DJN November 19, 2020 by The Detroit Jewish News

200 Nov. 19-25, 2020 / 3-9 Kislev 5781

From the

Shadows to the

Spotlight Mort Meisner battled childhood poverty, addiction and loss of faith to become a TV news kingmaker. See page 36

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contents Nov. 19-25, 2020 / 3-9 Kislev 5781 | VOLUME CLVIII, ISSUE 16

20 46

27 VIEWS

MOMENTS

ON THE GO

6-15

JEWS INTHED 16

Jewish Detroit Election Reactions Biden’s supporters optimistic; opponents holding steadfast.

SPIRIT

ETC.

The Exchange Soul Raskin Looking Back

Torah Portion

SPORTS 34

Maccabi Marriage Couple who first met at the 2008 JCC Maccabi Games in Detroit ties the knot 12 years later.

New COVID Restrictions Schools, businesses, Thanksgiving plans affected by three-week rule period.

Moments

Quick Hits

ARTS&LIFE 20

Home at Last!

COVID patient returns after seven months in hospital and rehab.

Mort Meisner battled childhood poverty, addiction and loss of faith to become a TV news kingmaker.

Jewish@edu 27

Shabbat Lights Shabbat starts: Friday, Nov. 20, 4:48 p.m. Shabbat ends: Saturday, Nov. 21, 5:51 p.m. * Times according to Yeshiva Beth Yehudah calendar.

ON THE COVER: Cover photo credit: Glenn Triest Cover design: Michelle Sheridan

Getting Out the Vote HMD Hillel mobilized students to turn out for the election.

From the Shadows to the Spotlight

47 49 53 54

Natural Allies

thejewishnews.com

Film promotes revival of the BlackJewish partnership for civil rights.

Supporting Each Other U-M students start Instagram account dedicated to supporting students during the COVID-19 crisis.

Celebrity Jews

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NOVEMBER 19 • 2020

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NOVEMBER 19 • 2020

Diana Lewis Anchor/Reporter ABC, WXYZ Detroit “Enough To Be Dangerous takes us on quite a ride!

Mort gives us a peek behind the curtains of the music business, the news business, and into the heart of a man who could have been defeated by a tragic upbringing but instead stuck to his passion and created quite a life! Mort gives back, mentoring so many himself and being a true force of positive change for black journalists.” “A GREAT READ!” Murray Feldman Former Anchor/ Business Reporter FOX, WJBK Detroit Now WWJ News Radio 950

THE MOST TIMELY BOOK ABOUT THE MEDIA THIS YEAR An unforgettable peek into a life fully lived and a legacy that’s leaving a powerful imprint on TV news and people everywhere.

Enough to Be Dangerous chronicles Mort’s against-the-odds success, and his courageous quest to call out sexism and racism in newsrooms in St. Louis, Chicago and Detroit throughout the 1980s and 1990s.

“I could not put it down. So compelling–honest–and helpful. A book that had to be written–because anyone who witnessed what you will read here certainly needed to write a book about it. A compelling story of struggles, determination, compassion-and love. And to be clear–as he does in life–Mort tells it like it is! No excuses! A heartfelt look at one’s life from within that may just leave you asking...what have I accomplished... what I have I done to learn from experiences and work to make this a better place?”

John “Bulldog” Drummond Former Mob & Crime Reporter CBS, WBBM Chicago

“A no holds barred look at big city TV news in its heyday. Mort Meisner tells of the highs and lows of running a news operation in Chicago, Detroit and St Louis. Meisner minces no words as he grapples with a drug habit that almost takes him down. Enough to be Dangerous is a great read.” Scott Lewis Award Winning Former Investigative Reporter FOX, WJBK Detroit And Current Owner of Scott Lewis Investigations

ON SALE NOW At • Amazon.com • BarnesandNoble.com • Book Beat in Oak Park • Paper Trail in Royal Oak

“I thought I knew Mort Meisner, former boss, and longWow, what an eye-opener! Mort bares all in a gripping tale of child abuse, sex, drugs, booze and rock and roll. Plus, amazing inside stories about the underbelly of TV news.”

Dr. Isaiah “Ike “Mckinnon, Ph.D Former Detroit Police Chief And Deputy Mayor

“I have known Mort Meisner for 35 years. He is one of the most positive individuals who possesses a broader picture of the world and of the common man. Mort’s story will grab your heart and touch your soul. You will love every page.”

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VIEWS Jewfro

Glass All Over the Floor

BRETT MOUNTAIN

Sarah Mountain, Board of Education Trustee, Berkley Schools As a woman Sarah Mountain and a mother, I want my children to see me in a leadership role as an advocate for them and their education. From the time my

NOVEMBER 19 • 2020

three children, ages 6, 8 and 12, started school, I’ve been a volunteer in their classrooms and on the PTA, most recently serving as the PTA president at our elementary school. As I transition from school volunteer to elected board member, I feel I bring a unique and important perspective and voice to the board. When I take my seat in January, I will be the only board member with young children in the district. The decisions that the school board makes impacts parents’ lives in a very concrete way; it’s vital for young families to be represented on the board and in the decision-making process. While I know it may be a challenging job at times, being a voice for young parents in the district — championing our incredible teachers and showing my own children what it means to be a leader and advocate are why I ran for school board. BRETT MOUNTAIN

ear that? The cathartic sound of the proverbial glass ceiling shattering on the presidential ticket. Drowning out the anti-democratic chanting Downtown and the foghorn of bullying, vitriolic disinformation Ben Falik we’ve been subjected to for the past four years. If you didn’t hear those shards hitting the floor right away, it’s because we are ever closer to gender equity in our legislative and local leadership. The further you go down the ballot, the more direct the effect an elected official has on your life. As my daughter and I were filling out our absentee ballot, it wasn’t lost on her that we know three of the incredible women we were voting for. And I know better than to summarize, synopsize, synthesize or speculate when I could instead ask them to share their thoughts with you, my incisive and empathetic readers:

Jaimie Powell Horowitz, Judge, 45th District Court Our district court system is Jaimie Powell where judges have the most Horowitz contact with our citizens and where we have great opportunity to effect meaningful criminal justice reform. I look forward to continuing the good work of Judge Appel and Judge Gubow

with Mental Health Court and Veterans Court. I look forward to expanding our diversionary programs and addressing cash bail reform. Many people fear the criminal justice process and the judicial system. It is so important — now more than ever — that we elect progressive leaders committed to transparency, improving access to justice and ensuring that those serving in our court system reflect the community racially, ethnically and religiously. Public service is a privilege. I will remember that every day I take the bench and remember that I serve my neighbors and the cause of justice. Regina Weiss, State Representative, 27th District I am excited, honored, and humbled to Regina Weiss have been elected to serve the 27th House District in the 101st Legislature, the first in Michigan’s history that will be majority female. I currently work as a teacher in the Detroit Public Schools Community District and serve as an Oak Park City Councilperson. In both roles, I have seen firsthand the devastating effects of the pandemic on our schools and communities. There is so much work to be done in Lansing to

continue to address the COVID-19 crisis and so many other issues that have been exacerbated by the pandemic — from the lack of access to affordable housing and water, to the need for increased economic security by guaranteeing paid sick leave, providing access to affordable childcare for working parents, raising the minimum wage and providing support for small business to be able to afford to keep their doors open. Historically, these issues have not been bipartisan, but I believe there is a lot that we can work on across party lines to put Michiganders’ health, safety and economic security first. Since the introduction of term limits, serving in the Legislature has been like running a relay race — you run as fast as you can and jump over as many hurdles as possible in the time you have to serve. Then you pass the baton to the next person and they just keep running. Fortunately, the 27th House District has a history of incredible leadership and service — David Gubow, Gilda Jacobs, Andy Meisner, Ellen Cogen Lipton and our current representative, Robert Wittenberg. I’m ready to take the baton on Jan. 1 and hit the ground running to continue building on the work that they have done to address critical issues in our district.

VIEWS

votes to Sen. Gary Peters.

editor’s note

Addressing Our Election Reporting The JN’s editor responds to a 400-person statement.

ince the election, I have been reflecting on how the Jewish News covered this year’s campaign, and if we lived up to our mission of meeting the information needs of our community. One story was especially contentious among hundreds of our readers. It concerned Michigan State Andrew Rep. Ryan Berman, Lapin a Republican who just won reelection. During the campaign, the Oakland County Democratic Party and other groups circulated releases that sought to tie Berman, a member of Temple Israel, to “militias.” The evidence was flimsy: a couple of out-ofcontext photos of Berman. These allegations arose after the FBI publicly thwarted an actual antigovernment militia’s kidnapping plot against Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (Berman forcefully condemned the plot). We ignored the “militias” release at first. But as the election drew nearer, the accusation seemed to be gathering steam. We all know how disinformation can circulate through a community when trusted news outlets ignore it. So as Michigan’s Jewish paper of record, we made a judgment call. We felt it was our duty to report on them and call attention to the facts. We talked to Berman himself. He issued a forceful denial of the accusation and provided context for the photos, which we communicated in the story.

A statement sent to the JN in support of Rep. Ryan Berman. You can see the

list of signatures on our website: thejewishnews.com.

This is also how we approached our election interview with Republican Senate candidate John James, whom Democratic ads were painting as an antisemite. That interview came under fire from some of our readers, as well, who thought we were being overly favorable to James. In both cases, the actual records of the candidates themselves were being overlooked. In both cases, we talked to the candidates and published their responses. During an already incredbly stressful election for Jewish

Americans, my assessment was that these lines of attack on candidates were irresponsible. We can talk about politics without trivializing the very serious issues of antisemitic and violent rhetoric in this country. So here are some political concerns I don’t want to lose sight of: This week, Berman joined a list of Michigan Republicans calling for Whitmer’s impeachment over her new restrictions intended to curb the spread of COVID-19 (see story, pg. 18). And at press time, James is refusing to concede an election he lost by 84,000

A STATEMENT Back to Berman. Many were angry the JN chose to pursue this story at all. Nearly 400 people, identifying from across the political spectrum, signed a statement that was organized by members of the Berman family and sent to the JN’s advertising department. The title was, “An Appeal For Human Decency.” It reads, in part, “Ryan Berman would never associate with radical militia groups or homegrown terrorists.” Though it does not mention the JN by name, it also states, “Do we think a story, so obviously crafted as a misrepresentation/manipulation of reality, should ever be run by a reputable newspaper or media outlet? The answer should be “NO” if our community and country have any chance of future civility.” It concludes, “Do not buy into, or participate in, smearing neither his good name nor the name of anyone, regardless of his or her side of the aisle.” Organizers wanted to submit this statement as a paid ad in the last print JN prior to the election. However, they missed the print advertising deadline, which is at noon Friday the week prior. An incomplete version of the ad was presented on Monday. Unlike daily newspapers, weekly publications like the JN require more lead time for printing and mailing. Afterward, some came to the conclusion that the JN had “rejected” the ad for political reasons or because it criticized us. I completely understand the frustration here, but this claim is false. Anyone is welcome to submit any ad they want to the JN, within the realm of acceptable dialogue for our publication. Further, no one on the editorial staff has any input whatsoever into advertising. In this case, the editorial staff had no knowledge of the ad, and we regret it was submitted too late to appear in continued on page 12

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VIEWS essay

A Psalm for Sheep A contradiction found in the most famous of all Psalms should lead us to reassess not only God’s nature but also our own human purpose.

seldom go to temple. But when I do, I always remain silent as the congregation reads, for words recited in unison can be all too easily uttered by the tongue alone and not by the mindful heart. On those occasions, I instead stare Stephen at the printed Bertman page, hoping that the meaning of words long-shackled by habit will rise up to meet me as though for the first time, their significance fresh and new. And each year, at least one passage I have seen many times before

inevitably surprises me with its hidden message. This past Yom Kippur, it was the verses of Psalm 23 that took me by surprise. What part of the Bible could be more familiar than the 23rd Psalm — but, perhaps because of that very fact, less truly understood? The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures. He leadeth me beside the still waters. He restoreth my soul; He guideth me in straight paths for His name’s sake. (Jewish Publication Society translation.)

Like a caring shepherd attentive to his flock, we are told, God nurtures us even as He guides us in paths of righteousness. But the literary mood of the psalm then darkens, becoming at once more personal.

protects us against harm and bestows blessings upon us.

Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, For Thou art with me; Thy rod and Thy staff, they comfort me.

Such divine protection and blessings, the psalm goes on to say, are guaranteed for life. Indeed, they may extend into the world to come, as the next verse implies.

Here the Lord is no longer referred to in the more remote third person, for the ‘He’ has now become a more intimate “Thou,” one who, we see,

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life; And I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies; Thou hast anointed my head with oil; my cup runneth over.

continued on page 14 EDITOR’S NOTE continued from page 10

that issue. I have since spoken about the matter with members of the Berman family who helped organize the statement and submitted it to the JN. As for the story itself, the JN stands by its reporting. We believe we were responsible in our approach to the allegations. We take our integrity as a journalism-based publication seriously, and this story fell well within our bounds, as well as our responsibility to the community. However, I also recognize that, to at least 400 of our readers, the story itself was seen as a breach of trust. So I’d like to say: Our intention was not, and is never, to “smear” any candidate. The

NOVEMBER 19 • 2020

JN has talked to Rep. Berman for many stories in the past, including a recent piece on his legislation to make it easier for victims of sexual assault at Michigan’s universities to sue the institutions. We will continue to call him for comment whenever the opportunity arises. He is a part of this community, as are all of the Jews who signed the statement, as are all of you reading this editorial. Our commitment to our audience that led our decisions throughout this election will endure after it — to inform our Jewish community of the truth, and to keep us functioning together as one Jewish community.

letters

The Plummers in Israel The outcry regarding Pastor Glenn Plummer and his spouse Dr. Paula Plummer (Nov. 12, pg. 28) reminds me of a similar case years ago when the Mormons planned to establish a center in Jerusalem. Both Mormonism and the Church of God in Christ are Christian denominations known for their proselytizing activities. In the Mormon case, they pledged to stay away from Jewish Israelis. Although for Evangelists the goal is to proselytize in order to hasten the Second Coming, Pastor Plummer said that his aim is friendship and building bridges, something that runs

counter to past pronouncements. His new title as Bishop Designate of Israel also is suspect. Israelis, no matter the degree of their religious observance, are proud of their being members of the Jewish people and are weary of any attempt to convert them. The suggestion of Dr. Pauline Plummer being the new “First Lady” is ludicrous at its core. Israel isn’t America, and Israel doesn’t have a First Lady, and this honorable couple should remember that if indeed their only aim in making Aliyah is friendship and building bridges. — Rachel Kapen West Bloomfield

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continued from page 12

Such words of comfort together with their seeming promise of eternal life explain why Psalm 23 is recited whenever we mourn or memorialize a loved one we have lost. They also explain why the image of God as “the good shepherd” went on to become one of the most popular symbols of early Christian art. Indeed, the psalm itself continues to occupy a prominent place in Christian liturgy to this very day. However, as I sat there in temple and reflected on what I had just read, I recognized that the psalm presented me with a moral contradiction. While its poetry conveys a message of comfort, all the more reassuring because we have heard its soothing verses intoned time and time again, the compliant sheep of the psalm would eventually be butchered. That nurturing shepherd, that “good” shepherd, who leads his naïve and trusting flock to pasture, would in the end deliberately convey some or all of them to their deaths. Thus, if we are to take the words of the Bible literally, we are forced to acknowledge that the benevolence of an all-powerful God is not merely temporary; it is ultimately a sham. Literary critics, no doubt, would be quick to point out that no metaphor, including this one, is perfect. Calling God a shepherd who cares for his flock does not mean that God must be the type of shepherd who also personally leads them to

slaughter. Our ancestors, however, did not let God off the hook so easily. Instead, they clearly confronted this contradiction in God’s nature: that He can inflict suffering on the very flock He purports to protect. The telling proof lies in the Book of Psalms itself where, in Psalm 44:12, God is pointedly accused of having abandoned his people to the savagery of their enemies. Thou hast given us like sheep to be eaten; And have scattered us among the nations. Throughout history the faithful would continue to be baffled by the realization that an all-powerful God could ever let such a thing happen. Never doubting God’s intrinsic mercy, in their frustration and confusion they could only appeal to Him to remember who He was and, in effect, come to His senses, thereby defending both Himself and His people. Hebrew prophets like Isaiah (1:12-17 and 10:13), Jeremiah (6:16-22) and Amos (2:4-8) for their part would deal with the contradiction not by reminding God of His inherent nature but instead by attributing human suffering to people’s neglect or perversion of His commandments. ANOTHER INTERPRETATION As a modern Jew, rather than accept the traditional notion of God as all-powerful and all-knowing, I

My STORY would argue for the concept of a limited God. An omnipotent and omniscient God, after all, would deserve to be blamed for all the natural and manmade evils that have ever befallen His creatures, including the Holocaust. The simple reason is that, having foreseen such evils, He could have easily prevented or at least mitigated them. By historyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s reckoning, then, a God whose powers are limitless would be a deity who not only can lead us beside the still waters but also knowingly steers us into the valley of deathâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s shadow where our enemies wait. A God who is limited in his powers, on the other hand, can be exonerated from such complicity. He is a God who kneels in anguish at Auschwitz, clothed in striped gray, a mute and helpless witness both to his creaturesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; immense crimes and their victimsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; boundless suffering. Our anguish is His anguish, too. To my mind, then, it is far easier to believe in such an imperfect God rather than argue obscenely, as some theologians have, that the infinite pain of countless victims is somehow excused by a capricious experiment

in free will, or condoned by the insensate calculus of a higher good known only to Him. In the face of evil, a limited God, you see, can still stand for justice and mercy and demand those same virtues from us, all the more so because He desperately needs our help in righting the worldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s wrongs. Thus I would propose to radically revise Psalm 23 rather than retain the text ascribed to King David and long revered by tradition, for as a realist I find it difficult to naively exhibit a boundless faith in Godâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s â&#x20AC;&#x153;goodness and mercy â&#x20AC;Ś all the days of my lifeâ&#x20AC;? or maintain the certain hope that I shall one day and forevermore â&#x20AC;&#x153;dwell in the house of the Lord.â&#x20AC;? Instead, I would commend to modern readers a version of scripture addressed not to unthinking sheep but to thoughtful and courageous women and men willing to help their limited God by sharing, with their own limited powers, the burden of redeeming the world. Dr. Stephen Bertman is Professor Emeritus of Classical Studies at the University of Windsor. He is a resident of West Bloomfield and a member of Temple Israel.

Hebrew Free Loan Board member Brett deMarrais describes himself as marginally involved in the Jewish community until he was recruited to join the BeckerMarcus Mission to Israel. Brett says it was â&#x20AC;&#x153;totally life changing. It really got my Judaism going.â&#x20AC;? At a post-Mission overview of Federation agencies, HFL Executive Director David Contorerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s description of the agency captured Brettâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s attention. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m a partner in a venture capital group, so the aspect of the loan capital recycling and funding the needs of the Jewish community interested me right away,â&#x20AC;? Brett said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;What took it from interesting to fascinating was the idea that you see the impact of HFL for yourself. Usually, when you donate or you serve on a Board, you donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t see the people on the other end of the donation, you donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t meet the beneďŹ ciaries of your gala dinner ticket, and you donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t know how much good youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re doing. The directness of HFL made me want to be part of it.â&#x20AC;? Brett spoke with current Board members, met with David Contorer, volunteered to be a small business mentor, and put himself in line for a Board vacancy because he felt HFL was his place. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve never done anything more meaningful,â&#x20AC;? Brett said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I have a deep sense of gratitude in my own life for what I have, and how I can use that to do good for others.â&#x20AC;? Brett said the agencyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s mission moved him so much that he and his wife established two funds, the Gil & Ellen deMarrais Memorial Education Fund, and the Marilyn Berman Memorial Fund, in honor of their late parents. They also discovered his in-lawsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; family connection to HFL founding member Jacob Lasky. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I guess that means it was meant to be that Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m part of such an amazing program,â&#x20AC;? Brett said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I can see a lot of good outcomes here. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s very powerful.â&#x20AC;?

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JEWSINTHED

Emotions Abound After Elections Following Biden’s win in Michigan, local supporters are optimistic while opponents are holding steadfast. DANNY SCHWARTZ STAFF WRITER

ore than a week after Election Day, after Joe Biden won a bitterly fought contest for the state of Michigan, members of the Metro Detroit Jewish community from both sides of the aisle are as outspoken as ever about what they feel is best for the country and the Jewish people as a whole. “I’m obviously very pleased with the outcome,” said Hannan Lis, former president of the JCC of Metro Detroit and former board member of the American Jewish Committee. Lis is a prominent donor to Democratic causes. “I think it makes Jewish Americans feel that they have a friend in the White House,” Lis said. “President-elect Biden has already expressed his support for the Abraham Accords and for the expanding of Israeli cooperation in the Gulf. I think he understands what Israel faces and reflects values that have been an American commitment to Israel, not a partisan commitment.” Eugene Greenstein, former president of the Zionist

NOVEMBER 19 • 2020

Organization of America’s Michigan region, believes President Trump made a “major difference” for Jews in Israel and America. Greenstein, speaking in his individual capacity, listed as Trump’s notable achievements the creating of the Title VI executive order targeting antisemitism on college campuses, recognizing Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights, helping to broker the Abraham Accords and withdrawing from the Iran nuclear deal. He’s wary of what he believes a Biden presidency might do. “If the Biden administration moves forward and does what it says, it puts Israel at risk,” Greenstein said. The Trump campaign has filed lawsuits in Michigan alleging voter fraud and seeking to cast doubt on Biden’s win on the state. But officials have debunked many of the allegations raised in court. Greenstein was a poll chairman and Republican poll challenger at the TCF Center in Detroit, where the state’s final ballots were counted.

Greenstein claimed there was a lack of transparency and said he saw “several” absentee ballot envelopes with names and numbers that were different from those on the ballot itself. “I’ll just leave it at that without trying to get into details,” Greenstein said, adding that the absentee ballots “should’ve been thrown out.” NO ‘CLEAR EVIDENCE’ Rachel Lutz, who was a nonpartisan poll challenger registered with the ACLU, worked on Election Day in her neighborhood precinct in Elmwood Park (on Detroit’s near-east side) and a little past midnight at the TCF Center. Lutz has heard the rumors of voter fraud but said she hasn’t seen any convincing evidence. “By putting forth allegations without clear evidence, those challengers who claim they’re there to protect our system are actually undermining our entire democracy,” Lutz said. Some alleging fraud at the TCF Center claim that Republicans weren’t allowed in to observe the ballot counting. Lutz said that only registered challengers can be allowed in the room, and full capacity was already reached by both parties by the time the “Stop The Count” protesters arrived.

Rabbi Alana Alpert, founding executive director of Detroit Jews for Justice and rabbi at Congregation T’chiyah in Oak Park, believes the election outcome is a step in the right direction. “It will be some time before we heal from the terror of Trump’s emboldening of antisemites and white supremacists, but we can breathe easier now that the threat of proto-fascism has been lifted,” Alpert said. “We’re under no illusion that Biden’s presidency will herald the kind of change this country truly needs, but we’re grateful to have a worthy adversary and partner in our struggle to win racial and economic justice.” Barbara Nickel, a West Bloomfield resident and Biden voter, is happy her nominee won but is especially happy the election process is over. Nickel hopes Biden maintains many of the outgoing president’s policies on Israel. “Where Trump shines is what he’s done for Israel, but his fault is what he did for the United States of America,” she said. Irma Glaser, National Council of Jewish WomenMichigan’s co-state policy advocate, believes Kamala Harris becoming the first female vice president is a watershed moment for women everywhere. “The thing I got out of this election is, we do have someone for all women and young girls to look up to,” Glaser said. “It doesn’t matter which party — it matters that finally a woman is recognized as maybe being capable of handling the government of this country.” Referring to Harris, Glaser said. “A woman has finally achieved a position of leadership nearly at the top of our U.S. government. Other countries have recognized women as their top leaders for much longer, but better late than never.”

