DJN July 16, 2020

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Rashida and the Jews Tlaib talks to JN for the first time.

See page 14.

INSIDE ADL Takes on Facebook 26 Orchard Lake Fine Arts Show 39 John Jacobs Remembered 46

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contents July 16-22, 2020/ 23-29 Tammuz 5780| VOLUME CLVII, ISSUE 24

Views 5-12

Cover “It’s the Same Folks Coming After All of Us” 14 Rep. Rashida Tlaib sits down with the Jewish News for the first time.

Tlaib Or Not Tlaib?

Detroit’s Jews Aren’t Sure 19 The upcoming primary offers a path to oust the outspoken, pro-BDS congresswoman, but some Jews have decided not to get involved.

Jews in the D An Orthodox Jew in Congress?

40 Shabbat Lights

On the cover:

Shabbat starts: Friday, July 17, 8:48 p.m.

Shabbat ends: Saturday, July 18, 9:56 p.m.

Cover photo/credit: Rashida Tlaib. Photo

by Glenn Triest.

Cover design: Kaitlyn Schoen

* Times according to Yeshiva Beth Yehudah calendar.

22 Gabi Grossbard is running in the Republican primary to face off against Andy Levin.

Muslim Group Helps Jewish Prisoner 24 CAIR-MI joins legal case of county prisoner denied a kosher diet.

ADL and Civil Rights Partners Lead Facebook Boycott 26 Fed up after years of dialogue, groups call for a halt to hate, incitement and misinformation now.

33 Sports He’s a Boxing Promoter ... and an Orthodox Jew 36 Southfield resident Dmitriy Salita patiently waiting for pandemic to loosen its grip on professional sports.

Quick Hits Learn to Save a Life

37

29 We Need to Talk offers free, online suicide-prevention training.

Arts&Life Outdoor Art

Visa Freeze 30 President’s proclamation to have a negative economic impact, Jewish experts say.

39 Orchard Lake Fine Art Show to feature Jewish jewelry designer.

Pandemic Accessory Online Shop to Benefit Older Adults

40 Mask holders are beautiful and practical.

31 FRIENDS of Jewish Senior Life open Online Boutique.

The Kippah Drawer 41 Under each kippah, there is a story.

Health

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

Have We Truly “Flattened the Curve?”

Celeb Jews

32 We asked the term’s founder.

42

Jews and Racial Justice

Online Events

Serve the Moment

43

33 New program connects Jewish young adults with social and racial justice volunteer projects.

Etc.

Moments 34

Spirit

The Exchange Soul Raskin Looking Back

44 46 53 54

Torah portion 35

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.

JULY 16 • 2020

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Views jewfro

To Your Health

I

never met my mom’s dad, but I think about him when I go to the doctor. And when I didn’t.

He hired and mentored my pediatrician, Dr. May Ling Lie Shuck, over the objections of partners who thought a Jewish doctor from Baltimore named Manes Hecht was diversity enough for their practice.

At Johns Hopkins, he studied under and remained Ben Falik lifelong friends with Dr. Helen Taussig, who founded the field of pediatric cardiology and developed a treatment for blue baby syndrome.

As his 1973 Jewish News obituary notes, Dr. Hecht came to Detroit to head up the Rheumatic Fever Clinic at Children’s Hospital following his tour of duty as a World War II medical captain; in Detroit, he was president of the Detroit Pediatric Society and a founding staff member of Sinai Hospital.

Yet for all this rarefied work, what really sustained Grandpa Manes over 40 years practicing medicine, even as his own health faltered, was the routine and the relationships. He saw patients at his office in the Fisher Building, then later the Huntington Woods Professional Building, walking home for lunch and carrying a leather doctor bag for evening house calls.

Dr. Hecht would no doubt disapprove that I went 20 years without having a doctor. Dr. Shuck retired around the time I got chest hair (I hope coincidentally). After that, I was lucky and stupid enough to get by with a bottle of hydrogen peroxide, Flintstone’s chewables and the occasional Z-pack.

I am pleased, as I think he would be, that my stupid luck (caveman behavior vs. caveman vitamins) eventually brought me to direct primary care.

At first, direct, primary and care sounded to me like three random words stuck together to make ever more refrigerator magnet poetry for the medical industrial complex.

To my pleasant surprise (and good health), direct primary care is an antidote to much of what causes us to spend nearly 20% of our gross domestic product on healthcare

Dr. Raquel removes Phoebe’s splinter.

for a sociological syndrome of stress, strain and stratification.

It’s simpler to describe how direct primary care works than how — let me count the ways — traditional fee-for-service, even with “good” insurance, does not: I am a member of Plum Health Direct Primary Care. Membership costs $49 a month. Raquel Orlich is my doctor.

I guess she’s other people’s doctor, too. But I can call, email or text (from my $50/month phone) Dr. Orlich any time I’m having an issue and, if she can’t solve it remotely, she can always see me that day or the following.

At one point, there were some balloons celebrating Dr. Orlich’s 300th patient.

Ultimately, she’ll have around 500. That seems like a lot, I thought, especially compared to my prior impression that I was her only patient.

The average family physician has 2,400 patients. They see 24 a day, each for about 20 minutes, about half of which might be spent on “charting” their electronic medical records. But it has to be face-to-face (or faceto-chart) or it won’t be billable to insurance.

Direct primary care does not accept insurance. At first, paying dollars (or HSA or FSA or Bitcoin or seashells) directly for healthcare seems inefficient when you have employer-provided coverage. Until you realize there’s no co-pay, co-insurance, deductible, out-of-pocket maximum, pharmacy benefits management company, in-network, out-of-network, pre-authorizations, pre-existing conditions, pre-notifications, death panels, etc.

And, as is typical with direct primary care,

there is no cost for visits to Plum Health.

My kids are now Plum Health members for $10/month each, following A Tale of Two Splinters: Before direct primary care, Judah got a splinter in his foot that I couldn’t get out. We did the responsible (parental and, it seemed, financial) thing and took him to Beaumont Urgent Care. After waiting around with a weekend crowd whose issues were conspicuously more urgent, if not ER gruesome, they got the splinter out, took our insurance information and sent us on our way.

Then — dog with preexisting condition of being dog bites man with high-deductible plan — we got a bill for over $500. When I called to inquire, the nice lady on the phone reassured me that the “actual” cost was some $1,200, but Blue Cross Beaumont synergy something something you’re welcome.

Not wanting to be left out, Phoebe got a splinter in her finger recently. We texted “Dr. Raquel.” She wrote me right back with her availability. I brought Phoebe to the office at Michigan and Trumbull. Free street parking. Splinter gone. Respectable Band-Aid selection. No charge. And now Phoebe wants to be either a doctor or Great Dane when she grows up.

Grandpa Manes (whose great-grandchildren will be caught up on their shots by the end of the month) loved chamber music.

Perhaps it reminded him of what he aspired to in his doctor-patient relationships. Not composing or conducting — not virtuosic solo performance — but creating space and tuning your ear as much as your expertise to the pursuit of humble, healthy harmony.

JULY 16 • 2020

|5

Views editor’s note letters

The Question

“W

hen are you going to do something about Rashida Tlaib?”

The Jewish News receives some variation of this question from our readers about once a week. Usually it’s tied into something the Detroit ConAndrew Lapin gresswoman has said or tweeted about Israel, but the message is always the same: We are Detroit’s Jewish publication of record. If a notable community figure has sparked a contentious national debate about Jews and Israel, it should be our responsibility to address this person in our pages.

Well, this week, on the occasion of her looming

primary, new PBS documentary and various other news items involving her and her district, we have indeed “done something” about Rashida Tlaib. We have conducted our first-ever interview with her and prepared a separate feature about the local Jewish reaction to her.

I don’t know if this will fit every reader’s definition of “doing something” about a local member of Congress who expresses vocal support for the global BDS movement and isn’t shy about criticizing (some would say slandering) Israel on the national stage.

But this fits my definition and the publication’s; the JN has been trying to talk to Rep. Tlaib since she assumed office in 2018. We often interview polarizing figures in these pages. Because this is what we do when we

confront something difficult in our community. We talk about it.

I imagine this issue will spark some debate. I hope that debate can be respectful, and I hope to hear from you: We will run responses to the interview in an upcoming issue. One area where Rep. Tlaib and I are closely aligned is that it’s valuable to have conversations like this with people who may disagree with you, particularly when the matter at hand is so deeply intertwined with questions of religion and national identity.

We are living in a very challenging moment for Israel; for Detroit; for the Jewish people; and for the world at large. To survive as a people, we must be willing to talk: to each other and to others. After all, dialogue is a sacred Jewish value.

commentary

Israel Must Reform Its Supreme Court

W

hen world crises the likes of COVID-19 strike, inevitably people will seek out a scapegoat. In the case of Israeli politics, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been accused of abusing his authority, using the current Kobi Erez pandemic to retain his seat in office and forming a government (after three elections) at a time of national

insecurity. NGOs like the New Israel Fund are demanding that the Israeli Supreme Court overturn the most recent elections, claiming PM Netanyahu is ineligible for reelection because he is currently facing criminal charges.

According to Israeli law, a prime minister who is charged with a criminal offense can continue to serve his term until found guilty in the court of law. This law prevents a majority-elected prime minister from being ousted by high-powered officials in the justice system

JULY 16 • 2020

Having spent the 4th of July weekend either at Kensington Metropark or Heritage Park and then staying up until midnight watching a neighborhood fireworks display, today I decided to stay home and read through back issues of the Detroit Jewish News before consigning them to the recycling bin.

As an Asperger syndrome patient myself dating back to my childhood in the 1950s, I read with interest the article on page 5 of the May 28 edition of JN in which William Dash tells of the problems he had in navigating the challenging waters he had to get through to earn his degree.

Negotiating life’s challenges is always going to be a problem for those with autism. Best wishes for William Dash to acquire the skills necessary for success in today’s world.

Regards for all the Detroit Jewish News does to keep us sane in these virus-riddled times.

— Alex Kovnat

and police.

Imagine a similar scenario in the United States: If it were not for this law, the Supreme Court could essentially override election results and hinder the democratic process simply because they disagree with an elected person’s polices. Or perhaps they feel that they know better than the average voter.

Alan Dershowitz, who studied the allegations against Netanyahu, recently said, “To bring down a duly elected prime minister on the basis of continued on page 8

6 |

Inspiring Read

Shabbat Shalom

by Phone I began Shabbat Shalom by Phone in 2011 as community chaplain of Jewish Senior Life’s Community Chaplaincy and Outreach Program. This program is a service of Jewish Senior Life and provides much needed outreach to older adults who are living in a variety of settings, including assisted living and nursing home communities.

Shabbat Shalom by Phone began with students of a local Jewish day school placing weekly calls to local older adults continued on page 12

In these troubling and uncertain times staying safe takes on several meanings: staying safe from the virus, staying safe from the predators and scammers, staying safe from the hate mongers and staying safe from the grossly misinformed. Empty rhetoric, exaggerations and fanfare won’t keep you safe.

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Views ISRAEL MUST REFORM continued from page 6

an unprecedented application of a broad and expandable criminal statute endangers democracy.”

This is certainly not the first time the ethics of the Israeli Supreme Court have been called into question. Israel’s Supreme Court is by far the most powerful among the western democracies. Only in Israel do Supreme Court judges elect their own successors. This means that the same small group of judges decide year after year and decade after decade who will make the laws for the country. As you might imagine, Supreme Court judges elect other judges who share their same agenda.

Those qualified individuals whose opinions differ drastically have no chance of serving on the bench. Aharon Barak, past judge and president of the Supreme Court, summarized it perfectly: “The Supreme Court is family; you can’t bring someone in from outside the family.”

This undemocratic way of electing judges has historically resulted in a Supreme Court that maintains a left-wing agenda at all costs — even when that agenda is so different from the current majority-elected government. The Supreme Court holds so much power, in fact, a common saying in Israel is, “Why go vote if the Supreme Court runs the show anyway?”

With its ability to overturn any decision made by the Knesset, the Supreme Court wields power over all aspects of Israeli society. The Supreme Court overruled the Knesset’s decision on the location of Israel’s Arthur M. Horwitz Publisher ahorwitz@renmedia.us F. Kevin Browett Chief Operating Officer kbrowett@renmedia.us

security wall, which protects Israelis from Palestinian terrorists. The Court allowed the wall, but shrunk the borders, thus ceding more Israeli land and taking it into their own hands to determine the country’s boundaries.

The Supreme Court also has the final say on who enters the country. When the Knesset passed a law to ban leaders of the anti-Israel Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement (BDS) from entering Israel, the Supreme Court reversed the decision, allowing them to enter freely.

The Supreme Court also dictates Israel’s ability to defend itself. In the early 2000s, during the Second Intifada, when Palestinians were murdering Israelis on a daily basis, the IDF requested the state to allow the army to seal off (for a hefty compensation) buildings belonging to suspected Palestinian terrorists in Gaza. These particular buildings overlooked main Israeli roads and served as a convenient place to shoot from.

The Knesset approved the IDF’s request, but the Supreme Court overturned the decision. Not long after, a pregnant Israeli mother by the name of Tali Chatoel and her four daughters were murdered in their car by Palestinians sniping from those very buildings the Supreme Court insisted stay open.

It is a sad irony that soon after the murder, 8,000 Jews, including Tali Chatoel’s husband, pleaded to the Supreme Court to reverse the government’s decision to uproot

Editorial Assistant: Sy Manello smanello@renmedia.us Senior Columnist: Danny Raskin dannyraskin2132@gmail.com Contributing Editor: Robert Sklar rsklar@renmedia.us Contributing Editor: David Sachs

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The Detroit Jewish News (USPS 275-520) is published every Thursday at 29200 Northwestern Highway, #110, Southfield, Michigan. Periodical postage paid at Southfield, Michigan, and additional mailing offices. Postmaster: send changes to: Detroit Jewish News, 29200 Northwestern Hwy., #110, Southfield, MI 48034.

8 |

JULY 16 • 2020

them from their homes during the disengagement from Gush Katif. The Supreme Court dismissed their request, another instance of the court negating the basic human rights of Israeli Jews.

The idea that the Supreme Court defends democracy is such a façade that even publicly criticizing the court is risky: It was recently discovered that the Supreme Court had been keeping a secret log of its critics on social media.

Of course, an independent Supreme Court is necessary for a democracy to thrive, but in Israel, the Supreme Court has been abusing its power to the point that the core democratic value of electing officials to represent the will of the people has become obsolete.

Israel must reform its Supreme Court to resemble those in the United States and other western democracies. Supreme Court judges should not have the power to elect their own successors, and a law should be passed that allows the final decision on Israel’s policies to be placed in the hands of the 7 million Israeli voters.

Benjamin Netanyahu, whether you like him or not, was fairly elected by the majority of Israeli voters. The people have spoken, and 15 judges representing the minority opinion should not have the right to overturn the will of the people.

Kobi Erez is the executive director of the Zionist Organization of America-Michigan Region.

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Views guest column

A Monumental Shame

10 |

JULY 16 • 2020

WIKIPEDIA

I

magine this scenario: A Jewish American family takes a driving vacation. They take the Herman Goering Freeway to the Joseph Goebbels Bridge, where they enter Adolf Eichmann County and spend the night at the Rudolf Hess Hotel.

Sounds absurd, right?

Now let’s replay that by substituting a Mark Jacobs Black family and change the names of the places they pass: Imagine a Black family driving over the Jefferson Davis Freeway, across the Edmund Pettus Bridge, entering Nathan Bedford Forest County and staying overnight at the Robert E. Lee Hotel.

Each of those locations are real places. Most white people wouldn’t think twice about those names, not out of racism but out of ignorance.

But take a moment to consider the reality of who those people were: • The Jefferson Davis Highway is named after the president of the Confederacy.

He oversaw the rebellion against the U.S., staked his entire career on preserving slavery, stating that Blacks are “inferior” and “fitted expressly for servitude.”

• Edmund Pettus, whose name adorns the famous bridge in Mississippi, was the Grand Dragon of the Alabama Ku Klux Klan during a time in which Alabama led the nation in

Statue of Robert E. Lee in Charlottesville, Va.

lynchings.

• Forest County is named after General Nathan Bedford Forest, who became the first Grand Dragon of the national Ku Klux Klan.

• General Robert E. Lee has a modern-day reputation as an honorable warrior.

But he was a fanatical white supremacist whose treatment of Black people was particularly harsh. Lee’s army would regularly capture free Black Americans and send them to the South to become someone’s property. As a slave owner, he sometimes chose to beat his slaves himself. One of his slaves, Wesley Norris, once remarked that Lee’s punishment was especially severe, saying that Lee was “not satisfied to simply lacerate our naked flesh.”

The Confederate States of America existed solely to preserve slavery. It declared war on the United States just to preserve the institution, which ultimately resulted in 620,000 deaths, more than every other U.S. war combined. Its very consti-

tution explicitly protected slavery.

Yet today throughout the South, the landscape is littered with tributes to Confederate leaders. There are over 1,500 Confederate statutes, over 200 schools, 10 military bases, and scores of counties, hotels, diners, lakes and mountains.

