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for college students by college students
November 26, 2015 / 14 Kislev 5776
VOLMVIE X, NO. X
Importance Of Roots
U-M Hillel students, church volunteers
grow by working together in
a community garden.
Rose Henkin } jewish@edu writer
niversity of Michigan Hillel should pride itself on its ability to
bring people together. The many groups, clubs and friendly
people provide the perfect environment to foster a real sense
of community.
Under Hillel's umbrella, smaller, more specialized communities bring
like-minded people together who share a common interest or goal.
I have found these values in many of the Hillel student-led groups I
belong to, one in particular being HaYerukim (Hebrew for the Greens).
Our goal in HaYerukim is to connect Judaism and environmentalism,
and to establish a community at Hillel dedicated to sustainability aware-
ness, advocacy and action.
About a year ago, we took our passion for the environment and
community outreach to the next level by collaborating with the First
Presbyterian Church of Ann Arbor (Hillel's next-door neighbor) to build
a community garden in the shared green space between the two
properties. Our co-presidents at the time, Jake Aronson and Rebecca
Liebschutz, approached the church with the idea and, together with
members of their congregation, created a workable pilot program for
the "Rehovot Interfaith Garden."
The long-awaited program was finally put into action this past sum-
mer, with planting efforts led by HaYerukim and church volunteers.
Rebecca actually worked throughout the summer on the garden and
sent out updates and pictures as she planted, weeded and picked the
harvest.
As of October, approximately 230 pounds of produce have been
harvested and donated to the Food Gatherers of Ann Arbor. The success
U
Filmmaker Daniel Cooper, center, joins survivor Edith Maniker and
Dr. Derek Hastings of Oakland University on a panel during the Holocaust
Memorial Center's Kristallnacht event.
Preserving History
Student's film about Kristallnacht
captures three survivors' stories.
Roots continued on page 51
Erin Ben Moche } jewish@edu writer
-
or Daniel Cooper, making films was
not only as easy as breathing, but also
as necessary. It was after interning
for the Holocaust Memorial Center
(HMC) in Farmington Hills that he realized he
could use his talents to teach others about the
Holocaust.
Cooper grew up in West Bloomfield and
has been creating films with his twin brother,
Adam, for as long as he can remember. He's now
a junior at New York University's Tisch film
program.
Cooper participated in the JOIN internship
program run by JVS this summer, and chose to
work at the HMC.
"I was always interested in history, and I loved
the Holocaust Memorial Center. It seemed like a
good fit for me Cooper said.
For one of his first assignments, his supervi-
sors asked him to create a documentary about
Kristallnacht.
F
A First Presbyterian Church of Ann Arbor volunteer in
the community garden
"They were holding their annual commemo-
ration for the Night of Broken Glass and they
wanted to feature a movie he said. "I said I
would be honored to do it."
The student filmmaker went to HMC librari-
an Feiga Weiss for assistance. She had a list of all
survivors in the area so he researched the list to
find those directly involved with Kristallnacht.
"Three survivors were available and, after
listening to their stories, I knew exactly which
direction I wanted the documentary to go;'
Cooper said.
The film consumed his time during his
internship. Cooper wrote, filmed and edited
the film himself to make sure it would keep the
attention of all audiences. Cooper wanted to
make the film relevant to younger generations
who feel documentaries are boring. His fast-
paced shots, dramatic music and intense narra-
tion helped tell the survivors' stories.
On Nov. 9, the anniversary of Kristallnacht,
History continued on page 51
50 November 26 2015