March 29, 2022 – Jewish Community Relations Council/American Jewish Committee (JCRC/AJC) – Detroit has been actively monitoring the current wave of terrorism against Israeli citizens over the past week, which has tragically now claimed 11 victims, the largest number in Israel since 2006. We condemn this violence in the strongest possible terms and pray for the families of the deceased. As both Jewish and Arab communities head into holidays with important religious observances, we implore people of all faiths, locally and abroad, to pray for peace in the region, and across the globe.
Tag: JCRC/AJC
JCRC/AJC EXPANDS ANNUAL MITZVAH DAY INTO THREE-DAY VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITY
Jewish Community Relations Council/American Jewish Committee (JCRC/AJC) will mark its 25th Annual Mitzvah Day, which takes place on Christmas Day, by hosting it for the entire holiday weekend, beginning Friday, December 24 and ending Sunday, December 26. The traditionally daylong event is held in partnership with the Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Detroit.
Called Mitzvah Weekend this year, volunteers of all ages and faiths, including Jewish, Muslim, Hindu, Sikh and Christian, will visit organizations throughout Detroit and its surrounding communities providing services to fill staff shortages or allow nonprofits to reduce staffing for the holiday.
“As the Christmas holiday takes place on a Saturday this year, we knew it would be beneficial to both the participating organizations and volunteers to expand the program’s length,” said Rabbi Asher Lopatin, executive director of Jewish Community Relations Council/American Jewish Committee. “For the nonprofits offering opportunities, we have found that some are planning different or expanded activities since Christmas is not during the week. For our more observant volunteers who mark the Sabbath, this change will allow them to give back on Friday before sundown or the day after Christmas.”
Volunteer opportunities, which will include activities like serving meals and building clean-up, are slated to be available at organizations such as Brilliant Detroit, Pope Francis Center, Michigan Humane Society and Samaritas.
Due to the ongoing pandemic, JCRC/AJC will inform the public of available opportunities through weekly eblasts and social media postings, which will begin the week following Thanksgiving. These announcements will include a description of volunteer activities, a contact person at the organization and any mask or vaccination requirements. Those interested will then register and finalize details directly with the selected nonprofit.
Mitzvah Day, which is historically the single largest day of volunteering by Detroit’s Jewish community, was founded in 1996. The word “mitzvah” is Hebrew for “commandement,” and commonly refers to performing a good deed.
“While the pandemic has affected this beloved community tradition, we know that the spirit of giving is stronger than ever. We hope people of all backgrounds, ages and faiths take advantage of this beautiful opportunity to come together, safely, to give to others,” added Rabbi Lopatin.
How to receive Mitzvah Weekend information: Option 1: Visit www.jcrcajc.org and add email to sign-up bar at bottom of the page; Option 2: Follow JCRC/AJC on Facebook at www.Facebook.com/JCRCAJC or Instagram at @jcrcajc.
For more information, contact Sandy Lippitt at slippitt@jfmd.org.
JCRC/AJC’s mission is to represent the metropolitan Detroit Jewish community, Israel and Jews throughout the world to the general community, and to establish collaborative relationships with other ethnic, racial, civic and religious groups. JCRC/AJC educates and advocates on important issues, seeking consensus with a commitment to Jewish values. For more information visit www.jcrcajc.org.
# # #
JCRC/AJC Statement on the Oxford High School Shooting
November 30, 2021 – We are saddened and horrified by the gun violence that occurred this afternoon at Oxford High School, which left three innocent people dead, and others injured. We are grateful to the law enforcement officials who acted swiftly, within five minutes, to apprehend the 15-year-old suspect.
As we continue to learn what led to today’s shooting, JCRC/AJC continues to call on our leaders to take the necessary steps to reduce gun violence, which, as we have seen so tragically today, continues to be a grave public health epidemic.
May the memories of those lost be for a blessing, and we pray for a speedy recovery for those injured by today’s violence.
A Statement from JCRC/AJC and MMCC
The Michigan Muslim Community Council (MMCC) and the Jewish Community Relations Council/ American Jewish Committee of Detroit (JCRC/AJC), who work together to help Muslims and Jews of Detroit value each other’s religions and communities, call for calm and peace in the Holy Land.
