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6 | JUNE 4 • 2020 

daughter of my good friends 
and neighbors Jennifer and 
Mark LoPatin, who’s carved 
out a career for herself as a 
comedian, actress and copy-
writer in LA for the past 11 
years. 
I knew improv was one 
of Hanna’s strong suits and 
mentioned that to Fred who 
agreed to meet with her upon 
his return home to California. 
Hanna, a recent transplant to 
LA, went to that first meeting 
with original writing samples 
in hand. 
Before the evening was over, 
Hanna had an amazing new 
mentor in Fred. He made her 
an official member that night 
of his sketch-writing workshop, 

the MoHo Group, who she 
performed with for two years. 
“
As a writer, I never got over 
the feeling of exhilaration every 
time Fred would perform my 
words on stage,
” she said.
Over time, Fred and his late 
wife of 50 years, Mary, a play-
wright and TV writer, became 
like family to Hanna. “I think 
they saw themselves as like 
grandparents to young people 
trying to make their way in 
Hollywood,
” she said. “They 
liked to shield people and 
guide them. For that I will be 
forever grateful.
”
Jimmy Kimmel said it best 
in his tribute to Fred during 
his May 19 show. “Fred played 
basically the same character in 

everything; he was the same 
guy because it always worked. 
So why would you change it? 
It didn’t matter if the movie or 
show was good, bad, terrible or 
great, Fred was always funny. 
And he was more than just 
funny, he had a light inside of 
him. You could see a glint of it 
in his eyes, and it made every-
one around him happy.
”
How lucky I was, and all of 
Purtan’s People, that we got to 
experience that joy firsthand 
during the summer of 2008. 

Alan Muskovitz is a writer, voice-over/
acting talent, speaker, and emcee. 
Visit his website at laughwithbigal.
com,“Like” Al on Facebook and reach 
him at amuskovitz@renmedia.us.

continued from page 5

letters

Don’
t Forget About Cats
I greatly enjoyed your article on 
the dogs who are being fostered 
in homes throughout our area 
(May 7, page 12).
But let’s not forget the many 
cats and kittens who have 
brought their own brand of 
love to many of us around 
Michigan.
As the Humane Society and 
others aim to empty their hous-
es temporarily so that their staff 
and other workers can rest and 
stay safe, people like myself are 
lucky enough to have boarders 
such as Timothy, my household 
guest cat.
I am hoping that many other 
people will continue to foster 
and, perhaps, adopt our won-
derful animals.

— Diane Pliskow

Oak Park

Kudos to FJA
I was so happy to see your cov-
erage of Rabbi Cohen from FJA 
delivering signs to the Class 
of 2020 (May 14, page 19). It 
was just a small sample of how 
hard Rabbi Cohen, the teachers, 
administration and staff have 
been working to make this 
unusual year special for the stu-
dents and especially the seniors. 
They have all been going above 
and beyond to listen to the 
students and the parents and 
collaborate on programs that 
might have gone by the way-
side. As this year comes to an 
end for my son, and for my 
husband me as an FJA family, 
we want to express our thanks 
to FJA for taking such good 
care of our kids and us through 
the years. Especially this most 
challenging year. We will miss 
being part of Frankel Jewish 
Academy. 

— Marianne Bloomberg 

Farmington Hills

W

hile some Israelis 
are breathing a 
sigh of relief as 
their never-ending elections 
finally came to an end, I am 
filled with fear. The pan-
demic is being weaponized 
as a tool to 
fast-forward 
the erosion of 
democracy. 
Due to 
COVID-19, 
Israel’s Supreme 
Court ruled 
May 6 that 
Prime Minister 
Benjamin Netanyahu is 
allowed to form a new gov-
ernment even while under 
indictment for corruption 
charges. At the end of three 
inconclusive elections and 
three criminal corruption 

charges, Bibi is still in 
power. It's an abuse of power 
amidst a crisis. To put it in 
an American context, it’s an 
anti-FDR decision. 
While the high court is 
usually progressive, during 
this time of crisis they gave 
Netanyahu the go-ahead to 
form a government and stay 
on as prime minister while 
challenger Benny Gantz 
becomes premier, despite 
Netanyahu’s many indict-
ments. Bibi promised that 
they will swap roles in 18 
months. It would surprise 
no one if “King Bibi” made 
a power play that forced 
Gantz to the sidelines with 
diminished power. Israelis 
of a certain age will remem-
ber when Yitzchak Shamir 
did not withhold his side of 
the deal made with Shimon 

Peres when the outcome of 
the 1984 elections left the 
Knesset in a stalemate. 
An incumbent leader 
— Bibi — can argue that 
experience and knowledge 
of minutia is a good reason 
to stay in power. A neophyte 
— Gantz — cast adrift in 
the craziness will not be able 
to respond properly to the 
crises.
While I am not in favor of 
activist courts, Israel’s high 
court has often provided 
balance to a more politically 
right-wing agenda in the 
Knesset. For instance, as 
West Bank settlements con-
tinued to be built in 2014, 
the high court ruled to close 
the Amona outpost and 
evacuate it. This was during 
a time when the Obama/ 
Netanyahu relationship was 

commentary
Coronavirus vs. Democracy

Israel’
s Supreme Court needs to hold Netanyahu 
accountable in a time of crisis. 

Eli
Reiter

continued on page 8

