•
The ADL's annual audit of anti-Semitism shows a
decrease in the nation but an increase in Michigan.
ALAN HITSKY ASSOCIATE EDITOR
/
M
ichigan's regional Anti-
Defamation League
office in Southfield
recorded 23 anti-Semit-
ic incidents in Michigan in 1996.
That marked an increase of eight
over the 1995 total.
The jump in reported incidents
in Michigan flies in the face of a
two-year trend nationally. ADL
offices nationwide recorded 1,722
incidents in 1996, down from
1,843 in 1995 and the 16-year
record of 2,066 incidents in 1994.
The states with the highest
number of incidents were New
York, 328; New Jersey, 238; Cal-
ifornia, 186; Florida, 123; and
Massachusetts, 106.
The Michigan total included
seven incidents of vandalism and
16 harassment reports. Mr. Co-
hen emphasized that the num-
bers reflect "what people choose
to report" to the ADL.
During a recent tour of
out-state communities, Mr.
Cohen said several Jewish
individuals mentioned unreport-
ed incidents, including vandal-
ism at a Jewish-owned home in
Grand Rapids. "But they didn't
report it because they don't want
people to see it as a problem."
There were no arrests in any
of the 23 Michigan incidents, and
Mr. Cohen added that only nine
of the incidents could be classi-
fied as a crime.
Among the more serious
events were the harassment of
Orthodox Jews walking to
synagogue on the 1-696 deck
park in Southfield last April; a
threatening letter last May
taking credit for a bomb incident
at Michigan State University's
Hillel facility the previous year;
and vandalism at Hebrew
Memorial Park cemetery and
nearby businesses in Roseville
and Clinton Township last No-
vember.
In the Hebrew Memorial Park
episode, vandals spray-painted
the marble sign and the care-
taker's home at the cemetery
during the night of Nov. 28-29.
Everyone Claims To Specialize In
one of the nation's largest pub- was changed three times. There
lishers of racist and anti-Semit- were no incidents at the event,
and it drew 80 people.
ic music, according to Mr. Cohen.
The group's Resistance
Mr. Burdi returned to
magazine has run letters
Canada recently and lost Worke rs last
Nove mber
urging hate organizations
an appeal of an assault
remove d spray to use caution while trying
conviction. He will spend paint fr om the
several months in prison marble sign in to infiltrate military and
for hitting a woman front of Hebrew police agencies. A favorite
demonstrator in Toronto Memori al Park tactic now in this effort is
at 14 M ile and communication via the In-
two years ago.
ternet. ADL nationally
Grat lot.
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two weeks ago in a Detroit store- gin monitoring these Internet dis-
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They fled when the caretaker's
wife heard noise and turned on
lights at the home. Area busi-
nesses and cars were also spray-
painted.
ADL continues to monitor hate
groups that fan a climate for anti-
Semitic incidents. A Munising
man who describes himself as a
"two seedline Identity teacher for
20 years," is hosting a lecture se-
ries in Grand Rapids this week-
end.
"Two seedline," Mr. Cohen
said, means one seed from God
and one from Satan.
The man, James Wickstrom,
offers a catalog of 500 videotapes
and is part of the Church of the
Creator group.
Another Church of Creator fol-
lower, Rocky Suhayda, is the
head of the European American
Education Association in East-
pointe, which distributed anti-
Semitic and racist leaflets in
Huntington Woods, Royal Oak,
Ferndale and other suburbs last
year.
Mr. Suhayda has been in-
volved with the Ku Klux Klan
and neo-Nazis, Mr. Cohen said,
and promotes unified action
among the groups. Mr. Suhayda
ran for Livonia City Council in
1983 as a White Power candi-
date.
George Burdi of Resistance
Records in suburban Detroit is