The debate over renaming monuments and places is currently raging. It’s a messy, controversial debate that America needs to work out and, in time, it will. But Jews — a people who know persecution far too well — should approach this debate with a profound sense of empathy. Our ancestors were often surrounded by anti-Semitic symbols. Today, in photos of this, we can instantly feel their pain and outrage. We should thus be quick to condemn any display of such symbols today, particularly those honoring Confederate leaders, a group who dedicated their careers to enslaving an entire race of people.

American Jews indeed face anti-Semitism today, but we don’t live with (and can’t even imagine) seeing symbols all around us named after rabid anti-Semites. But still, we should be able to easily grasp how outrageous and demoralizing such symbols are to Black America. We should understand and support our fellow Black citizens, more than any other group of people. Our camaraderie on this issue should be powerful and instinctual.

The debate over Confederate monuments and places will continue to divide Americans for some time. But it shouldn’t divide the Jewish community. We should be solidly unified behind the removal of all things Confederate. Let them reside in a museum, where they belong. This should not be a political issue for us; it should be a visceral one.

Black Americans have every right to feel pain and anger by the presence of memorials to people who wished to enslave their ancestors. Jews would be in an absolute uproar if we had to witness tributes to the leading anti-Semites of the past. If we become callous to this injustice, we not only betray Black Americans, but the lessons of our Jewish past and the values we wish to pass onto our children.

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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JULY 16 • 2020

and engaging them in brief discussion culminating with a warm Shabbat Shalom wish.

Those who received these phone calls were grateful and developed close relationships with the students.

In 2019, under the same name, this project expanded into a seamless, easy-to-use format using a conference call line with a pre-recorded message that could be accessed by phone at any time. This format fits well for those who do not have internet access, as almost everyone has the ability to use a telephone. My weekly inspirational words are followed by a warm Jewish melody.

The message continues to inspire many as they prepare to usher in their Shabbat and weekend.

This program has been especially helpful to older adults who are more isolated during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Shabbat Shalom by Phone greeting may be someone’s only Jewish content for the week.

During the brief prerecorded message, listeners gain comfort and insight.

They enjoy a familiar voice weaving together current times with the beauty of the Torah.

“It is so convenient and practical to call in and hear a message of hope and resilience,” said one of the callers.

Shabbat Shalom by Phone is available for all community

members at no cost. For weekly inspiration, call Shabbat Shalom by Phone toll free at (605) 313-4107 Access code: 270368#. Press # to hear the most recent recorded message.

— Rabbi Dovid Polter JSL Community Chaplaincy and Outreach Program

Disappointed I just read the article about my father, Alan Hurwitz (“RIP, ‘Zombie Bandit’,” July 2, page 46). With all his children still alive and well, it is surprising to me that the author did not reach out to any of us, as did the New York Times and the Jewish Telegraphic Agency. You left out a lot of information. Finally, my mom and dad divorced 38 years ago, so to include my mom’s wedding announcement and photograph is just bizarre and, quite honestly, shoddy journalism. Had the author done his homework and reached out to any of us, he could have written a much more accurate and thorough account of my dad’s complicated and extraordinary life. I am disappointed.

— Karen Hoene Hurwitz Website comment

Editor’s note: We apologize to the family of Alan Hurwitz.

The article in question was a “Looking Back” column, which explores local history through the JN archives, which is why the story included mention of Alan’s wedding announcement.

It was not intended as a formal obituary, but it is true we should have pursued a proper article, as well. We have reached out to the family and hope to tell Alan’s full story in an upcoming issue.

Q

Need help getting through a crisis?

Call jhelp at 1-833-44-JHELP Visit jhelp.org Chat online with a staff member or schedule a call at jhelp.org

Do all of the above

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JULY 16 • 2020

| 13

Cover Story

“It’s the

Same Folks Coming After All of Us” Rep. Rashida Tlaib sits down with the Jewish News for the first time.

ANDREW LAPIN EDITOR | PHOTOS BY GLENN TRIEST

R

ashida Tlaib is all smiles as she drives up to our designated interview spot. We’re in Stoepel Number 1 Park, in Detroit’s historic Rosedale Park neighborhood. It’s part of Michigan’s 13th Congressional district, which Tlaib is trying to defend in her Aug. 4 primary. She steps into the park’s tennis courts, which have weeds poking through them, gives an elbow-bump greeting and happily poses for photos.

This is the first time Tlaib has talked to the Detroit Jewish News. She and her staff claim this is the first time they were aware the JN had tried to contact them; but, in fact, the JN has made several interview offers to her since 2018, when she became the first Palestinian woman elected to Congress and began making headlines for her polarizing comments about Israel.

As a member of “the Squad,” a group of progressive women legislators of color that also includes Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Ilhan Omar, Tlaib’s words echo far beyond Detroit.

Now, Tlaib’s district (which includes large portions of Detroit and Dearborn Heights, as well as communities like Romulus, Ecorse and Inkster) is dealing with high rates of COVID-19 and ongo-

14 |

JULY 16 • 2020

ing protests against racism and police brutality. “Have you seen the marches?” she asks. “Jews and Muslims holding signs together … It makes me smile.”

Tlaib’s primary race, against Detroit City Councilwoman Brenda Jones, is competitive, and some Detroit-area Jews see danger no matter who wins. At the same time, Tlaib has many Jewish supporters, and says she wants to have a respectful dialogue with everyone. “I have an open-door policy,” she said. “Even when we disagree, if we can look at each other in a way that at least we feel heard, that’s all I ask.”

In that spirit, here is what Tlaib told the JN about her identity in Congress, the BDS movement and fighting bigotry of all stripes.

This interview has been condensed and edited. A longer version can be found at TheJewishNews.com.

on stopping water shutoffs, pushing the community benefits movement in the city, always working side-by-side on social justice issues. That is what I want people to remember. I truly believe in human rights for everyone.

JN: To many of our readers, you are Public Enemy No. 1. What is your reaction when you hear that?

Well, instantly I think of my community.

I grew up in Wayne County, all my life in Southwest Detroit, and have worked with organizations like Detroit Jews for Justice

DJJ, Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP) Detroit and IfNotNow Detroit have been in your corner. What have you learned from your Jewish backers and what have they learned from you?

When I was at Sugar Law Center, as a nonprofit lawyer, I was working for JVP

Have your positions on Israel and Palestine been mischaracterized in the media?

I think they’ve been misinterpreted or not fully understood. If people saw me more as a granddaughter, versus a congressmember, they would understand why I have said we need to push for true equality and justice in Israel. The lens I bring to the issue is something I hope people welcome because I don’t think there has ever been a member of Congress with a living grandmother or relatives in the occupied territories of Israel. I hope people see an opportunity, not something negative.

on community benefits agreements and co-ops and worker justice. Rabbi Alana [Alpert] of DJJ and so many others came to testify and say we have to do something about water shutoffs, and that water is a human right. We’ve always come together on social justice issues in my district, and we continue to work together.

What’s great is I’m just “Rashida” to them. I’m that girl that you can call, go file a FOIA [Freedom of Information Act request], or the one to hold hands or even do Shabbat together.

In 2018 you told the Detroit News you were not planning on focusing on Palestine issues when you got to Congress. And now you have this reputation of being Congress’s most vocal critic of Israel and the U.S.Israel relationship. Is that a characterization you sought out?

I don’t know. It’s my mere existence.

I get asked more about the issue of Palestine than my BOOST Act, more than the other issues. That’s unfortunate, but I’ve been very good about pivoting and saying, “Well, we need access to water, from Gaza to Detroit.”

I don’t think I would be as passionate but for my Palestinian roots, for the fact I grew up in the city and have seen, firsthand, people’s oppression and the struggle of being a child of immigrants.

When I get asked about Palestine every so often, I speak the truth. And that seems to draw people’s attention.

Many of my colleagues have thanked me for just being there, and said, “I didn’t know that was happening. I didn’t ever see it that way.”

Do you only look to speak out on Palestine when you’re asked about it?

Well, yeah. I mean, annexation.

“Hey, Rashida, what do you think?”

Well, of course I’m like, “Yeah, let me explain to you what that looks like on the ground. Do you know, there are literally roadways that Palestinians cannot use?” It’s that perspective of having people understand what it means through my lens.

What is your stance now on the BDS movement?

Well, I absolutely support freedom of speech, and people want to taint the freedom to boycott. It’s a peaceful way to speak up and say, “I’m against these human rights violations or these policies and this racism.” And I am absolutely, very much adamant that people need the right to boycott.

I raised my voice and said, “I believe in that kind of movement.” I don’t know where we would be in our country without the Montgomery bus boycotts. It’s something that’s part of our American fabric.

So absolutely, people need to stop saying that the BDS movement is somehow anti-Semitic — there are Jews who support the BDS movement. There are folks who truly believe in stopping racism of all forms, and they use the boycott as a form of speech.

Do you think one has to support BDS to be part of the Progressive movement today?

I don’t think so. No. I look at now with the “defund the police” movement. I hear my residents. They want us to reimagine and invest in their communities. That’s what I hear, but some of my colleagues don’t hear that; they are coming from a different perspective. It doesn’t make them less progressive.

I think of 2013, when Black Lives Matter was birthed. People literally were like, “I don’t know, don’t all lives matter?” There were memos being shared to stay away from that movement, that somehow it meant maybe harming police. It misconstrued what it meant. But if you look at the foundation, it was mothers, Black mothers, who lost their children to police brutality and gun violence, and they spoke up and now everybody’s yelling, “Black Lives Matter.”

Right?

So again, a lot of my colleagues were not there on Black Lives Matter, but they are now. It depends, I think, on people’s perception of what “progressive” means. I know this much: There are people in my caucus [who] don’t support the BDS movement,

“That is what I want people to remember.

I truly believe in human rights for everyone.”

— REP. RASHIDA TLAIB

Rashida Tlaib poses in Detroit’s Rosedale Park neighborhood.

continued on page 16 JULY 16 • 2020

| 15

Jews in the D

continued from page 15

but they support a free Palestine. They support a Palestine that has equality and can live in peace.

You supported a two-state solution before being elected. And then you said you supported one state — I think you should pull the J Street questionnaire. [Editor’s note: J Street initially endorsed Tlaib’s 2018 Congressional run, before later withdrawing it. The advocacy group issued a statement reading it “will not endorse candidates who do not endorse a two-state solution.”]

In the J Street questionnaire, I specifically say the two-state is almost impossible now around the racist policies of Netanyahu — that [a] two-state would be impossible without actually hurting Israelis. If you think about some of the Israeli families [who] have been in those communities for almost five decades, is the solution to push them out and recreate that kind of hurt? I just don’t know how you uproot people yet again. That’s what happened to Palestinians.

I also know from my lens growing up in the United States that “separate but equal”

16 |

JULY 16 • 2020

doesn’t work.

I was there in 1995 when Prime Minister [Yitzhak] Rabin was still alive, and people were on the same buses together, people were going to the beach together. There wasn’t this militarization of neighborhoods and villages. People spoke to each other. My uncle was going to his Israeli boss’s daughter’s wedding. There was just this beautiful kind of humanity and that brought people together, where now the segregation — and that’s what it is — is just making people less safe.

great, that’s on you, but don’t judge or dismiss those who do because that’s the way they’re speaking up, that’s their voice.

And it’s you wanting to put tape over their mouth and saying, ‘You shouldn’t support this.’”

You can disagree. You can say, “I don’t believe in that approach.” At the same time, you can [agree that] we need to hold Netanyahu accountable. [He’s] a person who doesn’t support many of the values, I think, of Israelis and Palestinians living in the United States right now.

There are a lot of Jews, both locally and nationally, who would get on board with your platform of economic justice were it not for your positions on BDS and Israel.

What would you say to them?

It’s just this one issue that we might disagree on. I had a few residents who were like, “I don’t know, Rashida.” And I said, “You don’t have to be there, but know it’s coming from a place that I really believe.” I really, truly believe that both communities can be free if we push back against Netanyahu’s racism and right-wing approach.

I ask people, “If you don’t support BDS,

You visited the Holocaust Memorial Center in Farmington Hills. What was that experience like for you?

It was extremely emotional. My son Adam went into one of the rooms and there were these clipped articles. He said, “Mom, look at the data. That one was three years before the United States intervened … People knew and they didn’t do anything about it.”

It was a powerful moment.

That’s why you can’t stay silent. That’s why I went to the border and saw what was happening to immigrant children, and it’s those kinds of images and things happening

“You can’t wait until it’s us.

You have to understand any form of hate, all of it. It’s about all of us.”

— REP. RASHIDA TLAIB say when he said Mexicans were rapists?”

There was just silence in the hall. And I said, “You can’t wait until it’s us. You have to understand any form of hate, all of it. It’s about all of us.”

I’m in spaces sometimes [where] they don’t believe it’s that prominent. And I’m like, “No, there is very much targeting of Jews.”

White supremacy is really what brings us all together … When we talk about anti-Semitism, when we talk about anti-Blackness, anti-immigrant, it’s all of us together fighting against the same people.

Because when you open that curtain, it’s the same folks coming after all of us.

that people need to realize before it’s too late.

We need to continue to speak up. I watch IfNotNow use their faith to get out there and say, “As a Jew, I will not stay silent.” That is inspiring and moving to watch.

We have been doing a yearlong AntiSemitism Project, where we try to figure out what hate and bigotry looks like in the year 2020. How do you define a term like anti-Semitism? And in what ways do you see it linked to other forms of bigotry that are prominent today?

An African American Baptist pastor told me, “We’re not a country that’s divided; we’re disconnected.”

I was at a mosque in Flint and this young Muslim sister got up and said, “Rashida, I don’t understand. Why isn’t anybody saying anything about what he (Trump) is saying about Muslims?” Trump was still a candidate at the time. And I said, “Sis, what did you

You’ve said you want to come from a place of love first and use that as the basis for dialogue. If that was your message, it does not seem to have reached the Jewish community. A lot of big donors with Federation were so concerned they were trying to mount a campaign to get rid of you.

I spoke to Mark Bernstein a couple of days ago. He’s a person who knew me before I became a congressmember. Early on, he said, “You know, I don’t support the BDS movement.” I said, “I know, Mark.” But he goes, “But everything else you do, I love it all.” I said, “Mark, I would never, ever support anything that would be hateful, but we need to do something about the racism, and you know it,” and he’s like, “Oh yeah.”

That’s the one thing that brings us all together. We see the pain there, and it’s not just Palestinians. It’s also Israelis suffering.

So many of the new Israeli citizens, Black Israelis, even those who came from Russia, are struggling. There should be complete freedom to speak up against that without being targeted as being anti-Jewish.

I know it hasn’t reached [everyone]. I will continue to try my best to move forward in a very thoughtful way and make sure that I don’t say anything to make somebody feel like I think they’re “less than” because of their faith. But I want to speak truth. When we stay silent here, we’re oppressing their voice there.

Have you ever heard from anyone on your staff or Jewish allies that something you’ve said in the past has crossed the line or ventured into anti-Semitic tropes?

I had a friend just email me and say, “Oh, I think you’re anti-Semitic.” And I was like, “You’ve known me for years. Send me what you think, teach me. What did I say?” She never responded, never. I always ask and I always respond, especially if it’s someone I’ve known for years.

Do you think this criticism of you is coming from an honest place?

No, honestly, I think some of it is anti-Arab.

It’s anti-Palestinian. I know this because I watched my colleagues already. My mere existence created this tension of, “She must be this way. This is who she is. This is how all Palestinians are.” In Southwest Detroit, I’m Rashida. In Palestine, I’m “[the] American girl.” In Congress, I instantly was “the Palestinian.” Before I even opened my mouth, as soon as I won, it was just complete attack. And it was anti-Palestinian, anti-Arab movement. Not as much Muslim. The white supremacists, those folks came after.

Do you have any final thoughts to share for our readers, for the Jewish community in Detroit?

I think one solid, strong advocate you’re going to have against the white supremacist in the White House is me. And when (Trump) speaks the way he does about Muslims, immigrants, Jews, understand that.

What I see is all of us coming together and pushing against that. It is my absolute honor to be the person to say, “Enough, you will not speak with this hate agenda. You will not hurt my Jewish neighbors. You will not oppress them with your words, your policies, your tropes.”

Also, one thing you will always get from me is full honesty. I don’t have any hidden agenda except to love and to raise the bar of what you expect in your member of Congress. You will always get somebody that will never back down and will never sell you out.

JULY 16 • 2020

| 17

Cover Story

Tlaib Or Not Tlaib?

The Aug. 4 primary offers a path to oust the outspoken, pro-BDS congresswoman, but Jews are staying out — or backing her.

MAYA GOLDMAN CONTRIBUTING WRITER

M

any Michigan Jews are unhappy with Rashida Tlaib. But they’re not mobilizing against her in the upcoming primary.

When Tlaib was elected to represent Michigan’s 13th district in the House of Representatives in November 2018, she made history as the first Palestinian American woman to serve in Congress.

