CHICAGO – Chicago Jewish leaders are calling on a Chicago Board of Education member who shouted “Free Palestine” at a Jewish colleague to resign.

What we know:

Board member Ellen Rosenfeld said her colleague Norma Rios Sierra shouted, “Free Palestine, Ellen,” while walking out of Thursday night’s meeting during a recess right after the board voted 12-7 to approve the controversial CPS budget.  

Board member Carlos Rivas, who said he has had his own tense interactions with Rios Sierra, witnessed the interaction.

“It made me extremely uncomfortable,” Rivas said. “It’s not a way to treat someone. It was clearly antisemitic. This had nothing to do with the debate of the meeting, this was literally after recess.”

Jewish groups that have stood in support of Israel reacted harshly to the incident. In a joint statement, the Anti-Defamation League of the Midwest and the Jewish United Fund called the conduct “disqualifying.”

“This was not a slip of the tongue, it was a calculated act of harassment that injected anti-Jewish intimidation into the proceedings of a public body,” the statement says. “Ms. Rios Sierra’s conduct clearly reveals that she is more interested in bullying, political theater, and targeting colleagues than in the well-being of Chicago’s public school students.”

What’s next:

Rosenfeld tells Fox 32 Chicago that she has asked CPS’ Equal Opportunity Compliance Office to review the incident and has asked for Rios Sierra to be censured and removed from office. She shared a letter she sent saying, in part:

“This type of conduct undermines the necessary behavior for board governance and creates a hostile environment that prevents us from focusing on our shared mission: serving Chicago’s students and families.”

Efforts to reach Rios Sierra through a Board of Education spokesperson have been unsuccessful so far. 

The exchange came as some of the appointed board members handed out watermelon pins before the meeting, signifying support for Palestine. 

Board members like Jennifer Custer questioned the conduct given the charged nature of the meeting. 

The Source: The information in this article was reported by FOX 32’s Paris Schutz.

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