Photo by Richard Sheinwald
Far left, Adat Shalom's Rabbi Efry
Spectre delivers a Torah to the
Frankel School In Jerusalem.
Left, 1,300 strong came to Israel as
part of the mission.
Below, the Miracle Mission
contingent is led to the
Western Wall.
resulted in three packed El-
Al jets to service some 1,300
Detroit Jewish community
members. The Mission, spon-
sored by Federation and The
Jewish News, was 10 days in
April that they'll be talking
about for years to come, both
in Detroit and Israel.
It was the largest United
Jewish Appeal mission ever
sponsored. It took 30 buses,
each with its own itinerary,
not to mention 75,000 bottles
of water and three Jerusalem
hotels to facilitate the trip.
At the trip's beginning, mid-
dle and end there was nary a
complaint.
The non-solicitation mis-
sion resulted in follow-up
reunions and events and
even a video. As a contingent
1,300 strong, the Detroiters
marched and then prayed
together at the Western
Wall; they celebrated Yom
Ha'atzma'ut, dancing in the
streets on Israel Indepen-
dence Day at Detroit's
Project Renewal City, Yavne.
They heard emotional closing
remarks from Prime
Minister Yitzhak Rabin in an
El Al hanger.
About 50 percent of the
Mission participants were
taking their first visit to
Israel. Once there, they visit-
ed art and history museums,
jeeped in the north, floated in
the Dead Sea, climbed
Masada, prayed at the Wall,
toured underground Roman
passageways, sang, danced,
cried, laughed and came
home as different people.
As successful as the
Miracle Mission was, there
were still major issues that
needed tending to at home.
Perhaps the biggest story of
the year was Federation's
struggling juggling act of
morality, economy and neces-
sity when it came to the
future of the Jewish Home
for Aged's Borman Hall. The
facility, which for years was
costing the Federation some
$800,000 over its $1 million
budget, finally bottomed ou
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