75ยข DETROIT THE JENATIC, N ENAIS 1 4 CHESHVAN 5754/OCTOBER 29, 1 9 9 3 This Week's Uncommon Forum Reveals Common Agendas Jews cross lines to discuss the city/suburb dilemma. RUTH LITTMAN STAFF WRITER L. Brooks Patterson, Ed McNamara, Maryann Mahaffey and Don Barden spoke out s it Coleman's fault? About a week before Detroiters enter the voting booths, a panel of political and business leaders was asked if city and suburban woes can be attributed to the Motor City's highest ranking official of 20 years: Mayor Coleman Young. T h e panelists, who spoke at the B i r m ngh am Temple on Oct. 25, agreed that Mayor Young nei- ther can be accused of starting the city's problems, nor for single-hand- edly aggravating good will be- tween the city and suburbs. The key to Detroit's renais- sance, they said, is not blame. It's city/suburb cooperation. "I have my own problems with Coleman Young, as many of you know... But the point I'm mak- ing is that we have to move be- yond trying to lay the blame all on one person," said Maryann Mahaffey, president of the Detroit City Council. Ms. Mahaffey was joined on the panel by Detroit business leader Don Barden, Wayne County Executive Edward McNamara and L. Brooks Patterson, Oakland County ex- ecutive. The event, which attracted nearly 350 people from several local synagogues and temples, was titled, "Detroit and Its Suburbs: Confrontation or Cooperation? The search for a common agenda." Though the search was for a common agenda, Monday's fo- rum held uncommon signifi- cance. It not only brought together leaders from three dif- ferent southeast Michigan juris- dictions, but also represented intercongregational, interde- nominational cooperation. "This is the very first time in the history of this community that Reform, Conservative and Humanistic Jews have sat down at the same table for any pro- gram," said Reform Rabbi Darnel Schwartz of Temple Shir Shalom. "If you feel the gap be- tween Detroit and its suburbs is large, you ain't seen nothing yet because the last time two Jews agreed on anything was when the Temple was destroyed (in Jerusalem)." Rabbi Schwartz serves on the new "Intercongregational Committee" with Rabbi Sherwin Wine of the Birmingham Temple, a Humanist congrega- tion, and Rabbi David Nelson, of Congregation Beth Shalom, which is Conservative. The pres- idents of these congregations also serve on the committee, which sponsored the event. "Our hope is to establish co- operation. The principle that works is pluralism. The inter- congregational forum is a way for us to come together in areas we agree. We live with the dif- Back, by popular demand! Debunked strange notions about Judaism, Hebrew and Israel. FORUM page 16 Apartheid Activist Opens Book Fair Nobel Prize nominee Helen Suzman speaks 8 p.m. Nov. 6 at the JCC. Detroiter Vicky Shietman Will speak about her book, Good-bye to the Trees. oxide BUSINESS LESLEY PEARL STAFF WRITER ast fall, "Saturday Night Live's" Al Franken packed a room of the Jewish Community Center, evoking laugh- ter and wrapping up the 41st annu- al Jewish Book Fair. A climactic ending to be sure. But the next day, Book Fair co-chairman Sallyjo Levine entered her office, for- got about 1992 and characters like Mr. Franken's Stuart Smalley, opened her desk drawer and began looking for this year's titles. Between 8,000 and 10,000 names will fill the foyer of the JCCenter from Nov. 6-16 for the country's oldest and largest book fair. OWN WORDS The Honorable Helen Suzman will kick off the event Saturday evening Nov. 6 at 8 p.m. A mem- ber of South Africa's parliament, Nobel Peace Prize nominee and president of the South African Institute of Race Relations, Ms. Suzman will ad- dress the issues of apartheid and anti-Semitism. Other speakers will include actor Tony Curtis on Nov. 15, magician Harry Blackstone Jr. and local author David Techner on Nov. 14 and Talmud schol- ar Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz on Nov. 11. Children's programming will involve story writ- ing with the Brainstormers and Jewish folktales with the Mythmakers. Authors Elaine Snyderman and Margaret Witovsky will be accompanied by a Russian inter- preter when speaking about the immigrant expe- rience and their book, Line Five: The Internal A City's Rebirth Quick Studies Soul Music Smithfield's moving forward on economic development. Temple Israel's theater group is having a wonderful time. Joseph Katz is committed to the klezmer sound. Passport. Thirty-one authors are scheduled to appear. "We've had people read the titles for Jewish con- tent. An author doesn't have to be Jewish, but be- ing a Jewish writer is not enough either," Ms. Levine said. "We're not here to compete with the bookstores. We're only in town for 10 days. I don't care how Page 38 Page 77 Page 103 APARTHEID page 14