4.
Front Lines
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This Week
www.JNonline.us
Levin has a bachelor's degree in psychology from the University
of Michigan. He is a self-taught artist and writer and has trained as
a teacher. He teaches cartooning workshops to elementary students
during the school year and works at a camp for children during the
summer.
Levin's other published works have appeared in Kid Zone, Fun for
Kidz, Mad and Cracked. Levin is a member of the Society of Children's
Book Writers and Illustrators.
Levin has an 8-year-old niece and a 5-year-old nephew.
When asked why he decided to write for Highlights, Levin said, "I
subscribed as a child and wanted to write for a magazine whose qual-
ity has remained high over the years."
- Robert A. Sklar, editor
Purr-im Kitty
I'm a proud Jewish cat — proud of my heritage and homeland and
proud to wear the uniform of the Israel Defense Forces, if only as a
Purim costume. This is one of 28 costumes my owner, Wendy Ruth
Gottlieb, made and dressed me up in to show off in her new picture
book Purr-im Cat (Pitspopany Press, 2007).
All my many costumes are extremely authentic in detail, right down
to my Queen Esther tiara or my white Magen David Adorn E.M.S.
medical jacket.
But despite the authenticity of my army uniform — including the
khaki kippah and Lion of Judah epaulets — there's one detail I could
live without. That darn dog tag!
- David Sachs, senior copy editor
Denver School Fights For Team
A Jewish day school in Denver is asking the Colorado High School
Activities Association to allow scheduling changes so that basketball
playoff games do not have to be played on Shabbat.
The appeal won the endorsement last week of the Council on
American-Islamic Relations and mirrors a court ruling won last
month by the Frankel Jewish Academy of Metropolitan Detroit against
the Michigan High School Athletic Association. The MHSAA is
appealing the Oakland County Circuit Court ruling.
In Denver, the Herzl/Rocky Mountain Hebrew Academy appeal was
rendered moot for this year when it lost its March 6 regional game
against Shining Mountain, 38-35. If Herzl/Rocky Mountain had won,
the regional championship was set for Saturday, March 8.
The CHSAA met with representatives of the Anti-Defamation
League last week and said it would review its policies at rules meet-
ings this spring and summer. On March 5, several Colorado state
senators had called on the CHSAA to be more flexible.
A spokesman for the Council on American-Islamic Relations said,
"In a nation as religiously diverse as America, it is important that we
all make the extra effort to accommodate the beliefs and practices of
others. Student athletes should not be forced to choose between their
faith and participation in sports."
- Alan Hitsky, associate editor
Mysterious Highlight
Neal Levin of Bloomfield Hills has written a clever story that was pub-
lished in the March 2008 issue of Highlights, the venerable magazine
for kids up to age 12.
"The Mystery of the Magic Lunch Bag" follows Sheila, who is used
to having a tuna-fish sandwich every day for lunch. When she buys a
new lunch bag, she hopes a new lunch will come with it. Sheila's lunch
bag appears to transform her daily tuna-fish sandwiches into more
exciting lunches; but it turns out that Beatrice, another student, also
has a magic lunch bag that is doing the same thing.
"I wanted to write about 'everyday' mysteries — finding surprises
in ordinary events," Levin said.
A10
March 20 • 2008
Technion Tackles Parkinson's
Biologically, goldfish may seem very different from us. But they are
attractive candidates to help researchers fight Parkinson's disease
in humans. Scientists at the Technion - Israd Institute of I-cc:1111010g,
Faculty of Medicine have discovered a simple, low-cost way to model
Parkinson's disease using these fish, possibly providing an excellent
way to test for new drugs to reduce symptoms and slow the progres-
sion of the degenerative neurological disease.
The team developed the goldfish model using MPTP, a potent neu-
rotoxin that causes permanent symptoms of Parkinson's disease by
killing neurons that create dopamine, a chemical that sends informa-
tion to parts of the brain that control movement and coordination.
MPTP has long been used to simulate Parkinson's in humans, lower
primates and other vertebrates, but the researchers turned to goldfish
because they possess certain characteristics that make them bet-
ter subjects when it comes to quickly observing the neuroprotective
effects of drugs.
Professor Moussa Youdim successfully utilized the goldfish model
during development of the FDA-approved anti-Parkinson's drug
Azilect(r) (Rasagiline) and selegiline, monoamine oxidase type-B
(MAO-B) inhibitors that block the breakdown of dopamine.
- Ken Guten Cohen, story development editor
Teen2Teen Web Site
Enter the T2T PASSOVER
RECIPE COOKOFF! We're
looking for teen-friendly
Passover foods – breakfast
items, easy lunches, desserts,
even your bubble's matzah
ball soup recipe! Check out
the rules and deadlines NOW!
Only at JNt2t.com .
Latest From Israel
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news from Israel? Check
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ous updates and longer news,
opinion and feature stories.
And look at the center of our
Homepage for an Israel story
that changes twice daily.
Just visit JNonline.us and
click on a scrolling story on
the left.
Celebrations!
Find weekly listings of births,
b'nai mitzvah, engagements,
weddings and anniversaries
as well as past simchahs all
online. They are all bundled
under each week's publica-
tion date.
Just visit JNonline.us and
click on Lifecycles on the
left.
Online Poll
An Award-Winning Site
The City of David Web site that shows panoramic views of Jerusalem
and close-ups of some of its most historic sites was selected by the
United Nations for a World Summit Award.
The site — www.cityofdavid.org.il — was one of 40 chosen from
650 entries from 160 countries. The U.N. World Summit on the
Information Society cited five Web sites in each of eight categories.
The City of David site is in the e-culture category.
Former Detroiter Darren Spilman, now Doron Spielman in Israel,
is international director of development for the Ir David Foundation,
the sponsor of the site. He said the U.N. awards panel had 39 judges,
including nine from Arab countries. An Israeli judge was forced to
resign her position because the Arabs threatened to boycott, Spielman
said. In spite of this, the City of David site was selected.
- Alan Hitsky, associate editor
Last week's results:
Will you attend a Megillat
Esther reading for Purim?
Yes 70%
No 30%
This week's poll question:
How do you foresee the
dollar's future?
Gloomy?
Bounce back?
Visit the JNonline.us
homepage, below the left
menu, to cast your vote.