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STANDING page 7
He is a secular Jew and son of
the famous orchestra leader and
songwriter, Seymour Simons,
who wrote "All of Me." Mr. Si-
mons' grandfather, D.W. Si-
mons, was a president of
Congregation Shaarey Zedek
and the first Jewish member of
the Detroit City Council.
The founder of Stone and Si-
mons advertising agency in the
mid-1950s, Mr. Simons is nev-
ertheless the antithesis of a glib
sloganeer. With each issue that
he discusses, he unfolds a the-
sis-long analysis of pertinent his-
torical events and rebuttals to
opposing viewpoints.
His inquisitive spirit led him
into, then out of advertising. In
the early 1960s, looking for a
broader understanding of the
world, Mr. Simons went on an
around-the-globe adventure. On
a $1,200 ticket, he spent near-
ly a year traveling to many
Third World countries. From
that "life-changing experience,"
he altered his lifestyle and pro-
fession.
Advertising no longer held his
interest. Despite the financial
security of a thriving ad busi-
ness, Mr. Simons said he was
searching for a broader purpose.
He took a stand.
"Very few people live as well
as we do in the United States,"
he said. "Traveling, keeping my
ears and eyes open, gave me a
better understanding of the
haves and have-nots."
Working in commercial real
estate and running an art
gallery, he said, opened his
schedule to devote more time to
his human rights activities.
Around that time, he came
under the mentorship of the late
Morris Gleicher, whose MG
and Casey agency developed
campaigns for social causes
and progressive political candi-
dates.
From helping to coordinate
the Selma civil rights march to
protesting the Vietnam War to
working for a democratic Haiti
to his work for the Michigan
Coalition for Human Rights —
he serves as the group's secre-
tary — Mr. Simons has found
a way for his values and actions
to be indistinguishable.
"In Henry Kissinger's mem-
oirs, he wrote that the U.S. citi-
zens' objection to the [Vietnam]
war was the most discussed top-
ic of discussion at the White
House," said Mr. Simons. "We
realized that maybe we did have
an impact."
While many Americans re-
mained apathetic about U.S. for-
eign policy toward Haiti, Mr.
Simons served as an official elec-
tion observer during Haiti's
1995 elections. His review of
U.S.-Haitian history since the
Caribbean island's indepen-
dence from France in the early
1800s offers a seldom-heard per-
spective of how misguided
American foreign policy encour-
aged human rights abuses by
Haitian dictators.
Despite the gravity of many
of the social issues that he sup-
ports, Mr. Simons is hardly a
one-dimensional policy wonk.
On the contrary, he's been called
romantic and idealistic.
"Maybe I was born upside
down. The older I get, the more
idealistic I am," he said.
For years, he's collaborated
with Mort Zieve of Simons
Michelson Zieve on writing mu-
sicals. In the next two months,
they expect to record their lat-
est song.
But perhaps his most signifi-
cant recent production is be-
coming a new father. He and his
wife, Roseanne, have a new in-
fant, Eli. Married three years to
the date that they met at a Hi-
roshima/Nagasaki commemo-
rative event, the Simons' activist
tradition will likely be extended
to another generation.
"For me," Mr. Simons said, "life
is becoming more intense, and I'm
always looking ahead." LI
Rwanda Relief
A Jewish response to the refugee crisis.
s charitable organizations
begin tugging at purse
strings for holiday-time do-
ations, Jews are being
asked to help an immediate in-
ternational cause.
The American Jewish Joint
Distribution Com-
mittee (JDC) is
seeking contribu-
tions to provide a
medical team and
emergency medical
supplies for the
refugees of the
Rwanda and Zaire
conflicts.
JDC is a New
York-based organi-
zation that pro-
vides relief services, rescues
at-risk Jews and works to revi-
talize Jewish communities world-
wide.
Today, the JDC is sending a
New Jersey doctor to Rwanda to
help care for refugees who have
returned from neighboring Zaire.
The JDC also recently sent a med-
ical team to Tanzania to work
Ai
with the influx of refugees there.
Such medical assistance is a
continuation of a 1994 program
established by the Jewish Coali-
tion for Rwanda Relief, a coalition
of 39 international Jewish orga-
nizations, including the JDC,
. 44 which banded to-
gether two years
ago to aid Rwan-
dan refugees.
Marcia Presky
of the JDC said the
organization is us-
ing leftover funds
raised in 1994 and
will continue to
seek donations "for
as long as there is
a need."
Neither the Jewish Federation
of Metropolitan Detroit nor the
Jewish Community Council was
aware of any local Jewish relief
efforts.
Checks should be made
payable to JDC Rwanda/Zaire
Open Mailbox, 711 Third Ave.,
10th Floor, New York, NY
10017. ❑
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