TXT .4( .4( T TTTT XXX_T_TXX TTTTTTTUW HAPPY HEALTHY NEW YEAR This Week Year In Review — 5763 STRENGTH AMID STRIFE from page 151 4( 4( A Little Bit Of New York Right Here In Bloomfield Hills 9' 6646 Telegraph at Maple • Bloomfield Plaza • 248•932-0800 ************************************************************ Best Wishes to our Customers & Friends for a Healthy & Happy New Year! Richard Abel carries a Torah donated by his family through a children's arch into the new Shul synagogue, west of the Jewish Community Center in West Bloomfield. happening." Ve Wish Our Friends and Customers A Healthy and Happy New Year 00itien 'Plit)enbc Chinese American Restaurant Sugar Tree Plaza 6257 Orchard Lake Rd. ■ West Bloomfield 855-3570 The Home Theater Specialist SALES • SERVICE • DESIGN • INSTALLATION 248-681-8509 Hours: M-Th 9-6 • Fri 9-7 • Sat 10-4 • Sun Closed WE DESIGN AND INSTALL: • Multi-room AudioNideo • Home Theater • Satellite Cable Telephone, Security & Central Vac Systems IZED DEALER FOR: - .. • Panason! • SharpVision • B&K • Marantz • Onkyo • Paradingm • Klipsch • nell • Russound d more! 9/26 2003 152 3355 Orchard Lake Rd. • Keego Harbor (Between Cass and Commerce Rd ) ook for at the Jewish News „.the first Friday of every month,..it's a monthly lifestyle pull-out-and-save section focusing on fash- ion, home design, local personalities, the arts and more! 757200 NJPS On Hold One of the more startling moments came in November, when the United Jewish Communities — the umbrella organization of North American Jewish federations — suddenly can- celed the presentation of its long- awaited National Jewish Population Survey. The NJPS was to have been the most extensive — and, at $6 million, the costliest — demographic study ever conducted of the American Jewish community. Lost data that forced the UJC to postpone presenta- tion of the study also cast a cloud on the ultimate results, whose release was postponed several times throughout the year. Meanwhile, the same issues that have dogged American Jewry for gen- erations continue to occupy a high place on the agenda. "Assimilation, intermarriage, Jewish knowledge, passion, commitment and their opposite — indifference, apathy and ignorance," Rabbi Wolpe said. One new issue was the prospect of a Jewish president: Connecticut Sen. Joseph Lieberman announced his can- didacy for the Democratic nomination for president, hoping to build on the momentum he established as Al Gore's running mate in the 2000 election. Toward the end of 5763, a glimmer of hope for American Jews appeared from the east: Violence ebbed in Israel as Palestinian terrorists temporarily suspended their murderous operations. American Jews were divided on whether the Palestinian Authority's new prime minister, Mahmoud Abbas, really had managed to marginalize P.A. President Yasser Arafat, whether Abbas could deliver on his promises and to what degree President Bush would remain involved in the peace process set in motion by the "road map" plan. When it comes to Bush, observers are waiting to see if the Jews will line up behind the incumbent in 2004 or throw their weight behind the Democratic presidential candidate. "There's a feeling that we owe him, to repay his kindness for going out of his way in a way we didn't expect," Rabbi Ganchrow said, referring to Bush's unexpectedly strong support for Israel. "But there's also an uneasiness over how much pressure he may now place" on Israel. Yet it is the matter of Iraq — still wracked by chaos and mounting U.S. casualties — that looms as the key issue both for Israel and American Jewry, Rabbi Yoffie said. "Putting aside questions of who was for and against the war, it would be a blow to our hopes and to Israel's secu- rity concerns if the U.S. failed to cre- ate a democratic government in a major Arab country and Iraq returned to dictatorship," he said. "This will determine the character of the neighborhood in which Israel will live," Rabbi Yoffie said. "Our well-being as Jews, our mental state, our sense of ourselves is directly tied to the welfare of Israel." ❑