Several Chicago aldermen demand CPS Board president's resignation over alleged antisemitic remarks

CHICAGO - Several Chicago alderpeople are calling for the Chicago Public School Board president to apologize and resign following allegations of antisemitic remarks.

In a joint statement, the alderpeople allege that since the Oct. 7, 2023, attack, Rev. Mitchell L. Ikenna Johnson has frequently posted about the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict. In one post, they claim he wrote, "My Jewish colleagues appear drunk with the Israeli power and will live to see their payment."

The council members included in the joint statement were: Debra Silverstein, Brian Hopkins, Gregory Mitchell, Michelle Harris, Anthony Beale, Peter Chico, Nicole Lee, Marty Quinn, Raymond Lopez, Stephanie Coleman, Derrick Curtis, Matthew O’Shea, Jeanette Taylor, Silvana Tabares, Monique Scott, Felix Cardona, Scott Waguespack, Bill Conway, Gilbert Villegas, Emma Mitts, Nicholas Sposato, Samantha Nugent, Anthony Napolitano, Brendan Reilly, Timmy Knudsen and Bennett Lawson.

The statement further asserts that Rev. Johnson’s "continued role on the school board is non-negotiable," urging both him and Mayor Johnson to "act now to correct this terrible mistake."

Following these reported comments, the Consulate General of Israel to the Midwest expressed shock, stating it was "unfathomable" that Rev. Johnson passed the vetting process and deemed him unfit for public office.

It should also be noted that Rev. Johnson’s biography on the CPS Board website highlights his past role as a consultant for Alpha Epsilon Pi, the world’s largest Jewish college fraternity.

The full statements from the alderpeople and the Consulate General of Israel to the Midwest can be found below: 

Chicago City Councilman 

"We are deeply troubled by antisemitic and pro-Hamas comments made by Rev. Mitchell Ikenna Johnson, Mayor Brandon Johnson’s newly appointed Chicago Public School Board President. The thousands of Jewish families who send their kids to Chicago Public Schools deserve representation who values them and does not express hate towards the Jewish community. We call on Rev. Johnson to apologize and step down from his position immediately.

This situation is a failure of leadership and judgment on the part of Mayor Johnson and his executive team. Earlier this month, Mayor Johnson told reporters his appointees would be thoroughly vetted before they were sworn in. It is clear that did not take place.

Since October 7, 2023, Rev. Johnson has posted frequently on social media about the conflict between Israel and Hamas. His comments have crossed major red lines into overt antisemitism, both in his explicit support for Hamas and his insistence on collectively blaming all Jews for Israel’s military decisions.

Hamas is an internationally-recognized terrorist organization. It is responsible for the deaths of thousands of Israelis, Palestinians, and Americans, and last fall it carried out the worst attack against Jews since the Holocaust. Calling Hamas’s October 7 attack an "absolute right" and justifying it as resistance against oppression, as Rev. Johnson did in March of this year and on other occasions, is abhorrent, inexcusable, and disqualifying from public service.

Rev. Johnson took his disdain for Jews even further, holding American Jews responsible for the actions of a military halfway across the world. In December, he wrote: "My Jewish colleagues appear drunk with the Israeli power and will live to see their payment."

There are dozens more antisemitic statements from Rev. Johnson. His continued role on the school board is non-negotiable, both he and Mayor Johnson must act now to correct this terrible mistake."

The Consulate General of Israel to the Midwest

"We find it appalling that Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson’s newly appointed president of the Chicago Board of Education, Rev. Mitchell Ikenna Johnson, has a history of making antisemitic statements, as reported by Jewish Insider.

By saying, following Oct. 7th, that "People have an absolute right to attack their oppressors by any means necessary," Rev. Johnson explicitly supported and justified the largest massacre of Jews since the Holocaust, where over 1,200 people were slaughtered, raped, and kidnapped, including many US citizens.

Rev. Johnson’s additional statements referring to Jews as Satanic and comparing Jews to Nazis constitutes pure and blatant antisemitism. It is incomprehensible that someone with these antisemitic views was appointed to lead the Chicago Public School system, designed to promote education, coexistence, and inclusion. Jewish and Israeli parents in the city cannot feel safe under his leadership, nor can any student or parent with a moral compass.

It is unfathomable that a person such as Rev. Johnson has passed the vetting process. He is not fit for a public position, let alone a position with the responsibility to educate the next generation.

This is the latest example of the antisemitic hate that pervades the inner circle of Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson. We expect that Mayor Brandon Johnson will disavow this inflammatory rhetoric and make a commitment to combatting antisemitism in Chicago, in both words and actions. "