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theJEWISHNEWS.com
A JEWISH RENAISSANCE MEDIA PUBLICATION
» Counselor Arrested JCC Day Camps counselor, 21,
faces federal charges for child pornography. See page 12.
» Facebook And Depression Seeing others' success
stories may make one feel left out. See page 26.
DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
» True Confessions Amy Schumer's rabbi talks of standup
comedy's venerable history in Jewish life. See page 59.
metro
Journey
For Justice
Local rabbis heed the call
to stand up for all people.
Rabbis Mark Miller and Ariana Silverman
Special to the Jewish News
A scene from one of JET's productions of The Diary of Anne Frank, shown annually to local students.
Rabbi Ariana Silverman of Detroit with Ama
Birch, holding a Torah close to her heart
for the first time on part of the march from
Selma, Ala., to Washington, D.C.
n the simmering blacktop of the
"Selma Highway" in Montgomery,
Ala., we hand the Torah to another
marcher. She is not Jewish. She is a young,
black woman from Chicago who has never held
a Torah before. In 93-degree heat, she envel-
ops it in her arms. "Wow:' she says, "it's not
as heavy as I thought, but it is pressing right
against my heart"
tip
CONTINUED ON PAGE 14
Change Of Foal%
JET board decides to beef up its youth outreach programs.
Ronelle Grier I Contributing Writer
fter 27 seasons of professional theatri-
cal productions geared toward Jewish
audiences, the Jewish Ensemble Theatre
(JET) is heading in a new direction. The theater
will present two main stage plays instead of the
usual four and expand its youth outreach pro-
grams to schools and other audiences in Detroit
and other areas throughout Southeast Michigan.
The new initiative will be led by JET Board of
Directors President Jim August, who has come
full circle after serving as the first JET presi-
dent when the theater was established in 1989
by actress and founding artistic director Evelyn
Orbach and a group of prominent theater and
community leaders. The mission was to provide
the community with professional theatrical pro-
ductions that explored a wide range of issues
through a Jewish lens.
CONTINUED ON PAGE 8
1942 - 2015
Covering and
Connecting
Jewish Detroit
Eve y Week
» Back To School:
• Donations help Akiva grow, page 16.
• Hillel Day School renovations continue, page 22.
• Reform, Conservative shuls combine schools, page 24.