Israel Advocate
JNF to honor grocer Jim Hiller.
im Hiller, owner of Hiller's
Markets, will receive the
Jewish National Fund's Tree of
Life Award for his unwavering sup-
port of Israel and Jewish causes. JNF
will recognize Hiller at an award
dinner at Congregation Shaarey
Zedek in Southfield on May 17.
Hiller began his connection to
JNF by putting his coins in a Blue
Box as a child. Hiller has made a
major gift to JNF for the building of
the HaSolelim C Reservoir in the
Lower Galilee, a reservoir adopted
by the Detroit Jewish community.
The area serves both Arab and
Jewish citizens in communities that
include the ancient towns of Tsipori,
Nazareth and Nazareth Illit, the last
of which is a partner city of Detroit
Jewry.
Hiller also formed and endowed
the PFUND (Program for
Understanding Neurological
Disease) at the University of
Michigan School of Medicine in
Ann Arbor to research and find
treatments for neurological diseases
such as Lou Gehrig's disease and
Diabetic Neuropathy.
"The best thing that happened to
me as an Israeli was that I met a guy
like Jim Hiller who is so devoted to
Israel. We clicked immediately and
are like brothers now," said Kami
Robinson, JNF's Israeli
emissary to Michigan.
Hiller will travel to
Israel this summer to
attend the wedding of
Robinson's son and see the
reservoir along with other
JNF projects.
Targeted by anti-Israel
activists, who picketed and
called upon the communi-
ty to boycott his grocery
stores, Hiller took ads in
the local press declaring
his refusal to be intimidat-
ed by their actions and
announcing even more con-
tributions to Israel. In an attempt to
bolster the Israeli economy, Hiller
began carrying large numbers of
Israeli products in his stores, includ-
ing many fruits, vegetables, packaged
goods and cheeses never before pres-
ent in the Midwest.
"This is not about me. What this
is about is how far Jewish people will
allow themselves to be pushed. We
may have soft edges, but we have a
hard core," said Hiller. "When I was
told I must reject my heritage and
abandon Israel, there was no deci-
sion to make; there was an immedi-
ate and seminal response. We all
know when it's time to dig in and
get tough and the time had come.
It's not as though I thought about
this and wondered, What do I have
to lose here?' I knew what I had to
do and I did it."
The Detroit native is a graduate of
the University of Detroit Law School
and successfully practiced law for
two decades before entering the fam-
ily business founded by his father in
1941. Hiller received the Friend of
Israel Award from Yeshivat Akiva in
Southfield, as well as the Jane L.
Cobb Promise Award from the
Juvenile Diabetes Association in
2004.
Hiller was surprised to learn of a
specific connection to JNF when
Robinson explained to him that the
roses he imports from Sde Nitzan, a
hothouse in the Israel's northern
Negev Desert, was actually a project
donated by the Chicago Region of
Jewish National Fund. Hiller regu-
larly adds new Israeli products as
they are approved for sale in the
United States.
Hiller believes his stance against
anti-Semitism will have a broader
effect on young Jews. "These are
issues that can cause young Jews to
galvanize and stand up for their
identity and know that we have our
own internal boundaries," he said.
"We are proud to be Jews, and we
cannot let the world define who we
are and what we are." 0
11-1111 Israel Conference
Daylong academic symposium to look at social and political issues.
Ann Arbor
Foreign policy, media, political and aca-
demic experts will address the fourth
annual University of Michigan Israel
Academic Conference on Sunday,
March 13, in Ann Arbor, a daylong
symposium expected to draw hundreds
of participants from across the Midwest.
Keynote speakers include Dennis
Ross, President Bill Clinton's chief
Mideast negotiator; Walid Shoebat, a
former PLO terrorist; and Husain
Haqqani, a leading Pakistani journalist
and adviser to former Pakistani prime
ministers.
Haqqani will discuss Islamic funda-
mentalism and the impact of the
Palestinian elections. Shoebat will share
his personal insights as a former PLO
operative who now travels advocating on
behalf of Israel. Ambassador Ross will
conclude the program with perspectives
on negotiating Israel's future.
Coordinated by students under the
auspices of U-M Hillel with_ student
organizers Megan Martin and Naama
Yaron, the conference is co-sponsored by
the American Movement for Israel,
American Israel Public Affairs
Committee, American Jewish
Committee, Hasbara Fellowships and
Jewish Mothers of Michigan Student, a
group supporting efforts to combat anti-
Israel propaganda.
Breakout sessions will focus on social
and political issues in Israel and the
Mideast. The documentary Relentless, on
the Oslo years and Arafat's terror cam-
paign, will be shown with a talkback led
by Andre Douville, regional representa-
tive of Honest Reporting, the media
watch group that produced the film.
Sessions include Capt. Jacob Dallal,
deputy spokesman for the IDF, "The
Media as Shaper of the Conflict" and
"Evolution of the Conflict;" Dr.
Mitchell Bard, foreign policy analyst,
"Will There Ever Be Peace?" and "Myths
and Facts about the Arab-Israeli
Conflict;" Dror Elner, emissary to the
Zionsit Organization of America, will
discuss human rights in the Palestinian
Authority., American Israel Public Affairs
Committee representative Lauren
Slawsky and Hasbara campus coordina-
tor Natalie Lascar will lead sessions on
pro-Israel college and political advocacy.
Admission is free to U-M students
and faculty-, $20 for other students; and
$40 for the public. To register online
www.umisraelconference.com or call
conference organizers Megan Martin
and Naama Yaron, (734) 657-1280.
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3/10
2005
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