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Residents urge Ferndale to review park permit for concert they call anti‑Israel and anti‑American
Summary
Multiple Ferndale residents told the council that a planned concert promoted with Lebanon, Palestine and Iran flags and inflammatory messaging has made Jewish residents feel unsafe; several speakers urged the city to void the organizer’s permit or otherwise intervene, citing community safety and rule‑breaking in the rental process.
Several residents used public comment to urge the Ferndale City Council to reconsider permitting a concert in Henry A. Schiffer Park that they say features anti‑Israel and anti‑American messaging.
Frank Castron (430 W. Troy St.) told the council the concert’s advertisements include flags of Lebanon, Palestine and Iran and messaging that calls the United States and Israel "imperialist nations." He said the event appears to have been widely promoted and argued that the organizer applied for a small‑event rental while publicly promoting a larger concert. "I am strongly opposed to a concert that will be given by Amrich Kohi later this month in Henry A. Schiffer Park," Castron said. He asked the council and city management to void the rental application because, he said, the event looks like a special event, not a small rental.
Other speakers gave similar testimony. June Axelrad (477 W. Troy) said she has been vilified and made to feel unwelcome in Ferndale since October 7, 2023, and called the planned event an "ugly display" that should not be facilitated in a park named after a former Jewish mayor. Gay Tushler and a speaker identifying as Goldie also described feeling marginalized and urged council action to prevent what they described as divisive or hateful speech in a tax‑funded park.
Council members and staff did not announce a forced cancellation at the meeting and acknowledged limits stemming from First Amendment protections. Speakers framed their requests around municipal permit rules and public-safety concerns, asking staff to examine whether the organizer mischaracterized the application to avoid the city’s special-event permitting process. The council did not immediately announce a change in the permit at the meeting.
The council’s public-record file or city licensing staff will be the official sources for any subsequent permit modification or revocation. The council reiterated its responsibility to balance free-speech protections with community safety and permit compliance; no formal motion to revoke the permit was passed at this meeting.
