The president of Chicago’s public school board resigned Thursday after only a week on the job following two days of backlash over his history of antisemitic social media posts.
Rev. Mitchell Ikenna Johnson had defied calls to resign just a day before, even as a growing share of the city council and Illinois’ Jewish Democratic governor J.B. Pritzker called for him to do so. Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson (no relation) had initially expressed support for Johnson before announcing Thursday that the president had left at his own request.
The mayor called Johnson’s posts “not only hurtful but deeply disturbing.”
Jewish Insider first reported Tuesday on Johnson’s posts, which included referring to the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attack on Israel as “resistance against oppression.” He also wrote, “The Nazi Germans’ ideology has been adopted by the Zionist Jews,” and accused pro-Israel Jews of joining “with the alt-right community.”
“I want to be clear: antisemitic, misogynistic, and conspiratorial statements are unacceptable,” Mayor Johnson said in his statement, adding that the board president “would hinder the important work we need to accomplish for our schools” if he remained in his role.
Mitchell Ikenna Johnson, who was picked to help replace the board after all of its members resigned earlier this month over anger with the mayor, previously had a track record of collaboration with Jewish community groups. He spoke out against antisemitism after the 2018 Pittsburgh synagogue shooting and has attended events held by Jewish fraternity Alpha Epsilon Pi and the Simon Wiesenthal Center. As recently as 2020 he had continued to post positive comments about Jews. But his trajectory appeared to have shifted after Oct. 7.
Johnson apologized to “the Jewish community” for his posts, calling them “clearly reactive and insensitive.” He added that in the last few months, “I have asked for and received feedback from my Jewish friends and colleagues who helped me be more thoughtful as I addressed these sensitive matters.”
Groups celebrating Johnson’s resignation included the American Jewish Committee; the Jewish United Fund, Chicago’s local federation; and the regional office of the Anti-Defamation League.
“The right thing happened in our city today,” the Jewish United Fund wrote on Instagram. “An antisemitic, misogynistic, conspiracy-theorist will NOT head the Board of Education for Chicago Public Schools.”
The brouhaha came as the city was reeling from the shooting of an Orthodox Jewish man on his way to synagogue on the city’s north side. Local Jewish leaders had also accused Mayor Johnson of downplaying the victim’s Jewish identity in his public comments condemning the shooting.
The Jewish leaders had also expressed frustration that charges filed against the alleged shooter did not include hate crimes charges. On Thursday, the charges against the alleged assailant, Sidi Mohamed Abdallahi, were expanded to include terrorism and hate crimes charges. Chicago Police Department Chief Larry Snelling said in a press conference that detectives found evidence on Abdallahi’s phone suggesting that he was targeting Jews.
Help ensure Jewish news remains accessible to all. Your donation to the Jewish Telegraphic Agency powers the trusted journalism that has connected Jewish communities worldwide for more than 100 years. With your help, JTA can continue to deliver vital news and insights. Donate today.
