Panel examines recent antisemitic, racist incidents

Sep. 24—MARBLEHEAD — The FBI reported 7,759 hate crimes across the United States in 2020. The Department of Justice estimates that the real figure is closer to 150,000.

And those figures do not reflect what an expert from the New England Anti-Defamation League says are hate incidents that might not meet all of the elements of a crime — but that can still cause deep pain in a community, said New England Anti-defamation League Regional Director Robert Trestan.

One of those was the etching of a swastika by one now-former Marblehead police officer on the vehicle of another.

The incident has touched off a reckoning, in a town that once had its own contingent of the Ku Klux Klan and placed restrictions on where Jews could buy homes well into the 20th century.

More than 70 officials and residents took part in a virtual public forum called Marblehead Speaks Out Against Hate Thursday evening.

During the discussion, other recent incidents came to light: a mother who said her children on a playground were referred to with an antisemitic slur; teens found on the roof of a temple during the recent New Year observance, and among 21 incidents of graffiti reported, five that specifically contained hateful references to Jewish and Black people, the town's new police chief said.

Chief Dennis King said he wants to assure residents that they can trust the department to investigate incidents. "You have to have trust in this department," said King, who took over the job in July. "I tell you that you can."

Helaine Hazlett, an original member of the Marblehead Task Force Against Discrimination, said when those incident occur, she wants to know. She said she was disheartened by some of the graffiti she saw in town last May.

Still there has been progress. Assistant superintendent of schools Nan Murphy said it's been five years since the school had to take disciplinary action over any antisemitic incident.

But even as panelists and participants spoke of common goals, some acknowledged that there is some tension between marginalized communities.

Rabbi David Meyer, one of the panelists, said he understands some of the pain of local Jews who have heard some factions of the Black Lives Matter movement chant things like "death to Israel."

"We also have to listen to each other," said Meyer. "We have to be honest with each other, my friends."

One of the recommendations Trestan made was to encourage transparency.

Veteran school administrator Henry Turner, a Marblehead resident who is Black, said that schools where he has worked have sometimes struggled over whether to publicize hateful graffiti. But working with the ADL, he convinced the school boards and fellow administrators in Bedford and at Newton North high schools to be open, something he said has made students feel safer by empowering them to speak up.

And while there was a call from some to discuss the history of racism and antisemitism that existed in Marblehead, one longtime resident, Hazlett, also expressed concerns about the potential for reopening old wounds.

Just 32 years ago, a series of antisemitic events in town led to the creation of the Marblehead Task Force Against Discrimination. Hazlett, a target of some of that antisemitism, has been involved from the start.

"I'm glad we've advanced so much," said Hazlett. "Some of the things I saw and that I lived through, I don't wish to go back. It's ancient history to me."

Courts reporter Julie Manganis can be reached at 978-338-2521, by email at jmanganis@salemnews.com or on Twitter at @SNJulieManganis

Courts reporter Julie Manganis can be reached at 978-338-2521, by email at jmanganis@salemnews.com or on Twitter at @SNJulieManganis