Historic marker for state's first Jewish cemetery vandalized on University of Michigan campus
Vandals damaged a state historic marker that pays tribute to the state's first Jewish cemetery. The marker is located at the corner of East Huron and Fletcher streets in Ann Arbor.
Melanie Maxwell | AnnArbor.com
A historic marker that pays tribute to the state’s first Jewish cemetery was badly damaged over the weekend on the University of Michigan campus in Ann Arbor.
U-M Department of Public Safety spokeswoman Diane Brown said a campus police officer on patrol noticed damage to the metal plaque about 2 a.m. Saturday.
“It appeared someone had attempted to pry off the plaque, and in the process snapped off the lower portion of the metal,” Brown said.
The plaque sits on the southwest corner of East Huron and Fletcher streets near the Rackham Graduate School. Police took the portion of the plaque that snapped off to the department and are storing it while they wait to hear if there is potential to repair it.
A Department of Public Safety officer noticed damage to this state historical marker around 2 a.m. July 10.
Melanie Maxwell | AnnArbor.com
Ann Arbor resident Helen Aminoff said her research into the first Jews of Ann Arbor uncovered the site’s history and led to the state to recognize it as the first Jewish cemetery in 1982. She noticed the damage to the plaque as she drove by on Huron Street Sunday morning and called police, she said.
“I don’t know whether it was just revelers on a Saturday night or an anti-Semitic act — who knows?” said Aminoff.
“They defaced the stone and damaged the university and state of Michigan property,” she said.
The long-time Ann Arbor resident began researching Jewish history in Ann Arbor after new occupants of an Ann Arbor fraternity house found an 1858 tombstone engraved with Hebrew script while cleaning the residence. In the fall of 1980, the fraternity members turned the discovery over to Beth Israel Congregation in Ann Arbor. The discovery inspired Aminoff's research and led to the publication of “The First Jews of Ann Arbor,” in 1983 by the Jewish Historical Society of Michigan.
Police do not have any suspects, Brown said. It could be that the vandals were attempting to take the metal for its perceived value.
“It’s difficult to know whether the people were interrupted and fled or they gave up because it was too hard, or they realized the metal didn’t have the value they anticipated and they simply quit,” Brown said.
It’s not clear what kind of metal is used for the plaque, but Brown said it is not copper or bronze.
According to the Michigan State Housing Development Authority, the cemetery was established between 1848 and 1849 when the Jews Society of Ann Arbor acquired burial rights to the land, which was next to what was a public cemetery.
In prior years, German and Austrian immigrants began the first Jewish community in the state, holding religious services in the homes of the five Weil brothers.
The original Jewish community no longer existed by the 1880s, and in 1900, the remains of those buried were reinterred to Ann Arbor’s Forest Hill Cemetery, according to the housing development authority’s description of the site.
Juliana Keeping covers general assignment and health and the environment for AnnArbor.com. Reach her at julianakeeping@annarbor.com or 734-623-2528. Follow Juliana Keeping on Twitter
Comments
BhavanaJagat
Sat, Jul 16, 2011 : 5:32 p.m.
This story instantly filled me with a sense of sadness. It basically displays a lack of respect. If I am a thief, and have to make a living by stealing, my human nature would still direct me to use a sense of discretion about what I do. It would be discretion not to get caught while stealing. It would be discretion not to steal from people with whom I live in a relationship. It would be also discretion not to offend others while causing a loss of financial nature. This is a marker that has been placed to show a sense of respect to persons who had lived before. A thief with a sense of discretion may steal an item that could be replaced and may not disturb the sign which exists to serve a simple function of paying respect to the memory of departed persons. This lack of discretion causes pain and anxiety. We read several stories about thefts and misappropriation of funds. Such stories do not cause a sense of emotional pain. The financial aspect of this damage is not the issue. I am sorry to read and know that I am living with a person or persons who lost their sense of discretion and do not care enough to show respect to human dignity and value.
millermaple
Fri, Jul 15, 2011 : 1:19 p.m.
