Jewish Veterans Move To Natick

The following is a press release from the MetroWest Chapter of the Jewish War Veterans. The release was submitted by Larry Herson, commander of the MetroWest Chapter of the Jewish War Veterans, Post 157 and senior commander on the state level. It is published as it.

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Framingham veterans are stunned by the recent, sustained and orchestrated abuse of power by local media in their biased and one-sided attack on the integrity and leadership of the MetroWest chapter of the Jewish War Veterans (JWV).

According to Larry Herson, commander of the Framingham based Post 157, none of the media made any attempt whatsoever to contact the Post's officers in order to understand their position on the long-running issues with the town.

"We are part of an honorable national organization that has served our country for the past 120 years, and we've been in Framingham over 76 years. For this, and many other reasons, we cannot accept the slurs on our honor and the contributions we have made to our fellow veterans and their families. In fact, these disputes and the media coverage of them, has generated one of the worst local episodes since the town's legal dispute with the South Middlesex Opportunity Council".

"What makes all this very ironic", he said, "is that I was named Framingham's "Person of Distinction" in 2008 while serving as president of the town's Veterans Council".

To place these developments in perspective, Herson confirmed today that his organization merged with the vibrant Natick council. after years of frustrating and non-productive relations with Framingham governance.

Herson said the announcement of this step, which actually took place last October, was kept under wraps, in the hope that outstanding issues could quietly be resolved through direct meetings with the Town Manager and the Board of Selectmen .

Unfortunately, that objective was not realized, he said. "We never had a chance to explain anything; we were always ignored". And the recent media attacks, finally tipped the scales.

"We are an independent organization," he stressed, "and are not subject to the authority of Framingham's executive branch". Under the Town Manager Act, the selectmen appoint veterans to serve on the Framingham Veterans Council, and thus effectively controls that group.

That previously was not the case: The veterans groups comprising the council directly chose its own membership, set its agendas, and maintained liaison with Framingham officials.

When all that changed, he added, "We deleted Framingham from our name, put the title "MetroWest" in its place, and accepted the invitation to rejoin the Natick council which we were part of years ago". However, he emphasized that his post will remain based in Framingham, and will continue to serve its residents through its wide range of public service programs. And hopefully, he said, the Post's relationship with Framingham governance will improve to everyone's mutual benefit.

The Natick council hosts many veteran groups, including the large MetroWest Marine Detachment (#1037) which formally met in Framingham. And its former president, the late Ed Jolley, was a resident of Framingham. And we will call on the marines and the other posts to support us..

The JWV is the nation's oldest continuously operating veterans organization.