DETROIT
Detroit Team Picks 16-Year-Old
'Vets' As Games Torchlighters
ALAN HITSKY
Associate Editor
T
he two veteran
athletes of the Detroit
delegation have been
named torchlighters for the
opening ceremonies of the
Jewish Community Centers
— North American Maccabi
Youth Games.
Robert Kamins and Ari
Nessel, both 16, have par-
ticipated in the Games
each summer beginning
with the 1985 regional
games in Columbus, Ohio,
when they were both 11.
Kamins is a swimmer and
Nessel has played on the
Detroit soccer team for six
years.
The two will light the tor-
ch marking the start of the
Detroit Games at the open-
ing ceremonies Aug. 19 at
the Palace of Auburn Hills.
An estimated 15,000 - 20,000
spectators are expected for
the ceremonies.
"To be in front of all those
people will be a great
honor," Nessel said. "The
Games have been a really
good time" for six years.
The age rules have been
changed since Nessel and
Kamins first began com-
peting in 1985 for the
Detroit team. An athlete
must now be 13-16 to com-
pete in the North American
Games and 12-16 to compete
in the smaller regional
Games.
Kamins and Nessel will
march with the Detroit dele-
gation, the final group in a
half-mile-long parade of
2,700 athletes and coaches
at the Palace. They will
Detroit Athletes
Tb Meet Thursday
A mandatory meeting for
the athletes on the Detroit
team will be held 7:30 p.m.
Aug. 16 at the Maple-Drake
JCC. Uniforms will be
distributed and Games'
registration and orientation
will be completed.
"We want to complete
registration for our team on
Aug. 16," said Detroit team
captain Dr. Alan Horowitz,
"because 85-90 percent of
our athletes' families are
hosting athletes from out of
town, and most of those
athletes will be coming in
Aug. 19. We don't want our
parents to have to register
their own kids on the same
day they are picking up in-
coming athletes."
come forward from the
Detroit delegation late in
the program to perform the
torchlighting.
The Palace ceremony
carries a flashback for
Kamins, according to Games
chairman Jay Robinson.
Kamins was scheduled to be
a Detroit flagbearer at the
Chicago Games in 1988. But
his bus and many others
were late in arriving at
15,000 - 20,000
spectators are
expected at the
Palace.
Dyche Stadium at Nor-
thwestern Unversity, and
Kamins and 300 to 400
athletes from all over missed
the athletes' parade.
Robinson and several
other adults gathered the
athletes, crashed the gates
and led their own parade
into the stadium, to the
chagrin of the Chicago or-
ganizers. Robinson promises
that any delegation late to
the Palace will be allowed to
follow his Chicago example.
Kamins was a nervous 11-
year-old in Columbus in
1985. "It was the first time I
was away from home and it
was overwhelming," said
Kamins. "I was really
scared, but I swam real well
and I really enjoyed it."
Kamins won five gold
medals in his 11-12 age
group that year. He had
several top-six finishes in
Toronto in 1984 and has
been a steady performer in
every Maccabia. Ari Nessel
is described by teammates as
a great offensive and defen-
sive soccer player "who
won't back down from
anybody.
Other Detroit athletes and
former athletes will have
key roles at the Palace. The
torchlighters will be
escorted by an honor guard
of former Youth Games
athletes who are serving as
assistant coaches for the
Detroit team this summer
They are Steve Robinson
(soccer), Kim Gurecki (girls
basketball), Dena Bernstein
(swimming), Michelle
Mantel (table tennis), Marc
Moss (track) and Eric Swartz
(wrestling).
The Detroit delegation has
selected 10 other veteran
athletes competing this year
to march as flagbearers in
front of the Detroit team.
The group includes five-
year Youth Games partici-
pant David Hitsky (swimm-
ing, soccer), and four-year
vets Shaw Brown (soccer),
Howard Larkey (soccer), An-
drew Horowitz (soccer), Seth
Hoffman (basketball),
Merrek Sakwa (track),
Danielle Garber (tennis),
Sara Kolodin (track), Nicole
Rudolph (softball) and
Lauren Dworkin (swimm-
ing). They will lead the 266
Detroit athletes and coaches
in the parade.
