Divisive Israel boycott referendum settled. How to move forward?

The gathering at Bobby’s Eastside in Forest Park late Tuesday evening didn’t look as if it was a raucous victory party. 

In fact, to the casual observer, outside of a few yellow T-shirts, it might have been an extended family discussing the issues of the day. 

But no, this was a group of about 20 members of Oak Parkers for Free Speech, and the only issue they were discussing was approval of an advisory referendum it had successfully placed on the midterm election ballot in Oak Park – despite an objection that was overruled by a village electoral board and several subsequent court appeals – that asked whether Illinois should repeal laws that ban state investment in businesses that boycott the state of Israel. 

As of the end of the night, “yes” votes outpaced “no” 65.36% to 34.64%. Over 23,000 ballots were cast in the village; 14,562 supported the referendum, 7,716 did not. Abstentions were not clarified on the Cook County Clerk’s Office website. Results are unofficial until certified by Cook County. 

“I’ve spent a lot of time the last few months, but very intensely the last few weeks speaking with voters, and I think the result really vindicates our position, that this needed to come to the attention of the voters of Oak Park, that it needed to be a community-wide vote, a chance for the community to check in,” said Deborah Adelman, dressed in one of those yellow t-shirts. 

“What I take from this is that the community has understood what we’ve been saying, that this is an issue of free speech, the unrestricted right to boycott.” 

Caren Van Slyke, one of the leaders of Oak Parkers for Free Speech, spent her early evening outside of Beye Elementary School, speaking to voters about the issue and what it means. 

“When I was out there today, what I experienced was people who already knew about the referendum were overwhelmingly yes, and when I spoke to people who did not know about the referendum, they really said, ‘Yeah, we should support this,’” she said. 

Referendum supporters say Oak Park state pensioners have lost millions due to the advent of the 2015 law under former Gov. Bruce Rauner that instituted the requirement to bar pension fund investment in companies that boycott or divest from Israel for any reason, including human rights concerns.  

Opponents, like those from Oak Park Neighbors United who gathered a few miles away at a private residence, watching the Cook County website as results trickled in, had a much different view. 

Mark Segal, spokesman for the group, did two shifts outside of Hatch Elementary School on Tuesday, where dueling “Vote Yes” and “Vote No” signs blanketed the area. 

He said there was proof Oak Park Neighbors United’s message resonated with the Oak Park public, and not because it had the support of nearly a dozen current and former village trustees. 

“I think first of all, we had a lot of personal interaction with neighbors, from canvassing, (the) farmers market, at the polls,” Segal said, “I think we definitely had experiences where people went either from a yes to a no, or undecided to a no, based on discussions with people.” 

On Wednesday morning, Segal added that the referendum margin wasn’t a landslide as much it was a message to legislators like state Sen. Don Harmon, who Van Slyke said was going to contact Wednesday to encourage moving the bills forward. 

“We see that as sort of the impact of our campaign,” he said. “As folks like Sen. Harmon are looking at this, they’ll see there is not a consensus in Oak Park. You have a strong percentage in the community that did not favor the change proposed in the referendum.” 

He added that Oak Park wasn’t the only community in the state facing a similar referendum question. So did communities in Champaign, Will, McLean and Peoria townships. In each case, the “Yes” vote won.  

Nevertheless, to Rabbi Adir Glick of Temple Har Zion in River Forest, the issue was, and is, more than laws, pensions, boycotts … and referendums. 

“I think it was just such a divisive campaign in the end,” Glick said. “It felt like it was a local chapter of a global movement to destroy the world’s only Jewish state, and I felt it personally and acutely. 

“I know people who lost friendships in the last few months, and difficult moments with neighbors and colleagues, but it also galvanized our Jewish community.” 

Nia Lewis, a nurse, voted at village hall. She said that she had seen “torn sides” ahead of election day. 

“There’s a lot of back and forth about it, that’s for sure,” she said. “I’m Christian, so I believe in everyone having their peace and stood up for. I think it’s important for everyone to feel loved.  

“I’m Gen Z so I’m on TikTok a lot, so I feel like I’ve seen some very different opinions. I don’t think anybody deserves what’s happening in Israel. The same thing that’s happening in Ukraine, I don’t think that’s something that should happen to any person, let alone a child.” 

When it comes to communications, both sides were able to effectively deliver their messaging, not only through social media and their respective websites, but in other ways.  

The focus on both sides was decidedly education about the issue and the obvious call to action. 

“I mostly heard about it in the mail,” said Colleen, who declined to provide her last name, after she voted at Beye School. “I got a bunch of mail or pamphlets about it. It is what made me aware of the referendum, but as soon as I read it, I knew what my choice was.” 

Larry, who is Jewish and also declined to provide his last name, chatted with Segal outside of Hatch School before heading in to vote. At that late moment, he hadn’t made his decision. 

“It’s hard to discuss it, and as a member of the Jewish community, it’s hard to discuss it within the Jewish community, because you have very divided feelings on it,” he said. “As a Jewish person, the land of Israel means so much to us and given the history of the Jewish people, but at the same time, in the name of defending it, it’s very concerning, 

“There are just different points of view flowing through me, and I think I can speak to a lot of people who are also divided on it within themselves.” 

And what’s next? 

That is the question. While there was little jubilation and a pinch of sadness late Tuesday, some members of both groups looked at the referendum results as an opportunity. 

“What’s been interesting and surprising, because our team has spent so much time with the Vote Yes folks in many instances, people got to know each other, I’m hopeful that people can see each other as people with different perspectives as opposed to people who want to fight with each other,” said Oak Park Neighbors United’s Elyse Cutler. “That is my hope, that there might be a silver lining in all of this.” 

Nicole Lombardi handles social media for Oak Parkers for Free Speech and has seen the good and not so good of human nature online. 

“I was so engaged online for months, and then for the last two weeks I was so engaged as a person at the polls,” she said. “It was surprising that in person this divisiveness does not exist. We were all talking to each other. So there’s a slight distortion that gets going when you’re engaged in social movements only online. If you’re engaged in person, it’s a whole new vibe.” 

Maybe that’s that best thing that could come out of a hot-button issue for a progressive community.