Israel’s Chicago – A Consulate General of Israel event marking Israel’s 78th birthday in Chicago drew prominent figures who described rising fears for Jewish people and concerns about how children are taught about Israel. The gathering also reflected the sharp splits surrounding
On Monday, the Consulate General of Israel in Chicago hosted a celebration for the nation’s 78th birthday—an evening that looked like a party to some guests and an indictment of the city to others.
The narrator arrived expecting something “fancy” and dressed in a blue blazer and khakis. Inside. the room held about 500 guests. and while he noticed that some people wore neckties. the atmosphere still felt tense from the start. Security asked him about his background. and when he told them he wanted to share a “Torah portion. ” the guard asked to hear it. He recited the beginning of Leviticus 25 in Hebrew and was waved through.
The first recognizable figure was Illinois Comptroller Susana Mendoza. In conversation. Mendoza showed a photo of a Middle East map her son brought home from Smyser Elementary School. where the territory labeled as “Israel” since 1948 was instead labeled “Palestine.” Mendoza said. “All these kids think Israel is Palestine because that’s what they’re being taught. It’s everywhere.”.
When asked whether she felt strongly about Israel, Mendoza said, “I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t. Everyone should feel safe in this city. It’s scarier for Jewish people.”
For the narrator. that line landed as a measure of how the politics of Israel have shifted from debate into direct fear—especially after the Oct. 7 massacre. He described a “deep bench of peaceniks” who had been swept away by frustration. replaced by rigid nationalists he says are “busy blowing Gaza to smithereens.” He portrayed that as a gift to anti-Zionists and said the cultural backlash can spill into everyday local life.
The Chicago Public Schools became part of the evening’s central grievance. The narrator said he repeatedly heard concern about what was being taught to students. He spoke with Ellen Rosenfeld. an elected member of the CPS board. who said teachers give assignments such as. “Explain why Israel is committing genocide.” Rosenfeld said. “We’re not teaching kids how to think. but what to think.”.
When the narrator asked Rosenfeld how many CPS board members are passionate anti-Zionists. she responded. “20”—adding that it’s a 21-person board—then insisted she was “joking.” Rosenfeld also described what she said she sees at board meetings: the two other Jewish members sometimes wear watermelon pins to show support for Palestinians. despite what she framed as their faith’s central commitment to Israel. She said that her own “Good morning” greeting is sometimes met with “Free Palestine!”.
The event itself offered another point of tension: who was invited to speak. The narrator said the program featured U.S. Rep. Brad Schneider (10th) and Illinois Comptroller Susana Mendoza as speakers. He only realized the full lineup after the MC moved past them to welcome elected officials from Iowa and Nebraska. and he said the sequence made him question whether the gathering’s political breadth matches the image of a government “locked in thrall to Israel.” He asked his consulate hosts whether the lineup might be illustrative of how toxic support for Israel has become politically. and he was told it was simply “about par for the course.”.
Schneider, the narrator said, “never struck me as a charming man,” but he spoke well and with conviction. Mendoza. who is running for mayor. told a long story about her time in Israel. describing walking the ground Jesus trod. She said she was re-baptized in the Sea of Galilee and prayed for a friend expected to die from anaplastic thyroid cancer. The narrator said the friend has survived for two years, calling it a miracle.
As the evening wound down. the narrator connected the local anger and the schoolhouse conflict to a broader sense of time and urgency. He said Monday’s event also marked America’s 250th birthday. He then did “the math. ” concluding that in five years Israel would be one third the age of the United States. He linked that to a darker theme about land and history. saying both countries were built on territory that once belonged to someone else.
He ended with a final thought: that those he described as eager to undo the past might one day agitate for the United States to be “given back” to native Americans. with Chicago returned to the Potawatomi. He added that he expects the result would be the same as the conflict he believes is already being imported into schools and politics.
Israel 78th birthday Consulate General of Israel in Chicago Susana Mendoza Chicago Public Schools Ellen Rosenfeld Brad Schneider Israel Palestine teaching Oct. 7 anti-Zionism
So wait they’re mad about a birthday party? Chicago is wild.
Kids being taught “Palestine” makes zero sense to me, like how does a school even decide that. Also the security check thing sounds intense, like they were treating people as threats for saying Hebrew.
I don’t even get it. If the event is for Israel’s birthday then why are people bringing up Gaza and Oct 7 like that’s the same thing. And the article says the map was from an elementary school?? Sounds like a one-off mistake but everybody’s acting like it’s the whole education system.
This is why nobody trusts anybody anymore. One group calls it a “party,” the other calls it “tension,” but meanwhile kids are getting confused and then adults use it as ammo. I saw somewhere that the map thing was totally edited or something, but who knows. If Jewish people feel unsafe in Chicago that’s terrible, but also blowing Gaza to smithereens isn’t peace either so… yeah it’s all messy.