Local officials challenged to take 'two steps' against antisemitism
Mar. 29—Those most heavily invested in fighting antisemitism are asking town and city leaders to take two small steps toward ending all hate.
The Lappin Foundation, an organization formed 10 years ago to document and honor the "Jewish identity across generations," hosted close to 170 officials and community leaders Monday afternoon for "Two Steps Forward Against Antisemitism," a virtual summit chaired by Peabody Mayor Ted Bettencourt. It called on communities to adopt a newer working definition of antisemitism and recognize International Holocaust Remembrance Day.
While those in attendance came from across the state, many of the messages shared came from the North Shore. That included Marblehead, where years of incidents have sparked conversation in the seaside town, and Danvers, where the public revelation last year of racist and hateful traditions involving a high school sports team was followed by numerous other incidents in town, so much so that town leaders stopped issuing statements each time in an effort to discourage copycat behavior.
"This year, my town's school system has experienced a disheartening swell of incidents," said Lucy New, a Marblehead teenager and co-chairperson of the Teen Antisemitism Task Force. "Antisemitism has infiltrated my community."
In Danvers, the 2019-20 boys high school hockey team has become embroiled in controversy after allegations of racist and homophobic traditions became public knowledge.
"Different than other incidents you may have heard or read about, they (incidents in Danvers and Duxbury) were going on for a long period of time as opposed to the one-time incidents," said Robert Trestan, regional director for the Anti-Defamation League's New England branch. "There are things happening right here in our own community."
Antisemitic incidents have surged during the pandemic, including in Salem, where members of the city's health department and Board of Health with Jewish-sounding names were targets for a campaign of harassment in response to the city's COVID-19 measures.
"People are being targeted in our community either because they're Jewish or because of some connection or some conspiracy around being Jewish," Trestan said. "We've seen a real spike in this with respect to COVID-19."
To help begin addressing the issues, the summit called upon cities and towns to adopt the working definition of antisemitism drafted by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance. The Peabody City Council did so this past Thursday, according to Bettencourt.
"As we see too often in news headlines ... prejudice continues to rear its ugly head," Bettencourt said. "Though we can't wish it away, we can condemn it clearly and swiftly."
The event also called on communities to support Holocaust education by declaring Jan. 27 International Holocaust Remembrance Day and ensuring residents are aware of the size and scope of atrocities committed during World War II. It's through that, they were told, that battles against other forms of hatred and bigotry — transphobia, Islamophobia, etc. — start making ground.
"As has been said so elegantly by people on this Zoom call, wherever there's antisemitism, right behind it is racism, LGBTQ (attacks), Islamophobia," said Josh Kraft, president of the Kraft Family Philanthropies and Foundation to Combat Anti-Semitism. "Antisemitism is Anti-American. By coming together to fight antisemitism, we're fighting racism. We're fighting hatred against the LGBTQ community, and fighting against Islamophobia while sustaining the values that make us so proud to be Americans."
Visit bit.ly/3uyVyfR for more coverage of this event. For more on the working definition of antisemitism, visit bit.ly/3LluiZg.
Contact Dustin Luca at 978-338-2523 or DLuca@salemnews.com. Follow him at facebook.com/dustinluca or on Twitter @DustinLucaSN.
Contact Dustin Luca at 978-338-2523 or DLuca@salemnews.com. Follow him at facebook.com/dustinluca or on Twitter @DustinLucaSN.
