By David Fortier
Reaction to the discovery of a post with antisemitic sentiment by a Board of Education candidate ranged from calls for the removal of the candidate from this year’s ballot to a harsh condemnation of the message, especially in light of the candidate’s ensuing power on the school board.
The candidate has issued an apology admitting ignorance of the messaging, earlier this week.
“The recent posts circulating regarding Jennifer Van Gorder’s social media depiction of the Star of David & COVID labeling it a “SCAMDEMIC” is more of the same pattern of buffoonery, gaucheness, ignorance and bigotry that we have come to know from this individual,” said Dante Tagariello, current Board of Education member.
“The fact is that the imagery itself is anti-Semitic and those who post it have engaged in a continued pattern of anti-Semitism that we have seen around the country and in all places on the Internet,” said Tagariello.
Jennifer Van Gorder, who posted the image featuring the Star of David and equating the experience of the Jews during the Holocaust to getting a vaccination to fight Covid-19, is on the November ballot running unopposed for a seat on the Board of Education.
“I believe every election official must denounce and repudiate Jennifer Van Gorder as a candidate for office. Van Gorder has no credibility to serve, she clearly lacks the discretion and integrity to do so, and we cannot afford silence,” Tagariello continued.
“I also believe this is especially incumbent upon the mayor (who made her appointment possible) and the three Republican candidates for the BOE (who are actively coordinating their election with Van Gorder).”
Tagareillo is one of three Board of Education members who stated their position on the posts and Van Gorder’s candidacy.
Board of Education chair Jen Dube, who is completing her final term since Bristol enacted term-limits, and new board member Shelby Pons also added to the criticism.
“I am saddened and disgusted by the Magen David being used as mockery by a candidate who is seeking to hold a position on the Board of Education,” Dube said in a Facebook post of her own. “The Board has been a staunch advocate of tolerance and inclusivity to our students, their families and our staff.
“Religious intolerance, ignorance and anti-Semitic posts are in direct opposition of the values one should hold when representing our diverse community.”
Through such behavior, she said, Van Gorder exhibits behavior unbecoming of a steward of the public.
In addition, she said, it is no secret that these issues have been addressed to Mayor Jeffrey Caggiano and Republican Town Committee chair Whit Betts. It is time for these individuals to speak out and remove Van Gorder from the ballot.
She concluded, “As Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote, ‘…not to speak is to speak. Not to act is to act.'”
Pons, who is on the ballot this November, said, “This type of post belittles the magnitude of what the Holocaust was all about. There is a level of immorality in comparing the two. One destroyed lives; the vaccine and masks were meant to save lives. I hope Mayor Caggiano condemns the sentiment in her post and rethinks the appointment.”
The circumstance of Van Gorder’s placement on the ballot was the result of conversations between Caggiano and Betts, because previously there was another candidate who was told he would be endorsed by the RTC.
The chair of the Diversity Council took the opportunity not only to condemn the post but also to encourage participation in an interfaith panel discussion later this month.
“The post shows that there is a need for education regarding diversity, equity and inclusion, as there have been far too many racist, homophobic and anti-Semitic acts in Bristol in the past few months,” said Jaymie Bianca, Diversity Council chair.
She encouraged candidates, including Van Gorder to attend the Diversity Council’s religious diversity panel on Oct. 24.
“While it may be just a dent into combatting discriminatory acts, a post like this, and everything that’s been happening in Bristol, shows that there is a need for more education, particularly with understanding different faiths,” said Bianca.
The post, which originally appeared in May 2021, was screenshotted and shared with TBE and other members of the community late last week. In the post, a Star of David, in yellow, with the word, “Covid” in the center, also in yellow, is a circle in a yellow band with the words, “Scamdemic Jabby” across the top and “Noncompliance” across the bottom.
The image, according to one source that TBE contacted, was created not only in protest against government restrictions encouraged to fight the coronavirus pandemic but also as a statement against Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont at the time, who was granted executive powers that would allow for swifter response to the pandemic in the state.
Van Gorder issued an apology earlier this week.
“I was unaware that the depiction of the gold Star of David is offensive to my fellow citizens in the Jewish community,” she said. “Thanks to some meaningful conversations, I now understand that. To those I hurt or offended, I whole heartedly apologize, it was most certainly not my intent.”
She said the image was created by a friend of Polish descendent, raised in communism, 15 miles from Auschwitz. The meme is a warning against government overreach. When Lamont imposed executive powers to combat the pandemic, she drew a comparison.
“I believe our government by imposing on our rights, up to and including religious freedoms, all under the guise of public safety and for ‘the greater good,'” she said. “As a mom, who believes in liberty for all, I was very concerned with the trajectory of compulsory experimental vaccines on not only own three children but all children.”
“I have and will always defend the rights of all people,” she concluded.
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