It is time to acknowledge and confront antisemitic hatred and acts of violence against Jews in Michigan, including hatred and violence coming from some Muslims and Palestinians. Muslim and Palestinian religious and political leaders, along with everyone who cares about creating a safer and better world, should speak out clearly against it.
Of course, we should condemn all hatred, regardless of who expresses it or who is targeted. Antisemitism is no more acceptable when it comes from Muslims or Palestinians than anti-Muslim or anti-Palestinian hatred is when it comes from Jews or anyone else.
Yet there has been too little attention to antisemitism within parts of the Muslim and Palestinian communities, even as Michigan has recently experienced a disturbing series of attacks, threats, vandalism and harassment directed at Jews and Jewish institutions.
Temple Israel vehicle attack (West Bloomfield, March 2026): An armed individual rammed a truck into Temple Israel and set parts of the building on fire while children were inside, leading to an exchange of gunfire and the attacker’s death. The FBI classified the incident as a targeted act of violence against the Jewish community. A potentially catastrophic loss of life was avoided, perhaps primarily because the attacker’s truck became stuck in the school hallway. Currently, Temple Israel, similar to most other synagogues, has multiple layers of paid security. Many regularly hold active shooter drills. That alone says that Jews do not feel safe.
Federal indictments of anti-Israel conspirators (June 2026): The U.S. Department of Justice indicted eight individuals on federal charges arising from an alleged coordinated campaign of intimidation. The alleged actions included spray painting threatening messages on the Jewish Federation building on the anniversary of October 7, placing fake bloody corpses outside the private homes of University of Michigan officials and targeting other local institutions. These defendants are entitled to the presumption of innocence, but if the allegations are proven, this conduct should not be dismissed as protected political protest. Consider the same conduct directed at Muslims or Palestinians. Would we hesitate to condemn it?
MSU Chabad Center vandalism (East Lansing, late 2025): The Chabad Center at Michigan State University was targeted with broken windows and spray painted Nazi imagery.
Suburban Detroit pamphlet distribution (July 2026): Police in Huntington Woods and Oak Park investigated repeated distributions of antisemitic and dehumanizing literature containing Nazi imagery in residential neighborhoods.
Southfield and Berkley flyer dropss (July 2026): Packets containing offensive and racist flyers were distributed on residential lawns in metro Detroit communities.
Sterling Heights vandalism (April 2026): Two out of state individuals were arrested and charged after allegedly spray painting antisemitic slogans and hate graffiti on residential fences and walls.
Birmingham elementary school incident (2026): During a school event, stickers containing antisemitic language and images of assault rifles were reported.
University campuses (2023–2025): Michigan universities have experienced repeated confrontations, protests and allegations of targeted harassment of Jewish students. Political advocacy for Palestinians and criticism of the Israeli government are legitimate forms of expression. Threats, intimidation and harassment of Jewish students are not.
Every political and religious leader should condemn hatred, regardless of its source or its target. But leadership also means confronting hatred within one’s own community, where speaking out may be more difficult and more meaningful.
That is why Michigan’s Muslim and Palestinian political, religious and community leaders have a particular responsibility to condemn antisemitism when it comes from Muslims or Palestinians, just as Jewish leaders have a responsibility to condemn anti-Muslim and anti-Palestinian hatred when it comes from Jews.
The actions of extremists should never be attributed to an entire community. But neither should fear of offending a community prevent us from confronting hatred within it. Silence, excuses and selective condemnation allow hatred to grow.
If we truly believe that hate is wrong, the standard must be simple: condemn it when it comes from our opponents, and condemn it just as strongly when it comes from our own side.
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