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Residents testify about antisemitism in Montpelier schools and raise concerns over Article 13
Summary
Several residents testified about repeated antisemitic incidents in Montpelier schools and objected to Article 13 on the municipal ballot, saying the article feels targeted and is based on misinformation; speakers urged the city to ensure safety for Jewish students and to avoid turning complex foreign-policy questions into local ballot measures.
Multiple residents told the Montpelier City Council they have experienced or witnessed antisemitism in the community and voiced opposition to Article 13, which several speakers said purports to link local tax dollars to U.S. military aid to Israel.
Lex Lakin testified about repeated incidents of antisemitic harassment dating to elementary school, including a class project that celebrated Hitler, taunting and tropes directed at Jewish students, and a bathroom incident two years earlier involving a feces display at the high school. Lex said school responses at the time were inadequate and that restorative circles and other actions did not address the harm. Lex said the repeated incidents had left Jewish students feeling unsafe.
Marnie Lakin read a prepared statement recounting inaction in response to those incidents and said that in a more recent episode the principal did call the police and the Department of Education's Civil Rights Office. She said Article 13 "feels like antisemitism" in the local context and that the article asks the community to vote on whether Jewish residents can be safe in Montpelier.
Celeste Rubinstein said a friend received a flyer urging support for Article 13 that alleged Montpelier's 2024 share of U.S. military aid to Israel was $678,850 and suggested the money could instead fund local priorities such as a fire truck. Rubinstein said she believed that assertion to be misinformation; she urged the council and the public to listen to the students who described personal experiences of antisemitism and to avoid treating complex international matters as local ballot issues.
Councilors allowed the public commenters their time; the mayor reminded speakers of the three-minute limit. No council action on Article 13 occurred during the meeting; comments were taken during the general public-comment portion of the agenda.
