This is a post by Coco Keevan, the student editor of the New Voices-Northwestern blog.
Frankly, it’s been a rough weekend for the Jewish community here at Northwestern University and in Chicago. On Friday, word reached Northwestern’s Fiedler Hillel Center that several explosive packages were intercepted by government officials en route to Jewish institutional targets in Chicago.
According to the Chicago Sun-Times, President Obama confirmed that two packages, addressed to at least one Chicago synagogue and one Chicago JCC, are not part of a “dry run” but rather a credible threat to the U.S.
Authorities suspect the packages were sent from al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, a terrorist group out of Yemen; officials in Dubai intercepted one explosive device, and the second package was aboard a plane searched near London. [Chicago Sun-Times]
The threat, it seems, extended to Northwestern’s Evanston campus. On Saturday, October 30, vandals targeted the large Chanukah menorah outside of Tannenbaum Chabad House, inciting what local police are labeling a hate crime. While it is unclear whether or not it was merely a Halloween prank, it does seem to bring the threat close to home.
Below is a note from Rabbi Dov Hillel Klein, Director of the Chabad House, regarding this incident.
Check out New Voices: Northwestern Wednesday for an editorial from yours truly about the climate of Judaism in Chicago and here at Northwestern specifically. We live in a tenuous socio-political world, and I think it’s important that the community at large stand united against this sort of hateful action.
Sunday October 31, 2010
The Tannenbaum Chabad House was the victim of vandalism this past Saturday, October 30th, sometime between the hours of 7:30 pm and 10:15 pm. The vandalism was directed at the large Chanukah menorah (picture below) which has proudly stood in front of our building as Chabad House’s religious symbol for many years. The Evanston Police Department has classified this incident as vandalism to property and as a hate crime, and their investigation is ongoing at this time.
The past few days have been filled with many conflicting emotions for me personally. When I was notified by Homeland Security on Friday afternoon that two packages containing explosives en route to Chicagoland Jewish institutions were intercepted by government officials, I quickly reached out to the Evanston Police Department and requested that all area synagogues receive extra police patrols. Thank G-d no related incidents took place in Evanston.
Shabbat at Chabad was a wonderful and peaceful emotional high, with loads of students and community members coming through our doors. At the conclusion of Shabbat Saturday evening, I went to the Hotel Orrington to support the Alpha Epsilon Pi Fraternity, who was hosting a philanthropy that raised over $1,100 for Keshet, an organization that works with children and young adults with disabilities. I then went to support the Jewish Theatre Ensemble, who produced an outstanding and thought-provoking performance of Equus. I ended the evening at a housewarming party for Rebitzen Yehudis Hecht, who leads our Shabbat Cooking Classes at Chabad. Shabbat and Saturday evening were truly filled with the joy and inspiration that defines the very best of our Northwestern student and Evanston communities.
To my surprise, I received a phone call from the Evanston Police Department early this morning with the news of the vandalism at our Chabad Center. After a truly wonderful weekend filled with what makes me most proud about our community, I felt saddened, ashamed, hurt, and most of all, violated. After living as part of the Evanston and Northwestern University communities for twenty-five years, it is very disturbing that someone or some group of people could break and attempt to destroy one of our religious symbols. I ask myself whether this was just a prank or an opportunity to make an anti-Semitic statement. Whichever the true intent, it portrays the lack of sensitivity and tolerance coupled with hatred, anger, and rage that some individuals still possess and how much more education remains necessary.
I share this incident with the community so that we can use it as a springboard to learn about the importance and power of respecting each other’s differences as well as an opportunity to learn how to foster a society which can work together, care for each other, and love one another.
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May G-d continue to bless our community and each one of us.
Rabbi Dov Hillel Klein
Director
