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Residents and town officials decry antisemitic displays at recent Coventry meetings; calls for apology
Summary
Dozens of residents decried antisemitic speech and gestures that occurred at recent Town Council and Annual Town meetings, urged leaders to condemn the behavior publicly, and debated who failed to intervene; councilors and community leaders expressed conflicting accounts in public comments and reports.
Dozens of Coventry residents and civic leaders used the public-comment period at the May 4 Town Council meeting to condemn antisemitic speech and gestures that occurred at the council’s April meetings and to urge Council Chairwoman Lisa Thomas and other leaders to respond.
Barbara Riordan, who spoke first during Audience of Citizens, said she supported the budget and bond question but added that “hate is not welcome in Coventry,” describing the previous meeting as having comments and gestures of antisemitism. Other residents recounted similar concerns: Rick Martin said there had been “vulgarity, bigotry, and antisemitism” and warned that a failure to…
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