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