DJN March 18, 2021

THE DETROIT

JEWISH NEWS 200 March 18-24, 2021 / 5-11 Nisan 5781

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thejewishnews.com

The Last Zoom Passover?

As the first anniversary of the pandemic passes, local families are deciding how to celebrate their seders.

See page 14

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contents March 18-24, 2021 / 5-11 Nisan 5781| VOLUME CLIX, ISSUE 7

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PURELY COMMENTARY

MAZEL TOV!

PASSOVER

SPIRIT

5-12

How will This Year’s Seder Be Different than Last Year’s?

14

Many gear up to celebrate another virtual Passover, others plan small seders.

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26

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Welcoming Elijah

Party planners provide tips to keep your Zoom seder guests participating.

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Creative Cooking for Passover

Celebrating Together

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Celebrity Jews

Many synagogues and families will hold seders via Zoom.

Passover on Campus

19

Hillels plan for seders under COVID restrictions.

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SPORTS 34

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Important Role

20

Harassment Thwarted

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Rep. Brenda Lawrence appointed to U.S. Holocaust Memorial Council.

Anti-Israel provocateur wins no friends at kosher market.

MARCH 18 • 2021

34

Safety Over Strikes and Spares

Hannah Resnick makes tough decision not to bowl for Lawrence Technological University this season.

Quick Hits

ERETZ 36

ETC.

The Exchange Faces & Places Obituaries Raskin Looking Back

37 38 39 45 46

Stray cat teaches kids kindness at Passover.

EVENTS

OUR COMMUNITY

4

Torah portion

ARTS&LIFE

Rules of Engagement

16

Moments

News from Israel

Shabbat Lights

Shabbat starts: Friday, March 19, 7:26 p.m.

Shabbat ends: Saturday, March 20, 8:28 p.m. * Times according to Yeshiva Beth Yehudah calendar.

ON THE COVER: Cover photo/credit: Photo collage includes the Jeff and Shayna Levin seder table with inset from Ezra Shaw/Getty Images via JTA. Cover design: Michelle Sheridan

thejewishnews.com Follow Us on Social Media: Facebook @DetroitJewishNews Twitter @JewishNewsDet Instagram @detroitjewishnews

PURELY COMMENTARY essay

One Year Later

Essayists share what they have learned since the pandemic began.

W

hat’s most heartbreaking about reading the essays published in March 2020 was that they could have been written today.

The tired joke is that this month is March, which is funny because last month was March, too. The reality Laura E. Adkins is that half of the JTA country is isolated, half is overwhelmed and half a million are dead.

Those without children or family nearby are often bored and lonely. The less fortunate are struggling to pay for basic necessities, battling addiction or substance abuse, or are overwhelmed with health care expenses. Those caring for children or the elderly, already a Sisyphean task in a society mer-

cilessly obsessed by productivity, are barely hanging on.

The scientific community has managed to develop four astonishingly effective vaccines, a true modern miracle. But basic necessities like mental health care, childcare and sick leave have become luxury goods.

Jewish community and ritual, a life-sustaining force for Jews for thousands of years, has been reduced to uneasy gatherings, standing masked and distanced — alone, together — and computer screens, or selfishly exchanged for public safety.

And some, it’s true, have gained new understanding from this strangest of years — about the ways we are all connected, perhaps, and the things they realize they value the most.

Have we really learned anything in a year turned upside down?

“I’M HOPEFUL THAT ORGANIZATIONS REALIZE THEY OPENED THEMSELVES UP TO SO MANY NEW PEOPLE THIS PAST YEAR — AND THEY DON’T HAVE TO LOSE THOSE PEOPLE WHEN THEY MEET IN PERSON ONCE AGAIN.” — ALLISON DARCY

I asked those who wrote essays for JTA in March of 2020, just as the upsets were beginning in earnest, to share how their lives and thinking has changed since then. There are moments of grace and resilience, but there’s not a lot to take solace in.

I mostly feel like crying.

Maybe that’s all we can really do.

(Responses have been lightly edited for length and clarity.)

FROM DR. GARY SLUTKIN I’ve been guiding and leading efforts to control major epidemics in the U.S. and abroad for over 35 years, much of that time with the World Health Organization.

Dr. Gary Over those years, I Slutkin learned that populations do not like to make the changes in their behaviors that are needed to stop an epidemic.

These changes may be in sexual behavior (AIDS), contact with sick people (Ebola), or in the case of COVID-19, avoiding gatherings as well as wearing masks, and other inconvenient but lifesaving efforts — changes needed until an epidemic is under control.

I was glad to be helpful to the Jewish community, if I was, as well as to other religious communities in the earlier days of the COVID pandemic. However, with the exception of a very few governors, and a very few cities I worked with, denial was way too strong. And I and we failed.

This epidemic of COVID-19

in the United States is one of the largest preventable failures in modern history. However, the blame does not go to one political leader alone, but to a culture that is not used to inconvenience or personal sacrifice for the greater good. And, also, to many of my own scientist and media friends and colleagues where communication efforts were not nearly good enough.

The focus was rules rather than understanding the virus in the air; bending of a curve and opening up instead of stopping the virus, which other countries successfully did!

We’re not out of the woods now. There is still way too much complacency and more preventable death to come if people let their guard down prematurely, before we have control.

FROM ALLISON DARCY In March, I wrote about the beautiful, virtual, connected world of Judaism that COVID-19 opened up to me.

One year later, I find myself still inspired about what Allison a post-vaccination Darcy world will look like for those of us who still need to stay home, but also a bit cautious.

After a few-months burst of all-Jewish Zoom calls all the time, a combination of Zoom exhaustion and people realizing this was going to continue and that hosting was real work that they deserved to get paid for continued on page 10 MARCH 18 • 2021

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PURELY COMMENTARY guest column

How Life-Links and Jewish Hospice & Chaplaincy Helped Us on Our Long, Final Journey JANET BIRNKRANT LEVINE CONTRIBUTING WRITER

I

write this because so many people in our Jewish community may not know about this amazing strong life raft, which I found when we were floundering.

The Jewish Hospice & Chaplaincy Network’s LifeLinks Palliative Care Program is profoundly integrated into the needs of families facing months, perhaps years, on that journey toward a final rest. I pray our experience may help countless others who do not know where to turn.

Throughout my beloved

Ellsworth’ s final few years of his decade-long battle with Parkinson’s, Rabbi Bunny Freedman, Rabbi Joey Krakoff and Natalie Rosenfeld, and countless other support team members, helped us maintain a rich and meaningful life at home. Perhaps the first right step I took three or four years ago, was that phone call I made to Jewish Hospice & Chaplaincy.

At that time, after many letdowns, my husband was on the brink of despair and deep depression.

Rabbi Joseph H. Krakoff (left) and Rabbi Bunny Freedman (right) visited with Janet and Ellsworth Levine many times during his final years.

I knew of Jewish Hospice, I had worked in the community with both rabbis and, in desperation, I called this lifegiving hotline. Within one day, we had our first visit from Natalie, and our lives took on new hope and tranquility. Through the Life-Links program, we became

a part of a support group so beautiful, so reassuring, that we never again felt abandoned by a system.

The many visits by Rabbi Bunny, Rabbi Joey and Natalie offered us the spiritual guidance and introspection needed to carry us through our long continued on page 8

Publisher The Detroit Jewish News Foundation

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PURELY COMMENTARY essay

From Durban to The Hague — 20 Years of NGO Lawfare

T

he announcement by the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court that she was opening investigations against Israel for alleged war crimes should not have been a surprise. This was the culmination of a 20-year political campaign that began even before the ICC opened its doors in The Hague in Gerald M. 2002.

Steinberg The strategy was launched JNS/Israel Hayom during the NGO Forum of the 2001 U.N. Durban conference, in which 5,000 delegates condemned the “Israeli systematic perpetration of racist crimes, including war crimes, acts of genocide and ethnic cleansing.”

At the time, the Israeli government did not take this threat seriously. The ICC was still a vague framework, and Israel, like the United States, Russia and China, was not a member. In addition, the Palestinian Authority was not a state and did not have the standing to initiate a complaint.

But this network of NGOs, in cooperation with the Palestinian leadership, pursued an ICC investigation — known as lawfare — with great intensity, spending tens of millions of euros, pounds and krona. Human Rights Watch played a central role from the beginning, joined

by Amnesty International, numerous Palestinian NGOs with ties to the PLO and PFLP terrorist groups and a number of Israeli groups claiming to promote human rights.

European governments provided much of the NGO funding for this campaign: Switzerland, Holland, Sweden, Denmark, the Netherlands, Germany, the European Union, Ireland and others.

It was only after the U.N. Human Rights Council’s 2009 Goldstone Report on Gaza repeated the NGOs’ accusations and threatened a referral to the ICC that the Israeli government began paying attention to this campaign.

Supported by the NGO network, Palestinians gained U.N. General Assembly approval for calling themselves a state in 2014, despite the absence of the necessary criteria (such as a government in total control of a defined territory), and immediately used this dubious achievement to join the ICC and file complaints against Israel.

In 2015, ICC prosecutor Fatou Bensouda announced that she would consider jurisdiction and in December 2019, Bensouda claimed jurisdiction and “a reasonable basis” for investigating possible Israeli war crimes, and last month, after two of the three judges who reviewed her

claims declared their approval, she moved quickly to open a formal investigation.

Major damage in the form of demonization of Israel has already been done, but if enough counter-pressure can be applied, including by negating the power and resources of the NGOs behind this process, the ICC travesty might be stopped. The current prosecutor is finishing her term, and her successor, Karim Khan, from the United Kingdom, might be persuaded to halt the pseudo-investigations, particularly if the survival of the ICC is at stake.

In parallel, European funders of the campaign must be confronted directly and consistently. Anyone who is concerned about the abuse of the ICC for political campaigns, including Americans and Israelis, should demand to end the demonization under the facade of human rights and international law. Germany, for instance, is one of the main funders of the ICC and the largest single supporter of the NGOs leading the campaigns. The absurdity of German funding for anti-Israel NGOs has not yet received the necessary priority.

September 2021 will mark the 20th anniversary of the U.N.’s antisemitic Durban conference and the NGO Forum, where both ICC lawfare and the BDS campaigns against Israel were launched. The best way to mark this date is to ensure that the perpetrators and their allies have nothing to celebrate.

Gerald M. Steinberg is a professor of political science at Bar-Ilan University and president of the Institute for NGO Research.

continued from page 6

journey. Ells and I both looked forward to those visits joyfully, knowing relief always entered our home when they did, helping us to look into our own strengths and to talk about those end-of-life issues we may have feared.

It was Natalie, with her quiet strength and endless resources, who helped guide us to our many care options or was just there as a friend and listening ear.

It is difficult for me to put into words what those last final months were like,

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for me and my best friend and mate of 57 years. Just in reflection, I know that beauty was all around us, and we could peacefully reach for what lay ahead.

It was truly Life-Links and Jewish Hospice that gave me the strength to offer Ells whatever he needed, for both of us to feel unafraid and safe. It was in that harmony that we faced his ending together.

Ellsworth left us quietly and gently late the night of Nov.17, surrounded by his children and grandchildren and me, in

the bedroom we had always shared, in the home so filled with love and laughter.

We are so blessed in the Detroit community to have the remarkable resource of a dedicated Life-Links and Jewish Hospice.

I learned, gratefully, to reach out for them early on our path. Do not be afraid to make that first call.

Janet Birnkrant Levine lives in Huntington Woods.

If you’re facing end-of life care, reach out to Jewish Hospice and Chaplaincy at jewishhospice.org.

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PURELY COMMENTARY continued from page 5

(and they do!) reduced the constant possibilities of prayer, study, book clubs and song sessions.

Still, a steady stream remained — though lately they seem to be dropping off even more. I remain so hopeful that organizations of all sorts will realize how they opened themselves up to so many new people this past year, and that they don’t have to lose those people when they’re ready to meet in person again. There’s no reason they can’t or shouldn’t continue providing accessible virtual events indefinitely to make sure all members of their community can be a part of what they provide.

My thinking has also evolved

“WHAT I HADN’T ANTICIPATED IN MY PROJECTION TURNED OUT TO BE WHAT I MISSED THE MOST: MY PEOPLE.” — SARA NUSS-GALLES

in a way: Because I didn’t have the opportunities to be connected all the time before the pandemic, I may have underestimated how much energy online social interactions still take. It’s not lazy to need to take a night off from video calling (or even texting!) your friends and recharge.

Be kind to yourself. Surviving in a pandemic is work. A year later, it is still OK to see this time as an opportunity to rest.

FROM SARA NUSS-GALLES Anniversaries are often a time of reflection — joy, accomplishment, endurance, passage, loss and this past year, for me, a

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MARCH 18 • 2021

sort of survival. As a child of Holocaust survivors, I often tested myself with concentration camp scenarios. Could I stand at strict attention in the freezing Chicago winter?

Could I skip a meal or two without my mother’s interferSara ence? Could I resist Nuss-Galles the beloved Cella’s Chocolate Covered Cherry that taunted me from my jacket pocket?