My questions- When will the marker be replaced? Who is doing the investigating, UM Public Safety or AAPD? Could it have been damaged & removed by the construction work going on continuously everywhere? Have investegators contacted contractors working in that area? I usually see the marker everyday on my daily bus ride but the bus has been on detour for some time due to the constant construction.
Wolf's Bane
Fri, Jul 15, 2011 : 1:18 p.m.
Speaking of cemeteries. The entire University of Michigan hospital complex sits on a former Native American burial site and the bones are in the University of Michigan's forensic museum. Kind of twisted if you ask me? The Jewish remains were reinterred to Ann Arbor's Forest Hill Cemetery
bedrog
Sun, Jul 17, 2011 : 11:59 a.m.
jns...Yes, i have heard of DNA evidence, ( and even teach about it from time to time).... and it's often quite ambiguous when it comes to ancient remains...and no more so than in a number of native american cases ( e.g the Kennewick site in the pacific northwest -- the source of a huge controversy over rights to remains with merit/ problems on all sides). Plus while i fully agree with youb as to the overall sorry fate of many native americans at the hands of whites, their role as passive victims ( as opposed to active and aggressive players, albeit losing ones in the long term) can be vastly overplayed by the uninformed well-meaning. Read iroquois history ( e.g anthony wallace's THE DEATH AND REBIRTH OF THE SENECA) or recent THE COMANCHE EMPIRE by pekka hammaleinen to get a sense of what i'm talking about. anyway all this has nothing to do with the article under discussion.
jns131
Sat, Jul 16, 2011 : 3:37 p.m.
Ever hear of DNA evidence? These bones at the UM I think were tested. At any rate after spending 3 weeks out west you learn one thing. What the American Government did to these people you learn to start really questioning the ethics our government. Very shrewd and corrupt. Said state of American affairs.
bedrog
Fri, Jul 15, 2011 : 9:01 p.m.
Native american remains are a thorny issue, since many bones are far more ancient than the named ethnic groups that today occupy the places where they were found and in some cases the latter arrived at their 'homelands' not much before the whites, similarly having dispossessed more ancient residents. cases in point: the lakota/sioux were relatively recent immigrants to the plains of the dakotas from the woods of minnesota and displaced more indiginous folks like the crow/absaroka who in turn moved west at the expense of shoshones etc.. And the comanches/nurmaneh were later comers ( from the central rockies) to the texas region than the spaniards. alot of this stuff about the right to remains comes down to ethnic power politics ,and western scholars ( archeologists etc) have some valid reasons to retain certain burial remains, although NAGPRA ( native american grave protection and repatriation) statutes are a baseline template for such discussions/arguments... but still egregious vandalizing ( which scientific archeology is not) historical markers is wrong howerver it occurs.
jns131
Fri, Jul 15, 2011 : 3:49 p.m.
Believe it or not, the group who have rights to those bones are being told they will never get them back. The Blackfeet Native Americans right now are in appeals court trying to get hunting rights inside Glacier Montana. Guess what? Every time they win? The government appeals that ruling. Been going on for a long time now. Guess it goes without saying, our government has to be right all the time? Not.
Wolf's Bane
Fri, Jul 15, 2011 : 1:13 p.m.
Antisemitism in Ann Arbor? It is plausible, but generally Antisemitic attackers leave a message. This is not much of a message, e.g. no swastikas. I must concur with other posts, this could be a simple case of scrappers cashing in.
Steve Pepple
Fri, Jul 15, 2011 : 11:55 a.m.
An inappropriate comment posted earlier, along with several comments responding to it, have been removed.
bedrog
Fri, Jul 15, 2011 : 6:21 p.m.
I understand , from a2.com's point of view, why that post and the little subdialogue around it was removed...but it really did have some telling and far from off-topic points in it... But glad it all stayed up for as long as it did...which was itself surprising. Hope relevant parties got to see it all.
jns131
Fri, Jul 15, 2011 : 10:55 a.m.
