I keep seeing people charging El-Sayed with reacting to the attack on the Jewish school by saying, "Hurt people hurt people..." as if he had said that as casually as some supporters of Israel react to the deaths of 20,000 children in Gaza by saying, "Terrible things happen in every war." But he didn't.
He said that phrase in a video the day after the attack. This was how he led up to it:
“Yesterday, our state was rocked by news of a heinous attack on Temple Israel, a synagogue in West Bloomfield, Michigan. An armed assailant drove his truck into the building where there are 140 children. Because of the heroism of Temple security and law enforcement, the assailant was disarmed and ultimately killed. No teachers, children or congregants were physically harmed. I’m so relieved.
"I grew up not 15 minutes away from Temple Israel. Many of my childhood friends and classmates worshiped there. I shudder to think through the emotions of the parents whose children were in the synagogue. This attack will leave scars on the inside that’ll stay with the community for decades. These scars, they’ll echo centuries of trauma on the part of the Jewish people, calling back the memories of atrocities, including the Holocaust against Jewish people, that are torn afresh every time something like this happens.
"To my Jewish sisters and brothers, I want to reaffirm my commitment to your rights to worship, to learn, to practice and to celebrate your faith. Antisemitism has no place in our communities. Ever. Full stop.
"Yesterday, we also learned that the attacker was Ayman Ghazali. He was Arab American and Muslim. I condemn what he did. There is never a justification for attacking innocent people or houses of worship. Never.
"As an epidemiologist, I’ve spent my career studying the worst things that happen to people to understand how to stop them from happening, and I’ll never forget one of the simplest lessons I learned while on my psychiatry rotation in medical school: hurt people hurt people.
"Violence is a cycle. Ayman Ghazali lost family, including two children, in an airstrike in Lebanon last week. They were innocent people. And then, in an evil act of displaced rage, he tried to take it out on innocent children, who had nothing to do with the loss of the innocent children he lost, except that they share a faith.
"Temple Israel is not the state of Israel. Jewish people are not the state of Israel, and the people of Israel are not the political actors who make direct choices for the State of Israel. We cannot and must not conflate these – an act rooted in anti semitism. One can have righteous anger at the actions of the State of Israel while expressing solidarity with the Jewish people, including Jewish people in Israel. The conflation of these – whether in the dastardly way Ayman Ghazali did or in an effort to use the specter of antisemitism to defend the indefensible – it sits at the root of our failure to stop this violence.
"Ayman Ghazali hurt people. There is no justification for what he did... A week earlier, an airstrike killed his niece and nephew. Imagine if that had never happened. Imagine there was no war in Iran. Imagine if there were no airstrikes in Lebanon. Imagine if his family had never died. Imagine there was never an attack on Temple Israel. That’s the world that we want to live in. That’s the world we need to build for.
"Violence always begets violence. Only peace can extinguish that. Because hurt people hurt people."
I hope he becomes the next senator of Michigan.
Extremely well stated, joj and post of the week(which won't get you anything except knowing the moderator considers it as having profound thoughts/ideas that others should contemplate when reading the post a 2nd time).
Because of the elections in Israel, I've been thinking a great deal about this the past week too, related to the history of Israel.
A race of people that have had to fight adversity as far back as we have recorded history in the old bibles. People that had to live(and die) thru the Holocaust, a genocide that greatly exceeds the one in Gaza. There has been more structural destruction of that obliterated country but the Holocaust went on for a decade and killed many dozens of times more Jews than are dead at the hands of Netanyahu's genocide.
Introduction to the Holocaust
https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/introduction-to-the-holocaust
So the point is, the Jewish people and Jewish state have been subjected to hate and people hurting them for many, MANY centuries. The Hebrew bible teaches "an eye for an eye" mentality. The Christian Gospels, NEW Testament teaches "Forgiveness and Love your enemies". Christians can easily embrace that mentality when they/we are raised(like me) in peace, without worrying about attacks or hatred. Or growing up with constant hurt from those trying to hurt us.
I will point out how special Martin Luther King Jr was in this regard. There was nobody more hated and part of a race of people that was discriminated against for centuries in this country. People lynched in the South for being black. Surrounded by racism his entire life, yet he taught forgiveness of the people that did this to his race and were doing this to him personally as he professed his belief system to the world.
This seems to be an impossible thing to do. However, the entire reason was that he embraced the messages of Jesus. I don't want this to be take the wrong way and suggest that 1 religion is better than others(which is what I used to think while being indoctrinated in the Catholic religion).
Also, the ironic thing about the real world today is that this same religion is being used to fuel MAGA justification. Or Pete Hegseth's use of military force and our destiny as the most powerful country in the world. So the exact same Gospels that inspired MLK, using the AUTHENTIC messages from the "Prince of Peace" are being twisted and used to justify Donald Trump, Pete Hegseth and MAGA's ANTI Christian agenda.
Choosing MAGA/Donald Trump or Jesus
Started by metmike - Jan. 2026, 5:06 p.m.
https://www.marketforum.com/forum/topic/117561/
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But this is an additional post beyond the original one, which is that the Jewish religion and the Islamic religion don't have Jesus figures that teach loving enemies DESPITE the most incredible hurt being imposed on you(when human nature compels us to go into a defensive/survival mode).
The teachings of the great profit Mohammed, who was a warrior are positive in many ways but do NOT compel those following Islam to do what the messages of Jesus taught. To turn the other cheek. To love and forgive your enemies. (The person that hates their enemies the most and is obsessed with revenge, is' Donald Trump).
Please don't take this the wrong way on judging religions because they are all just as legit as the other ones and sadly, many Christians(like in MAGA) don't even practice their religion sincerely.
