Felony hate crime and battery charges against a Skokie man arrested at a pro-Palestinian protest in 2023 have been dropped, but he pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor and a Cook County judge ordered him to volunteer at a mosque and attend anti-hate training provided by an Islamic nonprofit, according to a Jan. 17 court record.
Zevulen Ebert, of the 5000 block of Oakton Street, Skokie, was 33 years old in late October 2023 when Skokie police arrested him. He was charged with two counts of felony hate crimes and two felony counts of aggravated battery for pepper spraying three people, one of whom was a Chicago police officer, according to a Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office document.
The felony charges were dropped and according to the Jan. 17 court document, Ebert pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor reckless conduct charge.
As part of Ebert’s sentencing, Judge Paul Pavlus ordered him to pay a $1,100 fine, attend a “tolerance/anti-hate” class from the Council on American Islamic Relations and volunteer for two hours at a local mosque before March 29. For the next two years, Ebert will be under court supervision and he will need to complete 50 hours of community service, which cannot be done at a synagogue, per the court order.
The original incident took place outside of an Israeli solidarity event at Ateres Ayala kosher banquet hall in Skokie on Oct. 22, 2023, about two weeks after Hamas initiated an Oct. 7 surprise attack in Israel, killing around 1,200 and taking about 250 people hostage, per news reports.
More than 46,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza, with more than half of those women and children, and more than 109,000 have been injured, the Associated Press reported Jan. 9, per the Gaza Health Ministry. Both sides agreed to a ceasefire last week, per news reports.
The October 2023 Skokie banquet hall event, organized by the Midwest Regional Office of the Simon Wiesenthal Center, attracted about 600 people. About 200 pro-Palestinian counter-protestors marched and chanted outside of the banquet hall.
A U.S. Palestine Community Network statement said, “We called for the demonstration today at the ‘Solidarity With Israel’ rally to send a clear message that our people are facing war crimes, starvation and unrelenting bombing by Israel that must be ended immediately.”
According to a Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office document, around 6:05 p.m., Ebert was standing in front a of a group of Palestinian demonstrators waving an Israeli flag when an individual ran up behind him and attempted to take his flag.
“An apparent verbal exchange began between the offender and the other group. During this exchange, the offender, Zevulen Ebert, held a large canister in front of him and sprayed Victim 1 with pepper spray. The offender then took several steps and faced down an assemblage containing pro-Palestinian supporters and Chicago police officers. The offender then discharged the pepper spray canister at this crowd, spraying several, including Victim 2,” court documents state.
At his pre-trial in November 2023, Ebert’s then-lawyer Hal Garfinkel said Ebert’s case was a result of the ongoing political pressures both nationally and internationally.
Christopher Parenti, Ebert’s current lawyer, said, “For the state to go from felony hate crimes to reckless conduct, I think it tells you the what the strength of the case was.”
He continued, “I think he (Ebert) probably would have won at trial, but, the risk of a felony conviction for a hate crime, which he obviously didn’t commit… when the state’s offering a misdemeanor reckless conduct— you take it.”