In the early weeks of the 202021 year of COVID, I wrote that not only did I inherit my parents’ trauma, but I felt strengthened and prepared by it. My pantry, refrigerator and, yes, even toilet paper supply, were always stocked. All year I ate, I walked, I FaceTimed, I Zoomed (too much), I wrote and I read (a lot).

I managed all that pretty well.

What I hadn’t anticipated in my projection turned out to be what I missed the most: my people.

My children, my grandchildren, my friends and, yes, my acquaintances in the grocery store, coffee shop, yoga class and drug store.

The social capital that connects us to others both intimately and casually.

My husband and I are the lucky ones, having had everything we needed this past year.

And now, two vaccines later, we are slowly, cautiously, joyfully connecting with those missing pieces — our family, our friends and our acquaintances. We wish it for the entire world.

FROM RABBI SETH WINBERG My personal view hasn’t changed. Without minimizing how emotionally difficult it can be, Halachah requires being together in person for certain rituals such as the Mourner’s Kaddish.

“MANY MONTHS OF WORKING WITH YOUNG ADULTS VIRTUALLY AND IN PERSON HAS CONVINCED ME THAT THE MOST IMPORTANT AND FUNDAMENTALLY HUMAN ASPECTS OF COMMUNITY DO NOT TRANSPOSE EASILY TO A VIRTUAL SPACE.” — RABBI SETH WINBERG

Many months of working with young adults virtually and in person has convinced me that the most important and fundamentally human aspects of community do not transpose easily to a virtual space.

Brandeis has had Rabbi Seth very few COVID Winberg cases on campus.

We’ve worked incredibly hard to provide continuous religious life in person for all faith communities on campus.

For some, virtual platforms are a meaningful way to get through the pandemic. For many others, a physical connection to a local community is vital and irreplaceable.

FROM LINDA S. HAASE When I left my office on March 12, 2020, I never dreamed that a full year would go by without my returning. I never imagined how effective I’d be in working from home or Linda S. how much I would Haase miss interacting with my colleagues. And I never anticipated how thankful I’d be for Zoom, Teams and other technological tools that have enabled

us to stay connected to friends and family — and to stream Shabbat services every week.

But I did have one thing right: When our community put our Jewish values to work, it made all the difference. From the woman who delivered loaves of challah to her neighbors every week to the day school kids who used 3-D printers to make face shields for frontline workers, we have found ways to care for one another and stay connected.

Everyone has been so creative and thoughtful in taking their programming online. And I am so proud to work for JUF (Jewish United Fund of Metropolitan Chicago), which has distributed nearly $20 million in extra funding to help meet emergency needs in the community.

FROM RABBI AARON BRUSSO We have spent thousands of years turning our world into a familiar and habitable place. We have carefully curated our surroundings to convince us that we are the main characters on this planet.

One year into this pandemic, we are reminded that we are strangers in a strange land. We have seen traffic arteries cleared of cars while ventilators were continued on page 12

“WHEN OUR COMMUNITY PUT OUR JEWISH VALUES TO WORK, IT MADE ALL THE DIFFERENCE.” — LINDA HAASE

ONE CANNOT LIVE

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PURELY COMMENTARY “WE HAVE CAREFULLY CURATED OUR SURROUNDINGS TO CONVINCE US THAT WE ARE THE MAIN CHARACTERS ON THIS PLANET. ONE YEAR INTO THIS PANDEMIC WE ARE REMINDED THAT WE ARE STRANGERS IN A STRANGE LAND.” — RABBI AARON BRUSSO continued from page 10

clearing lungs. We have learned the humility of a global sabbath, of being still. And at the same time, we have never felt more human.

When families go through loss Rabbi Aaron before a wedding Brusson or a bar mitzvah, they will sometimes say to me, ‘We don’t want to mention that. We want it to be happy.’ I will then suggest they think of

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MARCH 18 • 2021

COVID vaccinations from nonJews, the writer, Mr. Edelstein, mentions, “Whether intended or not, it is part of the mix of antisemitism that leads to Jewish injury, death and hurt.”

My three complaints to SNL, NBC and the CEO of NBC yielded zero responses.

Others in my advocacy world received no responses either, showing that SNL and NBC don’t care that they spew

the sanctuary like the human heart. It’s a place that contains everything all at once.

Loss mixes with love mixes with joy mixes with tears. It’s a place where we don’t think of things as messy and chaotic but as one feeling teaching another to feel itself more deeply.

This past year, we have had no choice but to feel it all at the same time. I hope we don’t forget what it feels like to be a creature and to be human.

anti-Jewish hatred.

They also know that most Jews don’t care.

— Ed Kohl West Bloomfield

Things Are Looking Up The March 4-10 edition of the Jewish News was “wall-to-wall” great news. What a pleasure to read and be part of the greatest Jewish community in North America.

With the vaccine being distributed at two million per day and the weather breaking, we can all feel reenergized.

— Harvey Bronstein Southfield

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PASSOVER

gear up to How Will This Year’s Many celebrate another Passover; Seder Be Different virtual others plan small From Last Year’s? seders.

JENNIFER LOVY CONTRIBUTING WRITER Shayna Levin, husband, Jeff, with Andrew and Hannah

L

ast year, a headline in the Passover edition of the Jewish News optimistically predicted, “Passover 2020: Next Year in Person; This Year on Zoom.”

Now, almost a year later, the number of COVID cases and deaths related to the virus is decreasing, and the number of vaccines administered is slowly increasing. But we have a long way to go before putting this pandemic behind us.

So, once again, for many, seders will remain virtual.

“I have two family members in my immediate family who have underlying conditions. I cannot take the chance of either one getting sick,” said Wendy Arnold, a Farmington Hills resident who will spend Passover with her husband and three children. “While I have been fully vaccinated, the rest of my family has not. Once the

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weather gets warmer, we can have grandparents on the deck, but until then, no one comes in.”

Last year, we had very little time to shift our seders to online gatherings or scale back to more intimate family meals. On April 8, the first night of Passover, we sat down in quarantine to read from the Haggadah. The holiday started 16 days after Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signed an executive order mandating that all Michigan residents stay home. Exceptions were made for essential workers or going out for necessities such as food and gas or taking care of a loved one.

Because Passover was the first Jewish holiday to occur during the pandemic, it served as a model for all the celebrations to come. We adapted quickly and learned that it was possible to gather through technology and make a holiday meaningful, although

not preferable.

While last year’s Passover headline turned out to be a mostly inaccurate prediction, now — with much less stringent gathering restrictions and the availability of the vaccine to the more vulnerable — some families are looking forward to hosting or attending a Passover seder.

Shayna Levin of Commerce Township said that because her in-laws were vaccinated in January, they are now planning to celebrate Passover together. They did, however, request a smaller seder. So, instead of the 25-30 people she typically hosts, her family, her in-laws, and her sister-in-law’s family will be the only ones celebrating together.

“We are glad our families have reached a level of comfort where celebrations can continue,” Levin said. “We plan to make this year’s Passover one where we celebrate freedom, the ability to be together and the promise that next year we will be together again.”

Last year, Elayne Moss of Southfield ended up delivering a lot of care packages to the dozens of people who were expected to be sitting around her seder table. She prepared and froze much of her food in anticipation of the 200-plus dinners and lunches she and her sister Terry Schwartz typically serve to family and friends throughout the week of Passover.

When it was time to read from the Haggadah in 2020, Moss and her husband, Barry, were together. They joined the rest of their extended family virtually. This year, they won’t host their typical seder, but they will have a few more guests at the dinner table.

“There will probably be eight of us together, but we will still Zoom with everyone else,” said Moss. She added that

The Levin family’s seder table last year BELOW: Last year’s Moss Zoom seder.

MELISSA ZEIDMAN

everyone will have received their second dose of the vaccine at least two weeks before the start of Passover.

“THERE WILL PROBABLY BE EIGHT OF US TOGETHER, BUT WE WILL STILL ZOOM WITH EVERYONE ELSE.” — ELAYNE MOSS

RISK FACTORS For those who plan to gather in person, Dr. Carl Lauter, an infectious disease and allergy immunology physician at Beaumont Health and professor at Oakland University William Beaumont School of Medicine, offers some advice on how to approach Passover this year.

“The biggest mistake people can make is to think that the vaccine is a ‘get out of jail free’ card.

It’s far from that,” he said.

For those considering an in-person seder, Lauter suggests thinking about who will be seated around the table. Based on his recommendation, there should actually be multiple tables to

ensure adequate social distancing.

Some of the factors to consider when planning for the holiday include looking at who will be there. Will there be kids? What about older adults or others who are regarded as high risk?

“My advice is to forget the vaccine. Social distance because we don’t have herd immunity yet. You can get together, but it’s the old caveat emptor, let the buyer beware.

The vaccine is no guarantee.

“Until we get herd immunity, we still have to social distance, and we still have to wear a mask. So how do you eat when you’re wearing a mask? It only works if you’re in a facility that has pretty decent ventilation, or you can open the doors and windows and let fresh air circulate,” said Lauter. “I wish it was easier. But right now, it’s not.

We’re stuck.”

MARCH 18 • 2021

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15

PASSOVER

Rules of

Engagement Party planners provide tips to keep your Zoom seder guests participating.

SUZANNE CHESSLER CONTRIBUTING WRITER

A

ll-in participation is the key to a successful Zoom seder, according to four local event planners whose clients have asked for help with Zoom weddings, Zoom bar and bat mitzvahs, Zoom baby naming ceremonies and Zoom holiday parties during this past year of pandemic isolation.

The idea is to have everyone sense togetherness at a singular event while keeping active, so they don’t feel that they are just looking at another screen.

While the four — Gail Ball, Janice Cherkasky, Susan Siegal and Andrea Solomon — are looking forward to when they again can plan in-person activities, this past year of online events provided several lessons for planning this year’s Passover seders.

“One person has to be in Gail Ball charge,” said Cherkasky of Franklin, whose business is Gourmet Parties. “That doesn’t mean the person in charge does everything. It means that the person in charge involves everybody so that the seder is Janice well organized.”

Cherasky Involving everybody means having someone specifically coordinating food choices and sources, someone else making assignments for the service and yet another handling the technology.

Cherkasky explains that, as a group, people first need to decide how they want to arrange for the food with three considerations in mind — the level of kosher observance, the distances between homes and the total number of guests entering into the celebration.

Whether people live close together or far

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MARCH 18 • 2021

apart, they can decide to have every household individually cooking the same menu with recipes provided in advance by email.

If they live close together and the number of households seem manageable, each dish can be assigned to one person with one household assuming distribution tasks — receiving the foods, dividing up the portions and setting up packages as specialties are delivered and picked up. Recipes can be emailed at a later date so that others can try out the ethnic delicacies on their own.

“An easy choice for the food could be

APPEALING TO KIDS Gail Ball of Gail Ball Events in West Bloomfield advises that special consideration should be given so that very young children feel connected to the service and, therefore, the holiday and Judaism.

“Children could be asked to draw pictures of what is being observed or even given Passover coloring books,” Ball said.

“The seder should be interactive for them as well as the adults as they show what has been drawn.”

Susan Siegal, a planner in partnership with Terri Trepeck for the Event Bliss & Gifts party store in Franklin, likes to enhance the seder by assigning parts of the Haggadah to guests and asking them to sing their parts to a Broadway melody indiSusan Siegal vidually chosen.

“It really gets everyone involved,” Siegal said. “Others have to try to name the seder tune. It’s different, and it’s fun.”

Solomon believes the service is made

“AN EASY CHOICE FOR FOOD IS ORDERING FROM ONE CATERER SO THE SAME MEALS ARE PICKED UP BY EACH HOUSEHOLD.” — PARTY PLANNER JANICE CHERKASKY

ordering from a specific caterer so that the same meals could be picked up individually by a member of each household,” Cherkasky said.

While one person is in charge of the service, everyone should have a part in recitation, they agree. The first decision has to do with choosing the Haggadah, which could be mailed or emailed in advance or projected on the Zoom screen so everyone can follow along.

“I have a friend who writes a Haggadah, and it’s not long so it will work for our Zoom service, but, of course, that option must be agreed upon in advance,” said Solomon of West Bloomfield.

If the Haggadah is projected on the screen, one with colorful pictures would be more interesting, especially for the youngsters.

more interesting with young children in costumes if they are so inclined. This makes them feel they have stepped into the times being marked by the service.

Setting the table in similar ways also adds to the feeling of oneness, Solomon advises.

While participants can agree on the kinds of centerpieces, Solomon is glad when a relative likes to provide small crafted objects to enhance the mood. One year, she brought plastic frogs to increase connections to the holiday story.

Depending on the distance of the families and friends interacting this year, interested participants can decide on symbolic objects to be sent by mail or delivered.

With the search for the afikoman, adults can agree to hide it in a comparable place in each household.

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PASSOVER

Celebrating Together Many synagogues and families will hold seders via Zoom.

SHARI S. COHEN CONTRIBUTING WRITER

W

hile the availability of COVID-19 vaccinations is encouraging, many people still haven’t been fully vaccinated. Reform temples and Conservative synagogues remain off-limits to normal group gatherings while some Orthodox synagogues permit small, socially distanced services only.

