Self-proclaimed “Jew-hater” is being investigated after incident at Detroit-area synagogue

(JTA) — Police are investigating after witnesses said a man who reportedly described himself as a “Jew-hater” drove to a Detroit-area synagogue, yelled anti-Semitic slurs at two people outside the building and killed one of them thrown at him with a pair of work gloves.

The incident in Oak Park, Michigan, began around 9 a.m. Thursday when police said in a statement that a white man “with thick dark hair and a long dark beard” driving a Chevrolet SUV pulled into the congregation’s parking lot Beth Shalom drove. At that time, Alicia Nelson and her husband, 85-year-old Rabbi Emeritus David Nelson, were stopping by his synagogue office, and Alicia had gotten out to enter the building.

According to the Detroit Jewish News, the driver of the car then yelled at Alicia, “How are you, baby murderer?” and screamed “F-ing b-tch!” as he drove away from the synagogue parking lot and parked in the parking lot of a nearby kindergarten .

Another Jewish woman, a synagogue employee, soon drove into the synagogue parking lot, whereupon the driver returned.

“When he saw her stop, he pulled up next to her, shouted something about the Palestinians and Gaza and said, ‘I’m proud to be a ‘Jew hater,'” and threw something at her,” Alicia Nelson told Fox 2 Detroit. David Nelson added: “He wanted a second shot at someone who was Jewish.”

The Nelsons told Fox they could tell the object was soft, and Oak Park Public Safety said in their statement that the object the driver threw was a pair of work gloves wrapped in plastic.

The clash is the latest in a series of anti-Semitic incidents targeting Jewish institutions since the Israel-Hamas war broke out on October 7. Synagogues have been vandalized and hit by a series of false bomb threats in recent months.

But a synagogue leader also warned against making too much of the incident.

“We tried to keep this from becoming more than what it is, which is basically a madman in a car screaming out his window,” Howard Fridson, president of Congregation Beth Shalom, told the Detroit Jewish News. “It is unfortunate that the situation in the world has given rise to these feelings, but we know they are out there. I hope this is the end.”

Oak Park police Lt. Ryan Bolton told the Detroit Free Press that the investigation did not show that the suspect specifically mentioned Gaza or Palestinians.

City Manager Erik Tungate condemned the incident.

“There is no place for hate or violence in our community and I am proud of how diligently our public safety team works to ensure the safety of everyone in Oak Park,” he said in a statement. “Our diversity is our greatest strength and we will continue to protect it.”

The Nelsons said the incident was disturbing, although they were not physically injured.

“We weren’t physically attacked, we weren’t physically threatened,” Alicia told Fox 2 Detroit. “That’s certainly something we have to thank God for.”

David added: “It’s very, very disturbing and tragic. It’s more anti-Semitism than I’ve seen in my entire life, and I’m not young.”