Interfaith Leaders Call for Community to Respond to Antisemitism in Scarsdale

April 20, 2026
Scarsdale, New York

Dear Community Members,

We write to you as interfaith clergy, united in concern and in love for the community of Scarsdale. For generations, our Village has been a community where families of different faiths and backgrounds have built their lives together. That shared identity is one of our greatest gifts, and it demands our active protection.

We must name clearly what is happening: our community is experiencing a pattern of antisemitism, and our Jewish neighbors and students are being harmed. Imagery, language, and tropes that directly target Jewish students and Jewish interests—once relegated to the fringes—are now appearing in our schools and across the social media feeds our children consume daily, not as rare exceptions but with alarming regularity. Repeated exposure without context, conversation, or consequence breeds desensitization. When antisemitic tropes circulate as memes, the line between the offensive and the ordinary begins to blur. That blurring is itself a form of harm.

We know that some well-intentioned responses to recent incidents have been reluctant to name antisemitism directly, out of a desire to speak in universal terms. We understand that impulse, and we gently but firmly reject it. Right now, our community needs to hear, clearly and without qualification, that we support and stand with the Jewish community. Antisemitism is not a generalized failure of civility. It is a specific and ancient hatred, and it must be called by its name.

And when critique of Israel–legitimate, even welcome, in the context of a discussion of government policy–becomes vulgar, targets Jewish students and their cultural heritage, or characterizes the Jewish State as illegitimate or uniquely nefarious, this too must be challenged.

Scarsdale’s enduring strength rests on the conviction that diversity is not a challenge to be managed but a gift to be honored. The motto of the Scarsdale Union Free School District—Non Sibi—“not for oneself alone”—calls each of us to a higher communal responsibility. We cannot fulfill that responsibility by speaking only in abstractions when a specific community is under attack. We call upon school leadership, elected officials, and every member of this community to respond to antisemitism with the clarity and seriousness it demands: through unambiguous language, meaningful consequences, and sustained education. We pledge our partnership in that work, and we invite all members of our community to join us in the days ahead for conversation, for solidarity, and for the shared commitment to a community where every child—of every background—is safe, valued, and at home.

With resolve and in partnership with our community,

Rabbi Adam Baldachin, Shaarei Tikvah
Rev. Francisco Sebastian Bacatan, Jr., A.M., Ph. D., Pastor, Church of St. Pius X
Cantor Chanin Becker, Scarsdale Synagogue Temples Tremont and Emanu-El
Rabbi Joshua Bender, Temple Israel Center
Rabbi Jonathan E. Blake, Westchester Reform Temple
Rabbi Jeffrey Brown, Scarsdale Synagogue Temples Tremont and Emanu-El
Rev. Chris Burton, Hitchcock Presbyterian Church
Rabbi Leah Citrin, Westchester Reform Temple
Rev. Samuel T. Clover, Greenville Community Church
Cantor Gerald Cohen, Shaarei Tikvah
Cantor Josh Ehrlich, Shaarei Tikvah
Rabbi Jason Fenster, Congregation Kol Ami
Rabbi Libby Fisher, Congregation Kol Ami
Rev. Pete Jones, Hitchcock Presbyterian Church
Cantor Amanda Kleinman, Westchester Reform Temple
Rabbanit Atara Lindenbaum, Hebrew Institute of White Plains
Rabbi Leora Londy, Temple Beth El of Northern Westchester
Rabbi Chaim Marder, Hebrew Institute of White Plains
Cantor Daniel Mendelson, Congregation Kol Ami
Rabbi Shira Milgrom, Congregation Kol Ami
Rabbi Jonathan Morgenstern, Young Israel of Scarsdale
Rabbi Alissa Platcow, Westchester Reform Temple
Rev. Stephen Ries, Immaculate Heart of Mary Church
Rev. Dr. Kelly Hough Rogers, Scarsdale Congregational Church
Cantor Isaac Sonett-Assor, Westchester Reform Temple
Rabbi Annie Tucker, Temple Israel Center
Rabbi Tom Weiner, Congregation Kol Ami

(list of names updated as of 9:45 PM, April 22, 2026)