As a result, many Reform congregations are planning seders on Zoom for one or both nights. Conservative synagogues are generally holding online seders for the second night only.

These options enable people to participate regardless of their location, health or vaccination status. Check with your synagogue for details.

While seders on Zoom have obvious limitations — the lack of personal contact, inability to share food and unexpected technical difficulties — they offer a convenient, safe way to connect for a holiday.

The use of electronic technology on Shabbat and holidays, however, is not permitted by Orthodox synagogues. Conservative synagogues generally are holding Zoom seders only on the second night, which is not Shabbat.

For synagogues that don’t

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MARCH 18 • 2021

permit use of electronics, other alternatives are provided.

For instance, Bais Chabad Torah Center of West Bloomfield is working to arrange small, in-person seders.

“I would like to create ‘seder placement’ in which I can set up people to attend smaller seders in the community,” said Rabbi Shneur Silberberg, outreach director.

“I don’t think we need to revert back to the way it was last year, in which many — particularly the elderly — had lonely, painful Pesach experiences,” he said. “With many vaccinated, and with the numbers continuing to decline, I would like to find ways to safely arrange a proper seder experience for anyone that would like.”

Many individual families will repeat last Passover’s experience online.

Daniel Mesa, executive director of Temple Beth El in Bloomfield Township, held a family seder via Zoom last year and plans to do so again this year.

“We still need the connection,” he says. “You can see the person, hear their voice.

We have friends and family all over the country.”

Tips for Family Zoom Seders 1. Zoom’s free pack package allows only 40 minutes, so longer seders will require a second invitation and set-up. Zoom’s least expensive commercial package provides up to 30 hours per session for up to 100 participants at $149.90 annually; monthly billing is available.

2. Make sure the lighting is good and that you’re visible on the screen and that the volume is up in order to be heard. Take the time to set it up and test it.

3. Having the host use a microphone plugged into the computer will help eliminate sound “feedback.”

4. The host can mute participants until they are called upon to reduce interruptions and background noise.

5. Seeing yourself onscreen in a little box for a prolonged period can be stressful, according to an article in the American Psychological Technology, Mind and Behavior Journal, as quoted in the Washington Post. The article points out that Zoom has a “Hide Myself” option by right-clicking on the video display which removes self-view but allows other participants to see you.

6. Zoom seder participants may want to go through key parts of the Haggadah and sing a few traditional songs together and then close out the Zoom to eat separately offline.

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Passover on Campus Hillels plan for seders under COVID restrictions.

DANNY SCHWARTZ STAFF WRITER

H

illel of Metro Detroit, University of Michigan Hillel and Michigan State University Hillel are all preparing for a second-year Passover under COVID restrictions, some in similar ways and some different from 2020.

HILLEL OF METRO DETROIT (HMD) will be purchasing Friendseder kits from The Well for students free of charge.

Additionally, prior to Passover, HMD will be hosting a virtual community “Chocolate Seder” on Wednesday, March 24.

“We’re going to go through a Passover seder trivia-game style so that it’s an education piece as well, and every piece of the seder will have something chocolate corresponding with it,” Brittany Begun, associate director of HMD, said. “Instead of an egg, you might have a chocolate egg. We’re trying to find different things that correlate.”

HMD will also be making Passover bags, including “everything you would need to get through the week of Passover that we can provide for students,” according to Begun, including matzah and other snacks.

The bags are free, and there will be different pickup locations for them.

While they didn’t expect to celebrate Passover this way for a second year, HMD is still hoping to support their students through this as much as possible.

“Last year, there was so much unknown, we didn’t really know how we could provide things to our students or what it was going to look like,” Begun said. “This year, we’re much more prepared, and students are taking an active role in planning all of these pieces and being a part of it.”

For questions, reach out to Begun at brittany@hillel-detroit.org.

UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN HILLEL will be offering similar options, including the first night’s seder free for every student, with three ways to do that. Students can get individual take-out, get small group catering with roommates or they can cook their own meal and get reimbursed.

Rav Lisa Stella, director of religious life and education for U-M Hillel, is doing a Zoom seder in her home on the first night for anyone who wants to join.

“We just want to make sure that nobody is alone on seder night,” Stella said. “For Passover last year, students were mostly

home. So, students who are staying on campus are actually experiencing Passover in this kind of a situation for the first time, and that’s really important for us to remember.”

U-M Hillel is also having prep options, including virtual workshops for students who are running a seder for the first time.

Additionally, U-M Hillel is putting together materials going into “swag bags” for students that sign up for the seder meal. The bag will include a seder plate puzzle (see photo), as well as anything students need for a seder experience like a Haggadah, candles and seder plate foods.

While the first night’s seder meal is free, U-M Hillel is also providing paid meals.

People can pay for a meal for the second night’s seder and lunches and dinners through the rest of the holiday, though Shabbat dinner will be free, as usual.

There will be three different pickups for the paid meals, with all forms on the U-M Hillel website. Reservations are being taken until capacity is reached, with prices being $22 for each meal. For whom the cost is prohibitive, they should get in touch with Stella at lstella@umich.edu.

For further information, visit michiganhillel.org/passover.

MSU HILLEL is continuing to keep everything COVID-safe, doing seder’s virtually on the first and second nights of Passover.

MSU Hillel will be offering free to-go meals for students for the two seders.

Additionally, they’ll be offering a sederat-home option, reimbursing students for hosting on their own.

Similar to U-M Hillel, MSU Hillel will be offering Passover dinner meals that are available for purchase by students, with a free Shabbat dinner.

Nate Strauss, director of Jewish student life for MSU Hillel, realizes this year is a completely different experience than last year, one of the reasons for that being how acclimated students have gotten to Zoom.

“There’s been a change,” Strauss said.

“Zoom experiences used to be not super fun or not as engaging, but over the past couple months and definitely since the beginning of the summer, we’ve noticed that Zoom experiences are incredible, and there are really amazing things happening.

We want to continue that for Passover.”

For more information, you can visit msuhillel.org/passover.

MARCH 18 • 2021

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OUR COMMUNITY

is an honor and carries a lot of significance for me,” Lawrence told the Jewish News. “My district is home to one of the largest Jewish populations in the state, and I’m proud to fight for them in the halls of Congress every day.

“Remembering the lives lost during the Holocaust as well as the families that were torn apart is critical to ensuring that such atrocities and evil never happen again,” she continued. “As the co-chair of

the Congressional Caucus on Black-Jewish Relations, and the second vice chair of the Congressional Black Caucus, I know that the Black and Jewish communities have a shared history.

“In the face of bigotry and hate, our communities have always been champions for justice, truth and equality. I look forward to working with the council to support the mission and efforts of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum.”

The council meets twice a year and consists of 55 members appointed by the president, five members each from the Senate and House of Representatives and three members from the Departments of Education, Interior and State.

Ron Weiser, University of Michigan Regent and former chairman of the Michigan Republican Party, is also a member of the council.

in front of the shop asking customers to read the message on his phone out loud and recording their reactions. None of the customers ended up reading the “Free Palestine” message, with most of them just walking away.

One customer quickly realized what the man was doing and confronted him outside of the store, saying, “There is no Palestine,” and later asking, “You have nothing to do in your life?”

At one point in the video, a manager of the store confronted the man, asking, “Are you here to shop? What else do you need?”

The man posted the video on his Instagram account, and has received many negative reactions from his own followers.

One comment on the video read, “OK, but hear me out, what if we don’t go around harassing random people?”

“This is really wrong, and

I’m embarrassed for you,” said another commenter, a non-supporter of Israel. “Of course, there’s going to be some Jewish people who do support Israel, but purposefully going into Jewish communities/shops and doing this is not pushing the movement to further progression, is it?”

The video posted on his TikTok account has amassed 5.6 million views, with mostly negative comments on there as well.

“I’m Palestinian, but this is just wrong. Do better please,” one commenter said.

“What is the purpose of doing this? These are just people trying to shop at a kosher market. Leave them alone,” another commenter added.

“Counterproductive, antisemitic, not activism, just wrong,” yet another responded.

No Grove spokesperson was available to comment.

Important Role

Rep. Brenda Lawrence is appointed to U.S. Holocaust Memorial Council.

DANNY SCHWARTZ STAFF WRITER

U

.S. Rep. Brenda Lawrence (MI-14) was appointed March 4 by Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi to serve on the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Council.

Lawrence, founder and co-chair of the Congressional Caucus on Black-Jewish Relations, will replace the council seat held by the late civil rights leader Rep. John Lewis.

The council was established

by Congress in 1980 to lead the nation in remembering the Holocaust and to raise private funds to construct the U.S.

Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C. Once the museum opened in 1993, the council became the governing board of trustees of the museum, an independent establishment of the government operating as a public-private partnership that receives some federal funding to support operations of the museum building.

“Given that I represent the only Holocaust memorial museum in the state of Michigan, this appointment to serve on the United States Holocaust Memorial Council

Harassment Thwarted

Anti-Israel provocateur wins no friends at kosher market.

DANNY SCHWARTZ STAFF WRITER

C

A screenshot of a Grove shopper being harassed in a video of the incident uploaded by Rabbi Hoffman of Yeshiva World, available on thejewishnews.com.

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ustomers and staff of a kosher market in Southfield endured an attempt of anti-Israel intimidation recently, but none of them gave in to the perpetrator.

A Yemeni content creator on YouTube, Instagram and TikTok known for skits and pranks went to the Grove Kosher Market, formerly known as One Stop Kosher, and harassed patrons by showing them a picture on his phone of a Palestinian flag with the words “Free Palestine.”

In the video, the man can be seen walking throughout and

Rep. Brenda Lawrence

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MAZEL TOV! FEB. 14, 2021 Christine and Adam Cohen of Baltimore, Md., are thrilled to introduce their daughter, Isadora “Izzy” Harriette Cohen. Elle and Lucy welcomed their baby sister home and greeted her with amazement in their eyes. Her name honors many family members and a friend. Proud grandparents are Richard and Kathy Krueger of Maryland, Michele Krueger of Maryland, and Phil and Karen Cohen of Bloomfield Hills.

JAN. 10, 2021 Lisa and Evan Sack are so happy to announce the birth of their son, Ethan Stewart Sack.

Ethan is the grandson of Lee and Bruce Sack, and Cindy and Ray Stewart. Proud great-grandparents are Harriet Barish, and Barbara and Robert Riley. He is the great-grandchild of the late Annette and Murray Sack, Shirley and David Milgrom, Jack Barish, and Georgia and Orville Fowlkes.

JAN. 30, 2021 Amanda and Avi Davidoff of Glencoe, Ill., are delighted to announce the birth of Emmett Max (Matan Benyamin), brother to Chase and Audrey. Proud grandparents are Margie Dunn and Mark Davidoff of West Bloomfield, and Janet and Jeff Bunn of Winnetka, Ill. Kvelling great-grandparents are Ilene and Jerry Dunn of West Bloomfield. Emmett is named in loving memory of his maternal great-grandparents, Merwyn Adelman, and Mary and William Bunn. Emmett is also the great-grandson of the late Marion Adelman, and the late Rita and Ronald Davidoff.

NOV. 24, 2020 Sam Langberg and Hannah Chalew are thrilled to announce the birth of their daughter, Izzy Rae Langberg-Chalew (Hila Shamayim).

Overjoyed grandparents are Lois and Mark Langberg of West Bloomfield, and Gail and Stuart Chalew of New Orleans, La. She is named in loving memory of her great-grandfather Isadore Silverman and great-grandmother Ralene Chalew. Her Hebrew name is in honor of her great-grandparents Helen and Harold Langberg, great-grandmother Selma Naron and greataunt Surrie Armstrong. Izzy is also the great-granddaughter of the late Evelyn Silverman. continued on page 24

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MAZEL TOV! continued from page 22

Elizabeth Jean Scott will lead the congregation in prayer as she becomes a bat mitzvah at Temple Israel in West Bloomfield on Saturday, March 20, 2021. She will be joined in celebration by her proud parents, Carolyn and Andrew Scott, and her sister Lauren. Ellie is the loving grandchild of Debbie and Michael Eichenhorn, and Lois and Walter Scott, and great-grandchild of Thelma and James Scully.

She is a student at Meads Mill Middle School in Northville.

As part of her mitzvah project, Ellie assisted in sorting and stocking food at Gleaners Community Food Bank to address food scarcity.

Levi Kameron Yaker, son of Julie and Daniel Yaker, will chant from the Torah on the occasion of his bar mitzvah Saturday, March 20, 2021, at Temple Israel in West Bloomfield. He will be joined in celebration by his siblings Alexandra and Noah. Levi is the loving grandchild of Nancy and the late Larry Kushkin, and Elaine and Barry Yaker.

He is a student at West Hills Middle School in Bloomfield Hills. For his mitzvah project, Levi started a nonprofit baking company called Baked By Levi. During the pandemic, he baked and delivered cookies weekly to friends and family who placed orders. All funds raised have been and will continue to be donated to Stand Up to Cancer and Angels of Hope.

