Chicago’s Jewish Community Relations Council, Anti-Defamation League and American Jewish Committee chapters slammed Mayor Brandon Johnson on Tuesday for failing to “acknowledge the Jewish community” in a statement after a Muslim man shot a Jewish man walking to synagogue on Saturday in West Rogers Park, home to one of the city’s largest Orthodox Jewish populations.

Three days after the shooting, in which the suspect allegedly yelled “Allahu Akbar” as he exchanged fire with police officers responding to the initial shooting, Johnson wrote on X,  “Our heartfelt thoughts and prayers are with the victim and his loved ones from this weekend’s shooting incident that took place in Rogers Park. All Chicagoans deserve to feel safe and protected across the city. There is more work to be done, and we are committed to diligently improving community safety in every neighborhood.”

The JCRC responded to Johnson in a tweet saying, “You failed to identify that the victim was a Jewish man, in a densely populated Jewish neighborhood, going to synagogue for Shabbat morning prayers. What will it take for you to acknowledge the Jewish community?” 

Sarah van Loon, regional director of AJC Chicago, also condemned Johnson’s omission in an interview with Jewish Insider. “I’m deeply troubled that Mayor Johnson can’t name that the victim was visibly Jewish and walking to synagogue on Shabbat,” van Loon said. “It just feels like one more opportunity that would have been so easy for him to recognize the Jewish community of Chicago that has been hurting so much this past year, and yet again our pain is invisible to him [even though] the Jewish community is super active in Chicago.” 

David Goldenberg, regional director of ADL Midwest, noted that Johnson’s statement “came more than 48 hours after the incident and only after he was criticized.” 

“Mayor Johnson’s statement was empty and falls flat in the Jewish community,” Goldenberg told JI. 

Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-NY) also denounced Johnson’s statement on Tuesday. “Any Mayor who cannot be bothered to acknowledge the antisemitism of a hate crime against a Jewish man heading to a synagogue is unworthy of the office he holds,” Torres wrote on X. 

Chicago’s Jewish leaders have also expressed disappointment that the shooting has not yet been charged as a hate crime.

The 22-year-old suspect, Sidi Mohamed Abdallahi, shouted the Arabic phrase as he shot at police officers and paramedics responding to the shooting, according to video footage obtained by a doorbell camera. The police shootout occurred after Abdallahi shot a 39-year-old male, injuring his shoulder. On Monday, Abdallahi was charged with six felony counts of attempted murder in the first degree, seven felony counts of aggravated discharge of a firearm at a police officer and one felony count of aggravated battery/ discharge firearm. The Chicago Police Department also failed to mention in its news release detailing the charges any indication of the victim’s Jewish identity, despite being dressed as an identifiable Orthodox Jew, according to several Jewish groups.

At a press conference on Tuesday, organized by local Jewish groups, Goldenberg said he urged the Chicago Police Department to “conduct a thorough investigation into the motives of these heinous crimes…and that charges be added as appropriate.” 

“Saturday’s crime feels like a hate crime regardless of where the investigation lands,” he said. 

“I have been involved in literally dozens of hate crimes investigations over the last few years and know that, sometimes, we need to be patient if we want the charges to stick…even when our lived experiences make it seem clear and obvious,” Goldenberg said, noting that the ADL has tracked a near 300% increase in antisemitic incidents in Chicago over the last year, compared to the year before.