The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) has leveled accusations against several Chicago-based pro-Palestinian advocacy groups for allegedly inciting a spike in antisemitic behavior in the area, particularly amid the recent Israel-Hamas conflict, the Chicago Sun-Times reported. The rise in these acts coincides with an increase in local protests, campus organizing efforts, and social media posts that the ADL claims are antisemitic.
David Goldenberg, director of the ADL's Midwest chapter, voiced his concern to the Sun-Times saying, "What we've seen in Chicago is an acute level of antisemitism that I'm not sure other communities are experiencing at this moment." The ADL specifically named groups such as the U.S. Palestinian Community Network, Students for Justice in Palestine, American Muslims for Palestine, and Jewish Voices for Peace as contributors to this surge.
In response, Hatem Abudayyeh, chairman of the U.S. Palestinian Community Network, condemned the ADL's stance, stating, "If anyone wants to accuse USPCN, our pro-Palestine coalition in Chicago, or Palestinians in general of anything, call us anti-genocide, anti-racist, anti-white supremacist, anti-colonialist, anti-apartheid, and anti-zionist, because these are all accurate descriptors of Israel and its ADL supporters," he told the Sun-Times.
Adding to the friction, Chicago City Council member Rossana Rodriguez Sanchez recently ignited controversy with a tweet that some Jewish American outfits view as antisemitic. "From the River to the Sea, Palestine will be Free," the alderwoman posted, a phrase that has historically been a flashpoint for tensions between Jewish and Muslim groups. According to WTTW News, the ADL called her use of the phrase "shameful."
The organization stated, "This is an antisemitic charge denying the Jewish right to self-determination, including through the removal of Jews from their ancestral homeland. Hamas massacres innocent Jews rapes women, kidnaps children and the elderly, (Rodriguez-Sanchez) says nothing ... then this." Meanwhile, Rodriguez Sanchez argued that the slogan speaks to "the liberation of colonized ppl" and criticized Israel's actions in Gaza. However, the City Council member’s clarifications did not quell the ADL's criticisms or the larger debate about the phrase's implications.
This rise in antagonisms follows a period in which antisemitic acts on Midwest college campuses ratcheted up by 300% since the October 7 attack on Israel, according to StandWithUs. The ADL and other Jewish organizations are calling on the broader community to repudiate these acts of hate, with Chicago student Kylie Miller sharing her own experiences of facing antisemitism in her daily life.
