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N
oah Arbit was a self-described
“political nerd” two years ago
when he founded the Michigan
Democratic Jewish Caucus (MDJC).
Arbit, 25, director of communications
for Oakland County Prosecutor Karen
McDonald, said he was “restless for a new
project” after working to elect Democrat
Gretchen Whitmer as Michigan’s governor
in 2018. He saw the need for an organi-
zation, not then existent, that could bring
Jewish Democrats together because “I
believed fiercely that our Jewish community
needed political leaders who understood
the issues facing our community — right
here, right now.
”
MDJC (mijewishdems.org) seeks to
“provide a voice for Michigan’s Jewish com-
munity within the Democratic Party, to
empower and mobilize Jewish Michiganders
on behalf of candidates, causes and issues
we believe in,
” Arbit said.
MDJC, he added, is the only Jewish orga-
nization in Michigan that endorses candi-
dates for state and federal office and helps
raise money for them.
“The Jewish community has enthusi-
astically supported our movement,
” Arbit
said, noting that MDJC has endorsed 50
candidates, raised nearly $200,000, recruited
nearly 3,000 members and held more than
40 public events.
On Aug. 1, MDJC added to its fundrais-
ing totals when board members and other
volunteers helped Arbit host a “Summer
Simcha.
” Elected Democrats, several of
them Jewish, gave speeches before an enthu-
siastic, partisan crowd on the grounds of
a Bloomfield Township home overlooking
shimmering Wing Lake.
This second Summer Simcha picked up
from where it left off after last year’s cancel-
lation. About 200 attended in 2019, but “this
one was bigger,
” Arbit said. “We had to cap
turnout at 300,
” said Troy Zukowski-Serlin
of Kalamazoo, MDJC’s Southwest Michigan
chair.
With admission pegged at different levels,
“we raised $50,000,
” Arbit said. “$40,000
will go to support the campaigns of Gov.
Whitmer and Attorney General Dana
Nessel.
”
Both Michigan leaders, up for reelection
in 2022, spoke to the crowd; top givers had
guaranteed access to meet them.
“The Jewish community is caught
between the right and left in politics,
” said
Arbit in his introductory remarks. “We
[MDJC] organize on our own terms with
adherence to Jewish values. We are a voting
block beyond Israel. We want to get our
elected officials on the record, addressing
issues of importance to our community.
”
HATE CRIMES UNIT
Nessel said she was surprised during her
campaign by the attacks she received for
being Jewish, more than for being gay.
“When I got into office, one of the things
I wanted to address was the exponential
Democrats’
‘Summer Simcha’
COURTESY OF NOAH ARBIT
Party leaders address
antisemitism, hate
crimes at Jewish
caucus event.
ESTHER ALLWEISS INGBER
CONTRIBUTING WRITER
Gov. Whitmer
Michigan Democratic
Jewish Caucus meets.