Milwaukee mayor condemns anti-Semitism, renews calls for justice

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Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson sharply condemned anti-Semitism and called for justice Thursday during Milwaukee’s Jewish Community Relations Council (JCRC) annual meeting.

“The resurgence of this sort of hatred is disgusting,” Johnson said after citing newly released hate crime statistics from the Anti-Defamation League (ADL).

Johnson said the ADL recorded 8,873 anti-Semitic incidents across the United States in 2023, which is more than 140% increase from incidents that were recorded “just two short years ago in 2022.”

Religious hate crimes in Wisconsin nearly tripled from 2020 to 2022, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.

“It’s disgusting. It’s appalling,” Johnson said.

“That’s why myself and so many other folks in this community have stood up and stood in solidarity with the Jewish community here in Milwaukee to let folks know whether you’re in the Jewish community or not in the Jewish community that hate has no place.

“There is absolutely no place in this community, and it certainly has no place in my city,” Johnson said.

NAACP Milwaukee President Clarence P. Nicholas agreed with Johnson during an interview with the Wisconsin Law Journal Friday.

Nicholas said both the black and Jewish communities are “fighting for civil rights,” and working closely with the FBI.

“What injustices that affect one group also impacts the other group,” Nicholas said.

According to Nicholas, the FBI is helping both the Jewish and black communities to fight hate crimes.

“We are partnering with Jewish groups, but we need the FBI to assist us. They are familiar with this and bring us together in community meetings,” Nicholas added.

Several members of Wisconsin’s legal community who serve on JCRC’s board praised Johnson’s comments.

Board member and Wisconsin Elections Commissioner Ann Jacobs, who is an attorney in Milwaukee, told the Wisconsin Law Journal on Friday that, “We were honored that Mayor Johnson joined us for our annual meeting.  His words condemning anti-Semitism were important and made clear that hate has no home in Milwaukee. The support of allies like Mayor Johnson is key to the safety, security and well-being of the Jewish Community.”

Jacobs noted she was not present at Thursday’s annual meeting as she was at an all-day Wisconsin Elections Commissions meeting where the bi-partisan commission voted against the impeachment of Republican Wisconsin Speaker Robin Vos. As previously reported, former President Donald Trump supporters, including former Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice Michael Gableman, on May 28 submitted more than 9,000 signatures to trigger the recall election of Vos.

Milwaukee Attorney Michael S. Maistelman, also a JCRC board member, told the Wisconsin Law Journal on Friday that he was also grateful for Johnson speaking out against hate toward the Jewish community.

“Mayor Cavalier Johnson’s visit to the Milwaukee Jewish Council on Community Relations annual meeting underscores the critical need for unity and vigilance in combating hate. His message that hate has no place in Milwaukee resonates deeply with our community’s commitment to inclusivity and respect. We stand with the mayor in his efforts to foster a city where every individual feels safe and valued,” Maistelman said.

Milwaukee Attorney Craig Johnson, who is also on JCRC’s board, agreed with Jacobs and Maistelman.

“The Milwaukee JCRC appreciates the mayor’s steadfast support for the Jewish community. We welcome the message of unity that he delivered in his remarks to our annual meeting, and agree with him that our community is strongest when we reject hate and work together,” Johnson said Friday.

Milwaukee County Circuit Court Judge Danielle Shelton also serves on the JCRC board; she declined to comment.

During Thursday’s annual meeting, JCRC leadership noted they have substantially increased their security budget and have been meeting closely with the FBI, local law enforcement, as well as elected officials from Milwaukee and Madison to Washington, D.C.

Miryam Rosenzweig, who serves as president and CEO of the Milwaukee Jewish Federation, said Thursday that security has been increased in southeastern Wisconsin in all places of worship.

“You’ve been an incredible ally and leader through all of this,” Rosenzweig said, singing the praises of Mayor Johnson.

As Rosenzweig gathered in Washington, D.C., with other community leaders in the Jewish community to meet with federal lawmakers who denounced anti-Semitism, Mayor Johnson called her.

He offered “his support and asked how he can help,” she said.

Rosenzweig also expressed gratitude to Madison lawmakers who passed a resolution condemning the attacks of Oct. 7, affirming Israel’s right to exist and calling for the hostages to be freed.

However, Rosenzweig noted how two state lawmakers abstained from voting for it because they felt it was too one-sided.

JCRC leadership also noted they have been working closely with Milwaukee-area companies to advance anti-Semitism education.

Rosenzweig also met with Jewish students across Wisconsin after the Oct. 7 attacks.

“They talked to about me feeling socially isolated in their classrooms because they are Jewish and therefore their friends can’t support that,” Rosenzweig said, noting other classmates wouldn’t associate with American-Jewish students because they were “baby murderers.”

