I To Life! THE SCENE Far left: Capt. Shirine Bitton, Brig. Gen. Yehiel Happenings Gozal and Lt. Yanir Gattnio For college age through 30-some- thing. Send information to ahitsky@thejewishnews.com . Left: Leah Colmer of Farmington Hills and Tony Fayne of Birmingham Left:Liz Herskovitz of Novi and Adi Peleg of HILLEL METRO DETROIT Feb. 20 Monday, 7 p.m. HMD Fitness L'Chaim at West Bloomfield JCC. Kick boxing, yoga, power aero- bics, cycling, jogging and more. Every other Monday. Free. Contact Dina Shkolnik, hillelpd@wayne.edu or (313) 577-3459. Keego Harbor Young Zionists Friends of Israeli soldiers form local young adult chapter. Robin Schwartz . Special to the Jewish News eral cities: Brig. Gen.Yehiel Gozal, National Director of the FIDF in New York, also attended. "Sometimes, we don't know if Jews around the world know what we're doing if they know what's happen- ing in Israel," said Capt. Bitton. "It means so much to see that people so far n one side of the world, Israeli soldiers were doing what they do everyday — risking their lives and defending Israel. On the other side, here in Michigan, a. group of young Jewish profes- sionals joined forces in Farmington Hills to lend their support. About 40 people attended the inaugural Above: Megan Docks of gathering of the newly Wixom and Michael Chosid of formed young adult West Bloomfield chapter of the Michigan Friends of Right: Michelle Sushin of the Israel. Defense West Bloomfield and Cari Forces. The parlor Herskovitz of Ferndale meeting and informa- tion session was held at the Orchard Ridge Office Park in away care so much and want to help," she Farmington Hills on Feb. 8. said. "It makes us know we're not alone. It . "I think it's important for soldiers in makes us stronger." Israel to know they have friends in The FIDF is a national nonprofit organi- Detroit, especially among the younger zation with nine chapters and more than generation:' said Stefenie Sasson of 70,000 supporters across America. The BloOmfield Hills. group provides social, educational and Sasson, whose father is Israeli, is one of recreational programs and facilities for the organizers of young adult group. Israeli soldiers. It also supports the fami- Participants had the unique opportunity lies of fallen soldiers. to meet with two young Israeli- soldiers at "The average soldier in Israel makes the gathering.and hear their personal sto- $100-$150 a month," said Benny ries. Spielmann of Huntington Woods. He grew Lt. Yanir Gitlin° of Kiryat Bialik and . up in Israel and served 3 1/2 years in an Capt. Shirine Bitton of Rehovot paid a spe- Israeli army combat unit. cial visit during a trip across the United "These soldiers, when they're done with States to meet with Jewish leaders in sev- the army — they don't have any savings. 0 20 February 16 a 2006 „IN The army doesn't sponsor their schooling or any of those kinds of programs. They're on their own," Spielmann said. The new young adult chapter is being formed with the. goal of educating young leaders and generating future support for the IDE A few weeks ago, a similar chapter was also formed in Los Angeles. "We teach our soldiers that when they risk their lives to protect the • State of Israel, they're protecting , the entire Jewish world:' said Gen. Gozal. "When they hear about sup- port like this, it makes them realize that we are the same family — we are together." Spotted at the parlor meeting were: Tovah Feinberg of Detroit; Lauren and Jonathan Sterling of Royal Oak; Yossi Benjamin of Farmington Hills; Tony Fayne - and Jared Gell of Birmingham; Marla Tapper of Bloomfield Hills; and Emil Izrailov and Toby Ben-Ezra of West Bloomfield. ❑ The next gathering of the Michigan FIDF young adult chapter will be Thursday, March 16 at Envy Nighclub, 234 W. Larned in Detroit. To join or for more information contact: Tamir Oppenheim, executive direc- tor of the Michigan FIDF in Farmington Hills at (248) 203-2060 or e-mail: - tamir@israelsoldiers.org EMU HILLELF Ypsilanti Feb. -19 Sunday, 2 p.m. EMU Lake House. Cost: $3. RSVP by Feb. 17: Jenn Stotter, (734) 482-0456 or Jenn@emuhillel.org . Feb. 22 Wednesday, 6:30 p.m. at Porter. Local teachers discuss - impact of race, ethnicity, religion and culture on the classroom. Free dinner. RSVP by Monday, Feb. 20: Nate Bankirer, (734) 482-0456 or nbankire@emich.edu. MSU HILLEL, E. Lansing Feb. 17 Friday, 6 p.m. Shabbat serv- ice, 7 p.m. complimentary dinner. Contact Marisa. Saltzman , marisa@msuhillel.org . Feb. 17-19 Friday-Sunday. Ski trip to Bluemountain. Contact Jarad, jarad@msuhillel.org . Feb. 21 Tuesday, 8 p.m. Halo 2 video game tournament. Contact Marc or Scott, lachmans@msu.edu. Feb. 22 Wednesday, 6 p.m. Pick-up basketball at IM East. Contact steve@msuhillel.org. Feb. 23 Thursday, 9 p.m. TAG Bar Crawl. Must be 21 or over. Meet at Hillel. Contact Jodi, bealsjod@msu.edu . U - M HILLEL, Ann Arbor Feb. 19 Sunday. Tzedek study break. Free food. Feb. 19 Sunday, 1 p.m. Orthodox Minyan kickball at Central Campus Recreation Building. Feb. 22 Wednesday, 8 p.m. Coffee Night discussion on Israel at Espresso Royale, 322 S. State St. Free coffee. Feb. 26 Sunday. Graduates and Young Professionals. Ski at Alpine Valley.