6 | SEPTEMBER 12 • 2024 J
N
1942 - 2024
Covering and Connecting
Jewish Detroit Every Week
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I
was driving in Troy a couple
of weeks ago and something
caught my eye that made me
freeze. I thought I just saw an
Israeli flag. Was I dreaming? Here
in the middle of Troy?
I slammed on my
brakes and turned
my car around and
headed to where I
thought I saw the flag.
Sure enough. There
it was, an Israeli flag,
waving proudly in the
wind together with an American
flag.
I am always on the lookout for
Jews that live in the area. I thought
this house was for sure a Jewish
one, so I parked my car and walked
to the front door thinking that I
would meet a new Jew in the area.
I was wrong.
I knocked and met a very
friendly man. I asked him if he was
Jewish and told me that he was not.
“So why,” I asked, “do you have an
Israeli flag hanging by your door?”
Albert, my new friend, explained
to me what the flag was all about.
He is a Christian and belongs to a
large church in the area. For many
months now, every week they pray
for Israel.
Albert decided he wanted to do
more than just pray. He wanted
to show his support for Israel in a
larger and more prominent way.
So he decided to hang an Israeli
flag outside his home to show his
support for the Jewish people.
I thanked him profusely for this
very courageous act. I explained
to him that Jews in the area only
hear the negative. They hear about
all the antisemitism in the country.
What is going on across college
campuses. The terrible anti-Jewish
and anti-Israel rhetoric that is
being spewed the world over. And
here you are, just an ordinary
American that has the courage to
stand up to all the hate and proudly
display your love for the Jewish
people and the Jewish state.
Albert’s courage really made my
day and perhaps more than that!
It is so heartening to know that
there are decent people out there,
who are just ordinary Americans,
who see past all the fog and hate
and support Israel and the Jewish
people at our toughest hour.
Rabbi Menachem Caytak is director of the
Chabad Jewish Center of Troy.
PURELY COMMENTARY
essay
We Have Allies
Rabbi
Menachem
Caytak
Rabbi Caytak
and his new
friend Albert in
Troy.