Hate is Not Welcome Here

On October 16, 2016, the eve of Yom Kippur, a cemetery belonging to Temple Beth Shalom of Florida, NY was desecrated with vile, antisemitic symbols. Michael Melasky, retired public school administrator who has co-managed this cemetery for the better part of a decade, tells the story of this event, its immediate and long-term aftermath, as well as the enormous impact it had on the entire Warwick Valley and surrounding region. This presentation leads to a broad-based conversation on hate speech, offering proactive strategies on how to deal with confronting individuals who speak using hateful language.