Yom HaAtzmaut
SHELLI LIEBMAN DORFMAN, senior writer
ANGIE BAAN, staff photographer
Marchers
demonstrate
pride in Jewish
homeland.
Above: Sid Mintz of West Bloomfield
Left: Frankel Jewish Academy kids:
Josh Sider, 14, of Huntington Woods;
Dmitry Davydov, 17, of Oak Park;
Ben Luger, 16, of West Bloomfield;
liana Gross, 15, of West Bloomfield;
and Mia Gordon, 17, of Franklin.
F
or Edward Chudnow of West
Bloomfield waking up to a per-
fect weather day this past Sunday
was just a perk for attending the Walk for
Israel 2009. Come rain or snow, he would
have been there anyway. And he thinks
others would have also.
"The annual walk has become standard
operating procedure in West Bloomfield,"
Chudnow said. "People automatically set
aside the time to be together with Jewish
community."
Among the upwards of 900 people who
"set aside the time" on May 3 was a group
diverse in age and Jewish denomina-
tion. They joined together at Temple Shir
Shalom to walk, sing, dance and show
their solidarity for the State of Israel
in celebration of its 61st birthday. Yom
HaAtzmaut, Israeli Independence Day,
falls on 5 Iyar, this year April 29.
Interspersed with American flags,
Israeli flags were plentiful, many flying
noticeably above the crowd, hooked to
backpacks and strollers or held by chil-
dren seated on parents' shoulders. One
large Israeli flag, waved in the wind as it
past the crowd on Orchard Lake — more
than once — atop a bright red, horn-
honking car.
The one-and-a-half-mile-long walk
was preceded by a kosher picnic lunch
and a brief outdoor program, held in
the sunlit area beside the synagogue.
Participants sang Israeli songs, led by
Shir Shalom Cantorial Soloist Penny
Steyer, who later blew the shofar to mark
the start of the walk. Marchers snacked
on Israeli treats donated by Hiller's
Markets and participated in Israeli danc-
ing, with Uri Segal.
Many who attended were dressed in
blue and white, some in T-shirts pur-
chased through the Michigan Friends of
the Israel Defense Forces, a walk sponsor.
Honoring Israel
Participants visited displays to make
donations to Israeli charities and gather
information about modern Israel and
Israeli organizations. Agencies, including
the Jewish Community Relations Council
of Metropolitan Detroit, Volunteers for
Israel and StandWithUs Michigan, distrib-
uted Israel advocacy materials.
Children sported blue- and white-
painted faces, courtesy of Hebrew and
Jewish Studies instructor Linda Baruch
and students from the Jean and Samuel
Frankel Jewish Academy of Metropolitan
Yes, Israel on page 14
May 7 2009
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