SILHOUETTES Women's European And Domestic Apparel 29445 W. 12 Mile Road Farmington Hills, MI 48334 t. 248.957.8277 silhouetteslIc1@gmail.com HOURS: Tue-Fri: 10-7 and Sat: 11-5 • Closed Sun and Mon Appointments are available on Sunday Wishing our clients, family & friends a happy, healthu & prosperous New Yea! L'Shanali Tovali of Apple Plate by Michael Aram Pierce 248.647.4007 Honey Pot by Michael Aram www.artloftonline.com GALLERY HOURS Mon-Wed, Sat 10-7 I Thurs-Fri 10-8, Sun 12-5 A, WomAicA,9 1)1COURAGE • CONFIDENCE • YOU Dedicated Experts For Chemotherapy Solutions • Mastectomy & Lumpectomy Breast Forms & Bras • Reconstruction Products Specialists • Human Hair & Synthetic Wigs • Turbans & Pretty Headcoverings • Hot Flash Apparel (\ Accredited Facility by Medicare 28966 Woodward Ave. Royal Oak, MI 48067 248-565-8467 fax 248-565-8476 www.awomansimage.net 43205 Garfield Rd. Clinton Township, MI 48038 586-286-1277 fax 586-286-1702 Hours: Tues-Fri 10:00-4:30 & Sat 10:00-2:00 Participating provider with Medicare and most insurances 62 September 25 • 2014 DI U-M grad learns Hebrew and Arabic with the hope of building bridges. hrough language, Lindsay p Acker, 25, of Huntington aneany ilimmu I NMI Ning west Peacemaker ROBIN SCHWARTZ I CONTRIBUTING WRITER FALL COLLECTION 2014 123 West Maple Road Birmingham, MI 48009 >> ... Next Generation ... Woods says she has unique insight into two worlds — the lives and cultures of both Jews and Arabs living in the Middle East and elsewhere. The University of Michigan graduate completed her coursework in arts and ideas, women and gender studies, and Judaic studies in 2012, graduating with a 4.0 grade point average. She then temporarily left behind her parents, Caryn and Gerald Acker (of the Southfield law firm Goodman Acker), and brother, Jordan, 30, and set off to explore the world. "I moved to Israel in the fall after I graduated," she says. "I had studied Israel and its history, politics and culture, and I felt like to really understand what was going on in the region, I needed to move there." Acker also studied Hebrew in college and lived on a kibbutz in Israel as part of an intensive Hebrew studies program her sophomore year. She says she watched 250 Israeli movies in order to pick up the right accent and learn other nuances in the language. She now speaks Hebrew fluently. "Once you learn a language, you don't just learn grammar and words; you have this incredible access to the culture," she says. "It's a whole other world." For that reason, Acker also took on the challenge of becoming fluent in Arabic. She learned the language during a five-month stay at the Jewish- Arab Center for Peace near the West Bank. Her time there included visiting with Arab and Jewish host families and tutoring Muslim, Jewish and Christian- Arab children in English. The previous year, in Tel Aviv, she worked with bereaved Palestinian and Israeli families who lost children in the ongoing conflict. "Arabic is similar to Hebrew, so it really made sense to me," Acker explains. "It's a language that 25 percent of Israelis speak. I felt in order to understand the political situation, I needed to understand the Arabic language. I discovered the immense literature, poetry and culture that have come out of the language in a way I didn't realize." This summer, Acker moved back home to Metro Detroit. She's now pursuing job opportunities where she can use the peacemaking and language skills she developed during her time in minuour AR' Lindsay Acker at a White House Chanukah party in 2012 holding a sign that reads, "I want peace back in the picture" in English, Hebrew and Arabic. Israel to build relationships here. She's reluctant to talk politics, but Acker considers herself a Zionist and believes peace is attainable. "I learned the humanity in everyone," she says. "I learned that everyone is a human being and when you learn someone's language you begin to humanize them." Still, she says, members of the Arab community are often surprised to discover she can speak their language as she recently found out while attending a national interfaith conference at Wayne State University. "People were excited," Acker says. "They have so many questions for me about Israel — people are genuinely excited to hear that a young Jewish American woman learned Arabic. They've never met anyone who speaks Arabic who has lived in Israel and also considers themselves a Zionist." Her goals for the future include re- engaging young Jewish Americans with the established Jewish community and building a coalition of young Jewish and Muslim activists to rally around important causes like the availability of water, improving public transportation and rebuilding Detroit. She's also in an all-female garage doo-wop band called Double Winter. Acker plans return trips to Israel in the future. "I hope my life will always be connected with Israel, and I hope to go back many times," she says. "I learned a lot there, and I learned the incredible ways that dialogue and addressing each other and listening to each other can help overcome years of tension and hostility and war. We have to talk to each other to find solutions. I think peace will come from governments, but it really happens from people." ❑