Chicago Jewish community celebrating Israel Independence Day is met by pro-Palestinian protesters in Daley Plaza
On Tuesday, Chicago’s Jewish community celebrated Israel declaring its independence 76 years ago, on May 14, 1948. Pro-Palestinian demonstrators gathered across the plaza. There were a few altercations, but no arrests were made.
Chicago’s Jewish community celebrates Israel Independence Day on Tuesday in Daley Plaza. Israel declared its independence on May 14, 1948. The celebration was muted in the wake of the Israel-Hamas war and out of consideration for the hostages still being held by the terror group.
Victor Hilitski/For The Sun-Times
Chicago’s Jewish community celebrated a solemn Israel Independence Day on Tuesday during a flag-raising ceremony at Daley Plaza that was minimally impacted by pro-Palestinian protesters calling for an end to the war in Gaza.
The midday gathering took over a large chunk of the plaza and celebrated Israel declaring its independence 76 years ago, on May 14, 1948. But the event was “tinged with sorrow” as the Jewish community awaits the return of more than 100 hostages still held captive by Hamas after the Oct. 7 attack, said David Golder, chair of the Jewish United Fund.
“Our celebration cannot be completed until all of our brothers and sisters who are captives in Gaza return to their homes,” Golder said.
Before Golder took the stage, a DJ played the same electronic music that was heard at the Tribe of Nova music festival the morning of Oct. 7 before concertgoers were attacked by Hamas.
“For the families of the murdered — of the fallen — their pain is our pain,” Golder said.
An Israeli flag was raised in Daley Plaza during Tuesday’s celebration, which was attended by Ald. Debra Silverstein and Consul General of Israel to the Midwest Yinam Cohen.|Victor Hilitski/For the Sun-Times
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Chicago police officer stands in front of the pro-Palestinian protesters separating them from Chicago’s Jewish community during an event celebrating Israel Independence Day at Daley Plaza, Tuesday, May 14, 2024.|Victor Hilitski/For the Sun-Times
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Ald. Debra Silverstein (50th) speaks in front of Chicago’s Jewish community during an event celebrating Israel’s Independence Day at Daley Plaza on Tuesday, May 14, 2024, marking the 76th anniversary of Israel declaring its independence on May 14, 1948.|Victor Hilitski/For the Sun-Times
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Chicago Jewish community holds an event celebrating Israel Independence Day at Daley Plaza in Chicago, Tuesday, May 14, 2024.|Victor Hilitski/For the Sun-Times
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Chicago Jewish community holds an event celebrating Israel Independence Day at Daley Plaza in Chicago, Tuesday, May 14, 2024.|Victor Hilitski/For the Sun-Times
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Pro-Palestinian protesters calling for an end to the war in Gaza at Daley Plaza during an event celebrating Israel’s Independence Day, Tuesday, May 14, 2024.|Victor Hilitski/For the Sun-Times
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Palestinian and Israeli flags seen at Daley Plaza while Chicago’s Jewish community gathered for an event to celebrate Israel’s Independence Day and pro-Palestinian protesters calling for an end to the war in Gaza, Tuesday, May 14, 2024.|Victor Hilitski/For the Sun-Times
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David Golder, the new Chair of the JUF Board of Directors, speaks in front of Chicago’s Jewish community during an event celebrating Israel’s Independence Day at Daley Plaza, Tuesday, May 14, 2024.|Victor Hilitski/For the Sun-Times
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A pro-Palestinian protester (left) argues with an Israeli supporter in his car decorated with Israeli flags during an event celebrating Israel Independence Day at Daley Plaza, Tuesday, May 14, 2024.|Victor Hilitski/For the Sun-Times
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Chicago Jewish community holds an event celebrating Israel Independence Day at Daley Plaza in Chicago, Tuesday, May 14, 2024.|Victor Hilitski/For the Sun-Times
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Chicago Jewish community holds an event celebrating Israel Independence Day at Daley Plaza, Tuesday, May 14, 2024.|Victor Hilitski/For the Sun-Times
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Pro-Palestinian protesters calling for an end to the war in Gaza at Daley Plaza during an event celebrating Israel’s Independence Day, Tuesday, May 14, 2024.|Victor Hilitski/For the Sun-Times
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Chicago police officer keep the pro-Israel (left) and pro-Palestinian protesters (right) separated from each other during an event celebrating Israel Independence Day at Daley Plaza, Tuesday, May 14, 2024.|Victor Hilitski/For the Sun-Times
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Chicago Jewish community holds an event celebrating Israel Independence Day at Daley Plaza, Tuesday, May 14, 2024.|Victor Hilitski/For the Sun-Times
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Chicago Jewish community holds an event celebrating Israel Independence Day at Daley Plaza, Tuesday, May 14, 2024.|Victor Hilitski/For the Sun-Times
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Chicago police officers keep the pro-Israel and pro-Palestinian groups separated from each other during an event celebrating Israel Independence Day at Daley Plaza in Chicago on May 14th, 2024. |Victor Hilitski/For the Sun-Times
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Chicago Jewish community holds an event celebrating Israel Independence Day at Daley Plaza, Tuesday, May 14, 2024.|Victor Hilitski/For the Sun-Times
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School bus with kids waving Israeli flags arriving at Daley Plaza as Chicago’s Jewish community holds an event celebrating Israel Independence Day, Tuesday, May 14, 2024.|Victor Hilitski/For the Sun-Times
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Chicago Jewish community holds an event celebrating Israel Independence Day at Daley Plaza, Tuesday, May 14, 2024.|Victor Hilitski/For the Sun-Times
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Pro-Israel supporters walk on the street and wave Israeli flags in front of a group of pro-Palestinian protesters who hold a large banner reading, “Israeli independence is built on Palestinian graves” during an event celebrating Israel Independence Day at Daley Plaza, Tuesday, May 14, 2024.|Victor Hilitski/For the Sun-Times
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The event was hosted by the Consulate General of Israel to the Midwest and the Jewish United Fund, among other groups. Many attendees said they took breaks from work downtown. Several school buses dropped off children waving Israeli flags. Other speakers included Ald. Debra Silverstein (50th) and Consul General of Israel to the Midwest Yinam Cohen.
