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Residents press Select Board to amend proclamation language on antisemitism definition
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Summary
Multiple public commenters urged the Select Board to amend the town proclamation on antisemitism to clarify that examples in the IHRA/IRA framework should not be used to restrict criticism of Israel; callers recommended the Jerusalem Declaration as an alternative and asked for a revised proclamation rather than only meeting notes.
During public comment the Select Board heard repeated calls to revise language tied to the town’s proclamation denouncing antisemitism and to clarify whether examples in the IHRA/IRA framework are intended to be binding.
A commenter (speaker 9) argued that the IRA examples are often used to suppress criticism of Israel and asked the board to ‘explicitly reject the IRA definition’s examples or drop the IRA definition entirely.’ Wendy Holt, who gave her name and address, commended the board for denouncing antisemitism but urged that any amendment be issued as a revised proclamation and cited the Jerusalem Declaration on Antisemitism as a scholarly alternative that protects political speech.
Deborah Dorfman, who said she serves on the town’s bias and hate reporting work group, urged correction of statements by a Select Board member who she said mischaracterized the workgroup’s purpose; she read the board‑approved charge for the reporting system, saying the goal is to improve incident reporting, documentation, communication, and the town’s response to antisemitism and other bias incidents.
Board members acknowledged the range of public views and said they would take the comments under advisement. The board did not vote to change the proclamation at the meeting; several members asked staff to bring clearer language back for consideration as a formal amendment that would be adopted as a revised proclamation rather than only recorded in the minutes.