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JEWSINTHED Whitmer

New Michigan COVID Restrictions Take Effect ANDREW LAPIN EDITOR

he state of Michigan has entered a new three-week period of restrictions intended to curb the spread of COVID-19, which is seeing record case numbers in the state. The orders were announced by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services in a press conference on Sunday, Nov. 15, and went into effect Wednesday, Nov. 18. Major new restrictions include suspending in-person instruction at all colleges and high schools, while allowing K-8 instruction to continue in-per-

son; closing all organized sports and group exercise classes; closing indoor dining at restaurants; closing all movie theaters, casinos, bowling alleys, indoor ice rinks and bingo halls; and strongly urging all businesses to work from home if possible. Private indoor gatherings are limited to two households at any time, with officials urging families to pick only one other household to interact with for the duration of the restriction period. The limitations will affect many Michigandersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Thanksgiving gatherings. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We are in the worst moments of this pandemic to date,â&#x20AC;?

Whitmer said at the press conference. Frankel Jewish Academy in West Bloomfield was one of the high schools that followed state orders and shut down in-person instruction. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We know that our highly skilled, experienced and creative teachers will continue to provide exemplary and meaningful instruction, and personalized support for each of our students,â&#x20AC;? wrote FJA head of school Rabbi Azaryah Cohen in an email to parents. Synagogues, along with all other houses of worship, continue to be exempt from the new orders. The majori-

ty of Michiganâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Reform and Conservative synagogues have gone all-virtual since the start of the pandemic. Following the new restriction announcements, Jewish Michigan State Rep. Ryan Berman (Commerce Township) joined a group of other Republican state legislators in calling for Whitmerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s impeachment. The Republicans claimed the governor had committed â&#x20AC;&#x153;impeachable conductâ&#x20AC;? including ignoring court orders and due process and â&#x20AC;&#x153;using our kids as political pawns.â&#x20AC;? An adviser on President Trumpâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s coronavirus task force, Dr. Scott Atlas, tweeted that Michiganders should â&#x20AC;&#x153;rise upâ&#x20AC;? against the new restrictions. The state of Michigan has confirmed over 276,000 COVID-19 cases to date, with 8,378 deaths. On Nov. 13, the state recorded a record high of 9,099 new cases in a single day.

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NOVEMBER 19 • 2020

At a celebration prior to Harve’s illness are Judy Disner; Judy’s sister and brother-inlaw, Tammy and Craig Skulsky; Harve Disner; and Judy’s sister Michelle Shafir.

Home at Last! COVID patient returns home after seven months in hospital and rehab. BARBARA LEWIS CONTRIBUTING WRITER

f statistics were predictive, Harve Disner would not be here to tell his tale of recovery from COVID-19. Harve (pronounced “Harvey”) had more than one or two pre-existing conditions that could have made him likely to succumb to the dreaded disease. He was 77 years old and overweight. He’s diabetic. He’d had a triple heart bypass surgery in 2016. But Harve is back at his Commerce Township home after a grueling seven months in hospitals and rehab facilities. “He’s the guy who by all means should not have made it through,” said his wife, Judy, who recovered from a very mild case of COVID that started at around the same time. Harve started feeling sick on Sunday, March 22, as the virus was beginning to spike in

Michigan. It was just a cough, which subsided a bit a day later, and a fever that was controlled with Tylenol. But by the following Friday he was very weak and starting to have breathing problems. His wife called 911, and an ambulance took him to Huron Valley Sinai Hospital in Commerce. “They immediately assumed it was COVID-19, though it took about 10 days to confirm,” said Judy. On April 4, Harve was put on a ventilator, which helped him breathe for seven weeks. A few weeks later, he had a tracheotomy, so a breathing tube could be inserted in his throat. Harve was in a coma for much of the first months of his ordeal and, when he was partially aware, he had hallucinations. He doesn’t remember anything about those weeks.

Harve came home to this colorful welcome.

At the end of May, he was moved to Select Specialty, a unit within St. Joseph Hospital in Pontiac that specializes in weaning people from respirators. Harve battled for two months alone. In early June, Judy was finally able to be at his side. “June 20 was his first day off the vent, and on July 21 they removed the trach tube,” said Judy. On July 30, Harve was moved to a rehabilitation facility. “He lasted 90 minutes,” said Judy. “They sent him back to Huron Valley Sinai.” Two days later, he suffered

a cardiac arrest; six minutes of CPR got his heart beating again, but he went back on a ventilator for six days. “Through all this, he had several episodes of pneumonia and double pneumonia, one infection after another,” said Judy. After he regained consciousness, Harve told his wife several times that he just wanted to die. Before she’d leave him at the end of the day, she’d ask if he really meant it. And he’d say, “Nope, I’m not ready to die yet.” “My wife never missed a day at the hospital or rehab facility,” said Harve. “She stayed as long as they let her every day — and continued on page 22

NOVEMBER 19 • 2020

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JEWSINTHED

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sometimes more.” This was not Harve’s first brush with adversity. His first wife, Susie, was killed by her brother, who had mental health problems, in 2000. Harve and Judy married in 2006. The Disners had hoped to celebrate their anniversary Sept. 4 by enjoying dinner together, but the rehab facility would not permit it. So, Judy brought flowers and set up a folding table outside Harve’s window, where she ate her meal while he ate his in his room. Harve and Judy at home this October. INSET: Harve and Judy enjoying their anniversary dinner, on opposite sides of a window.

WELCOMING HOME Finally, on Oct. 22, Harve was able to come home. Neighbors welcomed him with a colorful chalk drawing on his driveway.

An aide is with him eight hours a day, to help with activities of daily living, and physical and occupational therapists and nurses make frequent visits. He still tires easily and needs a walker to move about, but he’s working hard to be able to walk on his own. Though he is still very weak, Harve is once again managing his one-man business, Detroit Auto Brokers, by phone from home rather than from his Southfield office. But he’s cutting back on the number of hours he works, one of many lifestyle changes he’s made. He says he is determined to be healthier. “I have been given a huge gift of life,” he said. “I want to make good use of it.”

#GivingTuesday, The INTERNATIONAL DAY OF GIVING, is December 1. Thanks to the support of our donors, we’re responding to meet the needs of all who are counting on us during the COVID-19 Pandemic— making sure our community stays healthy and well, and our Jewish spirit continues burning bright. #GivingTuesday is your chance to make a difference— especially in a year like this one. Our goal is to raise $250,000 from 500 donors for the 2021 Annual Campaign. All donations will be matched, dollar for dollar, up to $180! Now more than ever we need your support. Will you step up on behalf of your Jewish community?

jewishdetroit.org/GT20

NOVEMBER 19 • 2020

MICHIGAN STATE

U N I V E R S I T Y N OV E M B E R 2 0 2 0

ENGINEERING POSSIBILITIES Underwater creatures may be key to medical innovations There is extraordinary work being done at MSU’s Institute for Quantitative Health Science and Engineering (IQ), thanks to a team headed up by neuroscientist and neuroengineer Galit Pelled and funded by a recent $2.35 million grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Brain Initiative Award. Pelled’s discoveries could be used to create prosthetics that humans can control with their brains, but in order to get there, Pelled and her team are drawing inspiration and insight from an unexpected study subject: the California octopus. Pelled developed a fascination with the octopus as an undergraduate in Israel, and now her lab is home to four of them, each held in a separate saltwater tank, where they are being observed and analyzed using waterproof motion cameras, artificial intelligence software and electrodes embedded in their tentacles.

Professor Galit Pelled (center right, standing) guides a team of researchers including students, post-docs and technicians. (Photo taken in February 2020, prior to the university-wide mask mandate.)

Armed with knowledge The octopus is a remarkably dexterous and clever animal, able to make precise movements with all eight arms, change its skin color for self-defense and communication and even regenerate parts of its body after an injury. “Each arm of an octopus contains an axial nerve that functions like a vertebrate’s spinal cord, yet with a limitless range of movement,” Pelled says. “This is why the octopus provides an unparalleled model to study central sensorimotor circuits associated with grasping behavior. If these movements can be described in mathematical terms, it may be possible to create an arm brace that a person could control with their brain.”

Seeing through to solutions The octopus isn’t the only underwater creature in Pelled’s lab whose unique attributes are contributing to innovations that will ultimately help humans. Glass catfish, a species of freshwater fish native to Thailand, are being studied, too, and for that, Pelled has the partnership of a fellow researcher: her husband, Assaf Gilad, professor of biomedical engineering and radiology.

Pelled and her husband Assaf Gilad, also a researcher, discovered that glass catfish possess a gene that helps them navigate murky water with help from the Earth’s magnetic poles.

The two came to Michigan State from Johns Hopkins several years ago, but both earned their university degrees in Israel—Pelled at Hebrew University in Jerusalem and Gilad at Technion Israel Institute of Technology and Weizmann Institute of Science in Haifa and Rehovot, respectively. For the last several years, the work of Gilad, Pelled and their teams has centered around a microscopically tiny part of the glass catfish: a single navigational gene that responds to Earth’s electromagnetic fields. Continued on page 2

NOVEMBER 19 • 2020

Engineering Possibilities continued

Treatment revolutions Gilad specializes in engineering genes synthetically, and has big plans for this one. “We will bioengineer synthetic circuits from three bio-parts—a switch, an amplifier and a reporter gene,” he says. “MSU will be the first to build such circuits that function as a synthetic biological device in mammalian cells

that will be remotely activated by a magnet and imaged noninvasively in rodents. “In synthetic biology, much like in electronics, we can use biological components to build a circuit that can perform a very specific function.” In this case, they hope the circuits can deliver revolutionary new treatments for diseases in

humans—for example, to suppress or induce genes that kill cancer, produce insulin for diabetics or serve as neurotransmitters for neurological disease. LEARN MORE about the work that Pelled, Gilad and their teams are doing at the Institute for Quantitative Health Science and Engineering at go.msu.edu/IQresearch

CURRICULUM SPOTLIGHT:

Growing in the Hebrew program at MSU by Yore Kedem, Assistant Professor of Hebrew Born and raised in Israel, I have been teaching Hebrew in American universities for over 15 years. For the Hebrew language program at Michigan State University, I teach regular courses at the elementary and second-year levels. In these classes, students begin Hebrew from scratch, and engage in many communicative activities in class and online. Beginning with Hebrew 101, students read, write and converse in Hebrew. Even in the online modality forced by the pandemic, students and I meet four hours per week, and the program maintains many of its strengths. As students advance through the Hebrew program, they work with authentic materials from Israel. In the second year, students watch and respond to Israeli videos and read newspaper articles. In Hebrew 202, students research Israeli sources, read or watch them and present projects in class.

Above: Yore Kedem, who teaches Hebrew at MSU. Right: MSU students on an education abroad trip to Israel in 2019.

NOVEMBER 19 • 2020

The skills developed through these activities Scholarship provides additional support for prepare students to conduct independent education abroad in Israel. research at an advanced level. Currently, I am Developing strong mentoring relationships working with three students who research with students is central to the MSU Hebrew issues related to Aliyah. One of these program. students, Pelli Mechnikov, reflected: “Taking an independent study in Hebrew turned out As Sami Chaben wrote after four semesters: to be one of my best academic experiences “Professor Kedem has not only helped me in yet, expanding both my Hebrew and research studying the Hebrew language, but he capabilities.” reminds me to always push myself and be the best student I can be.” The Serling Institute for Jewish Studies and Modern Israel provides strong support of LEARN MORE: about enrolling in Hebrew by Hebrew at MSU. All interested students can contacting Professor Kedem, who teaches in receive up to $4,000 in support from the Ed the Department of Linguistics and Germanic, Levy Jr. and Linda Dresner Levy Endowed Slavic, Asian & African Languages at MSU, at Scholarship for combining Hebrew with ykedem@msu.edu. education abroad in Israel. Students who minor in Jewish Studies also receive $1,000 LEARN MORE: about the Michael and Elaine per semester in support for taking Hebrew Serling Institute for Jewish Studies and from the Ada Weintraub Finifter Endowed Modern Israel; visit jsp.msu.edu. Scholarship in Jewish Studies. The Albert and Sharie Gladner Study in Israel Endowed

Rabbi Jenna Stein Turow is a new face at MSU this fall.

MSU students participate in a Zoom check-in via MSU Hillel.

