On August 16, I wrote a piece on Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel skipping the Michigan Democratic Party’s nominating convention out of fear of antisemitic harassment. The media’s silence was, and continues to be, outrageous.
That remains the case even after AG Nessel made the following comments about the need for Jews to emulate Queen Esther: “It is perhaps up to us now to follow in her path and sacrifice the comfort, safety and security and even the very future of our own people in exchange for the opportunity to save the rest of humanity”. This was after saying that some members of her own party, including the Senate nominee she was ostensibly endorsing, “seem to have thrown us under the bus, despite our lifelong contributions to our party.”
First, this is a complete misreading of the Purim story. Queen Esther was willing to sacrifice herself to try and save the Jewish people; she did not suggest her people sacrifice themselves for her preferred political and policy views. Second, it echoes times in history where Jewish communities tried to show their loyalty to their broader societies through a willingness to sacrifice some level of comfort. Those who advocated sacrificing their communities for the greater good often achieved the first element, while rarely the second – most tragically in Germany in 1934.
AG Nessel was unwilling to attend her party’s convention due to legitimate concerns she would be subjected to antisemitic harassment. It is the definition of chutzpah that she would then tell the entire Jewish community that they should risk antisemitic harassment, violence and potentially their very existence.
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© Divuach Ne’eman R”A, 2025
