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To the editor of We-Ha.com,

For the past year and a half, I co-led a march every Sunday for the hostages being held by the terrorist group Hamas since the horrible attack on October 7. Several of the West Hartford candidates for Town Council and Board of Education stood with us repeatedly. They deserve recognition.

After all, what is going on in Israel and Gaza has had local implications. A January 2024 protest against Israel outside of West Hartford Town Hall ended in a mass vandalism on LaSalle Road. Another mass vandalism occurred here only weeks ago, as more than a dozen homes had their Israel support signs targeted and destroyed.

Notwithstanding the efforts at intimidation, when we commemorated the second anniversary of the October 7 attack in front of Town Hall on October 5, both Republican and Democrat slates marched with us. A number of candidates, however, went above and beyond.

The entire Republican slate for town council – Alberto Cortes, Gayle Harris, Ben Lewis, John Lyons, Jason Wang, and Kyle Zelazny – joined us repeatedly. Cortes put a We Stand with Israel sign in his yard after hearing about the other signs being destroyed. His sign was knocked down soon after. In addition to putting an Israel sign in his yard as well, Kyle Zelazny joined us to grieve when Hamas callously returned the bodies of three unknown individuals instead of the Bibas family – Shiri and her two beautiful young children.

Mayor Shari Cantor too has been a repeated presence at our marches. She has worked with the West Hartford Police Department to ensure we can march safely and securely, particularly since the attack on a similar march in Boulder, Colorado. Deb Polun and Tiffani McGinnis, both incumbents on town council, have joined us on more than one occasion.

On the Board of Education side, Democrat Jonathan Weiner has marched as well. Republican candidate Miriam Bleich was a constant presence at the marches and came countless times over the past year and half with her family.

As Israelis and Gazans alike suffered in the wake of Hamas’ October 7 terror attack, it was heartening to see our candidates for local office show up to march for the release of the hostages who were held in that captivity since that dark day.

Ari Schaffer
Greater Hartford for Israel
West Hartford resident