Year End Review Anti-Defamation League Greater Chicago/Upper Midwest Region
2015
Dear ADL Supporter, Last month, on Kol Nidre, Chicago’s WGN news station aired a story about Yom Kippur, the Jewish Day of Atonement, accompanied by Nazi imagery (the yellow Star of David badge European Jews were forced to wear during World War II). Managers at the network immediately recognized their mistake and publicly apologized for using this painful symbol. In light of WGN’s quick response and obvious remorse, we decided to focus on making the most of this teachable moment, and proposed a training session using a curriculum called Echoes and Reflections, supported by the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), USC Shoah Foundation, and Yad Vashem. This robust educational program, one of many that ADL offers, is designed to help people share accurate and authentic information on the Holocaust. WGN’s station manager was very appreciative and receptive to the idea, and ADL presented the program to executive staff within two weeks of the incident. This quick reaction – and collaborative approach – epitomizes the work of ADL and our Chicago Regional office. From newsrooms to pre-school classrooms to law enforcement trainings, we work tirelessly on a range of issues. In courtrooms, we took up the fight for marriage equality, filing amicus briefs and speaking publicly in the service of our mission, “to secure justice and fair treatment for all.” In communities and on college campuses, we spoke out against hate, and trained students to confront the anti-Semitism that can emerge from the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement. Individuals, companies, schools and organizations come to us for the trainings and tools that break down barriers and biases, because they know and trust our work. Much of that trust is traceable to Abraham H. Foxman, who retired this year after a storied half-century career with ADL. Mr. Foxman, a Holocaust survivor, rose through the organization’s ranks to become ADL’s National Director. During his tenure, Mr. Foxman expanded the ADL to include offices around the country and in Israel, broadening our work and mission on a global scale. His passionate refusal to abide anti-Semitism or intolerance of any kind serves as a model for all of us. His successor, Jonathan Greenblatt, is the sixth National Director in ADL’s 102 year history. Mr. Greenblatt, the grandson of a Holocaust survivor, began his relationship with ADL during a college internship, and his impressive career to date includes time as Special Assistant to the President and Director of the White House Office of Social Innovation and Civic Participation. He is also the co-founder of Ethos (water) Brands, which was acquired by Starbucks, and was the CEO of GOOD Worldwide Inc., a media company with a socially responsible mission. Mr. Greenblatt’s entrepreneurial experience and social media and marketing background present new and exciting possibilities for ADL, and we look forward to sharing those developments with you in the coming months. This transition in leadership highlights ADL’s continuing growth and evolution, even as we remain profoundly committed to our mission. More than a century after its founding, ADL continues to embrace challenges, seeking out and creating innovative ways to combat anti-Semitism, bigotry and intolerance in all its forms. Of course, your generosity makes all of this possible. We hope that as you revisit our accomplishments from this year, you take great pride in knowing that your past contributions have allowed us to have such a positive impact in our community, our country and the world.
Lonnie J. Nasatir
Jonathan S. Quinn
Regional Director
Regional Board Chair
■ Confronting Anti-Semitism and Words to Action During the 2014-2015 school year, 520 explicitly anti-Israel events and programs took place nationwide on college campuses, representing a 30% increase from the previous school year. Well over 50% of these events focused on various aspects of the BDS movement. In Illinois alone, ADL tracked 44 events on campuses like Northwestern University, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, and Loyola University. Incidents of anti-Semitism on college campuses continue to be of concern too. Some examples close to home include: • University of Chicago students and staff reported anti-Semitic posts on a Facebook page called UChicago
Secrets, such as “People are hypocrites. This is a fact. One example? The Jews at UChicago…” and “As a
Person of Palestinian descent, I don’t think it is unreasonable or horrific for me to hate Jews…”
• Threatening anti-Semitic comments were reportedly posted on Yik Yak (an anonymous social media app that
allows people to send and receive posts in a localized area) in the University of Chicago area. Some posts
named specific students, while others expressed more general anti-Semitic sentiments such as, “Gas them,
burn them and dismantle their power structure. Humanity cannot progress with the parasitic Jew.” It is vital for ADL to have a voice on campuses, with youth groups and at synagogues. Our Confronting
Anti-Semitism and Words to Action programs help young Jewish students and adults learn how to address anti-Semitism by increasing their understanding and awareness of anti-Israel rhetoric and anti-Semitism, and Photo courtesy of ADL
provide participants with effective ways to respond. This
past year our staff visited several campuses: Indiana University, where we partnered with Students Supporting Israel and the AEPi fraternity, DePaul University, Northwestern University, University of Illinois, and University of Wisconsin-Madison. We spent the summer months at many Jewish overnight camps bringing programming to both counselors and campers. Our goal is for all college and pre-college students to be comfortable in their campus environments and to feel empowered to appropriately stand up to hate speech, Holocaust denial and other biases. ADL has held Confronting Anti-Semitism and Words to Action programs at schools, camps, and synagogues including: Bernard Zell Anshe Emet Day School, Chicago, IL Beth Hillel Congregation B’nai Emunah, Wilmette, IL Beth Judea, Long Grove, IL Beth Shalom, Naperville, IL B’nai Brith Beber Camp, Mukwonago, WI B’nai Jehoshua Beth Elohim, Deerfield, IL B’nai Tikvah, Deerfield, IL Camp Chi, Wisconsin Dells, WI Camp Interlaken JCC, Eagle River, WI Camp Ramah, Conover, WI Camp Young Judaea Midwest, Waupaca, WI Congregation Beth Israel Ner Tamid, Milwaukee, WI Congregation Sinai, Milwaukee, WI
Hakafa, Glencoe, IL Indianapolis BBYO, Indianapolis, IN Indiana University, Bloomington, IN Moriah Congregation, Deerfield, IL Northwestern University, Evanston, IL Oak Park Temple, Oak Park, IL Temple Jeremiah, Northfield, IL Temple Sholom, Chicago, IL West Suburban Temple Har Zion, River Forest, IL University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, IL University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI A $1,000 donation will sponsor a program at your child or grandchild’s school!