We are saddened that in this month of Ramadan, holy to Muslims worldwide, violence has broken out in the holy city of Jerusalem. We are always saddened when people are not allowed to pray and worship and live their day-to-day lives in peace. Thus, we pray for the safety and security of all who live in the Holy Land – Muslims, Jews, and Christians and for all the victims of violence.
We call for dialogue and mutual respect and for pursuing nonviolent channels for justice. We hope that our model in Detroit, of working in partnership on issues of mutual concern, can inspire those who are fighting to return to a meaningful pursuit of peace and justice for all in Jerusalem and everywhere.
Dr. Muhmud Al-Hadidi, Michigan Muslim Community Council
Rabbi Asher Lopatin, Jewish Community Relations Council/American Jewish Committee
Seth D. Gould Named President of JCRC/AJC
BLOOMFIELD HILLS, Mich. – The Board of Directors of the Jewish Community Relations Council/AJC (JCRC/AJC) has named Seth D. Gould as president. The announcement was made by Executive Director Rabbi Asher Lopatin.
Gould joined the organization in 2011, when it was AJC Detroit. He continued after the nonprofit partnered with the Jewish Community Relations Council to become JCRC/AJC. Since then he has chaired the Development and Israel Programming Committees, and served as Vice President and First Vice President.
“I am passionate about advocating on behalf of the metropolitan Detroit Jewish community, Israel and threatened minorities, as well as fostering tolerance among interfaith and intergroup communities,” said Seth Gould, who will serve a two-year term. “I am honored to have the opportunity to lead an incredible group of activists who comprise our Board of Directors.”
Gould, a member of the Shalom Hartman Institute’s Detroit Community Leadership Program cohort, is an alumnus of Legacy Heritage’s OnBoard development program for Detroit, which taught best practices for nonprofit board governance.
A partner at the Miller Law Firm, a litigation boutique in Rochester Hills, Mich., the Bloomfield Hills, Mich. resident received his bachelor’s degree in industrial and operations engineering from the University of Michigan and law degree from Wayne State University Law School. He previously served on the board of the Cranbrook Kingswood Alumni Association.
For its 2020-2021 programming year, JCRC/AJC has also welcomed four new board members: Rabbi Yonatan Dahlen of Southfield, Jeri Fishman of Southfield, Sheldon Freilich of Bloomfield Hills and Sheri Shapiro of Farmington Hills.
JCRC/AJC’s mission is to represent the metropolitan Detroit Jewish community, Israel and Jews throughout the world to the general community, and to establish collaborative relationships with other ethnic, racial, civic and religious groups. JCRC/AJC educates and advocates on important issues, seeking consensus with a commitment to Jewish values. For more information visit www.jcrcajc.org.
JCRC/AJC Statement Regarding the Murder of George Floyd and Recent Protests
The Jewish Community Relations Council/AJC stands in solidarity and partnership with the African American community, decrying the horrific murder of George Floyd and the racism that tragically still engulfs our nation and even permeates so many of our police forces. We pledge to work with the religious, civic and political leaders in the African American community who are working to bring a peaceful, but forceful, message of protest, truth and hope, not only in their own community, but to all Americans. There is no place for racism, discrimination, antisemitism or hatred in our country. George Floyd’s death, and the unjust deaths of so many other African Americans, tell us that racism still exists, but we know that if we work together, in peaceful, even loving protest, we will overcome and will prevail. We are all choked by racism, we all cannot breathe with racist hate, and we will never stop until it is eliminated from our society.
Aspects of Muslim and Jewish Religious Freedom to Be Discussed
January 16, 2020 – Jewish Community Relations Council/AJC and the Michigan Muslim Community Council will host its 5th Annual “A Shared Future” Lecture Series with Wayne State University Professors Howard Lupovitch and Saeed Khan. This year’s topic is “Are We Religiously Free in America?”
“A Shared Future” will consist of three presentations all beginning at 7 p.m., followed by a dessert reception:
- Wednesday, February
12,
Muslim Unity Center (1830 Square Lake Rd.) in Bloomfield Hills
- Topic: The navigation and implementation of Halacha and Sharia in the United States
- Wednesday,
February 19,
Congregation Beth Ahm (5075 West Maple Rd.) in West Bloomfield
- Topic: Attitudes and applications of separation of religion and state
- Wednesday,
February 26
at Wayne State University, David Adamany Undergraduate Library (5150 Anthony
Wayne Dr.) in Detroit
- Topic: Attitudes toward the First Amendment as they pertain to constructive debate and civil discourse.
