views

essay

letters

Our Lens Post-Oct. 27, 2018

Synagogue Security

W

ith fresh wounds in our
hearts over the recent
tragedy in Pittsburgh, how
can American Jews ever see things
the same from now on? How can we
not view the future a bit differently or
look to the past and not re-examine
acts of anti-Semitism
or the silence of those
who tolerated it?
Our lens was reset
on Oct. 27, 2018, for
better or worse, and
it’ll never be the same
again.
Mark Jacobs
A few weeks before
Pittsburgh, Louis
Farrakhan once again engaged in an
anti-Semitic rant. That was hardly
news to anyone familiar with his
antics. The Nation of Islam leader is
nothing if not predictable in his con-
tempt for Jews, Judaism and Israel.
That’s what he does. This time, the
guy who once called Hitler “a very
great man” and labeled Judaism a
“gutter religion” made an equally vile
statement, comparing Jews to “ter-
mites,” a line that elicited laughter
from his Detroit audience.
No one is claiming that the killer
at the Tree of Life synagogue was
influenced by Minister Farrakhan. But

who can deny that Farrakhan’s words
are just part of the insidious rise of
anti-Semitism in America? The post-
Oct. 27, 2018, us cannot now recall
his hateful words — as well as the
reaction of his audience — and not be
even more circumspect.
Labeling Jews as “termites” is more
than a hateful slur; it is haunting-
ly reminiscent of Hitler’s frequent
description of Jews as “parasites,” a
tactic that he and his minions used to
first dehumanize Jews in the eyes of
the German people. In Mein Kampf,
in fact, the book Hitler wrote eight
years before his rise to power, he
even named a chapter “The Jew is a
Parasite.” To Hitler, dehumanizing
Jews was a necessary first step to the
unspeakable crimes that soon fol-
lowed.
After Farrakhan’s latest rant, the
CEO of the ADL rightly implored
people to “speak up” and, in many
instances, they did. There were some
articles and tweets not only about
the remark itself but also about the
audience’s reaction (Chelsea Clinton
said that it made her “skin crawl”).
But in this post-Oct. 27, 2018, world,
how can there not be a thunderous
outcry against this man’s hatred from
all Americans, regardless of one’s race,
religion or political leanings?

But, of course, there’s a larger lesson
here. Condemnations of Farrakhan
are certainly necessary, but to only
condemn anti-Semitism seems to be
missing half of that lesson. Of course,
Farrakhan’s words were hateful and,
of course. people need to speak out.
That’s the easy part. The hard part is
to look in the mirror with a new lens
and ask if we can get equally outraged
at other instances of brazen hatred as
well as those who tolerate it.
The examples are, sadly, around us
all the time:
• Last March, the Chief Sephardic
Rabbi of Israel, Yitzhak Yosef, called
black people “monkeys” during his
weekly sermon. Did we decry that?
• In September, Steve Alembik,
a prominent Jewish backer of the
Florida nominee for governor, posted
on twitter that Barack Obama was a
“f***ing Muslim n****”. The candi-
date, Ron DeSantis, denounced the
tweet but the campaign refused to
return the donation. Did we decry
that?
• According to the Council on
American-Islamic Relations, more
than 100 mosques a year are targeted
with threats, vandalism and arson in
America. More Muslim children than
any other group report being bul-
lied when outside their community,

In response to the deadly Pittsburgh
Tree of Life attack, it is time to
acknowledge trading off our freedom
of entry to attend our houses of wor-
ship. Is not the comfort to pray in
peace and celebrate mitzvahs worth
submitting to extra security mea-
sures?
When my wife and I attended
her cousin’s 2016 Paris bar mitzvah,
we were shocked yet assured to see
six automatic rifle armed military
officers surrounding the synagogue.
We also visited multiple Italian syna-
gogues and temples, and experienced
extreme levels of security required to
enter such establishments under the
scrutiny of trained security staff. This
after submitting identification to then
proceed through revolving bullet-
proof doors.
The reality is we must realize
anti-Semitism will never subside
and, if going forward in our divisive,
hate-filled society these heightened
entry security measures are needed,
so be it.

