YEAR IN REVIEW 5747 YEAR IN REVIEW

RABBI GERALD TELLER,
superintendent of the United
Hebrew Schools of Metropolitan
Detroit, 1979-1987.

SHLOMIE LUSS of Superior Kosher Meats is one of a dwindl-
ing number of kosher butchers in Detroit. Three shops closed
Bob McKeown
their doors within the last year.

DETROIT

LEON COHAN, president of
the Jewish Community Council
of Metropolitan Detroit, has been
named chairman of the Michigan
Council for the Arts.

Two major private Jewish foundations were
created this year. Charles R. Bronfman, a
businessman and philanthropist who heads the
Seagram Company, established the CRB Foun-
dation, based in Montreal. One of its goals is
to strengthen the ties among the Jewish corn-
munities in North America, Israel and around
the world. Les Wexner of Columbus, Ohio,
founder and owner of The Limited clothing
chain, established the Wexner Foundation,
dedicated to attracting and enhancing Jewish
professional leadership in the U.S.
Such infusions of aid and support will be
sorely needed by an American Jewish corn-
munity that continues to raise major dollars
for Israel and Jewish causes, but whose major
constituency lacks the spiritual enthusiasm
. and historical knowledge of a Jewish tradition
that has survived and flourished for centuries.
Some say there are two Jewish Americas, a
relatively small core of men and women for
whom Judaism is a living and vibrant way of
life, and the larger segment of individuals for
whom Jewisluaess is simply a feeling.
Similarly, there is increasing evidence of two
Israels today, with a deepening gulf between
what some call the "legal Israel" and the "real
Israel." The real Israel, the majority is secular,
while the legal Israel is increasingly under the
control of the religious and political elements.
There is cause for concern about these
chasms within each country, as well as between
the two. Indeed, one of the only Jews in the
world who seems able to transcend those dif-
ferences is Elie Wiesel, survivor and chronicler
of the Holocaust and conscience of his people,
whose unique talents and qualities were given
world-wide attention this year when he received
the Nobel Peace Prize.
In his acceptance speech in Oslo, he noted
that as "a Jew profoundly rooted in my peo-
ple's memory and tradition, my first response
is to Jewish fears, Jewish needs, Jewish crises."
Those fears, needs and crises were ever-
present in 5747, but the image of a man with
an intrinsically Jewish soul receiving the
world's highest honor was a source of pride and
unity for Jews everywhere, reminding them,
however briefly, of their common heritage and
bonds. El

Some say there are two
Jewish Americans. . .
Similarly, there is increasing
evidence of two Israels
today. . .

JEFF LEVINE and Dave Stone were mainstays for the Detroit
Maccabia youth soccer team which competed in Toronto in 1985
and in a Royal Oak indoor league last winter.

ALAN FUNK was appointed
executive director of the Jewish
Home For The Aged.

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THE D_ETROIT JEWISH -• NEWS 71

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