INSIDE: DETROIT/ EIGHT ARE CITED BY HALL OF FAME; FINE ARTS/ A FILMMAKER STRIVES TO REACH NEW HEIGHTS. 75¢ Ne-HDETROIT 12 IYAR 5755/MAY 12, 1995 Mission II Takes Off Close-U p Cream of the Over 800 travelers turn Metro's International Terminal into a temporary Jewish neighborhood. PHIL JACOBS EDITOR n 1993, Rabbi Efry Spectre of Adat Shalom community in a long time," brought Miracle Mission I to a climax when said Barbara Grant, who in an emotionally charged service, he per- was traveling with her hus- sonally delivered a Torah to the children of band, Dr. Allan Grant. "People don't realize how the Frankel School in Jerusalem. This time, his bus probably won't be met great this community is. I'm with a chuppah, nor will El Al need to wired about this trip." In the background at the reserve an extra seat for a Torah, but Rabbi Spectre is making a return delivery visit to the airport, one could hear Mr. Conservative day school. This time his package also Hermelin over the loud- will serve as a medium of continuity and connection speaker instructing people to for the Jewish people. It contains a modem. He's hug the person to their right and kiss the person to taking it there in conjunction with Miracle Mission their left. In the meantime, a security policeman II as a means of communication between Hillel Day ducked under the hora-dancing travelers and got a School and the Frankel School. bowl of water for his dog. Rabbi Spectre was one of "We have higher secu- over 800 who turned the rity for these types of de- Metro Airport's International partures," Ed Conway, Terminal into a festive depar- an airport security ture point. With Mission II spokesman, said. "There honorary chairman David are a lot of plain- clothes Hermelin leading the crowd in security people here who Israeli songs and dances, par- you never would know ticipants kissed loved ones and were security. I see two friends goodbye for an adven- people in my line of vision ture that will last through May who aren't really passen- 17 and include stays in both gers." Eilat and Jerusalem. Over 500 The Miracle Mission of the participants will be mak- participants went through ing their first trip to Israel, rid- a final security check be- ing directly aboard two El Al fore boarding their planes jets that came to get them at at 1 p.m. and 2 p.m. The Metro. 11-hour flight would take Marlene Nessel of South- them directly to Eilat. field is one of those first-timers. Stacy Waldman, 20, She said she had to be talked and her sister Melissa, 22, into taking the trip by her chil- of Farmington Hills were dren, who sort of reversed roles traveling to Israel for the on her. first time with their par- "They've been the parents ents. The trip was in hon- through this one, while I've or of their dad Jay's 50th been the child," she said while L -L E, birthday and their par- waiting to check through se- ents' 25th wedding an- curity. "I've really never been o mversary. far from home, but this is "I guess I'm interested Jennifer Satovsky waits her turn something my family wanted in the people, and in see- to board the plane to Israel. me to do." ing how a modern society Stuart and Iris Goldstein de- grew out of an ancient cided it was time to take the trip after all three of one," said Stacy, an Oakland Community College their children had already been to Israel. student entering the University of Michigan. "I'm expecting a hustle-bustle type of place when I "I want to look into the people as well as the cul- get to Israel," said Mrs. Goldstein. "It's got to be a fast- ture," said Melissa, who attends Madonna University moving society. I was told by friends to be assertive." in Livonia. "This is the most exciting thing to happen in this MISSION II page 20 Crop Aco of cofic¢andasliceuflidoodCfE infromMeNdffiofttlip. CouillifoptamilictIV ELIZABETH APPLEBAUM ASSOCIATE EDITOR Story on page 36 Searching For Space AJE is not on the sale block; schools consider other options. JILL DAVIDSON SKLAR STAFF WRITER W hen Darchei Torah's vice presi- dent Stuart Sand- weiss opened his mail the other day, he wasn't surprised but he was a little disappointed. Inside an envelope from the Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Detroit was a check he had written months earlier as a deposit on the building that houses the Agency for Jewish Education. The Orthodox day school rents 10 classrooms in the building 10 months of the school year and was hoping to make the facility its per- manent home. A short note explained that Federation and United Jewish Foundation would not be selling the property. "We were hoping they would sell us the building," Mr. Sandweiss said. Another bidder on the building, Akiva Hebrew Day School, also learned the news this week. Barry Eisenberg, Akiva's executive director, said Federation officials made it clear that while the building was not now on the sale block, Federation was willing to help the school seek spatial options. "According to them, the door is still open," Mr. Eisenberg said. "They want to help us in any way they can." To both Orthodox day schools, the news was a sig- nal they must re-double ef- forts to find more space for their growing student bodies. 'We are already five class- rooms short for next year," Mr. Sandweiss said. "We have to find something soon." The decision to keep the building was conveyed to both schools by representa- tives from a day-school task force. That group was as- signed by Federation to help the schools, which are expe- riencing a rise in enrollment at the same time that space is becoming scarce. Federation Planning SCHOOLS page 8