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continued from page 18

RUDY THOMAS

MARK ZACKS

Beth Shalom
To Hold
Women’s
Seder

TOP: Brian Siegel, CEO of
the Detroit JCC, and West
Bloomfield Police Chief
Michael Patton head to a
press conference
outside the JCC.

2016 Beth Shalom Women’s Seder: Jeanne Milstein
of Oak Park, Sherri Gelb of Huntington Woods, Mandy
Garver of Bloomfield Township and Esfir Nohznik of
Oak Park.

Challenging Times

Local, national law enforcement affi rm
support for Jewish cemeteries.

C

SHARI S. COHEN CONTRIBUTING WRITER

I

n less than three months, hundreds
of tombstones have been toppled
and damaged in Jewish cemeteries
in St. Louis, Philadelphia and Rochester,
N.Y. While a motive hasn’t been deter-

mined, anti-Semitism is a possibility,
especially in light of more than 100
bomb threats to Jewish institutions this
year. (See boxed information.)
So far, Jewish cemeteries in Metro

JON MARKS/JEWISH EXPONENT

ongregation Beth Shalom in Oak
Park will hold a women’s march of
another sort at its annual Women’s
Seder at 6 p.m. Wednesday, March 29.
The Women’s March to Sinai program will
commemorate the contributions of Jewish
women during the Exodus from Egypt and
throughout Jewish history.
Women of all faiths are invited to the
event at the synagogue in Oak Park. The
program includes a kosher, Passover-style
dinner. Vegetarian meals are available
upon request.
Beth Shalom’s immediate past presi-
dent Marie Slotnick will lead the program
and Cantor Penny Steyer of Temple Shir
Shalom in West Bloomfield will lead
the singing. Participants will follow The
Journey Continues: The Ma’yan Passover
Haggadah by Tamara R. Cohen.
Linda Bell chairs the Women’s Seder
committee. Working with her are Nathalie
Conrad, Mandy Garver, Fran Hildebrandt,
Shelia Livine, Aviva Phillips, Marie Slotnick
and Gretchen Weiner.
Reservations are $25 for adults and $10
for girls ages 5 to 12. Sponsorships are wel-
come at $54. “Angel” sponsorships are $72.
Anonymous sponsorships for guests at $25
are also welcome.
Paid reservations must be made by
March 23. Mail checks to Congregation
Beth Shalom, 14601 Lincoln, Oak Park. For
more information or reservations, call the
synagogue office at (248) 547-7970 or email
cbs@congbethshalom.org. •

outside the community.”
will take significant effort
Heidi Budaj, execu-
just for us to break even.”
tive director of the Anti-
Siegel says Detroit’s JCC
Defamation League Michigan
has not suffered financially
Region, said, “Because our
because of the bomb threat.
community is feeling vulner-
He also said, “We are not
able due to these threats
experiencing less traffic, but
locally and nationally, we’ve
we worry that misinforma-
Heidi Budaj
increased our already close
tion about the nature of
ties with law enforcement at
the risk might lead some
local, state and federal levels.
parents to not sign up for
They are taking the threats very seri-
programs.
ously and assisting our community in
“The telephone terrorists’ inten-
security measures and by throwing
tion is to create fear. This is how
they ‘win.’ It’s impossible for us to say the entire weight of their depart-
ments into investigating these cases.
there is no risk, and we treat each
“That should bring some measure
incident as serious as nails,” he said.
of comfort to our community,” she
“At the same time, heightening fear
said.
unintentionally helps them do their
job, which none of us want to be
complicit in.
TAKING ACTION
“I would argue that the JCC is as
An open letter to President Donald
safe or safer than any other institu-
Trump, signed by all 100 U.S. sena-
tion that provides services to chil-
tors, urged specific action on anti-
dren and families. Our heightened
Semitism and alluded to the fiscal
attention to security probably makes
pressure on JCCs.
us safer than comparable institutions
“We are concerned that the num-

Gravestones were toppled in a Jewish cemetery in Philadelphia.

20

March 16 • 2017

jn

Detroit have not been harmed.
However, Ralph Zuckman, president of
the Greater Detroit Jewish Cemetery
Association and the Michigan
Cemetery Association, says, “We need
to be proactive rather than reactive.”
He organized a meeting on March
8 attended by representatives of nine
Jewish cemetery associations, along
with personnel from four local police
departments, the Detroit office of the
FBI, the Department of Homeland
Security and U.S. Sen. Gary Peters’
office. Greg Sikorski, director of com-
munity-wide security for the Jewish
Federation of Metropolitan Detroit,
provided additional guidance.
In recent weeks, Zuckman said,
Jewish cemetery officials have received
some calls about security. “We had
security protocols in place long before
these incidents. Visitors and families
understand that security is a priority,”
he explained. However, the situation
now seems more challenging.
Mike Schostak, a board member of
the Anti-Defamation League (ADL)
Michigan Region, provided an overview
of recent events and the responses of
ADL and law enforcement.
“This is a perilous time,” he said.
“We have been tracking hate crimes
and anti-Semitism since 1979. So far,
no bombs have been found, but that
doesn’t mean we shouldn’t be taking
this seriously.”
A sixth wave of bomb threats
occurred last week in the U.S. and
Canada. Schostak said ADL has met

