metro
OA' JEWISH
(9 3NDAT /(5 41/S
4°.\
Police Find No Hate Crime
ADL agrees that attack on MSU student
was not motivated by anti-Semitism.
SAVE THE DATE!
Thursday, October 18, 2012
Berman Center for the Performing Arts
West Bloomfield Jewish Community Center
The Detroit Jewish News
Foundation
Inaugural Community Event:
A Conversation with Aaron Lansky
Founder, National Yiddish Book Center
Best Selling Author: Outwitting History
Proceeds To Benefit the Detroit Jewish News
Digitization Project
Lansky's brilliance and passion literally saved much of Yiddish culture from the
dumpsters and landfills of history. His National Yiddish Book Center in Amherst,
Mass. possesses more than 1 million volumes, with a significant portion digitized
and accessible online.
The Book Center sponsors a wide range of programs and initiatives designed to
"open up" the treasures of Yiddish culture for a new generation.
A dynamic and spellbinding speaker and storyteller, Lansky is a recipient of a
"genius grant" from the McArthur Foundation. He is a member of the Detroit Jewish
News Foundation honorary board of advisors.
If you would like further updates on the event and the work of
the Detroit Jewish News Foundation, please forward your name and
e-mail address to: ahorwitz@renmedia.us
The Detroit Jewish New Foundation's goal is is to digitize every issue of
the Jewish News, dating to March 27, 1942, and make them available and
searchable to the public 1 he foundation will also support and sponsor
forums, town hall meetings and other educational events to best utilize
and share this historical community resource.
To assist the Foundation in its work, simply go to
the webs to www.thejewishnews.com and
dick on the word "donate"
at the top right portion of the home page.
The Detroit Jewish Net}-" rotinktotion Inc. is a 501 (c) (3) noel-profit organization.
18
September 27 2012
Zachary Tennen after the attack he says was anti-Semitic
Ronelle Grier
Contributing Writer
T
he Anti-Defamation League
(ADL) has concluded the
Aug. 26 assault on Zachary
Tennen, a 19-year-old Michigan State
University sophomore from Franklin,
does not fall into the category of a
hate crime.
Tennen, who was hospitalized for
injuries that included a broken jaw,
claimed he was attacked by two men
who first asked him whether he was
Jewish. When he affirmed his reli-
gion, Tennen said the men gave a
Nazi salute and shouted "Heil Hitler."
Since then, the ADL has attempted
to gather as much information as pos-
sible about the attack, which occurred
at a party near the MSU campus in
the early morning hours of Aug. 26.
Based on an investigation by the East
Lansing Police, which included inter-
views with more than 50 witnesses
who were at the party, both the ADL
and the law enforcement agencies
agree that the incident should not be
handled as a hate crime.
A press release issued by the ADL on
Sept. 14 stated, "... while the student
was the victim of a serious physical
assault, the evidence does not support
his claim that the assault involved anti-
Semitic hate speech or gestures, nor
does it indicate that the incident was
motivated by his religion:'
Witnesses interviewed by police
said they saw Tennen arguing with
two other males in the front yard and
that one of them hit him in the face.
Tennen's description of a Nazi salute
or anti-Semitic epithets was not cor-
roborated by any of the witnesses,
according to East Lansing Police
reports.
Tennen also said his mouth had
been stapled during the attack; how-
ever, police said the medical records
did not indicate evidence of staples in
the victim's mouth. Some witnesses
said they saw Tennen remove a small
piece of metal from his mouth, but
none of the witnesses saw either per-
petrator holding or using a stapler.
Ingham County Prosecutor Stuart
Dunnings III told the Lansing State
Journal, "There is no indication at
all that this was a hate crime. None.
Zero. I think it's a shame when one
person makes an allegation and
everyone takes it as the truth and gets
up in arms about it."
The Algemeiner, a Jewish e-paper,
reported on Sept. 20 that friends of
Tennen have started a petition on
Watchdog.net, urging the FBI and the
ADL to "investigate the anti-Semitic
attack on Zachary Tennen and to
determine why East Lansing Police
refuse to view the assault as a hate
crime."
The petition has gathered more
than 13,000 signatures. Tennen's
Facebook page is also filled with
wishes for a speedy recovery and jus-
tice for the perpetrators of the attack.
At press time, no formal charges had
been filed, and Tennen's family could
not be reached for comment.