Algoma anti-Semitic signs denounced

          In the past few decades, some Wisconsin synagogues and cemeteries have been vandalized; hate groups have organized, handed out literature, mounted demonstrations and declined; and several kinds of anti-Israel actions have occurred.

          But people who monitor anti-Semitism in the state said they have never before seen anything like what happened in Algoma at the end of July.

          During the night of July 29-30, someone placed six handmade signs at places on and within the borders of this city of about 3,000 people located on the Lake Michigan shore about 33 miles east of Green Bay city.

          The signs bore such messages as “No Jew wanted in Algoma,” “No Jews welcome,” “Jew go back where you came from leave Algoma.” Three signs also had swastikas, drawn backwards on two of them.

          One sign said “Kill the Jews keep Algoma clean.” “That was the most heart-stopping one,” said Elana Kahn-Oren, director of the Jewish Community Relations Council of the Milwaukee Jewish Federation in an Aug. 15 interview.

          Kahn-Oren said she had learned there were only about six Jews living in Algoma. Two signs, she said, were placed on the property of one of them.

          One was placed in front of the “Welcome to Algoma” sign drivers see when entering the city. One was attached to a speed limit sign. Another was placed in a planter overlooking the lake.

          Kahn-Oren said Algoma police found out about the signs at about 1:45 a.m., and that by the next afternoon, all the signs had been located and picked up.

          “It’s rare to see such overt anti-Semitism like that,” said Kahn-Oren.

          Michael Blumenfeld has been the director of the Wisconsin Jewish Conference for 26 years and apparently was the first Jewish community member informed about the signs.

          In a telephone interview with The Chronicle on Aug. 26, he said “there’s never been anything quite like this” among the Wisconsin anti-Semitic incidents he has heard about.

          This incident also surprised Lonnie Nasatir, who for the past eight years has been the Chicago-based Midwest regional director of the Anti-Defamation League.

          “Something like this that is so over-the-top, intimidating and hateful has not been seen in a long time,” he told The Chronicle in a telephone interview Aug. 26.

          Kahn-Oren, Blumenfeld and Nasatir all said the Federal Bureau of Investigation is working with the Algoma police in investigating the incident, but they have made no progress as The Chronicle goes to press.

          It is not clear whether this portends anything about anti-Semitic activity in the state. While anti-Semitic organizations do exist in Wisconsin, none has claimed credit for this action. Nasatir’s office monitors Internet hate sites, and he said he has not seen any chatter about the incident on those sites.

          The ADL has offered a reward of $1,500 for any information that leads to the arrest and conviction of the perpetrators, but as of Aug. 26 has had no takers, Nasatir said.

          But denunciations of the signs have come from the general community.

          In a telephone conversation Aug. 26, Rabbi Shaina Bacharach, spiritual leader of Congregation Cnesses Israel in Green Bay, the synagogue closest to Algoma, said, “The non-Jewish community has been incredibly supportive. [People have expressed] disbelief, disgust, and say, ‘This is not us. This is not who we are.’”

          On Aug. 9, Tom Reynolds, Algoma’s city administrator/clerk/treasurer, and Mayor Wayne R. Schmidt issued a statement, saying, “Discriminatory, threatening and anti-Semitic signs will not be tolerated in the City of Algoma. We are proud of Algoma as an inclusive and friendly community and this act contradicts the values on which our community is based.”

          Moreover, Bacharach contacted people she knew in the interfaith community in Green Bay asking them to sign a statement about the signs. The people she contacted communicated with others.

          In addition, Blumenfeld brought the statement to the attention of the Wisconsin Council of Churches and the Wisconsin Catholic Conference; they signed on as did many of their members.

          Bacharach ended up with more than 60 signatures on the statement from clergy not only in Algoma, but from throughout Wisconsin.

          The statement, issued Aug. 21, read in part: “Together, as clergy and faith leaders united in love of God, we raise our voices in shock and dismay at the recent display of anti-Jewish hatred in Algoma, Wisconsin. …These signs are not just an attack on Jews; but on our entire community.

          “As representatives of a variety of faith traditions, we stand together in affirming the dignity of every human as the Divine spark in each of us. We recognize the value of our differences in creating a strong and inclusive community. We call on all of our fellow Wisconsinites to stand with us in condemning the evil of hatred.”

          Kahn-Oren said she is talking with Algoma officials and the U.S. attorney “about helping with some other actions they can do after this incident for community education. The city administrator has some ideas about some actions they can take to help increase understanding, and also help them declare that this kind of expression in their community is not tolerated.”