Metro Rabbi Remembered Holocaust Memorial Center founder memorialized in U.S. House resolution. T he U.S. House of Representatives Monday approved a resolution authored by Rep. Gary Peters, D- Bloomfield Hills, honoring the life and achievements of Rabbi Charles H. Rosenzveig, who died on Dec. 11 at age 88. The House passed the resolution by a voice vote. Rabbi Rosenzveig, a Holocaust survivor, founded the nation's first freestanding Holocaust museum in 1984. His Holocaust Memorial Center was originally housed at the Jewish Community Center in West Bloomfield before moving to its cur- rent home in Farmington Hills on the Zekelman Family Campus along Orchard Lake Road. The HMC also includes the Museum of European Heritage and the International Institute of the Righteous. Rosenzveig was director of the museum complex. "Rabbi Rosenzvieg was an extraor- dinary American who devoted his life to serving others:' Peters said. "I was fortunate to have had the oppor- tunity to meet him, and I was taken by his wisdom, vision, sincerity and deep sense of caring for all people. The Holocaust Memorial Center he founded has educated millions of visitors and stands to enlighten future generations about the horrors of the Holocaust and nourish a social consciousness whereby, as Rabbi Rosenzvieg used to say, the 'righteous acts of the few become the standard of the many.' "I believe it is fitting that Congress should honor the life and achieve- ments of such an inspiring person." The resolution calls the Holocaust Memorial Center "a monument to the memory of the victims of the Holocaust and an educational insti- tution with a mission to teach the lesson of tolerance to future genera- tions, welcoming millions of visi- tors from around the world wishing to learn about the horrors of the Holocaust in order to prevent such a tragedy from occurring again." Rosenzveig was born in Ostrovitz, Poland, and educated at Bialystok A20 May 7 2009 Here's To • • Sydney Freedman, an eighth-grader at West Hills Middle School in Bloomfield Hills, had an original poem chosen for pub- lication in the 1009 edition of Anthology of Poetry by Young Americans. The piece, a product of her language arts class taught by Mark Honeyman, was about Passover. Lindsey Goldsmith of Bloomfield Hills has been nominated for membership in the University of Michigan Chapter of the Phi Beta Kappa Society in recog- nition of her superior Goldsmith academic record in lib- eral arts and science. She graduates from the University of Michigan this month with a major in organizational studies and a minor in Spanish. She now has a position with Teach for America in Phoenix. Bloomfield Hills resident Julie Fisher, executive director of Birmingham- Bloomfield Families in Action, was named recipient of the 2009 Wally Klein Leadership Award at the annual Planned Parenthood of Southeast Michigan Luncheon on April 20 n Troy. As a high school teacher in Illinois, Fisher said she saw many of her young students become pregnant. In one school, she said there was more than one 14-year-old ninth- grade teenager who became pregnant for the second time. "So when my peers ask me, 'Why Planned Parenthood? Why is it our fight?' I'll tell them and I'll tell you, it's because of those kids:' Fisher said. "I have witnessed firsthand how important Planned Parenthood's mission is. I feel fortunate to be part of such an important and vital organization." Fisher headed the luncheon for several years and this year contracted with the guest speaker, folk singer and activist Judy Collins. Money Strategies Rabbi Rosenzveig Yeshiva. He studied the laws of Judaism concerning the importance of good deeds and social justice as well as the Talmud, the rabbinic interpretation of Jewish law. He escaped death during the Holocaust. But his mother, father, brother and sister were killed at the hands of the Nazis. He fled to Poland and later the Soviet Union before immigrating to New York City in 1947. There, he attended Yeshiva University; he was ordained a rabbi in 1951. Rabbi Rosenzveig served congre- gants at Mt. Sinai in Port Huron for many years before leaving the syna- gogue to devote his energy and spirit to the Holocaust Memorial Center he founded in 1984. Fifty other House members, includ- ing most of the Michigan delega- tion, cosponsored Peters' resolution, formally known as HR 283. Other Michigan signers were: Sander Levin, John Dingell, Bart Stupak and Mark Schauer and Dale Kildee, all Democrats, and Republicans David Camp, Vern Ehlers, Pete Hoekstra, Fred Upton, Thaddeus McCotter, Candace Miller and Mike Rogers. Rabbi Rosenzveig was buried in Jerusalem. He is survived by his wife, Helen, four children and 10 grandchildren: ❑ Robert S. Taubman, chairman, presi- dent and chief executive officer of Taubman Centers Inc., will talk about the current economic crisis and offer strategies for busi- nesses to emerge as stronger, more com- petitive companies at the 12th annual JVS Robert Strictly Business Taubman Luncheon. Presented by Kenwal Steel, the event will be held Tuesday, May 12, at the Ritz-Carlton in Dearborn. For ticket information, visit the Web site www.jvsdet.org or call (248) 233- 4212. During the event, JVS will honor four local employees for their out- standing vocational accomplishments. Plum Market will receive the Business Leadership Award for bringing new jobs to Oakland County. BBYO Elects Officers The Michigan Region B'nai B'rith Youth Organization (BBYO) Commission recently elected members and officers for 2009-2010 at a meeting at the West Bloomfield Jewish Community Center. Arthur Siegel of Beverly Hills was re-elected commission chairperson. Re-elected vice chairs include Helen Indianer (West Bloomfield), Andy Kollin (Farmington Hills), and Franci Silver and Jodi Tobin, both of West Bloomfield. Executive Committee members are Alan Bittker (Franklin), Gail Elkus (Royal Oak), Sheri Ginis (Farmington Hills), and Jonathan Koenigsberg (West Bloomfield). Michelle Soltz (Commerce) was elected secretary and Michael Weil (West Bloomfield) was elected treasurer. Jill Menuck, president of the Young Adult Division of Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Detroit, spoke about BBYO's value to the future of the Jewish commu- nity. Eric Adelman, director of Michigan Region BBYO, commented on the impor- tance of "keeping tradition and making change" within BBYO and its potential as a Jewish teen movement. BBYO Commission Chair Arthur Siegal spoke about the need to reach BBYO's 40,000 alumni and communi- cate the organization's importance in strengthening the Jewish identities of their children. BBYO, an international Jewish youth organization, provides leadership train- ing, Jewish education, athletic, social and community service programming to Jewish teens of all backgrounds.