Last month, Attorney General Dana Nessel told a roomful of Jewish Democrats that we have a moral obligation “to place the needs of the world above even our own self-interest.” Nessel went on to suggest that it was now time for Michigan Jews to follow in the path of Queen Esther and “sacrifice the comfort, safety and security” of Jews for the greater good.
Although AG Nessel did not specifically mention the candidates running for U.S. Senate in Michigan, her remarks were seemingly intended to reference the ongoing Senate race between Republican Mike Rogers and Democrat Abdul El-Sayed. While I will not comment on the candidates or the election itself, I do believe it is important to address the broader questions her remarks raised about the safety,
security and future of Jewish life in Michigan and across the country.
I agree with our attorney general that Jewish tradition demands we treat others with compassion. She’s right that the current administration has, by and large, abandoned the pretense of governance for the common good, and that antisemitism is an acute danger that feels particularly resonant in Michigan right now. Our community has been directly targeted.
But Nessel has the story wrong. Queen Esther did not at any point risk the lives of Jews for the greater good. The story of the book of Esther is the story of a government convinced to fund the destruction of a people, and the protective power of relationship and faith in the love of people who are different from us.
Jewish safety starts with solidarity
It’s that lesson from Queen Esther that I reflect on when I think about the way Jews are engaging with politics right now, especially in Michigan. Sustaining our democracy is the foundation of Jewish safety, not a sacrifice of our safety. When we fight for democracy, we fight for Jewish safety.
This is what I have learned from my experience as the leader of Detroit Jews for Justice. Our community has built strong, trusting and long-lasting relationships over the past decade with our diverse neighbors in Southeast Michigan. We fight side by side for reproductive rights, LGBTQ+ rights, immigrant rights, water rights, property tax justice and more. We organize as partners who show up for each other because our fates are connected.
Those relationships have been put to the test. Last year, a volunteer for one of our immigration coalition partners made comments in a large group chat that questioned if we belonged in the coalition, because of our members' range of views on Israel and Zionism.
It was difficult to see those comments, so we reached out to our organizational partners directly. We sat across from each other on a couch as I shared our values of equal rights, dignity and safety, which we apply at home and extend abroad – to Israelis and Palestinians. We explained that the metro Detroit Jewish community has a wide range of perspectives about Israel and Palestine, and what is needed to keep Jewish people safe. And we spoke about how antisemitism operates to separate and blame the Jews when people are struggling most, and intentionally divides us from our neighbors.
Our partners were very open ‒ they listened to us and asked questions. And while the initial messages in that group chat brought hurt and concern, moving through the conflict deepened our relationship and gave nuance to differences that seemed so stark online. I left that conversation feeling a stronger commitment to our shared fight for liberation.
And when a lone gunman attacked Temple Israel with children in the building, our partners reached out immediately. There was an outpouring of love and support, wanting to know how they could be most helpful. That’s what safety looks like. It’s not a wall; it’s the Chaldean country club, founded by families who fled prosecution, opening their doors to Jewish families to gather for Shabbat days after the attack.
Authoritarians thrive when we're divided
The right wing understands our power when we unite, which is why they are trying so hard to break it. Project Esther, published by the Heritage Foundation in October 2024, is a blueprint for using Jewish fear to fracture progressive coalitions. The administration uses this strategy explicitly when they falsely claim they are the true protectors and allies of Jews, “supporting” us by withholding federal funding from universities and imprisoning more than a dozen Muslim and Arab student activists who spoke out for Palestinian human rights, including Mahmoud Khalil and Rumeysa Ozturk.
But that kind of oppression, in our names, makes us less safe. Jews have never thrived in countries that enable kings and prohibit free speech. When the government says they are protecting us by locking up Muslim and Arab students, they are using us, and they are lying.
A principle I hold dear is Doykayt, or “hereness” in Yiddish, coined by the Bund, a Jewish labor movement in Eastern Europe. Hereness compels us to be where we are and to engage fully, with generosity, in our immediate community. Our work is most meaningful and effective when we struggle against the injustices that are right in front of us, and impact those around us.
These are scary times. Our community has been directly targeted, and all of us want to feel safe in our everyday life. I couldn’t agree more with Nessel’s admonition to our Jewish community that we must support movements for humanity and democracy, and fight against authoritarianism. But that’s not at the expense of our own community ‒ that is exactly the foundation that assures Jewish safety and survival. The safe way forward is in full-throated solidarity, not the acquiescence of our values, and fear. Dismantling antisemitism and Islamophobia go hand in hand with defeating authoritarianism.Lisa Tencer is the executive director of Detroit Jews for Justice. Submit a letter to the editor at freep.com/letters, and we may publish it in print or online.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Democracy isn't a trade-off for Jewish safety. It's the foundation. | Opinion
