in the West Bloomfield Jewish Community Center holds a preview fundraising event to welcome glass artist John Kuhn and glass artists from the Center for Creative Studies 6:30-8:30 p.m. Thursday, April 1, at the gallery. $50/$65 at the door. Reservations: (248) 432-5449. WHATNOT Rabbi Sherwin Wine and the Rev. John West, pastor of Our Lady of Sorrows Church in Farmington, hold a discussion on Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ 7 p.m. Wednesday, March 31, at the Community House in Birmingham. No charge. (2485 644-5832. OUT OF TOWN Rembrandt's Journey: Painter-Draftsman-Etcher, featuring more than 200 works, including several illustrations of Bible stories (Jacob Caressing Benjamin, for one) and an oil painting of the artist's Jewish neighbor, Dr. Ephraim Bueno, runs at the Art Institute of Chicago through May 9. (312) 357-1052. Jewish Life in the American West: Generation to Generation, originally con- ceived by the Autry Museum of Western Heritage and featuring objects, art, photo- graphs and audio stations telling the personal stories of pioneer families, runs through Aug. 22 at the Eiteljorg Museum of American Indians and Western Art in Indianapolis. (317) 636-9378.1-7 Speaking With `One Voice Ramallah without fear within a year. Alexander first heard about One Voice. from its main organizers during a meeting at the home of fel- Tel Aviv low actors Danny Devito and Rhea Perlman last year. Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston, who are on the or Jason Alexander, best known as Jerry organization's Seinfeld's hapless American advi- sidekick George sory board, were Costanza, a grass- also at the roots peace initiative to pro- meeting. mote Israeli-Palestinian peace Organizers are is more than just "yadda yadda planning to yadda." bring other Alexander visited Israel for celebrities to three days late last month to help Israel to help launch One Voice, a project that promote the hopes to empower people on project, and have both sides of the conflict through established an a public, electronic referendum. "Entertainment Since the project's launch on Council" to help Feb. 24, Israelis and mobilize actors, Palestinians have been able to writers, pro- cast ballots that allow them to 41410t LtAckl ducers, direc- present their positions on the "Seinfild" actor Jaso 72 Alexander poses with Israeli stu- tors and others key issues of the conflict. From dents at the launch of One Voice near Tel Aviv. to back it. their answers, a synthesized Among peace proposal will be crafted entertainment industry members who have and then presented to leaders on both sides. signed on in support of the idea are Ed Norton In an interview with JTA, Alexander said the and Mili Avital. idea spoke to him because it held the promise of While in the region, Alexander met with Israeli tapping into the majority on both sides who do actors and members of the entertainment commu- want peace. nity in Tel Aviv and their Palestinian counterparts "The vision was so specific, so well worked out in Ramallah. about how to reconnect the sort of silent majority Daniel Lubetsky, an American businessman, leads who have been silenced by the violence and get them One Voice together with its Middle East director reinvigorated and reinvested," he said. Mohammed Darawshe, an Israeli Arab long Speaking at a news conference in Petach Tikva, involved in coexistence efforts. Alexander predicted he would be able to bring his Lubetsky said the project is different from other children to Jerusalem and the West Bank city of DINA KRAFT Jewish Telegraphic Agency F "Best Indian food" - recent alternative peace plans because the plan's specifics come from the grass roots. "We're essentially a .democratic process where we are going straight to the people and asking them to express themselves," Lubetsky said. Participants in the poll may vote either by Internet, via remote control on television sets, on the telephone, through newspapers or in voting booths. The organizers say results will then be tabulated by a computer system donated by IBM to the project. Those results will be used to produce a consen- sus-style mandate that organizers say would accu- rately reflect the will of Israelis and Palestinians. After Alexander toured Israel in 1991 at the end of the first Gulf War, "Israel went from absolute zero in •my life to something I really became con- cerned with and passionate about." He said Jews in Hollywood seem to be reluctant to speak out on the subject of Israel. Some, he said, think they will immediately be seen as choosing the Israeli side because they are Jewish if they say any- thing. Others, he said, priding themselves as leftists, choose to overtly side with the Palestinians. "In both cases I guarantee you that most of them do not understand the history or nature of this con- flict. American secular Jews distance themselves from Israel; I was just as guilty before I came here," he said. Part of what draws Alexander to Israel, he said, is what he described as the passionate involvement of Israelis in their country. He says he misses seeing that involvement in the United States and that his character George was void of it altogether. "George would not know Israel was on the map. George and his cohorts were the most supremely selfish people in the history of televi- sion and anything that did not happen in their apartment and diner was outside of their field of experience," Alexander said, smiling. "So the best you could get was he'd come here and try to recruit a ballplayer for the Yankees." . The Detroit News I-LOUSE OF 1ND1A For Authentic Indian Cuisine + i , ; Avail. Mon. - Fri. 11:30 - 2:30 • Sat. & Sun. 12 - 3:30 Mon-Thurs 11:30-10 Fri 11:30-11 1 Weekdays: '69' Weekends: 57" % One coupolyerEerson • Expires 4/30/04 _ ) Sat 12-11 • Sun 12 10 $ 1 00 1 OFF LUNCH BUFFET 1 - ? ' Full Bar (248) 553-7391 28841 Orchard Lake Road (between 12 Sr 13 Mile Rd.) • Farmington Hills 324270 ::;,, feemmweANR?;M:.;VAMMAx.' RM: 505 S. Lafayette Royal Oak MI 48067 Call Simone at: 248.544.7373 Website: simonevitale.com Email: info@simonevitale.com 792850 3/26 2004 49