The Anti-Defamation League of New England held its 35th annual Law and Education Day on Wednesday to recognize the role educators, law enforcement, activists, and public officials have played combating anti-Semitism and other forms of hate.
“I think it’s fair to say that our work has never been more urgent with the rising tide of anti-Semitism, hate, and extremism,” ADL New England Regional Board Chair Jim Wallace said. “We’re very grateful to our partners in this work. We’re very well aware that our law enforcement colleagues and educators are critical allies as we endeavor to fulfill our dual mission to stop the defamation of Jewish people and to secure justice.”
The event began with a thank you to Peggy Shukur, who is retiring after joining ADL in 2019 and serving as the deputy and interim regional director of ADL’s New England office.
Shukar set a standard of excellence that has inspired all of the people who worked for her, ADL New England board member Melissa Kaplowitch said.
“You brought a wealth of experience and a deep understanding of the issues at hand, as well as an unwavering commitment to making the world a better place,” Kaplowitch said.
The ADL appointed Samantha Joseph as the new director of its New England region. Joseph has been a participant in ADL’s Glass Leadership Institute and a member of the board of directors of the Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Boston for the last 10 years.
She said it was a sacred duty to uphold the ADL’s mission.
“In 2024, Massachusetts was the fifth highest state for recorded anti-Semitic incidents in the whole country, with over a 600% increase in the last five years,” Joseph said. “So we’re seeing this as an urgent, persistent problem that we need everybody’s help to address.”
She cited several of the incidents of hate in the North Shore, including a swastika that was drawn on Preston Beach in Marblehead, a Marblehead synagogue receiving two separate bomb threats, and a man in Beverly who was arrested for threatening violence against Jewish women and synagogues online and was in possession of Nazi paraphernalia and illegal weapons.
“These incidents are not just isolated acts of hate,” Joseph said. “They’re part of a larger pattern that seeks to undermine the fabric of our community. And they remind us why it is so crucial to fight antisemitism and all forms of hate. Because when one group is targeted, it affects all of us and erodes the trust and safety that are the foundations of our society.”
The event was attended by a long list of local public safety officials, educators, and elected officials from across the North Shore. This year’s Community Service Award was given to Marblehead Police Chief Dennis King and Swampscott Police Chief Ruben Quesada.
“The Community Service Award is so aptly named because our two honorees embody those two words- community and service,” Essex County District Attorney Paul Tucker said. “Each brings tremendous leadership in protecting their communities, and they also instill in each and every member of their department a commitment to fairness and a commitment to justice.
“Each of them has had to deal with hate crimes, and they’ve seen the fear in the community, but like the true leaders that they are, they respond, they meet those that have been affected, they calm the fears, and they hold the offenders accountable.”
The ADL also honored former Swampscott Public Schools Superintendent Pamela Angelakis.
She “believes that the only way to fully educate students is to start with the whole child,” said Lytania Mackey Knowles, the school department’s director of technology. “You need an environment where every student feels safe, that they belong, where they can thrive. She launched our World of Difference program in which teams of students with advisors work every day to combat bigotry, racism, anti-Semitism, and engage in anti-bias education.”
The ADL’s Community Leadership award was given to Brent Conway, assistant superintendent for the Pentucket Regional School District in West Newbury.
In 2015, Conway was named the principal of Melrose Middle School with the specific mission to address a finding by the US Office of Civil Rights that a racially hostile environment existed. Conway would implement a three-year resolution plan and partnered with the ADL to expand beyond race-based discussions.
State Sen. John Velis, D-Westfield, served as the event’s keynote speaker, reflecting on the duty of each community has to stop hate wherever it rears its head.
“When hatred is left unchecked and people don’t respond, bad things happen,” he said. “And we, collectively, as a society, as a commonwealth, as America, must do better.”