Board of Trustees censure member who called Zionists ‘scum’ in social media post

BLOOMFIELD TOWNSHIP — The Bloomfield Township Board of Trustees voted 6-1 to censure Trustee Stephanie Fakih after she posted on social media that Israeli and American Zionists are the “scum of the earth.”

The dissenting vote was made by Fakih, whose comment on social media led to an uproar in the community, with many calling on her to resign during an Oct. 14 board meeting.

The Oct. 4 post initially appeared on Instagram: “Israeli zionists are the scum of the earth and the only people on par are American zionists.” It included a 15-second video that said: “Israel heavily strikes Beirut Southern Suburbs on Thursday night.”

The comment was reposted on the X platform by StopAntiSemitism, which stated: “This vile hate must not be tolerated - Stephanie Fakih must step down.” 

 

Board of Trustees reacts

Following the incident, Bloomfield Township Treasurer Michael Schostak, Township Supervisor Dani Walsh and Clerk Martin Brook issued the following joint statement, which was also read aloud during the Oct. 14 meeting: 

“We are deeply disturbed by Trustee Stephanie Fakih’s antisemitic social media post on Friday. Her views do not represent us, nor did she speak in an official capacity on behalf of Bloomfield Township. We are proud of our community’s diversity and we recognize that diversity as a source of strength. While we recognize her right to free speech, as township trustees, it is our duty to represent and serve everyone equally and with respect. But, her divisive and dehumanizing rhetoric undermined those values and wounded many residents. Ms. Fakih’s term will end on November 20th and between now and that time we call upon Ms. Fakih to help heal those wounds,” the statement reads.

Trustee Neal Barnett said he’s been on the Board for 21 years and “has never experienced anything like this in his entire life in Bloomfield Township.” 

“I’m sickened by the events of the last few days and the venomous hatred spewed by Trustee Fakih. She has tried to tear this community apart and use her hatred as a platform for herself, but Bloomfield Township, the surrounding communities and this board will only become stronger and become closer because of her rants. We are better than that,” said Barnett. “One rogue trustee will not define this board, Bloomfield Township or the surrounding communities. We will stand together.”

While Trustee Chris Kolinski acknowledged all humans are affected by emotions, he said leaders in the community are “expected to remain steady and not let our feelings cloud our judgment.” 

“Recent actions by one of our trustees has created a rift in our community. Many members are feeling hurt, angry, frustrated and saddened that a representative that they placed their trust in has used language that is degrading. Whether or not it was intentional, the impact of those words have been significant,” he said, adding that it has stalled the work of the township. 

Trustee Valerie Murray said she was “shocked and saddened” to learn of Fakih’s posted comments. 

“While she is entitled to share her personal opinion under the First Amendment, it was incredibly hurtful and unacceptable for someone who sits as a trustee,” she said. “We must represent everyone in our community, residents and business owners alike, fairly and without bias. We took an oath of office to do so, and I take that responsibility very seriously. I hope for healing.” 

 

Fakih’s response

Despite comments from Jewish groups, fellow board members and members of the community saying her post was antisemitic, Fakih, a criminal defense attorney, argued that it was not.

“I would never disparage any religion or spiritual belief, including Judaism. I would never do that. I made a comment about Zionism. … I understand that there are people that conflate Zionism and Judaism, but by definition — you may not like the definition — but Judaism is a religion, and Zionism is an ideology,” Fakih said during the meeting.

She argued that “labeling” her post as antisemitic shuts down discourse.

“For the last week, you have seen some members of this board give statements and comments to the press. In those statements and in those comments, they have put words in my mouth and they have labeled me antisemetic. I caution us, as a society, against labeling people. And part of the reason why I caution against labeling is because it will chill and suppress much-needed discourse,” she said.

Fakih said she has family in Lebanon affected by the Israel-Hamas war.

“My hope is to use this moment to try and help others understand … Arab-Americans, both Muslim and Christian, are in pain — and a lot of them are suffering in silence. Why are they suffering? Because for one year, we have woken up to look at the news to see the place we grew up going has now been reduced to rubble, (and wondered) what family members we have to check up on to see if they have been forced to leave their home, or worse, if they’ve died. These are not far away people to us. These are our mothers, our fathers, our siblings, our nieces and our nephews,” she said. 

Fakih ended her statement by saying that “regardless of the consequences,” she would “never let history, or the record, reflect that I caused division, or that I wanted divisiveness.”