“After our group had visited Nazareth and saw the Church of the Annunciation, one of our group leaders pointed out to me that I was the only student on the trip who got to pray in a church, synagogue and a mosque, all in the Holy Land.”
Aliya Manjee Marquette University
Photo courtesy of Aliya Manjee
Our Campus Leaders mission to Israel, for college students of all religions and backgrounds, is another one of the many ways we are working with young adults. Aliya Manjee attended as a sophomore at Marquette University in Milwaukee, WI. She was the sole Muslim student on the trip and upon her return, she documented different aspects of her experience in the Huffington Post. She expressed in the article that her religion does not define who she is as a person, and though she is pro-Palestinian, that does not mean she is anti-Israel. Her story and powerful message have reached a vast number of people, and prompted ADL Chicago to invite Aliya to speak at our Regional Board meeting in May and ADL’s National Commission Meeting in Denver this past October. Similarly, Ryan Kelley, a college student at Loyola University who is involved in student government, and participated in the Campus Leaders mission to Israel, was also asked to speak to ADL’s Board. Ryan explained how his views on Israel and the BDS movement changed as a result of his experience. “I went to Israel. It will likely be unsurprising to many of you here that I did not, in fact, witness war crimes, destruction of homes, or ethnic cleansing. The lack thereof actually isn’t what surprised me. What shocked me, in fact, was the frustration that Israelis and Palestinians felt toward the deadlocked conflict and its media attention around the world. I met and engaged with many Israelis from all walks of life while I was there, and not once did I hear somebody articulate anger or animosity toward the Palestinian people as a group. I met Palestinians while I was there too–students my own age, who live in the West Bank and attend school in Jerusalem. They wait hours each day in checkpoints to get to class– a nuisance worth feeling frustrated about– yet they, Palestinian students living in the Palestinian territories, chose to talk to us not about the wrongdoings of the Israeli people or their hatred for Israel. Rather, they engaged us in a thoughtful discussion about the challenging dichotomy of the necessity for high-level security against existential threats and the aspiration of being an open and
Photo courtesy of Ryan Kelley
democratic society that accepts people of all ethnic backgrounds and religious affiliations. They did not hate Israel, or Israelis, because they understood that difficult balance between security and democracy. From the beginning of time, humans have been scared of that which they do not understand. And, in the wise words of Jedi Master Yoda, fear eventually leads to hate.”
Ryan Kelley Loyola University Chicago
ADL & LAW ENFORCEMENT BY THE NUMBERS
10,000
Law enforcement personnel trained at ADL’s regional and national trainings each year (13,000 in 2014)
480,000
700,000
35,000
31,000
Visits to ADL’s webpages on terrorism since 2010
Subscribers to ADL’s Terrorism Update e-newsletter
600
law enforcement professionals honored by ADL
10,500
Extremist-related assists to law enforcement (averaging over 400 per year, with 523 assists in 2013)
7.3 Million
Visits to ADL’s online resources for law enforcement
Visits to ADL’s webpages on extremism since 2010
Recognizing Hate Symbols posters distributed to law enforcement
215,000
Hate on Display brochures distributed to law enforcement
Law enforcement personnel trained by Law Enforcement and Society: Lessons of the Holocaust, in partnership with the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum
16,000
ALWAYS VIGILANT ADL and Law Enforcement
1,000/250
1,000 Law enforcement commanders representing 250 agencies trained in ADL’s Advanced Training School (ATS) course on Extremist and Terrorist threats
120
Extremist events monitored per year on average
865
Extremist groups/group chapters in ADL’s database
8,100
Visits to ADL’s online guide to hate symbols
Copies of Guidebook on Extremism for Law Enforcement distributed
95,000
Subscribers to ADL’s regional Law Enforcement Intelligence Bulletins
10 Million
7,000
500,000
Page views of Access ADL, ADL’s blog providing exclusive information and analysis on extremism and terrorism
Individual extremists in ADL’s database
200
American law enforcement executives brought to Israel for ADL’s National CounterTerrorism Seminar
© 2015 Anti-Defamation League For more information on ADL’s Center on Extremism and law enforcement initiatives visit www.adl.org.
