Chicago board of education president Mitchell Johnson stepped down from his position on Thursday after reporters revealed a history of posting antisemitic and pro-Hamas content on social media.
Brandon Johnson, the mayor of Chicago, announced the departure in a statement, saying that “antisemitic, misogynistic and conspiratorial statements are unacceptable.”
“Rev. Mitchell Johnson’s statements were not only hurtful but deeply disturbing,” the mayor stated. “It has become clear that his continued participation in the board of education would hinder the important work we need to accomplish for our schools.”
The mayor appointed Johnson to the education board just seven days ago in a controversial dispute over the city’s school budget that saw the previous slate of board members resign on Oct. 4.
Johnson’s history of posting anti-Jewish and anti-Israel conspiracies on Facebook was first reported by Jewish Insider on Tuesday.
“My Jewish colleagues appear drunk with the Israeli power and will live to see their payment,” he wrote in December. “It will not be nice, and I care not how and what you call me.”
“The Nazi Germans’ ideology has been adopted by the Zionist Jews,” he wrote in another post.
Dozens of Chicago elected officials, regional Jewish groups and the Consulate General of Israel to the Midwest subsequently called for him to leave immediately.
Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker, who is Jewish, initially said on Wednesday that he was withholding judgment until he had reviewed the posts but ultimately issued a statement calling for the education board president to resign shortly before Johnson’s announcement.
“Any person charged with the stewardship of the Chicago Public School Board must exemplify focused, inclusive and steady leadership,” Pritzker wrote. “The views expressed in the current chair’s posts—antisemitism, misogyny, fringe conspiracy theories—very clearly do not meet that standard.”
Debra Silverstein, alderman of Chicago’s 50th ward, who organized a letter calling for the education board president to resign that secured 43 signatures from among the city’s 50 aldermen, lauded the development on Thursday.
“Rev. Mitchell Johnson’s decision to resign from the Chicago Public School Board is in the best interests of our city,” she wrote. “Next week, a group of Chicagoans will be elected to our school board, joining Mayor Brandon Johnson’s appointees, and I hope this group will promote inclusivity and tolerance while delivering a world-class education to our young people and support to parents and caregivers.”