Didn't a little known crime happen in the 1930's in another country and escalate in something more serious? I hate to say it, this is how history repeats itself. Mischief and mayhem and some revelers having fun. I shan't think not.
Huron74
Fri, Jul 15, 2011 : 2:09 a.m.
Okay, that settles it in my mind. If the plaque wasn't taken then it probably was just vandalism. Whether it was a hate crime too I can't say for sure but I doubt it. Usually when it's a hate crime there is some kind of desecration along with the damage. I spent two years cleaning up graffiti with a sand blaster for a living and I know the difference.
Huron74
Fri, Jul 15, 2011 : 2:02 p.m.
@say it plain So ah, what experience or education that pertains to this matter do you have? You've proffered none so fair. Just sayin'.
say it plain
Fri, Jul 15, 2011 : 5:03 a.m.
Sorry, but your expertise is in cleaning up the damage, not in the intentions of the perps, right? So, I guess Ms. Aminoff's idea is quite reasonable then...either 'revelers' or someone purposely unhappy about seeing Jewish-related plaques (i.e. hate crime)...as she said "who knows?" Or maybe there's also a possibility that there are people out there who just don't like cemeteries, and will try and pull up any markers related to them.
Stupid Hick
Fri, Jul 15, 2011 : 12:03 a.m.
If it was thievery for the metal content, as some speculate, why would the part that was broken off be left behind? "Police took the portion of the plaque that snapped off to the department and are storing it while they wait to hear if there is potential to repair it. " I can see why someone may have wanted to steal it, because it looks cool. I can also see that there could be an anti-Semitic motive too. I see anti-Semitic drivel in my email and on the web all the time. One thing I don't understand is who "Ann" is. Was her comment deleted? I don't understand the comparison to Habitat either. Was a cultural monument vandalized there too?
Huron74
Thu, Jul 14, 2011 : 9:38 p.m.
Anti-Jew vandalism is usually done with a hammer and/or spray paint. I'm as sure as I can be that it was metal thievery. From the photo the plaque looks to be bronze (tin & copper alloy) which is going for right around $2.30/ lb right now. Was the plaque busted off and left or was it removed? The answer to that question will likely settle that issue.
City Confidential
Fri, Jul 15, 2011 : 12:49 p.m.
Why would a metal thief risk hauling it off campus after realizing that it wasn't copper or bronze? The fact that it was left behind doesn't settle much, one way or the other.
John B.
Fri, Jul 15, 2011 : 12:28 a.m.
"It's not clear what kind of metal is used for the plaque, but Brown said it is not copper or bronze." ... and it wasn't taken.
bedrog
Fri, Jul 15, 2011 : 12:16 a.m.
Lets all get along and split the differnce. Maybe it was a metal thieving antisemite since there's plenty of other metal on other denominations' graves..
Huron74
Thu, Jul 14, 2011 : 9:29 p.m.
Likely the results of metal thievery.
dogpaddle
Thu, Jul 14, 2011 : 8:25 p.m.
@Ypsidame: Why are you so sure it ISN'T antisemitism? Maybe it is or maybe you're right. But I wouldn't be so quick to rule it out. After all, we have had hate crimes of various kinds in our fair city before and hate crimes of antisemitism are indeed up nationwide. That's a fact.
City Confidential
Fri, Jul 15, 2011 : 12:33 p.m.
<a href="http://www.annarbor.com/news/have-you-seen-this-sculpture-university-of-michigan-engineering-school-wants-it-bak/">http://www.annarbor.com/news/have-you-seen-this-sculpture-university-of-michigan-engineering-school-wants-it-bak/</a> Anti-sun worship?
City Confidential
Fri, Jul 15, 2011 : 12:24 p.m.
