Chicago, IL – Police were investigating Tuesday night after flyers with antisemitic messages were placed on dozens of cars in the Lincoln Park neighborhood.
This is not the first time such a thing has happened in the community.
Ald. Brian Hopkins (2nd) said some Lincoln Park residents found the cards with offensive handwritten messages under their car windshields Tuesday morning.
“I thought it was an isolated incident,” Hopkins said. “It turns out it is not. It is one of a series of incidents that have been occurring on the North Side of Chicago for a period of about two weeks.”
Around 50 such flyers were found along Magnolia Avenue on a two-and-a-half-block stretch around Webster Avenue – where Hopkins says several Jewish families reside. The handwritten letters spew hateful messages toward the Jewish community.
“Clearly this is targeted antisemitic hate material, and the fact that it’s being placed intentionally in residential neighborhoods where Jewish families live it seems designed to sow fear and unrest in the hearts of our Jewish residents,” said Hopkins.
To Hopkins, the ongoing war between Hamas and Israel abroad is escalating antisemitism at home.
“There’s an escalation in anger, and a lot of that is now being targeted towards Jewish residents of our city – and it’s unacceptable,” Hopkins said. “It needs to stop. We all need to come together and put an end to it.”
Reaction to the incidents was an undertone at the Sheffield Neighborhood Association annual meeting – where residents got together to celebrate their community. But their community is now being targeted.
“Whoever did this today, it doesn’t soothe their anger. It didn’t solve any problems. You know, you have to really get to like the heart of the matter – what’s in their heart – to figure out why they’re doing this,” said Brian Comer, president of the Sheffield Neighborhood Association. “But we certainly don’t accept it.”
Ald. Hopkins said he has made police aware of the hate-filled letters. In the meantime, he is asking for everyone who lives nearby to check their surveillance cameras and see if any of this was caught on video.
