Editor's Letter
A Dream Unfulfilled
H
Eleonora Rabkin is a physician
from Lithuania whose interest and
experience in cardiology showed her
a need here in Michigan for better
access to vascular health screening.
Eleonora, a registered sonographer,
is now the owner of Portable
Diagnostic Ultrasound Imaging. She
and her equipment travel to the
offices of various physicians across
the area administering scans and
tests to their patients, sometimes
with same-day results.
"Not all doctors can afford to buy the
equipment. They don't always have
the space to keep it, and they don't
have the technicians on staff to run
it," Eleonora says. "Hebrew Free
Loan helped me buy the equipment
to start my business, which makes it
more convenient for the patients,
and maybe saves lives."
Your contribution to
Hebrew Free Loan helps us
help local businesses thrive.
Donate today.
Hebrew Free Loan provides interest-
free loans for small business
start-up costs, tuition assistance,
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www.hfldetroit.org
248.723.8184
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011
J) Jewish
WE'RE PART OF THE TEAM
A6
May 22 • 2008
e was the hip-hop mayor — young, driven, politically
savvy and charismatic. He was a big man with big
ideas for rebuilding a broken Detroit.
So I wasn't surprised that 300 Metro Detroit Jews turned out
at a Southfield banquet hall to hear what Kwame Kilpatrick,
Detroit's first-term mayor, had to say.
It was May 7, 2002.
Kilpatrick, a rising political star,
was speaking as part of a Jewish
Federation of Metropolitan Detroit
luncheon series. His appearance wasn't
by chance. He owed a debt of gratitude
to Jewish support. Many of his top
contributors were Jewish profession-
als who worked or invested in the city
and yearned for it to be the next great
Robert A. Sklar
urban turnaround. His municipal
Editor
challenges had been festering: blight,
crime, drugs, public transit, an insuf-
ficient retail base, a cash-strapped school system, the nation's
highest school dropout rate.
Kilpatrick, just 31, sketched out a vision for educating the
city's children while assuring clean, safe streets. It made a lot of
sense — and still does. But,
oh, how the backdrop has
Kwame Kilpatrick
changed.
held such promise.
Detroit bristles from
scandal in the wake of
He offered real
eight felony counts alleg-
ing perjury, conspiracy,
hope. Voters
misconduct in office and
obstruction of justice on
and supporters,
the part of Kilpatrick and
including many
his former chief of staff,
Christine Beatty. Both have
Jews, felt he had the
been under the public glare
since January, when the
vision and intellect
Detroit Free Press broke the
text-messaging scandal. The to change the city
stunning messages allegedly
for the better.
show the two lied under
oath about their romantic
affair and misled jurors
about a police officer's firing. Last October, Kilpatrick got the
city council to settle police whistle-blower cases for $8.4-mil-
lion, nearly $2 million more than the jury award, in hopes of
keeping his damning text messaging with Beatty secret forever.
Turning Around
Back in 2002, before a rapt audience that included many sub-
urbanites who grew up in Detroit and had fond memories of
those years, Kilpatrick dreamed of lifestyle improvements, not
just a vibrant entertainment district.
He was on to something significant.
"Many of us think of world-class cities that have thriving
restaurants, a thriving retail downtown and huge buildings
that you can see for miles:' the mayor said. "But really global
cities, cities that are talked about all over the world, are cities
where families feel safe and secure with their children, and
which are clean — and the world knows it.
"When we have that;' he added, "the other things come.
In turnaround situations all over this country, it started with
some very basic quality-of-life issues?'
The problem is that the Detroit City Council now is forced
to focus on ousting the mayor to regain the city's reputation
rather than on developing a culture where cognitive skills are
celebrated, not just athletic prowess. Only by celebrating the
mind will Detroiters participate in their city's progress and
prosperity.
Statistics show that more than 80 percent of all juvenile
delinquency in Detroit takes place after school. So there's
urgency still to Kilpatrick's call to nurture young minds, not
just strong bodies, via after-school youth programs that hone
computer and job interview skills. That approach demands not
only urban leadership, but also assistance from suburbanites.
Kilpatrick had a personal stake in his dream: He and his
wife, Carlita, have three boys.
Really connecting
Kilpatrick caught my ear when he encouraged a reconnection
"to the community that gave you your start?' He was talking to
each of us who could trace our humble beginnings to Detroit
and who parlayed the vast opportunities of its public schools
into successful lives and careers.
"That connection;' he said, "is what draws everyone back to
the central responsibility of
making sure the next genera-
tion of people have a founda-
tion upon which to build their
business career or their politi-
cal career."
He was challenging those of
us with a suburban zip code
but also a love for the city to
not feel like outsiders.
"We're going to work togeth-
er," he vowed. "For us to be
the global community that we
purport to be, it's Detroit and
the region. We really need to
Mayor Kilpatrick
have that mentality if we want
to compete for our children's
sake."
I grew up in Detroit, where I
had my bar mitzvah and grad-
uated high school. My roots in the city go back to the 1890s. A
grandfather, Jacob Sklar, helped found the Taylor Street Shul
(Beth Tefilo Emanuel) in 1924. So when Kilpatrick proclaimed
the need to reconnect, I nodded yes. Today, there are flashes
of reconnecting led by business magnates like Dan Gilbert, A.
Alfred Taubman, Eugene Applebaum, Bernard Glieberman,
Gary Torgow, the Fisher family and others. Many synagogues
have partnerships with Detroit churches or schools. The Jewish
Community Relations Council struck gold with its Detroit
Jewish Coalition for Literacy. The Anti-Defamation League and
American Jewish Committee also are active in black-Jewish
relations. Jews live, work and worship in the city and sup-
port its cultural jewels, hospitals and sports teams. We have a
special bond with Wayne State University because of a Jewish
presence among students, instructors, administrators, board
members and donors over the years.
—
important Pursuit
Kilpatrick took a giant step back in 2005 when he described