Zaret quits Easthampton council amid censure request he blames on antisemitism

OWEN ZARET

OWEN ZARET

Owen Zaret is quoted by JewsInSchool citing public humiliation as his reason for resigning from the City Council.

Owen Zaret is quoted by JewsInSchool citing public humiliation as his reason for resigning from the City Council. JewsInSchool on Instagram

By ALEXA LEWIS

Staff Writer

Published: 02-04-2025 5:05 PM

EASTHAMPTON — Amid a request for censure by the School Committee alleging “inappropriate” behavior, at-large Councilor Owen Zaret announced his resignation from the City Council on Tuesday morning, claiming he was “publicly humiliated.”

“I have served Easthampton for 4 terms as a City Councilor,” Zaret said in an emailed statement to the Gazette. “I believe in engaged public service, and now I will consider other ways to contribute to our community.”

Zaret’s resignation follows a January City Council meeting at which the Easthampton School Committee read into the record a request for the City Council to censure Zaret, alleging that his efforts to get the committee to do more to combat antisemitism in the schools had “escalated to incidents of clearly unprofessional and unacceptable conduct.”

Zaret had countered that his requests for a dialogue with the committee regarding antisemitism in Easthampton schools had gone unanswered, and that the censure request deflects from that core issue. School Committee members dispute that contention. The censure, a formal way of disapproving of an official’s conduct, would not impact Zaret’s ability to participate in council proceedings, and was not a call for him to resign.

Zaret did not say whether he intends to pursue other offices or positions in Easthampton. When asked about his reasons for stepping down and his plans for the future, he simply said he hopes to take time to reflect and assess.

“This is an opportunity for me to reflect on how I can best utilize my skills to serve causes that are important to me,” he wrote. “I will take some time to decide my next step, and how to best use my personal and professional time in the future.”

However, in a later Instagram post with the organization JewsInSchool, Zaret is quoted as saying, “I was publicly humiliated by the School Committee for shining a light on antisemitism. I had to resign because I wasn’t going to participate in a modern day inquisition with a committee that was engaging in antisemitism instead of fighting it.”

Zaret did not immediately respond to a request for comment about this statement.

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“We are deeply saddened by the allegation that the School Committee is engaging in antisemitism,” said School Committee Chair Laura Scott, who said that the intent of the censure was to document Zaret’s “unprofessional” patterns of conduct and “correct the record” of allegations he was making publicly, including statements made to local press that the School Committee was “ignoring” his concerns about antisemitism in the schools.

“We have been actively addressing his concerns … as we always have,” said Scott, explaining that the district has “multiple policies in place” to address antisemitism and frequently works with outside contractors, “many of whom are members of the Jewish community themselves.”

In response to Zaret’s allegations of public humiliation and antisemitism, Scott said that the censure process is “meant to be held publicly,” and that accusations of antisemitism against the committee about antisemitism are “provably false.”

This censure request marks the second time Zaret has been criticized by other elected officials for matters of conduct. In late 2022, three fellow city councilors — Dan Rist, Lindsey Rothschild and Peg Conniff — alleged harassment and bullying by Zaret.

After heated statements from members of the public, with some stating that the censure was meant to address Zaret’s pattern of “bullying” behavior, and others calling the censure discriminatory, the request for censure was ultimately sent on to the Council’s Rules and Governmental Relations Committee for further consideration.

“Both the world and this city are in a much different place than in the beginning of this term,” Zaret said in a Facebook post announcing his resignation. “Now is the time for me to seek joy for myself and my family and to look for places where my efforts and love for the city and the world can be most productive.”

Strong presence

During his time on the City Council, Zaret has been known for his presence in the community, both in person and online. Notably, Zaret has led the River Roads Cleanup in Millside Park, which follows the River Roads Festival each year, bringing together volunteers and performers from the festival — such as Dar Williams — to clean up hundreds of pounds of plastic containers, nip bottles, cigarette butts and more that would otherwise be washed into the river.

Zaret has also advocated for his fellow Jewish community members, which he noted on Facebook is something he hopes to continue doing outside of the council. In 2023, Zaret sponsored a council resolution condemning antisemitism in Easthampton, which passed unanimously and rallied support from community members at a November meeting.

Also in 2023, Zaret was one of the councilors to spearhead an ordinance aimed at protecting the privacy of those seeking reproductive or gender-affirming care in Easthampton. The ordinance had previously been aimed at preventing deceptive advertising by crisis pregnancy centers offering limited resources, but was withdrawn by Zaret to be reworked after multiple public hearings and opposition from Easthampton Mayor Nicole LaChapelle.

The final ordinance was ultimately passed by the council but vetoed by LaChapelle due to concerns that it would not strengthen protections beyond existing law but would face costly legal challenges.

In his Facebook announcement, Zaret said he sees promise in standing with the Jewish community outside of his councilor role, as well as “other communities facing extreme prejudice during this time in history.”

“I respect Councilor Zaret’s reflection on where he can best serve,” said LaChapelle. “This is a clear-eyed decision for him.”

City Clerk Barbara LaBombard confirmed that Zaret’s resignation request has been officially filed with the city. It is now listed on Wednesday night’s City Council meeting agenda.

Alexa Lewis can be reached at alewis@gazettenet.com.