A Sharing Experience • Cross-cultural initiative gains momentum and breadth. 1 111 1 INITI/A m l r: ity Chaldean News JN 100-411 Since its inception in April of 2010, the Chaldean-Jewish Building Community Initiative has been about sharing. Through the pages of the Chaldean News and the Jewish News, both based in Southfield, we've educated our corn- munities about our shared historical roots, language and customs. We've informed our readers about our similar immigrant paths in America and the Detroit area... as displaced and often persecuted minorities who have worked hard, provided for our families and are dispropor- tionally contributing to the area's prosperity. Through the many events and gatherings created with the help of our invaluable sponsors, we have shared hopes and dreams, sampled each other's cuisine and visited each other's cultural institu- tions. We have admired the architec- ture of our respective community's landmark structures, applauded Broadway legends from the audience of the Jewish Community Center's anna Berman Center for the Performing Co-Publisher Arts in West Bloomfield and have Chaldean News been humbled at the Holocaust Memorial Center in Farmington Hills by exhibits depicting the slaughter of Jews in the S Ford Health System, is currently exploring the genetic factors that contribute to Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis, which are prevalent in the Chaldean and Jewish communities. She is being assisted in her work by West Bloomfield resident Johnathon Markus, a medical student of Chaldean descent. Could it be that Chaldeans and Jews have a common genetic link? We'll leave that to the researchers. While we believe you will find the content in this issue informative and interesting, please don't forget its unique- ness as the only jointly produced, edited and distributed publication of its kind in America serving two distinctive religious/cul- tural communities. Talk about sharing! The work of our vibrant work- groups, led by Mary Romaya, Barbara Kratchman, LeeAnn Kirma, Jeannie Weiner, Saad Hajjar, Howard Rosenberg, Ron Asmar, Nancy Welber Barr, Vinos Kassab and Dr. Nahid ur Horwitz Publisher Elyas, and the overall inspiration and Jewish News leadership provided by the initiative's overall honorary co-chairs, Florine Mark and Judge Diane D'Agostini, continue to propel us to greater depths of friendship and collaboration and bolder dreams of sharing. Holocaust and Chaldeans in the Armenian Genocide. From business networking events and high school stu- dent forums to cookbook launches and women's encoun- ter groups, from large and festive communal gatherings to One bold shared dream *_hat may have been unthink- able 18 months ago is beginning to come into focus. Initial conversations are taking place for a joint Chaldean- intimate roundtables with physicians and medical school students, it has been about sharing. As the cover of the current issue of Building Community publication you are reading illustrates, the sharing may also be more than skin deep. Dr. Ann Silverman, a Jewish physician who is the director of gastroenterology research at the Detroit-based Henry Jewish visit to Israel and its holy sites in the spring of 2012. An optional extension to portions of Northern Iraq, where Chaldean history and culture are still deeply rooted, also is being developed. We appreciate your embrace of the Building Community Initiative and look forward to continuing to find ways for you to share in the experience! BC Presenting Sponsor Bank of America. G old Sponsors WAY N E STATE UNIVERSITY meijer A SUJOHN PROVIDENCE HEALTH SYSTEM S Iver Sponsors Lawrence Tech Beaumont WEST 1-1-smtv Ficifixt Bi0cwis4.FiEma Hoserreat HOSPICE or michigan Forging Ahead What began in April 2010 as a fragile, edgy idea to bring together two similar but unconnected cultures has become a richly promising experiment in cross-cultural pollination. Advocates of the Building Community Initiative have no illusions about the Jewish-Chaldean project. They know it'll require a lot of focused, hard work Robert Sklar over time to assure it has the endurance to last in a com- Contributing Editor pelling way. In this, the second of four 2011 special supplements to the Chaldean News and the Detroit Jewish News, both based in Southfield, we present a panoramic view of some of what's bubbling up from the Chaldean-Jewish melting pot that CN Co-Publisher Martin Manna and JN Publisher Arthur Horwitz have worked so hard to nurture from a yearlong dream. A simple statement on a summary evaluation from the first meeting between the Chaldean and Jewish women of the Social Action Workgroup this year cap- tures the essence of how Building Community is seeking to make a difference here in Metro Detroit: "It is the next generation who needs to see the way we are — just people' I welcome your feedback and encourage your involvement in this initiative, which boasts the wings to soar to new heights in the annals of interethnic coop- eration and accomplishment (rsklar@renmedia.us ). Enjoy the read! BC INSIDE DEAR BORN Cover Story Genetic Research Departments Arts & Culture Business Health Social Action COLLEGE OF BUSINESS WALSH® 6 COLLEGE 10 5,8 6 13 Bloomfield Ffills Schools A rbor Offset - On The Cover. Dr. Ann Silverman, right, who is Jewish, and Wayne State University medical student Johnathon Markus, who is Chaldean Cover Design: Deborah Schultz, Renaissance Media Solutions Inside Design: Michelle Sheridan, Farago & Associates Published jointly by the Chaldean News, 29850 Northwestern Hwy., Ste. 250, and the Detroit Jewish News, 29200 Northwestern Hwy., Ste. 110 — Southfield, MI 48034. Created by Renaissance Media Solutions, 29200 Northwestern Hwy., Ste. 110, Southfield, MI 48034. F. Kevin Broweft, COO, (248) 354-6060. Copyright August 2011, Renaissance Media Solutions. DIM DETROIT MEDICAL CENTER Workgroup Chairs Mary Romaya, Barbara Kratchman, LeeAnn Kirma, Jeannie Weiner, Saad Najjar, Howard Rosenberg, Ron Asmar, Nancy Welber Barr, Vinos Kassab, Dr. Nahid Elyas August 2011 CHALDEAN NEWS I JEWISH NEWS 3