OUR COMMUNITY

30 | NOVEMBER 25 • 2021

I

n a political email sent to Birmingham
residents prior to the Nov. 2 election,
some say Commissioner Clinton
Baller went too far with his words,
bringing out antisemitic themes.
Now, the Anti-Defamation League, or
ADL, has sent a complaint
to Birmingham officials
asking for Baller to issue
a retraction and public
apology. The international
group, which works to
stop the defamation of
Jewish people through
reducing antisemitism and other hate
speech, has also called on the city to
“take appropriate disciplinary action” in
regards to Baller’s expressions.
The controversial email in question
accused fellow city commissioner Brad
Host of being a “marionette of the
cabal,” says David Bloom, who ran as
candidate for Birmingham Commission.
It also claimed Host, who
isn’t Jewish, was part of a
political action committee
supporting Baller’s opponents
that was funded by Jewish
Birmingham residents.
In the same email,
Baller hints that the Jewish
residents used their wealth to influence
the Nov. 2 election. “He said that two
families pumped this money into my
campaign and into Andrew Haig’s
campaign,” Bloom explains. “He said that
they were buying the ponies and we were
going to be doing their bidding.”
Baller also hinted at a political agenda,
Bloom continues. “He suggested that
perhaps these families were donating to
the political action committee that was
backing us as well.”

COMMISSIONER
BALLER’S RESPONSE
Following the complaint, the issue was
referred to Birmingham’s Board of
Ethics to review both the letter from the
ADL and Baller’s email. Though Baller
has not yet issued a formal apology, he
responded with email blasts earlier this
month defending his earlier email as
purely political.
In his email, Baller wrote that he
doesn’t have “an antisemitic bone in his
body,” sharing that his father and ex-wife
were both of the Jewish faith. He also
insinuated that the ADL’s complaint
further proved a political agenda
influenced by wealthy donors.
“The ADL letter is born out of
a politically motivated desire to
continue the pre-election deceptions,
misinformation and fear-mongering of
a political faction clawing for traction
and relevance,” Baller wrote in the latest
email blasts.
Bloom says he’s been contacted by a
myriad of people concerned about the
antisemitic and offensive undertones of
Baller’s comments. “I had people that
were Christian contact me and think this
was antisemitic,” he says.
This isn’t Baller’s first controversial
move. His statements in previous
elections against those he wanted to see
out of the race led to the city’s Board of
Ethics requiring him to add a disclaimer
on his emails that states he’s expressing
his own personal opinions, rather than
official statements on behalf of the City
Commission.
Bloom says Baller has an extensive
email list of Birmingham residents that
he believes numbers in the thousands,
meaning his comments have high
visibility in a community with a large

Jewish population. While emails are sent
out with a disclaimer that the words and
statements are his opinion only, they
come from Baller’s commissioner title,
which adds to the controversy.
Though Baller’s actions have left some
in the Jewish community upset and
frustrated, Bloom says others continue to
view the moves as entirely political.
“When you use the word cabal,
when you say that a city commissioner
is a marionette of a cabal and there’s
wealthy Jewish financing involved …
to me and to a lot of other people, it
looks antisemitic,” Bloom explains, “but
there are other people saying it’s [only]
political.”
Michigan’s ADL chapter, however,
argues that Baller’s statements qualify as
antisemitic speech. “Using expressions
like ‘willing marionette’ and ‘this cabal,’
as well as calling out members of the
Jewish community accusing them of
using wealth and ‘buying the ponies,’
are common anti-Jewish themes
that promote hatred of the Jewish
community,” said ADL Michigan regional
director Carolyn Normandin in her
complaint letter regarding
Baller.
Yet for Bloom and others
who believe Baller’s agenda
played on antisemitic themes,
it’s the combination of
statements that made the
messaging so upsetting.
“He created a cocktail by using the
word cabal, buying the ponies and
influencing people,” Bloom says. “There
are some people who say that’s not
antisemitic, but the Anti-Defamation
League looked at that and they had a
number of people who contacted them
[about it].”

Some say controversial email sent by Birmingham
commissioner may have antisemitic themes; some
say it’s “only political.”

ADL Issues Complaint

Commissioner
Clinton Baller

David
Bloom

Carolyn
Normandin

ASHLEY ZLATOPOLSKY CONTRIBUTING WRITER