ILLINOIS — In a rare and deeply personal interview at the Illinois Holocaust Museum, Governor JB Pritzker spoke with WGN’s Paul Lisnek about the rising tide of antisemitism, his Jewish identity, and what he calls the authoritarian danger of Donald Trump’s political movement.
Pritzker, who helped build the museum alongside Holocaust survivors, reflected on both historic atrocities and present-day political parallels, warning that “we are closer than ever” to democratic collapse.
Pritzker Cites Family History As Fuel For Fighting Antisemitism
The Governor spoke of his great-grandfather’s escape from pogroms in Ukraine in the 1880s, a story preserved in a family book gifted to him at age 13. That legacy, he said, shaped his worldview.
“It’s got to be done with education. It’s got to be done with an understanding of history,” Pritzker said, on how to stop hatred before it erupts into violence.
Pritzker emphasized that his work on the Illinois Holocaust Museum aimed not just to remember the Holocaust, but also to show how hatred can take root in ordinary societies — including through neighbor-on-neighbor betrayal, as survivors have described.
War In Gaza Fuels Midwest Surge In Antisemitism
According to a recent Anti-Defamation League report, antisemitic incidents have jumped 68 percent across the Midwest, fueled in part by the war between Israel and Hamas that began in October 2023.
Pritzker addressed a series of recent violent acts tied to the conflict — including a Washington, D.C. embassy murder case involving a suspect from Chicago.
“There’s a history of conflating other disputes with a dispute against Jews,” Pritzker said, warning against assumptions that support for Israel means hostility toward Palestinians.
While criticizing Israel’s handling of Gaza, he made clear that support for Israel’s right to exist is not incompatible with backing a future Palestinian state.
“There have been atrocities,” Pritzker admitted, “but that doesn’t change my view.”
Pritzker: Trump’s Authoritarianism Echoes Nazi Germany
Pritzker, a frequent Trump critic, reiterated comparisons between Trump’s rhetoric and Hitler’s rise to power in 1930s Germany.
“If you’re not standing up and speaking out today…you are not realizing the moment that we are in,” Pritzker warned, while standing in a museum exhibit documenting Nazi propaganda.
He slammed Trump’s funding cuts to Harvard over antisemitism allegations, calling it a political stunt:
“He’s lying. He doesn’t give a wit about fighting antisemitism… He hangs out with Proud Boys and Oath Keepers.”
Pritzker also rejected Trump’s framing of immigrants and students as dangerous others:
“Jews were immigrants. They were attacked as outsiders. It can happen anywhere. It can happen here.”
Governor Reflects On His Faith, Public Duty, and Threats
Pritzker confirmed his family has faced multiple violent threats, though none have materialized. Still, his faith drives his resolve to remain in public service.
“Social justice is part of my religion. It’s how I was brought up,” he said.
Drawing on the story of Fritzie Fritzshall, an Auschwitz survivor and his close collaborator on the museum, Pritzker offered a moral challenge to the public:
“We are challenged, I think, by God, to stand up for tolerance and against bigotry and hatred.”
Pritzker Eyes Future: Can America Elect A Jewish President?
Though he hasn’t confirmed a 2028 presidential run, Pritzker was optimistic about America’s readiness.
“We’ve never had a Black president before, and we elected one… I’m as American as anyone,” he said, affirming that a Jewish president is possible.
His patriotism, he noted, is rooted in the ideals of religious freedom that his ancestors fled to find.
Do you agree with Pritzker’s warnings about authoritarianism in the U.S.? Should faith and family history shape a politician’s public leadership?
Weigh in at ChicagoSuburbanFamily.com.
