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Update: 8:15 p.m. Wednesday: Downtown magazine, which wrote the story, issued a statement: "Downtown news magazine stands by its story, online and in print, that the anti-Semitic chants were made at the state convention."
Update, 4:30 p.m. Wednesday: The communications director for the Michigan Republican Party told Deadline Detroit Wednesday afternoon that party officials had conducted an investigation and could not confirm allegations that some people chanted an anti-Semitic phrase at the state Republican convention in Lansing in February that was aimed at David Wolkinson, a Jewish person running for re-election for administrative vice chair.
Sarah Anderson, the GOP spokesperson, said the investigation, which was launched during the convention, found that some people said it happened, and others offered conflicting versions, suggesting it didn’t.
“There were multiple versions, no two were the same,” she said.
Regardless, she said party officials made it clear during the course of the investigation that the “Republican Party will not tolerate bigotry, anti-semitism or prejudice in any form.”
Anderson’s remarks came in response to a story on Tuesday posted by Downtown Birmingham, a monthly magazine, which says some local Republicans confirm that people in one of caucuses during the convention in February started chanting: "Boo-hoo, go away Jew.”
The story quotes a Bloomfield Township Republican in the room.
"I couldn't believe it," says the unnamed attendee. "Here, we're supposed to be together, and they're going too far. No one said this chant is wrong."
Anderson said Wolkinson went before one of the 14 caucuses on Friday evening to speak the day before the vote. Candidates try to go before as many of the 14 caucuses as possible to state their case for.
She said that by the time Wolkinson got to the 9th District caucus, it had adjourned and the chairman did not want to keep people from leaving so he could speak. That’s when some remarks were made, which some claim were anti-Semitic.
Wolkinson did not immediately respond to a text Wednesday afternoon for comment.
Jeff Sakwa, a deputy chair of the party, who was co-chair in February, told Deadline Detroit he investigated the matter and concluded: “I could not find any validity to the story.”
Sakwa, who is Jewish, said he is friends with Wolkinson. He said Wolkinson could not tell him for certain that the anti-Semitic remarks were made.
Sakwa, recently appointed by the governor to the Michigan Civil Rights Commission, said he would not tolerate bigoted remarks in the party ranks.
Original post, Wednesday morning:
Anti-semitism reared its ugly head at the state Republican convention in Lansing in February, according to a report in the online publication Downtown Birmingham.
David Wolkinson was target of anti-Semitic chants
The report, published Tuesday, says:
Some local Republicans confirm the toxic malady hit the state's Republican convention in February, when party administrative vice-chair David Wolkinson of Birmingham ran for re-election to the party position.
"There were a bunch of people who also wanted to be vice-chair who interrupted the proceedings," said a Bloomfield Township Republican who was in the room, backed up by a local state legislator who witnessed the proceedings.
The individual said that Cecil St. Pierre, Warren city council president, was running the proceedings for the 9th District, which includes Bloomfield Township, "and was allowing people to interrupt." Most disturbing, several sources said, were chants that began with – "Boo-hoo, go away Jew " – which were permitted to continue through the vote, aimed at Wolkinson, who is Jewish.
"I couldn't believe it," said the township Republican, who has long been active at the state level. "Here, we're supposed to be together, and they're going too far. No one said this chant is wrong.
"And Ron Weiser (Michigan Republican Party Chairperson, who was not in the room) is Jewish. I spoke to Wolkinson, but he didn't want to make a fuss."
Wolkinson lost the position.
