LEILA FADEL, HOST:
We're in Michigan this week talking to different communities about the election in a state where a few thousand votes could decide which way it swings. For Jewish American voters, it's been difficult. Today marks a year since Hamas attacked Israel, a year of Israel's war in Gaza. Guiding her community through this dark time is Rabbi Ariana Silverman of the Isaac Agree Downtown Synagogue in Detroit. We meet her on the eve of the Jewish New Year. How are you?
ARIANA SILVERMAN: I'm doing well. How are you?
FADEL: When we walk into her home, she pulls out a paper bag filled with apples.
SILVERMAN: But you all have to take an apple with you before you leave.
FADEL: Oh.
SILVERMAN: It is the Jewish holiday tonight of the new year, and we eat apples...
FADEL: Oh, that's so nice.
SILVERMAN: ...Because they're sweet, for a sweet new year. So please feel free to take one. We got all kinds.
FADEL: Thank you so much. But she says this year feels so different.
SILVERMAN: It's very hard because this is usually a very happy holiday. I saw a headline actually in Haaretz, in the Israeli newspaper, that said that there's no amount of honey that can make this year sweet. And it was just devastating.
FADEL: That heaviness will be in the Rosh Hashanah sermon she's preparing for the next day.
What do you say?
SILVERMAN: I want Israel to survive and to thrive, and I think it's possible to have a yes-and. That the yes is I want Israel to survive and thrive, and the and is I believe that the Netanyahu administration is not prioritizing the sanctity of life for people in the area. The idea that every soul is sacred and infinitely valuable is one that is deeply embedded in Jewish tradition.
FADEL: The security of Israel is incredibly important to her, but it isn't her top issue in this election.
SILVERMAN: So like much of the Jewish community, I am thinking about Israel and its future.
FADEL: Yeah.
SILVERMAN: Having said that, I actually think that both candidates would be very strong choices if we care about the future of Israel and the Middle East. That one I don't think is one where there's a whole lot of daylight between the candidates. One of the things that actually I care most passionately about is not something that's being discussed a lot but is the climate crisis. And I think it's the biggest existential issue of our time. I think that it's going to determine what our life is like in the future for us, but also for future generations. And in that vein, it is very clear to me which candidate I will support because they have very, very different views on what to do about it.
FADEL: And you've made your choice?
SILVERMAN: So I can't speak on behalf of the Downtown Synagogue...
FADEL: Oh, yeah.
SILVERMAN: ...And who they should or would vote for.
FADEL: Right.
SILVERMAN: I personally will be voting for Kamala Harris.
FADEL: What are the conversations going on in your community? And what are people thinking as they think about who to choose?
SILVERMAN: I think there's a tremendous amount of sadness...
FADEL: Yeah.
SILVERMAN: ...For all of the lives that have been lost, and for the hostages and for their safety, for the safety of Israelis who are displaced from their homes and not sure what the future holds, particularly with the question of Iran. There's a lot of nervousness, anxiety, pain. And I don't think anyone wanted to see the kind of loss that we've seen.
FADEL: So are conversations at home about, like, climate crisis and Middle East conflict?
SILVERMAN: It's interesting with kids.
FADEL: Yeah.
SILVERMAN: Because they know enough about the climate crisis to be scared. They don't necessarily know enough about it to know what to do. And the war in the Middle East is on their minds. We don't talk about it perhaps as much as we should. But kids are perceptive, and they see me sad.
FADEL: Yeah.
SILVERMAN: And they ask about it.
FADEL: Have you been sad?
SILVERMAN: Oh, my God, yes. I'm a mother, and to see the death of children is just horrifying.
FADEL: Yeah.
SILVERMAN: I mean, I don't believe that any child's life is worth more than another child's life. It's shocking to me to think about what's happened in the past year and that this is going to have ramifications for generations to come. And I do think it's a yes-and. I think that it can be true that Israel has a right to exist and to defend herself and that there had to be a response to what happened on October 7. And it can be true that too many lives have been lost.
FADEL: Tonight, Rabbi Ariana Silverman and her congregation will gather with other congregations in the area to mark this day, October 7, as a day of mourning. After that, she says, her community will really start thinking about the election ahead. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.
