CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) - After a physical attack on one of their own and verbal attacks online, some members of Chicago’s Jewish community gathered Wednesday night in West Ridge.
Members of the Chicago Jewish Alliance and others gathered blocks from where a 39-year-old man was shot on his way to synagogue Saturday morning. They’re called for hate crime charges against the gunman, 22-year-old Sidi Mohammed Abdullahi.
Rabbi Baruch Epstein from Bais Menachem told the crowd they want Mayor Johnson to get involved.
“We ask him to follow in God’s footsteps, to come and personally investigate and see what it is that is being brought upon our community,” Epstein said.
Alderman Debra Silverstein also spoke at the rally. She is leading a push for the mayor’s appointed board of education chair Reverend Mitchell Johnson to apologize and step down after social media posts about the war in Gaza. She said the posts crossed major red lines into overt antisemitism.
“We are not going to stop fighting back,” Silverstein vowed. “You have my commitment that I’m going to continue to speak out to protect our neighborhood, to make sure our community is safe.”
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