12 | SEPTEMBER 3 • 2020 

S

erena Adlerstein heard the phrase “Never Again” reg-
ularly throughout her Jewish upbringing. As a mem-
ber of the Reform community, her lessons in Sunday 
school stressed the importance of preventing another geno-
cide after the Holocaust. 
Often, warnings against forgetting the past came from 
those that lived through it, like Adlerstein’
s grandfather 
Arno Goetz. His family fled Germany after Kristallnacht in 
November 1938, when Nazis set fire to Jewish homes, syna-
gogues and businesses and killed scores of Jews.
“I thought a lot about if I were alive during that time, 
what would I have done, and I also remember hearing from 
my mom saying that her father, my grandfather, would also 
frequently tell her, ‘
Don’
t think that it can’
t happen again 
here,
’
” Adlerstein said.
Conversations like Adlerstein’
s with her mother are 
unfortunately a dime a dozen among the Jewish communi-
ty. When she watches reports of undocumented migrants 
in the U.S. being detained and held in detention centers, 
Adlerstein sees these narratives of persecution and impris-
onment as all too similar to sit back and do nothing. This 
is why, while working in Grand Rapids, she became one 

Jews in the D

Never Again Action: 

Founded with Michigan ties, the activist 
group unites young Jews and undocumented 
workers … but its messaging has drawn ire.

MATT HARMON CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Inside the 
Movement

PHOTO COURTESY OF SERENA ADLERSTEIN

