DJN February 20 2020

200 Feb. 20-26, 2020 / 25 Shevat-1 Adar 5780

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thejewishnews.com

Hues of Jews

Jews of color discuss their pathways, joys and obstacles.

See page 14

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contents Feb. 20-26, 2020 /25-Shevat-1 Adar 5780| VOLUME CLVII, ISSUE 3

Views 5-12

Jews in the D Black & Jewish 14 Jews of color share their pathways, obstacles and joys.

Journey to Judaism 19 This 94-year-old took time to learn Torah and explore Judaism before converting in 2017.

Upheaval at WSU Press 24 Staff dismissals prompt concern from authors, scholars and supporters.

Witnessing History

34

Renewed Focus

Shabbat Lights

On the cover:

Shabbat starts: Friday, Feb. 21, 5:54 p.m.

Shabbat ends: Saturday, Feb. 22, 6:56 p.m.

Cover photo/credit: Re’uvein Rickman/ Photo by Jerry Zolynsky Cover design: Michelle Sheridan

* Times according to Yeshiva Beth Yehudah calendar.

28 Local moms and kids attend 2020 Iowa Caucus.

30 GVSU to focus on Holocaust education after football coach’s Hitler comment.

Faces & Places 32

Sports Junior Achievement 34 West Bloomfield High School freshman is a competitor in American Ninja Warrior Junior.

Quick Hits 34

Stats 35

Spirit Torah portion 36

Moments

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

47 Celebrity Jews 44

On the Go Events/Editor’s Picks 45

jewish@edu Gaining Understanding 47 HMD/WSU trip gives students insight into Israel-Palestinian conflict.

Innovation & Entrepreneurship 49 Michigan-Israel conference moves development forward.

Brotherly Leadership 50 Three Jewish students serve as Interfraternity Council presidents at their colleges.

Jewish @ OU 52 An outreach call started a journey of Hillel leadership.

37

Etc.

Arts&Life

The Exchange Soul Raskin Looking Back

‘With a Little Bit of Luck’ 38 Audiences can catch Adam Grupper in a lead role in My Fair Lady.

53 55 61 62

Bridging the Divide 41 Michael Barenboim builds on his parents’ legacy as musical director of the West-Eastern Divan Ensemble.

TV Review: Hunters on Amazon Prime 43

OUR JN MISSION: We aspire to communicate news and opinion that’s trusted, valued, engaging and distinctive. We strive to reflect diverse community viewpoints while also advocating positions that strengthen Jewish unity and continuity. As an independent, responsible, responsive community member, we actively engage with individuals and organizations dedicated to enhancing the quality of life, and Jewish life, in Southeast Michigan.

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ADRIENNE LEVIN

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Jewfro

Detroit In Tandem

H

orace Dodge didn’t build the house on West Forest Avenue, but he ushered it into the new century with an expanded footprint and cutting-edge technology. The home’s indoor plumbing would have long since lost its novelty but for the curious case Ben Falik of bathroom tile inlay in the shape of a Jewish star.

Was Horace’s handiwork an elaborate practical joke on Henry Ford? A secret message to Albert Kahn? Instead, it was made to match (or maybe inspired?) the logo for a pet project he and his brother were tinkering with in the carriage house out back. That first Dodge followed their ball bearings, bicycles, Olds transmissions and Ford engines — a constant state of change meriting the logo of two deltas, inverted and interwoven into a six-sided star.

Dodge Brothers vehicles would lead Horace to part ways with Ford, commission

Louis Levin and Maggie O’Hara

Kahn to build Rose Terrace in Grosse Pointe and amass a personal fortune that amounted to approximately .1% of the country’s GDP, all before succumbing to Spanish flu in 1920.

One hundred years later, Louis Levin and Maggie O’Hara moved into Horace’s house and, as one does, went to the bathroom. The deltas underfoot suit them. Each is in Detroit navigating change for institutions looking to remain cohesive, competitive and compelling a century on, give or take a couple decades.

But first, the Meet Cute.

A lot of people grow up playing ball in the spring and going to camp in the summer, until they actually grow up.

Maggie never let go of her bat and glove, nor Louis his canoe and paddle. Both hail from Chicago suburbs and both found their way to the Economics Department at the University of Chicago before a mutual friend — a real-life human person who happens to be named Alexa — introduced them in their junior year.

As though drawn together

by an invisible hand, these budding economists were Keynes on each other (forgive the Laffer) 2.5 hours into their first cup of coffee together.

Within hours of graduating the following spring, Louis was on a familiar drive to the Northwoods of Wisconsin, home to Camp Nebagamon for Boys. Maggie took a detour to Australia for a swan song with the school softball team en route to Detroit, where she has worked in the Tigers’ Analytics Department since 2017.

Louis has long loved the traditions and renditions of Camp Nebagamon, founded in 1929 on the lakeside logging grounds of the Weyerhaeuser Paper Company. (I am an alumnus of Camp Nebagamon; it has been 20 years since my last CN summer, so I can now say with dispassionate objectivity that the camp is the bestest camp.)

For Louis, long since removed from his days as a camper, it’s the work between seasons no one sees — the attention to detail, incremental enhancements, tweaking the

line-up, identifying prospects, retaining veterans — that make possible, say, the spontaneous midsummer introduction of a DIY dunk tank.

Same with the Tigers, except the dunk tank is called “rebuilding.” Maggie joined the team just as the club’s free-spending days were coming to an end. They traded J.D. Martinez, Alex Avila and Justin Verlander within weeks of her arrival. (Her fellow Maggs, Magglio Ordóñez, had already been mayor of Sotillo, Venezuela, for three years by then.)

In an era when a veritable shoe-shine boy like me is asking about moneyballs, the work of Major League analytics is no longer exploiting market inefficiencies, but instead focused on efficient player development. Maggie, now a senior analyst, works closely with coaches to help tailor training for the 300 non-Tigers playing on seven affiliated teams, from the Dominican Republic to the newly minted Norwich Sea Unicorns. (Not Narwhals, Norwich? Come on, Connecticut!)

To complement big data captured by swing trackers in the bat handles and (legal) video, Maggie draws on her playing days as a tactical “baserunning machine” to spot secondary indicators from the scouts’ seats 20 rows behind home plate.

Same with Louis at Nebagamon. September continued on page 6

FEBRUARY 20 • 2020

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Views editor’s note

jewfro from page 5

Building the Big Tent

I

’m excited to share this week’s JN cover story with you although I can’t take credit for it because it was in the works before I arrived here. Our pair of features on Jews of color in Metro Detroit give us the opportunity to tell the kinds Andrew Lapin of Jewish stories we unfortunately tend to overlook when we talk about “the Jews” as a single identity.

We don’t want this focus to be a one-time thing. My hope is that we at the JN can make a regular, standing commitment to telling the stories of Jews from diverse backgrounds, including Jews of color, Jews from migrant communities, Jews in interfaith families and Jews from the LGBTQ+ community.

Because, really, all of us

are part of one community: the Metro Detroit Jewish community. We should all feel comfortable around each other. And I want to make sure the JN continues to be a place where we can all gather: a big tent, if you will. Of course, one or two features aren’t going to build that tent.

With that in mind, I’d like to extend the following invitation. If you would like to share your own experiences as a member of an underrepresented Jewish identity, please reach out and share with us. We’d love to feature your story in these pages and on our website.

As I am still reacquainting myself with Jewish Detroit after several years away, I’m thinking about all your stories the same way I approach an Indian buffet: I want to have as many different flavors as I can.

This is also the time for me to apologize to anyone who tried to email me or the editorial staff at our “renmedia.us” addresses over the past couple weeks, only to receive a bounce-back message in return saying the address was undeliverable.

We were dealing with some in-house technical difficulties, and they impacted our entire editorial team’s ability to access our regular staff emails. I am sure this caused frustration for some of you — I know it did us.

Thankfully, the problem has been resolved and our email addresses are once again working properly. If you sent an email to our editorial staff in the past few weeks and didn’t hear back, please resend it.

Thanks very much for your savlanut (patience) and understanding.

essay

We Do Have Allies, You Know?

W

ith the recent surge in antiSemitic attacks, it’s easy to see why many Jews feel increasingly isolated and alone. Sadly, that’s an all-toofamiliar feeling for us. But if our eyes are open, we must Mark Jacobs acknowledge we’ve also seen genuine, heartwarming gestures of solidarity and

support for Jews in recent months. This might be hard to accept for those Jews who tend to distrust non-Jews, but they are closing their eyes to an undeniable and beautiful fact that we should appreciate and nurture: We Jews have allies. Plenty of them.

Recent examples are everywhere and sometimes in the unlikeliest of places.

• Last month two Russian cosmonauts, while on a spacewalk outside of the

International Space Station, commemorated International Holocaust Remembrance Day by displaying a sign transcribed in both English and Russian, with the words “We Remember.”

• Last month in Tehran, Iran (of all places), at Shahid Behesti University during an anti-government protest, the students refused to walk on a large painting of the Israeli flag on the ground and instead chose to walk around continued on page 10

6 |

FEBRUARY 20 • 2020

through May is tech-intensive — online outreach, photo archives, video editing, CRM, IMs, alums, emails, Sporcles — such that June, July and August might, per camp’s Nebagamission, “create a refuge from the real world, giving children the space they need to discover themselves, to nurture a diverse and caring community, to challenge boys in ways that help them discover how capable they are and to engender a love of the outdoors in our campers.”

Like filling in a scorecard from the scouts’ seats, easier said than swung.

Also, Louis and Maggie are adorable. His knitting, her crocheting. His cooking, her baking. Their dueling sourdoughs.

His vacuuming and White Sox, her laundry and Cubs.

Their tandem bike. His softball fandom upon learning that U. Chicago had sports teams. (Go Maroons!) Her MLB All-Star breaks spent at a Paul Bunyanthemed boys camp.

That tandem bike.

And they don’t live in Detroit out of some sense of duty or sacrifice. They live in Detroit because it has a density and diversity of peers and beers (and other culinary, cultural, artistic, authentic, social and sportsball amenities) unrivaled this side of the Wiener’s Circle.

Louis and Maggie have a go-to cheesemonger (Emily) at Eastern Market. Dally in the Alley is behind their house.

Thanksgiving may have been a caravan back to Chicago, but — a departure from decades of dodging Detroit — Horace’s house hosted 19 for a West Forest Friendsgiving. With two sourdoughs.

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A limited number of tuition spots are available K-12 for the 2020-21 school year.

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www.bloomfield.org/kindergarten FEBRUARY 20 • 2020

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Views guest column

Resilience in the Face of Genocide CHRISTOPHER DILTS/AJWS

F

ew of us know what we would do in the face of genocide.

Since my early adolescence, I’ve had fantasies about what I would have done if I had been alive during the Shoah. In these daydreams, I imagine myself attacking Nazis.

I see myself as a freedom fighter living in the Rabbi Josh forests of France Whinston or Ukraine. “I’d fight,” I tell myself. “I wouldn’t be a victim.”

And as much as I believe this — as much as many of us believe this about ourselves — the truth is: We have no idea what we would do.

It was with these fantasies that I boarded a plane to Guatemala on the last week of January as a Global Justice Fellow with American Jewish World Service (AJWS). We were going there to meet

In Guatemala City, candles and flowers used for Mayan invocation ceremonies welcome Global Justice Fellows to a meeting with Autoridades Ancestrales, a coalition representing many indigenous and ethnic groups in Guatemala working to stop the injustices affecting their communities.

with organizations that AJWS supports to promote human rights and fight corruption in their country.

As we were landing, I saw lush green mountains with shanty homes sprawling down their sides and immense volcanoes rising to the heavens. Though I didn’t know it then, the contrast would

perfectly foreshadow the beauty and pain I was about to encounter.

The entire week, we were surrounded by a beautiful land and people — a country full of life, its people greeting us with smiles and openness. But the individuals we met also invited us into their stories of pain.

A forensic anthropologist

remembered crying when she uncovered her first mass grave: a remnant from the 36-year internal armed conflict and ensuing genocide lasting from 1960 to 1996, in which the military regime systematically murdered more than 200,000 indigenous Mayan people.

She told us the first victim she uncovered was an expectant mother, that tears came streaming down her face as she brushed away dirt from the bones of that unborn child, encircled by the bones of its mother. The anthropologist was so upset, she had to leave the excavation … but upon returning, she could hear joyous laughter coming from the site. It was the family of the victim laughing — celebrating that after decades of searching, they had finally found their loved one and could lay her bones to rest.

Our tour guide, tasked with getting us from place to place, continued on page 10

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Views resilience from page 8

Rabbi Whinston shares a reflection with the Global Justice Fellowship cohort in Guatemala City.

CHRISTOPHER DILTS/AJWS

had a story of his own. When he was just 8 years old and the internal armed conflict was raging, there was a knock on the door of his home early one morning. His father rose from the breakfast table and cracked the door open; he then turned to his family and said, “There are men outside who want to speak with me.”

Then, looking directly at his eldest son — the 8-yearold boy who would one day become our tour guide — he instructed, “Listen to what your mother tells you; do what she says,” before stepping outside.

Moments later, the gunshots started. When that 8-year-old boy tried to run out to help his father, his mother held him back. But after the shoot-

ing ceased, the father was nowhere to be found. They never did find him. Our guide told us that, in his family’s heart, they buried their father long ago.

Of all the grantee partners we met, it was the young members of an artist coop-

erative who inspired me the most. They are taking trauma and pain and transforming it into art. They are gathering their strength as friends waste away in prison simply for defending the human rights of others. Armed only with courage and a dream for a better

crimes to which we bear witness today are truly crimes against humanity. That is to say, a violation of us all, an affront to God’s children.”

• Last year, Rwanda Air announced it was launching direct flights from Kigali, Rwanda, to Tel Aviv. Its CEO announced at the time that he was “very excited” to “strengthen diplomatic ties” between the two nations.

Two months earlier, Israel opened its first embassy in Rwanda. And two years before that, Rwanda’s president Paul Kigame spoke at AIPAC’s Policy Conference in Washington, D.C., and stated, “Israel has the right to exist and thrive as a full member of the international community.”

• Last November, on a London subway, a Muslim woman wearing a hijab

intervened to defend a Jewish man and his children, all wearing kippot, from a man calling them “Satan” and other obscenities. She was able to de-escalate the incident.

• In January, the Guardian Angels, a volunteer organization that patrols the New York subways unarmed to help deter crime, announced it would begin focusing on the streets of Crown Heights, a heavily Jewish neighborhood. Curtis Sliwa, the founder of the organization, made the announcement and stated: “It’s like every decade there’s a wave of anti-Semitism, expressed with violence, horrific acts of crime … We have a moral obligation to make up for historical antiSemitism.”

Locally, I have the honor of

future, these artists influence their country to challenge the prevalent narrative of corruption, impunity and degradation. They use their art to inspire hope, change and justice.

Few of us know what we would do in the face of genocide. When the monsters come, when the gun is pointed at our head, when our town is scorched, few of us know what we would actually do. But if, God forbid, I ever find myself in a life or death situation, I hope I have the resilience to lead a life as meaningful as the ones I witnessed in Guatemala.

Josh Whinston is a rabbi at Temple Beth Emeth in Ann Arbor.

allies from page 6

the flag.

• On Jan. 23, at the Auschwitz-Birkenau death camp in Poland, for a commemoration of the 75th anniversary of the liberation of the camp, senior delegations from the Muslim World League and the American Jewish Committee came together and locked arms in a show of friendship and solidarity.

The Secretary-General of the Muslim World League, Mohammad bin Abdulkarim Al-Issa, who is based in Mecca, led 62 Muslims from 28 countries and, upon touring the camp, stated: “To be here, among the children of Holocaust survivors and members of the Jewish and Islamic communities, is both a sacred duty and a profound honor. The unconscionable

serving as a co-director of the Coalition for Black and Jewish Unity and the Michigan Director of African American Outreach for AIPAC. I spend a great deal of time working with non-Jews on joint events, committees, seminars and projects that support Israel, fight racism and anti-Semitism and promote solidarity between our two communities.

