August 8 • 2019 15 jn Night of Learning Diverse group of rabbis reinforces obligation to treat all strangers humanely. Speakers at the recent ADL and JCRC/ADL event on immigration M any Americans are sad- dened and angered by the videos, photos and firsthand accounts of immigrant families sepa- rated at the southern U.S. border and often sent to over-crowded, inadequate detention facilities. As the flow of refugees fleeing violence and poverty increases, U.S. government officials, human rights activists, immigration advocates and American citizens dispute how these would-be immigrants should be treated. A group of 17 local rabbis from five streams of Judaism, as well as represen- tatives from several Jewish nonprofit agencies, presented a unified view of the obligation of Jews to welcome strangers. They spoke at an educational program titled “Strangers in our Midst — Texts for Jewish learning about the crisis on our southern border” presented Aug. 1 by the Anti-Defamation League Michigan Region and the Jewish Community Relations Council/AJC at Temple Beth El in Bloomfield Township. The program idea came from a recent event hosted by U.S. Congressman Andy Levin that reported on his trip to the border with religious leaders. Rabbi Josh Whinston of Temple Beth Emeth in Ann Arbor spoke as a “personal witness” who has visited immigrant detention centers and helped a mother “whose children were torn from her. ” “She lived in a town controlled by a gang and knew when her son reached a certain age he would face the choice of joining the gang or being killed, ” Whinston said. Nonetheless, she told him if she knew her children would be separated from her in the U.S., she would have remained and faced the threats of violence in her hometown. Speakers discussed biblical sources, commentary from the Midrash and the perspective of rabbis from the 19th to and 21st centuries. Citing Deuteronomy, Rabbi Asher Lopatin of Kehillat Etz Chayim in Oak Park said we are told to welcome and bring in strangers. “If we turn them away, we are doing desecration of our country, of being Jewish, ” he said. “You learn the Torah so you can do — to bring us to action. ” Speakers reminded the audience of the Jewish history of slavery in Egypt and the Jewish belief that all people are created in the image of God. However, the Jewish people were not exempt from “baseless hatred” — their “xeno- phobia” resulted in the destruction of the Second Temple. Rabbi Jennifer Lader of Temple Israel in West Bloomfield gave a chronology of recent immigration events in the U.S. “When we said, ‘ Never again, ’ we meant never again. If I am only for myself, who am I?” she asked. Rabbi Ariana Silverman of the Isaac Agree Downtown Synagogue in Detroit cited 36 times that the Bible commands that strangers be welcomed and treated humanely — evidence this is important and difficult to accomplish. Program attendees were urged to get involved in the immigration issue by immigration lawyer Ruby Robinson, vice president of JCRC/AJC. He rec- ommended talking to elected officials about immigration and supporting efforts to welcome immigrants. ■ For local and national resources for action, go to jcrcajc.org/take-action. SHARI S. COHEN CONTRIBUTING WRITER JEFF AISEN HOLOCAUST MEMORIAL CENTER ZEKELMAN FAMILY CAMPUS Discovery & Recovery: Holocaust Stolen Art and the Hungarian Documents Wednesday, August 14 2 PM holocaustcenter.org RSVP by August 12 to 248.536.9612 or www.holocaustcenter.org/art Free with museum admission or membership Clara Garbon-Radnoti and Jonathan H. Schwartz Photo credit: Max Ortiz, The Detroit News Charlie Langton Jonathan H. Schwartz Clara Garbon-Radnoti SOMETHI NG GOOD FOR YOU! T H U R S D A Y AUGUST 15 1 TO 4 P.M. 4460 Or char d Lake Road West Bloomfield, MI 48323 For more info, contact Kim Bora at 248-683-1010 or kbora@northstarSL.com Senior Resource Health Expo t ownehallplace.com Information from Area Health Care Resources Free Health Screenings Cooking Demos Healthy Snacks Door Prizes AND MORE! You’ l l go home wi th facts that coul d change your l i fe!