Thousands from Maryland attend March for Israel in Washington and call on Hamas to release hostages

BALTIMORE -- The Baltimore area was well represented among the tens of thousands who rallied in support of Israel on the National Mall during the March for Israel Tuesday. 

"It makes us very proud that we live in Baltimore, and we're proud to be Jewish," said Debbie Rothstein as she held a sign that read "Baltimore Stands with Israel."

Tens of thousands are coming together to join the March for Israel at the National Mall, including many from Maryland.

"It's amazing. We see people from everywhere. I'm from a group from Howard County who gathered together to take the Metro in this morning, and there were groups from Philly and New Jersey—and in College Park a group of college students came on," Clarksville resident Lesley Farby said.    

WJZ caught up with several groups who headed to Washington, D.C., early and were determined to make their voices heard.

Among them was Jacquie Brager who said, "The hate that we've experienced in the past few weeks is depressing, and we have to show Israel that we support them."

The March for Israel, organized by the Jewish Federations of North America, aimed to show support for the country in its war with Hamas and draw the nation's attention to the 240 hostages taken by the terrorist organization.

"My hope is for all of them to come out alive," said a woman who attended the March with her granddaughter. She wore a shirt with a picture of one of the hostages. "This young girl could be my daughter or my granddaughter. I would hope that the world would come together and rally and fight for her release."

Over the weekend, a pro-Palestinian rally in Howard County called for a ceasefire over safety concerns for Palestinian civilians.

Both the Anti-Defamation League and Council on American-Islamic Relations report bias incidents are up more than 200% across the United States since the Israel-Hamas conflict began, compared to the same period last year.

Among the crowd in Washington, D.C., people WJZ spoke to are hopeful for peace. 

"I'm a son of Holocaust survivors. It's been a turbulent, emotional time for me," Thomas Tibor said. "My ultimate hope is peace."

CBS News reports there was a group of counter-protesters at the March for Israel, too. They appeared to be Hasidic men with signs that said, "Not in our name," and "Authentic Rabbis always opposed Zionism and the State of Israel."

Many streets were closed and security was increased for the event.