DECEMBER 21 • 2023 | 19
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Menorah in the D
Hundreds of Metro Detroiters attended Menorah in the D, the 13th
annual public lighting of a 26-foot-tall menorah in the heart of the city
organized by Chabad Lubavitch of Michigan. Rabbi Kasriel Shemtov,
Chabad vice president, said Chanukah and the conflict in Gaza both
symbolize the struggle of light to overcome
the dark.
In addition to Ben Ami and Moses,
the honorary Lamplighters were
NEXTGen Detroit President
Jennifer Maxbauer; IDF reservist
Capt. Shimon Levy; Daniel and
Gabriela Steinberg, proud par-
ents of a Lone Soldier in Israel
right now; Alex Mison, student
president at Chabad MSU; FJA
student Grace Kleinfeldt; Amy
Ostroff, who is helping Israeli fami-
lies who arrived in Detroit acclimate
to their new home; and Samantha
Woll, who was found murdered outside
hostages.
Both Ben Ami, 23, and Moses, 49, say
they don’t know if their fathers are still
alive. Ben Ami said her father had been
shot in the shoulder before his capture.
Ben Ami, who works in the kibbutz
print shop, said she and her brother
spent 15 hours in their safe room
with no food or toilet facilities. She
wanted to leave after a few hours, but
he wouldn’t let her go. When she did
come out, she joined a group of Israeli
soldiers who helped rescue her sister
and other civilians from elsewhere in
the kibbutz. She was not able to reach
her parents, and it wasn’t until two
weeks later that she saw a video of
Hamas terrorists taking them.
Moses said he felt helpless when his
father’s partner texted to say that he had
Ella Ben Ami
and her brother
Yair
Moses
Ben Ami and Moses
were in Detroit to raise
awareness of their family
members sill being held
hostage by Hamas.
continued on page 20
continued on page 20
ABOVE: The dancing dreidels
were a part of the festivities.
Ella Ben Ami and
Yair Moses in front
of the menorah.