18 | APRIL 21 • 2022
OUR COMMUNITY
Independence Day, the presi-
dent of Israel honors 120 Israeli
soldiers. The International
Bible Contest and the awards
ceremony for the Israel Prize
are held in Jerusalem. Families
hang Israeli flags from their bal-
conies and cars, enjoy picnics
and barbeques and then turn
on their TVs to watch the Israel
Song Festival. It’s a day of joyful
celebration.
Lumping the three special
days together as “the yoms” is
American slang, Leket said. But
it makes the three very different
days feel like a bundle, he said.
DETROIT AND ISRAEL
“Here in Detroit, we started
calling them days of memo-
ry and meaning because we
believe that they are anchored
in the past but inspired by the
present and by hope for the
future,
” Leket said. “We are
really trying to tell a story —
not only the story of the State
of Israel but the story of the
connection between the Detroit
Jewish community and Israel.
”
After two years of almost
no in-person contact because
of the COVID pandemic,
Leket is looking forward to
bringing people together this
year, including youth, both
from Metro Detroit and from
Detroit’s Partnership2Gether
region in the Central
Galilee. Shinshinim from the
Partnership Region and shli-
chim from the Bnei Akiva
movement in Metro Detroit
will play a part at many of the
events.
And there are many events to
choose from: film screenings,
ceremonies and plays, a family
fun party with a live band from
Israel, and more.
“Just go to the JLive app and
see what events you connect
with. The events we created are
not just a checklist of ceremo-
nies. They are opportunities to
learn and explore each partic-
ipant’s relationship with Israel
and with Israelis,
” Leket said.
Leket adds that Yom
Hazikaron might be the hardest
for the American community
to understand. “That’s why they
should come. We are creating
a special program highlighting
different ways of continuing
fallen soldiers’ legacies, making
Israel a better place by taking
a fallen soldiers’ passions and
creating different projects based
on them,
” he said.
“We are also bringing a play
from Israel, trying to bring to
life how it is to be a parent in
Israel, knowing your child will
go to the army and risk his life.
Me, personally, as a reserve pilot
in the Israeli Air Force, I already
have that in my mind, thinking
of my two girls growing up in
Israel.
”
Leket emphasizes that all
events are community-wide and
inclusive. Federation worked
with a variety of partners, from
every denomination and affili-
ation, to ensure all feel welcome.
“We might have religious or
political differences,
” Leket says,
“but Israel is the one thing we
all share and the place where we
can all come together. Don’t get
me wrong. We can argue about
Israel all you want. But in the
end, it is the Jewish State, and
we all care about it.
”
Leket, 39, is in the middle of
his three-year term as shaliach.
He and his wife, Paz, live in
West Bloomfield with their two
daughters, 3 and 1.
He said he sees his purpose as
bringing the 9 million residents
of Israel to Detroit and bringing
the Detroit Jewish community
back to Israel.
“I’m really about creating
engagement opportunities with
Israel for people in our commu-
nity,
” he said.
continued from page 17
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