2 Years The Rate Leader Is Back! Franklin Bank N.A. 358-5170 The New Thinking In BankingTM FDIC Insured Southfield • Birmingham • Grosse Pointe Woods EQUAL HOUSING LENDER *Annual Percentage Yield. Minimum balance requirement of $1,000. A penalty may be imposed for early withdrawal. Rate accurate as of May 4, 1994 and is subject to change or withdrawal at any time. Not valid with any other bonuses or coupons. The Spice of Life ' ?!;] Cabaret Concert 1 .0 Featuring music from the 40s. 50s. 60s through the 90s: Pop. Jazz and Broadway TH E D E TRO I T J E WIS H N E WS Saturday, May 21st 20 a45 p.m. Jewish CommunityCenter Maple/Drake Bldg. Adrnksiorx $15.00 Refreshments served • Reservations required For information and reservations call the Cultural Arts Department at 661-7624. Co-sponsored by the Manny Natalie Charach Endowment Fund and I-lomeklealth Exchange Incoming, Outgoing: Presidents Consistent LESLEY PEARL STAFF WRITER n addition to building coali- tions with other communities, acting as an umbrella to a va- riety of organizations and speaking to the media on issues of Jewish concern, professional and lay leaders of the Jewish Community Council have tried to form a stronger identity — to answer the question, "Who is this organization?" "Because of the nature of our organization, a lot of our efforts are not highly visible," said Alan Zemol, slated incoming president. "And we don't just have one fo- cus." Outgoing president Jeannie Weiner struggled with the image dilemma for three years, but is fairly certain the name of the Jewish Community Council is known and understood outside the community, if not entirely within. "The Jewish Community Council is sort of schizophrenic. Our role is to develop consensus and stand in front of issues. How- ever, with all the organizations we represent, it's a bit of a tightrope walk," Ms. Weiner said. "But all the things that never made the paper, that never be- came a crisis, that were mediat- ed because of our relationships in the community — that's the sat- isfaction and true nature of our work." For Ms. Weiner, three years at the helm concludes with new di- alogue with the Arab communi- ty and maintained relations with black organizations. She also traveled to Israel sev- eral times with state and local politicians. "If you're doing advocacy, you can't do it in a vacuum. You need to be able to pick up the phone and say, 'Joe, we're really con- cerned about assault weapons. How are you going to vote?' " Ms. Weiner said. "Just because you represent 270-plus organizations doesn't mean you're significant. You have to know the people you're talking to. And they have to understand our consensus process." Internal changes which oc- curred during Ms. Weiner's lead- ership include one-delegate representation by member orga- nizations and a $25 membership fee. Ms. Weiner leaves Mr. Zemol with the task of continuing to find funding for programming beyond what is allocated by the Jewish Federation of Metropolitan De- troit. And in the same breath, Ms. Weiner adds that she hoped to do I Jeannie Weiner: Outgoing JCCouncil president. more outreach to the Hispanic and Orthodox Jewish communi- ties. Ms. Weiner believes Hispan- ics were hard to reach due to her own lack of time and the differ- ent concerns of groups within that community — Mexicans and Puerto Ricans. She feels the JG Council's traditionally liberal stance on abortion and the Mid- - dle East peace process may be among the reasons much of the Orthodox community has stayed further than arm's length away from the organization. "Our charge is to look inward as well as outward, to see if there are ways to improve relations be- tween major segments of the Jewish community and develop respect. I look forward to a day when it's not OK for a rabbi to speak from the pulpit disparag- ingly about another Jew. I don't have the answers and I'm sure they won't be easy ones," Ms. Weiner said. Mr. Zemol hopes young blood might bring new insight. For the 1994-95 year, 25 per- cent of the JCCouncil's board of directors will be first-timers. "I think our toughest challenge is to create meaningful roles for young people. If we're going to at- tract young Jews, the ones who don't remember a time without an Israel, who didn't live through the Holocaust, we have to have broader community participation. We need to show being Jewish- ly involved doesn't have to be narrow," Mr. Zemol said. 'There's a great deal of diversity within our community. The trick is to listen." ❑