Tyler Murphy photo
NORWICH – The interfaith community of Norwich held a candlelight Vigil for Peace on Thursday on the steps of the Chenango County Courthouse.
About 60 people attended the memorial vigil that displayed the names of the 14 victims of recent alleged hate crimes. The names included the 11 who were slain Saturday at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh PA, and also two African-Americans killed in a separate incident in Jeffersontown, Kentucky.
“The hatred, bigotry and ignorance needs to end. It needs to end in our homes, schools, work and in government,” said Susan Fertig, an interfaith organizer and local Jewish community member, who spoke at the vigil.
She shared a quote from Albert Einstein: “The world is a dangerous place, not because of those who do evil but because of those who look on and do nothing.”
“We must never be a bystander,” she said.
Another of the several local religious leaders to speak at the event was Rev. Joe Connolly of the Norwich United Church of Christ.
