Throughout history, we Jews have been silenced. Rarely in our 2,000 years of diaspora have we been able to publicly express our disdain for state policies without facing the wrath of our host countries. But not so in America. Since President Washington wrote to the Jews of Newport, expressing his hope that “…the father of all mercies scatter light and not darkness in our paths,” we have been buoyed by the belief that America might be different—that here, we could be both fully American and fully Jewish. Our First Amendment rights are central to that possibility, and for that reason, we have been steadfast defenders of free speech for all.
It was for that reason that in 2018, the Jewish Federation of Greater Ann Arbor defended Richard Spencer’s right to speak at the University of Michigan, despite finding his speech bigoted, racist, and antisemitic. A society that silences speech is not safe for any of us. Tolerating speech we find reprehensible is not a concession—it is a fundamental principle of American democracy.
On Saturday, March 8th, Mahmoud Khalil, a Palestinian activist and recent Columbia University graduate, was arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The administration explained its actions by stating that Mr. Khalil is “pro-terrorist, anti-semitic, anti-American.” Without due process, government agents claimed his green card had been revoked and sent him to a detention facility in Louisiana.
American Jews are rightfully concerned about the rise in antisemitism in our country and the role that campus protests have played in it. Legitimate claims of such must be addressed. If credible evidence exists that Mr. Khalil is aligned with Hamas or another designated terrorist organization, we would support appropriate lawful consequences. But due process and free speech are cornerstones of our democracy. Merely protesting, leading protests, or speaking out against the policies of the American government should not be grounds for deportation or revocation of legal status in the United States, nor should combatting antisemitism be used to justify actions that deny others their civil rights.
Jews and our communal institutions have always and will continue to fight to protect civil rights and civil liberties because societies with those protections are the only ones in which we, and other minority communities, can be safe.
Recently, Amy Spitalnick, CEO of Jewish Council for Public Affairs stated that “our community should not be used as an excuse to upend democracy & the rule of law,” and we concur. The Jewish community is not made safer by Mr. Khalil’s arrest. On the contrary, it is endangered by it. We know all too well from our own history: in places where speech is suppressed and due process not followed, Jews, too, will inevitably be silenced.
L’Shalom,
Eileen Freed
CEO, Jewish Federation of Greater Ann Arbor
Rav Nadav Caine
Beth Israel Congregation
Rabbi Will Keller
Head of School, Hebrew Day School of Ann Arbor
Rabbi Gabrielle Pescador
Ann Arbor Reconstructionist Congregation
Rabbi Josh Whinston
Temple Beth Emeth