Working as allies versus battling as enemies

The heinous terrorist act perpetrated recently on Temple Israel in West Bloomfield and its 140 preschoolers, staff and clergy brought the international scourge of antisemitism frighteningly right into our backyards. Among the numerous blessings that came out of the day was that no one but the shooter was killed, by his own hand; law enforcement, led by Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard and West Bloomfield Police Chief Dale Young, performed stupendously after having practiced numerous drills for just such a possibility – including just six weeks before on the temple's grounds; homeowners in adjacent neighborhoods opening their doors and garages to toddlers and their caregivers, providing blankets and warm hearts; and most notably, Shenandoah Country Club, a Chaldean club located directly across Walnut Lake Road, not only provided shelter in an unimaginable storm, but treated every one escaping from the smoke, shooting and fear inside the temple as not only a treasured guest, but as family.

America, founded as a haven for religious freedom, sadly has not always been one. While the Pilgrims may have escaped persecution in England to practice freely on our shores, we can look back to slavery of Africans and the racism which continues to this day against Blacks; bigotry against the tidal wave of Irish in the 1840s and 1850s, during the potato famine, when they were not considered “white,” as they were servants for the upper classes; Catholic Christians from Iraq, known as Chaldeans, who were persecuted in Iraq for not being Muslim, emigrated in large part first to Wayne County, notably Dearborn, and then to Oakland and Macomb County. While there are two million Chaldeans worldwide, about a half million reside in the U.S. They have often been disparaged by multiple communities in Oakland County – by Arabs, who do not consider them Arab; by Jews, who Chaldean leaders readily admit they are trying to culturally emulate; and whites, who view them as another group of outsiders that is growing larger. Jews, while a small percentage of the population, have a history going back thousands of years of hate and persecution, being accused of killing Jesus Christ, of allegedly (and falsely) drinking the blood and flesh of Christ – when Jews are forbidden from eating any blood – to violent pogroms in Eastern Europe and Russia in the 18th and 19th centuries, and the rise of antisemitism in Germany and Hitler's systematic effort to purge Europe of all Jewry in WWII. Let us remember that Jews were the first of white people to join civil rights groups in the 1960s with time, money, effort and, in some cases, their lives. That is another of the many reasons we are so impressed and gratified that the Chaldean community, working as a partner with Temple Israel, not only opened their doors as a sanctuary on March 12, when a disaffected man with weapons and a truck loaded with numerous incendiary devices drove around bollards and into the halls of the main entrance of the temple, attempting to kill and injure small children, staff and clergy. Shenandoah management more than provided refuge – word is they offered chicken nuggets, candy, juice, games and coloring for their young guests. In other words, they were treated as family. May the same be done if the shoe is ever on the other foot.

With history as an all-important guide, we urge our political leaders to stop and take not only a breath in the dueling rhetoric, but to stop and listen to the threatening crisis of male disenfranchisement amongst Gen Z and millennials – most of whom research shows are wallowing in a social media morass. This was at least the third major incident – and one of two the same day – involving an angry male in the last three months. Both parties are dealing with a major rise in antisemitism – on the far right of the Republican Party, and in the progressive side of the Democratic Party, which is disturbing and will only serve to further drive away a majority of the mainstream. An even larger portion of radicalized white males are falling into the cliff of White Nationalism and finding their home in the Republican Party, which appears to be welcoming them. In December, the Manhattan Institute found 31 percent of Republicans under 50 identified their own views as racist, and 25 percent view themselves as antisemitic.

The political parties must address and rectify this emergency situation now, before it is too late for any reconciliation.