metro >> around town

Zaslow Media Night Melissa Rivers connects with Detroiters over family, spirituality and laughter.

Jordan Zaslow, Alexandra Zaslow, Melissa Rivers and Sherry-Margolis

Zaslow

Maralyn Averbuch, Renee Fein, Friends Director Leslie Katz, Jennifer

Kellman, Jodi Panter and Ada Bandalene

Photos by Dr. C harles S how

M

elissa Rivers delighted a packed
house at the Berman Center for
the Performing Arts Nov. 19 as the
featured speaker for the second annual Jeffrey
Zaslow Media Night sponsored by the Edward
I. Fleischman Foundation for Friends of Jewish
Senior Life.
Friends Director Leslie Katz coordinated the
evening, which began with a fashion show emceed
by Carol Rosenberg and featuring as models Jill
Margolick, Julie Ritten, Geri Margolis, Pearlena
Bodzin, Sharon Fleischman, Karen Kraft and Deb
Migdal.
Sherry Margolis-Zaslow, Mike Stone and Alan
Muskovitz shared tender memories of the late Jeff
Zaslow and explained that his legacy was to inspire
and love people in an incredibly unique way.
Rivers relayed funny and poignant memories
from her own childhood, including her four pillars:
living with laughter and perspective, family, resil-
ience, and gratitude and appreciation.
"Crisis can provide a useful reset button," Rivers
said. "No family is perfect:' She signed copies of her
recent release, The Book of Joan, at an afterglow.
Friends of Jewish Senior Life operates gift shops
in several JSL residences, two Nosh Nooks and a
welcome wagon. It also supplies holiday flowers
and runs the annual Walk of Ages fundraiser. To
volunteer, contact Katz at (248) 592-5062 or lkatz@
jslmi.org . *

Michael Stone, Sherry Margolis-Zaslow and Alan

Muskovitz

Melissa Rivers, left, signs a book for Graham Reed,

with assistance from Karen Katz.

'Crossing The Line'

Documentary prompts discussions of anti-Semitism on area campuses.

0

n Nov. 18, organizations concerned
about anti-Semitism on campuses
jointly presented Crossing the Line
2: The New Face of Anti Semitism on Campus,
a new documentary that reveals the rise of
anti-Israel activity and anti-Semitic rhetoric on
North American university campuses, and dem-
onstrates when reasonable criticism of Israel
"crosses the line" into anti-Semitism.
A crowd filled the Maple Theater in
Bloomfield Township to watch the film and

-

to hear from student activists during a ques-
tion-and-answer session. Featured speakers
included Eric Fingerhut, president/CEO of Hillel
International, Lori Palatnik, founding director
of the Jewish Women's Renaissance Project, and
Scott Kaufman, CEO of the Jewish Federation
of Metropolitan Detroit. Event chairs were
Karen W. Davidson and the William and Audrey
Farber family. *

Hillel of Metro Detroit (HMD) Executive Director Miriam Starkman, Kari

See op-ed by Eviatar Baksis on page 6.

Alterman of the William Davidson Foundation, Dana Loewenstein of MSU

Hillel and Eviatar Baksis of HMD

Eric Hughey and Cindy Hughey, executive director of MSU

Hillel of Metro Detroit Israel Program Associate Eviatar

Eric Fingerhut, president/CEO of Hillel International, and

Hillel and Hillel Campus Alliance of Michigan

Baksis, students Nate Strauss and Becca Levine, and

Scott Kaufman, Federation CEO

speaker Lori Palatnik

20 December 3 2015