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.