6 | JUNE 25 • 2020 

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essay
Why I Joined a Protest
I

’
m going to start off by say-
ing that I know I don’
t need 
to “defend” my decision to 
join a protest/
march. But I’
m 
going to try and 
explain some of 
it, for others to 
understand. 
I’
ll start off by 
saying that the 
protest/march was 
something I wasn’
t sure I would 
attend, especially as a religious 
Jew, because I knew I would get 
(or actually continue to get) a lot 
of backlash from friends, family 
and strangers.
But, in the end, I chose to go 
because I knew that I would be 
doing a disservice to myself if I 
didn’
t go simply because others 
told me not to. I’
m going to 
continue to stand up for what I 
believe is right, no matter which 
cause, even if people I care 
about disagree. 
To say that the protest/march 

was handled in the way one 
should is an understate-
ment. It started out peace-
fully, continued peacefully 
and ended peacefully. Yes, 
that is possible, despite the 
media mostly showing oth-
erwise.
There was a ton of diver-
sity — people putting aside 
their differences to join in 
unity. I witnessed people 
of multiple races and reli-
gions walking together. We 
walked as one community. I 
couldn’
t hear any of the speech-
es, so I can’
t comment on them. 
There were tables where one 
could register to vote. It was 
truly beautiful. Totally worth the 
sunburn I received.
Aside from the very end, I 
could count on my fingers just 
how few people did not have a 
mask on. And at least in my sec-
tion of the protest, and in most 
of the march, people were trying 
to be about as socially distant 

as they are in supermarkets. 
(Toward the end, not so much.)
The Oak Park Police 
Department was amazing. They 
were giving out free masks and 
gloves to those who wanted 
them, as well as free water. They 
even brought their famous ice 
cream truck for free (kosher 
dairy) ice cream to whomever 
wanted. They worked hard to 
navigate the traffic so that we 
could march in the street as well 
as the sidewalk to help with the 

social distancing. 
Multiple officers even 
marched with us, spread out 
amongst the crowd. Some of 
them gladly took photos with 
the protesters. And a few even 
took a knee when the crowd all 
did. 
I’
m glad I went and I’
m glad I 
joined. My sign said, “I’
m Jewish 
& I support peaceful protests 
for a better world.
” And then 
underneath it said, “black peo-
ple matter.
” 

Menachem 
Roetter

guest column
Zionism is Liberation: 

How we march and shout ‘
Black Lives Matter.’
T

here has been much 
discussion recently 
regarding whether proud 
Zionists, like myself, can join 
marches where the slogan, both 
in the call to 
gather and in the 
marches them-
selves, is “Black 
Lives Matter.” 
 I would like 
to challenge the 
Zionist Jewish 
community to 
seize the opportunity to work 
with the anti-racism and jus-

tice communities, and to shout 
loudly, “Black Lives Matter,” in 
order to fulfill the underlying 
principles of Zionism.
We must remember that 
Zionism is a Jewish Liberation 
Movement. It was and still is 
envisioned to free Jews from the 
shackles of a type of bondage in 
the diaspora. Even those of us 
who live peacefully and happily 
in the pleasant diaspora owe a 
great deal of our Jewish pride 
and security to the rise of the 
State of Israel.
Therefore, it is not surprising 

that so many of those involved 
in the Civil Rights movement 
were avowed Zionists who 
understood deeply the yearning 
of the Jewish people for our 
own freedom. This is a free-
dom we Zionists believe we can 
never really achieve without our 
own Jewish homeland. From 
Martin Luther King Jr. to Rep. 
John Lewis and the Baptist and 
COGIC Pastors we at JCRC/
AJC work with in the Coalition 
for Black and Jewish Unity, 
black people understand, per-
haps better than any others, that 

the struggle for liberation and 
freedom — for Exodus from 
Egypt to Zion — is ongoing and 
critical.
As I have experienced per-
sonally at several rallies and 
marches, when anyone goes 
to such a program or shouts 
“Black Lives Matter,” they are 
focused only on remembering 
George Floyd and fighting rac-
ism, injustice and inequality in 
our police forces and society. 
They are not thinking about 
Black Lives Matter (BLM), the 
organization, or the Movement 

Rabbi Asher 
Lopatin

continued on page 8

continued on page 8

COURTESY OF MENACHEM ROETTER

Oak Park Police join the protestors

The sign Menachem 
Roetter carried

