For Ryan Kelly, 18, trading sports jerseys with an Israeli player whose kibbutz was attacked on Oct. 7 will be a moment he never forgets. The exchange of jerseys was a moment in Ryan’s recent participation in international Jewish games overseas. 

The Franklin native said that meeting other athletes helped him “understand what some of them went through to just be at the games.” 

Ryan and his mother, Debbie Minsky-Kelly, participated in the 15th Pan American Maccabi Games, held in Buenos Aires, Argentina from Dec. 26, 2023 through Jan. 4, 2024. 

Both are at Carthage College in Kenosha: Ryan is a volleyball player and part of the class of 2027, and Debbie is field director and clinical assistant professor in the School of Social Work.  

Ryan participated in a U.S. boys’ volleyball team, among approximately 12 other boys from across the country. Many players joined from California, Florida or Illinois. Ryan was the only player on the team from Wisconsin.  

Ryan played as the setter when his team won the bronze medal in a match against the Israeli team. “The more we practiced and played together, the more our connection grew. All the hitters learned the sets better. That really helps a volleyball team because you get to know each other’s habits, what people were going to do when,” Ryan said. 

Debbie participated in the games as the sole mental health professional for the approximately 700 people from the USA delegation. She acted as a resource for athletes who needed support: whether for interpersonal conflicts, processing grief, or facing the consequences an injury could have on the remainder of their season.  

Debbie said she felt grateful she could be there to support her son in person and  the broader group. A highlight was hearing the then-newly elected president of Argentina Javier Milei speak at the opening ceremony. “It was really cool to see what a big deal it was for Argentina to host this event, and see how welcomed we were by the highest levels of their government,” she said. 

The Maccabi games had a different tone this year, with the recent events in Israel contributing to a constant background reminder of vulnerability. “The organizers of the games were very transparent about needing conversations following Oct. 7 and security,” Debbie said. “They decided to go on with the games as an important statement of solidarity, and not giving in to our fear and still wanting to gather as Jewish people in spite of world events.”  

After winning the bronze medal match, Ryan exchanged jerseys with Topaz Kemeny, a player on the Israeli volleyball team, as a symbolic representation of understanding the trauma and challenges the Israeli team faced this year. On Oct. 7, Hamas destroyed Kemeny’s kibbutz, and his girlfriend was killed. Ryan said that trading their jerseys will be “something I’m going to remember for the rest of my life…reminding myself to be grateful for what I have and to understand that everyone’s different.” 

Ryan Kelly and his mother, Debbie Minsky-Kelly, went to the 15th Pan American Maccabi Games, held in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

 * * *

Maccabi USA, the organization behind the games in Argentina, seeks to build Jewish pride through sports and promotes support for Israel, Zionism and Jewish continuity through athletic, educational and cultural experiences for participants of all ages.

Sarah Langer said she felt lost after the Oct. 7 attack in Israel by Hamas.

The events of that day resulted in about 1,200 deaths and about 250 people being taken hostage, according to news reports. As the war continued, Langer said she felt compelled to act.

Originally from Glendale, Langer now lives in Chicago, where she works in real estate investment. Langer said she does not necessarily identify as a Zionist, but she feels “a deep, inexplicable connection to Israel.”

In the wake of the war, Langer wanted to be of service.

“There’s so much that needs to be done,” Langer said. “We’re so far away, and giving money is great, and it’s definitely needed. … But when I saw that there was a volunteer mission, I was like ‘OK, I’m gonna go.’”

Langer signed up for a trip organized by the Jewish National Fund. She spent Dec. 24 -28 last year volunteering and learning about the impact of the conflict.

During her trip, Langer said she worked at an agricultural cooperative and assembled care packages for soldiers and patients at Soroka Medical Center, the hospital that took care of many of the wounded in the aftermath of Hamas’ attack.

For Langer, an important aspect of the trip was hearing personal accounts. As an example, she said, her group of volunteers stayed in the dormitories of a high school, where the food service program was run by a Chasidic Jewish man. The man also volunteers with United Hatzalah of Israel, an ambulance service.

Despite his religious practices, Langer said she learned the man kept his phone on and responded to the attack, which took place during Simchat Torah.