For several years, as the lone Jewish representative, I traveled to Israel with 200 Christians who wished to deepen their knowledge and show their love and support for Israel and Jews. I wish more Jews could see what I get to experience firsthand — genuine acts of goodwill toward the Jewish people from dynamic, kindhearted and principled people. continued on page 12

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I wish more Jews could see what I get to experience firsthand — genuine acts of goodwill toward the Jewish people from dynamic, kindhearted and principled people. allies from page 10

My dear friend and colleague Rev. Deedee Coleman, the co-chair of the Coalition for Black and Jewish Unity, recently wrote a powerful editorial in the Detroit News about the need for her community to support the Jewish people.

Coleman, the former president of the Council of Baptist Pastors of Detroit and Vicinity, is a longtime advocate for the Jewish people and Israel, and noted: “To my fellow African Americans, I declare loud and clear: Anti-Semitism is becoming a cancer, and we must find a remedy quickly.

My heart is saddened, but we can never give up. And let us remember: We can do so much more together than ever apart.”

The displays of kindness and support — and even love at times — are all around us, if we are only open to seeing it. These actions take place around the world (and even in outer space), as well as right in our own backyard.

The Jewish Community Relations Council/AJC regularly builds crosscultural bridges and, in the process, often creates mutual friendships that strengthen

our bonds with our nonJewish neighbors.

The spate of anti-Semitic attacks that we saw last year — sometimes with tragic consequences — is not going away. The Jewish people, sadly but predictably, will grieve again. But we can be uplifted by the brave and kind gestures of support from people around the world, sometimes in the most remote or unlikely places. We have friends and allies, lots of them, whether we wish to admit it or not.

We should embrace them. If we fail to do so, if we reject the hand of friendship, then we have only deepened our own isolation and vulnerability. That’s an illogical and dangerous place to be, and especially unwise for a people who represent less than 0.2 percent of the world population.

Mark Jacobs is the AIPAC Michigan chair for African American Outreach, a co-director of the Coalition for Black and Jewish Unity, a board member of the Jewish Community Relations Council-AJC and the director of Jewish Family Service’s Legal Referral Committee.

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| 13

Jews in the D on the cover

W

hen Re’uvein Rickman entered the sanctuary at Adat Shalom Synagogue for his first Shabbat service as a Jew, his thoughts immediately turned to where he should sit. The cantor told him to find a seat wherever he wanted, so Rickman chose one at the end of the aisle, seven rows from the bimah.

Sometime during the service, the significance of his seat selection became clear. Just a few days earlier, this trainer and former bodybuilder had walked seven steps into the mikvah and then seven steps out, symbolically marking the completion of his conversion to Judaism.

“When I converted to Judaism, I took seven steps away from the life I’d been living,” Rickman says now.

“When I came out of the mikvah, I took seven steps toward the beginning of my journey with Judaism.”

In the three years since he became Jewish, Rickman, 71, continues to occupy the end seat in the seventh row. He’s in shul every Saturday morning.

He makes a habit of coming Saturday evening, too, because that first Saturday night after his conversion, the congregation struggled to make a minyan.

Most Shabbat mornings, worshipers don’t take special notice of this tall, physically fit black man any more than they take note of any other congregant.

The High Holidays are different. Then, the sanctuary is packed with those who don’t typically attend services. Inevitably, some do a double-take when they see Rickman in his large colorful kippah, a blue-andwhite Israeli tallit draped over his shoulders.

Hues of Jews Jews of color share their pathways, obstacles and joys.

JENNIFER LOVY CONTRIBUTING WRITER

14 |

FEBRUARY 20 • 2020

The stares don’t bother him.

“I know why they’re looking,” he says. “They think it’s rare. Especially when they only go to services once or twice a year and they come back and see something totally different — a black person in the synagogue.

“The surprise I see is a look of, ‘Oh, my goodness, this is really interesting.’ It’s not a look of fear, and it doesn’t give me a feeling of being unwelcome. God is probably smiling and thinking, ‘Maybe they should come to shul more often.’”

A significant and growing percentage of Jews in America

JERRY ZOLYNSKY

At Adat Shalom, when Re’uvein Rickman performs Hagbah, lifting the Torah after the final reading, he spreads the scrolls wide for all to see.

are Jews of color. A 2018 Brandeis University study found that 1.9% of the estimated 7.4 million American Jews, or about 150,000 people, identifies as black and non-Hispanic.

However, a study released in 2019 by the Jews of Color Field Building Initiative, a San Francisco Bay Areabased national effort to advance the Jewish professional status of Jews of

color, estimates that figure to be much higher. According to the group’s findings, between 12-15% of American Jews are Jews of color, defined as anyone identifying as non-white.

“American Jewish population studies have neglected to systematically and consistently ask about the racial and ethnic identities of American Jews,” the organization concluded in its findings,

which analyzed numerous Jewish population studies dating to 1970. “The result has been that we know little about the composition and size of the population of Jews of color. This has been due, in part, to the working assumption that the vast majority of American Jews identify as white.”

The study also found that the number of multiracial and non-white Jewish continued on page 16 FEBRUARY 20 • 2020

| 15

Jews in the D

Aliza Bracha and Aryeh Klein were married in 2017.

“I’m still trying to find a shul where I feel like I fit,” she says.

HUES from page 15

“The kind of happiness I feel from being Jewish is something nobody can take away from me.”

— CAMILLE MCMILLAN George and Camille McMillan found a home at Temple Israel.

households is increasing.

Locally, no statistics are available on how many Jews of color live in the Metro Detroit area. The Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Detroit’s 2018 Jewish Population Study did not count them.

The JN talked to nearly a dozen Metro Detroit Jews of color about their thoughts on being a minority within a minority. They worship at a variety of congregations, from Reform to Orthodox. They range in age from 15 to 71 and live in Novi, Oak Park, Farmington Hills, West Bloomfield and Detroit.

Some were born Jewish while others converted. Some talked of feeling marginalized by the Jewish community while others said they felt embraced.

A few, like Ariel Cummings of Farmington Hills, have struggled to connect with their own families over their faith.

When Cummings, a construction company owner who previously worked in the music industry, converted, his mother said: “Being black is hard enough. And you want to be Jewish on top of that?”

WELCOMED, OR NOT “The kind of happiness I feel from being Jewish is something nobody can take away from me,” says Camille McMillan, 63, of West Bloomfield. She and her husband, George, are members of Temple Israel. George regularly attends Friday night services, while Camille watches a livestream from home. Her multiple sclerosis makes it challenging for her to join him.

McMillan was raised Christian, but says she struggled to find spiritual meaning.

She asked one of her doctors, who is Jewish, where she could learn about Judaism. He suggested a class at Temple Israel.

“The rest is history,” she says. “It’s the best thing I’ve ever done.”

Judaism, McMillan says, makes a lot of sense. From the moment she walked in the doors of Temple Israel, she liked what she saw.

“I’ve never felt different; I’ve never felt my color at Temple Israel,” she says.

“I’ve gone to plenty of all-white churches where I felt my color as soon as I hit the door. At Temple Israel, I’m just another Jewish woman.” continued on page 18

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| 17

Jews in the D HUES from page 16

Ashira Solomon and her daughter, Naomi

Daniel Hodges says, “Jacob’s identity is so set in being Jewish that he helps me with my identity.”

The McMillans, along with their dauther, Aliza Bracha Klein, had a Reform conversion about 13 years ago.

Klein of Oak Park took her conversion further, subsequently undergoing an Orthodox one.

Unlike Rickman, who describes occasional curious glances at his synagogue, Klein, 34, says her skin color drew more attention at her shul than she’d like. Now she rarely attends Shabbat services.

“I can’t pray if I’m getting stared at the entire time. I’m still trying to find a shul where I feel like I fit,” says Klein, adding that out-of-town visitors, unaccustomed to seeing a black congregant at shul, made her feel uncomfortable.

Going out for a Shabbat

meal at various homes in the community is when she feels most on edge. Often, she says, someone at the table makes an inappropriate joke or says something negative about black people.

“I’ve had someone say, ‘Well, if you get upset about things like that, why did you convert?’” Klein says. “That is wrong and should not be anyone’s business. I converted because I felt that Judaism was right and was the path that was meant for me to take. It’s not anyone’s business about what my connection to Judaism is.”

Klein, a social worker with the Oak Park School District, says that when she was in the Reform movement, people would occasionally mistake her

and her family for members of the custodial staff or a caregiver to another congregant.

A black Jewish family from Novi shares a similar experience. Daniel Y. Hodges and his family belong to Congregation B’nai Moshe in West Bloomfield, where Daniel sings in the High Holiday choir. Once, he says, someone attending a bar mitzvah at his synagogue mistook his stepdaughter Chanteal for a kitchen employee.

“People sometimes make decisions with their eyes without having all the information, and that’s a normal human trait,” Hodges recalls telling Chanteal. “But sometimes people have to understand that things are bigger than what they see or what they’ve experienced in their past.”

When Chanteal was 8, Hodges self-published a children’s book for her called Shabbat Sparkles (available on Amazon), intended to help her “realize that not only is her Judaism a treasure, but that she’s a treasure to the Jewish world.”

Today, Hodges says that Chanteal, 22, does not identify as Jewish. She had a difficult time connecting with Judaism, both because her biological father and his wife are not Jewish, and because of some of the negative experiences she had growing up while trying to be accepted as a Jew. Hodges’ son Jacob’s experience in Judaism has been more welcoming, although not without similar encounters.

When Jacob, now a freshman at Walled Lake Western High School, was very young, a little girl told him he couldn’t be Jewish because he was black.

“I don’t think it even penetrated his thought process,” Hodges says. “Jacob’s identity is so set in being Jewish that he helps me with my identity.”

When asked how his peers react to his Judaism today, Jacob says: “Yeah, they’re surprised. But then they’re like, ‘I don’t care.’”

THE CONVERSION QUESTION A typical response to learning that someone is black and Jewish is to ask if that person converted. It’s a question white converts rarely hear.

“People need to understand there are many Jews of color who did not have a conversion,” Klein says.

According to Jewish law, asking about someone’s conversion is prohibited.

“Although halachically you’re not supposed to question anyone’s past, I’m very open about mine,” says Ashira Solomon, a 31-year-old Southfield resident and preschool teacher at Farber Hebrew Day School in Southfield.

Solomon grew up in Oak Park and had several Jewish friends. When she was 13, she told her parents she wanted to be Jewish. She spent many Jewish holidays at the home of her best friend and, in her circle of childhood friends, Solomon was called “the honorary Jew.” Little did she know then about the Jewish roots on her father’s side. After what Solomon describes as an eye-opening conversation with a rabbi, she did some research and discovered those roots.

Rickman had a different journey to the faith. He says many of his beliefs and customs were aligned with Judaism, but he didn’t know continued on page 20

18 |

FEBRUARY 20 • 2020

JERRY ZOLYNSKY

Long Road Home James Allen Jones, 94, has had a six-decade journey to Judaism.

ALLISON JACOBS DIGITAL EDITOR

T

emple Beth El member Dr. James Allen Jones is 94 years old, but he could easily pass for 70. He stands tall, dressed in a casual suit with a purple vest and tie.

He doesn’t need any help getting around, and he has plenty to say — especially about his conversion from Christianity to Judaism at age 92.

Jones’ gravitation toward Judaism started during his early childhood.

“When I was just 3 or 4 years old, I used to stand in our back window and look out at the garden, and somehow something just grabbed me that there was the presence of God,” Jones said.

He was born in Detroit’s Conant Gardens neighborhood, known as the most prosperous, predominantly middle-class African American neighborhood in the city at the time. His father was a Baptist minister who never pushed him to attend church, and his mother would tell him the story of Creation at night before bed.

At age 6, Jones was hungry to learn about religion and wanted to enroll in catechism classes. Jones looks back on that moment, recalling his father’s words of wisdom: “If you want to be a good Catholic, you’re going to have to be a good Jew first — and it’s going to take you all your life.”

During his teenage years,

Jones was involved in a diverse church. He was the youngest member of the choir and became baptized at 15.

“I was about to tell them I don’t really believe this, but then I thought, if I don’t, they won’t baptize me,” Jones said.

His interest in Judaism became more pronounced after his next-door neighbor, Lena Ringgold, gave him a Victrola turntable with hundreds of records of operas and Jewish songs.

“That’s when I heard ‘Kol Nidre’ and all of these Jewish chants — and so I listened every morning and every night,” Jones said.

Another major turning point for Jones was in 1957, when he became a Fulbright Scholar in Leeds, England, studying education. While teaching at an elementary school, he was introduced to a Jewish man who invited Jones to star in an upcoming performance of Othello.

As a lover of Shakespeare and performance, Jones accepted the role. One of the first shows was in front of a Hadassah group, and while Jones was backstage, a young Hadassah member encouraged him to spend his next term teaching at the Talbot Road Jewish School in England.

Jones accepted the position and was assigned to a class of 27 boys, where he taught Introduction to Torah and the Prophets.

James Allen Jones is at home in the chapel at Temple Beth El.

“After introducing myself to that, something in me said, ‘This is where you belong,’” Jones said. “It was in December — I’ll never forget — when I decided I was going to do it.” He was going to convert.

FURTHER EXPLORATION Jones mentally made his decision at 32, but he wouldn’t formally begin the conversion process for several decades.

In the meantime, he returned to Detroit, where he exposed himself to different facets of Judaism.

“I explored ultra-Orthodox, Orthodox, Humanistic — about six, seven different ones,” Jones said. “I used to come out to different synagogues and temples for Torah

study and classes.”

In 1974, Jones was invited by the Temple Beth El music director at the time, Jason Tickton, to take an Introduction to Judaism course with a focus on music, which he says pushed him further toward Judaism.

He later joined the Grosse Pointe Jewish Council, where he stayed for 15 years and became the 26th president.

It wasn’t until Jones found the synagogue that spoke to him that he was ready to convert.

“It was about finding a place that gave me the spiritual satisfaction,” Jones said. “With Temple Beth El, it was a warm, different kind of a welcome.

When people find out who you are, they will come to you continued on page 20 FEBRUARY 20 • 2020

| 19

Jews in the D HUES from page 18

HaShem was playing on me,” Rickman says. “How could a book be my salvation if I couldn’t read? But all the time HaShem was saying, ‘I’ll be with you,’ and I was able to do it.”

Rickman later started a weekly AA meeting at Adat Shalom.

When he signed up for the adult b’nai mitzvah classes at Adat Shalom in Farmington Hills, he was still struggling to read English — and suddenly he was also trying to learn the Hebrew alphabet and Torah tropes. Ultimately, he ended up reading the longest haftorah part in his class.

MARRIAGE & RELATIONSHIPS At a Jewish function or kosher restaurant, it’s hard for Aliza Klein to ignore the occasional stares and gossip directed toward her and her husband, continued on page 22

JERRY ZOLYNSKY

it at the time. For example, mixing milk and meat always bothered him, and on Saturdays he felt a strong desire to rest and abstain from things like listening to music.

“Are you sure you’re not Jewish,” a Jewish friend and client once asked him. His response: “I think I have a Jewish soul.”

Rickman, who is 15 years sober, expressed an interest in Judaism to his Alcoholics Anonymous sponsee, who was Jewish and offered to take him to services for the first time.

The same person helped him learn to read after he received what is known as the “Big Book” at an AA meeting and was told his salvation was contained within its pages.

The book is considered the basic text for AA because of its message of recovery.

“I thought it was a sick joke

Re’uvein Rickman in his usual seat at Adat Shalom — the seventh row on the aisle

JOURNEY from page 19 JERRY ZOLYNSKY

and they’ll just be friendly to you, and it’s constant. My wife has enjoyed the same kind of exposure and experience there, and we’re going on four full years of being members.”

Soon after landing at Temple Beth El, Jones and his wife, Gar, moved from their Arden Park mansion in 2015 to a West Bloomfield condo — one he discovered in an issue of the Jewish News.

At age 92, Jones converted and, soon after, became a bar mitzvah.“I found the satisfaction that I wanted to in Judaism,” Jones said. “It was like coming home.”

Temple Beth El’s Rabbi Mark Miller and Rabbi Dorit Edut, among many others, have been integral in Jones’ conversion journey.

