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HARMONY
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Maccabi Support
To the entire Jewish community of
Metro Detroit: It has now been over two
weeks since the conclusion of the 2008
JCC Maccabi Games. The outpouring of
support from this community was over-
whelming. Thank you to all the volunteers
and host families that gave so graciously
of their time.
Approximately 2,100 visiting athletes had
to be housed. The community stepped up
and opened their doors. The office was get-
ting requests to house athletes even during
the week of the Games. We have since heard
hundreds of stories about how great it was
to host these athletes. Todah rabah!
Five-thousand volunteer shifts ... that
is a lot of jobs to fill. Once again, the com-
munity stepped in to lend a hand. From
serving meals, to directing traffic to keep-
ing score, there was a job for everyone.
Many who volunteered for one shift ended
up volunteering the whole week. The ath-
letes, coaches and visiting families were so
grateful to our volunteers for making their
experience here in Detroit such a positive
one. Todah rabah!
The buzz in Metro Detroit about the
Games is so positive because the commu-
nity worked together. A lot of work went in
to planning the JCC Maccabi Games. The
week of, however, was in the hands of our
volunteers. You made the games a success!
The support you gave the JCC Maccabi
Games is immeasurable. The memories
you helped create for the participants will
not be forgotten. Todah rabah!
Karen Gordon
JCC Maccabi Games director
Harold Friedman,
JCC Maccabi Games chairman
Birmingham
MSU's Jewishness
Thank you for highlighting one of our
outstanding Jewish student leaders at
Michigan State University, Daniel Kuhn
(Editor's Letter, "No Ordinary Fellow',' Sept.
11, page A5). Daniel has been an active
Israel advocate on campus since his arrival
as a freshman and it was only natural that
he become our first Emerson Fellow.
Daniel joins a wonderful team of stu-
dents working to create dynamic and infor-
mative Israel programming at MSU. The
members of the team are Geoff Levin, our
Grinspoon Fellow; Eric Dropkin, chair of
Spartans for Israel; David Minden, president
of the Jewish Student Union, and Avi Motil,
our Israel Fellow who joins us through a
partnership with the Jewish Agency.
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September 18 • 2008
Michigan State University is fortunate
to have such effective and exceptional
advocates. We expect our fourth annual
Israel Fest, which celebrates Israel, to be
our best ever.
Cindy Hughey, executive director
Lester & Jewell Morris Hillel
Jewish Student Center
Michigan State University
East Lansing
Peters For Congress
As your Ninth Congressional District
candidates profile makes clear ("Hot
Ninth!" Sep. 11, A13), Oakland County vot-
ers will make an important decision this
November. We can influence change or
have more of the same.
Rep. Joe Knollenberg, R-Bloomfield
Hills, 16 years in Congress undoubtedly
gives him experience in Washington. But
for all the committees that he is on, has
he improved our lives? Are we better or
worse off? Michigan is losing jobs and our
economy is faltering. Does he honestly
represent our views?
Both candidates strongly support Israel,
but only Gary Peters stands with us on
many other issues important to our com-
munity including embryonic stem cell
research, women's reproductive freedom
and the separation of church and state.
Whether ifs in the public or private sec-
tor, Gary has a long and proven record of
excelling and getting things done. He has
spent two decades as an investment man-
ager, giving him a wealth of knowledge on
economic growth. He understands fiscal
responsibility, demonstrated by his abil-
ity to run both his State Senate office and
the Michigan Lottery under budget. And
as lieutenant commander in the Naval
Reserve, he has served our country for over
a decade, including in the Persian Gulf.
When we send Gary to Congress, he will
be a "freshman" in name only. Ifs time for
new leadership and Gary Peters is the kind
of change we need.
legalization, and ultimately citizenship,
for the undocumented. Anything less fails
to serve the compelling national security
needs to know who is entering and who is
already present in the U.S.
In addition, according to the American
Jewish Committee's 2007 Annual Survey of
American Jewish Opinion, 67 percent sup-
ported a plan that would allow undocu-
mented immigrants to remain in the U.S.
and become citizens if they meet certain
requirements, as opposed to more restric-
tive approaches, including expulsion.
Steinlight, whose views do not represent
AJC in any way, makes sweeping asser-
tions that we challenge, including "we no
longer need unskilled labor" and "cheap
immigrant labor flooding the market" is
causing widespread unemployment.
Most egregious are his charges that the
"hypocritical approach" of Jewish organi-
zations "undermines the rule of law" and
that the "immigration policy embraced by
the Jewish community establishment ...
condones illegal immigration."
This is not true and flies in the face
of long-established principles and poli-
cies of AJC and other mainstream Jewish
groups that clearly state the opposite. We
deplore this type of fear mongering and
scapegoating that, unfortunately, increas-
ingly has become part of the immigration
debate.
Kari Alterman, director
American Jewish Committee Detroit Chapter
Bloomfield Township
Corrections
• In "Helping Homeless Students" (Aug.
28, page A10), the co-chairs of the NCJW
backpack program should have been iden-
tified as Ellie Slovis and Sherri Lumberg.
Wendy Wagenheim
Birmingham
Fear-Mongering Rejected
In his Special Commentary, Stephen
Steinlight's approach on immigration does
not serve the interests of the Jewish com-
munity nor the nation as a whole ("Stop
Illegal Immigration," Sept. 11, page A34).
The fact is the only effective way to fix
our broken system is a comprehensive
approach to immigration reform — one
that joins enforcement with a path to
The photo for "Never Again" (Sept. 11,
page A24) was incorrectly cropped.
The correct caption is: Holocaust
survivor Jack Gun and his son-in-law,
Theodore Ruza.
Our JN Mission
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