“The volunteering was almost secondary just to being able to hear from folks and being able to come back and share what we heard from them,” Langer said.

Initially, Langer said, she did not share much about her travels, believing she ought to make her contributions with humility and anonymity. She said she decided to open up about the experience as she saw the events in Israel and Gaza become a polarizing topic.

Langer said she does not support all positions of the Israeli government, but she felt “that the Jewish people needed me, and that the situation with the hostages, regardless of your viewpoint, is something that is heartbreaking.”

Langer hopes sharing stories from her mission trip will generate support for Israel and for the release of the remaining hostages. She said she encourages people to separate thoughts about the Israeli government from the war in Gaza.

This is Lori Fisher’s second year teaching sixth and seventh grade at Congregation Sinai, but don’t let that fool you; she is no stranger to teaching or to Sinai!  

Fisher says she practically grew up there. Her mother, Marsha Fensin, was the cantorial soloist at Sinai for many, many years, and Fisher spent the first 18 years of her life attending the congregation. She also spent many years teaching at Congregation Emanu-El Waukesha back in the early 2000s. So when Jen Friedman and Karen Berk of Congregation Sinai called Fisher and asked her to come teach Sunday school in 2022, she was excited to get back to her roots. After living in Waukesha for so long, Fisher felt a little alienated and thought, “This is the best way for me to be a part of the Jewish community again. Let’s go back to the Temple I grew up in!”  

After high school, Fisher traveled throughout the U.S. and lived in Florida, Oklahoma, and Mississippi while working as a dolphin and sea lion trainer. In 2000, she decided to come home and moved to the Waukesha area. Fisher met her future husband shortly after moving home. They soon got married and had three children. Living in Waukesha and being married to someone who wasn’t Jewish, Fisher said she felt disconnected from Jewish life, so she decided to pursue a teaching position at CEEW and taught there for many years.  

Inspired by Nicolet High School teacher John Kessler, Fisher strives to follow in his footsteps. She explained that he was very animated and had an enthusiasm for teaching that Fisher hadn’t experienced before. “There was never a dull moment in his class,” she said. 

Fisher prides herself on using teaching methods that are “outside of the box.”  “I am a big advocate of letting the kids be a part of their own education,” she said. “I don’t believe in standing up and just lecturing and doing all of the teaching.”  

While Fisher admits she loves to talk, she expresses that’s not how she likes to teach. “I want them [the students] to learn from each other.”  

Her favorite part about teaching can be summed up with one word: connection. Fisher enjoys the connection she makes with each student as well as each students’ personal connection to Torah. She hopes students can take what they learn in Sunday school and carry it into their lives. This year, Fisher is teaching both Jewish debates and Hebrew. She explained the hardest part of teaching is that the students go to school all week and then come to school on Sundays. The middle school students are tired, and they want to see their friends on the weekends. Her secret sauce? Fisher gives them a moment in the beginning of class to socialize, space which she said allows them to focus for the rest of class.   

During the week, Fisher works at Badgerland Supply, not  far from her home. She still has two kids at home (ages 16 and 18) and  appreciates the flexibility her job provides. Fisher loves to read and relax in her free time. “I have a book in my car, one in my purse and one next to my bed. I’m usually reading at least two books at a time!” When in Milwaukee, Fisher loves to visit Benjis; her favorite Jewish food is falafel. She would like you to know that she is excited to be teaching and working  in a Jewish space again. She said she knows she can come off a little strong, but she added that always means well. Fisher is the proud recipient of the Salute to Jewish Educator’s Teacher Impact Award this year as well as the Gill Incentive for Teachers Award in 2011.  

* * *

Writer Nicole Boico is the associate director of the Coalition for Jewish Learning of Milwaukee Jewish Federation. This regular feature, from the Coalition for Jewish Learning, is to celebrate local educators. To suggest someone for coverage, contact Boico at NicoleB@MilwaukeeJewish.org.

A specialist on how people learn about Holocaust history and prejudice will speak in Milwaukee.  

That speaker, Danny M. Cohen, is an associate professor of instruction in the School of Education and Social Policy at Northwestern University. He teaches courses on Children and the Holocaust, The Holocaust and Education and Holocaust Memory, Memorials and Museums. 