Established in 2014, “A Shared Future” is an interfaith dialogue series which unites members of the Jewish and Muslim communities to learn together and build relationships. There is no charge to attend the program for which advance registration is required. It can be completed at sharedfuturereligiousfreedom.eventbrite.com.
Howard Lupovitch is Associate Professor of History and the Director of the Cohn-Haddow Center for Judaic Studies at Wayne State University. He received a Ph.D. in Jewish History from Columbia University and has taught at Cornell University, Colby College, the University of Western Ontario and University of Michigan, where he was also a fellow at the Frankel Institute for Advanced Jewish Studies. A published author, Professor Lupovitch is the 2009 winner of the Bernard L. Maas Prize for Achievement in Jewish Culture and Continuity in the Area of Humanities.
Saeed A. Khan works in the University’s Department of History and is a lecturer in the Department of Near East & Asian Studies, where he teaches Islamic and Middle East History, Islamic Civilizations and History of Islamic Political Thought. A Research Fellow at Wayne State University’s Center for the Study of Citizenship, he also is an Adjunct Professor in Islamic Studies at the University of Detroit-Mercy and at Rochester College, where he co-teaches a course on Muslim-Christian Diversity. He is a Ph.D. Candidate at Wayne State University; Thomas M. Cooley Law School, JD.
Professor Khan has served as a consultant to the US-Arab Economic Forum and has founded the Center for the Study of Trans-Atlantic Diasporas, a think tank and policy center examining and comparing the condition of ethnic immigrant groups in North America and Europe, consulting the US and UK governments on their respective Muslim communities.
For additional information, contact Corey Young, young@jfmd.org.
A Shared Future is generously sponsored by the Ravitz Foundation.
JCRC/AJC Names Rabbi Asher Lopatin Executive Director
September 17, 2019 – Jewish Community Relations Council/AJC (JCRC/AJC) has named Rabbi Asher Lopatin its new executive director effective immediately. The announcement was made by Board President Alicia B. Chandler.
Rabbi Asher Lopatin is the founding director of the Detroit Center for Civil Discourse, a nonprofit designed to bring diverse people together in enriching dialogue, and the founding rabbi of Kehillat Etz Chayim, a new, Modern Orthodox synagogue in metropolitan Detroit. Prior to serving in these roles, he was president of Yeshivat Chovevei Torah Rabbinical School in New York and the senior rabbi of Anshe Sholom B’nai Israel Congregation in Chicago. While there, he and his wife, Rachel, helped found the pluralistic Chicago Jewish Day School and he co-chaired the Jewish Muslim Community Building Initiative of the Jewish Council on Urban Affairs.
A Rhodes Scholar and Truman Fellow with an M. Phil in Medieval Arabic Thought from Oxford University, Rabbi Lopatin also has done doctoral work at St. Antony’s College, Oxford, in Islamic Fundamentalist attitudes towards Jews and Israel. He received ordination from Rav Ahron Soloveichik and Yeshivas Brisk in Chicago, and from Yeshiva University, as a Wexner Graduate Fellow. In 2011, Rabbi Lopatin became a permanent member of The Council on Foreign Relations.
In addition to being a nationally sought after teacher and scholar, Rabbi Lopatin has written numerous articles and chapters for more than 20 books.
“On behalf of the board and staff of JCRC/AJC, we are truly honored to welcome Rabbi Asher Lopatin as our executive director,” said Board President Alicia B. Chandler. “Rabbi Lopatin’s depth of knowledge concerning Judaism, Israel and interfaith relations is unparalleled. His commitment to bridge building and advocacy will be of great importance as we continue to establish collaborative relationships and represent the metropolitan Detroit Jewish community, Israel and Jews throughout the world to the general community.”
Community Briefing: A Security Update
May 8 – Last week we observed Yom HaShoah, a remembrance of the six million Jews murdered in the Holocaust. Sadly, the admonition to ‘never forget’ is unnecessary in a world where hatred and violence directed towards the Jewish people remains commonplace.
The assaults on the Chabad of Poway Synagogue in San Diego and the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh are only the most recent reminders of the lethal impact of anti-Semitism and the legacy of hate in modern society. Recent data from the ADL reveals “near-historic levels of anti-Semitism in 2018, including a doubling of anti-Semitic assaults.”
