The chairman of the Carteret County Board of Commissioners likely won’t be wishing anyone a Happy Hanukkah.
When asked by a fellow member of the all-Republican commission to include the sentiment in his verbal list of holiday well-wishing at the close of the board’s meeting Monday in the county administration building in Beaufort, Chairman Chris Chadwick replied, “No, we don’t say that.”
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His response drew a visible reaction from Commissioner Marianne Waldrop, her mouth agape at Chadwick’s prompt dismissal of her suggestion.
Other commissioners smiled while chuckles, including those from other board members, could be heard on the video recording of the meeting as Chadwick turned to the audience and said, “I want to wish everybody Merry Christmas and Happy New Year, and we appreciate y’all coming.”
As he spoke, Waldrop leaned toward her mic, pulled it closer, and said “And Happy Hanukkah.”
After the meeting adjourned, Waldrop looked at Chadwick and said she was setting “you up for success, not failure.”
When reached by telephone Wednesday, Chadwick told Coastal Review, “Nothing was meant by the comment in any negative fashion whatsoever.”
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“I told (Waldrop) after the meeting she could say whatever she wanted, but I said, ‘Merry Christmas,'” he said. “She kind of caught me off guard, and I just said, ‘I say Merry Christmas,’ or ‘We say Merry Christmas.'”
Monday marked the second night of the Jewish Festival of Lights, the eight-day holiday in which Jews commemorate the second century B.C.E. rededication of the Second Temple in Jerusalem after the Maccabean Revolt.
After watching a video clip of the meeting, Leonard Rogoff, president and historian of Jewish Heritage North Carolina, on Wednesday afternoon said by email, “At a moment when Jews have been slaughtered in Australia for celebrating their holiday, when armed police guard synagogues here in North Carolina as Jews worship, for the county commissioner to refuse to acknowledge his Jewish neighbors and fellow citizens is not in keeping with the spirit of the holidays. How could Jews not take offense?”
Rogoff is referring to the massacre last Sunday on Sydney’s Bondi Beach, where two shooters opened fire at a Hanukkah celebration, killing 15 people and sending more than 20 others to area hospitals.
“Especially at a time when antisemitism is surging — tragically underscored by the murder of 15 people at a Hanukkah celebration in Australia — we need our elected leaders to honor the religious traditions of all constituents, not laugh and dismiss the observances of Jewish residents,” Tali Cohen, Anti-Defamation League Washington, D.C., regional director, said in an email Wednesday afternoon.
“We’re reaching out to Chairman Chadwick, and we hope this incident will prompt reflection on the importance of respecting people of faith across our community.”
As of the time of this publication, neither Waldrop nor any of Carteret’s five other commissioners had responded to calls and emails requesting comment.
The board meeting, as is standard practice, was broadcast live and the entire recording is available on the county website. Videos of the latest meetings are aired at 8 p.m. on the Thursday and at noon Sunday on Spectrum’s local cable channel 10. The meeting videos are archived for one year.