Along with Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar, she is also one of the first two Muslim woman to serve. And since her election a year and a half ago, Tlaib has made headlines time and time again — often for her vocal criticism of Israel.

Tlaib, whose grandmother still lives in the West Bank, publicly supports a onestate solution and the Boycott, Divest and Sanction (BDS) movement. In 2019 she and Omar were denied entry into Israel for their views, making international headlines.

All of this has created a fraught relationship between Tlaib and the American Jewish community. Even before Tlaib was elected, she made waves when J Street, a nonprofit group that advocates for a two-state solution in Israel, pulled its endorsement of her. [See

previous story.]

But Tlaib’s connections to the local Jewish community stretch back further. She first ran for state office at the urging of her friend and mentor, former State Rep. Steve Tobocman, a Jewish Democratic politician originally from Farmington Hills. The two met while Steve Tlaib was working at the Arab Tobocman American Community Center for Economic and Social Services (ACCESS); he eventually hired her as a legislative assistant.

Tobocman told the JN he saw a passionate local advocate in Tlaib, and when he reached his term limit in the state legislature in 2008, he asked her to consider running to replace him. He helped on her campaign, which she won, and when she threw her hat in the ring for the House of Representatives in 2018, Tobocman helped on that campaign, too.

In the new PBS documentary And She Could Be Next, which highlighted Tlaib’s campaign, Tobocman is seen whispering the news that she has won the primary.

Now, Tlaib is up for re-election — and

she’s facing a primary challenger in Detroit City Councilwoman Brenda Jones.

Tobocman isn’t helping on the campaign, although both say the two still have a good relationship. “The clear thing is she doesn’t need me,” he said. “The odds are so much better on her side than they were two years ago.”

TLAIB VS. JONES This isn’t the first time Jones and Tlaib have run against each other. When longtime Rep. John Conyers Jr. stepped down from his position in 2017 after holding office for more than 50 years, both Jones and Tlaib ran in a special election for his seat. Jones won the special election and served in Congress for eight weeks, but Tlaib won the regular election (by fewer than Brenda 1,000 votes) and represented the Jones district for a full term.

In their last two matchups, Tlaib and Jones were two of many candidates, including famous names like Ian Conyers (nephew to John) and Coleman Young II. This time, they are the only two on the ballot. continued on page 20

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JULY 16 • 2020

JULY 16 â&#x20AC;¢ 2020

| 19

Cover Story continued from page 18

For a while, it seemed like philanthropists in the Metro Detroit Jewish community might champion a challenger to Tlaib this year. At a Jewish Federation roundtable in August 2019, Lisa Lis, a frequent Democratic donor, was quoted as saying, “We in this communiLisa Lis ty will go against Rashida Tlaib.”

But the Lises have since decided not to get involved in this race, in part because they don’t live in the district.

“At this point, I think it is not our place — my place — to get involved in that campaign,” Hannan Lis, Lisa’s husband, told the Jewish News.

Hannan Lis grew up in Israel and has repeatedly voiced his disproval of Tlaib’s stance on the state. In September, he told the Detroit Free Press that her comments in support of BDS were “an affront and very offensive to Jews.”

Despite their differences on Israel, though, Hannan Lis said he thinks Tlaib is a “hard-working, smart” legislator. “She really worked hard to get it, so she definitely deserved to win at the time,” he said.

While he wishes Tlaib would change her stance on Israel — or at least do more to understand where Jewish people are coming from on the issue — he recognizes that it’s not the biggest Hannan Lis problem facing the 13th district.

The district’s residents deserve a devoted advocate for their own challenges, he said.

“She’s not there to represent the Palestinian people or to advocate for Israel,” he said.

“She’s there to represent the people she’s representing.”

The Michigan Democratic Jewish Caucus has also decided not to get involved in the 13th district’s Democratic primary.

“While MDJC has endorsed and supported five of Michigan’s seven incumbent Democratic members of Congress for the 2020 cycle, no plans exist for an endorsement in the 13th District,” a statement from MDJC Chair Noah Arbit reads.

From the right, the Michigan Jewish Action Council is not getting involved in this election, either. In a statement sent to the JN, the conservative advocacy group said they have concerns with both candidates — Tlaib because of her views on Israel and Jones because of her ties to Nation of Islam

20 |

JULY 16 • 2020

leader Louis Farrakhan, who has a history of anti-Semitism.

“While we at MJAC think that Rashida Tlaib is a poor choice for Jews and for our country, Brenda Jones needs to clarify some of her positions,” reads the statement, signed

by MJAC member Harry Onickel.

Jones welcomed Farrakhan to Detroit this year for the group’s annual “Saviour’s Day” convention in February. At the convention, Jones’ chief of staff Steven Grady told the crowd that she had sponsored a resolution to honor the 40th anniversary of the NOI’s newspaper, The Final Call, for its “truthful articles” and “courageous journalists” (the paper has a long history of publishing anti-Semitic content). Jones had previously shared a stage with Farrakhan in 2018.

Jones’ campaign has not returned multiple requests for comment for this article.

THE JEWS IN RASHIDA’S CORNER On the other hand, IfNotNow Detroit, the local branch of an American Jewish organization that advocates for the end of Israel’s occupation of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, has used this primary to make their first-ever endorsement. They’ve backed Tlaib.

“We’re a group of young progressive Detroit Jews who we believe represents the majority of the Jewish generation we’re part of, and we’re committed to strong progressive values, grounded in our Jewish tradition and our Jewish faith. It’s a beautiful irony that our strongest supporter of those values

in the Jewish community especially, talking to our friends and our neighbors and our parents and telling them why Rashida is the choice if you are a progressive Jew,” he said.

Other progressive Jews living in the city support Tlaib as well. Rabbi Alana Alpert, who leads Congregation T’chiyah and is a community organizer with Detroit Jews for Justice, has been an outspoken defender of Tlaib. Tlaib worked with DJJ on the organization’s Rabbi Alana focus issues for years before Alpert running for Congress, Alpert wrote in an email to JN. “I haven’t met a single resident of Rashida’s (my!) district who doesn’t appreciate her leadership. There’s been a deliberate attempt to manufacture division between a Palestinian member of Congress and her Jewish constituents, and some folks outside the district have fallen prey to that,” Alpert wrote. “But the truth is that the things Jewish voters tend to care about are exactly the kinds of things Rashida has championed.”

Whether or not they support her as a candidate — and regardless of whether they live in her district — many Jewish community members will be watching the primary closely. There are Republican candidates running for the seat, but the district has been a Democratic stronghold for decades, so it’s likely that whoever wins the Democratic primary will go on to represent the area in Congress.

Hannan Lis said he ultimately hopes to see

“The things Jewish voters tend to care about are exactly the kinds of things Rashida has championed.”

— RABBI ALANA ALPERT happens to be a Palestinian congresswoman,” said Jesse Einhorn, a lead organizer with INN Detroit.

Einhorn lives in Southwest Detroit, though he’s just outside the bounds of the 13th district. But many INN Detroit members are represented by Tlaib, he said, and the group will be phone banking and canvassing for Tlaib in the lead up to the Aug. 4 primary.

“We will be out in the community, and

strong leadership in the 13th district, regardless of who it comes from.

“Personally, I’d rather see the area represented by an effective legislator who will work hard to really improve the lives of the people there,” he said. “Is it something that a challenger [to Tlaib] could do if there was an effective challenger? I hope so. Do I see one that would be able to do this right now and also win an election? I’m not convinced.”

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JULY 16 â&#x20AC;˘ 2020

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An Orthodox Jew in Congress?

G

abi Grossbard, a former car salesman and Orthodox Jew, is running for Congress in the 9th District in the Aug. 4 Republican primary for the chance to face Rep. Andy Levin this fall. The 9th District includes Huntington Woods, Bloomfield Township and Franklin, along with 19 other cities in Oakland and Macomb counties.

Grossbard was born in Israel and moved to Michigan in 1998. He and his wife live just outside the 9th District in Southfield and have six children.

His Republican opponent, Charles Langworthy, is a U.S. Navy veteran and fervent backer of President Trump.

If he wins, Grossbard would face off against another Jew this fall, Democratic incumbent Andy Levin.

Read about why Grossbard has entered the race and what he hopes to accomplish if elected.

JN: Why are you running for Congress?

Grossbard: We’re at a point right now where we have two political parties that are odds with each other. They both seem to be running in separate directions. And the average voter is stranded in the middle without representation … So, though it goes against my nature and against my personality to jump into public life, I think it’s important to do.

In November, you started running in the 14th District and then you withdrew from that race. Now you’re running in the 9th.

What happened there?

I was running in the 14th because I do live in the 14th. I live right outside the 9th. The way the district runs, I’m less than a mile outside the district border. I decided to switch because I saw that Andy Levin was running unopposed at the time and I just couldn’t let that happen. He

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JULY 16 • 2020

Gabi Grossbard is running in the Republican primary to face off against Andy Levin.

COURTESY OF GABI GROSSBARD

Jews in the D

MAYA GOLDMAN CONTRIBUTING WRITER

never represented us well.

You were born in Israel, and you served in the IDF. Why is it important to you to be that advocate for Israel in the federal government?

Israel, being the only democracy in the Middle East, from a purely American point, is important to uphold and strengthen. Israel’s existence directly and indirectly brings a lot of safety and security here to the United States.

You also don’t want to be seen as the one-issue, pro-Israel candidate, and representing working class people is something that you’re also really passionate about. Why is that?

Another reason I switched from the 14th to the 9th is I resonate much better with the 9th District people. There’s a big chunk of this district that’s in Macomb County — these are blue-collar, hardworking people. And that’s me. I identify with that.

If elected, you’d be the first Orthodox Jewish congressperson in the House of Representatives. What does that distinction mean to you?

Having a Jewish person who wears a kippah on the Congress floor, along with specifically my background, born and raised in Israel and serving in the IDF, I think could be a big plus.

You consider yourself a “moderate conservative.” What does that mean to you?

I’m not a radical right-wing lunatic nut who served in the Israeli army and is looking for that type of trouble. I really think that I’m in the middle.

Does that mean you’d vote against the rest of the Republican party in Congress

Gabi Grossbard

if you think their idea went against the interests of the people in your district?

It depends on the issue, but that is not something I would say no to right now …

But that’s as far as the votes. I will never vocally criticize the leader of my party or any of the other members, just like I wouldn’t anyone on the other side. I’m a policy guy.

This summer, there’ve been protests calling for an end to police brutality and systemic racism. How are you responding to these protests, and how would you advocate for people of color, especially Black people, in Congress?

I definitely agree with the statement that Black lives matter. I don’t subscribe to the movement, the BLM movement.

Within the 9th District, from what I’ve seen, this is not an issue. I see a lot of people getting along and I see this in general America … I don’t think to the average American, in my district, at least, this is a big issue, reason to protest.

This area has been represented by a Democrat for decades now. What makes you think that a moderate conservative Republican candidate can win this time?

I really hope that the independents and the moderates, along with the many Republicans in this district, can evaluate me based on the candidate that I am, and not just based on the fact I’m running on the Republican side of the ticket. And I do think that there is an opportunity here.

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Macomb County Jail

Jews in the D

Muslim Group Helps Jewish Prisoner JACKIE HEADAPOHL ASSOCIATE EDITOR

A

Muslim group is advocating for a Jewish man who was denied a religious kosher diet while being housed at the Macomb County Jail in 2017.

In court filings July 6, the Michigan chapter of the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR-MI) announced its appearance as counsel on behalf of plaintiff Brandon Resch, who in November 2017 was transferred from Oakland County Jail, where he was receiving a kosher diet, to Macomb County Jail. There he requested a kosher diet, had an interview with the jail’s chaplain, and was denied a religious kosher diet by the jail because he didn’t have the ability to write to a rabbi and obtain a “letter of good standing.”

According to the CAIR-MI court filing, “Under no circumstances do a person’s religious rights depend on whether or not they are a member in good standing of a religious organization … Macomb County’s policy of requiring an individual housed in its jail to contact a religious leader — at their own expense and when they may not have access to phone numbers and addresses — to obtain a letter of ‘good standing’ prior to being afforded a religious diet places an undue burden on the individual’s religious practice in violation of the Constitution and the law.”

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JULY 16 • 2020

MACOMB.GOV

CAIR-MI joins legal case of county prisoner denied a kosher diet.

According to CAIR-MI Staff Attorney Amy V. Doukoure, Resch reached out to the group in a series of letters about his troubles getting kosher meals after saying he had reached out to Jewish organizations that didn’t have the legal staffing to help him.

“The right to maintain a religious diet is of dear importance to the Muslim community,” Doukoure told the JN. “On this issue, the Muslim and Jewish communities are closely aligned.”

Rabbi Boruch Zelouf, a Michigan advocate for the Amy V. Aleph Institute, a nonprofit Doukoure that assists Jewish prisoners, told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency that “according to Resch’s grandmother, Resch self-proclaimed as Jewish after entering prison, and that the group therefore does not consider him Jewish.”

Rabbi Asher Lopatin, executive director of the JCRC/AJC, said neither Resch nor CAIR had reached out to their organization, but if approached, “we would do our utmost to Rabbi Asher help,” he told the JN. Lopatin “The JCRC/AJC appreciates anyone who works with prisoners to assert their rights and certainly when it comes to

Jewish rituals and kosher food,” Lopatin said. “Criminal justice reform is one of our key advocacy issues, and the ability of prisoners to practice their religion is a basic right that all prisoners and people everywhere deserve.”

Professor Daniel Manville of the Civil Rights Clinic at Michigan State University has been engaged in a lawsuit against the Michigan Department of Corrections for the past several years to give kosher-observant prisoners the right to meat and dairy meals. The court ruled in his favor and he is working to enforce a settlement agreement granted in January of this year.

Resch’s case does not apply to that settlement because he was in a county jail not run by the Michigan Department of Corrections, “where there are a different set of standards for those not yet convicted,” according to Manville.

Manville said he spoke to a CAIR-MI attorney about Resch’s case. “If the jail uses this requirement against a Jewish detainee, it is likely to require it against a Muslim. It

“The ability of prisoners to practice their religion is a basic right that all prisoners and people everywhere deserve.”

— RABBI ASHER LOPATIN is better to stop something like that when you have a good factual case,” he said.

“The fact that he was given a kosher diet in Oakland County Jail, but not in Macomb, bolsters the case. Macomb is on shaky ground.”

Doukoure added, “The law has never required anybody to get the approval of someone else that this is your sincerely held religious belief; it is only up to the individual.”

Doukoure said the motion phase of Resch’s case will take place in September and it could go to trial by the end of the year.

Lopatin said the JCRC/AJC “will look into this issue seriously.”

SANDI MATZ

Shoppers waiting to go inside store.

NCJW Resale Shop Reopens Council Re|Sale (3297 W. 12 Mile Road, Berkley) operated

by National Council of Jewish Women, Michigan (NCJW|MI), has re-opened with stringent safety measures and a 50 percent off sale. In addition, every week there will be a new rack selling items for just $1.

“Our wonderful donors really cleaned out their closets during the lockdown, setting aside fabulous items of clothing for us. We started accepting donations mid-June, all of which have been quarantined, and they have been coming

in by the carload,” said Amy Cutler, president of NCJW| MI. “We want to assure them we are following the most stringent of guidelines from the CDC, National Institute of Health and Oakland County. They can shop for gorgeous bargains knowing they are safe.”

Safety measures include limiting shoppers in the store to 10 at a time, hand-sanitizing stations and no dressing rooms — clothes can be returned for Council Cash within 10 days of purchase.

All donated and returned items are quarantined, and there is a touch-free donation station at the back of the store Shoppers will find high-end clothing, including designer wear and other hidden treasures. All proceeds go toward supporting the many projects National Council of Jewish Women, Michigan run to benefit Detroit area women, children and families in need.

Hours are 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Monday through Saturday.

Michigan Hillel Gets New Director

MICHIGAN HILLEL

Haley Schreier has taken on the role of director of engagement at Michigan Hillel.

In her previous role as manager of engagement and outreach at Michigan Hillel, Schreier excelled at engaging Haley Schreier students of all backgrounds, fostering innovative outreach pro-grams and building Jewish community in all corners of campus life.

This fall, she will launch a new campus-wide engagement initiative — Hillel Connect.

“My goal is to help make sure that every Jewish student feels connected in a way that is

meaningful for their experience at this university,” Schreier said.

Tilly Shames, Michigan Hillel executive director, said, “Haley excels in all areas of her work and has brought vision and structure to our vast engagement strategy. Launching Hillel Connect in this new role, she will extend Hillel’s reach even further, connecting even more students to Jewish life on campus.”

Haley brings to this new role her passion for Ann Arbor as a life-long resident, and her love for the University of Michigan as a two-time alum, most recently earning an MSW with a certificate in Jewish communal leadership.

JVS Offers Career Development Program for Workers Over 45 JVS Human Services is expanding its latest Recharge! career development program aimed at mature workers to those aged 45 and over.

The four-week program was previously aimed at those age 50 or over who are unemployed, underemployed or who want or need to change their careers. It has been expanded to include younger workers because of the pandemic’s effect on so many employees in the state.

