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One Chicagoan Thinks Rahm Can Be Mayor

Nana begs to differ with Tablet Magazine article

by
Marc Tracy
October 06, 2010
Rahm Emanuel last week.(Alex Wong/Getty Images)
Rahm Emanuel last week.(Alex Wong/Getty Images)

Rachel Shtair’s provocative article today argues that, due to its legendary ethnic segregation, Midwestern values, latent anti-Semitism, and several other things, Chicago simply will not elect a Jewish mayor—not Rahm Emanuel or any other. In response, Jewcy editor Jason Diamond—an American, Chicago born—decided to consult an expert. In this case, his 85-year-old grandmother, a lifelong Chicagoan (well, until she moved to Boca). Highlights:

• “You know your Grandpa was very popular. They named the locker room at the Winston Towers pool after him, and Lenny Spector was always saying ‘Bernie could be Mayor of Chicago! Everybody loves him.’”

• “Oh, Rahm isn’t THAT Jewish. Your cousin Michael is too Jewish. You should call Michael more, you could be more Jewish like him. You know he has a nice business and his wife is so beautiful. Every time he comes to visit me, he is so handsome that even if the restaurant is full, the girls fall over themselves to give us a table.”

• “It’s Chicago. All your neighbors are like you. It’s because of this Daley’s father [the late Mayor Richard J. Daley]. He did such a good job of segregating the entire city. Jews used to live in different places, but then we all moved uptown. Do you remember seeing people that weren’t Jews in our neighborhood?”

• “Are you sure your girlfriend didn’t write this?”

Marc Tracy is a staff writer at The New Republic, and was previously a staff writer at Tablet. He tweets @marcatracy.