I moved to Oak Park in the early 2000s because I believed in its reputation as a diverse, welcoming community where everyone could belong.
Now voters are being asked to endorse an advisory referendum urging Illinois to repeal restrictions on public pension investments in companies boycotting Israel.[1] Illinois law does not prohibit individual boycotts or advocacy. It limits certain public retirement systems’ investments. So why is this question on our local ballot?
Criticizing Israel is legitimate, as is advocating for Palestinians. But when Israel is singled out for a local vote that does little to address Oak Park’s needs, we should ask why. Wars, human rights abuses, and troubling government policies exist worldwide. Yet we do not routinely ask neighbors to vote on other countries.
Criticism of Israel is not inherently antisemitic. But history teaches us to recognize patterns in which Jews, and now the Jewish state, are treated as uniquely deserving of condemnation. People may support this referendum for sincere reasons without recognizing that broader pattern.
For many liberal Jews like me, this raises questions about belonging. Rather than addressing local needs, the referendum risks dividing neighbors.
Oak Park rightly prides itself on listening when people describe racism, bias, or exclusion. Yet a May letter in the Wednesday Journal dismissed concerns about antisemitism by suggesting that some people call “everything” antisemitic. [2]
That dismissal troubles me. Listening to Jewish neighbors does not mean agreeing with them or giving anyone veto power over political debate. It means recognizing that people who experience prejudice deserve a meaningful voice in explaining how it feels. We understand this principle in other contexts. Jewish residents deserve the same dignity.
Oak Parkers need not agree about Israel and Palestine. But our progressive values are tested precisely when those asking to be heard are people with whom we disagree. If inclusion means listening when minority communities describe hostility or exclusion, that principle cannot disappear when the people speaking are Jewish.
Jewish belonging should not be the exception to Oak Park’s commitment to inclusion. Vote No.
Sources:
[1] 40 ILCS 5/1-110.16.
[2] True progressives care about Palestine – Viewpoints, Wednesday Journal
Carol Serber
Oak Park
