The soldiers I worked with and met at Quitziot are the soldiers who defend Israel's borders daily and maintain her weaponry. They are some of the most courageous people I have ever met — not because they will be deco- rated soldiers one day, because they will not be. Not because they are bril- liant people, because many of them were not, but because they do what they are required to do in the name of Israel and the Jewish people. These soldiers do what Jewish- American kids do not do because in order to be Jewish in America you don't have to join the army. These kids have no choice, and whatever posi- tive or negative experience they have in the army, they understand what it means to serve their country. They know that to be a Jew you need to defend your right to remain one. I've learned that it cannot be for- gotten how these young people serve _Israel and essentiallyserve for me as well. I am now forever linked to their experience and the unrewarding work they do on military bases like Quitziot. These soldiers are nobodies to Jewish-Americans 5,000 miles away, but an essential link to the continu- • ation of a culturally Jewish people within a forever intensifying global condition. For three weeks, I brushed shoul- ders with the greater realities of the 2 1 s t century — the reality that nations hate other nations, that people kill each other and that "borders" are not just the name of an American bookstore chain. I'm prouder than I've ever been to be where I'm from and to have come as far as I have to see what it means for 20-year-olds to tote an M-16 to lunch, dinner and breakfast because they are Jewish. - In the end, I realize that however far away Detroit may be from Quitziot, it's really not so far at all. Because the reality is that lewishness" and M-16s relate more than I ever could have imagined growing up Jewish in America. ❑ Jerrin Zumberg, 24, grew up in Huntington Woods, went to Berkley High Happenings financial For college age through 30- something. Send information to ahitsky@thejewishnews.com . HILLEL METRO DETROIT April 25, Tuesday, 7 p.m. Holocaust film The Power of Good at OCC Orchard Ridge. Post- film discussion with Charles and Rita Gelman about their experi- ences with the film. RSVP by Monday, April 24: (313) 577- • 3459 or hilleled@wayne.edu . April 28, Friday, 7 p.m. Graduate and Professional Shabbat dinner. Cost: $8. RSVP by Wednesday, April 26: (313) 577-3459 or hilleled@wayne.edu . Exit 160 off1-96 (Beck Rd. S.) Left on Grand River Ave. Friday & Saturday 10-6, Sunday 10-5 Adult Admission $7 — Good All 3 Days! Children Under 12 & Parking FREE! • 300 Artisans • Craft Demonstrations • Specialty Foods • Children's Entertainment Preview the show, print discount admission coupons, get directions & more at SugarloafArtFaincom Coupons available online or by calling 800.210.9900 Teknicolor Paints, Inc. EMU HILLEL, Ypsilanti April 21 Aloha Shabbat ser- vices at 6:30 p.m., dinner 7:15 p.m. Cost: $5. Dress in Hawaiian attire for farewell BBQ. RSVP by Wednesday, April 19: Jodie Friedman, (734) 482-0456 or hillel@emich.edu . A Paint Store and More! PRATT & LAMBERT PAINTS Never compromise A Benjamin Moore Paints Extensive line of products .and knowledgeable staff to help you with any project. Faux Finishes or Venetian Plaster ... No Problem April 23 Sunday, April 23,1.-3 p.m. Free brunch for First Year Students of Hillel. Walton Putnam Main Lounge. RSVP by Friday, April 21: Kourtne,y Spaulding, (734) 482-0456 or kspauldi@emich.edu . Nearly 600 2 oz. color samples available for you at $3.99 to test on your walls. April 25 Tuesday, 3 p.m. Collect canned food in EMU dorms for Food Gatherers of Ann Arbor. To help or to donate, Contact Sarah Whorley at (734) 482-0456 or smills4@emich.edu . MSU HILLEL, E. Lansing . April 21 Friday, 6 p.m. Shabbk Teknicolor, the name you can trust and the service you deserve!! * NE11 LOCATION ORCHARD LAKE WOODWARD S. LAFAYETTE (Pontiac Trail) I, WOODWARD N. Farmington Hills Birmingham Pontiac South Lyon 248-994-1300 248-646-5924 248-745-0003 248-486-4910 27849 Orchard Lake 33488 Woodward 51616 Woodward 117 N. Lafayette (Pontiac Tr) Visit us at www.teknicolors.com or at 1 of our 4 convenient locations services, 7 p.m. complimentary dinner. RSVP: marisa@msuhillel.org. Budget Generators Home & Commercial Generator Systems Back Up Sump Pump Systems April 26 Wednesday, 1:30 p.m. Holocaust survivor luncheon at Hillel. RSVP: operations@msuhillel.org . School and graduated from the University of Chicago. She is finishing a six-month April 27 Thursday, 5 p.m. stint with Project OTZMA in Israel, Mystery road rally. RSVP: Jenn Bloom, bloomjel@msu.edu representing the Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Detroit. Her volunteer ser- vice in Quitziot as a Sat-El volunteer was incorporated into her OTZMA program. She plans to make aliyah this summer. She is the daughter of Marshall and Cathy Zumberg bf Huntington Woods. U M HILLEL, Ann Arbor April 20 Thursday, 8 p.m. - . Graduate and Professional Chometz Party at NYPD, 605 East William. Call For Your FREE Estimate Mike Hovey 248.722.5090 '3995 Installed I Permits Additional IN April 20 • 2006 35