“This session will be done on Zoom for the first time, but we are confident that our participants will get the kick-start that they need

to reinvent their careers,” said Sherrie James, career counselor for JVS Human Services.

The program starts July 21 and requires registration and $40 material fees and runs twice a week from 10 a.m. to noon. It will provide tools for participants to reconnect with their skills and interests, refresh their professional image and personal brand; restore belief in themselves during life transitions; and review the local job market.

To register, email sjames@ jvshumanservices.org or call (248) 233-4472; deadline is July 17.

The Holocaust Memorial Center to Reopen The Holocaust Memorial Center will re-open with safety protocols in place on Monday, July 20, for members only. The museum will open to the general public on Monday, July 27.

Face masks are required inside the building for all guests over age 3. Hand sanitizing stations are located throughout the museum and heightened cleaning protocols, which include increased disinfection of restrooms and high-touch surfaces such as hand railings and door handles have been established.

Floor markers are placed to encourage social distancing, and plexiglass dividers have been installed at the service desk.

“The health and safety of our guests and staff is our top priority,” said Holocaust Memorial Center CEO Rabbi Eli Mayerfeld. “We look forward to welcoming our mem-

bers and guests back and continuing our mission to engage, educate and empower people of all backgrounds through teaching about the senseless murder of millions during the Holocaust. Each one of us must respect and stand up for the rights of others if we are to prevent future genocide and hate crimes.”

Hours are Sunday through Thursday from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. and Friday from 10 a.m.-2:30 p.m. For the first hour of each day, admission is reserved for seniors and those who are immune compromised.

The number of guests will be limited, and the museum is encouraging pre-purchasing of timed tickets prior to each visit.

Tickets are available at holocaustcenter.org or by calling (248) 553-2400. There will be no docent-led public tours or Holocaust survivor speakers at this time.

JULY 16 • 2020

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FACEBOOK

Jews in the D

ADL and Civil Rights Partners Lead Facebook Boycott Fed up after years of dialogue, groups call for a halt to hate, incitement and misinformation now.

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JULY 16 • 2020

about the threat. This was 10 years before Mark Zuckerberg and four other Harvard University students launched Facebook globally.

Today, Facebook is a vital communication platform for many, with more than 2.5 Mark billion monthly Zuckerberg users worldwide.

The company hosts more than 8 million advertisers who spent $70 billion in 2019, accounting for almost 99% of Facebook’s income according to statista. com.

While hate groups still inhabit dark and isolated corners of the internet, they increasingly use mainstream outlets to recruit, organize and promote their agendas. But, it’s not just the hate groups. The bigot next door, the uninformed, foreign governments, and political leaders and movements find it a powerful tool to spread misinformation and promote division.

The coalition launched its campaign in mid-June with a full-page ad in the Los Angeles Times charging Facebook with allowing incitement “against protesters fighting for racial justice,” having “turned a blind eye to blatant voter suppression” and having “amplified

white nationalists by including news sources with known extremist ties.” They also claimed Facebook is “actively choosing” not to protect and support Black users or call out Holocaust denial as hate, though it could easily do so.

The ad ended: “Let’s send Facebook a powerful message: Your profits will never be worth promoting hate, bigotry, racism, anti-Semitism and violence.

Please join us.”

ADL

A.QUINTANO/WIKIMEDIA

M

ore than 1,000 businesses, large and small, are pausing advertising on Facebook during July in response to a call from a coalition of civil rights organizations headed by the AntiDefamation League (ADL), the NAACP, Color of Change, Sleeping Giants, Common Sense and Free Press.

The coalition asks Facebook to take immediate action to “find and remove public and private groups focused on white supremacy, militia, anti-Semitism, violent conspiracies, Holocaust denialism, vaccine misinformation and climate denialism.”

It proposes 10 actions in three areas — accountability, decency and support — for Facebook to take in July.

Included is establishing and empowering a permanent civil rights infrastructure headed by an experienced C-suite executive, as well as regular, independent audits of identity-based hate and misinformation with publicly accessible findings.

The ADL was a pioneer in exposing and challenging hate on the internet. In 1996, it issued its first report on the subject, “Web of Hate: Extremists Exploit the Internet,” and began to educate communities and the public

DISAPPOINTING MEETING On July 7, ADL CEO Jonathan Greenblatt and Jonathan leaders of three Greenblatt other coalition organizers met on Zoom with Facebook’s CEO Mark Zuckerberg, COO Sheryl Sandberg and members of their staff. It didn’t go well, with the coalition afterward calling to extend the boycott beyond July.

“It was abundantly clear in our meeting today that Mark Zuckerberg and the Facebook team is not yet ready to address the vitriolic hate on their platform,” the coalition’s statement said. “Zuckerberg offered the same old defense of white supremacist, anti-Semitic, Islamophobic and other hateful groups … Instead of actually

STOPHATEFORPROFIT.ORG

DON COHEN CONTRIBUTING WRITER

The ad that launched the boycott

What would you do with $70 billion?

We know what Facebook did.

They allowed incitement to violence against protesters fighting for racial justice in America in the wake of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Tony McDade, Ahmaud Arbery, Rayshard Brooks and so many others.

They amplified white nationalists by including news sources with known extremist ties in their “fact checking” program.

They turned a blind eye to blatant voter suppression on their platform.

Could they protect and support Black users? Could they call out Holocaust denial as hate? Could they help get out the vote?

They absolutely could. But they are actively choosing not to do so.

99% of Facebook’s $70 billion is made through advertising.

Who will advertisers stand with?

Today, we are asking all businesses to stand in solidarity with our most deeply held American values of freedom, equality and justice and not advertise on Facebook’s services in July.

Let’s send Facebook a powerful message: Your profits will never be worth promoting hate, bigotry, racism, antisemitism and violence.

Please join us. #stophateforprofit stophateforprofit.org

responding to the demands …

Facebook wants us to accept the same old rhetoric, repackaged as a fresh response.”

At an online press conference, Greenblatt called the meeting “long on time, but short on commitments.”

“We went through the 10 [demands] and we didn’t get commitments or timeframes or clear outcomes,” Greenblatt said.

“We expected specifics, and that’s not what we heard … The answer we heard was, ‘We’re on a journey, we’re doing better, we’re almost there.’ That’s not good enough.”

The coalition maintains that its demands would be simple to meet and pointed to years of ongoing discussions.

“All Mark needs to do, all Facebook needs to do, is once and for all say, ‘White supremacy, racism, anti-Semitism, anti-Muslim hate, xenophobia — once and for all, it has to stop, and that it stops now,’” Greenblatt said.

Following the meeting, Facebook issued a statement saying the coalition wants them “to be free of hate speech and so do we,” and that they have spent billions of dollars to moderate online content and removed hundreds of hate groups from its site.

The day after the meeting, Facebook released a long-awaited civil rights audit of its policies and practices.

While Zuckerberg has argued Facebook protects and promotes free speech and democracy, the audit highlighted the presence of extremists, white nationalists and hate groups on the social network — and algorithms that reinforced existing opinions encouraging polarization.

“Unfortunately, in our view, Facebook’s approach to civil rights remains too reactive and piecemeal,” the audit said.

Some of the largest and most well-known businesses pausing their advertising are Adidas, Best Buy, Boeing, Coca-Cola, Colgate-Palmolive, CVS, Hershey, Honda, Levi’s, Microsoft, Pfizer, Starbucks, Target, Unilever, Verizon, Volkswagen, Walgreens and

White Castle.

Michigan-based Ford Motor Company and Beaumont Health have also joined the boycott.

In late June, Ford announced, “We are pausing all national social media advertising for the next 30 days to re-evaluate our presence on these platforms.

The existence of content that includes hate speech, violence and racial injustice on social platforms needs to be eradicated.”

Besides businesses, nonprofit organizations have also joined. ADL Michigan Regional Director Carolyn Normandin says the Michigan Jewish Democratic Caucus and the Detroit Center for Civil Discourse, founded by Rabbi Asher Lopatin, executive director of the Federation’s Jewish Community Relations Council/ AJC and the rabbi of Kehillat Etz Chayim in Oak Park and Huntington Woods, are among those groups.

While the boycott can hurt Facebook’s image and bottom line, smaller businesses, many with business models reliant on Facebook, provide the bulk of Facebook’s income. For example, its top 100 advertisers account for less than 10% of its annual earnings, according to the Wall Street Journal. Some media observers speculate that given the pandemic and the slower summer sales season, some companies paused advertising to save dollars and assess future advertising but will be back regardless of what Facebook chooses to do.

Greenblatt doesn’t buy it.

“I believe this campaign will continue to grow,” he said. “It will get more global; it will get more intense until we get the answers I think we are looking for.”

Learn more about the boycott at stophateforprofit.org.

Sholem Aleichem Institute Welcomes New Director CORRIE COLF CONTRIBUTING WRITER

T

he Board of the Sholem Aleichem Institute (SAI) announced that Hilary Duberstein has been appointed director.

The SAI is a secular, non-political Jewish organization that brings educational, social and cultural activities to its members and the communiHilary ty by incorporating Duberstein Yiddish, as well as English and Hebrew, into programming, especially during the High Holidays.

Duberstein earned her master’s of music in vocal performance from Indiana University.

She has been in Detroit Jewish for more than six years. Prior to moving here, she was the executive director and cantorial soloist for Moses Montefiore Temple in Bloomington, Illinois.

Since she planted her roots in Waterford, Duberstein has worked within Jewish education for multiple area synagogues.

Currently, she is working for Shaarey Zedek through its virtual platforms and is serving as cantorial soloist and spiritual leader for Temple Beth El in Battle Creek.

“I have bounced around in different Jewish educational settings, teaching everything from early childhood through middle school,” Duberstein told the JN. “I have previously taught private voice lessons, helped with Shir Tikvah’s special needs program, taught third grade at Shir Shalom’s Sunday school program and, prior to my job in Battle Creek, I was the cantorial

soloist at Temple Kol Ami and worked with its seventh graders to get them ready for bar and bat mitzvahs.”

With the SAI going on almost 94 years, Duberstein looks forward to revitalizing the organization.

“I was drawn to the idea of helping to rebuild the organization,” Duberstein said. “It has had a metamorphosis and has brought the idea that you can be Jewish and be connected culturally, not just religiously.”

Duberstein was also drawn to the SAI’s emphasis on music through its Moishe Haar programs, which honors the memory of its school principal and former institute director through music.

As director, Duberstein will overhaul the SAI’s website and get it up and running on social media platforms. She hopes that its social media presence will help it reach a demographic that it hasn’t reached before.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Duberstein is moving a lot of SAI’s normally scheduled programming to the virtual setting, including High Holiday celebrations. This will be the first time in the program’s history that it will be offering virtual programming.

“I would like to grow our membership and grow our programming. I would like to start implementing familyfocused programming as well,” Duberstein said. “I would also like to connect the older generation of Yiddish speakers with the younger generation.

“I look forward to expanding and growing SAI’s presence.”

JULY 16 • 2020

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Jews in the D

Learn to Save a Life We Need to Talk offers free, online suicide-prevention training.

BECKY MAISTER SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH NEWS

W

e Need to Talk, the youth mental health initiative of the Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Detroit, is offering free, online suicide prevention training to members of the Detroit Jewish community 13 years or older.

“Nearly all of us knows someone struggling with depression or a serious mental illness,” says We Need to Talk Amy Wayne Coordinator Amy Wayne. “Recently, COVID-19 has caused increased stressors and mental health issues for many, while at the same time has limited resources that people may

typically use to cope.”

During this time, suicide prevention skills are needed more than ever. Thanks to the generosity of the Zuckerman Klein Family Foundation, members of the community can access this training and the skills and knowledge to keep family, friends and co-workers safe from suicide.

The training is available through a program called LivingWorks Start. Participants do not need any previous knowledge or experience and once signed up, they have up to a year to complete the online training.

Training sessions take between an hour to an hour and a half and can be completed from the com-

fort of home.

LivingWorks programs have led the field of suicide prevention for more than 35 years. The program was informed by best practices in suicidology, education and e-learning principles. As of December 2019, 535 participants completed LivingWorks Start.

Follow-up studies indicated that 75% of participants were comfortable tuning into the possibility of suicide, and about 90% of participants correctly responded with “ask” as the follow-up to tuning in to the possibility of suicide, revealing the skills learned

during training were correctly put to use.

“Suicide is the second leading cause of death for young people ages 10 to 24 and is the 10th leading cause of death for all ages,” Wayne said. “Most people are surprised to learn they’re much more likely to encounter someone who’s thinking about suicide than someone who needs CPR. Yet suicide is preventable. With the right skills, anyone can help save a life.”

To learn more and register for LivingWorks Start training, go to wn2t.org/livingworks.

We Need to Talk This community-wide initiative, sponsored by Federation focuses on raising awareness about youth mental illness, and providing tools and resources for those in need of care. By bringing this issue into the light — and telling our stories — we can lift the stigma associated with mental health challenges and begin to address the problems we face as a community.

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JULY 16 â&#x20AC;˘ 2020

| 29

Jews in the D

Visa Freeze

President’s proclamation to have a negative economic impact, Jewish experts say.

LOUIS FINKELMAN CONTRIBUTING WRITER

B

usinesses that count on temporary workers from the federal VISA program face uncertainty after President Donald Trump issued a proclamation June 22 changing the rules for many classes of visa for the rest of this year.

The president said that allowing foreign nationals to seek permission to work in the United States would “present a risk to the U.S. labor market.”

The visa freeze impacts two classes of visa widely used in U.S. high-tech industries, where employment remains relatively robust. According to Eli Maroko of the Southfieldbased law firm Eli Maroko Jaffe Raitt Heuer & Weiss, blocking these visas, H-1B and L-1, is largely symbolic, not an effective way to protect jobs.

H-1B visas apply to highly educated professionals with specialty occupations. Most of the applicants, Maroko said, “are already here, typically having recently either completed their university degrees or a post-degree training period.” Even for those now abroad, “[the] start date for work would be pushed back only from Oct. 1 to Jan. 1, just three months,” he added.

L-1 visas apply to time-limited transfers within multi-national companies. Stopping corporate transfers, Maroko observed, “seems likely to have the effect of disrupting planning

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JULY 16 • 2020

without benefitting anyone and without improving hiring.”

Joe Marton, who provides relocation services at Germanbased Daimler, agrees: “We bring specialized engineers and experts to the U.S. to help with the company’s projects,” he said.

Marton said the company can find Americans for only a small percentage of those specialized roles. For “all the other tasks, if we could not bring the right person here, we would have to send someone from America to work with the right person at another hub.”

Two other visa programs frozen by the president typically provide U.S. firms with less specialized workers, often in lower economic professions.

Ruby Robinson, managing attorney at the Michigan Immigrant Rights Center, helps nonprofits obtain H-2B visas for temporary workers in non-agricultural work (such as landscaping and Ruby hospitality) and J Robinson visas (for exchange workers, such as camp counselors, interns and trainees).

Robinson sees the freeze as ominous in the context of initiatives to limit legal immigration, to refuse refugee status and to rescind protection for residents brought to the U.S. as children.

“The systematic dismantling, reinterpretation and weaponization of immigration laws over these past few years accom-

plishes and furthers these racist goals of reducing brown and Black immigration at all levels,” he said.

The visa freeze also promises to impact corporate relocation services, a huge industry. When a corporation brings a foreign worker to the United States, it calls on a network of professionals to Eve handle the details.

Avadenka Eve Avadenka of Huntington Woods, who has worked in this industry for more than 20 years, said Fortune 500 companies hire a relocation management company to subcontract every aspect of the move. That company then hires a destination services company, like Dwellworks, where she is a director.

“At the destination point, a foreign citizen needs a home, a Social Security number, a school placement for the children and similar arrangements … a driver’s license, a bank account and orientation to the local area to better understand the local culture, how/where to shop, the medical system, how to connect to the community and so forth,” she said.

The coronavirus has already slowed the relocation industry; the proclamation may impede the industry’s recovery, she added.

“The USA has been a world leader in innovation, in drawing talent from around the world

and at home, and in synthesizing new ideas,” Maroko said.

“This success [has] been fed by immigration policies that allowed creative, highly educated people and entrepreneurs globally to bring their talents and energies to benefit the U.S.” Steve Tobocman, executive director of Global Detroit, has long maintained that increasing immigration is key to the economic health of Michigan.

Tobocman said Steve that “this proclaTobocman mation will have a real and negative impact on local economy and jobs.”

The issue does not stop at the economy for Tobocman.

“Jewish people need to care for and address issues of justice and equity for all people, not just Jewish people,” he said. “As the grandson of Morris and Anna Tobocman, who fled in the decade before the U.S. restricted immigration from other Jews, I consider a critical part of my Jewish identity to work on building a more welcoming and inclusive America.”

Robinson agreed. “Freezing the issuance of visas on such a broad scale offends not only our Jewish history and tradition, but also our imperative to pursue justice (tzedek tzedek tirdof) as many of these individuals are coming to the United States to learn and help their communities across the globe when they return.”