■ Law Enforcement ADL provides trainings and resources to hundreds of law enforcement officials and community members each year. These efforts are not only far-reaching, but also impactful and innovative. Here are two highlights from 2015: Last fall, we re-convened our Fact-Finding Committee, a critical resource in ADL’s anti-extremism work. Committee members, who meet every six weeks, are trained as observers and chroniclers of extremism online and at events, and called upon (when appropriate) to monitor hate groups’ online presence and/or attend carefully screened events. The information provided to us by committee members is invaluable, and helps us provide our partners in law enforcement and elsewhere with complete, dependable background information on various movements and events. Experts widely agree that hate crimes are significantly underreported, which is one reason ADL educates communities and law enforcement, delivering hate crimes trainings to a range of different law enforcement entities, citizens’ academies, and community organizations throughout our region. For the last several years we have also trained each new class of recruits at the Indiana State Police Academy. ■ Civil Rights Undoubtedly, one of our proudest moments this year was in the fight for marriage equality. ADL brought together a broad coalition of diverse religious, cultural, and civil rights organizations, urging the U.S. Supreme Court to reject state bans on marriage equality, which improperly enshrine one particular religious view of marriage into law. Working with the Chicago office of Greenberg Traurig LLP, we filed an amicus brief that recounted how discriminatory laws targeting disadvantaged groups have long been justified by religious disapproval and subsequently struck down by the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court’s decision in June to overturn state marriage bans was a historic victory for our nation and one step closer to “secur[ing] justice and fair treatment for all.” Although this case represents important progress, we must continue to advocate for full civil rights for the LGBT community, including the right to be free from all forms of discrimination.
Photos courtesy of ADL
■ Education In the past school year, ADL Chicago’s A WORLD OF DIFFERENCE® Institute conducted 115 education workshops, training approximately 8,000 students, educators, parents and community members on how to respond to bullying and hate in their communities. Programming highlights in the Chicagoland area included 14 Names Can Really Hurt Us trainings and high school assembly workshops reaching approximately 5,000 educators and students, and 55 Becoming an Ally and CyberALLY presentations and workshops reaching over 2,000 students. Our numbers and networks continue to expand throughout the Chicagoland area and other parts of our region. In the 2014-2015 school year, ADL benefitted from the Jewish United Fund of Metropolitan Chicago Breakthrough Fund, which enabled us to build a significant presence in Jewish day schools. We received the grant based on our goal to give Jewish students the knowledge and skills to thrive in the increasingly multi-cultural and diverse environments they will encounter. Students learned to recognize and appreciate differences among their peers and practiced ways to become allies. For example, at Bernard Zell Anshe Emet Day School, 5th, 6th and 7th grade students completed an activity called, “What Makes A Group?” Students were asked to form groups based on common interests or characteristics from as simple as eye color or favorite pizza to more complex like religious identification and cultural heritage. This activity was both a thought-provoking and creative way for the students to see how similar and different they are – even in a school community bringing people together around Jewish values and identity. The feedback from these programs was positive and an exciting opportunity for ADL to grow our relationships with Jewish day schools. As one school administrator from Arie Crown Hebrew Day School wrote after a parent education night, “Your presentation on cybersafety and cyberbullying was very well received, and served as the beginning of a much longer and larger conversation that we are having with our parents. Thank you also for tailoring your talk to the Orthodox Jewish community.”
Photo taken at an ADL A WORLD OF DIFFERENCE® Institute Early Childhood Family & Child Training at Moriah Early Childhood Center in Deerfield, IL.
Our work with Chicago Public Schools (CPS) has also expanded as ADL Chicago trained approximately 450 elementary and middle school students in our Becoming an Ally and CyberALLY programs. Students learned how to recognize bullies and cyberbullies, and how to become allies – both in person and online. These valuable CPS relationships have been cultivated through ADL Chicago’s partnership with Communities in Schools of Chicago (CISC) and we are excited that they have helped us provide programming in all areas of Chicago.