“I believe Dr. Jones has provided a unique sense of inspiration to our Temple Beth El community — not simply because of his incredible wealth

20 |

FEBRUARY 20 • 2020

of experience, but also because of the joy and seriousness he brings to the endeavor of living a Jewish life,” Miller said. “Personally, I love the opportunity to learn from both his wisdom and his spirit every single week.”

While exploring Judaism, Jones held teaching positions and was a principal in Detroit Public Schools for 40 years.

Even after retiring, he was a principal at several Roman Catholic schools, taught at Wayne State University in the College of Education and was the principal at Ecorse High School, where he taught Introduction to Religion.

“I invited a minister, an imam and a rabbi, and I got Rabbi Dorit Edut,” Jones recalls. “When Rabbi Dorit finished, the young ladies in the class wrote a letter to her saying they would like to become a rabbi. Mind you, we had three Hispanic kids — the rest were black kids and two white kids.” continued on page 22

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| 21

Jews in the D JOURNEY from page 20

HUES from page 20

Aryeh, who is white. In social situations, people sometimes treat Aryeh with more respect. And it’s especially hurtful when someone thinks it’s OK to make a racially inappropriate comment to Aryeh.

“I don’t necessarily see things as being racially insensitive like my wife sees it,” Aryeh says. “So I’m constantly attempting to see things from her viewpoint … Often, the best response is to do nothing while showing I understand that what happened was hurtful, and to just be there for my wife to provide comfort and support.”

The Kleins initially met six years ago.

Aryeh was hosting a fundraiser and Aliza, an active volunteer within the Jewish community, was asked to help with the event.

A few years later, a friend set them up. The couple married in December 2017. They do not have children yet. The pair is concerned that when they do start a family, their kids will have to deal with racism, not only from within the Jewish community but from society as a whole.

“We want to raise strong children and will try our best to make sure our kids are exposed to positive people with positive attitudes,” Aliza says. “Unfortunately, there will always be ignorant people. And while we can’t control how they act, we can control our responses to them.”

Ashira Solomon, a single Orthodox Jewish woman with a 4-year-old daughter, hopes to meet someone that her neshamah (soul) connects with. She wants to get married again but she’s been told it might be hard for her to get a shidduch (match).

Solomon isn’t necessarily offended by this comment, saying she understands the challenges of why a Jewish person — whether they’re Orthodox, Conservative or Reform — may not consider marrying a Jew who isn’t white.

“When you’re surrounded by a bunch of people who mostly look the same and you’re taught that saying derogatory words like schvartze (“black” in Yiddish) is OK, then what happens when you meet a Jew of color?” she says. “How do you react?

“It’s a mixed message.”

Solomon believes the key to addressing such stereotypes is through education and being conscious of the fact there are different types of people with unique characteristics.

22 |

FEBRUARY 20 • 2020

GROWING ATTENTION A handful of initiatives and organizations, many working on a national level, are addressing the needs of a more diverse Jewish population.

Olivia Guterson, a 29-year-old artist living in Detroit, wouldn’t mind seeing more local initiatives. She says she usually connects with other Jews of color when she attends conferences that more actively recruit or create space for them.

In a city like Detroit, where 85% of the population is black, Guterson says she is surprised she hasn’t come across more Jews of color. She occasionally attends the Isaac Agree Downtown Synagogue and guesses she knows two or three others who identify as a Jew of color. She suspects there may be more who are not visibly identifiable.

As part of its 2020 programming, the Union for Reform Judaism is spearheading an initiative called Audacious Hospitality, designed to embrace Jewish diversity. URJ hopes to listen to the experiences Jews of color have in majority-white spaces and provide educational resources that address how to improve in the areas of diversity, equity and inclusion, according to Chris Harrison, a writer and editor for Audacious Hospitality and a Jew of color.

Harrison, who recently relocated to Michigan, serves as a committee member on the Audacious Hospitality working group with Temple Beth El in Bloomfield Township, where he is a member.

Harrison says congregations can take several steps to help others feel more welcome.

“When Jews of color talk about their experiences, microaggressions they’ve received in Jewish spaces, believe them, promise to do better and act on it,” he says.

“Look at your congregational or institutional practices, ranging from engagement to hiring, to the resources you provide in your religious schools and libraries and beyond. Do the images on your website and social media reflect true Jewish diversity? Has your staff taken implicit bias training?

“Taking these steps can be challenging and cause some discomfort,” Harrison says, “but they are necessary and healing and will help make your communities places of true belonging.”

“I found the satisfaction that I wanted to in Judaism. It was like coming home.”

— JAMES ALLEN JONES

LOOKING FORWARD Now, at 94, Jones continues to learn as much as he can and is gravitating toward exploring the concept of Jewish identity.

“It’s a good year for me — I’ll be 95 on May 2,” Jones said. “I told my wife this is going to be my year.”

Jones stays active by regularly performing Shakespearean plays at Temple Beth El for congregants, including The Merchant of Venice and, most recently, a return to Othello, where he weaves biblical themes into each play. Jones hopes to soon perform his 400th rendition of Othello and finish his book on his transition from Christianity to Judaism.

Regarding his relationship to Judaism, Jones says his philosophy is, “I’m still learning.” He participates in weekly Torah study courses and attends Sunday minyan, which for him, “feels like family.”

“I feel satisfied, I feel comfortable — I still feel I have beautiful challenges,” Jones said. “I still feel motivated to learn and to study Torah each week.”

Catch Dr. James Allen Jones performing “The Torah and Shakespeare” on April 24, May 1 and May 8 at the Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Detroit.

Laura Bonnell contributed to this article.

MSU Student Spray-Paints Swastika In Front Of Own Frat House

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A member of the Pi Kappa Alpha (PIKE) fraternity at Michigan State University spray-painted a swastika on the grounds of his own fraternity house.

The graffiti was discovered the morning of Saturday, Feb. 15. The student has since been suspended from the fraternity.

The swastika was accompanied by an unrelated message that named a female student but did not appear to be anti-Semitic in nature. Another student, MSU senior and Franklin native Dean Sallan, alerted the MSU Chabad House and MSU Hillel chapters to the

graffiti. â&#x20AC;&#x153;When I saw the graffiti, I knew I needed to take a photo of it and immediately send it to someone,â&#x20AC;? Sallan told the Jewish News. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Throughout my education Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve dealt with students and their hateful words, but when you put a swastika on the ground like that, thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Nazi propaganda to me and that canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t be taken lightly.â&#x20AC;?

MSU Chabad Vice President Maverick Levy told the Jewish News, â&#x20AC;&#x153;It is crucial for us to use this incident to show the recent rise of antiSemitism in our community and allow for this to be an educational tool.â&#x20AC;?

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| 23

Jews in the D

WSU

Leonard N. Simons Building, home to the Wayne State University Press

Upheaval at

WSU Press Backlash to staff dismissals prompts new reporting shift to university president.

SHARI S. COHEN CONTRIBUTING WRITER

24 |

FEBRUARY 20 • 2020

WSU

T

hree of the top managers at Wayne State University Press were dismissed from their positions Feb. 7, leaving uncertainty at one of the nation’s most prominent publishers of Jewish studies books.

Editor-in-Chief Annie Marten; Editorial, Design and Production Manager Kristen Harpster; and Sales and Marketing Director Emily Nowak lost their jobs without a public explanation and were escorted from the University Press Building in midtown Detroit. WSU officials say they cannot discuss personnel matters.

After a week of strong

public opposition to the firings from authors, scholars and some faculty, as well as questions from other supporters, WSU announced on Feb. 14 that it would shift administrative responsibility for the Press.

“We have no intention of dismantling or discontinuing the work of the WSU Press,” wrote WSU President M. Roy Wilson in the statement. “On the contrary, we intend to continue supporting its important mission, and hope to position and strengthen the WSU Press M. Roy for the future.”

Wilson

The Press will now report to Wilson, via his Chief of Staff Michael Wright, who is vice president of marketing and communications at WSU and has administrative responsibility for the university-owned public radio station WDET. This is a change from the previous structure, where the press reported to Jon Cawthorne, Ph.D., dean of the Wayne State Library System and School of Information Science.

Wright says he plans to meet quickly with Press employees, its Board of Visitors and Editorial Board, and other constituents to better understand them and their concerns.

Tara Reeser will remain interim director of the Press, a position she has held since October 2019.

WSU Press, founded in 1941, has strong connections to the Jewish community thanks to its early donors.

Jewish studies is one of its specialty publication sub-

jects. Typically, the Press publishes 35-40 academic and general interest books and 11 journals annually.

Upcoming books include a memoir by Guy Stern, director of the International Institute of the Righteous at the Holocaust Memorial Center in Farmington Hills and former WSU provost.

The book is scheduled to be released in May. News of the staff dismissals had sparked concern, including from authors, editors and advisers associated with the Press who were worried about its future.

In an interview with the JN on Feb. 12, two days before the university’s decision to move the Press out of his department, Cawthorne had reaffirmed WSU’s commitment to the Press and confirmed plans to expedite the replacement of the dismissed staff members.

“The Press will continue, including its books in Jewish studies and by Jewish authors,” Cawthorne said. continued on page 26

FEBRUARY 20 â&#x20AC;¢ 2020

| 25

WSU PRESS

Jews in the D

continued from page 24

— M. ROY WILSON, WSU PRESIDENT

26 |

FEBRUARY 20 • 2020

COURTESY ELAINE DRIKER

We have no intention of dismantling or discontinuing the work of the WSU Press ... We hope to position and strengthen the WSU Press for the future.”

SEEKING ANSWERS Soon after University Press authors and others were notified of the dismissals, 60 individuals, including former University Press Executive Director Jane Ferreyra, wrote a letter of protest to Wilson, demanding the dismissals be reversed.

“We are writing to express our shock and anger at what is tantamount to the destruction of this venerable institution,” the letter states. “In a series of moves that has left both published and prospective authors in the dark about the fate of their books, and has undermined the viability of the press, the new administration has, without notice, discharged the press leadership without cause.”

Some members of the Press Editorial Board, a group of appointed faculty members providing editorial direction, also expressed their concerns to Wilson.

Elaine Driker of Detroit chairs the Board of Visitors of the University Press, who were notified of the dismissals on the day they were carried out. This 19-member board has no operational responsibility, but instead helps Elaine Driker with advocacy and fundraising.

Driker said many board members contacted her immediately with questions and concerns. A special meeting of the Board of Visitors was held by phone on Feb. 9.

Sixteen members participated, showing

“real allegiance to the press. They want to right the ship and expressed their concerns,” Driker said.

The university’s responses satisfied a majority of those present on the call. Driker said she and the board “were assured and reassured that the future of the Press is secure, including the Judaica and other series.”

After the announcement of the shift in organizational reporting to Wilson, Driker said she was “fully supportive” and that it “bodes well for the future of the Press.”

JEWISH CONNECTIONS The late Leonard N. Simons, a Jewish businessman and philanthropist, began helping the University Press raise funds during the 1950s. He tapped many friends within the Jewish community to support the Press overall, particularly the publication of Jewish subjects. The University Press Building was renamed for Simons in 1994.

According to Simons’ daughter, Mary Lou Zieve of Bloomfield Hills, he was an avid book lover who donated a major book collection to the university.

Zieve later chaired the first advisory group for the University Press, at the request of former University President David Adamany. She is a member emerita of the Board of Visitors of University Press.

“I’m not worried about the Press,” Zieve said. “It will go on.”

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Witnessing History Local moms and ‘kid journalists’ attend 2020 Iowa Caucus.

ROBIN SCHWARTZ CONTRIBUTING WRITER

I

recently boarded a flight to Des Moines, Iowa, with an excited and energetic crew. My friend, Danielle McGuire, an award-winning author and historian, her 11-year-old daughter, Ruby, my 11-year-old daughter, Olivia, and I were headed to the 2020 Iowa Caucus.

We couldn’t wait to witness history by attending the first major vote of the U.S. presidential primary.

We went with KidUnity, a Los Angelesbased nonprofit organization that provides sixth-10th graders from LA and Detroit a chance to “experience politics in action.” Danielle had traveled with them before and invited us to join for the 2020 vote — an amazing opportunity. We later met Isaac Mintz, 18, an energetic senior at West Bloomfield High School with a passion for politics, who joined the trip.

“We hope none of you talk about politics en route,” the Delta flight attendant joked at the start of our journey. Our plane was largely filled with journalists, including the legendary Tom Brokaw of NBC Nightly News fame. That was our first “celebrity sighting.” We were giddy as we snuck a few pre-flight photos.

We hit the ground running in Iowa.

The trip was a whirlwind of rallies, talks and some chance meetings with the likes of Bernie Sanders. A few students ran into the Democratic presidential hopeful in a hotel lobby. Along the way, the kids developed reporting skills by interviewing voters, candidates and journalists and witnessing politics in real time. National political reporters John King and Dana Bash from CNN and MSNBC’s Katy Tur stopped to talk to us. As a former TV

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FEBRUARY 20 • 2020

news anchor/reporter, I was geeked. So was Isaac.

“It was amazing. You look around and realize you’re seeing media professionals doing their job — and you’re right alongside them,” he said.

“I learned that journalists need to be really alert because there could be an opportunity anywhere,” Ruby added.

The students took selfies with former Vice President Joe Biden. They got autographs from entrepreneur Andrew Yang (who has since dropped out of the race) and met with other Democratic and Republican candidates. We sat in the press section during an actual caucus vote in Precinct 62 at Drake University.

“Voting in America is a time-honored and sacred thing,” Danielle reminded the students. “It’s something people fought and died for, and it’s not something you should take for granted.”

We watched as voters filed into the stadium and took their seats in various sections designated for each candidate. In our precinct, candidates with fewer than 127 votes were not considered viable.

Voters in those sections had 20 minutes to move to another section and change their vote.

“I learned what a caucus is and how you vote in one,” Olivia said.

Following the vote, our group filed into a gym for a Pete Buttigieg rally; but there was no sign of the Democratic presidential candidate and former South Bend, Indiana, mayor. At approximately 9:30 p.m., a big screen in the gym airing CNN indicated that a vote-counting error occurred. None of us knew what had happened, and the student journalists were in the same boat as their role models: watching and waiting for answers. It turns out we all witnessed one of the greatest debacles in caucus history. As we headed home, the results still had not come in. It was truly an unforgettable experience.

“It’s incredible to think that the world had its eyes on Iowa,” Isaac said. “And we were right there.”

Isaac Mintz contributed to this report. Michigan’s presidential primary takes place March 10.

ROBIN SCHWARTZ

Jews in the D

FROM TOP: Isaac Mintz, 18, of West Bloomfield takes a selfie while former Vice President Joe Biden takes a selfie with KidUnity students. Danielle McGuire and Robin Schwartz at the 62nd Precinct watching the caucus. Olivia Goldstein and Ruby Rosh, both 11 and of Huntington Woods, hold up their press passes at the Iowa Caucus.

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Cancer Thrivers Network for Jewish Women

Jews in the D

A School’s Education GVSU to focus on Holocaust learning after football coach’s Hitler comment.

CORRIE COLF STAFF WRITER

Everyone who is touched by a cancer experience faces many unexpected challenges. Join us as our panel of experts explore the physical, emotional and spiritual implications of the New Normal.

When: Where:

Wednesday, March 25, 2020 from 12-2pm Adat Shalom Synagogue 29901 Middlebelt Road Farmington Hills, MI Kosher lunch served

NO CHARGE

Open to the community

Jeffrey Forman, MD

Medical Director of Development Karmanos Cancer Institute

Michelle Riba, MD

Director of PsychOncology University of Michigan Rogel Cancer Center

Melissa K. Rosen, MA

Director of Community Education Sharsheret This program is made possible by a grant from the Alfred and Sandra Sherman Women’s Health Fund in conjunction with the Jewish Women’s Foundation of Metropolitan Detroit.

RSVP to Sarah Strasberger by March 18 at 248.592.2267 or sstrasberger@jfsdetroit.org

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FEBRUARY 20 • 2020

G

rand Valley State University says it will increase its curriculum around the Holocaust and Native American history after one of its football coaches referenced Hitler as “a great leader” and said he would like to have dinner with Christopher Columbus.

University President Philomena V. Mantella announced the new efforts following the Jan. 23 comments by former offensive coordinator Morris Berger to the student newspaper, the Grand Valley Lanthorn. Berger, who had been hired by the school Jan. 20, resigned from his position 10 days later.

