‘Call out evil’: Natick community to march after swastika found near MBTA station

NATICK, Mass — A Natick rabbi is asking residents to help spread light and goodness in the face of the swastika recently discovered at the West Natick Commuter Rail station.

Rabbi Levi Fogelman wants community members to meet at the Boden Lane Bridge on, Sunday, April 23 to march to the Chabad Center parking lot. He hopes that by opening what was originally scheduled to a be small annual gathering to the public, whoever placed the swastika will see their actions have only strengthened the community.

“The best way to stop darkness is to double our efforts with light and goodness. We take control of our response with acts of positivity and pride. When negativity sees that all they accomplished was to strengthen us even more, it will lose,” wrote Fogelman on Facebook Friday.

The swastika was discovered late Thursday night, according to town officials. Natick Police are investigating the incident and have increased their presence near the MBTA station in the past few days.

A resident covered up the antisemitic symbol with a chalk flower, alongside a brief message: “Hate has no place here.”

“The reality is that Natick is a wonderful town with beautiful, kind-hearted and good people. We are grateful to live in this environment and enjoy an atmosphere of peace and cohesion. My phone has been ringing with calls of support and strength,” wrote Rabbi Fogelman.

The number of antisemitic incidents in Massachusetts ballooned in 2022, according to a report by the Anti-Defamation League. A total of 152 incidents were documented in Massachusetts last year, a 41 percent increase from 2021, according to The Boston Globe. New England’s 204 incidents were the highest in the region in 40 years.

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