A months-long investigation found even the smallest hints of dissent are often met with unemployment.
By Shane Burley, In These Times
Dan Fischer had been working as a Hebrew and Jewish ethics teacher for three years at Sinai Synagogue in South Bend, Ind., when a television reporter asked him for comment during an “All Out for Palestine” rally held four days after October 7.
“I am one of multiple Jews that are here today, proud to be in solidarity with the people of Gaza and Palestine,” Fischer said. “And I know that my tradition, the Jewish tradition, is a religion of tzedek, meaning justice, and shalom, meaning peace.”

He was fired the next day.
The synagogue sent a letter to the congregation saying it “had no choice but to release a teacher from his employment … effective immediately” and that “after Oct. 7, with the dead being buried, the savagery of Hamas being brought into living rooms every night, the subtlety of one’s personal politics cannot be allowed to cause pain and insult to our community, who have so many family and friends in Israel.”
Fischer had previously been lauded by Sinai leadership for his work, with the education director writing, “I know 3 [years] in a row is a big ask, but I love having you as a teacher and would love to have you back,” according to an email sent months before Fischer was fired. Now, Fischer saw his job gone and his reputation muddied with the implication he supported the Hamas attack and, as Sinai’s leader Rabbi Michael Friedland put it in an email to In These Times, was “not being respectful or compassionate” to grieving Israelis or those with friends and family in Israel.
Recent Posts
The War Over War With Iran Has Just Begun
March 31, 2025
Take Action Now Trump says he wants a deal but stakeholders in and outside of his administration are pushing for conflict.By Sina Toossi,…
American Universities Are Complicit In Their Own Destruction
March 31, 2025
Take Action Now Last spring, university administrators facilitated the mass arrest of over 3,000 students on more than sixty campuses—an…
The Death Toll In Gaza Is Vastly Undercounted
March 29, 2025
Take Action Now The vast undercount of civilian deaths in Gaza undermines diplomatic efforts to bring about a ceasefire.By Ralph Nader, In The…
The Trump Administration Is Building Its Own Gestapo
March 28, 2025
Take Action Now The Trump administration is now blatantly disappearing students and others who are in the country legally.By Alex Shephard, The…