Jordan Acker and Amy Spitalnick Lead Discussion on Hate, Inclusion and Civic Engagement at Adat Shalom

Adat Shalom hosted a community conversation on the crisis of antisemitism and its role in the state of American democracy. 

On the evening of March 12, University of Michigan Regent Jordan Acker and Amy Spitalnick, CEO of the Jewish Council for Public Affairs, came together for a community conversation on the crisis of antisemitism — from campus to politics to violent extremism — and the urgency of building strong coalitions to protect our communities and democracy in this moment.

The program, “Antisemitism, Democracy and Building an Inclusive America,” was hosted at Adat Shalom Synagogue in Farmington Hills and was moderated by Rabbi Blair Nosanwisch.

A major theme shared throughout the discussion was that antisemitism not only threatens the Jewish community — but it also jeopardizes the rights and safety of countless other communities as well as fundamental democratic norms and values — and when democracy is undermined, antisemitism and broader hate and extremism flourish.

Spitalnick and Acker shared an understanding of what antisemitism looked like on one end of the spectrum prior to Oct. 7, 2023 — an antisemitism based on dangerous conspiracy theories that has fueled attacks on the Jewish community. Spitalnick noted that extremism, hatred and those conspiracy theories have “moved from the fringes into the mainstream of our political discourse.”

The U.S. was already seeing heightened levels of antisemitism in that sense. And then came the Hamas terrorist attacks in Israel and the Israel-Hamas war.

A Different Landscape

For many Jews, including a Democrat like Acker or Spitalnick, who has always considered herself a “progressive Zionist,” the past year and a half has seen the landscape drastically change. Those who thought of themselves as coming from liberal worldviews and perspectives have felt thrust out from progressive spaces and conversations in which they were previously welcome.

“Of course, the actual horrific violence and images we saw were already jarring for our community, and we’re still very much in that trauma because hostages remain and lives are still being lost on both sides of this conflict,” Spitalnick said. “But what we saw unleashed here at home afterwards was unlike anything any of us could have imagined. The band-aid was ripped off in a whole other way. It was jarring.”

Already knowing what antisemitism can look like on one side, Spitalnick expressed what’s been harder in terms of progressive and liberal spaces since Oct. 7 is to identify where criticism and conversation about Israel has crossed the line into antisemitism.

“The last year and a half has made crystal clear that the conversation on Israel in far too many cases has crossed the line from legitimate policy debate, legitimate protests, to real, direct acts of bigotry and even extremism and violence,” Spitalnick said. “That’s something Jordan and many others know all too well.”

Indeed, Acker does. In June 2024, vandals defaced Acker’s Southfield law office with anti-Israel graffiti, and months later, targeted Acker at his Oakland County home, spraying similar graffiti on the property and breaking the front window of his home while Acker and his family were sleeping inside.

Acker said Oct. 7 was the single most disorienting event of his life and criticized campus climate around the country since that day.

“Our leaders on our campuses utterly failed our college students,” he said, specifically citing a failure to enforce rules and have adequate consequences.

“What we’ve seen over and over again is faculty has led students to believe if you’re on the ‘right’ side of an issue, there should be no consequences. That is a dangerous ideology and one that leads people to believe showing up at my house at 4 a.m. has no consequence,” he added.

Spitalnick and Acker also discussed the widespread efforts to ban and boycott Zionists in various spaces since Oct. 7.

The Definition of Zionism

So many people, Spitalnick said, are not even speaking the same language regarding some core terms being screamed about on campuses and beyond. What the term Zionism means to Spitalnick is clearly different from how many others view it, and a term being used like “intifada” surely means something very different to Jews. Helping each side of the conflict understand how the other side hears these terms has been needed in this time, Spitalnick stated.

“For me, Zionism is simply the belief there should be a Jewish homeland somewhere in this land where we have deep historical connections, and it actually goes hand-in-hand with my belief in Palestinian self-determination, human rights and dignity,” she said. “One can’t exist without the other in my Zionism.

“And for the vast majority of American Jews who have a relationship with Israel, 80%-90% of us, that doesn’t mean we agree with every action of the Israeli government. It doesn’t mean we don’t believe in Palestinian human rights and dignity, but we do have this relationship with Israel,” Spitalnick added. “So, when we’re hearing efforts to ban and boycott Zionists, that’s effectively telling us that 80%-90% of Jews who have this relationship with Israel, as complex and messy and different as it might be from Jew to Jew, are not welcome.

“Not only is that problematic in and of itself because of how it targets and discriminates against Jews, but it also fundamentally divides Jews from the very spaces, coalitions and places we need to be in at a moment when democracy is under threat,” she continued. “Jews are among the first being targeted, and you need broad, inclusive coalitions to effectively fight the extremism we’re facing right now. How we help people understand this undercuts the very work we need to do together to protect democracy in this moment.”

A Democratic Nation

That big idea — democracy — was tied into every portion of the discussion, including how the issue of antisemitism is potentially being used as a tool to undermine it.

Acker said what’s been jarring in recent months is seeing members of the Jewish community react positively to the Trump administration’s “attacks” on American universities in the name of protecting Jewish students.

Acker expressed that even though Jews are “rightly angry” with how university administrators have handled their grief and very real problems, “celebrating” in this moment is something they have to step back from.

