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Spotlight

ORT Power

Local philanthropists launch major Israeli education project.

Lynne Meredith Schreiber

Special to the Jewish News

RT America leaders and sup-
porters, including Detroiters
Andi and Larry Wolfe and
Doreen Hermelin, celebrated the offi-
cial opening of a multi-million-dollar
education complex in Kiryat Yam,
Israel. The Alex and Betty Schoenbaum
Science, Education, Cultural and Sports
Campus, which includes the D. Dan
and Betty Kahn Science Center, opened
recently, refurbishing a destitute setting
into a stellar example of the power of
community.
"The transformation was phenom-
enal," says Hermelin, a Bingham Farms
resident and immediate past president of
ORT America.
Hermelin saw the previous building
several years ago in its broken-down
state and then witnessed the rebirth.
"By giving the first gift for this project,
D. Dan Kahn had the vision of what was
possible for that community," Hermelin
says. "He was a trailblazer. It's very
exciting. The building is gorgeous, with
sophisticated labs and equipment that
any school would be thrilled to have."
The building was named for D. Dan
and Betty Kahn, local benefactors and
the parents of Andi Wolfe and her sister,
Patti Aaron, significant ORT philanthro-
pists on a local, national and global level
along with Andi's husband, Larry.
"My father liked the idea of Kiryat
Yam, in Israel, becoming a 'city of science'
and thought that my mom would have
liked the idea also:' says Andi Wolfe, of
Bloomfield Hills. "When he was deciding
where to make a generous contribution,
it just seemed like a natural fit!'

Keter Torah
Shabbaton

Keter Torah Synagogue in West Bloomfield
has scheduled a Shabbaton weekend
for Friday-Sunday, Nov. 12-14, featuring
Rabbis Michael Kaplan and Rabbi Benzion
Ben Shimon.
Rabbi Kaplan is associate rabbi of the
Riverdale Jewish Center in Riverdale, N.Y..
He has served as director of the

Patti Aaron says, "When ORT
approached my father with the oppor-
tunity to invest in this specific project,
what really resonated to him was the
notion that Kiryat Yam was a struggling
community, a poor immigrant commu-
nity. When ORT comes into a community,
by raising the caliber of the education,
the entire community becomes trans-
formed!'
That's exactly what happened, says
Aaron, who lives in Ann Arbor. Thanks
to their father's "seed money:' the city of
Kiryat Yam has been revitalized.
Subsequent major gifts enabled the
complete rebuilding of the seaside city
north of Haifa, a mega-project that
included a $5.3 million gift from Betty
Schoenbaum, heiress to the Shoney's
restaurant and motel chain in 18 mostly
southern states.
The state-of-the-art educational devel-
opment heralds revitalization for Kiryat
Yam, a largely working class community
of 45,000 and home to large concentra-
tions of Russian and Ethiopian immi-
grants. The average income is about 25
percent lower than the Israeli national
average. The campus forms the hub of
an urban educational system for use by
the entire community, from elementary
school to senior citizens.
"I am just amazed, overwhelmed, awed
and thrilled:' Schoenbaum says. "The
campus is much more than I had imag-
ined it would be — thanks to ORT."
Says Andi Wolfe, "Our family has
always felt strongly about the Jewish
community. As children, we learned early
on that tikkun olam [repair of the world]
was important."
Wolfe has been involved with ORT for
37 years. She recruited Aaron and their
brother Mark to take part in ORT as well.

Organization for the Resolution of Agunot,
advocating on behalf of agunot (a Jewish
woman "chained" to her marrriage).
Rabbi Ben Shimon is based in New York,
but has been associated with Keter Torah
for several years. He is a popular chazan
and a voice of Sephardic melodies.
For reservations, contact Keter Torah
religious chairman Eli Rashty: elirashty@
aol.com or (248) 408-5222.

This project was part
of ORT America's Kadima
Mada program, an effort
to revolutionize education
in Israel. The Kiryat Yam
transformation is one of 30
such projects across Israel
supported by ORT.
Schoenbaum felt her dona-
tion was well spent. "I got
more bang for my buck than
I have had at any other time
in helping people,' she said.
Kiryat Yam's Mayor
Shmuel Sisso says the cam-
pus "integrates values, cul-
ture, science and knowledge
in a unique way." He says
the donations from donors
like Schoenbaum and Kahn
"recognized the potential we
have here."
Larry and Andi Wolfe
That message of untapped
potential has been lifelong
for Andi Wolfe and Patti Aaron. "The
notion that education is so incredibly
empowering and such a pathway to inde-
pendence on so many levels, particularly
financial independence, resonated with
our family from early on:' says Aaron.
"My father's success allowed him to
become increasingly philanthropic and
we all were raised to feel strongly that we
had this obligation to give back!'

❑

ORT has been promoting education
and empowerment for 130 years.
Started in Russia to help Jews adjust
when they moved from small towns to
the cities, ORT now has a presence in
63 countries around the world, where
cutting edge educational experiences
have enabled more than 300,000

B'nai Moshe
Hungarian Dinner

Congregation B'nai Moshe continues its
centennial celebration with a Hungarian
dinner commemorating its founding
ethnicity.
The event honoring the synagogue's
founding immigrants from Hungary will
be held 5-7:30 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 14, at
the West Bloomfield synagogue.

Doreen Hermelin

students to attain independence, build
successful careers and become com-
munity leaders.
ORT's Michigan ofice, led by
Director Nicole Muchnick, plans fund-
raising events and volunteer program-
ming and can be reached at (248)
723-8860 www. ortmichigan.org .

The menu will include goulash with
noodles and chicken paprikash with
dumplings, stuffed cabbage, kapusta
salad, cucumber salad, tossed green
salad, mashed potatoes, cabbage noo-
dles and sweet & sour green beans.
Cost is: adult dinner, $29; children
ages 5-12, $18.
For reservations, call the synagogue:
(248) 788-0600.

November 4 • 2010

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