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Anti-Israel Propaganda
Mock eviction notices at U-M cause
concern among students.
M
ock eviction notices were
recently distributed at the
University of Michigan by the
pro-Palestinian student group Students
Allied for Freedom and Equality (SAFE).
More than 1,000 students in six residence
halls reportedly received the notices
slipped under their residence hall room
doors on Tuesday, Dec. 10, warning them
that their dormitory would be demol-
ished by Dec. 13.
The notices were made to appear as
though they were issued by the university's
Department of Housing and were designed
to mimic the eviction notices received by
some Palestinians in the West Bank if their
homes were built illegally or needed to be
demolished because of Israeli security con-
cerns. The notices, however, claimed that
Israel evicts Palestinians from their homes
for the purpose of "mak[ing] life so miser-
able for Arabs that they leave."
Students affiliated with SAFE also pub-
lished a "Viewpoint" piece on the university
newspaper's website calling for Boycott,
Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) cam-
paigns against Israel and claiming the evic-
tion notices are a "tool of political satire."
These notices, according to the Anti-
Defamation League (ADL), have appeared
on at least a half a dozen other campuses
in the past few years, making some stu-
dents feel threatened or intimidated. For
example, ADL reports, after students at
Rutgers University received similar notices
in October, Esther Reed, rabbi of Rutgers'
Hillel was quoted in the campus newspa-
per saying, "Students were made to feel
that they were not safe in their residence
halls."
At U-M, a letter was sent by Michigan
Hillel Executive Director Tilly Shames and
two student leaders to parents, alumni and
friends of Hillel.
"This campaign runs counter to the val-
ues of community and civil discourse that
we pride ourselves upon at the University
of Michigan," they wrote. "Instead it
attempts to intimidate students in their
homes.
"Our concern is the same as the univer-
sity's: our students' safety and their ability
to be students free from intimidation. We
have been in constant contact with the
university's administration regarding their
response and their handling of this matter
in multiple facets of the university system."
The U-M statement stated, in part: "On
behalf of University Housing and Student
Life, we would like to apologize for the
false 'eviction notices' some residents
received overnight. Please know that this
Former B'ham Mayor
Seth Chafetz Jailed
After Second Arrest
I
Ronelle Grier
Contributing Writer
F
Mock
eviction
notice
slipped
under
dorm
doors
was not an official communication from
University Housing. We are sorry that the
flyers caused shock, alarm and other emo-
tions among some residents. We do not
condone any behavior that causes mem-
bers of our community to feel targeted
and/or intimidated.
As documented in the Michigan Daily
today, the flyering was intended to spread
awareness about situations that many
Palestinians experience. While University
Housing believes in political discourse and
dialogue in our communities, students
who received this message did not have
the ability to choose whether to engage
in this conversation. The approach taken
by the group was in violation of Housing's
solicitation policy, and we have followed
up with the organization responsible."
In response to the fake eviction notices,
Michigan Hillel took action immediately.
Students were invited to Hillel the night of
Dec. 10 to come together as a community
and to share how they felt. After presen-
tations by Shames and student leaders,
trained facilitators led students in smaller
discussion groups. University professionals
from counseling services were on hand for
any students who might need them.
Students also were in Mason Hall
wearing pro-Israel shirts to identify
themselves, promoting the discussion at
Hillel, and encouraging students to share
their complaints with U-M through its
Expect Respect website. Additionally, stu-
dent leaders attended the Central Student
Government meeting to bring their con-
cerns forward.
Shames says informal conversations
happened at Hillel, around campus
and through social media, allowing
students to express their feelings and
to put forward their pro-Israel perspec-
tives. Michigan Hillel's Israel Cohort is
actively planning diverse pro-Israel events
for the beginning of next semester.
❑
Compiled from reports by ADL and Michigan
Hillel.
ormer Birmingham Mayor
Seth Chafetz spent his 54th
birthday in jail after being
arrested for selling methamphet-
amine to undercover officers on Nov.
20 in the parking
lot of a Home
Depot store in
Madison Heights.