Acker continued by saying “an America that deports people without due process, strips universities of fundamental freedoms and attacks democratic institutions” is not one in which Jews mesh well. “We do not do well in societies where there is no rule of law … that’s starting the clock because the mob always turns on its Jews. This is why wherever you are on the political spectrum, we have to stand up for these institutions, because these institutions have allowed us to have prosperity and safety in this country.”

Spitalnick shared that a lot of her work, personally and in her current role at JCPA, has been rooted in the understanding that Jewish safety and democracy are intrinsically linked.

“At this moment, we’re seeing how very real concerns around antisemitism are being weaponized as the tip of the spear to advance broader anti-democratic attacks on civil liberties and rule of law,” she said. “We can be clear-eyed that there is both very real antisemitism that exists on campus and that everyone in this country is entitled to due process and civil liberties, and using our community as an excuse or exploiting our very real fears and concerns around antisemitism to undermine democratic norms and the rule of law will ultimately make us less safe.”

Spitalnick explained we’re in a “feedback loop” right now where antisemitism is “fueling and animating the undermining of our democracy” in a variety of different ways.

“And as democracy erodes, it’s only making things less safe for Jews. We need to break that cycle, and the way we can do that is understanding Jewish safety and democracy aren’t actually two conflicting ideas; they’re one and the same, despite extreme voices on both sides of the political spectrum trying to pit them against each other.”

Both Spitalnick and Acker agreed the idea of democracy being a partisan issue is a dangerous one.

“The health of democracy requires two pro-democracy parties. There is no world where American democracy can depend only on the success of Democrats winning office,” Acker said. “We as Americans need to come together and realize the only way we get through this period in our history, whether you’re conservative or liberal, is to respect the institutions that made this country great.”

Allyship Is Important

Moving forward, Spitalnick raised the question of how Jews can do some level-setting on allyship and helping others understand what it means to show up for Jews in this moment.

“For me, I’m not asking you to put up an Israeli flag or support the Israeli government or the IDF. If you disagree with their actions, by all means, you should,” Spitalnick said. “I’m asking you to see the pain and grief the Jewish community is in right now — the same way we as Jews need to fundamentally see the pain and trauma of Palestinians, Arab Americans and Muslims-Americans.”

What’s most important when engaging on the conflict, Spitalnick says, is to not lose sight of the humanity of people on both sides.

“That’s what allyship means to me, it’s not agreeing with me on what needs to happen in terms of the conflict; it’s not supporting the Israeli government or all its actions. It’s fundamentally approaching this from a place of humanity and dignity for all people.”

“And we’re not doing that; we’re failing; we see each other as caricatures,” Acker added. “Seeing each other as people, that’s ultimately what we need.”

That also extends to the need for productive dialogue with those you may disagree with. Acker shared he recently had coffee with Rep. Rashida Tlaib.

“It’s not because we agree on everything — in fact, we agree on almost nothing — but we made an agreement that we would see each other as people,” he said.

Even after major disagreements, or if Tlaib says or does something Acker is completely against, that’s what they stick to. Acker says Tlaib texts him, asking how his daughters are doing.

“Any conversation we have moving forward has to start with that small thing. ‘How are your kids?’ Start there and see people as people,” he said.

Spitalnick shared that last year, she was invited to a webinar on antisemitism with Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, someone who also elicits strong feelings in the Jewish community.

“I said yes because she was inviting me to talk about antisemitism to her audience, people who have never heard from someone like me who identifies as a progressive Zionist. We had a very frank conversation, not only about the antisemitism I think she was comfortable talking about on the right, but the way antisemitism manifests in the Israel conversation,” Spitalnick recalled.

“She said a number of important things in that conversation, including that antisemitism is real, it exists in progressive spaces, and it’s a threat to progressive values and the fight for peace.

“We still have fundamental disagreements on the issues related to Israel and Gaza, but having conversations with people who are willing to have them is something within our control. We have to take those opportunities to have conversations rooted in humanity and try to find the path forward.”

Acker stated that after a rough 2023-24 school year, Jewish life on campus has rebounded with a lot of the Jewish communal spaces in Ann Arbor taking on new meaning for students. Moving forward, Acker says, the Jewish people need to know they’re not alone.

“It may be harder to reach out. It may be more difficult to have conversations. But the reality is Jews are not alone,” he said. “It’s important we speak up for ourselves and continue to engage in spaces across the political spectrum. We have great allies, we just have to know how to reach them.”

Above all, Spitalnick stressed that the Jewish community cannot walk away from democracy in service of combating antisemitism, no matter the pressures to do so.

“We have to do what’s within our power to keep fighting for our safety and do so in a way that doesn’t abandon the values inherent to our protection in this country for generations,” Spitalnick said.

“It’s going to be increasingly hard because that’s quite literally the goal of extremists, to make us want to walk away from democracy, to use us as a political football, to pit us and other communities against one another.

“All we can do is be very clear-eyed about that being their intent and resist it at every possible turn. The way we do that is to keep showing up in spaces like this, keep engaging strongly and proudly in Jewish life, and don’t walk away from democratic and coalitional spaces and institutions that are so important to our safety and to so many others.”