Letters
Standing With Israel
programs, advocacy seminars
• StandWithUs/Michigan would
and special projects coordinated
like to thank the community for
with StandWithUs international-
its enthusiastic embrace of our
ly. We look forward to partnering
organization ("Defending Israel;' with student groups and the
Feb. 2, page 27). The chapter's
many Jewish and secular organi-
inaugural event Jan. 29 at the
zations that have already con-
Holocaust Memorial Center in
tacted us.
Farmington Hills was a resound-
We- invite you to StandWithUs
ing success, underscoring the
as we stand with our people, as
importance of our mission and
we stand with Israel
the challenges we face as cham
(www.standwithus.com).
pions of the State of Israel.
Linda Stulberq
Inspired by your support and
Judith Granader
encouragement, we pledge to do
Stand With Us/Michigan
our best to parlay the energies,
Oakland County
passions and talents of our
members into effective action
Be More Optimistic
and advocacy. It is gratifying to
I found it very disgraceful to our
know that so marly who care
community that columnist Harry
deeply about Israel and the-
Kirsbaum would say such nega-
Jewish people subscribe to.the
tive things (First Round,"The
StandWithUs imperative that
Party's Over," Feb. 9, page 8). I
this is not a time to be silent
found while reading the article
about the campaign to demonize that you were focusing on the
Israel and incite anti-Semitism.
negative of the community this
This is a time to educate our
past Super Bowl weekend.
children, our grandchildren and
I am a West Bloomfield resi-
the community around us by
dent and when visiting Detroit
responding to the vicious lies
on Super Bowl weekend, there
and propaganda. This is a time
was a lot of good that came out
to be proactive!
from all of the hard effort that
We'd also like to extend a
people put into this prior to
hearty Yasher Koach to our three Super. Bowl weekend.
college panelists — Jennifer
I thought that it was very inap-
Bloom (MSU), Jonathan
propriate that you would fault lit-
Goldberg (U-M) and Talya
tle things such as "Usher shop-
Drissman (Wayne State). Their
ping at Somerset, and some peo-
outspoken candor, courage and
ple making a big deal." That
personal sacrifices to counter
would happen in any big city.
anti-Israel hostilities on campus -
And also: "Were the stars just
and in the classroom serve as a
being nice by coming in?" No ...
shining example to all.
One of the biggest events was
Coupled with our keynote
going on in the United States and,
speaker's alarming research find- they wanted to be part of the
ings on anti-Israel sentiments' at
action.
America's "elite" universities,
In answer to your question, .
their compelling call to action
"What will it take to bring the
drives home the urgency of
stars back?" It will take the magic
SWU/Michigan initiatives.
of downtown Detroit these past
We're planning an exciting
few weeks and keeping the lively
lineup of speakers, educational
'spirit of this past winter alive.
.
• Jewish.com
French Jewish pop intellectual
Bernard-Henri Levy talks about
his 15,000-mile, year-long road
trip through the United States.
dotCOM SURVEY
It has beeh 5 1/2 months since
Hurricane Katrina. Are you sat-
isfied with the continuing relief
efforts?
Read about it on Jewish.com.
To vote, click on
JNonline.us/Opinion
6
February 16 2006
You need to be more opti-
mistic and think of the glass half
full instead of half empty.
Sammy Dubin, 14
West Bloomfield
A Super Shabbat
The officers and members of the
Isaac Agree Downtown
Synagogue are grateful for both
the striking cover and timely
article by Staff Writer Shelli
Liebman Dorfman
("Super. Welcome," Feb. 2,
page 17).
By dint of the syna-
gogue's strategic location
— in the heart of
Detroit's central business
district — and because
we had anointed our-
selves the "Super Bowl
Synagogue," Super Bowl
activities affected the
congregation in a num-
ber of expected and sev-
eral unexpected ways.
. For a number of years,
the synagogue's ritual
committee has encour-
aged members of the
congregation to observe
the anniversary of their bar/bat
mitzvahs by attending services,
being called to the Torah for an
aliyah, and chanting all or part of
•their Haftorah, thereby "recreat-
ing" a memorable, watershed
experience.
As fate would have it, Erwin
Waldman, one of our members,
had indicated some time ago that
he wished to observe the
anniversary of his bar mitzvah
(Parshah Bo) by chanting the .
entire Haftorah on that Shabbat.
This year, Parshah Bo, which
generally falls in January, hap-
pened to fall on Saturday, Feb. 4,
"Super Bowl" Shabbat.
Louis Antonino, president of
the synagogue and an employee
Last Week's Results
What was your impression of
Detroit as the Super Bowl host?
Better than expected: 42%
As expected: 33%
' Worse than expected: 25%
of Detroit's Department of
Transportation, was able to
obtain — through the agency of
a friend and at no cost to the
synagogue — the use of a school
bus owned by Holy Redeemer
Church. On Feb. 4 at 8:30 a.m.,
approximately 25 people —
members of the Waldman family
and congregants of the syna-
gogue — boarded a yellow
school bus in the Northland
Back Bush Initiatives
Riots over the cartoons coming
from a free press ("Cartoon
Imbroglio:' Feb. 9, page 31). Iran's
president emulating Hitler!
llamas winning the Palestinian
election. Terrorists infiltrating
Western countries. Islamic Jihad
in full bloom!
Is there any doubt that the
United States is under threat?
Therefore, we as American Jews
must control our varied feelings
about the Bush administration
and support the Patriot Act, sup :
port selective wiretapping and
support a tight immigration Pol-
icy.
Mort Horwitz
The 1),:rtlisaim Sy4agvit-
Pkt:P _1047,1 , Ala to
S:ipc7 Bowl guestt
parking lot in Southfield and
were driven downtown by the
synagogue's president. Other
worshippers made their way to
the synagogue, somehow manag-
ing to find a parking place.
The traditional Shabbat serv-
ice, featuring Erwin Waldman's
elegant chanting of his entire bar
mitzvah Haftorah, went off with-
out a hitch. Following lunch, all
re-boarded the bus and were
shuttled back to their parked
cars.
Dr. Martin Herman
first vice president and ritual director
• Isaac Agree Downtown Synagogue
Detroit
West Bloomfield
Good For Mimi
I was delighted to learn of the
success that owner Mimi
Markofsky and Elite Kosher
Catering had in bidding for a
contract to supply some of their
delicacies to Super Bowl VIPs
("Super Salad," Feb. 2, page 18).
I have worked with Mimi on a
number of community events
and can honestly say that there
are always two things that come
out of her efforts: The first, of
course, is excellent food. The sec-
ond is the opportunity to work
with a great person.
Mimi is deserving of every
success. How nice to see that this
came across to the Super Bowl
committee. And how nice for
their VIPs to have the opportuni-
ty to enjoy Mimi's great fare!
Allan Cohen
Birmingham
Correction
A quotation in "David Bittker's
Legacy" (Jan. 26, page 5) cited
the world's current population at
3 billion. The actual amount is
more than 6 billion.
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