28 | AUGUST 12 • 2021
rise in hate crimes and rise in
antisemitism,
” she said. “I cre-
ated a Hate Crimes Division
to target actions that were
biased-related, motivated by
hate against certain groups.
“Little did I know that soon
we would have to expand the
division to Hate Crimes and
Domestic Terrorism. I’m proud
that our department is charging
cases against these extremist
groups that traffic in hate.
”
McDonald said, “We are in a
disturbing moment” about the
increase in antisemitic incidents
in Oakland County over the last
four years. The Hate Crimes
Unit she established has “a ded-
icated prosecutor” determining
whether reported crimes are
racially or ethnically motivated.
“We are spending money to
teach officers to recognize what
is a hate crime, when a crime
has that dimension.
”
Defeating domestic terror-
ism is an urgent matter for
Nessel, among several speakers
who referenced the storming
of the state capital building
in Lansing on April 30, 2020.
State Sen. Jeremy Moss, the
only Jewish member of the
Michigan Senate, decried that
lessons “weren’t learned” from
the armed “mini-insurrection,
”
which foreshadowed the vio-
lent breach of the U.S. Capitol
Building on Jan. 6.
“
Antisemitism was there on
that day,
” recalled Rep. Haley
Stevens (11th Congressional
District).
Discussing voting rights,
Nessel said the issue at stake is
“not only to uphold the right to
vote but to uphold the integrity
of our electoral systems in its
entirety. We must hold respon-
sible elected officials who are
opponents of fair elections.
”
Gov. Whitmer and Rep.
Debbie Dingell (12th District)
were among those paying
tribute to the late Sen. Carl
Levin, who died on July 29.
Katie Costello brought greet-
ings on behalf of his nephew,
Rep. Andy Levin (9th District).
Also addressing the audi-
ence were Rep. Elissa Slotkin
(8th District), Rep. Brenda
Lawrence (14th District),
co-chair of the Congressional
Caucus of Black-Jewish
Relations, and state Rep.
Samantha Steckloff (37th
District), the only Jewish mem-
ber of Michigan’s House.
“It was so inspiring to hear
from the mostly women politi-
cians,” said Leah Klein of West
Bloomfield after the event. “I
really appreciated the emphasis
on working against hatred —
especially antisemitism.”
Her daughter, Rebecca
Berenbon, said, “I’m really
proud of Michigan Democrats
for talking about not just how
we can fight hate against Jews,
but how we as Jews can fight
hate against all people.
”
Michelle Zukowski-Serlin of
Kalamazoo said, “We always
hear about antisemitism and
the terrible things happening.
That’s why it’s so important that
the Democratic Jewish Caucus
is really successful. People need
to realize that we need to go
forward.
”
OUR COMMUNITY
continued from page 27
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