Project Esther will not make Jews safe. Organizing for racial & economic justice will.

Beloved community, 

Coming into my role as Co-Executive Director of DJJ in January, I knew that fighting antisemitism would be a central part of our organizing. This political season has highlighted how intertwined antisemitism is with all of the oppressions we are fighting to end every day at DJJ.

This week, I was quoted in this Detroit Free Press Op Ed by Nancy Kaffer, who was seeking to learn more about "Project Esther" a plan that claims to fight antisemitism, brought to us by the same folks who crafted the truly terrifying Project 2025.

A plan to fight antisemitism sounds, on it's face, like a good thing. But if you look any closer, it is clear that Project Esther actually functions to silence dissent, give more power to the federal government's deportation machine, and advance a racist authoritarian agenda.  

"Project Esther’s assertion of complacency, said Lisa Tencer of Detroit Jews for Justice, whose ancestors fled pogroms in the USSR in the first part of the 19th Century, 'is very insulting, it’s very paternalistic … and it’s infuriating as a Jewish person who has been thinking about antisemitism for a long time.'" 

In a moment when our government is abducting American citizens to punish them for political dissent and terrorizing our migrant neighbors, I will not mince words: Project Esther will not make Jews safer. Its authors are using antisemitism to generate fear, divide us against each other and weaken progressive movements fighting for a better future.

We will not fall for this. And we will not give up the fight against the very real antisemitic threats we face: white nationalism, fascism, and attempts to weaken our democracy, to name just a few.

As we face down continued economic uncertainty, and the fate of our public goods and our democracy hang in the balance, the work of Detroit Jews for Justice is more important than ever. A gift of $18 per month can breathe chai (life) into this community in a critical moment.  Will you do this mitzvah today?

With your support, we promise to stand strong against whatever threats may come, and to keep fighting to dismantle antisemitism in deep partnership with our neighbors so that G-d willing we can achieve our vision: a just and joyful future where we and our neighbors live with equal rights, dignity, safety, and access to the resources we all need to thrive.

In solidarity, 

Lisa Tencer, Detroit Jews for Justice