MSU Hillel adapts to a very different fall semester As long as there are Jewish students—on campus, on Zoom—there will be resources, activities and fellowship to be found at the Lester and Jewell Morris Hillel Jewish Student Center in East Lansing. It all looks a little different this year, but that is a testament to the hard work and ingenuity of

Staff members are also trying to make a weekly trip to the Detroit area for a physically distanced in-person activity with Jewish students who are studying from home. On one such trip, they took Dairy Store ice cream to a park in West Bloomfield for a meetup aimed at freshmen. Many formerly in-person activities have been moved to Zoom—including baking for Challah for Hunger—but students need not worry about having the supplies they need in order to get the full experience. For activities that require ingredients or other materials, MSU

“Hillel has felt like such a safe space and has definitely given me a sense of normalcy in the difficult times. I feel comfortable studying and going to the building for an event, since everyone is strictly following protocol while making me feel extremely welcome all at the same time.” —JULES LEVY, ’21, President, MSU Jewish Student Union

the MSU Hillel staff, who spent their summer reimagining everything, from study hours to Shabbat dinners to the ever-popular Challah for Hunger baking events.

Hillel offers students the option to have a box of everything they need shipped to their home, or to come pick up a box at the center ahead of the event.

For the remainder of the fall semester, Shabbat-to-Go is serving up the Shabbat meal and the tradition in a pandemic-friendly format. Students have the option of stopping by Hillel on Friday afternoons to pick up a fully prepared boxed dinner, or preparing their own Shabbat dinner at home for themselves and their friends or roommates and being reimbursed for the cost of preparing the meal, up to $10 per person. Monthly Sunday brunches are also being distributed to go.

And, like always, small group fellowship activities and study hours are still taking place inside MSU Hillel, just with a few added precautions: attendees must sign in (for contact tracing if the need arises) and have their temperature checked at the door, and masks are always required. LEARN MORE on specific events and activities being offered by MSU Hillel at msuhillel.org.

Rabbi Jenna joins MSU Hillel This August, MSU Hillel officially welcomed Jenna Stein Turow as the new full-time Rabbi and Senior Jewish Educator. Fresh out of the Ziegler School of Rabbinic Studies in Los Angeles, CA, Rabbi Jenna— who also holds dual bachelor’s degrees in English and secondary education from the University of Maryland—has previous experience as a high school teacher and a lifetime of experience attending and working at Jewish summer camps. She also brings a passion for pop culture, experiential education and seeking authenticity from within and without, through creative expression and Jewish spiritual exploration. “I am excited to be working at Hillel because it is home to the future of the Jewish community,” Rabbi Jenna says. “Hillel makes space for young Jews to build community, and to connect to their Judaism in ways that are most meaningful to them as they discover and decide what values and ideas will shape their future—and how those values and ideas are present and related to the lives they are already living. “Being a rabbi to these students provides the unique opportunity to help them on this journey and to provide resources, insight, guidance and a listening ear as they become Jewish adults committed to lifelong Jewish community. “My rabbinic presence does feel particularly crucial in these times as students try to have the true ‘college experience’ during a pandemic, as I am able to provide support and an escape from life’s stresses. This is particularly true for me in my role as Senior Jewish Educator as I create learning opportunities that are fun, exciting and feel completely different from formal classwork.”

NOVEMBER 19 • 2020

CONNECT WITH MSU Tune in for Virtual Music The College of Music is offering virtual concerts throughout the winter. For a full listing, visit music.msu.edu/events

Send a Message from the Farm Want to make your loved ones laugh while also supporting the livestock at the MSU Extension Tollgate Farm and Education Center in Novi? Request a “Goat Shout-Out” from the farm’s resident goats at canr.msu.edu/tollgate

Receive Spartan Inspiration in your Inbox Subscribe to MSUDaily and MSUToday Weekly to receive timely news, groundbreaking research, inspiring videos, Spartan profiles and more: msutoday.msu.edu

MSU’s undergraduate program in supply chain management is RANKED #1 by U.S. News & World Report for the 10th consecutive year.

After four years of consistent improvement, MSU’s six-year graduation rate has reached a RECORD HIGH 81% in 2020.

Catch up on the latest from MSU

msutoday.msu.edu Explore giving opportunities

givingto.msu.edu Learn more about alumni participation

alumni.msu.edu This insert is published by MSU University Advancement, 535 Chestnut Road, Room 300, East Lansing, MI 48824; (517) 884-1000.

NOVEMBER 19 • 2020

ALUMNI SPOTLIGHT:

Love of school, law and caring for future generations led to scholarship Elaine Fieldman, ’76, created a scholarship to support MSU College of Law students.

When future MSU College of Law students receive the Elaine Fieldman Endowed Scholarship, the benefactor hopes it sets an example. “While Jewish people do not have a monopoly on giving back or engaging in charity, it has been my experience that Jews of all movements value and practice repairing the world,” Elaine Fieldman says. “I’m a Secular Humanist Jew and a member of the Birmingham Temple. I feel so at home there because of the Temple’s dedication to social justice and repairing the world.” She adds: “If you value your education and what you got from it, you should give back to help others have that opportunity. I loved school and I loved being a lawyer, but I know it is much more challenging financially for students today.” At just 23 years of age, Elaine graduated cum laude from Detroit College of Law (DCL) and began a clerkship for the Honorable John H. Gillis of the Michigan Court of Appeals, followed by a clerkship with Justice Charles L. Levin of the Michigan Supreme Court. Justice Levin asked her to stay on a second year, which she agreed to only if she could have two months off to visit Israel. After the trip of a lifetime working on a kibbutz and traveling, she was looking for a job. Justice Levin thought she would be a great fit for the Detroit firm Barris, Sott, Denn &

Driker. He was right. She joined the firm in 1979 and stayed until her retirement. While working, she earned her LL.M. from Wayne State University, raised a daughter and was committed to community service. She spent her first 13 years in business litigation at the firm, later specializing in commercial real estate lending, where she represented banks, pension funds and other organizations that loan money for commercial real estate development. She also got involved with what she calls professional responsibility, serving on and eventually chairing both the Professional Ethics Committee and the Attorney Discipline Board. Unsurprisingly, she was tapped by the MSU College of Law to serve on its board of trustees in 2010. She supported DCL’s move to build the MSU College of Law from the beginning. “I thought it was fantastic,” she recalls. “It gave us presence in the center of the state at a top Big Ten school with a real campus. I was impressed with how the college incorporated the foundation of DCL into something bigger.” With support from alumni like Elaine Fieldman, the legacy of DCL is sure to continue to thrive at MSU. LEARN MORE about support for the MSU College of Law by contacting Senior Director of Development Roxanne Caine at cainerox@law.msu.edu or by calling (517) 432-6324.

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for college students by college students

Getting Out the Vote Leah Berman } jewish@edu writer

lthough I had attended a few Hillel of Metro Detroit events, I had not really been involved my freshman and sophomore years on campus. But with the pandemic, and the continuing unrest in our country, I began to look for ways to make a difference in my community. This summer I told myself that if I wanted to see change, I couldn’t sit back and wait while other groups were fighting for basic human rights. Through Hillel of Metro Detroit, I became a MitzVote intern. MitzVote is a nonpartisan get-out-the-vote campaign. My job was to reach out to students to inform them about the election, help them get involved and register them to vote.

We held various events, including hosting Rabbi Saul Berman, who spoke about the Civil Rights Movement and his time in Selma, Ala., during the 1965 march for equality. We also spearheaded an Interfaith Panel Webinar with Madonna University, U-D Mercy and UM-Dearborn on How to Vote Your Morals — Featuring a Pastor, Nun, Rabbi, Buddhist, Muslim and Humanist. The event was a great success with 50 students submitting questions upon registration and meeting their peers from campuses around Detroit. I want to give a special shout-out to the other interns, Tania Miller and Sarah Timlin, to the MitzVote student committee, and to Sam

Leah Berman, Jenna Friedman and Tania Miller held up signs that said ”Honk if you’re registered” and gave away masks at Campus Martius in Detroit.

Appel, our Hillel adviser, and to the Hillel staff. We had the responsibility to do what we wanted with an adviser who was always there to guide us, suggest ideas and keep us on-track during the election process. Throughout my experience with MitzVote, I learned the importance of showing people why their voice matters and how the most powerful thing we can do as Americans is to vote. We have the power to

decide the fate of our nation. We may be diverse, but that does not mean we cannot unite. By being active voters, we can work together for a better future. Now that the election is over, I am excited about the upcoming next steps for our county. It is important that the American people stay optimistic, productive and open-minded. @ Leah Berman is a junior at Wayne State University.

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Supporting Each Other Two Jewish U-M students start Instagram account dedicated to supporting students during the COVID-19 crisis. Sarah Wish & Marissa Levey } jewish@edu writers

s University of Michigan students, we have experienced many stressors driven by the pandemic including the adjustment to online school, cancellations of milestones and loss of various experiences. We are Sarah Wish — a University of Michigan senior from New Jersey who was abruptly sent home from her study abroad program in Denmark — and Marissa Levey — a recent University of Michigan graduate who lost her last two months of senior year including her graduation. Through our own research and conversations with students, we realized that students everywhere were struggling. With no centralized resource to specifically support students, students did not have a way to navigate the constant influx of news

NOVEMBER 19 • 2020

and spread of misinformation during this time. We decided to create an Instagram account — sponsored by New York City-based Mount Sinai Health System — dedicated to supporting students during the pandemic. The Instagram account, @covid19studentsupport, is a platform committed to supporting students, by students, during the pandemic. Even though we are U-M students from New Jersey, our content is geared to support all students of all backgrounds from all campuses during these hard times. We aim to share scientific evidence-based COVID19 information, to support student mental and physical well-being, and to address common student questions and concerns about the virus. We hope this account gives

students a way to navigate this trying and unprecedented time, by acknowledging the challenges our peers are facing and promoting ways to cope with these difficulties. We aim to specifically address the unique stressors this demographic faces with content geared toward all students and young adults. Our account provides mental and physical health support, with posts about telemedicine services, destigmatizing mental illness, and free resources for improved sleep and physical activity, just to name a few. We also share unique ways to connect with loved ones who are physically distanced, such as virtual games to play and virtual date ideas. Additionally, we promote ways to shape our individual perspectives on the cir-

cumstances impacting our age demographic, including the cancellation of summer internships or the uncertainty about the pandemic. We also post funny an d relatable tweets and memes each week — because we all need comedic relief. We are so grateful for the success of our account thus far. With more than 2,000 followers, our content has generated support from numerous colleges, health professionals and Hillels across the country. If you’re a student or young adult interested in learning how to support their mental and physical wellbeing in quarantine, give us a follow @covid19studentsupport on Instagram! Everyone is struggling in their own ways, but know you are not alone in facing these challenges. @

IT’S TIME FOR YOUR NEXT STEP. LET’S TAKE IT TOGETHER.

The world has changed, but your drive to succeed has not. As you prepare for the next step in your academic journey, Wayne State University is committed to helping you excel. We’ve created a number of resources designed to support your degree goals. From online events that connect you with faculty and staff to a virtual tour that allows you to experience campus from anywhere, we’re excited to show you all that Wayne State has to offer. Our test-optional admission pathway allows you to apply without submitting an ACT or SAT score, and our numerous scholarship programs — like merit awards and the Heart of Detroit Tuition Pledge — continue our commitment to making a college education affordable for all. Take a virtual tour at wayne.edu/tour and apply at wayne.edu/apply by Dec. 1 for priority scholarship consideration.

NOVEMBER 19 • 2020

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Addison Sydney Camens, daughter of Jennifer Arkin Camens and Mark Camens, will lead the congregation in prayer as she becomes a bat mitzvah at Temple Israel in West Bloomfield on Saturday, Nov. 21, 2020. She will be joined in celebration by her sister Carli and proud grandparents Joane and Irwin Arkin, and Adele and Sid Camens. She is the great-granddaughter of the late Henrietta and the late Sidney Levine, Ida Arkin, Mildred and Hilbert Horwitz, and Ida and Nathan Camens. Addison is a student at West Hills Middle School in Bloomfield Hills. Addison

volunteered at Turtle Creek Farm Camp and raised funds to help feed and care for the animals. Zachary Colton Emmer, son of Debbie and Scott Emmer, will become a bar mitzvah at Temple Shir Shalom in West Bloomfield on Saturday, Nov. 21, 2020. Joining in his celebration will be his sister Lexi and grandparents Linda and Sidney Blackman, and Marilynn and Richard Emmer. He is also the grandson of the late Karen Blackman. Zachary is a student at Geisler Middle School in Commerce.

