CHICAGO, ILLINOIS (March 26, 2026) — Click here to read the full article in the Chicago Sun-Times.
The Chicago Commission on Human Relations’ recent report on rising antisemitism, covered in the Sun-Times, should be a wake-up call for the city. Will it stand against antisemitism or stand back and do nothing?
The commission has done what history demands and issued a report on rising antisemitism in Chicago. Under the leadership of Chair Nancy Andrade, the commission undertook the difficult but necessary work of gathering testimony and confronting uncomfortable truths. This report is not just a collection of data points. It reflects the experiences of Jewish Chicagoans who have seen old hatreds resurface in new forms.
Days ago, a group of Jewish students attending a campus meetup at a cafe near DePaul University were harassed and intimidated simply for being Jewish. This was not an isolated misunderstanding. It reflects a broader and troubling pattern. Antisemitism is no longer confined to rhetoric online. It is surfacing in classrooms, public spaces and neighborhoods across Chicago.
Now it’s up to Mayor Brandon Johnson. Will he stand with those who spoke up, or allow their warnings to be lost in the noise of city politics?
This should not be a partisan question. It is about whether city leaders will act when residents raise serious concerns about hate.
The commission’s recommendations are not radical. They are the basic tools every city should use to protect its residents: clear ways to report hate, stronger coordination and a commitment to confront antisemitism wherever it appears.
The City Council has already taken an important step by unanimously adopting and codifying the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s working definition of antisemitism into law. The commission’s report builds on that foundation by translating principles into policy.
Turning away from these findings would deepen the sense of abandonment many already feel.
At the Simon Wiesenthal Center, where I serve as director of social action and partnerships for the Midwest and South, we work to confront antisemitism and hate through education, accountability, and civic engagement.
Chicago prides itself on being a city of inclusion. Supporting the commission’s recommendations is a chance to prove it.
The commission has done its work. Now Chicago’s leadership must do theirs.
For further information, please email Alison Pure-Slovin at aslovin@wiesenthal.com or Aram Goldberg at agoldberg@wiesenthal.com. Join the Center on Facebook, or follow @simonwiesenthal for news updates sent directly to your X feed.
About the Simon Wiesenthal Center
The Simon Wiesenthal Center (SWC) is a global Jewish human rights organization that combats antisemitism, defends the State of Israel, and uses the lessons of the Holocaust to teach tolerance and combat hate. It holds consultative status at the United Nations, UNESCO, the OSCE, the Council of Europe, the OAS and the Latin American Parliament (PARLATINO). Headquartered in Los Angeles, the SWC operates in key centers of Jewish life including New York, Chicago, Florida, Toronto, Jerusalem, Vienna and Buenos Aires. To learn more, visit www.wiesenthal.org.