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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