For Openers
Something Extra
Meaty Memory
Detroiter's Paper Clips
trips to Mexico, China and Russia as
A nostalgic part of Detroit Jewry's first
well as to Norway, where he served as
two miracle missions to Israel was
U.S. ambassador from December
revived this week when Doreen
1997 to January 2000.
Hermelin gave each of the 568 partici-
"This is such a great signature of
pants on Federation's Michigan
David," Doreen said. "I
Miracle Mission 4 a salami,
remember him stuffing
the favorite food of her late
them into his golf bag when
husband, David.
we went away so he had a
David was a founder of
ready supply to pass out."
the Jewish Federation of
West Bloomfield resident
Metropolitan Detroit-based
Bert Stein said, "Seeing
missions and a picky eater.
Doreen and getting the
Since he was bringing
salami was such a great
salamis for himself on the
memory of David." Stein
1993 and 1995 missions, he
and his wife, Marion, have
decided to bring one for
been on all the miracle mis-
everyone.
Doreen Hermelin
sions.
"David felt very strongly
"On the first mission," Bert said, "I
about creating ruach, about creating a
remember many of the 1,300 mission-
spirit that was special," said Doreen in
goers dancing on a boat that David
the boarding area of Detroit Metro
had docked on Lake Kinneret at
Airport's Berry International Terminal
Tiberias."
last Sunday, April 18. "He felt it was
Ruth and Sid Neuman, owners of
important to have fun in everything
Star Deli in Southfield, provided the
that he did."
salamis this year.
David died of brain cancer in 2000.
— Robert A. Sklar, editor
Over the years, he took salamis on
town to get involved."
Sam Offen of West Bloomfield is origi-
When they showed him the cattle car,
nally from Krakow, Poland, a survivor of
Offen was surprised to learn it came
the Holocaust. Two years ago, he heard
about an unusual project at a school in a from Krakow, his hometown.
"It was possible I or some of my rela-
small Tennessee town to commemorate
the Holocaust in a way that would allow tives had been transported on this car,"
the students to grasp the meaning of los-, he said. "It was a real shocker."
ing so many lives.
With their teacher, David
Smith, the students decided to
collect six million paper clips —
one for each Jewish life lost.
Paper clips started coming in
from around the world.
Ultimately, the students in
Whitwell collected 27 million.
Then they purchased a cattle car
actually used to ship Jews to
death camps as a repository for
their paper clips.
The project was made into a
documentary, Paper Clips, which Sam and Hyla Offen of West Bloomfield leave
is the centerpiece of the Lenore
the cattle car in Whitwell, Tenn.
Marwil JCC Jewish Film Festival,
The students asked for more personal
which begins Sunday.
information about his experiences to
Impressed by the project, Offen gave
the school a call. He offered to stop in to help them as they wrote a play.
A few months later, Offen received a
talk to the students about his experi-
videotape in the mail from Whitwell.
ences when he and his wife, Hyla, made
When he sat down to view it, he and his
their annual trip to South Florida. The
wife were surprised to see the students'
school principal, Linda Hooper, accept-
play had been dedicated to Sam and
ed.
Hyla Offen.
"People in this isolated mountain
— Keri Guten Cohen,
town of 2,000 had never seen a Jew,"
story
development editor
said Offen, who was treated to true
Southern hospitality. "It was very heart-
For more on Taper Clips," including
warming for such a small Christian
show times, see page 43.
HMC Hosts Rights Commission
The Michigan Civil Rights
Commission is taking its meeting on
the road to the Holocaust Memorial
Center in Farmington Hills on April
26.
The commission, written into the
Michigan Constitution, has dealt with
complaint resolution in discrimination
in employment, public accommoda-
tions, housing and the educational
environment since 1963, said Linda
Parker, director since November 2003.
A tour of the HMC is planned for
Parker, the eight commission members
and others, followed by a general
meeting.
A public forum addressing issues of
cha
Don't Know©
ethnic and racial intolerance, with
specific attention to the Michigan
Jewish community, is planned for
6:30 p.m.
Rabbi Charles Rosenzveig, HMC
founder and executive director, said he
was thrilled to have the meeting at the
new HMC.
"It's symbolically important to us
because it's underlying the role that we
play, that governments and society as
a whole realize that human beings
must understand each other," he said.
The more we realize that we are an
extension of a human family, the bet-
ter all of us will be."
.
2004
Goldfein
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jo uorTeurqwoo aq pies sr a3iinumA :Jamstry
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4/23
2004
3
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. .
• •-•,:
Emunah-sponsored eruv with the
— Harry Kirsbaum, staff writer
Most English names for Jewish ritual objects come
from Hebrew words transliterated into English,
such as menorah. But yarmulke, a skullcap, has a
different derivation. What is it?
,,
.
The newly expanded West:
Bloomfield..eruv," described. in
"Operational Eruv" (April 2, page
12);is actually an enclosure that con-
Center-sponsored eruv. The two are
c onnected, but are monitored sepa-
rately by their sponsoring synagogues
and remain distinct entities. If one
eruv is down, the other may remain
unaffected and functional. To check
on the:status of the individual eru-
vim, contact the appropriate syna
gogue.
Quotables
Do You Remembe&
"Arafat has often been quoted as saying, 'The
womb of the Arab woman is my strongest
weapon. If the number of ohm (immigrants) does-
n't increase, 30 years from now we're not going to
have a majority of Jews in Israel."'
—Rabbi Yehoshua Fass, part of the new surge of
North American ohm. Last year, 1,608 ohm arrived
from North America, up from 1,400 each of the pre-
vious two years. Quoted in the spring issue of Jewish
Action, the magazine of the Orthodox Union.
April 1964
.
Three Temple Israel students won a debate with
members of the Rodef Shalom Temple of Pittsburgh
debate team at the temple.
The subject: "Resolved that the federal govern-
ment should provide complete integration in hous-
ing.
The affirmative side: Rick Oppenheim, Don
Newman and Diane Pliskow, coached by Manuel
Simon.
3)
— Sy Manello, editorial assistant