HOW TO SUBMIT ANNOUNCEMENTS Mazel Tov! announcements are welcomed for members of the Jewish community. Anniversaries, engagements and weddings with a photo (preferably color) can appear at a cost of $18 each. Births are $10. There is no charge for bar/ bat mitzvahs or for special birthdays starting at the 90th.

For information, contact Editorial Assistant Sy Manello at smanello@thejewishnews.com or (248) 351-5147 for information or for a mailed or emailed copy of guidelines.

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Sallen 95th

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Smith 95th

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Hearing Our Calling

Y

ou may have noticed The mitzvot, often translated that the Book of as commandments or laws, in Leviticus is a direct Leviticus, can seem antiquated, continuation from the Book for example, animal sacrificof Exodus. es. Animals and grain would In Hebrew we read Vayikra be offered, sacrificed, as a el Moshe … often way for ancient Israel translated as “The to engage as individuals Lord called to Moses and as a community with …” But the Hebrew God. There is a lot of verb vayikra doesn’t meaning to glean from explicitly include “the this text. For example, Davey Rosen to seek redemption, to Lord.” The English translation could read offer something deeply “and He called to personal, to let go can Parshat Moses …” require great sacrifices.

Vayikra: The verse will We start the Book Leviticus immediately continof Leviticus just before 1:1-5:26; Isaiah ue, “and the Eternal Passover this year. The spoke to him from the 43:21-44:23. Passover story, our peoTent of Meeting;” the ple’s redemption and Eternal is connected liberation from Egypt, to the second verb va-yedaber is central to our people and — and He spoke. The verb to our brit, our covenant with vayikra is continuing from the the Eternal. With Leviticus previous book, Exodus. One continuing with God calling of our great commentators, to Moses, the Torah is teachRashbam, Rashi’s grandson, ing us that our liberation is teaches us God is calling to not over; there is much more Moses from the tent that had to do. just been built at the end of While we have been liberatExodus. Leviticus begins in ed from Pharaoh, we are then Exodus with God already called — vayikra — to be in calling out to Moses from the relationship with each other Tent of Meeting. and the Eternal. As individIn Exodus 24:16, a cloud, uals and as a community, we representing the Divine are called to make sacrifices Presence, settles upon Mount in order to truly remain free Sinai. God calls to Moses, from Pharaoh and carry the vayikra el Moshe, and so, too, in Torah in our hearts through Exodus 40:35, the cloud settles the wilderness. upon the Tent of Meeting, To paraphrase the late telling us the Mishkan is now Rabbi Jonathan Sacks, freea moving Mount Sinai. Now, dom from Pharaoh was much with the Divine Presence cov- easier than what would come ering the Tent of Meeting, the next, the freedom to create a people of Israel can move forjust and righteous society. ward with God at their center, Davey Rosen is rabbinic intern at and it is from there that the Jewish Hospice & Chaplaincy Network Eternal calls out to Moses in and a rabbinic student at the Academy Leviticus 1:1. for Jewish Religion in New York.

ARTS&LIFE BOOKS

Welcoming

Elijah

Stray cat teaches kids kindness at Passover.

I

SUZANNE CHESSLER CONTRIBUTING WRITER

n Lesléa Newman’s new children’s book, Welcoming Elijah: A Passover Tale with a Tail, the essence of hospitality extends beyond the holiday as expressed with poetic contrasts.

Revered Passover traditions take place in a home setting at a time when pandemic isolation is not required and allow a new direct relationship to be established as shown through illustrations by Susan Gal. The book features two Elijahs — one known throughout Jewish history as projecting a time of peace and another in the form of a cat transitioning from unrest into peaceful times after finding a home through the door opened for the symbolic figure.

“I would love readers to see the joy of coming together for Passover,” said Newman, recognized for this project with a National Jewish Book Award, Sydney Taylor Book Award presented by the Association of Jewish Libraries and Northern Dawn Lesléa Religious/Spiritual Children’s Newman Book Award.

“There are all kinds of people [in the story] and a willingness to be open-hearted to bring a stranger — the kitten represents a stranger — into a home with kind and loving arms. Young readers learn about the beautiful rituals that encompass the holiday.”

Newman, who writes for varying age groups from children to adults, has been a guest speaker at Temple Israel in West Bloomfield. Her earlier children’s books with Jewish themes, counted with some 30 books, include A Sweet Passover, Hanukkah Delight! and Matzo Ball Moon.

Among her multiple writing awards are Bank Street College Best Books of the Year (2020), Wall Street Journal Top Ten Children’s Book of the Year (2019) and New York Children’s Library Best Ten Children’s

Books of the Year List (2019).

“Welcoming Elijah is short, which I think lends itself well to Zoom seders,” Newman said. “I think it lends itself to be read out loud and have the pictures shown. People in different locations can all have a copy and read it together.

“There’s not a lot of explanation of the holiday, but there is the feeling of the holiday — of togetherness, of celebration, of lovingkindness. That’s what the holiday is all about.”

Newman’s career has been all about writing.

“I knew I wanted to be a writer since I was 8 years old,” she explained. “I was an avid reader, and I wrote poetry from a very young age. When I was a teenager, I noticed that Seventeen magazine published poetry, so I sent them poems, and they accepted some.

“I met with the editor, Hilary Cosell, daughter of the famous sportscaster Howard Cosell. That was the beginning, and I never looked back. I took creative writing in high school and went to the Jack Kerouac School of Disembodied Poetics in Colorado; it was part of Naropa Institute, now Naropa University.”

Among recent adult books are two dedicated to her late parents, one for her mom (I Carry My Mother) and one for her dad (I Wish My Father). In poetry, they chronicle the last five years of their lives as she cared for them.

WRITING FOR KIDS “The way I got into children’s books was quite accidental,” she recalled. “A lesbian mom told me she didn’t have any books that showed a family like hers to read to her daughter.

“When she said that to me, it resonated, and I wrote Heather Has Two Mommies. I thought about that because I grew up in the 1950s and never read a book about a Jewish family.

“After that, I realized that poetry and children’s books are very similar. They both use very little text and have literary devices (rhyme, repetition, rhythm). I just fell in love with the form of picture books, so I kept at it.”

Newman, raised in Brooklyn and living in Massachusetts, spells her first name Lesléa to combine her English and Hebrew names and reflect her religious commitments, which include membership in Congregation B’nai Israel in Northampton, Mass. She loves crossword puzzles and is thrilled to have appeared in one published by the New York Times.

“This new book brings together several passions of mine — my love of Judaism, my love of Passover and my love of cats,” said Newman, planning this year’s seder only with her spouse. “The artist was kind enough to use my cat as the model for her illustrations.”

MARCH 18 • 2021

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ARTS&LIFE DINING IN

Creative Cooking for Passover

P

assover is a long holiday. And it feels longer because the menu is so limited. Or is it? Don’t let food worries color your cooking creativity. These days there are other ingredients such as quinoa (not a grain at all, but seeds) and tapioca flour, for example to cook with.

Growing up, Annabel my mother Cohen Contributing writer made matzah brei during Passover. It was a dish her Polish parents prepared for her family. It was almost the only “traditional” food she made for our family during Passover.

She would serve it salty or sweet, sprinkled with cinnamon and sugar or spread with fruit jam. It was our tradition.

Basically, it is moistened matzah (use water), drained and mixed with eggs (1 pound matzah, 4 large eggs and a teaspoon of salt, mixed together).

She fried it in a skillet with oil and it was heavenly.

Sure, you can avoid any floury foods (many of us do it anyway), or you can embrace your inner bubbie and look for fun and creative ways to add matzah to your favorite entrees. Breakfast, lunch or dinner, take your Passover

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MARCH 18 • 2021

food to a different level — not gourmet, just interesting and pleasing.

Go ahead — think inside the box (of matzah, of course).

Use some newer ingredients and have some fun. Start some new traditions.

QUINOA WITH VEGETABLES What makes this dish extra luxurious are the oodles of sauteed vegetables you can customize to your own tastes — super versatile.

You also use it as a stuffing for vegetables, such as bell peppers, zucchini boats or my favorite, semi-hollowed eggplant halves. If you feel like adding a handful of dried fruits or nuts to the mix, feel free. I didn’t include them in the recipe because Passover food already has so many recipes with fruits and nuts.

Ingredients ½ cup dry quinoa 1 cup water 2 Tbsp. olive oil 1 cup chopped onion 1 tsp. minced garlic 1 cup chopped mushrooms (about 4 ounces) 1 cup ¼-inch diced carrots 1 cup ¼-inch diced zucchini, unpeeled Kosher salt and black pepper to taste

Optional: Fresh herbs, such as sage, dill, basil Optional: Splash Balsamic vinegar Directions Preheat oven to 425º. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment. Set aside.

Combine the quinoa and water in a small saucepan and bring the water to a boil over medium-high heat.

Remove the saucepan from the heat and place a lid on the pan. Allow the quinoa to cool in the pan.

In the meantime, combine the oil, onion, garlic, mushrooms, carrots and zucchini in a bowl and toss well. Season lightly with salt and pepper and spread on the baking sheet. Cook for 10-15 minutes until the vegetables are just tender.

Transfer back to the bowl and add the quinoa and toss well. Adjust seasoning to taste. Makes 4-6 servings.

BRAZILIAN CHEESE BREAD (PAO DE QUEIJO) As many of you know, my family is Brazilian, and this is one of our favorite treats.

They have a sort of gummy texture on the inside, which is what I love about them most. You can purchase these, uncooked, frozen in many groceries or you can make yourself with this easy recipe.

Ingredients 1 cup milk ½ cup butter 1 tsp. salt 2 cups tapioca flour 2 large eggs 1 ½ cups freshly grated Parmesan cheese Directions Preheat oven to 400º.

Brush a 12-cup muffin tin or 24 cup mini-muffin tin with vegetable oil. Set aside Combine milk, salt and butter in a large saucepan over medium-high heat.

Whisk the mixture constantly until it comes to a boil.

Remove from heat immediately and stir in tapioca flour until smooth. Add the eggs and cheese and stir until smooth. Set aside to cool.

Divide among the muffin tins and bake until puffy and golden, 15-20 minutes.

Makes 12 large or 24 mini cheese breads. Eat immediately or reheat in a 300º oven for about 5 minutes.

BARBARA’S MATZAH BALLS My friend makes matzah balls from, guess what, actual matzah! She uses schmaltz (chicken fat) to make these glorious. She’s made them without it and says it’s just not the same.

These make sturdy, dense orbs, just as her family likes.

ping and frost the top and sides of the cake. Garnish with chocolate shavings if desired.

This cake freezes beautifully. Makes 12 servings.

If you like fluffy matzah balls, this is not the recipe for you.

This recipe makes a lot of matzah balls (they freeze well), but halve the recipe for fewer.

Ingredients Pound of matzah (about 12 sheets), crumbled Water ½ cup melted chicken fat (schmaltz) or vegetable oil 1 cup chopped onion ½ cup chopped parsley 6 eggs ½ cup matzah meal Salt and pepper to taste Directions Place the crumbled matzah in a large bowl and add enough warm water to cover. Allow to sit for 30 minutes.

While the matzah is soaking, heat schmaltz in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add the onions and cook until very tender.

Transfer the matzah to a colander and squeeze out excess water. Add the matzah to the onions and cook, stirring frequently until the matzah is drier and begins to pull away from the sides of the pan.

Transfer the mixture to the empty bowl and stir in the parsley. Allow to cool for about 15 minutes.

Stir in the eggs, one at a

time, until each is incorporated. Add salt and pepper to taste. If the mixture is too soft to hold together when you squeeze it, add the matzah meal.

Cover and chill the mixture overnight in the refrigerator.

When ready to cook, bring a large pot of water to a boil over high heat.

Form the mixture into 30-balls (Barbara says “tight-balls”) and drop them into the boiling water (I use a slotted spoon). Cook them until they rise to the surface of the water. Remove the balls to a dish and chill until ready to serve.

Reheat the matzah balls in chicken soup (or broth) and keep warm until ready to serve. Makes 30 matzah balls.

FLOURLESS CHOCOLATE TORTE My friend, Julie, is a fantastic cook. This is her flourless torte that is great all year round.

Ingredients 7 ounces semisweet chocolate 1 stick unsalted butter or margarine 7 large eggs, separated (yolks in one small bowl, whites in another) 1 cup sugar 1 tsp. Vanilla extract ⅛ teaspoon cream of tartar

Sweetened whipped cream, optional: ½ cup heavy whipping cream ⅓ cup confectioner’s sugar 1 tsp. vanilla extract Directions In a double boiler melt chocolate and butter (or combine in a microwavesafe dish, cover with plastic wrap and cook on high for 2 minutes and stir until smooth). Set aside to cool.

In a large bowl, beat yolks and ¾ of a cup of sugar until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Gradually beat in warm chocolate and vanilla.

Preheat the oven to 325º.

In another bowl, beat egg whites until firm with the cream of tartar. Add the remaining ¼ cup of sugar, a little at a time, continuing beating until stiff.

