10 July 11 • 2019
jn
N
ews that a young man had been
roughed up on his way home
from synagogue on June 21 per-
colated through the Jewish community
the next week. The following Shabbat, a
few men at the back of a synagogue held
forth on the topic as they waited for ser-
vices to begin.
The pessimist began: “Did you hear
about what happened last Friday night?
“It’
s terrible. I don’
t know if it is still safe
around here.
”
Optimist: “You think it didn’
t happen
like that in the old days? It did. That’
s why
we have the security patrol on Shabbos
and Yom Tov. Probably the kids only want-
ed to cause trouble, or to steal a wallet and
a phone.
”
Pessimist: “Well, someone should tell
them that on Friday night they won’
t find
money or a phone on an observant Jew.
”
A GOOD SAMARITAN
On June 21, Lester Sloan was driving to
his job as a caregiver when he noticed
three teenagers attacking a man walking
home from a synagogue.
A Fox 2 Detroit report indicated the
teens were “body slamming” the man,
attempting to rob him in the process.
“I saw the reflective vest fly into the
air — they were tossing him around like
a ragdoll,
” Sloan says.
Sloan has worked as a caregiver for a
client on Lathrup Boulevard near 10 Mile
in Southfield for eight years, right where
he witnessed this attack.
When he saw the teenagers ganging up
on the 27-year-old man, he stopped his
car and ran toward the violence.
“
As soon as I got out of the car, they all
took off down the street in the dark — I
couldn’
t see anybody or what kind of
clothes they were wearing.
”
The teens left the man bruised and
beaten, but not seriously injured. The
police were called, but the
group of attackers had
already fled the scene.
After the attack, Sloan
took to Facebook to talk
about the incident on
the Metro Detroit Crime
Facebook page, sharing
that he is “… tired of see-
ing the beatings, the killings, robbing,
all the senseless stuff. If you want some-
thing, go get a job and pay for it like I do.
”
POLICE & COMMUNITY COOPERATION
Police are still on the lookout for the
perpetrators, who Sloan believes live near
Hilton Street.
President Pro Tem of the Southfield
City Council Michael “
Ari” Mandelbaum
and City Treasurer Irv
Moshe Lowenberg sent a
letter to the community.
Mandelbaum was moti-
vated, he says, because
“people in the community
were nervous.
” The two
used the letter to “reassure
people there would be
additional police presence.
” They also
reminded people how they can help. The
takeaway, according to Mandelbaum:
1. This was a crime of opportunity.
2. The police will have increased
patrols for the next few weeks.
3. Police reports are helpful in identify-
ing patterns and allow police to patrol in
areas with specific crime issues.
4. Be alert. Walk in pairs. Wear reflec-
tive clothing. Turn on porch lights, espe-
cially in areas where there are none.
Gary Sikorski, director of community-
wide security for the Jewish Federation of
Metropolitan Detroit, advises those who
are walking alone at night
to practice situational
awareness if traveling in a
group is not a possibility.
“Be aware of your sur-
roundings,
” Sikorski says.
“It’
s a lot easier to avoid a
problem than to get out
of a problem. It’
s sort of
funny … as soon as a person that’
s up to
no good sees that somebody else is pay-
ing attention, that’
s often enough to have
them move along or stop doing what
they intended to do.
”
Sikorski says he is impressed with the
Southfield and Oak Park police depart-
ments. “They have proactive relations
with the Jewish community,
” he says.
“They are engaged with our concerns.
”
Sikorski’
s observations about police
work come from long experience. He
worked in law enforcement for 26 years
and retired as a deputy police chief before
accepting his position with the Jewish
community.
According to Sikorski, the private secu-
rity service that monitors Jewish insti-
tutions on Shabbat and festivals works
closely with local police departments.
Michael Eizelman of Oak Park super-
vises the operation. “The security patrol
in Oak Park and Southfield began about
10 years ago, after multiple troubling inci-
dents,
” he said. “Some youngsters threw
snowballs at a rabbi, knocking off his hat.
Some teenagers hassled people who were
walking back from shul. Some teenagers
pushed and shoved Jews on the streets.
None of this seemed seriously threaten-
ing. They seemed like kids looking for
trouble. However, there were too many
incidents and they were getting more
severe. People were getting nervous.
”
At that time, Eizelman, along with
a few other members of the observant
community, met with Federation.
“The Federation response was
extremely helpful; they helped us analyze
what we could do to remedy the situa-
tion, and they found a donor to pay for
the remedy.
”
The donor preferred to remain anon-
ymous, then and now, and continues to
pay for this program.
And the patrols continue, as
Eizelman notes: “With funding from the
Federation’
s donor, we hired a security
firm to provide patrols of Jewish neigh-
borhoods and institutions on Shabbat
and Yom Tov. The patrols serve as eyes
and ears as they drive around the neigh-
borhood, escorting pedestrians and pay-
ing careful attention to activity at syna-
gogues, yeshivahs and the mikvah. Before
every Shabbos and Yom Tov, I email SOS
Security with details of hours, places and
individuals requiring special attention.
“For example, on Shavuos night, we
can anticipate that people will be walk-
ing in the neighborhood at all hours.
My email lets the security firm know
that they will be needed until morning.
Simchat Torah is another late night.
“This is not an inexpensive program,
”
Eizelman adds. “Federation has been
wonderful. They have never questioned
the schedule when I ask for additional
hours.
” ■
JN intern Michael Pearce contributed to this story.
LOUIS FINKELMAN CONTRIBUTING WRITER
Security
Concern?
Southfi
eld mugging on Shabbat
prompts look at community safeguards.
Gary Sikorski
Michael
Mandelbaum
Lester Sloan
jews d
in
the