DETROIT 4 NOAM M.M. NEUSNER Staff Writer J ewish Federation leaders were reminded this past week of the next major crisis to hit the organized Jewish commun- ity: intermarriage. Steven Bayme, director of the Jewish Communal Af- fairs Division of the Ameri- can Jewish Committee, came to Detroit last week to discuss with staff and lay leaders some of the dem- ographic problems emerging within the Jewish commun- ity. Among them: an inter- marriage rate approaching 50 percent of all marriages, a dropping number of con- verts to Judaism and a weakening of the ties bet- ween many Jews and the organized Jewish commun- ity. A 1989 study of Detroit's Jewish population revealed about 20,000 Jews that had previously not been counted. The sum stunned many community leaders, who saw the uncounted Jews as a sign that the community had not done the job in reaching out to the unaffiliated. Dr. Bayme, who has been raising some of these prob- lems for close to two decades, discussed with Federation staffers the strategies he feels would help com- munities grow in quantity and quality. "There is a mood for change among Federation leadership," he said. "The (Council of Jewish Federa- tions) national population study really unnerved peo- ple." Dr. Bayme suggested focusing efforts on Jews who are marginally affiliated, "those who want to be Jew- ish but don't know how." He favors funding proven programs, like day schools and youth trips to Israel; for the 60 to 65 percent of American Jews who, he feels, are seeking content for their Jewishness. Dr. Bayme is not convinc- ed that Jews can be broken into two groups; affiliated and unaffiliated. That model, he said, is "simple" and denies the relative im- portance of the majority of Jews who fall between being closely connected and those who reject the organized community. "This middle group is committed to continuity, but not to content," he said. "But outside of an ideological commitment to Jewish life, what is there?" "To be a serious commun- ity, we have to stand for cer- tain things," he said. "Judaism has to be able to articulate a language of principles and demands. We have to pursuade people that a Jewish life is worth leading." This approach is more than a qualitative issue. Scooping The Freep And Denying The Rumors STAFF REPORT upermodel Cindy Crawford, newly wed to actor Richard Gere, denied rumors she was pregnant in an exclusive telephone interview this week with Jewish News local columnist Carla Jean Schwartz, editor of Style magazine. Ms. Crawford, who said she'd love to be pregnant, has no idea how the rumor got started. Style magazine called the Names and Faces column of the Detroit Free Press to set the record straight after the Free Press reported the pregnancy rumor. Ms. Crawford plans to visit Israel this spring for a fash- 14 FRIDAY, JANUARY 24, 1992 Cindy Crawford: Who, me? ion shoot. The entire inter- view with Ms. Crawford will appear in the spring issue of Style. ❑ Many federations across the country are struggling to sponsor successful fund- raising campaigns because younger Jews are less com- mited either to Judaism or to the Jewish community. Local Federation leaders met with Dr. Bayme on the specific issue of intermar- riage. "We wanted to bring in an expert who could lay out the facts to further discussion based on knowledge," said Michael Feldman, chairman of Federation's leadership development committee. Mr. Feldman said Dr. Bayme's presentation elicited a divi- sion among those in the Fed- eration's leadership con- tinuum between outreach to intermarried couples and in- reach, with an aim .toward prevention. - Both methods, if applied at the expense of each other, SIM - 4 Charlie Flaishef enjoyed the Tu B'Shevat seder this week put on by the 7th graders at Beth Shalom's Hebrew school. will cause major controversy within the Jewish commun- ity. "Does outreach appear to condone intermarriage? Does the language of Photo by Glenn Triest Federation Is Reminded Of The Intermarriage Crisis prevention appear to attack intermarriage?" asked Mr. Feldman. The Leadership Continuum will schedule a follow-up session to further discuss the issue. ❑ 4 4-4 4 -4 Corner For King And Heschel? NOAM M.M. NEUSNER Staff Writer A proposal to rename an East Lansing street corner after the late civil rights leader Mar- tin Luther King Jr. and his famous Jewish ally, Abra- ham Joshua Heschel, has been placed before the city council. The proposal was discuss- ed briefly at Tuesday night's council meeting and sent to an ad hoc committee for the naming of public places. The committee will be composed of members of the city's community. The Rev. King and Rabbi Heschel together worked to -desegregate the United States during the 1960s. Michigan State's Hillel. Foundation sought to honor their relationship by renam- ing the corner at Linden and Charles streets, which is where Hillel is located. "King and Heschel took the spiritual values of their traditions and applied them to the types of problems in humankind's existence," said Dr. Mark Finkelstein, director of the MSU Hillel. In recent years, MSU has been wracked by a series of confrontations between some black and Jewish students. Two years ago, Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan visited the cam- pus, which elicited an outcry from the Lansing Jewish community. Dr. Finkelstein, who said MSU Hillel has been tradi- tionally interested in building bridges with other ethnic and racial groups, said he was unfazed by the recent controversies. "I felt we could not delay in expressing our own inner Deeds to reach out to the black community," he said. Renaming a street corner is not considered a major municipal challenge. Unlike the process where an entire street is renamed, business stationery and street signs do not need to be replaced. Dr. Finkelstein has offered to have Hillel pay for a commemorative plaque. But the East Lansing city council wanted to set up a policy that would field all such requests. "We've never received a request to rename a place in the city before," said Mayor Liz Schweitzer. "I'm sure it will come to fruition, but we need to have a policy first." ❑ Temple Israel To Honor Local Black Leaders . NOAM M.M. NEUSNER Staff Writer T emple Israel will honor two black leaders Feb. 9 with the presentation of its first an- nual Rabbi Leon Fram Hu- manitarian Award. Congresswoman Barbara Rose Collins, D-Detroit, and Wayne County Commis- sioner Bernard Parker will be cited for their contribu- tions to their communities and to black-Jewish rela- tions in the area. Rabbi Fram was Temple Israel's founding rabbi. The Feb. 9 event, called "A Tribute to Rosa Parks," will feature a concert by Cantor Harold Orbach, opera baritone Arthur Thompson, pianist Daniel Syme and the Second Ebenezer Baptist Church Choir. Cantor Orbach and Mr. Thompson will perform a medley of songs associated with black and Jewish histo- ry, including "Nobody Knows the Trouble I've Seen" and "Eli, Eli." Mr. Parker has helped Temple Israel develop a re- lationship with the Wilshire, Neighborhood Association in Detroit. The synagogue provides several volunteer services to the neighborhood. Rep. Collins has supported several pro- Israel bills in her first term as congresswoman. ❑ 4 4 4 -4