A highlight from this partnership can be found at Henderson Elementary School in the West Englewood neighborhood of Chicago. Even though this community struggles with pervasive violence, a very special art gallery at Henderson shows the great difference programming partners like ADL Chicago can make in the students’ lives. The 5th grade artwork illustrated above was created during ADL’s Becoming an Ally program. As a Henderson teacher said, “We think these pictures speak loud and clear for what the Henderson students want to see in their community.” ADL’S A WORLD OF DIFFERENCE® Institute anti-bias education programs, including our Early Childhood Initiative, can be tailored to fit the needs of each individual school. Over the past year, ADL has worked with the following educational institutions: Alexander Graham Bell Elementary School, Chicago, IL Akiba Schechter Jewish Day School, Chicago, IL Arie Crown Hebrew Day School, Skokie, IL Baker College Preparatory High School, Chicago, IL Bernard Zell Anshe Emet Day School, Chicago, IL Beth El Synagogue, St. Louis Park, MN Cesar E. Chavez Multicultural Academy, Chicago, IL CICS Northtown Academy, Chicago, IL Chicago Jewish Day School, Chicago, IL Concordia Place, Chicago, IL Fenwick High School, Oak Park, IL Funston Elementary School, Chicago, IL Gilmore Middle School, Racine, WI Glenbrook North High School, Northbrook, IL Goethe Elementary School, Chicago, IL Henderson Elementary School, Chicago, IL Ida Crown Jewish Academy, Chicago, IL
Illinois Holocaust Museum and Education Center, Skokie, IL
Jenner Elementary Academy of the Arts, Chicago, IL Kinzie Elementary School, Chicago, IL Kipling Elementary School, Chicago, IL Lincoln High School, Thief River Falls, MN Moriah Early Childhood Center, Deerfield, IL Northbrook School District 27, Northbrook, IL Oak Park Temple, Oak Park, IL Peotone School District 207, Peotone, IL Ralph Waldo Emerson School, Indianapolis, IN River Forest District 90, River Forest, IL Turner Drew Language Academy, Chicago, IL Skokie School District 73 ½, Skokie, IL St. Paul’s Children’s Center, St. Paul, MN If you are interested in learning more about ADL’s anti-bias education programs for pre-K and up, please contact ADL.
■ Freedom Award The First Amendment Freedom Award contest is a way for students between 7th and 11th grades to demonstrate how the First Amendment has affected their daily lives and the winners receive scholarships towards their future college tuition. The student winners are announced at ADL’s Jerold S. Solovy Freedom Award Dinner held each November. Following are excerpts and examples from winning essays and winning art entries: First Place Winner
Allison Neggers
Evanston Township High School, Evanston, IL
American Sky As she bowed her head, her hijab seemed to melt slowly into the cherryblossom pink sunset, painting a watercolor of fabric and atmosphere, religion and firmament. The air danced to the rhythmic sweetness of Islamic chants, coiling in and around my ear as if begging me to join. Yet I was to remain unobtrusive in the corner chaise, watching with closed lips and open admiration as my friend Myra and her family bowed in the direction of Mecca for the fourth moment that day. It was not the first time I had found myself in the chaise; I was accustomed to my Muslim friend’s customs, and I have been ever since meeting her. I believe this to be the beauty of the First Amendment’s freedom of religion, which states that each individual has the right to practice or not practice any faith free of government intervention. As a result of this central liberty, my daily life has been affected for the simple fact that subsequently, mine is an edifying life I get to embrace with friends and peers of vastly different and vastly wonderful religions. Myra was neither the first, not nearly the last, of my friends to worship a faith dissimilar from my own Roman Catholic upbringings. One of my elementary school friends, Natalie, belonged to a family of devout Mormons. Upon sitting around her circular oak dinner table one evening, her mother came from the kitchen carrying a generous bowl of microwaved vegetables and quietly remarking, “I hope you don’t mind.” I thought she had been referring to the source of fiber, but as she placed the ceramic bowl gently on the table’s surface, she continued, “but we like to pray before dinnertime.” Of course, I nodded as we embraced in holding hands and bowing heads, in corn and peas and prayer. My elementary words could not express how little I minded tasting the customs of a different religion that dinner. I would soon come to see through the eyes of even more faiths as I grew and as I made new friends, including a Jewish schoolmate named Ethan. The coming together of various diverse religions, permissible by the First Amendment in allowing any person to practice any faith, was never as evident as it was on the Saturday of his Bar Mitzvah. I distinctly recall carpooling to the synagogue for the service, sitting in the front seat as stop after stop was made at friends’ houses. First Natalie; then Maddie, whose Buddha beads clanked on the aluminum car door; and Ella, who I went to Sunday school with. We sat in that car together, a beautiful myriad of faiths; the sun shining brightly above the Wilmette Baha’i temple out the window as we drove to a Jewish ceremony where we would not even begin to represent all the different religions and ways of life. I couldn’t help but find so much beauty in this representation of faith. The beauty is that this is my daily life. These are the people I eat corn and peas and carpool with. And there is nothing more special than when my life becomes a learning experience with each new day, upon every evening prayer and explanation of the Buddha beads, upon each Baha’i temple window and hijab wrapping. I believe there too is beauty in the fact that I also get to teach peers about my own Catholic faith. Of course, these simple facts of American daily life would cease to exist if not for the First Amendment’s freed of religion in allowing each citizen to practice any religion. It is clear that we are fortunate in our founding fathers’ understanding that despite what we might believe to exist within it, we all live under the same cherryblossom sky, and that is all that matters.
