A woman was sentenced to one year in prison after pleading guilty to hate crime charges connected to vandalizing a Palestinian mural last year in Pilsen.
Danielle Wasserman, 37, pleaded guilty to two counts of hate crime and was sentenced Friday to one year in prison, with credit for already serving 179 days in jail, according to court records. Charges of aggravated battery and criminal damage to property were dismissed.
The mural, near 16th Street and Ashland Avenue, depicts a Mexican man and a Palestinian man resting peacefully in a field. Wasserman painted “Israel” in large letters over the mural, burned off the face of the Palestinian man and spread feces on the wall and sidewalk, according to a witness.
The case stems from two incidents in May and June in which witnesses confronted Wasserman as she allegedly vandalized the mural. She was charged last August.
Natalie Figueroa was riding her bike June 13 when she saw Wasserman vandalizing the mural and confronted her, she previously told the Sun-Times. An argument turned physical when Wasserman allegedly struck Figueroa with a metal pole, leaving her with two black eyes.
A passerby called 911, but Wasserman had walked away by the time police arrived.
Wasserman was also seen throwing trash at the mural May 9, according to another witness. She allegedly tried to choke that witness with a scarf before leaving the scene.
Wasserman was arrested June 17.
The plea deal also requires Wasserman to complete 200 hours of community service and to enroll in an education program discouraging hate crimes.
“These felony hate-crime convictions were necessary to ensure the legal record reflected the truth of what occurred,” said Farah Chalisa, an attorney representing the victims. “Too often, attacks against Palestinian and allied communities are minimized, while expressions of solidarity are villainized. Here, finally, the legal record archives Wasserman's conduct candidly, as bias-motivated violence intended to harm and intimidate these communities."
The mural, representing the solidarity of Mexicans and Palestinians, was painted in May by Taqi Spateen, an artist from Bethlehem in the West Bank. It was commissioned by the Mural Movement, which aims to transform communities through art and activism.
