16 | JUNE 13 • 2024 
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oodman Acker Law 
Firm in Southfield 
was vandalized early 
Monday morning, June 3, and 
the attack is being investigated 
as a hate crime. 
The vandalism, which 
includes graffiti and damage 
to property, was discovered by 
employees upon arrival at the 
office, and local authorities 
were immediately notified.
 The graffiti can be seen all 
over the front Goodman Acker 
sign, the front windows, the 
front walls and even on the 
pavement. Phrases written 
in graffiti include: “F*** You 
Acker,” “UM Kills,” “Divest 
Now,” “Divest or 
F*** Off” and 
“Free Palestine.”
Jordan Acker, 
who is Jewish, 
is a partner at 
Goodman Acker 
and also serves as 

a regent of the University of 
Michigan. This incident marks 
the second time the Acker 
family has been targeted. 
During a May 16 meeting, 
the University of Michigan 
Board of Regents rejected all 
of the anti-Israel demands of 
campus protesters. Among the 
rejected demands, the board 
stated it would not be divest-
ing its financial holdings from 
companies conducting busi-
nesses in Israel nor would it 
sever academic ties with Israeli 
universities. 
The day before the vote, 
anti-Israel protesters staged 
early-morning encampments 
on the front lawns of the pri-
vate homes of several regents, 
including Acker and Mark 
Bernstein. 
Anti-Israel protesters 
encroached on the property 
of Acker’s Huntington Woods 
home. According to news 

reports, Acker was home with 
his wife and three children, still 
asleep on May 15 when anti- 
Israel demonstrators walked up 
to his front door and pinned 
their demands on his porch. 
Acker woke around 6 a.m. to 
alarming notifications. 
After the disruption, Acker 
posted on X: “Harassing 
UMich Regents by showing up 
at their homes in the middle 
of the night is unacceptable — 
and masking yourself in the 
process is cowardly. Using fear 
and intimidation — and plas-
tering your demands on private 
residences — is not a form of 
peaceful protest.” 
Acker has described himself 
as a “devout two-stater” to 
resolve the Israeli-Palestinian 
conflict. 

‘AN ACT OF TERRORISM’
Hours after the June 3 incident, 
representatives from Goodman 

Acker, the city of Southfield 
and other community leaders 
held a press conference to 
address the attack. 
Southfield Mayor Ken Siver 
was one of many individuals 
delivering remarks.
“Plain and simple, this is an 
act of terrorism,” Siver said. 
“We will not tolerate this kind 
of cowardice done in the mid-
dle of the night in our commu-
nity. Goodman Acker has been 
serving Southfield for years. 
It’s a wonderful law firm with 
a social conscience. This is 
unforgivable what’s happened 
here. We stand with our com-
munity, particularly our Jewish 
community, against this sort of 
violence.
“In working with our police 
department, we will inves-
tigate this to the fullest and 
our intention is to bring these 
people to justice,” Siver contin-
ued. “This has no place here or 

Police investigating incident as a hate crime.

Goodman Acker 
Law Firm Vandalized

continued on page 18

DANNY SCHWARTZ SENIOR STAFF REPORTER

OUR COMMUNITY

Jordan 
Acker

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