In one of the more intense examples of public comment to be seen at a Wilton Board of Selectmen meeting, accusations of Antisemitism and harassment, defense of views, cautions of slander, and complaints filed with police were voiced in a somewhat off-topic series of statements.
At the center of it was Keith Denning, Wilton’s former state representative, who put his name in for consideration to fill a vacant seat on the BOS and, Monday night, Aug. 4, was on hand to be interviewed for the spot by the selectmen.
After an eligibility technicality was discovered by Second Selectman Josh Cole at the last minute requiring that a registered Democrat alone was required to fill the seat vacated by Bas Nabulsi, Denning was pulled from consideration.
Denning, who ran unsuccessfully for the BOS in 2021, was a registered Democrat when he served in the state house for one term in the 42nd District from 2022-24. He later changed his party affiliation to ‘Independent’ following an apparent rift with the Democratic Town Committee related to controversies surrounding what some regarded as Antisemitic language used in his defense of Palestinians.
Prior to the announcement that Denning would not be eligible to take the open seat, in the first section of public comment at the beginning of the meeting, resident Ally Berger was a handful of people who spoke against what she described as Denning’s “Antisemitic views.”
“I speak tonight to oppose Keith Denning for the Board of Selectmen vacancy,” Berger said. “Keith’s actions show that he is not aligned with Wilton values. He has shared Antisemitic views and then demonstrated a complete lack of ability to engage respectfully with his constituents.”
Although shortly after, a statement from Town Attorney Nicholas Bamonte confirmed that Denning would be ineligible to receive the appointment, Denning stuck around throughout a meeting that extended for close to four hours in order to rebut the statements.
When the second opportunity for public comment was finally announced, Denning spoke first.
“I would have become a Democrat again, but I was kicked out when I was accused of being an Antisemite,” Denning said.
“Clearly and unequivocally, I am not Antisemitic,” Denning said. “I stand firmly against all forms of hatred.”
He went on to qualify that his support for Palestinian rights and a Palestinian state did not equate to hatred of Jewish people or any other community.
“We live in a time where expressing solidarity with one group is often misinterpreted as hostility toward another, but that’s not how I see the world,” he said. “Supporting human rights for Palestinians, for Israelis, for everyone, is not a zero-sum game.”
“Just as criticizing the U.S. government doesn’t make someone anti-American,” Denning said, “criticizing the policies of the Israeli government does not make someone Antisemitic. We must be able to have honest, difficult conversations about injustice and occupation without labeling each other unfairly or shutting down dialogue.”
Denning, however, did not have a chance to respond to statements that came from three other people following him at the podium, two of whom shared that they had, separately, contacted the Wilton Police Department to get Denning to stop sending them what they described as unwanted harassing emails.
“Over the last 12 or more months, I and several other Wilton Jews have been receiving emails from him on roughly a monthly basis,” Tom Dubin, chair of the DTC, told the BOS. “Typically, he informs stories about the Israeli army and civilian casualties. The emails feel like small hand grenades.”
“Somehow he thinks it’s okay to do this to Wilton Jews,” Dubin said. “He argues that we email recipients need to be educated.”
While Dubin and others praised Denning’s words of this particular evening, they suggested the statements were quite different from his actions and previous comments he has made, including inflammatory social media posts in which he compared Jews to Nazis and likened Hamas terrorists to “freedom fighters.”
“I thought his words were wonderful, I truly do,” Dubin said. “I wish he was able to say those words a year and a half ago.”
Cantor Harriet Dunkerley of Wilton’s Temple B’nai Chaim is among the group that contacted the police to have Denning cease his email campaign.
She described “…the harassment, repeatedly receiving unsolicited emails from him for well over a year, despite his refusal to meet with me to discuss things in a public place in a civilized manner.”
“I felt threatened,” Dunkerley said. “I was personally attacked, by Keith and at least one of his good friends in Wilton, by email and also on social media.”
“I’m also a bit conflicted hearing Mr. Denning’s remarks this evening because I think that we do share some of the same beliefs,” she said.
I appreciated the opportunity to discuss my views with the Board of Selectman and the town of Wilton after I had been publicly accused of “antisemitic views” without proof. I would also like to clarify to the town two accusations that were made after I had left the meeting.
I did refuse to meet with the Cantor after she accused the organization that I volunteer with to be antisemitic without proof. I did however meet with her twice both times with my wife and Steve Hudspeth in attendance along with other Christian ministers in town in an effort to explain my past positions and how I would have used other language. In the end, she would not accept my explanation and nothing further came of the meetings.
Secondly, to clarify, I did tell Mr. Dubin I would not run again however I did not resign from the DTC. That was done after Tom Dubin and Ruth Deluca met me and my wife at a meeting with the DTC where once again I attempted to clarify my statements and both said they would not support me. That is the claim I made Monday night, that I would still be a Democrat but had been excluded from the committee by Tom Dubins’ decision alone.
This is supported by an article published by GMW in January 2024.
Editor’s note: The article to which Denning refers stated that Denning was not present at the meeting, and Dubin had no comment. The article went on to say, “With three membership slots still available, Denning could potentially still ask to join the DTC next term. [GOOD Morning Wilton has reached out to Denning for comment, and will update the story with his response.]”