Metro
Jewish Apartments & Services is
Pleased to announce the honorees for
THE 2007 EIGHT OVER EIGHTY
TIKKUN OLAM AWARD
SENIOR ADULT HALL OF FAME
Counter-Protest
Non-Jews lead effort to stop Shabbat
demonstrations in Ann Arbor.
Harold Berry
Marvin Danto
Phil Elkus
Don Cohen
Special to the Jewish News
Ann Arbor
H
Ethel Goldenberg
Norman Katz
Eve Lieberman
Jack & Miriam Shenkman
Ida Nathan
Sunday, May 20
Inside Handelman Hall at the Jewish Community Center
6600 W. Maple Rd. on the Eugene and Marcia Applebaum
Jewish Community Campus in West Bloomfield
Open to the public.
11:00 am. • Brunch $65,
by Matt Prentice Restaurant Group, reserved seating.
12:30 • 14th Annual Induction Ceremony
No charge (donations accepted) no reserved seating.
ow can a community like
ours, that rightly prides
itself on being a liberal and
respectful one, be silent in the face
of this kind of abuse of our Jewish
neighbors?"
That is the question that Larry
Crockett and others in the recently
formed Worship Without Harassment
group ask fellow Ann Arborites
regarding the picketing of Beth Israel
Congregation each Saturday morning
for the past three years.
Most Saturdays, a half-dozen to a
dozen or more members of Jewish
Witnesses for Peace and Friends hold
signs against Israel ("Israel Commits
Atrocities"), against U.S. policy
("Stop U.S. Aid to Israel") and against
supporters of Israel ("Israel Lobby
Inside"). Sometimes they videotape
the worshipers as they arrive.
The Ann Arbor City Council, area
religious leaders and the Ann Arbor
News have condemned the pickets to
no avail.
In an opinion piece in the Ann
Arbor News in January, Beth Israel's
Rabbi Robert Dobrusin said the signs
contain false and hateful statements
crafted to be provocative and offen-
sive." As to the protesters' claim that
they seek dialogue and their demand
for a synagogue-hosted platform to
present their views, Rabbi Dobrusin
wrote that the Shabbat protests "are
disrespectful, intrusive, insensitive
and counter-productive to any true
dialogue on this subject in this com-
munity."
((
Master of Ceremonies:
Alan Muskovitz,
from the Dick Purtan Show,
Oldies 104.3 WOMC.
Mistress of Ceremonies:
Sherry Margolis
from WJBK
Fox 2 News
All the funds raised at the Eight Over Eighty
event benefit the JAS Quality of Life Fund.
For Information/advertising opportunities contact JAS Marketing
Director Pete Wurdock: 248.592.1101 • Pwurdock@jasmi.org
To reserve a seat for brunch or to charge by phone: 248.592.1102
Sponsored by:
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Crockett, a member of First
Unitarian Universalist Church of Ann
Arbor, has observed the picketing a
few times and found it "disgusting,"
saying there are proper forums and
venues to demonstrate about political
issues. He also suspects that Jews are
being singled out in a way that other
religious groups wouldn't be, and
that beyond political differences anti-
Semitism is likely at play.
"I think if it had happened at a
mainline church, it would have been
over in a month; someone would have
found a way to stop it," he says.
An answer on the Frequently Asked
Questions (FAQ) page on the group's
Web site also addresses the issue of
anti-Semitism: "When Jews — and
only Jews — are subjected to this
kind of behavior, then what might the
appropriate term to describe that be?"
it says.
Crockett urges friends of the Jewish
community to show support by sign-
ing an online petition, sending letters
of support to the congregation and
speaking out at their own religious
institutions in support of Beth Israel
and against protests at houses of wor-
ship. To contact the group, or sign the
online petition, which had 328 signa-
tors at last count, visit the Web site
www.worshipwithoutharassment.org.
In July 2005, some Beth Israel con-
gregants formed SPURN (Synagogue
Protest Unacceptable! Respond
Now) to encourage donations to the
American Friends of Magen David
Adorn, supporters of Israel's emer-
gency medical service, as a positive
response to the protests. To date, it has
raised just under $85,000. See
www.aaspurn.org for information.
Economist To Speak
Jaffe Raitt Heuer & Weiss PC will sponsor a business breakfast 8-9:30 a.m.
Thursday, April 26, at the Townsend Hotel in Birmingham.
The company's Israel Practice Group will host the program to focus on oppor-
tunities and challenges for individuals and companies doing business in Israel.
Chair of the group is Noam Raz.
The speaker will be Israeli economist and business analyst Yaacov Fisher. He
will discuss the factors contributing to Israel's strong economy and will share
ideas on the country's economic future.
For reservations or information, call Sue Robinson, (248) 351-3000.