R

uth Poberesky of West 
Bloomfield grew up in 
the former Soviet Union, 
where KGB members were known 
to raid synagogues and Jewish stu-
dents faced expulsion from college 
if they were seen inside its walls. 
She left for Israel in 1989 and 
moved to the U.S. in 1994 to join 
her parents, who had settled in 
Metro Detroit in the meantime. 
Now facing antisemitism again 
in Michigan, she says she’s doing 
everything she can to be more 
publicly Jewish, from ordering 
Judaica products to organizing a 
rally. “The basic idea is we’re not 
going to hide,” she says.
Her comments come against 
a backdrop of debate online and 
off across the community about 
how visibly to represent Judaism 
in an atmosphere of rising con-
cern and tension fueled by the 
Oct. 7 Hamas attack in Israel and 
pro-Palestinian protests in Metro 
Detroit.
When Hamas declared a “Day 
of Rage” in October, Aaron 
Feinberg of Huntington Woods 
wrestled with sending his 13-, 11- 
and 8-year-old kids to school that 
Friday. “We send our kids to Hillel 
and there was a part of me that 
was worried about sending my 
kids and a part of me that was like, 
‘There’s not a chance I’m going 
to let Hamas and these terrorists 
intimidate us and prevent us from 
living our lives as Jews,’” he says. 
“To me, I think it’s really import-
ant that Jewish people stand 
strong and lean in to who we are.”
Though he’s heard talk of people 
removing their mezuzahs because 
they’re afraid to be singled out as 
Jewish, he and his wife, Julie, are 
leaving theirs up, he says, and get-
ting even more involved in their 
Judaism. “I started studying with a 
rabbi,” he says. “I don’t want to be 

intimidated.” 
The initial implication in the 
media that the Oct. 21 murder 
of Detroit synagogue president 
Samantha Woll might have been 
an anti-Israel or antisemitic act 
concerned some in the community, 
Feinberg says. “It happened in such 
close proximity to Oct. 7 that I 
think it hit home really hard when 
people heard about it,” he says. 
The Detroit police investigation 
has since shown no indication of a 
hate crime.

CAUTION, BUT LIFE GOES ON
Gary Sikorski, director of Jewish 
Community Security Inc. (JCSI), 
says the message to the Jewish 
community remains the same, that 
they can continue to engage in 
Jewish life as normal. 
 “If that involves having a mezu-
zah, if that involves going to wor-
ship, we advise everyone to contin-
ue on as they have,” he says. “With 
that said, we also preach that if 
you see something, say something, 
and that people need to practice 
situational awareness 
and be aware of their 
surroundings.” That 
includes planning 
accordingly, as well as 
thinking about what 
they’re wearing and 
the attention it could 
bring, he says.
Even with protests in the area, 
there haven’t been increasing 
reports of incidents, he says.
“While the focus and the atten-
tion and the concerns have been 
amplified, we haven’t seen any 
information or even any actions 
that have led us to take additional 
precautions. However, we are con-
stantly assessing security and are 
prepared to adjust as needed.”
In the meantime, many syna-
gogues and private events have 

After Oct. 7, caution is important 
but so is showing your Judaism 
and standing strong. 

KAREN SCHWARTZ CONTRIBUTING WRITER

OUR COMMUNITY
COVER STORY

Gary 
Sikorski

continued on page 14

NOVEMBER 30 • 2023 | 13
J
N

Chaim Leiberman of Farmington 
Hills volunteered in Israel recently. 
He says he doesn’t hide that he’s 
Israeli and Jewish.

COURTESY CHAIM LEIBERMAN

