World For the best selection, service and prices, come to Audette Cadillac Offering Support Jewish groups pitch in to aid bridge victims. Melissa Apter Jewish Telegraphic Agency Washington Wie/dgge BREAK t* THROUGH 7100 Orchard Lake Rd., West Bloomfield Mon. & Thurs. til 9; Tues., Wed., Fri. til 6 OPEN SAT. 10 am - 4 pm 248-851-7200 www.audettecadillac.com 'Mote iwpeulelce rat sea ice Hours: Monday-Saturday 9:30-6:00 Closed Sunday 265 Old Woodward 248-642-2555 Ce1400,19 Our First Year Cruise Week PfPFEET FOP: • Baby or Wedding Shower • Bar/Bat Mitzvahs • Birthday Parties • Corporate Events 1344 1 cupcake yet a second cupcake EPEE No special orders. Exp. 8/31/07 ------- ........ Oveti 7 4a0 a week 5,-Thos Jo-Jo I Fri & 50 J0-0 wWw.cutgakestation.'com 014 W004w44 Oiery1419hanl 20 August 9 • 2007 1274610 inneapolis-area Jews were offering aid and comfort to victims of the tragic col- lapse of the I-35W bridge in that city — and are giving thanks for the sur- vival of a former yeshivah student. The bridge collapsed Wednesday, Aug. 1, during evening rush hour, leav- ing at least five dead and 79 injured. As of Sunday, eight people were still missing. Among the survivors is 20- year-old Roman Koyrakh — a former student at Torah Academy, a yeshivah in suburban Minneapolis — whose car plunged into the Mississippi River. "There was a loud bang, and my car buckled suddenly;' he told Vos Iz Neias, a religious news Web site. "Dust and smoke shot up all around and the next thing I knew I was falling, plung- ing headfirst." Fearing the end, he said the Shema prayer, but managed to free himself from his seat belt and open the car door. He made it to dry ground and was taken to a hospital, where he was treated for minor injuries. Koyrakh credited God for his sur- vival, telling the news site: "Hashem saved me. There's no other explana- tion" for such miracles. Jewish Family and Children's Service of Minneapolis and the JCRC partnered to offer free crisis inter- vention counseling for victims, their families and responders, as well as survivors. Those who wanted to help were encouraged to donate blood to the American Red Cross or with the Memorial Blood Centers. Monetary donations are being directed to the Twin Cities Area Chapter of the American Red Cross. Ordinarily the JCRC would have partnered with Nechama: Jewish Response to Disaster to aid victims at the site. However, direct response was not possible here because of the danger," said Steve Hunegs, the JCRC's executive director. "We were told [by law enforcement] to stand down!' In the meantime, JCRC promoted an interfaith service hosted by Temple Israel, a Reform congregation, on Aug. 2. Participants included a Muslim imam and clergy from local churches. " They used an interfaith prayer book with passages from Christian and Jewish liturgy, as well as songs by the popular Jewish performer and song- writer Debbie Friedman. Rabbi Marcia Zimmerman described a coming-together of sev- eral downtown congregations located not far from the bridge. "We are very connected, and we even took a trip to Israel together;' she said of Jewish, Protestant, Roman Catholic and Islamic houses of worship all within blocks of one another. "We have very strong ties." The 45-minute service was timed exactly 24 hours after the collapse, at 6:15 p.m. Particularly moving, Zimmerman said, was the Birkat Hagomel, the blessing for those who survive. She noted that a woman congregant who works at the temple's summer camp was on the bridge. "Physically she was fine, but she was shaken," Zimmerman said. "We have all been on that bridge hundreds of times," she said, not- ing that the bridge connected the downtown area to the University of Minnesota campus, where many local children studied or used the sports facilities. "The entire community is struck by the randomness." Temple Israel's chapel was open Aug. 2 and 3 for personal prayer and meditation. Answering Israel's Critics The Charge Iran's leadership recently criticized the promised Bush administration arms sales to Israel, Egypt and several Persian Gulf states, accus- ing the U.S. of trying to destabilize the region. The Answer The West's efforts to arm Israel and the moderate Arab nations actu- ally deters the radical regimes from threatening them, preparing terror- ist activity or changing the balance of power in favor of the radicals. - Allan Gale, Jewish Community Relations Council of Metropolitan Detroit @copyright Aug. 9, 2007, Jewish Renaissance Media