It was Chafetz's
second drug-relat-
ed felony charge
in the past four
Seth Chafetz
months.
At the time of
the arrest, Chafetz was out on bond
following an Aug. 20 arrest when
undercover officers from the Oakland
County Narcotics Enforcement
Team (NET) confiscated metham-
phetamine, marijuana, cash and
several syringes from his Bloomfield
Township home.
According to the Oakland County
Jail online inmate locator, Chafetz has
been incarcerated since his arraign-
ment in 43rd District Court on Nov.
22. His bond was set at $50,000 cash,
pending a pretrial hearing scheduled
for Dec. 20.
Chafetz was released following his
August arrest after posting 10 percent
of the $10,000 bond set by Judge
Kimberly Small of the 48th District
Court. The case then was bound over
to Oakland County Circuit Court,
where a trial date is scheduled for
March 24 in front of Judge James
Alexander. Chafetz is represented by
attorney Gabi Silver.
The felony drug possession charge
for the August incident carries a pris-
on sentence of up to 10 years. Selling
narcotics, the charge in Chafetz's
most recent arrest, is a more serious
offense that could result in a maxi-
mum sentence of up to 20 years and
$25,000 in fines.
Chafetz, mayor of Birmingham in
2003, was the city's first Jewish mayor
and the first to be openly gay. Before
and after his one-year term as mayor,
he served the community in various
capacities, including several years on
the Birmingham City Commission
and the Baldwin Public Library
board.
He was formerly employed by the
Detroit Skating Club, where he was
a nationally known youth figure
skating coach.
❑
Dr. Martin Luther King
Celebration
Monday, January 20, 2014
5-8:3o p.m.
Walled Lake Northern HS
•Multicultural dinner, student
displays and performances.
•Featured keynote
speaker: Steve Spreitzer,
Interin CEO of the Michigan
Spreitzer
Roundtable for Diversity
and Inclusion.
•Admission: Free. Participants
are requested to bring donations of
canned or boxed food for the Focus:
HOPE food pantry in Detroit.
For more information, please contact
Alec Bender, Wixom Elementary
principal, at 248-956-3432.
po
WL Western HS Performing Arts presents
"Almost Maine"
February 6-8, 2014
WI. Western HS
RiL
Tickets will be available for purchase in
January, 2014. For ticket information, go
to wlcstickets.com or call
248-387-9160.
WL Northern HS Performing Arts presents
A
"Tarzan - The Musical"
February 6-9, 2014
-- ; - 0
--
WL Northern HS
Tickets will be available for purchase in
January, 2014. For ticket information, go
to wlcstickets.com or call
248-387-916o.
Kindergarten
Orientation
Tuesday, March 4, 2014
at 6:30 p.m.
2014 - 15
The Walled Lake Consolidated School
District offers FREE, full-day, every
day kindergarten at all 12 Walled Lake
Elementary Schools.
Only parents of kindergartners who
will be five-years-old on or before October
1, 2014, are cordially invited to attend the
2014-15 Kindergarten Orientation at each
of our schools.
Elementary School Listings
•Commerce - 248.956.3902
•Dublin - 248.956.3829
•Glengary - 248.956.3102
•Hickory Woods - 248.956.2602
•Keith - 248.956.3702
•Loon Lake - 248.956.4002
•MH Guest - 248.956.3302
•Meadowbrook - 248.956.2702
•Oakley Park - 248.956.4102
•Pleasant Lake - 248.956.2802
•Walled Lake - 248.956.4302
•Wixom - 248.956.3402
Enrollment Information Hotline:
248.956.525o
WL Central HS Performing Arts presents
"Fiddler on the Roof'
Fiddler
Jr April 25-27 &
R
May 1-3, 2014,
WI, Cental HS
os;
Tickets will be available for purchase
March 2014. For ticket information, go to
\,,...v1cstickets.com or call 248-387-916o...)
For more information and
additional show listings, go to
wlcstickets.com .
www.wlcsd.org
[7] info@wlcsd.org
twitter.com/@walledlakeschools
facebook.com/wlcsd
Youa
El ID
youtube.com/
December 19 • 2013
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