A London native and the grandson of a Holocaust survivor, Cohen will serve as the keynote speaker for the Milwaukee Jewish Federation’s Yom HaShoah commemoration on May 5.  

“I’m a learning scientist by training,” Cohen told the Chronicle in an interview. “Concerned with how people learn, and my specialization is in how people learn about not only Holocaust history but also how we learn about acceptance, how do we learn about compassion, how do we learn about prejudice, and how to undo and challenge prejudice in our communities and within ourselves.”  

Cohen’s work is rooted in his experience as a teenager. He ran peer-led youth programs in London, working with immigrant communities and people from various religious backgrounds. He also worked in human rights education in South Africa. Some exposure to antisemitism and even Holocaust denial led him to pursue academic work and Holocaust scholarship.  

Cohen plans to “connect the history with our lives and the world today” when he speaks in Milwaukee, as he typically does in public speeches.  

“My goal is to really help people think about, ‘What is our relationship to Holocaust memory today? And how should we be using it, or how could we be using it — and how should we not be using it — as a lens for violence or our world today?’” he said.  

“The Holocaust has been and maybe has always been, but maybe even more so recently, politicized by people with different goals and different perspectives. And often, that politicization is not even intentional. It’s such an extreme example — in some ways, the extreme example — of where prejudice and hatred can lead. I think we very quickly grab hold of it, hold on to it, and hold it up as a warning, which isn’t wrong; it should be a warning for humanity. A warning for the world, but what obviously becomes controversial, and what becomes really tricky to navigate, is when the Holocaust is used as a mirror for very complex global events.”  

Cohen realizes that recent events have been very difficult for American Jews.  

“Especially since Oct. 7, within the Jewish community, there’s been so much collective trauma, and I would say unnamed or even hidden collective trauma, and I think we need to really be explicit about naming that and supporting each other through that collective experience. And within that collective experience, we have so many different complex responses, emotional and intellectual.”  

Cohen added that he sees his role as not only teaching the history of the Holocaust itself but about “how to figure out how we feel” about both the Holocaust and other traumatic events.  

In 2022, Cohen came to Milwaukee to deliver an interactive talk on “Mickey Mouse and the Holocaust,” also under the auspices of HERC.  

Cohen uses his middle initial to distinguish himself from the world’s many other Danny Cohens, one of whom is the executive producer of the recent Holocaust film, “The Zone of Interest.” 

* * *

Milwaukee Yom HaShoah commemoration
Featuring Danny M. Cohen

May 5, 3 p.m.
At the Harry & Rose Samson Family Jewish Community Center

Presented by the JCC, Milwaukee Jewish Federation and the Nathan and Esther Pelz Holocaust Education Resource Center

Why is this night different from all other nights? 

Well, it’s Passover. It’s also Earth Day.  

Both holidays celebrate renewal and redemption. The yearning for freedom, of Passover, has been compared to the yearning for liberation from the great issues facing the Earth. 

If you’re looking to celebrate the Earth before or after your Seder, consider the Mequon Nature Preserve. The preserve, located at 8200 W. County Line Road, is home to 510 acres of prairies, wetlands and woods along with six miles of trails to hike and explore. 

“We are free and open every day of the year from sunup to sundown, so people can come out and hike. We’re dog friendly,” said Amanda Neimon, the preserve’s ecological outreach manager. “You can run, bike, snowshoe and cross-country ski during the winter months.” 

The preserve will hold its own Earth Day celebration on Saturday, April 27. The event will feature a presentation by water expert Marissa Jablonski, a guided tour and lunch.  

“We all love nature here and know the importance of nature,” Neimon said. “It’s a really great time for people to just get outside enjoy and help nature.” 

During April, visitors can also take part in scheduled craft and story time events for children and Woodcock Wander, a guided viewing of the unique species.  

“They’re kind of a funny little bird. They have a real cool mating call,” Neimon said about the Woodcock bird. “They kind of bob their head a bit.” 

The preserve was made possible by a grant from Richard Paddock to the Greater Milwaukee Foundation 24 years ago. The City of Mequon leases the property for $1 annually to Mequon Nature Preserve, a non-profit, tax-exempt organization.  

