In Chicago, mayoral appointee resigns amid criticism for tearing down Israeli hostage poster
Ishan Daya apologized for tearing down the poster in 2023, whose wording he also called “racist and dehumanizing”
Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson speaks during the Democratic National Convention at the United Center, Aug. 19, 2024, in Chicago. (Jacek Boczarski/Anadolu via Getty Images)
(JTA) — A man appointed to an advisory committee by Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson has stepped down amid outcry over a 2023 video of him tearing down Israeli hostage posters.
Ishan Daya was one of 20 appointees to Johnson’s new Chicago Fiscal Sustainability Working Group. His website identifies him as a community organizer focused on public safety and mental health.
The announcement from the mayor’s office sparked outcry from Jewish groups including the Anti-Defamation League and Chicago Jewish Community Relations Council, as well as Debra Silverstein, a city lawmaker who called the pick a “deliberate slap in the face to the Jewish community” in a statement posted by the JCRC.
The video of Daya tearing down a poster of an Israeli hostage had previously come to light when he mounted an unsuccessful run for local office. In a statement to the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Daya said he would be replaced by a representative of the Institute for the Public Good, a policy center he co-directs.
He apologized for tearing down the poster, whose wording he also called “racist and dehumanizing.” The posters, which bore the names and photos of the 250 hostages taken in Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack, were put up in cities across the United States, and often torn down by anti-Israel activists.
“I understand that my actions in 2023 caused pain within some members of our Jewish community, and for that, I am truly sorry. While I took issue with language on the poster that I felt was racist and dehumanizing toward Palestinians, I see that the act itself was hurtful to families longing for their loved ones’ return and I genuinely apologize,” Daya said in the statement.
“I’ve spent my career working across lines of difference, and anyone who has worked with me can attest to my deep opposition to antisemitism, hate, and bigotry in all its forms,” Daya continued.
Daya’s resignation, hours after he was appointed, is the latest moment of friction in a sour relationship between Johnson and much of the city’s Jewish community. Johnson has received criticism for supporting an early resolution calling for a ceasefire in Gaza, calling Israel’s war against Hamas “genocidal,” and donning a keffiyeh, a traditional Palestinian headscarf, at an event to mark Arab Heritage Month.
Last October, Johnson also drew fire from the Jewish community when he waited days to condemn the shooting of a Jewish man walking to synagogue in West Rogers Park, a heavily Jewish neighborhood, and failed to mention the victim’s Jewish identity.
“The mayor seems determined to surround himself with people who peddle hate and division,” said Silverstein. “His repeated disregard for the Jewish community is both painful and unacceptable. We deserve better.”
The Daya appointment wasn’t the only recent trouble for Johnson, who is deeply unpopular with voters. On Monday, the mayor, who is Black, received a letter from the U.S. Department of Justice alerting him that he was under investigation for allegedly hiring on the basis of race.
The letter, sent by Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon, cited statements made by Johnson at a Chicago church on Sunday in which he listed the number of Black officials in his administration.
