‘October 7’ license plates referencing Hamas attacks revoked in Illinois, officials say
License plates with variations of “October 7” have been revoked, the Illinois Secretary of State’s office said.
A photo of an Illinois plate circulated on social media in September showing “Oct 7” on the plate with a “Free Palestine” frame, sparking outrage in the replies of a post by StopAntisemites on X, formerly known as Twitter.
While this license plate shown in the post was not specifically referenced in the official announcement, Secretary of State communications manager Max Walczyk said they were “notified about a variation of an ‘October 7’ license plate used in such a way that the plate could be considered hate speech or fighting words.”
Five people in the state were mailed letters saying that their plates had been revoked.
Over 1,200 people were killed by Hamas fighters on Oct. 7, 2023 in southern Israel, according to the White House. At least 250 people were taken hostage, including 12 American citizens.
In the year since the attack, nearly 42,000 people in Gaza have been killed as Israel waged war on the Palestinian territory, Gaza’s Ministry of Health told CBS.
Mixed reactions have circulated since the announcement, with some raising questions about the First Amendment.
The Midwest chapter of the Anti-Defamation League supported the revocation in a social media post, saying the license plate should “not be tolerated on Illinois roads.”
ACLU of Illinois communications director told the Chicago Tribune that the move “raises a significant question about the infringement of someone’s political speech by a government official.”
Hatem Abudayyeh of the U.S. Palestinian Community Network called the decision an “overreaction,” according to the Chicago Sun-Times.
State law permits the Secretary of State to refuse license plates that “(1) would substantially interfere with plate identification for law enforcement purposes, (2) is misleading, or (3) creates a connotation that is offensive to good taste and decency.”
“As we know, the meaning and impact of words, monikers, acronyms and calendar dates can change over time,” Walczyk said in the statement.
This story was originally published October 9, 2024 at 5:02 PM with the headline "‘October 7’ license plates referencing Hamas attacks revoked in Illinois, officials say."
