An appointee to Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson’s Fiscal Sustainability Working Group, Ishan Daya, resigned just hours after his selection was announced, following criticism over a 2023 video showing him tearing down posters of Israeli hostages.

Daya, a community organizer focused on public safety and mental health, was one of 20 appointees to the mayor’s advisory committee tasked with addressing Chicago’s fiscal challenges. However, his appointment sparked immediate outrage from Jewish organizations, including the Anti-Defamation League and the Chicago Jewish Community Relations Council, as well as Alderman Debra Silverstein, the city’s only Jewish alderwoman. Silverstein called the appointment “a deliberate slap in the face to the Jewish community” and criticized Mayor Johnson for repeatedly aligning with antisemitic individuals.

Silverstein pointed to a pattern of disregard, citing Johnson’s support for an early Gaza ceasefire resolution, his description of Israel’s war against Hamas as “genocidal,” and his appearance wearing a keffiyeh at an Arab Heritage Month event.

She also referenced his delayed response to an October 2024 shooting of a Jewish man in West Rogers Park, where he initially failed to acknowledge the victim’s Jewish identity.

“The mayor seems determined to surround himself with people who peddle hate and division,” Silverstein said. “We deserve better.”

The controversy stemmed from a video that surfaced during Daya’s unsuccessful 2023 campaign for 32nd Ward Democratic committeeman, showing him removing a hostage poster in New York City. Daya’s accomplice referred to the hostages as “kalb” (dogs) while ripping down the posters.

In a statement to the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Daya apologized, acknowledging that his actions “caused pain within some members of our Jewish community.” He explained that he objected to unspecified language on the poster that he found “racist and dehumanizing” toward Palestinians, but recognized that tearing it down was hurtful to families awaiting their loved ones’ return.

“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 added, announcing that a representative from the Institute for the Public Good, a policy center he co-directs, would replace him on the committee.

Daya’s resignation marks the latest controversy for Johnson, who is already grappling with low approval ratings and a U.S. Department of Justice investigation into alleged race-based hiring practices, prompted by statements he made about the number of black officials in his administration.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)