Jimmy Carter was the only president that did and the R party knows him as a complete flop because he was from the other party. Jesus would not have taught us to put our political party first and don't worry if it violates everything he taught.
Ironically, it's the D party that stands for Christian values. Helping the poor and less fortunate.
OK, back to the original point again. Our society in the United States has been dominated by "Christian" values because our ancestors practiced Chritianity ( even when Christians in the South were lynching black people, hypocritically). Regardless, that mindset, along with most white Christians never being persecuted relentlessly while growing up is different than what many Jewish people experienced. And Muslims.
So it's not surprising that the mentality of Israel right now, doing what they are doing in Gaza to defend Israel is justified. Or the mentality of radical Islam to fight back against what they perceive as injustice because of the hurt of their people by the much more powerful forces, whether it be Israel or the United States.
Re: Re: The N word/antisemitism
0 likes
By metmike - April 9, 2026, 6:38 p.m.
Re: Re: Iran war 3/8/26+ (cont. from other thread)
By metmike - March 12, 2026, 1:46 p.m.
Officials respond to reports of active shooter at synagogue in West Bloomfield, Michigan: Sheriff
The Jewish Federation of Detroit said it's aware of the incident.
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I know exactly where that is and I dated a Jewish girl while at the University of Michigan that grew up close to this.
This makes me personally connected to the tragedy and sadness.
So sad to read about/see this but it's inevitable in our society and part of the blow back from events currently taking place in the Middle East.
This won't even be close to the last such event after already seeing half a dozen terrorist events in the US related to the war in Iran...I mean the brief excursion
Re: Re: Antisemitism is WRONG!
By metmike - April 24, 2024, 12:28 a.m.
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By metmike - March 3, 2026, 1:30 a.m.
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Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Israel attacks Iran-just in
Hate(and love)
Started by metmike - Oct. 17, 2023, 4:15 p.m.
https://www.marketforum.com/forum/topic/99752/
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The Dearborn area where I grew up has the highest % Muslim population in North America.
I grew up living the history they describe above on the East Side of Dearborn, 1/2 block from the Detroit border.
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Re: Iran war 3/8/26+ (cont. from other thread)
By WxFollower - March 13, 2026, 12:42 a.m.
Hey Mike,
It’s amazing how often I see absolutely unbelievably demeaning things from DT. Just when you think you may have seen it all, wait til you see this as it may the worst yet!
https://x.com/WhiteHouse/status/2032115039985881556?
I should stress too that there are plenty of good Jews, Muslims, Hindu's and Atheists that practice the same principles that Jesus taught.
They came to practice the same positive belief systems about humanity, independent of following the 4 Gospels, like MLK did.
Sincerely following Jesus teachings might just make it easier(which, as mentioned previously many Christians claim to do but then they turn around and follow/support Donald Trump, who stands for everything that Jesus spoke out against).
It just makes it easier in many ways.
I guarantee that I would not have grown up with a special fondness for the people living in Israel if not taught that.
I'm mad at Israel for letting Netanyahu get away with this but had I not come from a place that loves Israel, I would be less tolerant.
It's sort of the complete opposite of the "Hurt People Hurt People" principle.
People that have been blessed with love and taught love........go on to love other people. Are capable of unconditional love. Forgive people. Pass on their love and teach it to others.
Hate(andLOVE!)
Started by metmike - Oct. 17, 2023, 4:15 p.m.
https://www.marketforum.com/forum/topic/99752/
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How to make the world a better place
32 responses |
Started by metmike - Jan. 9, 2020, 10:23 p.m.
Regarding comparing the Old Testament to the New Testament.
"an eye for an eye" is often cited as evidence of revenge and not as enlightened as the Christian ethos of loving your enemy. But when taken in the context of coming 500 years before the New Testament "an eye for an eye" is actually a progressive step forward in the evolution of mankind's ethical development. Imagine that prior to an eye for an eye, someone might respond to the theft of a flock by murdering one's neighbor.. An eye for an eye is ushering in a more measured response.
Similarly, we don't judge our forefathers for owning slaves as harshly as we would a contemporary for the same sin. We evolve.
Joj,
I think you explained this before here and it does make good sense. thanks
I will admit that some of the things that Jesus taught dont seem reasonable.
Like turning the left cheek if struck on the right cheek. My dad was a very spiritual, religious man but the lesson I remember the most was the one he taught me in kindergarten when big Dave Smith the bully was picking on me.
He demanded that I punch him in the face as hard as I can.
Dad grew up in the inner city of Detroit, never met his dad and got picked on because he had red hair. he said that by 8th he could “take every kid in his class except for the fat kid in the deep water of the pool. He said the fat kid could float in the water and would use that to dunk him under the water but he whipped him on land.
I remember vividly, running up to Dave and smashing him in the face. He started crying, turned around and ran home. It worked!
As it turns out that’s the best way to handle bullies in many realms.
When dad was almost 90, I asked him again if he really ordered me to punch another kid in the face as hard as I could Or maybe I got the message wrong.
He immediately responded, “you did exactly what I told you to do! You were a good boy and I was proud of you!”
Dad got me a speed bag in our basement in 4th grade and I loved punching it and developing quick fists that came in handy in all the bar fights I had after turning 18 and hanging out at Schaefer Bar Every weekend.
In 1975, i got my head bashed in with a tire iron in the parking lot at 3am on Easter morning, which was one of the few fights that I lost.
It could have been worse. Norm seagel a young cop that lived across the street from us was shot and killed in that same parking lot that same year.
I used to go up to tables of complete strangers and challenge them to an arm wrestling contest and/
or beer chugging contest for $1.
Not the best way to meet news friends in a Detroit bar.