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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