A Middle•East
business in
Dearborn.

cite
stones,
's and terror-
in the Middle
C, Jewish and
tb business
g rtners have
Nourished in met-
ropolitan Detroit, poring over
real estate deals and medical
reports as if religious pride and
nationalism never existed.
"I wish we could package the
mutual respect and friendship
we have here and send it to the
Middle East," said Dr. Joel
Kahn, one of four partners at
the Michigan Heart Group in
Troy. "It seems silly to me that
people would refuse to do busi-
ness together based on religious
differences."
Dr. Icahn, an American Jew,
is joined at the practice by Dr.
Steven Ajluni, a Palestinian
Christian whose family is from
the West Bank. The pair of car-
diologists were classmates at
the University of Michigan in
Ann Arbor before joining the
medical group at different times
over the last two years.
"Our wives are having lunch
together as we speak" Dr. Ajlu-
ni said. "We're friends, but the
idea that you have to be of a cer-
tain nationality to do business
together is ludicrous. When you
throw stones over a long peri-
od, you can forget who threw
the first one and why."
As peace accords are under
way in the Middle East, Dr.
Kahn and Dr. Ajluni are hope-
ful for the future of their re-
spective homelands. Like other
area Arab and Jewish business
partners, they are mindful of
op how violence can displace op-
portunity.
Most recently in New York,
the bombing of the World Trade
(-) Center along with a related ter-
rorist attempt against the Unit-
- ed Nations and other populated
L- sites have caused many firms,
CD Jewish, Arab or otherwise, to
cc
▪ question the open-arm immi-
gration standards of the Unit-
ed States as well as their own
1—
internal security measures.
At the same time, area Jew-
ish and Arab business partners
are aware of their fortune in

-

L1J

38

working in a free-market econ-
omy relatively free of terrorism.
As much as possible, they would
like to encourage Middle East-
ern countries to continue abol-
ishing laws that stifle trade.
"Clearly business cannot go
forward if terrorism is left to its
own devices," Dr. Kahn said.
"We've been very fortunate to
be virtually free of terrorism in
this country. Our hope is that
Arab and Jewish businesses
here can serve as a model for
free trade in the Middle East."
Kamal Shouhayib, a
native of Lebanon and
president of the Choice
Group, a real estate in-
vestment, development
and management firm in
Troy, agrees. Mr.
Shouhayib said he works
with Jewish developers
in building residential
subdivisions and trailer
parks.
"When you know of
what went on in the past
in the Middle East, and
weigh those against the
freedoms in this country,
certainly everyone can
learn to work together no
matter what their reli-
gion or nationality may
be," Mr. Shouhayib said.
`Those of us here should
encourage the movement
toward olive branches in-
stead of guns."
A partner of Mr.
Shouhayib, Fred
Fecheimer, an American
Jew and an attorney
with the firm, Dykema
Gossett, said he was cau-
tious at first in working
with the Choice Group.
"As a Jew, I had some
initial hesitation in work-
ing with Kamal," Mr.
Fecheimer said. "But
over the years, I've come to re-
spect him as a person.
"Now that I know him, his
nationality is not a concern. In
my experience over the years,
the integrity and character of a
person should be established be-
fore you head into a business
deal," Mr. Fecheimer said.
While some Jewish and Arab

business partners have tran-
scended the religious and polit-
ical underpinnings of the world
stage, other companies have
watched personal beliefs and
family pressures interfere with
growth and profits.
To help bridge such differ-
ences, Arnold Michlin, co-
founder of the American Arabic
and Jewish Friends of Metro-
politan Detroit, said his group
sponsors seminars designed to
inform Jewish and Arab busi-
ness leaders about promising

1981), I felt I had to improve the
ties between the two commu-
nities.
"By forming a Jewish and
Arab organization, we've been
able to link discussions and
understanding between the
large community groups we
have here," Mr. Michlin said.
"On the national scene, there is
a low percentage of Jewish and
Arab businesses, but here in

Other Arab-Jewish busi-
nesses share such sentiments.
While no one knows the exact
number of such businesses in
metro Detroit, clearly such part-
nerships have thrived.
At the Michigan Institute of
Urology, a medical group in De-
troit which treats ailments to

Unlike the barriers between the West Bank and Israel,
Arabs and Jews are working together in metropolitan Detroit.

R.J. KING SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH NEWS

trade ties both here and across
the globe.
"One compelling reason for
founding the organization was
that I had a young Arabic part-
ner who left the firm due to
pressure brought on by his fam-
ily," said Mr. Michlin, .a finan-
cial planner in Farmington
Hills. "Soon after he left (in

Detroit such ties are fairly com-
mon."
Mr. Michlin cited law firms,
medical groups and other pro-
fessional organizations as the
businesses most likely to be run
by Jewish and Arab partners.
"With greater education
comes greater understanding,"
he said.

kidneys and other internal or-
gans, there are eight partners
— including three Jews and
three Lebanese.
"I've become personal friends
with all of the partners and
there haven't been any difficul-
ties," said Dr. Brian Guz, a Jew-
ish partner. "It boggles my mind
that this is an issue. If you are

