MIRACLE MISSION
AIRPORT PARTY page 1
JEWIS H NEWS
Miracle Mission-acres brought their luggage to the Maple•Drake Jewish Community Center last Friday and picked up materials.
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Carl Levin showed up to ad-
dress Mission-aires leaving
that afternoon.
"Our community is an ex-
traordinary Jewish commu-
nity," Sen. Levin said. "(The
Mission) is a sign of its ex-
traordinary leadership."
The governor also praised
the community for its record-
breaking Mission.
"Fm proud of you. Michigan
is proud of you. Congrat-
ulations," he said.
Gov. Engler recently sent
members of his staff to Israel
to study how to improve trade
relations between Michigan
and Israel. During his speech
Sunday, he emphasized the
importance of strong economic
ties. Solid trade relations will
foster a better understanding
between cultures, he said.
"The bonds between us are
strengthening. We've got so
much in common, so much to
share — especially a love for
freedom," Gov. Engler said.
For participants, the trip
signifies more than a vaca-
tion. It's a chance to see their
heritage up front. More than
50 percent of the 1,284
Detroiters will see Israel for
the first time. Many say the
Mission demonstrates their
support for the Jewish home-
land.
For Helen Kasof, Sunday
marked the beginning of a re-
union with friends she hasn't
seen in 40 years. The Beverly
Hills, Calif., resident flew in
to join Bernice Golde, her sis-
ter-in-law, for the trip.
Even though Mrs. Kasof
moved from Detroit in 1951,
she still remembers neighbors
who lived on Elmhurst, where
she grew up. Before boarding
the El Al jet to Israel, she reac-
quainted herself with Walter
and Elaine Siegler. Mrs.
Kasof looks forward to re-
uniting with others.
"Can you imagine? There
will be people here that I
knew when I was young and
I might not even recognize
them," she said.
On the opposite side of the
terminal sat three generations
. of women from West
Bloomfield. Ruth Shafer, her
daughter Hillary Spolan and
granddaughter Lindsay
Spolan, 13, are traveling
through Israel together. The
Mission is their "girls' week
out." For Lindsay, the trip is
also a bat mitzvah gift from
her grandparents.
Cyrille. Cooper, another
Mission-aire, didn't sleep for
two days before departure
day. The excitement was too
great. On this, her first trip to
Israel, Mrs. Cooper looked for-
ward to attending a ceremo-
ny in Jerusalem honoring her
cousin, Esther Margolis. Ms.
Margolis, a Detroit native, is
noted for helping Israel's pub-
lishing industry.
The tenor of take-off day
sobered somewhat during a
brief ceremony commemo-
rating Yom Hashoah. Rabbi
Efry Spectre of Adat Shalom
Synagogue said that on the
day of Holocaust remem-
brance, Mission-aires should
remember Jews who per-
ished in the gas chambers.
"When we go (to Israel) to-
day, we live.out their unful-
filled dreams," he said.
According to airport cus-
todians Deborah Gardner
and Theresa Wallace, the
gathering was like nothing
they had seen before. Both
said airport security was at
an all-time high. Guards
even checked their trash
bags and cleaning carts.
El Al staff said many se-
curity guards were monitor-
ing the premises. They
reported no disturbance&
Standing in the terminal
as take-off time neared,
Seymour Zate of West
Bloomfield psyched himself
up for the 11-hour flight by
asking the time-honored
question:
"Are we there yet?"
❑
Eric and Rochelle Peterson wait with their luggage.