Anti-Semitism in Chicago Is Part of a Broader Assault by the Left That Threatens Our Way of Life

Throughout history, the Jewish people have been sought out as scapegoats to marshal support for political movements. Today, while Jews and Israel remain a primary target, the left has a much broader destruction in mind

The default statements coming from City Hall about the horrific murder of two young Israeli embassy staffers at the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington, D.C., are utterly unconvincing. There was no mention of the perpetrator’s background, concern about his ties to Chicago or any denunciation of the extremist groups he’s associated with.

The mayor’s response brings back memories of the October 26 shooting of an Orthodox Jewish man in the West Ridge neighborhood, when Mayor Brandon Johnson was widely criticized for issuing a perfunctory statement that failed to mention the victim’s identity or urge Chicago Police to treat the incident as a hate crime.

The anxiety among Jewish communities nationwide is well-founded — particularly in cities led by far-left politicians like Johnson, who at best exhibit a troubling indifference to the violence fostered by their ideological allies. Make no mistake: The violence enabled by the far left has no peer. Johnson’s rhetoric, and that of other progressive activist groups and left-wing leaders, exemplifies how America’s current anti-Semitism epidemic is colliding with laissez-faire public safety policies nationwide.

Since the October 7, 2023, Hamas attacks on Israel, Johnson has repeatedly declined opportunities to condemn anti-Semitism or rebuke elected officials for stoking anti-Israel and anti-Jewish sentiment. Johnson unapologetically cast the deciding vote on a City Council resolution in January that called for a cease-fire in Gaza — condemning Israel while failing to even mention Hamas’ atrocities.

Johnson was also silent when his former employer and chief political backer, the Chicago Teachers Union, hosted pro-Hamas rallies, publicly called for and endorsed a Gaza cease-fire, and orchestrated a “student-led” walkout protesting the war. When defending his vote on the Gaza resolution, Johnson disgracefully invoked the Israeli-Hamas conflict in the context of Black “liberation.”

Months after his tie-breaking vote to approve the Gaza Resolution, Johnson appointed Reverend Mitchell Ikenna Johnson as Chicago Public School Board President after the previous board’s mass resignations. Reverend Johnson’s term lasted one week before he resigned after it was revealed he had crafted more than a dozen anti-Semitic and misogynistic comments on Facebook following Hamas’ attack on Israel. Making matters worse, Johnson, in a move that demonstrated remarkable tone-deafness, then appointed October 7 denier Olga’s Bautista as school board vice president. You cannot make this up.

While it is possible to attribute the appointment of Reverend Johnson to careless vetting, the fact Mayor Johnson followed with a second nominee whose views of Jews appeared to align with Reverend Johnson cannot be disregarded as oversight. Rather, at the very least, the nomination of Bautista reflected unimaginable incompetence at City Hall or, at most, a deliberate attempt by the mayor to place an anti-Semite on a board overseeing Chicago public schools.

This behavior reflects a broader, deeply flawed ideological framework found on the far left, one that sees the world through a rigid hierarchy of oppressors and oppressed. Within this worldview, Black criminals, illegal immigrants, and Islamic terrorists are victims by default, while the U.S. government, law enforcement, and Israel are cast as oppressors.

This distorted belief system not only endangers the Jewish community but harms all Chicagoans — especially those in the Black community, who are disproportionately affected by rising crime and a dwindling police presence. Violent offenders are routinely released under pretrial programs, even as 911 calls go unanswered and justice is delayed, if not denied.

Mayor Johnson’s support for Illinois’ pretrial release law — the SAFE-T Act — embodies this ideology. The law eliminated cash bail and has released thousands of accused violent felons back onto the streets. In Chicago, nearly 20 percent of felony arrests now involve suspects who were already out on pretrial release and subsequently rearrested for new violent crimes. Today, 90 percent of violent criminals walk free on Chicago’s streets.

Under former State’s Attorney Kim Foxx — whose “progressive” record Johnson applauded —Cook County failed to bring charges in felony cases at three times the rate of her predecessor. Between 2020 and 2024, 387 people awaiting trial for felonies were arrested for murder or attempted murder while on pretrial release. Given the city’s low arrest rates, the true number of serious offenses committed by these individuals likely exceeds 1,500.

Johnson’s loyalty to this destructive philosophy is further evident in his systematic weakening of the Chicago Police Department. He eliminated 833 police positions, arguing that the CPD — viewed through his ideological lens — is an oppressive force that must be defunded. The city is now down 2,200 officers compared to pre-COVID staffing levels. As a result, only half of all high-priority 911 calls receive a timely response, and only five percent of violent crimes result in an arrest.

Anti-Semitic incidents in Chicago’s Jewish community rose an alarming 74 percent in 2023 and a staggering 300 percent in 2024, according to the Anti-Defamation League — yet perpetrators are rarely prosecuted. Meanwhile, the number of officers shot at has surged nearly 500 percent from the previous decade. Domestic violence murders doubled last year. Black Chicagoans make up nearly 80 percent of homicide victims, and Black women represent 30 percent of all violent crime victims.

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Johnson’s ideological lens also led to the elimination of the city’s gunshot detection system, ShotSpotter, in February. Despite criticism that the technology is “racist,” ShotSpotter was credited with saving 125 lives over five years, according to 2023 budget testimony. Since it was dismantled, 44 people — a majority of whom are Black — have been shot without a single 911 call made in those cases.

What’s happening in Chicago is not isolated. It reflects a broader trend in major U.S. cities where “progressive” leadership has weakened law enforcement and turned a blind eye to crime. New York’s criminal justice reforms have had a similar effect: Major felonies and misdemeanors have surged, and anti-Jewish hate crimes in New York rose 74 percent last year alone.

The consequences have been predictable: Criminals and antisocial actors are no longer held accountable. The far-left treats perpetrators — such as violent anti-Israel demonstrators — as beyond reproach morally or as victims. Meanwhile, law-abiding citizens are burdened with overregulation and punished for minor infractions.

The anti-Semitism now surging on university campuses — and increasingly in high schools — is not accidental. It is a feature, not a bug, of the far left’s strategy to indoctrinate and mobilize youth. We’ve witnessed this type of indoctrination among students at CPS as CORE Caucus members lead children to their victimization cause.

It’s become more and more evident that the extreme left and its leaders have one agenda — the disruption and dismantling of our societal norms and institutions. Jews, as has happened throughout history, have become convenient scapegoats for the left in their effort to rally support for their broader agenda. Be assured, their Islamist allies are single-minded in their desire to destroy Israel. But the left has much broader destruction in mind.

Until voters in Chicago and other major cities reject politicians and prosecutors who champion this destructive ideology, the very communities these leaders claim to serve — those suffering under systemic violence, poverty, and decline — will continue to suffer. Tragically, the Jewish community is now among them.