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
OUR COMMUNITY

