22 | MAY 18 • 2023
In the weeks that immediately followed
the March 14 assembly, the high school
utilized the presence of therapy dogs,
brought in extra counselors and social
workers and also on-site campus officers.
Faculty are taking part in meetings to learn
“restorative measures” and how to properly
report student concerns.
Phase One of the plan stated that the
district is conducting an independent
review of events leading up to, during and
following the assembly.
From April to June, the plan states that
the administration would “strengthen staff
preparedness to further cultivate a sense of
belonging throughout the student body and
foster student healing.
”
The plan’s actions include that faculty will
“work to identify authentic opportunities
within course curriculum to participate
in civil discourse and productive debates,
review various opportunities or experiences
to promote understanding of global
perspectives, and provide resources to
staff on identifying antisemitism and
Islamophobia.
”
The plan states that for the remainder
of the school year, the district will “review
and revise assembly guidelines for non-
district or third-party presenters to
include a thorough vetting process and
communication regarding assembly purpose
and specifics with parental opt out.
”
The plan states that action items and
investigations will carry into the 2023-2024
school year “to identify opportunities to
strengthen student global perspectives with
curriculum specific experiences and develop
a positive school culture,
” but gave no other
details.
A JEWISH RESPONSE
In the lead-up to its May 3 event with
journalists Bari Weiss and Mitch Albom,
Temple Israel of West Bloomfield hosted an
event “From Conflict to Conversation” on
May 2 to address the incident at BHHS and
frame it in the context of when criticism
of Israel crosses the line
into antisemitism. Professor
Yael Aronoff, director of the
Michael and Elaine Serling
Institute for Jewish Studies and
Modern Israel at Michigan
State University, addressed the
audience of about 60 people, including some
teens and their parents.
After her lecture, the audience was
divided into talking circles facilitated by
clergy from Temple Israel, Adat Shalom,
B’nai Moshe and Shaarey Zedek. Each
teen who attended the event was given a
complimentary copy of Bari Weiss’s book,
How to Fight Antisemitism.
The program was part of Temple Israel’s
“T4Israel” programming initiative that aims
to put a focus on Israeli programming and
education.
Temple Israel’s Rabbi Jennifer
Lader said the gathering
marked a “communal response
to recent events in our
backyard.
“Dr. Aronoff highlighted
for us the importance of
education and understanding
as we navigate complex issues
as American Jews,
” said Lader. “While
recognizing that these issues may be
challenging and emotionally charged, we
know how crucial it is for us to create a
safe space to grow — to ask questions — to
engage in respectful dialogue and to learn
from each other. That’s what the program
accomplished, thanks to the expertise of Dr.
Aronoff and our incredible community of
synagogues and clergy who showed up to
learn.
”
Aronoff addressed in general the March 14
BHHS assembly in terms of her knowledge
and experience of what she is seeing on
many college campuses, including at MSU.
“It is an unfortunate situation for the
reason we are having this gathering,
” said
Aronoff. “From my understanding [of the
assembly], people from various minority
backgrounds were invited in to speak
about instances of discrimination they
encountered when they were in high school.
I understand it veered into anti-Israel, and
perhaps antisemitic sentiments.
“On the face of things, such an assembly
seemed to be an inappropriate place to
introduce or engage in this topic. For a
nuanced conversation, there should have
been better vetting, multiple voices to give
a wider perspective and more context
offered. Issues like (racism, antisemitism,
Islamophobia and homophobia) are
complex and fraught issues that required far
more preparation among the students before
they could have had such an assembly.
”
CAMPUS ISSUES
Fully aware of the rise in antisemitism on
college campuses, Aronoff said in the last
years, the Institute at MSU has been actively
pursuing a seat at the table at university-
wide Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI)
discussions. The institute also released this
year a comprehensive report documenting
antisemitism at MSU.
“Jewish programs across the country
are finding that universities are not
incorporating antisemitism or Islamophobia
into their DEI policies on campus,
” said
Aronoff. “We are working with the Muslim
community on campus to be heard. Colleges
and universities are scrambling to get more
of this into their DEI programming, and I
can only imagine that this is also coming up
at the high school level as well.
”
Through the lecture part of the program,
Aronoff unpacked and addressed the
centuries-old history of antisemitic and
anti-Zionist tropes, including alleging that
Israel is an apartheid state, that Israel as a
state is a colonialist project and that Israel is
committing genocide against Palestinians.
“
Antisemitism that was historically geared
against Jews has now been transformed into
antisemitism relating to Israel, since it’s the
only Jewish majority state in the world,
”
Aronoff said. “You could have constructive
conversation about legitimate disagreements
over what is happening in Israel, and we
know events are rapidly changing there. But
nevertheless, extreme criticism overlaps into
antisemitism.
“Zionism has become a derogatory
word among many young people. You can
criticize Israeli policy all you want, but
when you begin to deny the indigeneity of
Jews to the region, when you deny Jewish
self-determination and Jewish historical
connection to the land, that is when it slips
into antisemitism.
”
To counter the misinformation, Aronoff
pointed to the many opportunities at the
Institute where students from diverse
backgrounds can enroll in workshops with
Jewish and Muslim students and faculty to
foster constructive and meaningful dialogue.
Though he has not yet taken these
workshops, MSU freshman Maxim
Rabbi Jen
Lader
Yael Aronoff
OUR COMMUNITY
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