“There were lots of barren fields, and now it is a blooming prairie with lots of plants and flowers growing,” she said. “It’s really cool to see how the land will heal back to what it wants to be.” 

For those who want to get involved, the preserve offers opportunities for community members to volunteer to help restore the grounds with staff. Volunteers help staff plant trees, clean up the premises and assist with field trips that visit the facility.  

“There’s a lot of (volunteer) groups that come out,” Neimon said. They “either help pick up litter off the trails and around the road” or “remove mustard or garlic mustard that has started to pop up.” 

Visitors can use adventure backpacks, snowshoes and four-wheel wheelchairs, made available by the preserve free of charge. They can also take advantage of the preserve’s natural play space, hammock station and 40-foot observation tower.  

“We can see the full preserve… for miles all around from the tower,” Neimon said. 

* * *

April 22, 2024
The first night of Passover
Earth Day

* * *

Mequon Nature Preserve
Trails open sunup to sundown; dog friendly.
Education Center is open this month, Monday-Friday. 10 a.m.-2 p.m.
Education center includes live animals and a library
8200 W. County Line Road; MequonNaturePreserve.org

“Afikomen,” story by Tziporah Cohen, Illustrated by Yaara Eshet, published by Groundwood Books. 

In this stunning wordless picture book, “readers” will follow three children who travel back in time from their Passover seder to ancient Egypt. It follows what happened to baby Moses and how he was saved from the Nile River. There is a touching author’s note, reflecting on how we must see ourselves as if we were once slaves in Egypt, not just our ancestors. “Afikoman” received the prestigious Sydney Taylor Honor Award. This is an excellent book to have on hand for children while going through the Haggadah. 

“Everybody’s Book: The Story of the Sarajevo Haggadah,” by Linda Leopold Strauss, illustrated by Tim Smart, published by Kar-Ben Publishing 

The miraculous history of the Sarajevo Haggadah is a beacon of hope, bringing people of all faiths together to save this precious hand-painted haggadah over hundreds of years. It was a cherished gift given to a bride and groom around 1350 in Spain. When the family was forced out because of the Spanish Inquisition, the haggadah traveled with them, starting a long and challenging journey that eventually led to its current home: the Bosnian National Museum. Highly recommend as a way of sharing Jewish history and the importance of Passover from generation to generation.  

“Afikotective,” by Amalia Hoffman, published by Kar-Ben Publishing 

This adorable picture book highlights the items placed on the seder plate along with the three matzahs for the seder. When the middle matzah is broken in half, the larger piece is hidden to be found by the children. Where is it? The Afikotective is on the hunt until it is found. A short author’s note explains the meaning of afikomen. 

“Frankenstein’s Matzah: A Passover Parody,” by K. Marcus, illustrated by Sam Loman, published by Intergalactic Afikoman

A welcoming Passover book for the LGBTQ+ community, in which a non-binary student takes a science fair project to a whole new level of experimental fun. Vee brings a matzah to life, creating a “manztah.” This unique picture book will spark the imagination. 

“Afikoman, Where’d You Go?: A Passover Hide-And-Seek Adventure,” by Rebecca Gardyn Levington, illustrated by Noa Kelner 

Where did the afikomen go? Children will enjoy searching for the missing afikomen in this brightly illustrated picture book. With rhyming and repetition, this is a fun book to read aloud. 

Educator and author Liza Wiemer, of Fox Point, has taught in nine of our Milwaukee-area Jewish religious schools and day schools. Her latest novel, “The Assignment,” is appropriate for ages 12 and up. 

The Democratic Party of Wisconsin has approved the creation of an official Jewish group within the party, the first-ever Jewish Caucus of the Democratic Party of Wisconsin. 

“I’m really proud that the Democratic Party voted unanimously to support the caucus’s formation,” said Benjamin Wikler, chair of the Democratic Party of Wisconsin and a member of the Jewish community.  

“We are now up and running, and I’m very excited,” said Linda Frank, a local author and activist. She wrote the application herself to create the group within the party. 

The Jewish Caucus of the Democratic Party of Wisconsin is an official entity of the party and will have a seat on its Administrative Committee. It joins other caucuses in the Wisconsin party, like the Black Caucus, the LGBTQ+ Caucus and the Asian American Pacific Islander caucus.  The Administrative Committee is moving its meetings from Saturdays to Sundays, out of respect for Shabbat and Jewish participation, Frank said. 

