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OF MICHIGAN AND THE STATE OF 
ISRAEL?
I will work with anyone and compete 
with everyone to grow Michigan’s 
economy and keep our state at the 
forefront of innovation. Building on a 
rich tradition for Michigan governors, I 
was proud to travel to Israel early in my 
administration to strengthen relationships 
and establish business ties with startups 
and mobility companies to help Michigan 
compete for good-paying, high-tech jobs. 
The Jewish Federation of Metropolitan 
Detroit hosted this productive trade 
mission in coordination with the MEDC.
I signed a Memorandum of 
Understanding with Israel-based tech 
NGO Start Up-Nation Central that 
acts as a gateway to Israeli innovation 
to collaborate on technology solutions 
that have the potential to improve 
opportunities and quality of life for 
Michigan citizens. This highlights the 
strength of the relationship between 
Michigan and Israel when it comes to 
the automotive industry, technology, 
cybersecurity, and the next generation of 
transportation.
I look forward to continuing our work 
with partners overseas to help bring 
supply chains home, secure investments, 
and create jobs in Michigan.

Attorney General Race
Democratic incumbent Dana Nessel is 
facing Republican challenger Matthew 
DePerno. DePerno’s campaign did not 
respond to the JN’s questions.

Dana Nessel

DESCRIBE YOUR TOP 
THREE PRIORITIES IF 
ELECTED?
To protect the civil, 
voting and reproductive 
rights of all Michigan 
residents; to continue my 
work protecting Michigan 
consumers from corporate 
polluters, price-gougers, 
scammers, and other bad actors; and 
enacting tough but smart policies to fight 
crime and reduce gun violence.

WHAT ARE MICHIGAN’S GREATEST 
CHALLENGES AND BEST 
OPPORTUNITIES?

We have the opportunity to be a top 
state in the nation because we have all 
the right building blocks: a racially and 
culturally diverse population made even 
more vital by our welcoming attitude 
toward immigrants and refugees, our 
abundant natural resources, our esteemed 
universities, an international border that 
is one of the busiest in terms of trade 
commerce, and a state economy that 
is decreasingly reliant on a few huge 
industries and is embracing growth 
opportunities in high-tech sectors. 
Our greatest challenges encompass 
some of what is holding Michigan back: 
a public education system that continues 
to be subject to annual funding cuts by 
the Legislature; the destabilizing effect 
the pandemic has had on the workforce 
and crime; an increase in political 
policies and philosophies that devalue 
democracy and the will of the people; and 
the open embrace of misinformation and 
disinformation that seems intended only 
to divide us. 
We are also seeing the encroachment 
of church into matters of state and the 
movement to funnel taxpayer dollars away 
from public schools and toward private 
religious schools, as well as the rise of 
science deniers and those who want to 
impose their extreme ideological beliefs 
on birth control, abortion, vaccines, and 
other aspects of our lives — all of which is 
fundamentally un-American and contrary 
to the founding ideals of this country. 
The nation has a full slate of serious 
challenges that will require working 
together to solve. Perhaps our biggest 
challenge, then, is regaining consensus 
reality and the spirit of bipartisan 
cooperation. Should we manage to 
come together and address these serious 
challenges, we can fortify America’s stature 
as the world’s leading democracy.

HOW WILL YOU WORK TO CLOSE 
THE POLITICAL DIVIDE THAT SEEMS 
TO DOMINATE MUCH OF THE 
POLITICAL AGENDA?
As mentioned in the answer above, 
bipartisan cooperation is essential to 
getting anything done for the people’s 
benefit. I have promoted many attorneys 
within my department who were first 
appointed by Republican AGs for one 

reason: because they are highly skilled — 
their partisan beliefs, if they have them, 
do not affect the stellar work they do on 
behalf of the state and people of Michigan. 
So I find it alarming that we are now 
treating political parties like sports teams, 
heightening the “us vs. them” mentality 
that currently permeates national and 
state political discourse to the point 
that if people aren’t on “your side,” they 
are disregarded as enemies. If we are to 
overcome our more serious challenges, 
we must be able to find common 
ground and common humanity, and I’m 
committed to finding those opportunities 
for cooperative work so we can keep 
Michigan moving forward.

HOW MIGHT YOU WORK TO 
ENHANCE THE LONG AND RICH 
HISTORY BETWEEN THE STATE 
OF MICHIGAN AND THE STATE OF 
ISRAEL?
While I’m proud to be the first Jewish 
person elected Attorney General in 
Michigan, as a state official, I don’t really 
have a hand in foreign policy. That being 
said, Jewish people must be protected 
from bigotry and hate crimes in order 
to publicly convene to support peace in 
Israel. 
That is one reason I created the hate 
crimes and domestic terrorism unit 
within my department, the first of its 
kind in a state AG’s office: to help stop 
racially and ethnically motivated violence 
before it starts. That unit helped take 
down Michigan members of The Base, a 
white supremacist militia that conducts 
paramilitary training in preparation 
for starting a race war in the United 
States. (Its name derives from the literal 
translation of Al-Qaeda.) Under Michigan 
law, this extremist militia is a gang, and 
my office charged them as such — another 
state first.
Make no mistake, I understand better 
than most how the rise in antisemitic 
rhetoric and violence impacts the Jewish 
community because I’ve so often been the 
target of it. My office often partners with 
groups like the ADL in an effort to combat 
antisemitism and will continue to do so 
should I be elected to a second term.

