Anti-Israel billboard messages in Northbrook condemned by village leaders, others
Violent and vulgar anti-Israel messages that appeared on an electronic billboard Wednesday in Northbrook were condemned by village leaders, a local congressman and others.
The messages were displayed on a billboard that stands on Metra property between the Edens Expressway and Waukegan Road, south of Lake-Cook Road. They were presented over the colors of the Palestinian flag and indicated they were paid for by a YouTube celebrity whose face appeared in one of the messages.
The messages were reported to Northbrook police late Wednesday afternoon and subsequently removed by OUTFRONT Media, the Chicago company that operates the billboards. Police are investigating, a news release from the village said.
The messages were not deliberately displayed by OUTFRONT Media, company communications manager Courtney Richards said Thursday.
“We take this matter very seriously,” Richards said in an email. “The copy, which was not approved or condoned by OUTFRONT or our advertisers, has been removed. The situation is being investigated, and we have notified all appropriate local and national authorities.”
The YouTube celebrity named in the messages couldn’t be reached for comment.
Northbrook has a large Jewish population. The messages appeared on the first day of Sukkot, a weeklong Jewish holiday.
Village officials voiced support for local Jews in the news release.
“We stand together with the Jewish community, family members, friends and neighbors,” the release said. “Northbrook is an inclusive community and welcomes all.”
Northbrook Trustee Robert Israel, who is Jewish, said Americans need to recognize and call out hate.
“No human should be rejoicing in another human’s destruction,” Israel said in an email.
Daniel Goldwin, the chief public affairs officer for the Jewish United Fund of Chicago, said he was inundated with calls about the billboard from people who drove past it or saw it on social media Wednesday night as they were preparing for Sukkot.
“It was awful,” Goldwin said in a telephone interview. “For many, the last thing they saw as they were driving home was this antisemitic, anti-American message of violence.”
U.S. Rep. Brad Schneider, a Highland Park Democrat whose 10th District includes Northbrook, criticized the messages in a post on X, the social media site formerly called Twitter.
“This disgusting, intimidating display has no place in the 10th District, or anywhere in America,” he said.
Schneider, who is Jewish and a vocal supporter of Israel, was targeted by antisemitic protesters outside his home earlier this year.
His Republican challenger in the upcoming election, Jim Carris of Lake Forest, said he was “deeply disturbed” by the billboard.
“This type of vile rhetoric must be condemned unilaterally and immediately,” Carris said in a post on X that included an image of an Israeli flag. “This kind of hateful message not only harms our Jewish community but also further divides our nation.”
The electronic messages prompted comments from many people on social media Wednesday and Thursday. Some called the messages antisemitic, some made jokes and some sought to amplify the sentiments.
· Daily Herald staff writer Melynda Findlay Shamie and Daily Herald correspondent Drew Blouin contributed to this report.