The Agudah Voting Project and the New England office of Agudath Israel of America were pleased to host a forum with Boston mayoral candidate, City Councilor Andrea Campbell, for the fourth conversation in the Boston Mayoral Candidate Forum Series.
This conversation started off a little bit different than the last three conversations by addressing the brutal and unprovoked stabbing of Rabbi Shlomo Noginski outside of the Shaloh House Jewish day school in Brighton last week. Mrs. Ariella Hellman opened up by thanking Councilor Campbell for her statement following the attack and for her presence at the vigil. Rabbi Dan Rodkin, Executive Director of the Shaloh House Jewish day school asked Councilor Campbell to share her plan for security to ensure that Jewish day schools and shuls are not soft targets. Councilor Campbell spoke out strongly against antisemitism and committed to using all resources at her disposal to protect the Jewish community from further attacks.
Councilor Campbell highlighted mental health issues in the city of Boston as a major concern that must be addressed. She spoke about the need to expand resources and to invest in providers as well as to undertake efforts to reduce any associated stigma. Councilor Campbell also addressed housing affordability, food insecurity, Universal Pre-K, and other issues of importance to the community. She also committed to working with Yachad to ensure fair employment opportunities for individuals with disabilities across the city. Councilor Campbell underscored the need for government officials to understand and learn about the communities they serve, and she expressed interest in continuing to engage with the Orthodox community in Brighton.
The goal of these conversations is for our community to engage with our elected officials, as well as for the elected officials to engage with and to better understand our community,” said Mrs. Ariella Hellman, director of government affairs of Agudath Israel’s New England office. “We are grateful to Councilor Campbell for taking the time to participate in this important conversation with all of us.”