8 | MAY 11 • 2023
PURELY COMMENTARY
letters
Successful Event
The March 23 “Point/Counterpoint”
event at the Berman Theater featuring
Professor Howard Lupovitch (Wayne
State University professor of history and
director of the Cohn-Haddow Center for
Judaic Studies), David Bernstein (founder
and president of the Jewish Institute of
Liberal Values) and Rabbi Aaron Starr
(rabbi of Congregation Shaarey Zedek)
stirred 350 attendees with a lively debate
regarding David Bernstein’s recently
released book Woke Antisemitism — How
a progressive ideology harms Jews.
The program committee consisted
of Malka Littman, Ronna Ross, Linda
Cohen, Eugene Greenstein and Ed Kohl.
The discussion may be seen at www.
youtube.com/watch?v=-v6Pl6g7QYE
We thank the West Bloomfield Jewish
Community Center, the Berman Theater,
the Jewish Community Relations Council
and Zionist Organization of America–
Michigan for their program support.
— Ed Kohl
West Bloomfield
Kudos to ‘Apple Tree’
Kudos to the JN for including the
supplement “The Apple Tree” in the
April 27 edition. It is a wonderful tool
that kids can use to learn while having
fun. It not only offered information
on nature, a coloring page and how-to
projects, but kids also learned about the
importance of Yom HaAtzmaut (Israel
Independence Day) and what Israel means
for the Jewish people.
At the same time “The Apple Tree”
introduced Jewish religious topics such
as the blessing offered once yearly when
fruit trees begin to blossom, counting of
the omer and the mitzvah of welcoming
guests (hachnasat orchim).
— Esther and Erwin Posner
Southfield
Clarifi
cation
In the story “Preserving Our History,”
(April 20, Page 14), we inadvertently
excluded the Lillian & Professor Samuel
Levin Archives at Congregation Shaarey
Zedek as one of the community’s Jewish
history resources.
The navigational app Waze was
developed in 2008 and sold to
Google in 2013. Today, it boasts over
100 million users.
DEFENSE
Israel is a country that has
experienced existential threats
and military conflict while being
surrounded by hostile enemies.
Military conscription has been
mandatory since independence,
but in addition to the motivated
conscripts, the IDF has understood
that technology superiority is
essential.
The Iron Dome missile defense
system has saved countless Israeli
lives during rocket attacks on
civilians, with a 90% success rate of
missile interception. The Israel-made
tank, the Merkava, first developed
in the late 1970s, is considered one
of the best battle tanks in the world,
with its innovative crew protection
system and ergonomics, sophisticated
suspension system and advanced
electronic firing system.
HEALTH
An IDF medic created the
Emergency Bandage, an elasticized
bandage creating pressure on the
wound that has significantly reduced
death from trauma or hemorrhaging
on the battlefield.
A former military missile engineer,
Dr. Gabbi Idan, developed the
PillCam after miniaturizing missile
technology. The medical invention is
a capsule-covered camera that can be
swallowed by a patient to diagnose
gastrointestinal illness.
After an accident that left Amit
Gofer a quadriplegic, he invented
ReWalk, a robotic exoskeleton that
allows wheelchair users to walk,
climb up and down stairs, and see
people eye to eye.
As Israelis are celebrating a most
significant year of independence,
they seem deeply committed to
another 75 years of innovation and
creativity.
Naomi Miller is director of Israel
Partnerships for the Michigan Israel
Business Accelerator. This essay was first
published in its newsletter.
ISRAEL AT 75; THE INNOVATION NATION
continued from page 6
Drip
irrigation
The Iron
Dome
We Are Now Back in
West Bloomfield.