Thabisa Rich on her neighborhood street on Feb. 11.
A city outreach worker has received an official reprimand and directive to attend sensitivity training in response to Facebook postings and a one-woman protest she conducted about the war in Gaza.
Mayoral Chief of State Sean Matteson sent the letter to Cultural Affairs Department Community Outreach Coordinator Thabisa Rich. In response Rich defended her actions and her record as a city employee. The city released the documents Monday.
The letter of reprimand addresses a Feb. 11 incident in which Rich walked with a bullhorn down the Upper Westville street where she lives calling for a ceasefire and “Free Palestine,” during which a Jewish resident emerged from his house and confronted her; and concomitant Facebook posts attacking Jews. Click here and here to read an article related to that incident, which received national attention.
The letter states that Rich violated two sections of the city’s Code of Conduct:
“• Public officials and municipal employees shall refrain from abusive conduct, personal charges, or affronts upon the character, motives, or intents of other public officials or municipal employees, or of members of the public. “• Public officials and municipal employees shall represent the policies and positions of the city government to the best of their abilities when designed as delegates for such purpose When representing their own individual opinions or personal positions, public officials and municipal employees shall state explicitly that the opinions or positions are their own and not the opinion or position of the city or of any administrative of other body within the city government and shall not cause or allow such an inference to occur.”
The Facebook posts cited include “I’m sick of these Jew focused ads” aired during the Super Bowl; and in urging followers to protest alders to pass a ceasefire resolution, “I promise I understand that some of ya’ll have your pockets lined with bosses who are Jewish.”
Failure to “ensure that you exercise professionalism, respect, and discretion in all your interactions with members of the New Haven community” could “result in further disciplinary action” up to firing, the letter states. For now Rich should “attend cultural sensitivity training during her normally scheduled work hours.”
Read the full letter and accompanying documents here.
The letter notes that Rich, like other city employees, has the right to make public statements on issues like the war and participate in protests “that refrain from abusive conduct, personal charges, or affronts upon the character, motives, or intents of other public officials or … members of the public” and don’t “target an entire religion or race (‘Jew’’ or ‘Jewish’).” It also directs Rich to “[m]ake choices that deepen her ties to the New Haven community, rather than create divides with residents.”
The letter accuses Rich of chanting “pro-Palestinian slogans … in front of the home of a resident because they had a sign in their yard supporting the State of Israel.”
Some of Rich's social media postings, a focus of the city reprimand letter.
Rich Responds
The city also released Rich’s written comments in response to the letter.
She stresses there, as she did in a previous comment, that she never targeted the house of the neighbor on Knollwood Drive with the pro-Israel sign.
“Throughout the demonstration, I remained on the street, maintaining a respectful distance. Additional, I was subjected to racial and xenophoic slurs” and “was told by some neighbors to ‘get off my street.’”
The neighbor, Elchanan Poupko, a Jewish day school teacher who moved to the city several months ago, did accuse her of targeting his house. Asked by the Independent, he said his wife had heard Rich chanting in the street about Palestine for 20 seconds or so when he rushed outside. A video he posted showed her in the street while he yelled at her to “go back to Germany, you Nazi!” and about the prevalence of rape in South Africa. (Rich, who is also a recording artist and songwriter, grew up in South Africa.)
In her written comments, Rich noted that her demonstration “took place within my neighborhood on a Sunday during non-work hours.” She argued that her Facebook statements were “taken out of context” and were “never intended to harm or diminish an entire community; rather, they aimed to shed light on the propaganda and misinformation surrounding the true impact of the conflict on the people of Palestine.”
“I acknowledge that my intentions did not fully achieve the intended impact, which was to advocate for humanity, remind our community at large of our collective voice, and hold our elected leaders accountable by calling for a ceasefire. It’s essential that our elected representatives reflect our values.” She defended her record as a city outreach worker in “ensuring that every New Havener is seen, heard, and supported without exception.”
Mayor Justin Elicker was asked Monday about the allegation that Rich “targeted” Poupkos’s house.
“The important thing here and the crux of the issue is that she broke the code of conduct ” he responded. “The social media posts were particularly concerning. Any reasonable person would see them as antisemitic. Regardless of whether the house was specifically targeted or not, the code of conduct outlines that employees should not be abusive of the public. Her language in the social media posts and her protest clearly cross that line.”
Separately, Hopkins School suspended Rich’s husband, Charlie Rich, as its associate director of annual and reunion giving as a result of the Knollwood Road incident. He showed up at one point during the confrontation but did not participate in the protest. Read about that here.