the openness of the American ;Jewish community." Mr. Daviter says hearing ;.;survivors stories had a profound impact on him. "My first day ?-here, I walked through the ";museum — there was very little I didn't know about. What I didn't have was an emo- tional connection to the Holo- caust." Listening to survivors can pre- the Holocaust from becom- s. % ing just another topic in history, he says. In Germany, "the guilt of the generation after needs to be re- ' placed in the next generation," , says Mr. Daviter. "I would imag- ine that some people still have guilt feelings but [do] not ac- knowledge that." . Mr. Daviter's stay has not been all work and no play. He has made friends here, including sev- eral who attend the University of Michigan. He admits to spending a lot of time driving between Ann Arbor and West Bloomfield. "I think it's important that I had something totally different going on outside of the Holo- caust," he says. But not too much. Mr. Daviter also took a few Holocaust class- es, taught by Professor Sidney Bolkosky at U-M Dearborn. Pro- fessor Bolkosky invited Mr. Pushing A Button For U-M Jewish Unity Daviter to audit one class, which inspired the young man to sign up for two more. "Almost immediately, he be- came one of my best teachers in my life. [Professor Bolkosky] taught all the same topics and faots I had in high school, but PHIL JACOBS EDITOR [struck a] good balance between tarting Sunday at the Uni- facts and the emotional side." versity of Michigan, Jewish Mr. Daviter's official last day student leaders will literal- here was Jan. 31, and he leaves ly be pinning their efforts on the United States Feb. 5. But he does not plan to leave his experi- a campaign to recruit people and raise some money for the United ence behind. Jewish Appeal. Mr. Daviter and Rabbi Charles The pin, a half-maize and half- Rosenzveig, founder and director of the Holocaust Memorial Cen- blue button, will be given to any ter, hope to bring more German Jewish student who donates at adolescents here to fulfill their least $1 to the UJA. The goal: 100 percent participation from the civil service. "I don't want [my stay here] to school's 6,000 Jewish (4,000 un- be this one-time good experience dergrad) students. It's called the Half-Shekel Cam- without change for anything ex- cept my personal life," says Mr. paign, and it's based on God's com- Daviter. He plans to interview mandment to Moses to take a prospective candidates in Ger- census, with every Israelite pay- ing a half-shekel "as an offering many for Rabbi Rosenzveig. to the Lord." (Exodus 30:11-13). Bringing over more German Ari Nisman, a senior business youngsters "is probably the one thing that would make me very communications major, is cam- paign chair. The months of plan- proud," Mr. Daviter says. "I think the greatest asset is ning will come to a head Sunday yet to come," says Rabbi Rosen- at 6 p.m. at Hillel when 100 core zveig. "The body of knowledge he volunteers will gather for a kick- acquired here is going to have an off rally. "By wearing that button or impact on the young people in making that pledge, a person will Germany." ❑ feel Jewish and also feel great to S 6PITZEQ'8 be part of our group," said Mr. Nis- man. Contributors will also see their name printed in the Michi- gan Daily in an April advertise- ment. At the end of this month, par- ticipants will be invited to a cam- pus-wide Shabbat dinner. In March, there will be a huge Purim party at Hillel, and a campus-wide seder is scheduled for Passover. "What this campaign is trying to do is to get Jewish students when they are young," said Mr. Nisman. "We wait so long in life to give Jewish people a sense of Judaism and unity. This is a way to give someone early in his or her college life an opportunity to give tzedekah. We will teach the tal- mudic phrase, 'Whoever saves one life, it is as if he or she has saved the entire world.' "Students know this, too," said Mr. Nisman, whose roommate Stefan Malter designed the but- ton. "But nobody's ever made an attempt to reach out. If it works at Michigan, it will work at any other campus, linking the entire Jewish world under one common Half-Shekel campaign through- out the world. We hope to create excitement through this program." For Hillel's executive director, Michael Brooks, the effort isn't - about giving a buck, but is instead about involving a person in a com- munity, not to mention creating that community. "We want to show the students that they can be part of a rich ma- trix of Jewish life and at the same time we want to show that we can change the way people feel about Jewish giving on campus," said Mr. Brooks. Last year, the U-M UJA cam- pus campaign involved about a dozen students raising $4,000. The funds came from 250 stu- dents through phone solicitations and bagel sales. According to Mr. Brooks, if every Jewish student donated $1, the campaign would generate 50 percent more than last year. Again, though, the goal is to get more students participating in some aspect of campus Jewish life. First, however, comes a feeling of identification. "The University of Michigan," said Mr. Brooks, "is a comfortable place for people to be Jewish. "To identify yourself as a mem- ber of the tribe — that's what we want here. The focus is on the peo- ple, not the dollars." ❑ COLORWORKS STUDIO OF INTERIOR DESIGN • HEBREW BOOK and GIFT CENTER, INC. 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