I’m wondering why John Duffy saw fit to identify some local historians as Jewish in his Jan. 28 One View on Oak Park’s housing history [The long journey to inclusionary housing, Viewpoints]. Here’s the passage in question: “… the extraordinary history … told in Suburban Promised Land: The Emerging Black Community in Oak Park, Illinois, 1880-1980 (West, Sinko, Lipo, and Hughes: 2009), and … the recent work of local Jewish historians like Michael Zimora …”
Why is the ethnic/religious identity of Mr. Zimora and other local historians relevant here? Duffy doesn’t tell us the ethnicities or religions of the four authors who wrote Suburban Promised Land. Singling out someone’s Jewishness in a context where it’s not pertinent has the appearance of antisemitism.
I appreciated last week’s story on teaching about the Holocaust at Fenwick. I note that the ethnicity/religion of the teacher who attended a seminar on the subject isn’t mentioned, as was appropriate. Anyone teaching this subject needs to know how to deal with AI misinformation.
One minor correction: The article mentions the Illinois Holocaust Museum in Skokie. Those interested in visiting should know that the Skokie museum is closed for renovations. Another museum location is open at 360 N. State in Chicago.
Judith Alexander
Oak Park