DECEMBER 22 • 2022 | 9
continued on page 8
sitting alone on her previous
bed, nothing covering the
simple ceramic floor, and
bare white walls behind her,
depicted a woman who was
all alone. Immigrating to
another country is not easy
at any age (I know), and
especially not when you leave
everything behind at the last
minute, fleeing due to war.
For these survivors, it’s not
the first time.
Despite appearing truly
happy when we met, I don’t
expect that there’s anything
easy about her situation, cer-
tainly not being an elderly
Holocaust survivor in a new
country where she doesn’t
speak the language and tak-
ing care of her 56-year-old
disabled son. Luba was far
from sad. At least not at that
moment. She was happy and
seemed at home. If nothing
else, she truly appreciated
the genuine love and support
from her new community,
this event conceived by a
Christian group, and meeting
me. She certainly deserves it,
as do all the survivors we can
help.
I’m committed to help as
many Holocaust survivors
like Luba as possible, whether
they are stuck in Ukraine,
are refugees somewhere in
the world or even at home
in Israel. Their twilight years
must not be ones of stress and
want, but as comfortable as
possible.
Jonathan Feldstein was born and
educated in the U.S. and immigrated
to Israel in 2004. He has become a
respected bridge between Jews and
Christians leading the Genesis 123
Foundation (Genesis123.co). He writes
regularly on major Christian websites
about Israel and shares experiences of
living as an Orthodox Jew in Israel. He
can be reached at FirstPersonIsrael@
gmail.com.
statement from Federation
A Community Response
to Antisemitism
I
t is a message we have
shared before and one that,
sadly, we will no doubt need
to share again.
Antisemitism is on the
rise. Incidents
are increasing
across the globe,
in our nation
and even in our
local Detroit
community. The
facts are stark:
According to
2020 FBI hate
crime statistics,
Jews — who
make up a
little more the
2% of the U.S.
population —
were the targets
of 54.9% of
all religiously
motivated hate
crimes. In 2021,
a record number
of antisemitic
incidents were
recorded in the
U.S., according to the ADL,
growing 34% over the previous
year.
In Detroit, we have
experienced a series of
disturbing incidents, including
acts of vandalism, harassment
and phone threats to our
schools and other community
institutions. A few weeks ago,
an individual drove into the lot
at Temple Beth El and began
verbally harassing preschool
parents and staff with anti-Israel
hate speech and racial slurs.
Thankfully, he was arrested and
charged with multiple felonies.
Our response begins with
vigilance. We are fortunate
to have strong resources in
place to keep our community
safe, starting with Jewish
Community Security Inc.
(JCSI), an organization
established by Federation to
ensure the safety of the Detroit
Jewish community. Highly
trained and experienced
officers are stationed at Jewish
day schools, summer camps,
campuses and buildings
throughout the community.
The JCSI team also assists
Jewish institutions across
the community by providing
consultation, education and
training to instill a culture of
safety and awareness.
A key aspect of our commu-
nity’s security infrastructure is
JCSI’s active partnership with
local and national law enforce-
ment entities as well as the
Jewish community security pro-
grams across the region. While
we know that many individuals
are concerned about the police
response to the incident at
Temple Beth El, we also know
that law enforcement is highly
committed to the unique threats
we face as a community and
have been strong partners to us
in all our efforts. In addition, we
are very grateful for the signifi-
cantly increased funding pro-
vided by the federal Non-Profit
Security Grant Program to help
secure Jewish and faith-based
institutions.
We are also heartened and
grateful for the outpouring of
support from members of other
communities of faith in Metro
Detroit, including the Muslim,
Catholic and African American
communities. The forces of tol-
erance and mutual respect are
far greater than the hatred that
seeks to divide us.
To better inform community
members about our response
to antisemitic threats and other
security concerns, we hosted a
Community Forum on Dec. 14
at Temple Beth El in Bloomfield
Hills. The forum offered attend-
ees a chance to hear from and
ask questions of community
leaders and security profession-
als, as well as representatives
of local law enforcement. The
Bloomfield Township Police
Chief was on hand to debrief
the incident at Temple Beth El.
(See coverage of the event on
page 16.)
We’
d like to offer one final
but important message, a
reminder that there is another
essential response to hatred and
antisemitism: We must contin-
ue to worship together at our
synagogues and temples, learn
at our schools and embrace our
heritage and culture at insti-
tutions across the city. We will
never be defined by acts of hate,
nor will we allow antisemitism
to undermine the richness of
our communal life.
Our strength and resilience as
a people have often been tested
but have never wavered. We
will continue to live vibrant and
meaningful Jewish lives. As we
like to say, the best response of
all is to “Just Do Jewish.
”
Matthew B. Lester is president, Jewish
Federation of Metropolitan Detroit;
Dennis S. Bernard is president,
United Jewish Foundation; and Steven
Ingber is CEO, Jewish Federation of
Metropolitan Detroit.
Matthew B.
Lester
Dennis S.
Bernard
Steven
Ingber