By Bob Seidenberg
rseiden914@gmail.com
Evanston Mayor Daniel Biss issued a statement today regarding what he termed the “ongoing tragedy” in Israel. His comments on the issue came noticeably later than some of his political colleagues, including U.S. Rep. Jan Schakowsky and Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker, who both released statements shortly after the attacks on Israel.
Overall, Evanston’s reaction to the attacks has been muted. No members of the City Council, including Biss, at the Council’s regular meeting on Monday, extended sympathetic statements to the local Jewish community or made any mention of Hamas’s initial attack in Israel two days before which left over 1,000 people killed and 100 to 150 people taken hostage.
Members of the local Faith community as well as Evanston’s activists ranks have mostly been silent in their support for Israel.
On Tuesday, some members of the Jewish community traveled to Glencoe to attend a solidarity rally there at which Pritzker spoke.
Meanwhile, an Evanston mother, Judith Raanan, and her daughter, recent Natalie Raanan, are missing and feared captured during Hamas raid on a kibbutz near the Gaza-Israel border.
Mayor Biss’s statement:
Over the past several days Evanstonians have joined people across the world in feeling horror and anguish at Hamas’s brutal terror attack against Israel and the unthinkable loss of human life it precipitated.
We are particularly heartbroken to learn that two Evanston women who were visiting family in Israel are missing. We extend our hearts to them, their loved ones, and all those affected by the unfolding tragedies.
I am appreciative of Congresswoman Schakowsky and the Biden administration’s efforts on their behalf. Here in Evanston, our Police Department has heightened its presence around Jewish houses of worship, taking proactive measures to ensure the safety of all Evanston community members.
On a personal note, I have found it disorienting and troubling to see some people and organizations address this situation without an unequivocal condemnation of Hamas’s murderous attacks. Such a condemnation does not limit one’s ability to criticize Israel’s actions, past or future. It does not limit one’s ability to empathize with the profound suffering of the Palestinian people or to fight for justice. Indeed, it is morally necessary to do all of these things. But there can be no progress toward justice or peace if we are willing to turn a blind eye to the killing of civilians anywhere.
