metro » Downsizing Flint congregation donates art, furniture, books and ritual objects as it moves to a smaller building. Suzanne Chessler | Contributing Writer A declining Jewish population in the Flint area has compelled its Congregation Beth Israel to downsize locale and activities, but religious com- mitment has motivated member initiatives to upsize its impact outside the area. After five years of preparation, membership recently moved from a synagogue of 32,000 square feet, purposely designed in the 1970s for Calkins Road, to a temporary space of 1,800 square feet in a multi-use office structure on Miller Road. In the process, members decided to give away Torahs, ritual objects, books, educational materials and art. “We decided that given the demographics and the expens- es involved, the building was much larger than we needed,” says Leonard Meizlish, congregation president, who remem- bers a time when participants included 400 larger families instead of the 100 smaller families who now belong. “We sold the building earlier this year for $1.15 million to Charter School Property Development of Nevada, which is leasing it to STEM School of Flint. “We hold a one-year lease subject to annual renewals for our temporary space, and we also are involved in exploring the possibility of sharing facilities with Temple Beth El, the local Reform congregation, or the Flint Jewish Federation.” The first-floor suite occupied by Beth Israel is only two miles away from where the Conservative synagogue was in Flint Township. Furnishings from the former smaller cha- pel have been moved to the new facility for an appearance almost the same as the small chapel had years ago. “We had a kosher commercial kitchen in the old build- ing and used it for a Meals on Wheels program operated by the Flint Jewish Federation,” Meizlish says. “We also used the kitchen for activities in the synagogue and fundraising events planned by the Sisterhood. “We don’t have a kitchen in the new building, but the Meals on Wheels program is still active. Federation moved it to Temple Beth El.” For some 30 years, the synagogue and temple had a com- bined religious education program. Classes now are held at Temple Beth El; they used to be held at Beth Israel. “The number of children is lower, but that reflects the demographics of the community,” says Meizlish, who counts the growing number of one-person households in the count of family memberships. While placing many items in storage and selling educa- tional inventory and kitchen equipment, volunteers con- tacted Metro Detroit Jewish educator Lori Lasday to help distribute other holdings. Lori Lasday with the packed boxes of materials from Beth Israel synagogue. Furniture from the former chapel was moved to the new space. Amid the sorting and according to Jewish tradition, plans were made to bury holy items no longer useable. “We are people of the book and so the books have been Joining Forces Detroit’s Jewish Community Relations Council and American Jewish Committee become one. Shari S. Cohen | Contributing Writer T wo of Detroit’s leading Jewish advo- cacy organizations — the Jewish Community Relations Council of Metropolitan Detroit and American Jewish Committee-Detroit — are now one. Their boards recently approved a joint venture agreement that created JCRC|AJC: A Partnership for Community Relations and Jewish Advocacy. Daniel Elbaum The partnership idea began with the national AJC staff, according to Daniel Elbaum, AJC’s assistant executive direc- tor and managing direc- tor of regional offices. Elbaum said his organiza- tion was looking at some AJC offices for possible David partnerships, and he start- Kurzmann ed to consider possibilities 16 July 21 • 2016 that would be “innovative and beneficial for AJC and the Detroit community.” Leadership changes at both AJC Detroit and JCRC made the timing advantageous. Kari Alterman, AJC’s well-respected Detroit regional director, left AJC in 2015 for a position at the Davidson Foundation, while David Kurzmann was named to replace Robert Cohen, JCRC’s retiring executive director, last October. Elbaum, based in Chicago, knew of Kurzmann through his ADL work in Chicago and through mutual friends. “I am often asked why are there so many Jewish organizations? Why don’t they work together?” Elbaum says. He thought an AJC-JCRC partnership could be mutually beneficial because AJC has multiple offices in Europe, the U.S. and Israel. “This is an increasingly global age and [the partnership] provides a global footprint for the local Detroit community,” he says. At the same time, a partnership with JCRC, “respected locally and nationally, would expand AJC’s presence through JCRC’s bigger staff.” Most AJC board members were in favor of a partnership, viewing it as a way to expand AJC’s presence, while a minority was opposed because they viewed it as reducing AJC’s role in Detroit. Both Elbaum and Alicia Chandler, former interim president of AJC and now officer-at-large for JCRC|AJC, deny that the AJC Detroit office would have closed without this partnership. Elbaum said that if the JCRC agreement hadn’t worked out, a replacement would have been hired for Alterman’s position. According to Dr. Richard Krugel, JCRC president, soon after Kurzmann became executive director, “AJC sent a proposal through Federation to form an agreement to come Dr. Richard together to do community Krugel relations. JCRC did due diligence to make sure everything would work.” Krugel says many AJC board members will be incorporated in a joint JCRC|AJC board. The joint venture agreement was approved by both organizations in May. “We’ll be better with more resources, doing different things we should be doing, and I’m excited about it,” he says. Kurzmann says the two organizations are “very much aligned” and would often come together during times of conflict to advocate for Israel. He notes that AJC has a Jerusalem office and researchers who will be helpful for advocacy work. Chandler describes AJC as a politically moderate organization that encompasses all sides of the political spectrum and is inclusive of the whole community. Elbaum concurs, commenting that AJC and JCRC are “very much centrist, pro-Israel organizations that are very well-suited for each other.” COMMON GROUND JCRC was established in 1937 to support the welfare of the Jewish community in Metro Detroit and abroad, as well as to advocate for the Jewish homeland. AJC, founded in 1906, established a Detroit office in 1944. AJC is described on its website as “the global advocate for the well-being of the Jewish people and Israel, and for the advancement of democratic values for all.”