To Life!
AROUND TOWN
Coming Together
Southfield
hosts a
multicultural
Day of Peace*
A
Above: Jessica Dawson,
17, of Southfield with
Moshe, 3, and Nafatli
Traube, 20 months, of
Southfield
Left: Mark Jubas and
his son, Jaden, 3, of
Southfield
Right: Shloime Moskowitz,
5, of Southfield
Left: Mayor Brenda
Lawrence and Treasurer
Irving Lowenberg with his
daughter, Daniella, 2,
Right: U.N. Representative
Roberta Cottman and
Joan Seymour, council
president pro-tem, both of
Southfield
28
February 1 • 2007
bout 78,000 people of various
ethnic and religious back-
grounds live side-by-side as
neighbors in the city of Southfield. On Jan.
14, more than 100 residents got together to
celebrate their diverse community during
the city's sixth annual Day of Peace. The
invitation-only event, hosted by Southfield
Mayor Brenda Lawrence, brought together
Jews, African Americans, Russians,
Chaldeans and
others to break
bread and dis-
cover the simi-
larities they share.
Participants are
invited based on
their work in the
community.
"People here
respect each other:'
said Southfield
Treasurer Irving
Lowenberg, a member of the Orthodox
community. "In my role as an elected
official, I get to interact with all different
communities. When people have a chance
to come together, they realize they're more
alike than different."
Lowenberg moved to Southfield more
than a decade ago with his wife, Karen. The
couple now have four children: Leah, 11,
Elianna, 10, Daniella, 2, and a newborn son.
"Coming from New York, one of the
things we appreciate is the camaraderie
and the Midwest hospitality:' he said.
Children who took part in the celebra-
tion played together; some drew pictures
to illustrate how they view peace. The
annual event held on the second Sunday
in January grew out of a day of peace
declared by the United Nations in 2000.
"It's a great way to celebrate what's
unique about Southfield," said the city's
Community Relations Director Nimrod
Rosenthal, who was born in Israel. "We
have a growing Orthodox Jewish commu-
nity, a large African American community
and a lot of young families. It's really like a
microcosm of the United Nations." E