06/12/2026
Last year, a local ballot question asked voters whether Somerville should end city business, contracts, and investments involving companies doing business with Israel. That advisory question passed, and its supporters have since pushed the City Council to turn it into city policy.
Last night, the Council considered an ordinance that would move that effort forward. JCRC CEO Jeremy Burton testified to urge the Council to choose a better path.
Jeremy was not there to debate the war in the Middle East. He was there to speak about Somerville and the responsibility of city officials to ensure that all residents — including Jewish residents — are safe, welcome, and know that they belong.
For more than a year, Jewish residents in Somerville have been raising concerns that the ballot question and ordinance has contributed to a climate of intimidation, the demonization of Jewish neighbors, and a growing sense among many Jewish residents that they are being pushed out of full civic belonging in their own city.
Somerville can still choose a better path: one that lowers the temperature, protects pluralism, and makes clear that every resident, including every part of its Jewish community, is welcome, safe, and belongs.
We thank Councilor Kristen Strezo for sponsoring Jeremy to address the Somerville City Council. We are also deeply grateful to our partners at Shalom Somerville for the incredible work they do every day in a very difficult environment of intimidation. Their leadership has been essential, and Somerville’s Jewish community should not have to carry this burden alone.
