6 January 24 • 2019 jn 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. To make a donation to the DETROIT JEWISH NEWS FOUNDATION go to the website www.djnfoundation.org The Detroit Jewish News (USPS 275-520) is published every Thursday at 29200 Northwestern Highway, #110, Southfield, Michigan. 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My Judaism was comprised of Friday night family dinners, collecting treats from the “candy man” at shul on Shabbat, and attending both Sunday school and summer camp. Most of my friends weren’ t Jewish, spent their Friday nights playing Xbox and could not fathom the concept of kashrut. I was an American Jew, but could anyone guarantee that my children would also be? In 2005, my parents took fate into their own hands and made aliyah to Israel. Being 10 at the time, I was ecstatic. The idea of moving houses seemed so cool that I never fully processed the thought of leaving my friends and departing to a new coun- try. Looking back, the magnitude of their decision was incomprehensible. As I was approaching the end of my military service, I started forming the idea of returning to the United States. I didn’ t exactly miss living in America; after all, the amount of independence I had as a fifth- grader in Israel well exceeded most American high schoolers. But I did feel like my national service would be left incomplete without closing a personal circle. I felt that because I was privileged with the gift of moving to Israel, it was my responsibility to eventually return and share my expe- riences with a society that I naturally connect to and, in an alternative real- ity, would have been a part of. This idea quickly came to fruition when I assumed the position of Jewish stu- dent life coordinator at the Lester & Jewell Morris Hillel Jewish Student Center at Michigan State University in December 2018. As this exciting news settled in, I sur- prisingly found myself struggling with the title Jewish student life coordinator. Why Jewish? Why not just student life coordinator? After all, isn’ t Hillel Jewish by default? Had I joined the Hillel staff at Tel Aviv University, would I have received the same title? I’ m not sure. In Israel, your Judaism is expressed through the essence of your presence. You don’ t need to keep kashrut, go to shul on Shabbat, attend summer camp or receive any type of religious education. Rather you could head out to the baseball diamond, attempt to workout using the intimidating beach facilities of Tel Aviv or even just grab a beer at your local JEMS pub and you would still be expressing your Judaism through your presence in Israel. This is because Israel acts as an umbrella Jewish community by default. It is made up of several com- munities that are Jewish as a result of all their members being Jewish, but not necessarily because they are prac- ticing Judaism. Therefore, by default, these communities are defined as “Jewish” communities. So, is your presence in a “Jewish” community enough? I believe so, to the point that the event you are attending can have no actual Jewish context, but your communal presence will still express your Judaism. This is because presence alone is a funda- mental contribution toward building a thriving community. An understanding of this concept not only allows Hillel to open its doors to students seeking a Jewish experience but also to Jewish students seeking a community experience beyond religion. As for being a Jewish student life coordinator, I’ ve conclud- ed that it is just Jewish by default. ■ Eitan Moed is the Jewish Student Life Coordinator at the Lester and Jewell Morris Hillel Student Center at Michigan State University and a contributor at Travelujah. Eitan Moed letters Trump Bolsters Anti-Semitism Eugene Greenstein (Jan 3, page 6) opines that Donald Trump is not an anti-Semite. He might be correct, but that is not the point. The point is that Trump is a patho- logical liar and a bully who insults anyone who disagrees with him and encourages physical violence against his opponents. His statement that the press is the enemy of the people is a direct quote from fascist ideology. He has yet to retract his statement tha t among the neo-Nazis there are some “very fine individuals.” It is these aspects of Trump’ s behav- ior that both encourage and facilitate overt anti-Semitism on the part of the alt-right and the neo-Nazis. As report- ed by the ADL, the number of anti-Se- mitic episodes in the United States increased by 57 percent in 2018. Trump might not be an anti-Semite, but his actions and his behavior have without doubt encouraged anti-Sem- itism both in the United States and in other parts of the world. — M. Jeffrey Maisels, MD Southfield