Lt. Gov. Susan Bysiewicz was speaking at the swearing-in ceremony for West Hartford Town Clerk Leon Davidoff when a group of protesters began chanting and unfurling signs.

By Ronni Newton

A small group of pro-Palestinians, who did not identify themselves as representing any particular group, hijacked a ceremony at West Hartford Town Hall Tuesday afternoon, directing their comments at Lt. Gov. Susan Bysiewicz, who was preparing to administer the oath of office to Town Clerk Leon Davidoff.

The protestors all wore surgical masks, and sat in Town Council chambers, amidst friends, family, and town employees who were on hand to celebrate the swearing-in.

“We demand that Susan Bysiewicz call for an immediate ceasefire and end to the 35-year-long Israeli occupation of Palestine,” one of the handful of protestors began shouting as Bysiewicz was speaking at the podium. “Cut business ties with the genocidal state of Israel, and end all trade in occupied land. Call for an end to training operations between the IDF and the Connecticut police department,” one protestor said.

Pro-Palestinan protestors (standing, wearing surgical masks) hijack a swearing-in ceremony for Town Clerk Leon Davidoff at West Hartford Town Hall being led by Lt. Gov. Susan Bysiewicz. Photo credit: Ronni Newton

“Susan, Susan what do you say? How many kids did you kill today? Susan, Susan you can’t hide. You are funding genocide,” the protestors continued to shout responsively at the lieutenant governor, stating that “Palestine will soon be free” and calling for money to be spent on “jobs and education, not for war and occupation.”

West Hartford Police Chief Vernon Riddick and an assistant chief, as well as the fire chief and town manager, were among those in Town Council chambers for the swearing-in ceremony. After several minutes, the police chief and several others safely escorted the group of protestors, some of whom were videotaping the outburst, from the room and they left the building without incident.

Pro-Palestinan protestors (standing, wearing surgical masks) hijack a swearing-in ceremony for Town Clerk Leon Davidoff at West Hartford Town Hall being led by Lt. Gov. Susan Bysiewicz. Photo credit: Ronni Newton

Bysiewicz, who calmly returned to her official reason for being in West Hartford once the protestors had departed, resumed speaking, and said, “We live in a great country and we have celebrated veterans of our United States military in this very room who sacrificed so that people like the ones we just heard can speak as they choose. … They have had their say and now we get back to the business of the afternoon.”

She said that this was the first time one of her public appearances had been disrupted by protestors.

Following the attack on Israel by Hamas on Oct. 7 and the escalation of the war, U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy and Sen. Richard Blumenthal have been heckled by protestors during appearances in the area, and other state officials have also been targeted. During Chanukah, a rally was held in West Hartford Center by a group calling themselves the “Hartford Jewish Organizing Collective” according to a report in the Hartford Courant, calling for a ceasefire.

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