ANN ARBOR — A coalition of over 30 religious leaders of various faiths, from Ann Arbor, Saline and Ypsilanti have come together to take a stand against a weekly anti-Israeli protest that is held outside of the Beth Israel Congregation, a synagogue in Ann Arbor.

At the Ann Arbor City Council meeting that was held on Monday, Aug. 20, Rev. James Rhodenhiser of the St. Clare of Assisi Episcopal Church, appeared before council members and submitted a letter, signed by the coalition, that asks them to put a stop to the group of protestors, claiming they are a disturbance to residents who are trying to practice their religion.

Jewish Witness for Peace and Friends (JWPF) has held demonstrations outside of the synagogue every Saturday morning, since September 2003. The group consists of Jewish Americans, who are against the Zionist lobby in the U.S. They have made numerous appearances at Ann Arbor city council meetings and at college campuses as well, with signs and messages that display anti-Israeli or pro-Palestinian messages.

Rhodenhiser said the group has a right to free speech, but they shouldn’t be targeting Beth Israel for the actions of a foreign government. He suggested that the City mark the 10th anniversary of the protests by publicly denouncing the group’s behavior.  The letter submitted on Monday even compared the situation to that in Dearborn, Michigan.

“This is the same sort of marginalizing, demonizing of a minority we have seen attempted recently against Michigan Muslims in Dearborn,” part of the letter reads.  “This is not the kind of action that is welcomed in our town.”

Both the council and Mayor John Hieftje of Ann Arbor appeared to agree with the letter, stating that they too wished the protests would stop. However, they agreed that it’s a matter of free speech and the protestors still have a right to be there every Saturday morning.

Members of Jewish Witness for Peace and Friends have been protesting outside of Beth Israel every Saturday morning for nearly ten years.

Mayor Hieftje did say that they are continuously looking into what more the City could possibly do about the issue, as City Attorneys have been working on the matter for a long time.

In solidarity with Beth Israel, Rhodenhiser and other religious leaders are asking the protesters to find another public venue to demonstrate at.

But JWPF founder Henry Herskovitz says the reason that his group chose that particular location is because the synagogue’s name in Hebrew means “House of Israel,” and they display an Israeli flag inside of the synagogue.

He says that his group isn’t going away anytime soon, but that should not be of concern to the synagogue.  Herskovitz says the protests are peaceful and they are meant to target public traffic on Washtenaw Ave., rather than synagogue attendees. The protestors originally used to situate themselves on a side street, near the parking lot, in order to target congregants that would enter and leave the center.

“When we first started the protests ten years ago, we tried to get them to change their ways; to stop supporting the American Israel Public Affairs Committee and stop sending money to Israel,” he says. “But after three years, we realized, these congregants weren’t going to change their minds, so we refocused.  Since then, we’ve moved it to Washtenaw, and it’s designed to be quiet and designed to be respectful.”

Herskovitz says the congregation has quietly supported Israel since its inception, and the only way his group will agree to stop the protests is if the synagogue no longer displays the Israeli flag and goes on the record to promote equal rights for Palestinians in the State of Israel.

“They don’t want the world to know that the congregation supports Israel absolutely. It’s because we are exposing the skeletons in the Zionists closet and it embarrasses them. If you support Israel’s right to exist as a Jewish state, then you must support the continued terrorism and the continued bombings of Gaza. Show me, and show the public, that you are a house of worship, praying to a god and not praying to a country,” Herskovitz added.

While Herskovitz may have a hard time getting the synagogue to take down the Israeli flag, one flag that was easily taken down was his very own anti-Israeli flag that he had displayed in front of his house for over a year. The flag, a modification of the Israeli flag, with a red circle and slash across it, has been a hard pill to swallow for his neighbors.

According to Herskovitz, at some point near midnight on August 12, someone trespassed onto his property, located on the block of Mark Hannah Place, and tore down the flag from a tree where it hung and also broke the poll that it had been attached to.

The next morning, the Ann Arbor Police Department was contacted and are currently reviewing evidence, which includes surveillance footage. Herskovitz called the incident a “malicious destruction of property.”

This wasn’t the first time Herskovitz’s anti-Israeli flag wasn’t welcome by locals. Last summer, his neighbors came together, and a total of 11 households signed a petition, asking him to take it down, because they were “offended that the circle and slash spoke so negatively about a religion, a people and a country.”