Jewish Frontline

Not as a metaphor.

Not as a political weapon.
And not as a way to flatten history into slogans.

The Holocaust must be remembered for what it was — as it was.

In recent years, memory has been distorted. Words lose their meaning. “Nazi” becomes a label for anyone we oppose. Hitler becomes shorthand instead of history. Denial, exaggeration, and casual comparisons coexist until the Holocaust is both invoked constantly and understood less and less.

People ask, “How could this have happened?”
They say, “I would never.”
“I’d be the one who resisted.”

But history suggests something more uncomfortable: most people don’t fail because they are evil. They fail because they give up agency — to fear, to comfort, to institutions, to the belief that someone else will act first.

Holocaust Remembrance Day isn’t only about mourning. It’s about confronting what happens when Jews — and societies — stop seeing themselves as active participants in history and start seeing themselves as passengers.

There’s a moment in today’s Torah portion that captures this. The Jews have just left Egypt. In front of them is the sea. Behind them is the Egyptian army. The people argue about what to do — surrender, pray, fight, or give up entirely. None of those answers move them forward.

God’s response to Moshe is simple: go forward. Only once they step into the water does the sea split.

The Jewish story did not end in Europe. It did not end in 1945. And it is not finished now.

Holocaust remembrance is not meant to paralyze us with fear or turn us into caretakers of tragedy. It is meant to remind us that Jewish survival has always depended on agency — on refusing to disappear, refuse responsibility, or outsource our future.

The Jewish story is still being written.

So don’t wait for authority.
Don’t look for permission.
Don’t wait for perfect language, perfect timing, or perfect plans.

If you see something in your community that needs to be addressed, roll up your sleeves and get to it.

It doesn’t have to be perfect.
It doesn’t even have to be right.
But it does have to start.

That is what taking agency looks like.
That is how a people survives.
That is how the Jewish story continues.

This week we walked in solidarity with the Jewish community of Australia, holding the faces of those whose lives were stolen simply for being Jewish.

Antisemitism does not stay contained to one country, one city, or one moment in time.

When Jews are attacked anywhere, Jews respond everywhere — not with fear, but with presence.

We walk to remember.
We walk to be seen.
We walk because silence has never protected us.

Join us for the next Walk the Frontline:
🗓 Sunday, December 28
🕘 9:00 AM
📍 Scotia Park, Huntington Woods

All are welcome. Come walk with us.

AM YISRAEL CHAI!! 🇺🇸 🇮🇱

December 2025

Jewish Frontline is responding to a recent post by The People’s Coalition that claims solidarity with the Jewish community while simultaneously promoting imagery and rhetoric tied to movements that have called to “globalize the intifada” and deny Jewish peoplehood and self-determination.

This is not solidarity. It is a contradiction.

The use of “We Resist” language and watermelon imagery—widely recognized symbols of contemporary Antizionist activism—alongside messages of support for Jews is inherently inconsistent. These symbols are not neutral or abstract. They are part of an active political movement that, over the past two years, has framed Jewish self-determination as illegitimate and has contributed to a climate of hostility toward Jews in public, academic, and civic spaces.

Antizionism is not merely a critique of Israeli policy. It is a global political movement in its own right—one that uniquely denies the Jewish people the right afforded to all others: the right to self-determination. In practice, Antizionism consistently manifests as antisemitism, collapsing Jewish identity, history, and collective rights into something to be resisted, erased, or dismantled.

Invoking Jewish suffering or Jewish symbols while advancing movements that deny Jewish legitimacy or normalize violent “resistance” undermines any claim of genuine allyship. It is performative solidarity paired with ideological hostility.

If solidarity with Jews is sincere, it requires moral clarity and consistency. That means rejecting calls to globalize the intifada, rejecting movements that deny Jewish self-determination, and refusing to normalize rhetoric that has contributed to a climate in which Jews are increasingly targeted and made to feel unsafe.

Jewish Frontline will continue to stand visibly, unapologetically, and firmly for Jewish dignity, safety, and continuity. We will name antisemitism when we see it, even when doing so is uncomfortable or politically inconvenient.