— Graham Fishman
West Bloomfield

continued on page 10

continued on page 12

Arthur M. Horwitz
Publisher / Executive Editor
ahorwitz@renmedia.us

F. Kevin Browett
Chief Operating Officer
kbrowett@renmedia.us

| Editorial

Managing Editor: Jackie Headapohl
jheadapohl@renmedia.us
Story Development Editor:
Keri Guten Cohen
kcohen@renmedia.us
Arts & Life Editor: Lynne Konstantin
lkonstantin@renmedia.us
Digital/Social Media Editor:
Hannah Levine
hlevine@renmedia.us
Editorial Assistant: Sy Manello
smanello@renmedia.us
Senior Columnist: Danny Raskin
dannyraskin2132@gmail.com
Contributing Editor: Robert Sklar
rsklar@renmedia.us
Senior Arts Consultant: Gail Zimmerman
gzimmerman@renmedia.us

OUR JN
MISSION

6

Contributing Writers:
Ruthan Brodsky, Rochel Burstyn, Suzanne
Chessler, Annabel Cohen, Don Cohen,
Shari S. Cohen, Julie Edgar, Shelli Liebman
Dorfman, Adam Finkel, Stacy Gittleman,
Stacy Goldberg, Judy Greenwald, Ronelle
Grier, Esther Allweiss Ingber, Allison
Jacobs, Barbara Lewis, Jennifer Lovy, Rabbi
Jason Miller, Alan Muskovitz,
David Sachs, Karen Schwartz, Robin
Schwartz, Steve Stein, Joyce Wiswell

| Advertising Sales

Sales Director: Keith Farber
kfarber@renmedia.us

Account Executives :

Martin Chumiecki, Wendy Flusty,
Annette Kizy

| Business Offices

Billing Coordinator: Pamela Turner

| Operations Manager

Tara Lennon
tlennon@renmedia.us

| Production By
FARAGO & ASSOCIATES

Manager: Scott Drzewiecki
Designers: Kelly Kosek,
Michelle Sheridan, Susan Walker

| Detroit Jewish News

Chairman: Michael H. Steinhardt
President/Publisher:
Arthur M. Horwitz
ahorwitz@renmedia.us
Chief Operating Officer:
F. Kevin Browett
kbrowett@renmedia.us
Controller: Craig R. Phipps

| Departments

General Offi ces: 248-354-6060
Advertising: 248-351-5107
Advertising Fax: 248-304-0049
Circulation: subscriptions@renmedia.us
Classifi ed Ads: 248-234-9057
Advertising Deadline: Friday, 2 p.m.
Editorial Fax: 248-304-8885

Deadline: All public and social
announcements must be typewritten
and received by noon Tuesday,
nine days prior to desired date of
publication.

Subscriptions:
1 year. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $85
2 years . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$153
3 years . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$204
1 year out-of-state . . . . . . . . . . .$125
2 years out-of-state . . . . . . . . . .$225
Per year foreign . . . . . . . . . . . . .$300

Detroit Jewish News
29200 Northwestern Highway,
Suite 110
Southfi eld, MI 48034
©copyright 2018 Detroit Jewish News

The Detroit Jewish News (USPS 275-520) is
published every Thursday at 29200 Northwestern
Highway, #110, Southfield, Michigan. Periodical
postage paid at Southfield, Michigan, and
additional mailing offices. Postmaster: send
changes to: Detroit Jewish News,
29200 Northwestern Hwy., #110,
Southfield, MI 48034.

To make a donation to the
DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
FOUNDATION
go to the website
www.djnfoundation.org

The Jewish News aspires to communicate news and opinion that’s useful, engaging, enjoyable and unique. It strives to refl ect the full range of diverse viewpoints while also advocating
positions that strengthen Jewish unity and continuity. We desire to create and maintain a challenging, caring, enjoyable work environment that encourages creativity and innovation. We
acknowledge our role as a responsible, responsive member of the community. Being competitive, we must always strive to be the most respected, outstanding Jewish community publication
in the nation. Our rewards are informed, educated readers, very satisfi ed advertisers, contented employees and profi table growth.

November 8 • 2018

jn

jn

1942 - 2018

Covering and Connecting
Jewish Detroit Every Week

