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Hello,
We are seriously considering moving to Westfield this summer, but are becoming concerned with recent news of anti semitism in schools. We are a Jewish family coming from a town with a fairly large Jewish population. We have 2 kids (elementary and middle school). Would like to hear from those who live in town. Will my kids be the only Jewish kids in class? Will they be accepted or do we have to worry about them feeling singled out? I know there has to be some Jewish population since there is a temple in town, but it is on the North side and we are looking on the South side. Appreciate your input!
My wife and I moved to Westfield several months ago (and are Jewish). We don't have any children so I can't speak for the atmosphere in the schools but I have found the community to be welcoming. Several of my neighbors are Jewish and there seems to be a prospering Jewish community from my research and what I have seen.
There are 2 synagogues in town, Temple Emanu-El (reform) on the north side and Union County Torah Center (Chabad/Orthodox) on the south side. There is a kosher bakery (Bovellas) right in town that is always busy. During Purim, they have a huge display of hamentashens with at least a dozen types. By the end of the day, they are mostly sold out. They also sell Challah which I have seen people purchase multiple times. While Westfield does not have a kosher deli in town, there are 2 in neighboring towns (Deli King of Clark in Clark and Rye's Deli in Springfield).
There is a JCC in neighboring Scotch Plains which hosts a Jewish Film Festival in Westfield twice a year and has done so for 15 years. During Hanukkah, there is a menorah located next to the Christmas tree by the train station.
There is also a jewish population study from the Jewish federation from 2012, which is slightly outdated by this point but probably still accurate. From this report and what I have seen elsewhere, its likely that the Jewish population is around 18%-23% of the total population of Westfield.
Naturally, it is up to you to make your own decisions, but I would recommend you reach out to the synagogue, JCC, etc if you are unsure. As another poster has said, unfortunately antisemitism is on the rise across the country but all of the incidents recently have likely been one or two stupid kids, and these types of things occur in all areas unfortunately. It is up to you to decide what you are comfortable with. Again, I don't have kids so I can't say, but if 20% of the town is Jewish, I would guess that there will be at least 2 or 3 other Jewish kids in each class on average.
what level of jew are you? are we wearing yarmulkes around town, kosher, twirly sideburn hair?
a few people that are from my home town (marlboro, nj) live in westfield now and they are jewish. i doubt that they have any problems. they are pretend jewish like myself (but they pretend more than i do). so no yarmulkes or anything obvious.
IMHO the only anti antisemitism around here is against the ultra conservative Jewish residents with customs and habits that seem very odd to the rest of us.
Thank you all for your inputs! We are not very religious, but my children do identify as Jewish and we do observe holidays such as Hanukkah, Purim, Rosh Hashanah, etc. We just don't want them to feel different or like they are the only Jewish kids in town, and based on the feedback so far, sounds like they won't. Please keep the comments coming, I'd love to hear different perspectives!
Hi, Westfield resident here. Very, very sad that those incidents took place. As others mentioned, there is a sizeable, active, and vibrant Jewish community in town, and I don't think these incidents represent the vibe here. Best wishes in your search!
Just from personal observation anti-semitism is stronger in the communites where 'diversity' is promoted (its paradoxical), or you have populations of younger academic left leaning types. Westfield is older white conservatives and is a safe place for Jewish people.
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