Ashlee Rose Frankford will chant from the Torah as she leads the congregation on the occasion of her bat mitzvah at Temple Israel in West Bloomfield on Saturday, Nov. 21, 2020. She will be joined in celebration by her proud parents, Richelle and Warren Frankford, and brother Mason. Ashlee is the loving grandchild of Francine and Marc Wise, Jack Frankford, Gail Rose and the late Michael Goodman. Ashlee attends West Bloomfield Middle School. Among her many mitzvah projects, she found it most meaningful to make and sell bracelets with proceeds donated to Comfort Salon Foundation. Mia Isabel Schlussel (Maya Yael), daughter of Amy and Jeffrey Schlussel, became a bat mitzvah on Tuesday, Nov. 17, 2020, during a Rosh Chodesh minyan at Hillel Day School. Sharing in her happiness are her older siblings Jacob and Lindsay and grandparents Maxine and Robert Carson, and Rosie and Mark Schlussel. Mia is a seventh-grader at Hillel Day School of Metropolitan Detroit in Farmington Hills. During her celebratory driveby, she collected kosher canned goods for Berkleybased Yad Ezra as her mitzvah project.

Ava Jessica Schmier (Yochana), daughter of Robyn and Jason Schmier, became a bat mitzvah at Temple Beth Emeth in Ann Arbor on Saturday, Nov. 14, 2020. Participating in the ceremony were proud grandparents Susan and Jules Myerson of Farmington Hills, Elizabeth Schmier of Boca Raton, Fla., and Jeff Schmier of Delray Beach, Fla. Ava is a seventh-grader at Clague Middle School in Ann Arbor. For her mitzvah project, she raised funds for Ozone House, a program for youth in need. Brady Miles Wilson, son of Stacy Bishop and Craig Wilson, will lead the congregation in prayer as he becomes a bar mitzvah at Temple Israel on Friday, Nov. 20, 2020. He will be joined in celebration by his sister Molly, proud grandparents Kathy and Alan Bishop, Laurie and Morrie Lefkowitz, and Allan and Ellen Wilson; and great-grandmother Rochelle “Shelly” Freedman. Brady is a student at West Hills Middle School in Bloomfield Hills. For his mitzvah project, he volunteered at the Temple Israel Garden of Mitzvot.

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First Families

ince I spend part of preferred Jacob, and Isaac each day working as preferred Esau. Their different a child psychologist, I approaches to their children find the Book of Bereshit, with led to extreme problems. its emphasis on family interacâ&#x20AC;˘ Sibling rivalry is normal tions, particularly interesting. but can be carried to extremes I often look at this when children vie for first book of the Torah the love and attention of as a compilation of their parents. Jacob and case studies on parEsau fought with each ent-child relationships. other from infancy. Jacob Often, the interactions later tricked Esau out of Rabbi Mitch the birthright. Later, he between the famiParker ly members in this tricked Esau out of his volume appear to be fatherâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s blessing to gain Parshat examples of dysfunchis motherâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s favor. Toldot: tional relationships. â&#x20AC;˘ Children learn how Genesis However, we should be 25:19-28:9; to behave by observing Malachi able to learn as much the behavior of import1:1-2:7. from our mistakes as ant others. Rebeccaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s we do from our sucbrother Laban was a cesses. What are some trickster. Rebecca later of the lessons and principles encouraged Jacob to trick his that we can derive from the father by dressing up as Esau. patriarchal stories of Toldot? Finally, Jacob married into â&#x20AC;˘ Just because two children Rebeccaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s trickster family and have the same mother and was eventually tricked and lied father in the same household to by his own children. does not mean they will â&#x20AC;˘ Communication is essenbehave in similar ways. Esau tial. Here, however, no more and Jacob were fraternal twin than two family members are brothers raised by the same â&#x20AC;&#x153;on stageâ&#x20AC;? at the same time. parents at the same time. â&#x20AC;˘ Childhood trauma can be â&#x20AC;˘ But Esau was impulsive. intense, but healing is possible. He had a short attention span Esau was so angry with Jacob and he required that his needs he threatened to kill him. But be met immediately. While years later, the now successful Jacob could stay in the tent, men were able to reconcile. Esau had to be on the move Bereshit continues to be one in the field. Classic Attention of the most read books of the Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. Bible. Perhaps that is because â&#x20AC;˘ Consistent parenting its characters, our ancestors, is important. It is vital that had to struggle and deal with mothers and fathers commany of the same family-relatmunicate their child-rearing ed issues that continue to face intentions. It is important they us today. May their lives and 1) use similar child-rearing stories continue to show us the techniques and 2) treat each paths to be taken. child similarly to the extent Rabbi Mitch Parker is the rabbi possible and 3) that they at Bâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;nai Israel Synagogue in West support each other. Rebecca Bloomfield.

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sports HIGHlights

brought to you in partnership with Judah Schulman proposes to Toby Milstein on a beach on Long Island.

Maccabi Marriage Couple who ﬁrst met at the 2008 JCC Maccabi Games in Detroit ties the knot 12 years later. STEVE STEIN CONTRIBUTING WRITER

quick hit

BY STEVE STEIN

Jeters Rise Up During the Inter-Congregational League’s Fall Softball Season

champion was crowned last month in the InterCongregational Men’s Club Summer Softball League’s fall season. The Jeters, who tied for second place during the regular season, beat the sur-

NOVEMBER 19 • 2020

prising Kosher Ribs 12-8 in the playoff title game Oct. 18 at Keith Sports Park in West Bloomfield. As with everything else this year, the COVID-19 pandemic was lurking in the background each Sunday during the fall season.

NMLS#2289

udah Schulman and Toby Milstein got married Oct. 18 in a small outdoor ceremony in New York. For the 28-year-old NYC residents, the nuptials were the latest chapter of a 12-year love story that began on a volleyball court at the JCC of Metropolitan Detroit in West Bloomfield. The two first met after a volleyball match at the 2008 JCC Maccabi Games hosted by Detroit. Each said it was love at first sight. Schulman, from Teaneck, N.J., was a 16-year-old basketball player for the Riverdale Y team. Milstein, from Scarsdale, N.Y., was a member of the MidWestchester volleyball team. One of Schulman’s basketball teammates was dating a member of the Mid-Westchester volleyball team. That’s how Schulman ended up at Milstein’s volleyball match on Aug. 20, 2008, the day before her 16th birthday. “I saw Toby playing and cheering with such passion and enthusiasm and thought, ‘Wow, this girl is so cute. I have to introduce myself to her,’” Schulman said. “So, I walked up to her after the match and did just that.”

What was Milstein’s first impression of Schulman? “He was incredibly handsome,” she said. “I could hardly believe this tall, blond-haired cute guy was real. It didn’t take me long to realize the irony of having just met my own ‘Judah Maccabee’ at the Maccabi Games. That may have been a little wink from above.” Schulman said the two were “basically inseparable” at the Maccabi Games after they met. They watched each other’s competitions, texted each other and met at evening activities. Their relationship continued after they returned home, just before the start of their junior year in high school. There was texting, phone calls, Skype dates and group get-togethers in New York City. That was the best they could do in an era before smart phones and FaceTime calls. “We were lucky to live decently close to one another [45 minutes apart], so we could meet up with friends in the city,” Milstein said. The couple was together for three years, then scaled back to being close friends for six years as college, careers and Schulman’s

But the six teams each played all 10 regular-season games and the one-day, fivegame, single-elimination playoffs went off without a hitch. “There was a sense of normalcy when we were out there playing this summer and fall. We got to spend some time outdoors and take our minds off what’s going on in the world,” said Jeters manager Victor Uzansky. Pandemic-required rules like no tags that were in place during the league’s summer season were also enforced

during the fall season. “Everyone got used to the new rules,” Uzansky said. “We were excited about getting a chance to play.” SHAEF was a perfect 10-0 during the fall regular season and earned the No. 1 seed for the playoffs. The Jeters (6-4), Marble Rye (6-4), Kosher Ribs (4-5-1), The Sandlot (2-8) and Bad News Jews (1-8-1) rounded out the regular-season standings. Kosher Ribs beat The Sandlot 8-2 and Marble Rye beat Bad News Jews 13-3 in

gap year in Israel that included basic training with the Israel Defense Forces took precedence. FALLING IN LOVE They began dating again in summer 2017. “We came to the realization then that being close friends wasn’t adequate. We loved each other,” Milstein said. The two were living together by the following summer, and Schulman proposed to Milstein on May 3 on a beach on Long Island after having several elaborate plans to pop the question scrapped because of the COVID-19 pandemic. “I was clueless that Judah was going to propose to me that day. He totally surprised me,” Milstein said. Longtime Detroit JCC Maccabi delegation head Karen Gordon learned about the engaged couple from the JCC Association of North America this summer and put together a box of memorabilia from the 2008 Maccabi Games that eventually will get to the newlyweds. The box is filled with a blue duffel bag, smaller white bag, copy of the opening ceremony video, pins and a poster designed by famed Brazilian artist Romero Britto.

Gordon said she’s aware of other couples that met at Maccabi Games hosted by Detroit and later got married, but Schulman and Milstein are probably the first couple that came from different visiting delegations. Besides meeting her future husband at the 2008 Maccabi Games, Milstein became close with her host family, the Sandbergs. “I remain in touch with my ‘host sisters,’ Erinn and Lauren. I visited Erinn at the University of Michigan a few years after the [2008] Maccabi Games,” Milstein said. “I’ll never forget the Sandbergs’ graciousness and the way I felt like I became part of their family.” Schulman and Millstein live in the Greenwich Village section of New York City and are busy with their careers. Schulman is a senior vice president at CAIS, a financial services and fintech company. He covers the Midwest for CAIS and is frequently in Bloomfield Hills. Milstein is a second-year MBA student at Columbia Business School. She’s also an intern at the MetaProp venture capital firm that focuses on the real estate technology industry.

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have a healthy and safe thanksgiving! first-round playoff games. There was a shocker in the playoff semifinals. Kosher Ribs beat SHAEF 5-4. The Jeters beat Marble Rye 16-10 in the other semifinal game, setting up their title game against Kosher Ribs. “We knew Kosher Ribs was coming off a huge win [over SHAEF] and they were a good team, but we were confident we could beat them in the championship game,” Uzansky said. “We’d split with them during the regular season, losing when

we only had eight players.” Here are the Jeters players, listed with their summer Inter-Congregational League team: Temple Israel — Victor Uzansky, Benjamin Uzansky, Ryan Schneider, Andrew Schneider, Jeff Katzen, Jeff Kaplan and Evan Fisher; Adat Shalom Synagogue — Wes Lamey and Marc Wasser; Temple Shir Shalom — Michael Bloch and Eric Mintz; Congregation Beth Ahm — Eric Woolf.

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NOVEMBER 19 • 2020

ARTS&LIFE ON THE COVER

From the

Shadows to the

Mort Meisner battled childhood poverty, addiction and loss of faith to become a TV news kingmaker.

Spotlight JACKIE HEADAPOHL ASSOCIATE EDITOR

I COURTESY OF MORT MEISNER

n his recently released memoir and Amazon bestseller Enough to Be Dangerous, Mort Meisner, president of a TV news talent agen-

Mort with his parents while he was at WLS (ABC in Chicago) in 1983.

cy and PR agency in Royal Oak, dishes about his career as a concert promoter — promoting acts such as Kiss and Bruce Springsteen while attending Oak Park High School — and his TV news career, growing up in an abusive household and overcoming a cocaine addiction. The book has garnered great reviews — well deserved. It’s a fun dive into the experiences of a largerthan-life character who takes the reader on a no-holds-barred and honest ride through his 43-year career in broadcast news, which began at WXYZ-ABC in Detroit, took him to major network stations in Chicago and St. Louis, and concluded at Detroit’s WJBK Fox 2 News. Many faces familiar to Detroit TV viewers were mentored and/or represented by Mort: at Channel 7 (including Glenda Lewis, Jennifer Schanz and Diana Lewis), and at Channel 2 (Taryn Asher). He also helped bring popular anchor Huel Perkins to Fox 2 News. “One of the reasons I wrote this

book is to expose what happens behind closed doors in the media,” he said. Prior to the book’s release, Mort blogged about many times in his career when he witnessed female co-workers endure sexist behavior from their male colleagues, and Black co-workers were shut out of job opportunities by high-level white men. He said that TV news managers would use offensive labels for black male reporters, calling them “garbagemen” and assigning them the worst stories. “Unfortunately, the racism and sexism that I witnessed during the ’80s and ’90s are still a problem in some newsrooms,” he added. He also writes about getting addicted to cocaine along the way. “I pissed away a lot of money and a $100K a year job. Am I ashamed? No, but I was. Do I have guilt? No, but I did,” he said. “Because of my drug addiction, I met people I otherwise would not have met, including my best friend in Texas and a guy I have coffee with every day.” continued on page 38

NOVEMBER 19 • 2020

GLENN TRIEST

Mort Meisner with a poster of his book cover in the background.

