6 | DECEMBER 15 • 2022

1942 - 2022

Covering and Connecting
Jewish Detroit Every Week

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DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
FOUNDATION
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people of greater Detroit and beyond, and the State of Israel.

VISION STATEMENT The Detroit Jewish News will operate to appeal to the broadest segments of the greater
Detroit Jewish community, reflecting the diverse views and interests of the Jewish community while advancing the
morale and spirit of the community and advocating Jewish unity, identity and continuity.

DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
32255 Northwestern Hwy. Suite 205,
Farmington Hills, MI 48334
248-354-6060
thejewishnews.com



Publisher
The Detroit Jewish
News Foundation

| Board of Directors:
Chair: Gary Torgow
Vice President: David Kramer
Secretary: Robin Axelrod
Treasurer: Max Berlin
Board members: Larry Jackier,
Jeffrey Schlussel, Mark Zausmer


Senior Advisor to the Board:
Mark Davidoff
Alene and Graham Landau Archivist Chair:
Mike Smith
Founding President & Publisher Emeritus:
Arthur Horwitz
Founding Publisher
Philip Slomovitz, of blessed memory






Editorial
Director of Editorial:
Jackie Headapohl
jheadapohl@thejewishnews.com

Associate Editor:
Rachel Sweet
rsweet@thejewishnews.com
Contributing Editors:
David Sachs, Keri Guten Cohen
Staff Reporter:
Danny Schwartz
dschwartz@thejewishnews.com
Editorial Assistant:
Sy Manello
smanello@thejewishnews.com
Digital Manager:
Elizabeth King
eking@thejewishnews.com

Contributing Writers:
Nate Bloom, Rochel Burstyn, Suzanne
Chessler, Annabel Cohen, Shari S.
Cohen, Shelli Liebman Dorfman, Louis
Finkelman, Stacy Gittleman, Esther
Allweiss Ingber, Barbara Lewis, Jennifer
Lovy, Rabbi Jason Miller, Alan Muskovitz,

Robin Schwartz, Mike Smith, Steve Stein,
Julie Smith Yolles, Ashley Zlatopolsky

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Senior Account Executive:
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| Business Office
Director of Operations: Amy Gill
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continued on page 7

guest column

Ancient Lessons to Battle
Modern Antisemitism
A

s 2022 winds down,
the continued rise of
antisemitism serves
as story of the year for the
American Jewish community.
As we grapple
with today’s
antisemitism in
preparation for
2023, we would
do well to look
to the lessons of
Purim, Passover
and Chanukah to
plan our response.
Thankfully, unlike most
other eras of antisemitism,
Jew-hatred in America is
not state-sponsored. There
are brave leaders in our
federal, state and local
governments who condemn

hatred and discrimination.
Law enforcement rises to our
aid and protection. Rather,
individuals jealous of the Jewish
community’s ability to achieve
the American dream are taking
to social media and synagogue
parking lots to spew their Jew-
hatred.
Indeed, in a milieu of
meritocracy (even an imperfect
one like ours), a small tribe
that holds the values of life,
education, compassion and
mutual responsibility at its core
is destined for success in the
United States. Contemporary
American antisemitism,
foolishly believing that success
is a zero-sum game, reacts to
Jewish achievement by naively
claiming Jews possess “too

much” power and, mistakenly,
that a Jewish cabal works
actively to prevent others from
similarly succeeding in America.
In this way, today’s
antisemitism most resembles the
Jew-hatred experienced by our
ancestors in the days of Passover
and Purim, when Egyptians
and Persians felt threatened by
Jewish success. Taking our cue,
then, from Queen Esther who
approached King Achashverosh,
Jews immersed in American
culture must ask support from
our non-Jewish friends and
family members, as well as
gentile faith leaders, business
colleagues and government
leaders, to condemn publicly
and forcefully antisemitism
in all its forms. Similarly, by

the way, we Jews are obligated
to condemn publicly and
loudly racism, homophobia,
transphobia and misogyny.
People of conscience must
unite to turn back the darkness
engulfing our land.
Second, we remember that
among the catalysts for the
redemption we celebrate at
Passover is Moses standing up
for his fellow Israelite when
no one else would do so. In
this way, the State of Israel
stands against terrorists and
authoritarian leaders who
seek Jewish destruction. Our
brothers and sisters in the IDF
protect Jewish lives, while the
rabbis and professors at Israel’s
institutions of Jewish learning
re-energize Jewish souls. We

Rabbi Aaron
Starr

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