Elmhurst Protest Won't Be Last One, Group Vows

ELMHURST, IL – Pro-Palestinian protesters shut down a candidates forum Sunday at Elmhurst City Hall to protest a congressman who has declined to back a ceasefire in Gaza.

They plan to continue disrupting Rep. Sean Casten's public appearances.

Casten, a Democrat from Downers Grove, represents one of the biggest Palestinian American communities in the country.

His two Democratic opponents in the 6th Congressional District, Mahnoor Ahmad and Charles Hughes, support a ceasefire.

The Elmhurst chapter of the League of Women Voters, which organized the forum, shut it down about halfway through the event after demonstrators repeatedly shouted that Casten favored genocide in Gaza.

Besides Casten, the demonstrators effectively muzzled Hughes and Ahmad from speaking.

In an email to Patch, Ahmad expressed sympathy for the protesters' cause, but questioned the tactic.

"My stance when it comes to Gaza is very straightforward; there needs to be an immediate ceasefire and a massive humanitarian effort needs to be made to help the millions of displaced families, not to mention decimated and traumatized families, as a result of Israel's disgusting attacks on the Palestinian people under the guise of going after Hamas," Ahmad said.

About the demonstrators, she said, "Although they were well within their rights to be protesting the senseless killing of innocent men, women, and children that Congressman Casten has refused to condemn, I do not believe this was the time or place to do so. The forum was meant to be an informational event where voters could learn more about the candidates in this race and it was made clear that any form of protest would result in the forum being terminated."

In an interview, Hughes, who favors a ceasefire, criticized Casten's handling of the issue.

He said some of the seniors at the forum felt unsafe because of all the yelling.

"They didn't know if things would get violent," Hughes said.

In a statement Tuesday, Casten's campaign said he attended the event to engage directly with voters and answer their questions about his work in Washington and the 6th District. The campaign said Casten looks forward to attending future candidate forums to continue important conversations with voters.

"As for the Israel-Hamas conflict, Rep. Casten believes we must seek a lasting, durable peace in the region that includes two fully independent states," the campaign said.

The campaign noted voters can find out more about Casten's views on the subject in his op-ed in the Chicago Tribune and at a recent town hall.

After the forum shut down, the U.S. Palestinian Community Network said in a news release that it organized the protest.

In an interview, Hatem Abudayyeh, the network's national chairman, said his group would continue to protest Casten as long as he does not back a ceasefire.

"People from our community, including folks from my organization, have asked him to make a statement about the genocide. He won't acknowledge it's a genocide," Abudayyeh said. "Because he won't speak and won't call for a ceasefire (for the war) that the Israels are perpetrating, we will follow him where he goes, and we will shut down his events."

He said his group is not favoring one candidate over another, but pressing Casten to call for a ceasefire.

The strategy, Abudayyeh said, was to start demonstrating at the forum once the Gaza issue came up. But when it didn't, the demonstrators protested when the discussion turned to the environment, he said.

Abudayyeh said Casten considers himself a champion of the environment, yet says nothing about 65,000 tons of bombs raining down on Gaza, which is bad for the environment.

"We didn't shut anyone down," he said. "We shut down the hypocrisy."

The 6th Congressional District includes all or parts of Elmhurst, Hinsdale, Darien and Downers Grove, among other towns.