20 | SEPTEMBER 30 • 2021

$20 million gift to expand the
Michigan-Israel Partnership
for Research and Education,
which includes the University
of Michigan, the Technion
and the Weizmann Institute
of Science.
“My father-in-law taught
me the importance of giving
back to the community,”
Wolfe says.
He also holds board
positions with the Jewish
Fund, Kids Kicking Cancer,
the Detroit Zoological
Society, the Michigan
Medicine Advisory Group
and Jewish Hospice &
Chaplaincy Network, among
many other organizations.
In addition, Wolfe was also
past chair of the State of
Israel Bonds for Metropolitan
Detroit.

‘TRUE HEROES’
“A past president of the Jewish
Federation, Larry has held a
wide variety of volunteer posi-
tions and roles at Federation
and organizations throughout
Jewish Detroit and beyond,”
CEO Ingber says.
“More than this, Larry and
his wife, Andi, have been true
community heroes, always
stepping up to offer their gen-
erous support, as well as their
hearts and souls, whenever
the need arises.”
Andi Wolfe adds that being
volunteer-driven is a “piece of
our fabric” when it comes to
their marriage. “Everything
he touches, he puts his whole
body and soul into,” she says
of her husband’s drive to bet-
ter the community and share
Jewish life with others.

Ingber adds, “To this day,
Larry remains one of the most
active and dynamic leaders in
our community, and I know
he will continue to make a

difference for many years to
come.
“I am truly thrilled to see
Larry receive this much-
deserved recognition.”

Sweethearts since high school, Larry and Andi Wolfe at home.

JERRY ZOLYNSKY

O

n Sept. 19, on the
120th day of his
captivity in Insein
Prison in Myanmar, journalist
and Huntington Woods native
Danny Fenster was sum-
moned for his eighth court
hearing over video conferenc-
ing.
According to reports from
the Associated Press, Fenster
has been charged with incite-
ment — spreading inflam-
matory information — an
offense for which he could be
sentenced to up to three years
in prison.
Yet again, the military junta
in Myanmar did not specify
what he is accused of doing
and he was sent back to his

prison cell only to await his
next hearing on Oct. 4.
Fenster’s brother Bryan said
the news was disheartening to
him and his parents, Buddy
and Rose Fenster, as well as
Danny’s wife, Juliana, still in
Myanmar.
Bryan said he last spoke to
Danny on Sept. 12 on a call

patched through from the
prison to the U.S. Embassy
in Rangoon. He was relieved
to hear Danny’s probable
COVID symptoms, which he
last complained of during an
Aug. 1 phone call, seemed to
resolve themselves, though
there is no COVID testing in
Insein.
“He seems to be making
the best of it,” Bryan told the
JN. “What’s most frustrating
for us is there is nothing new
to report. We are just spin-
ning our wheels at this point.
[Waiting for the outcome
of each of these hearings
that have no results] is just a
vicious cycle.”
Fenster’s family and their
community of friends con-
tinue their campaign to keep
his imprisonment in the
headlines and in the minds
of neighbors and those in
Metro Detroit. Signs bearing
the logo “Bring Danny Home,
Free the Press” accompanied

by a portrait of Danny are
cropping up around the area.
Shortly after his imprison-
ment, family and friends
formed a #BringDannyHome
social media campaign and a
Facebook group that now has
more than 5,500 members.
Fenster is the managing edi-
tor of Frontier Myanmar. On
May 24, 2021, he was detained
by the military in Myanmar
moments before he was to fly
from Yangon to Detroit to see
his family for the first time in
over three years.
Since then, he has been held
at Insein Prison under investi-
gation under a law criminaliz-
ing dissent that carries a maxi-
mum three-year jail sentence.
Danny is being represented
by an attorney from Frontier
Myanmar, and the family is
in touch with the counselor
through a translator, though
communication and informa-
tion has been very limited,
according to Bryan Fenster.

Danny Fenster’s family, friends keep
raising awareness of his plight.
Still No Charges

STACY GITTLEMAN CONTRIBUTING WRITER

continued from page 19
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