Former President Barack Obama’s Secretary of Education Arne Duncan was photographed at an anti-Israel encampment next to a Chicago alderman who was criticized for speaking in front of a burnt American flag.
Duncan was seen in social media posts from the Mayor’s Office and the Chicago City Council Progressive Staff Coalition. Are standing Next to Councilman Byron Sigcho-Lopez, who represents Chicago’s 25th Ward, at an anti-Israel encampment at the University of Chicago.
I saw Sigcho Lopez. busy Monday at the university’s encampment.
Sigcho-Lopez faced criticism from several Chicago aldermen and veterans after he was videotaped speaking at a rally in March where the American flag was burned, according to reports. CBS News.
“How can elected officials stand on top of a scorched American flag and properly advocate for our veterans?” Army veteran Marco Torres said at the time.
Aldo. @sigcho25 & Arne Duncan also supports here @Chicago encampment. pic.twitter.com/0o34TMjhXJ
— Chicago Progressive Staffers (@312Staffers) May 4, 2024
A rally attended by Sigcho Lopez in March called for a Democratic National Convention (DNC). held The Chicago show in August has been cancelled.
Sigcho Lopez was reportedly standing in front of a banner that read, “Cancel the Democratic National Committee. We will not tolerate the Joe Massacre in Chicago.”
President Joe Biden, who has come under increasing criticism for his handling of the war between Israel and Hamas, was also harshly criticized for the protests in which Sigcho Lopez participated.
Responding to criticism at the time, Sigcho-Lopez explained that the national flag was burned before coming to the rally and said he would not condone burning the American flag.
The Chicago City Council passed a resolution in January calling for a ceasefire in the war between Israel and Hamas, backed by a tie vote from Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson.
Duncan’s presence at the anti-Israel encampment at the University of Chicago comes as anti-Israel encampments and protests have taken place on college and university campuses across the country since the first encampment was set up at Columbia University on April 17. This was during an outbreak. There were suspensions and hundreds of protesters were arrested.
Arne Duncan, Managing Partner of the Emerson Collective and former U.S. Secretary of Education, speaks at the Chicago Mental Health Equity and Conference held at the Chicago Hilton & Tower Hotel in Chicago, Illinois on January 16, 2018. He was one of the advocates speaking at the Kennedy Forum National Summit on Justice. . (Photo by Jeff Schear/Getty Images for Kennedy Forum)
Arne Duncan.jpeg
The first encampment at Columbia University was cleared, but another encampment was set up and remained in place until Tuesday, when New York City police raided Hamilton Hall after protesters occupied it.
The establishment of the encampment at Columbia University sparked other anti-Israel protests, with encampments forming on college and university campuses across the United States.
