16 August 29 • 2019 jn continued on page 18 CORRIE COLF STAFF WRITER PHOTOGRAPHY BY ANTHONY LANZILOTE W ith the Holocaust Memorial Center in Farmington Hills as the backdrop, a rally the evening of Aug. 20 protesting conditions at U.S. detention centers organized by the Close the Camps Detroit Coalition attracted a counter-protest by Metro Detroiters Eugene Greenstein, Linda Stulberg and others. Unexpectedly joining the counter-protesters were approximately 15 mem- bers of the black-attired, all-male group Proud Boys. Greenstein said he was uncertain how the Proud Boys learned of the event, noting they were not invited by the organizers of the counter-protest. Farmington Hills police estimated approximately 200 people were in attendance, with most listening to the Close the Camps Detroit program. A representative of the Proud Boys who gave his name as Columbus said his group “heard about this (the counter-pro- test) through some of our friends, and we thought it was pretty disgusting that they (the Close the Camps Coalition) were out here politicizing the Holocaust. We wish that it was anywhere but the Holocaust Memorial Center, but we thought standing with them was more important than polit- icizing it. ” The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) defines the Proud Boys as “a right wing ‘ fraternity’ who present themselves as defenders of conservative values and put a premium on con- fronting or attacking leftists. ” Members of the Proud Boys have been involved in violent clashes in Portland, Ore., and New York. Jason Kessler, a documented member of the Proud Boys, helped organize the Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Va., in August of 2017 that resulted in violence and the death of a young woman. Rabbi Brent Gutmann from Temple Kol Ami in West Bloomfield was one of the voices heard at the Close the Camps rally. “We are led by many different people from many places with different associations, but everyone is here as an indi- vidual representing his or her own conscience, ” Gutmann said. “For me, the goal of being here is to demand that every human being deserves and receives dignity from our govern- ment. ” Rene Lichtman, a Hidden Child during the Holocaust, told those assembled at the Close the Camps rally, “We are against what is happening with ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) and the influence of (President) Trump. I empathize a lot with the children who are being separated from their families because that is what happened to me during the Second World War. I barely knew my mother. ” WHY THIS LOCATION? The choice of location by Close the Camps was a source of contention among counter-protesters. “ As a Jew, I find it difficult and as an American, too, ” said Rabbi Aryeh Spero of the Conference of Jewish Affairs, who was the primary speaker to those assembled with the count- er-protesters. Spero, a conservative thinker and pundit, is also jews d in the Members of the Proud Boys pose for a group shot. ARTHUR HORWITZ THE OK HAND GESTURE USED BY THE PROUD BOYS While posing for pictures at the counter demonstration, members of the Proud Boys used a hand gesture approximating an “OK” sign. According to the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), this hand sign has gained added meaning, with white supremacist groups “falsely promoting the gesture as a hate symbol,” claiming it rep- resented the letters “WP,” for “white power.” The ADL states that “because of the traditional meaning of the ‘ OK’ hand gesture, as well as other usages unrelated to white supremacy, partic- ular care must be taken not to jump to conclusions about the intent behind someone who has used the gesture.” Proud Boys join Jewish counter-protesters at the Close the Camp Rally in front of the Holocaust Memorial Center. Unexpected Visitors Rene Lichtman protests migrant detention outside the Holocaust Memorial Center in Farmington Hills.