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\u201cWhen our elected leaders enable and praise this behavior, it creates an atmosphere that encourages people to go out and harm Jews,\u201d she said. \u201cWe need our leaders to work to lower the temperature and defuse these extremist organizations that are spreading antisemitism and hate when it comes from within our own parties and from our own political base.\u201d<\/p>\n
Johnson has overseen a sharp split<\/a> among the City Council over the war in Gaza, including a heated debate over a resolution calling for a ceasefire in which the mayor became a tiebreaker to approve it<\/a>. It came on the heels of a separate resolution also condemning the October 2023 Hamas attack<\/a>.<\/p>\n Johnson has described the war in Gaza between Israel and Hamas as \u201cgenocidal,\u201d also calling for \u201cthe immediate releasing of hostages, the end of these acts of terror and the end to this war.\u201d<\/p>\n Johnson committed to lowering the temperature at a Thursday news conference where he and police Superintendent Larry Snelling addressed the incident.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s been so much animus that has been directed toward the Jewish community, and it\u2019s our collective responsibility,\u201d the mayor said before pausing and saying, \u201cto be far more thoughtful about how we express our politics.\u201d<\/p>\n In a statement, Johnson\u2019s office reiterated his \u201ccare and support for all Jewish people in Chicago and around the world\u201d and said the mayor \u201chas consistently spoken out against antisemitism in Chicago,\u201d including after the attack<\/a> on two Jewish DePaul students, incidents of antisemitic graffiti<\/a> in the 44th Ward and in condemning the Hamas attacks as \u201cone of the worst acts of terror we\u2019ve witnessed.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n Ahmed Rehab, executive director of Chicago\u2019s Council on American-Islamic Relations, said he disavowed the violence, but disagreed with the idea local protests sparked it.<\/strong><\/p>\n He argued that protests have \u201call been peaceful\u201d and added that local protest groups do not know Rodriguez.<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m seeing the redefinition of antisemitism to include legitimate criticism of the genocide in Gaza in order to give cover,\u201d he said. \u201cI see that as gaslighting.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n Rodriguez participated in protests for progressive causes, including opposition to the war in Gaza, against Amazon\u2019s expansion locally and the police response to the death of Laquan McDonald.<\/p>\n The spotlight on Rodriguez\u2019s politics also led to false and misleading claims circulated on social media of the alleged shooter\u2019s ties to Johnson allies, underscoring how charged the situation has become since Johnson made waves as the first big city mayor to endorse a ceasefire last year.<\/p>\n Several viral social media posts incorrectly purporting to show Rodriguez alongside Johnson and several progressive aldermen in a political group\u2019s \u201cfamily photo\u201d were seen by hundreds of thousands of users online. Ald. Rossana Rodriguez Sanchez, 33rd, who is also in the picture, confirmed the man falsely identified as the shooter was actually her former political director, Chris Poulos. Poulos confirmed to the Tribune that he was the man in the photo.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is exhausting and harmful. They can really put people in danger,\u201d Rodriguez Sanchez said of the viral, incorrect posts. \u201cOur message has always been about peace.\u201d<\/p>\n Though some social media users deleted their claims about the photo when Poulos identified himself, Ald. Raymond Lopez, 15th, left several posts up of the image, one with the caption, \u201cBirds of a feather.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhat they are inferring \u2026 is open to interpretation,\u201d Lopez told the Tribune. He refused to say whether he meant to imply the shooter was pictured but said he would not take down the photo.<\/p>\n Shlomo Soroka, a lobbyist for the Jewish orthodox organization Agudath Israel of Illinois, told the Tribune on Thursday that Johnson had called that morning to offer condolences and also \u201cconceded that perhaps he could have done better and can do better in terms of dealing with our community and the sensitivities we have.\u201d<\/p>\n The mayor\u2019s office did not respond to a request for comment on the conversation. Soroka said the mayor had given him permission to post about their conversation on social media.<\/p>\n Soroka said he told the mayor \u201ca lot of the people he surrounds himself with and is associated with are responsible for what happened. There\u2019s a movement that has created a climate in which it\u2019s acceptable to talk in ways that facilitate violent behavior against Jewish people (that have) nothing to do with the Middle East conflict \u2026 you\u2019re going to have to be more vocal and call out people that are your friends and allies. And he said, \u2018You have my word and my commitment.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n But during Friday\u2019s news conference, which was also attended by Nancy Andrade, chair of the city\u2019s Commission on Human Relations, Goldenberg and others had harsh words for the mayor. Goldenberg pointed to the controversy over the mayor\u2019s previous handpicked school board president, Pastor Mitchell Johnson, who resigned last year<\/a> after coming under fire, in part, for social media posts that were deemed antisemitic, misogynistic and conspiratorial.<\/p>\n \u201cIf you\u2019re the mayor, you stop appointing and elevating people who have a history of being hostile to members to the Jewish community. And when you find out that they have that history, you get rid of them,\u201d Goldenberg said, adding he was speaking for the ADL. \u201cThink about Pastor Johnson. The antisemitism isn\u2019t what doomed him. It was the 9\/11 conspiracies. The antisemitism was known for multiple days, and the mayor continued to allow him to have the job of being the head of the CPS board. It wasn\u2019t until he came out that he was in a 9\/11 conspiracy theorist and said it was an \u2018inside job,\u2019 that he lost his gig and was forced to step down.\u201d<\/p>\n