Farmington Hills ― The annual interfaith Seder hosted by the Detroit branch of the American Jewish Committee took on heightened importance Tuesday as Jews and gentiles gathered to strengthen their ties after targeted violence.
At Adat Shalom Synagogue in Farmington Hills, Jews and gentiles observed a traditional Seder, marking the start of the Jewish holiday of Passover.
In the Jewish faith, a Seder is a ceremonial meal that retells the story of the Israelites’ exodus from Egypt. It follows a structured order of readings, foods and rituals outlined in a religious text called the Haggadah.
Amy Sapeika, director of the Detroit branch of the American Jewish Committee, which hosts the event, said this year’s Seder took on a different tone in light of the March 12 attack on Temple Israel.
On March 12, Ayman Ghazali allegedly rammed his F-150, laden with fireworks and extra gasoline, through the southeast doors of Temple Israel in West Bloomfield Township, where gunfire was exchanged with synagogue security before Ghazali died of a self-inflicted gunshot, according to the FBI.
A synagogue security guard was injured, and some law enforcement officers were treated for smoke inhalation. But all of the temple staff and preschoolers were evacuated unharmed.
“That day I was flooded with calls, texts, emails, shows of solidarity from our interfaith partners,” Sapeika said. “It was a really bright spot on what was a very dark and scary day.”
Fostering a greater understanding of the Jewish faith is of even greater importance to the committee following the attack, Sapeika said, asserting that antisemitism is on the rise and becoming normalized in everyday conversation. Because the Jewish population in the U.S. is relatively small at about 2%, Sapeika said their community is relying on people of other faiths to call out and reject antisemitism when they encounter it.
“We need people to stand up to it,” she said. “We know hate begets hate.”
Oakland County Sheriff Mike Bouchard last week decried antisemitism in the aftermath of the attack on Temple Israel, alongside other faith leaders.
Faith-based violence also shook up the Mormon community in southeast Michigan in September 2025, when a gunman drove his truck into a Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints building in Grand Blanc Township during a Sunday service. The shooter, Thomas Jacob Sanford, opened fire on worshippers and set the building on fire, killing four people and injuring others before being shot by police.
The FBI later confirmed the attack was based on the gunman’s anti-Mormon beliefs.
Among the attendees at Tuesday’s Seder was Marcelino Sanchez, president of the Grand Blanc Stake for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which oversees eight churches in the Grand Blanc area, including the one attacked in September.
“You don’t have to be a Christian or a Jew or a Muslim or even an atheist to agree on coming together to feed the poor,” he said. “That’s just one of many examples of things that we can agree on.”
In between bites of his Seder meal, the Rev. William Danaher of Bloomfield Hills-based Christ Church Cranbrook said he’s been making a deliberate effort to be present at Jewish events in the area in light of the Temple Israel attack.
“Churches and synagogues and temples and gurdwaras and mosques — they heal by coming together, by being around each other,” Danaher said. “When they come together, they engage in conversations, they hear each other’s stories, they create connections, barriers drop and empathy deepens.”
mreinhart@detroitnews.com
This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: Jews, gentiles come together for Seder after Temple Israel attack
Reporting by Max Reinhart, The Detroit News / The Detroit News
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
