Something Extra

NOTEE)OR

Rambam Stamp

Protest Still Spurned

Ann Arbor

In response to 29 months of Shabbat picketing -by
Jewish Witnesses for Peace outside an Ann Arbor
synagogue in protest of Israel's continuing military
occupation of part of Palestinian-controlled lands,
more than $47,000 has been raised for Israel's
national ambulance and emergency service.
Israeli settlers and soldiers left the Gaza Strip
and part of the West Bank last August as part of a
unilateral withdrawal ordered by Prime Minister
Ariel Sharon with approval from the Knesset. Israeli
occupation continues in other areas of the West
Bank.
Beth Israel, a Conservative congregation, organ-
ized fund-raising on behalf of Magen David Adom
in response to the ongoing picketing, which began
in 2003. Six to 12 picketers show up every Shabbat
morning, reports Dr. Barry Gross, a founder of
SPURN (Synagogue Protest Unacceptable! Respond
Now).
A pool of 230 donors has generated $47,156.82
for MDA; the 82 cents represents the tzedakah box

from a Beth Israel Religious School class. More than
$4,000 came within the last month; not every
donor is a congregant, a relative of a congregant or
even Jewish.
"I know that it is hard for people to stay focused .
on a cause when it drags out over time Dr. Gross
said, "but I am impressed that our growing list of
donors will not let the picketers outlast us.
"Contributing to this equanimity is a string of
public pronouncements that indicate that all rea-
sonable parties believe that the pointless siege is
having no good effect and is harming the possibili-
ty of dialogue about potential avenues for Middle
East peace Dr. Gross said.
Denouncing the protest have been Ann Arbor
Mayor John Hieftje, the city council, the Ann Arbor
News, a group of local Jewish, Catholic and
Protestant clergy and, most recently, the Interfaith
Council for Peace and. Justice in Ann Arbor.
Log on to SPURN's Web site at www.aaspurn.org .

YELLOW

Front panels of
new Manischewitz
parve cake mix boxes

mmingt

Le 2000

IERRA
LEONE- -

resenting Maimonides, also
known as "the great eagle?' The
• eagle's wings .expand over the
Mediterranean, where Mai-
monides lived and from where
his influence spread. At the end
of the wings are stars of David,
expressing the Rambam's jour-
ney from Cordova to Morocco, to
Cairo and to Jerusalem and Acre.
To purchase the Rambam
stamp, call the IGPC at (212)
629-7979 or send an e-mail to
service@igpc.net.

— Shell! Liebman Dorfman,

staff writer

Youth Mission Essay Contest

dents said they buy Duncan
clueing a parve cake mix when
Hines products specifically
we heard of the Duncan Hines
because they are parve.
change said David Rossi, vice
This is not the first time a
president of marketing for R.A.B.
recipe shift caused popular
Food Group, owners of the
Duncan Hines products to lose
Manischewitz brand. "Then
their place at the Shabbat table.
when the uproar came from our
consumers we knew it was some- Both the chocolate chip cookie
mix and the icing were once
thing we should do quickly."
parve, but are now labeled
Following the Duncan Hines •
"dairy?'
announcement, the Jewish
Manischewitz already pro-
Consumer Advisory Panel online
duces
a kosher-for-Passover cake
survey was created, sponsored by
mix.
Joseph Jacobs Advertising (JJA)
"Manischewitz is constantly
and Welfeld Public Relations in
looking
for ways to meet the
New York. The survey deter-
needs
of
today's consumer;' said
mined that the planned change
would have a significant negative Jeremy J. Fingerman, president
impact within the kosher market. and CEO of R.A.B. Food
Group. He said the new prod-
"Most agree that Duncan
uct should also appeal to con-
Hines cakes are delicious, but
they are of sumers who are lactose intoler-
little use to ant.
The new line of Manischewitz
the kosher
kosher cake mixes was intro-
consumer
duced recently at Kosherfest in
if they can
+EXTRA MOIST- -
New York City. Initially the line
not be
will consist of Extra Moist Yellow
eaten with
CAKE MIX
and Cho'colate parve cake mixes,
Sabbath
with both available in early May,
meals:'
retailing for approximately $2.49.
said Elie
Other flavors will be added over
Rosenfeld,
CEO of JJA, the next few years.
adding that
— Shell! Liebman Dorfman,
99 percent
staff writer
of the 650
respon-

The collective voice of disap-
pointed kosher consumers has
been heard, loud and clear.
Dismay over a mid-August
announcement that Duncan
Hines would discontinue produc-
tion of their non-dairy, kosher
cake mixes has become a win for
shoppers happy to hear of the
launching of a new parve (with-
out dairy or meat products) cake
mix line by kosher food manu-
facturer, Manischewitz.
"We became interested in pro-

IXTRA MOIST-

.

— Robert A. Sklar, editor

A Just Dessert

--,

Some 800 years after his death,
the memory of Maimonides —
recognized by many as the great-
est Jewish philosopher, thinker,
leader, teacher and codifier of
Jewish law — is being honored
by the Inter-Governmental
Philatelic Corporation (IGPC)
with the issuance of special .
postage stamps and souvenir
sheets. The stamps are designed
for collectors who wish to partic-
ipate in the.philatelic celebration
in honor of the Rambam.
Israel was the first country to
issue Rambam stamps followed
by Spain, Grenada, Antigua,
Bolivia and Dominica.
A new Israeli stamp also was
issued on April, 7, 2005, showing
an eagle with a human head rep-

Still coming down to earth from Federation's recent Family Miracle
Mission to Israel? Here's a chance to express your thoughts, feel-
ings and reactions to the trip. Take time to enter an essay contest
sponsored by the Detroit Jewish News, the Jewish Federation of
Metropolitan Detroit's Alliance for Jewish Education and the Jewish
Community Council of Metropolitan Detroit.
The contest is open to entrants through age 18 who participated
in the Family Mission. Middle and high school entries will be judged
separately. Contestants should write a 250-400 word essay based
on the theme "Israel Is Real to Me Now." The essays will be judged
on criteria that includes creativity, knowledge, theme development
and clarity. Winners will be announced in the Detroit Jewish News,
which will publish excerpts of their essays. Each winner will receive
a prize related to or made in Israel.
Submit typed, double-spaced essay — including your name,
address, grade, school, e-mail address and phone number — to:
Alliance for Jewish Education, 6735 Telegraph, Bloomfield Town-
ship, MI 48301 by Feb.15. Winners will be announced in early April.
For information, call Allan Gale at the JCCouncil, (248) 642-5393.

— Keri Guten Cohen,

story development editor

IlLEFDET

'cha Don't Know

Why is it inaccurate to say that the 23
Jews who fled Brazil in 1654 were the first
settled Jews in North America?

— Goldfein

'panpie aipaH
uatim wepniswy maN LI! Win!' Apealie
WWI SMer
anm uasialaki uoweles pue uoswisieg goer :Jamsuy

a

@Copyright 2006, Jewish Renaissance Media

January 19 • 2006 11