There already was a Wisconsin Jewish Democratic group, called the Wisconsin Jewish Democrats, but it was more informal and did not have an official role within the state party. The Wisconsin Jewish Democrats is “evolving” and being absorbed into the Jewish Caucus of the Democratic Party of Wisconsin, Frank said. 

“This has been a purely positive and uniting development for the Democratic Party, and it has inspired other folks,” Wikler said. “There’s conversations among Muslim members of the state party about forming a Muslim caucus within the party as well.” 

The group elected its first officers on March 3 – Frank, who is the chair; Megan Miller as vice chair, and John Paul Croake as secretary/treasurer. At least 180 people signed up to join the caucus so far as members; all of them are also members of the Wisconsin Democratic Party. Some are not Jewish, but they signed up to show support post-Oct. 7, Frank said. “I have had some really lovely communications,” she said. 

Frank has participated in a nationwide association of Jewish groups in the Democratic Party, called the Jewish Battleground Coalition, and it’s her understanding that having a Jewish group as an official caucus is rare, she said.  

Miller, the vice chair, is a member of the Beloit School Board. She said she loves Wisconsin and treasures her Beloit community. “Wisconsin’s a very purple state, and I want to be part of bringing what’s really good and working in the Democratic Party, into communities in a way that’s relevant,” she said.  

Croake is a Madison attorney. The founding secretary/treasurer said he was drawn to serve because he has always been connected with his Jewish community and because one of his favorite concepts in Judaism is tikkun olam, the drive to repair the world.  

The group also has several committee chairs, including Program Chair Debbie Zemel, Membership Chair Maggie Gorchoff and Advocacy Policy Chair Andrew Berger. Other members of the new group’s executive committee are Alex Lasry, serving as a Democratic National Committee liaison and state Rep. Lisa Subeck, serving as a legislative liaison. 

“I’m very proud of it. It’s been a lot of work. It’s going to be a lot of work,” Frank said. “This is very gratifying because the future is really important.”

* * *

For more on politics, click here “Jewish GOP group reports ground game.”

The battle for Wisconsin voters will be fierce, and the Republican Jewish Coalition reports it is ready. 

“We have what I would argue is the best data operation in Jewish politics,” said Sam Markstein, the organization’s national political director, in an interview with the Chronicle. “We’ve made significant investments in the data operations to make sure that the voters that we’re targeting are Jewish.” 

In the past, he said, there was more guesswork in finding Jewish voters. Just a few out of every 10 voters contacted might be Jewish. 

“Now, when we go to 10 doors, about eight or nine of them are Jewish and that makes a significant difference. When you’re actually sending volunteers out or spending money on paid media, to talk to the wrong people is a waste of money,” he said. 

Asked whether Wisconsin’s Jewish population — which is estimated at about 30,000 — is enough to matter, Markstein replied with the sort of thinking that might just as easily have come from a Democratic strategist.   

“It might be small, but it’s mighty in the sense that electorally it makes up about 1 to 2% of the presidential and lower ballot voting electorate,” he said. “In a state that in 2020 was decided by less than a point, it could very well be the decisive group of voters in the decisive state, and determine whether it’s going to be Trump or Biden in 2024.” 

The margin of victory in Wisconsin in 2016 was 22,748 votes in favor of Donald Trump, who won the state over Hillary Clinton. In 2020, it was 20,682 votes in favor of Joe Biden, who won the state over Donald Trump. Wisconsin’s total population is nearly 5.9 million, with about 3.5 million registered voters.  

“It’s going to be a really contested space,” Markstein said. “It is one of the key battlegrounds in the country. And I think that given the competitiveness of the state over the years, it’s going to be one of those places where every single door knock, phone call, text message and the like goes the furthest.” 

The Republican Jewish Coalition may be the most active, best funded voice for Jewish Republicans nationwide. It was founded in 1985. Billionaire Sheldon Adelson, who died in 2021, was a major benefactor for the group. 

Officials estimate that 50,000 delegates and others will attend or engage in activities connected with the Republican National Convention, slated for July 15-18 in Milwaukee. 

