Taxiirdobeits•=4Talicaetni, DETROIT Community Council Urges Jews To Register For November Vote JENNIFER FINER Jewish News Intern I t is hard to dispute the importance of the Jewish vote in American politics, yet a portion of the Jewish population is not even registered to vote. "We need to vote in as great a number as possible," said Allan Gale, associate director of the Jewish Com- munity Council of Metropoli- tan Detroit. The JCCouncil is sponsor- ing several voter registra- tion drives in an attempt to increase the number of Jew- ish voters. Mr. Gale cited a national study by the Council of Jew- ish Federations, which esti- mates 20 percent of eligble American Jews are not registered to vote. According to Mr. Gale, "The ultimate goal of the drive is to have Jewish polit- ical impact reach its fullest potential. We want to make it easy for Jews to register and make more people aware of voting by absentee ballot." Joseph Tarica, executive director of Congregation Beth Abraham Hillel Moses, took a free class so that he can register voters anywhere in Oakland Coun- ty. According to Mr. Tarica, it only takes 15 minutes to fill out the necessary forms to become a registered voter. The JCCouncil is also recruiting Jews to become registrars, in the effort to register more Jewish people. Voter registration drives will be held during ground- breaking ceremonies at the Jimmy Prentis Morris Jew- ish Community Center at 1:30 p.m. July 12, and dur- ing the Yiddish Concert - in the Park in Shepherd Park at 7 p.m. Registrars will also be on hand at Adat Shalom Synagogue for a candidate forum 7 p.m. July 21. At least seven other drives are being planned for August and September. To vote in the Nov. 3 gen- eral election, a voter must be registered by Oct. 5. ❑ . . )UTHFIELD City Cie:, 4. 56m,r4, C;ty VEIT* VOTER REGISTRATION Marilyn and Rabbi Martin Berman help register voters July 2. Ceremony, Fun Day A JPM Turning Point JENNIFER FINER Jewish News Intern E xcitment in the com- munity was high when it was announc- ed that enough money was raised to begin expansion of the Jewish Community Center's Jimmy Prentis Morris Building in Oak Park. The Jewish Federation said this week that the addi- tional $300,000 needed to begin renovations at JPM had been raised. This puts the campaign just short of reaching its $3.5 million goal, which will place a new pool, health clubs and ex- tended programming in the JPM. Groundbreaking is slated for 1:30 p.m. July 12, and will be followed by a host of family activities. Festivities until 4:30 p.m. at Charlotte M. Rothstein Park, behind JPM, include: 1950s music by the Fantastics, puppeteer Beth Katz, Hora Aviv Folk Dancers, a skatemobile where children can rent roller skates, clowns, face- painting, crafts and food. A photo exhibit depicting JPM's history since 1955 will be on display in the lobby. Oak Park Mayor Gerald Naftaly and Mark Schlussel, president of the Jewish Fed- eration of Metropolitan Detroit, will speak during the program. Irwin Elson, president of the Center, will emcee and Hugh Greenberg, chairman of the JP Builders Committee, also will take part. The event is sponsored b the Neighborhood Project, in cooperation with the Center, the City of Oak Park, Jewish Experiences for Families, and The Jewish News. Robert Aronson, executive vice president of Federation, is looking forward to bri ing programming to the e tire area through the JPM. "I am very excited that we have reached the status of groundbreaking. It's part o an overall renaissance for the neighborhood and Jew- ish community. I am lookin forward to the completion o the project" next spring, he said. The $3.5 million goal for the project has not yet been reached by Federation, the Jewish Community Cent "It's not limited to just people in Southfield and Oak Park." Leslie Bash sner sr r: Barney Ross, former btking champ; narty Lazar, basketball, were among 14 FRIDAY, JULY 10, 1992 and neighborhood activist who have contributed t fund-raising efforts. Accor ding to Mr. Greenberg, a additional $400,000 t $500,000 still needs to raised to cover the operatio of building programs. Although the majority o funding came from large do- nations, Leslie Bash, managing director of JPM, said 20 parlor meetings we held to raise both money an community awareness Three additional parlor meetings in Huntingto Woods and Farmington Hills have been planned for July 16, 22 and 29.