sunday before a cool start to the week
4 things to know about the weather:
- Chances of rain in the morning
- Gusty Sunday
- Chilly Monday
- Temps will rise again through the work week
Download the NBC Washington app on iOS and Android to check the weather radar on the go.
After a nice and warm Saturday, changes arrive for part two of the weekend.
The first half of your Sunday will have a chance for showers. Winds will pick up with our next system and are expected to gust to about 20-30 mph. Cooler air will settle in, and lows Sunday night fall into the 40s.
Highs temps Monday will reach only into the mid to upper 50s.
However, temperatures will rise through the week, so you won’t need your jackets every day.
QuickCast
SUNDAY:
Showers, then partly cloudy
Wind: NW 10-15 mph
Gusts @ 30 mph
HIGH: Lower 60s
MONDAY:
Partly cloudy
Wind: NW 10-15 mph
Gusts @ 25 mph
HIGH: Upper 50s
Stay with Storm Team4 for the latest forecast. Download the NBC Washington app on iOS and Android to get severe weather alerts on your phone.
Washington, D.C
‘It’s a twilight zone’: Iran war casts deep shadows over IMF gathering in Washington
The most severe energy shock since the 1970s, the risk of a global recession and households everywhere stomaching a renewed surge in the cost of living – hitting the most vulnerable hardest.
In a sweltering hot Washington DC this week, the message at the International Monetary Fund meetings was chilling: things had been looking up for living standards around the world. But then came the Iran war.
“Some countries are in panic,” said the fund’s managing director, Kristalina Georgieva, addressing the finance ministers and central bank bosses in town for the IMF and World Bank spring meetings. “The sooner it [the Iran war] ends, the better for everybody.”
Such gatherings are not typically used to fight geopolitical battles. “You don’t get people shouting at one another at these things,” one senior figure remarked. But, as a record-breaking April heatwave swept the US capital, no one could ignore the mounting damage from the Iran war.
Those familiar with the mood over breakfast at a meeting of the G20’s representatives on Thursday, which included Donald Trump’s treasury secretary, Scott Bessent, and the outgoing US Federal Reserve chair, Jerome Powell – said the atmosphere in the room was sombre amid an open exchange of serious views.
“It is such a twilight-zone meeting,” said Mohamed El-Erian, a former IMF deputy managing director who is now chief economic adviser at the Allianz insurance group. “There are several shadows hanging over it: one is the shadow that comes from concern about the global economy as a whole.
“The second is that some countries are going to be particularly hard hit, and it’s mostly countries that very few people are talking about. But the third concern is the adding of insult to injury: the fact that the US, which started a war of choice, is going to be hit, but by a lot less than elsewhere in relative terms.”
Before Thursday’s breakfast, Rachel Reeves had started her day with an early-morning jog. Joined by her counterparts from Spain, Australia and New Zealand for a run down the iconic National Mall, she posted an Instagram selfie with a not-so-subtle dig: “Friends that run together – work together.”
A day earlier, the chancellor had told a CNBC conference that she thought “friends are allowed to disagree on things” as she criticised Trump’s Iran war as a “mistake” and a “folly” that had not made the world safer.
Speaking at a venue just steps away from the White House, before a one-on-one meeting with Bessent, she said this “fair message” was needed because UK families and businesses were feeling the pain from higher energy prices triggered by the conflict.
Those close to Reeves insist her meeting remained cordial. Britain and the US have significant shared interests in AI, financial services and trade. The chancellor also said the UK government had little time for the Iranian regime.
But with the IMF having warned on Tuesday that the Iran war could risk a global recession – in which Britain would be the biggest G7 casualty – it was clear Reeves had travelled to Washington ready to pick a fight.
“I’m struck by how vocal she has been and the words she used,” said one global financier. “We know the disagreement between Bessent and [European Central Bank president] Christine Lagarde earlier in the year. But that was in private.”
At a cocktail party held at the British ambassador’s residence for hundreds of diplomats and financiers – including the Bank of England’s governor, Andrew Bailey, the chief executive of Barclays, CS Venkatakrishnan, and dozens of senior figures – this transatlantic tension, weeks before King Charles’s US state visit, was a major topic of conversation.
The other, in the balmy residence gardens, was one of its former occupants, Peter Mandelson, as revelations about the former ambassador’s appointment threatened to further rock the UK government.
Before the war, the agenda for the IMF had been about global cooperation; the adoption of AI, jobs and work to eradicate poverty. Each of those tasks had now been complicated, but not least the task of countries working together.
For many at the meetings, the focus was on forging closer global cooperation without the world’s pre-eminent superpower.
“Everybody is talking about how you hedge against American decisions,” said David Miliband, the former UK foreign secretary, who now runs the International Rescue Committee. “You can’t do without them, because they’re 25% of the global economy. But, in a lot of fora, they’ve pulled out.
“So everyone has to think, how does one structure international cooperation? The old west is not coming back. And so everyone has to figure out how to position themselves for that world.”
For those gathering in Washington, there was irony in the fact that they were meeting in the halls of institutions founded, under US leadership, to promote global cooperation after the second world war. The whole idea of the Bretton Woods institutions was to avoid the dire economic conditions and warfare of the 1930s and 1940s. Yet this year’s meeting was taking place amid these intertwining problems.
In their conversations about the best economic policy response to the shock of conflict, the economists also knew the real power to make a difference lay two blocks across town from the IMF and the World Bank – behind the security cordons and construction equipment blocking the White House from public view. “It is not clear they can do anything about it,” said El-Erian.
Still, with a booming economy driven by AI – including Anthropic’s powerful Mythos model, the topic of much conversation – most countries cannot afford to completely break off US ties.
“People want to find ways to insulate themselves from the mess. But, on the other hand, they admire the US private sector,” El-Erian said. “The best way I’ve heard it put, is: they want to go long the private sector and short the mess. But it’s almost impossible to do.”
Washington, D.C
Rosselli opens in DC, serving classic Italian flavors from chef Carlos
Washington, D.C. (7News) — Rosselli is the newest restaurant to open in DC.
Bringing in classic Italian flavors, Chef Carlos explained how he hopes his food is a unique addition to the Italian food scene in the DMV.
Chef also demoed a signature dish with Brian and Megan.
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You can learn more and book your table here.
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