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Tyisha Walker: Don’t mess with New Haven.
On Monday afternoon in New Haven, even Jewish lives mattered.
Jewish lives mattered. Muslim lives mattered. Black lives, Christian lives … all lives necessary in building a just society and confronting deadly bigotry were on display and identified at a community “unity” event (rally? press conference? something in between?) organized by the Harp administration and the police department on the second floor of City Hall.
They organized the event in response to the deadly violence at a pro-Confederate monument rally staged by neo-Nazis and Ku Klux Klanners on Aug. 12 in Charlottesville, Virginia, and the subsequent excuse-making and even support for the right-wing racial ralliers expressed by President Donald Trump.
Along with elected officials and officials from the Chamber of Commerce and Yale, they invited an imam to speak, Saif Hasaan of Masjid al Islam on George Street. They invited Rev. Bonnie Scott of the United Church on the Green to speak. And they invited Judy Alperin, CEO of the Jewish Federation of Greater New Haven to speak.
This official event came a week after another post-Charlottesville protest in New Haven organized by grassroots social justice groups. Some Jewish activists at the event said they were devastated not to hear more of a direct acknowledgement of the presence or relevance of Jews to the discussion — even though the neo-Nazi marchers in Charlottesville chanted, “Jews will not replace us” and “Blood and soil,” a reference to a Nazi slogan.
Monday afternoon’s City Hall event, on the other hand, cast a wide ethnic and religious net.
“We will not ever allow outside forces to come into our city and incite antagonism and fear,” declared Police Chief Anthony Campbell, himself an ordained minister.
“This is what our city looks like,” Board of Alders President Tyisha Walker said of the diverse crowd. “If anybody thinks you can come to our city and spew hate, we will not tolerate it.”
U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, who is Jewish, spoke about how his father came to the U.S. in 1935 to escape Nazi persecution.
If his father had seen the videos of the Charlottesville march, “it would have ashamed and embarrassed” him, Blumenthal said. “How repulsed he would have been … It was a frightening moment in American history.” By praising many of the ralliers who joined the neo-Nazi march and supporting their stated demands about preserving Confederate monuments in public squares, President Trump revealed that “he doesn’t speak for America,” Blumenthal argued. He called on Attorney General Jeff Sessions to prosecute not just the man who drove into a crowd of counterprotesters, killing one and injuring many more, but also fellow “co-conspirators” in the movement, under Section 241 of the Civil Rights Act.
U.S. Rep. Rosa DeLauro cited an interview Trump aide Steve Bannon gave to the American Prospect magazine last week before he was fired, in which he spoke of how Republicans can “crush” Democrats with an “economic nationalism” message if Democrats continue speaking about race. President Trump followed that script in his remarks after the Charlottesville rally, she argued.
“It is contemptible that the White House would incite a race war as a political strategy,” DeLauro declared. “We reject that cynical strategy.” She called it a “false choice” to pit the pursuit of racial justice against the pursuit of well-paying jobs for Americans.
“We stand with you as the Muslim community to unify our community, to fight hatred and bigotry,” Imam Hasaan (who hosts WNHH FM’s “The Saif Zone” program) told the crowd. “We have to work together as one people.”
The Jewish Federation’s Alperin came to the lectern accompanied by two local rabbis, Rona Shapiro and Michael Farbman. “We say no to hate,” Alperin declared. “No to xenophobia. No to anti-Semitism. No to anything that will tear us down.”
After the event, Marcus Paca who’s challenging Harp in a Sept. 12 Democratic mayoral primary, issued a statement criticizing her for her administration’s response to a gathering on the New Haven Green last month of a right-wing violence-prone group called the “Proud Boys,” which ended in brief minor violence and four arrests (of counterdemonstrators). Paca repeated a criticism he aired a day earlier at a mayoral debate, when he argued that Harp should have known about that gathering in advance and shown up to it. “Leadership starts at home. The mayor did not rally against hate and bigotry last month when a white supremacist group came to our city green. Yesterday she refused even to condemn the Proud Boys.”
Harp convenes the event.
Harp also addressed the Charlottesville fall-out on the latest episode of WNHH radio’s “Mayor Monday” program. She sided with people nationally who defend the ACLU’s decision to protect the free speech rights of white supremacists and with advocates of non-violent protests against them (as opposed to violent confrontation).
“Nonviolent protest is hard. These people make you angry,” she said. But she credited non-violent protest with heping to usher in racial justice during the Civil Rights Movement. “I don’t believe I would be where I am today without non-violent protest,” she said.
She said the Charlottesville demonstrated highlighted the need for common cause between African-Americans and Jews, as well as all other ethnic and racial groups. “We are one community,” she said. “When you go after one specific group, you’re ultimately going after all of us.”
Click on or download the above audio file to hear the full episode of “Mayor Monday” on WNHH radio, which also covered the mayor’s view of the Working Families Party (she said she’d like to see it get more established in New Haven), ballot petitioning, city finances, soccer, micro-apartments, Project Longevity, and the Thimble Islands. Click here to watch a Facebook Live video of the program.
This episode of “Mayor Monday” was made possible with the support of Gateway Community College and Berchem Moses P.C.
"Harp also addressed the Charlottesville fall-out on the latest episode of WNHH radio's "Mayor Monday" program. She sided with people nationally who defend the ACLU's decision to protect the free speech rights of white supremacists and with advocates of non-violent protests against them (as opposed to violent confrontation).
Ok ... so what's this get together all about? I see no strategy here awaiting implementation, Harp contradicts the chief of police Campbell who said " "We will not ever allow outside forces to come into our city and incite antagonism and fear," declared Police Chief Anthony Campbell, himself an ordained minister."
Not a true statement, Campbell will approve a March permit if properly applied for. He cannot reject a permit if he only feels that fear and antagonism might occur, Harp sided with the ACLU on the right to a permit.
We already know all lives matter, so what new is this city hall rally about? What adding Jews to the list of lives matter, really.??