“It is the evening of the day
I sit and watch the children play
Smiling faces I can see
But not for me
I sit and watch
As tears go by”

— As Tears Go By, The Rolling Stones, from December's Children (1965)

I first heard about a pro-Israeli rally scheduled for today at 3:00 PM in Federal Plaza while I was attending a pro-Palestinian rally yesterday. One of the first speakers at the pro-Palestinian rally asked the demonstrators to show up at the pro-Israeli rally as counter-demonstrators. At the time, I was standing next to another photographer who said she was glad there would finally be a large pro-Israeli rally in Chicago’s downtown. Like me, she was troubled that her coverage has been so one-sided—not because she is biased, but because Chicago’s Jewish Community has yet to stage a major rally following Hamas’ October 7, 2023 attack on Israel.

The Chicago Coalition for Justice in Palestine posted a notice about the pro-Israeli rally on its Facebook page, although the notice has since been removed. This morning, I received an e-mail informing me that the rally in Federal Plaza had been canceled. I then learned from a friend that a pro-Israeli event was being held at Ateres Ayala Simcha, a banquet hall located in Skokie. The U.S. Palestinian Community Network called for a protest outside the hall.

The event in Skokie was originally characterized as a fundraiser by the sponsoring organization—the Midwest Regional Office of the Simon Wiesenthal Center. It was scheduled long before the October 7 attack, but the Wiesenthal Center rebranded the fundraiser following the Hamas attack as an opportunity to show Solidarity with Israel. I was not going to pass up the opportunity to photograph a pro-Israeli event, so I left for Skokie at 2:30 PM today.

Although the Ateres Ayala Simcha lists its address as 3412 West Touhy Avenue, the facility is a half-block north of Touhy, located in a cluster of contiguous strip malls and parking lots. So when I first arrived at the site, I encountered the pro-Palestinian demonstrators on my way toward the banquet hall. When I returned to Touhy Avenue 20 minutes later, five or six men wearing keffiyehs were waving Palestinian flags while standing in the middle the street. With traffic still flowing on this major thoroughfare, I knew the cops would soon push them back onto the sidewalk, so I worked quickly.

On the north side of the street, maybe 100 Palestinians with signs and flags chanted the usual slogans, such as “Free, Free Palestine,” and “From the River to the Sea.” It is hard to say exactly how many demonstrators were present because a second group had gathered in the parking lot halfway between the street and the banquet hall—media estimates were 200 in total. The police kept the second group at bay using police tape and squad cars, thereby permitting those attending the Solidarity with Israel event to use an alternative roadway to access the facility without running a gauntlet of pro-Palestinian demonstrators.

While waiting for the scheduled event to begin, I photographed the pro-Palestinian demonstrators. At 5:00 PM, I headed back to the banquet hall, where the program started shortly after I entered the hall.

First up: Sandy Teplitzky, who made welcoming remarks on behalf of the Simon Wiesenthal Center’s Board of Trustees to what was now a packed ballroom.

Teplitzky finished his remarks by welcoming Pastor Chris Harris and the Bronzeville Church Choir, who opened with a spirited rendition of the National Anthem, followed by a gospel-infused number. I kept thinking, “Is Aretha Franklin up next?”

After the rousing music, Yinam Cohen, the Consul General of Israel to the Midwest, delivered impassioned but measured remarks about what transpired on and since October 7. While listening to the next speaker, Gill Hoffman, I receive a phone call from a friend who was outside on Touhy Avenue. “Shot fired.” Like the proverbial turkey who looks up with its mouth open when it starts raining, I packed up my gear. As I left, I wondered what exactly I would encounter.

I may be stupid, but I didn’t run directly into the mayhem, which was largely limited to flashing blue and red lights. Despite the visible commotion, the police I encountered were calm, with one even encouraging me to continue moving toward Touhy Avenue after she realized that I had misunderstood her instructions—I thought she was telling me to stay behind police lines.

I was told that only one shot had been fired, and that no one had been hit. One 10:00 PM television news story raised the possibility of multiple shots. At 11:27 PM, the Chicago Sun-Times published an article bearing Violet Miller’s byline, reporting that witnesses saw a man in a black car drive toward the Palestinian demonstrators, and then step out of the car. According to Miller’s reporting, there was some evidence that pro-Israeli flags had been attached to the car.

According to the Lincolnwood Town Police Department, “During the gathering a subject was confronted by numerous individuals in the Lincolnwood Town Center mall across the street from the [Israeli solidarity] event, at which time the subject pulled a firearm and discharged the weapon in the air.” Police took the man into the custody. [Post Script 1: The Chicago Tribune reported on Monday that, “Police took [the man] into custody, and said Monday they had presented the case to the Felony Review Unit of the Cook County State’s Attorney’s office but that office declined to bring charges.” The man holds a valid concealed carry license.]

When I saw an ambulance tending to someone in the parking lot across the street, I bolted toward the action. I wondered whether this was a gunshot victim, but the injured man had not sustained a gunshot wound; he had been hit by a car. [Post Script 2: The Chicago Tribune reported on Monday that, “the man who fired the gun also struck a pedestrian during a hit and run incident.” Fortunately, the man’s injuries were minor, which explains why he declined further medical treatment.

I then headed back to the north side of Touhy Avenue, where I saw several apparent pro-Israeli demonstrators engaging with pro-Palestinian demonstrators. The skirmishes looked like what one might see on a school playground during recess: young people yelling and screaming while quickly moving toward each other, often followed by quicker retreats.

