1942 - 2024 Covering and Connecting Jewish Detroit Every Week To make a donation to the DETROIT JEWISH NEWS FOUNDATION go to the website www.thejewishnews.com The Detroit Jewish News (USPS 275-520) is published every Thursday at 32255 Northwestern Highway, #205, Farmington Hills, Michigan. Periodical postage paid at Southfield, Michigan, and additional mailing offices. Postmaster: send changes to: Detroit Jewish News, 32255 Northwestern Highway, #205, Farmington Hills, Michigan 48334 MISSION STATEMENT The Detroit Jewish News will be of service to the Jewish community. The Detroit Jewish News will inform and educate the Jewish and general community to preserve, protect and sustain the Jewish people of greater Detroit and beyond, and the State of Israel. 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Cohen, Louis Finkelman, Samantha Foon, Yevgeniya Gazman, Stacy Gittleman, Esther Allweiss Ingber, Barbara Lewis, Jennifer Lovy, Rabbi Jason Miller, Alan Muskovitz, Karen Schwartz, Robin Schwartz, Steve Stein, Nathaniel Warshay, Julie Smith Yolles, Ashley Zlatopolsky Advertising Sales Director of Advertising: Keith Farber kfarber@thejewishnews.com Senior Account Executive: Kathy Harvey-Mitton kmitton@thejewishnews.com | Business Office Director of Operations: Amy Gill agill@thejewishnews.com Operations Manager: Ashlee Szabo Circulation: Danielle Smith Billing Coordinator: Pamela Turner | Production By Farago & Associates Manager: Scott Drzewiecki Designers: Kaitlyn Iezzi, Kelly Kosek, Michelle Sheridan 6 | MAY 30 • 2024 J N essay Like Moses, We Must Defend Our Community M y father’s uncle used to say to him that “every Jew should have a valid passport. ” My father has always added that “every Jew should have a valid passport and the means to defend them- selves. ” Coming out of the holiday of Passover, we are reminded of G-d’s might and Moses’ actions. A pivotal moment in the evolution of Moses becoming a leader occurred when he saw an Egyptian striking a Hebrew. He looked around and saw that no other Hebrew was coming to the aid of the Hebrew being struck. He felt the duty to protect the Hebrew, he looked for someone else to intervene, but no one was around. Moses then pro- ceeded to kill the Egyptian. We, as Jews, have the respon- sibility to protect and defend our fellow Jews. During times of crisis, we must not wallow or cower; we must learn to protect ourselves. As an Army combat veteran, I have been through rocket attacks in Israel as well as rocket and drone attacks in Syria. What we face now is much more of a looming dan- ger that has to be acted upon before we lose more Jews. The radical Iranian- influenced ideology that motivated the attacks against my base in Syria is the same ideology that led to the murder and kidnapping of my relatives in Israel. This ideology has now led to harassment, threats and assaults against my fellow Jews on college campuses. It is not a matter of if someone dies from the radical ideology that has taken root in our country. It’s a matter of when. Between the ages of 19-20 years old, I spent 259 days in Syria carrying a loaded rifle. The rifle was by my bedside as I slept. I was ready and pre- pared to use lethal means in case of an attack against myself or a fellow American. I am no longer in a war zone, but my fear for my fellow citizens and Jews is greater than the fear I had for my fellow soldiers in Syria because of the ugly wave of antisemitism sweeping across America. I have carried a loaded weap- on, where permitted, every day since I got my CPL. I do this in order to protect my fellow citi- zens and myself. When in loca- tions where carrying a firearm is not permitted, I carry pepper spray. Our constitution guaran- tees us the right to bear arms. Not everyone has to carry a gun, but everyone should be prepared to defend themselves, their families and the Jewish community. We have the chance to change the course of history by defending ourselves, our fam- ilies and our community. We are Moses looking desperately around for someone to save the Hebrew being whipped. We must rise up like Moses did and defend our Jewish brethren. Moses sought someone else to intervene and kill the Egyptian. This indicates that he may not have wanted the duty or the responsibility but was nonetheless forced to act upon it. We must take responsibility because if not us, then who? Rachel Baker is an alumna of Frankel Jewish Academy. For information on self-defense classes, gun safety classes and free pepper spray for college stu- dents, contact Rachel Baker at rachel- bakerbtl@gmail.com. PURELY COMMENTARY Rachel Baker