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West Bloomfield Clergy
Forum Speaks Out On Eagle
The Jewish News ran a letter to the
editor written by Linda Stulberg of
Farmington Hills, entitled: "Clergy
Letter Supporting Eagle School Sale is
Suspect" (Oct. 4, page 5). Linda raised
questions as to the motives, mission and
requirements of admission for those
who participate in the West Bloomfield
Clergy & Community Forum. I invite
Linda to join us next month and meet
with our group.
Let me begin by saying that our group
is and always has been made up of
individuals, not organizations. We do
not go out and solicit any organization
to participle in our forum as alleged by
Linda. Nor is there any organization that
oversees our work and mandates that
we adhere to their ideology/theological
beliefs. Individuals who freely walk with
us have a commitment to the following
guiding principles found in our mission
statement:
• To gather religious and community
leaders of the area together
• To encourage greater fellowship and
foster respect of differing religious tradi-
tions
• To provide a forum for communica-
tion and interaction among religious,
government, business and educational
organizations
• To facilitate cooperative efforts that
strengthen the sense of community in
West Bloomfield and deepen awareness
of the spiritual dimensions of our com-
mon lives.
Linda's accusation that our group was
recently reconstituted for the sole pur-
pose of influencing the outcome of the
sale of a school building is false.
Fact: The West Bloomfield Clergy &
Community Forum was organized in
1971 by like-minded leaders to whom
building better relationships among
religious traditions was paramount.
We have been meeting ever since! The
original roster listed 22 religious and
community leaders, nearly all Christian,
representing individuals within West
Bloomfield and eight surrounding com-
munities. Two rabbis were listed as
founding leaders of the group. I don't
need to remind anyone; there was a
time when Jews were not welcome in
certain communities in Metro Detroit.
Today, we list 60-70 leaders, represent-
ing Christian, Muslim and Jewish faith
traditions. As in the past, many commu-
nities are represented.
Linda accuses us of not being trans-
parent.
Fact: Everyone on our email blast list

receives a copy of our monthly agenda,
days prior to our meetings. Agenda
speakers are listed with a brief explana-
tion of their presentations. We engage
the community by sponsoring a public
Interfaith Thanksgiving Service; share
prayerfully together in the National Day
of Prayer Service in May; co-founded
and continue to share leadership in the
United We Walk celebration each year
honoring Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.; are
called upon by our community in times
of joy and crisis; and are transparent
enough that each month many organiza-
tions/individuals seek us out and ask if
they may share with us the good work
they do in our community.
Linda closed her letter saying "many
jumped on the bandwagon!'
The only "bandwagon" we've jumped
on here in West Bloomfield is that we
stand, as we have in the past, with
religious organizations or faiths that
are threatened with hostile words and
insensitive responses because they wish
to freely worship and practice their
beliefs. I am confident in the strength of
our community's diversity, our interfaith
partnerships, and the many voices of
welcome and inclusion that make this
community such a vibrant place to live,
work and worship. If I were a religious
minority in America, I'd pray to be led
here.

vegan cafe that recently opened in
Ghafari Residence Hall on the Wayne
State University campus ("Clean, Green
and Kosher;' Oct. 18, page 1). Indeed,
opportunity knocked at Hillel of Metro
Detroit (HMD), and Wayne State
University answered in an innovative,
welcoming way.
Through the inspired leadership
of our executive director, Miriam
Starkman, Wayne State's administra-
tion came together with the Council of
Orthodox Rabbis and AVI Foodsystems
to create a kosher dining option for
WSU students, faculty and staff that is
also open to the entire community.
It's exciting these days when a new
restaurant debuts in Detroit. Gold 'n'
Greens is particularly exciting because it
symbolizes the spirit of cooperation that
exists between WSU and HMD, as well
as the ethnic and culinary diversity that
is a hallmark of the Detroit community
in general and the university commu-
nity in particular.
We at Hillel of Metro Detroit are
proud of our relationship with Wayne
State, and we're especially proud of what
we have accomplished together with the
creation of Gold 'n Greens.

Elaine C. Driker
President, Hillel of Metro Detroit

Rev. Chris Richards
President, West Bloomfield Clergy &

Community Forum

Hillel Student Upset
About Election Spending
I am upset about how much money is
being spent on the presidential election.
I think that some of this money could
be spent on people/families with food
insecurity. This is because after the eco-
nomic downfall, 11 percent of houses
had food insecurity. Another possible
use for the money is to provide every
student a laptop. In the state of Maine,
it costs $17 million to buy all students
in grades 7-12 a laptop. So, estimating,
it would cost about $100 million to buy
laptops for students in all 50 states. This
shows why the legislature should know
that the money spent by nominees is a
totally ridiculous amount of money to
spend.

Madison J. Banooni
seventh grader, Hillel Day School

Gold 'n' Greens Welcome
Addition To Wayne State
Thank you for your informative cover
story on Gold 'n' Greens Urban Fresh
Cuisine, the new kosher, vegetarian,

Corrections:
• The photo with "Captured On Paper"
(Oct. 11, page 8) had people in the
incorrect order. Standing are Helen
Fink, Lana Kletter and Phyllis Schwartz;
seated are Shirley Keller and Bobbie
Alexander.
• In "American Dreyfus" (Oct. 11, page
16), it was incorrectly stated that this
was David Tenenbaum's first time speak-
ing in the Detroit area. He previously
spoke in the Detroit area in 2004.
• In "Hall of Famers" (Oct. 18, Page 49),
Howard Stone's last name was omitted.
Stone was among the first recipients
of Pillars of Excellence awards at the
Michigan Jewish Sports Hall of Fame
Induction Dinner, Oct. 22 at the Jewish
Community Center in West Bloomfield.

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October 25 • 2012

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