Samantha Woll's legacy continues in Michigan interfaith work amid tensions

Rolling through the South in a bus visiting historic civil rights sites in May, the Rev. Kenneth Flowers and Samantha Woll spent some time getting to know each other.

The two Detroit faith leaders were touring Alabama and Georgia with the Coalition for Black and Jewish Unity, a metro Detroit organization formed a few years ago to foster relations between the two groups. Woll, president of the Isaac Agree Downtown Synagogue in Detroit, was eager to learn more about Flowers, pastor at Greater New Mount Moriah Baptist Church in Detroit, and how the Civil Rights Movement inspired his work, Flowers recalled, adding that he remembers Woll being a careful listener and someone interested in the history of Black struggles.

"She said, 'I'm trying to learn more about the Black community and other communities,' saying that we have to work together," said Flowers, who was attending another Black and Jewish event in Detroit on Oct. 21 when he heard Woll had been fatally stabbed outside her Detroit home. She was 40.

"We were just devastated," Flowers, whose work has been influenced by Coretta Scott King, said of Woll. "She left a legacy of bringing people together, whether it was Blacks and Jews, Muslims and Jews. ... She was just a loving person, a kind person, someone who I could see as a major leader of Black Jewish relations going forward. It's just a tragedy, but I believe her light will shine again because when we come together, Blacks and Jews and Muslims and Jews, it will cause her light to illuminate."

Flowers' memories of Woll are echoed by several interfaith and community leaders who spoke to the Free Press last week about her legacy and what it means as tensions rise amid the Israel-Hamas war that has entered its fourth week.

In Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Hindu communities, they recall Woll as someone who seemed genuinely curious about different cultures and faiths, looking for ways to promote dialogue even when it was painful and awkward. Her death sparked fears of antisemitism, but police and Jewish leaders in Michigan have said they have no evidence her killing was motivated by anti-Jewish bias.

A soul in search of common ground

In metro Detroit, there are, at times, clashing views on the war and different groups have mobilized to promote their viewpoints. On Friday, the Jewish Community Relations Council/American Jewish Committee released a list of faith leaders in Michigan, including Flowers, who expressed support for Israel and criticized Hamas for its Oct. 7 attack. Over the weekend, Arab American and Muslim groups continued to hold protests against Israel's actions in Gaza that have led to thousands dead. Woll, who was liberal and supportive of Israel, dealt with those tensions in her work with diverse communities, but urged more dialogue as a way to maintain connections. When Black Lives Matter activists, who have often opposed Israel, became more active in Detroit, Woll, whose home has a Black Lives Matter sign on the front window, suggested that even more conversations were crucial, her brother-in-law recalled at her funeral. Being progressive while also being pro-Israel has had increasing challenges, but it can work, say some Jewish activists.

"They're not contradictory," said Rabbi Asher Lopatin, executive director of the Jewish Community Relations Council of the metro Detroit American Jewish Committee. "You can care about (fighting) racism, and you can love Israel, and you can be a Zionist and be a progressive."

Woll also was involved with Muslim outreach, helping form a group to foster Muslim-Jewish relations.

"Her death cannot go in vain," said Fatima Salman, a community organizer in Bloomfield Hills who is active in the Muslim community who sometimes worked with Woll. "You want her life works, her legacy to go on. You want her goodness and her purity to keep on moving in our community. ... Bringing people and different ideas and different viewpoints together. ... I hope and pray that the work of her continues."

Woll's Facebook page shows a person who was sympathetic to immigrants and minority groups. "Refugees Welcome," a sign reads in the header photo of her page.

A builder of bridges who left lasting mark

Over the years, she would mention Martin Luther King Jr., the Occupy Wall Street movement, and other liberal movements. At the same time, she felt a connection to Israel and once worked there at a center that helped assault victims, speakers at her funeral said. She attended the pro-Israel rally held in Southfield two days after Hamas' attack that Gov. Gretchen Whitmer spoke at, Lopatin said. On Thursday, two pro-Israel signs were seen below the Black Lives Matter poster on the front of her home: a decal that read "Detroit Stands with Israel," and a small photo of an Israeli flag. It's unclear when the pro-Israel images or the Black Lives Matter poster were placed.

