Police investigating anti-Israel vandalism

West Bloomfield police are investigating after a group blocked the entrance to the Knollwood Country Club and anti-Israel graffiti was later found on signs and elsewhere around the facility.

The Friends of the Israel Defense Fund was to host an event at the club, 5050 W. Maple Road, on Thursday evening, Feb. 15. The event was moved to an undisclosed location in West Bloomfield Township because of threats the group received, according to a release from state Rep. Noah Arbit, D-West Bloomfield.

West Bloomfield Deputy Police Chief Dale Young could not confirm or deny the event was moved because of threats.

He said the group of about 30 people, some of whom held pro-Palestinian signs, were blocking entry to and exit from the country club’s parking lot.

Officers informed the group there was no event being held at the club that evening. Officers asked the demonstrators to move and they complied, Young said. No arrests were made.

The next morning, country club staff discovered spray-painted graffiti on several outdoor signs and on a utility box that said, “F***FIDF” or “F*** FIDF I hope you die instead.”

In his statement, Arbit expressed outrage and thanked the police for “ensuring the safety of not only West Bloomfield’s Jewish residents, but all our residents.”

“I am outraged and disgusted by this violation of a Jewish institution in the heart of our community. In West Bloomfield, we pride our rich diversity, and we will never be intimidated or cowed by those who come into our community to commit acts of hate,” Arbit said.

The club does not state on its website that it is a “Jewish institution.”

“This despicable incident underscores a growing and horrifying trend of Jewish institutions targeted with grotesque, hateful, and threatening slogans by antisemites purporting to advocate for Palestinians,” Arbit’s statement said.