I am a local Jewish community member who supports voting Yes on the November referendum on the Illinois anti-boycott law. I have read the story about the canceling of an Italy trip by Oak Park preschool teachers. That incident stands on its own as a report on the situation of local teachers trying to attend a conference in Italy. It is regrettable that this incident is being used to support the narrative that the November referendum question discriminates against Jewish Oak Parkers. These two situations are totally unrelated.
This anti-referendum claim is a deliberate distraction. The referendum has nothing to do with that trip. The November ballot question is whether Illinois should continue enforcing a law that shields Israel from boycotts by restricting how public pension funds are invested. It is about an Illinois anti-boycott law.
Throughout history, opponents of boycott movements have tried to change the subject rather than address the issue itself. Supporters of segregation sought to discredit the Montgomery bus boycott, and defenders of apartheid attempted to undermine the movement to boycott South Africa. Unfortunately, similar tactics are now being used to confuse Oak Park voters about what this referendum is actually asking.
A diverse group of Jewish and non-Jewish leaders across Illinois support repealing the anti-boycott law. Among them is former supporter Daniel Biss, a leading Chicago-area Jewish politician, who opposes boycotting Israel but has spoken about the harms and unintended consequences of the current Illinois law.
Biss has written: “The past few years have laid bare the consequences of government using its economic power to bully private entities. All of us have watched as the Trump administration has attacked free speech, often under the guise of combatting antisemitism. They often do so using economic pressure (for instance through the withholding of grants to universities and the leveraging of regulatory power against media companies) rather than outright bans or prosecution, so as to be able to claim that they’re not violating the First Amendment.”
https://danielbiss.substack.com/p/a-note-on-illinois-anti-bds-law-repeal
A “Yes” vote on the Nov. 3 referendum would send a simple message: Oak Park voters believe in fairness and equal treatment under the law. No country, including Israel, should receive special protection from boycotts, and the right to engage in peaceful political advocacy should be upheld without fear or favor.
Caren Van Slyke
Oak Parkers for Free Speech
oakparkfreespeech.org