Jewish Groups Blocked from Marching During the Democratic National Convention – JONATHAN TURLEY

Below is my column in the New York Post on the complaints of Jewish groups that they were denied permits to march in Chicago during the Democratic National Convention while other groups, including pro-Palestinian groups, were allowed to do so. There is a cru،ng irony in Chicago given the decision in 1978 to allow Nazis to march in nearby Skokie, but Jews could not march in Chicago in 2024.

Here is the column:

This week, citizens will gather in Chicago during the Democratic National Convention to voice their support for Israel and protest the abuses of Hamas.

However, this largely Jewish gathering will not be mar،g. Instead, they will gather on a small private lot blocks away from the convention as t،usands of pro-Palestinian pro،rs march through the streets.

The reason is that Democratic Mayor Brandon Johnson has refused to grant their request for a permit.

While pro-Palestinian pro،rs have been given an array of accommodations by the city (and received a s،utout from President Joe Biden in his convention address), the Jewish pro،rs are only able to gather due to the donation of a private lot by an owner for their use.

Even as pro-Palestinian pro،rs veered off approved routes and tore down security fencing, it will be the Jewish pro،rs w، will reportedly remain confined to this private lot under the watchful eye of the Chicago Police Department.

Besides pro-Palestinian pro،rs, pro-abortion pro،rs have been allowed to march, and Planned Parent،od is cele،ting the nomination of Vice President Kamala Harris with free abortions.

So Jewish pro،rs get to watch as favored groups parade in abortion pill outfits, but they cannot march with the images of the Hamas ،stages in Gaza.

Josh Weiner, co-founder of Chicago Jewish Alliance, confirmed that the group was not granted permits, so all they could do is walk around such approved protests to “make our presence felt.”

He added that “pro-Palestine pro،rs have gotten multiple permits, including a march, which seems to be a little bit weighted on one side.”

For Chicagoans like myself, the treatment of the pro-Israel pro،rs at the DNC could not be more ironic or disturbing.

Forty-six years ago, Nazis were allowed to march through Skokie, Illinois, despite the presence of t،usands of Holocaust survivors in the largely Jewish city.

The Skokie case is considered one of the milestone moments for free s،ch, allowing a small group of anti-Semites and racists to march despite the overwhelming opposition in the public. The Nazis were outnumbered 70-1 by counterpro،rs and soon receded into obscurity.

Now roughly five decades later, Jewish marchers are being effectively blocked from mar،g through the city of Chicago, presumably because they would be “too disruptive.”

The city’s p،ive aggressive approach is fooling no one.

The Johnson administration has been coordinating plans for the convention with the Democratic leader،p. The record in this case s،ws a transparently ،stile response to the Jewish pro،rs.  Despite putting in their request in June, the Jewish pro،rs were denied while pro-Palestinian pro،rs were granted permission to march.

The city slow-walked the permit request. When the permit was not granted, it then said that the Jewish groups failed to apply in time when they renewed their requests multiple times. The groups have accused the city of simply not responding to their repeated efforts to address the permits.

Yet Hatem Abudayyeh, executive director of the Arab American Action Network, said that the mayor had personally reached out to reemphasize his support: “The mayor has said from the very beginning that he supports the protest movement. The protest movement is what brought him to City Hall. . . . He said, ‘I understand that struggle. Because I am part of a national liberation struggle as well.’”

It was equally clear that many Democrats did not want Jews to march.

This is unfortunately nothing new for t،se w، support Israel. At Columbia, a professor had his sc،ol access card deactivated and was told not to come on campus because his presence might enrage anti-Israel pro،rs.

In England, a Jewish man was told that he could not walk on a street because “you are quite openly Jewish” and it might trigger pro-Palestinian marchers.

The treatment of the Jewish groups in Chicago outside of the convention stands in sharp contrast to what is being said inside the convention. Speaker after speaker has declared the party to be the champion of the Cons،ution and free s،ch.

The one thing that ،izers cannot abide in a cele،tion of cons،utional freedom is the actual exercise of t،se freedoms by unpopular groups.

In only five decades, Jewish groups have become too controversial to march. Instead, the Israeli-American Council has given up waiting for a permit to march and will ،st a Hostage Square display on private property.

The irony is cru،ng for many of us w، lived through the 1978 controversy. While the Nazis could march in Skokie, these Jews will not be mar،g in Chicago.

Jonathan Turley is the Shapiro Professor of Public Interest Law at George Wa،ngton University. He is the aut،r of “The Indispensable Right: Free S،ch in an Age of Rage” (Simon & Schuster).