Am Yisrael Chai.

Every week, we show up.
Not in anger, not in fear — but in presence, in pride, and in unity.

When we walk together through our neighborhoods, we send a message that cannot be ignored:
Jewish visibility is not optional. Jewish belonging is not negotiable. Jewish community is here to stay.

A huge thank-you, as always, to the Huntington Woods Police Department for keeping an eye on our route and ensuring our community can walk safely and confidently. Your support is noticed and deeply appreciated.

To everyone who comes out — in the cold, the rain, the snow — thank you for being the strength of this movement.
If you haven’t joined a walk yet, this is your invitation. Come take part, meet your neighbors, and help build a Jewish Michigan that stands tall.

AM YISRAEL CHAI!! 🇺🇸 🇮🇱

NEXT WALK:
📅 Sunday, December 14th
⏰ 9:00 AM
📍 Scotia Park (Huntington Woods)

See you there.

Jewish Frontline is proud to welcome the Shomrim Marksmanship Association (SMA) as the newest member of our growing coalition of grassroots organizations strengthening Jewish Michigan.

SMA is a Jewish-led training and community empowerment organization focused on building confidence, competence, and personal readiness among Jews across Michigan.
Their mission centers on teaching practical safety skills, promoting responsible marksmanship, and fostering a culture of self-reliance and preparedness rooted in Jewish pride — not fear.

In a moment where Jewish communities are reclaiming their voice and agency, SMA stands out as a bold, unapologetic force dedicated to equipping everyday Jews with the knowledge, mindset, and tools to protect themselves and their communities.

Together, we stand behind a clear message:

Proud. Prepared. Unapologetically Jewish.

This partnership will include:
🔹 Collaborative community programming
🔹 Cross-promotion of events and educational initiatives
🔹 Shared outreach across Jewish communities throughout Michigan
🔹 A united commitment to building strong, resilient Jewish neighborhoods

As our coalition grows, so does our collective ability to uplift, empower, and protect Jewish life across the state. Jewish strength is built from the ground up — by real people, real action, and real partnership.

We are proud to stand alongside SMA in this work.

Welcome to the coalition, SMA.
AM YISRAEL CHAI!!

Jewish Frontline is aware that Go Grow Playrooms LLC, a business that markets itself as “100% ethically responsible” and centered on children’s well-being, has chosen to host and support a fundraiser for the TAHRIR Coalition — a group whose messaging includes the phrase “Globalize the Intifada.”

This phrase is historically associated with violent uprisings in which Jewish civilians, including children, were targeted and killed.
Many Jewish families interpret this slogan not as “peaceful activism,” but as a glorification of violence.

While Go Grow, as a private business, may support any political cause it chooses, families also have the right to evaluate whether this aligns with the business’s claim of being “100% ethical,” particularly when serving young children.

For many parents in our community, this association raises serious concerns about whether Go Grow’s public ethical commitments are consistent with the political causes it chooses to platform. Parents have expressed discomfort bringing their children into an environment connected to messaging they find deeply threatening.

Jewish Frontline encourages families to make informed decisions and exercise caution when choosing whether to patronize Go Grow Playrooms at this time.

We remain open to dialogue with Go Grow Playrooms should they wish to clarify their decision or address the concerns being raised.

Jewish Frontline
Michigan

Another powerful Walk the Frontline in the books — proud Jews, flags in hand, standing tall together in our own neighborhood.

Every step is a statement: We are here. We are visible. We are unafraid.
Thank you to everyone who came out with strength, pride, and unity.

📅 NEXT WALK:
Sunday, November 23rd — 9:00 AM — Scotia Park
Bring your flags, bring your energy, bring your friends.
Let’s keep building a Jewish presence that can’t be ignored.

Am Yisrael Chai — today and every day. 💙✡️🔥

Shlomi Bennett

For much of the last century, Jews were among the strongest believers in universal ideals. Out of the ashes of persecution, we joined the project of building a better world — one where citizenship, equality, and shared values could finally replace bloodlines and borders. That dream felt not only righteous but safe. If humanity could move beyond tribes, then perhaps Jews, too, could stop being perpetual outsiders.