Fold egg whites carefully into chocolate mixture until there are no more white streaks. Pour ¾ of batter into an ungreased 9” springform pan. Cover the remaining batter and refrigerate. Bake cake for 35 minutes. Remove and cool.

The center of the cake will fall. This is supposed to happen. Spread the remaining refrigerated batter on top of the cooled cake.

Place back in the refrigerator and chill until firm.

Make whipped cream top-

PESACHDIK BANANA STREUSEL MUFFINS Ingredients 1¼ cups matzah meal ¾ cup potato starch 2 tsp. cream of tartar 3 tsp. baking soda ¾ cup oil (vegetable or olive – not extra-virgin) 1 cup sugar 3 large eggs 2½ cups (about 6 medium) mashed bananas 1 cup chocolate chips (optional) Topping: 2 Tbsp. sugar 2 Tbsp. matzah meal 1 tsp. ground cinnamon 3 Tbsp. melted butter oil (vegetable or olive – not extra-virgin) Directions Preheat oven to 350°.

Line a 12-cup muffin tin with paper liners or spray well with nonstick cooking spray.

Place matzah meal, potato starch, cream of tartar and baking soda in a bowl and whisk well. Set aside.

Combine oil and sugar in a large bowl and beat oil, sugar and eggs until smooth, using an electric mixer. Add bananas and mix well. Add matzah meal mixture and mix until just combined – do not over mix.

Stir in the chocolate chips.

Divide the mixture among the muffin cups.

Stir together the topping mixture and sprinkle over the muffins.

Bake for 25-30 minutes until the muffins are puffed, golden and a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean.

Makes 12 muffins.

MARCH 18 • 2021

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STAR DELI

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NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING — RESCHEDULED UPPER LONG LAKE — LAKE BOARD

SPECIAL ASSESSMENT DISTRICT NO. 75 W. BLOOMFIELD TWP. SPECIAL ASSESSMENT DISTRICT NO. 288 BLOOMFIELD TWP. HEARING OF ASSESSMENT | MONDAY, MARCH 29, 2021 TO THE OWNERS OF THE FOLLOWING DESCRIBED PROPERTIES: TO THE OWNERS OF all properties abutting and/or with access to Upper Long Lake, Bloomfield Twp. & W. Bloomfield Twp., Oakland County, MI (Legal Description: T2N, R9E, Section 12 & T2N, R10E, Section 7) The Lake Board of Upper Long Lake will meet via Zoom on Monday, March 29, 2021, Bloomfield Twp. Hall, 4200 Telegraph Rd, 3:00 p.m., to consider confirming the Special Assessment Roll in order to continue a Lake Improvement Program for the years 2021-2024. Any person may attend this Public Hearing and may comment.

This Public Hearing is pursuant to the Natural Resources and Environmental Protection Act provisions for Inland Lake Improvements, MCL 324.30901 et. seq.

Join Zoom Meeting: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88308317707?pwd=d3VkYXFxU0hTeWtGdnhBT3JvbHM4UT09 Meeting ID: 883 0831 7707

Passcode: 738242

The proposed Special Assessment Roll with riparian parcels assessed at $638.06 per year and lake access parcels assessed between $159.52 and $210.56 per year. To examine the Special Assessment Roll contact the Bloomfield Township Clerk’s Office or West Bloomfield Township Clerk’s Office.

To preserve your right to appeal the Special Assessment Roll to the Michigan Tax Tribunal, you MUST both timely object and timely appeal.

• To object: you or your agent may appear at the Public Hearing or prior to the time of the Public Hearing your objection may be submitted in writing to Martin C. Brook, Clerk, Charter Twp. of Bloomfield, 4200 Telegraph Rd., Bloomfield Hills, MI 48302.

• To appeal: you must file a written appeal of the special assessment with the Michigan Tax Tribunal within 30 days after Notice of Confirmation of the Special Assessment Roll has been published in the Jewish News.

Martin C. Brook, Bloomfield Twp. Clerk Upper Long Lake-Lake Board Secretary

Teri Weingarden, W. Bloomfield Twp. Treasurer Upper Long Lake-Lake Board Officer

NOTE: The Charter Twp. of Bloomfield will provide necessary, reasonable auxiliary aids and services at all meetings to individuals with disabilities. All such requests must be made at least five days prior to said meeting. Individuals with disabilities requiring auxiliary aids or services should contact Bloomfield Twp. by writing or calling the following: Letter • Bloomfield Twp. Clerk’s Office, 4200 Telegraph Rd, Bloomfield Hills, MI 48302. Email • clerk@bloomfieldtwp.org Phone • 248-433-7702.

Post: 3-8-2021

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Publish: 3-18-2021 & 3-25-2021

MARCH 18 • 2021

NATE BLOOM COLUMNIST

US Mail: 3-11-2021

SHATNER TURNS 90; WOOD’S JEWISH STORY On March 22, William Shatner will turn 90. But his star still burns bright and his trek goes on. His latest film, Senior Moment, opens in theaters and on-demand March 26. Shatner stars as Victor, a retired NASA test pilot whose license gets taken away after he’s found speeding in his vintage Porsche convertible with his best friend (Christopher Lloyd of Back to the Future fame).

Victor’s life changes as he finds himself trying to get around by riding the bus, spurring his meeting with the beautiful free-spirit Caroline (played by Jean Smart, 69, a star of Designing Women). Victor and Caroline have very different lifestyles and, Smart says, they have to “negotiate their romance.” But, she added, they [end up] “filling each other’s gaps.”

Shatner postponed a 90-year-blowout celebration until this summer, when things will (we hope) be much better. He’ll celebrate at a museum near Syracuse, New York, that houses a hand-built, precise replica of the Enterprise bridge. Festivities include a $1,500-a-ticket gala dinner with Shatner himself (the ticket includes a selfie with the former Capt. Kirk, an autographed photo and a couple of other goodies).

Evan Rachel Wood, 33, was a child when she began acting in made-for-TV films in the ’90s. In 2003, she had her breakthrough star role in Thirteen, a gritty, critically

William Shatner at GalaxyCon Richmond in 2020

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acclaimed film about two teen girls. In the following years, she costarred in many prestige film and TV projects. She received a Golden Globe nomination for Thirteen and Golden Globe and Emmy nominations for the mini-series Mildred Pierce and the TV show Westworld.

Her Jewish background has long been confused. In a commentary track for one video (2004) she said she was Jewish. In 2005, theater director Ira Wood, Evan’s non-Jewish father, made a confusing statement that you could take to mean that Evan’s mother converted to Judaism when she (Evan’s mother) was a teen — or when Evan became a teen.

Evan’s mother, Sara Lynn Moore, 62, is a respected Hollywood-based acting coach. She and Ira Wood split when Evan was about 10. Her present husband is Jewish. The timing of her conversion was clarified last September when Evan posted a photo of her mother taken when her mother was just 16. In the photo, her mom is wearing a large Star-of-David on a pendant.

Clearly, Sara converted to Judaism when she was a teen. (Why Sara, the child of non-Jewish parents, decided to become Jewish at such a young age is still not public).

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31

ON THE GO

MUSICAL EVENING 8 PM, MARCH 20

PEOPLE | PLACES | EVENTS

DSO CONCERT 7:30 PM, MARCH 18

CHAMBER MUSIC 8-9 PM, MARCH 20 GOVERNMENT INSIGHT 8:15 AM, MARCH 18 JCRC/AJC will highlight on Zoom legislators from different levels of government (U.S. Senate, U.S. House, State Legislature, Oakland County) to discuss their 2021 priorities.

Each session is 45-minutes long, open to the community and includes a Q&A period. There is no cost to attend. This week will feature Oakland County Treasurer-Elect Robert Wittenberg. Info: Lauren Herrin, 248-641-2641.

THE ISRAELI ELECTIONS NOON-1 PM, MARCH 18 Join Temple Shir Shalom and Yiftah Leket, Detroit community shaliach, for an important lunch and learn discussion about the issues important to you and how the Israeli political parties are addressing them. Register: shirshalom. org/event/the-israeli-election.html or call 248-7378700.

DSO CONCERT 7:30 PM, MARCH 18 This is a digital concert of Mozart’s Violin Concerto #2, featuring the DSO’s Acting Concertmaster, Kimberly Kaloyanides

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MARCH 18 • 2021

Kennedy. Visit: dso.com/ events-and-tickets.

STUDY WITH THE RABBI 11 AM, MARCH 19 & 26 Adat Shalom Synagogue invites adults of all ages to join Rabbi Aaron Bergman for a weekly discussion to explore Pirkei Avot, one of the most beloved and wise books of our people which was written long ago but is even more relevant today.

Free. To receive the Zoom link, contact jgross@ adatshalom.org or visit adatshalom.org/calendar.

PASSOVER IN-A-BAG 4:30-5 PM, MARCH 20 Celebrate Passover with your family and Temple Shir

Shalom. We will have a bag with all the supplies you need to join us in this Zoom gathering. This event is for families with kids ages 0 to 7 years old. Your bag has all the supplies you need and a few surprises. Register at shirshalom.org by March 18.

You may also call the office, 248-737-8700.

MUSICAL EVENING 8 PM, MARCH 20 The Ark in Ann Arbor will make available this free, streaming show featuring Jill Jack with songs and storytelling. Visit the Ark’s Facebook page.

CHAMBER MUSIC 8-9 PM, MARCH 20 The Chamber Music Society will present Pinchas Zukerman, violin, and Shai Wosner, piano. An online webcast. Visit cmdetroit.org.

MEDITATION & MINDFULNESS 9:30 AM, MARCH 21 Adat Shalom Synagogue invites adults of all ages to join Rabbi Aaron Bergman and Hazzan Daniel Gross on Zoom for a Pre-Pesach Meditation & Mindfulness program. The class is designed to help individuals find their internal

spirituality and realize how Judaism can make them happier. Free. To receive the Zoom link, contact jgross@adatshalom.org or visit adatshalom.org/ calendar.

PASSOVER PLAGUES ON THE PLAYGROUND MARCH 21 AND MARCH 30 The Well is calling all families with young kids to join Marni at the park for a socially distant, drop-in, Passover-themed scavenger hunt. Keep an eye out for all the details in The Well’s Family Newsletter.

SPRING COOKING SERIES 3 PM, MARCH 21 Temple Shir Shalom presents on Zoom “Cooking & Inspiring: Memorable Passover Dishes & New Ideas for the Holiday.” Join Julie Ohana of Culinary Art Therapy for a cooking class/demonstration for all ages. You can cook along or just spectate. All participants will receive a shopping list and recipes prior to the class. $10/ screen. Pre-registration is required: shirshalom.org/ passover or call 248-7378700.

VIRTUAL TOWN HALL 7 PM, MARCH 21

VIRTUAL TOWN HALL 7 PM, MARCH 21 Congregation B’nai Moshe of West Bloomfield will welcome Tanya Gersh to discuss how she and her family dealt with months of abusive antisemitic messages from the publisher of a neo-Nazi website. A U.S. judge ruled that the publisher of a neo-Nazi website, who organized a “troll storm” to target Tanya Gersh and her family, should have to pay more than $14 million in damages and remove all posts that encouraged his readers to contact her.

Registration is free but required: bnaimoshe.org.

WOMEN THEN & NOW NOON, MARCH 22 Federation’s Women’s Philanthropy and the Leonard N. Simons Jewish Community Archives will present this virtual event, “Women Making A Difference Then & Now.” This program will help you draw on your experiences to create a personal bio that is far beyond the ordinary. Info: Amy Wayne, (248) 2031483, awayne@jfmd.org.

MUSSAR MONDAY 7 PM, MARCH 22 Adat Shalom Synagogue invites adults of all ages to join Rabbi Aaron Bergman for Mussar Monday: a unique approach to living a good and meaningful life. Free. To receive the Zoom link, contact jgross@ adatshalom.org or visit adatshalom.org/calendar.

LECTURE ON RAPID COVID-19 TESTING 7-8 PM, MARCH 22 American Technion Society will present “An Inside Look at Revolutionizing Rapid COVID-19 Testing,” featuring Adam de la Zerda ’05, Founder & CEO of Visby Medical, and Assistant Professor, Stanford University Departments of Structural Biology and Electrical Engineering. Register at info@ats.org.

ADDICTION: A PROBLEM? 7-8:30 PM, MARCH 22 Jewish Family Service and Jewish Addiction Resource Alliance host this webinar/ panel, which will explore addiction, recovery and resources through a Jewish lens. Info: jfsdetroit. org.

HOLOCAUST IN GREECE 2:30-2:30 PM, MARCH 23 The Sterling Institute for Jewish Studies and Modern Israel will present this panel discussion. Topic: “Focus on Thessalinik City Authorities as the Holocaust Unfolds.”

See jewishstudies@link. msu.edu.

THRIVERS EVENT 3:30-5 PM, MARCH 23 Cancer Thrivers Network for Jewish Women presents “Thriving: Physically • Emotionally • Spiritually.”

Register for this free Zoom community event at

jfsdetroit.org/CTN, or contact Sarah Strasberger at 248-592-2267 or sstrasberger@jfsdetroit.org.

