jews d

in
the

Israel Series Planned:
What’s Ahead In 2017

continued from page 20

More than 450 people registered to learn at Limmud 2016 in Ann Arbor.

who live in Detroit, Goldfein said.
Panels will include “J-Tot,” with
three Jewish parents who are rais-
ing young children in the city; “It’s
Just Business,” with Jews who are
involved in Detroit-based busi-
nesses, particularly in the food
industry; and “Engagement Without
Affiliation,” which will look at a new
paradigm of Jewish identity.
Out-of-town presenters include
Rabbi Michael Rothbaum of Bend
the Arc, a Jewish partnership for
justice, and his husband, African-
American Yiddish opera singer
Anthony Russell. The Oakland,
Calif.-based duo will lead a session
called “Ferguson and Fergessen.”
Yaffa Epstein, director of edu-
cation for North America for the
Jerusalem-based Pardes Institute of
Jewish Studies, a popular speaker
last year, will return. A presentation
by Rabbi Elyse Goldstein, the first
woman to serve as president of the
Toronto Board of Rabbis, is spon-
sored by the Covenant Foundation.
Well-known local presenters
include artist Lynne Avadenka,
Wayne State philosophy professor
Justin Sledge, Avalon Bakery founder
Jackie Victor, Howard Lupovitch
from the Cohn-Haddow Center for
Judaic Studies at WSU, and more
than a dozen local rabbis of various
denominations.
Goldfein said the planners had
more proposals than they could
accommodate. It was hard to turn
down proposals, he said, but the
organizers aimed to balance the
program not only by topic, but
also by the presenter’s age and
affiliation. They also strove for geo-
graphic diversity, with speakers from
University of Michigan and Eastern
Michigan University as well as from
the Detroit area.
“I’m particularly excited we will
continue Camp Limmud for kids in
kindergarten through fifth grade,”
said Mira Sussman, an Ann Arbor
social worker who co-chairs the
Limmud Michigan steering team.
The program will be staffed by coun-
selors from Habonim Camp Tavor
in Michigan. “The kids who went to
Camp Limmud last year loved it,” she
said. “My kids didn’t want to leave.”

22

February 16 • 2017

jn

SPONSORSHIP
Limmud Michigan has received
generous grants from the William
Davidson Foundation and the Farber
Foundation.
The Jewish Federation of
Metropolitan Detroit’s Alliance for
Jewish Education is providing in-kind
donations, including tote bags for
participants and program book print-
ing.
The Institute for Retired
Professionals (IRP) of the Jewish
Community Center is coordinat-
ing inexpensive bus transportation
to Wayne State from Congregation
Shaarey Zedek in Southfield.
(Participants who choose to drive
will find convenient parking near the
Student Center.)
Hazon Detroit will help make
Limmud Michigan a “no waste” event,
providing guidelines for maximum
recycling and arranging for donation
of leftover food to organizations that
feed the hungry.
“The joy of Limmud is that it brings
the entire community together,”
Birnholtz said. “At any presenta-
tion, you can be sitting next to an
Orthodox person on one side and an
atheist on the other, and everyone
will learn. Wherever you find yourself,
Limmud will take you one step fur-
ther on your Jewish journey.”
Sussman said many people have
already told her they plan to sign
up, without even knowing what
the presentations will be. “That, to
me, means there is a huge thirst for
alternative Jewish education and
experiences for people of all ages,
backgrounds and levels of Jewish
knowledge,” she said.
Joining Birnholtz and Sussman
on the Limmud Michigan steer-
ing team are Leslie Black, Roger
Black and Miriam Starkman, all of
Farmington Hills; Geulah Finman,
Ruby Robinson and Vicki Sitron, all
of Detroit; Irv Goldfein of Southfield,
Karla Goldman, Davey Rosen, Deirdre
Hirschtritt and Clara Silver, all of
Ann Arbor; Vicki Goldsmith of Novi;
Sandy Lada of Bloomfield Hills; and
Howard Lupovitch and Rabbi Steven
Rubenstein, both of West
Bloomfield. •

