Publisher's Notebook
Southfield: City Of Possibilities
,
T
he path to the American Dream
began for some on Hastings
Street. For others, it was 12th
Street, or Dexter and Davison or Seven Mile
and Livernois. And for most of Detroit's
Jewish community, that path ran right into
Southfield.
It was in Southfield where Jews spread
their wings — financially, politically, educa-
tionally, socially and religiously.
Fledgling Jewish developers built sev-
eral of Southfield's housing subdivisions,
apartment complexes, shopping centers
and office buildings. Jewish tradesmen
installed the wiring, attached the furnaces,
shingled the roofs, painted the walls and
supplied the appliances and fixtures. Jewish
attorneys drew up the deals. Jewish agents
pedaled the insurance. Jewish accountants
tallied the profit-and-loss statements and
the tax burdens. Jewish advertising and
Courtesy of Congregation Shaarey Zedek of Oakland County
marketing mavens shaped the images of
Majestic steeple of the new Shaarey Zedek rises in Southfield in progress
everything from buttery spreads, online
photo of June 26, 1962.
travel and appliance stores to Colt 45
Organization of America, Jewish National Fund and Kadima.
Malt Liquor. And Jewish retailers sold Buicks, Oldsmobiles,
For four decades, Southfield has been home to the Jewish
jewelry, furs, tuxedos and corned beef along teeming retail
News. From the Honeywell Building on Nine Mile Road to
corridors.
the Control Data Building on Civic Center Drive. From the
For decades, Southfield's public schools were among the
Regency Office Centre on Franklin Road to our current loca-
finest in the state. In addition to excelling at University of
tion at 29200 Northwestern Highway, the Jewish News has
Michigan, Wayne State and Michigan State, its students were
The only
continued to see Southfield as the "center of it
routinely accepted to Harvard, Columbia, Massachusetts
Jewish
News and
interruption in this link between the
Institute of Technology, Yale and other elite
Southfield
occurred
in
2002,
when
a
fire
destroyed
our
institutions. Many of the professionals who
offices and we secured temporary shelter in the JARC
helped to make the Southfield public school
building in Farmington Hills.
system great were Jewish, and sent their own
In many ways, the Southfield of 2008 is different
children to its classrooms.
than the Southfield of 1958. As the Jewish commu-
A list of Jewish students who attended
nity continues its path toward the American Dream,
Southfield public schools reads like a who's
many now see its epicenter as Maple and Orchard
who of leaders in economics, medicine,
Lake roads, or Maple and Telegraph roads. African-
entertainment, news media, law, finance and
Americans have been following the Jewish community
education. Add Jewish students who lived
into Southfield and beyond into West Bloomfield, also
in Southfield and attended schools in the
in pursuit of the American Dream. Today, Southfield
Birmingham district, and the list becomes even
is the intersection for Jewish-black relations and pro-
more impressive.
vides a laboratory for political, educational and eco-
The Southfield Town Center's glistening gold
nomic collaboration that can serve as a model for the entire
towers define Southfield's secular skyline. However, it is the
metropolitan area.
massive and low-slung Shaarey Zedek, the largest religious
As the 2005 Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Detroit
facility of its kind in America, that still symbolizes the Jewish
demographic study showed, the Detroit Jewish community
community's leadership epicenter. Some of the community's
has slowed its northwesterly migration pattern. Areas of
most prominent names — Berry, Berman, Safran, Fisher,
Huntington Woods, Royal Oak and Ferndale have remained
Davidson, Hermelin, Applebaum, Laker — are multi-genera-
stable and attractive, flanking Southfield from the east.
tional Shaarey Zedek families. Shaarey Zedek was also the
The Southfield of 2008 and beyond will continue to be the
trailblazer, becoming the Jewish community's first nonprofit
Jewish hub of the region — a place where we come to work
institution to build in Southfield. Only the Ira Kaufman
and where many of us are committed to stay, or return, for its
Chapel preceded it.
unique mix of neighborhoods, recreation, public facilities and
Among those joining Shaarey Zedek in Southfield over
communal infrastructure.
the years have been Yeshiva Beth Yehudah, United Hebrew
We wish our Southfield friends and neighbors a happy 50th
Schools, Agency for Jewish Education, American Red Magen
anniversary
and hope that content in this edition of the Jewish
David for Israel, Jewish Family Service, State of Israel Bonds,
rekindles
nostalgia for some and reaffirms the determi-
News
National Council of Jewish Women, Yeshivat Akiva, Yeshivas
nation
of
others
to include Southfield in their pursuit of the
Darchei Torah, Beth Achim, Young Israel, Hebrew Free
American Dream.
Loan, JVS, JARC, the Anti-Defamation League, the Zionist
271 WEST MAPLE
DOWNTOWN BIRMINGHAM
248.258.0212
SUNDAY 12-5
MONDAY—SATURDAY 10-6
THURSDAY 10-8
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April 24 • 2008
A13