28 | MAY 18 • 2023 

OUR COMMUNITY

D

aniel B. Syme, rabbi emeritus 
of Temple Beth El in 
Bloomfield Township, one 
of the most revered voices in the 
American Jewish community, has 
been named one of the recipients of 
The PuLSE Institute’s inaugural Arun 
Gandhi Award for Global Justice. 
Syme, a transcending voice for 
racial justice, was inducted in 2010 
into the Martin Luther King Jr. 
International Board of Preachers 
at Morehouse College in Atlanta, 
and Lifestyle magazine’s readers once 
voted him as one of 18 North American 
Jews “who will be most influential 
in shaping the future of the Jewish 
community in the 21st century.”
The Gandhi Award, which was 
instituted in 2019, is named after Dr. 
Arun Gandhi, the 88-year-old grandson 
of Mahatma Gandhi, who has been 
a standard-bearer in fighting for 
marginalized communities around the 
world and a member of the National 
Advisory Board of The PuLSE Institute 
(Institute for Public Leadership and 
Social Equity). Dr. Gandhi was among 
the first global leaders to answer the call 
of The PuLSE Institute, Detroit’s national 
anti-poverty think tank, and became a 
member of the organization’s brain trust. 
“This award is in recognition of 
your longstanding and unwavering 
commitment as a conscientious and 
transcending religious leader who has 
demonstrated a willingness to address 
issues affecting marginalized groups 
across all communities,” The PuLSE 
Institute wrote in its nomination of 
Syme. “In pushing for causes significant 
to the overall moral essence of the Civil 
Rights Movement, you have shown 
that members of the faith community 
can be a powerful force to the historic 
calling for equality.”

The letter added, “The work you 
have done for decades as a faith 
leader is in line with the vision of 
Dr. Gandhi, the lessons from his 
grandfather and the moral dictates of 
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., who avidly 
followed the teachings of Mahatma 
Gandhi marked by his historic visit to 
India. Your commitment reflects Dr. 
Gandhi’s mission for the light of justice, 
peace and equality to prevail over the 
darkness of discrimination and hate.”
Syme called the award a significant 
recognition of his decades of service to 
humanity.
“It is a great honor to be nominated 
for the Gandhi Award, especially as it 
comes from The PuLSE Institute,” Syme 
said. “Throughout my life, I have tried 
to advance decency and caring in our 
society, most especially through my 
work in Black-Jewish relations, suicide 
prevention, and resistance to hate and 
oppression.
“The PuLSE Institute has offered 
me an opportunity to join a coalition 
of caring people, led by Bankole 
Thompson, a leader who epitomizes 
the goodness that is possible in each 
of us, as well as the entire leadership 
of the Institute. I accept this award 

with gratitude and humility, and hope 
that my personal work will continue to 
measure up to the high standards you 
have established.”
Syme is a published author or 
co-author of 24 books, on topics such 
as Jewish parenting, youth suicide 
prevention, Christian-Jewish relations, 
Jewish social action, ritual, theology 
and Jewish education. He is the founder 
of the Single Soul Suicide Prevention 
program of Jewish Family Service.
Bankole Thompson, a nationally 
acclaimed Black journalist and cultural 
critic, who is the executive dean and 
editor-in-chief of The PuLSE Institute, 
said Syme has been a consistent ally in the 
fight against racial and economic injustice.
“Rabbi Syme stands out in the 
faith community for his significant 
outreach and willingness to join forces 
with those who come from different 
backgrounds and experiences but have 
a common vision to combat racism 
and inequality. That is why he has been 
a transcending force, and this award 
is to put the spotlight on not only his 
contributions, but also to show that his 
brand of principled faith leadership is 
needed today,” Thompson said. 
“I have known few faith leaders in 
public life who have demonstrated 
Rabbi Syme’s level of commitment to 
coalition-building in addressing the 
most complex issues facing us.”
Thompson added, “Rabbi Syme 
continues to be a powerful model 
for how we must engage other 
communities outside of the Jewish 
community with mutual respect in 
order to address the common good.
He knows we are all bound in the same 
garment of destiny.”
Syme will be honored later in 2023 
alongside other recipients who will be 
announced soon. 

Rabbi Daniel Syme to receive PuLSE Institute’s 
Arun Gandhi Award for Global Justice.
A Justice Crusader

JN STAFF

Rabbi 
Daniel 
Syme

