National Guardsmen from Utah asked Jewish protesters to sing a prayer. Image by Twitter

By Helen Chernikoff June 4, 2020

At the request of a National Guardsman from Utah, protestors sang a canonical Jewish plea for peace at protests outside the White House on Tuesday night, according to video from the scene.

“Shalom rav al Yisrael amcha, tasim l’olam,” sing multiple voices out of the frame, as three Guardsmen watch and one in particular grins throughout. “Grant abundant peace over your people Israel, forever,” the prayer beseeches God. It’s part of the Amidah, Judaism’s central prayer, said three times a day, and also often sung separately.

One of the protesters, Joshua Rosen, 27, later wrote this piece for the Forward about his experiences.

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At the 8-second mark, the clip features a singer breaking into an enthusiastic refrain — “Tasim l’olam!” — and then it cuts off just as one of the group starts to suggest another song.

Members of the National Guard, who have identified themselves as coming from Utah, are having short conversations with protestors at the White House. Here is what happened when one particularly friendly Guardsman asked a protest-goer to sing a prayer: pic.twitter.com/kXYTcgS9lX

— Rebecca Tan (@rebtanhs) June 4, 2020

Helen Chernikoff is The Forward’s senior news editor. Contact her at [email protected] or follower her on Twitter @thesimplechild

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