The vote on the referendum is now completed. Yet I have been thinking further about the “coming for the Jews” moment that prompted my letter last week. [1] Hopefully, it’s not quite that dire. What has, though, been revealed is silence and a minimization/denial of Jewish concerns. A refusal to stand up for us. Yes, on the referendum issue, Jews in Oak Park were divided. In fact, we joke, “Two Jews, three opinions.” But metropolitan-wide and OP-RF-wide, I documented instances of vilifying, ignoring, casting out, accusing and demonizing a group that was – and is – feeling hurt and unsupported by its neighbors.
Some might remember that, after Oct. 7, 2023, one Jewish homeowner in River Forest tied blue ribbons around their parkway trees. The village manager received a complaint and told the owner to take them down. [2] Routine? Of course not! Only after repeatedly protesting to the board did the complaint go away. The owner never received a public apology! No ally-ship. What should we call this?
This should not take away ally-ship of our Palestinian neighbors who have suffered terrible losses and trauma in their land and felt dismissed here. No one should have to live as they do in Gaza, the West Bank, or in Israel, with constant fear of stonings, beatings, bombings, killings, death. I think of our own “inner city” enclaves with poor housing, food deserts and gangs turning their anger inward. All examples of our failure to value each other equally and live together in good enough peace.
We must strive to better get along, support each other, and come to each other’s aid when we are obviously hurting. To try to put ourselves in each other’s shoes. The referendum conflict became mean with accusations hurled. I would have thought our disagreement could remain at an elevated level with no contrived or unsubstantiated assumptions made. From my talks with “the other side,” we discovered we were more alike in our thinking on the related issues than different. It was just the referendum itself we saw differently. Could we work together to repair the world, listening, rather than attacking each other?
Sources:
[1] The water is beginning to boil, Wednesday Journal Viewpoints, Oct. 28, 2026.
[2] Antisemitism finds a home in River Forest, Wednesday Journal, Dec. 19, 2023.
Phyllis Rubin
River Forest
