Front Lines NOTEBOOK Dienline This Week Activist Award Do you know someone who has made a real difference in our com- munity? The Jewish Community Relations Council of Metropolitan Detroit invites you to nominate them to be the 2009 Activist of the Year. Council's Activist of the Year Award is given annually to a volunteer who is passionate about the Detroit Jewish community and works to secure the Jewish future by championing Israel's cause, reaching out to our diverse neighbors or advocating on behalf of Jewish interests with our government partners. Nominees do not need to have a past or current affiliation with the Jewish Community Relations Council. (Council past presidents, current officers and congregational clergy are not eligible to receive the award.) To nominate a candidate for the Jewish Community Relations Council's 2009 Activist of the Year, visit the Council Web site at detroitjcrc.org or contact the Council office at (248) 642-5393, ext. 9. Nominations must be received by Friday, Nov. 21. The Council Activist of the Year Award Committee is chaired by Council board member Sharon Lipton. Created in 2001, past award recipients include the late Nate Shapiro (2001), Elaine Driker (2002), David Techner (2003), Dulcie Rosenfeld (2004), Dennis Bernard (2005) the Hon. Hilda R. Gage (2006), Richard Bernstein (2007) and Beverly Baker (2008). - Keri Guten Cohen, story development editor all, but 29 in the field of engineering) and Tel Aviv University (114). Hebrew University ranked ahead of prestigious institutions like the universities of Munich, Zurich, Georgetown, Vienna, Ohio, Sussex and Basel. In the humanities, the university's ranking was even higher, at 41, while Tel Aviv's humanities department was ranked 80. In social sci- ences, Hebrew University came in at 49, while Tel Aviv ranked 56. As in previous years, British and American universities — Harvard, Yale and Cambridge — led the list. The calculation is based on rank- ings by experts, citations in scholarly journals and faculty surveys. - Keri Guten Cohen, story development editor A Scholarly Visit For Rabbi Joseph H. Krakoff, the upcoming visit of a noted rabbi is exciting on more than one count. "Next Shabbat, we will welcome to Congregation Shaarey Zedek my very first Talmud teacher and friend Rabbi Danny Gordis," Krakoff said. "We are so honored to have Rabbi Gordis as our scholar in residence. He resides with his family in Israel and only comes to the United States twice a year — and congregations across the country literally fight over him." Rabbi Gordis Gordis, senior vice president and senior fellow at the Shalom Center in Jerusalem will speak at CSZ in Southfield at approximately 7:45 p.m. Friday, Nov. 7, on "The State that Restored Hope." He will deliver the sermon on Saturday, Nov. 8, during Shabbat morning services and will offer a learning session following Shabbat lunch. Gordis has published numerous articles on issues related to the future of Jewish life in America as well as Jewish law and ethics in such publications as Conservative Judaism, Judaism Quarterly, Proof Texts, Tikkun, Modern Judaism, Moment Magazine, The Forward, the New York Times Magazine and the Jewish Spectator, on which he served as senior contributing editor for eight years. His latest book, not yet out, is called Saving Israel: How the Jewish People Can Win A War That May Never End. Gordis' appearance is sponsored by the Morris and Beverly Baker Foundation in memory of Morris D. Baker. A magician will entertain children during Gordis' Friday evening talk and babysitting will be available on Saturday. There is no charge for Shabbat lunch, but reservations are required. For information, contact Tobye Bello at (248) 357-5544 or tbello@shaareyzedek.org . - Shell! Liebman Dorfman, senior writer Hebrew University/Mt. Scopus Lauding Hebrew U The Hebrew University of Jerusalem was ranked 93rd in the world this year by the Times Higher Education survey released recently, reported Israel's Haaretz. This means the university has jumped 35 places since last year. Other Israeli universities appearing among the 200 leading schools include the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology (ranked 109 over- A8 November 6 • 2008 Alyn Ride In Israel Dr. Warren Tessler of West Bloomfield will pedal the hills, valleys —and mountains — of Israel during his fourth Alyn Hospital Wheels of Love ride Nov. 9-13. That's 50 miles a day for five days. Tessler is 71. "I try to be in good shape,' he said. "The mountains for me are a real challenge. But it's Israel. You're riding along, people honk at you and yell, Kol hakavod.' People cheer you on — it's pretty terrific." Tessler is riding for Team Alex in memory of Alex Graham of West Bloomfield, who died at age 17 in 1999. This year, he's the only team member participating in the Israel ride that benefits Alyn, a children's disability hospital in Jerusalem where Tessler says the slogan is "Where disabilities become abilities." "When I'm getting tired, I think about the kids and what they have to deal with on a daily basis:' Tessler said. "It gives me a boost." He'll be riding with his son-in-law Stuart Zisholt of Scarsdale, N.Y., who is representing a team. "He's a real athlete Tessler said. So far, Team Alex has raised more than $12,000. To contribute, go to friends@alyn.us.org or alyn.us.org, and look for Tessler's name. - Ken Guten Cohen, story development editor www.JNonline.us Latest From Israel Want the most current news from Israel? Check our streaming news from Ynetnews.com for continu- 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. E-Newsletter Desire notification when stories that interest you in particular are posted on JNonline? It's easy to des- ignate the kinds of stories you like when you sign up for your personalized e-newslet- ter. Only at JNonline.us. Just click on Newsletter on the menu near the top of the page. 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 This week's poll question: Are you satisfied with the results of this week's presidential election? Visit the JNonline.us homepage, below the left menu, to cast your vote. Last week's question: Will the scourge of racism play a role in this year's presidential election? Last week's poll results: Yes: 74% No: 26% F 4S • * 3,114 111