Apr 18

Apr 18 Finally

Demonstrations, Protest, Public Declarations

As far as I know, there has been only one pro-Israeli demonstration in Chicago’s downtown since the October 7, 2023 attacks by Hamas against civilians living in the south of Israel. It was held on October 12, and offered what I termed off-key messaging given that only five days had elapsed since the attack. The joyous singing and dancing were inappropriate.

Today, following six-months of war, 100 pro-Israeli demonstrators returned to the downtown, staging a rally in the plaza adjacent to the Tribune Tower on Michigan Avenue. For the first time, I was nervous about attending a demonstration pertaining to the war between Israel and Hamas. I expected large numbers of counter-demonstrators: the college students and Progressives who regularly attend the pro-Palestinian rallies and marches rather than the people with ancestral ties to Palestine who reside in Bridgeview and the adjacent Chicago suburbs (sometimes referred to as “Little Palestine.”)

In fact, I was so nervous today that when I saw a large man with his face covered by a balaclava while carrying an oversized backpack walking aimlessly through the crowd, I moved to the other side of the plaza, wondering whether he a weapon in his backpack. Fortunately, he left after about five minutes. Just to be clear, I don’t think anyone on the pro-Palestinian side would do something unmentionable, but there are neo-Nazis and conspiracy nuts out there who may feel emboldened by events since October 7, 2023..

The demonstration had been widely publicized for the last five days on the Titan-Security website—everyone who is interested in demonstration activity in Chicago regularly checks this website. Given the advanced notice, I assumed there would be at least ten pro-Palestinian demonstrators for each pro-Israeli demonstrator. By their noticeable absence, the pro-Palestinian forces stepped all over the pro-Israel message. Today’s headline: Not A Single Pro-Palestinian Demonstrator Showed Up. Yes, Not a Single One.

I was not alone. Toward the end of the demonstration, I greeted another photographer by simply asking, “What the hell happened, I expected a 10:1 ratio?” She was equally shocked. And as I left, I ran into a police officer who greeted me, so I provocatively exclaimed “You guys got lucky today. No pro-Palestinians showed up.” He, of course, was largely non-committal, but his facial expression revealed his agreement and relief.

Notably, CPD was rather inconspicuous today. I saw several officers on the plaza’s north end, with several standing under the overhang created by the Apple’s store’s sleek roof. When I did scan Michigan Avenue, I saw police SUVs lining the street to the north and south, ready if needed. But there was no comparison between today’s minimalist approach, and the one taken by CPD on Monday at a pro-Palestinian rally—CPD assets were everywhere.

As for the demonstration, it was well organized, succinct, and musical. Unlike the typical pro-Palestinian demonstration, there were very few chants, although at several points in the refreshingly-short, one-hour program, the group sang what I presume were traditional songs or prayers, including Go Down Moses. For instrumentation, they relied on Alan Kotlyar’s ukulele. Kotlyar laughed when I pointed out afterwards that he had a ”George Harrison Thing” going on.

Taking a page out of the Chicago Ukrainian Community’s well-worn playbook, the group concluded with a rendition of the American National Anthem, and then, appropriately substituted the Israeli National Anthem for the Ukrainian one. Again, following the Ukrainian’s playbook, they thanked CPD twice for keeping them safe.

In between, we heard five or six relatively short speeches. Two speakers openly acknowledged that Chicago’s Jewish Community had left a vacuum that the pro-Palestinian forces had filled. When I asked one of the organizers whether fear accounted for the silence, he indicated that it was a significant factor.

The first speaker, Elana Ruth, is the Director for Jewish Affairs in Alderman Gilbert Villegas’ office and a U.S. military veteran. Her message was quite straightforward, best summarized when she said, “I don’t like to whitewash it and call it anti-Semitism. It’s Jewish hate.” Ruth then referred to the 134 Israeli hostages, including five Americans. She called out the media for failing to highlight the hostages, particularly the five Americans.

Ruth then turned to the recently passed City Council resolution that called for a ceasefire in Gaza, arguing that it passed because there are alderman doing so poorly in their wards that they need to distract the public. Ruth called on Mayor Brandon Johnson to stop Jew hatred. The demonstrators then chanted “Bring Them Home.”

Next up was Pamela Scheinman, who heads Chicago for Moral Clarity. Scheinman’ speech was lengthy, if not the lengthiest one of the day. She was highly critical of the media throughout, at one point stating, “That’s because the media parrots the lies fed to it by pro-Hamas supporters,” referring to the media’s failure to highlight the plight of the Israeli hostages. She argued that the media “emboldens Hamas to refuse to negotiate the hostages’ release.” Scheinman then asserted that “the media doesn’t stress that Hamas bears responsibly for all the death and destruction within Gaza.” Turning to the Hamas website, she pointed to the charter that calls for the killing of every Jew worldwide and for subjugating other non-believers. Scheinman called Hamas, “a fanatic, genocidal, religious, terrorist group,” with the media failing to appropriately highlight those facts.

