Jews in the D

 FEBRUARY 13 • 2020 | 17

DERRICK MARTINEZ

Jews in the D

New Jewish
Millennial Hub

Partners Detroit launches
Platform 18 in Royal Oak.

P

latform 18, a new com-
munity space for Jewish 
young professionals, offi-
cially opened its doors Jan. 30 
in Royal Oak. The launch event 
attracted more than 200 people 
eager to see the space and enjoy 
food, drinks and live music.
While Platform 18 is not 
exclusively for young adults, 
the building is the new head-
quarters of Partners Detroit 
Young Jewish Professionals, a 
division of Partners Detroit. 
The organization targets Jewish 
young adults in their 20s and 

30s through one-on-one and 
group learning sessions, Jewish-
themed events, Shabbat dinners 
and trips around the world with 
a Jewish spin.
“The building has been a 
vision within Partners for years,
” 
said Partners Detroit educator 
Erin Stiebel. “To be able to have 
something in Royal Oak where 
so many young Jewish people 
live is something we’
ve really 
been looking forward to.
”
The name Platform 18 was 
chosen because of its location 
alongside the train tracks, with 

the number 18 signifying chai 
(life). Prior to its current trans-
formation, the building was a 
rustic antique shop.
The 7,000-square-foot space 
is equipped with a lower-level 
lounge featuring world clocks 
representing Partners Detroit 
trip destinations, a pool table, 
private classrooms and a show 
kitchen. The second level fea-

tures a heated porch with sofas 
overlooking downtown Royal 
Oak.
“I’
m looking forward to 
learning and the future events 
that will be held at Platform 18 
with the phenomenal rabbis 
and community of Partners,
” 
Huntington Woods resident 
Brittany Danzig, 32, said at the 
launch event.

ALLISON JACOBS DIGITAL EDITOR

continued on page 18

continued on page 18

Michigan’s Jewish 
Prisoners Win Right
to Eat Kosher Meat

Judge rules that denying prisoners 
meat and dairy kosher meals violates 
their religious rights.
J

ewish prisoners in Michigan 
won the right to eat meat 
and dairy kosher meals on 
Shabbat and some Jewish holi-
days, according to a court ruling 
issued Jan. 30 by Judge Linda 
Parker in the U.S. District Court 
Eastern District in Detroit.
The case dates to 2013, when 
the Michigan Department of 
Corrections (MDOC) trans-
ferred Jewish and Muslim 
inmates to a vegan diet as a 
“one-size-fits-all” religious meal 

solution. 
A class-action lawsuit, han-
dled by the Civil Rights Clinic 
at Michigan State University led 
by Professor Daniel Manville, 
was filed at that time on behalf 
of Jewish inmates Gerald 
Ackerman and Mark Shaykin. 
The suit argued that a vegan diet 
lacked kosher meat and dairy 
and didn’
t adhere to kosher 
principles of preparation, such 
as proscriptions against contam-
ination with non-kosher utensils 

and prep areas. 
A proposed settlement of the 
class-action suit was reached 
Oct. 12, 2019, that granted 
Michigan’
s Jewish prisoners the 
ability to have kosher meals. 
But the question about wheth-
er inmates could receive meat 
and dairy kosher meals wasn’
t 
argued until Dec. 11, 2019, at a 
fairness hearing held in front of 
Judge Parker. 

There are 600 Jewish pris-
oners among Michigan’
s 
33,000-person prison popula-
tion. Of those 600, between 85 
and 193, residing in 16 differ-
ent correctional facilities, are 
approved for kosher meals. 
In her Jan. 30 opinion, Parker 
ruled that to deny the kosher 
meat and dairy meals to the 
Jewish prisoners would be a 
violation of their closely held 

JACKIE HEADAPOHL ASSOCIATE EDITOR

About 200 people came to the opening of Platform 18 in Royal Oak.

