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BETH EL page 17

bers in good standing must at-
tend the meeting or send a proxy
ballot. The board must accept the
vote.
If between 51 percent and two-
thirds of the membership appear
for the vote or send a proxy, the
board can reconsider its decision
but is not bound to do so.
"We aren't going forward with
this unless we have a large num-
ber of people interested in doing
it," said Nancy Singer, a member
of the committee.
This week's letter also served
as a rebuttal to an 18-page letter
that was sent to congregants from
Mr. Kamins explaining the rea-
sons the board decided to vote for
the sabbatical, among them a de-
cline in membership and an in-
crease in an operating deficit.
"I think what (the committee's
letter) is trying to do is say, 'Look,
there were some half-truths and
some misrepresentations. Let's
try to clear it up,' " Ms. Singer
said.
"We feel this is the last effort
we can make to overturn some-
thing that we feel is very wrong,"
Ms. Singer said. "It is a very small
way to let our voices be heard."
Despite the committee's effort,
the temple leaders are going
ahead with plans to replace Rab-
bi Polish. A search committee has
been appointed by Mr. Kamins
and will soon schedule its first
meeting.

Also, a rabbinical placement
commission, co-sponsored by He-
brew Union College, Jewish In-
stitute of Religion, the Central
Conference of American Rabbis
and the Union of American He-
brew Congregations, is gathering
a list of candidates suitable for
the job.
The recent turmoil has caused
five members to cancel their
membership, specifically men-
tioning the forced sabbatical of
Rabbi Polish as the reason, Mr.
Jablonski said.

Two-thirds of the
members must be
present or send a
proxy ballot.

Mr. Kamins said that he has
heard support for the board's ac-
tion from members.
"Based on calls and letters
from the congregants, the gener-
al membership appreciates the
decision and is focused on mov-
ing in a forward direction," he
said.
But Ms. Singer believes that
the end is not yet in sight. She
said that more members will
probably leave the temple at the
end of the school year if the vote
is not passed.

❑

Yad Ezra Clucking
Over Empire Donation

ALAN HITSKY ASSOCIATE EDITOR

D

Sponsored by Women's Division
of the Jewish Federation of
Metropolitan Detroit

Shalom
Detroit
is here to
welcome
newcomers

etroiters took Empire
Kosher Poultry at its word
last November and turned
in nearly a third of the na-
tional total in the company's
"Pound for Pound" promotion.
The 2,602 pounds of poultry
represented by the Empire labels
mailed in from the Detroit area,
plus an additional 1,000 pounds
donated by Empire, will be given
to the Yad Ezra kosher food
pantry in Oak Park during the
next few months.
Those who mailed in labels re-
ceived a discount coupon from
Empire and a certificate of ap-
preciation. Nationally, labels
from 8,055 pounds of pre-
Thanksgiving purchases were
sent in.
"This is fantastic," said Yad
Ezra Assistant Director Sylvia
Abramowitz. "It's money that we
can use to buy something else."
The 3,600 pounds of donated
poultry is the equivalent of 10
percent of what the agency or-
dered in 1994 and amounts to
$5,000 in savings.
Les Kleiman of Morris Kosher
Poultry, Empire's Detroit area

wholesaler, was delighted with
the response. "Hopefully, we'll do
it again next Thanksgiving and
increase the amount with more
notice and more publicity." This
was the second year for Pound for
Pound in some cities, but the first
time Empire has publicized the
promotion in Detroit.
Ms. Abramowitz said the Em-
pire donation comes as Yad
Ezra's client load is increasing.
Yad Ezra gave almost 38,000
pounds of food to 980 families in
January.
In the five years of the agency's
existence, she said, more than
900 families have stopped using
Yad Ezra. "But lately, every few
days we have been pulling cards
from the inactive file as they be-
come active clients again," she
said.
Some clients will not come to
Yad Ezra during regular hours,
asking for after-hours appoint-
ments to pick up food. 'They don't
want other people to know, and
Detroit's Jewish community is
not that large. We don't want to
take anyone's dignity away," said
Ms. Abramowitz . [ I