The Westport Police Department says:
On the night of February 9, Westport Police were notified by a local rabbi to the existence of a snowman with antisemitic features at the Newman Poses Preserve.
The person who found the snowman notified the eabbi and a local blog. On the morning of February 10, Westport Police initiated an investigation which included responding to the Newman Poses Preserve where a snowman was located, but without any antisemitic symbols.
We contacted the complainant and spoke with him about the incident. He reported finding the snowman at approximately 5:40 p.m. on Sunday, Februray 9 while walking in the preserve. The complainant took a photo of the snowman, and then removed the antisemitic symbols prior to leaving the preserve.
The Westport Police Department is investigating the incident, and asks anyone who knows who is responsible for this incident to contact the Westport Police Department at 203-341-6000. Furthermore, we ask that incidents like this be reported immediately to the Police Department so they can be investigated in a timely manner.
First Selectwoman Jennifer Tooker stated, “This incident does not reflect the beliefs of our community. Westport strives to be a welcoming community, where everyone feels like they belong. I will continue to lead with that goal as my north star, and will work with the Police Department to ensure everyone feels safe and heard.”
Snowman with Nazi symbols, at Newman Poses Preserve.
Our gratitude to our Police department and our Selectwomen for drawing attention to this horrible incident.
This act is despicable; I hope they find the culprit.
I say this as a member of a Palestinian family,
all of whom feel ghosted in this town by
the elected officials. We believe that
apathy towards the extreme suffering of
marginalized groups can also be an act of
hatred and discrimination, although it doesn’t
rate news coverage in these parts.
My family and I await the day when
this town finally deplores, with acts and words,
ALL bigotry here, in ALL its manifestations, including
the willful ignoring of Gazans and all Palestinians.
Thank you.
Hi Elena. I am a Jewish member of our community, a local parent, and the Chair of the Westport Democratic Town Committee. I’m so sorry you feel “ghosted.” We must ABSOLUTELY denounce hate in all its forms, including Islamophobia and the pain of innocent civilians on both sides of this conflict. What is happening in Israel and Gaza is heartbreaking, and the decades long conflict is the antithesis of what either of our faiths believes at their core.
I extend my hand in peace and love with an open heart. We cannot control what happens across the world, but we can absolutely ensure Westport is emotionally and physically safe for everyone. I hope we can talk, find common ground, and empathize with each other during this awful and divisive time. Thank you for denouncing this act of hate. I promise to always fo the same for you.
I’ve always liked being a Westporter, being part of a socially conscious community that straddles the line between big-city arts and commerce and good ol’ Connecticut Yankee thrift and charm. Solidly liberal but way affluent, we elect Republicans to lead our town. How quaint, how convenient. How much longer can we afford such a nicety?
Former First Selectman Jim Marpe was a stand-up guy for our town, yet as a Republican he had nothing whatsoever to say about Donald Trump while in office. Before him there was Diane Farrell, who parlayed her terms into a long-running gig as a Washington apparatchik without a hitch.
Now we have Jen Tooker, yet another GOPer who may have designs on a run for governor. If so, is it fair to ask her to weigh in on the national policies her party and its leaders(s), are pushing for? Or do we give her a pass on such “safe and heard” drivel to keep the peace at the kitchen table and country club?
All politics are not local. It’s long past time to step up and be accountable.
Thank you, Scott. Her silence says more about her than any Hate Has No Place Here bullshit she spouts.
This is so disappointing. A late, bland statement (only after so many of us demanded a response) way at the bottom of a police department press release about a Morth Star [sic] looks like our first selectperson is trying to say nothing and hide from this important issue. I’m so curious – why did she not make a statement from the first selectperson’s office, on her website, emailed to her town-wide mailing list, calling out antisemitism and hate in all forms?
The typo was mine.
Your message seems very divisive. Why go after the First Selectwoman like this on this issue? She has consistently denounced hate speech and clearly spoken out against this specific horrific act. Jen Tooker is not in anyway anti-Semitic.
Robin your statement seems political. Why is the DTC going after the First Selectwoman like this? Do all of the DTC agree with this strategy?
We should unite in outrage against this terrible able and not use it as a cheap shot against our First Selectwoman.
For context – I am a Republican and there is little love lost between The First Selectwoman and myself. I didn’t support her in the last election and think her stance on the Community Gardens is sub-par. I am happy to criticize her when we disagree on policy. I have done in the past, and likely will in the future. But to attack her over this? It is both uncalled for and wrong in my humble opinion.
I sit on the Board of Education. We haven’t put out a statement on this issue but I wouldn’t for one second question the stance of my other 6 board colleagues – whether Republican, Democrat or Independent.
No one’s suggesting Tooker is anti-Semitic. But no one’s suggesting she’s much of a leader, either.
And for a rabid Trump supporter like Harrington to lecture readers on divisiveness? That is some rich shit.
Anti-Semitic Incident: An Alternative Perspective
Having done a casual survey of my peers, I think I speak for a significant portion of Westporters in thinking that the correct adult response to finding an offensively designed snowman in the forest, would have been to remove the mustache and emblem, and then continue my walk while silently lamenting the state of today’s youth… It would not have been to take pictures and then publicize as widely as possible something that was clearly a teenage prank.
Call me naive, but I am 99% confident there is no secret cabal of neo-Nazi activists hidden amongst us hatching nefarious plots, against whom we must launch a campaign of vigorous discovery. Somewhere in Westport are a couple teenage boys high-fiving in the basement at their success in scoring a trolling tri-fecta, eliciting public responses from the town administration, the media, Team Westport, the ADL, the synagogues, et.al.
