Jewish groups demand condemnation, transparency and prevention after reported attack in Shawnee Park

On Oct. 21 the Chicago Jewish Alliance and local residents told the Skokie Village Board that children were targeted in an Oct. 7 incident at Shawnee Park and urged an explicit condemnation and a suite of responses including a transparent investigation timeline and increased prevention.

Susan Haggart, speaking for the Chicago Jewish Alliance, said a group of visibly Jewish children in Shawnee Park were surrounded, subjected to antisemitic slurs, chased and threatened with gel or pellet guns; parents reportedly found children crying and shaken. Haggart called the event a targeted antisemitic attack and asked the board to "publicly condemn this incident as an anti Semitic hate crime," provide an updated timeline, increase park patrols, coordinate safety with schools and synagogues, create safe reporting channels and launch education efforts on antisemitism.

Additional speakers recounted personal and intergenerational experiences of antisemitism and urged the board to act. Trustee Robinson noted the village’s existing Human Rights procedures and said staff and the Human Relations Commission would be engaged to activate the response steps established in prior work; police confirmed the matter is under active investigation and staff said they would provide follow-up through village channels.

Speakers asked for both immediate safety measures and longer-term prevention and education efforts. The village manager and mayor said they would pursue activation of the previously drafted human-relations procedures and provide information to the public about next steps and the police inquiry.