More than 840 Northwestern Mutual executives and Harley-Davidson employees were trained on anti-Semitism and the Holocaust over this past year by the Milwaukee Jewish Federation (MJF). The MJF also introduced a new program to business leaders on how to include Judaism in corporate DEI programs, according to Jeff Jones, director of communications and marketing for the Milwaukee Jewish Federation.

As previously reported by the Wisconsin Law Journal, while a Holocaust survivor calls attacks on diversity, equity and inclusion reminiscent of 1930’s Nazi Germany, many including the ADL, have been critical of current DEI practices as they are often not inclusive of religion.

Mayor Johnson also affirmed his commitment to justice and to stand by Milwaukee’s Jewish Community.

“I’m dedicated and have been since day one to defending compassion and justice for all citizens, everybody here in our community, all of our residents. And I’ll continue to stand as a firm partner with the Jewish community and advocate for peace, for all citizens of Milwaukee,” Johnson said.

Johnson also expressed empathy to the Milwaukee Jewish Community and beyond on how the rise in hate crimes against Jewish Americans over the past several months has been emotionally trying.

“It’s been a very difficult year for the Jewish community, not just here in Milwaukee, but across our state and across the United States and really the Jewish diaspora around the world,” Johnson said.

“I can only imagine the difficulty, the extreme difficulty that it’s been over the course of the last several months with attacks in Israel, last October, with attacks in the United States even very recently here in the United States. These things have been alarming. They’ve also been very dispiriting to folks, not just in your community, but outside of your community as well,” Johnson added.

According to Johnson, hate against Jewish-Americans has an impact on everyone else.

“The rise of hate, it doesn’t just impact the Jewish community alone. A rise in hate, it affects all of us. It affects each and every single person in this room and outside of this room as well,” Johnson said, noting, “the resilience and the strength that I’ve seen (among the Jewish Community), I think it’s remarkable. And, it’s inspiring to see the community lead with compassion during these really challenging times,” Johnson continued.

Johnson reaffirmed his commitment to making everyone feel safe in Milwaukee.

“As mayor, I’m committed to creating a city where all communities feel safe. It doesn’t matter where you come from, it doesn’t matter what your background is, it doesn’t matter who you love. I want to make a city where everybody feels safe where everybody feels welcome. I want you to feel safe when you’re out in public. I want you to feel safe when you’re traveling to your synagogue, because hate in all of its form, really what it does is it harms all of humanity,” Johnson said.

Hate “harms every single group, every single person that it harms our entire community. It harms all of humanity,” Johnson added.

JCRC leadership said building relationships with elected officials as well as interfaith, civil rights and community groups to address common concerns remains a top priority.

“We maintain an open ongoing dialogue and we are allies for one another in promoting religious freedom, tolerance, mutual respect and understanding,” JCRC officials added.

Carrie Steinberger, who spoke at Thursday’s meeting, serves on JCRC’s Antisemitism Task Force and previously worked on Milwaukee Attorney Jodi Habush Sinykin’s state senate campaign as director of operations and outreach.

Steinberger praised Roberta Clark, JCRC’s new executive director, who recently spoke out against the anti-Semitic outbursts calling for the total destruction of Israel at the Wisconsin Democratic Convention in Milwaukee.

Prior to introducing Clark, Steinberger noted Clark has trained thousands of law enforcement professionals on issues and incidents related to hate groups, extremism and terrorism.

During both Steinberger’s and Clark’s Thursday speeches, both emphasized a commitment to Tikkun Olam, “Repairing / healing of the world,” and coming together from different backgrounds to work together to fight hate.

On Thursday, JCRC officials noted it’s not accurate to call the protesters in Milwaukee or Madison “pro-Palestinian,” as most American-Jewish people are pro-Palestinian, but not Pro-Hamas as many of the protesters were citing terrorist language calling for the total destruction of Israel.

Also on Thursday, in Chicago, the Joint Committee of Health and Human Relations and Public Safety, Chicago Commission on Human Rights (CHHR) Commissioner Andrade presented the CCHR Annual Report on Hate Crimes and Incidents.

Hate Crimes and Hate Incidents are on the rise in Chicago, and all around the US. In 2023 alone, there were 302 Hate Crimes reported through the Chicago Police Department, a 47% increase from 2022.

“In their Report, CHHR’s first recommendation is to pass the hate littering ordinance that I introduced to the City Council in April after antisemitic hate flyering that occurred in Lincoln Park,” said Chicago alderman Timmy Knudsen in a written statement Friday.

According to Knudsen, CCHR, the City’s leading commission on reducing hate crimes and incidents, “agrees with our proposal that passing the Stop Hate Littering Ordinance will give law enforcement an effective tool to penalize this kind of hate, and moreover, deter these incidents from occurring in the future.”