Having once been one, I can attest that teenage boys are a demographic not distinguished for their thoughtful consideration of others. Like little boys testing out ‘bad’ words on the grown-ups, the teenagers know the hot buttons of the day which they can push, simply for amusement, to get a rise out of the authorities. Over a beer, I’d be happy to share some questionable teenage behavior of my own.
I suggest the right response when ‘a tree falls in the forest when no one is there’ is not to amplify the barely audible sound. Let it be. Don’t give oxygen to trolling by launching ‘anti hate’ campaigns against ‘haters’ who are, I suggest, effectively non-existent in Westport. This kind of response fits perfectly into the MAGA gameplan, which is to get the ‘bien pensant’ of the left to mount their soap boxes to harangue the unwashed with lectures on what heathens they are. I for one am so horrified and disgusted by the democratic loss to Trump that I want to win in 2028, not just feel good about myself by preaching to the choir.
Sorry, Clarence, but your and your buddies’ “boys will be boys” excuse no longer passes muster with me. Where are the kids getting this license from? Their parents, friends, or online? None are positive signs of a healthy society nor of any “choir” I want to be a part of.
I’ve seen a lot of boys’ pranks; largely juvenile and stupid. This doesn’t pass muster. This is cruel and unusual. No excuse for anyone old enough to know what a swastika is.
My guess is many will find the following naive, maybe terribly wrong. When I first learned of the snowman depicting Hitler, I thought someone was making a comment about Donald Trump. For example, Trump, like Hitler, is undertaking many illegal actions intended to alter the nature of our government that one might equate Pres. Trump with many of the autocrats who seek or have obtained power, Hitler was possibly the worst of all and it is over the top to equate Trump with Hitler. In fact, it would serves no good purpose to make such an equation. Yet, there is little to fault if our citizenry seeks to prevent so many of the recent efforts of Pres. Trump to alter our form of government. When, I saw the snowman, I thought mostly of Trump, not the antisemitic horrors of Hitler’s Germany.
This incident is just one of many anti Jewish slurs that have occurred in both Weston and Westport. Our wonderful school faculty members have not been adequately trained to cope with this hatred as it happens. The opportunity for a teaching moment or an appropriate follow up is lost, so the bully prevails. We would certainly not just dismiss a similar slight against other minorities such as LGBTQ, Asian, or Black children in our town. This behavior is not merely mischief, it’s ugly, ignorant and dangerous.
Our schools are trying to teach about diversity and anti bullying . The problem is: Donald Trump and even some board members are attempting to get rid of DEI whoch helps to teach kids to be tolerant of diversity. Also, social emotional learning (SIL) is on the chopping block by Donald Trump and his regime of WWF educators. The fact that we have one school board member who oposes social emotional learning because she hears right wing conspiracy theories about it is downright frightening. We can do better as parents too. We can do better by pledging allegience to our kids and not a flag that will stand for nothing but hate and division if education is sacrificed. Wake up; our children watch the leaders.
Westport needs a huge gold Trump statue in Winslow Park on the corner across from the bank facing the Post Road. It could keep the TDS alive.
I agree with Tom and right “behind” Trump is a statue of Stormy with a paddle! We can also have a statue of Karen McDougal who was his #1 squeeze when Baron was three months old. Is there room for 15 more statues? Let’s rename it Trump Park too! So getting back to what happened. We should treat everyone with dignity and kindness.
Hey Tom. Did you know that as a result of shutting down USAID, children who were supposed to receive that food from the people of the United States have already starved to death? Meanwhile, hundreds of tons of that food is rotting in ports because it can’t be delivered. Seniors needing oxygen tanks have died because those supplies can’t get to them in time. And oh yeah, condoms meant to combat the spread of HIV in Africa ain’t getting there either. Babies not receiving their milk and food. All a big joke to you.
“I will lower inflation on day 1”
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/02/12/business/inflation-cpi-report-january.html?unlocked_article_code=1.wU4.JorU.h3paLaZcfWZM&smid=url-share
TDS- Trump Derangement Syndrome?! Is that something you made up by yourself? Tell me what Trump proposes we do with DEI and Social emtional learning? It is on the chopping block. Why? Is Trump pro- diversity and education? Is he anti- bullying? I saw he tweeted about Taylor Swift rathet than address Kanye West’s anti semitism. What a guy!
Tom, Did you watch the Oval Office press conference today? Trump meekly sat at his desk as Musk did most of the talking as his 4 year old son was picking his nose. After, he picked his nose, Musk had him on his shoulders and the kid rubbed his dirty fingers in Musk’s hair. Get the press conference and watch it paying attention to the meek Trump and the four year old kid. You’ll see who really is running the government.
When you have people especially on this site calling republicans that support Trump Natzis what do you expect.
Dan Katz has called Trump supporters Natzi lovers many times.
Democrats have become the party of Hate and some of the biggest hypocrites.
Orwellian isn’t it.
“Two months after a prominent conservative activist and fundraiser was caught hosting white supremacist Nick Fuentes, leaders of the Republican Party of Texas have voted against barring the party from associating with known Nazi sympathizers and Holocaust deniers.
In a 32-29 vote on Saturday, members of the Texas GOP’s executive committee stripped a pro-Israel resolution of a clause that would have included the ban. In a separate move that stunned some members, roughly half of the board also tried to prevent a record of their vote from being kept…”
https://www.texastribune.org/2023/12/02/texas-gop-antisemitism-resolution/
there we go again… constantly linking Republicans to Nazi connections. It beyond crazy and offensive.
You know what’s offensive Robert? The republicans in Texas declining to bar their members from associating with known Nazi sympathizers and holocaust deniers and then, attempting to prevent a record of their vote from being kept. I think you can handle the linking.
You know what else is offensive? Cutting off food and medicine to starving children and the elderly, many who have already died. That okay with you Robert?
Like you said, crazy and offensive.