Detroit
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Detroit Jewish groups are holding a protest against anti-Semitism today in West Bloomfield, a suburb of the Michigan city, reported the Detroit Free Press.

The demonstration’s purpose is to show solidarity with American Jewish communities who were hit hard by a surge in anti-Semitic incidents – online, vandalism and physical assaults – during the recent fighting between Israel and Hamas. New York, California and Florida were states that experienced some of the largest concentration of incidents.

There were no reported incidents of anti-Semitic assaults in the metro Detroit area during the conflict.

The 1 p.m. rally was organized by multiple Jewish groups of various social and political leanings that united to opposite anti-Semitism.

Organizing groups include the Jewish Community Relations Council/American Jewish Committee, Hadassah, the Zionist Organization of America, the Anti-Defamation League and the National Council of Jewish Women.

"We have to really stand up and make sure that we speak. If people hear that we do not tolerate anti-Semitism, that makes an impression on some of the radicals, who think they can get away with it,” said Rabbi Asher Lopatin, executive director of metro Detroit's Jewish Community Relations Council/American Jewish Committee, in an interview with the Free Press.

With Jewish groups in metro Detroit accusing local pro-Palestinian protests of including anti-Semitic signs and chants – examples were seen of signs at a Dearborn rally comparing Israeli leaders to Nazis, for instance – Lopatin said that "I do think anti-Zionism goes into antisemitism.”

"Speaking out against Israeli policies unfortunately can seep into antisemitism unless we really all stand up to it,” he said.