OCTOBER 24 • 2024 | 17
because it will chill and suppress
much-needed discourse. It was
members of this board and local
news organizations that perpetuated
an opinion that plays no role in the
business of Bloomfield Township.
There is nothing that any of us can
do here … that is going to change the
realities in the Middle East.
”
Fakih, who is of Lebanese descent,
described the mass destruction in
Gaza and Lebanon, the crumbling
infrastructure and death of innocents
without making mention of the vast
network of tunnels the IDF discovered
in Gaza and southern Lebanon
beneath civilian structures.
Fakih said that in recent years there
has been a dangerous precedent in
conflating and “redefining” Judaism
with Zionism. She then quoted
the definition of Zionism from the
Merriam-Webster dictionary as being
a 20th-century political movement to
“establish a Jewish state in Palestine.
”
“Judaism is a religion and Zionism
is an ideology,
” she said. “
And in the
last year, in support of this ideology,
we have watched as for retribution for
Oct. 7, that much of Gaza has been
obliterated and there are a countless
number of deaths.
”
Saying that the Israelis are no safer
now than they were a year ago and
calling out the “disgusting” vandalism
of the Max Fisher Federation building
on Oct. 7, Fakih said all bloodshed
must stop.
Fakih closed out her remarks by
quoting Elie Wiesel: “I swore never
to be silent whenever and wherever
human beings are enduring suffering
and humiliation; we must always take
sides.
”
THE JEWISH COMMUNITY
DEMANDS ACCOUNTABILITY
Fakih was immediately met with scorn
from many Jewish commentators.
While most spoke about the tragic loss
of human life in Gaza and Lebanon
and an understanding that emotions
can get the better judgment of people
when posting on social media, they
also expressed feelings of betrayal
that an elected official would call a
minority of her constituents such a
slur that was akin to how the Nazis
continued on page 18
“STEPHANIE, I AM ONE OF THE PEOPLE
YOU CALL ‘SCUM.’ I DON’T THINK
OF MYSELF AS THAT, BUT THAT’S
WHAT YOU CALLED ME. ACTIONS
HAVE CONSEQUENCES, AND YOUR
DEPLORABLE ACTIONS SHOULD HAVE
CONSEQUENCES. YOU SIT THERE
WITH THAT SMIRK. YOU SHOULD
RESIGN IMMEDIATELY. AN
APOLOGY WON’T CUT IT FOR ME.”
— MARGO WOLL
About 100 people were allowed in the meeting room; some 100 more stayed outside
and listened through a loudspeaker.
“Your weaponizing the words
of Elie Wiesel against Jews is
despicable,” Benji Rosenzweig
said at the meeting.