THE JEWISH NEWS

13 FRONT

This Week's T o p Stories

Unity?

Spreading His Wings

A veteran fund-raiser at the Jewish Federation is leaving to flex his
muscles in the private sector.

With Unity Shabbat approaching, some remain
unaware of a plan to unify the Jewish community.

JILL DAVIDSON SKLAR STAFF WRITER

JULIE EDGAR STAFF WRITER

ichael Berke is not real-
ly leaving the Jewish
Federation of Metropol-
itan Detroit; he's just
moving out of the building and
joining the private sector.
"It's not a departure; it's just a
change," Mr. Berke said of his de-
cision to form a consulting/fund-
raising company with Peter
Remington, former director of de-
velopment for the Detroit Sym-

M

phony Orchestra and one-time
vice president of university rela-
tions at University of Detroit-
Mercy.
When Mr. Berke, Federation's
vice president of financial re-
source development and mar-
keting, says he's not leaving, he
means he'll serve as a fund-rais-
ing consultant to Federation.
That's his first assignment, in
fact.

"Me opportunity seemed to be
right to continue my association
with Federation in a meaningful
way. Federation has been gener-
ous in allowing me to kind of
spread my wings and offer the
skills and talents that have been
provided me here at Federation.
"It's the best training ground
in the world, and to use those
skills to help other organizations

SPREADING page 8

abbi Marla Feldman is
pretty sure that unity
within the Jewish com-
munity is not going to hap-
pen overnight.
Bickering and disrespect be-
tween groups who are separated
mainly by levels of observance
have gone on for eons. Rabbi
Feldman, associate director of the
Jewish Community Council,
knows that. But she remains con-

R

vinced that, given a few years, a
Council-sponsored event to uni-
fy the community will be a suc-
cess.
`Phis is a long-term effort that
we are going to be engaged in,"
she said. "Not all Jews are the
same, nor do we have to be. How-
ever, we can respect the differ-
ences, have respect for diversity
and pluralism in the community

UNITY page 10

On Shabbat Noah, Temple Kol Ami holds a 41
special service at the Detroit Zoo. See page 14

.0411110

Jonathan Neuhard meets an iguana.

