2 Synagogues, Jewish Businesses Damaged In Suspected Hate Crimes

CHICAGO — Police are investigating multiple reports of antisemitic vandalism over the weekend at businesses and synagogues in the West Ridge neighborhood. One person has been arrested and is awaiting charges, according to local officials, who condemned the incidents.

Early Saturday morning, someone smashed the windows of two kosher food businesses in the 2900 block of West Devon Avenue, and a window of a synagogue in the 3600 block of West Devon Avenue was also found smashed, according to an alert from the Concerned Citizens League, a local Jewish community group.

Chicago police said someone spray painted graffiti on a temple at 2900 West Devon Avenue and on a cargo container in the 3000 block of West Devon Avenue. Detectives determined the same person also verbally assaulted someone, according to police. Images posted to social media show a swastika painted on the side of the building of the F.R.E.E. synagogue.

Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky (D-Evanston) urged everyone in the 9th Congressional District to stand up to hate and violence wherever it is encountered.

“I was horrified to learn that multiple Jewish businesses and two synagogues were vandalized in our community over the weekend," Schakowsky said in a statement. "These hate crimes come mere days after Holocaust Remembrance Day. And these are not isolated events – we are seeing an alarming uptick in anti-Semitic violence throughout the nation. This is unacceptable. I hope and expect that the perpetrators of this vandalism will quickly be held accountable."

Mayor Lori Lightfoot said in a statement that an arrest had been made and investigators were "working diligently to gather evidence" to support criminal charges.

"I am deeply upset to learn that a local synagogue, a school, and businesses were vandalized over the weekend-some with symbols of hate and anti-Semitism," Lightfoot said. "These crimes are undoubtedly a part of the troubling rise in anti-Semitism that we've seen both in our city and across the country. Make no mistake: this attack, as well as the deep hatred and bigotry that drives other anti-Semitic acts like it, is an attack on our city's Jewish community and social fabric. Those responsible must be held accountable."

Under Illinois law, an act of misdemeanor criminal damage becomes a hate crime when it is committed by reason of the actual or perceived religion of the victim. When a house of worship is targeted, the offense is a class 3 felony for the first offense and class 2 for subsequent offenses.

The incidents are stark reminders that hatred can continues to grow, "even in our own backyard," according to a statement issued on behalf of the Illinois Holocaust Museum and Education Center in Skokie.

"As we stand with and support the Jewish community in West Rogers Park, throughout Chicagoland, and around the world, we rededicate ourselves to our efforts to educate about the history and lessons of the Holocaust, preserving the memory of Survivors as well as those critical few who took a stand in the face of prejudice, hatred, and genocide," it said. "Antisemitism did not disappear at the end of World War II, and we each have an obligation to remain vigilant in its face today. We must take history to heart and take a stand for humanity."

Ald. Debra Silverstein, 50th Ward, asked anyone with video footage or other information that could help in the investigation to contact Chicago police in the 24th District by phone or email.

"These incidents are particularly upsetting as they come mere days after Holocaust Remembrance Day," Silverstein said, "and in light of a worrying increase in antisemitism across the nation."

A recent report from the World Zionist Organization and Jewish Agency for Israel found that there was an increase in the number of antisemitic incidents during 2021 in most places where monitoring takes place. The report said the coronavirus pandemic and conflict between Israel and Hamas both contributed to the increase. About 30 percent of reported incidents took place in the United States.

"According to the data collected from all the reports, we can say with caution, that this year [2021] a record was broken in the number of antisemitic incidents around the world," it found. "At the same time, it should be emphasized, that this year no Jew in the world was killed in an incident with an antisemitic motive."

Earlier this month, a 44-year-old British man took a rabbi and several congregants hostage for more than 10 hours at a synagogue in Colleyville, Texas, before being shot dead by authorities.

UPDATE: Hate Crime Charges Filed In Antisemitic Vandalism In Rogers Park

This article originally appeared on the Skokie Patch