On August 30th, speaking to the Michigan Democratic Jewish Caucus, Michigan Democrat AG Dana Nessel said this:
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“It is a moral imperative to place the needs of the world above even our own self-interest.”
In July, Nessel skipped her own party’s convention because of safety concerns. She said she would not attend in person because she expected to be booed and harassed simply because she was Jewish. Nessel openly acknowledged hostility toward Jews within her own party, and she was not willing to put her comfort and safety aside to support the Democrats.
But last night, she seemed to have discovered a different moral imperative:
“It is perhaps up to us now to follow in [Queen Esther’s] path and sacrifice the comfort, safety and security and even the very future of our own people in exchange for the opportunity to save the rest of humanity.”
Perhaps Nessel has misunderstood the story of Queen Esther.
Esther did not sacrifice her safety and security to save “the rest of humanity.” She risked her life to save the Jewish people from annihilation. The entire story of Purim is about a Jewish woman using her position and risking her life to prevent the destruction of the Jews. Dana Nessel is the Jewish woman who uses her position to excuse the destruction of the Jews. If Queen Esther had an evil twin, her name would be Dana Nessel.
Apparently, to Nessel, a sacrifice is a sacrifice is a sacrifice — and any willingness to sacrifice oneself automatically makes a person noble. By that standard, we could celebrate the September 11 terrorists for “sacrificing” themselves for what they believed was “a greater cause.” We could look up to the ancient pagans who believed sacrificing their own babies would please their gods and bring a good harvest to their tribe. Believing that a human sacrifice is necessary for “the cause” is, in fact, a major red flag that the cause itself is deeply immoral.
Judaism understands this, and preservation of human life is one of Judaism’s highest obligations. The principle of pikuach nefesh — the obligation to preserve human life — is so fundamental that it overrides almost all other commandments. A person whose health would be endangered is not required to fast on Yom Kippur. Life-threatening circumstances can require Jews to violate Shabbat. Jewish law repeatedly makes clear that preserving a person’s life and safety takes precedence over all other matters.
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What Dana Nessel is advocating for is not “Jewish moral imperative.” Sacrificing your own safety for “the greater good” is actually a pagan principle.
And there is another aspect of Nessel’s statement that is particularly disturbing.
She apparently feels comfortable suggesting that the Jews are somehow an “obstacle” to the good of humanity. Imagine applying that same reasoning to another minority group. Imagine a politician saying that Muslims, or Protestants, or blacks Americans, have become an obstacle on the way to “the greater future,” and therefore, they must be cast aside.
A statement like that would end a career — and quite possibly a social life. Yet when a politician declares that the Jews are now “expendable,” that becomes an act of heroism worthy of Queen Esther. It tells you everything you need to know about the state of today’s Democratic Party.
Dana Nessel ended her speech with a question:
“Come November, what do your Jewish values tell you to do?”
My Jewish values tell me that a political party that tolerates and embraces antisemitism should be voted out of office.
They tell me that Jewish safety is not a bargaining chip.
And they certainly tell me that politicians who are willing to grovel before the antisemites to preserve their standing in the party — and then portray that submission as an act of heroism –should be shamed and ridiculed.
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Tanya Berlaga is a business owner and a freelance writer.
Image: SecretName101