26/03/2025
April issue of Washtenaw Jewish News
From the Editor:
Surprised?
The Jewish historian Joshua Shanes (author of Diaspora Nationalism and Jewish Identity in Habsburg Galicia), recently listed on Facebook a list of ten things that have surprised him about the fascist revolution we are now living through. In summary, he wrote he was surprised by the speed of the destruction of our government and the pace of the arrest and persecution of MAGA’s opponents; the openness of the MAGA leaders about what they intend regarding their racist purposes, their threats of military action, and their own corruption; and finally, the capitulation of the entire Republican Party as well as the established Democratic Party.
I couldn’t deny most of what Shanes pointedly wrote. Yet, he included being surprised at “[T]he extent to which most Americans seem unaware (because of rightwing echo chamber) or disinterested or too busy with their daily lives to know about any of this.” I’m not sure I agree with this last point. Despite weak coverage in the mainstream press, there is an outpouring of opposition from everyday Americans and a tremendous amount of organizing energy going into slowing down, stopping, and reversing the fascist policies.
Each of us has our own lane of activity, our own sphere of influence, in which to resist the authoritarian tide. For instance, the CEO of the Jewish Federation of Greater Ann Arbor, along with four local rabbis issued a strong statement of opposition to the arrest and detention of Palestinian green card holder Mahmoud Khalil (see their statement on page 4). The signatories express the need to protect free speech and due process and clearly declare that our community is not made safer by the unlawful arrest of Mr. Khalil and others.
I appreciate their statement and leadership and hope by publishing it here in the Washtenaw Jewish News, its important message will be amplified.
Jewish students at the University of Michigan also created a signatory letter addressed to President Ono that begins:
“We are a group of Jewish students at the University of Michigan. We hold a range of political views and relationships to Israel and Palestine. We take antisemitism seriously, and for this reason, we are appalled by its dangerous weaponization to target Palestinian, Muslim, Arab, and immigrant students, threaten student activists, and gut institutions of higher education. We are united in denouncing the weaponization of antisemitism accusations to target our classmates, friends, teachers, and neighbors. When antisemitism is misrepresented as speech the government dislikes, it loses its meaning and causes real instances of antisemitism to be taken less seriously– further endangering Jewish students. The Trump administration is cynically making Jews the face of authoritarian repression and diluting antisemitism’s meaning through politically motivated accusations. These actions make Jews less safe. They chill free expression and make our university a less vibrant place in which to live and learn. Above all, they destabilize the lives of those who fear they will be the next victims of the Trump administration’s unlawful attacks on non-citizens, dissent, and civil liberties.”
The WJN is also stepping up the actions it can take to meet this moment. The WashtenawJewishNews.org website now includes a Calender of Events, a rolling, curated listing of performances, movies, lectures, meetings, protests, and other events that enhance the rich diversity of the local Jewish community and also includes opportunities to learn with and express solidarity with the Black, Palestinian, q***r, immigrant and other vulnerable and progressive communities. You can access this calendar at https://washtenawjewishnews.org/calendar/ or use this QR Code.
https://washtenawjewishnews.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/April.pdf
