That's What Friends Are For
H

Though its office
closed last year,
Detroit's Friends
of Hebrew
University are
raising more
money than ever.

ELIZABETH APPLEBAUM

ASSISTANT EDITOR

ere's a bit of advice
for all those chari-
table organizations
having a difficult
time raising funds:
Shut down your office.
All right, it sounds un-
conventional. But take a
look at the local chapter
of the American Friends
of Hebrew University.
In 1991, for financial
reasons, the American
Friends closed its Detroit
office. Less than one
year later, the chapter is
thriving and raising
more money than ever.
Several months ago, for
example, a professor at a
Michigan school handed
a $100,000 check to the
Hebrew University
Friends.
Such interest comes as
little surprise to the
Friends' director, Jack
Liwazer, who has seem-
ingly unlimited energy
for the Israeli university.
"He's on another line
right now," a secretary
responds to Mr. Liwa-

Hebrew University attracts about 20 Michigan students each year.

zer's call to a business
acquaintance.
Undaunted, Mr. Liwa-
zer prefers not to leave a
message or phone back
later. Instead, he says,
"I'll wait. It's about
Hebrew University."
Mr. Liwazer became
involved with the
Friends after his daugh-
ter, Elizabeth, in 1986
attended the school's
one-year program. Mr.
Liwazer and his wife vis-
ited Elizabeth at Hebrew
University and were
impressed by students'
interest in Israel and
Judaism.
"They come back so
excited," he says. "By
being in Israel, they get
more involved in Jewish
causes and their Jewish
heritage."
Soon after Mr. Liwazer
signed up with the
Detroit Friends, he was
named president. "I have
the greatest admiration
for Jewish education," he
says of his support for
the school. "I realized

early on that we cannot
outdo the Arab world in
human and natural
resources. But what we
do have is the intellect."
Hebrew University
was founded in 1918 by
Albert Einstein, Chaim
Weizmann, Martin
Buber, Judah Magnes
and Sigmund Freud. It
opened in 1925, and
today has an enrollment
of more than 23,000 stu-
dents. The school has 20
Friends chapters in the
United States.
About 20 students
from across Michigan
participate each year in
a Hebrew University pro-
gram.
The uninitiated should
be warned: speaking
with Jack Liwazer about
Hebrew University is not
unlike asking someone
for details about his first
grandchild.
Hebrew University,
Mr. Liwazer notes,
already has graduated
70,000 students, among
them a third of all
K n e s s e t
members.
The vast ma-
jority of staff
at all Israel's
universities
are Hebrew
Uni-versity
graduates.
The school
has the only
faculty of ag-
riculture and
of veterinary
medicine
in Israel.
With such
selling
points, and
because of "a
little luck," it
hasn't been
difficult to
raise funds
for Hebrew
University
even in tough
financial
times, Mr.
Liwazer says.
Just recently,

Mr. Liwazer secured a
$25,000 gift from Mel
Kepes; after his wife was
diagnosed with cancer,
Mr. Kepes made the
donation for Hebrew
University's cancer
research center.
A little-known bonus
for Michigan students,
Mr. Liwazer points out,
is the Carl and Sander
Levin Scholarship, which
grants financial aid to
anyone from the state
who attends Hebrew
University for any pro-
gram, including the year
and semester abroad.
David Litwack, region-
al director of the
American Friends of
Hebrew University,
notes that additional
funds are available for
students based on need,
as is a scholarship for
graduate students. The
office is about to
announce a grant espe-
cially for University
of Michigan students
attending Hebrew Uni-
versity, as well.
While the vast majori-
ty of Michigan-Hebrew
University connections
are academic, bonds
exist that have nothing
to do with education.
Harold Berry, a longtime
Hebrew University sup-
porter, tells this story:
Architect Leonid Levin
is the head of the Jewish
community in Minsk,
Detroit's sister city.
Earlier this year, he
developed a heart condi-
tion requiring extensive
surgery.
Mr. Berry and Detroit-
er David Buegeleisen,
who has for years been
active with the Minsk
Jewish community, ar-
ranged for Mr. Levin to
be transported to Israel,
where he underwent
surgery at the Hebrew
University-Hadassah
Hospital. The operation
was successful, and Mr.
Levin is set to return to
Minsk this month. ❑