jews d

in
the

“These (mass school shootings) are just
too much for teens to handle, and we
need a better, safer future.”

— LINDSEY COOPER, 15, CANTON

continued from page 14

TOP: Marching along the Detroit River. INSET: Lacey and
her mother, Ellyn Davidson, in Washington, D.C.
CENTER: Temple Israel teens, Washington D.C.
BOTTOM: Shir Shalom teens march in Detroit: Lindsey
Cooper, 15, Canton; Asher Moskowitz, 17, Bloomfield Hills;
Jack Gurwin, 16, Bloomfield Hills; Sheldon Krause, 16,
West Bloomfield; Nathan Moskowitz, 17, Bloomfield Hills;
and Mikaela Schulz, 16, West Bloomfield.

16

March 29 • 2018

jn

nities for the march. As they processed the day’s
events before their flight home, Lader said the
march taught the teens they do not have to wait
until they are “old enough” to bring about change.
“By being part of this important moment, they
realized they do not have to put their desire to
change things on hold until they are old enough to
vote. They have the power to make change now,”
she said.
Other local Jewish teens who flew to the nation’s
capital included eight members of the Jewish
Fund Teen Board. As they waited to board a late
Saturday night flight back to Detroit, they spoke
excitedly about the day’s events and the inspiration
they would draw form the day to move them for-
ward in their activism.
Jessica Goldberg, 15, of Farmington Hills and a
student at North Farmington High School said the
march was just the beginning of her activism for
making schools safer, and the issue of tighter gun
control laws would “not fall off her radar” as she
will be marching again and writing to her school
administrators as well as state and federal legisla-
tors to bring about change that will save lives.
“By joining the 1 million people in Washington,
D.C., we were living the Jewish value of not stand-
ing idly by (while the blood of your brother is
spilled),” Goldberg said. “Though the march took
place on Shabbat, we were marching to save lives,
which is one of the highest Jewish values.”
Fellow teen board member Maddie Feinstein, 15,
of West Bloomfield and a student at Walled Lake
Northern said the most moving parts of the day
were the many moments of silence when Parkland
shooting survivor Emma Gonzalez took to the
podium.
“After her very powerful words, those moments
of silence were even more powerful,” Feinstein said.
“In that silence, we all knew we were thinking of
the same things. In those moments, I understood
I have a voice that can be used to reach out to my

local politicians, and I have inside me what I need
to do to make a change.”
Nia Kepes, 16, of Bloomfield Hills and a student
at Groves High School in Beverly Hills said partici-
pating in the march taught her that she has a voice
and left her hopeful that her generation can truly
make a change.
“The best outcome for me would be that my
peers and their parents would not have to fear and
think about being shot or hurt by automatic weap-
ons,” said Kepes, who marched despite a torn ACL
injured in a ski race for her high school. “That out-
come starts by getting active and calling your local
representatives in Congress.”

FOR SOCIAL JUSTICE

Maya Gamer, 15, of Huntington Woods and
a student at Frankel Jewish Academy flew to
Washington and was the only member of the local
chapter of United Synagogue Youth to march under
the international USY banner at the march with
more than 100 others. Gamer, who is Shabbat-
observant, said she and other USYers walked for
miles to and from the host synagogue to be at the
march while other teens used pre-paid Metro cards
for transportation.
“Social justice means so much to me as a USYer,
and it was important for us as a youth organiza-
tion to be present at the march,” Gamer said. “It
was incredible to be there marching with so many
thousands of people. In the future, I hope there is
a cultural shift away from guns in our society. Are
they (assault weapons) really relevant in the 21st
century?”
Buses of students from schools like Bloomfield
Hills High School and Berkeley High School trav-
eled through the night Friday to arrive at the march
early Saturday morning.
U.S. Rep. Sander Levin, D-Mich., greeted the
Berkeley students with his staff when they arrived
and took them to his office for snacks, drinks and

