Speakers in nearby Lafayette Park energized the mostly Muslim crowd with chants and speeches condemning Israeli involvement in Lebanon and the Palestinian territories, U.S. support for Israel and U.S. involvement in Iraq.

Khaled Saffuri calls himself a Moderate Arab-American.

"I think the strong message here is that one month has gone by and people are dying. It's time for a ceasefire. Even though the UN voted unanimously yesterday for a ceasefire, it doesn't look like there's going to be one."

Mohamed Kadry, who traveled from Michigan to participate in the protest, says he has seen first hand what the war has done to the people in Lebanon.

The family friendly crowd was filled with Muslims, but also contained many non-Muslims, including a handful of orthodox Jews.

A law enforcement official on the scene estimated that there were about 5,000 people attending the rally and subsequent march through the streets of Washington.