Rev. Mitchell Ikenna Johnson, the newly appointed president of the Chicago Board of Education, has a troubling history of sharing antisemitic, anti-Israel, and pro-Hamas content on social media.
A review of his public and private Facebook posts since the October 7 Hamas attacks reveals dozens of inflammatory statements that praise the terrorist group, justify its actions, and disparage Jews who support Israel.
In one post from December, Johnson questioned, “How can a group of people who have suffered from the Holocaust join with the Alt Right Community?”
He continued to invoke the Holocaust in subsequent posts, claiming in February, “The Nazi Germans’ ideology has been adopted by the Zionist Jews.” In March, he wrote, “The Israeli government offers a renewal of Nazi language once directed toward European Jews, ‘savages, dogs, vermin.’”
Johnson's support for Hamas is evident as well. In March, he asserted, “People have an absolute right to attack their oppressors by any means necessary!!!”
This has raised concerns within the community, with figures like Silverstein commenting on the perceived lack of support for the Jewish community from the mayor. A spokesperson for Mayor Johnson did not respond to inquiries regarding Rev. Johnson's controversial social media activity.
* The Jewish Insider contributed to this article.