On April 4th DJJ gathered with water justice advocates at a reading of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s "Beyond Vietnam: A Time to Break Silence" speech, commemorating the 49th anniversary of his assassination. The reading took place outside the 36th District Court downtown, where 9 activists have been tied up in a years-long trial for blocking Homrich trucks from shutting off water in 2014. 

Click here to read more and watch the clip on Fox 2. Read the full speech here.

At right: Water warrior Monica Lewis-Patrick reads the closing of Dr. King's famous speech.

On Sunday, April 2nd, DJJ turned out for an Interfaith March for Justice planned by "Neighbors Building Bridges," a coalition of Christian, Muslim, and immigrants. DJJ leaders Allie Zeff and Gabe Slabosky were featured in an article in the Detroit News covering the event. 

“When one group is under attack, we all are,” said Zeff, 25, of Hamtramck. “And these are our neighbors and members of our community.”

Read the full article here. Email Eleanor at [email protected] if you'd like to get involved with our work on immigrant, refugee and Muslim solidarity.

Check out this amazing article profiling some awesome Avodah alumni who are connected to Detroit, featuring our own Rabbi Alana!

On Wednesday March 22nd, I had the opportunity to travel to Lansing with DJJ and many other Detroiters in honor of World Water Day. We were all heading to the capital to raise our concerns about water issues plaguing Detroit, Flint, and the state of Michigan.

The day was organized by the People’s Water Board, and myself and other members of DJJ were there to help out, learn and raise our voices with them. As members of DJJ, we helped transport Detroiters from different parts of the city to make it downtown for the 7:30 am bus to Lansing, and we also provided childcare throughout the day so that WWD attendees could lobby their senators and state reps.

The Detroit Jewish News featured a nice write-up by DJJ leader Jordan Smellie on our recent Purim celebration:

This month, Jews from across Metro Detroit gathered in Hamtramck for a Purim party with a focus on public education. Detroit Jews for Justice put on the event to draw attention to the threats posed by Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos and other policy-makers — and to encourage the Jewish community to mobilize for education justice.

Read on here! Check out more photos from Purim here.

First of all, last year’s Purim Spiel wasn’t about Flint. It was about Flint and Detroit. 
And second, Purim is impossible to “update”, because Purim is timeless: it reveals deep truths that only feel more and more relevant. 

Purim isn’t about defeating Haman, it’s about defeating Hamanism, a force in every generation.




We thought we couldn’t top last year, but what has followed Nov. 8 provides endless material and a profound need for revelry. Not escapism - but a safe framework for facing our worst fears, so many of which seem to be coming true. 

It’s hard to imagine anything more absurd than the reality we are living through: a climate-change denier heading the EPA? IMPOSSIBLE! An enemy of public schools is Secretary of Education? INCONCEIVABLE! Don’t get me started on Commander-in-Chief...

Did our Purim spiel energize you to join the fight for education justice? Marni Falk (DPS teacher/activist & DJJ education justice liaison) invites you to take action against H.R. Bill 610! Read on for info from Marni about the bill and instructions for contacting Michigan reps.

My name is Rachel Lerman and I’m a DJJ leader. As I’m sure most of you have heard, Trump released a revised version of the travel ban this week. Throughout these past few months, I often think of my grandparents and their experience coming to this country as immigrants: my grandmother came here in 1939 to escape Poland, and my grandfather survived Auschwitz and came here after the war. We must remember our shared stories and history - and take action to ensure that this country is a place where immigrants, refugees and Muslims are welcomed.

We are proud and privileged to live in a diverse state. Six percent of Michiganders are immigrants, with an undocumented community of over 100,000. We have the second largest Arab-American population in the country. We are among the top two states for resettlement of refugees, with over 2,000 Syrians joining our Michigan community in recent years.

As Michigan Jews, we must stand with our Muslim, Arab, immigrant, and refugee neighbors. Click here to take a pledge of solidarity.

Copied below is a piece on the Thanksgiving Havdalah Rabbi Alana hosted for Standing Rock, written by Lily Grier for the Detroit Jewish News.