With this in mind, we’d like to share information related to security concerns in our Detroit community, and offer some perspectives and resources that may benefit our community members.
Ongoing Community-Wide Security Efforts
The Jewish Federation and its partners have long recognized the critical importance of sustained and vigilant security. For over a decade, our Community-Wide Security team has been dedicated to ensuring the safety of our schools, congregations, agency buildings and Jewish campuses. This team works in close collaboration with their peers in local and national law enforcement to help keep our children, seniors and families safe.
Thanks to our generous donors, in the 2018/19 calendar year we allocated roughly $850,000 towards our Community-Wide Security efforts. In 2019/2020, we hope to increase that to roughly $2,000,000. This funding provides for:
- a team of highly-experienced security officers deployed throughout the community
- ongoing trainings, evaluations and consultation with our Jewish organizations
- tools and technology to monitor and protect our facilities
- close coordination with security and law enforcement entities on a local and national level
- additional contract security personnel placed throughout the community
We also are pleased to announce a new $500,000 matching grant program for our Synagogues and Temples. This program will help enhance the physical protection of buildings and bolster on-site security personnel in our places of worship.
What You Can Do
Events like the most recent shooting in Poway, present numerous questions beyond securing our institutions. How do we explain such tragedies to our children? What public policy solutions are possible to push back against the rising anti-Semitism? Should we act any differently knowing that such hate-motivated violence is so real in our society? The list goes on. Here are some suggestions of ways to respond:
- If you see something, say something. Immediately report suspicious behavior to local law enforcement. Be aware of activities on social media and report concerns with guns, threats or other alarming activities.
- AJC is leading a campaign to urge all members of Congress to join the Bipartisan Taskforce for Combating Anti-Semitism here. The rise of anti-Semitism is a serious issue and our legislators must remain vigilant. Locally, JCRC/AJC has helped secure the support of several members.
- ADL has a number of educational resources (below) for a range of uses both personally and in the classroom, as well as a blog on the situation in California:
- Empowering Young People in the Aftermath of Hate (for parents/families and educators)
- 5 Tips for Talking with Children about Hate Incidents (shortened version of Empowering Young People)
- Helping Students Make Sense of News Stories about Bias and Injustice (teaching tool)
- Gun Violence and Mass Shootings (Table Talk parents/families discussion guide)
- Anti-Semitic Incidents: Being an Ally, Advocate and Activist (lesson plan)
- Deadly Shooting at the Tree of Life Synagogue (lesson plan)
- If you would like to find local resources for schools, please contact the Michigan ADL office at Michigan.adl.org.
Maintaining Our Jewish Way of Life
Finally, we want to remind our community that there is no more important response to hated and anti-Semitism than the simple act of maintaining our Jewish lives and traditions.
Our charge as Jewish communal organizations is to protect our most vulnerable members and provide for the security and well-being of all. We do this so that together we can continue to worship and celebrate, observe, learn and grow – as Jewish individuals and as a community united in the face of a complex and often frightening world, and with undiminished passion for our Jewish way of life.
Click here to see full e-blast from Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Detroit.
JCRC/AJC Response to Shooting at Chabad of Poway
| April 29 – JCRC/AJC is horrified by the act of terror that took place at Chabad of Poway over the weekend. We mourn for Lori Gilbert-Kaye, the casualty of the shooting, and we pray for the wounded. The horror of another synagogue being targeted on Shabbat, on the last day of Passover, and on the six-month anniversary of the Tree of Life massacre, reminds us of the hatred and violence being directed at the Jewish community, as well as other communities of faith. We want to commend the bravery of those at Chabad who valiantly fought the attacker, saving countless lives in the process. As always, we have been working closely with the Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Detroit in response to this tragedy. Click here to read the communication that Federation disseminated yesterday. Our message is clear: we stand in solidarity as a Jewish community, we are taking all precautions to secure our local institutions, and we will not be deterred by this surge in hate. JCRC/AJC has worked with the media to communicate these messages and to provide clarity regarding our community’s response. Executive Director David Kurzmann conducted interviews on Saturday evening with WDIV-TV and WWJ-AM. He also was interviewed live this morning on “The Frank Beckmann Show” on WJR-AM. Please stay tuned to our Facebook page for updates on additional community responses. May the memory of Lori Gilbert-Kaye be for a blessing and may those injured experience a speedy and complete recovery. |