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s the Jewish News celebrates 60 years of community
to look to the future as it is to the past. We are blessed
as Jewish education, synagogue life, community

For Generations To Come

Federation CEO looks ahead to emerging leadership, resurgence in Jewish identity.

HARRY KIRS BAUM

Staff Writer

ough he appreciates the past
and what it's afforded Detroit's
Jewish community, Robert
Aronson's job is to ensure its

Robert Aronson

future.
Chief executive officer of the Jewish
Federation of Metropolitan Detroit
since 1989, Aronson has met the chal-
lenges of keeping the Jewish communi-
ty financially and communally strong
in the face of tough times locally and
statewide.
Detroit Jewry has remained in the
national Jewish spotlight in good meas-
ure because of his vision of offering

innovative programs and developing
the means to fund them.
According to a 1990 American
Jewish census, Detroit has a Jewish
population of 96,000 — 11th highest
in the nation — yet it is currently
fourth in per-capita fund-raising. A
chunk of that success belongs to
Aronson, who is known for his gift for
raising money.
Many also consider him a visionary.
Here are his thoughts about what the
next decade brings for our Jewish corn-
munity.

Future Leaders

"In my view, it all comes down to the

leaders who emerge, and whether they
take this community seriously and
whether they devote themselves seri-
ously," he said.
The challenge is to develop a genera-
tion of leaders who will carry on the
traditions of philanthropists like Max
Fisher, Joel Tauber, the late David
Hermelin and others.
Aronson said he recently met with
successful, affluent Jews who were not
part of today's Federation.
"I told them what made this commu-
nity great is that there have been gener-
ations in a row of true leadership," he
said. "If you talk to any of the leaders,
they will all give you a story about
GENERATIONS on page 24

Landscape For Learning

Today's leaders plant the seeds for tomorrow's Jewish education.

DIANA LIEBERMAN

Copy Editor/Education Writer

Rabbi Judah Isaacs

3/29
2002

16

here's more to Jewish education
than aleph, bet and gimel.
Those who have devoted their
lives to Metropolitan Detroit's day
and supplementary Jewish schools agree
that improving the quality and relevance of
education is a top priority for the future.
"Right now, we are planting the seeds
so that, in another 10 years, we'll really
be able to see results," said Rabbi Judah
Isaacs, executive director of the Agency
for Jewish Education, which has hands-
on responsibility for what goes on in the
area's Jewish classrooms.
Among the most important seeds for

growing stronger schools is teacher edu-
cation, Rabbi Isaacs said.
The most concerted effort in this direc-
tion began during the 2000-2001 school
year with the Jewish Early Education
Enhancement Project (JEEEP).
Funded by the Hermelin-Davidson
Center for Congregation Excellence, the
Jewish Theological Seminary of
America's William Davidson School of
Jewish Education and the Jewish
Federation of Metropolitan Detroit,
JEEEP consists of two years of weekly
classes in various areas of Jewish content
for preschool teachers, along with sevqral
other activities and trips.
This year, the program was extended to
teachers in first through third grades. And

the original JEEEP graduates will contin-
ue next year with the Teacher Education
Advancement Model (TEAM).
"Our goal is to have a better-trained
cadre of teachers who are continually
working on their own development,"
Rabbi Isaacs said. "Each year, we'll add
more grades, so the quality of education
will improve to a higher and higher
level. I believe this effort will change the
landscape of education.
"Not that it's so terrible now," he
added quickly.

Setting Priorities

Family education also ranks very high on
LEARNING on page 26