Online Shop to Benefit Older Adults FRIENDS of Jewish Senior Life open Online Boutique.

JACKIE HEADAPOHL ASSOCIATE EDITOR

F

olks who enjoyed shopping at the three boutiques at Jewish Senior Life residences will be happy to know they can shop there once again — through the internet.

FRIENDS of Jewish Senior Life launched its Online Boutique at jslfriendshop.com.

The boutiques, run by volunteers, were frequented by residents, staff and community members who liked to purchase their favorite apparel and gifts (at great prices). Due to the pandemic, the shops closed in Mid-March, but now the community can still get a little “retail

therapy” at Sharon’s Boutique, Meer Boutique and Danto Boutique — all in one place, online — while also supporting JSL. Shoppers can find books, clothing, purses, home goods, toys, Judaica and more.

Merchandise comes from a wide variety of national vendors. “We’re always happy to have local vendors come in and show us what they have as well, said Leslie Katz, director of FRIENDS of Jewish Senior Life.

To minimize risk of spreading coronavirus, shoppers also will enjoy contactless delivery.

Once a purchase is made, FRIENDS will contact you within 24-hours for directions to where you can pick-up your order. “For those unable to get out to pick it up, one of our many volunteers can help deliver,” Katz added.

FRIENDS has been supporting older adults for 93 years, and continues to dedicate itself to enhancing the quality of life for older adults by engaging

residents and community members in volunteerism, outreach and fundraising in accordance with Jewish values while providing funding to support diverse programming for JSL residents.

All proceeds from the Online Boutique will benefit programs at JSL. “FRIENDS of Jewish Senior Life appreciates the community’s support during the COVID-19 health crisis,” Katz said.

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JULY 16 • 2020

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Health

Have We Truly

“Flattened the Curve?”

We asked the term’s founder.

CORRIE COLF STAFF WRITER

T

U-M

hroughout the coronavirus pandemic, the term “flatten the curve” has been used by health officials and federal and state leaders as a public health strategy to slow down the spread of the virus. The term was coined by Dr. Howard Markel, a Dr. Howard local Jewish medMarkel ical expert and professor at the University of Michigan.

Markel is the George E. Wantz, M.D. Distinguished Professor of the History of Medicine and director of the Center for the History of Medicine at the University of Michigan. He has written multiple books about infectious diseases, including Quarantine! East European Jewish Immigrants and the New York City Epidemics of 1892 and When Germs Travel: Six Epidemics That Invaded America since 1900 and the Fears They Unleashed.

The term “flatten the curve” was coined by Markel while he was conducting research on the 1918-1919 Spanish Flu pandemic, which he did following the SARS pandemic in 2004.

“I was eating a very bad noodle dish while we were working late at night,” Markel said. “The noodles were in some kind of Styrofoam container, so they all formed one big flat noodle, and

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JULY 16 • 2020

it was a joke that the flattened noodles were like the curve.

And that’s where ‘flatten the curve’ came from.”

After the SARS pandemic in 2002-2004, Markel was asked by the George W. Bush administration to work with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to help develop guidelines for a national response for future pandemic outbreaks.

“The one thing we were concerned about back then was avian influenza, or ‘bird flu,’ so that was the emergency or the thing that spurred this on,” Markel said. “The bird flu became a big problem for birds, but not for humans.”

so disruptive, economically and socially, you only use them for very deadly pandemics, such as the 1918-1919 flu pandemic and now with the coronavirus pandemic,” Markel said.

Markel’s research focused mainly on response measures known as non-pharmaceutical interventions, which use isolation, social distancing and lockdowns to slow down the spread of the virus.

During that time, cities throughout the U.S. had their communities quarantine, self-isolate, close schools and limit public gatherings.

Throughout Markel’s study, he found that cities that enacted these measures early on were

“The epidemic has certainly not gone away.”

— DR. HOWARD MARKEL During the Obama administration in 2009, there was also a flu pandemic, known as the H1N1 pandemic. According to Markel, that one was not much more lethal than seasonal flu and did not require the same extensive measures of quarantining and lockdowns. But now the COVID-19 pandemic is different: a much more serious outbreak that has necessitated extreme measures.

“Because these measures are

much more effective than other cities that lifted their measures too early and saw another rise in the number of cases.

His findings from his research on the 1918 pandemic are very similar to how the country is reacting today to the lockdown and social distancing guidelines.

“The people got restless, just as they did in 1918, and they wanted the various things lifted back then and currently,”

Markel said. “So, even though we lifted all those regulations, the virus is still circulating and is still out there. We’re now seeing bumps in several places, and so the curve is no longer flat. We have done all of these measures and we have endured a lot of economic problems, all for nothing because now we have a rise in cases.”

Markel’s research is reproducible and has helped influence policies that remain in place today for the country’s response to pandemics. Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has even used some of Markel’s graphs during her press releases throughout the course of the coronavirus pandemic.

As the country begins to open, Markel believes that we are going to see another rise in cases and that as a whole, “we are not out of the woods yet.”

Markel reminds people to continue to wash your hands, stay home if you’re sick, wear a face mask and try to minimize your exposure to the public.

“All our research does is help you hide for a while from an infectious disease, but it doesn’t cure it. The thing that ultimately will cure it is a vaccine,” Markel said. “The epidemic has certainly not gone away, and if we don’t start doing these measures again, a lot of people are going to get sick and some of them are going to die. It is a very vicious virus.”

COURTESY OF JEWISH SERVICE ALLIANCE

Jews in tthee D jews and racial justice

Serve the Moment New program connects Jewish young adults with social and racial justice volunteer projects.

STACY GITTLEMAN CONTRIBUTING WRITER

T

his summer a coalition of Jewish agencies and foundations will connect Jewish young adults with service and social and racial justice volunteer projects through a campaign called Serve the Moment. The program was created in response to the call for relief from the coronavirus pandemic, as well as the racial injustice that has long impacted Black Americans across the country.

Local efforts in Detroit will be facilitated by Repair the World Detroit, which is also moving to its new space at the Durfee Innovation Society (housed in the former Durfee Elementary School building) in July.

Running in Detroit from July 8-Aug. 7, Serve the Moment was created by the newly formed Jewish Service Alliance.

The initiative mobilizes tens of thousands in virtual volunteering, in-person service and national service campaigns around specific issues during the year. Jordan Fruchtman, senior director of the Jewish

Service Alliance, said the pandemic caused Repair the World to suddenly pivot its efforts.

As part of the Jewish Service Alliance, the organization received significant funding to fulfill the newly formed mission of responding to needs caused by COVID-19 and social injustices.

“Repair the World has created a response that is specifically tied to the effects of coronavirus,” said Fruchtman, who is based in California and seven years ago helped establish Detroit’s Moishe House.

“Everything we are doing in this program will have an underlying thread of addressing racial injustice. Our Corps members will serve in four areas: food insecurity, education, employment and mental health resources.”

Serve is also in partnership with local Jewish organizations that include the Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Detroit as well as the Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Foundation, the Jim Joseph

Foundation and Maimonides Fund through the Jewish Community Response and Impact Fund.

Sarah Allyn, executive director of Repair the World Detroit, said she is simultaneously in the process of filling 10 Corps positions, hiring a coordinator to oversee them and Sarah Allyn coordinating with nonprofit organizations in Detroit to evaluate and assess where the need is the greatest.

Allyn said the timing of Serve’s launch had a lot to do with how national and local agencies needed to take the time to process how the pandemic affected their organizations, the communities they serve and the disruptions it caused in the summer plans of Jewish young adults.

“In those first few weeks of the pandemic, we were all on survival mode,” Allyn said.

“We needed time to evaluate and assess the availability of

young adults whose original summer plans (of working as summer interns, Jewish camp counselors or traveling to Israel) were disrupted. Now, we are actually riding this bicycle as we build it.”

Allyn said Corps members will volunteer in a mixture of in-person and online capacities.

Detroit will hire 10 Corps members who will serve 32 hours a week, including taking Friday to participate in Jewish and social justice learning.

Corps members will receive a $500 stipend for the program.

Molly Lippitt, 22, of Bloomfield Hills has been selected as one of the first Corps volunteers to serve in Detroit. She recently earned her master’s Molly degree in educaLippitt tion in Spain and was planning on teaching there before the pandemic hit. As the daughter of Repair the World board member Robb Lippitt, she said she is excited to be following in the footsteps of the work her father began as well as carrying out Jewish values of tikkun olam she learned as a teen through BBYO and at Temple Shir Shalom.

“I am very excited to volunteer through an organization that my family has been long involved with,” Lippitt said.

“The Jewish values I have learned urge us to help out the wider community any way we can. As Jews, we know historically what it has been like to face oppression. I am looking forward to working as a Corps member with Repair the World this summer to work toward rectifying the systematic racism that has long existed in our country.”

JULY 16 • 2020

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JULY 16 â&#x20AC;˘ 2020

Moments

MAY 8, 2020 Jason and Stephanie (Summer) Pollak of West Bloomfield are thrilled to announce the birth of their precious son, Hudson Leo. He is welcomed by his loving brother Joshua, 16. Proud grandparents are Madelyn and Martin Summer of Clarkston, Cheryl and Sandy Pollak of Jacksonville, Fla., and Judie and Steve Goren of Tamarac, Fla. Hudson is named in loving memory of his great-grandmother Hilda Epstein and great-grandfather Leo Mandell.

AUG. 31, 2019 Lucy and Brian Bortman of Highland Park, Ill., are thrilled to announce the birth of their daughter, Shai Lillian. Sharing in their joy is big brother Leo George. Proud grandparents are Wendy and Danny Kahn of Highland Park, and Nancy and Phillip Bortman of West Bloomfield. Shai is named in loving memory of her maternal great-grandmother Shirley Berliant.

Levine-Jacobson

L

inda and Steve Jacobson are thrilled to announce the engagement of their daughter Arica Michelle Jacobson to Ryan Geoffrey Levine, son of Leslie and Ken Levine of Beachwood, Ohio.

Arica is the granddaughter of Louis and Sally Soverinsky (the late Marilyn Soverinsky) and Bernice (the late Alvin) Jacobson. Ryan is the grandson of the late Claire and the late Marvin Golden, and Phyllis (the late Allan) Levine.

A June 2021 wedding is planned in Michigan.

Goran 50th

F

ran and Michael Goran of Bloomfield Hills celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary on June 28, 2020, at an intimate dinner party given by dear friends of more than 50 years.

Spirit torah portion

Elevate Our Personal Space

R

abbi Menachem Mendel these disciples did not appreciof Vitebsk, (1730-1788), ate this perspective and could was one of the earliest not imagine any other way for Chasidic masters. He, together God’s presence to dwell within with other leading figures, left their midst. They simply could their homes in White Russia not understand that God is to and emigrated to the Holy be found wherever we Land in 1777. They settled are found; our task is to in Safed but later were make this a reality. forced to move to Tiberias I’d like to share one (where Rabbi Menachem thought resonating with Mendel’s burial site is me for some time during Rabbi Mendel this COVID-19 expetoday).

Polter It is fascinating to read rience. Perhaps we are his description of an epicurrently tasked with Parshat demic that took place in making God feel comMattot/ Massei: Tiberias and neighboring fortable in our private Numbers cities in 1786. According and personal spaces.

30:2-36:13; During normal living, it to his writings, the epiJeremiah demic caused the entire is easy to divide between 2:4-28; 3:4. community to remain in our community life (in complete lockdown from shul, school or office) Purim until Shavuot. and our personal life in terms of A story is told that several of meaning and spiritual purpose. the rabbi’s followers came to him Quarantine gives us the opporto complain that their spiritual tunity to inject an extra dose of standing had weakened ever holiness and meaning into our since they had not been able to personal spaces (our homes, attend the synagogue and other relationships and ourselves).

Jewish community events. Rabbi “For I am the Lord Who Mendel responded with the foldwells among the children of lowing: Israel” is telling us that God is “The verse in this week’s everywhere, regardless if we Torah portion (Numbers 35:34) consider that space to be holy or states in relation to not wavering mundane. Now it is our task to on the punishment deserving to make that a reality. a murderer, ‘And you shall not defile the land where you reside, Rabbi Mendel Polter is a rabbi at the Woodward Avenue Shul. in which I dwell, for I am the Lord Who dwells among the CONVERSATIONS children of Israel.’ The commenHow does the content and taries understand the meaning name of this week’s double to be that God dwells among the Torah portion connect to the Jewish people regardless of their three-week period in which status (‘even within their impuwe find ourselves? The verse rities’ — Rashi), and we should, states, “These are the jourtherefore, act in accordance with neys of the children of Israel His will so that we can create a by which they went forth out welcoming atmosphere for His of the land of Egypt”; doesn’t presence.’” it take one journey to leave Rabbi Mendel concluded the land of Egypt? by saying it is unfortunate that

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JULY 16 • 2020

| 35

sports HIGHlights brought to you in partnership with

SALITA PROMOTIONS

NMLS#2289

He’s a Boxing Promoter ... and an Orthodox Jew Southfield resident Dmitriy Salita patiently waiting for pandemic to loosen its grip on professional sports STEVE STEIN CONTRIBUTING WRITER

I

t’s been a challenge for Dmitriy Salita to survive in the world of professional boxing as an Orthodox Jew. He observes the Sabbath from sundown Friday to sundown Saturday.

That means no checking his phone, watching television, surfing the internet or driving, no handling of money, and no boxing or watching boxing shows he’s promoting during what’s usually a busy time of the week in his profession.

“I’ve always found a way to make it work,” said Salita, a former welterweight and junior welterweight boxer who retired from the ring in 2013 to devote his full attention to Salita Promotions, which he launched in 2010.

These days, the 38-yearold Southfield resident, who was born in Ukraine and moved to Brooklyn, N.Y., in 1991 with his family when he was 9 to escape rampant anti-Semitism, relies on his small staff at Salita Promotions to do what needs to get done while he’s away.

He said he has full confidence in his staff members’

Dmitriy Salita connects in a bout against Ramon Montano at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, N.J.

abilities to fill in for him. As for paying his fighters, he’s had to be creative to make sure they get paid on time.

Last year, Salita promoted the biggest event in his company’s history, a nationally televised undisputed middleweight championship bout between undefeated fighters Claressa Shields and

when the COVID-19 pandemic shut down the sports world.

Salita hasn’t presented a show since then. He’s even temporarily closed his West Bloomfield office until he feels it’s safe to open it again.

Among Salita’s fight cancellations was a May 9 bout between Shields, a two-time

Boxing has helped me with my Judaism, and Judaism has helped me with my boxing.

DMITRIY SALITA Christina Hammer, who are both promoted by Salita.

It was the first time that women headlined a Saturday night boxing card on the Showtime cable network.

The show nearly filled a 3,500-seat auditorium in Atlantic City, N.J. Everything was continuing to go well for Salita Promotions until March,

Olympic gold medalist and world champion, and MarieEve Dicaire in Shields’ hometown of Flint.

With Michigan slowly reopening, Salita has a plan for his next show.

He wants to put together a boxing card at the famous Kronk Gym in Detroit, hopefully by the end of August. It will be a made-for-television

show, with no fans in attendance.

He thinks the atmosphere will be more authentic and create more energy than the antiseptic shows being presented by ESPN from the fan-less MGM Grand in Las Vegas.

Salita has about 35 boxers in his stable, including Shields and former heavyweight title contender Otto Wallin.

The group also includes nearly a dozen boxers from former Soviet bloc countries who are being trained by Javan “SugarHill” Steward, nephew of the late fabled trainer Emanuel Steward, in the Kronk Gym. “There are so many good boxers, world-class boxers, in gyms who just need to be recognized nationally,” Salita said. “That’s especially true in Detroit. We’re the comeback city and home to worldchampion boxers.”

Salita’s YouTube channel, which gets 4 million views a month, includes “Train Like a Boxer” at-home workouts that he began posting in mid-April.

Salita had a 54-5 amateur continued on page 38

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JULY 16 • 2020

quick hits

BY STEVE STEIN

SARI CICUREL

Add another painful cancellation to the list of annual Jewish sports events wiped out by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The 36th annual Michigan Jewish Sports Hall of Fame induction banquet, normally held in the fall at the Jewish Community Center of Metropolitan Detroit in West Bloomfield, won’t be held this year.

That’s the word from Sari Cicurel, Zoom meeting to discuss Jewish News executive director of the Michigan High School Athletes of the Year and Jewish Sports Foundation, which pres- Rosen Scholarship applicants. ents the banquet.

The 30th annual Hank Greenberg Memorial Golf and Tennis Invitational, scheduled for June 8 at Franklin Hills Country Club in Farmington Hills, was canceled by the foundation in April.

The JCC Maccabi Games & ArtsFest, scheduled for Aug. 2-7 in San Diego, Calif., and Aug. 9-14 at Page University in Westchester, N.Y., was canceled in March by the JCC Association of North America.

Circurel said there are plans to honor the Jewish News High School Athletes of the Year and Dr. Steven and Evelyn Rosen Scholarship award winners, who normally are celebrated at the Hall of Fame dinner.

“The committee will most likely present the awards virtually,” Cicurel said. “We want to honor those kids and their hard work.”

