MEDIA DIGEST: CAIR-Chicago & Families Condemn NEW Israeli Demolition Orders and Settler Violence in Palestine
On January 14, 2026, CAIR-Chicago hosted Chicago Palestinian families and Jewish allies to expose escalating Israeli demolitions, settler violence, forced segregation, and collective punishment targeting Palestinian villages in the occupied West Bank and Gaza.
The press conference centered on firsthand testimony from Chicago families with loved ones in Sinjil, Deir Samit, Al-Mughayyir, and Gaza, where Israeli forces and armed settlers have intensified their violent attacks. Hear also from Chicagoans who are using traditional tatreez embroidery to save a village.
Speakers included:
Jordan Esparza-Kelley — Communications Coordinator, CAIR-Chicago
Nida Sahouri – Chicago-area pharmacist and grandmother, sharing testimony on settler violence, home destruction, and segregation in Sinjil
Lynn Pollack — Evanston for a Free Palestine, Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP Chicago) ally, co-creator of www.savethevillages.com
Laya Nassan — speaking on pogrom-style settler attacks and land destruction in Al-Mughayyir, a student raising funds through embroidery
Photos referenced: Laya’s grandfather with destroyed olive trees, “Death to Arabs” graffiti left by Israeli settlers
Videos referenced:
Sara — Evanston for a Free Palestine ally advocating for Palestinian villages under attack, including Deir Samit
William Asfour — Chicago resident with family surviving in Gaza’s freezing tents amid ongoing aid restrictions
IN THE NEWS
Andy Thayer (Independent Journalist):
"If you think it's cold here in Chicago, think about my family living outside in the cold in Gaza in tents while their tents are being blown away by the harsh winter, the rain, the winds, all because Israel bombed every single one of my family's houses. In the past few weeks alone, six kids died due to hypothermia in Gaza because Israel won't allow mobile homes in or winter supplies. I just want to make it clear that Trump lied to us. There is no ceasefire in Gaza because Israel is bombing every single day.... They've killed over 500 Palestinians since the so-called ceasefire in October, including kids. Now Israel has killed over 400 family members of mine and they bombed every single one of our houses and they destroyed our village completely, reducing it to rubble, including my childhood house that I spent my first four years of my life in."
-- William Asfour, Chicago resident with family surviving in Gaza's freezing tents amid ongoing aid restrictions
"I personally have been to the West Bank five times and seen first-hand the racist, segregated Jewish-only Israeli settlements where Palestinians like [my friend] Mona are not allowed to live or even enter.... Palestinians like Mona do not have equal rights in the West Bank. Palestinians are not allowed to use the same roads as Israelis. It's like living in the Jim Crow South.... Last year Israeli settlers forced out and displaced more than 40 Palestinian villages [in the West Bank], all with our tax dollars."
-- Lynn Pollack of Evanston for a Free Palestine, Jewish Voice for Peace - Chicago, and co-founder of
"George Wallace would have been proud of Israel's segregation and racism.... The tiny Palestinian village I grew up in, Sinjil, where I spent my childhood, is being besieged, destroyed and its land is being annexed by Israel. Israel has built a barbed wire fence as high as our two-story house which traps my family and thousands of Palestinians in the village, making it impossible to go to work, shop for groceries, or even go to a hospital."
-- Nida Sahouri
"I am horrified Trump's announcement that he is cutting federal funding to Chicago. But we will fight, and we will win. And just as Chicagoans fight to protect our friends and family from segregation and racism here from ICE in Little Village just a few miles away, we also fight against segregation and racism in a village 6000 miles away."
-- Sara, Evanston for a Free Palestine
"My family has been in the small Palestinian village of Al-Mughayyir for generations where my grandfather still lives.... I worry about my grandpa's safety because Israeli settlers have been attacking our village for years and are still to this day. My grandpa was devastated when one of the young Palestinian men who he worked with, Sarid Nassan (sp?), was shot and killed by Israeli settlers a month ago for protecting his house. My aunt's house was vandalized and attacked by Israeli mobs who set her car on fire.... and they left threatening graffiti on the homes in our village, including this one - 'Death to Arabs.'"
-- Laya Nassan
SPEAKER HIGHLIGHTS
Speakers Nida Sahouri and Laya Nassan — Palestinian families in the West Bank are suffering as a result of Israel's land grabs
Jordan Esparza-Kelley: “Trump was elected to be a liar”
CAIR-Chicago joins constituents' calls on Illinois elected officials to:
Condemn Israeli settler violence and forced segregation as violations of international law
Halt U.S. complicit funding that enables Israel’s genocide in Palestine
Demand accountability for attacks on Palestinian civilians, including Palestinian Americans
Push for a TRUE, immediate ceasefire and full humanitarian access to Gaza
PHOTO GALLERY
