Jewish Federations of North America welcomed Rep. Haley Stevens (D-MI) to our Flagship Public Affairs Office in Washington, D.C. for a conversation on the growing security crisis facing Jewish communities across the country.  Rep. Stevens, an original co-sponsor of the bipartisan Jewish American Security Act and one of the Jewish community's most steadfast allies in Congress, joined former Virginia House Speaker Eileen Filler-Corn and Federation leaders and advocates to discuss the urgent need to fully fund the Nonprofit Security Grant Program, the devastating March attack on Temple Israel in her district, and the broader fight against antisemitism and political violence targeting Jewish Americans.

 

"This was a very targeted action at our Jewish community," said Rep. Stevens, reflecting on the attack that brought over 100 preschoolers face-to-face with a Hezbollah-affiliated terrorist. "By the grace of God, all 104 were saved that day." 

 

Rep. Stevens, who represents Michigan's 11th congressional district, home to one of the largest concentrations of Jewish Americans in the country, spoke at length about the devastating March attack on Temple Israel in West Bloomfield, Michigan. The attack, she noted, came within moments of becoming the worst act of terrorism on American soil since September 11, 2001 — and its impact was deeply personal. Temple Israel, the largest Reform synagogue in Michigan, is a place she has visited many times, attending B'nai Mitzvahs and celebrating with friends who are members. 

 

"The Jewish American community in Michigan and throughout this country is celebrated, is valued, is encouraged to speak their truth, to participate in all channels of society, and folks have got to know that lawmakers and public servants like myself have your back," Stevens said. Rep. Stevens has been a vocal champion of the Nonprofit Security Grant Program (NSGP) and is an original co-sponsor of the bipartisan Jewish American Security Act, which would boost NSGP funding to $1 billion annually. Throughout the conversation, she spoke directly to the urgency of that fight and the advocacy work being done to move Congress toward full funding. She credited Jewish Federations and the broader community's organized advocacy for the momentum that has brought the conversation this far, describing how Federation leaders mobilized quickly after the Temple Israel attack and arrived on Capitol Hill within a week to meet with congressional leadership.

 

Asked about the current political climate and the rise in antisemitic rhetoric and violence across the spectrum, Rep. Stevens was characteristically direct. She called out those who have treated antisemitism as a political tool, engaging with the Jewish community when it was convenient and stepping back when it was not. "I believe that this time calls for clear, consistent, compassionate, firm leadership," she said. "This is not something where we can have it both ways."

 

She argued that the challenge has moved well beyond simply calling out hateful speech, and that the nation must now confront violent extremism head-on. "Violent extremism is not welcome in America. And wherever it rears its head, it will be stopped, it will be prosecuted, and it will experience severe consequences and punishment," Stevens said.

 

Throughout the conversation, Rep. Stevens returned repeatedly to a core conviction: that the Jewish community's security is not a niche concern, but a defining test of America's commitment to religious freedom and the safety of all its people