Editor’s note: This letter is in response to Addison Independent reporter Christopher Ross’s Dec. 9 account of antisemitism at Mount Abraham Union High School.

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Dear Jewish Students at Mount Abe,

Thank you for the bravery and strength to write to our community and let us know your perspective of what it is like to be a Jewish high school student. You are not alone and you are believed. As Christopher Ross pointed out in his article, the statistics regarding rising antisemitism in our country and how Jewish people have had to change their behaviors, is absolutely cause for immediate concern.

Antisemitism thrives in darkness and when people don’t speak out it festers until it manifests in physical violence or vandalism.

You spoke out and I personally am grateful for your leadership. Please know that an entire community of Jewish friends, allies, and institutions like Havurah, Hillels, and synagogues around our state support you and your right to be Jewish in your own way, unequivocally.

Matt Vogel

Ferrisburgh