Second Place Winner
Kellie Roth
Stevenson High School, Lincolnshire, IL
“Zip Your Lips”
A collage made out of magazine pieces
“Zip your lips” is a common phrase that many Americans take for granted. In countries like North Korea and Iran, citizens’ speech is heavily restricted and many people are punished for speaking out. I can’t imagine living in a world like that, and I have had the privilege of being able to speak my mind due to the First Amendment. As an American, we are all capable of finding our true voices. I went to school with the same 60 kids for almost nine years, and as I graduated and found out I was moving to a huge high school, I felt lost. Without freedom of speech and expression, I wouldn’t have been able to find a place where I belonged. It would’ve been nearly impossible for me to have happily made it through high school. Having freedom of speech and expression has not only caused me to create bonds with people I now call my best friends, but it also helped me become the person I am today. Going into high school, I was shy and full of fear, but being able to express what was on my mind, freely, made it possible for me to transform into the person I wanted to be. Shown in my collage is someone unzipping their lips, and I feel as I went through high school and was put out of my comfort zone, I was able to metaphorically unzip my lips and be myself.
■ Germany Mission In May 2015, ADL led its fourth mission to Germany through its partnership with the Germany Close Up program. The mission provides 30 young professionals with a unique opportunity to reconcile Germany’s volatile past with its present day culture and thriving economy. The program is designed to take the participants from past to present as the 8-day mission began in Berlin with visits to the Jewish Museum, the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe, and Sachsenhausen, a Labor Camp in Oranienburg, Germany. The trip also incorporated lectures by historians and politicians who were each able to shed light on different aspects of World War II. As the program moved into present day Germany, the participants visited German cities, such as Bremen, Bremerhaven, and Hamburg to explore other facets of German culture. This year’s roster included Megan and Grace Phelps-Roper, formerly of the Westboro Baptist Church. Megan and Grace left the church in 2012, becoming estranged from their family. In the year since, they’ve collaborated with ADL in various regions to share their experiences with the church. The Germany Close Up Mission provided an opportunity for Megan and Grace to delve deeper into the personal biases that they were raised to believe to be true, and to glean a greater understanding of Jewish and German history.
Photos courtesy of ADL
ADL has a strong partnership with the Germany Close Up program and will be leading another mission to Germany in 2016.
■ Glass Leadership Institute The Glass Leadership Institute (GLI) is a national program intended to introduce the next generation of Jewish activists and leaders to ADL. Each year ADL Chicago accepts 25 young professionals, ranging in age from 25-40, who are interested in learning about our mission and identifying the appropriate ways to become involved. In the past year, GLI participants visited the Chicago offices of the FBI and Univision, met with ADL National and Chicago Regional staff to discuss their various roles and responsibilities, and discussed a myriad of topics relating to ADL and international affairs, civil rights, law enforcement, media relations, and education. ADL Chicago is pleased to announce the 2015-2016 GLI will expand to Indianapolis.
Photo courtesy of ADL
“I moved from NYC back to Chicago in the fall of 2013. I had spent the first year getting my footing and looking for things to get involved in. I attended some ADL events and that allowed me to discover what kind of awareness and education the ADL brought to the Jewish community and beyond and I knew this was an organization I wanted to learn more about. Glass gave me exposure to each of the departments within ADL and how they all worked together to defend the rights of Jews and others. Now that I’ve graduated from the Glass program, I look forward to staying involved by co-chairing next year’s Glass class, attending ADL board meetings and events, as well as being an active member of the Fact-Finding committee.” Sari Zager 2014-2015 Glass Graduate ■ Latino Jewish Student Ambassador Program This year, ADL’s interfaith partnerships expanded to include a Latino Jewish Student Ambassador leadership program which began with an inaugural session at the Illinois Holocaust Museum. The program is designed to encourage interaction, cooperation and understanding between the next generation of Latinos and Jews in Chicago. These new connections serve as an important means to fight hate, discrimination and intolerance, locally and globally. Twenty Latino and Jewish high school students participated in discussions and activities around identity and race. The goal of the first session was to provide an overview of the program, build community among the students and engage them in thought-provoking discussions about their similarities and differences. The program consisted of three sessions total, including one each at the Mexican Consulate, and Univision in Chicago.
■ Leadership 2020 This past summer ADL Director Jonathan Greenblatt led a mission to Israel with young leaders affiliated with ADL’s Leadership 2020 group. Participants experienced a political and cultural tour, and had the opportunity to get to know Mr. Greenblatt and learn about his vision for the future. We were also extremely proud that ADL Chicago had the most attendees of any ADL region. “The
inaugural
Leadership
2020 Mission was a wonderful opportunity to explore current political (domestic and global), economic, social and religious issues facing the State of Israel with a group of young leaders from all over the country who share a passion for the ADL’s mission, including our advocacy for Israel. The fact that Jonathan Greenblatt was able to join us for the Mission was truly special as well. Our meetings with political leaders, journalists, high tech executives, entrepreneurs, educators, IDF officers and community leaders were exceptional. Whether we were visiting the Tel Aviv offices of Google, the new City of Rawabi in the West Bank, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the settlements in the Binyamin region, an IDF base in Haifa or the Syrian border in the Golan Heights, we were fascinated, educated and inspired to continue to advance the important work of the ADL.”
