On Sunday, November 20, 100 local community members gathered at the Jewish Community Center for a Jewish community conversation about antisemitism. The goals of the effort were to expand individual and communal understanding of current antisemitism in its various forms; generate ideas about specific actions and/or projects that might be implemented to address antisemitism and hate; and to develop a cadre of people passionate about the issue who will champion and help implement next steps.
The program was conceived and implemented by a committee representing a wide array of Jewish communal organizations and congregations in Washtenaw County. It was facilitated by former Director of the Connecticut Region of the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), Steve Ginsburg, and was structured to provide context about antisemitism, opportunities for participants to share their personal experiences, and a brainstorming session to identify potential actions.
Speakers providing context for the day included Congresswoman Debbie Dingell, who spoke passionately of her deep concern about the rise and normalization of hate rhetoric and extremist violence in the political sphere. In addition to Congresswoman Dingell, Carolyn Normandin, Executive Director of ADL Michigan, shared statistics about the rise of antisemitic activity in the state of Michigan. Even accounting for the weekly reporting of the continued harassment outside Beth Israel Congregation, incidents in Michigan almost doubled from 2020 to 2021, continuing a disturbing trend in Michigan and nationally over the past few years.
Finally, Professor Jeffrey Veidlinger offered a unique way to classify and respond to antisemitic behavior: Ignorance, Provocation and Threat.
Professor Veidlinger suggested that much of the antisemitism people experience is the result of ignorance. Insensitivity around scheduling against Jewish holidays and inadvertent use of pejorative terms and antisemitic tropes often arise out of ignorance. Addressing this lack of understanding involves an increase in education and relationship-building.
Intentional antisemitic verbal assaults, on the other hand, such as the recent statements and behavior exhibited by Kanye West, are designed to provoke. The increase in these kinds of affronts is of great concern and requires both direct repudiation as well as education.
When it comes to actions considered physical threats, greater normalization and escalation of hatred of Jews tend to be precursors to these even more serious incidents. In response, individuals and Jewish communal institutions have had to be increasingly vigilant and invest additional resources toward community safety and security.
“I appreciated the distinction of these three types of antisemitism,” said participant Ellen Abramson. “It was helpful to distinguish the ignorance-based, which is not malevolent and can (hopefully) be addressed effectively through conversation.”
Following Professor Veidlinger’s remarks, the program shifted to provide an opportunity for participants to share their own experiences. Three community members set the stage by recounting personal stories of antisemitism to the group. Sylvie Bleckman, a freshman at Skyline High School, spoke about overhearing and calling out antisemitism at a crew regatta. Neal Elyakin, a former administrator at Washtenaw Independent School District, recounted a time when a parent was openly antagonistic and would not participate in a conference with Neal because he was Jewish. And Jason Gumenick, a teacher at Saline High School, shared his experience advocating to change the date of that school’s Homecoming, which had been scheduled on Yom Kippur.
Participants then broke into twelve facilitated small-group conversations to share their own personal experiences and concerns. Themes that arose included feelings of vulnerability, particularly when in more sparsely Jewishly populated areas; the impact of antisemitic incidents in formative years; and a desire to have the skills to better navigate and stand up in difficult situations.
Finally, participants were asked to brainstorm concrete ideas for addressing antisemitism locally. Rabbi Asher Lopatin, Executive Director of the Jewish Community Relations Council/American Jewish Committee in metro Detroit, spoke about the importance of developing relationships with other faith, cultural and civic groups, which is a primary purpose of his organization. He shared some efforts that might be replicated in Washtenaw County. Participants recorded their suggestions for outreach and relationship-building, advocacy, community safety and security, and educational programming within the Jewish community.
In the coming weeks, these ideas will be aggregated, and participants will have an opportunity to reconvene on Zoom to comment and prioritize next actions to be taken in the months to come. “I was pleased to see so many people invested in this issue,” said Babette Levy Daskin, a member of the organizing committee. “This is an indication that committees resulting from the event will be robust.”
Community members interested in being part of the conversation should contact the Jewish Federation’s Community Relations Manager McKenzie Katz (mckenzie@jewishannarbor.org). To report antisemitic incidents to the ADL, visit Michigan.adl.org.