Jewish Pride and Support for Israel Center at NYC Marathon

By COLlive reporter

The New York City Marathon, one of the world’s largest and most prestigious running events, was filled with Jewish pride this year as runners came together to show solidarity with Israel and combat rising antisemitism.

Along the route, Mivtzoim stands were set up by many Lubavitchers, who used the opportunity of tens of thousands of runners and spectators to offer fellow Jews a chance to put on Tefillin, and distributed Shabbos candles to the women.

Many runners wore Israeli flags and some wore ‘missing’ posters, to remember the hostages taken in the Hamas attacks on Simchas Torah. A large Israel solidarity event took place near the marathon finish line.

Miami resident Shaindy Dahan created a t-shirt for runners to wear to proclaim their solidarity with Israel and fight antisemitism. Her blue t-shirts emblazoned with an Israeli flag on the front and the words ‘Am Yisrael Chai, I run with Israel’ on the back worn by many runners began as a grassroots effort and quickly grew.

“Once the war started in Israel and so much antisemitism began all over the world, a lot of runners wanted to do something, but nobody really wanted to take the initiative to get it done because we were in such a short time frame from when the war started until the race,” Dahan told COLlive.

Dahan took it upon herself because, she said, “I had to do something because I personally know the impact and the voice that it gives running down the streets and representing Israel and the Jewish people,” she said.

Dahan knows firsthand the incredible impact, after a 2018 race in Berlin, Germany.

“Back in 2018, I ran the marathon in Berlin, Germany, and the finish line was under the Brandenburg Gate, right outside the Nazi Parliament. The last two miles of that race, I pulled out a big Israeli flag,” she describes. “It was extremely emotional, running down the streets there, knowing the history of what happened in that spot,” she said.

“I did it once and I knew that I wanted to do it again,” she said.

So she and a friend posted on a runners’ group chat about the shirts, first as just an idea, but soon a plan took shape, as dozens of runners reached out wanting to be a part of it.

Dahan and some friends quickly ordered t-shirts, but as news of the plan spread, more runners requested shirts, and a second order was made.

They used the Miami-based company Lev Impressions, owned by Shmuley Levin, who immediately filled the custom orders.

Dahan says she planned to bring the t-shirts to New York and run the race herself, however, she did not end up making it to New York due to unforeseen circumstances.

Still, the shirts were sent to New York in time for the Marathon, and they made a profound impression on those wearing them, as much as a statement was made to those who saw them.

“I’m hearing feedback now from the runners, and they are telling me what it meant running down the streets of New York representing Israel and just being that voice for the Jewish people of ‘We are here, we are united, Am Yisrael Chai,'” Dahan said.

“A lot of the runners were telling me what a wave of emotion they felt going through the crowds and feeling mostly support from people telling them, ‘We’re with you, we’re rooting for you, we hope everything works out well for Israel,'” she said. “It was just an incredible thing.”

“The founder of the New York City Marathon, Fred Lebow, was a Jew and a Holocaust survivor, so we did it for him, we did it for the Jewish people, and we did it for Israel,” she said.