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Irene Slitchler was a
Holocaust survivor from
Kruy, Romania, and had
already returned to her
home when she heard the
news of Israeli indepen-
dence.
"I was so happy," she
said. "I only wished it
could have happened
sooner so that my parents
[could've gone there], and
they might still be alive."
Slitchler's sister moved to Israel in 1951, and
Irene tried to follow, but was denied an exit visa.
"I wanted to move there, but I had to wait 11
years for a passport because I was in a communist
country" said Slitchler, who now lives in
Southfield.

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Cantor Hyman Adler blowing the
shofar at Central High School.

On May 16, 1948, Detroit Central High School
held one of the largest
local celebrations of an
independent Jewish state.
"I was a real Zionist
then, and my whole
thought process was to
move to Israel," said Ilene
Rubin, one of the thou-
sands on hand at Central
that day. "Words can't
describe my feelings at
the time."
Rubin and her hus-
band, Henry, often talk
about going on overseas trips to new places, but
usually end up in Israel.
"Whenever someone mentions Israel, I'm ready
to drop everything and leave," she said.

Where Were You?

‘-‘

Local residents
recall the birth
of the State of Israel.

LONNY GOLDSMITH Staff Writer

The crowd milling around the field at
Central High School.

Czechoslovakia native
Manny Hauer left his
home three days before
Hitler invaded and
occupied his country.
He settled in Michigan
and like most Jews, he
was happy there was
finally a Jewish state.
"A lot of young peo-
ple died for [Israeli
independence]," said
the Oak Park resident.

Joseph Mermelstein was in a displaced persons
camp in Germany. in May 1948.
"This was a major happening in our lives," he
said. "We knew this was a place we could go."
Mermelstein and others in the DP camp got
involved when David Ben-Gurion and American
leaders visited and the residents there voted for
delegates to the
Knesset.
Mermelstein's
brother and sister-in-
law moved from the
camp to Israel.
Mermelstein had been
asked to go and fight
for the Jewish state,
but he couldn't do it.
"My nerves were
unable to go through
another war," he said.
"But the 3,000 of us had a big celebration (at the
camp). 3,

.

Ed Skulsky was playing baseball at Detroit Central High
School on May 14, 1948.
"That's when it
hit me," Skulsky said,
wiping a tear from his
eye. "We were happy
that the Jews finally
had a home. It was
quite meaningful to
my family."
Skulsky and his wife
Marilynn, of West
Bloomfield, made their
first trip to Israel three
years ago on the
Miracle Mission.

Izzy Assour was a 6-year-old boy
in Israel in May 1948.
"There were only 600 Jews
there at the time, but people
began coming from all over. The
Arab countries opened their doors
[allowing Jews to make aliyah].
"We celebrated because after
2000 years, we were indepen-
dent."
Assour lives in Tel Aviv today,
and is in town as an artist curator
of an exhibit at the Kahn Jewish
Community Center.