Jews in Michigan mark Hanukkah with resolve amid fears

Every year at her home in Oak Park, Aliza Klein displays a menorah in a window along with some Jewish decorations as part of her family's celebration of the eight days of Hanukkah that began Thursday evening.

This year, with rising concern about antisemitism amid conflict in the Middle East, some in Jewish communities in Michigan and around the world have been more hesitant to publicly identify as Jewish. But for Klein, it's important to proudly and publicly continue the traditions of her faith and family. She plans to again display the Hanukkah candle holder with several branches that symbolize light and a miracle that celebrates an ancient Jewish military victory.

"There are a lot of people who are nervous to display their menorah in a window," Klein, 38, said. "They're nervous to display a Star of David, show any signs of being Jewish. And so for us, we want to make sure that we are not scared, that we continue to teach our children that they can continue tradition without fear, and this is who we are: we are Jewish, and we should love that part about us."

That determination was seen Thursday night as Jews and others gathered at Campus Martius for the 13th annual lighting of a giant menorah standing 26-feet tall that organizers say is the biggest public Hanukkah display in Michigan. Now more than ever, it's important for Jewish people to be able to be open about their identity even though some may feel more anxious about it, said Jewish leaders. Tensions could be heard at the menorah lighting ceremony, where some protesters chanted "cease-fire now" as a rabbi and a daughter of an Israeli hostage held by Hamas spoke. Other speakers included Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel, who noted she was the highest-ranking statewide Jewish official in state history; State Sen. Stephanie Chang, D-Detroit, and U.S. Rep. Haley Stevens, D-Birmingham, who shouted her support for Israel and Jewish people.

For Jews, Hanukkah is not as significant a holiday as others held in the spring and fall seasons, but since it falls near Christmas, it has taken on cultural importance over the centuries that helps to strengthen the faith and identity of the Jewish community.

"Hanukkah is a celebration of religious freedom," said Rabbi Kasriel Shemtov, spiritual director of The Shul - Chabad Lubavitch, an Orthodox Jewish congregation in West Bloomfield, part of the Chabad movement that has lit menorahs in American cities for decades starting in 1974 in Philadelphia. "We're in a country that, thank God, we have religious freedom, where all people from all walks of life can celebrate their faith."

Last year, Klein helped light the first candle of the big menorah in a program called Menorah in the D and this year, two family members of two hostages still held by Hamas helped light the candle. Yair Moses and Ella Ben-Ami, two Israelis who are visiting metro Detroit this week to tell their stories, spoke Wednesday at a news conference at Honigman law firm organized by Chabad and others the day before the menorah lighting. They said that Hamas kidnapped on Oct. 7 both of their parents, later releasing their mothers, but their fathers remain hostages. They plan to speak Friday at Temple Israel in West Bloomfield, the largest Jewish house of worship in Michigan.

Ben-Ami hopes for a Hanukkah miracle to bring back her father, who was last seen in a photo in his underwear held by a Hamas fighter.

"The miracle we need is ... to bring the hostages back," she said. "And we need all the world to help us with this miracle. ... I'm here standing to ask your help. Help me with a miracle. Help me celebrate Hanukkah, with my dad, with my family home."

Moses, wearing a T-shirt that read "Bring Them Home" and a yellow ribbon symbolizing the hostages, said he hasn't cut his hair or shaved since the Oct. 7 attack.

"We must work to bring everybody home," Moses said. "We're still struggling, we're still fighting. And we need the power of people to help us."

The menorah lighting and visit of the family members of hostages are among several ways the Jewish community of metro Detroit, estimated at about 71,000 people, are continuing to mobilize. While the community is smaller compared to other large metro areas, its known nationally for being influential and its strong attachment to Israel, according to experts and a survey. The Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Detroit said its emergency campaign for Israel has raised $28.4 million to help Israelis as of Thursday. Last week, on Nov. 30, Jews and Hindus gathered at the BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir in Sterling Heights for a joint Hanukkah-Diwali celebration in memory of Samantha Woll, the president of the Isaac Agree Downtown Synagogue in Detroit who was killed in October. The parents of Woll and other family members attended the interfaith event along with supporters and community advocates, organizers said. No one has been charged in her slaying. Police have said there's no evidence of antisemitism in the case.

Meanwhile, tensions continue to flare up at local college campuses and other areas. University of Michigan President Santa Ono announced in a letter Tuesday that the university is canceling the vote of two student resolutions tied to the Israel-Palestinian conflict, one of which was sharply critical of Israel.

"The issues raised by the ongoing violence in the Middle East are ripping our community apart, pitting one group against another and engendering very real fears about safety and security on our campus," Ono wrote.

Pro-Palestinian protests in metro Detroit continue to take place in numbers not seen in at least a quarter of a century. Just over the past week, there were rallies in Dearborn, which featured talks by activist Shaun King and Dearborn Mayor Abdullah Hammoud, and a march in Detroit and Hamtramck, with another protest set for 2 p.m. Saturday in downtown Royal Oak on 4th and Main streets, organizers said. Last week, the UAW's International Union called for a ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war, becoming the largest labor union to do so. UAW President Shawn Fain linked the move to past UAW struggles against apartheid in South Africa and fascism during WWII, posting on X: "I am proud that the UAW International Union is calling for a ceasefire in Israel and Palestine. From opposing fascism in WWII to mobilizing against apartheid South Africa and the CONTRA war, the @UAW has consistently stood for justice across the globe."

Local Muslims, Arab Americans and other minority groups have also expressed anxiety in recent weeks about expressing their ethnicity or faith in public, given some hate crimes targeting Palestinian Americans, such as the October killing of a boy in Illinois and the November shooting of three students of Palestinian descent in Vermont. On Thursday, a group of Muslim leaders gathered at the Islamic House of Wisdom in Dearborn Heights to call for a cease-fire as the death toll rises in Gaza. Ypsilanti City Council passed a resolution this week calling for a cease-fire. At a meeting of the Wayne County Commission, a proposed resolution calling for a ceasefire was kept from the agenda on Thursday.

In Madison Heights, Mayor Roslyn Grafstein, who is Jewish, said she was pleased to see a "Happy Hanukkah" sign in a coffee shop in her city, which doesn't have a large Jewish population. In October, the council passed a resolution she introduced that condemned Hamas. There have been some efforts nationally to encourage non-Jews to put up Jewish symbols to show solidarity.

"Just little things like that, so that people of the Jewish faith don't feel so alone, because right now there's a lot of fear and a lot of loneliness," Grafstein said.

At the Chabad event at Campus Martius, Jewish Voices for Peace - Detroit, a leftwing group that often criticizes Israel, held a separate Hanukkah event, with a different message, calling for a cease-fire. Chants of "cease-fire now" could be heard during the Chabad event, which Jewish Voices for Peace alleged has "militaristic messaging."

Like others in Michigan, Klein has loved ones who live in Israel.

"I have 10 nieces and nephews that are currently in Israel," Klein said. "We check in on them all the time, just to make sure that they're okay. We do have concerns for safety, but what we know is that faith for us is strong. And we know that as Jewish people we have continued to get through so much, and we will continue to get through this and to live on."

Contact Niraj Warikoo: nwarikoo@freepress.com, X @nwarikoo, Facebook.com/nwarikoo

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Jews in Detroit mark Hanukkah with resolve amid fears of antisemitism