“We will use this moment to work diligently toward institutional systemic change that creates a healthier campus climate for all,” Mantella said during the university’s Feb. 7 Board of Trustees meeting.

GVSU and the coach reached a mutual agreement to part ways. He received a payout of $90,000, which amounts to $80,000 for a one-year salary and $10,000 in lost benefits.

A “personal review” of Tim Nott, associate director of Athletic Communications at GVSU, was also put in place after he called the Lanthorn’s sports editor, Kellen Voss, five times after the article was published to request the removal of Berger’s comments. According to Mary Eilleen Lyon, associate vice president of University Communications, the review

has since ended and has been dealt with internally by Nott’s supervisor.

Marlene Kowalski-Braun, associate vice president for Inclusion & Student Support at GVSU, says GVSU has always held an intersectional lens and hopes this committee can further educate students and faculty.

“We’re planning on doing short-term programs to address the immediate issues elevated in the comments,” Kowalski-Braun said in an interview with the Jewish News. “But we also have a long-term view of where we hope to be as a campus community in a couple years. We want to continue to deeply educate our faculty and students who are a part of campus and make a more inclusive environment.”

The curriculum expansion plans involve a temporary committee created by Mantella and including GVSU student leaders and faculty members. The university will also be working alongside its Hillel and GVSU’s Native American Advisory Council.

GVSU’s Hillel chapter had spoken out strongly against Berger: “It is unfortunate to see a member of our Grand Valley community glorify the Holocaust, a period that brought such destruction and travesty to the world,” the group posted to its Facebook page Jan. 29. “We appreciate the university’s swift response, and we will continue to partner with them to educate our campus community.”

LIBRARY OF CONGRESS

Jews in the D

Something Missing?

Ford-sponsored Auschwitz exhibit at National Archives failed to mention founder’s role in Holocaust.

CORRIE COLF STAFF WRITER SUSANA RAAB VIA JTA

A

three-week-long exhibit sponsored by the Ford Motor Company Fund honored the 75th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz at the National Archives in Washington, D.C. But the exhibit raised eyebrows by overlooking Ford’s own role in fueling anti-Semitism during the Nazi regime.

The exhibition was held Jan. 16-Feb. 5, showcasing documents about Nazi war crimes and investigations by the U.S. government, as well as German records used at the Nuremberg trials.

There was also a silent video showing the liberation of Auschwitz.

Ford Motor Company has previously acknowledged its influence during the Holocaust, including creating a third of Germany’s army trucks using laborers who were forced to work in German factories owned by American companies or their subsidiaries.

According to the Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA), Ford Motor Company donated $2 million to a $5 billion fund for victims of slave labor in 2001.

While the National Archives have some documents that contain this information, none of them was shown during the exhibit.

These documents also provide details on how Ford

An exhibit at the National Archives marks the 75th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz, in a photo taken Feb. 5, 2020.

Motor Company, based in Dearborn, encouraged its French subsidiary to work with the Nazis after occupying France.

Henry Ford himself was also a well-known antiSemite who spread hateful ideologies through his newspaper, The Dearborn Independent.

Jamie Wraight, the director of the Voice/Vision Holocaust Survivor Oral History Archive at the University of MichiganDearborn, was surprised that the National Archives did not mention Ford’s role, both as a company and as an owner, in the Holocaust.

“As a historian in Dearborn, this idea that we should not remember what happened with Henry Ford and his involvement and the company’s involvement in the Holocaust is ludicrous,” Wraight said. “This is not a secret, and to confront, expose and talk about it is

the only way to ever receive any closure on the matter.

We can’t keep sweeping these matters under the rug.”

While the National Archives could not be reached for comment on the lack of information on Ford’s influence during the Holocaust, Ford Motor Company released a statement to the Jewish News on Feb. 10.

“Ford Motor Company condemns anti-Semitism and every form of discrimination,” the statement said. “Ford Motor Company Fund, the company’s philanthropic arm, has supported the National Archives Foundation and other historical groups for many years to foster awareness and understanding of our past. We remain committed to the advancement of understanding and goodwill among all races, religions and cultures.”

Coughlin

JN Editor Lapin to Speak on Coughlin at JCC on Feb. 23 Andrew Lapin, editor of the Jewish News, will deliver a talk on Father Charles Coughlin and anti-Semitism at the Jewish Community Center in West Bloomfield, Sunday, Feb. 23 at 2 p.m.

The talk, “Father Coughlin’s Children: Andrew Lapin Modern AntiSemitism in America,” is sponsored by the Sholem Aleichem Institute, a secular nonpolitical Jewish organization which organizes educational, cultural and social activities.

Lapin will discuss his own independent research into the life and lasting influence of Coughlin, the antiSemitic “radio priest” who founded the Shrine of the Little Flower Catholic parish in Royal Oak, and explore modern-day parallels to the mass-media demagogue.

He will also discuss the JN’s ongoing year-long reporting project on anti-Semitism and his goals for how the publication can cover this pressing threat.

There is no charge to attend.

FEBRUARY 20 • 2020

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AdvancedDerm.com Jewish Metro Detroiters joined Hazon Detroit, the Jewish Community Center of Metro Detroit and at least 16 synagogues from across the denominational spectrum for a communitywide Tu b’Shevat seder Feb. 9 at the JCC in West Bloomfield. Attendees celebrated the new year of trees, learned about the climate and together envisioned a healthier and more sustainable world for all.

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PHOTOGRAPHY BY JERRY ZOLYNSKY

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1. Panelist and Michigan State University Professor Asia Dowtin informs the audience about climate issues as other panelists look on. 2. Cantor Rachel Gottlieb Kalmowitz leads the group in a prayer. 3. Rabbi Aura Ahuvia of Troy from Temple Shir Tikvah raises her glass in a toast.

4. B.T. Irwin of Clawson reads along with the program. 5. Brittany Feldman of Ferndale grabs some food. 6. Francie Cook of West Bloomfield tries to crack open a walnut. 7. The panel addresses the gathered. 8. Bridget Spilkin of Bloomfield Hills, Elaine Morton of West Bloomfield and Julia Spilkin of Bloomfield Hills discuss environmental issues. 9. Audience members listen to the panelists.

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FEBRUARY 20 • 2020

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More than 200 people attended Winterfest and Camp Registration Day Jan. 26 at the Jewish Community Center of Metropolitan Detroit in West Bloomfield. Families enjoyed a hot chocolate bar, giant games, a bounce house and music. Winterfest also featured representatives from local organizations as resources for families.

JCC Special Needs Director Stephanie Zoltowski said, “It’s a great opportunity for families of all backgrounds to come together and celebrate something they all love — camp.”

PHOTOGRAPHY BY LIZZ CARDWELL/JCC

JCC camper Jordana Mesa of West Bloomfield is excited about winning a prize from Unit Head Liz Barton.

Special Needs Department staffers Cassie Green and Madison Silkowski hand out snacks.

Shoshana Gussin of Farmington Hills and Evelyn Share of Pontiac

JCC Special Needs Director Stephanie Zoltowski with JCC camper Jarrett Butcher of Birmingham

JCC campers Drew and Sean Zorn, both of West Bloomfield, checked out every game at Winterfest.

FEBRUARY 20 • 2020

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sports HIGHlights

Junior Achievement West Bloomfield High School freshman is a competitor in American Ninja Warrior Junior.

STEVE STEIN CONTRIBUTING WRITER

ROY KRAUTHAMER

R Ryan Krauthamer takes a break on the set of American Ninja Warrior Junior in downtown Los Angeles.

quick hits

BY STEVE STEIN

There are openings for athletes and artists who want to represent Detroit this summer at the JCC Maccabi Games & ArtsFest.

San Diego, California, and Pace University in Westchester County, New York, are the Maccabi Games sites. ArtsFest will be held in San Diego.

Detroit will be sending golfers, boys and girls tennis players, and boys soccer and girls volleyball teams to San Diego.

Pace will have 14U and 16U boys baseball, 14U and 16U boys basketball, girls competitive dance, girls soccer and ice hockey teams, plus boys and girls swimmers from Detroit.

San Diego will be a host from Aug. 2-7. About 1,700 athletes and artists are expected. Pace will be a host from Aug. 9-14. From 700 to 800 athletes are expected.

Athletes must be ages 13-16 and artists must be ages 13-17 as of July 31 to participate.

Interested in becoming a Maccabi Games athlete or artist? Email Detroit delegation head Karen Gordon at karengordon44@icloud.com or go to maccabidetroit.com.

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FEBRUARY 20 • 2020

yan Krauthamer is a warrior. An American Ninja Warrior, to be

exact.

The 14-year-old West Bloomfield High School freshman is one of about 50 competitors in the age 13-14 division in the second season of American Ninja Warrior Junior on the Universal Kids cable channel.

The show airs on Saturdays at 7 p.m., premiering Feb. 22.

It isn’t known if Ryan is in

Jeff Ellis continues to dominate in weightlifting at the Michigan Senior Olympics.

The certified public accountant from West Bloomfield won another gold medal Feb. 9 at the Senior Olympics Winter Games in Plymouth with a bench press of 260 pounds in the age 60-64 198-pound division.

Benji Jacobson has earned himself a spot in the Tulane University men’s tennis team’s lineup.

Jacobson is playing No. 3 doubles. In five matches through Feb. 8, the redshirt freshman from Bloomfield Hills had won once, lost twice and had two matches go unfinished because Tulane had already picked up a team point for winning doubles.

the opening episode.

And how did he do in the competition? That’s a closely guarded secret. Ryan can’t say anything publicly until an episode with him in it airs. Neither can his family members.

What Ryan can say, though, is he had a “blast” competing on the American Ninja Warrior Junior obstacle course in a downtown Los Angeles venue in July, even with 50 cameras recording the action and about 1,000

It was Ellis’ 18th gold medal in the 20 times he’s competed in weightlifting at the Senior Olympics. The 60-year-old also has a silver medal and a bronze medal in weightlifting.

Ellis wanted to break his Senior Olympics age group record of 270 pounds set last year at the Summer Games when he competed earlier this month, but he fell short at 275 pounds.

The West Bloomfield resident also holds the Senior Olympics record in the age 55-59 198pound division. That record is 286.1 pounds.

“I didn’t start in our season opener against Stanford, but I’ve started every time since then,” Jacobson said. “Four of the teams I’ve faced are top-30 teams. My partner and I were about to beat Mississippi State (when the match was stopped) and we beat Texas Tech. So far, the season has been good, and I’ve been playing very well.”

Jacobson was an All-American and Michigan Division III “Mr. Tennis” while at CranbrookKingswood High School, and he was a 2018 Jewish News Male High School Athlete of the Year.

people watching.

Ryan was chosen to compete by the show’s producers from about 10,000 applicants, who each sent in audition videos and answered questions. There also are 9-10 and 11-12 age divisions.

The show is a spinoff of the popular competition show American Ninja Warrior.

“I enjoy the American Ninja television shows,” Ryan said. “I think they’re cool.

“I thought I had a chance to be picked for American Ninja Warrior Junior, but I didn’t expect it. I think they were looking for a ‘back story’ from applicants. For me, it was being so happy that my grandfather is recovering from lung cancer.”

Ryan’s grandfather, David Benigsohn of Farmington Hills, was among several of Ryan’s family members who made the trip to Los Angeles to watch him compete.

Also in Ryan’s corner on his application was his background in Ninja athletics. He’s been involved

in the sport, which features obstacle courses challenging strength and agility, since he was 9.

He trains and competes out of the Edge Training Center in Commerce Township and Gripz Gym in Southfield, and he teaches younger Ninja athletes at Gripz.

He’s competed at state and world Ninja competitions in New Mexico and Connecticut and will compete this month in North Carolina.

“I wouldn’t say the TV show obstacle course was more difficult than my other Ninja competitions, but it was different,” Ryan said.

“The TV show course was faster with less obstacles. My other competitions are more about endurance.”

The obstacles in American Ninja Warrior Junior are modified versions of those used on the other American Ninja show to make them age-appropriate.

Carrie Krauthamer, Ryan’s

mother, hopes her son’s appearance on American Ninja Warrior Junior will be an inspiration to other area children.

“Not a lot of people know about the Ninja sport,” Carrie said. “Hopefully, kids around here will see Ryan on the TV show and be inspired to give the sport a try. It’s a great sport for active, energetic kids.”

Ryan said his friends understand he can’t say anything about the show, so they don’t ask him about it.

He’s been going about his business since returning from Los Angeles, patiently waiting for the show to air.

In addition to training and competing in Ninja athletics, he played on the West Bloomfield freshman boys soccer team this past fall and he’s playing club soccer for Liverpool Football Club.

He’s a goalie in soccer.

Ryan’s father is Roy Krauthamer. Ashley, 17, is Ryan’s sister. The family attends Temple Israel.

Stats

H

ere’s how Michigan State University wrestler Jackson Ross and Tulane University tennis player Benji Jacobson, each a former Jewish News High School Athlete of the Year, has fared this season.

JACKSON ROSS MSU Open • Lost 3-2 to Connor Webb (Oklahoma) • Beat Michael Leyland (Oklahoma) 3-2 • Lost 8-2 to Max Ihry (Northern Illinois)

Storm Open • Pinned by Gary Traub (Ohio State) 1:01 • Beat Ryan Weitz (Alderson-Broaddus) 15-5 • Beat Jared Burgoyne (AldersonBroaddus) 6-1 • Beat Gehrig Hutchison (Gannon) 11-8 • Beat Travis Schmeling (Gannon) 5-0

Cleveland State Open • Beat Gaige Willis (unattached) 3-2 • Beat Will Leonard (Buffalo) 8-2

Alma Open Michael Hartman has a perfect record in weightlifting at the Michigan Senior Olympics.

The West Bloomfield resident won a gold medal Feb. 9 at the Senior Jackson Ross is doing well against the “big boys” in collegiate wrestling.

The Michigan State University redshirt sophomore from Brighton was 12-5 with 11 straight wins through last week, competing in the 285-pound weight class in tournaments.

Olympics Winter Games in Plymouth, bench-pressing 265 pounds to win the age 60-64 275-pound division.

It was the first time Hartman competed in weightlifting at the Senior Olympics. The podiatrist won a silver medal in the shot put at the Senior Olympics a few years ago.

“I was very nervous (at the Winter Games) because everything in the weightlifting competition was new to me. I lifted a lot more a few days

earlier,” Hartman said. “But I enjoyed competing, mainly because the weightlifters there were like a band of brothers. I’m surprised I won.”

Hartman, 60, said he’s been weightlifting for many years but doing it seriously for only about four months, often with longtime friend and 18-time Senior Olympics weightlifting gold medal-winner Jeff Ellis, “and that’s made a difference.”

He finished in first place in the Alma Open and he was fifth in the Storm Open.

“I weigh 245 pounds, so I’m on the lighter side in this weight class,” Ross said.

The 6-foot-3 Ross hasn’t competed in any dual meets for MSU, but he is traveling with the team.

Ross was 5-11 in his first two seasons with the Spartans, again competing in tournaments. Off the mats, the 3.5 grade-point average student majoring in finance was an Academic

All-Big Ten honoree last season.

“I didn’t have a lot of confidence wrestling when I first came to Michigan State, mainly because I only started in wrestling in high school, but I’m wrestling with confidence now,” Ross said.

A football and wrestling standout at Novi Detroit Catholic Central High School, Ross was a 2017 Jewish News Male High School Athlete of the Year.

• Pinned Peter Nicaj (Alma) 32 seconds • Beat Marcus Deren (Lourdes) 19-3 • Beat Alex Trimm (Muskegon Community College) by forfeit • Beat Jackson Schenk (St. Clair Community College) 6-2 • Beat Nicholas Cooper (Michigan State) 2-1

BENJI JACOBSON (Jackson State match with doubles partner Luis Erlenbusch; other matches with doubles partner Ewan Moore) • Led Fritz Jacobs/Agustin Leguizamom (Jackson State) 5-2 (unfinished) • Lost 6-0 to Boris Kozlov/Nick Watson (Louisiana State) • Lost 7-6 (7-5) to Ryan Kros/Matthis Ross (Virginia Tech) • Led Alberto Colas/Gregor Ramskogler (Mississippi State) 6-6 (3-1) unfinished • Beat Bjorn Thomson/Ilgiz Valiev (Texas Tech) 6-4.