Marjorie Zessar,
ADL Greater Chicago/Upper Midwest Board and 2020 Member
“The inaugural Leadership 2020 Mission to Israel was a wonderful experience where we were granted access as only ADL could provide. Whether political, entrepreneurial, social, historical or geopolitical we viewed the situations presented to us with fresh, open eyes and were presented with speakers offering different voices from Israeli society and were given an opportunity to formulate our own opinions on what was happening on the ground. I felt blessed to share these experiences with my ADL family who I look forward to serving with for years to come!” Greg Stewart,
ADL Greater Chicago/Upper Midwest Board and 2020 Member Photos courtesy of Marjorie Zessar
ADL Chicago’s Outreach Network and International Affairs Committee presented many interesting events this past year, including: ■ Free Speech, Civility and the Challenge of Cyberhate This one-hour program, hosted at 1871 in the Merchandise Mart, featured Monika Bickert, Head of Global Product Policy for Facebook, Howard A. Tullman, CEO of 1871, and Steven M. Freeman, ADL Director of Legal Affairs. This panel explored ways in which ADL and the Internet industry are working together to combat hate and bigotry when it enters cyberspace. Issues discussed included the challenges that arise when free speech and civility clash online and how the
Photo courtesy of ADL
technology industry and user communities can work together to address this growing problem. ■ Life After Hate Hosted at the Matthew Rachman Gallery, this event featured Christian Picciolini, a former high-ranking member in the American white supremacist skinhead movement, and his transition from a life of hate to a life of peace. Picciolini has since published his memoir Romantic Violence: Memoirs of An American Skinhead, and is now partnering with the ADL to deliver his powerful message to students and law enforcement. Photo courtesy of Britton Picciolini
■ How Does One Become a Terrorist? Oren Segal, the director of the ADL’s Center on Extremism and Research Center, spoke to members of the ADL community about evaluating the activity and tactics of extremist groups and movements all over the world. His expertise is so well-known that he was invited to participate in the White House Summit on countering violent extremism last February. Photo courtesy of ADL
■ The Art of Perception: Rethinking How We See Amy Herman and The Art of Perception train law enforcement, intelligence, medicine, industry, and education professionals to reconsider their skills of critical inquiry and articulation by analyzing works of art, thereby improving their ability to distinguish between perception and inference. During a dayPhotography by Amy Toensing and courtesy of Art of Perception and Amy Herman
long series of events in collaboration with ADL, trainings were held at Advocate Christ Medical Center, the Chicago Police
Department Headquarters, and an evening presentation at the Newberry Library that addressed issues of race, bias, and gender identity. Please check our website regularly at chicago.adl.org for information on upcoming events!
2015 REGIONAL BOARD MEMBERS Regional Chair: Jonathan S. Quinn (NC) Vice Chairs: Allen J. Fagel (NC) Laurence E. Hyman (ANC) Charles J. Kurland (NC) William A. Marovitz (ANC) Michael Perlow (NC) Avner M. Porat (NC) Keith J. Shapiro (NC) Howard J. Swibel (NC) Secretary: Jeffrey M. Simon (NC) 2015 Regional Board: Jack Ablin Barbara S. Adelman (NAC) Philip Bach (ANC) Bruce R. Bachmann (ANC) Stanford Baratz (NC) Rick Baruch Alana Berg Dennis G. Berger Sen. Arthur L. Berman Debbie L. Berman Myles D. Berman Norman R. Bobins Brian B. Boorstein (NC) William J. Brodsky Sherwin A. Brook (ANC) Jonathan Bruss (NC) Denise B. Caplan Richard A. Chesley Joshua Cohen A. Steven Crown Amy S. Drew Scott R. Drury Nicole Drusinsky Julie Livingston Echt Frederic J. Entin Clement A. Erbmann Steven S. Fadem Elliot G. Farkas Jonathan C. Feig Hon. Roger C. Fein (ANC) Susanne C. Fein Eric Feinberg Richard L. Fenton (ANC) Michael Fixler Peter E. Freidell David J. Friedman Steven G. Frost Brad S. Gerber Diane Gershowitz Harold Gershowitz (NC) Gerald B. Ginsburg Adriane Glazier
