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This Happened Here
A personal reflection on the terrorist attack at Temple Israel and its wider impact.
I grew up in what felt like the safest, most generous kind of community. It was full of connection, opportunity, and a quiet, shared understanding of belonging. While less than one percent of the global population, my high school was roughly thirty percent Jewish. I knew, intellectually, that antisemitism existed. Statistically, it had to; Jews are targeted in over 70% of all religiously motivated hate crimes (as of 2024). I did not feel it, though, in my day-to-day life. I didn’t see it up close.
Even with conflicts in the middle east over the years, Metro Detroit is special. It’s home to the largest Jewish and Arab populations living side by side outside the Middle East. Many of those Arab families are Christian, part of the Chaldean community. For decades, we’ve lived alongside one another, building businesses, raising families, and forming a shared civic life. That coexistence was not theoretical. It was lived.
Fast forward to last week, that sense of safety shattered.
I was in New York, where I have lived for twenty years, walking home from a client, when I called my mom, as I often do, to check in and pass the time. She was at a hair appointment. I told her I was tired and might take a nap. It was an ordinary conversation. We hung up without a…
