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By Richard Requena
The Chicago Tribune
(TNS) About 25 people entered U.S. Rep. Jan Schakowsky’s Skokie office Thursday afternoon and declared their intentions to occupy it until the congresswoman signed on to proposed resolutions in Congress aimed at guaranteeing protection and human rights for Palestinians. online news
Schakowsky responded with a statement saying she led congressional colleagues in signing a letter to President Biden urging him to ensure that innocent civilians in Gaza are protected from violence and attacks and provided humanitarian assistance and safe passage.
When the protest began at the congresswoman’s office at 4500 Oakton Street around 3 p.m., staff told the protesters, who organized through the group U.S. Palestinian Community Network and other activist organizations, that Schakowsky was in Washington, D.C., but put through a phone call so that she was able to speak with the protesters.
Hatem Abudayyeh, the chair of the U.S. Palestinian Community Network, said the group specifically addressed Schakowsky, who is the vice president of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, because of her “unbreakable” support for Israel, citing a statement signed by Schakowsky and other members of Congress stating their commitment to Israel is “absolute.”
In Abudayyeh’s view, Schakowsky “can’t continue to call herself a progressive” if she keeps up that unilateral support for Israel. Abudayyeh said while on the phone with Schakowsky, he asked “if Israel has a right to defend itself, why don’t Palestinians have the right to defend themselves?”
After staff members from Schakowsky’s office spoke to the protesters, the staff retreated down a corridor while the protesters spent approximately three hours occupying the lobby, chanting slogans and listening to speakers recount the bloodshed and suffering of ordinary Palestinians during the Israel-Hamas war, as well as the restrictions placed on Palestinian individuals before the violence started Oct. 7. Hamas is a terrorist organization.
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Speakers also made demands that Schakowsky support Missouri Democrat U.S. Rep. Cori Bush’s Ceasefire Now Resolution, which, according to Bush’s office, urges the Biden Administration “to call for an immediate de-escalation and ceasefire in Israel and occupied Palestine, and to send humanitarian aid and assistance to Gaza.”
Around 6 p.m., Skokie police gave protesters a warning to leave if they did not want to be arrested, and most filed outside onto the sidewalk, but police took seven who stayed in the congressional office into custody.
Skokie police said in an evening statement they brought the seven individuals to the police station and issued them citations for criminal trespass. They were released and told to appear in court on Dec. 5 at 9 a.m.
Police described the protest as peaceful.
Abudayyeh said the language that Schakowsky has used to support Israel is incendiary and makes Palestinians targets in the U.S.
“(Schakowky’s) got the blood of that beautiful little six-year-old boy who was killed a few days ago in Plainfield on her hands,” he said, referring to six-year-old Wadea al-Fayoume, who was killed in a hate crime on Oct.14.
“It was her statements about how the, you know, the Palestinians are the enemy and the Palestinians are uncivilized,” said Abudayyeh.
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He said that his campaign will also specifically address U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin, U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth and Governor J.B. Pritzker, but didn’t detail any planned protests. Abudayyeh said, “They’re all responsible for their words. They’re responsible for their incitement to violence and we’re gonna continue to call them out.”
During the sit-in, protesters made a secondary demand that Schakowsky support the Defending the Human Rights of Palestinian Children and Families Living Under Israeli Military Occupation Act which U.S. Rep. Betty McCollum, a Minnesota Democrat, reintroduced to Congress in May.
“The legislation prohibits Israel’s government from using U.S. taxpayer dollars in the Occupied West Bank for the military detention, abuse, or ill treatment of Palestinian children in Israeli military detention; the seizure and destruction of Palestinian property and homes in violation of international humanitarian law; or any assistance or support for unilateral annexation of Palestinian lands in violation of international humanitarian law,” a May statement from McCollum’s office said.
Before the protesters left Schakowsky’s office, the congresswoman issued a statement saying, “The past two weeks have been absolutely heart wrenching. Israelis experienced the worst perpetration of violence inflicted on the Jewish people since the Holocaust. We have also seen thousands of civilians in Gaza killed and even more displaced. Families have been torn apart. My heart is with all those who were tragically killed, and I pray for the safe return of all hostages, including some from my own district.
”Last Friday, I led 55 of my colleagues in a letter to President Biden and Secretary Antony Blinken urging the U.S. to ensure that innocent civilians in Gaza are protected from violence and attacks. That includes following international law, delivering food and water to Gaza, providing safe passage, humanitarian assistance, and ensuring the safe return of hostages. We must guarantee that all civilians, Palestinians, and Israelis are protected. I am doing everything in my power to end the violence as quickly as possible.
“We cannot achieve lasting peace and security for Israelis without addressing the humanitarian crises in Gaza and the West Bank and ending the occupation.”
Members from groups including the Chicago Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression and Southsiders Organized for Unity and Liberation participated in the sit-in, according to Abudayyeh, and shared carpools from all over Chicago and the suburbs to get to Skokie.
©2023 Chicago Tribune. Visit chicagotribune.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
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