Senior Jewish official to community voters: "We must sacrifice our safety for the sake of humanity"

Just one day after missing the Democratic Party convention in Michigan, claiming she did not feel safe due to antisemitism within its ranks, the state's Jewish Attorney General, Dana Nessel, sparked a new storm: in a speech to Jewish Democrats, she called on them to consider placing the world's needs above their own safety — and even above the survival of the Jewish people.

The remarks were made on Sunday at the "Summer Simcha" event of the Jewish caucus in the Democratic Party, held in Birmingham, during which Nessel received an award. According to The Detroit News, which reviewed video footage of the event, Nessel asked those present: "When November comes, what do your Jewish values tell you to do?" She then declared: "We have a moral obligation to put the needs of the world above even our own self-interest — and yes, even above our own survival."

Nessel mentioned Queen Esther and said that "perhaps we must now follow in her footsteps and sacrifice comfort, safety, and security, and even the very future of our people, for the chance to save the rest of humanity." She argued that Jewish voters should also take into account climate change, the danger of nuclear war, artificial intelligence, and economic inequality. Referring to Israel, she asked what the point is in defending the "historical homeland of our ancestors" if the Earth is no longer habitable.

Her words came against the backdrop of the tight Senate race in Michigan. The Democratic candidate, Abdul El-Sayed, a sharp critic of Israel and American military aid to the country, was present at the event. Nessel did not name him or give him an official endorsement, but made it clear she would not vote for her Republican opponent, Mike Rogers.

At the same event, El-Sayed apologized for his reaction to the attack at Temple Israel in March, in which Ayman Muhammad Ghazzawi, a Lebanese-born US citizen, rammed a van loaded with incendiary materials into the synagogue and opened fire while more than a hundred children and staff were on the premises. A security guard was wounded, but none of the children or staff were harmed. The FBI determined that the attack was inspired by Hezbollah. Days earlier, four of Ghazzawi's relatives were killed in an Israeli strike in Lebanon, including his brother, who according to the IDF was a commander in Hezbollah. In his response, El-Sayed said that "hurt people hurt people" and linked the attack to Israel's activities in Lebanon — remarks that were interpreted by parts of the Jewish community as an attempt to justify the attack.

Nessel's message drew special attention given her absence the day before from her party's nominating convention in Lansing. Nessel explained: "I don't feel safe going. I don't want to be followed, I don't want to be harassed, I don't want people screaming and yelling at me." She also accused the party leadership of not doing enough against antisemitism.

Criticism was not long in coming. Hen Mazzig, a senior fellow at the Tel Aviv Institute for Combating Antisemitism, said that Esther "risked her safety for the survival of the Jewish people — she did not risk it to save others." Rabbi Steven Burg, CEO of Aish HaTorah, argued that Nessel drew "the wrong lesson" from the Scroll, while Ron Halber, executive director of the Jewish Community Relations Council (JCRC) in Washington D.C., called her "an absolute embarrassment." Nessel's office did not respond to media requests for clarification on her remarks.