LINCOLN SQUARE — Public officials and an interfaith coalition of clergy members will lead a rally for peace and unity in Lincoln Square's Giddings Plaza Wednesday evening.
"We want to bring people together around a positive message," Ald. Ameya Pawar (47th) said.
Threats against Jewish Community Centers and other acts of hatred have been on the rise around the city, and the country, and "we can't let that be normalized," Pawar said.
"The only response is to come together and demonstrate we will not stand for this," he said.
Town Hall Police District Cmdr. Marc Buslik (who is Jewish) is expected to be among Wednesday's speakers, along with the Rev. Jason Coulter of Ravenswood United Church of Christ and Rabbi Baruch Hertz of Chabad of Lakeview.
The event is intended to counter the angry and negative rhetoric that's dominated the news cycle in recent months, the alderman said.
"I think people turn on the news and they worry," Pawar said. "You feel it walking down the street — people are on edge."
The rally is an opportunity for people to connect with neighbors around their shared values of tolerance and understanding — a message the alderman takes personally.
"Look at my family — I'm Indian, my wife's Jewish; I'm brown she's white. Our daughter is Jewish, but half-Indian — she is America," Pawar said.
"There's a lot of families like ours," he said. "When I think about our neighborhood, that's what I see."
The event gets underway at 6:30 p.m. at 4733 N. Lincoln Ave. and, given the unseasonably wintry weather, "I'm going to work on getting hot chocolate," Pawar said.
