Members of the Chicago Board of Education on Friday promised to provide a safe education for all students amid a firestorm of developments that saw the board’s leader resign this week amid accusations of antisemitism and misogyny.
The school board’s monthly meeting was held without the Rev. Mitchell Ikenna Johnson, who stepped down as the board president a day earlier at the request of Mayor Brandon Johnson, only a week after he and the other members were sworn into office. The president had faced calls for his resignation from Gov. JB Pritzker, 40 City Council members and other Jewish and pro-Israel organizations because of social media posts deemed antisemitic, misogynistic and conspiratorial.
The saga was the latest stunning development in the ongoing leadership struggle at Chicago Public Schools and led to more criticism of the mayor’s handling of those leadership positions.
Several public speakers at the meeting commented on the issue, including Dan Goldwin, a spokesman for the Jewish United Fund, a pro-Israel group.
“This past week has been extremely hard for Chicago’s Jewish community,” he told the board.
He cited the shooting of a Jewish man walking to his synagogue in the West Ridge neighborhood in an attack that has now been charged as a hate crime. Goldwin said Rev. Johnson’s social media posts made things more difficult, calling the situation “horrifying and inexcusable.
“Based on all of this, is it any wonder that Jewish students, parents, teachers and staff feel unsafe, unheard and unseen throughout the CPS system?” he asked.
Goldwin accused two other school board members of “hostility towards Jews,” citing a social media post amplified by member Debby Pope that was anti-Zionist and a letter signed by member Olga Bautista that criticized Israel.
There is a range of opinions about Israel and Zionism in the Jewish community. Pope did not address her social media post or her views on Israel, but she revealed that she has a personal stake in the conversation.
“I am a Jewish woman,” Pope said. “I am the child of a mother who witnessed firsthand the murder and brutality against our entire family in Nazi Germany. Not one member of our family survived. I am a teacher who taught about genocide and Holocaust, especially the Holocaust in Germany and Eastern Europe, throughout my career.
“I think it’s extremely important for us to make all children in our system comfortable: Jewish children, Palestinian children, Muslim children, Hindu children — everyone must be comfortable and must attend school together,” she said.
“I think that it is important that we put our ideologies aside and focus on children, and focus on their well-being and them feeling safe and comfortable in our schools. Without them feeling safe and comfortable, children cannot learn.”
Rabbi Shoshanah Conover of Temple Sholom of Chicago in Lake View thanked the board for its work and said their role “takes courageous leaders who listen to the needs of all students with a keen ear toward their diverse needs and sets policies accordingly.” Conover said she has two kids at Jones College Prep.
“As a Jewish faith leader, I offer you my hand, my heart and my support as you consider how to do that for your Jewish CPS constituents,” she said.
Another board member, Frank Thomas, said the city is a “diverse place” with “very diverse opinions.” But he asked for people to come together around a common “dedication to bettering and securing the good public education for children of Chicago,” and for the board to focus on its mission.
“The outgoing president has spoken to his postings on Facebook, he explained them, he was contrite, he was asked to resign and he did,” Thomas said. “While I may not personally agree, there are many things I don’t agree with, but that has nothing to do with the work of this board.”
Jackson Potter, the vice president of the Chicago Teachers Union, also weighed in.
“As a Jewish educator and officer in our union that proudly stands up for … every race and gender, every religious faith belief, I want to acknowledge and appreciate Rev. Johnson’s resignation,” Potter said.