I think that there are a lot of other ways to be antisemitic - ways which don't involve metal that has a green patina. If you haven't noticed, metal theft is also indeed, up nationwide - way up. Look at all the churches that are being stripped of metal in Detroit - acts against Christianity? Hardly.
Mousedeva
Thu, Jul 14, 2011 : 7:35 p.m.
I'm confused (once again) is it that the campus police officer on patrol noticed the damage or Helen Aminoff noticed as she drove by and called police??? Conflicting facts people! @Eyeheart: I think Ann or any Jew for that matter has a right to WONDER if it was anti-semitic or not....put yourself in her shoes...it's a thought not an accusation. We should focus more on finding the culprits, then asking why.....and what DID happen to the cemetary and WHY it took the state so long to recognize it as the first Jewish cemetary...ever? I find that hard to believe to be fact too.
John B.
Mon, Jul 18, 2011 : 1:31 a.m.
But of course the paid right-wing blogger gets in the last word. Coincidence?
Steve Pepple
Fri, Jul 15, 2011 : 12:30 p.m.
Please stop the personal sniping back and forth or I will remove your comments.
EyeHeartA2
Fri, Jul 15, 2011 : 12:19 p.m.
@sayitplain: You might want to review this: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pronoun" rel='nofollow'>http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pronoun</a> I'm not sure how the use of a pronoun 'gives myself away', but go ahead and wonder about that if you like. (my dear) Since mousedeva mentioned the "any Jew" assumed local, Ann Arbor, since it is a local issue, and I was resonding to her, I felt "they" was clear. I didn't realize 'they' was on the list of PC, non approved terms. I used the (now forbidden) word 'they' twice in my post, are both forbidden or just one?
say it plain
Fri, Jul 15, 2011 : 4:57 a.m.
OOh, @EyeHeartA2, you so give yourself away with the "they should wonder..." locution. Who's race-baiting dear? You're "wondering" out loud now, btw...
Juliana Keeping
Thu, Jul 14, 2011 : 8:27 p.m.
Police noticed the damage early Sunday. Aminoff noticed later that day while driving by. She called 911 and was referred to the U-M Department of Public Safety's non-emergency line. They were already handling the incident after their 2 a.m. patrol.
EyeHeartA2
Thu, Jul 14, 2011 : 8:10 p.m.
Wonder away. I wonder a lot of stuff. Some would get me slapped if I wondered it out loud. Some might get me fired and some might get me in a fight. So, I just wonder to myself. How about she just wonders to herself, rather than race bait? There are TONS of cemetaries nobody knows about - didn't they just unearth some bones over at EMU? There isn't a boogie man in every closet. Save it for the real issues, like that protests every Saturday. They should "wonder" about that one.
Wystan Stevens
Thu, Jul 14, 2011 : 7:33 p.m.
"newsboy" doesn't say which cemetery he is asking about -- perhaps he means the "gentile" burying ground across Fletcher Street, that became Felch Park (now the tree-filled front lawn of the Power Center for the Performing Arts). That burying ground, the original graveyard of the Village of Ann Arbour, was abandoned by order of the Mayor and Common Council, in 1891. Many of the bodies from there had already been moved to Forest Hill Cemetery on Observatory Street (where the first interment took place in 1859), but Charles Manly has the distinction of being the only Ann Arbor mayor to have been burned in effigy, for daring to desecrate the the place of repose of the pioneer dead of our town. The former graveyard became a public park, named for the venerable Alpheus Felch, former Michigan Governor, U. S. Senator, and U-M Professor of Law. Felch was then living on North State Street; when he died in 1896, he was buried at Forest Hill. In 1973, a state historical marker for Felch was laid at the corner of Felch Park. The position of that marker matched the one for the Jewish Cemetery. Since its corner is now obscured by construction barriers, we can't readily tell if it has been molested or not, but the finish of both markers has been damaged by ice and snow as a result of their lying on the ground. I hope that both may be restored, and reinstalled in the customary upright position for historical markers, which also will enhance their visibility to passersby.
jns131
Fri, Jul 15, 2011 : 10:51 a.m.
