SEVENTY-FIVE CENTS

SERVING DETROIT'S JEWISH COMMUNITY

APRIL 19, 1991 / 5 IYAR 5751

Jewish Groups Raising
Funds For Kurdish Relief

Staff Writer

p

ictures of Kurdish
refugees trying to
escape the Iraqi army
are etched in Rae Sharf-
man's mind. She collects
newspaper and magazine ar-
ticles on the subject and has
made regular calls to the
White House public phone
line encouraging the Ameri-
can government to get in-
volved.
Now that President
George Bush has announced
plans to send humanitarian
aid and establish refugee

humanitarian relief in 33
countries, including Ethi-
opia and Eastern Europe, es-
tablished an Open Mailbox
for Kurdish Refugees last
week. Already, JDC has col-
lected more than $13,000,
said Henryka Manes, project
coordinator for international
development programs.
The plight of Kurdish
refugees has hit a responsive
chord among the Jewish
community, Ms. Manes said.
"I've been getting a phone
call every 10 minutes on the
subject."
"The Jewish response is

camps in northern Iraq, Ms.
Sharfman is pleased. But
she still searches for ways to
help the thousands of people
streaming into the moun-
tains along the Iraqi-
Turkish border.
Although there are no
local efforts by the Jewish
community to help the
thousands of Kurdish refu-
gees, national Jewish groups
are mobilizing to provide
aid. The American Jewish
Joint Distribution Com-
mittee (JDC) and the Ameri-
can Jewish World Service
have begun collecting money
for relief.
JDC, which has provided

Continued on Page 22

RN S/Reu ters

SUSAN GRANT

Kurdish refugees flee Iraq's troops.

Hotel Planning
Kosher Kitchen

CLOSE-UP

AMY J. MEHLER

in

Staff Writer

e CatstT

A singles weekend at the Concord
Resort Hotel is a case study
in the battle of the sexes.

141-ffi
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Page 24

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f Marty Fine, a New York
tax attorney and real
estate developer, has his
way, Detroiters may again
experience kosher hotel
cuisine.
That's because Mr. Fine, a
graduate of the University of
Michigan Law School, is the
new owner of the Day's Ho-
tel on W. Nine Mile Road,
formerly known as the
Southfield-Sheraton Hotel
and before that as the
Shiawassee Hotel.
He happened to hear about
the hotel a year-and-a-half
ago while attending his law
school's 25th class reunion.
"It was quite by accident,"
Mr. Fine said. "A real estate
broker friend of mine let me
know that the hotel was in a
mortgage foreclosure. I'm
old-fashioned. I believe in
buying low and selling
high."
Mr. Fine, who has no other
property in Detroit, bought
the hotel for $4 million. He
said he plans to reopen the
hotel's kosher kitchen,
which was first built in 1974
by the Gershenson family.
According to Mr. Fine, • the
kitchen hasn't been used in
at least 10 years. "It's a real
shame," Mr. Fine said. "Till
now, local kosher caterers
have come in and set up for

parties and affairs, but if
this can get off the ground,
we'll be able to prepare and
set everything up from the
hotel."
Mr. Fine said his 400-room
hotel has the largest
ballroom in Southfield and
possibly the third largest in
Detroit.
"We can hold up to 1,200
people," he said, "and the
kosher kitchen is connected
to our Crystal Ballroom."
Mr. Fine, who will begin
negotiations with the Coun-
cil of Orthodox Rabbis, said
he thinks the kitchen needs
a partition (to close it off
from the main kitchen), new
kitchen equipment and a
ritual cleaning.
The Council currently
oversees the kosher kitchen
at the Westin Hotel at the
Renaissance Center, which
is used only for kosher ban-
quets.
"If I'm successful, we could
be open for business by the
fall," Mr. Fine said. "I'm
also thinking about kasher-
ing the hotel coffee shop, and
renting out our banquet
rooms for private dinners on
Jewish holidays.
"With a kosher kitchen
right on the premises, people
could just come, eat and be
served. No hassle, no
cleanup," he said. Besides
the coffee shop, the hotel

Continued on Page 23