Burr Ridge Pressed Again To Take Gaza Stand

BURR RIDGE, IL – Those from a variety of faiths spoke this week at the Burr Ridge Village Board meeting, asking officials to take a stand on Israel's war in Gaza.

The mayor and trustees stayed silent.

A couple of weeks ago, more than a dozen speakers asked the village to adopt a resolution backing a ceasefire in Gaza.

Palestinian officials say more than 32,000 in Gaza have died as a result of Israel's bombardment, which was sparked by Hamas' Oct. 7 attack.

"As a human being and as a Jew, I was deeply pained by the tragic events of Oct. 7. The bloodshed shocked me to the core, yet my anguish only deepened as I witnessed the scale of the Israeli response," Peter Kozak-Rivera told the Village Board.

The response, he said, was characterized by "collective punishment, deliberate killing of civilians and ethnic cleansing."

Burr Ridge resident Nizam Khatib, who spoke two weeks ago, asked the board about what was keeping it from adopting a resolution. He said his proposed resolution calls for a stop to the violence on both sides and the return of hostages.

Khatib said he grew up in the West Bank and witnessed Israel's discrimination of Palestinians. He said he saw Israeli forces explode a house in his neighborhood, an experience that he said scarred him.

But he said what's going on now is "10,000 times more severe."

"You can demonstrate our city's moral principles and commitment to justice," Khatib told the trustees. "By passing a censure resolution, you are standing against antisemitism and Islamophobia."

Another Burr Ridge resident, Vivian Khalaf, heads the board for the Palestinian Children's Relief Fund.

"I'm a human being, just like all of you, who cannot allow myself to stand by and not do my part to help alleviate the suffering of those who have had the misfortune of being born into a living hell," Khalaf said. "That living hell is Gaza."

Patty Droogan said she was a Christian who was heartbroken by all the death and destruction.

"We all as decent human beings need to stand up," she said. "This death and this mayhem is killing our children. They are all of our children."

Burr Ridge includes a sizable Muslim community, with which Mayor Gary Grasso and other village officials have sought to maintain close ties.

Other area towns aren't being asked for a ceasefire resolution during meetings. They include Hinsdale, Darien, La Grange, Western Springs and Elmhurst.