Cross-Country Motorcycle Tour Honoring Holocaust Victims Will Stop In Skokie

SKOKIE, IL — A 15,000-mile trip across the U.S. by a group of Jewish motorcycle riders is making a stop in Skokie at the Illinois Holocaust Museum in the coming weeks.

The North America Holocaust Museum Tour will take members of the Jewish Motorcycle Alliance to 21 Holocaust museums in the U.S. and Canada. The structure and style of the ride are a combination of Pony Express and Olympic Torch, where riders will take over and continue the journey at each new location.

The tour will stop in Skokie on July 15 at 10:30 a.m., where JMA member and Deerfield resident Steve Goode will speak about the group's journey and why this ride is more than just a road trip — it's a living tribute.

At the event, The Illinois Holocaust Museum will be presented with the JMA's Circle of Chai Award. The art-piece, a circular metal sculpture that is cracked in four places, is meant to symbolize the struggles that Jewish people have endured over the past 5,700 years, Goode told Patch.

The word Chai in Hebrew means life and the shape is meant to represent the world of the Jewish diaspora, touching each corner of the globe, according to the motorcycle tour's website.

"The circle is cracked, but it is never broken and even though the Jewish people have been tested throughout time, we have never broken with our faith," the website reads.

The tour just wrapped up its eighth stop in Phoenix, Arizona and is making its way to Los Angeles, California. The tour's first stop was in Whitwell, Tennessee, home to the Whitwell Middle School Museum.

Goode said the presentation and ceremony in Tennessee was very emotional, and speakers had trouble getting through their messages without tearing up.

"A lot of people there had parents that were survivors of the Holocaust," Goode said.

Riders will make their way to Skokie from the Candles Holocaust Museum and Education Center in Terre Haute, Indiana. From Skokie, Goode and eight other riders will travel to the Zekelman Holocaust Center in Farmington Hills, Michigan.

The culmination of the tour will take place on July 30th in Washington D.C. at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum.

Goode said he hopes the local events can give hope to the Jewish community during the rise of hate-crimes and violent antisemitism in the country. At the start of June, an attacker threw a Molotov cocktail at a group of Jewish people participating in a walk and vigil for Israeli hostages in Boulder, Colorado.

One woman who was injured in the attack succumbed to her injuries on Monday, according to the Boulder County District Attorney's Office.

"With all the antisemitism in the world, maybe we can bring some joy to the Jewish community," Goode said.

The tour is also collecting donations for each museum it will visit. Those who wish to donate can visit the tour's website.