Oct 7

Oct 7 Marking One Year (IV)

Performance, Musicians, Protest, Public Declarations, Demonstrations, Chicago

One of the local newspapers reported that there would be a 7:00 PM service at the AIDS Garden, located just south of Belmont Harbor, acknowledging the anniversary of the October 7th attack by Hamas. During the last year, members of Chicago’s Jewish Community have held several small services and events in proximity to Belmont Harbor, so I assumed the organizers were positioning this as a pro-Israeli event—more a memorial service than a demonstration. Imagine my surprise when i arrived shortly before the 7:00 PM starting time to discover several dozen people, some who were wearing keffiyehs, others donning yamakas.

This definitely was not a pro-Israeli demonstration, but it was not the typical pro-Palestinian demonstration, either. No angry chants, signs, Palestinian flags, or marches targeting local politicians. Senator Richard Durbin lives several blocks to the north of the AIDS Garden, so the group could have easily marched, and then chanted outside his home.

Instead, the organizers—the local chapter of If Not Now, a group opposing Israel’s military offensive in Gaza—had planned the memorial service. Three black and white banners captured the event’s tenor. One read, “Palestinian and Jewish Safety Are Interwoven.” Another carried the words, “Free Them All,” which I took to mean both the Israelis who remain hostage and the Palestinians living in the disease-infested rubble of Gaza. The third proclaimed, “Every Life, A Universe.” One speaker indicated that both Jews and Muslims hold that belief. He pointed to a surah—one of the 114 chapters comprising the Quran—to support his point from the Muslim side of the ledger.

As the evening proceeded, more people joined the large semi-circle that formed in front of a makeshift podium for what was billed as a two-hour service. I left about 90-minutes into the memorial, at which point there were probably 125 people in attendance. While I was present, I heard three rabbis speak or offer prayers, several songs, and three or four speeches. For the most part, the tone was low-key, with most of the remarks striking a humanitarian tone.

While I was present, I only heard one person who was decidedly off-key. The speaker, although briefly acknowledging the horror of October 7th, was highly critical of the Israeli government’s response to the October 7th attack, while just briefly referencing the killings by Hamas. The speaker said, “Hearing the news, I was hit with a wave of heartbreak. I also felt—or rather knew—that this horrific tragedy was a long time coming, since Israel’s ongoing occupation and terrorization of Palestinians was bound to have consequences.” The speaker then went onto to say, “The past year has shown that the Israeli government is committed to continuing this genocidal violence,” a remark that was preceded with the assertion that “they would call this slaughter and bloodshed justice.”

One person attending was so offended by these remarks that she chose to leave, uttering the words, “This is not the time, nor the place.” Many may agree with the speaker’s sentiment, but the service was billed as a celebration of life—”Every Life, A Universe.” The remarks, however, shifted the focus back to one side versus the other, which was contrary to the evening’s stated focus on everyone’s humanity.

Despite the one off-key speech, I was impressed with the overall tone of the evening. I suspect that most of those in attendance were Jewish, but the mixing of the keffiyehs and yamakas underscored that both Israelis and Palestinians share much in common. By recognizing their shared humanity, the Israelis and Palestinians might be able to find a permanent solution to what has and continues to divide them, thereby dissipating the animosity that exists between the two groups.

While the organizers cannot control who shows up, the event would have had more resonance had some heritage Palestinians attended. Some may have been there, but that is not how I read the ‘room.’

Photographer’s Note: Because this was a quasi-religious event and I was using flash—there was virtually no artificial light—I did not make countless images of the same person or scene, which is necessary to capture clean facial expressions and group portrayals that don’t include people with their eyes shut or in unflattering positions.

[Click on an Image to Enlarge It. The Images Are Not Necessarily in Exact Chronological Order]