Adding further political pressure on Mayor Brandon Johnson, a Jewish alderman on Thursday said a top official in his administration is unfit for the role following a controversial social media post made shortly after the Oct. 7 attacks on Israel.
Ald. Debra Silverstein’s criticism of Kennedy Bartley comes after several aldermen complained about Bartley’s past remarks on police officers.
Bartley, a deputy in the mayor’s office who was hired to serve as a liaison to progressive and labor interests, posted on X two days after the massacre last year: “From the river to the sea Palestine will be free. Amen!” The comment, which resurfaced in screenshots on the website this week amid ongoing backlash against her from City Council moderates, prompted Silverstein, 50th, to call for her ouster.
“Bartley has made her position clear on the war between Israel and Hamas — which is her right — but she has done so in a way that crosses the line into disrespect and overt antisemitism,” Silverstein, the only Jewish member of the council, said in a statement.
Silverstein also said Bartley heckled Silverstein’s speech during a resolution on the Gaza war earlier this year. “This was an insult to me, to my community, and to 1,200 innocent Israeli victims who were murdered by Hamas. … Kennedy Bartley is clearly not fit for the task,” the alderman’s statement reads in part.
The mayor’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Earlier this week, Fox 32 reported that Bartley referred to cops as “f—ing pigs” in a 2021 podcast.
About 1,200 people were slain and more than 250 others were taken hostage during last year’s Oct. 7 attack on Israel that was led by Hamas fighters. It was the deadliest massacre against Jews since the Holocaust and prompted Israel to invade the Gaza strip later that month, in a war that’s ongoing and has killed more than 40,000 Palestinians.
That staggering toll has prompted fierce divisions in Chicago and other cities over whether Israel’s military response, which is aided by U.S. funding and weapons, is justified. Johnson became the first big-city mayor to endorse a ceasefire in Gaza in January and labeled the war “genocidal” ahead of the Democratic National Convention last month. His stance has earned him plaudits from progressives but also criticism from some leaders in the Jewish community.
Ald. Matt O’Shea, 19th, said Bartley’s X post will renew concerns over the judgment of Johnson’s leadership team, given that it came weeks before Israel’s full invasion of Gaza on Oct. 27.
“This is disgusting that someone could comment on social media about such a vicious, brutal attack of innocent people,” O’Shea, Johnson’s handpicked chair of the Aviation Committee, said, questioning “how this administration could not have known about this from a high-ranking member on their own social media account less than a year ago. This individual is not suited for leadership in government.”
The “river to the sea” slogan used by Bartley has become a rallying cry for pro-Palestinian demonstrators who say it calls for liberation of the Palestinian people from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea after decades of Israeli occupation. Pro-Israel groups say the phrase calls for the eradication of its Jewish citizens, however.
Progressive Ald. Carlos Ramirez-Rosa, 35th, came to Bartley’s defense Thursday and challenged the assertion that “from the river to the sea” was hate speech. “I’m shocked that there are still attempts to cancel people for using this phrase when expressing support for Palestinians,” Ramirez-Rosa said in a statement.
“I have worked closely with Kennedy for many years and can attest to her talent and strong work ethic,” he said. “Chicago benefits from principled and effective leaders like Kennedy serving in positions of influence in City Hall.”
The Israel-Palestine conflict has surfaced again and again in Chicago politics over the past year. The City Council has voted to endorse two resolutions: one condemning the Oct. 7 attacks and another endorsing a Gaza ceasefire, the latter of which ended in Johnson casting a tie-breaking vote.
Mayoral ally Ald. Byron Sigcho-Lopez, 25th, also elicited outrage after he was seen speaking in front of a charred American flag during a pro-Gaza protest outside City Hall this spring, but he survived a censure attempt. Johnson has since selected him to be the next chair of the powerful Zoning Committee, but he will need to win over a majority of council members.
Meanwhile, Bartley’s comments on police drew calls from O’Shea and Ald. Brian Hopkins, 2nd, to resign earlier this week. Hopkins is part of Johnson’s City Council leadership team, serving as his public safety committee chair, and said his demand remains after seeing the post-Oct. 7 tweet.
“If I die, especially at the hands of f—ing pigs, like, don’t name s— after me,” Bartley said on a podcast three years ago that discussed the police slaying of Elijah McClain in Colorado.
The backlash from aldermen came after Bartley was recently promoted to oversee the city Intergovernmental Affairs Office, which lobbies aldermen and others to back the mayor’s initiatives. Her positions could make it more difficult for Bartley to negotiate with moderate and conservative council members on Johnson’s behalf.
Police and Fire Committee Chair Ald. Chris Taliaferro, 29th, softened his earlier calls for disciplining Bartley, however, after she called him on Wednesday and demonstrated “understanding that some comments that were made a few years ago could directly impact your position today.”
Asked what he thinks about the new controversy over the post-Oct. 7 comment, Taliaferro said in a text: “Wow. I’m willing to sit down and speak with her.”