14 | AUGUST 29 • 2024 J
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t’s a tradition for the Democrats 
of South Oakland County 
(DSOC) — encompassing 
party members from Oak Park, 
Huntington Woods, Royal Oak 
Township and Berkley — to hold a 
summer picnic. Approximately 100 
members and guests were gathered 
on Aug. 15 to enjoy another pleas-
ant evening in Oak Park’s David H. 
Shepherd Park. 
Then, like a thunderstorm on 
the horizon, a small group of 
Anti-Israel protesters emerged 
from the parking lot. They wore 
black-and-white Palestinian keffi-
yeh head and neck coverings. The 
four came intent on disrupting 
the event, whose agenda included 
greetings from elected officials 
and a special 80th birthday cele-
bration for Marian McClellan, the 
popular mayor of Oak Park. 
The protesters quickly edged 
up to the rented pavilion, while 
six Oak Park public safety officers 
provided a neutral barrier. 
A man and woman held a 
long sign: “Hey Dems Nothing 
Progressive About Genocide.” Two 
more women with them included 
one yelling loudly on her mega-

phone. 
Incumbent U.S. Congress-
woman Haley Stevens of the 11th 
District was billed as a speaker 
at the picnic. She recently defeat-
ed challenger Ahmed Ghanim 
in the Aug. 6 Democratic pri-
mary. Stevens, a staunch Israel 
ally, spoke at the microphone 
for only a short time before the 
loud barrage against her started. 
The woman on the megaphone 
targeted Stevens by name for vot-
ing to give military aid to Israel. 
On and on went her accusations 
of “shame” to Stevens and the 
Democrats. Besides demanding an 
end to the Gaza war, she launched 
diatribes against the existence of 
Israel. 
DSOC Chair Glenda Stainbeck 
heard that a poster promoting 
the protest was being circulated 
with a picture of horns drawn 
on Stevens’ head. Nina Abrams, 
a DSOC officer, said State Rep. 
Regina Weiss (6th House District) 
told her she saw the picture. So 
did McClellan. 
Anticipating trouble, the mayor 
called City Manager Eric Tungate 
and Steve Cooper, director of the 

city’s Public Safety Department. 
Stainbeck also called but said the 
department “already knew the 
situation. I told him again that we 
were expecting some VIPs.” 
The protesters did not need 
a permit because they were in a 
public space. 
“The police were there to ensure 
there was no violence, and they 
(the protesters) stayed out of our 
rented pavilion,” said Mary Ann 
Fontana, a former DSOC chair. 
The officers’ presence helped 
calm the emotions of the picnic 
attendees. They chose not to 
challenge or otherwise provoke 
the protest leader. Instead, music 
for dancing was turned up high 
in an attempt to drown out the 
bullhorn. 
Everything happened as 
planned, including the tributes to 
McClellan, but, as Abrams said 
later of the protesters, “They were 
super rude; their behavior was 
incredibly insulting to the mayor 
and Oak Park.” 
Later in the evening, a former 
chair of the Dems club with nego-
tiating skills tried speaking to the 
protesters, but “they were not lis-

tening to anyone,” Stainbeck said. 
“One or two of them may have 
attended our July [club] meeting,” 
she added. “We let them speak 
at our Good & Welfare [when 
attendees can speak about items 
of interest]. And they could have 
spoken today to express their 
opinions, too, if they’d asked to be 
put on the agenda.”
“The protesters said repeatedly 
that they were not leaving until 
we did,” Fontana said. Indeed, 
Abrams said the woman shouted 
nonstop on her bullhorn for 2½ 
hours, not ending until the picnic 
items were packed up and every-
one was in their cars to go home.
“I’m sure there will be pro-
testers at the convention,” said 
Stainbeck, a delegate to the 
Democratic National Convention 
that started Aug. 19 in Chicago. 
But she wasn’t worried about her 
safety there: “I fully expect there 
will be tight security, and we will 
be protected.”

Summing up the incident, 
Fontana said, “They certainly 
didn’t garner any sympathy for 
the Palestinian plight by their 
tactics.” 

A small group of Anti-Israel protesters try to disrupt a picnic for local Democrats.

ESTHER ALLWEISS INGBER CONTRIBUTING WRITER

OUR COMMUNITY

Picnic Protesters

ESTHER ALLWEISS INGBER

