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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