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‘A Disturbing Abdication of Civic Duty’: Chicago Mayor Slammed for Failure to Call Shooting of Jewish Man an Antisemitic Attack

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Staff Writer

November 1, 2024

< 1 minute

[Moshe Phillips is National Chairman of Americans For A Safe Israel (www.afsi.org), a leading pro-Israel advocacy and education organization.] Steven Erlanger has been writing about Israel for the New York Times for nearly thirty years. How can it be that he still doesn’t know what the Oslo Accords say? Even before he was hired by the Times, Erlanger was writing about the Middle East for the Boston Globe in the 1980s. In early 1996—a little over two years after the signing of Oslo I on the White House lawn—he became the Times’ chief diplomatic correspondent in Washington, and wrote plenty about America’s Middle East policy. He even served as the Times’ Jerusalem bureau chief from 2004 to 2008. How, then, can one explain this egregiously erroneous statement in Erlanger’s October 21 news analysis in the Times: “The Oslo Accords of the 1990s were supposed to lead to an independent Palestine.” And it’s not the first time he has made such a statement. In an article for the Times on November 24, 2023, Erlanger wrote: “Set up after the 1993 Oslo Accords, the Palestinian Authority was intended as a temporary administration on the way toward an independent Palestinian state.” Yet in reality, there is not one word in the Oslo Accords about a Palestinian state. Oslo I —the agreement that was signed by Yitzhak Rabin and Yasir Arafat on the White House Lawn in 1993—said in Article 1: “The aim of the Israeli Palestinian negotiations within the current Middle East peace process is, among other things, to establish a Palestinian Interim Self-Government Authority, the elected Council, (the "Council") for the Palestinian people in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, for a transitional period not exceeding five years, leading to a permanent settlement”—nothing about a state. Oslo II, signed in 1995, used the exact same language in its Preamble. Again, there was no reference to a state. And that was deliberate. Because when Prime Minister Rabin presented Oslo II to the Knesset for ratification on October 5, 1995, he directly addressed the question of a Palestinian state. He said he favored “a Palestinian entity…which is less than a state.” Rabin then emphasized that “We will not return to the 4 June 1967 lines,” and outlined a number of areas that should be within Israel’s borders in a final settlement. He said Jerusalem, under Israeli rule, should include suburbs such as Ma’ale Adumim and Givat Ze’ev. He said the eastern border should be in the Jordan Valley. And he said Gush Etzion, Efrat, Beitar “and other communities” should be part of Israel. Rabin’s position put him at odds with the advocates of a Palestinian state. They demand that Israel return to the June 1967 lines. They demand that a Palestinian state include all of those communities that Rabin mentioned should be part of Israel. And they demand that the Old City section of Jerusalem, where the Temple Mount and the Western Wall are located, also should be part of “Palestine.” So of course the Oslo agreements could not refer to a Palestinian state. Rabin could not have asked the Knesset to ratify an accord giving up all the things he said he would not give up. All of which leaves two possible explanations for Steven Erlanger’s false statements in the Times about Oslo and Palestinian statehood. Both explanations are deeply disturbing. One is that Erlanger has never read the Oslo Accords. This would, of course, constitute an extremely serious case of professional misconduct. To fail to acquaint himself with the most basic documents concerning a subject that he was writing about, and then to make such an incredible error out of sheer ignorance, could be grounds for dismissal. The second explanation is perhaps even worse. It would be that Erlanger knows exactly what the Oslo Accords say—but he consciously chooses to misrepresent it in order to advance the statehood agenda. Of course statehood advocates were hoping that Oslo would lead to a Palestinian state. And by pretending that Oslo required such an outcome, they make it appear as if Israel is in gross violation of its treaty obligations. So that would fit perfectly with the theme of so many New York Times articles—namely, the idea that Israel is to blame for the absence of Middle East peace and creating a Palestinian state will bring everlasting tranquility to the region. Not surprisingly, most Israelis see it differently. Even before October 7, polls consistently showed that most Israelis feared a Palestinian state would be used as a springboard to attack Israel, especially at its most vulnerable nine-miles-wide points along the coast. After October 7, the idea of a Palestinian state seems to most Israelis to constitute a direct threat to Israel’s existence. CHICAGO, Ill. – August 19, 2024: Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson (D) addresses the 2024 Democratic National Convention in the United Center. (Source: Shutterstock)


Combat Antisemitism Movement (CAM) Chief Government Affairs Officer Lisa Katz issued the following statement today, denouncing Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson’s response to the shooting of an Orthodox Jewish man walking to a Far North Side synagogue on Shabbat last weekend:

“Mayor Brandon Johnson’s failure to recognize and condemn the antisemitic nature of the shooting of a Jewish man on his way to synagogue on Saturday marks a disturbing abdication of his civic duty to be a leader for all Chicagoans. The first step to fighting antisemitism is identifying it, yet Mayor Johnson proved to be incapable of this essential task, even when faced with a blatant incident of violence targeting Jews. Furthermore, the recent appointment by Mayor Johnson of a School Board president with a history of online antisemitic rhetoric only adds to the concerns of the Jewish community of Chicago and beyond.”

‘This shocking situation in Chicago further underscores the urgent need for municipal leaders to be equipped with the knowledge and tools to understand and confront all forms of contemporary antisemitism, and the Combat Antisemitism Movement looks forward to hosting more than 200 mayors in Beverly Hills, California, in December for the 2024 Mayors Summit Against Antisemitism, which will focus on collaborative cities-oriented approaches to the common mission of securing and nurturing Jewish life in cities across North America.”

Mayor Johnson’s statement that did not mention the victim’s religion or the antisemitic nature of the shooting can be viewed at the link below:

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