Swissvale, PA – During an April 27 Swissvale Borough public meeting, Fire Chief Clyde Wilhelm made a comment about vaccines that Councilmember Abigail Salisbury said was antisemitic, and directed at her.
Salisbury was discussing vaccines and whether the borough should let residents know what is required from them to attend specific events.
The virtual meeting was recorded.
“Pandemic is over and you’re asking us to show you our papers, that’s reminiscent of something that happened a long time ago that didn’t turn out really well,” Wilhelm said.
“I’m really hoping you’re not saying that having to show a vaccination care is equivalent to some sort of Nazi regime,” Salisbury replied.
“What I’m saying is, if you’re asking to see my papers to show up to an event,” Wilhelm continued, before Swissvale Council President Chris Ansell stepped to stop the conversation.
Salisbury spoke again at the end of the meeting.
“It really bothered me. Quite frankly, it caused my heart to pound, and I got very upset about the fact that the Jew on council was insinuated to be a Nazi,” Salisbury said.
Several residents sent comments for the May 4 meeting about that exchange. Those comments would typically be read in to the record, but they were not.
In a statement to Pittsburgh’s Action News 4, Chris Ansell wrote: “I was cautioned by our solicitor to not read the comments to avoid potential Borough liability. I have already reached out to the two residents who submitted the comments and provided an opportunity for them to join the public meeting at the end of the month to give their comments in their own voice.”
Ansell said he spoke to Wilhelm about his comments and added that Swissvale is adding mandatory sensitivity training for all its employees and elected officials.
Salisbury said that is a start, but she said Wilhelm has yet to apologize for the comments that she said were directed at her.
“Most people know I’m Jewish, everyone on council knows I’m Jewish, That to me was shocking and also just a wildly inappropriate thing to say I think,” said Salisbury. “I feel that antisemitism is often a neglected form of discrimination. I don’t think I need to remind anybody in Pittsburgh, it’s a very real form of discrimination that can be very dangerous, so I’d like to see a more emphatic condemnation of these types of comments and some sort of effort to ensure that it never happens again.”
