‘A vile act of hate’: Display about hostages outside Rep. Schneider’s office vandalized
In what U.S. Rep. Brad Schneider called “a vile act of hate,” dozens of flyers depicting the hostages being held by Hamas in Gaza were torn from a wall outside his Capitol Hill office, shredded and dumped on the floor.
It was the second time in a week the Jewish Democrat from Highland Park was the target of antisemitism.
The flyers — featuring the names and photos of more than 100 people abducted in Israel and held hostage in Gaza, including eight Americans — have been on the third floor of the Cannon House Office Building since after the Oct. 7 terror attacks in Israel, Schneider told the Daily Herald. The display was last seen intact about 11:30 p.m. Thursday, he said. The damage was discovered Friday morning by a staffer for Republican U.S. Rep. Lloyd Smucker of Pennsylvania, whose office is next to Schneider’s.
The Capitol complex was closed to the public Thursday because of Independence Day, but it was open to congressional staff and their guests.
“This was a shameful act on any day, but especially on July 4, our country’s Independence Day,” said Schneider, who serves parts of Cook, Lake and McHenry counties as the representative for the 10th District.
Security cameras on the third floor of the Cannon building are pointed at public areas and not the hallway, Schneider said. Capitol police are investigating.
The damaged flyers were recovered and will be kept, and replacements will go back on the wall, Schneider said.
“They might not know, but the world will know that they are in our hearts,” Schneider said. “We will not let them be forgotten.”
In the earlier incident, about 40 protesters — many reportedly masked — marched to Schneider’s home about 2:45 a.m. June 29 and shouted what police called antisemitic and pro-Palestinian chants using loudspeakers. They also banged drums and waved banners before police broke up the gathering. No one was arrested.
Schneider was home at the time.
Schneider said these and other antisemitic actions done in the name of Palestinians don’t advance peace in the region.
“Instead, they play directly into the hands of Hamas terrorists, enabling them to continue to hold hostage not only those they kidnapped from Israel, but all civilians in Gaza as well,” Schneider, an outspoken supporter of Israel but also a proponent of a two-state solution to the conflict in the region.