80 | MAY 18 • 2023
O
n Thursday, April
20, Hillel of Metro
Detroit (HMD) hosted
a virtual antisemitism training
in partnership with the ADL
and University of Michigan -
Dearborn’s student affairs staff.
HMD’s Executive Director
Miriam Starkman and Associate
Director Brittany
Begun attended, as
well as Amy Finley,
UM-Dearborn’s
dean of students,
and Shareia Carter,
director at the
Center for Social
Justice and Inclusion.
The training aimed to pro-
vide resources on antisemi-
tism to student-facing staff at
UM-Dearborn, while equipping
staff with actionable steps to
combat antisemitism on campus.
Additionally, it was HMD’s goal
to foster a relationship between
the three organizations and pro-
vide a deeper level of context on
Jewish student backgrounds and
antisemitism.
Michigan native Ryan
Woloshin led the program.
Woloshin, associate director
of Antisemitism Programs for
the ADL, regularly presents to
community organizations and
colleges.
He began by providing the
ADL
’s definition for antisemi-
tism, as well as a brief history of
Jews around the world. Woloshin
highlighted intersectionality and
Jewish identity. Ashkenazim,
Mizrachim, Sephardim, Beta
Israel and Bene Israel Jews were
all included in these slides, as
Woloshin aimed to broaden the
typical lens through which many
view Jews.
Woloshin then facilitated an
in-depth discussion on historical
antisemitism both internationally
and in the Metro Detroit area
(featuring, most prominently,
Dearborn). While he brought
up well-known examples of
antisemitism, Woloshin was
also careful to include other
instances, such as Henry Ford’s
antisemitic weekly publication,
The Dearborn Independent, and
his series of pamphlets, The
International Jew: The World’s
Foremost Problem.
Woloshin also provided
tangible resources for the
UM-Dearborn staff on further
education and student support.
After the presentation,
Woloshin, along with the 20+
staff members, participated in a
short Q&A. He provided a quick
tour of the resources section on
the ADL website and provided
his personal suggestions for
resources to be used in and out
of the classroom.
Hillel of Metro Detroit
wants to extend our gratitude
to Ryan Woloshin, the ADL
and the student affairs staff at
UM-Dearborn. We look for-
ward to partnering further with
UM-Dearborn and the ADL and
feel optimistic about the collabo-
rative efforts to combat antisem-
itism on the UM-Dearborn cam-
pus, along with all the schools
HMD serves.
If you would like to learn more
about HMD’s work with the
ADL or how to access resources
to combat antisemitism on our
Metro Detroit campuses, contact
LeahB@hillel-detroit.org. @
Leah Burian is a program associate at
Hillel of Metro Detroit.
Ryan
Woloshin
Antisemitism
Training
Leah Burian } jewish@edu writer
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