Rhode Island State House hosts rally in support of war-torn Israel

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WLNE) — A small pro-Israel rally of roughly 50 people gathered outside the Rhode Island State House Tuesday night.

The rally, put on by the Rhode Island Coalition for Israel and Turning Point U.S.A. was in response to the pro-Palestine rally and march in Providence over the weekend.

Senate Minority Leader Jessica De La Cruz was there Tuesday night to show support for Israel and reflect on Saturday’s “All Out for Palestine” rally.

“One of the chants was from the river to the sea, Palestine must be free, that is a call for an annihilation of Israel to exterminate all of the Jews that live there. That is not okay, we can not stand by those kind of statements,” explained De La Cruz.

De La Cruz referred to certain comments that brought huge applause from the pro-Palestine crowd on Saturday.

“The pain of our mothers and women, checkpoints, apartheid, mass-incarceration, the torture, physical and sexual violence against our political prisoners. 75 years, there’s a U.S. backed genocide happening in Gaza,” a protester at the rally for Palestine passionately said on Saturday.

Susan Benesch said she came to Tuesday’s rally from Tiverton to show support for Israel, as well as her relatives and friends living there.

“I have the right to worship how I want and believe how I want, I don’t care what someone else believes, but let me believe how I want to believe, and peace is the only way, not violence,” Benesch explained.

Benesch also told ABC6 News that she was disappointed by the smaller turnout at the State House Tuesday night.