FEBRUARY 20 • 2020

| 35

Spirit torah portion

We’re All Pieces of the Puzzle

PHOTO CREDIT JERRY ZOLYNSKY

T SEEKING TERRIFIC TEENS! To shine the public spotlight on young people in our community, the JN, Jfamily and the Youth Professionals Network created Rising Stars: Teens Making a Difference, a showcase that will highlight 18 remarkable Jewish teens in the Metro Detroit area. Those selected will be featured in the April 30 issue of the JN and will also be recognized on the JN, JCC and Jfamily social media pages.

Nominees must live in Michigan, identify as Jewish and be students in grades 9-12; they can be self-nominated or may be nominated by others today through March 8.

Nominees should be recognized for impact, contribution and/ or achievement in areas including (but not limited) to:

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XǍ .6*')Ǎ-$%62)Ǎ 1!Ǎ . $1*1XǍ . !.$')*" To nominate yourself or a teen you know, go to thejewishnews.com and click on the Rising Stars button or to https://jfamily.jccdet.org/rising-stars. The deadline is March 8.

his week, we read a 4:5) tells us, bishvili nivra special portion called Ha’olam, the world was created Parshat Shekalim, where for me. Just as a puzzle is incomwe learn about the half-coin plete missing even a single piece, contribution that each person so, too, our community cannot would give toward communal be complete without you. No funds and needs. matter your level of skill, So many outstandtalent, financial contriing and inherent life bution, social standing or messages about being a anything else; we can’t do it part of a community are without you. In the theme embedded in this short of Parshat Shekalim, we reading. The parshat Rabbi Yarden need your half-coin.

Blumstein teaches that it is necesI think we need to take sary to belong to a coma step back and realize this Parshat munity even if it entails is true about every one of Mishpatim: spending money. us. Just as the community Exodus The fact that each per- 21:1-24:18; is dependent on each of us son, regardless of social to complete the picture, it Jeremiah standing or other contriis incumbent upon each of 34:8-22; 33:25-26, butions, was required to us to identify which puzzle (Shabbat give the same amount, pieces are lacking or out of Shekalim) a half-shekel coin, tells place within our communius that each of us has ty and help them find their equal responsibility toward our fit. Not only for their sake, or for community. When we all come our responsibility to them, but together, each of us with our for ourselves. own talents, perspective and After all, it’s our picture, too, individuality, we create an inclu- that is missing their light. Just sive, harmonized community. as in a symphony, every instruIt is that harmony that I ment is lacking when one is off would like highlight. On one tune. When any one person in hand, I need to recognize the our community feels isolated half-coin perspective and mesand alone, our whole communisage, namely that of humility. ty experiences this.

Humility is not thinking less This is why Parshat Shekalim of oneself; rather it is thinking is always read before we start the of oneself less. It is not viewing Jewish month of Adar. Adar is myself as less than or not good known as the month of happienough, that I am only worth ness; but one of the key foundahalf a coin; rather it is a mestions of joy is that of community sage to me to spend less time and belonging. Happiness is not focusing on my half of the coin a destination; rather it’s a way to and spend more time thinking live life. The way of life that is about that other half, namely the the foundation to happiness is community. one where everyone belongs.

Second, there is no complete Rabbi Yarden Blumstein is the teen community without my halfdirector at Friendship Circle in West coin. The Talmud (Sanhedrin Bloomfield.

36 |

FEBRUARY 20 • 2020

Moments DEC. 10, 2019 Lori (Robinson) and Michael Silver of Los Angeles, Calif., are thrilled to announce the birth of their daughter, Cora Robinson Silver, sister of Thea Mae. Overjoyed grandparents are Judy Robinson, and Dorit and Stephen Silver, all of West Bloomfield. She is also the granddaughter of the late Mark Robinson.

Excited great-grandmother is Kati Gottlieb of Toronto. Cora is named in loving memory of her paternal great-grandfather Ben Gottlieb.

Kayla Marie Silberg, surrounded by family and friends, will chant from the Torah as she becomes a bat mitzvah at Temple Israel in West Bloomfield on Saturday, Feb. 22, 2020. She will be joined in celebration by her proud parents, Julie and Dr. Eric Silberg, and brothers Jacob, Ryan and Adam. Kayla is the loving grandchild of Mary and Burton Schwartz, and Andrea and Joel Silberg. She is a student at Greenhills School in Ann Arbor. As part of her most meaningful mitzvah project, Kayla baked cookies for Bakers of Hope, a local organization that provides temporary assistance for those with food insecurity.

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Elie Wieselâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Conversation Partner to Speak at OU COMPILED BY JN STAFF

The Cis Maisel Center for Judaic Studies and Community Engagement at Oakland University will present â&#x20AC;&#x153;A Conversation with Howard Reichâ&#x20AC;? from 7-9 p.m. on Wednesday, March 4, in Oakland Center Founders Ballroom A. During the last four years of his Howard Reich life, Holocaust survivor and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Elie Wiesel met with Reich to discuss the subject that linked them. Both Wiesel and Robert Reich, Howardâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s father, were liberated from the Buchenwald death camp on April 11, 1945. The friendship that developed between Howard and Wiesel became a partnership. Their conversations about the Holocaust and its consequences became the basis for Howardâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s book, The Art of Inventing Hope: Intimate Conversations with Elie Wiesel. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We wanted to bring Mr. Reich to campus to tell the story of his own familyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s

journey and his relationship to one of the most important Holocaust scholars, Elie Wiesel. His message is as important now as in any other time,â&#x20AC;? said Dr. Michael Pytlik, director of the Cis Maisel Center. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Many students are not receiving education in the Holocaust, and there are fewer and fewer survivors to tell the story. As a son of survivors, Mr. Reich brings an important perspective on the Holocaust, and his discussions with Elie Wiesel are crucial for a way forward with teaching the Holocaust,â&#x20AC;? Pytlik added.

Copies of the book will be available for purchase, and a book signing will follow the presentation. Light refreshments will also be served.

The event is sponsored by the Holocaust Memorial Center and the Jewish Community Center. To register, visit oakland.edu/religiousstudies/ cis-maisel-center. For more information, contact Traci Fultz at (248) 370-2173 or tfultz@oakland.edu.

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Arts&Life

‘With a Little Bit of Luck’ F Audiences can catch Adam Grupper in a lead role in My Fair Lady.

JULIE SMITH YOLLES CONTRIBUTING WRITER

TOP: Adam Grupper in the center of the action during My Fair Lady.

details

My Fair Lady will be performed at the Wharton Center in East Lansing Feb. 26-March 1. For tickets, go to whartoncenter.com.

38 |

FEBRUARY 20 • 2020

or a nice Jewish guy from Brooklyn, Adam Grupper has spent the past few years getting to church on time.

Grupper — pronounced “grouper,” like the fish, and, yes, he’s been kidded about it his whole life — has had a stellar Broadway ride since his stage debut about 30 years ago, including plum roles in Wicked, The Addams Family, Into the Woods, The Secret Garden, Guys and Dolls, Brighton Beach Memoirs and Bartlett Sher’s revival of Fiddler on the Roof.

He reunited with Sher when the director helmed Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe’s award-winning revival of My Fair Lady, based on George Bernard Shaw’s original play, Pygmalion, at Lincoln Center that ran for 548 performances, closing in July 2019. The show, one of the most beloved in Broadway history, is the musical tale of Eliza Doolittle, a Cockney guttersnipe who begrudgingly accepts phonetics lessons from a professor in his quest to reform her into a society woman. Eliza’s father, Alfred P. Doolittle, is the town drunk who’s at the helm of some of the liveliest song-and-dance numbers in the show — “With a Little Bit of Luck” and “Get Me to the Church on Time.”

In the revival’s initial run, Grupper was featured in the Loverly Quartet and was

an understudy for Alfred P. Doolittle and Colonel Pickering, who helps Professor Henry Higgins teach Eliza to speak like a duchess.

Now, Grupper is starring in the show’s North American tour as Alfred P. Doolittle and will be headlining when it comes to Michigan State University’s Wharton Center for Performing Arts in East Lansing Feb. 26-March 1.

“Playing the part of Doolittle has come full circle for me,” Grupper says. The first time he played the role, “I was a shy 14-yearold, and our director saw something in me and cast me as Doolittle in my very first high school production. It was a life-changing event for me. It’s so delicious to revisit this role so many years later as an adult.”

Grupper, firmly in middle age, is expected to do a lot of dancing in the role. “These numbers are very physically demanding, and I’m no spring chicken,” Grupper says.

“Thankfully, Christopher Gattelli, our choreographer, has modified the numbers to make me look better than I am.”

Grupper says he is nothing like the character he portrays on stage. “Doolittle is very different from me,” he adds. “He’s very raucous and, in our production, he’s a lot more

JOAN MARCUS

theater

JOAN MARCUS

JOAN MARCUS

subversive than heâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s ordinarily portrayed. Director Bart Sher has me portraying Doolittle as more violent and threatening. Heâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a lowbrow guy with a political moral code that makes him a great counterpart in Edwardian England, which makes this part so irresistible.â&#x20AC;?

The Lincoln Center production of My Fair Lady took home five Outer Critics Circle Awards and was nominated for five Drama Desk Awards, three Drama League Awards and 10 Tony Awards.

Although My Fair Lady has been performed since 1956, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s not done very frequently because it has such a large cast and it demands a lot from its leads, Grupper says. â&#x20AC;&#x153;What I think that people get a chance to see in this production is that it has all the values of a â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;champagneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; musical â&#x20AC;&#x201D; the gorgeous score, beautiful sets and sumptuous costumes from Catherine Zuber, who won the Tony Award. But Bart Sher restores elements from George Bernard Shawâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s original play, Adam Grupper as Alfred P. Doolittle in My Fair Lady

Pygmalion, that makes it also about social structure, hierarchy and power. So, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s much more thought-provoking.â&#x20AC;?

Growing up in Rockland County, New York, Grupperâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s family were members of the New City Jewish Center, where he had his bar mitzvah and was shomer Shabbos until he attended Yale University. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I still consider my Jewish identity a very big part of my life. and Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve been able to combine that with my love of theater,â&#x20AC;? says Grupper, From 2015-2016, Grupper, who also plays mohel David Rosenbaum in Episode 7, Season 3 of The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, reconnected with Judaism when he played Tevye in the Broadway revival of Fiddler on the Roof. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Life started imitating art when actors in the show started asking me about the laws of Hallachah, which I usually knew. But sometimes I would have to consult with a higher authority â&#x20AC;&#x201D; my brother,â&#x20AC;? he says with a laugh.

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Arts&Life music

Bridging the Divide Michael Barenboim builds on his parents’ legacy as musical director of the West-Eastern Divan Ensemble.

SUZANNE CHESSLER CONTRIBUTING WRITER

details

The West-Eastern Divan Ensemble will perform at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 26, at the Rackham Auditorium, 915 E. Washington, Ann Arbor. General tickets start at $30 with student discounts available. (734) 764-2538. ums.org.

MARCUS HÖHN

M

usic can go way beyond mere cultural enjoyment; it can build cross-cultural connections. Violinist Michael Barenboim’s parents serve as role models for that idea.

Twenty years ago, his father, Israeli conductor and pianist Daniel Barenboim, started the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra with Palestinian academic Edward Said. The two friends brought together musicians from across the Middle East for performances and opportunities to get to know one another across political divides.

At nearly the same time, his mother, pianist Elena Bashkirova, started the annual Jerusalem International Chamber Music Festival to spotlight performers from different countries. She later extended that idea with the

TOP: West-Eastern Divan Ensemble Music Director Michael Barenboim. ABOVE: Members of the West-Eastern Divan Ensemble, with musical director Michael Barenboim, center.

Intonations festival at the Jewish Museum Berlin, which also brings together musicians from various international orchestras.

The 35-year-old Michael Barenboim supports his parents’ initiatives through his own

performances. He is the music director of the West-Eastern Divan Ensemble, leading the chamber group of orchestra musicians as they launch their first tour as a string octet.

The ensemble will appear Wednesday, Feb. 26, at the

Rackham Auditorium in Ann Arbor as presented by the University Musical Society.

The varied program includes works by Brahms, Tartini, Mendelssohn and Benjamin Attahir, a French Lebanese composer.

“I think [this program] gives quite a nice overview because it has a nice arc of string pieces over many centuries,” said Barenboim, whose selection choices, legendary works and a newly commissioned piece continue family sensibilities of combining cultures and looking ahead.

“The Attahir piece, ‘Jawb (meaning ‘Crossing’) for String Quartet,’ is very different and constantly developed. It has quite an interesting structure by going forward, never back.”

Barenboim, who teaches violin and chamber music at continued on page 42 FEBRUARY 20 • 2020

| 41

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Arts&Life music continued from page 41

the Barenboim-Said Academy, also started by his father, developed the ensemble in the spirit of the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra, only with a more musician-focused format.

The idea of the ensemble is to provide concertgoers a more intimate atmosphere to experience the musicians, said Barenboim, the orchestra’s concertmaster.

“If you hear a big symphony, whatever it is, you maybe will not have a connection with the cellist, violist or whoever,” he says. “We give the public an opportunity to have a closer contact and be more exposed individually than just a collective.”

The program, he said, allows members of the ensemble to shine and show their musical abilities. Plus, a chamber group can more easily travel than an orchestra because of its smaller size.

Barenboim will play in Ann Arbor alongside musicians including Israeli cellist Assif Binness, Israeli violist Miriam Manasherov, Egyptian violist Sindy Mohamed, Jordanian violinist Samir Naser Abdel Hamid Obaido, Palestinian violinist Yamen Saadi, Armenian cellist Astrig Spidak Siranossian and Israeli violinist David Strongin. The musicians have all been playing in the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra for several years.

“We have a certain affinity and understanding of each other musically,” Barenboim said. “When we start rehearsing, it immediately sounds like we’ve already been playing whatever we’re rehearsing.

For me, it’s a great joy and musical understanding we all

have together, and that’s very special.”

Barenboim’s personal venture into instrumental music began when he started playing the violin at age 7. He said he was drawn to the instrument’s beautiful, melodic sound before becoming fascinated by its capacity to allow so many ways of playing despite having only four strings.

Barenboim appreciates that both he and the orchestra continue to learn from his father whenever they are in rehearsal or in concert. He also values times when father and son can perform together in programs apart from the orchestra.

The two have played piano trios together, including full cycles of Beethoven’s piano trios with the cellist Kian Soltani. “It was a great experience, and I’m lucky to do that sort of thing,” Barenboim said Barenboim also plays with his wife, pianist Natalia Pegarkova-Barenboim, who will perform a solo concert in Berlin featuring works by women composers in celebration of International Women’s Day on March 8.

The couple encourage the musical abilities of their two children, a 5-year-old son interested in the cello and a 3-year-old daughter who prefers violin at the moment.

Barenboim said members of the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra are transformed by the new people they meet and get a chance to make music with.

“I’ve seen many people with many different views and opinions. What’s common to all of them is that they come out richer with much more understanding.”

Al Pacino plays a Holocaust survivor tracking down fugitive Nazis in 1977 New York in Amazonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Hunters.

CHRISTOPHER SAUNDERS / AMAZON STUDIOS

TV Review

â&#x20AC;&#x153;ITâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S SOME KIND OF WONDERFUL!â&#x20AC;? â&#x20AC;&#x201C;NY1

Hunters: Chasing Nazis on Amazon GEORGE ELKIND CONTRIBUTING WRITER

A

l Pacino leads a team of covert anti-Nazi vigilantes in Amazon Primeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s new show Hunters.

The entire first season premieres on the service Feb. 21.

Set in 1977 New York, the action-drama is based on some real-life efforts to bring fugitive Third Reich officers to justice in the United States. Pacinoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s shadowy millionaire Meyer Offerman, a Holocaust survivor, leads a team of loose cannons across age, race and creed.

They track down Nazis whoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve assimilated, barely concealed, into American society and, in fact, often brandish their swastikas in public while they attempt to infiltrate the U.S. government. Less Inglourious Basterds than A-Team, these jaunty heroes are equal parts violent and flip.

The showâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s center isnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t Meyer, but Jonah Heidelbaum (Logan Lerman), a wide-eyed, nice Jewish boy drawn into the huntersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; orbit. Heâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a superhero fan looking for idols in a less abundant time for

caped crusaders than our present, and the show reflects his simple logic.

Depicting an old-fashioned battle of good vs. evil, Hunters moves at a fast clip (the first five episodes were made available for review), with a fun palette of primary colors. But Jonahâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s ambivalent, angst-riddled embrace of his mission often feels contrived, as does his lashing out at his hunter peers, who are little better developed than the two-dimensional Nazi foes.

While Jonahâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s young-adult anxiety gets ample oxygen, the rest of the cast is smothered by their shared vocal tones, needless accents and pun-riddled dialogue. Their showdowns with the Nazis they root out behind false walls (the same techniques Nazis once used to target Jews) arenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t as meaningful as they could be.

Great villains have character, but Huntersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; surviving fascists are defined solely by sieg heils and vile slurs, making the showâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s retributive bloodshed ring hollow.

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Harrison Ford in The Call of the Wild

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AT THE MOVIES Opening on Friday, Feb. 21, are The Call of the Wild and The Invisible Man. Call is based on the famous 1903 novel by Jack London. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s the story of Buck, a very big dog whose idyllic life in Northern California ends when he is stolen and transported to the Alaskan Yukon during the Gold Rush of the 1890s. Buck is mistreated by a series of owners, who have him lead a team of sled dogs hauling heavy loads of supplies and, later, the mail.

Buck has reached a low point physically when John Thornton (Harrison Ford, 77) comes into his life. Thornton nurses Buck back to health, and they form an inseparable bond. Thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s more â&#x20AC;&#x201D; but I wonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t spoil it for you.

Hereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s hoping that the movie is a smash because it has been a long time since Ford, whose late mother was Jewish, has starred in a hit big-budget film, apart from the newest Star Wars movies. In the last 10 years, he has had major roles in just two films that earned more than they cost to make (42 and The Age of Adaline). All the big budget movies (like Blade Runner: 2049) that heâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s starred in have flopped or just broke even.

The film was written by Michael Green, 46. This New York native is the son of an Israeli mother and an American Jewish

father. He started as a TV writer (Sex and the City). In 2007, he was Emmy-nominated for his work on the TV series Heroes. In 2018, he was nominated for a Best Screenplay Oscar for Logan.  The plot of The Invisible Man is a substantial departure from the 1897 novel by H.G. Wells or the famous 1933 Invisible Man film.

Elisabeth Moss stars as Cecilia, a woman trapped in an abusive marriage to a wealthy and brilliant scientist (British actor Oliver Jackson-Cohen, 33). Aided by her sister, Cecilia escapes and goes into hiding. Shortly thereafter, her husband apparently commits suicide. Celicia is convinced his death is a hoax. She desperately tries to convince others that she is being hunted by someone she canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t see.

BATTLING BERNSTEINS On Jan. 22, it was announced that Netflix was fully backing a Leonard Bernstein biopic starring Bradley Cooper as the famous composer and conductor.

Cooper, who showed his musical chops in the latest version of A Star is Born, will also will direct, produce and co-write the film (with Josh Singer, 48, who won an Oscar for his script for Spotlight). Last July, it was announced that Jake Gyllenhaal, 39, would play Bernstein in a film called The American. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s unclear whether that film will be made following the Netflix announcement.

On The Go FRIDAY, FEB 21

TUESDAY WITH JANET

YANIV SEGAL TO CONDUCT 8 pm, Feb. 21. Yaniv Segal will conduct the Ann Arbor Symphony Orchestra in a free concert featuring concertos by Liszt, Ravel, Beethoven and Gershwin at Hill Auditorium, 825 N. University. (734) 994-4801, a2so. com.

1:30 pm, Feb. 25. Join host Janet Pont in the Shaarey Zedek library.

Jeri Fishman will show incredible pictures of an exhibition of “The Violins of Hope,” which were saved after the Holocaust. Cake and coffee will be served. Info: jpont@ shaareyzedek.org.

SUNDAY, FEB 23

SPEAKER FOR SNOWBIRDS

CLOTHING DRIVE

2 pm, Feb. 25. In the clubroom at Indian Spring Country Club, 11501 El Clair Ranch Road, Boynton Beach, Fla. Join with the Jewish Historical Society of Michigan as historian Irwin Cohen speaks on “Detroit Stories and Heroes: Things You Never Knew.” Light refreshments and complimentary valet parking. Kosher treats available on request. No refunds or exchanges.

Cost: JHSM members $25; nonmembers $36. Register: michigan jewishhistory.org.

2:30 pm, Feb. 23. At the Holocaust Memorial Center in Farmington Hills.

Operation Finale (2 hrs. 2 min). Cost: $10 per person or $5 with HMC membership.

MONDAY, FEB 24 MONDAYS WITH MEANING 9:30 am, Feb. 24. An Active LifeJCC Without Borders program meets at the David & Miriam Mondry Bldg., 15000 W. 10 Mile in Oak Park.

10 am, Feb. 26. Adat Shalom Sisterhood invites women to welcome the new month of Adar with a morning study session led by Rabbi Rachel Shere. No charge. RSVP: Rochelle.r.lieberman@gmail.com or 248-553-2498.

MOVIE MATINEE 1 pm, Feb. 26. An Active Life program at the West Bloomfield JCC. I Can Get It For You Wholesale (89 min) No subtitles. Free event.

1 pm, Feb. 25. Jewish Family Service’s six-week Personal Action Torward Health (PATH) program helps people with chronic health conditions live healthier lives. Weekly through March 31. Free, but reservations required to Lynne Breuer, 248-592-2333 or lbreuer@jfsdetroit. org.

PIANO CONCERT

ROSH CHODESH

SIMPLY DANCE

HEALTH PROGRAM

FEB. 23

WEDNESDAY, FEB. 26

TUESDAY, FEB. 25 11 am, Feb. 25. An Active Life program at the Jewish Community Center in West Bloomfield. Christine Stewart will lead; no partner needed.

Cost: $7.

BUDAPEST ORCHESTRA

At 2 pm, the Kerrytown Concert House, 415 N. Fourth Ave. in Ann Arbor, will feature Louis Nagel on piano. The first half of the program, “Some Chestnuts and a Harder Nut to Crack,” will feature short familiar works. In the second half, Nagel will perform a major work.

For tickets: 734-769-2999.

SCHOLARS INTERVIEWED 1 pm, Feb. 26. At Beth Ahm: Smart Assistants and Shabbat, Jewish Slaveholders in Jamaica and Meir Kahane and Jewish Survivalism.

These video interviews are with guest scholars from Valley Beit Midrash in Phoenix, Ariz., conducted

by Rabbi Shmuly Yanklowitz. No charge; no reservations needed.

Info: Nancy Kaplan, 248-737-1931, or email nancyellen879@att.net.

CAMIMUSIC

FILM SCREENING

FEB. 20

This program is presented by the University Musical Society in Ann Arbor. Ivan Fischer, conductor, has composed many Jewishthemed works, including The Red Heifer, about anti-Semitism’s rise in Hungary. In this concert, Fischer conducts an all-Antonin Dvorák program, including some rarely heard gems. At Hill Auditorium, 825 North University Ave., Ann Arbor. Ticket office: 734-764-2538.

LOUIS NAGEL

1-3 pm, Feb. 23. Sort and schmooze at Isaac Agree Downtown Synagogue. Come for the community clothing drive hosted in partnership by Repair the World and Moishe Houses Royal Oak/Detroit. There will be sorting, games, snacks and more.

All clothing items will be donated to Cass Community Social Services.

Editor’s Picks

UMS

people | places | events

FEB. 23 - KLEZMER MUSIC Klezundheit, playing traditional and modern klezmer, Gypsy, Balkan and jazz music, will perform at 3 p.m. with a second show at 4:30 p.m. At the West Bloomfield Library in the main meeting room. Free.

continued on page 46 FEBRUARY 20 • 2020

| 45

On The Go people | places | events continued from page 45

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LECTURE SERIES

DEMENTIA SUPPORT GROUP

7 pm, Feb. 26. At Wayne State University, 5150 Anthony Wayne Drive, Detroit. The third in the series “Are We Religiously Free In America?” Professors Howard Lupovitch and Saeed Khan of Wayne State will discuss “Attitudes Toward the First Amendment and How They Pertain to Constructive Debate and Civil Discourse.” No charge. Dessert reception to follow. Registration required: sharedfuturereligious freedom.eventbrite.com or young@ jfmd.org. Program hosts: JCRC/AJC and the Michigan Muslim Community Council.

2-3:30 pm, Feb. 27. The Lewy Body Dementia Support Group is for family caregivers of those diagnosed with LBD. The meeting is the fourth Thursday of each month at Jewish Family Service of Metro Detroit, 6555 W. Maple Road, West Bloomfield. For new attendees, information or additional meeting locations, contact Renee Gadwa, rgadwa@med.umich.edu or call 734-764-5137. Info: alzheimers. med.umich.edu/lbd.

THURSDAY, FEB. 27 THRILLING THURSDAYS 10-11:30 am, Feb. 27. At Cong.

Shaarey Zedek in Southfield. Open play group for children ages 0-5 and their favorite adults. Lindsay Mall, alongside clergy, hosts songs, stories, games, crafts, snacks, some special guests, and bubble time for the little ones. No charge to attend, but donations are appreciated to help keep the fun coming.

Daily Headlines Delivered to Your Inbox. thejewishnews.com/newsletter 46 |

FEBRUARY 20 • 2020

6:30 pm, Feb. 27. At Urbanrest Brewing Co., 2615 Wolcott, Ferndale; cost is $20. With NEXTGen Detroit and The Well.

Friends from Frayed Designs will teach how to make a macramé hanging plant holder. The Well’s Rabbi Dan Horwitz will help demystify the challenges of living a more sustainable lifestyle through Jewish learning. The first drink is free. Event is intended for the young adults age 21-45. Info: jewishdetroit.org/event/macrame; Emily at wedes@jfmd.org.

ART TALK 11 am-12 pm, Feb. 27. Presented by the Active Life at the West Bloomfield Jewish Community Center. Wendy Evans, art historian, will discuss “Life, Art Passion: Camille Claudel & Auguste Rodin.” Cost: $5.

FRANKEL CENTER EVENT

FRESH

MACRA-MAKE-IT-YOURSELF

1-3 pm, Feb. 27. “Work in Progress Screening & Discussion: Who Will Remain?” At the Thayer Building – Room 2022, 202 S. Thayer St., Ann Arbor. With Christa Whitney who will present a work-in-progress version of Ver Vet Blaybn? Who Will Remain?, an hour-long documentary following Israeli actress Hadas Kalderon as she retraces the extraordinary life journey of her grandfather, the renowned Yiddish writer Avrom Sutzkever.

BERMAN NIGHT OF LEARNING 7 pm, Feb. 27. “Kosher Wines: Old World vs. New World” with Sommelier Paula Hartson at Shaarey Zedek in Southfield.

Hartson will talk about the differences, what each means, and why one would want to know or understand that for their own personal enjoyment. Come prepared to sample wines and assorted snacks.

Compiled by Sy Manello/Editorial Assistant

February 20, 2020/25 Shevat 5780

Gaining Understanding HMD/WSU trip gives students insight into Israel-Palestinian conflict.

COURTESY OF HILLEL OF METRO DETROIT

for college students by college students

Amy Benson and Alexander McInnis } jewish@edu writer

O

ver winter break, we participated in a 10-day Maccabi Task Force/ Fact Finders trip to explore Israel and the Palestinian territories. Our group had 24 Wayne State University student leaders (five Jewish students and 19 non-Jewish campus leaders).

In Jerusalem, we visited the Jewish, Christian and Muslim quarters of the Old City. Other highlights included visits to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Palestinian Authority in Ramallah, the Israeli settlement of Ma’ale Adumim and Netiv Haasara, a small Israeli village near the northern border of Gaza.

After each day of exploration, we heard from an expert, each with a different niche and narrative about the IsraeliPalestinian conflict. They included social historian Paul Liptz, who gave insight on modern Israeli issues; Arab news anchor Farat Nassar, a living example of what Israeli-Arab integration looks like; and Middle East Studies doctoral student Iftah Burman, who listed important

milestones in the Israel-Palestinian conflict.

The most important things we learned are that this conflict and these people are more complicated than the media shows and that we must stay vigilant as we address this on campus.

While much of the trip was spent analyzing the facts of the stories, the bonds we formed with the other students were incredible. Several shared their thoughts: • I used to be pro-Palestine, but after this trip, I was able, in my best ability, to see both perspectives and blame no one side.

• I enjoy processing sessions and I like listening to other students’ perspectives … after visiting and seeing everything as it is, I am able to explain to my family, friends and community.

• I now understand the tough position of existential terror Israel is in due to witnessing it firsthand.

• All of the assumptions and expectations I had were changed.

A group of 24 Wayne State University student leaders spent 10 days learning firsthand about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

In January, we got together for a Shabbat dinner to discuss the trip and plan how to share our new knowledge with the campus community.

At dinner, WSU Dean of Students David Strauss said, “Listening to the students talk about their trip was one of the most moving experiences I’ve had in my 18 years at Wayne State. I am so proud of them. The way these students embodied our university mission of diversity and inclusion and are striving to positively impact local and global communities was both rewarding and heartwarming.” @ Amy Benson of West Bloomfield is a Wayne State junior and serves as outreach and engagement coordinator for Students for Israel. WSU junior Alexander McInnis of Swartz Creek is a member of AEPi. Both are part of Hillel of Metro Detroit.

FEBRUARY 20 • 2020

| 47

MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY/MICHIGAN-ISRAEL BUSINESS ACCELERATOR

for college students by college students

Participants at the Accelerating Michigan Israel Business Innovations conference at Michigan State University

Innovation & Entrepreneurship Michigan-Israel conference moves development opportunities forward.

Benjamin Francis } jewish@edu writer

A

s an undergraduate student, I was invited to attend the Accelerating Michigan-Israel Business Innovations conference at Michigan State University last November. The one-day event brought together entrepreneurs, business, government and education leaders from Israel and Michigan to build innovation and economic development opportunities for both.

Being a David Project intern Ben Francis at MSU Hillel has strengthened my desire to foster business relations between Michigan and Israel as part of my future professional career, so I was eager to listen to the speakers from the organizations represented.

The conference was hosted by the Lansing Economic Area Partnership (LEAP) and the Michigan Israel Business Accelerator (MIBA), with sponsorship from MSU’s Broad College of Business, the Serling Institute for Jewish Studies and Modern Israel and the Michigan Chamber of Commerce.

Scott Hiipakka, CEO of the MIBA, talked about how creating relations between Israel and Michigan will position Michigan as one of the premier partners for Israel’s innovation in the United States.

48 |

FEBRUARY 20 • 2020

Lansing Mayor Andy Schor discussed his excitement about a Michigan-Israel partnership as part of a panel with Michigan-Israeli industry experts. Schor said Lansing’s workforce and infrastructure are ready to make the ideas of Israel’s innovators and entrepreneurs a reality.

It was great to hear support from Dean Sanjay Gupta of the Eli Broad College of Business about the university furthering its research collaboration between MSU and Israeli scholars, innovators and businesses.

He also emphasized the benefits of connecting students with the entrepreneurship mindset present in Israel.

For example, Serling Visiting Scholar Dr. Harry Yuklea has taught courses about entrepreneurship and the Israeli startup experience for two years in the College of Business.

The college will also begin its first study abroad to Israel focusing on innovation and entrepreneurship in Israel over spring break this March.

The study abroad will be led by Dr. Ayalla Ruvio, business professor and Serling Institute affiliate. I will be her teaching assistant. Twenty-three students will meet with Israeli companies with offices in Michigan, American companies with offices in Israel and startup companies based in Israel. All students received a Levy study abroad schol-

arship through the Serling Institute.

Attending the conference aligned with my personal goals.