The doors of the Palace
will open at 6:15 p.m. The
crowd will be entertained
with videos and live perfor-
mances until the ceremonies
and parade of athletes and
coaches formally begin at
7:30. Admission is free and
tickets are available in ad-
vance at the Maple-Drake
and Jimmy Prentis Morris
Jewish Community Centers,
or at the door.
Synagogues Plan
Games Events
A number of Detroit-area
synagogues have planned
special Shabbat meals and
services in conjunction with
the JCC — North American
Maccabi Youth Games. They
include:
Congregation Bais Chabad
of West Bloomfield — Shab-
baton Aug. 17-19 with a
catered meal. For informa-
tion., call Rabbi Elimelech
Silberberg, 626-1807.
Adat Shalom Synagogue
— Outdoor service 8 p.m.
Aug. 24. Luncheon following
Shabbat service Aug. 25 for
athletes and member
families. There is no charge
for the athletes, $3.50 for
others. For reservations, call
Shelly Newman, 737-0266,
or Linda O'desky, 851-2206.
Congregation Beth Achim
— Dinner and services 7
p.m. Aug. 24. No charge for
athletes, $8 members, $9
non-members, $5 children
under 12. For reservations,
call the synagogue by Aug.
15, 352-8670.
Congregation Shaarey
Zedek — Dinner and ser-
vices 6:30 p.m. Aug. 24 for
synagogue members who are
Games volunteers or hosts.
No charge for athletes, $10
for adults, $5 children. For
reservations, call Dr. Alden
Leib, 851-9118, or the syn-
agogue, 357-5544.
Temple Beth El — Dinner
and services 6:30 p.m. Aug.
24 for member families
hosting athletes. Adults $7,
children under 17 are $5.
Reservation deadline is to-
day. Call the temple, 851-
1100.
Temple Emanu-El — All
host families are invited to
prospective members'
Shabbat Aug. 24 for a 6:15
p.m. picnic and 7:45 p.m.
service. There is no charge,
but reservations are re-
quired. For information, call
the temple, 967-4020.
Temple Israel — All host
families are invited to a 6
p.m. dinner and 8 p.m.
Shabbat service Aug. 24.
Adults are $10.30, children
under 17 are $5.15. For in-
formation, call Larry and
Carole Miller, 855-1717, or
Paula Shapiro, 855-2899.
Temple Kol Ami — Special
Youth Games observance 8
p.m. Aug. 24.
Temple Shir Tikvah — 11
a.m. service Aug. 25 follow-
ed by a picnic. Temple mem-
bers will attend a Meadow
Brook concert that evening;
Youth Games families are
invited. For information,
call Joanne Levy, 689-4003.
Temple Shir Shalom —
Breakfast 9:30 a.m. Aug. 25
followed by 11 a.m. services.
Open to all, no charge.
The 70 host families living
in Huntington Woods have
organized a Shabbat dinner
and pool party at the Hun-
tington Woods Recreation
Center 6:30 p.m. Aug. 24.
There is a charge of $30 per
family and families are ask-
ed to bring a dessert to
share. Paid reservation
deadline is Aug. 15. For in-
formation, call Carol
Rosenfeld, 399-7299, or li-
ana Schmier, 547-5908. The
event is limited to Hun-
tington Woods host families.
Study Shows Tension
Among Jewish Students
SUSAN GRANT
Staff Writer
D
ialogue between diff-
erent Jewish
movements is needed
to counteract the polariza-
tion found among Detroit
Jewish students of diverse
religious backgrounds, ac-
cording to a recently releas-
ed survey.
The survey, which was
conducted by Project STaR
at the University of Mich-
igan and the Wilstein In-
stitute for Jewish Policy
Studies of Los Angeles,
studied the attitudes of
students in the sixth, eighth
and 10th grades toward
other Jewish movements.
Two day schools and four
afternoon schools in the
Detroit area were surveyed
earlier this year.
The study was prompted
by concerns from the Ameri-
can Jewish Committee and
the Wilstein Institute that
the Jewish community was
becoming polarized, said
Daniel Steinmetz, the
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