Front. Lines
SUPPORTING ISRAEL
A Chocolate-Filled Message
W
ith just a click of the computer
mouse, a personal message
and a chocolate candy bar
can be transmitted across the world to an
Israeli soldier — and at no charge to the
clicker.
Through the "Send a Hug" campaign
— co-sponsored by Heritage Affinity
Services and Strauss Elite — more than
68,000 full-size, kosher candy bars have
been ordered in the first five days of the
project.
"So many people want to do something:'
said Yair Rosenrauch, vice president,
nonprofit relations for Heritage Affinity
Services. "But we had no idea how popular
this would be."
With so many e-mailers forwarding the
information on the project to so many
others, Rosenrauch expects to hit the goal
of 100,000 candy bars and messages way
sooner than projected. "People see there
is no cost at all to the sender:' he said. "So
it's an easy way to make a very impactful
difference." -
Heritage Affinity Services also owns
Keeping In Touch P2K-Style
Volunteers in Detroit's Partnership 2000
region of the Central Galilee have cre-
ated a Web site under the Jewish Agency
umbrella that includes reports and photos
of activities and news in the region, which
has been under attack by Hezbollah rock-
ets. The Web site is updated daily.
Locally, the Jewish Federation of
Metropolitan Detroit will send photos
and stories about Michigan activities.
Currently, there are stories about how
the Detroit community has helped move
1,800 children from Nazareth Illit to safety
at camps near Tel Aviv, about the United
Jewish Communities Solidarity Mission,
headed by Jane Sherman of Franklin, and
a link to a Jewish News story about the
Teen Mission.
Here is the link to the Web site: www.
jewishagency.org/JewishAgency/English/
Israel/Partnerships/Regions/Centralgalilee
To give money to Federation's Israel
Emergency Fund, you can do so online at
www.thisisfederation.org, call the hotline
at (248) 205-2550 or mail checks payable
10 August 3 • 2006
HAS Advantage, a
credit card company
— working with US
Bank and VISA — that
was founded three and
a half years ago with
the purpose of support-
ing Israel. A percentage
of purchases made on
the cards is donated,
by HAS and US Bank, to an Israel-related
charity, with card members choosing five
charities from a network of dozens.
"It is a seamless process, with the
donation coming completely from HAS
Advantage," Rosenrauch said. In addition,
cardholders receive points toward items
like made-in-Israel products and Israeli
airfare, hotels and rental cars.
HAS was co-founded by Zev Dobuler
and Menachem Landau, two North
Americans who made aliyah in their teens,
were educated in Israel and served in elite
IDF units.
The team that developed the "Send
a Hug" campaign included former Oak
Parker, Kayla Adlerstein, the company's
senior marketing coordinator.
The "hugs:' coming in the form of
heartfelt messages have been arriving
— via e-mail — from around the world.
"And they are not all from Jewish people
Rosenrauch said.
"When we started going through the
messages, we were taken aback because
many of them are
very emotional."
A significant
number come from
Israelis, he said,
who include their
phone numbers and
write that when the
soldiers are done at
the front they should
call them and they will invite them for a
Shabbat meal.
"They ask if they need anything, if
they can take them out. Quite a few of the
messages came from people who will be
making aliyah, asking if they can help the
soldiers when they get there."
'The hug-messages are continuously
posted online, but will also be delivered to
the soldiers.
"With everything that is going on, we,
as a company, want to support Israel,"
Rosenrauch said. "We knew we needed
to develop a program that would facili-
tate people to act on how they feel right
now Those who feel powerless to effect a
change can make a difference and show
support."
To send a message and a candy bar to
an Israeli solider, access the Web site at
HASadvantage.com and click on "Send a
Hug Now" at the top of the page. For infor-
mation, call (866) 647-7235.
to the Jewish Federation of Metropolitan
Detroit, P.O. Box 2030, Bloomfield Hills, MI
48303.
on the .Jewish state. Kenneth Waltzer,
MSU's Jewish Studies director, led this
summer's MSU delegation at the Rothberg
International School at Hebrew University
in Jerusalem.
The MSU Risk Committee terminated
the program on July 16 even though most
of the students preferred to stay, Serling
said.
A'letter sent to Hebrew University by
MSU Provost Kim Wilcox said: "We know
that Hebrew University has extensive
security precautions in place, which is why
we reinstated our study abroad program
to Israel in the first place. We recognize,
however, that Israel is under attack; and
it is impossible to predict how this situ-
ation may change in the next two weeks.
Therefore, we believe it is prudent to
remove our students now, given this vola-
tile and unpredictable environment."
. Serling isn't deterred.
"MSU students will return to study in
Israel," he wrote.
- Keri Guten Cohen, story development editor
Volatility Spurred Evacuation
East Lansing
It was all a matter of safety when
Michigan State University decided to bring
home nine students studying abroad in
Israel this summer, Michael Serling, chair-
man of the MSU Jewish Studies Advisory
Board, affirmed this week.
"It is sad to see the program aborted
after waiting so many years to return:'
Serling, a Birmingham attorrney, wrote in
a letter to the Jewish Studies aboard and
faculty.
"We can only hope that these dark days
will pass and that the sacrifices made by
the Israeli fighting men and women will
make Israel a much safer place for genera-
tions to come
The Israel study program was instated
in November after a six-year hiatus
wrought by Palestinian terror attacks
- Shelli Liebman Dorfman, staff writer
- Robert A. Sklar, editor
In Time Of War
Columnist Brian Blum provides
analysis and essays three times a
week from Jerusalem, exclusively
for Jewish Renaissance Media.
Also look for stories that bring
the story home to Detroit.
Just visit JNonline.us and look
at the features in the center
column.
Latest From Israel
Want the most current news
from Israel? Check our streaming
news from ynetnews.com .
Just visit JNonline.us and click
on a scrolling story on the left.
JBlog
Laurie Freeman writes about
raising a daughter adopted from
China. Her "China Punini" now
has a Jewish Chinese doll to play
with courtesy of Gali Girls.
Only at JNonline.us. Just click
on JBlog on the menu on the
left.
Out & About
Arts & Entertainment Editor Gail
Zimmerman knows what's hot
this sizzling summer. Be sure to
check out her Out & About col-
umn for suggestions.
Just visit JNonline.us and click
on Arts & Entertainment on
the left.
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