Insight
Remember
When • • •
Opportunity Found
From the pages of The Jewish News
for this week 10, 20, 30, 40 and 50
years ago.
Bosnian-Muslim student's chutzpa goes a long way
toward getting him an American education.
Staff photo by Krista Husa
,
who has a new congregation of Bosnian
Muslims in Hamtramck.
Staff Writer
"Despite the fact that this is a relatively new
t may seem ironic when two Bosnian-
community with little means," he said, "the
Muslim students arrive next week to
imam called me to say he's raised money to
attend a local Catholic college with the
help defray the expenses of these students."
help of two Jewish communities, but it's
Gad-Harf applauds the cooperative efforts.
just another day in the life of Michael Traison.
"I see this more than just a matter of helping
An international attorney who regularly does
two young people attend college; it's a matter
business in Eastern Europe, Traison was contact-
of using it as an opportunity to forge closer ties
ed by a Sarajevo Jewish community organization Michael Traison
between the local Jewish and Bosnian-Muslim
on behalf of a Bosnian student who passed a
communities," Gad-Harf said.
note to a very important man during class.
According to Traison, Muslims and Jews get
When 17-year-old Adnon Memic handed a
along well in Bosnia -- "the Jewish community
is loved by everybody."
note to President Bill Clinton during his visit
to the boy's high school in Sarajevo last sum-
Before war broke out in Sarajevo, Jews stock-
mer, Adnon was asking for a dream come true
piled a warehouse of pharmaceuticals in their
— for him and his sister, Nermina, 20, to
synagogue, thinking they would use them for
study in America. Clinton passed on the note
the Jewish community, said Traison. When the
to Tom Miller, the Jewish U.S. ambassador to
war started, non-Jewish people found out and
Bosnia-Herzegovina; Miller passed it to the
started lining up at the synagogue.
community's La Benevolencia organization,
"So here is the Jewish community, handing
David Gad-Harf
which contacted Traison.
out pharmaceuticals to the people there," he
Associated with the Detroit law firm of
said. They opened up a satellite pharmacy
Miller, Canfield, Paddock and Stone, Traison
across the river through the city., because people
couldn't cross the bridge.
called the Jewish Community Council of Metropolitan
Detroit, whose staff immediately began contacting area
"And who was running the Jewish community satellite
organizations for help.
pharmacy?" Traison said. "A Palestinian-Arab doctor. The
blending of all of this stuff is mind-boggling."
"With lots of Jewish communal and institutional
involvement, the benefits to both Jewish communities are
The students are expected to arrive at Detroit Metropolitan
that it gives us a chance to fulfill our mandate to provide
Airport sometime next week, but details are not final. There is
this kind of social service," Traison said. In other words,
talk of Adnon and his sister meeting President Clinton here
performing tikkun olam.
when Clinton comes into town on Aug. 23.
"Our agenda is a Jewish agenda, which is social justice,"
David Gad-Harf, Council's executive director, said much
of what has been happening in the last six months has been Traison said. "It's helping our own people, but also helping
other people."
worked out via e-mail exchanges with more than a half
dozen people. So far it's worked.
"We came across St. Mary's College in Orchard Lake
because it's a historically Polish Catholic-oriented college,
and already attracts a number of students from Eastern
Europe," he said, adding that the siblings also speak
ferent inter-relationships
hile long involved in
English. "We thought it would be a perfect choice."
between Israel and
preserving the rem-
The college agreed to foot the bill for their tuition for up
Poland, which militate
nants of Jewish heritage in
to four years, and will also help with housing and part-time
toward cooperative effort
Poland by honoring Poles
employment.
between the professionals
who care for Jewish ceme-
The American Jewish Committee came up with the
in the automotive indus-
teries, Traison also is
money to fly Adnon and Nermina from Sarajevo to a
tries
there and in Israel,"
involved in finding
Northwest Airlines hub in Europe. Northwest agreed to pay
Traison said.
investors to form an auto-
for the rest of the round-trip tickets.
"It will be a research
motive research institute in
"Michael [Traison] thought this would be a wonderful
center, like a tech center
Poland that would bring
opportunity for Detroit," Gad-Harf said, "and, given the
in Sterling Heights, with
together American, Polish
ethnic makeup of Detroit, it's a possible bridge between the
heavy, heavy Israel
and Israeli engineers.
local Jewish and Muslim communities."
involvement."
"There are many dif-
With a little research, Gad-Harf found an imam (priest)
HARRY KIRS BAUM
Photo by Dom bey/Abrin Assoc.
I
❑
Poland-Israel-Detroit Tie
W
—
- ,
Zalman Shuval was named Israel's
ambassador to Washington.
Sherman Shapiro and Anne
Gonte Silver were named chairs of
the 57th annual Balfour celebration
and concert.
.
4
Five people were injured in Israel
when a bomb exploded in Canada
Park near the Jerusalem-Tel Aviv
Highway.
Lawrence J. Traison was installed
as president of Congregation B'nai
David.
A six-month administrative
detention order against Rabbi Meir
Kahane was cancelled by order of
Israeli Premier Menachem Begin.
Eve Weiss was named director of
the national Women's Division of
the United Jewish Appeal.
Timber from Israel was found to
be in great demand in Kuwait.
:m-kkke%
The Jordanian government made a
plea to help raise $700,000 to pur-
chase five Dead Sea Scrolls from
Bedouin tribesmen, in order to keep
the historic finds from going to pri-
vate collectors or being torn up and
sold in fragments to tourists.
The new Turkish premier and
head of state indicates that he will
not tolerate any anti-Jewish propa-
ganda in Turkey.
Philip Neuman of Detroit was
elected national exchequer of the
AZO national pharmacy fraternity
4101*%.-VIVE*;'," .Wtr\VNa
The first Italian branch of the
International Council of Christians
and Jews is formed in Rome.
The German offices of the
World Zionist Organization is
being liquidated by the end of
October in Munich.
Mrs. David B. Werbe will direct
the art program at Young Israel for
the coming year.
— Compiled by Sy Manello, w,
editorial assistant o
8/18
2000
35