The Chicago office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-Chicago), the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, today joined the U.S. Palestinian Community Network (USPCN) in condemning inflammatory and anti-Palestinian remarks made by Illinois Comptroller Susana Mendoza and Chicago Board of Education member Ellen Rosenfeld in a recent Chicago Sun-Times opinion column.
In the column, Mendoza asserted that Chicago Public Schools is teaching children that Israel does not exist based on a classroom map, while Rosenfeld claimed that CPS teachers assign students to explain “why Israel is committing genocide” and criticized fellow Board members for wearing watermelon pins in solidarity with Palestinians. These allegations were presented without evidence that they reflect CPS curriculum or district policy, contributing to efforts to stigmatize educators and anyone who acknowledges Palestinian history, identity, or human rights.
“Criticism of the policies of the Israeli government or recognition of Palestinian identity is not antisemitism,” said Hafsa Haider, Communications Director of CAIR-Chicago. “When elected officials portray Palestinian identity itself as suspect or imply that acknowledging Palestinian history is inherently biased, they reinforce a climate of xenophobia already affecting students and educators across our city. Public officials have a responsibility to elevate facts—not inflame prejudice.”
Chicago is home to the nation’s largest Palestinian diaspora and a thriving Arab American community, and has long prided itself on being a welcoming city for immigrants and refugees. These remarks are especially troubling as CAIR-Chicago, alongside parents, students, and educators, continues advocating before the Chicago Board of Education to restore the Arabic language program at Lincoln Park High School. They also come amid a broader effort to suppress discussion of Palestine in educational settings, where educators, librarians, professors, and students across Illinois and the country have increasingly faced censorship, investigations, harassment, employment discrimination, and political pressure for including Palestinian history or current events in curriculum and student programming. At a time when Illinois Comptroller Susana Mendoza is seeking to lead Chicago, our city deserves leaders who defend inclusive education and reject rhetoric that marginalizes Palestinian, Arab, and Muslim communities.
“Community members should be alarmed by the growing coalition of anti-Arab, anti-Palestinian racists and their billionaire backers who attack public education,” said Muhammad Sankari of USPCN-Chicago (U.S. Palestinian Community Network). “We need a school board that supports strengthening public education and inclusivity for all, not one that represents Zionist Michael Sacks, allows attacks on Black teachers and Palestinian students, and seeks to promote pro-genocide political positions in Chicago schools.”
CAIR-Chicago is particularly disturbed by Rosenfeld’s suggestion that Board members who wear watermelon pins or express solidarity with Palestinians are somehow unfit to serve or are acting contrary to their faith. Such rhetoric delegitimizes peaceful expressions of solidarity with Palestinians and sends a chilling message that Palestinian, Arab, Muslim, and allied voices are unwelcome in public institutions.
“Through our contract negotiations, our union has made CPS a safer, more welcoming environment for students of every belief system, race, and sexuality. We are who preserve and protect the right of educators to teach the truth, civics, and human rights at a time when the Trump administration is attempting to erase, criminalize, and violate all three,” said Jackson Potter, Vice President of the Chicago Teachers Union (CTU). “Our schools should be a place of learning and delivering for our students, not a place for the corrupting influence of billionaires’ political spending, especially when it is being used to close public schools and close down public dialogue and students’ rights to free speech.”
These remarks come as Arab, Palestinian, and Muslim communities report rising harassment and bias amid Israel’s continued genocide on Gaza and escalating regional conflict. History shows that rhetoric from elected officials can legitimize discrimination and embolden those who target already vulnerable communities.
CAIR-Chicago and USPCN call on Comptroller Susana Mendoza and Board Member Ellen Rosenfeld to (1) retract their remarks, (2) engage directly with impacted communities, and (3) reaffirm their commitment to serving every CPS student without bias. They (4) further urge the appropriate public bodies to censure rhetoric from elected officials that promotes anti-Palestinian, anti-Arab, or anti-Muslim prejudice.
Chicago’s leaders must reject divisive rhetoric and ensure every student feels safe, respected, and represented in our public schools.
CONTACT: Ahmed Rehab, Executive Director of CAIR-Chicago, 202-870-0166, arehab@cair.com; Hafsa Haider, Communications Director of CAIR-Chicago, 561-317-7509, hhaider@cair.com; Muhammad Sankari, Organizer w/ USPCN, 773-656-9928