Mazel Toy!

Close To Her Heart

Anne Gonte Silver recalls Zionist roots
on her 90th birthday.

•

ifelong Michigan resi-
dent Anne GonteSilver
took the occasion of her
90th birthday celebration to
recall what drove her as an
early Zionist and to affirm the
need for diaspora Jews to sup-
port Israel.
Her birthday was celebrated
at the Zionist Organization of
America's 72 annual Balfour
Concert on Nov. 6 in Southfield.
The Bloomfield Hills resident is
the mother of three (one now
deceased), four grandchildren
and two great-grandchildren.
In brief "thank you" remarks
at the concert, Silver shared
that her involvement with the
ZOA began during World War II
when she and her husband
learned what the Nazis were
doing to Jews in Europe.
"We had heard and then seen
photos of what was happening:'

recalled Silver. "We were
shocked, appalled — and won-
dered what we as young
American Jews could do to stop
the slaughter of our people."
Through a friend, the Silvers
learned about the Haifa
Chapter of ZOA. They began
attending meetings and rallies
in Detroit.
"We did mailings, sent
telegrams and went door-to-
door with petitions. We even
made trips to Washington,
D.C.," said Silver. "It was all
designed to get our govern-
ment to do everything it could
to save the Jewish people and
establish a Jewish homeland:'
Married more than 60 years
to the late I. Walter Silver, M.D.,
Silver is a 1938 graduate of
Wayne State University Law
School in Detroit. She is a past
president of the ZOA Metro

Birth Announcements

Nov. 30
Lisa (Kraft) and Stuart Dorf of Chicago joyfully
announce the birth of their son, Alec Gabriel
(Chayim Elyah). Proud grandparents are Joanne and
Robert Kraft of West Bloomfield and Myra and
Larry Dorf of Deerfield, Ill. Also sharing in their joy
are great-grandfathers Louis Parr and Allen Kraft
and great-grandmother Shirley Dorf. Alec is named
in honor and loving memory of his great-grandfa-
ther Alex Weinstein and his great-grandmother Gail
Parr.

Nov. 16
Michelle (Rott) Rosenblum and Ira Aron Rosenblum
welcome with much love their son, Joshua Samson
Jonah Rosenblum. Also welcoming Joshua home is
his big sister, 18-month-old Amalia. Thrilled grand-
parents are Priscilla and David Rosenblum of East .
Hampton, N.Y., and Carol and Sheldon Rott of West
Bloomfield. Joshua is named in loving memory of
his mother's zadie Joe Rott.

Detroit Region, a winner of the
American Zionist Movement
Zionist of the Year Award and,
with her late husband, co-win-
ner of the ZOA's prestigious
Louis D. Brandeis Award.
She vividly remembers the
day she learned the State of
Israel had been created:
"It was a dream come true
she said. "And although Israel
has had to defend herself from
the very beginning against
neighbors that have sought to
destroy her, we can still cele-
brate today that Israel has not
only survived for 57 years, but
has become a global leader in
technology, medical research,
and other fields."
Despite continuing threats,
she said, the very existence of
Israel reminds us all why we as
American Jews must always be
vigilant and speak up whenever

Anne Gonte Silver: Zionist at heart

we see injustice and threats to
the Jewish people.
"When necessary, we must
write and call our senators and
congressmen, send petitions, .
visit Washington — whatever it
takes to ensure the security and
survival of Israel and the
Jewish people she said.
Silver closed her remarks at
the Balfour concert with a
prayer: "I pray that 10 years

Nov. 7
Amy (Finsilver) and Steven Ben-Ezra are thrilled to
announce the birth of their son, Chase Maxwell (Chaim
Mendel). Chase is lovingly welcomed home by his big
brother Koby and his big sister Reese. Thrilled grandpar-
ents are Shari and Stanley Finsilver and Leslie and David
Ben-Ezra. Ecstatic great-grandparents are Frances
Finsilver and Joseph Ephraim. Chase is named in loving
memory of his great-grandfather Lloyd Mendel Finsilver.

July 21
Allyson (Kuppersmith) and Gregory Oberfield of
Martinez, Calif., are thrilled to announce the birth of their
daughter, Brianna Renee. Excited grandparents are Jack
and Carol Kuppersmith of Carlsbad, Calif, formerly of
West Bloomfield, and Donald and Leeann Oberfield of
Princeton, N.J. Delighted great-grandparents are Albert
Green of Bayside, N.Y., Alan and Elsie Green of Cataumet,
Md. Brianna Renee is named in loving memory of her
maternal great-grandmother Bernice Green and paternal
great-grandfather Richard Oberfield.

from now we are again togeth-
er celebrating my 100th birth-
day — alavai — but even more
importantly, celebrating the
fact that Israel and her citizens
are enjoying an existence with-
out terrorism, without threat-
ening neighbors, that finally,
the dream we alWays hoped for,
of a Jewish homeland thriving
in peace, has become a
reality." E-1

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Bar / Bat Mitzvah

In an attempt to keep the notices that mark youth on
their path to maturity meaningful yet brief, we have
decided to change the items to include.
We have eliminated the reference to the school
"honor" rankings because it differs from school to
school. Since mitzvah projects have increased, we ask
that only one be selected to be representative of
tzedakah. Thank you for your adherence to these
changes.

Aylah Quinn Freeman (Esther Freidl) will become a bat
mitzvah Saturday, Dec. 24, at Temple Chai in Phoenix,
Ariz. Participating in the service will be her parents, Erika
and Steven, and sister Lindsey Rose.
The proud grandparents are Nancy and
Don Fox, formerly of West Bloomfield
of Phoenix, and Pearl Marvin Freeman,
also of Phoenix.
Aylah is a student at Villa Montessori
in Phoenix. Her mitzvah project was to
collect items for the Arizona Animal
Freeman
Welfare League.

December 22 * 2005

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