Will Snyder pass something like this so that there is money in the coffer to pay for such frivolous things? I shan't think not since he is drying up money from everywhere. Hate to say it, if we want an historic marker standing upright? We as denizens of Ann Arbor, which I am happy to say I am not, then pay for it yourself. I am taxed to death here by everything else. Including another mileage I did not vote for.
Susan Montgomery
Thu, Jul 14, 2011 : 10:02 p.m.
Wystan, you are such a treasure! Thanks for the information.
lynel
Thu, Jul 14, 2011 : 8:05 p.m.
Wystan, wasn't there a Jewish cemetery out Plymouth Rd./North Campus area?
bedrog
Thu, Jul 14, 2011 : 7:01 p.m.
Relax everyone...at least city council passed an anti- islamophobia resolution, so all's well ( except in front of a local synagogue on weekends when the harassers come out to play in the name of 'the first amendment".)
bedrog
Thu, Jul 14, 2011 : 9:09 p.m.
i should have said " in the name of THEIR 1st amendment rights and in violation of others' ")
City Confidential
Thu, Jul 14, 2011 : 6:56 p.m.
Ummm, more like what has happened to the reporting standards for scrap yards? I seriously doubt this has anything to do with anti-semitism, and has everything to do with metal scrapping. When the next plaque/statue/manhole cover on campus is stolen, it'll make more sense.
Jimmy McNulty
Sat, Jul 16, 2011 : 12:08 a.m.
If thieves aren't that stupid as you suggest, then I would think they would've realized that it wasn't brass/bronze/copper in the first place. Just curious, do you have some experiences with scrap yards in the area and suspected unscrupulous practices?
City Confidential
Fri, Jul 15, 2011 : 1:06 p.m.
Jimmy, do you think a thief would bother taking it and risking getting caught with it after it snapped off in pieces and he/she realized it wasn't copper or bronze (which have green patinas but likely wouldn't snap into pieces) but rather something else coated with green? Thieves may be stupid, but they aren't that stupid.
Jimmy McNulty
Fri, Jul 15, 2011 : 12:48 p.m.
I doubt that scrap metal was the issue here since the portion of the plaque that was broken off was recovered at the scene, as the article states.
EyeHeartA2
Fri, Jul 15, 2011 : 12:47 p.m.
Using the new fangled "search button" I found this 20 day old article: <a href="http://www.annarbor.com/news/crime/thieves-swiping-manhole-covers-for-cash/">http://www.annarbor.com/news/crime/thieves-swiping-manhole-covers-for-cash/</a>
City Confidential
Fri, Jul 15, 2011 : 12:32 p.m.
Oh yeah, and speaking of metal being stolen, and on this campus, no less: <a href="http://www.annarbor.com/news/have-you-seen-this-sculpture-university-of-michigan-engineering-school-wants-it-bak/">http://www.annarbor.com/news/have-you-seen-this-sculpture-university-of-michigan-engineering-school-wants-it-bak/</a> Was this an act of anti-sun worship?
City Confidential
Fri, Jul 15, 2011 : 12:28 p.m.
<a href="http://www.clickondetroit.com/news/23897024/detail.html" rel='nofollow'>http://www.clickondetroit.com/news/23897024/detail.html</a>
City Confidential
Fri, Jul 15, 2011 : 12:27 p.m.
<a href="http://www.freep.com/article/20110614/NEWS06/110614013/Flint-aims-crack-down-manhole-cover-thefts" rel='nofollow'>http://www.freep.com/article/20110614/NEWS06/110614013/Flint-aims-crack-down-manhole-cover-thefts</a>
say it plain
Fri, Jul 15, 2011 : 4:54 a.m.
lol, yeah, where's the police blotter on manhole cover theft?!
EyeHeartA2
Thu, Jul 14, 2011 : 6:55 p.m.
