Hundreds Take Stand Against Antisemitism At Fairfield Vigil

Information from Fairfield resident Ann Harvey

FAIRFIELD, CT — More than Four hundred community members gathered on the Fairfield Town Hall Green for a vigil entitled “Fairfielders Together: Together Against Antisemitism, Together for the Safe Return of the Hostages and Together for Peace.” The vigil was initiated by Fairfield mom, Ann Harvey, who said “our town is special, we support one another. Let’s bring the whole community together, in a peaceful, positive way. . . to say no to antisemitism in our town.” The event was planned by Ann along with other Fairfield moms and was supported by synagogues including Or Hadash, B’nai israel, Rodeph Shalom and Chabad, as well as the Fairfield County Jewish Federation.

In attendance were many of the local and state elected officials including State Representatives Cristin McCarthy Vahey, Jennifer Leeper, Sarah Keitt and State Senator Tony Hwang. The current First Selectwoman, Brenda Kupchick and First Selectman Elect Bill Gerber were also both in attendance. In addition, many members of then Fairfield RTM were also in attendance. Leading the vigil was Board of Selectman member Nancy Lefkowitz, who shared some of her experiences on the campaign trail that showed her antisemitism was alive and well in Fairfield long before the horrific attacks on October 7th.

Rabbi Joshua Ratner, Rabbi Evan Schultz, Rabbi Shlame Landa, Rabbi Jim Prosnit and Cantor Sarah Metzger all spoke and shared prayers. Rabbi Ratner read a prayer for the hostages and Rabbi Schultz sang a prayer asking everyone to hold up the posters of the 240 kidnap victims that were distributed throughout the crowd. Reflecting on yesterday, Rabbi Ratner said, “Yesterday was a poignant and powerful expression of community solidarity. I was proud to be a part of this stirring interfaith rally in support of Israel, freeing the hostages, and rejecting antisemitism here in Fairfield.” Rabbi Schultz added, “It was incredible to see so many people gather in the center of our town to stand up to antisemitism and hate, to pray for the hostages being held in Gaza, and to show our support for Israel, I was so proud to be a member of the Fairfield community on Sunday.”

Liz Krebs, another local mom who helped organize the event and co-founder of the Facebook group Jewish Fairfield stated, “It meant so much to have our non Jewish neighbors come out and stand with us. So many of us are exhausted and scared, and to have Ann, a non Jewish friend initiate this event, and to see so many of our neighbors standing beside us, provided us with the strength we need to continue standing strong. We are grateful.” Liz spoke about the rampant antisemitism on campus and how it’s affecting our young adults in this country.

Julia Walters, a junior at Fairfield Ludlowe High School shared that “so many innocent civilians in Gaza are dying, they are also victims of Hamas’s terror and being used as human shields. The scariest part is that due to successful propaganda, Israel and the Jews are being blamed for these civilian deaths.” Walters also shared that her school is hosting a day of peace to help educate her school community.

Reverend Alida Ward, the pastor at Greenfield Hill Church and the Convener of the Fairfield Interfaith Clergy Association, spoke at the vigil and shared, “We must be that community where each one’s faith is honored and celebrated, where no one worships in fear. We must be that community where love, united, always triumphs over the divisiveness of hate. Our commitment to this has not changed. Antisemitism has no place in this town, in this nation, nor in all God’s creation.What has grieved me most deeply in these past weeks has been hearing from my Jewish brothers and sisters that they have felt alone, that those they counted as friends and allies have been silent.”

Laurie Renzulli, who co-founded Jewish Fairfield with Liz Krebs and also helped organize the event, held up a sign of one of the hostages, Almog, who is the neighbor of Dorit Dahan, an Israeli who used to live in Fairfield but now lives in Israel with her family. With pain in her voice, Laurie shared that “Hearing from Dorit about her neighbor makes this so personal. Dorit is now living above an apartment with an empty bedroom.”

Carin Savel, the Executive Director of Jewish Federation, who visited Israel just after the October 7th attacks reminded folks in the crowd to reach out to their Israeli friends. Large blue ribbons were distributed to the crowd for people to tie around trees at home as a symbol to bring the hostages home now. A treat for attendees was an appearance by actor / comedian, Michael Rappapport, who urged attendees to stand strong , stay together and stated that “Jewish people aren’t going anywhere.”

Ann Harvey was “thrilled that our town and state officials joined us in a nonpartisan, bipartisan manner. There is nothing like being together in person, it just makes people feel more connected, more loved.”