OUR COMMUNITY
16 | OCTOBER 21 • 2021
DAVID SACHS
E
arlier this month, Gil
Ofarim, a Jewish singer
and musician, says he
was stopped from checking in
at a hotel in eastern Germany
because he was sporting a Star
of David pendant around his
neck. He took to social media
and there was an outpouring
of support for him, including
a protest outside the Westin
Hotel in Leipzig.
A new U.S. Department
of Justice report released
in September 2021 showed
that from 2015 to 2019,
59% of violent hate crime
victimizations reported by
victims were motivated by bias
against their race, ethnicity
and national origin.
According to Rabbi Asher
Lopatin, executive director
of the Jewish
Community
Relations Council/
American Jewish
Committee, fears
about identifying
as Jewish (such as
wearing religious
symbols), shying
away from supporting Israel
because of bullying behavior
on social media or elsewhere,
and nervousness about
attending synagogue or other
Jewish events, are all too
common realities for Jews and
other minorities.
Lopatin will be one of the
panelists at “Fall Focus 2021
— Hate Is Hate: We Are All
at Risk. What Can We Do
Together?” a free, virtual
program offered by National
Council of Jewish Women,
Michigan (NCJW|MI) on
Wednesday, Oct. 27, at 7 p.m.
Mina Feldman, who is
co-chairing Fall Focus 2021
with Stephanie Keywell,
said that the program was
prompted by the ever-present
threat of racist talk, even
violence, in recent years, and
the need to give community
members from a variety of
minority groups some tools
to feel empowered in dealing
with threats.
“We want our audience to
come away with the feeling
that they are not victims, but
instead are inspired to take
action and do something about
this form of prejudice,” said
Feldman.
PANEL OF EXPERTS
Fall Focus 2021 offers the
perspective from four panelists
who will discuss the effects of
hate-motivated behavior on
their communities and will
provide constructive ways on
working together to empower
communities to fight back.
Alongside Lopatin,
other panelists
will include
Michigan State
Sen. Stephanie
Chang (District
1); Professor Saeed
Khan, senior
lecturer in the Departments of
Near East and Asian Studies
and Global Studies, Wayne
State University; and Shirley
Stancato, principal at SRS
Advisory Services Member
LLC, and a member of the
Wayne State University Board
of Governors.
Lopatin said there was a
disconnect between people
who believe that they are
“good people” who are not
racist and the expressions they
might use in relation to Jews,
Muslims or other minorities.
“They might use antisemitic
tropes or Islamophobic tropes,
without truly thinking about
what they are saying. We can’t
be afraid to call this racism
out,” he said.
Lopatin added that where
the Jewish community was
concerned, there was a blurred
line between anti-Israel
rhetoric and antisemitism and
that the prejudice was coming
from both sides, right and left.
“We are being hit by a wave of
right-wing conspiracy theories;
but on college campuses,
in particular, students are
attacked by the left-wing
activists who are against Israel,”
he said.
His advice for students is
to report any uncomfortable
encounter to Hillel staff, a
dorm’s RA (resident adviser)
or any other adviser. If an
encounter is antisemitic,
Islamophobic or racist and feels
like hate speech, reach out to
the AJC or ADL and report it.
In March 2021,
Sen. Stephanie
Chang, the first
Asian American
woman elected
to the Michigan
State Senate,
was a sponsor of
Senate Resolution
30, a resolution to condemn
hate crimes, hateful rhetoric
and hateful acts against
Asian Americans and to
encourage Michiganders to
report hate crimes to the
proper authorities. She is
passionate about protecting
her community and other
minorities and says that many
statistics show hate crimes
against Jewish, Asian, Muslim
and Black Americans, as well
as LGBTQ individuals, are on
the rise.
“It is important for
community members to speak
up and not stay silent. Hate
crimes and discrimination
are never OK. Perpetrators
At a June community-wide rally against antisemitism: ZOA-MI President
Sheldon Freilich expresses his Jewish pride. JCRC/AJC President Seth
Gould joins in singing “The Star-Spangled Banner.” Amy Cutler, president
of NCJW|MI, thanks the attendees.
DAVID SACHS
NCJW|MI to gather expert panel
for free community event on how
to combat antisemitic and racist
speech and hate crimes.
Hate Is Hate
ALISON SCHWARTZ SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH NEWS
Saeed
Khan
Rabbi
Asher
Lopatin
Sen.
Stephanie
Chang