Palestinian and Jewish runners jog together during DNC to push for a cease-fire and hostage release

CHICAGO — Before starting a 4-mile run, about a dozen joggers warmed up at Buckingham Fountain in Grant Park Tuesday morning. Some stretched, while others handed out gray T-shirts to newcomers.

On the front, in a white, simple font, was the message “Ceasefire Now. Hostage/Prisoner Release.” And on the back — “All for All.”

“This war hasn’t offered more security to the Israelis or freedom to the Palestinians. We believe enough is enough,” said organizer Anan Abu-Taleb.

The morning runs during this week’s Democratic National Convention are the brainchild of Abu-Taleb, the former mayor of Oak Park who was born in Gaza, and his friend Richard Goldwasser, a Jewish American attorney. Through running, the two hope to advocate for a cease-fire in Gaza and the release of Israeli hostages during a week when many politicians and dignitaries are in town.

And if they were hoping to capture attention from a high-profile candidate, they were in the right place. As the group started their run — about 2 miles on the lakefront trail to McCormick Place before heading back to the fountain — Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, the Democrats’ vice presidential nominee, jogged past with security on a nearby sidewalk.

More than 40,000 Palestinians have died in Gaza since the war began 10 months ago with the Hamas-led attack on Israel, according to the Gaza Health Ministry. Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack killed 1,200 people and took 250 hostages, about 110 of whom remain in the strip. The war has also become an important and, at times, contentious issue in the presidential election and the subject of large protests in Chicago and nationwide.

“This is our way of saying that if we have a human connection … and invest into our own relationships it can go a long way of making us see each other as human and as people who have the same aspirations, the same hopes, the same fears,” Abu-Taleb, 65, said.

For Goldwasser, 59, of Highland Park, there’s something about running, being stride by stride with someone, that helps form bonds. He said it’s the perfect activity to understand other people and come together. Running also sends a “good, positive message,” that Goldwasser hopes will be heard during the DNC and after.

“Most people in my community have never met a Palestinian. They don’t have any connections, meaningful connections with them,” he said. “But the ones who do are able to see the situation differently, and to criticize the conduct of this war and criticize American support for this war.”

At the convention, Abu-Taleb said “words are cheap,” and that he’s looking for politicians to offer substantive policy, namely ending U.S. taxpayer funding of the war.

“It’s one thing to make a political statement and empathize with the suffering of the people in Gaza and also the displaced people in Israel and the people who have lost family members on both sides,” he said. “It’s another thing to put teeth behind it.”

Along with an affinity for running, Abu-Taleb said he and Goldwasser have been friends for about five years because they share values of caring for others and advocating for peace. He said Goldwasser has also frequently checked in on him throughout the war since he has family members still in Gaza. They also like to have discussions over old fashioneds, he laughed.

The friends’ message is one that resonated with Lily Greenberg Call, a Jewish staffer who resigned from the Biden administration over his handling of the war in Gaza. She joined the jog Tuesday morning, saying running is her favorite sport and one that’s brought her a lot of joy and helped her make it through stressful times.

“I think moments like this, doing things like running, activities that help remind us that we are all really the same and want the same thing — everyone just wants their kids to go to bed happy and be able to have opportunities — they’re really important,” she said, adding that it’s a “moral obligation” that Democrats push for a cease-fire.

“It also helps ground us when things feel really horrible and awful, I think being outside, being in the sun, moving your body, that’s the best way to connect to ourselves and what really matters,” she added.

Another person who joined the run was Ilana Axel, 68, of Buffalo Grove. Axel said she previously lived in Israel, so the issue is very close to her heart. After Oct. 7, she said she worked to learn more about the conflict, even starting a study group at her congregation.

“My conclusion is the only way forward is when Israelis and Palestinians come together,” she said. “Number one, show that there can be a life together … and we both have to fight together against the extremist elements within our own people.”

“It may not even happen in my lifetime, she added, “but I need to work for it now, even if I don’t get to see it.”