22 | APRIL 20 • 2023
OUR COMMUNITY
A
merican Jews can
no longer afford
to harbor illusions
about how insulated or
protected they might be
from antisemitism — the
pernicious, historic and often
deadly hatred, acknowledged
as the world’s oldest.
Even close to home, in
Detroit’s affluent suburbs,
anti-Jewish thought, speech
and actions are on the rise.
Which is why Temple Israel
of West Bloomfield will be
sponsoring an evening May 3
with Bari Weiss — in addition to featured
guest, the bestselling author and Detroit
Free Press columnist Mitch Albom — to
explore how and why antisemitism exists
in a nation founded on religious freedom
and what can be done to oppose it.
The public is invited to attend; to
register, visit www.Temple-Israel.org/
event/BariWeiss.
Weiss, a former opinion editor at the
New York Times and Wall Street Journal
and founder of her own digital news
organization, is the author of the 2019
book How to Fight Anti-Semitism. In
2020, after what she described as online
bullying from colleagues at the newspaper
prompted by her views and politics —
especially her support for Zionism —
Weiss resigned from the Times. The Free
Press, her online newsletter, today claims
nearly 300,000 paid subscribers.
As she wrote in her book: “It is worth-
while to pause and consider the breathtak-
ing twist of history here. Once antisemitism
required Jews to publically mark them-
selves. Now, in some of the precincts of
progressivism, antisemitism requires them
not to.
”
Albom, a renowned journalist, author
and radio host known mainly for his
sports commentary at the Detroit Free
Press and on WJR, graduated from
Brandeis University and has occasionally
addressed Jewish topics. Later this year,
he will publish a novel set during the
Holocaust that addresses antisemitism,
based on a story he heard while visiting
the Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial in
Israel.
“The book centers on the lies that
were told [about Jews] that enabled the
Holocaust and how the truth can be
destroyed,
” he said.
N.Y. TIMES CONTROVERSY
As for Weiss’ stand for free expression
that ultimately led to her resignation
from the New York Times, Albom said,
“I admired it, having heard and read
about the kind of oppressive culture that
the Times is supposed to have become.
Having the chance to talk to her, as well
as hearing what she has to say, is an
appealing thing.”
The evening with Weiss and Albom
is the latest in a series of presentations,
seminars and lectures sponsored by
Temple Israel to strengthen ties with the
Jewish state as well as to educate and
prepare members — particularly students
on college campuses — to
confront antisemitic and anti-
Zionist disparagement, which
frequently merge into a single
ugly phenomenon. Temple
Israel’s initiatives have been
supported by The Miriam
z”l and Dr. Isaac Barr Israel
Education Fund.
When we were young, people
we knew who had numbers
tattooed on their wrists were
much more numerous and
could testify firsthand to what
antisemitism had done to
them,
” Albom said. “Young peo-
ple today are much more subject to what
they read and hear on the internet.
”
Antisemitism has entered mainstream
culture via entertainers like Dave
Chappelle on Saturday Night Live and
musicians like Kanye West, Albom said.
At the same time, news organizations
are de-emphasizing objective news
reporting in favor of advocacy for specific
ideological positions — such as those
that led to Weiss’ departure from the New
York Times.
“People watch the channel they want to
watch or read the headlines they feel com-
fortable to read and feel like they’ve been
told the news,
” Albom said. “The stories are
told by people who feel their background
or identity are most important and their
advocacy must be heard. This isn’t a good
blueprint for harmony.
“I’m very eager to ask Bari Weiss why
one of the world’s great newspapers has
become so one-sided and eager to drown
out voices it doesn’t like,” he said.
The evening’s events will include a
private VIP dinner with Weiss, followed
by a conversation between Albom and
Weiss and an afterglow dessert. For
tickets, go to www.Temple-Israel.org/
event/BariWeiss.
Journalists Bari Weiss and Mitch Albom
to probe topic at Temple Israel forum.
Fighting Antisemitism
DORON LEVIN SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH NEWS
Mitch
Albom
Bari Weiss
JOSEFIN DOLSTEN VIA JTA
Temple Israel | 5725 Walnut Lake Road, West Bloomfield MI 48323 | www.temple-israel.org | 248-661-5700
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