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

