Internships from page 42
Joel Mitter
Rich Broder
mer interns come
from a variety of
sources. "It has
been our inclina-
tion to hire with
the same goals
as CSI," he told
the JN. "The CSI
model of trying
to identify, hire
and retain Jewish
youth in Metro
Detroit is appeal-
ing, both for its
approach and that
it produced and
introduced us to
some high-quality
candidates:'
Broder said Mitter is smart, ambi-
tious and hardworking — and was
highly productive. "We gave Joel a
variety of work and projects," Broder
said, "and I think he got to touch
many different aspects of our busi-
ness. He not only got some good
resume stuff, but he actually earned
his paycheck!"
Mitter is a believer in staying in
Michigan after college to help bring
our state to its potential.
"The internship program at
Broder & Sachse," Mitter said,
was extremely well designed and
exposed me to a wide range of tasks,
including property management
and accounting.
"Due to the fact that CSI works
with such impressive companies,
interns benefit not only from devel-
oping specific professional skills,
but also from being exposed to the
unique cultures and organizational
values that helped these companies
achieve success."
Employers and Jewish students
desiring to connect won't go wrong
in checking out CSI and its growing
bank of possibilities.
If you seek validation of CSI, look
no further than how Joel Mitter
summed up his enlightening sum-
mer at Broder & Sachse. As he put
it: "My involvement with College
Student Internships is undoubtedly
the single-most important step I
have taken towards achieving my
professional goals." I I
"
Businesses and students
interested in how CSI can help
them be a part of productive
matches next summer should
contact Amy Brody at (248)
203-1486 or csinternships.
detroit@gmail.corn.
Commentary
Help Free My Husband
Humanitarian U.S. Jew remains in Cuban jail.
I Judy Gross
Denver / JTA
Alan Gross is a Jewish American
contractor serving a 15-year prison
sentence in Cuba for "crimes against
the state." Gross, 62 and in ill health,
was arrested in 2009 as he was leav-
ing Cuba and accused of being a spy.
His family and U.S. State Department
officials say Gross was in the country
on a U.S. Agency for International
Development contract to help the
country's 1,500 Jews communicate
with other Jewish communities using
the Internet.
N
early two years ago, on the
night of Dec. 3, 2009, the
Shabbat table was set. In a
half hour, Alan would be walking through
the door, putting on his kippah and say-
ing the motzi. When a half hour passed, I
thought that his flight must be delayed.
I checked and was a bit startled to find
that the flight had landed on time. I
began to have a sinking feeling.
After a few phone calls, I learned that
Alan had not made it onto the flight.
I knew then that something was very
wrong. I learned later that night that
Alan had been arrested, the charges
unknown. He was in a maximum-secu-
rity prison. This was the beginning of
almost two years of incredible suffering
for Alan, our family and our friends.
Above all, Alan is a humanitarian.
He has devoted his life to helping oth-
ers. He has worked in more than 50
countries with one goal: to improve
the quality of life of the disadvan-
taged. Alan is also passionate about
the Jewish community, both here and
abroad. He worked for both BBYO and
the Federation in Washington; and he
has always been active in our congre-
gation.
Aiding Cuban Jews
It is the combination of these qualities
that brought Alan to the Jewish commu-
nity in Cuba. He wanted to do what he
always does: help his fellow Jews. The
Jewish community in Cuba is small and
spread out, and it is difficult for them to
communicate with one another and with
the rest of the world. Alan jumped at
the chance to be able to help to improve
their ability to connect and share.
He helped them to better access the
Internet so they could download prayer
books and communicate with Jews
around the world. He tried to help them
create an "intranet" to bring the com-
munity closer together, allowing them
to share things like recipes, prayers and
even sports scores. This is what he was
doing in Cuba. Nothing more.
Believe it or not, one of the most
touching aspects of his work in Cuba
came through during Alan's brief trial in
Havana. The Cuban government called
several witnesses from the Jewish
community to testify about Alan. I'll
never forget one man's testimony. He
was an older gentleman; he had trouble
getting up to the witness stand. When
the prosecutor asked him what Alan
showed him on the Internet, he became
emotional.
"We saw the world!" he cried out. He
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Alan and Judy Gross at the Western
Wall in 2005.
explained that Alan had used the Internet
to show them places they had never seen
before – pictures of the Western Wall in
Jerusalem and the city of London.
Wrongly Charged
And it is because of this humanitarian
work that Alan is sitting in a jail cell
today. That Alan has been convicted of
crimes against the state of Cuba – and
that he has been sentenced to 15 years
in prison – for helping the Jewish com-
munity share prayers and look at imag-
es of Jerusalem is beyond any sense of
reason. It is inhumane and it is unjust.
Alan's only intention was to help the
small Jewish communities in Cuba.
Nothing more. I believe that the Cuban
authorities know this. They were at the
same trial that I was; they heard the
same testimony that I heard.
You may know about the health chal-
lenges we have faced in the family since
Alan has been imprisoned. Both my
daughters are suffering terribly from
the thought that they may not see their
father again. One of them has been diag-
nosed with – and is now battling – breast
cancer, without her father by her side.
Alan's mother, who is also fighting
cancer, is heartbroken that she may
never see her son again. And of course,
there is Alan. He has lost more than
100 pounds. He is not well, and he is
suffering every day, mentally, physically
and spiritually.
Alan and we are desperate for him to
return home.
On the eve of the two-year anniver-
sary of his arrest and incarceration, we
want our community, our country and
the world to remember that Alan Gross
needs to be released from Cuba. We
ask you to please join us in this effort.
Contact your members of Congress and
tell them to take action on Alan's behalf.
Tell everyone you know about Alan.
Write letters to your newspapers. Let
the Cuban government know that the
Jewish community wants Alan home.
This is an abridgment of an address that Judy
Gross, wife of Alan Gross, presented on Nov.
8 to the 2011 General Assembly of the Jewish
Federations of North America.
November 24 " 2011
43