Chicago Jewish Community to Respond to Proposed Nazi March in Skokie

Chicago’s Jewish community will conduct a two-part response to the threat of a proposed Nazi march in Skokie, it was announced by Sol Goldstein, Skokie resident, Holocaust survivor and leader of a Jewish United Fund (JUF) committee framing the response. Speaking at a press conference held at the Jewish Federation building, Goldstein said the plans included a weeklong educational program to be conducted the week of April 16 whether or not the Nazis carry out announced plans to march on April 20.

The program would include “patriotic celebrations, church-synagogue exchanges and distribution of educational material on the Holocaust to schools. The second part of the response would be a massive, but peaceful, demonstration with an estimated 50,000 participants to be held at the same time the Nazis appear, if and when they do, Goldstein said.

These plans were endorsed at the conference by David Smerling, president of the Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Chicago. He pledged Federation’s “full support and participation” in the community-wide events being planned by Goldstein’s committee on individual liberty and Jewish security of the Public Affairs Committee (PAC) of the JUF in cooperation with the Synagogue Council of the northwest suburbs, and other synagogues, interfaith and interracial groups.

The Federation, however, encouraged Goldstein and Skokie to “pursue to the highest levels” their legal cases to prevent the Nazi march. (Goldstein’s case, seeking a permanent injunction against the march on grounds that it would cause “severe emotional and physical stress” to Holocaust survivors in Skokie is now before the Illinois Supreme Court. The village of Skokie has said it will carry its case against the Nazis to the U.S. Supreme Court.)

RECALLS GERMAN NAZIS

Reporters who questioned the need for confrontation were answered by Raymond Epstein, chairman of PAC, who reminded them that the German Nazis also started out as a small band of miscreants. “It is true to many people that these marching morons seems more an obscene embarrassment than anything else. Nevertheless, it should be pointed out that a similar lunatic fringe was able to successfully bring about the greatest catastrophe in history….We must again remind the world that despotism, terrorism, dictatorship and ruthlessness should not be permitted to blind everybody to the shame of the things they are doing.”

Jerome Torshen, Goldstein’s attorney, said that there was no real alternative to a counterdemonstration. “The Skokie people who were in concentration camps cannot stay away….The survivors have an inner compulsion to be there….For this reason, plans to meet the Nazis with empty streets could not come into being.”

Allowing the Nazis to march unopposed would only encourage them to march again and again, Goldstein said. “We want to tell the Nazis we’re not afraid any more like in the days of Hitler. It didn’t help when we locked ourselves up in our homes, turned down the drapes…and went to the basement…the day the swastika is unfurled is the day to speak.”

In outlining the details of the response, Goldstein added: “We are declaring to the whole world that it is time to start a general attack on Nazism. We are calling on the City Council of Chicago to discuss this problem. We declare a week for all the schools and youngsters to discuss and become aware of what happened during World War ll. We are calling on the Christian population, who suffered as much and not less than the Jewish people, to be with us at that time.”

In response to suggestions that a massive demonstration would be uncontrollable, Goldstein said that the counterdemonstration would be conducted only after thorough consultation and in cooperation with the village of Skokie and other security authorities. He stated that the “exact location” of the counterdemonstration will be based in part on security considerations.