Chicago City Wire

Sarah Chowdhury, an attorney with the Illinois Comptroller's office who was fired due to her antisemitic remarks on Instagram messages during discussions related to the Israel-Hamas conflict.

Chowdhury was notably and ironically Co-Chair of the Chicago Bar’s Racial Justice Coalition. She was also honored by the American Civil Liberties Union of Illinois for her “commitment to social justice.”

Chowdhury's comments on InstaGram aimed at a Jewish person included "F***ing Jew," "I'd rather put you in a gas chamber bet you'd like that," "With all of our Zionist ancestors,” "Hitler should have eradicated all of you,” “ZIONIST PIG,” “all Zionists will pay” and “Hopefully someone sends you anthrax or poison and you die a slow terrible death." 

“The Instagram exchange appears to have been posted mid-day today (Thursday). It was posted on (Twitter) and brought to the office's attention around 12:30 p.m. The office reached the employee about 2 p.m. and she admitted to at least some of the posts. Comptroller Mendoza has zero tolerance for anti-semitism or hate speech. The employee was immediately fired,” the Comptroller's office said in a press release.

Her comments were widely criticized, and she later apologized after the controversy was made public.

Illinois Comptroller Susana Mendoza’s office said Chowdhury admitted to some of the posts and was fired within 90 minutes of the posts becoming public.

In an interview with the Chicago Tribune on her controversial comments, Chowdhury expressed deep remorse, characterizing her statements as "inappropriate and reprehensible."

She apologized to the individual with whom she had the exchange and anyone who came across her comments.

Chowdhury cited her distress over the Israel-Hamas conflict and the way it was covered in media and discussed on social media platforms as factors that led to her comments, while emphasizing that antisemitism has no place in any context.

“I don’t know what came over me. I was in a state of panic,” Chowdhury told the Chicago Tribune. “Antisemitism has no place anywhere.”

After the comments were made public the South Asian Bar Association of Chicago noted Chowdhury had been removed as President of the organization.

“The South Asian Bar Association of Chicago stands against hate, bigotry and bias in any form. Today, our board was made aware of antisemitic comments made by SABA Chicago's President toward the Jewish community through her personal social media account,” the South Asian Bar Association of Chicago said on Facebook.

“Immediately upon learning of these statements, her role as president and membership in SABA-Chicago were terminated. We are deeply saddened and horrified by her words and their impact on our friends, families, and colleagues, and apologize for any harm they may have caused. Her words are and will never be reflective of SABA Chicago. To be clear, SABA Chicago condemns such hateful rhetoric and is committed to supporting our communities and all those impacted by hate. We will not tolerate such behavior by any of our members.”

“As our nation responds to the rising hate violence we have seen at home, we endeavor to work together with other professional organizations to combat hate in all its forms--whether anti-Semitic, anti-Asian, anti-Muslim, white supremacy, or any other bigotry--and will always denounce such acts unequivocally and without qualification.”

“Our board, along with our newly installed President Maliha Siddiqui, remains committed to working with our partners in the legal community and beyond to ensure hate has no place in our profession or society. If you have any comments or concerns please reach out to info@sabachicago.org.”