“We are thrilled to welcome the 2024 Republican National Convention to Milwaukee,” said Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson, in a news release. “Our city is ready to show the world we are open for business, conventions, and tourism. The presidential nomination convention is a historical opportunity to present what a phenomenal place Milwaukee truly is.” 

Plans are still in the works for the Republican Jewish Coalition’s participation at the Republican National Convention. 

“We had a very robust presence at the 2016 convention in Cleveland,” Markstein said, and he predicted a similarly strong presence in Milwaukee.  

* * *

For more on politics, click here “Democrats gear up with new Jewish group.”

At first, she walked alone. 

In January, Liya Chernyakova walked with posters calling attention to the hostages held by Hamas. She walked alone, through the streets of Milwaukee’s east side, from the Urban Ecology Center to the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee union, and back. 

“I taped posters to the front of my coat, and in back, and I walked through the city. It felt really good. It felt good for myself,” she said. “Some looked at me and were scared or hopeful or angry. I was not afraid of it.” 

Then, someone joined her, and another, and the walk grew into a group and merged with a similar Mequon group. Now, about 15 to 20 local people walk or run together weekly to remember the hostages still held by Hamas and its allies in Gaza.  

Most walk; running is the exception. The grassroots group changes locations weekly, announcing the starting point to participants only. The walk is every Sunday at 10:30 a.m. The effort is just one of many global “Run for Our Lives” groups and events, “calling for the immediate release of the hostages held by Hamas,” according to Run4lives.org, a California-based site for the grassroots network.  

There are believed to be at least 100 hostages in Gaza still held, alive, as of Chronicle press time. The local walk, which has no official leader, tries to avoid politics. “It’s just about the hostages, and it’s really not about the war,” Safer said. “It’s just about the hostages.” 

Why do it? 

Chernyakova is from Ukraine, once part of the Soviet Union, and said she is familiar with propaganda. She said she now hears propaganda from people who say they are pro-Palestinian. 

“Propaganda does not go away by itself. It becomes more and more aggressive,” Chernyakova said. “I don’t want this propaganda in America.” 

Heather Polan, Cedarburg, said she does the weekly walks for herself, really. “If you care about Jews … every day you wake up, and the nightmare has not ended, and you feel helpless,” Polan said. The walk is an antidote for that. 

Safer walks, in part, to “keep the hostages in the forefront of people’s minds. We don’t want them to be forgotten. Every week we want to make sure people remember that they’re still being held and that we need to bring them home.” 

The walks have brought together Jews from different levels of observance or parts of the Milwaukee area. 

“The group has been amazing and healing for many of us,” Polan said. “I have lived in Milwaukee my whole life, and I thought I knew all the Jews. Almost everyone I have met so far has been people I didn’t know. We also have had non-Jews show up.” 

Safer does the walk, in part, “because the Jewish community needs it. There are a lot of people who, just to have that time with other Jews, to talk about what’s going on, and how they’re feeling about it, it’s been it’s been very therapeutic for a lot of people in the group.” 

How it unfolded 

Alexa Safer, Shorewood, a longtime local activist, noticed online that a woman – Chernyakova – was walking for Israel, near the east side of Milwaukee.  

“I just noticed on the Riverwest page that this woman was walking all alone. And so I was like, well, I’ll come walk with you,” Safer said. “It just kind of grew from there.” 

Polan held a first meeting for the Mequon group, and they started walking at the end of January. They walked on Sundays in Mequon, on the Ozaukee Interurban Trail, then learned about and merged with Chernyakova and Safer’s group. The merged groups have turned to spots that are more public, carrying posters to get the word out. This has included walking on Oakland Avenue or through Milwaukee’s Third Ward. 

Passion for the cause 

Dogs on the walk wear bandanas, with a message, “Bring Them Home Now.” Bobbi Rector, Glendale, who is active in the Jewish community, brings her dog Yogi, sporting one of the bandanas. 

Reaction from people who see the group has included questions and honks of apparent support. In late March, someone shouted out of their car: “Free Palestine.” 

There’s no shortage of passion in the group. Safer said she’s getting a tattoo based on the art of Shani Louk, 22, OBM. Louk’s lifeless body was infamously paraded past Hamas supporters, in the back of a pickup truck, at the time of the early October attacks against Israel. Louk was a German-Israeli tattoo artist.  

