 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 

