NOVEMBER 23 • 2023 | 17
Federation and everyone
who worked on this trip.
It was an amazing, first-
class effort and we ended
up with a meaningful,
memorable experience.
As we all know, God runs
the world. Everything
happens for a reason.
The only way they win
is through petty and
cowardly acts, as we saw
on Oct. 7.”
Brandon Epstein of
Birmingham,
who has been
helping a friend
collect and ship
needed items
to Israel, was
disappointed
but not
discouraged.
“I feel like I’m a part of
something even though
we didn’t get there …
The real story was about
the patience, persistence
and kindness of the
Detroit Jewish community.
The way we treated
our airline crew and the
failed bus drivers, the
way we celebrated on
the tarmac, and the way
we spoke and treated
each other despite all the
hatred outside. We were
a microcosm of the entire
Jewish people in that we
all pulled together.”
He wasn’t the only one.
“I was so proud of us,
and it was an honor to
stand with Israel, even if it
was only from the tarmac
at Dulles airport,” Lauren
Dembs Lesson of West
Bloomfield wrote in a
Facebook post.
“The whole experience
actually felt like a meta-
phor for the plight of
Jews throughout history
… People try to stop us,
deter us, thwart us and,
from these experiences,
we only get clearer, more
cohesive, stronger …
What a day. I love this
community. Am Yisrael
Chai.”
And what about Evan
Bronstein, who was ready
to stand for Israel but
never got to step foot on
the Mall?
“It was disappointing,
but I think it was worth
it,” he said. “We didn’t get
there because of the bus
drivers, not us. It’s more
about the journey, not the
destination.”
Brandon
Epstein
JOHN HARDWICK/JFMD
LEFT: They tried to stop
them, but passengers still
showed their support for
Israel on the plane.
BELOW: Minchah in the
sunshine on the tarmac
at Dulles International
Airport. Federation
provided a festive
dinner with food and
entertainment for purple
plane passengers returning
to Congregation Shaarey
Zedek to pick up their cars.
DON COHEN
DON COHEN