8 | JUNE 15 • 2023 

which most of our nearly 
15-person Detroit cohort had 
already familiarized itself 
with; we were unprepared for 
other things, like the early 
premiere of Disney+ and 
National Geographic’s new 
show A Small Light, which 
tells the story of the woman 
who hid Anne Frank and her 
family during World War II.
Prepared or not, the 
tone was set: antisemitism 
is as emotional, toxic and 
dangerous as ever, and it is 
our job to fight it.
Over the next two days, 
we learned about what it 
might mean to educate 
our way out of hate, how 
children’s literature can invite 
conversations about identity, 
bias and social justice, what 
antisemitism looks like both 
on the right and the left, and 
why, and so much more. 
We also spent time 
mastering the four 
talking points that we’d be 
discussing with our senators 
and their staffers during 
the culmination of the 
conference on Capitol Hill.
Tuesday morning, we rallied 
outside the Capitol as speakers 
from a variety of organizations, 
representing a multitude of 
different communities, spoke 
about the importance of 
combating antisemitism and all 
forms of hate.
We carried that motivation 
and energy with us into 
the offices of Senators 
Gary Peters and Debbie 
Stabenow, as we lobbied 
our priorities: sharing the 
significance of the ADL 
2022 Audit of Antisemitic 
Incidents, stressing the 

importance of the Non-Profit 
Security Grant Program’s 
continued funding, passing 
the Holocaust Education 
and Antisemitism Lessons 
(HEAL) Act, and passing the 
Jewish American Heritage 
Month Resolution.
We are very fortunate 
to have two senators who 
are partners in fighting 
antisemitism, racism and 
hate in all of its forms.

SHARING MY SKILLS
When it came time to 
present on Jewish American 
Heritage Month in front of 
the office, I was prepared. 
I pulled out my lobby-day 
prep sheet and gave my 
office most of the shpiel that 
many of the GLI participants 
had given our senators just a 
few weeks prior.
After framing the state 
of antisemitism in America 
and locally — even touching 
on the December 2022 

Temple Beth El incident 
for a moment — and the 
importance of combating 
antisemitism, I pivoted to the 
positives of Jewish American 
Heritage Month. 
I spoke about the ways we 
can highlight the American 
Jewish community even 
when an antisemitic incident 
hasn’t occurred, how Jewish 
people have contributed 
positively to American 
society for over 350 years 
and, more specifically, how 
the Jewish community has 
had a positive and lasting 
impact on Detroit.
Now, Jewish American 
Heritage Month carries a 
lot of weight not only with 
me, but also with an entire 
office of colleagues who 
listened attentively and 
asked meaningful questions 
afterward.
We don’t realize how 
lucky we are to have ADL 
professionals fighting hate in 

our community every single 
day; I’m fortunate to have 
participated in GLI each of 
the last two years and would 
recommend that others seize 
the opportunity as well. 

Jeremy Rosenberg is a GLI Co-Chair 

and ADL of Michigan Board Member. 

 

Editor’s Note: In the last 30 days, the 

House of Representatives voted on 

a $10 million increase in funding to 

support Non-Profit Security Grants, 

and the Jewish American Heritage 

Month Resolution passed in the 

Senate.

THE IMPORTANCE OF JEWISH 
AMERICAN HERITAGE MONTH 
continued from page 6

PURELY COMMENTARY

ADL FACEBOOK

The ADL Michigan cohort at the National Leadership Summit in Washington, D.C.

Corrections: 
In “Community Honors 
Older Adults,” (June 1, page 
19), the age for Michael Fox 
was incorrect. He is 80 years 
old.
In “Life-Saving Help” 
(June 8, page 16) Robert 
Kelman’s name was 
misspelled.

