DECEMBER 19 • 2019 | 17
Stephanie and the late Fred Keywell.
The final component of Phase
II is a new security entrance that
will encompass the newest and best
safety provisions, such as the ability
to lock classrooms from a distance.
Yedwab says high-level consultants
are advising on security upgrades,
which are under way throughout
the campus. The main donors for
the new security entrance are Earl
and Renée Ishbia.
Tisdale anticipates additional
philanthropic support for Phase II.
He says Phase II will be somewhat
less than 12,000 square feet and cost
$7 to $8 million.
The architect will
be announced shortly and Sachse
will be the contractor for this phase
as well.
King says Temple Israel’
s physical
expansion as well as other enhance-
ments reflect “
one goal in mind:
to show this community how we
strive to keep Judaism relevant and
offer a place where our members
feel connected to our faith and one
another.
”
SHIFTING DEMOGRAPHICS
While expansion is under way at
the Temple Israel facility in West
Bloomfield, the temple has provid-
ed off-site locations and programs
for years. Tisdale says the temple
has used Seaholm High School in
Birmingham as a more convenient
location for Sunday school for at
least 10 years.
The temple’
s Tyner Religious
School also holds classes at Conant
Elementary on Quarton in the
Bloomfield Hills School District
and at Derby Middle School in
Birmingham. West Hills Middle
School, also in the Bloomfield Hills
district, where many Temple Israel
students attend public school, pro-
vides a mid-week Hebrew school
location.
Recently, the temple considered
acquiring a former Detroit Country
Day School building in Bloomfield
Township but was unable to reach a
satisfactory purchase agreement due
to building issues. Yedwab says the
temple has looked at multiple build-
ings in eastern Oakland County
including a mortuary, church and
Elks building, but finding a prop-
erty that can be brought up to
current codes and provide space
for a school and other programs is
difficult.
The location of synagogues,
temples and other Jewish institu-
tions has become more relevant as
Federation’
s 2018 Jewish Population
Study indicated that a significant
proportion of the Jewish population
has shifted since the prior survey in
2005. Between 2005 and 2018, the
survey indicates that the proportion
of Jewish households declined in
two West Bloomfield zip codes as
well as in Farmington Hills.
During this same period, the pro-
portion of Jewish households, espe-
cially younger families, increased
in Oak Park/Huntington Woods
and other areas in eastern Oakland
County. In 2018, Jewish households
comprised 65 percent of the homes
in Huntington Woods, and 34
and 32 percent respectively of the
households in the two main West
Bloomfield zip codes.
After the Jewish Community
Center (JCC) campus in Oak Park
closed several years ago, some
Jewish residents in Huntington
Woods, Royal Oak, Oak Park and
Berkley pointed out the distance
and inconvenience of driving to
the West Bloomfield JCC. Some
programs formerly held at the Oak
Park JCC were moved to other
community locations in what is
called the “JCC without Walls.
”
Recently, the JCC has started off-
site groups in Birmingham and
Franklin with family-friendly activi-
ties such as Shabbat in local parks.
Tisdale says Temple Israel’
s
membership includes families
from the Woodward corridor and
many multi-generational families.
The West Bloomfield location “has
served us well, but we’
re always
looking at how we can better serve
members,
” he says.
ENGAGING YOUNG FAMILIES
For several years, Temple Israel
has offered outreach programs
open to everyone in the Jewish
community, although they are
targeted to younger families and
individuals and held in Berkley and
Birmingham to draw individuals
living in or near those suburbs.
Temple Israel’
s Rabbi Jennifer
Lader describes these Shabbat ser-
vices and dinners at Berkley High
School as grassroots
efforts geared to young
families with school-
age children. Outreach
efforts to this group
will continue but with
enhanced program-
ming at different
sites, she says.
The goal, she adds, is to devel-
op a meaningful way to celebrate
continued on page 18
LEFT: Space in Phase II
will be devoted to kinetic
learning. BELOW: A
connecting space in Phase
I called The Bridge will
include a a mini gym with
a climbing wall.
Rabbi
Jennifer Lader