“Israel in Uncertain Times: What’s
Ahead in 2017” will be the focus
of presentations featuring three
distinguished speakers on Feb.
22, March 7 and April 6 at Temple
Israel in West Bloomfield. All pro-
grams begin at 7 p.m.
The Israel speaker series is a
collaboration between Temple
Victor Lieberman
Israel and the Jewish Community
Relations Council/AJC. The pro-
grams will explore the history
of Israel, its relationship to the
American Jewish community and
the threat of the anti-Israel boy-
cott/divestment/sanctions (BDS)
movement to Israel’s legitimacy.
“Israel: A Look Back and a Look
Dov Waxman
Ahead” will be the topic of the
first presentation on Wednesday,
Feb. 22, featuring Professor Victor
Lieberman of the University
of Michigan. Lieberman is the
Raoul Wallenberg Distinguished
Professor of History and teaches
a course on the history of the
Arab-Israeli conflict. Lieberman
is a Golden Apple Award winner
Stephanie
for his teaching and connection to Hausner
students.
On Tuesday, March 7, Professor Dov

Waxman of Northeastern
University in Boston will dis-
cuss “The American Jewish
Relationship with Israel.” A
professor of political science,
international affairs and Israel
Studies, Waxman addresses the
topic in his new book, Trouble in
the Tribe: The American Jewish
Conflict over Israel.
Stephanie Hausner will lead
the final session, “Overcoming
New Challenges to Being an
Effective Israel Advocate,” on
Thursday, April 6. The director of
community strategy for the Israel
Action Network, a national orga-
nization that fights BDS in all of
its forms, Hausner will deliver a
primer on effective Israel advo-
cacy.
All lectures are free and open
to the public. Registration is
required for each program. To
register, email lkaplan@temple-
israel.org, or call (248) 661-5700.
Temple Israel is at 5725
Walnut Lake Road, West
Bloomfield, just east of Drake
Road. •

Happy Ending

Son reunited with his war hero father’s letters.

Back in November, Alice Silbergleit
put a notice in the Jewish News asking
for help to locate Edward Mandell,
son of war hero Irving Mandell. She
had Irving’s letters from the war
(which she donated to the Franklin
Jewish War Veterans archives) and
wanted to let his family know of the
25 historic letters he wrote to her
aunt and uncle from his stations
across Europe during WWII.
“He wrote detailed accounts of
life as a soldier and his longing to
see his toddler son from 1943-1945,”
Alice Silbergleit, Ed Mandell and his son Michael
Silbergleit said.
Mandell hold letters from Ed’s father, Irving Mandell,
Irving was killed in battle on Jan.
19, 1945. He received the Purple Heart written during Irving’s deployment to Europe as an
artillery specialist during WWII, at the Jewish War
and is buried in Epinal Cemetery in
Veterans Archives at Temple Beth El.
France
“Two people responded to the
article that was published in the JN,”
Veterans archives,” Silbergleit said. “My
Silbergleit said, “which led me to a
possible location. I sent a letter to Edward, sister and I made copies of all the letters
for them.
Irving’s son, with the article from the
“Ed had no idea the letters existed,” she
Jewish News and, lo and behold, he called
continued.
“They were all so very happy
me!”
to
have
the
letters and learn about his
Silbergleit met Edward Mandell at the
father’s
thoughts,
experiences and longing
Franklin Jewish War Veterans Archives
for
his
son
during
the war. The letters are
at Temple Beth El, where archivist Jan
now where they belong. They will be part
Durecki showed him and his son the file
of his family’s history, shared with his chil-
of his father’s letters.
“Ed and his wife agreed that the original dren and grandchildren, and passed along
to their future generations.” •
letters should stay with the Jewish War

