ng Together
he Meaning

RUTH LITTMANN STAFF WRITER

Students

create a

tapestry of

remembrance

in preparation

for Yom

PH OTO BY BILL GE M MELL

Hazikaron.

Students at Adat Shalom are contributing art and poetry to the tapestry.

class of religious-school stu-
dents at Adat Shalom is learn-
ing about a new friend from
Israel. His name was Eyal
Yishai, and he was killed by
a Syrian bomb in the 1982
Lebanon war.
For Adat Shalom's youth,
Eyal's memory brings to
life the holiday of Yom
Hazikaron, Israel's day of
remembrance.
This year, as a tribute
to those who died for Is-
rael, Detroit's Federation,
its Michigan-Israel Connection,
the Jewish Community Center
and The Detroit Jewish News
have embarked upon a project
targeting young men and
women.
The project features a large ta-
pestry of 24 squares, pieced to-
gether by local youth-groupers
and students from religious and
day schools. Each square repre-
sents a fallen soldier from the Is-
raeli Defense Forces. As part of

the project, students in metro De-
troit have contributed to an an-
thology of poems about the fallen
soldiers.
The tapestry and anthology
will be featured during metro De-
troit's Yom Hazikaron Ceremo-
ny to be held at 7:30 p.m.
Tuesday, May 2, at the Jewish
Community Center in West
Bloomfield.
On May 12, travelers to Israel
on the Michigan Miracle Mission
will present the tapestry to the
Boyer School in Jerusalem,
which has lost 75 of its graduates
to war.
"The purpose of the project is
to make Yom Hazikaron a mean-
ingful experience for American
Jews, especially for American
children," said Hanan Lis, pro-
ject co-chair with Marta Rosen-
thal.
In Rivkah Nachlas' class at
Adat Shalom, sixth-grade stu-
dents Jason Horowitz, Marc Iss-
uer, Eric Wolok and Joel Jackson

have learned that Eyal Yishai
was born Oct. 2, 1962. He was an
outstanding student who liked
chemistry and helped his friends
with homework.
At 17, he joined the IDF. Eyal
first served with the paratroop-
ers, but transferred to a different
unit to be with friends.

In her poem, Adat Shalom stu-
dent Amy Handelman wrote: "He
really loved nature ... He was
strong-willed ... Him and I both
love to sing."
In the Lebanon war, Eyal

fought in many battles. His let-
ters home expressed awe of the
Mideast landscape and sadness
over the death of his friends.
A bomb killed Eyal on June 10,
1982.
Military service is a prospect
that frightens Jason, Marc, Eric
and Joel. However, these stu-
dents say if they lived in Israel,
they, like Eyal, would join the
IDF. They do not plan to join the
U.S. military. They say Israel
seems more vulnerable than
America.
Teacher Rivkah Nachlas be-
lieves the tapestry and poetry as-
signments have encouraged her
students to think about the
meaning of military service and
sacrifice. "It really has been
tremendous," she says.
The purpose of the Yom
Hazikaron project, clarifies co-
chair Marta Rosenthal, is not to
mourn the death of fallen sol-
diers. "It's to celebrate their lives
and memories."

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