JUNE 1 • 2023 | 33

R

egarded by most his-
torians as a prelude 
to the Holocaust, 
Kristallnacht (“The Night of 
Broken Glass” on Nov. 9-10, 
1938) saw the Nazi regime 
carry out a violent, coordi-
nated pogrom against Jews in 
Austria and Germany. Non-
Jews in those countries failed 
to speak out after the destruc-
tion of their Jewish neighbors’ 
businesses and property. 
Such a response was 
unacceptable to Barbara 
Ingalls, a non-Jewish woman 
living near the Woodward 
Avenue Shul (WAS) in Royal 
Oak. She knew she could 
not remain silent when the 
Orthodox synagogue was 
targeted with Nazi graffiti on 
April 27.
Ingalls, a longtime social 
justice activist, invited allies 
in the community to join 
a public rally she quickly 
organized to protest the 
antisemitic acts and every 
kind of hate. Approximately 
120 supporters, Jewish and 
non-Jewish, answered her 
call. 
The participants, 
predominantly in their 60s 
or older, gathered for an 
hourlong event starting at 
5 p.m. Wednesday, May 3. 
Facing southbound traffic 
on Woodward, they held up 

homemade and printed signs, 
such as: “Jews & Allies United,
” 
“Stand Up to Hate: No to Anti-
Semitism in Our Community 
& World” and “Love Wins.
” 
Many drivers honked their 
horns in support.
The group honored the 
synagogue’s request to stay 
a respectful distance from 
WAS, which did not plan or 
endorse the gathering. After 
conferring several times 
with Ingalls, WAS spiritual 
leader Rabbi Mendel Polter 
acknowledged her good 
intent and did not seek to 
interfere with the participants’ 
right to a peaceful assembly 
on public property. Ingalls 
recruited volunteers to “watch 
the driveway to make sure 
nobody parked in the shul’s 
lot.”
An intern from PBS News 
Hour caught wind of the hour-
long event and interviewed 
some of the participants for 
a future broadcast. Though 
the weather was cloudy and 
cold for May, those attending 
did a lot of smiling and 
acknowledged taking pride in 
doing the right thing.
Speaking before the rally, 
Ingalls said, “I am doing this 
as a neighbor who is angry at 
Nazi and antisemitic imagery. 
Please know that this event 
comes from my heart.” 

ESTHER ALLWEISS INGBER CONTRIBUTING WRITER

PHOTOS BY ESTHER ALLWEISS INGBER

Neighbors Rally 
in Support of 
Woodward 
Avenue Shul

Sheyna Wexelberg-Clouser 
of Oak Park and Janice 
Wanetick of Southfield

Clockwise from back left: Ziggy Glaser and Peter Werbe, both of Oak 
Park, Rabbi Dorit Edut and Jan Dembs, both of Huntington Woods. 

About 120 supporters 
came out to protest hate.

Barbara Ingalls organized the 
rally to show support for the 
Woodward Avenue Shul.

