Stamford Board Of Education Issues Statement On Recent Antisemitic Incidents

STAMFORD, CT — Stamford Board of Education President Jackie Heftman on Wednesday issued a statement on behalf of the full board on the recent antisemitic vandalism found at the Academy of Information Technology and Engineering, and on comments made by state Rep. Anabel Figueroa (D-148), and Eva Padilla, a District 4 member of the Stamford Democratic City Committee.

Antisemitic vandalism was found on the campus of AITE on two separate occasions over the past several weeks. The Stamford Police Department is investigating.

Figueroa lost her primary race to DCC-endorsed candidate and member of the Board of Representatives, Jonathan Jacobson, on Tuesday, according to unofficial results.

A video interview Figueroa did with the Latino Foundation of Stamford last month garnered attention on Tuesday as voters hit the polls.

In the video, which was posted to YouTube by the foundation on July 28, Figueroa said, translated to English, "The Hispanic vote is going to determine on Aug. 13 who will win to represent or who will continue to represent you. We cannot permit a person who is of Jewish origin, of Jewish origin, to represent our community. It’s impossible."

Officials on both sides of the aisle, including Stamford Mayor Caroline Simmons, condemned Figueroa's comments as antisemitic.

The night before the primary, Padilla published a post on her Facebook page in support of Figueroa. In the post, Padilla referred to Jacobson as "the Israeli lawyer."

The full statement from the Stamford Board of Education is below

The Stamford Board of Education cannot emphasize enough how disgusted we are by the incidents of antisemitic and white supremacist vandalism committed at AITE and by the antisemitic remarks made by elected Democrats Anabel Figueroa and Eva Padilla.

Our children look to the adults in their community to help them understand the world and their place in it. When adults place authentic value on diversity, truly celebrate our differences, and respect that each one of us is unique in our own way, our children learn to do the same. And in turn, they see themselves as being valued, accepted for who they are, and safe.

As adults, it is our responsibility to model the behavior we want to see in our children. Suffice it to say, neither the cowardly vandals who acted under cover of darkness nor the two elected officials who hoped to influence the outcome of an election by appealing to hate, are the role models we want for our children.

It is incumbent upon those who care about our city and the wellbeing of its children to stand up and call out hateful acts every time we see or hear them. To do otherwise makes us complicit in the act and an active participant in perpetuating the hate.

The Stamford Board of Education, which is entrusted with the education, wellbeing, and safety of all of our city’s children, forcefully condemns these recent acts of antisemitism and stands against hate, bigotry, racism and prejudice in all forms.