12 | MARCH 21 • 2024
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the Facebook group Blocking Schoolboards
From Calling For a Ceasefire, which
now has close to 130 members. The first
Facebook group she’s ever started, it’s a place
for people to share information, from asking
for copies of referendums to updates on
meetings. “We have to stop this in its tracks,
”
she says.
Sharon Sorkin of Ann Arbor went to her
first school board meeting after Oct. 7 to
make sure a Jewish perspective were part of
the conversation. “I went to the school board
meeting the next week. I had never been to
one before, and said, ‘Hey, can we just make
sure we’re recognizing Jewish, Israeli stu-
dents in the district?’”
The school board passed a ceasefire reso-
lution that, among other elements, calls on
classroom discussion of the conflict, says
Sorkin, who has a sixth-grade daughter and
a fourth-grade son in the district. The move
prompted action from Jewish parents, who
called their principals to express their con-
cerns and highlight the way Jewish families
are feeling.
“It’s really important that not just our kids,
but all kids learn facts, and that our school
boards, our districts, are committed to that,
and they’re not swayed by narrow interests
or political motivations,
” she says. “Because
at the end of the day, this is about developing
the next generation of critical thinkers.
”
ENGAGING WITH SCHOOLS
Eileen Freed, CEO Jewish Federation of
Greater Ann Arbor, says they’ve been con-
vening parents to engage with the local
schools to map goals, strategies and prior-
ities going forward. They’ve
added incident report forms for
families whose kids face issues
at school and have hired Rabbi
Asher Lopatin as community
relations director.
“We look to work in partner-
ship with parents to help them
advocate and work with the schools to create
a better climate for their kids,
” she says. It’s
work they’ve been doing prior to Oct 7 as
well, she says, adding that they’re developing
as a community organization that represents
Jews of the community to develop relation-
ships with school administration and the
school board.
Coming forward as a community makes
a lot of sense, says Don Cohen of West
Bloomfield. He attended the Farmington
school board meeting after hearing about
it from someone who’
d been at a previous
meeting and has children who graduated
from the Farmington Hills district.
“The Jewish community should be
informed and activated; anti-Israel forces
are out strong and they’re blanketing orga-
nizations, school boards, even businesses
with their position and their demands,
” he
explains. “It’s incumbent on us to show up
and speak out, and we can’t expect anyone
else to do it for us.
”
Abbeygail Omaits of Farmington mod-
ified her Valentine’s Day plans with her
husband when she heard about the meeting,
which she says she considered a priority to
attend. “I came from Canton, and it didn’t
have much of a Jewish community, so I
know what it’s like to be unheard and unrep-
resented,
” she says, adding that she attended
U-M Dearborn.
Omaits, who has two students currently
in the Farmington district and also a 2-year-
old, says she’s showing up and also commit-
ted to adding a Jewish voice.
“I don’t feel scared, and my kids, I would
love to set them up so when they’re older
they don’t have to deal with it, so that these
issues are solved, and we set them up for a
more Jewish-friendly future,
” she explains.
“What I wanted to do was stop the first
domino from falling, and the first domino
is there should not be a ceasefire resolution
opinion written by the school board. They
just should stay out of it — that doesn’t need
to happen at all.
”
A Jewish presence matters, she adds. “I
think our presence in numbers can be a lot
greater, and standing in solidarity with each
other, even being able to see some faces
you only know from online, can be really
powerful, and right now community is so
important.
”
HOW TO GET INVOLVED
On a practical level, in addition to attend-
ing meetings, people can have
conversations with individ-
ual city council members or
school board members, and
add their written comments
to public record, says Carolyn
Normandin, regional director,
ADL Michigan. She encourages
people to look into their community charters
to better understand the mission of city coun-
cils, as well as to ask themselves about how
these communities have responded to events
such as 9-11 or the situation in Ukraine.
There’s also the White House strategy
against antisemitism, which has further
resources set out to address the rise of
antisemitism in the country.
She reminds people to report anti-Israel
and anti-Jewish incidents to the ADL, and
says on social media they can also play a
part in helping to moderate by reporting
antisemitism there. Antisemitism has been
around for thousands of years, but the last
several years has seen incidents rising, with
Oct. 7 taking it to another level. Her message
is to “stand up, share facts, show strength,
”
she says. “It takes all of us to be able to stand
up to this level of antisemitism.
”
As taxpayers and voters, constituents have
sway in their communities, she reminds
them. “The power that you have as a com-
munity member for these kinds of things is
great,
” she says.
Leiberman says there were additional
Jewish families in attendance at the March
meeting. More people coordinated through
Facebook, she adds.
“We all wanted to support each other and
speak out, and we all sat together again,
”
Leiberman says. “I think we felt good to
know we weren’t alone going through this.
And that we’re trying to speak up together as
a group to make our voices louder.
Her older daughter Naomi spoke about
being targeted at school as well, Leiberman
says. “She wants the school to know they
should be acting on that.
”
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Eileen
Freed
Carolyn
Normandin
OUR COMMUNITY