ADL blasts Meridian Township clerk candidate for 'antisemitic rhetoric’

(Because of an editing error, an earlier version of this story had an incorrect headline that said "ADL blasts Meridian Township clerk for 'antisemitic rhetoric.' City Pulse apologizes for the error.

WEDNESDAY, July 31 — Statements on the Israeli-Hamas war by Mike McCurdy, a candidate for Meridian Township clerk in next week’s primary election, contain “antisemitic rhetoric,” according to the leader of Michigan’s chapter of the Anti-Defamation League.

"Mr. McCurdy has made numerous antisemitic social media posts, which belittle the October 7 terror attack, justify the terror group Hamas and propagate age-old anti-Jewish ideas,” Carolyn Normandin, the ADL’s regional director in Bloomfield Hills, said.

City Pulse asked Normandin to examine social-media statements posted by McCurdy after Hamas’ attack on Israel and Israel’s invasion of Palestine. McCurdy’s post were brought to City Pulse’s attention last week by Joe DiSano, a Lansing political consultant and stepfather of Angela Demas, one of McCurdy’s opponents for the Democratic nomination for clerk in Tuesday’s election.

The Anti-Defamation League is a 111-year-old organization that combats antisemitism worldwide.

In addition to her own comments, Normandin also provided a statement that she said can be atttributed to the ADL.

“McCurdy’s statement on Facebook that 1200 dead Israelis is nothing compared’ to Palestinian suffering,” the statement reads, “and his declaration that he would not condemn Hamas invalidates the pain and brutality inflicted on innocents by the terror org on October 7. This sentiment belittling Hamas terror was further amplified with his post that the Israeli Defense Forces ‘are by far more sadistic than Hamas at its very worse [sic].’

 “Several of McCurdy’s posts play into age-old antisemitic tropes about Jewish control over people’s livelihoods and the media,” the statement continues. “In one tweet, he reprehensibly defends the antisemitic act of ripping down posters raising awareness of hostages held by Hamas and lambasts actions taken against those who engage in such activity, commenting: ‘They want to cone[sic] for all our jobs to silence us.’ In another post, he spreads the conspiracy theory that ‘the Israeli Army really is occupying your socials.’ “Combining age-old hateful ideas about Jews with criticism of Israel is not political analysis —  it is antisemitism.

 “Elsewhere, McCurdy dismisses the idea that American Jews, whom he calls ‘Americans of European descent,’ have any ‘morality’ in moving to or associating with Israel, an internationally recognized state sitting upon land widely recognized by historians — and mentioned repeatedly in Jewish texts — as once having been where the Jewish people formed a polity. Yet confoundingly, McCurdy cheers on Jewish emigration to Israel from South Africa spurred by rising antisemitism, writing that ‘nobody will miss genocidal Zionists.’ Irony aside, the message is clear.  

"McCurdy’s then blames Jews for rising antisemitism, sharing a post that reads: ‘Actually, what fuels antisemitism is murdering children by the thousands.’ By placing the blame on Jews, he absolves those perpetuating anti-Jewish hate of any liability for their words and actions,” The ADL’s statement concludes.

McCurdy, 49, is co-chair of a nonprofit prison reform project. Before that, he ran a housing cooperative for Michigan State University students.

Demas, 21, is a recent Michigan State University graduate who has worked for political officials such as then-Sen. Curtis Hertel Jr. since she was in high school.

Also running in Tuesday's Democrat primary is Emily Stivers, 43,  a former Ingham County commissioner.

McCurdy said in a telephone interview today that DiSano was behind the effort to discredit him over his views on the war, which he called a “disingenuous attack.”

Demas denied that her stepfather has any official role in her campaign.

McCurdy stood by his statements.

“We need to be talking about the genocide, but this has absolutely nothing to do with the clerk's race,” he said.

By “genocide,” McCurdy was referring to the Israeli military actions in the Gaza Strip, where more than 39,000 residents, mostly civilians, have been killed, and many more displaced, according to the United Nations based on numbers gathered by the Gaza Health Ministry. In its attack, Hamas killed 1,139 Israelis, including 815 civilians, and another 251 persons were taken as hostages.

One of McCurdy’s posts on his personal Facebook page last December read: “Just as we condemn Islamic extremism, we must condemn Jewish extremism. Just as we condemn white supremacy, we must condemn Jewish supremacy. There is no justification for the slaughter of children. We must be clear that we love Jewish people, many of whom lead us in this fight.”

McCurdy noted that his beliefs were informed, in part, by three separate visits he’d made to Gaza and Israel as a volunteer with the Meta Peace Team between 1999 and 2003. During that time, he said he worked side-by-side with Palestinians and Israeli citizens who were sympathetic to the Palestinian cause.

“The sheer brutality of the occupation is just very apparent when you experience it firsthand. It’s really hard to unsee things like soldiers firing rubber bullets at children, tanks rolling down the streets and people not allowed to leave their homes or go get food for days or weeks on end,” McCurdy said. “I think anybody who's done that sees for themselves what the starkness of the military occupation is and how there really is an apartheid-like system in place.”

McCurdy also said he didn’t have any regrets regarding his “Jewish supremacy” comment because he believes it’s a legitimate concern.

“I've been shocked by the voices coming out of Israel — in particular the rabbis that I've seen speaking out saying that Palestinian babies are fair military targets because they'll eventually turn into terrorists, and that Palestinians’ natural place in life is to be the slaves of Jewish people,” McCurdy said.

“These are the extremist voices in Israel that seem to be driving Israeli policy,” he added. “It is Jewish extremism, and I think we need to be able to talk about it, because it's real.”

McCurdy denied that his posts were spurred by an antisemitic worldview.

“It's not attacking all Jewish people in any way, just as talking about Islamic extremism is not attacking Islam as a religion,” McCurdy said. “When people hide their violence behind religion or kill in the name of God, that's dangerous. It doesn't matter what religion you're coming from.”

McCurdy described his posts as attempts to “educate the population on what's going on in Gaza.” If the situation were “reversed,” he said he would be speaking out on behalf of Israel.

“I think the people who know my history at all know that my work for peace has been consistent throughout my life. They know it's not based on any kind of hate, but on a belief in human rights and dignity for all humans. It's love-based, not hate-based, activism,” McCurdy said.

Demas, who is Jewish, said she found McCurdy’s posts to be indicative of “a character issue.”

“In elected office, we are supposed to represent all of our constituents, but Mike using antisemitic terms like ‘Jewish supremacy’ and ‘Jewish extremism’ raises concerns about his ability to do so,” Demas said. “As someone who is Jewish, I hope his comments came from ignorance rather than hate. But regardless, I hope he will apologize.”

Efforts to reach Stivers for comment were unsuccessful.