Andrew M. Glick Lawrence E. Glick (NC) Thomas C. Goldblatt Michael Golden Peter L. Goldman Howard A. Goldstein Ellis M. Goodman John J. Goodman Ralph Goren Kenneth M. Gorenberg Aaron L. Hammer James Hanig Phyllis Glink Harris Gary Hirschberg Douglas A. Hirsh (ANC) David H. Hoffman Louise P. Homburger (NC) Thomas C. Homburger (NC) Diane S. Israel (ANC) Andrew S. Jacobs Richard M. Jaffee Steven L. Joseph Mark Juster (NC) Bennett E. Kaplan Edward L. Kaplan Harold L. Kaplan Richard F. Karger Geoffrey R. Kass Melvin L. Katten (NC) Joanne C. Keeshin Barbara Levy Kipper (NC) Adam R. Klein Frances H. Krasnow Michael P. Krasny (NC) Paula Krasny Charles F. Kriser (NC) Aaron Lanski Andrew Lapin (ANC) Carolyn Leonard (ANC) Heidi Levin Jack Levitt Lawrence F. Levy Scott Levy Susan Cohen Levy (ANC) Jeremy S. Liss Barry Litwin Steve L. Mandell (ANC) Sylvia R. Margolies (NC) James G. Marks Greg Maurer Michael S. Maurer Scott Mendeloff Jerome H. Meyer Paul A. Miller Joanne Moffic-Silver Jacob Morowitz (NC) Xuong Nguyen Gregory E. Ostfeld Dennis Passis (NC)
Scott Peltz Florie Perellis (NC) Theodore F. Perlman Gary L. Plotnick Dale M. Pollak Len Pollak Joan Porat (ANC) Nadine M. Prosperi Suzanne J. Prysak S. Jarret Raab Myron J. Resnick (NC) James L. Rolfe Abbey Romanek Julian Rose Burton X. Rosenberg Jeffrey Rosenberg (ANC) Sheli Rosenberg Warner A. Rosenthal Michael I Rothstein (NC) Arnold G. Rubin (NC) David S. Ruskin Nate Sahn Stuart M. Salins Mitchell H. Saranow (NC) Joel H. Schneider Daniel J. Schwartz Ida Scully (NC) Mark Segal Allan “Bud” Selig Douglas Shabelman Hon. James A. Shapiro Steven J. Sherman Pamela J. Simon (NC) Gary M. Sircus Julie Smolyansky Lawrence Stark Amy K. Steinback Jay B. Sterns Ellen J. L. Sternweiler (NC) Gregory Stewart (ANC) Scott Strusiner William A. Sugarman Bruce W. Taylor (ANC) Tracy L. Treger (NAC) Andrea F. Wainer Bradley A. Weiner Bruce P. Weisenthal Simone Singer Weissbluth Steven J. Yatvin David Zarfes Bruce M. Zessar Marjorie Zessar (NC) Jennifer Zukerman
(NAC) National Advisory Committee (NC) National Commission Member (ANC) Associate National Commission Member
2015 ASSOCIATE BOARD Karen Apter
Sara A. Fowler
Meredith Marmora
Rachel Schaller
Amy Berger
Marissa Gaines
Melissa Mell
Andrew R. Sherlock
Jill A. Gaines
Justin Baratz
Adam S. Garber
Pamela Berkowitz
Taryn Gluskin
Carolyn S. Braff
Jordana R. Greenberg
Olivia Brennan
Lynn Grossman
Abby Chiat
Adam Guetzow
Suzanne Courtheoux
James Hausler
Michael Crandall
Micky Hervitz
Stacey J. Dembo
Brian Howard
Brooke Doppelt
Emily Keith
Daniel A. Dorfman
Samantha Klein
Michelle Fischgrund
Jody Klenetsky
Lawrence Fogel
Mindy Kurlansky
Leslie Fogel
Leanne Levy
Casey N. Foreman
Dana B. Mehlman
Candace L. Meyers Perry Meyers Ryan Mollen
Robert (Bob) Morgan Scott Novack
Jason Z. Pesick
Daniel H. Render Blake Roter
Heidi R. Roth Lisa M. Roth
Leeatt Rothschild
Brian Semel
Amy H. Sigman
Michelle Steiman Jenna E. Stein
Leigh Waterman
Diane M. Welbel
Jonathan Welbel
Samuel D. Willens Richard Wolf Sari Zager
Joanna K. Zak
Stacy Rudd
Jordan Salins
CONGRATULATIONS TO ADL’S 2015 HONOREES ARTHUR RUBLOFF HUMANITARIANISM AWARD John J. Goodman Executive Vice President Savills Studley
Photography by Lynn Renee Photography
WOMEN OF ACHIEVEMENT AWARDS (Pictured above left to right with Lonnie Nasatir)
AMERICANISM AWARD Mark A. Hoppe President and Chief Executive Officer MB Financial Bank
Kathryn Hayley
Executive Vice President UnitedHealthcare
Melody Spann Cooper
Chairman Midway Broadcasting Corporation
Joanne Moffic-Silver
Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE)
Rena Hozore Reiss
Executive Vice President General Counsel and Secretary Hyatt Hotels Corporation
TORCH OF LIBERTY AWARD David S. Richter Managing Director, Public Markets Investments Investment Committee Chair Director of Investments Head of Research GCM Grosvenor
