JANUARY 27 • 2022 | 37

COMMUNITY

but his Outstanding Athlete 
status allowed him to contin-
ue training and competing. 
Relocating to New Jersey 
for intensive training, he 
returned to Israel every three 
months to put in his required 
time on base over the next 
five years.
Hailey Kops first ventured 
onto the rink at 3 years old 
under the tutelage of her 
mother, Lisa, a U.S. Figure 
Skating Association gold 
medalist. Within a few years 
she was winning trophies as a 
singles skater.
When Chait Moracci invit-
ed her to join Team Israel 
at 13, “I didn’t think twice 
about becoming a citizen of 
Israel,” she says. “Just being 
Jewish and growing up mod-
ern Orthodox, I always had 
a connection to Israel even 
if I do live in the U.S. So to 
become a citizen was really 
cool to me.”
Kops and her first skating 
partner, Artem Tsoglin, fin-
ished seventh at the Junior 
World championships in 
2019.
“When I started doing 
pairs, I realized I loved it 
more,” she says. “I’m a bit 
of an adrenaline junkie, so I 
love the throws and twists.”

GLIDING TO THE TOP
After just two months 
of training, Kops and 
Krasnopolski finished last 
at the Cranberry Cup in 
Boston.
“We both needed to adjust 
some skating issues to make 
the best of our partnership,” 
says Krasnopolski. “Because 
of COVID, we had only two 
competitions before the qual-
ifier in September. So for the 
second competition, in New 
York, we just knew we had to 
be confident and do it.”

And indeed they glided to 
the top against all odds.
“It’s an honor to be one of 
the six athletes competing for 
Israel,” says Kops.
“Not many people get the 
opportunity to quality for the 
Olympics and going there 
under the Israeli flag means 
so much to me. We’re not 
the only skaters who have to 
train outside the country they 
represent. But I feel a con-
nection because I’m skating 
under the Israeli flag.”
She and Krasnopolski prac-
tice Sunday through Friday 
rather than the more usual 
Monday through Saturday, as 
Kops is Sabbath observant.
She said the partners will 
“focus on nothing else until 
we leave for Beijing. We still 
have a lot to work on.”
They are to be joined in 
China by at least four other 
Israeli athletes: Two-time 
Olympic figure skater Alexei 
Bychenko in men’s singles; 
Vladislav Bykanov in short-
track speed skating; and sis-
ter-and-brother Alpine skiers 
Noa and Benjamin Szollos. 
(More may qualify closer to 
the Games.)
Israel’s largest-ever Winter 
Games delegation was only 
10 athletes, in 2018.
In contrast, Israel sent 
a record 89 athletes to the 
Tokyo Olympics last summer 
and brought home two gold 
and two bronze medals.
In Beijing, says Boris Chait, 
“Our goal is to be in the 
finals, and it would be amaz-
ing if we end up in the top 
10. Easy? No. But as one very 
wise commentator once said, 
every athlete that made it to 
the Olympics is a winner and 
every Olympic athlete has a 
story to tell.” 

Reprinted from UnitedwithIsrael.org.

The Jewish Bar Association of 
Michigan (JBAM) will award 
a $1,500 scholarship to a law 
student who exemplifies the 
character and values of the late 
attorney Charles J. Cohen.
A Michigander at heart, he 
continually stressed the impor-
tance of legal education. It is 
only fitting that JBAM chose 
to honor the life and legacy of 
Charles J. Cohen by naming its 
educational scholarship in his 
name.
Scholarship applicants must 
be enrolled full or part-time 
at a Michigan Law school; a 
2L at the time of application 
submission; in good academic 
and administrative standing; 
with a minimum of a 3.00 GPA; 
committed to practicing law in 
Michigan; and able to demon-
strate a history of involvement 

within the Jewish community, 
the law school community and 
the legal community at-large.
Each applicant must submit: 
1. A detailed letter of inter-
est explaining how they meet 
award criteria, and any relevant 
connections and commitments 
to the State of Michigan; 2. A 
resume; 3. An official law school 
transcript; and 4. Letters of rec-
ommendation (no more than 2) 
as part of their application.
Applications in a single pdf 
packet are due to Andrew 
Cohen, andrew@theclo.com, by 
Feb. 21. The award will be made 
by March 11 and announced 
publicly by March 18. 
Information about the 
Jewish Bar Association of 
Michigan can be found at 
www.jewishbar.org. 

Temple Beth-El in Alpena, 
Michigan, is one of the few 
remaining 19th-century 
synagogues in the United 
States. It is a 131-year-old 
building nestled on a quiet 
residential street — the 
only synagogue east of I-75 
from Bay City to the Upper 
Peninsula and, therefore, an 
oasis of Judaism along Lake 
Huron.
The temple is asking for 
help to protect and preserve its 
four historic and irreplaceable 
stained-glass windows. Over 
40 years ago, the Board of 
Directors had these 80-90-year-
old glorious images covered 
in plexiglass. That plexiglass is 
now very brittle and fogged. To 
protect and preserve the beauty 
of these windows, the temple 
has started a project to replace 

the plexiglass with a stronger 
protective acrylic that will resist 
vandalism and will not fog. 
The cost of this project is 
$24,500 with $9,500 promised 
from a FEMA Nonprofit 
Security Grant. The remaining 
$15,000 is the temple’s goal for 
additional fundraising. This 
is a large expense for a small 
congregation, so it is seeking 
support from the public. 
Contributions can be sent to 
Temple Beth-El, PO Box 55, 
Presque Isle, Michigan 49777. 
Or use the PayPal account on 
the Temple Beth-El website, 
www.templebethelalpena.org. 

Law Scholarship Offered by JBAM

Alpena’s Temple 
Beth-El Fundraising 
to Preserve its 
Windows

A stained-glass 
window at Temple 
Beth-El.

