Paulynne Heller, 81, was leaving a Mequon restaurant when a woman ripped an Israeli flag off her car in the parking lot. The offender, Angeline Parent, has been sentenced to six months in jail with work release.
Ozaukee County Circuit Court Judge Steven M. Cain said the case was “some of the most shocking behavior I’ve seen in my six years here. Absolutely disgusting. And I’ve seen a lot of disgusting things in this court.”
Heller, a Milwaukee native, had just left the Crave restaurant after meeting a friend for lunch. Just as Heller was about to get into her car, she was approached by a woman who said her Israeli flag was a “Nazi flag.”
Parent then told Heller she’s “a Nazi for what [she’s] doing in Palestine” and called her a “Nazi f**k,” according to the criminal complaint.
Heller told Parent that she is a Jew and has every right to fly the flag on her car. Parent then broke the flag off of Heller’s car and threw it to the ground, according to the criminal complaint.
Heller said she is both an American and Israeli citizen. According to the criminal complaint, she has flown the Israeli flag on her car for many years.
“I’m so thankful she didn’t touch me,” Heller told the Chronicle in an interview. “I think I would have freaked out so bad.”
After the incident, Heller picked up the flag and quickly got in her car. She locked the door, put the key in the ignition, and was about to turn on the car when something stopped her. Heller felt like God was telling her to notify the police. So she did.
“’I’m a very religious woman,” Heller said. “I’m very strong in my faith, but I’ve never felt His presence like that day.”
Heller was inspired to come forward with her story to encourage others to stand up to hate instead of letting incidents like these go unreported. She hopes that by sharing her experience and speaking out as a woman in her 80s, she will empower others to do the same.
“If I reach one person, I’m starting a ripple effect that can go on and on to get rid of bullies and antisemitism, but somebody’s got to do something,” Heller said. “We can’t just talk about it and ignore it. We have to do something. And I did.”
Judge Cain said at the Sept. 2 court hearing that sentencing Parent to a possible 45 days in jail wouldn’t be a sufficient punishment, and that only having her pay a fine would “absolutely deprecate the seriousness of this situation.”
He added: “I drive by things I may not agree with every day and see signs, flags, you name it. Do I go up to their house and break their property? Do I confront some person I know nothing about, who I don’t know, in a public place? No. And guess what, 99.9% of the populace in our county doesn’t do it either.”
He said he saw the situation as “targeting someone’s grandmother because she had a flag that she had pride in.”
“And the part that is most troubling in this complaint is how it ends,” the judge said to the defendant in court, referencing something she had reportedly said. “After law enforcement confronts you, that’s ‘what these people are all about’.”
Heller said that on the day of the hearing, her “whole side of the court was filled,” and that many people on her side were even standing.
“My community stood behind me, even though I’m not well known by anybody, but they were there for me,” Heller said. “I can’t even begin to say how that made me feel.”
Loading ...