For the Detroiters who heard former refusenik Natan Sharansky's
message of courage and determination, there was ample reason to take
part in Summit Sunday for Soviet Jewry last December in Washington.
Throughout the year, led by the Jewish Community Council, our com-
munity lent its voice to the struggle by participating in countless programs,
calling refuseniks, writing letters, petitioning the Moscow government to
let our people go.
That same sense of solidarity, of shared strength, was in evidence a few
months later when 4,000 of us "walked as one", joining in celebration of
Israel's 40th anniversary. In sponsoring these vital efforts, the
Jewish Welfare Federation was engaging in one of its most vital
functions: building community.
Again and again this year, that objective guided our efforts.
We saw it behind the progress of The Neighborhood Project. Through
this program, 200 families have brought new enthusiasm to a vibrant
Jewish area of Oak Park and Southfield, and thousands have come to-
gether in a demonstration of how to "Love Thy Neighborhood".
Meanwhile, in another neighborhood thousands of miles away, Detroit
initiated a second Project Renewal partnership. Our friendship with Ramla
continues as our community twins with Yavneh, an Israeli city
with historic and religious significance. Once again, we are taking
our skills for community building halfway around the world.
Through the 1988 Allied Jewish Campaign, we saw that skill at its
finest. No enterprise could surpass the Campaign in an expression of
K'lal Yisrael. Contributing a total of $25.8 million, Detroit Jewry set a
new standard of philanthropy for the country, assuring our fellow Jews
around the world of our steadfast support.
But building community i&only a piece of what took place this year.
Building Jews was of equal importance...

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