GARY KLINGER

JOSH BIRNBERG

would be coming off their sumGov. Gretchen Whitmer has mer baseball seasons in game floated the idea of switchshape, and the weather would ing high school fall and be nice for a change at the spring sports this school beginning of the high school year, mainly to avoid the baseball season,” he said. large crowds that normally “I’d be concerned, though, attend prep football games. that if the high school baseball If the switch happens, Josh Birnberg season had to be cut short baseball would be played because of a virus outbreak, it would this fall. be two straight baseball seasons West Bloomfield High School baselost because we didn’t play this past ball coach Josh Birnberg likes the spring,” he said. idea, but he said he’d be shocked if If high school baseball is played as a the flip is done because of logistical fall sport, Birnberg said, it would need issues including scheduling games and to start in mid-August so it could be umpires. completed by mid-October.

“There are many pros and cons to “If the fall and spring sports are making baseball a fall sport this school switched, the state needs to let us year,” Birnberg said.

“On the plus side, I think the product know very soon,” he said. would be the best ever because kids There was quite a battle for first place in the team division of the B’nai B’rith golf league through seven weeks of the 16-week season.

The duo of Josh Baker and Josh Harvith led with 83 points, just one more than Marc Ruskin and Jeff Novick.

Baker and Harvith had a 27-18-18 record on the 63 holes played and Ruskin and Novick were 31-22-10.

Josh Harvith (left) Baker and Harvith had earned 5.5 points in the seven and Josh Baker matches and Ruskin and Novick had earned five points.

Here was the rest of the team standings after Week 7: Gary Klinger-Dale Taub (75), Larry Shapiro-Bob Shapiro-Chuck Houmaian (73), Lyle Schaefer-Ryan Stone (71), Mike Klinger-Kerry Chaban (71), Mitch Lefton-Stu Zorn (67), Rich LugerRichard Spalter (66), Jeff Vieder-Mitch Cohen (65), Aaron Herskovic-Brad Friedman (65), David Swimmer-Jody Mendelson (62) and Ryan Vieder-Adam Vieder (60).

Mike Klinger led the individual standings with 39 points. Locked in a four-way tie for second place with 37.5 points were Baker, Harvith, Ruskin and Luger.

Mendelson, Herskovic and Chaben all had 37 points. Larry Shapiro and the Bob Shapiro-Houmaian duo each had 36 points.

Nine-hole matches are played weekly by league golfers at the Links of Novi.

JULY 16 • 2020

| 37

SALITA PROMOTIONS

sports HIGHlights

ROBERT BRIZEL

ABOVE: Dmitriy Salita promotes a nationally televised fight between two-time Olympic gold medalist and world champion Claressa Shields and Christina Hammer.

LEFT: Dmitriy Salita’s hand is raised by referee David Diamante at Oceana Hall in Brighton Beach Brooklyn, New York, in 2010. continued from page 36

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record, and a 35-2-1 record in 12 years as a professional fighter.

The 2001 Golden Gloves junior welterweight champion and winner of the Ray Robinson Award as the amateur tournament’s outstanding boxer, Salita became a professional boxer that year at age 19.

That’s when he signed with Las Vegas-based Bob Arum, whose Top Rank promotions has represented boxing stars such as George Foreman, Larry Holmes, Oscar De La Hoya and Manny Pacquiao.

Salita never boxed professionally on the Sabbath, nicknamed himself “The Star of David,” decorated his blue boxing gloves with silver Stars of David and wore a yarmulke everywhere except in the ring.

“Boxing has helped me with my Judaism, and Judaism has helped me

with my boxing. If it wasn’t for boxing, I might not be as religious as I am,” Salita told the Washington Post in 2002.

“Every time before I fight, I ask God for help, even when I spar. You’re there all alone. The only one who can help you is God.” It was while he was living in Brooklyn that Salita became an Orthodox Jew. He attended services at the Chabad of Flatbush.

Salita trained at the iconic Starrett City Boxing Club in Brooklyn, starting when he was 13, and the Kronk Gym with Emanuel Steward. He moved to the Detroit area in 2016.

A Top Rank publicist said this about Salita in the 2002 Washington Post story: “Maybe every 75 years a good Jewish fighter comes along. Dmitriy is as rare as Halley’s Comet.”

PHOTOS COURTESY OF JOAN MICHLIN

Arts&Life art

Outdoor Art Orchard Lake Fine Art Show to feature Jewish jewelry designer.

SUZANNE CHESSLER CONTRIBUTING WRITER

D

uring a summer depleted of outdoor art fairs, the juried Orchard Lake Fine Art Show in West Bloomfield is holding on and will feature an artist who grew up in Michigan — jewelry designer Joan Michlin.

The fair’s organizer, Patty Narozny, met with township officials to keep the event going and arrange for measures against COVID-19. The event will run Saturday-Sunday, July 25-26, along Powers and Daly roads.

“Normally, the Orchard Lake show takes a year to plan, but planning for this summer began in late May,” said Narozny, who also arranges annual fairs in Florida. “It has been a challenge, but we’ve counted on our experience, education and flexibility.

“We will have about 100 artists, down from 150. We respect the choices of popular artists who feel vulnerable and decided not to travel even though artists have lost so much income because of event cancellations.”

Among the safeguards are greater distances between booths that will have extended open-air setups, hand sanitizer at every booth and handwashing stations.

Narozny hopes everyone comes with their own face coverings but will have a limited number

of disposable masks available.

Among the varied booths offering paintings, glass, clay and more, Michlin’s will be displaying deco-inspired jewelry and art boxes with elements that can be worn. There will be about 400 items, which Michlin made with her husband and fellow artist, Skip Ennis, in their Sarasota studio.

“My work is primarily casting constructed with a lot of unusual stones I cut myself,” said Michlin, who graduated from Harrison High School in Farmington Hills and was active at Congregation Shaarey Zedek in Southfield. “Some of my designs are centered around stones, and others are more about the sculpture. It just depends on my mood.”

Michlin and Ennis have worked together since 1976, when they met at the Memphis College of Art. They had a New York gallery for almost 30 years and then a gallery in Sarasota for seven years. While she does the original designs, he helps with color choices for stones and fabrication.

Ennis explained that there are seven fabricating steps, including setting the stones, in making each piece of jewelry. They work on 50-100 new designs a year,

Joan Michlin’s deco-inspired jewelry

and all are limited editions.

“We are excited that Patty has been working this out,” Ennis said. “We’ve never been able to do her Michigan show because it’s right after we do the Ann Arbor show, and we don’t have any jewelry left. We were scheduled for many shows this year, but so many are closing down.”

Michlin began participating in the Ann Arbor fair when she was 16.

“Michigan is my oldest following,” said Michlin, who has designed yads for Temple Sinai in Sarasota. “I’ve been making jewelry since I’ve been 12. I started at Camp Walden in Cheboygan, and I ended up teaching jewelry-making there.”

This year’s West Bloomfield event will have food trucks from Jackson’s Five Star Catering, Cosmic Burrito and Shimmy Shack, surrounded by shaded seating. Music will be performed

by One Love Reggae Band, Sheila Landis Jazz Duo and Dino Valle Trio & Hot Metal Groove.

Raymond James Children’s Art Activities will be part of the programming that includes a Youth Artist Competition sponsored by Bath Planet in addition to adult money awards.

Steven Kaplan, West Bloomfield Township supervi-

sor, has worked on the safety measures required at the fair.

“In light of the pandemic and many people having to remain at home while township residents are underemployed temporarily, this will give our residents and nearby residents outside of West Bloomfield an opportunity to engage in a fun-filled activity,” Kaplan said.

“I think most people are fastidious about maintaining health, and I’ll be there with other board members to walk around and encourage social distancing. Everybody entering the art fair will be required to maintain face coverings. The food trucks will be moved toward the southeast part of the fair, where it’s not as populated.

“We had to balance possible harm to visitors and vendors versus the need for people to maintain and continue with their lives. Studies show that the virus is not disseminated at the same levels when people are outdoors versus indoors.”

The Orchard Lake Fine Art Show runs 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Saturday, July 25, and 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Sunday, July 26, at Powers & Daly roads in West Bloomfield. $5 admission for those 14 and older to support the Institute for the Arts & Education. hotworks. org. (248) 684-2613.

JULY 16 • 2020

| 39

Arts&Life fashion

Ashley Gold shows off one of her designs.

Pandemic Accessory Mask holders are beautiful and practical.

STACY GITTLEMAN CONTRIBUTING WRITER

40 |

JULY 16 • 2020

COURTESY OF ASHLEY GOLD

A

shley Gold, former star and producer of the hit reality TV Show Hardcore Pawn, wants everyone to wear a mask in public and has designed an accessory chain to keep it in place after taking it off.

Gold, of Bloomfield Hills, has been in the jewelry industry for more than 20 years and “always wants to be first” when it comes to setting trends and creating something new.

When Michigan mandated that people wear masks out in public spaces, she created a mask chain with a clasp that can attach to many mask designs.

They are all available on her website, ashleygold. com. Gold will also custom design a chain to match a favorite color palate or show some school spirit.

At $45 per chain, she guarantees 48-hour delivery when ordered online, and she will start distributing them at select brick-and-mortar retailers around town as well. When the pandemic ends someday, Gold said the chain can be worn as a necklace to add a pop to any wardrobe.

“Everyone needs to wear a mask for public safety, and no one wants to lose them once they take them off,” said Gold, who also fabricates masks with sequined designs. “I thought the next thing people needed with the masks was a way to hold them in place around their necks when they are leaving a place like a grocery store and heading to their car in the parking lot.”

For nine seasons (2009-2015), Gold, with her father Les and brother Seth, created and starred in the hit reality show Hardcore Pawn, based on the family’s Detroit business, American Jewelry and Loan. Gold started helping in the store at age 7 and said this is where she learned about trends in the jewelry industry. The reality show was based on the family and staff ’s real-life reactions to the antics of customers trying to sell their stuff to the store.

After the show ended, Gold wanted to change directions in her career. She launched her at-home online jewelry business so she could spend more time with her children.

Gold offers an assortment of mask chains.

Sales have always been brisk. But now, in the age of coronavirus when customers would rather shop online, her jewelry lines, as well as the new mask chains she is selling, are doing incredibly well, she said.

The mask chains are one more creation by a businesswoman gaging what is

in demand and trying to bring it to her loyal online following of customers first.

“The mask sales are going great,” Gold said. “I am always trying to be on my toes and ahead of everything in the jewelry industry. I am grateful and thankful for everybody that followed me on this journey.”

Arts&Life review

The Kippah Drawer Under each kippah, there is a story.

Rob Granader

I

recently read a heartwarming short story that hit close to home. Actually, it hit closer to the cabinet my family stores our collection of yarmulkes in that catalog our attendance to simchahs over the years.

The Kippah Drawer, released in March by Alan native Detroiter Muskovitz Rob Granader, who now lives in Maryland, is the story of 89-year-old widower Yosi and his beloved drawer of kippot.

Yosi, nearing the end of his life, decides he wants to find a new home for each of his kippot by leaving one behind each week at a different simchah. He designs a touching strategy to give every last yarmulke away to help preserve the legacy and history inscribed in each one.

His ultimate goal, as Yosi explains, is that “someone might take these kippot with them and perhaps read the name and at least ask the question: Who were these people on these dates so long ago?”

Granader, who attended Hillel Day School and SouthfieldLathrup High, said he was inspired to write the story by something he saw as a child at B’nai David. “As a family sat in front of us with three men: one in his 30s and two in their 70s.

They all wore the same emerald green velvet yarmulke, every time they were in the sanctuary, without fail,” he said. “I once asked and was told they were the kippot from the younger man’s bar mitzvah. The two older men on either side of him were his father and his uncle.

“Every holiday those three kippot stared back at me. And even then, I knew there was a story on each head, under each kippah.”

Granader began writing short stories as an undergraduate at the University of Michigan where he earned a BA in English in 1989.

After earning a law degree from George Washington University in 1992, he spent the next several years as a reporter covering Capitol Hill and the White House. From 1994-1998 he published more than 350 articles and essays in more than 50 publications. He owns marketresearch.com, a retailer of market research information.

Relocating to London for a year in 2011 further fueled his passion for writing. His blog, In A Foreign Land (expatlondon. blogspot.com), chronicles his family’s time there.

Granader’s collection of thought-provoking essays and short stories, like The Kippah Drawer, are available for free at robgranader.com/shortrg.

JULY 16 • 2020

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ENTERTAINMENT: CATCH-UP, LOOK AHEAD, BASEBALL! The eight-episode HBO series Perry Mason began on June 21.

New episodes stream Sundays.

It’s set in Los Angeles during the Great Depression (1932). Mason (Matthew Rhys) is not yet an attorney. He’s a private investigator scrambling to make a living. Reviews range from very good to mixed (I like it).

There is only one Jewish actor with a big role in the series and, oddly, advance publicity didn’t specify his Perry Mason role. I now know that Justin Kirk, 51, shows up midway in the series as lawyer Hamilton Burger, whom longtime Mason fans know as Mason’s courtroom opponent. In the HBO series, Burger actually aids Mason.

(Kirk’s mother is Jewish, and he co-starred as the Jewish character Andy Botwin in the Showtime series Weeds.)

Palm Springs, a comedy starring Andy Samberg, 41, got great reviews at the 2020 Sundance Festival. Hulu bought the rights to stream it after a theater opening. But COVID-19 intervened, and it began streaming on Hulu on July 10. Basic Groundhog Day-like plot: Nyles (Samberg) and Sarah (Cristin Milioti) meet at a wedding and hit it off. The downside is that they are trapped in a time loop and have to live the day of the wedding over and over. Oscar nominee June Squibb, 90, has a small role as a grandma attending the wedding.

30 Rock: A One Time Special, airs on NBC on July 16, at 8 p.m. The main characters of the original TV show (played by the original cast members) reunite to help a friend with an

Justin Kirk

ad campaign. This special is openly marketed as a vehicle to promote current and upcoming NBC/Peacock network shows via appearances by those shows’ stars. No doubt, some will be Jewish, like Samberg, who stars in NBC’s Brooklyn, Nine-Nine, and Alden Ehrenreich, 30, a Peacock series star (Brave New World).

THE TRIBE ON THE DIAMOND (FOR A LIMITED TIME!) The special 60-game baseball season begins on July 23. Here are the Jewish players that almost certainly will be with a MLB club on opening day (rosters aren’t yet set in stone): Richard Bleier, 32, relief pitcher, Baltimore Orioles; Ryan Braun, 36, right fielder, Milwaukee Brewers; Alex Bregman, 26, third baseman, Houston Astros; Max Fried, 26, pitcher (starting), Atlanta Braves; Kevin Pillar, 31, right fielder, Boston Red Sox; and Rowdy Tellez, 25, designated hitter, Toronto Blue Jays.

Several players in the majors in 2019 aren’t on a roster for the special season: Joc Pederson, 27, a hard-hitting Dodgers’ outfielder, is still recovering from a hip injury; Robert Stock, 30, a Philadelphia pitcher, had a bad year in 2019; and Garrett Stubbs, 27, a 2019 Astros’ rookie catcher. Houston has two veteran catchers. They don’t need a third for a very short season.

On The Go virtual events | learnings

STAYING CONNECTED At this time of social distancing, the Jewish News will try to bring awareness to events/learning situations offered online by synagogues, temples and community organizations.

CAJE A LA CARTE MENU Not able to attend the full conference, but want to join for a few sessions? This year introduces a la carte registration. This option will allow you to pick which events and workshops you’d like to attend from a curated menu. Sessions are available through the end of August. Choose an event pass or individual workshops at newcaje.org.

LIVESTREAM CONCERT 8 PM, JULY 18 The Chamber Music Society of Detroit will present another chamber music concert: Michelle Cann at CMDetroit.org.

THE ARK PRESENTS 8 PM, JULY 18 The Family Room Series presented by The Ark in Ann Arbor will feature Dan Navarro, veteran songwriter. View on The Ark Facebook page.

Donations to the “virtual tip jar” support The Ark and participating artists.

ADVENTURE THROUGH ISRAEL (KIDS) 10 AM, JULY 19 Sponsored by Adat Shalom. Join Zoom meeting at https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84056209640; Meeting ID: 840 5620 9640.

LUNCH & SHMOOZE NOON, JULY 21 Jewish Women’s Working Network will hold a

virtual lunch and schmooze session joining women from Detroit and Partnership 2Gether Region in Israel to share experiences and interests.

Registration info: Marianne Bloomberg, 248-6424611 or Bloomberg @jfmd.org.

EVENT REWIND ONGOING On You Tube, experience Leaving Hatred Behind featuring Derek Black, a video recording of a program presented by the Holocaust Memorial Center last year to members. This talk explores timely issues of prejudice, how it is spread by organized hate groups and how to combat it.

JHSM

JHS TRIVIA NIGHT 7 PM, JULY 28 Jewish Historical Society of Michigan holds its second Virtual Trivia Night. Questions will be themed around Michigan’s diverse and fascinating Jewish history. JHSM’s Trivia Night is $10 for members and $18 for non-members.

