20 | MAY 11 • 2023 

OUR COMMUNITY

T

he Woodward Avenue Shul in 
Royal Oak was a recent target 
of antisemitic hate speech in 
the form of graffiti. 
On April 28, about two hours 
before Shabbat, the Royal Oak Police 
Department informed the shul’s Rabbi 
Mendel Polter of a swastika spray-
painted on the front outside wall of 
the building.
The suspect, a 35-year-old woman, 
Randi Lucille Nord of Clinton 
Township, was taken into custordy late 
Monday, May 1.
Royal Oak Detectives, working with 
investigators from Jewish Community 
Security Inc., the FBI and the 
Farmington Hills Police Department, 
were able to identify the suspect from 
security cameras.
The woman was arrested without 
incident by members of the 
Farmington Hills Directed Patrol Unit. 
She was arraigned May 3 on charges 
of ethnic intimidation, a two-year felony, 
and malicious destruction of a building, a 
misdemeanor. She’s due in court May 12.
“The swift apprehension of the 
suspect is a perfect example of how our 
relationships with the community and 
collaboration with our law enforcement 
partners bring incidents like these to a 
close,” Royal Oak Police Chief Michael 
Moore said in a statement. “I’m proud 
of our continued partnership with 
Jewish Community Security and the 
tireless efforts of our detectives and law 
enforcement partners who were critical to 
this investigation.” 

THE SHUL’S RESPONSE
Once notified, Polter hurried over to 
the shul, and with the help of the city 
Department of Public Works, the graffiti 

was quickly cleaned up. 
Polter called Gary Sikorski, director 
of community-wide security for Jewish 
Community Security Inc. (JCSI), who 
notified stakeholders at the Federation 
while putting the word out to other agencies 
and synagogue executive directors.
Sikorski said he was in contact with the 
Royal Oak Police Department’s Deputy 
Chief throughout the weekend. If City 
Services hadn’t removed the graffiti, Sikorski 
was going to take it into his own hands.
“I actually went by there on Saturday 
(April 29) just to make sure it was 
removed and if not, myself and even 
Steve Ingber, CEO of Federation, offered 
to come by with our power washers and 
remove it if needed,” Sikorski said. “But it 
was good to see the city took care of it.”
Polter said it was an action-packed 

few days but, all things considered, the 
community’s taking it in stride.
“Obviously, it’s concerning, and we’re 
going to increase our security measures 
as much as possible,” Polter said. “But, 
generally speaking, everyone is taking it 
well.”
Polter says the outpouring of support 
has been tremendous and that the shul 
and community’s greatest possible 
response is to continue doing all the 
good, positive things it already does. 
“These are terrible acts that need to 
be dealt with in its appropriate manner,” 
Polter said. “But we as the Jewish people 
do not want to define ourselves by what 
others are attempting to define us with. 
We have a lot to offer, a lot of goodness, 
kindness and morality, and we’re going 
to continue doing that, thriving and 
growing.”
Haley Stevens, congresswoman 
for Michigan’s 11th District which 
encompasses Royal Oak, condemned the 
incident in a tweet on April 30.
“Targeted hate and antisemitism have no 
place in Michigan’s 11th District & will not 
be tolerated. I am devastated to learn of 
the graffiti at the Woodward Ave. Shul. To 
our Jewish community: You are loved, you 
are supported, and we will root out hate 
wherever it may rear its head.”
Above the swastika graffiti was “
AZOV” 
spray-painted in capital letters. While the 
exact meaning of the graffiti is unknown, 
Polter said the first thing that came up in a 
Google search was the Azov Brigade.
According to Stanford University’s 
Center for International Security and 
Cooperation, the Azov Brigade (also 
known as the Azov Battalion) was 
formed in 2014 and is the paramilitary 
component of the Azov Movement, a 
far-right nationalist network of military, 

Royal Oak Shul, Oak Park 
Community are Targeted 
with Antisemitism

DANNY SCHWARTZ STAFF WRITER

The Woodward Avenue 
Shul was defaced April 28.

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