A much smaller contingent of pro-Palestinian protesters convened on the plaza at the same time to protest Israel’s ongoing war in Gaza. They held a large banner reading, “Israeli independence is built on Palestinian graves.”
More than 35,000 people have been killed in Gaza by Israeli attacks, according to Gazan officials, since Hamas’ initial attack on Israel. That attack by Hamas on Oct. 7 left about 1,200 people dead and around 250 people taken hostage.
Pro-Palestinian protesters also demonstrated in Daley Plaza. Police say no arrests were made.
Victor Hilitski/For The Sun-Times
Several dozen Chicago police officers kept the pro-Israel and pro-Palestinian groups apart. On several occasions, someone from one camp wandered into the other, sometimes waving a flag or yelling at the other group before an officer would escort them away. At one point, two men climbed onto the stage waving Palestinian flags before police officers escorted them back to the protest camp.
A Chicago police spokesman said no one was detained or arrested.
Israel’s Independence Day comes as protests against the war have broken out on college campuses across the country, including in Chicago.
The last standing protest encampment in Chicago is at DePaul University, where school officials over the weekend said they reached an impasse in negotiations with students. Students have been asking the school to end its investments tied to Israel.
In the past weeks, police have cited safety issues when clearing encampments at the University of Chicago and the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, where police arrested 68 people. Northwestern University students disbanded most of its encampment after reaching a deal with school authorities.
Nearly a dozen protesters were taken into custody about 2:41 p.m. Saturday after they allegedly held a demonstration on Franklin Street, police say. Earlier, vandals dropped red dye into Buckingham Fountain and painted pro-Palestinian messages there.
Both Jewish and Arab students have been subjected to hateful rhetoric during protests, a Northwestern professor writes. Yet too many are so aware of the hate directed at them that they remain deaf to the slurs hurled at others.
Graduates marched out of the United Center and held a ceremony outside for students killed in Gaza, saying the university was complicit in the war. Counterprotesters called those statements antisemitic.
Students delivered a petition calling for the reinstatement of Anne d’Aquino on Thursday morning. She was fired on May 8 after she offered an optional assignment, asking students to analyze the impact of “the genocide in Gaza on human health.”
One person, who school officials said was not affiliated with the university, was arrested during a protest against the war in Gaza on Saturday during graduation ceremonies at the University of Chicago.
Youssef Hasweh’s degree is being withheld until disciplinary measures are ‘resolved.’ He says the ‘disproportionate response’ is aimed at deterring other student protesters.
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Johnson’s Communications Director Ronnie Reese is under fire for a 2010 tweet that said, “I brake for gay pride, reluctantly.” Meanwhile, Ald. Debra Silverstein called a recent Facebook post by Ald. Rossana Rodriguez-Sanchez “an antisemitic dog whistle.”
District officials responded to a public outcry, saying a picture in the yearbook did not reflect ‘the values and beliefs of Bartlett High School and School District U-46.’ Members of the Muslim Student Association posted a picture of the image online.
Many students carried — and tore onstage — flyers with images of a crown, bullets and bombs, symbolizing the Crown family, benefactors to the Art Institute who students say invest in weapons manufacturers.
Targeting Israel for its military approach in Gaza, without targeting other countries that also engage in objectionable actions, fails any reasonable logical standard.
Protesters marched through the neighborhood, flying Palestinian flags and wearing kaffiyehs. They called on Chicago leaders to divest from Israel and also sought the release of Illinois inmates wrongfully convicted and sentenced.
No arrests were made, and protesters exited the building when police entered, a university spokesperson said. The demonstrators dispersed at about 9:30 p.m.
Advocate Medical Group physicians say the organization has fallen short in responding to the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, especially compared to donated aid and calls for peace after the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Around 5 p.m. Friday, a large group of protesters had surrounded the Institute of Politics. Shortly after that, a group of police officers, equipped with riot shields, burst into the building and scuffled with protesters.
The encampment at the Lincoln Park campus had been been in place since April 30. The action came after school officials said they had reached an impasse with the protesters.
Students and faculty walked out of class to gather at the pro-Palestinian encampment and call for divestment from companies doing business with Israel.
The cancellation of the end-of-school-year music festival comes days after the university said it has reached a stalemate in negotiations with organizers of a pro-Palestinian encampment.
The flags, along with signs and banners, had been placed on Deering Meadow, where a pro-Palestine encampment stood for five days before organizers reached an agreement with university administration.
The Israel-Hamas war is heightening fears of unrest, but convention leaders say they’re confident in their partnerships with Mayor Brandon Johnson, Chicago Police Supt. Larry Snelling and the U.S. Secret Service.
In a press conference at the school Thursday morning, students criticized university president Paul Alivisatos and shared their experiences when police began emptying the encampment early Tuesday.
Rafah has become the most recent focus of Israel’s military, which describes it as Hamas’ last holdout. Chicago-based Dr. John Kahler has seen conditions deteriorate as Gazan refugees fled south to the city.
En la madrugada del martes, agentes del campus rodearon el patio principal de la universidad y les impidieron la entrada a los estudiantes, según informaron desde el lugar de los hechos.
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