For decades, that vision seemed to hold. In America especially, Jewish life flourished under the promise of inclusion. We became advocates, organizers, and educators in the great democratic experiment, shaping movements for justice that transcended religion or ethnicity. We believed — often with good reason — that the more the world embraced universality, the safer Jews would be within it.

But history has a way of circling back. The 21st century is not shaping up to be an age of universalism. Across the globe, nations and movements are turning inward — protecting language, culture, and heritage as sources of strength. On the political right, nationalism and civilizational pride have re-emerged; on the left, identity has become the lens through which justice and belonging are understood. Different vocabularies, same instinct — a return to tribalism. From populist parties to online movements, people everywhere are defining themselves not by shared ideals but by shared identities. The global conversation is shifting from what we share to who we are.

As this turn toward particularism accelerates, the Jewish community — so deeply invested in the universalist project — risks being caught unprepared.

This isn’t to say that universalism was wrong. The pursuit of equality and justice is one of humanity’s greatest achievements, and Jews helped write much of that story. Those values remain central to who we are and to the moral imagination that has guided Jewish life for generations. But we built our modern identity almost entirely around them. For many, Jewishness became synonymous with moral activism and social conscience — all noble qualities, yet ones that sometimes replaced deeper engagement with our own story. We became universalists first, Jews second.

Universalism only endures when it’s anchored in something particular. Every ideal needs a home — a living culture that carries it forward. When belonging is detached from identity, it becomes fragile, and that is where many Jews now find themselves. Our children can speak the language of global justice fluently but often not the language of their own history. They know how to defend everyone else’s rights but not their own people’s legitimacy.

The backlash against Israel on campuses and in cultural spaces isn’t just about politics. It’s exposing a larger fracture in modern Jewish life: the gap between those who still believe safety comes from universal acceptance and those who believe it comes from collective confidence. For years, Jews tried to navigate both worlds, but the balance has broken. In a time when every group asserts its narrative, Jews are still apologizing for having one.

Israel, for all its imperfections, serves as a mirror more than a model. It reminds us that survival and identity are not shameful; they are necessary. The Jewish state expresses peoplehood in a century rediscovering the power of belonging. You don’t have to agree with every policy to recognize what it represents — the determination of a people to define themselves on their own terms.

That same lesson applies far beyond Israel’s borders. Communities that endure — whether national, ethnic, or cultural — know how to pass their story forward. They teach it. They argue about it. They build institutions that express it. For Jews, that means reviving a sense of shared memory and purpose strong enough to coexist with universal ideals, not be erased by them. Our moral language and our particular identity are not in competition; they depend on each other.

None of this requires turning inward or abandoning empathy. It means recognizing that our ability to contribute to the world depends on remembering who we are. Universalism detached from identity is idealism without roots. Identity without universalism is isolation. The task ahead is to restore the balance — to be grounded enough to stand for something, and confident enough to engage with everyone else.

The world is becoming particular again. It’s not necessarily a tragedy; it may even be a correction. But if Jews continue to cling to a vision of universal belonging that no longer exists, we may find ourselves once again left holding the bag — admired for our values but unanchored in our own. The choice before us is not between universal and particular, but between fragility and continuity. To stay part of history, we will need to relearn how to be a people, not just a voice.

Every week we show up, stand tall, and make it clear that Jewish pride in Michigan will never be hidden or intimidated.

Huge thanks to the Huntington Woods Police Department for standing with us and keeping our community safe.

Next walk: Sunday, November 16th — 9:00am at Scotia Park.

Bring your flags. Bring your strength. Walk the Frontline. 💪✨

AM YISRAEL CHAI!! 🇺🇸 🇮🇱

We’re proud to share that the IRS has granted Jewish Frontline full tax-exempt status. This milestone means all donations and memberships are now tax-deductible, and we’ll be able to apply for grants that help us expand programs, empower volunteers, and strengthen Jewish life across Michigan.

What began as a local movement has now become a recognized community institution — thanks to every single person who has walked, shared, volunteered, and stood with us along the way.

Together, we’re building a stronger, prouder Jewish Michigan.