Background
On Feb. 26, 2026, a small group of Oak Park residents presented a petition to the Oak Park Township Board that would put the following measure onto the November ballot for a village-wide vote.
The resolution read as follows: “Do you support the right of individuals and organizations including state contractors, to boycott, divest and sanction Israel?”
A vote on this measure was first called for April 14, 2026. All Oak Park registered voters were allowed to come and whichever side won the majority of votes in the audience would determine if the referendum would be included on the ballot in November. Thanks to the high turnout, however, the vote could not be held because there was insufficient room for all the people who turned out and wanted to have their voices heard.
On April 28, 2026, the Township Board reconvened and established a clear and constructive process for orderly consideration of the resolution. We commend the Township Board leaders for the manner in which they led our community under pressure that was a major distraction from Township business and clearly part of an orchestrated strategy by Illinois BDS advocates.
Why This Is Not About Free Speech
You might read the text of the resolution and think it was all about an individual’s right of free speech. It was not!
Illinois has a state anti-BDS law, but that law merely prohibits Illinois’s Pension Board from investing in foreign companies that refuse to do business with Israel. It has nothing to do with individuals’ free speech, individuals’ ability to boycott speakers or products, or to condemn Israel as loudly as they want to from their rooftops or with their yard signs. The right to free speech, including anti-Israel speech, is protected in Illinois.
So Why Did This Come Up?
The answer is that this resolution effort is part of a statewide strategy to do an end run around the Illinois General Assembly, which unanimously passed a very limited anti-BDS law in 2015.
And it is part of a large movement whose aim is to eliminate the State of Israel as a Jewish national homeland — and not just targeting the current right-wing Israeli government. See the BDS factsheet in our Toolkit. BDS is an anti-freedom movement that stops people from speaking if they are from or associated with Israel. It is an academic and cultural boycott movement that stifles and actually opposes free speech, sanctioning speakers (even their own!) and activist groups that do not strictly adhere to their doctrinaire guidelines.
For example, BDS protests have led to cancelled showings of Oscar-winning Israeli-directed movies, even when they are very critical of Israel. BDS has even boycotted the Israeli Palestinian peace advocacy group Standing Together because it “normalizes” the existence of Israel. It stops internationally acclaimed dance troupes (Batsheva) and orchestras (Israeli Philharmonic) from performing around the world. It boycotts academics and academic partnerships advancing science and medicine. See this short video by 25 Yale Professors who visited Israel recently to see the impact of BDS in the academy. It stops individuals from traveling and speaking in Israel (and cancels them if they do!). Even prominent BDS proponents like Peter Beinart have been sanctioned for daring to speak to Israeli university audiences.
That’s not free speech! That’s censorship!
That’s why we say it is not a peace movement; it is an anti-peace movement.
For more about the BDS movement and why JC&F4Democracy strongly opposes it, see our BDS Factsheet in our Toolkit.
The Three D’s: Why We Oppose This Resolution
In a nutshell, we opposed the BDS resolution for the following reasons which we call the “Three D’s”: It’s Divisive. It’s Discriminatory. It’s a Distraction.
This referendum was DIVISIVE. Oak Park Township exists to deliver local services — not to take sides in international conflicts. Forcing our November ballot to become a referendum on the Middle East conflict didn’t unite Oak Park; it deliberately inflamed fear and insecurity (in both the Jewish and the Palestinian communities), setting neighbor against neighbor over an issue that has nothing to do with the community challenges we actually face.
This referendum was DISCRIMINATORY. The BDS movement targets people based on their national identity — regardless of their individual politics, beliefs, or lives. It makes no distinctions. It treats every Israeli citizen as an outcast. We have spent the past year fighting ICE on our streets for the principle that we should not discriminate against people based on where they are born. We shouldn’t stand against that in one breath and endorse it in the next.
This referendum was a DISTRACTION. This November, the country needs to focus on electing candidates who will stand up to this administration — in competitive Senate races, in swing districts, in places where our energy actually moves the needle. Every hour consumed by this local township ballot was an hour we wouldn’t be spending where it counts more.
The Other Three D’s of Antisemitism
And it is part of the 3 additional D’s of antisemitism, coined by international human rights advocate Anatoly Sharansky to distinguish legitimate criticism from antisemitic anti-Israel hate:
It employs DOUBLE STANDARDS against Israel alone,
It DEHUMANIZES Israelis and those who are affiliated with Israeli organizations, institutions and culture, and
It DELEGITIMIZES Israel among all the nations of the world whose legitimacy as a national homeland is not contested.
A Failed Strategy Came to Oak Park—And Failed Some More!
The resolution was also a tactic that masks the failure of the BDS movement in Illinois. The movement has tried for the last 11 years to repeal the Illinois law that was unanimously passed to protect Illinois’ investments from being politicized by BDS activists. After failing in Springfield, BDS advocates are trying to enact township resolutions, with the goal of pressuring lawmakers from those townships to switch their anti-BDS votes.
Fortunately, Oak Parkers decided:
Oak Park does not need to be caught up in this political circus!
Doesn’t BDS Have Some Jewish Community Support?
Despite the claims that this measure has Jewish community support, by that measure too, it has been very misleading.
Over 80% of Jews nationally support the right of the Jewish people to self-determination in a portion of their Biblical homeland (Israel). While BDS often puts forth proponents who claim to speak “as Jews” in favor of BDS, these individuals and groups are outside the mainstream Jewish community in advocating a “one state solution” in which the State of Israel would no longer be a Jewish homeland.
How Did the Township Board Handle the Vote: Some Lessons on How to Do It Right
JC&F4D members who participated in the April 28 Township meeting commend the Township leaders for managing a very complex and fraught process with skill and diplomacy under pressure.
The announcement that people needed to arrive early was provided to the broad community. There were sufficient people at tables with voter registration rolls being checked. Ballots were provided to registered Oak Park voters. The regular agenda for Township business was dispensed with and a report provided to all voters who wanted to know more about the Township’s work. Because the room was crowded and most people had already made up their minds and were coming just to vote, the Township made the wise decision to allow people to vote before the formal meeting began and then leave. Voters were allowed to drop their ballots into a box. Many people did take the opportunity to vote and not stay, which allowed more people to come in and get seats for the ensuing debate process.
When the meeting commenced, a moderator (Juan Munoz, a Township Board member) and two poll watchers from each side were selected. Munoz did an excellent job of maintaining a positive tone, as did the Township Clerk Lou Ann Johannesson.
The Township then held a debate process that was very balanced and gave the assembled audience a chance to speak to the issues the resolution presented. One proponent and then one opponent were allowed to speak for no more than 2 minutes. For the most part, the speakers spoke to merits and did not use invective against the opposing side. Several speakers voiced confusion about the resolution itself as to why this was even being proposed since the matter is part of a state legislative strategy, the full state legislation at issue was not included in the information about the resolution being proposed, and the resolution itself had nothing to do with Township business. Approximately a dozen speakers spoke on each side of the question, in addition to a few neutral speakers who simply voiced confusion about the question being put to Oak Park voters.
After about 50 minutes, there was a call to end debate and “call the question,” and debate was ended on a show of hands. Then the proponents asked for a vote to reconsider that vote as there was confusion on the procedure. There was a revote and then a vote count because the question was very close. At the end, the question remained called—with a vote of 47 to reopen debate and 53 opposed.
The vote was then counted. And the results were announced: 132 in favor and 354 opposed.
Two big takeaways: the loudest voices are not the majority. When our community and friends show up, we count!