views

wandering jew

Dr. Abdul
El-Sayed
and Berg

Challenging Preconceptions

L

with full backstage access, I planned to
et’s play word association. I’ll
take advantage and get to really know
start. “Muslim-American Abdul
Abdul El-Sayed, the person. He was
El-Sayed.” What immediately
raised by an Egyptian father and
comes to mind? Given the
a white Christian stepmother, so
prevailing anti-immigrant,
immediately I thought, “family
Islamophobic sentiment in
Passover seder invite!” I sat next
this nation, I imagine it’s not
to Abdul, beaming with pride
the term “Governor.” However,
that he was there to witness
Dr. Abdul El-Sayed is not
my family dayenu the heck out
only running for governor
of his entire liberal agenda and
of Michigan, but he is also
remind us that, regardless of
exceedingly qualified to hold
Joshua Lewis
calls for the destruction of Israel
the office.
Berg
by countries like Syria, we must
Dr. El-Sayed is a double D
aid all those in need, including
(Detroit Democrat), a Rhodes
refugees. But, this left little time
Scholar, an Oxford Ph.D., a
for Abdul and me to talk.
Columbia-educated medical
I was not giving up on my quest
doctor and former head of the Detroit
Health Department. Impressive stuff for to delve deeper, so I contacted The
Humanist magazine and pitched
anyone, let alone a 32-year-old.
Did I mention Abdul is a Muslim? My an interview with the first Muslim-
American gubernatorial candidate in
personal experience with Islam is lim-
Michigan. I urge you to read the inter-
ited. As a supporter of equal rights for
view in the July/August issue of The
LGBTQ, women, apostates and other
communities traditionally oppressed by Humanist. Here are some highlights:
“... as a religious minority, the capacity
religions, including Islam, suffice it to
for people like me to practice my faith
say, I, too, have some bugaboos.
has everything to do with the separa-
However, this column is meant to
tion of church and state and I value that
explore my complicated relationship to
immensely.”
religion, specifically Judaism, so I must
“... while I can have a conversation
also explore the tougher issues like
about what I think is the best life, I can-
prejudice, including my own.
not lean on the state to exclude other
We all struggle with preconceptions
people whose conceptions of the best
that are informed by identity, society
life may be different than mine. “
and the conditioning of history. That
“The state’s facing a lot of challenges
is why I make every effort to talk with
people face to face. So, when I was invit- … Those problems need all of us to
ed to do an invocation at the announce- come together and commit to a solu-
tion, and we only do that if we can have
ment of Dr. El-Sayed’s candidacy for
conversations.”
governor, I jumped at the chance.
“I am for comprehensive immigration
I spoke in turn with Muslims and
reform that makes sense and happy
Christians, representing myself as a
to have a conversation about how we
Humanistic Jew. I invoked a desire
actually enforce that. In the absence of
for educating our children, protect-
that, I do not believe that the state of
ing our environment — you know, the
Michigan has a responsibility to enforce
whole liberal spiel. I was hoping Abdul
federal policies that don’t make sense
wouldn’t just spew the spiel, but walk
and are ruining families and are ruining
the walk as well.
sections of our economy. I believe that
Now that I was officially a groupie

Michigan should be a sanctuary
state …”
So, there it is, preconceived notions
dispelled. Aside from a belief in the
Divine, he is pretty much in lockstep
with me on everything else. Right now,
humanity is reeling from human beings
killed by suicide bombers deluded to
think they are doing Allah’s bidding and
going to heaven. However, Abdul seems
like a guy to whom Islam informs and is
equal or even subordinate to the value
of peace and all life in a secular society.
I truly believe that in modern times,
wisdom and compassion are slowly but
surely reforming tradition and doctrine.
I wanted to know more about what
Abdul thought.
And, someday I will. But, for now,
the following is how Abdul left it. “I
don’t care about being the first Muslim
governor. I care about being a great
governor of this state, and I’m running
because I know I have the skill set as a
physician, a scientist, an educator and a
public servant.”
We need brave progressives, but
Michigan is diverse and Abdul still must
prove, even to me, that he can win. I
remember another unseasoned politi-
cian with a Muslim name faring well, so
I have high hopes.
Although Obama showed the utmost
respect to Muslims whenever he was
“accused” of being a Muslim himself, his
PR team reiterated that he is, indeed,
a Christian. This time around, I won’t
deny the pleasure I’ll take in respond-
ing to the “accusation” of “but he is a
Muslim” with “you betcha!”
To meet Abdul is to like him. To know
him is to respect him. Whatever your
political or religious orientation, I urge
you to get to know him too before you
go to the ballot box. •

Joshua Lewis Berg, The Wandering Jew, is a
mythical figure whose legend consists of wan-
dering the world in search of the perfect bottle
of kosher pop and other revelatory phenomena.

guest column

Get Your Kids Vaccinated When Th ey Graduate

H

Alicia Stillman

igh school graduations are an exciting
time for both parents and students pre-
paring for college in the fall. As one chap-
ter closes and another begins, it’s important that
parents ensure their children are fully prepared
for the new adventure that lies ahead.
With three children of my own, I remember
those early summer days of going to graduation
ceremonies and seeing so much potential in each
of them. I was ecstatic about their futures and the
marks that they would leave on the world.

However, the college experience was unexpect-
edly cut short for my daughter, Emily.
Emily was a 19-year-old sophomore at
Kalamazoo College studying psychology and the-
ater. One night, she called me complaining of a
slight headache. I suggested she take some Motrin
and let me know how she felt in the morning.
That next morning, I received a phone call from
the hospital and, by the time I met her there, she’d
slipped into a coma. Emily had contracted menin-
gococcal disease and was going into surgery.

My
Story

Photo: John Hardwick

Sherri Ketai is passionate
about Detroit’s Jewish community.
Areas where she’s been active
include JFMD’s Israel & Overseas,
Jewish Women’s Philanthropy,
Jewish camps, and she served as
Federation Campaign Chair. In all
of these things, Sherri describes
herself as an action person, wanting
to get right to the business of helping
people, which is why she believes
she was drawn to join the Hebrew
Free Loan Board.
“The real beauty of our Jewish
community is that we help one
another,” Sherri said. “We have all
of these resources in Detroit, and
we’re uniquely supportive of each
other. HFL epitomizes that. It’s a
hands-on, collaborative agency
that uses community resources for
the betterment of that community,
quickly and efﬁciently.”
Sherri credits her family with the
drive she uses in her volunteer life.
“My grandfather, Sam Solomon,
along with my wonderful parents,
taught me that family and community
were paramount. My family worked
hard, and growing up, I knew what
it was like to not have everything.
Now, my kids have a good life, but
they also have a good grounding,
and I’m modeling that mantra for
them. I’m walking the walk, showing
them how good we have it here,
and how we can use our talents to
keep it going.”
Hebrew Free Loan, Sherri says,
isn’t just about ﬁnancial services,
it’s also about respect and dignity.
“The compassion and the good
we do make this such a point of
pride. It touches lives positively.”

Click. Call. Give Now.
www.hfldetroit.org
248.723.8184

Health. A fresh start.
A good education.
The next great business idea.

Hebrew Free Loan gives interest-
free loans to members of our
community for a variety of
personal and small business
needs. HFL loans are funded
entirely through community
donations which continually
recycle to others, generating
many times the original value
to help maintain the lives of
local Jews.

6735 Telegraph Road, Suite 300 • Bloomfield Hills, MI 48301

Hebrew Free Loan Detroit

@HFLDetroit

continued on page 8

jn

June 15 • 2017

5

