Needham Human Rights Committee Elects Burgos Chair, Hears Clergy Harassment Account

NEEDHAM — June 18, 2026 — Needham Human Rights Committee unanimously elects new chair and hears account of congregation harassment. The committee, meeting June 18 with a smaller-than-usual quorum, voted to elect Tina Burgos as its new chair, replacing outgoing co-chairs Keith and Carrie Herwich. The Rev. Katie Day Scuddera of First Parish in Needham appeared by video to describe four phone calls and emails her congregation received in the days before a May 16 lecture on Palestinian water rights history, including one message parodying the congregation's website with the line "humanists, theists, atheists, agnostics, and interfaith families spreading anti-Semitic propaganda," and another asking about the church's security arrangements. A social media influencer with more than 4,000 followers also posted a video about the event featuring the church's phone number, drawing comments that Day Scuddera described as "aggressively Islamophobic." The committee outlined its newly Select Board-approved discrimination complaint process as a potential avenue for formal action, but acknowledged the complaint form has not yet been posted to the town website.