20 | MARCH 18 • 2021
U
.S. Rep. Brenda
Lawrence (MI-14) was
appointed March 4 by
Speaker of the House Nancy
Pelosi to serve on the U.S.
Holocaust Memorial Council.
Lawrence, founder and
co-chair of the Congressional
Caucus on Black-Jewish
Relations, will replace the
council seat held by the late
civil rights leader Rep. John
Lewis.
The council was established
by Congress in 1980 to lead
the nation in remembering the
Holocaust and to raise private
funds to construct the U.S.
Holocaust Memorial Museum
in Washington, D.C.
Once the museum opened in
1993, the council became the
governing board of trustees of
the museum, an independent
establishment of the govern-
ment operating as a public-pri-
vate partnership that receives
some federal funding to sup-
port operations of the museum
building.
“Given that I represent
the only Holocaust memo-
rial museum in the state of
Michigan, this appointment
to serve on the United States
Holocaust Memorial Council
is an honor and carries a lot of
significance for me,” Lawrence
told the Jewish News. “My dis-
trict is home to one of the larg-
est Jewish populations in the
state, and I’m proud to fight for
them in the halls of Congress
every day.
“Remembering the lives
lost during the Holocaust as
well as the families that were
torn apart is critical to ensur-
ing that such atrocities and
evil never happen again,” she
continued. “
As the co-chair of
the Congressional Caucus on
Black-Jewish Relations, and
the second vice chair of the
Congressional Black Caucus, I
know that the Black and Jewish
communities have a shared
history.
“In the face of bigotry and
hate, our communities have
always been champions for jus-
tice, truth and equality. I look
forward to working with the
council to support the mission
and efforts of the United States
Holocaust Memorial Museum.
”
The council meets twice
a year and consists of 55
members appointed by the
president, five members each
from the Senate and House of
Representatives and three mem-
bers from the Departments of
Education, Interior and State.
Ron Weiser, University of
Michigan Regent and former
chairman of the Michigan
Republican Party, is also a
member of the council.
OUR COMMUNITY
Rep. Brenda Lawrence is appointed
to U.S. Holocaust Memorial Council.
Important Role
DANNY SCHWARTZ STAFF WRITER
Rep. Brenda
Lawrence
C
ustomers and staff of
a kosher market in
Southfield endured an
attempt of anti-Israel intimida-
tion recently, but none of them
gave in to the perpetrator.
A Yemeni content creator
on YouTube, Instagram and
TikTok known for skits and
pranks went to the Grove
Kosher Market, formerly
known as One Stop Kosher, and
harassed patrons by showing
them a picture on his phone
of a Palestinian flag with the
words “Free Palestine.
”
In the video, the man can be
seen walking throughout and
in front of the shop asking cus-
tomers to read the message on
his phone out loud and record-
ing their reactions. None of the
customers ended up reading the
“Free Palestine” message, with
most of them just walking away.
One customer quickly real-
ized what the man was doing
and confronted him outside
of the store, saying, “There is
no Palestine,
” and later asking,
“You have nothing to do in
your life?”
At one point in the video, a
manager of the store confront-
ed the man, asking, “
Are you
here to shop? What else do you
need?”
The man posted the video on
his Instagram account, and has
received many negative reac-
tions from his own followers.
One comment on the video
read, “OK, but hear me out,
what if we don’t go around
harassing random people?”
“This is really wrong, and
I’m embarrassed for you,
” said
another commenter, a non-sup-
porter of Israel. “Of course,
there’s going to be some Jewish
people who do support Israel,
but purposefully going into
Jewish communities/shops and
doing this is not pushing the
movement to further progres-
sion, is it?”
The video posted on his
TikTok account has amassed
5.6 million views, with mostly
negative comments on there as
well.
“I’m Palestinian, but this is
just wrong. Do better please,
”
one commenter said.
“What is the purpose of
doing this? These are just peo-
ple trying to shop at a kosher
market. Leave them alone,
”
another commenter added.
“Counterproductive, antise-
mitic, not activism, just wrong,
”
yet another responded.
No Grove spokesperson was
available to comment.
Anti-Israel provocateur wins
no friends at kosher market.
Harassment
Thwarted
DANNY SCHWARTZ STAFF WRITER
A screenshot of a Grove shopper
being harassed in a video of
the incident uploaded by Rabbi
Hoffman of Yeshiva World,
available on thejewishnews.com.