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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