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Shaftsbury Select Board Looks to Draft Human Rights Statement
Posted: March 19, 2025
SHAFTSBURY - The Select Board on Monday reorganized, with two new members, and grappled with the question of whether to rescind an earlier vote to become an Apartheid-Free Community.
By the end of the three-hour, twenty-minute meeting, the board agreed to put on the agenda of its April 6 meeting coming up with an initial draft for a Town of Shaftsbury human rights statement or declaration.
New members Eamon Mulligan, with a three-year seat, and Marlene Hall, with a two-year seat, took their places on the board. They replace Tony Krulikowski and Brad Peacock, who did not seek re-election.
The board voted for Zoe Contos Kearl to serve another year as board chair and Naomi Miller to serve another year as vice chair. After the re-organization, a renewed discussion of the Apartheid-Free Community issue took up the next one hour and forty-five minutes of the meeting. At the Feb. 2 Select Board meeting, Richard Jorgensen and Grace Winslow, with several others in support, made a presentation on the Apartheid-Free Community to the board. At its meeting on Feb. 17, the Select Board voted 5-0 to adopt the Apartheid-Free Community Pledge. The pledge reads: "We affirm our commitment to freedom, justice, and equality for the Palestinian people and all people; we oppose all forms of racism, bigotry, discrimination, and oppression; and we declare ourselves an Apartheid-free community and to that end, we pledge to join others in working to end all support to Israel's Apartheid regime, settler colonialism, and military occupation." At Shaftsbury's Town Meeting on March 2, after lengthy discussion, including residents and non-residents, and several motions and counter-motions, residents voted to table the pledge motion and also voted to recommend that the Select Board to rescind its vote to adopt the pledge.
More debate
Monday's meeting was the first since town meeting, and several people packed into the small meeting space at Cole Hall to revisit the pledge.
The discussion included procedural questions about the Feb. 17 Select Board vote and the Town Meeting, possible implications on town spending decisions from adopting the pledge, whether dealing a foreign policy issue was an appropriate matter for a town government, and questioning the focus on just Israel.
At one point, Hall made a motion to rescind the vote on the pledge but it did not get a second from the board.
Naomi Bindman, who is Jewish, said she resented the statement at the Shaftsbury town meeting made by a New York man saying people were afraid to attend the meeting and speak.
"To have somebody who wasn't even a member of our community, not even a member of our state, telling us that he had to speak because people in the community felt unsafe, I took as deeply offensive. Who are they afraid of? We who stand out on the corner with our signs for peace and justice?" she said. "The word ‘unease' was also mentioned. You can have your own unease. That doesn't mean that a pledge for the dignity of all people is somehow making you unsafe.
"As to the so-called increase in antisemitic incidents, and the source being the Anti-Defamation League, I would say that's a very, very biased source," she said. "I would much rather go with the statistics of the United Nations, which does and have documented this ongoing genocide in Gaza."
She noted that there is a difference between the Jewish people and the government of Israel. "And even within Israel, Jews are opposing their own government, and to say that this pledge marginalizes Jewish residents, I think, is ridiculous," she said. "I think that it's important to acknowledge there are different views. The board considered this for good reasons, voted for good reasons, and then I think we need to perhaps find a path where we can come together to move forward in a productive way."
Suzy Yucht said she really appreciated the discussion and the airing of feelings on issues.
"What's happening in the Middle East and in Israel is tragic and it's horrible and it's horrifying. And I am Jewish, and I belong to the congregation here. My family synagogue in West Bloomfield, Michigan, was attacked last Thursday. My cousin's son was in preschool during that attack," she said. "So, this hits very close to home to me. You can talk about the separation of Israeli policies and Jews, and I can too as a Jew, but a lot of people can't, and there is a rise in antisemitism."
She detailed recent violent incidents against Jews in the United States and world, and spoke of concerns with security at the local synagogue.
"All that being said…we have so much that we can offer and learn from each other and find ways and have a path forward. But I think that attaching this to the town in a way just doesn't speak for everybody," she said. "And people want to work individually in community to resolve their issues and listen to each other, neighbor to neighbor. Let's do that. But I feel like it's too it's really painful for those of us that don't want this resolution to be part of our town."
A statement
After discussing several agenda items, the board revisited the Apartheid-Free Community issue for the last 30 minutes of the meeting.
"One of the things that it sounded like people were interested in was furthering this discussion, but perhaps not in a way that is always facilitated by the Select Board. And it sounded like from a couple of people, there was interest in the possibility of the formation of a human rights policy for the town of Shaftsbury, which I think sounds like a good idea, and could be a good place for people who disagree also to continue to convene with one another and learn more about one another," Contros Kearl said. "When it became apparent how many people had strong feelings, it became clear to me that there should be a forum for those feelings."
This could possibly lead to creation of a committee with that goal and which would put together an all-encompassing human rights statement.
"And it could be encompassing of the pledge. And also, as everybody noted, the vote to rescind could be called for again," she said. "These things can come up again and again, and that's just fine. Or it certainly is with me."
As this part of the discussion progressed, the need came up to act with some speed to not let the issue linger. "As a board you need to think long and hard, and I wouldn't let it go for too long," said resident Karen Mellinger, a former Select Board member.
The board agreed to put on the agenda of its April 6 meeting the composing of an initial draft for a Town of Shaftsbury human rights statement or declaration. At its second regular meeting in April, the board will revisit the Apartheid-Free Community Pledge.
Compliments of:
The Bennington Banner
Posted/Author: Mark Rondeau
