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Guest Column

Editorial

Michigan
immigrants are
key to its past
and future.

Lansing

I

n the last several months,
we've put Michigan on a path
toward economic recovery
after a dismal 10 years, including
an eight-year recession dubbed
"the winter that never ends."
But spring did arrive.
We balanced the state budget
in late May, the quickest we've
finalized a budget in 30 years.
We substantially revised the tax
code, lowering taxes to the tune
of $1.8 billion for Michigan's
businesses. We also launched our
Pure Michigan Business Connect
with the Michigan Economic
Development Corporation, which
combines public and private
resources that will put
$3 billion into helping
existing and new busi-
nesses succeed.
These are great
moves in the right
direction toward
Michigan's recovery.
All of these are neces-
sary, but insufficient by
themselves, to create
jobs and get our econo-
my humming again. We
know that government
doesn't create jobs
— talented business people and
entrepreneurs do.
Our job is to clear the road-
blocks to allow — and encourage
— these risk-taking, forward-
looking people to realize their
dreams by launching their busi-
nesses. And who is more of a
risk-taker than an immigrant who
uproots everything to come to a
totally different country?
It's simple: new, growing busi-
nesses will put more people to
work. One way to encourage
these businesses is to enhance
the attractiveness of the state for
entrepreneurs, especially those
from other countries who may
want to set up shop in Michigan.
We need to welcome immigrant

risk-takers ready to go to work.
As Dan Varner of the Kellogg
Foundation recently said at a New
Michigan Media event, "Clearly,
without question from anybody
... there is an incredibly strong
correlation between high immi-
grant populations and economic
well-being."

Lending A Hand
To help grow Michigan's
economy, we are aggressively
encouraging immigrant entre-
preneurs to choose Michigan
for their relocation, especially
those with advanced academic
degrees. We have launched
our Global Michigan initiative,
spearheaded by the Michigan
Economic Development
Corporation, the
Michigan Department
of Civil Rights and 11
subcommittees focus-
ing on a variety of
strategies that would
enable the state to
better attract foreign
talent and investment.
Together, we are work-
ing to address the tal-
ent needs of Michigan
companies. We are
working to retain col-
lege graduates, improving access
to small-business investment, con-
necting investors with Michigan
exporters — and we'll work with
Washington on immigration leg-
islation to create more pathways
for immigrant entrepreneurs to
contribute.
This isn't a theory about
creating jobs. It's what created
Michigan's greatness in the first
place. We have more than 300
years of experience here work-
ing with immigrants interested
in making their fortune to grow
and enrich the state. Long before
Cadillac was an automotive brand,
he was a French explorer and fur
trapper who settled Detroit 300
years ago. The French and English

Frankel Academy Can't Let
Spiritual Discontent Linger

W

laid the groundwork for those that
came later in the 19th and 20th
centuries.
Eventually, many immigrants
started businesses that became
job-creating powerhouses.
Names like Meijer, Masco and
Dow Chemical all sprung from
Michigan's immigrants and more
jobs were and still are being cre-
ated by Michigan's immigrant
small business owner.

Numbers That Talk
I'm not trying to romanticize our
past. But as an accountant by
training, I have to let the numbers
tell their story — and they are
compelling. Nearly 33 percent of
tech firms launched in Michigan
between 1995 and 2005 were
founded by immigrants. Moreover,
44 percent of all engineering
master's degrees and 62 percent of
engineering Ph.D.s in this state are
awarded to foreign-born students.
Finally, a note on demographics.
In 2008, more than 64 percent of
Michigan's immigrants were work-
ing age; this compares with only
50.8 percent of the non-immigrant
population. This is important as
a large part of Michigan's popula-
tion is nearing retirement age.
Of course, increasing job-creat-
ing immigration and encouraging
business startups, like getting the
budget done early or cutting taxes,
isn't enough. But it is another step
in the right direction to putting all
of our citizens back to work.
In past decades, families made
tremendous risks to come here
in search of a better life. For the
overwhelming majority of immi-
grants, the opportunity to begin
again — and flourish — is what
made Michigan great. We need to
continue to harness this thirst for
success and the work ethic that
makes success possible, to help
Michigan grow once again.

ith a new school year starting this week, the
last thing the Frankel Jewish Academy needs is
roiling controversy about its sensitivity toward
the Reform movement, which provides a quarter of the
enrollment. But that's what confronts the trans-denomina-
tional day school – faced with defending why it welcomes
to the classroom Reform students, but not necessarily
Reform rabbis.
At stake is the spiritual timber from which the 11-year-
old school was built as a national model for Jewish high
school education.
As reported in the JN ("At The Core," Aug. 25, page 1),
the Reform Rabbis of Metropolitan Detroit is challenging
FJA denominational sensitivity "on the Judaic side of our
community Jewish high school" – a phenomenon the rab-
bis say has festered for several years.
The rabbis have complained to FJA as well as Federation,
which helped seed the school with a $750,000 grant and
which allocates more than $100,000 each year. Dismay
has intensified amid the school's not allowing non-shomer-
Shabbat rabbis to teach Judaic studies and not moving a
"Denominational Differences" class taught by a rabbi from
each of the three major streams out of the history depart-
ment into the Judaic studies curriculum, in effect keeping
Reform rabbis from teaching in that area.
The Reform rabbis' letter also spotlights the stunning
accounts "of our students whose Jewish studies teachers
sometimes degrade their spiritual beliefs, lampoon their
religious leaders and espouse theologies drawn from the
very far right wing of our tradition."
It's astounding that the Reform rabbis have been com-
pelled to believe because they are not shomer Shabbat,
they individually are not "a model of Jewish commit-
ment for our community." FJA readily enrolls Reform
students and accepts their tuition payments. At its core,
"Denominational Differences" certainly seems religiously,
rather than historically, grounded. The popular course is
now on hiatus as the Reform rabbis and school leaders
grapple with compromise on their own differences.
Is FJA a true community day school? It was founded
following the halachic (Jewish law) principles of the
Conservative movement, but open to students from liberal
Judaism. No student would be turned away without a con-
certed effort to overcome spiritual and financial hurdles.
So, while FJA never defined itself as a community school,
its openness to Reform students and its unprecedented
startup grant from Federation created the impression of it
being precisely that.
Miscommunication and misunderstanding on both sides
may have exacerbated the situation. FJA leaders vow to
restore internal respect for each denomination represent-
ed at the 215-student school and to look into associated
complaints so all students are comfortable.
The Reform rabbis don't want retribution. They seek
dialogue that rejects divisiveness and yields a new light
on what FJA is. Frankel Jewish Academy is in a unique
position among our day schools to hone Jewish identity
in a pluralistic setting even within Conservative principles.
But its reputation will fade discernibly as a great place to
learn if it doesn't fix the nagging feeling that somehow the
Reform movement is a second-class component. Il

Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder was elected
to his first term last fall.

September 1 • 2011

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