22 | APRIL 25 • 2024 
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t’s been a turbulent time 
for Jews in Israel and in 
the diaspora since Oct. 7, 
and that turbulence doesn’t 
look to be slowing down 
heading into November’s U.S. 
presidential election. 
On Monday, May 6, 
Congregation Shaarey Zedek 
is hosting a Coffee House 
event for community mem-
bers to discuss “The Impact 
of the Upcoming American 
Election on Israel and the 
Middle East.” The event will 
welcome Nolan Finley, edito-
rial page editor for the Detroit 
News, to lead the discussion. 
Finley directs the expres-
sion of the newspaper’s edi-
torial position on various 
national and local issues and 
writes a column in the Sunday 
newspaper. Finley also con-
tributes for the MiWeek show 
on Detroit Public Television. 
Finley has been vocal about 
his strong support for Israel 
in recent interviews on WJR 
radio and other local media 
outlets. 
Finley says the discussion 
will go in the direction of 
what those in attendance want 
to talk about. 
“I assume people are wor-
ried about the political envi-
ronment and whether the 
administration and the folks 
who initially rose to say they 

stand with Israel are going 
to stand with Israel right up 
to the point of the election,” 
Finley said. 
“I assume they’re very much 
interested in the presidential 
race, and how much influence 
these pro-Palestinian forces 
have on the current president 
and also what we’re going to 
hear from the Republican 
side,” he added. 
“I think the political envi-
ronment ought to be a real 
interest area for anyone who 
is concerned about Israel 
because there is so much pres-
sure from the pro-Palestinian 
side on our political leader-
ship, I think in a way that we 
haven’t seen before.” 
Finley has been around a 
long time and has covered 
countless U.S. elections and 
Israeli conflicts over the years. 
 
 
 
 

 With that, Finley believes 
this year’s election could be 
impacted by what’s going on 
in Israel and the Middle East 
more than any other previous 
election. 
“We’re rushing toward 
November without any sort of 
end in sight here,” Finley said. 
“This election will depend on 
who makes the most noise or 
who exerts the most influence 
in various ways. I think this is 
an election that’s very import-
ant to Israel’s future.” 
Discussion about Iran’s 
recent drone and missile bar-
rage on Israel will surely be 
expected. 
To Finley, the barrage is a 
reminder of what’s at stake 
in Israel. Finley noted that 
more than 400 members of 
Congress have condemned the 
attack, and House Republicans 

immediately called for a vote 
on the stalled foreign aid bill 
that would provide continued 
funding for Israel’s war effort.
“Notably, President Joe 
Biden, who has been under 
political pressure from his 
party’s left wing and had 
appeared to be wobbling in 
his initial unconditional sup-
port for Israel, directed the 
United States to fully deploy 
in destroying Iran’s missiles. 
The president chased any 
doubt about the sincerity of 
his commitment to Israel’s 
defense,” Finley said in a 
Detroit News piece after the 
barrage. 
Finley says this is a time 
when everybody should be 
engaged and aware of what’s at 
stake, no matter what side of 
the political aisle they’re on.
“I hope we can have a good 
dialogue, and I hope I can 
learn from them, because this 
is an issue they’re very steeped 
in,” Finley said. “I hope we 
can start to put some perspec-
tive on the issue and define 
the challenges ahead over the 
next several months in terms 
of making sure this election 
doesn’t go badly for Israel.” 
The event begins at 10:45 
a.m. Lunch will be served. 
Register at shaareyzedek. 
shulcloud.com/event/spring-
coffee-house-series.html. 

Detroit News editor to discuss impact of Israel 
and the Middle East on the upcoming election. 

Shaarey Zedek 
to Host Journalist 
Nolan Finley

DANNY SCHWARTZ SENIOR STAFF REPORTER

OUR COMMUNITY

Nolan 
Finley

Register by May 21 

(no walk-ins)

Security provided by Jewish Community Security Inc. (JCSI) in partnership with law enforcement agencies.

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