Woll's legacy will play out in coming weeks as metro Detroiters host a series of interfaith events, including one Sunday night at a Northminster Presbyterian church in Troy, that seek to promote peace and understanding. On Monday, the Rev. Charles Williams — the pastor at Historic King Solomon Baptist Church of Detroit who leads the local chapter of the National Action Network, led by the Rev. Al Sharpton — will host a forum with Jewish and Muslim leaders. And next month, in memory of Woll, the BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir in Sterling Heights will host the annual Hanukkah Diwali celebration that brings Hindus and Jews together to celebrate the two holidays.

"We will remember and honor the life and legacy of Samantha Woll," reads the flyer for the Hanukkah Diwali event that Woll took part in over the years.

Padma Kuppa, a Democratic former state representative whose district included Troy and Clawson, recalled meeting Woll for the first time at the first Hanukkah Diwali event in 2015. Over the years, they became friends. Woll managed Kuppa's run for House representative in 2018, when she became the first Indian American woman and first Hindu elected to serve in the Michigan Legislature.

"Warm and friendly and very intelligent," is how Kuppa remembers Woll. "She understands pluralism, like, you can be right, I can be right, we can have two different realities."

Kuppa said Woll had a "desire to repair the world," known in Judaism as "Tikkun Olam" while she has a "desire to purse dharma," a Hindu concept of good actions.

"We fed off of each other," Kuppa said.

Woll also later worked on a campaign for Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel and for U.S. Rep. Elissa Slotkin, D-Lansing.

"I'm struck by the spiritual strength Samantha had," said Steve Spreitzer, executive director for the Michigan Roundtable for Diversity and Inclusion. "It was that fusion of your faith, your practice ... that allows you to transcend a normal noise to deeply connect with somebody."

A family rooted in Jewish community

Woll was born into a family active in their synagogue, Congregation Beth Ahm in West Bloomfield, established in 1892 and formerly in Detroit.

Her mother, Dr. Margo Woll, a dentist, and father, Dr. Doug Woll, who practices internal medicine, created in 2010 the Bible Garden at their synagogue, where Margo was once president, the Detroit Jewish News reported that year. It was named after their parents, Louis and Fay Woll. In the Jewish News story, Samantha is photographed along with her sister and parents.

More: Calls for peace and mourning in metro Detroit as Israel-Hamas war rages on

After Woll's death, some pro-Israel or conservative accounts speculated on X it was motivated by antisemitism or anti-Israel views. In a post on X, Aviva Klompas, a former speechwriter for Israel's Mission to the United Nations with about 127,000 followers, tried to link the killing to U.S. Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Detroit, who often criticizes Israel. Tlaib does not represent the area where Woll lived or her synagogue. Klompas' post, which drew 1.7 million views, was criticized by both Arab American and Jewish advocates, including those who are pro-Israel.

"Shame on you," state Rep. Noah Arbit, D-West Bloomfield, founder of the Michigan Democratic Jewish Caucus and supporter of Israel, wrote in response, linking to his earlier tweet that read: "What we’re not going to do is use our cherished friend’s murder as a political weapon, or prematurely ascribe motive. Until we know more, it’s an insult to Sam Woll’s memory to make her death about anything other than the beautiful person she was & all she meant to Jewish Detroit."

Tlaib knew Woll and praised her work in a Facebook post after she died, saying: "She always had a sweet smile to offer and the warmest eyes to greet you. Our community is devastated and we are shocked."

After Woll died, Rabbi Ariana Silverman of the Downtown Synagogue, said she received emails from Muslim partners and friends Woll was working with.

They said to "continue this relationship, which I think is a really beautiful legacy," Silverman said. "In the Jewish tradition, there's a notion of someone's memory being a blessing. That is so true in the case of Sam. Her memory is literally already forming new relationships and connections in places that we need relationships and connections. So her work did not die with her. Her memory is a blessing for all of us, and I believe will continue to make the world a better place."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Samantha Woll left legacy of interfaith work in Michigan