A disturbing antisemitic incident has had a very positive outcome.
Late Monday evening, Rabbi Michael Friedman sent this message to his Temple Israel congegants:
Dear Friends,
A few weeks ago, on the day before Kol Nidrei, and just a few days after the first anniversary of October 7, a swastika was etched on the football locker of a Jewish student at Weston High School.
A swastika etched on a Jewish student’s locker is different from a swastika drawn, for example, on a bathroom stall or the seat of a school bus (both of which have also happened locally in recent years), because this is a targeted act.
But the story I want to tell you is not one of persecution and antisemitism. Instead, this is a story of resilience and pride, and about the great faith we should have in the next generation.
The student on whose locker the swastika was etched — who grew up here at Temple Israel — was brave enough to inform coaches and the athletic director.
Weston High School athletics
Then later that very evening another Jewish student on the football team — also a Temple Israel student — recorded a courageous and emotional message to his teammates about the impact this swastika had on him, and posted it on the team’s internal chat.
The school administration and town police swiftly coordinated a thorough investigation, according to the policies and procedures that they have in place. Ultimately the investigation was inconclusive; we don’t know who etched the swastika.
A group of Temple Israel teens had recently formed the Jewish Student Union at Weston High School, and swiftly jumped into action.
They approached the principal and administration, advocating for a schoolwide assembly to address the incident. These teen leaders envisioned, shaped, organized, executed and led that schoolwide assembly on Friday morning. They demonstrated initiative and leadership throughout the process.
The assembly included words from the targeted student, the testimony of a Holocaust survivor which was paired with an engaging video, and a message from Senator Blumenthal that the students them themselves had reached out and obtained.
The students also asked me to speak. I taught about the power of symbols, which not only stand for something concrete but also invoke certain emotions and feelings.
I showed a series of symbols on the screen and asked students to share what that symbol made them feel.
When we got to the swastika, Jewish students were able to share in front of their peers how the etching of a swastika on a Jewish student’s locker made them feel targeted, and how the act reverberated throughout the Jewish community of our town.
Finally a representative from the ADL taught about strategies by which one can oppose hate.
The assembly was an excellent and impactful educational experience for the entire school. I want to underscore that the students themselves envisioned, created, shaped and ran the assembly from start to finish. And I credit the school administration for trusting and supporting them, and for giving them the opportunity to stand up and lead.
I am so very proud of the Temple Israel teens who took action following this antisemitic incident.
When the response to an act of hate could have been fear or silence, what the high school community saw instead was courage and pride. Each of them — starting with the one whose locker was targeted, continuing to his football teammate, and then to the many leaders of the JSU — provide a model for all of us.
Many of them began in our Early Childhood Center. All of them were (or are) students in our Kesher program. They embody what success looks like for all our children: to be knowledgeable and proud Jews, and when the time comes for them to act in the world, they do so with courage and integrity.
Thanks to them, even in these trying times which can often feel very dark, we know that the future is very bright.
L’shalom,
Rabbi Michael S. Friedman
79 years after Hitler committed suicide, his regime of hatred lives on and unfortunately touched Weston High School. However, the students took charge and turned the hurtful event into a learning experience. Kudos to the school administrators for supporting the students.
I applaud the good work of the School and student. I would encourage all who are interested in the origins of anti Semitism to read the history of the Inquisiton and The Barcelona Disputation.
Really really proud of them and the impactful response they orchestrated.
Thanks for posting this extremely important and hopeful message Dan on how to take peaceful action and educate to fight hate crimes. Congratulations to all who participated. I would have loved to attend. It would be great if a program like this could be taken on the road to teach at least in Connecticut schools and ideally all over the country.
Great job.
And thank you Senator Blumenthal for always making the time to show up for the Jewish people when it matters, which is always!💜
Coincidentally, the Neuremberg trials began on this day in 1945 against 24 Nazis war criminals. I was friends in 2004 with the person who guarded Hermann Goring at the trail. He was the mayor of South Palm Beach, Florida.
And Hermann Goring took a poison pill that he had concealed in order to escape being hanged.
My friend described Goring as a cry baby! He hid the poison in a false tooth.
Thank you, Rabbi Friedman, for this beautifully inspiring piece and to Dan for posting it. I have tears in my eyes. What an amazing group of kids! I am a former Temple Israel kid myself as are my grown children.
It may take time, but the perpetrator(s) will EVENTUALLY be found out and hopefully dealt with accordingly.
Disgusting behavior……and it’s usually learned at home.
What a world.🙁
A decade or so ago, a swastika was painted on the buildings associated with the “Fort Apache” medical center here. They caught the kid and he was Jewish. New Canaan high school tennis players used to throw quarters at their Wrecker opponents before matches. I am afraid, waiting until the kids reach teenage years is far too late. Children as early as kindergarten should begin to be indoctrinated into the diversity of religion and race in this country.
So there’s hope after all for the next generation to endure… to thrive… to lead ! (whew!)
When they find the insensitive uneducated bully, he should be prosecuted and made to watch 7 days of Holocaust film, to understand what that symbol of death truly means…
Educating ALL kids with knowledge and pride starts early. TY for sharing the students’ and school’s response here. There IS hope!