OAKLAND COUNTY, Mich. – A member of the Bloomfield Township Board of Trustees is under fire for calling Zionists “scum of the earth” on her social media.
Trustee Stephanie Fakih posted to her social media on Oct. 4, 2024, in response to the recent bombings in Lebanon made by Israel, saying, “Israeli Zionists are the scum of the earth and the only people on par are American Zionists.”
Her comment led to an uproar in the community and calls for a special board meeting on Monday, Oct. 14, to address Fakih’s post.
During the special meeting, board members addressed Fakih’s social media post, saying she had the right to free speech. However, they said hate speech would not be tolerated.
Fakih addressed the post she made and tried to clear the air but was interrupted a few times as the crowd reacted to her response. She said her fellow board members labeled her as antisemitic for her social media post.
“I caution us, as a society, against labeling people,” said Fakih in the meeting on Oct. 14 regarding the board members calling her antisemitic. “By labeling people, we shut down conversation immediately.”
“I understand your anger. I understand your pain,” continued Fakih as she was addressing the public. “Because just as you are human beings, I ask you to remember that so am I. Despite what you have heard about me, despite what you have read in the press, I would never disparage any religion or spiritual belief—including Judaism. I would never do that. I made a comment about Zionism. What I want to be clear about is that a danger that we are seeing as a society today is trying to redefine and broaden the definition of words. The problem in doing that, similar to labeling, is that it shuts down discourse. And sometimes often needed dialogue.”
Fakih said, by definition, Judaism and Zionism are different because one is a religion and the other is an ideology. She then read from the Merriam-Webster dictionary to define Judaism and Zionism.
David Kurzmann from the Jewish Federation of Detroit spoke during public comment, saying he strongly condemned Fakih’s comments, and it’s a harmful attack on the Jewish community.
Kurzmann said Zionism is a belief in a Jewish homeland—a central tenant of Jewish identity and history.
“A vast majority of Jews are Zionists,” he continued. “Israel is our ancestorial homeland.”
One resident during public comment said Fakih’s comment was directed towards him as he is a Zionist. He also said her definition of Zionism is different than the true definition.
The nearly three-hour public comment hearing contained residents expressing their concern over Fakih’s comment and some in favor of it. Some residents expressed their pro-Palestinian views.
“I think a lot of what we’re talking about is a lot of words and feelings tonight,” said one resident in favor of Fakih’s post. “I think we really missed the point in terms of what she was speaking about and the feelings of her family and the loss of lives. I think that’s really about humanity.”
Following the public hearing, a motion was passed 6-1 to censure Fakih and have her to take substantial steps to “health the wounds in the community caused by her actions.”
Fakih has been a Bloomfield Township Trustee since Nov. 20, 2020, and her term expires on Nov. 20, 2024.
Fakih’s political website was changed to the front page displaying the quote, “What’s right is right, what’s wrong is wrong.”