NOVEMBER 19 â&#x20AC;¢ 2020

ARTS&LIFE ON THE COVER

I HOPE MY TALE OF DRUG USE AND ABSTINENCE TELLS SOMEONE OUT THERE THAT THEY CAN QUIT, TOO. — MORT MEISNER

COURTESY OF MORT MEISNER

TOP: “Morty”’s bar mitzvah lunch, 1966, with brother Tony and his wife Marian, and cousin Pat Small. BOTTOM LEFT: Cousin Alfred Deutsch with Great-Uncle Adolph Deutsch, who put Mort through college. RIGHT: Mort’s parents, Ella and Morris Meisner, outside their Oak Park home.

MORT MEISNER continued from page 36

A LOVE AFFAIR WITH COCAINE The first time Mort tried cocaine was with Rod Stewart and Ronnie Wood in a bathroom when he was a concert promoter. He didn’t like it. Five year later, in Chicago, he tried it again and fell in love with the white powder. For the next eight years, cocaine played a big part in Mort’s life. He both loved it and hated it. “I would lie to myself. Lying in bed at 3 a.m. with my heart pounding, I did a lot of foxhole praying. I’d say, ‘God, if you don’t let me die, I’ll start

going to synagogue. If you let me live, I’ll stop.’ And it worked until 5 p.m. the next day and then it didn’t work. Again and again for eight years.” On Oct. 19, 1989, Mort thought he was having a heart attack. “But I wasn’t,” he said. He was admitted in the hospital for observation. His doctor told him he needed long-term treatment. His best friend, who flew up from Texas, said, “He just needs to get honest. And he needs to get God.” “I never did a line since. That was 31 years ago.” Over the years, he’s gone to

12-step meetings, many of them Jewish. “I found that addiction is not more common or less common to any religion. I feel if I can quit, anyone can quit. I hope my tale of drug use and abstinence tells someone out there that they can quit, too.” A BAR MITZVAH TO FORGET One thing Mort doesn’t write much about in the book is his Jewish journey, so he agreed to sit down with the JN to discuss how he feels about his faith. His story starts in the south part of Oak Park called

“Cardboard Village,” where he grew up. “Crappy, asbestos-shingled 800-square-foot homes,” he said. “Living there took a bad childhood and made it worse.” Jeffrey Seller, producer of the Broadway smash Hamilton, also grew up in Cardboard Village. He told DBusiness he “was ashamed and humiliated to live there, and to even discuss it now is painful, actually.” For Mort, it meant being ostracized by many of his peers. “I wasn’t invited to anyone’s bar mitzvah,” he said. “One kid told me I wasn’t invited because his mom and dad said they don’t associate with people from Cardboard Village. I ran into that a lot.” Mort’s childhood memories are clouded by poverty — his family was evicted numerous times, including Thanksgiving of 1963 — and a dysfunctional family led by a father with anger management issues. Although his mother went to shul, his dad rarely did. “You had to buy tickets, and my father refused,” Mort said. “He said he could barely put food on the table. I remember him saying, ‘I can pray in a goddam latrine. I don’t need to pay to go.’” Nevertheless, Mort had his bar mitzvah in 1966 at B’nai Moshe, a spiritual home for continued on page 40

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ARTS&LIFE ON THE COVER

Mort Meisner at work. MORT MEISNER continued from page 38

Hungarian Jews, which was founded by Mort’s great-uncle Adolph Deutch, also founder of American Savings & Loan and a generous man who would go on to finance a lot of local Jews in business. While Mort has fond memories of Uncle Adolph, his memories of B’nai Moshe’s Rabbi Moses Lehrman aren’t as pleasant. “As I was preparing for my bar mitzvah, Rabbi Lehrman asked my father where my bar mitzvah party was going to be. My father told him we couldn’t afford a party, and he didn’t know what we were going to do,” he said. According to Mort, “Rabbi Lehrman lectured my 350pound, 6-3 father to the point where he reduced him to a mound of tears. He said to him, ‘You’re not a good father. A good father would have saved and have had a proper party for his son. Instead, you’re going to embarrass your son.’” Young Mort was so angry at the way he felt the rabbi treated his father that he said to himself, “F*** this religion. I’m done.” Between the ages of 13

NOVEMBER 19 • 2020

and 30, he went to synagogue fewer than five times. Mort was allowed to invite one friend to his bar mitzvah party, a lunch at Darby’s Restaurant in Detroit. “I was probably the only one who ever had a bar mitzvah there. I was mocked by other Jewish kids.” Mort managed to escape poverty through education and hard work, thanks to his great-uncle Adolph and his son Alfred as well as his mother’s brother George Reinitz, who financed his education. Mort keeps a photo of them in his office. “Without them, I wouldn’t have gone to college.” RETURN TO JUDAISM It wasn’t until Mort moved back to Metro Detroit in 1988, 22 years after his bar mitzvah, that he returned to a synagogue. “I started going to Beth Shalom because I heard Rabbi Nelson was a nice guy. “I liked him. I told him my bar mitzvah story. I said having ostentatious bar mitzvah parties is bulls**t, and I think it should change. I told him, ‘Rabbi, it’s the wrong message. Why don’t

you do a sermon?’ He agreed if I went to service. I did and he did.” Mort’s own children’s bar and bat mitzvah parties were parties for kids, not adults. No alcohol allowed. He shared another, more mystical experience that led him back to the faith. When his wife was pregnant with his son Mark (now 27), a prenatal test revealed a potential life-threatening birth defect — a hole in the baby’s spine. “My wife and I went to Rabbi Nelson looking for advice. He put his hands out to us and said, ‘We’re going to pray.’ I’m thinking that’s ridiculous. But we did,” Mort said. “The next time she got a test, the potential birth defect had resolved itself. The hole closed. It re-instilled my belief in God, a higher power.” Mort is now a member in good standing at Temple Shir Shalom. “Rabbi Moskowitz, Rabbi Schwartz, Cantor Penny Steyer and Rabbi Nelson are everything that’s right with our religion,” said Mort, who does marketing and PR for the temple.

“I don’t go to services as much as I should, but I go more than I used to,” Mort said. “I try to sit in the first row. I go looking for nuggets every time.” Today, what he enjoys most are his children, Jason, Nicole and Mark, “wonderful human beings who care about their fellow citizens,” and grandsons Bruce and Tony, whom he coaches in baseball. As his grandchildren get older, he plans to share with them stories of their faith and their family. NOT AN EASY TASK Writing the book has led to an emotional roller coaster for Mort. “It caused me some sadness, depression. I’m trying my best to fight through it,” he said. “Do I always feel good about myself? No, many times I feel as bad about myself today as I did years ago. It’s just how my brain works. “I’ve seen a shrink for the last few years and a psychologist and unlocked a lot of repressed memories — emotional, mental and physical abuse that I had forgotten about. Stupid things I did that I’d forgotten about. I used to not believe in those. But they are real.” Mort said he wants people who read the book to come away with the belief that if you’re in an addiction, there is help when you want it. Second, he wants people to know it’s remarkable what we can live through. “The first time I went to the psychiatrist, I told him my story. I asked him, ‘What do you think? I’m not all that bad, am I? My life?’ “He told me my story was one of the worst he’d ever heard. He said people who are not as bad off as me commit heinous crimes as a result of their upbringing.” Mort sits back in his office in Royal Oak and smiles. “In retrospect,” he said, “I wasn’t all that good at being all that bad.”

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ARTS&LIFE FILM

Natural Allies Film promotes revival of the Black-Jewish partnership for civil rights. SARAH WILLIAMS CONTRIBUTING WRITER

ow is the critical moment for Jewish and Black communities to remember their natural allyship, says Dr. Shari Rogers, Franklin filmmaker and founder of the Michigan social justice nonprofit Spill the Honey. Dr. Shari While sysRogers tematic racism persists and acts of hatred and antisemitism rise in our polarized society, Rogers’ new documentary Shared Legacies: The African American-Jewish Civil Rights Alliance recounts a union that once fought injustice to create meaningful, legislative change. “As a Jewish woman, it gives me a sense of pride to know our community — lawyers, students and rabbis — got involved to help Blacks have equal rights,” she said. “It wasn’t all Jewish people, as we show in the film, but statistically, two different communities worked together to pass the Voting Rights Act

NOVEMBER 19 • 2020

of 1965 and to accomplish things in America.” But the groups don’t support each other like they used to, she said. “We need to work together on today’s civil rights issues. The world is watching now in regard to racism, and young Jews especially are asking, ‘How can I help?’ We have a template and a history of a powerful partnership.” That 95-minute template, Shared Legacies, premiered at the Atlanta Jewish Film Festival in February, where it won its first of multiple jury prizes for bridge building. Rogers is the film’s director and head writer. Its extensive collection of interviews from eyewitnesses, activists, Holocaust survivors and civil rights leaders has since been arousing virtual film festival audiLisa ences from L.A. Weitzman to Nashville and from Cleveland to Toronto.

SHARED LEGACIES The ﬁlm’s producers have not yet announced a general release for the Detroit area. Check out the official website, spillthehoney. com, for updated information. A scene from the film.

Rogers and executive producer Lisa Weitzman, a fellow activist and native Detroiter living in New York, say they want the film,

recently embraced by schools, community organizations and social justice groups, to serve as an educational tool, promoting unity between

communities and providing “a roadmap for courageous conversations.” Detroit’s public premiere, planned for the Charles Wright H. Museum of African American History in April, was canceled due to the pandemic. But the documentary made its way into local educational platforms like the University of Michigan’s Ross Business School — where the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Task Force has worked with students to host webinars that apply the film’s model of diverse community-building to the business world. BRIDGE BUILDING Blake Weissman, 20, is a student at the Ross Business School. Since spring, he’s served as national youth president of Spill the Honey Foundation, the Blake nonprofit behind Weissman the film. He works to bring Shared Legacies to college audiences through virtual screenings, discussions and webinars that engage students on issues like allyship, police reform and education. He also works with 17 youth ambassadors on campuses in Chicago, Philadelphia, Atlanta and Ann Arbor. In our polarized society, having a bridge-building ambassador on every college campus would be an amazing way to create “sustainable, lasting change from the inside out,” Weissman said. While he’s passionately picking up the baton to run alongside a new generation of changemakers, Weissman knew “absolutely nothing of Black-Jewish relations,” before attending the Atlanta premiere with his family.