Scheinman then questioned the Gaza Ministry of Health’s statistics pertaining to civilian casualties—referring to the Ministry as the Hamas Ministry of Health. She said that according to the Ministry, “there is not a single Hamas terrorist who has been killed; it’s only women and children.” Based on what I have read about the Ministry’s statistics, they have been highly reliable during previous conflicts. Moreover, the Ministry does not identify whether the dead are members of Hamas. I’ve seen what I believe is a hardcopy of the list compiled by the Ministry. It simply lists raw data—the name, age, and gender of each dead Palestinian.

Scheinman then pointed out that the Israeli Defense Forces put the number of dead Hamas fighters at somewhere around 13,000 individuals, meaning that over 20,000 civilians have been killed to date. She then noted that one expert said that in warfare, it is not unusual for the ratio of civilians-to-combatants-killed to be 9 to 1, but Israel, through precautions, has kept the ratio at 1.5 to 1. She called that number “very low, and very exemplary.” Scheinman then went on to ask why the media has failed to report the remarks of a military expert, as well as those of a Palestinian human rights activist who called “life under Hamas unbearable,” in an article that Newsweek published late last year. Newsweek is a member of the U.S. media.

Scheinman then called the media out for amplifying the lie,

[that] the Jewish people are somehow colonizing. In fact, the land of the Israel is the ancestral homeland of the Jewish people, dating back to about 2,500 years ago. . . . The Jews were in Judea; the Arabs are from Arabia. Jews were there until 70 CE.”

She then asserted that “Accusing the Jewish People of colonizing the land of Israel is like accusing the Sioux Tribes of colonizing North and South Dakota.” While this last line is cute, when I thought about it, I was puzzled. If she is equating the Jewish People and Sioux Tribes, then as an American, is she willing to turn the entire country back to Native Americans? The Palestinians also could turn this syllogism around, arguing that they are the Sioux Tribes, who were evicted from their land in 1948. Scheinman inadvertently demonstrates the problem with historical claims to land—any assertion largely depends on the chosen reference point in history’s timeline.

Following a prayer, Eve Levy, the co-director of the L’Chaim Center in Deerfield, Illinois told the gathering that she was the granddaughter of four Holocaust survivors. As Levy’s ‘bubbie’ lay on her death bed, Levy told her almost 99-year-old grandmother,

‘Bubbie, you can let go. I promise you I will do everything that I can do to make sure that the Jewish People will survive and thrive. And It will never happen again.’ And then it happened again. On [October 7] the worst act of anti-Semitism and brutality to the Jewish people took place since the Holocaust.

Levy then continued,

Two things happened after October 7. There were two awakenings. One was the worst awakening of anti-Semitism and darkness that we have all experienced in our lifetimes. We never knew such hatred existed out there.” . . . There was another awakening that happened, that we need to talk about—it was the most beautiful light filled awakening of Jewish pride.

She then asked people to raise their hands if they were proud to be a Jew. Virtually all the hands went up as people cheered.

There then was a discussion of a Passover prayer, followed by a song. One of the organizers, Nat Steffel(sp)—next time please supply a media kit with speaker names—then spoke. His comments focused on the absence of Jews from the public square.

We don’t show our trauma in the public square . . . We don’t march . . . that’s not our nature (we are also very busy). . . . We have failed ourselves, we failed the Jewish People, we failed humanity. Because in the meantime the streets became dominated by terrorist sympathizers, by thugs, by people who don’t know any law, any borders . . . And that is in part result of our absence from the public square, and that is why we are back . . . we have to come back here over and over again.

Following Steffel’s remarks, several others spoke, and then the event came to a quick end. The overall tone of this demonstration was outwardly more civil and upbeat than pro-Palestinian demonstrations. Reading between the lines, however, I left sensing that the positions of the pro-Israeli demonstrators were just as hardened as the pro-Palestinian demonstrators.

That sense was confirmed when I briefly engaged one demonstrator in conversation afterwards, saying I would enjoy hearing a civil debate between one of today’s speakers and one of the many pro-Palestinian speakers that I have encountered at rallies. I don’t recall the exact words, but the demonstrator said something to the effect of how could there be such a debate with bad people? I pointed out that in my experience most of the pro-Palestinian demonstrators I encountered were not bad people. The speaker realized her slip of the tongue. She then tried to backpedal a bit, but it was too late.

What I had just heard was the same sentiment expressed by the Israeli government: ”Who would we negotiate with?” I quickly realized that this was a pointless conversation—this person was much too doctrinaire; too confident in her views—so I quickly retreated from what would have quickly become a one-sided lecture.

I look forward to any subsequent demonstrations. Will the organizers be able to turn out more Israeli supporters? Will there be a march? Will there be counter-demonstrators? Only time will tell. One thing is for sure, visually the pro-Israeli forces should emulate their pro-Palestinian counterparts—using better signage and incorporating banners. The flags, particularly the American flag, were a nice touch, however.

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