“I can wear (the tattoo) for the rest of my life,” Safer said, adding that if somebody says it’s ‘beautiful,” she can say it’s from a victim of the Nova music festival.  

“I want people to remember the deadliest day in Jewish history since the Holocaust,” she said. “It wasn’t a nothing.” 

Liya Chernyakova is a founder of the local Run for Our Lives group, that walks through the Milwaukee area for the hostages.

MILWAUKEE – After a contentious debate, the County Board avoided the use of the word “genocide” when it passed a resolution calling for peace in the Middle East. The vote was 10-8. 

The Milwaukee County Board rejected an initial proposal, accusing Israel of “genocide,” after County Board member Sheldon Wasserman said on the floor that use of the term was “fundamentally offensive to me as a Jewish American.” The County Board instead approved a substitute resolution, calling for peace, aid, and the release of hostages. 

Some County Board members, including Wasserman, questioned whether a resolution on the Hamas-Israel war was even appropriate for consideration in their body. Wasserman said that when he knocks on doors to campaign, constituents don’t ask him about foreign affairs or war. They talk to him about the parks, beaches, roads, pickleball, tennis courts and the Milwaukee Domes, “things that we are responsible for.”  

The County Board nevertheless took up the issue, set aside the “genocide” version of the resolution, and then approved a call for a peaceful solution to the conflict, at their March 21 meeting.  

The resolution, as approved, called for a ceasefire, humanitarian aid, and the release of hostages in the current Hamas-Israel conflict. It did not include the word “genocide.”   

“Genocide” offensive 

Wasserman said that the International Court of Justice did not find genocide in the current conflict.  

“I went two years ago to Europe. I went to Poland and I walked in a concentration camp … in gas chambers,” he said. “You walk in that chamber, a chamber that my grandparents, my cousins, my aunts and my uncles stood in and died in, you see the walls of this chamber. It’s discolored with a blue-green film, from the cyanide gas that affects the concrete. I stood in the space where the door was closed, and they had a peephole to see what was going on … people dying. I stood in that chamber. That’s genocide!” 

He acknowledged, however, that the “crisis in the Middle East is a terrible one.”  

County Supervisor Liz Sumner said she heard from many in the public, questioning why the County Board was taking up the issue. She said that her constituents overwhelmingly urged her to vote against the resolution as originally written.  

Supervisor Shawn Rolland also spoke in support of the substitute resolution. He said it “calls for the people of Israel, Gaza, the West Bank, their supporters, and other world leaders to prioritize a path to permanent peace and prosperity in the region.” 

Supervisor Ryan Clancy was an advocate for the initial “genocide” version of the resolution. He used off-color language to describe the substitute resolution, which he opposed. He also quoted some harsh anti-Palestinian statements that appeared to have been culled from the internet. Wasserman took this to task when he rose to speak: “We heard vile … things that should not be said.”  He added: “We’re better than that. There are always going to be people who say terrible things.” 

Another supervisor left the room, then returned and apologized for doing so, saying she was troubled by the kinds of words used at a County Board meeting.  

Dozens of Palestinian advocates attended the meeting, holding up signs. Many pro-Israel advocates also attended. The room was filled to capacity. 

County Supervisors Rolland, Sumner, Wasserman, Kathleen Vincent, Felesia Martin, Steve F. Taylor, Tony Staskunas, Willie Johnson Jr., Patti Logsdon, and Chairwoman Marcelia Nicholson all voted in favor of the substitute resolution. 

Milwaukee Jewish Federation and its Jewish Community Relations Council issued a statement expressing appreciation for approval of the final, substitute resolution “and its prioritization of the immediate release of all Israeli hostages and a path to permanent peace and prosperity in the region.” 

The statement continues: “We are horrified by the impact that Hamas’ terrorist rule has had on Palestinians and Israelis.” It adds: “We support an end to the war which removes Hamas from power and immediately returns all remaining hostages.” 

County Supervisor Sheldon Wasserman questioned whether the Hamas-Israel war was County Board business, but since the resolution was under consideration, he supported a substitute version without the word “genocide.” Photo by Rob Golub.