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.