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NPR Targeted

Demonstrators to protest
biased Mideast coverage.

The Benard L. Maas Foundation, in
cooperation with the Jewish Federation
of Metropolitan Detroit, has presented
Cantor Sholom Kalib and the Jewish
Community Center Lenore Marwil
Jewish Film Festival with the 2002
Benard L. Maas Prize for Achievement
in Jewish Culture and Continuity.
Winner of the Mans Prize in the cate-
gory of individual achievement, Cantor
Kalib of Farmington Hills has dedicated
his life and career to promoting Jewish

identity and illuminating its history, cul-
ture and musical-liturgical tradition. His
focus is on preserving the prayer
melodies of Eastern Europe. His forth-
coming Thesaurus of Synagogue Music of
the East European Community is consid-
ered the definitive organization and
commentary on the subject. The five-
volume work has been approved for
publication by Syracuse University Press.
Presenting the award at the April 10
meeting of the combined boards of

From top:

Maas Prize Committee Chair Phoebe Mainster; Maas Award for Group
Achievement recipients and festival co-chairs Martin Hollander and Susan Marwil.
JCC President Sharon Hart; festival promoter Mindy Soble Kaufman; JCC
Assistant Executive Director Margo Weitzer; JCC Executive Director David Sorkin.

Maas Awardfor Individual Achievement winner Cantor Sholom Kalib with
Federation President Lawrence Jackier.

Jewish Federation and United Jewish
Foundation of Metropolitan Detroit,
Award Committee Chair Phoebe
Mainster commended Cantor Kalib "for
his spiritual leadership, for his relentless
research of our history, for the inspira-
tion he has given others to follow their
own Jewish paths, for his contribution
to our community and to Jews through-
out the world."
For group achievement in . the category
of the humanities, the 2002 Maas Prize
went to the JCC Lenore Marwil Jewish
Film Festival. "We applaud the achieve-
ments of the Festival," said Mainster,
"for its continued ability to entertain, ,
inform, provoke and stimulate, and for
its depiction of Jewish life as we know it
or wish it could be."
The largest film festival in Michigan,
it is running through May 10 at a vari-
ety of locations.
On behalf of the Film Festival, David
Magidson, festival director, and Susan
Marwil, festival co-chair with Martin
Hollander, accepted the award. In addi-
tion to the certificate of achievement,
both Mans Prize winners received a cash
prize of $2,500.
The Mans Prize is awarded annually to
celebrate and honor individuals and
organizations whose work enhances
Jewish life in Michigan. The categories
in which the awards are given are per-
forming arts, fine arts, and humanities.
The 2002 award is being given in the
humanities category. Members of the
awards committee include Professor Sid
Bolkosky, Susie Citrin, Judy Endelman,
Matt Engelbert, Sharon - Hart, Mark
Hauser, Lawrence Jackier and Professor
David Weinberg.

PR: Tell The Truth," a
grassroots effort to pro-
mote more even-handed
coverage of the Arab-Israel
conflict on National Public Radio, has
scheduled a nationwide protest for
Wednesday, May 14.
In Detroit, friends of Israel will
demonstrate at 6 p.m. at the studios of
WDET 101.9 FM-Detroit Public
Radio, 4600 Cass Ave., Detroit.
The Boston Israel Action
Committee, a group whose members
come from several Boston-area syna-
gogues, is spearheading the protest.
According to a press release from the
organization, Israel supporters will
picket 33 NPR affiliate stations "to
express outrage over NPR's biased cov-
erage of the Middle East."
Each demonstration is locally organ-
ized. In addition to picketing their
local stations, the groups "call on
friends of Israel not to make contribu-
tions to NPR affiliates until the net-
work begins to cover news from Israel
in an unbiased fashion," said Diana
Muir, the demonstration's national
organizer.
"We are also asking businesses and
foundations that underwrite program-
ming on NPR to cease contributions
to the network until it begins to cover
the Middle East fairly and impartial-
ly," she said.
The organizers also question the use
of federal funding to support NPR
programming.
"NPR: Tell The Truth" protests will
take place in the following cities:
Amhert, Mass.; Baltimore; Bangor,
Maine; Boston; Chicago; Cleveland;
Columbus, Ohio; Denver; Des
Moines, Iowa; Detroit; Fairfield,
Conn.; Fresno, Calif.; Houston;
Indianapolis; Hartford, Conn.; Los
Angeles; Miami; Nashville, Tenn.;
Newark, NJ.; New Haven, Conn.;
New York; Philadelphia; Pittsburgh;
Portland, Ore.; Providence, R.I.;
Rochester, N.Y; St. Paul, Minn.; San
Diego; San Francisco; Seattle; Selden
(Long Island), N.Y.; Tucson, Ariz.; and
Washington, D.C.
For more information about the
Detroit protest, contact Talya
Drissman at (248) 790-7109, or
Talya@drissman.com
— Diana Lieberman
sta writer

5/ 9

2003

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