metro
Dear Neighbor,
It is my pleasure to invite you to visit Bank of Michigan— a local,
full-service community bank that prides itself on impeccable
service, responsiveness and loyalty. Our knowledgeable staff will
give you courteous and efficient service as they offer banking
solutions to meet your personal needs.
Call us today for an appointment, or just stop
in. We're looking forward to meeting you.
Sincerely,
Michael G. Sarafa, President
Bank of Michigan
BANK
of
MICHIGAN
Here to Help
248-865-1300
30095 Northwestern Hwy., Farmington Hills, MI 48334
Hours of Operation: M-Th 9:00-5:00; F 9:00-6:00
Fax: 248-865-0355
Ask us about these deposit specials:
24 Month CD 1.25%* APY
*Annual Percentage Yield
Limited time offer expires July 31, 2013. Annual percentage yield accurate as of 4/1/2013.
Penalty may be imposed for early withdrawal. $500 minimum opening balance. Not open to public entities.
Maximum of $250,000.00 per individual.
0.35% Money Market
for balances of $50,000 $249,999.99* Annual Percentage Yield
-
*Rates as follow: $0 - $4,999.99 APY 0.05%, $5,000 - $24,999.99 APY 0.25%, $25,000 - $49,999.99 APY
0.30%, $50,000 - $99,999.99 APY 0.35%, $100,000 - $249,999.99 APY 0.35%, $250,000 - $499,999.99
APY 0.45%, $500,000 - 999.999.99 APY 0.55%, $1,000,000 - above APY 0.65%
Variable rate product subject to change. Offer good until July 31, 2013. Minimum balance or excessive
transaction fees may reduce earnings.
f
LIENIZIR
14 May 2 • 2013
Follow us on Facebook and Twitter.
LIMITED TIME OFFER
these leaders, musical presentations by
bands and cantors, the sounding of the
shofar and performances by members
of youth groups.
Adele Silver, who now lives in
Southfield, was a young teen at the
time; she danced as part of the presen-
tation by the Zionist group, Habonim.
Another teen, Shlomo Sperka of Oak
Park, sat in the bleachers and took
photographs. The leadership of Yeshiva
Beth Yehudah arranged to send an
entire busload of students, remembers
Irwin Cohen of Oak Park, who was
then 11 years old.
The rally on May 17 had the charac-
ter of a celebration, but also served as
a political statement. The U.S. govern-
ment's position toward this new state
remained ambivalent at the highest
levels. President Truman had issued
his letter recognizing the new state
against the vehement opposition of his
own secretary of state and of many in
the State Department. It looked unclear
how much support the new state would
get from a divided U.S. government.
Excited, But Fearful
Rallies like Detroit's served to impress
political leaders with the fervent opin-
ions of tens of thousands of voters who
favored the Jewish State. There would
be many more mass rallies in the com-
ing years, including celebrations of
Israel's Independence Day at the State
Fairgrounds, which gave the commu-
nity the opportunity to make its voice
heard in support of Israel.
Choosing a name for the state came
as one of the last-minute decisions.
When the Jewish News covered the
United Nations vote on the partition
plan, it headlined the article "Judea
Revived:' Truman, in his letter recog-
nizing the new state, did not yet know
what to call it. He himself crossed out
the typewritten words, "Jewish state"
and wrote in "State of Israel."
The Jewish community was excited,
but also worried.
"It was a crowning moment in
Jewish history, and we were all excited,
but we were afraid," Benno Levi recalls.
"We were excited that Jews were in a
position to fight back, but we under-
stood that the Arab armies had many
more soldiers and much better equip-
ment. The Israelis used whatever they
had, but it was Piper Cubs against
military aircraft, and mortars instead
of artillery shells:'
The Israelis desperately needed
arms, but had limited options for
obtaining them, especially with the
U.S. embargo on arms for all combat-
ants in Palestine.
So friends of the Jewish State
arranged to bring armaments from
wherever they could get them. People
in the U.S. bought military surplus
weaponry as "souvenirs:' and then
found ways to ship the weapons to
Israel. "Operation Jewish Trojan Horse"
became a means to ensure these weap-
ons found their way to Israel.
A WSU law student named Rudolph
"Rudy" Newman had served in the
American Air Force during World War
II. His Jan. 25, 2002, obituary stated:
"He had been approached by Rabbi
Irwin Gordon of Hillel House at Wayne
to fly supplies to pre-state Palestine.
Newman found his sense of adven-
ture and love of flying was great-
er than his commitment to law.
"He flew circuitous routes at
odd hours to pick up arms from
Czechoslovakia and deliver them
to Jewish communities throughout
Israel, avoiding the British blockade.
"Newman was one of 200 men in
1948 who served the Air Services of
the Haganah Central Command under
David Ben-Gurion; this later became
Israel's first air force. Newman also
flew as a pilot on one of El Al's first
flights:"
He was the husband of philanthro-
pist and businesswoman Ann Newman
of Bloomfield Hills.
The late Ezekiel Leikin had been a
passionate Zionist when he was a stu-
dent at City College in New York in the
1930s; so he left college and moved to
Israel. When World War II broke out,
he was drafted into the U.S. Army, and
served at an American base in Cairo.
Like Newman, Leikin found ways to
get arms to the Jewish fighters.
"Jewish gangsters also helped estab-
lish Israel after the war:' according to
historian and author Robert Rockaway,
a former Detroiter and professor emer-
itus of history at Tel Aviv University.
He is author of But He Was Good to His
Mother: The Lives and Crimes of Jewish
Gangsters.
A Haganah emissary named Reuven
Dafne met with Benjamin "Bugsy"
Siegel in 1945 to seek funds and guns
to help liberate Palestine from British
rule. "Siegel replied, 'I'm with you:"
Siegel's help came in the form of suit-
cases filled with $5 and $10 bills —
$50,000 in all.
For all the underground efforts to
arm the Jews, the situation in May
1948 looked so far from hopeful that
Levi now asks himself why he did not
feel depressed. At the time, he felt "it
would be a miracle if we survived, but
at least we could fight:' He suspects he
did not really anticipate that the new
state would survive.
Other people shared the pessimistic
assessment. When he was discharged
from the U.S. Army, Leikin wanted to
stay to witness the birth of Israel, but
his wife objected. She and her family