It's Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish holiday marking the New Year. And this year, it falls at a time when Israel has just invaded Lebanon, and is approaching the one-year mark of Hamas' attack on Israel. Events of the past year have left many Jews, here in Michigan, in the US – and certainly in Israel - as uncertain of the future as they’ve been in this young century.

GUEST:

• Shimri Zameret is an Israeli citizen, and a Lecturer and Researcher at the UM in the Program of International & Comparative Studies.

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Michigan has a sizable Lebanese-American population, many of whom have friends and family living in Lebanon. The community is reeling as tensions with Israel have spilled into an escalation of violence and civilian deaths. Documentarian Razi Jafri talks about reactions from the community in Michigan, and the political organizing coalescing among Arab Americans here.

GUEST:

• Razi Jafri, journalist and documentarian

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A new book, "The Black Utopians", is an intimate, historical look at the places of community, solace, and sustainability created by Black Americans over generations. That includes in Detroit, where The Church of the Black Madonna, became a hub for Black Christian Nationalism and Civil Rights.

GUEST:

• Aaron Robertson, author, "The Black Utopians: Searching for Paradise and the Promised Land in America"

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