Since March, a group of Palestinian families, other Muslims, Jews and Christians mostly from Lexington have been conducting a weekly standout at the corner of Pleasant St. and Mass. Ave. for about 1 hour per week. Many have relatives caught up in the war. We call ourselves Lexington for Palestine.
Our signs have included “Honk for Gaza,” “Let Gaza Live,” “Not Another Bomb,” and “Jews for Ceasefire.” Our common denominator is a desire for peace and justice in Israel and Palestine. These gatherings have been almost festive despite the seriousness of the war. Supporters in passing cars honked and waved, young children played in the parking lot where we stand and whole families turned out after work. The friendly appreciation for those trying to make suffering in Gaza more visible is typical of Lexington.
Yet this situation changed in August. That month our small group of local families was targeted by outside hate groups. None of these hate groups have ties to Lexington, and we have never been harassed by Lexingtonians. We have no issue with the peaceful local group that marches in support of the hostages many Sundays in the center. We know there is support in town for Israel to continue the war. We don’t begrudge people holding those views from expressing them.
The approach of these outsiders is different. They aim to terrorize us. They have come with bullhorns, cameras, flags and instead of simply standing on their corner, they shove, push, threaten and assault us. They use bullhorns and sirens placed right against our ears to try and force us to react to them. They yell “your mother supports rapists” in front of our children. They call us terrorists. They called me a Jew who works for Hitler. We have tried very hard not to engage. We no longer bring children to these standouts.
On Sept. 12, one of the leaders of this group, Scott Hayes, shot a passerby in Newton during a pro-Israel rally. The situation is under investigation, but the DA Marian Ryan has charged Hayes with “assault and battery with a dangerous weapon and violation of a constitutional right causing injury.” At a news conference she explained, “Words were exchanged back and forth across the street.” At some point, the passerby crossed the street and “jumped on one of the demonstrators,” Ryan said.
A “scuffle ensued” and the person was shot by one of the demonstrators, she said.
This is frightening to us since the person charged has been here in Lexington yelling insults and misogynistic threats and trying to force us to react. It speaks to the danger of rising political violence even in Massachusetts.
We think our community and the police department responsible for public safety should proactively protect peaceful demonstrations in Lexington. They should not allow these outside disruptors to freely mingle, insult, and harass us under the guise of ‘free speech.’ We don’t want the tragedy in Newton to be repeated here.
Our understanding is that there are two groups conducting this harassment. One is the Rhode Island Coalition for Israel, (RICI), the other is called God Bless America and Israel. They also target ceasefire standouts in other towns, such as Plymouth, Quincy, Somerville, Arlington, Salem, Newton and Medford.
In my 40 years in Lexington we have had experience with outside hate groups. When Massachusetts was in the forefront of recognizing LGBTQ marriage rights, a pastor-led group from Kansas visited our town to harass and demean those of us publicly supporting gay marriage.
During the Black Lives Matter protests following the death of George Floyd, peaceful demonstrators in Lexington were targeted by rightwing Trump supporters with cameras, bullhorns, and aggressive videoing. During my years in Lexington, nothing I have seen has been as violent or deliberately injurious as these groups’ attack on us and our Palestinian neighbors. The shooting in Newton only confirms this belief.
I want people in Lexington who see us on the street corner to know how we are being attacked. I want our town to recognize the right of peaceful expression and not allow people who standout for a ceasefire in Gaza to be violently threatened, terrorized, shoved and pushed.
Putting a bullhorn to a mother’s ear is not free speech. It is assault and should be treated as such.
We all know that we live in a time of increasing political violence. For those who oppose political violence and demand our differences be settled peacefully on the basis of mutual respect, the only proper response is to shut down incidents of violence whenever they arise. We cannot allow this to become normal in our town.
There is no ‘both sides’ here. Only one group of outsiders is threatening and intimidating Lexingtonians. We want our community to stand with us against hate and intimidation, regardless of whether you support a ceasefire in Gaza or not. If you are an American patriot, defend our rights to express beliefs in Lexington without assault and attack.