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18

June 8 • 2017

jn

Activists in Detroit’s efforts to free and resettle Soviet Jews (1980s): Mike Winkelman, Jeannie
Weiner, Gershon Weiner, Jerry Rogers and Betsy Winkelman.

see there are things you can do with
this knowledge and you do nothing,
then you haven’t really fulfilled the
complete role of education.
For me, activism is action! Activism
involves learning about something
that you become passionate or knowl-
edgeable about and then becoming
involved and doing something about
it.
When it comes to activism, there
are lots of ways to become active. Let’s
say you were worried about climate
control and learned as much as you
could, then you go to your synagogue
and see they are not recycling or using
LED lights. If you’re an activist, you
say something. You don’t have to be
loud about it. (Then they put you on
a committee — make you chairman,
and 30, 40, 60 years later you can be
Activist of the Year!)
I’ve spent a career as a volunteer in
community work, but I will add that
I’ve been very lucky to do that, to have
had the time and the support — that
helps a lot.
Q: Thinking back, what project has
been most significant to you?
It has to be my involvement in
Soviet Jewry. Honestly, none of us
involved from the beginning of the
movement ever thought we would see
the end of it. I told my youngest son
at age 15 that he was going to have to
carry on this work. Because we were
up against the Soviet Union — this
big, dark, powerful country that no
one knew about, that didn’t let us in,
that let no one out — a dictatorship
we thought would never end as it did.
So, we worked on getting people
out, one at a time, one family at a
time — and every little victory was
huge. When the wall came down, we
were stunned. So being part of that
and part of the Detroit community
that worked on Soviet Jewry was so
extraordinary because Detroit was
probably the best community in the
U.S. in terms of its work for Soviet

Jews; Philadelphia and Baltimore were
very good, too, but Detroit was excep-
tional.
Q: Is there a community project you
still dream of starting?
I’m a member of three book groups,
one of which I lead. And I still write
articles and essays. I have a published
novel, Santa Fe Sister, and, like every
project worth doing, I had no idea
how hard it was going to be before I
started it. It took five years to write,
and it takes a day to read. Sort of like
making a good dinner!
As far as the work I still “dream” to
do, well, speaking as an activist, there
are many things to tackle that need
tackling and, specifically, a number of
projects I am doing now.
In light of the political climate
today, I’m reminded of an initiative
on gun control with a group I started
back in 1991 called Enough is Enough:
Women Against Gun Violence. This
was long before these terrible shoot-
ings and tragic deaths in the schools.
Raising the issues involving gun con-
trol is still of paramount importance
to me and possibly could be one of my
projects in the near future.
Another politically polarizing issue
that deeply concerns me is immigra-
tion — and the fear people have about
Muslims. I am involved in getting a
group called JAM (Jewish and Muslim
Women) together to talk about these
things. This is all grassroots and very
new.
Q: What do you see in Detroit that
gives you the most hope?
Oh, lots of things! I’m in the city a
lot. I care about it very much. One of
the things I do as a docent with the
Jewish Historical Society is to take
people on tours. I care about building
relationships between the city and the
Metro area; and that, in fact, is what
has drawn me to JCRC/AJC because
they always have been involved in
building partnerships in activism and
community relationships throughout