Throughout my childhood, I heard of Israel’s innovative and entrepreneurial environment. Because Israel is the only democracy in the Middle East and one of the United States’ closest allies, I was taught the importance of a strong relationship between Israel and the United States.

I strengthened my knowledge of Israel academically and in my extra-curriculars.

I minored in Jewish studies and, through the Serling Institute, I participated in study abroad at the Hebrew University, took Hebrew for four semesters and then an ulpan (intensive Hebrew course) in Israel. I also interned in Israel at Bar-Ilan University’s Faculty of Law as a research assistant, and I spent two summers in Israel with support from the Institute’s Levy and Hersch scholarships.

I am a strong advocate for education about Israel in my extra-curriculars at MSU. I am involved with MSU’s Hillel and Chabad Student Center. As a David Project intern, I fostered relationships between Jewish and non-Jewish groups wishing to learn more about Israel. My passion for engaging people on Israel has pushed me to continue advocating for strengthening economic relationships between Israel and the United States.

By beginning to create connections for MSU students to see Israel in the context of business and establishing a way to make strong relationships between Michigan and Israel, I believe our partnership and future in innovation and entrepreneurship has never looked so bright.@ Benjamin Francis of Farmington Hills is a junior at Michigan State University in East Lansing.

SPRING

OPEN HOUSE

COME SEE YOUR FUTURE Saturday, March 21, 2020 Main campus U 10 a.m.-2 p.m.

Wayne State is offering an insiderâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s look at college life. Spring Open House is your chance to check out campus and learn more about our academic programs. & Meet faculty and students & Learn about scholarships and ďŹ nancial aid & Browse the resource fair & Take a tour of campus Please register online and plan to join us March 21. openhouse.wayne.edu

Follow us

for college students by college students

PHOTOS COURTESY OF MSU HILLEL

Brotherly Leadership Three Jewish students serve as Interfraternity Council presidents at their colleges.

Jessie Cohen } jewish@edu writer

C

ommunity is the thread that runs through the core of Jewish life. Community also is a central theme of Greek life organizations on college campuses across the country.

For three young men — Jason Gelsey, Zack Kirshner and Daniel Wolfe — these two tightly knit communities intersect in a very special way: All are presidents of their respective Interfraternity Councils (IFC), one of the governing bodies of college Greek organizations, and all are Jewish.

The role of an IFC president is to serve as the middleman between Greek life and administration members, oversee Greek life chapters, manage communication and recruitment, and act as a sounding board for

those with questions about what it means to be involved in Greek life.

Central Michigan University senior Jason Gelsey of West Bloomfield has been involved in Greek life for four years. In high school, he was involved in BBYO and cites his BBYO experience as one of the main reasons he initially decided to join Greek life as a brother in Sigma Tau Lamda.

“I loved the brotherhood of BBYO,” Gelsey said. “My friends from BBYO are still some of my best friends now, four years later.

I wanted to experience that same kind of brotherhood in college.

My dad had been involved in Greek life back in the day, so I knew it was something I wanted to be a part of.”

CLOCKWISE: MSU junior Daniel Wolfe at the PRIME Leadership Conference for IFC presidents. Senior Zack Kirschner, IFC president at Grand Valley State University, with senior Elijah Ong. Central Michigan University senior and IFC president Jason Gelsey.

While CMU has a relatively small Jewish community of 200 students, Gelsey finds ways to embrace Judaism by attending events at the school’s Hillel.

After being involved two years with Greek life, he decided to join the IFC and, at the beginning of this year, became its president.

“I wanted to make a huge difference on my campus,” he said. “I wanted to be involved in creating memories for people.” continued on page 52

50 |

FEBRUARY 20 • 2020

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for college students by college students

Jewish at OU An outreach call started a journey of Hillel leadership.

Ilyssa Brunhild } jewish@edu writer

W

hen I came to Oakland University as a freshman in fall of 2017, I had no idea what to expect from Jewish life at school.

I was interested in Hillel, but because OU was a part of Hillel of Metro Detroit (HMD), I thought most of the programming would be in Detroit.

In my sophomore year, I connected with Jewish life on OU’s campus. Early in the semester, I received a Facebook message from a girl I did not know, saying she was a student intern with Hillel and would love to meet me for coffee. After that first meeting, I slowly found myself getting more involved.

We restarted OU’s Students for Israel (SFI) organization and, before I knew it, I was on the executive board as treasurer. This position led me to attend the 2019 AIPAC policy conference in Washington, D.C., where I made fast friends with students involved at the other HMD campuses. It was also where I developed a passion for Israel advocacy (and met my boyfriend!).

This month, I performed as a nun in Oakland University’s School of Music, Theatre and Dance’s opera Dialogues of the Carmelites by Francis

52 |

FEBRUARY 20 • 2020

Ilyssa Brunhild

Poulenc. The opera is a moving tale of the martyrdom of the Carmelite nuns during the French Revolution. As a Jewish person, playing a nun helped open my eyes to different religions and life perspectives.

As I approach the end of my junior year, I look to reflect on how far I have come as a Jewish student at Oakland University. Not only have I become a leader within SFI at OU, but also a leader within HMD — I now am Applebaum Family Engagement Intern, much like the intern who helped me begin my own journey within Hillel. @

Ilyssa Brunhild lives on campus at Oakland University in Auburn Hills.

She is studying music education.

continued from page 50

Grand Valley State University senior Zack Kirschner of Farmington Hills participated in BBYO alongside Gelsey. He also feels that experience pushed him to join Greek life.

“I don’t think I would be where I am now without BBYO,” Kirshner said.

“The ability to be a part of something bigger than yourself is such a good experience, and I wanted to have something like that in college.”

Kirschner is a brother in Alpha Epsilon Pi (AEPi), a Jewish fraternity. GVSU has 350 Jewish students.

“Being part of AEPi is probably one of the most meaningful things in my life,” he said. “I’m able to combine two things that mean a lot to me.”

Kirschner says being part of a Jewish fraternity is special.

The AEPi recruitment process seeks men who embody the same values and beliefs as the brothers do. He says this results in being able to surround yourself with quality individuals and create meaningful relationships.

Michigan State University junior Daniel Wolfe of Buffalo Grove, Illinois, is a brother in his school’s chapter of AEPi as well. Wolfe said he wanted to make the most out of his college experience and was convinced to rush by a roommate. When he discovered AEPi, he said he felt a connection with the other brothers.

“If I hadn’t found AEPi and it wasn’t the Jewish fraternity, I don’t think I would have

joined a house,” Wolfe said. “I cannot say how amazing this experience has been for me.”

As an active member of MSU’s Jewish community of 3,500 Jewish students, Wolfe attends Shabbat dinners and other events at the school’s Hillel, which he says has been awesome in helping him build friendships with others who share his Jewish values.

Wolfe also serves on the executive board of the MSU Jewish Business Association sponsored by Hillel.

During his sophomore year, Wolfe served as his chapter president and left that position craving even more involvement in the Greek life community. For him, the next logical step was to apply for a position at IFC. All three men agree that being Jewish and being involved in IFC is a special experience.

“I think it speaks volumes to the values of Jewish leadership and the values we are all brought up with in the Jewish community,” Wolfe said.

While Kirschner and Gelsey grew up together, they applied for their respective IFC presidencies independently.

“I was talking to Zack on the phone one day and told him I’m IFC president and he said, ‘Me, too!’” Gelsey said.

“It’s awesome there are so many Jewish people involved in IFC.” All three men said they hope to continue making a difference in both their Jewish and Greek life communities through their roles as IFC presidents. @

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of blessed memory

SALEM BASHARA, 78, of West Bloomfield, died Feb. 10, 2020.

He is survived by his daughters and sons-in-law, Heidi and Andy Raine of Bloomfield Township, Cheryl Bashara and Jon Goldstein of Walled Lake; sister and brother-in-law, Janet and Delmar Fast; brother-in-law, Michael Gold; grandchildren, Nathan Raine, Adam Raine, Marc Green.

Mr. Bashara was the beloved husband for 53 years of the late Marcia Bashara; dear brother and brother-in-law of the late Alan Bashara and the late Linda Gold.

Contributions may be made to a charity of one’s choice.

Interment was held at Beth El Memorial Park in Livonia.

Arrangements by Hebrew Memorial Chapel.

JOYCE FEURRING, 92, of Delray Beach, Fla., died Feb. 5, 2020.

She graduated from the University of Michigan with a degree in drama/acting and became a professional actor.

Her greatest love was stage performance, and she acted in dozens of plays in local and regional theater around the Detroit area, including the Attic Theater, Center Theater and JET Theater. She also had numerous roles in television shows and television commercials, as well as radio advertising, industrial films and voiceover roles.

After moving to New York City in 1992, she performed in many productions on and off Broadway, as she realized her

dream of being a successful New York actor. She was also a movie actor, featured in motion pictures including 6 Souls, Lonely Street, Out of the Fog, Mercy or Murder, Shelter and The Dueling Accountants. She worked with many renowned actors over her career: In the last 10 years of her life, Joyce became a professional audio book performer credited with many book releases; she maintained a professional sound studio in her home in New York.

Mrs. Feurring is survived by her son and daughter-inlaw, Douglas and Alexandra Feurring; daughter, Betty Feurring; grandchildren, Emily Feurring and Ross Feurring; sister-in-law and brother-in-law, Shirley and Dr. Paul Feinberg.

She was the beloved wife of the late Albert Feurring; the cherished mother of the late Gail Feurring; the loving sister of the late Marvin Katz and the late Helen Silberstein; the devoted daughter of the late Sophie and the late Saul Katz; the dear sister-in-law of the late Dorothy and the late Joe Stewart.

Interment was at Beth El Memorial Park. Contributions may be made to the Actors Fund, 800-221-7303, actors fund.org/support-our-work.

Arrangements by Ira Kaufman Chapel.

EZRA KARSE FONER, 87, of West Bloomfield, died Feb. 8, 2020.

He was a retired teacher from Southfield public schools.

Through his private practice and teaching, he touched the minds and hearts of many.

He was an avid collector and

seller of antiquities. He led an extremely active life.

Mr. Foner is survived by his beloved wife, Frona H. Foner; daughters and son-in-law, Miriam Foner-Gould and Eric Gould, Adrienne Gornstein; son, Ross Foner; grandchildren, Adam, Michael, Daniel, Amanda and Charles; many other loving nieces, nephews, other family members and friends.

He was the brother of the late Manny Foner, the late Nathan Ossepow and the late Sally Silverstein.

Contributions may be made to Friendship Circle.

Arrangements by Dorfman Chapel.

ELEANORE GARFINKEL, 81, of Novi, died Feb. 19, 2020.

She is survived by her daughter and son-in- law, Dr. Jodi and Dr. Robert Weinfeld of Farmington Hills; son and daughter-in-law, Michael and Stacey Garfinkel of Oak Park; sister, Myra Sunshine; grandchildren, David Weinfeld, Sara Weinfeld, Ilana Weinfeld, Noah Garfinkel, Alexis Garfinkel; sister-in-law, Susan Banks; uncle, Aaron Cohen; also a devoted aunt and friend.

Mrs. Garfinkel was the beloved wife of the late Morris “Marty” Garfinkel; dear sister and sister-in-law of the late Richard Banks and the late Louis Sunshine.

Contributions may be made to a charity of one’s choice or, for those who are eligible, please consider a donation of blood or blood products in her memory. Interment was held at Clover Hill Park Cemetery in

Birmingham. Arrangements by Hebrew Memorial Chapel.

ROBERTA HOLTZMAN, 81, of Clarkston, died Feb. 2, 2020.

She is survived by loving cousins, other relatives and friends.

Contributions may be made to a charity of one’s choice.

Services and interment were held at Machpelah Cemetery in Ferndale. Arrangements by Hebrew Memorial Chapel.

ROCHELLE ICZKOVITZ, 82, of Novi, died Feb. 11, 2020.

She is survived by her daughters and sons-in-law, Bonnie and Mark Kowalsky of West Bloomfield, Marla and Mark Cahn of West Bloomfield, Laurie and Joel Feinstein of Wilmette, Ill.; sister, Pauline Markman; sisters-in-law and brother-in-law, Sandra Pitler, Audrey and Jack Chase; grandchildren, Rebecca and Ryan Wolok, David Kowalsky, Andrew Cahn, Sara Cahn, Joshua Feinstein, Jeremy Feinstein, Ocean Feinstein; loving and devoted partner of 13 years, Harvey Stein.

Mrs. Iczkovitz was the beloved wife for 42 years of the late Stanley Iczkovitz; dear sister and sister-in-law of the late Harry and the late Sophie Komisar, the late Julius Markman, the late Bill Pitler; loving daughter of the late Fannie and the late Louis Komisar.

Contributions may be made to the Iczkovitz Family Scholarship Fund, c/o Hillel Day School, 32200 Middlebelt Road, Farmington Hills, MI 48334; or Alzheimer’s continued on page 57 FEBRUARY 20 • 2020

| 55

Soul

In Good Hands

Ezra Lev Seegull

ALLISON JACOBS DIGITAL EDITOR

E

zra Lev Seegull, a 19-year-old sophomore at the University of Michigan, died Wednesday, Feb. 13, 2020. He is survived by his parents, Larry and Diane Seegull; his sibling, Ronen Seegull; grandparents, Linda and Edwin Seegull, Viviane Cohen and Albert Lichaa; his aunts and uncles, Dina, David, Eileen and Ethan; and cousins, Brandon, Logan, Naomi and Aliza.

Seegull was enrolled in U-M’s Ross School of Business and had an interest in marketing and consulting. He served in multiple leadership roles at U-M Hillel, serving on the 2019 Freshman Retreat leadership and planning team and as co-leader of the Hillel Outdoor Adventure Club, where he touched the lives of students and faculty with his sense of humor and insightful nature.

“Ezra was a dear friend to so many in our Hillel community,” U-M Hillel leadership wrote in a statement posted to its website Feb. 13. “Many of you knew him as a thoughtful, interested student, with a passion for

56 |

FEBRUARY 20 • 2020

the outdoors and business consulting, and a great sense of humor and smile.”

In his hometown of Baltimore, Seegull attended Beth Tfiloh Dahan Community School, where he was involved with Model U.N., mock trial and the school newspaper. He also was passionate about the outdoors and enjoyed spending time with his family.

A memorial gathering was held on Thursday evening, Feb. 13, at Hillel for students and staff. Hillel is partnering with U-M’s Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS) to make counselors available to students at the center; and Hillel staff members are also offering ongoing support to students.

Hillel will be setting up a website for students to share stories about Seegull.

Funeral services were held at Sol Levinson & Bros. Levinson Chapel in Pikesville, Maryland, on Friday, Feb. 14. The family has asked that contributions in his memory be sent to Beth Tfiloh Dahan Community School, 3300 Old Court Road, Baltimore, MD 21208.

Catholic family has long tradition of maintaining Machpelah Cemetery.

ESTHER ALLWEISS INGBER CONTRIBUTING WRITER

P

COURTESY OF THE SAVILLE FAMILY

Student Active in U-M Hillel Dies

COURTESY OR VICHNIZER

of blessed memory

aul Saville, general manager of Machpelah Cemetery in Ferndale, said when he was a kid, he and his siblings were always looking for a job.

He comes from a Catholic family of seven boys and one girl, including two sets of twins.

A 1977 Ferndale High Larry, Kim, School graduate, Saville Kevin, Paul and Paul Jr. Saville felt fortunate the following year when a family friend, Fred Mack, then-supertossing three shovelfuls of dirt intendent of Machpelah, offered on top of his casket. It’s a Jewish him a summer job. Getting tradition “we carry on in our hired full-time brought him family,” Paul said. The Savilles the opportunity to bring other respect and fulfill all the duties family members on board at the and traditions associated with nearly 108-year-old Jewish cem- maintaining a Jewish cemetery. etery on Woodward.

“I love it here,” said Paul, who The Savilles have a combined also handles the cemetery’s 80 years of service between plumbing and electrical equipthem, guessed Paul, 61, who ment repairs. “Every time I walk lives at the back of the proparound, I find history in the erty with his wife, Kim, and names and dates on headstones. sons, Paul Jr. “PJ” and Kevin.

If I come across a war veteran, Everyone works at Machpelah, I’ll Google his name. We have as did daughter Samantha for someone who received the six years.

