18 | OCTOBER 24 • 2024 

labeled Jews as vermin. 

Members of the Jewish community 
directly confronted Fakih on her 
“defiant and unremorseful” stance. 
They asked her to correct her path, 
to apologize for calling all of them 
“scum,
” criticized her for the hypocrisy 
of saying that she was labeled, and for 
gaslighting them all by closing out her 
remarks with a quote from the famed 
Holocaust survivor. Some demanded 
that she immediately resign or that the 
board should take action to remove 
her. 
From a legal standpoint, the board 
cannot remove her immediately, 
according to Trustee Neal Barnett, 
who spoke to the JN on the morning 
of the meeting. 
“I agree that she shouldn’t be on the 
board after this,
” Barnett said. “But 
only the governor can legally remove 
her. And there’s not enough time left 

for the governor’s or the attorney 
general’s office to do due diligence to 
conduct a proper investigation. By 
the time that investigation would be 
complete, her term would be over.
” 
There is talk in the Jewish 
community of mobilizing to convince 
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer to take this 
step. Under censure, Fakih can still 
conduct regular business on the board, 
but the mark will be on her permanent 
record, according to Bloomfield 
Township officials. 
Rabbi Tzvi Muller of the 
Birmingham Bloomfield Shul, 
located in Bloomfield 
Township said, “This 
evening meeting’s positve 
result was spurred by a 
grassroots movement 
of local residents who 
shared their concern with 
their neighbors. Several 

days before the meeting, I received 
dozens of phone calls and emails from 
township residents who were horrified 
by Stephanie’s posts and were planning 
on attending Monday night’s meeting. 
“I believe what impressed the 
township trustees was that so many 
of their constituents showed up and 
expressed revulsion with Trustee 
Fakih’s actions.
”
#EndJewHatred 
Director of Mobilization 
Adar Rubin considered 
the evening a success. 
“We saw a powerful 
display of unity within 
the community, as 
our Metro Detroit 
Jewish residents bravely spoke out 
and demanded accountability for 
Stephanie’s disgraceful social media 
post,
” Rubin said in an emailed 
statement following the censure vote. 
“We thank the Jewish Federation 
and our partner organizations who 
mobilized alongside our activists to 
attend yesterday’s contentious hearing. 
We applaud the Bloomfield Board of 

Trustees for speaking out against her 
remorseless Jew-hatred and forcing 
a censure. It is now vital that Gov. 
Whitmer and Attorney General Nessel 
take necessary action to enforce her 
removal from the Board.
”

PUBLIC COMMENTS WENT ON 
FOR NEARLY THREE HOURS
To maintain decorum during the 
hours of public comment, Walsh 
sternly cautioned the room to keep all 
remarks to the allotted three minutes, 
to have limited reaction from the rest 
of the room and to maintain civility at 
all times. 
In all, more than 100 people, most 
with a pro-Israel stance, offered their 
comments. They accused her of insult-
ing their entire family, poisoning and 
dividing the community, and giving 
the public a license to hate Jews. 
Some expressed hope that by listen-
ing to them, Fakih would acknowledge 
her mistake and ask for forgiveness. 
Instead, Fakih sat defiantly and did 
not apologize. 
The public comment section 

OUR COMMUNITY

“BETWEEN THE PROPAGANDA LEFT 
ON PEOPLE’S DRIVEWAYS, THE 
VANDALISM AT FEDERATION, AND 
NOW THESE STATEMENTS, IT’S THE 
FIRST TIME I FELT LIKE THIS IS HOW 
NAZI GERMANY STARTED. I GREW 
UP FEELING VERY COMFORTABLE 
IN THIS COMMUNITY. I NEVER FELT 
ANTISEMITISM; MY JEWISH, MUSLIM 
AND CHALDEAN FRIENDS ALL HUNG 
OUT TOGETHER IN HIGH SCHOOL. MY 
KIDS ARE IN HIGH SCHOOL NOW. 
I FEAR FOR THEM.” 

— AMY OPPERER BRODE

Adar Rubin

Rabbi Tzvi 
Muller

continued from page 17