Court Ruling

OUR COMMUNITY

ASHLEY ZLATOPOLSKY CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Court Ruling

Arecent court ruling on the eve of Yom Kippur has left staff and members at Ann Arbor’s Beth Israel Congregation upset and confused.

Since 2003, the Conservative Jewish synagogue has been the target of weekly pro-Palestinian protests. Ann Arbor residents gather nearly every Saturday morning from 9:30-11:30 a.m. with upwards of 20 signs condemning Israel.

Slogans like “Jewish Power Corrupts,” “Stop Funding Israel” and “End the Palestinian Holocaust” are regular appearances outside of the congregation. For members who gather at the synagogue for religious observance and worship, the protests hit on a deeply personal level.

With several Holocaust survivors rounding out the synagogue’s congregation, the protests cause emotional distress while disrupting Saturday services. For Beth Israel’s older members who survived World War II, they’re reminiscent of a time they thought they left behind.

Yet, despite the concerns, a federal court appeals ruled just before the holiest day of the year in Judaism that the pro-Palestinian protests are protected by the U.S. Constitution’s First Amendment. After tolerating the protests for many years, and with no help from the city of Ann Arbor, Beth Israel members finally took the protestors to federal court, but they were denied help.

“We are disappointed by the recent ruling, but we are not surprised given previous rulings,” said Rabbi Nadav Caine of Beth Israel Congregation. While the protests initially aimed to speak up about Israeli settlements in the West Bank, they’ve gradually turned into antisemitic slurs that Rabbi Caine calls “Nazi-esque” in nature.

Protesters “quickly find themselves blaming Jews for the Holocaust, agreeing with Nazism, claiming Jews have secretly taken over our country and the world, and make claims that Israel is performing daily genocidal massacre,” Caine says of the uptick in hate speech.

In this month’s ruling, the court declined putting a halt to the demonstrations or permitting any restrictions in Ann Arbor. While a 1,000-foot buffer and limits on signs was proposed, the court ruled that this proposed solution would likely violate the First Amendment.

The complaint against the protestors alleged 13 violations of federal law and 10 violations of state law in total.

Judge Jeffrey Sutton claimed that because the protests were non-violent in nature, they fell under the First Amendment’s umbrella of protection for matters of public concern. He also stated that because no congregation members came forward about being able to hear the protests inside the synagogue or were blocked from entering the synagogue, the protests were also protected.

and members at Ann Arbor’s Conservative Jewish synaALEX SHERMAN

The American Civil Liberties Union echoed the ruling, filing a brief in support of the activists. Even “offensive, upsetting and distasteful” protests were entitled to protection, they voiced. The issue was the suppression of freedom of speech, which the ACLU applied to their stance.

In accordance with federal law, Beth Israel congregants would have until Sept. 29 to file a request with the Sixth Circuit to have the appeal considered again by a full court of 16 active circuit judges.

Yet, with some Jews celebrating the holiday of Simchat Torah on that date, the protests and subsequent court matters have proven to be an emotional and distressing challenge for Ann Arbor’s Jewish community, particularly members and staff of Beth Israel Congregation.

“What everyone should take note of here is not that the First Amendment protects hate speech — we knew that already — but that our country and its campuses are no longer places of political criticism of Israel,” Rabbi Caine says. “They are harboring antisemitism in its guise.”

Pro-Palestinian protests outside Ann Arbor synagogue are protected.

Rabbi Nadav Caine of Beth Israel Congregation

See a related opinion piece on page 6.

Learn About the Jews of Mexico

Mexico is home to a large and diverse Jewish community whose members hail from places as diverse as Syria, Turkey, Poland or Ukraine. As in the United States, Jewish communities in Mexico have had to negotiate their own ethnic and religious identities in the larger context of the country’s national narratives.

Writer Jacobo Sefami is a Syrian Jew who grew up in Mexico. He will guide his audience through the maze of cross-cultural references that

Jacobo Sefami

have contributed to consolidate Jewish Mexican identity.

The event will be held from 10-11 a.m. Thursday, Oct. 7, in Founders Ballroom A at Oakland University. The event can be attended in persono or virtually. To register, go to bit.ly/2ZeJ4xZ.

Teens Can Apply Now for a Bronfman Fellowship

The Bronfman Fellowship announced that applications are now being accepted for the 36th cohort of this transformative program. The Fellowship selects 26 outstanding North American teenagers for an intellectually challenging year of programming that begins with a free summer in Israel between the Fellows’ junior and senior years of high school, followed by monthly virtual experiences and two seminars in the U.S. The program educates and inspires exceptional young Jews from diverse backgrounds to have a significant impact on the world as community builders, deep thinkers, moral voices, and cultural creators. The nonprofit Fellowship was founded by Edgar M. Bronfman, z”l, formerly CEO of the Seagram Company Ltd. and a visionary Jewish philanthropist.

In addition to learning with stellar educators, Fellows also have the unique opportunity to engage with leading intellectuals, artists, and religious and cultural leaders. Past speakers have included journalist Matti Friedman; author Nicole Krauss; musician and Yiddish scholar Anthony Russell; and Torah scholar Dr. Avivah Zornberg.

Fellows also interact with a group of Israeli peers who were chosen through a parallel selection process by the Israeli branch of the Fellowship, Amitei Bronfman. Additionally, they can participate in the Fellowship’s arts tracks: workshops in areas including poetry, dance, drama, visual narrative and music, taught by leading innovators in the field of Jewish art. Upon returning home from the summer in Israel, Fellows also explore major themes in North American Jewish life.

Applications for the 2022 Fellowship are due Dec. 8, 2021, and are available online at bronfman.org. High school students in the United States and Canada who self-identify as Jewish and who will be in the 11th grade in the fall of 2021 are eligible to apply.

The Fellowship is a pluralistic program for Jews of all backgrounds; prior Jewish education is not required.

Join us November 7th! Fix Up this Fa !

Invite your family, friends or community groups to this outdoor, family-friendly volunteer event. Help rake leaves and winterize homes (outdoor only) of older adults served by Jewish Family Service. A ages welcome

Drive-thru contactless supply pickup by prior appointment starting at 9am at Congregation Shaarey Zedek 27375 Bell Road, South eld

To register, visit jfsdetroit.org/fallfixup or contact fallfixup@jfsdetroit.org

Worksites are pre-assigned. Register by October 29th .

Fall Fix Up is generously sponsored by:

*We will be following State COVID protocols for this event. Should we conclude that it would not be safe, Fall Fix Up will be canceled.*