Congressional Medal of Honor.

Romance bloomed at “Machpelah is one of the few Machpelah for the Savilles.They cemeteries that still dig half met when Kim assisted her of the graves by hand because mother with the seasonal job of some of the areas are too tight planting flowers and have now to get a backhoe into,” added been married for 28 years. Kim Paul. Son PJ, 26 and 6-foot-6, “is is in the office with manager taking over a lot of what I do.

Martina Murphy. Several Saville He carries the biggest part of the brothers worked here, but only load.”

12-year employee Larry conPaul recently told “our great tinues. After he retired, father board” that he is retiring in Harry Saville worked 10 years 2023. That early notice should at Machpelah before his death give the nonprofit Machpelah in 2000.

Cemetery Association “enough During Harry’s burial at time to find someone to fill my Oakview Cemetery in Royal shoes, so the cemetery will stay Oak, the Savilles took turns in good hands.”

continued from page 55

Association, 25200 Telegraph Road, Suite 100, Southfield, MI 48033. Interment was held at Oakview Cemetery in Ferndale. Arrangements by Hebrew Memorial Chapel.

BRUCE KWASELOW, 66, of Birmingham, died Feb. 9, 2020.

He is survived by his brother and sister-in-law, Alvin and Ruth Kwaselow; nephew, David Kwaselow; niece, Lindsay (Josh) Fisher.

He is also survived by his best friend, Carol Uglean; and many loving cousins, other family members and friends.

Mr. Kwaselow was the beloved son of the late Joseph and the late Ruth Kwaselow.

Interment was held at Adat Shalom Memorial Park Cemetery in Birmingham.

Contributions may be made to the American Cancer Society or to a charity of one’s choice. Arrangements by Dorfman Chapel.

MORRIS MARKOWITZ, 84, of West Bloomfield, died Feb. 8, 2020.

He is survived by his daughters and son-in-law, Bonnie and Matt Crocker of Sacramento, Calif., Hope Markowitz of Keego Harbor; brothers and sisters-in-law, Seymour and Audrey Markowitz of West Bloomfield, Dr. Arnold and Lynn Markowitz of West Bloomfield; sisters and brother-in-law, Pauline Kavesky of Madison Heights, Ruth and Bernard Moss of West

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continued on page 58 FEBRUARY 20 • 2020

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58 |

of blessed memory continued from page 57

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1 Adar

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FEBRUARY 20 â&#x20AC;˘ 2020

Bloomfield.

Mr. Markowitz was the dear son of the late John and the late Sarah Markowitz; loving father of the late Jay Markowitz; dear brotherin-law of the late Seymour Kavesky.

Contributions may be made to a charity of oneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s choice.

Services and interment were held at Hebrew Memorial Park Cemetery. Arrangements by Hebrew Memorial Chapel.

MARTIN SIEGEL MAYER, husband, father, uncle and grandfather, 93, passed away in his sleep Feb. 1, 2020, in Salt Lake City, Utah.

He lived a long and active life.

Martin was a great teller of stories, a World War II veteran and a University of Michigan alumnus. He was also a lifelong Mason, as well as vice president and general manager of the womanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s clothing company, B. Siegelâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s.

He enjoyed golf, skiing, traveling, his weekly poker games and was an avid tennis player.

In addition, he never gave up on the Detroit Tigers or Lions.

Marty, with his wife, Sally, donated to numerous charitable causes within the greater Metro Detroit area.

Mr. Mayer was preceded in death by his wife of 63 years, Sally. He is survived by his children, Michael, Ruthie (John Murphy) and Carrie; grandchildren, Calissa Mayer and Jacob Murphy. He is also survived by dear friend Kim Waples and her two children.

Contributions may be made to the Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Detroit.

EDWARD M. MILLER, 89, of West Bloomfield, died Feb. 8, 2020.

He was an attorney at law for more than 60 years, retiring just this past August.

Mr. Miller was proud to have served in the Army Judge Advocate Generalâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Corps during the Korean Conflict and for many years beyond.

He attended the University of Michigan for both an undergraduate degree and a J.D. with distinction from the law school. He was a lifelong season ticket holder for University of Michigan football and a passionate fan.

A winning football season gave him pleasure, but the greatest joy of his life came from the people who survive him: his devoted wife, Leanne; his loving children, Claudia (William) Kretzchmar, David (Mary Beth) Miller, Joe Aller and Tracy Aller; his beautiful grandchildren, Brendan (Corey) Kretzchmar, Russell Kretzchmar, Rachel and Lisa Miller, Carly Aller, and Hannah and Sammy Cohen; his amazing great-grandson, William Cole Kretzchmar.

Interment was held at Adat Shalom Memorial Park Cemetery in Livonia.

Contributions may be made to the Jewish Hospice and Chaplaincy Network or to the University of Michigan Law School, Arrangements by Dorfman Chapel.

PHYLLIS NEWMAN, 96, of Bloomfield Hills, died Feb. 8, 2020.

She was very active in the Jewish community. She start-

ed working with the Jewish National Fund when Israel became a state in 1948.

Mrs. Newman was president of Hadassah’s Greater Detroit Chapter for 13 years and received several honors over the years for her dedication to the organization. She was also a member of the National Board of Hadassah, the editor of the Hadassah Headlines and a creator of the Hadassah Thrift Shop, all which were started under her presidency.

She served as the chairman of the Building Committee for the Sarah and Ralph Davidson Hadassah House, and she was chosen Woman of the Year for Israel Bonds while co-chairing many of their programs.

In addition, Mrs. Newman

has been involved in Brandeis University’s National Women’s Committee, ORT, Federation, Ladies Auxiliary of the Jewish National Fund, United Foundation, Shaarey Zedek Sisterhood and was vice president of programming for the Sinai Guild.

With 35 trips to Israel, Phyllis was the recipient of the Jerusalem City of Peace Award.

Phyllis and her late husband, Al, established an endowment fund at Hadassah Hospital in research for pediatric audiology, as well as an endowment fund at Technion University in biomedical cardiology.

Another program she and Al created was Hear Oh Israel, which started as a Hadassah project that collected thousands

of used hearing aids from all over the world, had them reconditioned and sent out to Hadassah Hospital in Jerusalem at the Ein Karem Speech and Hearing Department to distribute to the elderly and disadvantaged at no cost. This project was started when the Israeli government’s insurance funding for hearing aids was phased out.

Phyllis was inducted into the Eight Over Eighty Senior Adult Jewish Hall of Fame in 2004.

Mrs. Newman is survived by her daughters and sonsin-law, Sharon Abrial and Jean-Pierre Bouquet, and Judith Newman and Peter Trepeck; son and daughterin-law, Fredric and Marsha Newman; grandchildren, Erik and Anne Kershenbaum, Amy

Kershenbaum and Mariano Montenegro, Nicole Kovacs, Rachel Layne, Adam and Sharon Layne, Jaime Ray Newman and Guy Nattiv, and Beth Newman; great-grandchildren, Jonathan, Simon, Benjamin, Ma’Ayan, Ellie, Rebeca, Emilia, Jayde and Bob, Jake, Jayme, Alma, and Mila; sister-in-law, Jeannette Ross.

She is also survived by Gloria Beck; and many loving nieces, nephews, cousins and friends.

Mrs. Newman was the beloved wife for 69 years of the late Albert Newman; the loving sister of the late George and the late Dottie Wener.

Interment was at Clover Hill Park Cemetery. Contributions may be made to HadassahGreater Detroit Chapter, continued on page 60

WE ARE THE COMMUNITY FUNERAL HOME Death is not a business – It is a time for understanding your needs

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| 59

Soul

of blessed memory continued from page 59

Phyllis and Albert Newman Endowment Fund, 5030 Orchard Lake Road, West Bloomfield, MI 48323, hadassah. org/detroit. Arrangements by Ira Kaufman Chapel.

EDITH SIMMONS, 87, of Southfield, died Feb. 8, 2020.

She is survived by her husband of 63½ years, Dr. Milton Simmons; daughter and sonin-law, Melodie and Dr. Alan Solway; son and daughterin-law, Harlan and Bonni Simmons; grandchildren, Andrew Solway, Matthew Solway, Ashley Simmons, Ryan Simmons and Eric Solway.

Mrs. Simmons was the cher-

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FEBRUARY 20 • 2020

ished mother of the late Dr. Bonnie Sherr; loving sister of the late Irven and the Late Ellen Leider, the late Schifra Henry, the late Mitchell Leider and the late Goldie Leider.

Interment was at White Chapel Cemetery.

Contributions may be made to a charity of one’s choice.

Arrangements by Ira Kaufman Chapel.

IDA STEUER, 95, of Southfield, died Feb. 8, 2020.

She was born in Poland and came to Michigan in 1964.

Mrs. Steuer is survived by her daughter and sonin-law, Sydonia and Jim Gajda; grandchildren, Jeffrey and Emily Gajda, and Annette Gajda; great-grandchildren,

Gabrielle Gajda and Sofia Gajda.

She was the beloved wife of the late Joseph Steuer; the devoted daughter of the late Adolph and the late Sidonia Richtman; the loving sister of the late Beno and the late Lola Richtman.

Interment was at Clover Hill Park Cemetery.

Contributions may be made to Holocaust Memorial Center, 28123 Orchard Lake Road, Farmington Hills, MI 48334, holocaustcenter.org; Jewish Senior Life of Metropolitan Detroit, 6710 W. Maple Road, West Bloomfield, MI 48322, jslmi.org; or to a charity of one’s choice. Arrangements by Ira Kaufman Chapel.

LISA SUE WEINER, 61, of West Bloomfield, died Feb. 10, 2020.

She is survived

by her sons and daughters-inlaw, Jason and Rebecca Weiner, and Adam and Ashley Weiner; grandchildren, Ronen Weiner and Lior Weiner; father, Irving Mendelson; brothers and sistersin-law, Dr. David and Barbara Mendelson, and Marc and Lisa Mendelson; many loving nieces and nephews.

Mrs. Weiner was the devoted daughter of the late Judith Carole Mendelson.

Interment was at Clover Hill Park Cemetery. Contributions may be made to Hillel Day School, 32200 Middlebelt Road, Farmington Hills, MI 48334, hillelday.org; or Jewish Hospice & Chaplaincy Network, 6555 W. Maple, West Bloomfield, MI 48322, jewishhospice.org.

Arrangements by Ira Kaufman Chapel.

Raskin

Nino Salvaggio celebrates 40th anniversary and one of the best chefs around.

N

ot only is Nino Salvaggio International Marketplace celebrating its 40th anniversary … It is also celebrating having one of the most prestigious chefs in this region of the country … West Bloomfield resident Pete Loren, whose kitchen magic in upscale restaurants had once received many notable commendations for elegant dining successes … Opus One, Detroit, Danny Raskin Senior Columnist Epoch Restaurant Group that included Birmingham’s Forte, the elegant Tribute in Farmington Hills and the original London Chop House.

Now operated by Nino’s fam-

NINO SALVAGGIO

Executive Chef Pete Loren

ily, son Leo Salvaggio, daughter Andrea and son-in-law Frank Nicolella, and company president Kirk Taylor, Nino Salvaggio’s is also noted as a culinary gem of numerous head chefs and counterparts who make their usual visits for dining preparation needs … Like Paul Grosz, owner/head chef of his very fine French Cuisine on Lothrop, east of the Fisher Theater, Detroit … and many others.

As Nino Salvaggio’s director of culinary development for its four locations … Bloomfield, Troy, St. Clair Shores and Clinton Township … Pete has been on board heading the Salvaggio culinary arms since 2003 … and responsible for its gourmet popcorn made-in-house and the Northern Smoke barbecue sauces, etc. … Also using his back-ofthe-house experience by designing the Salvaggio commissary at the Troy location, where the staff daily makes soups, sauces, breads and Nino’s Take & Bake pizza.

The Troy Salvaggio market has a coffee bar, and Bloomfield and Clinton boast small cafes.

Pete’s culinary genius was once responsible for his obtaining gastronomic degrees from Oakland Community College and the

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Morris replied, “Very religious Jews use separate dishes for Passover as example. But I am so Orthodox I have separate teeth for Passover meat and Passover dairy food.”

The customs official shook his head and said, “You must be a man of very strong faith to have separate teeth. That accounts for four sets of teeth. What about the fifth set?”

Morris looks around and spoke softly, “To tell the truth, once in a while I like a ham sandwich.”

CONGRATS … To Dr. Leonard Aronovitz on his birthday.

The sooner you call, the more we can help.

Johnny Pomodoro’s is your ONE STOP SHOP for all of your needs!

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ultra-excellent Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, New York.

Having someone like Pete Loren to head its excellent food division is a feather in the cap of a highly respected Nino Salvaggio International Marketplace.

MAIL DEPT. … “I have a bet with my husband. He says that Sammy Lieberman owned the Raleigh House alone. Did he?

(No, he was one of 10 partners.)

OLDIE BUT GOODIE …

Morris had fled his native country and sold his assets and made five sets of solid gold dentures with his cash, well above the limit he could bring into the United States.

When he arrived in New York, the customs officer asked why anybody would want five sets of gold dentures. Morris explained, “Jews who keep kosher have two sets of gold dentures. Jews who keep kosher have two sets of dishes for meat and dairy. But I am so religious I also have two sets of teeth.”

The customs officer said, “Well, that accounts for two sets of teeth. What about the other three?”

JERRY ZOLYNSKY

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| 61

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62 |

FEBRUARY 20 • 2020

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

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Farrakhan’s words are well-documented in the JN. For example, see the story in the July 27, 1984, issue of the JN: “Unrepentant Preacher,” where he cites Jews as practicing a “dirty religion.”

Or, if you really want a lesson in verbal gymnastics, see Arthur Magida’s interview with Farrakhan, an exclusive to the JN, in thee Oct. 22, 1993, issue, where Farrakhan claims he does not hate Jews. However, it was noted that, during one of his speeches in 1984, Farrakhan asked what to do with the Jews?

Someone in the crowd shouted, “Kill them.”

Farrakhan response was, “I did not say that.

I just seconded the motion.” And he says he does not hate Jews. Apparently, he just dislikes everything about Jews, including their “gutter religion.”

As you can imagine, there were letters to the he JN criticizing the interview’s publication. In my philosophy as a historian, it’s best to know one’s enemy. This interview was, hopefully, enlightening for JN readers.

Why should I write about this now? Well, in this age of increasing anti-Semitism, we can’t ignore its promoters. To try to understand such people is not to accept anything they say.

It’s just a sad state of affairs that people like Farrakhan, and many others, claim to desire respect and equality, yet are perfectly willing to bash other groups to achieve their goals.

While this is not the type of “Looking Back” column I really enjoy, it does speak to the depth of knowledge to be found in the Davidson Archive and the fact the JN has always tried to present its readers with signif-icant content — even if about despicable peo-ple and subjects.

l

A

s readers know by now, I really love spending time in the William Davidson Digital Archive of Jewish Detroit History. Every time I dip into the Archive, I find interesting and “cool” stories, and always learn something. In some cases, however, the stories I find may have useful information, but they are also maddening.

The catalyst for this week’s “Looking Back” was an announcement that the “Saviors’ Day 2020” conference will be M ke Sm h held in Detroit Feb. 21-23. This A n nd G h m nd u is the national conference of the A h Ch Nation of Islam (NOI), which is led by Louis Farrakhan — or as the online advertisement promotes him, the “Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan.”

The conference is also celebrating the 40th anniversary of the NOI’s publication, The Call.

The conference, therefore, is honoring a person and thing — Farrakhan and The Call — that are widely known for anti-Semitic views.

I went into the Davidson Digital Archive to see what I would find about the NOI and Farrakhan.

The JN and its predecessor, the Detroit Jewish Chronicle, often reported about and discussed the issue of anti-Semitism over the past 100 years. As I suspected, there were lots of stories and letters about Farrakhan: 429, to be precise. Most of them cited some of the awful statements Farrakhan made in the past — and still makes.

To be fair, historically speaking, we might all agree upon much of what the NOI seems to promote: freedom, justice, equality and self-empowerment. This all sounds good on paper. So, why does Farrakhan continue to spout anti-Semitism? Would he tolerate people promoting racist views of African Americans?