Dr "THERE HAVE BEEN MANY FILMS ABOUT THE HOLOCAUST AND ROSE BOSCH'S LA RAFLE HAS A DESERVED PLACE AMONG THE BEST OF THEM INCLUDING SCHINDLER'S LIST AND THE PIANIST. IT TELLS OF A HORRIFIC PERIOD IN FRENCH HISTORY NEVER TOLD ON FILM BEFORE. - Jeanette, Aaron, 0° Chana and it6tvifthe Kotel MELANIE LAURENT GAD ELNIALEH ROSE F;OSCH Judy Lash Balint Special to the Jewish News Psria, T 16 luiiist 1942. 4 haunn du satin... idgivem•ros",• vgl •;74 17:"..".• -7 BASED UPON YEARS OF RE- SEARCH, THE FILM CHARTS THE STORY OF THE 'VEL D'HIV ROUNDUP' WHICH OCCURRED IN OCCUPIED PARIS IN THE SUMMER OF 1942, WHEN 13,000 JEWS WERE ROUNDED UP BY THE FRENCH POLICE." -PRISCILLA EYLES. LITTLEIVH/TEIIES Exclusive Engagement: OCT. 21-22-23 FRIDAY @ 7PM SATURDAY @ 7PM SUNDAY @ 2PM wwwed ia.orgicift 313.833.3237 DETROIT INSTITUTE OF ARTS 20 October 13 ' 2011 made the right decision in choosing the 150-family Modern Orthodox community nestled in the hills near Tiberias and Lake here's nothing typical about Kinneret. the Singer family's aliyah. The Mitzpe Netofa has a reputation for going West Bloomfield family of Mitch all out to help immigrant families, and (Baruch) and Jeanette (Yonit) Singer and Singer says the community "over-deliv- three of their children, Chana, 12, Dovid, ered" in their assistance. 10, and Aaron, 8, arrived to settle in Israel "All our bureaucratic chores were on a Nefesh B'Nefesh charter flight in mid- accomplished within three days of our August, accompanied by the family's pet arrival;' he marvels, explaining that some- snake and a dog. one from the community accompanied At Ben-Gurion airport they were greeted them on every single errand, whether to by 32 members of Mitzpe Netofa, the open a bank account, purchase appliances Galilee community they had chosen after or sign up for phone service. "It mitigated painstaking but speedy research following all our stress!' Jeanette and the kids' first trip to Israel Unlike many other middle-aged immi- just seven months earlier. grants, the Singers don't have to worry "We're living the aliyah dream:' Mitch about changing careers and finding work Singer says. "We heard all the horror sto- in Israel. Singer sold his insurance busi- ries, but we feel blessed." nesses in Detroit, and he and Jeanette The Singers, former members of Sara & decided to focus all their attention on rais- Morris Tugman Bais Chabad Torah Center ing their three youngest kids — two older of West Bloomfield, are continuing to sons in their 20s are remaining behind for home-school their kids as they did in the the time being. U.S., and the transition from Michigan to Singer, a native Michigander and self- the hills of central Galilee could not have described baal teshuvah (non-observant been smoother, says Mitch Singer after a Jew who becomes observant) of 14 years, month in Israel. was the first one in the family to start While many immigrants from the thinking about aliyah after a trip to Israel United States complain about Israeli gov- in 2001 with his then 18-year-old son. ernment bureaucracy and difficulty mak- "It was the height of the intifada, and we ing ends meet, the Singers' main problem got shot at and were here when Sbarro's has been finding adequate food for their restaurant in Jerusalem was blown up, but pet 18-month-old ball python snake, I left saying, `This is our country, I love it," whose U.S diet comprised frozen mice he recalls. "I came back and told Jeanette, readily available in pet stores. who had never been to Israel, that if we After convincing the U.S. Fish and ever left Detroit, that's where we should Wildlife Department to issue an export go!' and transport order for the unusual pet, Their daughter's bat mitzvah last and persuading El Al to accept the special January provided the occasion for a fam- container, it took the Singers a few weeks ily trip accompanied by tour guide Mike to come up with a solution to their snake Hirst. food problem: They found a local snake "When Mike met us at the airport and breeder who took them to the closest pet said 'Welcome home; Jeanette turned to store and helped negotiate the purchase me and said, `You're right, we're home, and of a couple of gerbils who will multiply from then on everything changed, and we and provide food for the still-growing pet began to think we could really make this python. our home." The incident was yet another confir- After an intense tour of the country mation for Singer that the family had where Hirst "brought Israel alive" for Jeanette and Mitch Singer and children Dovid, 10, Aaron, 8, and Chana, 12, upon arrival in Israel the Singers, the family returned to West Bloomfield in early February, and Singer immediately started the aliyah process. With the help of Nefesh B'Nefesh, an orga- nization that assists families in aliyah, and daily phone calls to Hirst in Israel, Singer, who says he spent 15 hours a day on research, managed to narrow down their search for the perfect place to start their new lives from 100 communities to 10. What clinched Jeanette and Mitch's decision was another trip to Israel where they spent time in all 10 places and deter- mined that Mitzpe Netofa had a good cli- mate, the right balance of English speakers (around 15 percent), one central shul that serves everyone, and families who share their religious and family outlook. What surprised them most was the negative reaction of many of their West Bloomfield fellow Jews and even rabbis to their aliyah. "People actually tried to dis- courage us from moving to Israel," Mitch says. "But every day I wake up and feel like we're living a dream. It's like we're The Waltons living on the mountain. It's a very safe place where they raise special kids here. That's a top priority for us:' Judy Lash Balint is an award-winning Jerusalem-based writer and author. She blogs at jerusalemdiaries.blogspot.com .