24 | JULY 30 • 2020
Local Hadassah members advocated
for Never Again Education Act.
for Never Again Education Act.
ESTHER ALLWEISS INGBER CONTRIBUTING WRITER
Jews in the D
T
wo life members of Hadassah, the
Women’
s Zionist Organization
of America, are the toast of the
Hadassah Greater Detroit Region. Diane
Brody of Beverly Hills and Suzanne Lowe
of East Lansing, co-chairs of the region’
s
Advocacy Committee, successfully interact-
ed with Michigan’
s congressional delegation
to back bills implementing Holocaust edu-
cation in school districts nationwide. The
“Never Again Education Act” was signed
into law on May 29.
The 302 co-sponsors of the House of
Representatives’
bill, passed on Jan. 27,
included nine from Michigan: Democrats
Debbie Dingell, Dan Kildee, Brenda
Lawrence, Andy Levin, Elissa Slotkin, Haley
Stevens and Rashida Tlaib, and Republicans
John Moolenaar and Fred Upton. A Senate
bill, nearly identical to the House version,
had 79 co-sponsors (not including either
Michigan senator) when passed on May 13.
The Never Again Education Act expands
the educational mission of the U.S.
Holocaust Memorial Museum (USHMM)
in Washington, D.C. The U.S. Department
of Education will authorize distribution of
$2 million annually, through 2024, to the
USHMM Holocaust Education Assistance
Program Fund.
The funding will “
equip educators with
the resources for training and materials
they need to ensure that comprehensive
Holocaust education is made available in
our schools,
” said Fran Heicklen, the Greater
Detroit Region president.
National Hadassah stated on May 13:
“The Never Again Education Act is our last
best chance to make a significant and lasting
impact against the rising tide of hatred in
our country.
”
“Hadassah spent more than two years
seeking congressional support for the
Never Again Education Act,
” said Lowe, a
Hadassah member since 1997 and president
of the former Hadassah Lansing. Lowe is
also co-chair of Greater Detroit Region’
s
Attorneys & Judges Council and co-vice
president of Education.
Lowe worked more than 30 years as legal
counsel in a nonpartisan Michigan Senate
office. Originally from Muskegon, she
moved to Lansing in 1970. She and her hus-
band, David, are members of East Lansing-
based Congregation Shaarey Zedek.
Former Southfield resident Brody is a
third-generation Hadassah member, join-
ing in 2006. She is Community Service
co-vice president and on the Fundraising
Committee for Aviv Hadassah Group. She
formerly served on the board of Ruach
Hadassah. Brody is employed as an account
manager at Cox Automotive in Troy. She
and her husband, Todd Schafer, belong to
Temple Shir Shalom in West Bloomfield.
The women brought passion to their pur-
suit of passing the Never Again Education
Act. Anti-Semitism was brought home for
Lowe when her little sister was called “
a
dirty Jew.
” Lowe remembered their grand-
mother’
s lament for the six million and said
a book by Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel
“
changed my outlook on humanity.
”
Holocaust education is “
essential to teach
people what can happen when intolerance
and hatred are allowed to go unchecked,
”
Lowe said. “In many cases, it is not only
schoolchildren who need to be taught, but
educators as well.
”
As survivors pass from the scene, Brody
said, “it becomes even more imperative to
educate students about what occurred, to
make them less susceptible to the falsehood
of Holocaust denial and distortion.
”
Hadassah Greater Detroit leaders invit-
ed Brody to represent the region at last
year’
s JCRC/AJC’
s annual Congressional
Reception. She enjoyed the opportunity to
speak directly to Slotkin, Levin and Stevens
about the Never Again Education Act.
Brody soon joined Lowe in advocacy work.
National Hadassah provided their tools and
resources.
A constituent of Levin, Brody visited him
in his office, seeking support for the educa-
tion bill.
Lowe credited her pre-retirement career as
an attorney for giving her “
an understanding
of the political and legislative process.
” She
conferred with senior staff of Slotkin and
also Republican Rep. Tim Walberg.
Brody and Lowe attended meetings held
in the Detroit offices of Senators Debbie
Stabenow and Gary Peters, both Michigan
Democrats. After the House bill passed,
Lowe followed up with both “
to stay on their
radar.
” Hadassah tracked the bills’
progress
on the congressional website.
Lowe said she experienced a sense of
“
accomplishment and relief” when the
Never Again Education Act became law.
“It may sound cliché,
” Brody said, “but
it made me feel like one person really can
make a difference.
”
Approximately 4,000 area women belong to
Hadassah Greater Detroit, headquartered in
West Bloomfield. For information, visit
hadassah.org/detroit.
HADASSH.ORG
Suzanne Lowe and
Diane Brody
HADASSAH GREATER DETROIT REGION
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Signed into Law