WORCESTER, Mass. - Gov. Maura Healey making it clear: Massachusetts stands strong against antisemitism.

"Hate has been on the march and Jewish members of our community have been victimized, and we must say 'no more,'" Healey said Monday.

The governor signed a proclamation at the "Face Jewish Hate" event hosted by Combined Jewish Philanthropies, a nonprofit serving the Jewish populations in the Boston-area. Members of the Jewish community in central Massachusetts said it's a step in the right direction.

"We look to our elected officials for leadership on these types of issues," said Steven Schimmel, executive director of the Jewish Federation of Central Massachusetts. "It's not only valuable, but really essential."

Schimmel said the proclamation comes at a time of great importance with antisemitism on the rise. A report from the Anti-Defamation League counted almost 3,700 cases of antisemitism in the U.S. last year, an increase of 36% from the year before.

"There's a lot of tension and turmoil, political discourse has changed, and a lot of that carries over into areas like antisemitism and racism, and other forms of injustice and hatred," Schimmel said.

The same report shows the number of incidents last year is more than five-times what it was a decade ago. Schimmel said education is the key to reversing this trend.

"People need to know each other and also understand a little bit about our culture, our heritage, our values," said Schimmel. "And I think it's clear that if you recognize that, we'd see that across the board there are so many shared commonalities. There's no room for hate."