SWAMPSCOTT — The Town of Swampscott hosted a “No Place For Hate” rally at Linscott Park Thursday evening in support of the Jewish community. This comes after an antisemitic incident on Jan. 6 where a swastika was spray-painted on a sidewalk in town.
Rabbi Michael Ragozin of the Congregation Shirat Hayam, Rabbi Yossi Lipsker of Chabad of the North Shore, government officials, members of the police and fire departments, a representative from the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) and members of the Swampscott community and neighboring communities showed up to the rally.
“Thank you so much for standing up for decency. Thank you so much for calling out hatred by your presence here today,” Lipsker said in his opening remarks at the rally.
Detective Ted Delano of the Swampscott Police Department spoke about the Jan. 6 incident at the rally. He noted that it was still an active investigation and the police department has, been working with Essex County District Attorney Paul Tucker’s office, the ADL and the Boston FBI.
“We will proceed with the investigation to make sure we gather all pertinent information. If any resident has any information, you’re encouraged to call the Swampscott Police Department. To my cherished friends, Rabbi Lipsker and Rabbi Michael, I am truly very sorry,” Delano said.
Massachusetts State Rep. Jenny Armini was in attendance and spoke to the crowd.
“These odious views tear at the fabric of a community, but we are here right now to repair the tear. That’s what we are doing right now, repairing the tear, and our community will be stronger as a result,” Armini said.
Town Administrator Sean Fitzgerald spoke at the rally as well. He said Swampscott is going to “create a community that respects and supports each other.”
“The only thing I really want to share with everybody here — everybody that took the time to stand shoulder to shoulder — is that you are loved. You’re loved by a community that cares for you, by your neighbors, by your friends. This is our democracy and this is the community that we create,” Fitzgerald said.
DA Tucker also attended and spoke Thursday evening.
Melissa Kaplowitch, the chair of the ADL North Shore Advisory Committee, spoke about a study the ADL had released Thursday that found “that 20 percent of Americans believe in six or more antisemitic conspiracy theories.” In 2019, it was 11 percent, she said.
“As alarming as this is, we will continue to work with community partners, with law enforcement, with civil rights organizations and elected officials to combat this,” Kaplowitch said. “We must all do our part to stand up to hate and break down these antisemitic bullies.”
At the rally, Ragozin thanked everyone for coming out to fight against antisemitism and hatred in general.
“While there’s much work to be done, it’s the work of our elected officials, civic leaders that give me so much strength that this is indeed a different era for our people,” Ragozin said.
In an interview after the rally, Ragozin said it was “powerful” to see the large number of people and officials show up.
“It just makes a world of difference to know that you got a whole community standing behind you and to know that, were any other group to be discriminated against or be subjected to hatred, bigotry, etc., that we would stand behind them as well,” Ragozin said.
When he was told about the Jan. 6 incident, he said he felt “annoyed.”
“I think that we like to build things. We like to administer to people’s souls and focus on uplifting lives and devote time to becoming better people. And to address hatred it usually feels like you’re trying to, instead of build something new, repair that which is broken,” Ragozin said.
However, he said if this incident hadn’t happened, we wouldn’t be seeing the community coming together like it did at the rally.
“You wouldn’t have people standing shoulder to shoulder. You wouldn’t have had all of the people who participated who are going to feel empowered and connected. And so that’s a really beautiful thing and we can use that as something new that we built today and continue to find strength,” Ragozin said.
When asked how he felt after the rally, Lipsker called over Swampscott Fire Chief Graham Archer to have him relay a statement he’d told Lipsker a few minutes earlier. Those words, Lipsker said, “capture my feelings perfectly.”
“I just said that if the people who did this felt that they were going to make this community feel alone and isolated, they couldn’t have failed any more spectacularly,” Archer said.
