August 29, 2025

Shalom Friends,

We write today with a heavy heart and a firm resolve. We are living in deeply unsettling times. The rise in antisemitism is not a distant headline; it is here, in Vermont and across the Northeast, threatening the peace and safety of our community.

This week, multiple synagogues in Vermont and throughout the region received anonymous letters containing violent threats against our staff and congregants tied to the Israel-Hamas war. These messages falsely and dangerously conflate our local Jewish community with the war in Israel/Gaza, placing individuals and families here at risk. While the FBI and local law enforcement are investigating the seriousness of the threats, the emotional impact already is real: fear, grief, and isolation are emotions many of us are feeling.  The recent attack on a church school in Minneapolis is a reminder of the horror one lone person can cause to a community.

August 27, 2025

Shalom Chaverim,

Following our recent breakthrough meeting with Vermont's education leaders, we are writing to share more positive news in our collective effort to combat antisemitism. Your stories and advocacy are creating momentum, and that momentum is growing.

We recently had the opportunity to hold productive and powerful meetings with Senator Peter Welch and Representative Becca Balint to discuss the rise of antisemitism in our schools and communities.

August 6, 2025

On Monday, August 4, 17 Democratic members of the Vermont State Senate issued a deeply troubling statement on Gaza via Facebook and Instagram.

The statement focused almost entirely on hunger in Gaza, repeating inflammatory accusations like “genocide” and pushing debunked claims about Israel deliberately blocking aid and starving civilians. It made no mention of October 7 or the hostages still held by Hamas, even as Hamas was releasing videos of emaciated hostages forced to dig their own graves. 

August 4, 2025

Shalom Chaverim,

In these challenging times, when tensions run high and acts of antisemitism are on the rise, it can be easy to feel isolated or discouraged. That is why we are sharing a story from Woodstock, Vermont, a story that serves as a powerful beacon of hope and provides a tangible model for how we, as a community, can confront hate with unity and action.

This past Saturday evening, a candlelight vigil was organized in Woodstock to recognize the humanitarian crisis facing children in Gaza. The organizer centered the event on a shared human value, the children of Gaza, and fostered a quiet, reflective atmosphere. The diverse group of about 80 attendees included a dozen members of our Jewish community, local Christian clergy, and many other neighbors.

July 10, 2025

Kate Casa’s recent commentary was not a critique of policy ("Vermont group aims for silent through intimidation," July 8). It was a direct attack on a Jewish individual, a Jewish organization, and on Jewish visibility in Vermont’s public life. This was not the first time. In the span of a few months, she has twice publicly targeted the same Jewish woman, a member of our staff. She has misrepresented their work, fabricated statements they never made, and portrayed them as part of something sinister…

June 13, 2025

BRATTLEBORO - Vermont Friends of Israel (VFI) and Shalom Alliance will present two public screenings of the critically acclaimed documentary October 8 at the Latchis Theatre in downtown Brattleboro on Saturday, June 28 and Sunday, June 29, at 4:00 pm.

October 8 offers a look at the explosion of antisemitism on college campuses, social media, and the streets of America in the aftermath of Hamas’ October 7, 2023 attack on Israel…

June 2, 2025

The Jews have always been the canary in the coal mine, sounding the alarm when danger is in the air. The canary’s sacrifice warns others of poison before it spreads. Sometimes that warning comes as a chirp, a whisper, a song. Sometimes it comes as a scream.

On October 7, 2023, the canary died.

And in its place rose a phoenix from the ashes—screaming, burning, refusing to be silent.

The Jewish people are an ethnoreligious minority who have survived 3,500 years of persecution, libel, pogroms, exile, and genocide. We are subject-matter experts in human survival. Yet our warnings are often dismissed—until it’s too late.

May 27, 2025

In moments of crisis, history judges leaders not by their rhetoric, but by their response. Today, Vermont lawmakers are facing a defining moment — a moral crossroads where their decisions will profoundly impact the safety and well-being of Jewish people in Vermont.

As the war in Israel and Gaza continues and antisemitic violence surges worldwide under the guise of “Free, Free Palestine,” Jewish communities worldwide, including Vermont, are seeking safety and solidarity…

May 22, 2025

We, the undersigned Vermont Jewish organizations, are united in grief and outrage over the tragic murder of two young Jewish Israelis, Sarah Milgrim and Yaron Lischinsky, in Washington, DC. This senseless act of violence has reverberated through our communities in Vermont and across the country, filling us with sorrow, fear, and righteous anger.

May 12, 2025

In the days after Passover, the story still lingers. We have just finished retelling our journey from bondage to freedom, not just as a historical account but as a call to conscience. The Exodus narrative is not a seasonal ritual. It is a perennial mandate. It teaches us that liberation is not handed down from power. It is demanded by those who refuse to be silent.

At the heart of the story is a moral clarity: to protect the vulnerable, to confront injustice, and to build a society rooted in fairness, law, and human dignity.

May 6, 2025

The Anti-Defamation League's 2024 Audit of Antisemitic Incidents reports a deeply troubling rise in antisemitism across the country, including and especially, here in Vermont.

We know that many people in our community are passionate about political issues, including those related to Israel and Palestine….