Hate globally, act locally
I’ve never been so glad that I got to experience Wakefield as a normal, working-class town, before the Home of the Warriors turned into the home of the social justice warriors.
Wakefield’s official slogan used to be “the most enterprising community north of Boston.” (Try to imagine a time when capitalism was considered a good thing.)
Back then, everyone, whether descended from immigrants or Yankee founders, valued their shared American experience. All town officials were proud to recite the Pledge of Allegiance.
In those days, locals would roll their eyes when an elite People’s Republic like Cambridge, Amherst or Concord would take an official position on some national or international issue. We didn’t have the luxury of engaging in such meaningless gestures. We were too busy making a living and tending to local affairs.
But now, Amherst has come to Wakefield.
The very same people whose silence was deafening when Hamas terrorists murdered more than 1,200 innocent Israelis last October, now want Wakefield officials to demand that the United States pull all support from Israel.
Whose side are these people on? (That’s a rhetorical question.)
Twice this year already, our local Friends of Hamas chapter has asked the Wakefield Town Council to call upon the United States government to demand an immediate cease fire in Israel’s defensive war against the terrorists in Gaza. (Frankly, I’m surprised that these citizens of the world recognize the government of the United States, much less Wakefield’s town government.)
But after the Town Council stubbornly refused to end the war in Gaza, 12 global citizens residing in Wakefield signed a petition demanding that Town Meeting call upon Congress and the president to “immediately stop the transfer of arms, without exception, from the US to the State of Israel” and to “stop all scheduled and potential future transfers of funds from the US to the State of Israel.”
As a result of this petition, Town Meeting Article 22 is asking Wakefield voters to issue the exact same demands being made by the anti-Semitic mobs currently rampaging on college campuses.
This is Wakefield in 2024. Wally Moccia must be spinning in his grave.
There have been warning signs. Anyone who’s been paying attention could see this coming.
In 2019, the Wakefield Human Rights Commission sponsored a vigil on the Common after the mass murder of 50 at a New Zealand mosque. But the unprovoked murder, rape and torture of 1,200 Israelis by Hamas on Oct. 7, 2023 drew only cold silence from our guardians of human rights on the WHRC. And not a peep from them in the six months since.
Those who think Wakefield can end the Israel-Hamas war no doubt also believe the town can lower the earth’s temperature by adopting insane and costly climate measures like the Specialized Energy Code and joining the “Climate Leader Communities.”
You can bet that the “folks” who signed the anti-Israel petition were also on board with the state’s plan to crowd us all into multifamily housing near the train station. If you doubt me on that one, check out the names on the petition for Article 22.
And I have no doubt whatsoever our local Free Free Palestine chapter also supported getting rid of Wakefield’s Warrior logo. To them, the logo represented America’s “genocide” of the Indians, just as they view Israel’s war of self-defense as a “genocide” against the Palestinians.
To the comrades, it’s all the same “struggle” against the evil “colonizers.”
And it’s not just Israel that they have in their sights. To them, we are all colonizers.
It’s time to start paying attention.
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[This column originally appeared in the May 2, 2024 Wakefield Daily Item
Filed under: Columns & Essays, History, News, Opinion, Politics, Wakefield | 12 Comments
Tags: Amherst, anti-Semitism, Cambridge, Climate Leader Communities, colonizers, Concord, Gaza. Middle East, Hamas, housing, immigrants, Israel, Mark Sardella, October 7, Opinion, Palestine, petition, Pledge of Allegiance, Politics, social justice, Specialized Energy Code, terrorism, Town Council, Town Meeting, Wakefield Daily Item, Wakefield Human Rights Commission, Wakefield MA, Wally Moccia, war, Warriors
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Mark Sardella 
so sad this is happening in our quaint little town that I grew up in. My childhood is filled with family, friends and wonderful times. I agree with Mark that this is more steps to losing our freedoms. Keep putting the truth out there Mark.
It is possible to be appalled by Israel’s response to Hamas’ barbaric attack on Israel without condoning Hamas’ attack. In fact, that is the only civilized reaction. As another great columnist, Murray Kempton, once wrote, “There are things a man must not do even to save a nation.”
Excellent, excellent, excellent. The Greater Boston Elite! Bringing all the ignorance of the City without any of the alleged redeeming qualities to the Great Unwashed Toothless Throwbacks out here in the Sticks!
Whether we like it or NOT!!!!
Great opinion piece Mark.
Thank you. John.
Well put Mark. Israel losing 1200 women and children massacred equates to about 39,000 Americans when comparing populations, so I would hope we would reply with overwhelming force if such an attack occurred again here. And Americans didn’t incur a Holocaust in our history. Hamas was attacking Israel on seemingly an everyday basis pre-October 7 using Gaza based rockets so October 7 isn’t a one-off. It’s their stated mission. Civilian casualties occur in all wars and Hamas sets up and hides under hospitals, schools and residential complexes; I wonder why? If Hamas has any redeeming qualities, I’ve yet to hear one. Lead terror state Iran and their advocate China say these US anti-Israel protests are well deserved…that should tell us something.
There are no moral blank checks in history. If Israel bombs a hospital that it knows is filled with patients, there is blood on its hands, even if Hamas is hiding in the basement.
The October 17 explosion in the hospital parking lot was caused by a failed rocket launch from within Gaza by the Palestinian Islamic Jihad. This is according to US, France, UK and Canadien intelligence. If you want to believe what Hamas says, go ahead.
Thanks, Tom. The pro-Hamas people ignore the fact that it is Hamas that is using civilians as human shields in order to up the civilian casualty rate and garner international sympathy. Apparently it’s working in some quarters.
it it also not unheard of for Hamas to actually target their own to produce the blood and mangled bodies that THEIR people film and then pass along to a gullible West with the charge that this was due to Israeli ordinance. And of course almost nobody in the West ever questions the charges!
Mark this is wonderfully written. You very nicely articulate what Wakefield used to be and now what Wakefield has become or is becoming! You nicely point out the hypocrisy of the WHRC as it has failed to live up to its mission and philosophy. Indeed, Wally Moccia, Bob Bisacre, Jimmy Goode, Eddie Surette, et al are all turning over in their graves. Where are the voices of the so-called “stalwarts” and community “core” of modern day Wakefield who should be publicly expressing their disgust and opposition to these very obvious anti-Semitic groups and individuals? 77 years of harassment, attacks by Hamas, Hezbollah, and the condemnation (Death to Israel) of the existence of Israel and the latest attack has brought the Israeli leadership to say, “Enough is enough!” How would America respond to an enemy that constantly did the same thing to us and eventually attacked our country?
Thank you for the kind words, David. It means a lot.