The police struggled to keep the two groups separated. One apparently pro-Israeli man was pushing his luck with a police officer, who kept ordering him to back off. I thought an arrest was imminent, but the officer’s tolerance levels far surpassed mine.

During one of the skirmishes, a pro-Israel demonstrator ran a short distance into the street away from the parking lot where the the two groups were engaged in their “games.” Suddenly this supporter was holding a large plastic bottle—it must have been concealed in his jacket—which he then turned toward several people, releasing a blast of aerated chemical irritants—probably mace or pepper spray. I saw the spray coming in my direction, but I could also see the droplets dissipating—seemingly falling harmlessly to the ground—so given my distance from the man, I assumed I would be unaffected. Wrong, Very Wrong, Wrong!

Within seconds, my throat constricted, causing me to gasp as I tasted the acidic solution. My eyes began to burn, and I immediately felt a burning sensations rising from my chest cavity—much worse than a bad case of acid reflux. I was lucky. One police officer, who was closer to the man, wasn’t as lucky.

Surprisingly, the Skokie police were slow in placing the man with the bottle (“MWB”) into custody, which angered the pro-Palestinian demonstrators, with one woman screaming, and I am paraphrasing, “If it were one of ours, they wouldn’t have thought twice about arresting him.”

During the five Palestinian rallies I have attended over the last two weeks, I have noted several organizers. One was present tonight, and he proved himself quite adept. He kept ordering his people to move away from the police, hoping to avoid any arrests. He apparently succeeded, but according to one news report, two pro-Palestinian demonstrators were arrested in an earlier incident.

Other pro-Palestinians demonstrators were both strategic and caring. Even though there were paramedics present, these demonstrators were the ones who provided the police officer with water so that he could cleanse his eyes and throat. Another man brought me a bottle of water, insisting that I keep drinking.

As my throat cleared, I watched the police question, frisk, handcuff, and place the MWB into a squad car. Interestingly, several minutes later I looked westward, only to see the MWB still handcuffed, but standing with police officers flanking him. The fact that the man was no longer in the squad car upset two or three pro-Palestinian demonstrators.

So now, let’s step back. I came to Skokie hoping to balance my coverage by focusing on a pro-Israeli event. I saw several speeches, but missed most of the program. I’ve already read and seen multiple news accounts about the day’s events. All emphasize what happened outside of the banquet hall rather than the speeches inside the hall. I don’t know whether the MWB was associated in any way with the pro-Israeli program—I seriously doubt it—but by capturing the spotlight, he, together with the man who fired the gun, managed to undermine the Jewish Community’s messaging.

Regardless of whether you agree with the pro-Palestinian perspective, those demonstrators had an absolute right to use public sidewalks for their demonstration, assuming they obtained any necessary permits. Under longstanding U.S. Supreme Court precedent, public sidewalks are considered “public forums,” which means members of the public can exercise their First Amendment rights while standing on those sidewalks—although governments can impose reasonable restrictions on the exercise of those rights, as long as the restrictions are applied without regard to viewpoint.

Typically, when two groups might clash, the police, in an effort to maintain public order, keep them separate by designating a staging area for the counter-demonstrators. In this case, the police kept the pro-Palestinians behind police lines, permitting members of the Jewish Community to enter the banquet hall safely and unimpeded so that they, too, could exercise their Constitutional right of assembly. The MWB could have attended the Jewish Community’s event, but he apparently chose to “mix it up” with the pro-Palestinians.

As for the MWB, why did he bring the spray bottle? If he is prosecuted, he will undoubtedly assert self-defense, but he would not have needed the spray had he simply acknowledged the right of the pro-Palestinians to demonstrate by honoring the police lines, although at the time of the incident the pro-Palestinian demonstration was winding down, with the result that the lines were not as clearly delineated.

Nevertheless, he had no need to be in close proximity to the pro-Palestinians demonstrators (unless he was shopping at one of the nearby stores). [Post Script 3: On Monday, the Chicago Tribune reported that the MWB was taken into custody, but that the incident is still under investigation, which most likely means that a charging decision has not been made. I heard one pro-Palestinian demonstrator demand that the MWB be charged with a hate crime. Determining whether that is appropriate may explain why there has yet to be a charging decision].

At this time, I want to address the negative light that has been cast on pro-Palestinian demonstrators. A number of people have cautioned me about attending their rallies. The subtext: “You are Jewish and some of these demonstrators are violent.” To be clear, the five prior pro-Palestinian rallies I have attended since the October 7 attack have been spirited and boisterous. Yet, the people in the crowds are quite friendly, some even thanking me for covering the event. No one has threatened me.

I find it ironic that my first experience with mace or whatever was in that bottle came at the hands of someone who in all likelihood was Jewish rather than Palestinian.

[Post Script 4: On October 25, 2023, 33-year-old Zevulen Ebert was charged with two counts of felony aggravated. battery and two accounts of felony hate crimes. According to the Chicago Tribune, someone came up from behind Zevulen, trying to take the Israeli flag he was holding. Following a verbal exchange, Ebert discharged pepper spray. The charging document stated that Ebert was not visibly attacked or threatened before discharging the spray. Following the detention hearing, Ebert was released from detention. His next court appearance is November 16, 2023.

Ebert is presumed innocent until he is convicted of any the charged crimes.

[Click on an Image to Enlarge It]

I have chosen to arrange these images differently than I typically do. The first set of images captures the incident involving the man with the spray bottle. The next three show the man who was hit by an automobile being treated. Then the images progress in a largely chronological order, but I occasionally deviate from strict adherence to the order reflected by the image timestamps.

Incident Involving a Chemical Irritant