To Life!

OUND TO W N

For The Soldiers

Holiday concert
salutes Israel's finest.

Josh Berkovitz of West Bloomfield lights the menorah.

IDF soldiers Sivan Levy, 19, Ramat Hasharon; Avi Barahan
Ben-Tzur, 21, Beer Sheva; and Rona Bar, 19, Tel-Aviv

T

Pamela Azaria of Birmingham with
Yonatan, 3, and Ella, 4

Merav and Elan Hazan of Farmington Hills with Ben, 5
months, and Noa, 2

he voices of Israeli sol-
ders made the spirit of
Chanukah come alive
at Adat Shalom Synagogue in
Farmington Hills. More than
300 people gathered for a festive
Chanukah celebration featur-
ing a performance by the Israel
Defense Forces Military Musical
Ensemble, a group of active-duty
IDF soldiers known for the tradi-
tional and popular Israeli songs
they perform.
The concert was part of a holi-
day extravaganza with children's
activities like face painting, bal-
loons and a moonwalk. There
also was a raffle for prizes,
including Red Wings tickets and
the highly sought after video
game consoles Nintendo Wii and
Play Station 3 as well as a stroll-
ing dinner and candlelighting
ceremony. The Hillel Day School
of Metropolitan Detroit choir
also sang during the celebration.
"It was fun for the whole fam-
ily," said Tamir Oppenheim,
executive director of the
Farmington Hills-based
Michigan Chapter of the Friends
of the IDF. "It was probably the
best Chanukah party in greater
Detroit."
The IDF Ensemble's perfor-
mance was the final stop in a

15-city tour across the United
States. Traveling with the soldiers
was 2nd Lt. Nimrod Slavin of
Reut, who spoke about surviv-
ing a rocket attack during the
summer war in Lebanon. Slavin
received shrapnel wounds to his
foot and knee and is undergoing
rehabilitation.
The crowd also lit three
candles for Israeli solders Gilad
Shalit, Ehud Goldwasser and
Eldad Regev, who were kid-
napped by Hezbollah and Hamas.
"It's a happy time and festive
time, but we must remember we
still have soldiers who are being
held captive," said Oppenheim.
"These soldiers take a huge risk
by defending the State of Israel
and we have to pray for their safe
return."
Spotted in the crowd at the
Dec. 17th celebration were:
Ann and Leonard Baruch of
Southfield; Linden Nelson of
Bloomfield Hills; and Leeat and
Adam Baker, Ron Ferber,
Gary Shiffman, Nancy and
Mike Pomish, Shari and
Mon Kaufman, Sigal and
Jimmie Levine, Brenda and
Billy Berris, Karen and Steve
Weiss, and Itzy and Dany
Saar, all of West Bloomfield. I

The Rubins: Mia, 8, Michele, Howard, and Danielle, 10, of West Bloomfield

January 4 • 2007

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