BUILDING BUSINESS 7 PM, MARCH 23 NEXTGen Detroit presents: “Business Unusual: Building and Pivoting Businesses During COVID-19.” This online event is intended for young adults ages 21 to 45.

Info: Hannah at jvshumanservices.org.

END OF LIFE CARE 7 PM, MARCH 23 The Jewish Historical Society of Michigan will host a free Zoom presentation of “Pivoting End of Life Care in the Time of COVID” with Rabbi Joseph Krakoff, senior director of the Jewish Hospice and Chaplaincy Network. He will discuss how taking care of hospice patients has changed with COVID, specifically patient care, new state regulations, modifications to funerals and shivah, and the process of bereavement in our new normal. Register by 9 pm March 22: info@ michjewishhistory.org.

CONGREGATIONAL SEDER 6 PM, MARCH 28 Temple Shir Shalom’s seder is for all ages. When you register, your household will receive a seder bag with one Haggadah/ adult and one children’s Haggadah/child under 10, plus some other surprises to make your seder complete. $10/screen. Please register by Friday, March 19, to guarantee your seder bag: shirshalom.org/ passover or call 248-7378700.

Compiled by Sy Manello/Editorial Assistant. Send items at least 14 days in advance to calendar@thejewishnews.com.

Ferris State U. Fires Professor for Antisemitic, Racist Social Media Posts (JTA) — Ferris State University in Big Rapids, Mich., fired a professor earlier this month for using antisemitic, racist, homophobic and other inflammatory language on social media.

Thomas Brennan, a physical sciences professor, had tweeted about a “Jewish mafia” and called the COVID-19 pandemic a “Jewish revolution,” according to an article last fall in the university’s newspaper, further reported on by USA Today, the Detroit Free Press and other outlets.

Brennan also used the n-word in talking about the prominent Black physicist Neil deGrasse Tyson.

“My defense is that I was acting out and speaking out of despair caused by a personal crisis involving extremely painful migraines, EMF sensitivity and a series of repeated break-ins into my home,” Brennan tweeted in response to his firing. EMF refers to electromagnetic field.

AJC Updates Hate Glossary According to the AJC, to stop antisemitism, you first have to understand it.

The AJC says, “By calling it out online and in the real world, we can recognize antisemitic words, phrases, ideas, and caricatures for what they really are — hatred, bigotry, discrimination. Together, we can identify and expose the hate that’s hiding between the lines and translate it into something positive.”

The AJC defined some frequently-used antisemitic words and symbols often find hiding in plain sight — from the internet to pop culture. Download the updated Translate Hate glossary at www.ajc. org/sites/default/files/pdf/2021-02/ AJC_Translate-Hate-Glossary-2021. pdf.

MARCH 18 • 2021

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33

sports HIGHlights

brought to you in partnership with

Hannah Resnick makes tough decision not to bowl for Lawrence Technological University this season.

FRANKEL JEWISH ACADEMY

Safety Over Strikes and Spares

NMLS#2289

STEVE STEIN CONTRIBUTING WRITER

all of the school’s COVID-19 safety protocols.

It was some of the other bowlers at 5 Star Lanes in Sterling Heights that day.

“They weren’t wearing masks or social distancing,” she said.

After thinking about it for a week or so, Resnick contacted LTU women’s bowling coach Kevin Wemyss and told him she didn’t want to bowl this season.

“I told Hannah if that’s what you decide is best for you and your family, then I’m perfectly OK with that,” Wemyss said.

“If Hannah contacts me next September and says, ‘Coach Kevin, I’d like to bowl,’ that’s no problem.

“I’ve had a number of con-

quick hits

BY STEVE STEIN

Batter Up! New West Bloomfield Baseball Coach Ready for Opening Day ... Again

L

et’s try this again.

A year after having his first season as West Bloomfield High School baseball coach taken away from him when spring sports were canceled by the Michigan High School Athletic Association because of the COVID-19 pandemic,

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MARCH 18 • 2021

Josh Birnberg is gearing up again to guide the Lakers.

“Last year, we had tryouts, I picked our team, and we were done. We never had a practice,” Birnberg said. “I was so disappointed for my eight seniors.”

With 2020 in the rearview mirror, here we go again for

Hannah Resnick was the only girl on the Frankel Jewish Academy boys bowling team last season. FJA did not have a girls bowling team.

versations with Hannah. She’s a very nice young lady.”

If she bowls for LTU next season, where Resnick would fit in the Blue Devils program is a big question.

With only two years of experience bowling on the boys bowling team at FJA on her resume, Resnick would compete for a roster spot at LTU with some of the top women’s collegiate bowlers in the country.

LTU’s varsity team is

ranked No. 5 in the country in the United States Bowling Congress power rankings. The Blue Devils have been ranked as high as No. 2 this season.

Two of the country’s top 50 women’s collegiate bowlers are on the LTU varsity roster.

There could be varsity, junior varsity ‘A’ and ‘B’ and practice squads next season depending upon how many women are in the LTU program. There are varsity and junior varsity ‘A’

West Bloomfield baseball.

Tryouts for the team will be March 22-24, followed by a Thursday, March 25, practice and the Lakers’ opening day game at 4:30 p.m., Friday March 26, against non-league opponent Lincoln Park.

This will be a special opener not only because it will be Birnberg’s first game as West Bloomfield’s coach.

It will be the first game on the new turf at West Bloomfield’s baseball field.

The turf was installed last

Josh Birnberg’s first game as West Bloomfield High School baseball coach also will be the first game on the new turf at the school’s baseball field.

year thanks to a 14-year, 1.25-mil building and site sinking fund approved by school district voters in 2013.

JOSH BIRNBERG

H

annah Resnick loves to bowl, and she was looking forward to joining the nationally renowned Lawrence Technological University women’s bowling program.

But her family’s health put those plans on hold.

Hannah Resnick decided Resnick not to bowl this season for the Blue Devils after becoming uncomfortable at the first practice last fall.

It wasn’t her teammates and coaches who made the 2020 Frankel Jewish Academy graduate uncomfortable. They were wearing masks and following

teams this season.

“If I come back and bowl for LTU, I don’t care at what level it is,” Resnick said.

Wemyss calls Resnick “a learner.”

Resnick said she learned a lot at her only practice.

“I used to throw a straight ball. Coach Wemyss taught me how to hook the ball in just that one practice,” she said.

Wemyss said Resnick has potential.

“I know Hannah is an athlete. She’s a volleyball player.

I can work with her,” he said.

“Maybe she won’t become a 200-average bowler, but if I can get her averaging in the 160s and 170s, she can be a solid member of our program. It all depends upon her skill set.”

Resnick plays volleyball for LTU. The defensive specialist and libero saw action this fall during the Blue Devils’ abbreviated season.

Looking back on her decision not to bowl for LTU this season, Resnick said she’s confident she did the right thing.

The 18-year-old is living at home in Farmington Hills while attending Southfield-

based LTU. She said she was concerned about bringing COVID-19 into her home.

“I have some mixed feelings about not bowling, of course, but I feel I made a smart decision because I’ve kept my family safe,” she said. “I can still bowl next year.”

Resnick also is keeping her family safe by doing all her current classes online. She had some in-person classes earlier this school year.

“Online learning is hard,” she said.

Resnick wants to be an architect. That’s the major reason why she decided to attend LTU and that’s what she’s studying there.

Architecture is a five-year academic program at LTU, so she could end up bowling there for four years if she wants.

Resnick was a captain of the volleyball and bowling teams in her senior year at FJA and she was the school’s 2019-20 Female Athlete of the Year.

She was named the FJA volleyball team’s most improved player as a sophomore and she received the coach’s award as a junior.

West Bloomfield’s softball and practice fields also were renovated as part of a $1.8 million project.

“We’ve had four-man workouts on our turf, but the baseball season won’t feel real until we have our tryouts, practice and opening day game,” Birnberg said.

“I’m feeling confident that we will have a season. We play outdoors, of course, people are being vaccinated, and the [COVID-19 infection and

hospitalization] numbers are going in the right direction.”

Birnberg, 25, is a former West Bloomfield baseball player who was the Lakers’ starting shortstop for four years and the team captain as a junior and senior.

West Bloomfield won a district championship when he was a senior, stunning Birmingham Brother Rice, and advanced to the regional finals.

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35

ISRAEL DEFENSE FORCES

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Teen & Young Adult Travel Fund For Jewish MetroDetroiters between 13-28, GET THERE! is an ideal source of extra funding for gap year programs, study abroad, volunteer work, internships, and other qualifying programs in Israel.

Shayetet 13 troops training in 2017.

Israeli Military Says It’s Reached Herd Immunity to COVID-19 BEN SALES JTA

The Israeli military declared that it has reached herd immunity to COVID-19 after 80% of its personnel had either been vaccinated, had the disease or both.

The announcement makes the Israel Defense Forces perhaps the first military in the world to achieve immunity to the disease.

“Things look a lot more like they did a year ago,” Brig. Gen. Dr. Alon Glasberg, the IDF’s chief medical officer, told reporters March 11, according to the Times of Israel. “It seemed impossible, but now it’s here.”

While herd immunity will allow the military to resume normal operations, soldiers will still have to wear masks and socially distance for now.

The military’s vaccination campaign comes amid Israel’s record-setting drive to immunize its population. As of March 10, more than 4 million Israelis, nearly half the country and the majority of its adults, have been fully vaccinated.

Israel Aerospace Industries, UAE Weapons Company to Develop Anti-Drone System JNS.ORG

Ben Teitel Incentive Grant Needs Based Grant

For more info, visit jewishdetroit.org/getthere.

For questions and help applying, contact Jaime Bean at bean@jfmd.org.

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MARCH 18 • 2021

Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) announced on Thursday that it has signed a memorandum of understanding with the United Arab Emirates’ weapons-maker EDGE to develop an advanced anti-drone defense system.

The anti-drone system would be “tailored to the UAE market,” with wide-ranging benefits to the Middle East and North Africa region and beyond, the state-owned IAI said in a statement.

Israel and the UAE officially normalized relations on Sept. 15 as part of the Abraham Accords.

The system would include technology such as jamming and cyber-takeover capabilities, in addition to guns, missiles, and electromagnetic and laser devices able to destroy a drone.

The Iran-backed Houthi movement in Yemen has been launching missile and drone attacks against Saudi Arabia. A drone carrying explosives and a ballistic missile was launched on March 8 by the Houthis at Saudi Arabian oil facilities, according to officials.

The UAE is allied with the Saudis and had taken part in the Saudi-led military coalition intervention in Yemen.

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the exchange

community bulletin board | professional services HEALTHCARE A1 CAREGIVER/COMPANION. Experienced, excellent references. 248-991-4944 24-HOUR AFFORDABLE CAREGIVER. 26+ yrs exp.

Exc Ref. April 586-335-5377 Exp. private duty caregiver for 27 yrs would love to care for your loved one.

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Cynthia 248.896.4372 Private Duty / Live-in Nursing Direct Care Worker for the Elderly. Please call Amen at (313) 478-1374.

TRANSPORTATION A1 DRIVER for Drs. appts, shopping, errands,airports and more.

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586.344.2937 Reliable Driver-Best Rates Airport, appts., errands, shopping & more or ask? Call David 248-690-6090 1 AAA BEST DRIVER Reasonable Rate Airport $50. All cars washed and disinfected twice a day.

Harold 248.496.1302 SERVICES A MOVING truck to Florida and returning Bud 239-273-3565 ROZILAINE'S HOUSE CLEANING- TRUSTWORTHY, TIMELY, EFFICENT. 20 years experience. Relocating from Dallas, Texas. References upon request (214)783-8966

ANTIQUES WANTED. / BUYING / ANTIQUES & COLLECTIBLES COINS, STAMPS, WATCHES, CAMERAS Please Call : (248) 259-8088 , Text : (313) 395-8599 Website : Wevexgotxstuff.com Email : wevexgotxstuff@aol.com MISCELLANEOUS WANTED Full-time retail sales position available/Blinds & Draperies. Clerical. Design experience preferred.

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Jewish Groups Help Feed Detroit Neighborhood A Feb. 20 fire destroyed the Harper Food Center at 13999 Harper Ave. in Detroit. Knowing help was desperately needed for citizens who relied on this market, the Council of Baptist Pastors of Detroit and Vicinity Inc. reached out to and have now partnered with the Jewish Community Relations Council/AJC), Gleaners Community Food Bank, Hearts for Humanity, Yad Ezra and Hazon Detroit to form the Harper Food Center

PHOTOS COURTESY JCRC/AJC

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Citizen Recovery Project.

Through this group, food for up to 300 families will be provided from 2 to 4 p.m. on March 18, 23 and 30, at three locations on the east side of Detroit near this affected area. The first distributions took place March 4 and 16.

The Project is accepting volunteers to work on one or more of the listed dates. Those interested may register by emailing COBAPDetroit@gmail.com.

MARCH 18 • 2021

Rabbi Asher Lopatin grabs supplies.

OF BLESSED MEMORY

IRVING COHEN, 93, of West Bloomfield, died March 6, 2021.

