Chicago Tribune

Nearly a year after photo went viral, Jewish and Muslim families form lasting friendship

CHICAGO - A year ago, these two families could not have predicted they would be together this week lighting candles on a menorah.

The Bendat-Appells of Deerfield, Ill., are a Jewish rabbi and his wife, who works full-time for a Jewish organization, and their three children, who all attend a Jewish Day school on the North Shore.

The Yildirims, who live in Schaumburg, Ill., are a Muslim husband and wife and their four children, who have never set foot in a synagogue and before this year had no Jewish friends.

Yet their

You’re reading a preview, subscribe to read more.

More from Chicago Tribune

Chicago Tribune4 min read
Frustrations Rise After 9 Year Old Girl Attacked By Unleashed Dog In Chicago: ‘She Was Traumatized’
CHICAGO — Nine-year-old Natalie Sieracki spent her sister’s softball game cartwheeling on the grass in Horner Park Saturday evening. She didn’t notice the large, unleashed dog nearby until it attacked her. When she broke away from the animal, she ra
Chicago Tribune7 min read
Chicago Area’s Independent Bookstores See Revival
CHICAGO — Renting out a Lincoln Park brownstone for $200 may be considered unusual, but a 300-year-old vampire who wears three-piece suits and enjoys Taylor Swift music wouldn’t know any better. After all, he has also been imprisoned in a vampire dun
Chicago Tribune3 min readAmerican Government
Measure To Create New State Agency For Childhood Services Now On Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s Desk
The Illinois House on Thursday passed Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s initiative to consolidate early childhood services under a single agency, paving the way for the creation of a new state Department of Early Childhood. “We can make early childhood simpler, b

Related Books & Audiobooks