2014 DONOR HONOR ROLL Founder ($25,000+) Anonymous Stan & Amy Baratz & Family Crown Family Philanthropies Harris Family Foundation The Irving Harris Foundation Charles & Geraldine Kriser The Malkin Family The Perlman Family Foundation Michael & Sandra Perlow Arnold G. & Kimberly A. Rubin Patrick G & Shirley W. Ryan Foundation Cari & Michael Sacks The Charles & M.R. Shapiro Foundation Keith J. & Marci Shapiro
Modestus Bauer Foundation Mr. & Mrs. Dennis Passis Mr. & Mrs. Dale Pollak J.B. & M.K. Pritzker Family Foundation Jennifer & Jonathan Quinn Alicia & Myron J. Resnick Burton X. & Sheli Z. Rosenberg Samerian Foundation Elizabeth M. Simon Herbert Simon Family Foundation Pamela & Jeffrey Simon Kathleen Hart Solovy The Takiff Family Foundation Marianne Tobias Amb. & Mrs. Randall L. Tobias Tracy L. Treger & Scott Levy Karen & Robert Westbrook
Benefactor ($10,000 - $24,999) Barbara Stolberg Adelman & Steven Adelman Lester & Edward Anixter Family Foundation Arkes Family Foundation Janice Levy Block The Bluhm Family Charitable Foundation Mr. & Mrs. Norman Bobins on behalf of the Robert Thomas Bobins Foundation Abe & Ida Cooper Foundation Mr. & Mrs. Allen J. Fagel Abel & Judy Friedman Charitable Foundation Gennady Gertsman Joseph L. & Emily K. Gidwitz Memorial Foundation Thomas C. & Margie Muchin Goldblatt The Ellis Goodman Family Foundation David G. Herro Jill & Douglas A. Hirsh Mr. & Mrs. Thomas Homburger Shirley & Richard M. Jaffee William J. Jones Mark Juster & Elana Stern Richard F. Karger The Kipper Family Foundation Charles J. & Alice Kurland Ray Lewis Sylvia & Lawrence Margolies Steven N. Miller
Patron ($5,000-$9,999) Judy & Fred Adler Bruce Bachmann Dennis G. Berger The Hon. & Mrs. Arthur L. Berman Myles D. Berman Harry* & Harriet Bernbaum Gail & Brian B. Boorstein Joan & William J. Brodsky Jonathan Bruss Denise B. Caplan Paul & Pearl Caslow Foundation Mr. & Mrs. Gidon Cohen Joshua Cohen Cornelius Family Foundation Christel DeHaan Family Foundation Dorsey Foundation D. J. Edelman Family Foundation Fred & Donna Entin Jonathan & Carrie Feig The Hon. & Mrs. Roger G. Fein Mr. & Mrs. Lawrence J. Feller Wade Fetzer Eli & Dina Field Family Foundation Steven D. Goldberg Mr. & Mrs. John J. Goodman Barbara & Jim Hanig Hochberg Family Foundation Scott Hodes & Maria Bechily Diane S. Israel Darrell B. Jackson Bennett E. Kaplan Carol & Edward Kaplan
Katz Family Foundation Sheila & Chris Kennedy Karen & Adam Klein Frances H. Krasnow Lindsey & Adam Labkon Marilyn & Mark Labkon Harry & Sadie Lasky Foundation Susan R. Lichtenstein Dr. Herbert & Jacqueline* Lippitz Foundation Robert H. McKinney Jacob Morowitz Lester & Charlotte Morris Abby McCormick O’Neil George & Sarah Ohlhausen Foundation Florie & Andrew Perellis Polk Bros. Foundation Dr. & Mrs. Avner Porat Julian Rose Robert B. Rosen Jeffrey & Lisa Rosenberg Mr. & Mrs. Warner A. Rosenthal Mr. & Mrs. Edward W. Ross Michael I & Doreen Rothstein Ruth Ruffer Ricky Sandler Mitchell H. Saranow Jill & Rob Selati Allan H. & Suzanne L. Selig Family Foundation Arnold G. Siegel Mr. & Mrs. Jason Silverman Mr. & Mrs. David Simon Smith Family Fund Mr. & Mrs. Jay B. Sterns Ellen J. L. Sternweiler William & Nicole Sugarman Howard J. Swibel Mr. & Mrs. Howard Tullman Dr. & Mrs. Michael I. Vender Zell Family Foundation Marjorie Zessar *deceased
Please excuse any errors or omissions and contact ADL at (312)-533-3939 if you would like to request a change.
ADL’S MIDWEST CORPORATE DIVERSITY PROGRAM We thank the corporations in our Midwest region who stand with us to build diversity
Argentière Capital
Balyasny Asset Management Big Ten Conference BMO Harris Bank Canyon Partners
Cedar Street Companies
Chicago Board Options Exchange, Inc. Chicago Tribune
DeVry Education Group Elliott Management FOX Sports GE Capital
Greenberg Traurig, LLP GCM Grosvenor
Hyatt Hotels Corporation Kaplan, Inc.
MB Financial, Inc.
McKnight Kurland
Molex Incorporated
Navigant Consulting, Inc. Northern Trust
TeamWorks Media The PrivateBank
Trian Fund Management L.P. UnitedHealthcare
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