Governor Charlie Baker, left, and Swampscott Chief of Police Ron Madigan at Monday’s Ant-Defamation League reception in Marblehead. Photo by Bob Roche
By Gayla Cawley
MARBLEHEAD —The Anti-Defamation League held its annual reception honoring its North Shore supporters on Monday, but this year’s party comes in the wake of anti-semitic symbols in several local communities and hate speech and actions nationwide.
“In today’s world, the ADL (Anti-Defamation League) has never been more necessary than it is today,” said Harvey Wolkoff, incoming ADL regional board chairman.
The reception was hosted by Jim and Susan Rudolph at their Atlantic Avenue home. Jim Rudolph serves on the ADL regional board and is chairman of the Board of Overseers for New England.
The ADL was founded in 1913 with a mission to stop the defamation of the Jewish people and to secure justice and fair treatment to all. Now, the organization calls itself the premier civil rights and human relations agency, whose purpose is to fight anti-Semitism, along with all forms of bigotry and to defend democratic ideals and protect civil rights for all.
Last December, students in a Marblehead High School class configured pennies in the shape of a swastika, an emblem of the Nazi party, took a photo and posted it on Snapchat, according to Rhonda Gilberg, chairwoman of the North Shore Advisory Committee for the Anti-Defamation League. In Swampscott last April, swastikas were chalked on a Pleasant Street sidewalk, and another symbol was scrawled in the parking lot of the middle school.
After the Marblehead incident, Gilberg said ADL members spoke to the parents involved and gave guidance on what to do in that situation. She said the incident and the organization’s response led to implementing a program in Marblehead High School starting this year that teaches students how to be leaders and to combat bias and bullying.
Robert Trestan, ADL regional director, said the year-long Anti-Bias Education program has already been implemented in more than 60 schools in New England. He said there has been a dramatic increase in anti-semitic incidents in the past year across the region, which led the organization to implement the program at Marblehead High School.
Rabbi David Meyer, of Marblehead’s Temple Emanu-El, said the league stands up for anyone victimized by hatred and intolerance. He said the increased presence of swastikas could have a lot to do with social media, where hatred is allowed to fester.
“We all have to work together to improve the quality of life of everyone in the community,” he said.
Swampscott Police Chief Ronald Madigan said his department has a role to address hate and issues in its community. He said the police department has had a long-standing relationship with the league. Swampscott police responded to the swastikas earlier this year.
“Although we haven’t had much progress in terms of identifying the perpetrators of the graffiti, I think it’s important to show a unified front in terms of opposing such acts,” he said.
Gov. Charlie Baker spoke about the importance of recognizing different viewpoints and learning from different cultures. He said his parents differed politically, as his mother was a Democrat and his father a Republican, arguing about everything as long as they were alive and canceling each other out every election.
“I learned really valuable lessons from them and one was you can disagree without being disagreeable,” he said. “If you’re actually having a conversation with somebody instead of just shouting talking points at someone, you’re probably going to learn something from the conversation you were having with the other person that may in fact improve the quality of the way you think of something. I work pretty hard as a public official and as a leader to make sure that there’s more than one point of view represented in our administration.”
Baker said more voices are needed like the league. In this day and age, he said, there’s so much opportunity for people to engage in misrepresentations and “flat out lies” and to question everyone’s characters and motives.
“It’s really important for organizations like this to basically say there’s not just another way but there’s a better one,” Baker said.
Gayla Cawley can be reached at [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter @GaylaCawley.