Alderman accuses colleague of antisemitism over social media post

The Chicago City Council’s lone Jewish alderman on Thursday said a colleague “crossed the line” and used antisemitic language in a social media post.

Ald. Debra Silverstein, 50th, highlighted and harshly criticized a post recently made by Ald. Rossana Rodriguez-Sanchez, 33rd. It includes a photo of Rodriguez-Sanchez with her child and a request that Facebook friends share pediatrician recommendations.

“Looking for an anti Zionist pediatrician for this baby,” the caption reads.

Silverstein called the caption an attempt by Rodriguez-Sanchez to blacklist Jewish doctors. Rodriguez-Sanchez described the accusation as a bid to stifle her long-running criticism of Israel’s war effort in Gaza.

The two disagree over what the word “Zionist” really means in the caption. Silverstein called it a “dog whistle” used in place of “Jewish.”

“I just feel like now, especially with everything that’s going on in Israel, using that word ‘Zionist’ just automatically encompasses being Jewish,” Silverstein said. “It’s clear to us that antisemites use it to mean Jews.”

She called Zionism “building a strong relationship with Israel, and having a strong relationship with Israel.”

But Rodriguez-Sanchez argued that “anti-Zionism is not antisemitism.” It is criticism of the state of Israel, not the Jewish people, she said. She referred to descriptions of Zionism made by pro-cease-fire group Jewish Voice for Peace that identify it as a political ideology that has created an apartheid in Israel.

“That criticism lives within the Jewish community as well,” Rodriguez-Sanchez said. “There are Jewish people who understand Zionism as harmful to Jewish people and as harmful to Palestinian people.”

She declined to say what prompted the post, which she said was intended to be private. Calling Israel’s war in Gaza “clearly a genocide,” she added that she does not want a doctor to care for her own child who thinks the killing of civilian children is justified during the ongoing war.

“This is not in a vacuum,” Rodriguez-Sanchez said. “It’s very important to me that my child is under the care of somebody that cares about the lives of Palestinian children.”

The two aldermen have repeatedly clashed over the war in Gaza between Israel and Hamas.

After Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on southern Israel killed around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, Silverstein led the effort to pass a resolution condemning the attack. Rodriguez-Sanchez unsuccessfully pushed for the resolution to be amended to “also center the humanity of Palestinians who are confined to an open air prison and whose lands have been occupied for decades.”

Months later, as Israel’s war in Gaza raged on, Rodriguez-Sanchez became the primary backer of another resolution that called for a permanent cease-fire. Silverstein demanded the resolution include clearer references to the atrocities committed by Hamas, leading to changes she deemed insufficient.

The resolution narrowly passed in a sharply divided council on Jan. 31, making Chicago the largest American city at the time to call for a cease-fire. But the war has continued to loom over the City Council.

At least 35,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza, according to the Health Ministry, which doesn’t distinguish between combatants and civilians, according to The Associated Press.

Silverstein listed several comments made by Rodriguez-Sanchez to argue that she has repeatedly used antisemitic language, including her use of the pro-Palestinian protest chant, “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free.”

“I’m not going to be quiet about this. To me, this is disgusting. To me, it is hurtful,” Silverstein said. “The mainstream Jewish community does not feel like anybody has their back.”

She called on Mayor Brandon Johnson, who Rodriguez-Sanchez has been closely allied with, to condemn her language and said the progressive Northwest Side alderman is unfit to serve as chair of the Health and Human Relations Committee, which oversees human rights issues.

However, Silverstein said she is not planning to make a formal effort to censure or strip Rodriguez-Sanchez of her chair position, citing other unsuccessful censure efforts in the council.

In March, several aldermen tried unsuccessfully to strip Ald. Byron Sigcho-Lopez of his Housing Committee chairmanship after he spoke in front of an already-burnt American flag at a protest calling for the 2024 Democratic National Convention in Chicago to be canceled. The protest had in part focused on criticism of Israel’s war actions.

Silverstein said her community is always on “high alert” for hate, but is even more cautious right now.

“Antisemitism is at an all-time high,” she said. “Just a week ago, I had antisemitic flyers posted on windshields in my ward. We are just really nervous.”

Weeks earlier, someone left plastic bags containing rat poison and antisemitic messages in a similar act in Lincoln Park. In response, Ald. Timmy Knudsen, 43rd, drafted an ordinance to crack down on the distribution of hateful flyers by creating fines.

The ordinance was sent to Rodriguez-Sanchez’s Health Committee when it was introduced a month ago. Knudsen declined to comment on Rodriguez-Sanchez’s social media posts Thursday, but said Rodriguez-Sanchez expressed support for his ordinance. He is working with city attorneys to make the legislation more legally durable and hopes to pass it next month.

“It’s clear that this is being used as good, sweeping legislation and not being politicized in any way,” he said.

Rodriguez-Sanchez said the criticism of her post has made her less safe. An unblurred image that includes her child was circulating online and someone plastered to her office stickers and flyers calling her an antisemite, she said.

“You can always pick up my phone as my colleague and ask, ‘What did you mean by this?’” she said. “I would never, ever make an antisemitic statement.”

She added that she stands behind her belief that Israel’s war efforts have included atrocities and amount to genocide.

“We can’t look away,” she said. “We can’t look away when people are bombed and murdered. This is exactly what people talk about when they ask ‘What would you have done during the Holocaust?’”

jsheridan@chicagotribune.com