When the credits rolled, and the original theme song played, he found himself on his feet applauding, surrounded by nearly 2,500 guests. “It was very, very powerful, and it planted a seed in me,” he said of the film. “This could have been a lost part of American history,” said Rogers. Since 2015, she’s traveled from Selma, Ala., to Israel, collecting nearly 90 hours of interviews from those who haven’t forgotten the union. “It was in

REVIVE THE COALITION Rev. Kenneth J. Flowers of Detroit’s Greater New Mount Moriah Missionary Baptist Church says, “If people see the shared legacies and the work we did together, they’ll understand now is the time to revive and renew that coalition of conscience between people of goodwill, people of morality, people who have great spirits about them, to step up and stand up for freedom, justice and equality.” Flowers, one of sever-

“IF PEOPLE SEE THE SHARED LEGACIES AND THE WORK WE DID TOGETHER, THEY’LL UNDERSTAND NOW IS THE TIME TO REVIVE AND RENEW THAT COALITION OF CONSCIENCE.” — REV. KENNETH J. FLOWERS

their memories, but no one ever asked them what they witnessed,” she said. Dating back to 1909, with the founding of the NAACP, the film explores the modern alliance between two peoples who have endured segregation, racism and violence. It discusses the pinnacle of that alliance: the friendship between Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Rabbi Abraham Heschel during the Civil Rights Movement. Mutual respect and understanding of these significant leaders is credited as the catalyst for Jews joining the Civil Rights Movement, just as King and Heschel’s deaths in 1968 and 1972, respectively, point to the unraveling of the Black-Jewish bond.

al Metro Detroiters in the film, says Coretta Scott King shared with him the relationship between her husband and Rabbi Heschel when Flowers was a student at Morehouse College in 1979. These conversations helped him understand the importance of being involved with the Jewish community, he says, and keeping them involved in “Black-Jewish dialogue” and movements for justice and equality. Today, he serves as a leading member of the Coalition for Black and Jewish Unity and has been in conversations with Morehouse since the film debuted to bring education of the alliance to the school where Dr. King graduated. “We have far more in common than what separates us,”

Flowers says, of Black and Jewish communities today, “though there are things we need to do. If we look at what worked then, it can work now.” In addition to on-screen appearances, several Metro Detroiters played significant roles in creating the film, Rogers says, including fellow writer/narrator Shoshana Janer, film editor Stuart Shevin and friend Shari Ferber Kaufman who funded the initial filming in Selma. Shari’s father, Fred Ferber, a Holocaust survivor living in Birmingham, is also featured in the film. Now 90, Fred says the first Black people he saw in his life were the American soldiers who rescued him from a Nazi concentration camp after the war. The film notes that soldiers like these risked their lives to bring Ferber and others their freedom, even while lacking their own freedoms at home. Rogers credits the major fundraising of Shared Legacies to Atlanta, but Detroit, she says, is where the idea started. Years ago, she saw Dr. Clarence Jones, a lawyer and speechwriter for Dr. King and a future friend and ambassador of the film, speaking to a group of high school students at the Wright Museum in Detroit. Jones remembers today, “I told them that much of the success the Civil Rights Movement was able to achieve was because of the substantial support we received from the Jewish community. I wasn’t just talking about financial support and contributions, but about people who actually joined and worked with us. “To me, that’s one of the untold stories. But, I’m a witness to it.” NOVEMBER 19 • 2020

CELEBRITY JEWS

NATE BLOOM COLUMNIST

LOREN’S BACK; NEWS OF THE CHALAMETS; AND JEWISH COVID ADVISERS Now streaming on Netflix is The Life Ahead. Sophia Loren, 86, plays Madame Rosa, a Jewish Holocaust survivor who became a prostitute after being liberated. In her old age, she provides daycare for children of active prostitutes. The film focuses on her relationship with a black, Muslim 12-year-old boy. The film is based on The Life Before Us, a 1976 book by Romain Gary that won France’s highest literary award. Reviews are very good for Loren’s first film in 10 years. Loren and her son Edoardo Ponti, the film’s director, discussed the film

and her career on the Nov. 8 episode of CBS Sunday Morning (it’s online). Timothee Chalamet, 24, was set to play Bob Dylan, 79, in a bio-pic covering the time (196566) when Dylan stopped being an acoustic folksinger and began playing with electric instruments. However, COVID-19 has forced a postponement. In other Dylan news, Bob disclosed that he changed his last name from “Zimmerman” to “Dylan” because he feared that antisemitism would affect his career. In other Chalamet news: Timothee’s sister, Pauline Chalamet, 28, landed her biggest role. She’ll co-star as one of four college roommates in the upcoming HBO series The Sex Lives of College Girls. President-Elect Joe Biden

NETFLIX

ARTS&LIFE

Sophia Loren with Ibrahima Gueye

announced the 13 members of his COVID-19 Transition Advisory Board on Nov. 10. David Kessler, 69, is one of three co-chairs. Kessler got a law degree from the Univeristy of Chicago in 1977 and a medical degree from Harvard in 1979. He intended to be a hospital head. He trained as a pediatrician and, by 1984, he was a hospital head, while, at the same time, teaching medical classes at the Albert Einstein School of Medicine and law

at Columbia University. He was appointed FDA commissioner in 1991 by George H.W. Bush. He pushed for quicker approval of new drugs (especially for AIDS), truth-in-labeling, standardized nutrition labeling and regulation of tobacco. These policies made him popular with Democrats, and Bill Clinton kept him on at FDA. He left in 1997. Ezekiel “Zeke” Emanuel, 63, an oncologist and bio-ethicist, also serves on the COVID Board. He is chair of the department of medical ethics and health policy at the Univeristy of Pennsylvania. He is most famous as a special adviser to the Obama administration on the creation of “Obamacare.” His brother Rahm Emanuel, 60, was former mayor of Chicago and Obama’s first chief-of-staff.

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GRAND PRIZE $100 and the cover of the December 10, 2020, issue of the The Detroit Jewish News. OTHER PRIZES First, second and third-place finishers in each category win $18. REQUIREMENTS A fully completed entry form (below) as well as a color photo of the artist must be taped to the back of the original artwork and sent to the address below by November 25, 2020. (Only one entry per child.)

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ning. Featured set will be Steve Swell, trombone, Dave Sewelson, baritone trombone. Free; all donations will go to support the Edgefest festival. View on kerrytownconcerthouse. com. Info: 734-709-0697.

PEOPLE | PLACES | EVENTS Mural of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg in Washington D.C. by artist Rose Jaffe

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Wednesday, Dec. 2. The discussion will be moderated by State Board of Education member Ellen Cogen Ellen Cogen Lipton and will Lipton also feature Rabbi Ariana Silverman of the Isaac Agree Downtown Synagogue, law professor Margo Schlanger of the Rabbi Ariana University of Michigan Silverman and civil rights litigator Amy L. Katz of the ACLU Women’s Rights Project in New York. JBAM is also renaming its annual Margo award after the late Schlanger HOMELAND SECURITY

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U.S. Supreme Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who died on Sept. 18, will long be remembered as a champion of the rights of the disadvantaged. On Dec. 2, Chief Justice Chief Justice Bridget Mary McCormack McCormack of the Michigan Supreme Court will join an all-star panel of women to honor the life and legacy of “RBG” at a tribute sponsored by the Jewish Bar Association of Michigan (JBAM). The free Zoom event is open to attorneys and the general public and will be presented at 6 p.m.

HOLY LAND TOUR NOON-1 PM, NOV. 19 Experience cuisine of the world in Israel brought to you by Temple Shir Shalom. Register at shirshalom/org/ form/live-from-the-holy-land. html. Info: 248-737-8700.

human-centered, innovative interior design solutions that respond to user desires and the inherent qualities of space. Info: Marianne Bloomberg, 248642-4611, Bloomberg@jfmd. org.

THE FUTURE OF WORKSPACE NOON, NOV. 20 Jewish Working Women’s Network will present this lunch & schmooze with Heather Greene. She has worked to create

FRIENDSGIVING SHABBAT 6:30 PM, NOV. 20 Come join The Well for a virtual Shabbat service with a host of friends over Facebook Live to help ring in Shabbat! Check meetyouatthewell.org for

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justice. The “Ruth Bader Ginsburg Champion of Justice Award” will be given out in the spring recognizing the significant impact of a legal professional who is dedicated to improving the justice system while exhibiting the highest level of professionalism and civility. To register for the RBG event, go to www. jewishbar.org/event/ jbam-presents-the-lifeand-legacy-of-justiceruth-bader-ginsburg/. JBAM has several upcoming educational events. For information or to join JBAM, visit www.jewishbar.org.

more information. VIRTUAL NIGHTNOTES 7 PM, NOV. 20 Detroit Chamber Winds & Strings will present violinist Kimberly Kaloyanides and pianist Mary Siciliano in a virtual concert. For tickets and info: mohan@art-ops. org or 248-559-2095. EDGEFEST 7:30 PM, NOV. 20 Kerrytown Concert House in Ann Arbor will present this virtual musical eve-

ACTOR IN CONCERT 8 PM, NOV. 21 The Ark in Ann Arbor will present actor, singer, songwriter Jeff Daniels. View on the Ark Facebook page. Tickets: individual $20; for family of viewers $30.; crowdcast.io/e/jeffdanielsarknov21/register. Info: 734763-8587. CHANU-CON 1-5 PM, NOV. 22 Congregation Beth Shalom of Oak Park’s Fifth Annual Chanu-Con will take place virtually this year. Admission is $5 per household; open to the community. There will be a variety of virtual activities, including cooking and baking demonstrations, children’s activities, entertainment, vendors selling Chanukah and holiday gifts and a 50/50 raffle. Vendor gifts and art gallery items will be available for purchase. Raffle tickets will be available online that day. For information, visit the event Facebook page at bit. do/chanucon2020 or call Congregation Beth Shalom, 248-547-7970. CAREGIVING 2 PM, NOV. 23 Jewish Family Service will mark Caregivers Month with a Zoom presentation, “Caregiving During Times of Social Isolation.” Lynn Breuer, LMSW, will discuss challenges, meeting them and caring for yourself. Info: jfsdetroit.org. Compiled by Sy Manello/ Editorial Assistant. Send items at least 14 days in advance to calendar@thejewishnews.com.

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ANTJE “ANNEKE” KOOISTRA BURKE, 82, of Mayville, Mich., died Nov. 4, 2020. More than 2,000 times she spoke publicly, telling the courageous story of her parents, members of the Dutch Resistance, who hid Jews in their Utrecht home during the Holocaust, while keeping this a complete secret from their young children. Anneke thus encouraged others to bravely stand up to injustice and spread love among all people. She always kept in touch with these hidden Jews and their children. In the 1960s she moved to Israel, to Kibbutz Hepzibah, where she learned Hebrew and met her husband, a Detroit native. Eventually they returned to Detroit and then to Mayville, joining Temple Beth Israel of Bay City. Mrs. Burke is survived by her daughters, Naomi Burke and Sara-Bina Rautiola; son and daughter-in-law, Aaron and Ondree Burke; grandchildren, Ari Rautiola, Gabrielle Rautiola and Chloe Burke. She is also survived by her dearest friend, Gary Sanford; her sister and brother-in-law, Reitje and Douwe Dehann; and her brother and sister-in-law, Jan and Ineke Kooistra. Contributions may be made to KADIMA- Jewish Residential Support Services for Adults With Mental Illness, 15999 W. 12 Mile Road, Southfield, MI 48076, kadimacenter.org. JOEL BUSSELL, 83, of West Bloomfield, died Nov. 7, 2020. He is survived by his wife of 61 years, Joan Beckman Bussell; his children, Elana Bussell Shelef and Roy Shelef, Jeffrey Bussell and Debra Pevos, Evandro Siveira and Chris

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Sandoval, and David Bussell; grandchildren, Anna Rose Terebelo, Adam Bussell, Jacob and Erika Bussell, Honor Shelef, Alek Bussell, Noah Bussell, Lauren Bussell, Arik Tieke and Eliana Tieke; daughters-in-law, Julie Geller Bussell and Kasey Meyers Bussell; sister and brother-in-law, Judith and Manfred Schmidt; brother-in-law, Hugh Beckman; many other loving relatives and a world of friends. Mr. Bussell was the devoted son of the late Harry and the late Frances Broden Bussell; the loving brother of the late Paulette and the late Bruce Oatley. Interment was at Beth El Memorial Park. Contributions may be made to Temple Shir Shalom, 3999 Walnut Lake Road, West Bloomfield, MI 48323, shirshalom.org; or Rotary Foundation, 14280 Collection Center Drive, Chicago, IL 60693, my.rotary. org/en/donate. Arrangements by Ira Kaufman Chapel.

PHYLLIS EISENBERG, 79, died Nov. 5, 2020. She was born in Grand Rapids on Dec. 20, 1940. Phyllis was a psychologist who lived for helping people. She had a smile that lit up the room. Mrs. Eisenberg is survived by her sons and daughter-in-law, Phillip and Claudia Eisenberg, and Gilbert Eisenberg; daughters, Laura Eisenberg and Pam Eisenberg Kelleher; son-in-law, Robert; grandchildren, David, Andrew, Danielle, David, Jacob, Ben and Devon; many other loving family members and friends. She was the beloved second chance love of the late Samuel Rosens. Interment took place at Bâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;nai Israel Cemetery in Novi. Contributions may be made to the Phyllis Eisenberg Caregiver Memorial Fund: gofundme.com. Arrangements by Dorfman Chapel.