"I don't know whether it was just revelers on a Saturday night or an anti-Semitic act — who knows?" said Aminoff. Well, Ann sure doesn't seem to know, but why not throw out the anit-Semitic card if you get a chance? If tools get stolen from a Habitat house is that racist? or just a crime of opportunity? <a href="http://www.annarbor.com/news/ypsilanti/4000-worth-of-tools-stolen-from-habitat-for-humanity-house-under-renovation/">http://www.annarbor.com/news/ypsilanti/4000-worth-of-tools-stolen-from-habitat-for-humanity-house-under-renovation/</a>
bedrog
Fri, Jul 15, 2011 : 5:07 p.m.
eyeheart...i think you confuse ann arbor with Lake Wobegon. I agree that everybody has problems and 'kvetching' simply to complain is a pain in the patoot. But sometimes there are real problems that real people willfully cause other real people and simply 'punting ' / ignoring them is counterproductive since it leads problem causers to do more of same......but this is really a no brainer, isnt it?? Maybe not for some on this thread.
EyeHeartA2
Fri, Jul 15, 2011 : 3:13 p.m.
@bedrog; Sure, why not. I'm not anti-semitic, anti-muslim, anti-anything else except anti-whining. (although I suppose you will say I am whining about whining.) I don't like it when: Soccer players whine they are hurt Hockey players whine they are hurt Parents whine thier kid didn't get a good grade People whine that they were offended in some way ANYBODY whines that "it" was unfair etc. etc. etc. That is what eye heart so much about AA - everybody whines that they are special, abused, discrimated against, misunderstood blah, blah, blah. Get over it. EVERYONE is special, abused, discriminated against and misunderstood. (Plus, in AA, we are all above average.)
bedrog
Fri, Jul 15, 2011 : 1:54 p.m.
eyeheart: just curious , but would you be as willing to blow this off if it were a muslim 'kabiristan' that was involved??? just askin.
say it plain
Fri, Jul 15, 2011 : 4:52 a.m.
Ew, I agree with demistify, yeesh. Oh, yeah, 'crime of opportunity' in taking off a piece of metal inscription off a bit of ground, mmm, I can see where one can want to do that for the resale value?! "Revelers" or hate-crime-- really those are the only two reasonable ideas here, and to suggest that somehow there is "a card" being thrown out by Ms. Aminoff smacks of, um, something that gives me pause too...wow.
demistify
Thu, Jul 14, 2011 : 8:42 p.m.
@EyeHeartA2 Your hostile response to the mention that defacing a monument to Jews could be an antisemitic act is curious. It is plausible that it was. Or it may be attempted theft. The article properly lists the possibilities, and we won't know unless and until a perpetrator is caught. Your implication that it is wrong to bring up the fact that antisemitism exists gives me pause.
EyeHeartA2
Thu, Jul 14, 2011 : 8:06 p.m.
Well, if something happens in Ypsi, like the "sunglasses deal gone bad", then the accusations fly that people are making assumptions due to the location of the deal. Anyway, everyone belongs to some race or another, don't they?
John of Saline
Thu, Jul 14, 2011 : 7:34 p.m.
I didn't know Habitat houses were race-specific.
Michigan Man
Thu, Jul 14, 2011 : 6:35 p.m.
What has happened to diversity tolerance in Ann Arbor and Washtenaw County?
newsboy
Thu, Jul 14, 2011 : 6:27 p.m.
What happened to the cemetery?
bedrog
Thu, Jul 14, 2011 : 8:09 p.m.
to myself...i should have read to the end where my/newsboys questions were indeed answered.
bedrog
Thu, Jul 14, 2011 : 8:07 p.m.
I think newsboy is asking a valid question: i.e. were bodies exhumed and moved in the past? was an alternative official jewish burial site established?? was the cemetary simply taken over by the UM? etc.
adam
Thu, Jul 14, 2011 : 6:36 p.m.
Read the article and find out.