In a heavily Jewish suburb of Chicago, a rally against antisemitism draws hundreds Hundreds gather in Skokie, Ill., in a demonstration against antisemitism, May 23, 2021. (Yvette Alt Miller)
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SKOKIE, Ill. (JTA) After a synagogue in this Chicago suburb was vandalized on May 16 in what police are calling a hate crime, local rabbis could not dwell on the damage: They had to prepare for Shavuot, the two-day Jewish holiday that began that evening.
A week later, though, the rabbis were the engine behind a 500-person rally in this heavily Jewish town against antisemitism.
Skokie perhaps is best known as the place town where, in 1977, free-speech advocates fought for neo-Nazis to be able to march, only to have the eventual rally be outnumbered by local Jews and their allies.