PAULA BETH DIAMOND, â&#x20AC;&#x153;Bebeâ&#x20AC;?, 85, died peacefully in her home surrounded by family. She was born in Detroit, Dec. 3, 1934, to Helen and Lou Krohner. Adored by everyone, Paula dedicated herself to making a beautiful life for her loved ones. She married Herb Diamond at the age of 17Â˝ and they enjoyed 63 wonderful years together. Paula played a mean game of Rummikub and loved a good cup of coffee. Mrs. Diamond is survived by her children, Clare (Jerry) Bushman and Michael Diamond (late Glenda Diamond); four grandchildren; four great-grandchildren. Contributions may be made to The Shul of West Bloomfield or Alternatives for Girls in Detroit.

JACK KRAMER, 84, of West Bloomfield, died Nov. 10, 2020. He is survived by his beloved wife, Phyllis Kramer; son and daughter-in-law, Dale and Carol Kramer; daughter and son-inlaw, Elayne and Michael Peters; grandchildren, Dr. Jeramy (Jacqueline Ostroff) Peters, JaimeRose Peters, Stephen (Katie) Peters, Joshua Hill, Master Sgt. Jeremiah (Mayumi) Lavieri; great-grandchildren, Gage, Sean, Jett and Natsumi; sister, Beryl Perlman; sister-inlaw, Carol (Jerry) LaKritz; many other loving family members and friends. Mr. Kramer was the brotherin-law of the late Sheldon Klein, the late Jerry Perlman and the late Bob Abromovich. Interment took place at Clover Hill Park Cemetery in Birmingham. Contributions

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may be made to the Masonic Shriners Childrenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Trust. Arrangements by Dorfman Chapel. JOYCE KUSHMAR, 82, of Detroit, died peacefully surrounded by her loving children and grandchildren on Nov. 9, 2020. After graduating from Mumford High School, Joyce went on to work at Detroit Edison and ultimately at Jack Freed Bakery. There, among the sweets, fate and her future sister in-law, â&#x20AC;&#x153;Cookie,â&#x20AC;? would unite her with her ultimate â&#x20AC;&#x153;sweetâ&#x20AC;? and beloved husband of 62 years, Arnold Kushmar. Together, they settled down and raised four children. Remembered as a loving, energetic mother, she became an active and respected volunteer in her childrenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s schools and PTA. This led to a 40-year career for the Detroit Board of

Education as a head secretary in many schools. Over the course of these four decades, she worked tirelessly both professionally and philanthropically. Always personable and diligent, she gave much of herself and was loved by administration, staff and students alike. In addition to PTA, Joyce became very involved and a highly valued member of her union, DAEOE. She attended countless conventions; and determined to improve education and teaching conditions, she made many meaningful professional friendships. Additionally, for 45 years, Joyce worked as an election supervisor; and for 41 years, she loved volunteering as an usher at the Fisher Theatre, where she enjoyed the many live performances. To her family, which was the epicenter of her world, Joyce was a vivacious and caring matriarch. She dutifully kept traditions alive for her chil-

dren and grandchildren and celebrated big. Thoughtful and generous to her core, she made everyone feel loved and special, including many nieces, nephews and friends, whom she treated as if they were her own children and grandchildren. Although she lived for the good times, she was loyal and steadfast in caring for others, including her ailing parents, brother and husband. With a heart of gold, she was incredibly generous to her loved ones, her cat (Lucy) and many charitable causes. Her calls, notes and gestures symbolic of her love will be missed greatly. Joyce spread her torch of love and light, touching countless hearts. She will be missed greatly, but her legacy continues to glow in the familyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s hearts. Mrs. Kushmar was the beloved wife of the late Arnold Kushmar. She is survived by her son, Bruce (the late Lisa) Kushmar; daughters and sonin-law, Debra and Michael Wright, Barbara Kushmar and

Susan Kushmar; grandchildren, Brandi Kushmar, Jordin Kushmar, Ashley Jankowiak, Autumn Jankowiak, Brandon Wright; sister-in-law, Olivia (the late Dr. Fred) Baskin; many loving nieces, nephews, cousins, other family members and a world of friends. Interment took place at Adat Shalom Memorial Park cemetery in Livonia. Contributions may be made to the American Cancer Society or the Alzheimerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Association. Arrangements by Dorfman Chapel. BEVERLY NUSBAUM, 86, of West Bloomfield, died Nov. 7, 2020. She is survived by her beloved husband, Saul Nusbaum; daughter and son-in-law, Amy and Sanford Margolis; sons and daughters-in-law, Dr. Jeffrey and Kathleen Nusbaum, Alan and Mindy Nusbaum; grandchildren, Jonathon (Ilana) Margolis, Bradley (Stefani) Margolis, Alex continued on page 52

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Nusbaum, Elie Nusbaum, Emily Nusbaum, Jacob Nusbaum; great-grandchildren, Talia and Shira Margolis; brother and sister-in-law, Melvin and Sandra Hoffman; many other loving family members and friends. Interment took place at the Machpelah Cemetery in Ferndale. Contributions may be made to a charity of one’s choice. Arrangements by Dorfman Chapel. VALERIE SWARTZ, 84, of Farmington Hills, died Nov. 7, 2020. She is survived by her brother-in-law, Fred Swartz; brother and sisterin-law, Howard and Marilyn Swartz; nieces and nephews, Annise (Jeff) Levine, Marla

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Swartz, Jonathan (Terry) Katz, Michael (Sandra) Katz, Suzi (Jerry) Hudgins, Deborah Katz, Daphne (Justin) Gray, Lindsay (Charles) Newman, Sherri (Todd) King, Dale Goldberg. Mrs. Swartz was the beloved wife of the late Perry Swartz; loving daughter of the late Bessie and William Katz; sister of the late Robert (Gayle) Katz; sister-in-law to the late Edythe Swartz, and the late Irene and Herbie Goldberg. Interment took place at Adat Shalom Memorial Park Cemetery in Livonia. Contributions may be made to a charity of one’s choice. Arrangements by Dorfman Chapel. SHARON DIANE YOUNG, of Greenbrae, Calif., died Oct. 29, 2020, at her home surrounded by family,

following a long illness. She lived in the Detroit area and later moved to California with her husband, Jerry, whom she met at the University of Michigan. She was a devoted volunteer and supported many charities. She served as PTA president at Coleman Elementary, was active at Marin Country Day School and served as president of the S.F. University High School Parents’ Association and as a trustee on the board of directors. She also served on the board of the Marin Jewish Community Center for many years and served as president. Mrs. Young is survived by her husband, Dr. Jerald Young; her children, Matthew, Rachel (Rimon) and Rebecca (Josh); her grandchildren, Sammy and Izzy Frucht and Alex Gustin; her mother, Ruth Goodstein; her brothers, Harold and Steven Goodstein.

Private burial services were held Nov. 1, 2020, at Mount Tamalpais Cemetery in San Rafael. Contributions may be made to one’s favorite charity.

OBITUARY CHARGES The processing fee for obituaries is: $125 for up to 100 words; $1 per word thereafter. A photo counts as 15 words. There is no charge for a Holocaust survivor icon. 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) 351-5147 or email him at smanello@ renmedia.us.

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â&#x20AC;Ś However gourmet, it still retains that home-cooked flare â&#x20AC;Ś with the Funky Chicken, Highway Burger, the Ferndale, an Angus Beef Patty, the 9 Mile Chop, etc. It being a restaurant that also greatly admires those who work with their hands â&#x20AC;Ś artists, blue-collar workers, teachers â&#x20AC;Ś the chef creates dishes that are hardy and beautifully designed as well as being tasty â&#x20AC;Ś even wood-fired pizza pies. It is better than before â&#x20AC;Ś and that is saying much! MAIL DEPARTMENT â&#x20AC;Ś From former waitress Frances Kellerman â&#x20AC;Ś â&#x20AC;&#x153;Customers can be rude, too. When they are talking to other people at the table and make us wait for their order until they are finished, it is a very big problem that should be looked into. And what about customers who snap their fingers to get our attention, even while coming to get it from us.â&#x20AC;? OLDIE BUT GOODIE â&#x20AC;Ś A rabbi and his two friends, a

priest and a minister, played poker for small stakes once a week â&#x20AC;Ś The only problem was that they lived in a very blue law town â&#x20AC;Ś One day the sheriff raided the game and took all three before the judge â&#x20AC;Ś After listening to the sheriff â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s story, the judge asked the priest, â&#x20AC;&#x153;Were you gambling, Father?â&#x20AC;? The priest looked toward Heaven and whispered, â&#x20AC;&#x153;Oh, Lord, forgive me!â&#x20AC;? and then said aloud, â&#x20AC;&#x153;No, your honor, I was not gambling.â&#x20AC;? â&#x20AC;&#x153;Were you gambling, Reverend?â&#x20AC;? the judge asked the minister. The minister repeated the priestâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s actions and said, â&#x20AC;&#x153;No, your honor, I was not.â&#x20AC;? Turning to the third clergyman, the judge asked, â&#x20AC;&#x153;Were you gambling, Rabbi?â&#x20AC;? The rabbi eyed him coolly and replied, â&#x20AC;&#x153;With who?â&#x20AC;? CONGRATS â&#x20AC;Ś To Dr. Glen Gardner on his birthday. Email dannyraskin2132@gmail.com.

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

Somber Memories

or many years, memorials for Kristallnacht have been held in Detroit and around the world. I was reminded of this while reading a recent issue of the JN. There was a notice: the “March of the Living” encouraged the commemoration of Kristallnacht by inviting “individuals, institutions and houses of worship” around the world to keep their lights on during the night of Nov. 9 as a token of remembrance. Most of us know the story of Kristallnacht. In English, “Crystal Night,” or more to the point, “the Night of Mike Smith Broken Glass,” refers to the Alene and Graham Landau extreme antisemitic violence Archivist Chair in Germany on Nov. 9-10, 1938. Hordes of brown-shirted Nazis and their civilian supporters went on a rampage, beating and arresting more than 30,000 Jews, leaving an estimated 7,000 Jewish businesses and 267 synagogues in ruins. The shards of broken glass that glittered in the streets led to the descriptor of “Kristallnacht.” This was a major step along the path to the Holocaust. I decided to see what I could find on Kristallnacht in the William Davidson Digital Archive of Detroit Jewish History. To say the least, the event has never been forgotten. Over the years, there have been announcements of memorials for and many feature articles about Kristallnacht in the JN. The first reports in the Detroit Jewish Chronicle were contemporary, before Kristallnacht was a widely used term. The first use of the term that I found in the Archive was in Editor Philip Slomovitz’s “Purely Commentary” column in the JN on May 13, 1961. However, the antisemitic event was heavily covered in the Chronicle, beginning on Nov. 11, 1938, with a “New Wave of Anti-Semitism In Germany and France as Result of Shooting of Nazi Official.” There were similar headlines over the next two months. For example, on Nov. 18, 1938,

NOVEMBER 19 • 2020

was “Roosevelt Leads Outraged World in Registering Protest Against Persecution of Jews in Germany,” and on Dec. 30, “Breach Between U.S. and Germany Widens.” And, so on. Unfortunately, all the reports and condemnations of Nazi antisemitism did not stop Hitler and his evil henchmen from perpetrating the Holocaust. Later feature articles in the JN, N, while decidedly somber, were more encouraging. They show that Detroit Jews have not forgotten their history. Indeed, many Detroiters had firsthand experience. Some of them were able to get out of Germany soon after Kristallnacht; others were survivors of both Kristallnacht and the Holocaust. t. On the 50th anniversary of Kristallnacht, Andrea Jolles wrote ote “A Night Burned In History” (Nov. 4, 1988 JN). The cover article for the Nov. 10, 2000 JN, “Broken Glass, Broken Dreams,,” is about Marianne Wildstorm’s efforts to help Shoah victims with ith restitution. For the 75th anniversarsary of Kristallnacht, Esther Allweiss eiss Ingber wrote about survivors sharhar ing memories in “Night of Broken Glass” (Nov. 7, 2013 JN). Many obituaries note those who survived Kristallnacht and made their way to Detroit. One that caught my eye was for cantor Harold Orbach, “Temple Israel’s Beloved Voice,” in the April 24, 2014, issue of the JN. It related that he and his brother had escaped Nazi Germany after Kristallnacht. Kristallnacht will always stand as an example of extreme antisemitism and mob rule. The memory of that night is kept alive in the William Davidson Archive. Want to learn more? Go to the DJN Foundation archives, available for free at www.djnfoundation.org.

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