He is survived by his sons and daughters-in-law, Dr. Randy and Dr. Alice Cohen, Howard and Susan Cohen; daughters, Ronna Sabbota and Pamela Siegel; grandchildren, Leah and Benjamin, Samantha and Michelle, Zachary and Kaylee; many other loving family members and friends.

Mr. Cohen was the beloved husband of the late Arlene Cohen.

Interment was at Machpelah Cemetery. Donations may be made to the American Heart Association or to a charity of one’s choice. Arrangements by Dorfman Chapel.

LAURICE COVENSKY, 43, of Bloomfield Hills, died March 7, 2021.

She is survived by her parents, Edith and Harvey Covensky; brother, Jeffrey Covensky. She was the loving aunt of Ainsley and Aden Covensky; she is also survived by many other loving family members and a world of devoted friends.

Interment was at Machpelah Cemetery. Contributions may be made to Hillel of Metro Detroit. Arrangements by Dorfman Chapel.

SIDNEY FORST, 101, of Chicago, formerly of Detroit and Southfield, died March 4, 2021.

He is survived by his sons and daughters-in-law, David and Carla Forst of Birmingham, Robert and Kelly Forst of Celebration, Fla., Chaim and

Remembering Frank Kelley Longtime attorney general was a friend to Jews.

F

JACK LESSENBERRY CONTRIBUTING WRITER

rank Kelley, the longest-serving state attorney general in Michigan history, was, as you might guess from his name, born an Irish Catholic.

But what you may not know is that throughout his life and career, he had a uniquely close relationship with the Jewish community, and he relied heavily on two brilliant Jewish deputies in modernizing the role of his office.

Kelley, who died March 5, 2021, at the age of 96, grew up in a Detroit where the racist broadcasts of Father Charles Coughlin blared from many a radio, and there was a nasty streak of antisemitism among, too, many Irish Americans. But, that wasn’t true in Frank Kelley’s home.

“My father used to say, ‘the Irish have been discriminated against for 500 years. But our Jewish neighbors have been discriminated against for 5,000 years, and yet we’ve both found freedom Frank Kelley and opportunity in America.’”

Frank said, “No slurs against Jews were tolerated,” either in their home or the rather elegant speakeasy the elder Frank Kelley ran.

That attitude helped the future attorney general when he was a teenager and got a badly needed job in retail selling men’s clothing at the old United Shirt store on Michigan Avenue, a store he remembered as being run by “a fine Jewish guy of Dutch descent named Sam Van Horn.”

This was just supposed to be a temporary job during the Christmas rush. Times were hard, money was tight, and Kelley told me “that was a different era. Many customers would make antisemitic remarks, especially when they wanted to return things. That didn’t sit well with me.”

Kelley responded by saying, “Now, why are you saying that? We’re just normal people like you.”

When the owner found out about that, he told the manager, “Keep the kid on for as long as he wants.”

“Consequently, I was the only gentile retained after the Christmas rush,” Kelley told me, laughing, many years later.

SETT95 VIA WIKIPEDIA

OBITUARIES

JEWISH ADVISERS But his best and most intense collaboration was yet to come. When Michigan Attorney General Paul Adams resigned to take a state Supreme Court seat in December 1961, Gov. John Swainson appointed Frank Kelley to the job, and he instantly made Leon Cohan, who was already an assistant attorney general, his chief deputy.

Cohan became his chief partner in remaking the office and redefining what the job of Michigan Attorney General should be. Until Frank Kelley, attorneys general had mostly been reactive, defending the state and its officials when they were sued. Kelley, with a strong assist from Cohan, made the office an aggressive crusader on behalf of the people.

He started a Consumer Protection Division and appointed a Jewish woman and Yale Law School graduate, Maxine Boord Virtue, to run it.

Cohan also took him on a trip to Israel in 1971, when Frank Kelley was preparing to run for the U.S. Senate. There, Kelley told me, “I had a chance to chat with four of the most impressive people in Israel — Prime Minister Golda Meir, Abba Eban, Defense Minister Moshe Dayan and Ariel Sharon.” He found Dayan the most impressive larger-than-life figure.

Kelley lost the 1972 election but remained Michigan’s attorney general till 1999. When Leon Cohan left to become chief counsel for Detroit Edison in 1973, Kelley elevated Stanley Steinborn, a man he had hired in 1963, to be his chief deputy, a job he kept till retiring in 1997.

“My dad taught me how to look at the world,” Kelley told me. “But I’m sure he couldn’t have imagined that his son would not only be the nation’s longest-serving attorney general but would also benefit immensely from two superb deputies who were both Jewish.”

Longtime political analyst Jack Lessenberry is the co-author of The People’s Lawyer: The Life and Times of Frank Kelley (WSU Press, 2015).

continued on page 41 MARCH 18 • 2021

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OBITUARIES

OF BLESSED MEMORY

Everyone Needs an Aunt Flo! Linda Solomon remembers her aunt, 1960s Detroit fashion maven Flo Rappaport.

LINDA SOLOMON SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH NEWS

O

n March 6, 2021, my aunt, Flo Rappaport, died in Las Vegas, Nev. She was the coolest — the person who inspired me to have jazz on the stereo before breakfast.

Flo Rappaport was an iconoclast. An entrepreneur in the 1960s, she launched Ferguson’s, the famed clothing boutique on Livernois, Detroit’s Avenue of Fashion.

Her shop became the “goto” for what she coined as “sportswear.” Women from everywhere would travel to Ferguson’s to purchase matching sets of hand-dyed Italian cashmere sweaters and skirts.

“Flo was a trendsetter personified,” said Carol Branston, a film producer and hair stylist, formerly of Farmington Hills, now living in Florida. “She was truly an icon.”

Florence also partnered with her sister Ida Goldman to open the popular teen boutique the Pickwick Shoppe. Flo designed all the fashions in the windows and created the style the young girls all wanted for their bat mitzvah and confirmation parties.

“I still remember the year everything was shades of

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MARCH 18 • 2021

pink and mauve plaid,” said Huntington Woods jewelry designer Marcy Feldman. “I was in seventh grade. That was the place to shop! I got everything there.”

Sisters Flo and Ida opened more stores in Southfield and Birmingham.

Flo was always an advocate for equality. She had friends of all ages, genders and had the mindset never ever to see differences in anyone. She loved jazz and became friends with a young Johnny Mathis before he was famous. Tony Bennett was a close pal, too. She has photos with both Tony and Johnny, and her photos are not selfies!

The library in her 1960s Detroit home featured her early love of black-and-white portraiture. She was always an animal advocate and adopted her beloved pets and encouraged family members to adopt, too.

It is rare for women to collect cars, but not for Flo. She collected vintage classic cars.

Her personalized license plate on her Rolls Royce was FLO BIZ! She painted her 1963 Avanti in black-and-white paisley to match the decor of Ferguson’s. It was the

Florence Rappaport

ultimate ’60s mod mobile.

Also in the 1960s, she had the courage to pack up her kids, her paisley Avanti and her biggest supporter, her husband, Paul Rappaport, and move from Motown to 90210.

Florence launched Ferguson’s on the famed Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills, Calif. She later opened Ferguson’s in Century City and in the Beverly Hilton Hotel. For a number of years, she commuted with stores in both Michigan and California.

YOLO — You Only Live Once — is the way she lived her life. Flo later moved to Las Vegas. She always worked hard, she pursued every dream and remained forever cool. At 93, Flo was still cool and going strong, wearing her signature lashes and meeting pals at the gym every day, listening to

Tony and Johnny and Diana Krall and hugging her two beloved rescue dogs Rolls and Bentley until COVID impacted her life and her health.

Not fair … but nothing is fair with COVID. Now, she is gone.

Florence “Flo” Rappaport is survived with love and admiration by her devoted daughter, Lisa Rappaport Zagha; her loving son-in-law, Ron Zagha; her beloved son, Richard Rappaport; adored grandson, Perry Zagha; and her doggies, Rolls and Bentley.

She passed away on the same day four years later as her devoted and beloved husband, Paul Rappaport.

Flo is loved deeply by her sister-in-law, Mona Rappaport; brother-in-law, Marty Rott; and zillions of friends.

Flo has many beloved nieces and nephews in the Detroit area who will always say, “We will remain forever cool in celebration of the life and legacy of Aunt Flo. Everyone needs an Aunt Flo!’” For those who wish to celebrate the life of Flo Rappaport, a contribution can be made to Community Kollel of Greater Las Vegas, 1755 Village Center, Las Vegas, Nevada 89134, lasvegaskollel.org.

Linda Solomon was inducted to the Michigan Journalism Hall of Fame for her work as a columnist and photojournalist. She is the author of The Queen Next Door: Aretha Franklin, an Intimate Portrait and the founder of the charitable organization Pictures of Hope.

continued from page 39

Sarah Forst of Israel; daughters and son-in-law, Linda Forst and Stuart Kiken of Chicago, Ellen Saadia of Israel; brother and sister-in-law, David and Lorraine Forst; grandchildren, Erica, Bobby, Keith, Michael, Ilana, Daniel, Adina, Ariel, Yael, Rose, Nina, Eitan, Ilan, Yamit.

Mr. Forst was the beloved husband of the late Pearl Forst.

Contributions may be made to Chass Clinic Detroit, 5635 W. Fort St., Detroit, MI 48209.

Family graveside service was held at Hebrew Memorial Park. Arrangements by Hebrew Memorial Chapel.

EDWARD GILBERT, 69, of Walled Lake, died March 7, 2021.

He is survived by his brother and sister-in-law, Michael and Carol Gilbert of Walled Lake; sisters and brothers-inlaw, Janet and Arthur Lazik of North Ridge, Calif., Shelly and Matthew Ditzhazy of Palmdale, Calif.; nieces and nephews, Shoshana Jones, Ryan Lazik, Daniel Ditzhazy, Michelle Ditzhazy, Jennifer Ditzhazy, Robert Gilbert, Katie Seilo; many other loving relatives and friends.

Mr. Gilbert was the loving son of the late Molly and the late Moe Edwin Gilbert.

Contributions may be made to Salvation Army, salvationarmyusa.org. A family graveside service was held at Clover Hill Park Cemetery in Birmingham. Arrangements

by Hebrew Memorial Chapel.

VITALY GROSSMAN, 60, an engineer and inventor, of West Bloomfield, died c. 1980

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Some days seem to last forever…

We’re offering one that actually will.

You can honor the memory of a loved one in a most meaningful way by sponsoring a day of Torah learning at Yeshiva Beth Yehudah.

During the coming week, Kaddish will be said for these departed souls during the daily minyan at Yeshiva Beth Yehudah. Your support of the Torah learning of our children and our Kollel’s Torah Scholars brings immeasurable heavenly merit. Please call us at 248-557-6750 for more information.

Jacob Kesselman David D Mills 8 Nisan March 21 Rose Levin Pearl Berman Benjamin Schuraytz Rhoda Schwartz Sarah Farkas 13 Nisan March 26 Rachel Gladstone 11 Nisan March 24 Charles Finer Irene Glaeday Esther Cohen Rose Gelberman Bessie Glazer Ethel Fischer Abraham Lusky Sam Levey Reva Gruich Esther Malamud Sylvia Esther Novetsky Simon Knoppow Arlene Shapiro Bertha Kroll 9 Nisan March 22 Charlotte Stein Oscar Rottenberg Anne Cohen Abraham Reuben Hoffman Morris Shoob 14 Nisan March 27 Julius Unrot Eliezer Kazerinski Helen Cieck Rose Yagoda Goldie Randell Jacob Goodman Joseph Schey 12 Nisan March 25 Yaakov Hoffman Harry Simon Frieda Baron Sam Kogan Sarah Zack Reva Buchman Harry Laker Annie Charness 10 Nisan March 23 Louis Levin Ida Ferrer Max Amhowitz Morris Markowitz Rose Fine Morris Chaim Bodzin Benjamin Nucian Milton Fischer Jack Cohn Harold “Hal” Rossen Marlene Friedman Elizabeth Feinberg Rabbi Solomon Krevsky Benjamin Sachs Jacob Goldstein Henry J. Smolinsky Ida Greenstein Nathan Lux School for Boys • Beth Jacob School for Girls • Bais Yehudah Preschool Weiss Family Partners Detroit • Kollel Bais Yehudah • Maalot Detroit P.O. Box 2044 • Southfield, MI 48037• 248-557-6750 • www.YBY.org

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MARCH 18 • 2021

OBITUARIES

OF BLESSED MEMORY continued from page 41

March 9, 2021.

He is survived by his wife of 24 years, Alisa Grossman; mother, Misha Nem; sons and daughter-in-law, Max and Anya Khutoryan, Joshua Grossman; daughter and son-in-law, Alexandra and Yechezkel Ahaaronov of West Bloomfield; a loving uncle and aunt, Genadi and Inna Bilvon; other loving family and friends.

Mr. Grossman was the loving son and son-in-law of the late Maya Nem, the late Melvin Handelzaltz, the late Helen and the late David Friedman.

