Last November, in the wake of Hamas’ attack on Israel on Oct. 7, tens of thousands of American Jews rallied in Washington, D.C., for Israel and against antisemitism. Some organized a self-described “Peace Bloc.” The idea was to show up and be in community with other Jews and for Israel, but also to voice support for Palestinians and Israelis living side by side. One attendee held up a sign that read “Zionists for Nuance and Peace.”

The peace bloc, composed of liberally-minded organizations that worked on Israel issues and, unlike Jewish groups to their left, hadn’t yet called for a cease-fire, was a small part of the rally, which included speakers like Christian Zionist pastor John Hagee, who compared Hamas to Adolf Hitler. But in a way, the peace bloc represented the center of American Jewish life: Half of American Jews are liberal, and a majority feel connected to or support Israel. Many don’t particularly like or support the current Israeli government, and over half even support at least some arms restrictions. Most support a two-state solution, which is to say the continuation of Israel as a Jewish state next to a Palestinian state.

A year ago, the liberal Jewish groups that organized and attended as part of the peace bloc said that Israel had a right to respond to Hamas’ attack, but that the way the war was carried out mattered. Americans for Peace Now, for example—whose mission is to persuade Americans “to support and adopt policies that will lead to comprehensive, durable, Israeli-Palestinian and Israeli-Arab peace”—said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu should resign and that Israel had to let fuel into Gaza. The organization T’ruah: The Rabbinic Call for Human Rights said Israel’s priority should be getting back those taken hostage.

A year later, with hostages still in Gaza and a conservative estimate of 40,000 Palestinians having been killed by Israeli forces, I have been thinking of those at the peace bloc: of how they’ve thought of the last year, and whether we have moved closer to or further away from what they were calling for on that day.

“Liberal Zionist is a term that gets thrown around both by people who want to disparage that and who want to claim the title,” said Rabbi Jill Jacobs, head of T’ruah. “It means a lot of things to a lot of people.” She would rather, she said, be known for what she believes: Neither Jews nor Palestinians are leaving the region, and a solution to the conflict needs to provide everyone with safety and honor their human rights, including the right to self-determination and citizenship.

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