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Date: 11/6/2023
EASTHAMPTON — At the Easthampton City Council’s Nov. 1 meeting, the council approved an update to the city’s classification of employees to include a health inspector position.
Before jumping into the public hearing and during the council’s communications from elected officials portion of the meeting, Councilor at-Large Owen Zaret discussed a recent increase in antisemitism across the country and world.
“This is a very difficult time in the world for a lot of people and I want to take time to acknowledge that. It’s a difficult time for Palestinians, and Israelis, and people of Arab descent, and Muslim people, and many other people. The world in general, is kind of falling apart as far as I’m concerned, it’s really scary,” he said.
Zaret said he was reflecting on the fifth anniversary of the Tree of Life Synagogue shooting in Pittsburgh, and the action it caused the council to take.
“I remember how encouraging it was that we all gathered together, and that was actually what brought about our first gun violence resolution. I remember when the Tree of Life shooting happened for me, being a second-generation Jewish person how terrifying that was,” he said. “For me that was basically living some of the things, in a very, very small way from afar what my parent’s generation and definitely grandparents’ generation have experienced.”
Zaret said that now the Jewish community was facing a higher rate of antisemitic incidents in the United States than ever before.
“We were already living recently in a time of the highest amount of antisemitic incidents in this country
historically ever. Then the world kind of exploded recently, and I’m watching the news with outward expressions of antisemitism that you thought you would never see,” he said. “What I’ve been seeing over the last three weeks, and I’m just talking about antisemitism in America, I’m purposely separating this from the political issues going on somewhere else, it’s terrifying. Some of these things are worse the things that my grandparents, my parents would tell us around the Friday night dinner table.”
Zaret cited growing antisemitism on college campuses as well as the homes of Jewish people in France being marked with stars, on top of other acts of violence around the world.
“The Jewish community is terrified. I can tell you locally everyone is scared, and they feel isolated. That is both in Easthampton and just regionally,” he said. “I talked to a lot of people, and they feel isolated and alone.”
Zaret also acknowledged that the Jewish community is “mostly invisible” in the area.
“I know a lot of this community is mostly invisible, we don’t have a synagogue in Easthampton, there aren’t a lot of Jewish people in Easthampton, even in Western Mass. There aren’t. We make up 2% of the American population and account for 60% of religious hate crimes,” he said.
Zaret encouraged people to reach out to him, whether they are Jewish or allies, as he tries to work with the local Jewish Federation to organize events, or if they have questions.
Moving onto the classification hearing for the health inspector position, Human Resources Director Emily Russo was invited to discuss the position.
“As you guys all know, our health department has been rapidly growing since COVID. We had someone doing inspections, but we now have that person in the position of health agent and we’re looking to fill this position on a part-time basis,” Russo said. “The salary range is pretty in line with what other communities are doing, and this would help us meet all our requirements for state guidelines for inspections and help us to better serve the community.”
Precinct 4 Councilor Salem Derby explained that the Ordinance Committee unanimously voted in favor of adding the position to the classification. He also noted that once the position is added to the classification, someone can be hired.
With little discussion, the council unanimously voted to add the health inspector to the city’s classification.
The council also voted to set the city’s tax classification hearing for the council’s next meeting on Nov. 15.