Schakowsky Statement Condemning Recent Vandalism and Threats Against Jewish Institutions in Chicago

SCHAKOWSKY STATEMENT CONDEMNING RECENT VANDALISM AND THREATS AGAINST JEWISH INSTITUTIONS IN CHICAGO

Washington, D.C.–U.S. Representative Jan Schakowsky (D-IL) released the following statement today in response to recent incidents of vandalism and threats made against several local synagogues and Jewish schools in the Chicagoland area.

"Madam Speaker, I rise to draw my colleagues' attention to recent attacks on synagogues and Jewish day schools in my district and the Chicagoland area. These acts of intimidation and destruction are hate crimes, and I strongly condemn them.

On Saturday, January 10th, vandals shattered windows, broke down doors, and scrawled slogans including "Death to Israel... on Jewish synagogues and schools in the Chicago area, including Lincolnwood Jewish Congregation, Lubavitch Mesivta, Young Israel Synagogue of West Rogers Park, Congregation Anshe Motele, and Hanna Sacks Girls High School.

These recent attacks came just over a week after a Molotov cocktail was thrown at Temple Sholom in Chicago, Illinois; and a bomb threat naming several area Jewish schools was mailed to the Ida Crown Jewish Academy. Local police are working with the FBI to determine if these attacks are linked.

Regardless of anyone's political views, attacks against religious groups, threats to schoolchildren, and the desecration of places of worship are contrary to the principles of religious tolerance upon which our country was founded and are serious crimes.

Similar crimes have been reported in other cities and communities across the country. In Knoxville, Tennessee, vandals threw rocks at two synagogues, smashing four stained glass windows. Signs supporting Hamas and comparing Israeli actions in Gaza to the Holocaust were reportedly posted at two synagogues in Irvine, California.

As a proud member of Chicago's Jewish community, I know that we are strong, vibrant, and resilient. The day after the vandalism, synagogue members put tarps over windows and returned to classes and other activities, while several hundred people gathered to denounce the attacks. Both the American Jewish Committee and the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee have condemned the vandalism, and local and national groups, including the Jewish Federation of Chicago and the Anti-Defamation League, are working tirelessly in support of our community. I am proud that people of all religions in my district have come together to decry these hate crimes, just as they have come together in the past to condemn attacks on people of other religions.

Madam Speaker, what we have seen in Chicago in recent days goes beyond politically-motivated demonstrations. The intimidation and terrorization of the Jewish community is a hate crime, perpetrated against these institutions because of their religious identity. I hope that these prove isolated incidents and not a pattern of violence. I have every confidence that the police and FBI, working with the local community, will find and prosecute those responsible for these crimes....