Scores of Chicago-area small businesses shut their doors for the day Monday and dozens gathered for a rally in Bridgeview to show solidarity with Gaza and call for an immediate cease-fire in the ongoing Israel-Hamas war.
At least 200 businesses mainly in the south suburbs closed, including cafes, restaurants, bakeries, grocery shops, gas stations, furniture stores and auto repair shops, according to a list the Chicago Coalition for Justice in Palestine shared with the Sun-Times. At least eight private schools did not hold classes Monday.
The closings came after Palestinian activists and organizations called for a global strike on social media.
Mohammed Mohsen, owner of Haraz Coffee House in Orland Park, said his business joined a call from Gazans to people worldwide to close their businesses and not go to school or work. He said he first heard about the call from Motaz Azaiza, a Palestinian photojournalist based in Gaza, and other activists online.
“I want to see a permanent cease-fire where both sides are safe and free and [have] a solution for peace,” Mohsen said. “Two states, one state doesn’t matter as long as we can all live together peacefully without systematic war.
“Enough is enough,” he added. “Nobody else needs to die.”
The United Nations defines a cease-fire as a “suspension of fighting agreed upon by the parties to a conflict, typically as part of a political process. It is intended to be long-term and often covers the entire geographic area of the conflict. Its aim is usually to allow parties to engage in dialogue, including the possibility of reaching a permanent political settlement.”
The Chicago Coalition for Justice in Palestine held a rally in Bridgeview in support of the global strike Monday afternoon. The coalition, comprised of many local community organizations, has held more than a dozen rallies since Oct. 7 to show support for the Palestinian cause.
Attendees at the rally also said the strike was in response to the U.S. vetoing the United Nations Security Council resolution calling for a cease-fire in Gaza on Friday. Many carried signs saying, “President Biden & Secretary Blinken: The blood of children is on your hands.”
“It’s so powerful how quickly we were able to show our solidarity with the people of Gaza today,” said Abla Abdelkader, a member of the Chicago chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine, during a speech at the rally.
“As we gather today at the intersection of 87th and Harlem at the center of Little Palestine, you can look around and see all these businesses in this plaza are Palestinian and Arab owned,” she said. “And they all decided to close today.”
More Palestinians live in Cook County than any other county in the country, a WBEZ analysis found. Most live in the southwest suburbs, including in Orland Park, Oak Lawn, Tinley Park and Bridgeview.
The Palestinian death toll from the Israeli bombardment of Gaza recently surpassed 17,700 people — around two-thirds of them women and children, according to the Hamas-controlled Gaza Health Ministry, though Hamas does not distinguish between civilians and combatants.
It’s been more than two months since war broke out in the region after Hamas launched a wide-ranging attack across southern Israel, killing about 1,200 people and taking about 240 hostages.
“Our children in our schools are witnessing children their age being pulled from the rubble,” said Nadia Ismail, an administrator at Aqsa School, an Islamic day school in Bridgeview that closed Monday.
“Our students cannot learn when they are faced with everything that is going on in Gaza,” she said.
Luaey Abdelrasoul, the co-owner of Holy Buckets Halal Chicken & Pizza in Bridgeview, said at Monday’s rally that closing his restaurant was an easy call to make.
From now till the end of the year, his business will be donating all money from sales to aid efforts in Gaza.
“Today we’re showing everybody that we care about our lives more than we care about money,” Abdelrasoul said. “We’re showing the world that we have humanity in us, and today we want our voices to be heard. We want the killings to stop.”
Mohsen, 38, was born in Bayt Iksa in the West Bank and came to the Chicago area when he was 5 years old. Most of his mom’s side of the family lives in Gaza.
Closing his cafe for the strike holds considerable financial cost for Mohsen. The rent for his business, which runs seven days a week, is $8,000 a month and he needs to make about $2,000 a day to break even.
But it’s worth it to send this message, he said. He has also raised funds to send to Gaza for humanitarian aid.
“Even though I can’t afford to close for one day, it’s not about the money,” Mohsen said. “Look at what’s happening over there. This is about humanity, and what’s happening to Gazans is not humane.”
Contributing: Nader Issa
