Front Lines
NOTEBOOK
Month°
This Week
Detroit Donates To The Hungry
The JN will continue its fight against hunger.
To highlight your hunger projects in the JN
and inspire others, contact Keri Guten Cohen,
story development editor, at (248) 351-5144
or kcohen@thejewishnevis.com .
Shelli Liebman Dorfman
Staff Writer
I
n less that three weeks, a grassroots effort to collect funds for -
Mazon—A Jewish Response to Hunger has gathered $10,000 in
donations,with stacks of envelopes still unopened.
And the hope is that those who have not yet contributed still will
do so. Through the Break the Fast campaign, Congregation Shaarey
Zedek rabbis and the Oakland County synagogue's young leadership
group worked to encourage members of the community to donate
money saved by not eating on Yom Kippur.
A multi-pronged communication blitz before the holiday culmi-
nated with area rabbis of various denominations asking congregants
— during Yom Kippur services — to make a contribution to Mazon,
which allocates donations through established pipelines to individu-
als of all faiths and backgrounds here and abroad, including Yad Ezra,
Michigan's only kosher food pantry.
"A basic tenet of Judaism is to take care of each other," said young
leadership group member Stu Dorf of West Bloomfield. "There is no
better way than to help a fellow Jew with the most basic of life's neces-
sities. It is a right to be able to eat and this right needs to be preserved
for all people."
While members of several area synagogues participated, most of
the contributions came from those who attended Shaarey Zedek on
Yom Kippur.
"Five minutes after we spoke to the Yom Kippur crowd about the
campaign, we ran out of pledge cards and were handing out envelopes
with the Shaarey Zedek logo as reminders to those who wanted to
send contributions," said Rabbi Eric Yanoff, who, along with colleagues
Rabbi Joseph Krakoff and Jonathan Berkun, helped organize the proj-
ects."The outpouring was huge and heartwarming!'
The campaign is collecting donations of any amount, with sug-
gested contributions of $18 per person and $36 for a family. One-hun-
dred percent of funds donated go to Mazon, thanks to an anonymous
underwriter.
"I was startled to learn that 22 percent of Israelis and 30 percent
of Israeli children do not have enough to eat',' said Casey Long of
Commerce Township, a member of the young leadership group.
In addition, 38.2 million Americans — including 13.9 million chil-
dren — live in households that experience hunger or food insecurity.
Long stressed how easy it should be for individuals to make dona-
tions."The legwork has already been done so all that remains to make
this effort a success is for members of our community to contribute
funds they would have otherwise put toward their own meals for one
day," he said.
To make a donation, see if your synagogue is participating
or send a check to Congregation Shaarey Zedek, Yam Kippur
Break the Fast, 27375 Bell Road, Southfield, MI 48034, or to
Mazon at 1990 S. Bundy Drive, Suite 260, Los Angeles, CA
90025, or make a donation online at www.mazon.org .
WSU Divestment From Israel Urged
Lifelong Student Gives Back
The Wayne State University administration is expected to give a
response on Oct. 12 to a proposal from the Anti-Racist Action and
Wayne State Alumni for Divestment coalition demand-
ing that the university divest from Israel, Israeli corpo-
rations and U.S. companies doing business in Israel.
The coalition consists of students and alumni from
various religious, national and ethnic backgrounds.
The ARA is not listed as an official WSU student orga-
nization, according to a Web list from the Dean of
Students office.
The coalition will hold a demonstration at noon Oct.
12 on Gullen Mall on the WSU campus, Detroit.
StandWithUs-Michigan, part of a national pro-Israel
advocacy organization, e-mailed a briefing about the
situation, including information about other anti-Israel
activity on campus. SWU urged Jewish community members to
show their concern by contacting WSU President Irvin Reid at
(313) 577- 2230 or idreid@wayne.edu and also Dean of Students
David Strauss at (313) 577-1010 or davidstrauss@wayne.edu .
Request a copy of the briefing by e-mailing
swumichigan@standwithus.com .
A divestment proposal at the 'University of Michigan in Ann
Arbor was rejected late last year.
For close to 60 years, Stanley "Hank" Marx of Birmingham has taken
a class almost every semester at Wayne State University. He earned a
bachelor's of science in his 50s and now
is completing his graduate degree in
alternative dispute resolution at age 82.
During Detroit Mayor Dennis Archer's
administration, Marx served on the
board of police commissioners and con-
cluded that many civilian disputes could
be settled if police officers were given
training in mediation. This has become
the subject of his master's thesis
To honor their dad's 80th birthday, his
daughters,
Terry, Jane and Liz, established
U.S. Rep. John Dingell,
a
fund
to
promote
conflict resolution
right, with Stanley
called
the
Stanley
"Hank"
Marx Lecture
"Hank" Marx
Series at Wayne State University. Each
year, a prominent speaker will be featured. On Sept.15, U.S. Rep. John
Dingell, D-Dearborn, described how, during his 50 years in Congress,
mediation techniques often resulted in progressive compromise.
As Marx continues his busy schedule as a well-respected mediator
throughout the tri-county area, his graduate degree means he can take
such classes as politics, drawing, history, psychology, sculpture, music,
creative writing at WSU.
In the meantime, Marx hopes more people here and abroad will
recognize the importance of finding more innovative and civil ways to
settle their disputes.
- Keri Guten Cohen, story development editor
-Keri Guten Cohen, story development editor
10 October 12 e 2006
What To Do?
Looking for something fun to do
this weekend? Need an uplifting
lecture or a place to volunteer?
Check our online calendar daily
for ideas.
Just click on To Do! on the
menu on the left.
JBIog
Jeff Klein offers his
Perspectives on everything
from dating to this week's trea-
tise on why he hates relation-
ship experts. Always thoughtful,
often provocative. Or perhaps
you'd rather read about the
adventures of Laurie Freeman's
China Punim? This week she
remembers a night out in Bejing
during the adoption process.
Only at JNonline.us. Just click
on JBlog on the menu on the
left.
Latest From Israel
Want the most current news
from Israel? Check our stream-
ing news from Ynetnews.com
for continuous updates and lon-
ger news, opinion and feature
stories.
Just visit JNonline.us and
click on a scrolling story on
the left.
WEB EXTRAS
Here's your chance to get
ahead of the printed issue of
the JN. In this spot, look for a
stories that deal with breaking
local, national and international
news.
Just visit JNonline.us and
click on Web Extras on the left.
Poll Results:
After the fighting in Gaza and
in Lebanon this summer, do you
think Israel's land for peace
policy is dead?
Yes? 81%
No? 19%
This week's question:
Do you agree with President
Bush's assessment that the
North Korean nuclear test has
implications for Israel?
Visit the JNonline.us homer
age to cast your vote.