Attendees should register by 9 pm on July 27.

For information, contact Kara Schuchman at kschuchman@michjewishhistory.org.

JEWS AND CIVIL RIGHTS LECTURE 7 PM, AUG. 6 Jewish Historical Society of Michigan welcomes San Francisco State University (SFSU) Professor Marc Dollinger on Zoom. Dollinger will speak on “Jews and Civil Rights: 1950s-1970s.” The lecture is $10 for JHSM members and $18 for nonmembers. Attendees should register by 9 pm on

IMDB

YIVO

The Ark in Ann Arbor will feature Dan Navarro July 18

Aug. 5. For information, contact Kara Schuchmanat kschuchman@michjewishhistory.org.

UPCOMING BOOK CLUB 7 PM, AUG. 12 The Jewish Historical Society of Michigan Book Club will discuss Replica Dodge

by Natalie Ruth Joynton. This is a virtual gathering on Zoom. Read the book and submit questions for the author. Cost: $10 for members, $18 for non-members. Register and submit all questions by Aug. 10 at noon. Send questions to kschuchman@michjewishhistory. org. Instructions for joining the Zoom call will be sent the day before.

A JOURNEY INTO FOOD YIVO Institute for Jewish Research collaborated with an esteemed cohort of chefs, restaurateurs, cookbook authors, scholars and writers for a free one-of-a-kind seven-week educational course, A Seat at the Table: A Journey Into Jewish Food. To sign up for A Seat at the Table, visit yivo.org/Food. Previews can be viewed on YouTube: Michael Twitty, “Culinary Justice” (Unit 2); Josh Russ Tupper, “Lox Slicing with Russ & Daughters” (Unit 1); Jake Dell, “How to Build a Katz’s Sandwich” (Unit 5); Liz Alpern, Ilan Stavans, and Jeffrey Yoskowitz, “Latkes with Mole” (Unit 3); Barbara Kirshenblatt-Gimblett, “Bagels” (Unit 6); Liz Alpern, Darra Goldstein, & Jeffrey Yoskowitz, “Ashkenazi Foodways” (Unit 1); Hasia Diner, “From Scarcity to Abundance” (Unit 3); Roundtable: “Ashkenazi Jewish Food and the Immigrant Experience” (Unit 3).

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

JULY 16 • 2020

| 43

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JOHN HARDWICK

Soul

of blessed memory

‘John

Always Said Yes’ DAVID SACHS CONTRIBUTING EDITOR

JOHN HARDWICK

A

s soon as John Jacobs graduated law school in 1971, he set his sights on making the world a better place — and doing his utmost to benefit the Jewish community.

“John really blossomed as an adult,” said longtime friend Marcy Feldman of Huntington Woods. “He got involved in so many community organizations. He really championed the underdog.”

It was Marcy, along with mutual friend Ken Bertin, John Jacobs who fixed up John with his future wife in 1968. “I saw Kenny and John standing on the street, and I went over to say hello,” remembers Marcy. “John said, ‘Do you have a girl for me to take out on Saturday night?’ and I said, “Yeah, sure, my friend Gilda.’”

Three years later, John and Gilda married, and the two set out on an idealistic quest to better the community — Gilda Jacobs through public service as a state representative and state senator and John using his grit and brainpower to aid Jewish people in need.

John E. Jacobs, 73, of Huntington Woods, a 2017 recipient of the William Davidson Lifetime Achievement Award of the Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Detroit, died July 1, 2020.

By day, John was a corporate and real

46 |

JULY 16 • 2020

John and Gilda Jacobs

estate lawyer. But after hours, he held leadership positions with Jewish Family Service, JVS, ADL, Temple Emanu-El, Tamarack Camps, Federation’s Annual Campaign and Federation’s Community Services Division, among other organizations.

John’s legendary dedication to the Jewish community lasted all his adult life. He was relentlessly available when there was work to be done.

“John always said yes,” said Federation President Beverly Liss. “He was tireless;

“He also led two missions of state legislators to Israel to help them better understand Federation’s programs. It was a natural milieu for John because he knew many legislators and he so well understood Federation and its agencies.”

As part of Federation’s Government Relations Oversight Committee, he lobbied legislators to win financial allocations for the Jewish, Chaldean and Arab-American communities.

AN OPEN HEART John served as president of Jewish Family Service from 1990-1992, said Perry Ohren, its current CEO. “He was passionate about helping people alleviate their impoverished situations,” said Ohren. “He was also very helpful in the early ’90s raising funds for the Windows Program, which was about domestic abuse prevention and intervention.

“Many people thought that we Jews don’t have social problems like poverty and domestic violence,” Ohren said. “John was aware of this and helped many Jewish agencies start programs to help people who were hurting.

“He was also very involved with our community’s efforts to help older adults.

John was outspoken that the Jewish community should be there until the bitter end for older adults.”

It was John’s efforts with the Committee on Jewish Eldercare Services (COJES) to

“John was a true mensch. He had a very big heart and a love for the Jewish community, for Israel and for his family.”

— FEDERATION PRESIDENT BEVERLY LISS very bright, very astute. He was able to strategize — a real problem solver.

“John was a true mensch,” Liss said.

“He had a very big heart and a love for the Jewish community, for Israel and for his family.”

Recalled Gilda, “John didn’t just show up at meetings. When he took on a responsibility on a committee or a board, he really got involved. He wasn’t the rubber-stamp kind of board member. People respected him for that. He asked great questions and worked for creative solutions.

assist seniors aging at home that eventually came back to benefit him when he was ailing.

“All of a sudden, the community was there to provide the services for John and for our family,” said Gilda.

“How lucky we are that our community has these resources when families are in need as well as the leadership of people like John and his Federation peers.

“John was an important part of creating an incredible support system and safety net for folks who need services. That is the

beauty of all of this.”

After graduating from the University of Michigan Law School, John worked for several firms, including serving as the managing partner of Mason, Steinhardt, Jacobs, Perlman & Pesick and practicing for the past 15 years at Maddin, Hauser, Roth & Heller in Southfield.

“John was a very respected, excellent lawyer — and very humble,” said Rob Kaplow, a friend and fellow lawyer at Maddin Hauser.

“He was a lawyer’s lawyer,” said attorney and friend Barbara Rom of Beverly Hills.

“Other lawyers would turn to him for advice.

“He wouldn’t brag about himself, but he would brag about his daughters, Rachel and Jessica, and Gilda,” Rom said.

FAMILY VALUES A major tragedy in John’s life was the death of his daughter Rachel at age 39 in an Amtrak train derailment in Philadelphia in 2015.

Rachel, who lived in New York with husband, Todd Waldman, and son Jacob, was an education executive and also co-founder of the group Detroit Nation, an organization to enable native Detroiters living elsewhere to contribute to their hometown’s economic and cultural development.

Rachel had a strong sense of community ties, Jewish values and social justice.

When John was ailing during the past year, daughter Jessica moved back to Metro Detroit from New York City with her husband, Joshua Steinhart, and children Lyle and Ruby. Jessica, a population health administrator, wanted to assist her parents in their time of need.

John and Gilda brought Jewish values into their home.

Every year at Chanukah, the family would pick a charity to contribute to instead of buying gifts. The family were members of Temple Emanu-El in Oak Park, where John once served as president.

“My dad gave to the Jewish community and, through his example, he instilled in us a commitment to service,” Jessica said. “People probably assume that my mom was the one who set that example, but it was actually both of them. My dad believed strongly in taking care of his community.”

Longtime friend Ken Bertin of West Bloomfield said, “John was not only my hero, but he was a hero to thousands of people.”

Added Gilda, “John was a giant in our Jewish community.

Giving back to the community helped drive him every day.

He left a great legacy, and I am very proud I was by his side all these years.”

John Jacobs is survived by his beloved wife of 49 years, Gilda Z. Jacobs; cherished daughter, Jessica (Joshua) Steinhart; dear son-in-law Todd Waldman. He was the loving grandfather of Jacob Waldman, Lyle and Ruby Steinhart; dear brother of Elizabeth Jacobs and Charles Jacobs; brother-in-law of Karen and Robert Wildau; he was also survived by loving nieces, a nephew and a world of friends.

He was the loving father of the late Rachel H. Jacobs; devoted son of the late Morton and the late Gilberta Jacobs; dear son-in-law of the late Hyman and the late Lillian Zalenko.

Interment was at Machpelah Cemetery. Contributions may be made to the Rachel Jacobs Fund at JVS, Jewish Hospice and Chaplaincy Network or a charity of one’s choice.

Arrangements were by Ira Kaufman Chapel.

SEYMOUR D. “SY” BERMAN, a retired dentist, civic activist and occasional kibbutznik, died on June 25, 2020, in Novi. He was 95.

Born on Dec. 15, 1924, in Detroit to Rose (Sklar) and Mark Berman, Sy graduated from Detroit Central High and then attended Wayne State University. He was drafted into the U.S. Armed Forces two years later, but after a quick report to Fort Custer in Battle Creek, he was assigned to duty as a dental student at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor.

After graduating in 1946, he met Rose Mendelson on a blind date. They married, had three children, three grandchildren and celebrated their 70th wedding anniversary in April.

For more than 50 years, Dr. Berman practiced dentistry, mostly in his Oak Park clinic only two blocks from the family home. He often walked to work and took pride in maintaining his skills and learning new techniques.

Active in Oak Park civic affairs, he led a successful but controversial campaign to keep “liquor by the glass” out of the city. The anti-liquor referendum passed in the 1960s and held fast until 2013.

Gregarious and intensely curious about people and the world around him, Sy had an adventurous spirit and an enthusiastic presence. He used his retirement as an opportunity to expand his horizons, volunteering to solve consumer problems on WXYZ’s “Call to Action,” touring visitors at the Cranbrook Science Museum and joining an Italian language and culture club. He traveled to Kathmandu, Nepal and Machu Picchu, Peru, determined to visit the world’s far corners.

“He was an excellent dentist, but he would also have been an outstanding journalist. He had all the skills: restless curiosity, independent mind, relentless interrogator,” said his son-inlaw Brian Dickerson, who is the

Detroit Free Press editorial page editor.

Sy combined dentistry with his interest in Judaism and Israel in his 60s, volunteering to work on Kibbutz Afikim in Israel for a four-week stint and then returning the next year.

As a young man, he was an inventive practical joker and never lost his quick wit and ability to find humor in any situation. Sy stayed active and engaged in the world, always willing to talk about politics, classical music or the latest movies.

Dr. Berman is survived by his wife of 70 years, Rose; his children, Laura Berman (Brian Dickerson), Paul Berman (Linda Shayne) and Joyce Berman (Dan Carol); his grandchildren, Robin Carol, Jack Carol, Lina Berman and Zachary Dickerson; his brother-in-law, Marvin Green. (the late Elaine Green); loving nieces and nephew, Karen Mendelson, Linda Mendelson, Michael (Beryl) Mendelson; great-niece, Anna Mendelson; many cousins and friends.

Interment at Machpelah Cemetery. Contributions may be made to American Technion Society, Morris and Esther Mendelson Fund, 6735 Telegraph Road, Suite 304, Bloomfield Hills, MI 48301, ats. org; or ORT America Michigan Region, 6735 Telegraph Road, Suite 375, Bloomfield Hills, MI 48301, ortamerica.org.

Arrangements by Ira Kaufman Chapel.

MARVIN COPLEY, 94, of Bloomfield Hills, died July 6, 2020.

He is survived by his nieces and nephews, Judy and Paul Glassman, Cheryl Austel, Sandie Curnow, and Lorraine and Dennis Raczkowski; great-nieces and great-nephew, Amanda Austel, Julie and Tom Schilling, and Danielle Moynihan; great-great-nieces and greatgreat-nephews, Logan, Jayden, Christina, Rachel, Jacob and Stephan.

Mr. Copley was the beloved husband of the late Nechama continued on page 48 JULY 16 • 2020

| 47

Soul

continued from page 47

of blessed memory

Copley.

Interment took place at Clover Hill Park Cemetery in Birmingham. Contributions may be made to a charity of one’s choice. Arrangements by Dorfman Chapel.

NINA ROSEN CUTLER passed away surrounded by her family on June 29, 2020.

She lived in c. 2009 Southfield, then Farmington Hills, then Bloomfield Hills. She was loving, compassionate, beautiful, kind, hardworking and deeply charitable.

Mrs. Cutler worked first as a teacher, then as a computer software executive and finally as a child advocate for the Casa Care Program. She loved art, theater, travel, yoga, exercise, red wine and, most of all, children.

She was a devoted wife and partner, dear friend, loving mother, supportive sister and incredible grandmother. She poured her heart into making those who knew her feel supported and was always asking, “What can I do to help?”

Contributions in Nina’s memory may be made to either the Alzheimer’s Association or the Casa Care Program.

ALENE FARBER, 72, of West Bloomfield, died July 9, 2020.

She is survived by her beloved husband, Dr. Robert Farber; sons and daughter-inlaw, Merrick Farber (fiancée, Denise Shaheen), Dr. Corey and Brittany Farber; daughter and son-in-law, Michele and Brian Elias; grandchildren, Rachel Arkin, Lindsey and Ashton Farber, Jake, Shane, Chase and Griffin Farber, Daniel Elias, Simon and Logan Shaheen; sisters and brothers-in-law, Lisa and Dr. David Moss, Anita and Larry Stollman; brother-in-law

48 |

JULY 16 • 2020

and sister-in-law, Dr. Sydney and Mae Farber; many loving nieces, nephews, other family members and friends.

Mrs. Farber was the daughterin-law of late David and the late Esther Farber; daughter of the Late Louis and the late Zelda Lofman.

Interment took place at Adat Shalom Memorial Park Cemetery in Livonia.

Contributions may be made to Gilda’s Club or to a charity of one’s choice. Arrangements by Dorfman Chapel.

HARVEY FRANK, 95, of West Bloomfield, died peacefully July 3, 2020.

After retiring from practice as a CPA, Harvey acted as an arbitrator for securities cases and was treasurer of his condominium association into his early 90s.

He was sports editor of the Michigan Daily in 1944 and remained a proud Wolverine every minute of the 76 years after that.

A lifelong tennis player, he was a 50-year member of the Detroit Tennis Club and competed in the United States National 80-and-over doubles tournament. He was also a tenacious and crafty card player and a New York Times crossword expert.

Mr. Frank was dedicated to, adored by and is survived by his loving wife, Esther Frank; sons and daughters-in-law, Jon and Jan Frank, Ken Frank and Nicole Ellefson; grandchildren, Andrew (Samantha) Frank, Charlie Frank (fiancée, Jess Waninger), Matthew Frank, Reid Ellefson-Frank and Emma Ellefson-Frank.

Contributions may be made to the Michigan Daily in Ann Arbor or to a charity of one’s choice. Arrangements by Dorfman Chapel.

MORTON A. FREEDMAN, of Orchard Lake and Boca Raton, Fla., died on July 7, 2020.

Mr. Freedman’s generosity and philanthropic nature led him and his wife to support many organizations and entities in their communities. Their contributions to Temple Israel included the beautiful outdoor sculpture garden.

Mr. Freedman also supported Mogen David Adom; in honor of their 50th wedding anniversary, he and his wife donated an ambulance for Israel. The couple’s other longtime contributions included the Pinkerton School for the Blind, the Jewish Federation, B’nai B’rith, Bias Chabad of West Bloomfield. He was a 33 Degree Mason and lifelong member of the Craftsman Lodge. He had a zest for life that he passed on to his daughters and family. He was loved by so many, and his smile and generosity will truly be missed.

Mr. Freedman was the beloved husband for nearly 67 years of Harriett (Bresoff) Freedman; cherished father of Dr. Suzanne Rivkin and Dr. Nancy and Dr. Gary Klein; proud grandfather of Dr. Aaron Rivkin, Ryan Rivkin, Julie and Dr. Spencer Schneider, and Dr. Jamie and Omer Bar-Ness; great-grandfather of Adeline Mollie Schneider, Ziv Aryeh Bar-Ness and Leona Sydney Schneider; loving brother of Natalie and the late Donald Canvasser, and the late Lewis and the late Marian Freedman; dear brother-in-law of Barbara and Erwin Gutenberg, and the late Marvin and Betty Bresoff. He is also survived by many loving nieces and nephews.

Interment was at Clover Hill Park Cemetery. Contributions may be made to Temple Israel, Rabbis’ Discretionary Fund, 5725 Walnut Lake Road, West Bloomfield, MI 48323, templeisrael.org; Magen David Adom, P.O. Box 96402, Washington DC 20090-6402, afmda.org;

or to a charity of one’s choice.

Arrangements by Ira Kaufman Chapel.

KENNETH FRENKEL, 72, of Waterford, died July 3, 2020.

He was full of life and laughter. He touched hundreds of students’ lives as a teacher. His passion for history was legendary to his students.

He found love again in the final years of his life and was able to travel until shortly before his death.

Mr. Frenkel is survived by his daughters, Jen and Dayna; his dear companion, Barbara; his brothers and sisters-in-law, Gary and Candy, Stuart and Judy, and Michael and Carol; many nieces, nephews and friends.