“Safety comes when we all have freedom and when we all have peace,” Fakih said.

 

Public comment

A small group of people spoke in support of Fakih Oct. 14, many of them stating that all they heard during the hours of public comment was “hate” and “mean words” from others in attendance. 

A member of the public who only identified herself as “Cassie” during public comment said she believes voters elect trustees to stand up for their own values. 

“Stephanie said that she stands up for humanity tonight, and I believe we can disagree with her position, or with the way that she expressed her position, but I think we are debating a lot of things about words and hateful feelings. But nobody is acknowledging the context with which she said those words — it was about death and about violence — and I think we can criticize the way someone stands up for their values, but she stood up for humanity. And I think when ideology drives hate, I think it’s OK to speak up against that hate, and that’s my belief, and I believe that we should all allow our elected trustees to speak on issues that are personal to them.”

A woman said she was “appalled” by the people speaking against Fakih’s comment, accusing them of bullying someone who she said stands for humanity and justice.

A man who identified himself only as “Free Palestine,” also spoke during public comment in favor of Fakih.

“Don’t change your values. Don’t change anything you had to say. … There’s no need for censure and all that. She speaks for her family and her heritage. She should not be brought down because of that,” he said.

A significantly larger group of speakers argued that Fakih’s comment was antisemitic, and many called for her resignation. 

“Stephanie is right, Lebanon is being destroyed right now,” David Bloom, of Birmingham, said. “She has family there. She is probably hurting a lot about it and she’s worried about her family and her family is probably suffering too.”

Bloom then spoke about rocket attacks on Israel, launched by Hezbollah from Lebanon. He said Israel is defending itself just as the United States would defend itself from attack.

“I would like to see some humanity from people making statements that are demonizing Jews that are defending themselves,” Bloom said.

Speaking on behalf of the Jewish Federation of Detroit, David Kurzmann said the federation “strongly condemns” the “recent antisemitic remarks,” adding that Fakih’s post was “a blatant and harmful attack on our Jewish community.” 

“These words are not only offensive. They are deeply hurtful and contribute to a climate of hatred and intolerance that has no place in our society,” Kurzman said. 

Kurzmann said Zionism is the belief in a Jewish homeland, adding that the vast majority of Jews are Zionists. 

“To label us as ‘scum of the earth’ is dehumanizing and offensive. It perpetuates harmful stereotypes and fuels prejudice against our community. This rhetoric only serves to embolden those who seek to harm us. It creates a dangerous environment where our safety and dignity are threatened,” Kurzman said.

Rabbi Mark Miller, senior rabbi of Temple Beth El, said calling someone “scum” either comes from a place of hatred or of ignorance. 

“A week, week and a half ago, you decided to call me scum. Me personally,” he said, looking at Fakih. 

“When you label me as scum, what it means is, if you aren’t antisemitic, you have committed an antisemitic act, and I hope you know the difference. It’s not the same thing to be something, as to say something. What you did was antisemitic; there isn’t another way to say it. Whether you are or not depends on how you respond to this moment.” 

He urged Fakih to apologize.

“My deep hope is that you’ll understand the anger in this room, and the anger that’s coming from a lot of different quarters, which isn’t because people hate you, it’s because what you said was hateful,” he said. 

“It has to start with you and it has to start with apologizing for an act that came from a bad place,” Miller said.

Attorney Marjory Winkelman Epstein, who spoke during public comment, said she feels Fakih’s conduct is not part of protected speech.

“You’ve betrayed the very people who elected you. We all put our trust in you. You have a public mission here for a greater good that you haven’t been serving,” she said.

Winkelman Epstein said she also feels Fakih’s comment violated the American Bar Association’s code of ethics.

Township Attorney Derk Beckerleg said that Fakih’s statement that was posted online does not constitute a crime under federal law, as it does not meet the legal requirements of a federal hate crime. He said it also does not constitute a crime under state law, as it does not meet the requirements for ethnic intimidation. 

Although Fakih’s four-year term as a Bloomfield Township trustee ends Nov. 22 and she is not running for reelection, critics argued she should be removed from the board immediately.

“Ms. Fakih, in making her statement, was exercising her First Amendment right of free speech and there are no legal grounds and no legal authority for the Township Board to remove her from the Township Board or the Township Board of Appeals,” Beckerleg said.

To watch the full meeting online, visit bloomfieldtwp.org.