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'Nazi Persecution of Homosexuals'
Barney Frank drew large crowds for his talks at the Holocaust
Memorial Center.
F
ormer U.S. Rep. Barney Frank,
D-Mass., spoke in two sessions at
the Holocaust Memorial Center
Zekelman Family Campus in Farmington
Hills May 4 to commemorate the clos-
ing of the museum's latest exhibit, "Nazi
Persecution of Homosexuals, 1933-1945:'
The exhibit chronicled the Nazi campaign
against homosexuality that targeted more
than 1 million German men.
An injury kept Frank from speaking at
the opening of the exhibit; more than 200
people attended May 4.
In his 16 terms as a U.S. congressman,
Frank established himself as a leader
in the fight against discrimination and
a champion of civil rights. In 1987, he
became the first member of Congress to
voluntarily come out as openly gay and,
in 2012, married his longtime partner,
becoming the nation's first congressman in
a same-sex marriage while in office. ❑
Robert and Adrienne Feldstein of West Bloomfield and Barney Frank during his talk
U.S. Rep. Gary Peters
Right: Barney Frank greets HMC
board member Arie Liebovitz of West
Bloomfield, right, with Jewish Gay
Network Director Michael Phillips,
Barney Frank talks with Howard Israel and Henry
Grix, both of Bloomfield Township, and David
Kositchek of Lansing.
center.
Reading Helps Others
T
o celebrate National Reading
Month in March, fourth-graders
at Hillel chose to raise funds for
Jewish Family Service. Their teachers
thought they would raise a respectable
$500 through pledges received from fam-
ily and friends for number of pages or
books read; they were absolutely floored
when the students raised $3,800.
"My reaction was pure pride in the
kids," teacher Lauren Partovich said. "In
their writing reflecting their accomplish-
ment, you can read how good they feel
Hillel students raise $3,800 to support needy families in Detroit.
about themselves to help the community.
They have a very strong connection to
community here. It's a very special thing
about Hillel students"
A portion of funds raised will go toward
the creation of toiletry kits to be distribut-
ed to needy families in Metro Detroit. The
students themselves assembled the kits on
May 1 at school, along with JFS staff.
The rest of the proceeds will be dis-
tributed among JFS' other divisions,
as chosen by an upcoming vote by the
fourth-graders. ❑
Ow-
p
NIL
Benjamin Lerner, Asher Aisner, Adriana Azariah and Leah Phillips are busy
assembling and decorating the kits.
Hillel fourth-graders Rebecca Bernard, Joseph Goldman, Jacob
Handler and Rebecca Chynoweth help assemble toiletry kits.
26
May 15 • 2014
Max Friedman is proud of his classmates' accom-
plishments.
Henry Ellenbogen finishes a kit.