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

Arrangements by Dorfman Chapel.

DORIS GROSSBART, 90, of Las Vegas, Nev., a retired collections agent for Sears, Roebuck and Co., passed away on June 30, 2020.

Doris was born in Detroit to Mary (née Chayet) and Rudolph Hoffman.

Mrs. Grossbart is survived by two daughters, Linda Olshanksy (Harold) of Scottsdale, Aria., and Rosanne Grossbart of Las Vegas; son, Harold Grossbart (Karen) of Farmington; four grandchildren, Jason Grossbart (Amanda Herzog), Sarah Flores (Eric), Adam Olshansky and David Olshansky; three great-grandchildren, Lorelai Grossbart, Thea Grossbart and Ainsley Flores.

She was preceded in death by her beloved husband, Ralph.

Graveside services were held at Palm Eastern Cemetery, 7600 S. Eastern Ave., Las Vegas. The family requests that memorial contributions be made to Nathan Adelson Hospice. King David Memorial Chapel handled the arrangements.

THOMAS I. KLEIN, 85, of Bloomfield Hills and Longboat Key, Fla., died July 3, 2020.

He is survived by his wife of 59 years, Linda Zuckerman Klein; daughters and sons-in-law, Katherine and Peter Bresler, and Elizabeth and Stephen Brodsky; son and daughter-in-law, Jonathan Klein and Gretchen Goldburg; grandchildren, Alexander Bresler, Abigail Bresler, Matthew Brodsky, Joshua Brodsky, Nathan Klein and Charles Klein; brothers and sisters-inlaw, James and Heide Klein, and Dr. Richard and Muggsy Klein.

Mr. Klein was the devoted son of the late Dr. Alexander and the late Charlotte Klein.

Interment was at Beth El Memorial Park. Contributions may be made to the Thomas I. Klein Unmet Needs Fund at Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Detroit, 6735 Telegraph Road, Suite 260, Bloomfield Hills, MI 48301, jewishdetroit.org/donate-online.

Arrangements by Ira Kaufman Chapel.

MARC LESNICK, 45, of Los Angeles, Calif., died June 18, 2020.

He is survived by his parents, Mona and Michael Lesnick; sister and brother-in-law, Stacey and Aric Beyer; nephew and niece, Ethan and Isabella Beyer; many other loving family members and friends.

Interment was held at Clover Hill Park Cemetery in Birmingham. Contributions may be made to the Bear Hug Foundation. Arrangements by Dorfman Chapel. continued on page 50

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The JN reserves the right to edit wording to conform to its style considerations. For information, have your funeral director call the JN or you may call Sy Manello, editorial assistant, at (248) 3515147 or email him at smanello@renmedia.us.

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Soul

continued from page 49

of blessed memory

BERNARD VERN â&#x20AC;&#x153;LUCKYâ&#x20AC;?

LIEBERMAN, 95, beloved father, grandfather and great-grandfather, passed away on June 30, 2020, in Albuquerque, N.M. He was born in Detroit to Irving and Regina Lieberman (Kupferman). Lucky was good-spirited and always had a smile on his face, laughing and cracking jokes. He had the most positive outlook on life.

When asked how old he was, he would say he was 80 or 90 years young and would live to 100 or even 120. Lucky was thoughtful and giving, never forgetting a birthday or holiday and always offering to arrange for family to visit.

Lucky was drafted into the United States Armed Forces upon graduating high school in 1943 and honorably served his country for nearly three years as a paratrooper and medic in the 101st Airborne Division of the U.S. Army. He was deployed to the European Theater, where he parachuted behind enemy lines at Normandy on D-Day, earning several honors, including three Bronze Stars.

Lucky enjoyed bowling, especially in leagues, such as Bâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;nai Bâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;rith, horseback riding in his younger years, flying planes, dancing and watching shows on the big screen or stage. His desire to see the world, which started during his military service, continued throughout his life. Lucky and his wife, Goldie, traveled the globe, taking cruises and traveling to every country, except Greenland.

Lucky was active in many organizations over the years, including Jewish War Veterans, American Legion, VFW and Disabled American Veterans; and he was a Mason and a Shriner.

Mr. Lieberman was preceded in death by his

wife, Goldie; father, Irving Lieberman; mother, Regina Lieberman (Kupferman); sister, Rose Joseph (Lieberman); stepdaughter, Rose Debra Ostrovitz.

He will be dearly missed by his children, Peggy Ann Ziegler (Lieberman) and Gary Lieberman; stepson and stepdaughter-in-law,, Barry and Adele Berlin; stepson-in-law, David Ostrovitz; grandchildren, Jason and Amy Ziegler, Aaron Ziegler and partner, Phu Pham, Dale and Stephanie Ziegler, Mara (Ziegler) and Nathaniel Hawkins; stepgrandchildren, Romy Belton, Ari and Emory Davies, Shana Ostrovitz, Lenny Ostrovitz, Niki Berlin, Carey Berlin; great-grandchildren, Jacob Ziegler, Morgan Ziegler, Milo Ziegler, Lila Ziegler, Lillian Hawkins and Maxine Hawkins; stepgreat-grandchildren Grant Belton, Everett Belton, Edynn Davies and Kinley Davies. The family will keep Lucky in their hearts and celebrate his joy for life.

Interment was at Fairview Memorial Park Cemetery in Albuquerque. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to the Jewish War Veterans of America, the American Stroke Association or to a charity of oneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s choice. Please visit the online guestbook at FrenchFunerals.com.

EDNA â&#x20AC;&#x153;ETHELâ&#x20AC;?

MOORE, 89, passed away July 4, 2020, after a full, rewarding life.

She was born Sept. 29, 1930, in New York City to Lillian and Louis Mirtenbaum. She married Morris (Moogerman) Moore, who preceded her death in 2015.

Moving to Syracuse, N.Y., in her youth, she went on to attend Syracuse University. She earned a degree in chemistry, starting a career with Parke Davis

Pharmaceuticals in Detroit.

It was in Detroit that she met Morris and was married.

They started their family in Oak Park, later moving to West Bloomfield to raise two daughters and a son. She provided them with an awesome home, serving good food and incredible baked goods (â&#x20AC;&#x153;best Rugelach everâ&#x20AC;?).

Her Dodge Dart, matching her consistent energy, got everyone where they were supposed to be. She enjoyed mah jong with her friends, crosswords, jigsaw puzzles and gardening.

A voracious reader, she loved to travel, taking car trips with the family, never failing to visit the out-of-the-way lighthouse or with her husband to travel the world, overcoming his impatience and taking in every museum she could.

For her daughters, she

instilled the lasting belief that â&#x20AC;&#x153;gender be damned; women can do everything men can and then some.â&#x20AC;? In her son she fostered a love for gardening that balanced the impatience he inherited from his old man. Her grandkids have been heard to say, â&#x20AC;&#x153;Grandma Edna is best; sheâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s the most blunt and badass bubbie there is.â&#x20AC;?

Mrs. Moore is survived by her sister and brother-in-law, Grace and Alfred Newman; her three children and their spouses, Lisa and Michael Kurek, Daniel and Natalie Moore, and Renee and Ken Womack; grandchildren, Max Kurek, Isabella Zuccarelli-Moore, Isaac Moore and Henry Womack.

Those interested in making a contribution to her lasting memory may honor Sophia (Sophie) Kurek, her talented granddaughter, whose untimely

death came in 2014. Information can be found at the following link. dragonflykarma.com/ sophies-fund.

GERALD NATINSKY, 80, of Farmington Hills, died July 4, 2020. He is survived by his beloved wife, Jane Natinsky; son and daughter-in-law, Paul and Debbie Natinsky; daughter, Corri Natinsky; grandchildren, Harper, Hayden and Hope; many other loving family members and friends.

Mr. Natinsky was the brother of the late Steve Natinsky.

Interment took place at Bâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;nai Israel Cemetery in Novi.

Contributions may be made to the American Lung Association.

Arrangements by Dorfman Chapel.

GERALD ROSE, 83, of West Bloomfield and Palm Harbor, Fla., died July 3, 2020.

He is survived by his wife, Ruth Rose; sister, Beverly Siegel; many loving nieces and nephews.

Mr. Rose was the devoted son of the late Paul and the late Marian Rose; the dear brotherin-law of the late Lewis Siegel.

Interment was at Clover Hill Park Cemetery. Contributions may be made to a charity of oneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s choice. Arrangements by Ira Kaufman Chapel.

SHARON SILVERMAN, 82, of West Bloomfield, died July 3, 2020.

She is survived by her stepsons, Frank (Jill) Silverman, Harold Silverman; brother and sister-in-law, Gary and Susan Leeman of Farmington Hills; grandchildren, Erin Silverman, continued on page 52

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Soul

continued from page 51

of blessed memory

Makayleigh Silverman, Lexis Silverman; loving niece, Beth.

Mrs. Silverman was the beloved wife of the late Stewart Silverman.

Contributions may be made to American Cancer Society, 20450 Civic Center Drive, Southfield, MI 48076; or Congregation B’nai Moshe Sisterhood, 6800 Drake Road, West Bloomfield, MI 48322. A graveside service was held at Adat Shalom Memorial Park in Livonia. Arrangements by Hebrew Memorial Chapel.

DR. HARVEY ZALESIN, 83, of Birmingham, died July 6, 2020.

As an oral and maxillofacial surgeon, Dr. Zalesin was trained to recognize and treat a wide spectrum of diseases, injuries and defects in the head, neck,

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JULY 16 • 2020

face, jaws and the hard and soft tissues of the oral and maxillofacial region.

He will be lovingly remembered by numerous patients, dear colleagues and a world of friends.

Dr. Zalesin is survived by his wife of 60 years, Anita Zalesin; daughter, Sari Goodstein; son and daughter-in-law, Lorne and Dr. K.C. Zalesin; grandchildren, Ariel Zalesin, Daniel Zalesin, and Laila Goodstein.

Interment was at Adat Shalom Memorial Park.

Contributions may be made to Yad Ezra, 2850 W. 11 Mile Road, Berkley, MI 48072, yadezra.org; or Beth Ahm, 5075 W. Maple, West Bloomfield, MI 48322, bahm.org.

Arrangements by Ira Kaufman Chapel.

FANNY ZUCKERMAN, 96, of West Bloomfield, died July 3, 2020.

She is survived by her daughters c. 1990 and sons-in-law, Renee Zuckerman and Richard Pulford of Commerce Township, Hanita Zuckerman of Beverly Hills, Sherry and Larry Sklar of West Bloomfield, Sandy and Mark Gorosh of Beverly Hills; grandchildren, Jennifer and Paul Silverman, Brian and Leila Golding, Michelle Sklar, Ryan Sklar, Zachary Sklar, Marley Groskind, Jordan and Samantha Gorosh; great-grandchildren, Eliana Silverman, Nathan Silverman, Levi Silverman, Ruby Golding, Max Golding, Dove Golding; her loving caregiver, Lana Kostyuk.

Mrs. Zuckerman was the beloved wife for more than 30 years of the late Max Zuckerman; loving sister of the late Harry Haller.

Contributions may be made to Alzheimer’s Association, 25200 Telegraph Road, Suite 100, Southfield, MI 48033; Holocaust Memorial Center, 28123 Orchard Lake Road, Farmington Hills, MI 48334; Multiple Sclerosis Society, 29777 Telegraph Road, Suite 1651, Southfield, MI 48034; or to a charity of one’s choice in regards to mental health. A graveside service was held at Hebrew Memorial Park. Arrangements by Hebrew Memorial Chapel.

Correction The obituary for Eleanor Shapiro (July 2) should have indicated that she is also survived by her grandson, Michael Shapiro, and Alyssa Morris.

PINTEREST

Raskin the best of everything

Gone But Not

Forgotten Remembering Detroit’s Carl’s Chop House.

O

ne of the most successful merchants in the tire industry was put into the restaurant game by a strange quirk of fate … Carl Rosenfeld wasn’t too happy about it, but it worked out beautifully in the end.

After service Danny Raskin in World War I, Senior Columnist Carl was doing very nicely in the tire business when a friend of his from Cleveland talked him into investing in the Grand River Chop House.

It seems that the Clevelander was a little thin-skinned about certain federal laws governing the sale of potables and took a powder, leaving Carl with half of a restaurant and all of a tire store.

After trying for a while, Carl came to the conclusion that no man can serve two masters, so he sold the tire store and concentrated on running the Grand River Chop House with successful results.

Business boomed through the ’20s and when prohibition came to a screeching halt in the early ’30s, Carl was ready to cash in … In 1933, Carl’s Bar & Chop House opened doors across the street that were to continue swinging for years to come until its closure in 2010.

Carl sold more 4-H steaks and chops than any other restaurant in the country …

While Carl’s was primarily a steak house, he took a back seat from no man in offering a selective fish and seafood

menu … in his huge restaurant that sat about 800 persons at one time and gave him and his staff a good life, more wealth and security than ever.

ELIE’S RESTAURANT in Birmingham, plus being a coveted and highly respected eatery, continues to add “Impossible” suggestions from an Impossible menu … In addition to stuffed eggplant, squash and peppers, he has now added delicious Lebanese sausage.

DON’T GO OUT to eat soon in a restaurant and ask the server to do things for you if you cannot afford a 15% or 20% gratuity or just don’t feel you have to give one …

Remember that the price of the meal is for the food … The tip is for the person running around, serving you, refilling drinks, taking orders, cleaning up your mess when you are done, making salads, etc.

OLDIE BUT GOODIE …

The young man excitedly tells

his mother that he has fallen in love and was going to get married.

“Just for fun, Ma,” he says, “I am going to bring over three women and you try and guess which one I’m going to marry.”

The mother agrees and the next day he brings three beautiful women into the house and sits them down on the couch.

He says, “OK, Ma, guess which one I am going to marry.”

She immediately replies, “The redhead in the middle.”

“That’s amazing, Ma. You’re right. How did you know?”

“I don’t like her!”

CONGRATS … To Heckie Lazar on her birthday … To Marilyn Warnick on her birthday … To Sam Essick on his birthday … To Simone Vitale on his birthday … To Joe Smiler on his birthday … To Fran and Michael Goran on their 50th anniversary.

Danny’s email address is dannyraskin2132@gmail.com.

FRESH Daily Headlines

Delivered to Your Inbox. thejewishnews.com/newsletter

JULY 16 • 2020

| 53

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

The Legacy of the Phoenix and Redford Clubs

A

rthur Horwitz, publisher of the JN, recently provided me with a very insightful bit of information. While he was reviewing the usage statistics for the William Davidson Digital Archive of Jewish Detroit History, he noticed there were 59 visits to one particular page in the Archive: page 8 Mike Smith of the March 12, Alene and Graham Landau 1920, issue of the Archivist Chair Jewish Chronicle.

The headline for the page was “Phoenix and Redford Clubs Separate.”

This year marks the 100th anniversary of this “separation,” but why is this event so interesting to so many today?

Because the legacy of this event is relevant to Detroit’s Jewish community today.

First, one has to keep in mind that until the post-

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JULY 16 • 2020

World War II era, Jews were not allowed to become members of golf clubs or social clubs, nor were they welcomed into certain suburbs or neighborhoods in Metro Detroit. Even after the war, there were still restrictions at some clubs and social organizations until the Civil Rights Act was passed in 1964 and the Elliot-Larson Act in Michigan became law in 1977.

(A point of interest and comparison — the Detroit Golf Club did not admit its first African-American member, Detroit Mayor Coleman Young, until 1986.)

Few social clubs were open to Jews when the Phoenix Club was founded in Detroit in 1872. This is believed to be the first Jewish social club in the city. Until it closed in 1942, the Phoenix Club was an important meeting place for Jewish literati, as well as

a place to host meetings of Jewish organizations or Jewish celebrations, such as weddings and bar/bat mitzvahs.

For Jews who liked to golf, but could not be members of established area clubs, the Phoenix Club bought land in northwest Detroit near Grand River Avenue and Lahser for a golf course in 1913.

The Redford Country Club was incorporated in 1920. Leo Butzel was its first president.

And it was a great success.

The leadership of the RCC soon realized that the club could not accommodate all who wished to become members. They began to look for a suitable space to build a new course and club house.

The RCC leadership found an ideal spot at 13 Mile and Inkster Roads, near the village of Franklin. By 1926, a deal to purchase nearly 400 acres of farm land there was completed. Famed golf course design-

er Donald Ross was hired to create the course, and Detroit’s most famous architect, Albert Kahn, was hired to design the club house. The result was the Franklin Hills Country Club, which is, today, a central hub for Jewish social activities and, of course, Jewish golfers.

So, the legacy of the “separation” of the Phoenix Club and the Redford Country Club cited in the March 12, 1920, issue of the Chronicle is the Franklin Hills Country Club.

It is also a story of community building.

A feature story, “The Clubs,” in the July 15, 1988, issue is a good summary of this history.

Moreover, there are hundreds of pages in the Davidson Archives featuring the activities and history of the three organizations cited above.

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

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