'Palestine Ave' sign renaming street unveiled in Hamtramck to cheers

For decades, Holbrook Avenue in Hamtramck has been a main road traveled by many drivers and pedestrians, cutting through immigrant neighborhoods and an industrial area. Outside Kowalski Sausage Co. on Holbrook is a lighted sign depicting a giant kielbasa with a fork piercing through, a reminder that the area was once filled with Polish Americans.

Now, the entire length of Holbrook in Hamtramck will be renamed Palestine Avenue in solidarity with Palestinians as they face attacks from Israeli forces that have outraged many in the city and other parts of metro Detroit. On a sunny Thursday afternoon on the corner of Holbrook Avenue and Gallagher Street, city officials unveiled a new, brown-colored street sign that sits above the Holbrook sign. The street will still be officially called Holbrook in mailing addresses, but there will be an additional dozen "Palestine Ave" signs that will be placed along the entire length of the avenue in Hamtramck above the Holbrook signs.

"Free, free Palestine" and "Falastin, Falastin," a crowd of supporters chanted at a ceremony before the unveiling, using the Arabic word for "Palestine." Hamtramck City Councilman Khalil Refai, who introduced the resolution in December, approved 4-3, to rename Holbrook, yanked a red scarf from the street sign Thursday afternoon, unveiling it to applause.

Hamtramck has the highest percentage of immigrants among all municipalities in Michigan, many of them with roots in Yemen and Bangladesh. Hamtramck has the second highest percentage of Arab Americans after Dearborn among Michigan cities, and the highest percentage of Bangladeshi Americans, according to census data.

"Palestinians have been dying right and left for decades," Refai told the Free Press after the unveiling. "It's to show our support to the Palestinian people. Everybody here that drives on this main street of Hamtramck, when they pass on the street, you now see Palestine Avenue, they read the street sign and maybe try to ... remember our brothers and sisters in Palestine."

The ceremony was attended by residents, imams and officials from Hamtramck, Dearborn, Melvindale and Dearborn Heights, cities that have sizable Arab American communities. Wayne County Deputy Executive Asad Turfe said the street renaming is an example of the historic diversity of Hamtramck, noting that other streets in the city have been renamed with Bangladeshi and Polish names. A part of Conant Avenue that has several businesses owned by Bangladeshi immigrants was renamed Bangladesh Avenue a few years ago.

"This is just a symbolic symbolic gesture to show our support ... for a free Palestine," Hamtramck Mayor Amer Ghalib, who cast the tie-breaking vote in December in favor of the renaming, told the crowd. "Hamtramck cannot stand neutral during moral conflict. ... We stand with peace and justice against oppression. We stand with humanity against brutality and barbarism."

Ghalib, the first minority to be mayor of Hamtramck, added that Hamtramck was the first city in Michigan to pass a resolution last year condemning Israel's attacks against Palestinians, which have killed more than 30,000 since December, according to Gaza's health ministry.

Holbrook Avenue was named after a 19th century attorney, Dewitt Holbrook, who lived on a farm in Hamtramck Township, according to Detroit Transit History. Founded about 100 years ago, the city of Hamtramck later became a Polish-majority city, but today, Polish Americans make up only 5% of the city, according to the 2020 census. Arab Americans make up 39% of city residents, most of them Yemeni, and Asian Americans make up 29% of the city, a majority of them Bangladeshi.

Imam Imran Salha, the religious leader of the Islamic Center of Detroit, a Palestinian-majority congregation, gave a passionate talk that touched on the power of renaming areas in Islamic history.

"As Muslims and believers in God, we believe that God's greatest gift to humanity is the gift of the word," Salha said. "The word is what we use to communicate, the word is what we use to promote truth. The word can be used to promote evil, but as representatives of God, we always utilize the word to promote truth, and this word is powerful. Renaming things is powerful and the time of the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, he heard that there was a valley named ... the valley of darkness ... and the Prophet (renamed it) ... the valley of guidance."

Salha linked the renaming to the movement among Arab Americans in Michigan to vote uncommitted in last week's primary election as a protest against President Joe Biden for his support of Israel's military. Hamtramck had the highest percentage of Democratic voters who voted uncommitted among cities in Michigan in the Feb. 27 election.

"What significance is there to Holbrook?" Salha said. "There's nothing special about Holbrook, but there is something special about Palestine Avenue and when we say Palestine Avenue ... we are acting to show that Michigan is the avenue to Palestine. Over 100,000 voters in Michigan voted uncommitted in order to display their disapproval with the actions of the Biden administration."

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Hamtramck is not the first city to rename a street in support of Palestinians. In 2022, Paterson, New Jersey, which has a large number of Palestinian Americans, renamed a street "Palestine Way." 

Ghalib talked about the challenges of getting the resolution passed. It was initially removed from the council's agenda last year, but then brought back. There was intense debate among City Council members before the vote. Some questioned why the council was focusing only on Palestinians and not other persecuted groups such as the Rohingya. Three members of the City Council — Muhith Mahmood, Abu Musa and Mohammed Alsomiri — voted against renaming Holbrook.

"I support all the time Palestinians and Gaza," Alsomiri said, noting that he supports demonstrations and donates money to help Palestinians. "But ... I have to respect other people, all my community."

Musa said: "I am not against Palestine. Palestine is in my heart," but he asked whether it could lead to more requests for renaming streets to support groups such as Rohingya in Myanmar or Muslims targeted in the Balkans.

Ghalib replied by asking why Musa did not earlier propose renaming other streets for groups being attacked in Myanmar. The mayor added that what is happening to Palestinians is unique.

"It's the hottest, most pressing topic that is going on now," Ghalib said. "There is no injustice like what is happening now in Palestine."

Refai said the other Palestine Ave. signs will be put up soon.

"We have 13 intersections on the street," he said of Holbrook. "Each one will have the Palestine Avenue on there. So the purpose is, whoever drives in from any intersection will always see that Palestine Avenue on there."

Contact Niraj Warikoo: [email protected] or X @nwarikoo

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Holbrook Avenue in Hamtramck, Michigan renamed Palestine Avenue