Iymen Chehade

Iymen Hamman Chehade is a Palestinian-American academic. Chehade was hired under contentious circumstances by U.S. Representative Marie Newman to serve as her campaign's foreign policy adviser in 2021. He is a candidate in the 2022 U.S. House election for Illinois' 3rd congressional district, which has no incumbent.

Iymen Chehade
Born
Iymen Hamman Chehade

Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
EducationUniversity of Illinois, Chicago (BA, MA)
OccupationHistory professor, human rights activist
Political partyDemocratic

Career

In 2009, Chehade produced a play about a Palestinian family living under occupation called Garden of the Three.[1]

According to MondoWeiss and the Palestine Chronicle, Chehade teaches at Columbia College Chicago and the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.[2][3]

In 2014, Chehade spoke at the National Students for Justice in Palestine Conference, at George Mason University.[1] According to the Arab Daily News, in 2015, Columbia College Chicago canceled Chehade's Spring 2016 courses, citing a decline in enrollment.[4]

On January 19, 2021 Chehade filed a lawsuit against U.S. Representative Marie Newman to enforce a contract the two had signed; the contract stipulated that Chehade would be employed by Newman as her chief foreign policy adviser or district director or legislative director if she won the 2020 election, and that Chehade would be paid an annual salary of $135,000 to $140,000."[5][6] The lawsuit proceeded to federal court and was settled on June 29, 2021, with Newman and Chehade agreeing to not disclose the settlement terms; on July 1, 2021 Chehade was added to Newman' campaign payroll as a part-time director of foreign policy and research.[5]

Political career

Chehade served as a foreign policy adviser to U.S. Representative Marie Newman's campaign between 2021 and 2022. As of February 2022, Chehade has received a total of $54,000 since the second half of 2021 from Newman's campaign, making him the highest paid member of Newman's staff during that period; as of April 2022, Chehade is currently still on the Newman campaign payroll.[5][7]

On January 24, 2022, the Office of Congressional Ethics voted unanimously to recommend that the Committee on Ethics of the United States House of Representatives review whether Rep. Newman "promised federal employment to a primary opponent for the purpose of procuring political support."[8][9][10][11] As a result, Newman's offer of employment to Chehade is currently being investigated by the House Ethics Committee.[8][9][10][11] In response to criticism of the arrangement between Chehade and Newman, Chehade expressed his disappointment that critics are "using a labor agreement as a cheap tool for political gain at a time when so many working people in Illinois are facing hardships.”[5]

In December 2021, Chehade announced his intention to run in the 2022 United States House of Representatives elections in Illinois.[12]

References
  1. Isaacs, Deanna. "At Columbia College, a film screening is followed by a charge of bias". Chicago Reader.
  2. "Guy Davidi: In Support of Professor Iymen Chehade". Palestine Chronicle. 29 March 2014.
  3. "Iymen Chehade fights Chicago school's cancellation of his class". Mondoweiss. March 24, 2014.
  4. "Columbia College reinstates Palestinian professor's censored class". The Arab Daily News. 8 April 2014.
  5. "Rep. Casten calls on rival Rep. Newman to disclose secret settlement at heart of House ethics probe". Chicago Sun-Times. 2022-04-07. Retrieved 2022-04-16.
  6. Kapos, Shia. "It's an election-year budget, alright". POLITICO. Retrieved 2022-04-16.
  7. Perano, Ursula; Bredderman, William (2022-02-02). "Congresswoman's Bribery Scandal Takes Shocking New Turn". The Daily Beast. Retrieved 2022-02-04.
  8. "Ethics office says Reps. Newman, Lamborn may have broken law". AP NEWS. 2022-01-24. Retrieved 2022-02-12.
  9. "Rep. Marie Newman of Illinois may have bribed a possible primary opponent to stay out of the race in exchange for a job in her office, House ethics body unanimously finds". uk.news.yahoo.com. Retrieved 2022-02-12.
  10. Pagliery, Ursula Perano,Jose (2022-02-03). "New Twist in Dem Rep's Bribery Scandal: Negotiating Anti-Israel Positions". The Daily Beast. Retrieved 2022-02-12.
  11. Kampeas, Ron. "Congresswoman accused of adopting anti-Israel stance as bribe to would-be opponent". www.timesofisrael.com. Retrieved 2022-02-12.
  12. "Analysis | The Trailer: Coming soon to a Democratic primary fight: Israel". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 2022-02-12.
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