7'1 4 Coastal
';.4411111 Outdoor

' 114

,(7

Residential & Commercial

Licensed & Insured

Call Us Today!

C

248.230.1600

BRICK PAVING & LANDSCAPING CONSTRUCTION, INC.

thing Space

758. 400

auiLLTAK),M.Lo

1751 S. Telegraph Rd.
Bloomfield Hills

www.coastaloutdoorlivingspace.com

$2.00 MAY 17-23, 2012 / 25 IYAR -2 SIVAN 5772

theJEWISHNEWS.com

A JEWISH RENAISSANCE MEDIA PUBLICATION

» Class Act

Sidney Forbes honored for a lifetime of real estate achievement.
See page 10.

Tony Fagenson,

son of famed

music producer

» Like Father, Like Son

and former Oak

Michigan-born Tony Fagenson followed his dad into the family
business. See page 39.

Parker Don Was

» Kind-Hearted Matriarch

DETROIT JEWISH NEWS

metro

Jean Frankel was dedicated to her family and helping others.
See Obituaries, page 58.

>> cover story

S

Attorney Neil Rockind
tackles some of the
state's biggest medical
marijuana cases.

outhfield-based attorney Neil Rockind is into growing
plants – but, it's not what you might think. After spending
long hours in countless courtrooms, the tough-as-nails
criminal defense lawyer, husband and father of three finds it ther-
apeutic to seed his own lawn, plant trees
and pull weeds.
He doesn't grow "weed," or marijuana,
but he defends people who do under the
Michigan Medical Marihuana (that's how
the state spells marijuana) Act, passed by
voters in 2008. He's also an advocate for
medical marijuana patients.
While Michigan is one of more than
a dozen states with laws permitting and
regulating marijuana for medical use,
the federal government still lists the drug
as a "Schedule I" substance. It prohibits
Neil Rockind
growing, processing, selling, purchasing
and owning marijuana. Since Michigan's
law passed, the discrepancy between state and federal law, and
between state law and various local ordinances banning medical
marijuana, has resulted in confusion, arrests and numerous court
cases. Lawmakers are currently considering revising the state law.

Robin Schwartz I JN Contributing Writer

CONTINUED ON PAGE 8

Israeli Love-In?

Detroiters speculate on course
of "shocking" new unity government.

David Sachs I Senior Copy Editor

0

n Tuesday, May 8, the people of Israel
woke up to "one huge political shock:'
said Kobi Erez, a native Israeli who heads
the West Bloomfield-based Zionist Organization of

Benjamin Netanyahu and Shaul Mofaz

Years

1942 - 2011

Covering and
Connecting
Jewish Detroit
Every Week

1

1
8 08805 9 33

1

America-Michigan Region.
The centrist Kadima leader Shaul Mofaz and the
conservative Likud Prime Minister Benjamin "Bibi"
Netanyahu — once bitter rivals — decided to join
together, forming one of the largest government
coalitions in the nation's history. The new coalition
now controls 94 votes in the 120-member Knesset
(a 78 percent majority).
The new unity government has postponed by
more than a year new elections, scheduled two
weeks ago by Netanyahu for Sept. 4.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 26

5