Wonderful Response
Jewish Apartments, given food and drinks
We want to take a moment to thank the
and made comfortable. We were offered
wonderful people at the Hechtman and
the use of the staff's personal cell phones
Meer apartments, the Jewish Community
to contact family and friends so no one
Center and other Eugene and Marcia
had to worry about us.
Applebaum Jewish Community Campus
The staff had lists of all the medications
facilities in West Bloomfield as well as area the residents were taking and arranged to
police and fire departments and other vol- supply all that was needed. Since no one
unteers for their heroic, tireless and dedi-
was allowed to return to their apartments,
cated work during the tragic fire at the
the staff made sure information was col-
Hechtman II building on April 9 — and
lected so they knew where each resident
the stressful aftermath that followed.
would be staying. The few people that had
Our mother, Betty Benson, resided
no local family or friends with whom to
on the third floor of Hechtman II and
stay had arrangements made for them. We
was led down the stairs by one of the
were well taken care of.
Hechtman II staff members (we didn't
Even though this was the first time
get a name), and wheeled over to Meer
such an emergency occurred, those in
by a wonderful and kind policeman. The
charge were well prepared! Enough can-
fact that more than 100 elderly people all
not be said about the wonderful care and
managed to survive this horrific incident
concern shown to the residents during
and live to tell the tale speaks volumes for this time.
the ability of the aforementioned groups
The firefighters and staff of Hechtman
and individuals to organize quickly, work
Jewish Apartments worked very long and
effectively in harmony and avert an even
hard to prevent what could have been a
greater disaster.
horrible disaster.
We went into the building on Sunday,
Thomas Nessel
April 13, and we found evidence ranging
West Bloomfield
from total devastation to practically no
effects from the blaze at all. We realized
even more fully what a monumental and
Calm And Collected
cooperative effort it took to handle this
I must commend Marsha Goldsmith
catastrophe.
Kamin of Jewish Apartments & Services,
As the rebuilding of Hechtman II
Carol Rosenberg of Jewish Home and
begins, we thank God for the mercy He
Aging Services and all the staff and volun-
showed in sparing all those fragile lives.
teers who handled last week's terrible fire
And we again thank all of the extraor-
at the Lillian & Samuel Hechtman Jewish
dinary people who contributed to this
Apartments.
Herculean effort.
As a member of the Jewish community
Sharon Green
and as the general manager of a senior
West Bloomfield
retirement community, I was there to offer
Rita Fischer
not only my services, but my community's
Waterford
services, i.e., shuttle bus and apartments,
Michael Benson
as well.
Baton Rouge, La.
From the minute I walked in the door
at Meer Apartments, I did not sense any
signs of panic, disarray or commotion.
Ready And Able
Exactly the opposite occurred. The police
I live in Hechtman Jewish Apartments. At
and staff were executing a well thought-
the time of the fire last week, everyone had out plan; it was clear who was in charge,
to be immediately evacuated from both
and it was wonderful to see everyone
Hechtman buildings for their safety. There coming together to help out any way they
was no time to gather any valuables, medi- could. In my mind, they are truly super-
cation, hearing aids, clothing, etc.
stars and made the most out of a devastat-
I commend the Hechtman staff and the
ing situation.
firefighters for their care and concern for
Working in this field, they set examples
the safety of all the residents of the build-
of how smooth any disaster situation
ings. We were all taken by bus to the Meer should run. We are very lucky to have such
How to Send Letters
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A6
April 17 • 2008
3N
a wonderful team in place to take care of
our seniors.
Rick Goren
general manager
Independence Village of Plymouth
Tamarack Support
I write this letter in strong support of
Tamarack Camps' decision to maintain
its high standard of kashrut supervision
("Keeping Kosher," April 10, page A20)
so that it can remain a comfortable place
for Jews of all denominations, beliefs and
backgrounds.
Following the joint and amiable deci-
sion to change kashrut supervision going
forward, Executive Director Jonah Geller
and Tamarack's board remained deter-
mined not to compromise the kosher
dietary laws at Tamarack Camps. With
great respect for the role played previ-
ously by the Council of Orthodox Rabbis,
Geller approached the Michigan Region
Rabbinical Assembly, asking for our assis-
tance and input. This, in part, led to Geller
making contact with our colleague Rabbi
Jason Miller.
Rabbi Miller, who holds great affec-
tion for Tamarack from his own days
as a camper, is the perfect individual
to assume the position of mashgiach, a
role he takes seriously and one that he is
already familiar with from past experienc-
es at the Jewish Theological Seminary and
Camp Ramah. In addition to serving as
mashgiach, Rabbi Miller's ability to posi-
tively impact Tamarack's already strong
Jewish programming is an added bonus.
I want to applaud Jonah Geller, in
particular, and all who were part of this
wonderful and important decision. From
start to finish, it was handled in a profes-
sional, honorable and mentshlich way. Kol
Hakavod!
Rabbi Joseph H. Krakoff
Congregation Shaarey Zedek of Oakland County
past president, Michigan Region/
Rabbinical Assembly
Obama As President?
As a 17-year-old who will be voting in the
upcoming election, I am saddened by the
fact that Sen. Barack Obama is being hin-
dered by fallacy. I receive e-mails and hear
people talking about things like a picture
of Obama being sent around that is very
obviously, although cleverly, manipulated
to show him as anti-America or pro-
Palestine.
Let me say this right now: Any presi-
dent of the United States of America will
be a friend to Israel because Israel is a
democracy and has embraced the west-
ern values that we as a country push on
other nations. As for people who mention
in previous letters to IN and articles I've
seen that suggest Obama's plan to improve
relations with nations like Iran would hurt
Israel, practice the same bigotry and hate
mongering that the current administra-
tion employs as rhetoric.
On a personal level, I would not vote for
Obama. Not because I think he's a Muslim
or am afraid of his pastor, but because I
do not agree with his policies. America
(and especially its Jewish population)
should know better than to vote (or not)
for a person based on their policy and cre-
dentials, instead of hate and fear.
Ryan Rott
West Bloomfield
Corrections
• "Sam Frankel: Passing Of A Pioneer"
(April 10, page A15), should have noted
that Mr. Frankel was presented with
the Jewish Federation of Metropolitan
Detroit's highest honor, the Fred M. Butzel
Memorial Award, in 1984. Also, the photo
on page A15 of Sam and Jean Frankel
at the Frankel Traditional School in
Jerusalem should have been dated 1982,
not 1962.
• "Healthy Body Healthy Mind" (April
10, page A22) incorrectly reported that
the Kadima Healthy Body Healthy Mind
luncheon raised about $20,000 for the
Mark/Lis Family Philanthropic Fund. The
money actually went to the Miya Must
Memorial Fund. The Mark/Lis fund was
an event sponsor.
• In "Passover By Design" (April 10, page
B11), the recipe for Unbelievable Brownies
should have included 1 cup potato starch
in the ingredients.
• In the recipe for Turkish Eggplant
Stew ("Around The World;' April 10, page
B14), the directions should have stated,
"Add the onions and garlic and saute for
5 minutes!"
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