Contributions may be made to Bais Chabad Torah Center, 5595 W. Maple Road, West Bloomfield, MI 48322, F.R.E.E. (Friends of Refugees of Eastern Europe),15700 W. 10 Mile Road, Suite 217, Southfield, MI 48075; or Keter Torah Synagogue, 5480 Walnut Lake Road, West Bloomfield, MI 48323. A family graveside service was held at Hebrew Memorial Park. Arrangements

by Hebrew Memorial Chapel.

BONNIE DEE MARASH, 71, of Novi, died March 4, 2021.

She is survived by her sons and daughters-in-law, Scott and Julie Kamen, and Loren and Rochelle Kamen; stepdaughter, Leslie Miller; grandchildren, Shaina and Matthew Kamen; sister, Susan Hertzberg; brothers-in-law, Henry Lee and Dr. Irwin Miller; loving nieces, nephews; a world of friends.

Ms. Marash was the loving sister of the late Linda Lee and the late Pamela Miller; the dear sister-in-law of the late Roger Hertzberg.

Contributions may be made to Multiple Sclerosis Society

of Michigan, 29777 Telegraph Road, Suite 1751, Southfield, MI 48034-7650, nationalmssociety.org/mig; or Sky Foundation Inc., For Pancreatic Cancer Research, 33 Bloomfield Hills Parkway, Suite 275, Bloomfield Hills, MI 48304, skyfoundationinc.org. Arrangements by Ira Kaufman Chapel.

ROBIN MUSKET, 68, of Ann Arbor, died March 9, 2021.

She was the cherished sister of Judy Musket and Elliot Soloway of Ann Arbor; the loving aunt of Daniel Soloway and Lana ZilbermanSoloway of Mevaseret Zion, Israel, and Emma Rose Soloway of Chicago, Ill.; the great-aunt of Talya, Shalev and Yahel Soloway; and the daughter of the late Dudley and the late Lillian Musket.

Interment was at Adat Shalom Memorial Park.

Donations may be made to Arbor Hospice Foundation, 2366 Oak Valley Drive, Ann Arbor, MI 48103, arborhospice.org/donate/donation-form, or to a charity of one’s choice. Arrangements by Ira Kaufman Chapel.

RENEE POLUKOFF, 86, passed away Feb. 15, 2021 She was born to Irving and Mildred Badner in Meadville, Pa. Renee graduated from Meadville High School in 1952 and in 1957 received a B.A. in education from Ohio State University.

She married Leonard Polukoff in 1959, and they lived together in Southfield for 17 years before relocating to Clearwater, Fla., in 1976.

Mrs. Polukoff is survived by her children, Gerald and

Stephanie Polukoff of Park City, Utah, and Beth and Steve Omans, of Chicago; five grandchildren.

She was predeceased by her husband, Leonard, in 2010, and son, Robert, in 2012.

RON ROGERS, 86, a prominent figure in Detroit’s music business, died peacefully on Monday, March 1, 2021, of complications from the coronavirus; his adoring daughters were at his side.

The third of four children born to Jean and Sol Rosenberg, Ron served in the Army in the 1950s, becoming a radio operator while stationed in Germany.

He married Donna (Cowie) Rogers with whom he had their two daughters. He later married Marsha Camhi, remaining close friends with her after their 18-year marriage.

A native New Yorker and Detroit lifer, Ron had an indelible reputation in Detroit’s music world. He started his career servicing jukeboxes for Decca Records. He progressed to management at local wholesale distributor Angott Records and ultimately purchased the business in 1966 with best friend Ken Walker. They grew it to become the largest one-stop in the Midwest, closing in 2006.

Ron and Ken started a series of record labels to release recordings by local artists, most notably “The Boy Is Hot” by Montage in 1983. Over the years, Ron also played drums on the side, sitting in with artists such as Dennis Coffey, Earl Klugh and Glen Campbell.

Mr. Rogers is survived by his daughters, Jennifer RogersAnderson and Laura Rogers; grandchildren, Iris and Wyatt Anderson; loving, cherished

sister, Terry Neuman.

No services were held.

Contributions in memory of Ron can be made to the ASPCA. PEGGY SHAPIRO died March 5, 2021.

She was born in Detroit and moved to Chicago to work in politics after she graduated from Michigan State University.

Peggy was the chief graphic artist for Mayor Richard Daley’s Office of Special Events and started her own business and worked on numerous political campaigns and fundraisers across the country from Hollywood to New York. She designed the banners that lined the streets of Chicago for coming events.

Ms. Shapiro was the beloved, precious daughter of Reva Grace and the late Melvin Shapiro; devoted sister of

Cynthia “Cindi” Korchak; loving aunt of Emma Korchak; great-aunt of Jamie.

To keep everyone safe and healthy, interment service will be private. A memorial service will be held in Chicago at a later date. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to American Friends of the Hebrew University, 100 W. Cypress Creek Road, Suite 865, Ft. Lauderdale, FL 33309, afhu. org. Arrangements by Chicago Jewish Funerals-Skokie Chapel, 847-229-8822, cjfinfo.com; video link: youtu.be/d8mNIlTJ9hc.

RUTH SHAPIRO, 97, of Southfield, died March 5, 2021.

She is survived by her sons and daughters-in-law, Kenneth and Carolyn Shapiro of West Bloomfield, Fred and Carol Shapiro of West Bloomfield; daughters and son-in-law, Susan Shapiro of Buchanan, continued on page 44

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OBITUARIES

OF BLESSED MEMORY continued from page 43

Mich., Nancy and Izhak ShapiroPikelny of Skokie, Ill.; grandchildren, Motti and Rachel Pikelny, Noam and Kaitlin Pikelny, Erin and Ed Podgorski, Zachary and Debora Shapiro, Emily and Jason Vandervoort; great-grandchildren, Nathan Pikelny, Lyla Pikelny, Arthur Pikelny, Noah Podgorski, Leonel Shapiro; many other loving relatives and friends.

Mrs. Shapiro was the beloved wife for 50 years of the late Nate Shapiro; loving daughter of the late Frieda and the late Samuel Sobel; dear sister of the late Irving Sobel, the late Alice Sobel.

Contributions may be made to Temple Israel, Rabbi’s Discretionary Fund, 5725 Walnut Lake Road, West Bloomfield, MI 48323; or AntiDefamation League, adl.org. A family graveside service was held

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MARCH 18 • 2021

at Clover Hill Park Cemetery.

Arrangements by Hebrew Memorial Chapel.

IDA CLAIRE SCHWARTZ, 89, of West Bloomfield and Aventura, Fla., died March 9, 2021.

She is survived by her daughters and sons-inlaw, Sheri and Robert Rotenberg, and Marla and Dr. David Rosman; grandchildren, Erin and Casey Koppelman, Jeffrey and Shanna Rotenberg, Lainie (Erick) Goihman, Jaime and Eric Hirsch, and Erica and Charles Forbes; great-grandchildren, Ava and Brody Koppelman, Ryen and Shae Rotenberg, Talia Goihman, Evan Hirsch, Sydney Hirsch, Chloe Hirsh and James Forbes; brother and sister-in-law,

Samuel and Marcia Bell.

Mrs. Schwartz was the beloved wife of the late Dr. Arthur Schwartz; the proud grandmother of the late Ryan Rosman.

Interment was at Beth El Memorial Park. Contributions may be made to MSU Hillel, the Lester and Jewell Morris Hillel Jewish Student Center, Ryan Scott Rosman Leadership Fund, 360 Charles St., East Lansing, MI 48823, msuhillel. org/donate; or Jewish Hospice & Chaplaincy Network, 6555 W. Maple, West Bloomfield, MI 48322, jewishhospice.org.

Arrangements by Ira Kaufman chapel.

WILLIAM “BILL” H. SRIRO, 83, of Scottsdale, Ariz., passed away on Feb. 24, 2021.

He was born in Detroit on

May 7, 1937. He will be missed by so many but never forgotten.

His grandchildren were his pride, and he brought much joy into their lives.

Mr. Sriro is survived by his wife, Ann; daughter, Julie Skeie; son, Andrew Sriro; son, Jonathan Sriro, and his wife, Karen; six grandchildren, Cooper (23), Wyatt (21), Cody (18) and Lillybelle (17) Skeie of South Lake Tahoe, Calif., and Shayna (14) and Noah (11) Sriro of Jakarta, Indonesia; many friends and other family.

A memorial will be held at a near date as yet undetermined at the Veterans’ Memorial Cemetery in Phoenix, Ariz.

Contributions will be gratefully received at Hospice of the Valley, 1510 E. Flower St., Phoenix, AZ 85014.

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And few others in America can boast of an outdoor heated patio like the shrubbery-filled beauty seating 75 persons within mandate orders Mondays through Saturdays from 5-9 p.m. since reopening of Café Cortina in June of this year … also, a magnificent site for private events of all occasions Rina and Adriano’s son Adrian, a vital part of the very

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If there were such a thing as authentic gourmet, passionate Italian dining, you might say that Café Cortina has a major claim on it.

THE FORMER HILL restaurant in Grosse Pointe, taken over by Joe Vicari, will be called Bronze Door Chop House …

His Bucky’s Tap Room in Shelby Township (23 Mile & Hayes) has been retitled Barley Corn Public House.

IT HAS BEEN NOTED for years as having among the best barbecued ribs and broasted and barbecued chicken in this area, but Brass Pointe, Orchard Lake Road, near 10 Mile, Farmington Hills, has been somewhat of a sleeper to many who do not know that it has other food, too … The ribs and chicken

selections are Brass Pointe main choices … But it also has 10 Mexican favorites … enchiladas, tacos, botanas, wet and regular burritos, nachos, tostados, combination plate, taco salad, stuffed jalapenos … along with 15 sandwiches and three-egg omelets.

OLDIE BUT GOODIE … Two elderly ladies, Ruth and Naomi, were discussing their husbands over tea … Ruth said, “I do wish that my Ernie would stop biting his nails. He makes me terribly nervous.”

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Looking Back

From the William Davidson Digital Archive of Jewish Detroit History accessible at www.djnfoundation.org

Detroit Took Center Stage in 1980

I

usually find my topics for “Looking Back” columns during my cruises in the William Davidson Digital Archive of Jewish Detroit History. Whenever I enter the Archive to do research for one subject, I usually find interesting stories or reports on another subject about Jewish Detroit.

The idea for this week’s Looking Back, however, is from my friend, Allan Gale. Did I know, he asked, that 40 years ago, Detroit was the host for the Council of Jewish Federation’s (CJF) Mike Smith 49th annual General Alene and Graham Landau Assembly (GA)? Well, Archivist Chair I did not know that. So, I dove into the Archive and soon learned all about the GA from reports in the November 1980 issues of the JN. Although the CJF had met before in Detroit in 1940, 1946 and 1960, the largest was the GA in 1980. It was held Nov. 12-16 at Detroit’s Plaza Hotel, the hotel in the Renaissance Center at that time.

More than 2,500 delegates and guests, lay leadership and professionals from 800 communities representing all 50 states and Canada were in attendance. Detroit Jewish leader Dulcie Rosenfeld was the chairwoman of the Host Committee, The GA opened with Rabbi Richard C. Hertz from Temple Beth El delivering the dvar Torah. Detroit Mayor Coleman Young extended greetings to the audience. Detroit Jewish Welfare Federation (now the Jewish Federation of Metro Detroit) President George M. Zeltzer and CJF President Morton L. Mandel led the event.

Many leaders from Michigan and Detroit’s Jewish community participated in the GA. There were presentations from Rabbi Irwin Groner of Shaarey Zedek, Rabbi Efry Spectre of Adat Shalom and Rabbi Daniel Allan of

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MARCH 18 • 2021

Michigan State University’s Hillel.

Representing the CJF Women’s Division were Detroiters Carolyn Greenberg, the national vice-chairwomen, and Executive Committee members Dulcie Rosenfeld and Shelby Tauber.

On Thursday, Michigan Gov. William Milliken welcomed the delegates, and the state’s junior senator, Carl Levin, was on a panel (sure is hard to imagine him as a junior senator!). To be sure, these are just a very few of the many Jewish Detroiters who contributed to the organization of and programming for the GA. The GA addressed a wide range of topics such as the plight of Soviet Jews, peace in the Middle East, Jewish education, young Jewish leadership and health care. The full program is on page 10 of the Nov. 7, 1980, issue of the JN. The recent U.S. presidential election was another topic. Ronald Reagan had just been elected to the presidency.

Reagan was nominated at the Republican convention also held in Downtown Detroit in August, another major national event for the city in 1980.

The highlight was the plenary speaker, Menachem Begin, prime minister of Israel. Begin was introduced by Max Fisher and spoke about the importance of the Jewish diaspora and current affairs in Israel.

A lot has changed since the GA was held in Detroit in 1980. The Jewish Federation moved to Bloomfield Township in 1991. Detroit has endured a bankruptcy. Instead of Max Fisher and Al Taubman, Dan Gilbert is among those now shaping modern Detroit.

Many of same issues discussed 40 years ago, however, are still important for the Jewish community today. This is interesting reading.

Want to learn more? Go to the DJN Foundation archives, available for free at www.djnfoundation.org.

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