Advocates decry ‘pogrom on the playground’ after Jewish children targeted in Chicago suburb on 7 October

JTA -A heavily Jewish suburb of Chicago has condemned antisemitism after an investigation confirmed reports that a group of Jewish children were attacked with pellet guns and subjected to antisemitic rhetoric in a public park earlier this month.

The incident took place on 7 October, the first day of the Jewish holiday of Sukkot and the second anniversary of the Hamas attack on Israel, in Shawnee Park, which is located blocks from a number of the town’s Orthodox synagogues.

It occurred when five children between the ages of eight and 13, were approached by another group of children who asked if they were Jewish, according to the Chicago Jewish Alliance, an advocacy group that has taken an aggressive stance against antisemitism in Chicagoland.

When the children replied that they were Jewish, the group of roughly 20 assailants, who were between the ages of 12 and 14, then allegedly shouted, “F—k Israel!” and “You are baby killers, so we are going to kill you!” at the children and shot gel gun pellets from a recreational gun at them, according to a Facebook post by Daniel and Robyn Burgher Ackerman, the parents of a 13-year-old girl who was among the victims.

The Ackermans posted what they said was their first public account of the incident on Thursday, 23 October, after an investigation by the town was completed. The Village of Skokie said this week that police had responded to the scene on 7 October, where the children alleged to have participated in the incident were identified and interviewed and a police report was filed.

The case was “closed” following the investigation’s conclusion, according to the Village of Skokie. It did not name any actions it was taking in response, but said the incident had been documented and shared with the Human Relations Commission, which would later issue a recommendation based on its findings.

“There’s no place for hate in Skokie,” said Mayor Ann Tennes. “Our community has long been built on respect, inclusion, and care for one another. The village remains committed to standing against antisemitism and all forms of bias, and to ensuring that Skokie continues to be a safe and welcoming place for everyone.”

The Skokie Park District said it had been made aware of the incident only this week. “We don’t tolerate racist remarks or acts of violence in our parks,” it said in a statement issued on Thursday. “We’re prepared to work with the Village of Skokie’s Human Relations Commission and the Skokie Police Department as part of a community-wide effort to address this hateful occurrence and prevent this behaviour in the future.”

The Ackermans and the Chicago Jewish Alliance say they are concerned that the incident isn’t being treated with the appropriate urgency, citing lack of evidence of any disciplinary action against the children who participated.

In a post on Facebook on Friday, the Skokie Police Department addressed community members’ “frustration and concerns” about the incident, saying that although details available to the public were limited because the perpetrators were minors, it had been classified as a hate crime.

“Due to the antisemitic statements demonstrating bias as a likely motivator in the battery involving the gel blaster, the department has classified this incident as a hate crime,” the post read. “This classification was made upon the department’s initial investigation into this incident on 7 October.”

Police said that one minor had reported being struck in the leg by a gel pellet, and that though the investigation into the incident had concluded, it was continuing to be resolved.

Following the police announcement, the Chicago Jewish Alliance shifted the focus of a planned appearance at the Village of Skokie Board meeting on 3 November to demand increased transparency between law enforcement and the Skokie community, according to Daniel Schwartz, the group’s president.

“While we appreciate this overdue recognition, it’s important to reflect on why it required public outcry to reach this point. The classification of a hate crime should never depend on media coverage or community pressure. It should be immediate, transparent, and guided by moral clarity,” wrote Schwartz.

He said that during the assault, the assailants allegedly told the victims that they would “get a real gun and kill you Jews”.

Schwartz, who referred to the incident as a “pogrom on the playground”, said the incident had “really disturbed” the local Jewish community.

“This hits a nerve,” he said, “because it happened on 7 October; it happened to children; it happened to children in Skokie, Illinois, which has a very dense Jewish population; and then the municipality itself, similar to what we saw in 1940s Germany, was almost like, there was just no justice or repercussion,” said Schwartz.

He said the parents of the victims of the attack are also seeking legal counsel over the incident.

“This wasn’t ‘kids being kids’. This was a targeted, violent antisemitic attack on Jewish minors in their synagogue dresses on a Jewish holiday,” the Ackermans wrote. “The fact that it happened on 7 October, exactly two years after the 7 October 2023, massacre of Jews in Israel, makes it even more chilling.”