1942 - 2024

Covering and Connecting 
Jewish Detroit Every Week

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DETROIT JEWISH NEWS 
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News will inform and educate the Jewish and general community to preserve, protect and sustain the Jewish 
people of greater Detroit and beyond, and the State of Israel.

VISION STATEMENT The Detroit Jewish News will operate to appeal to the broadest segments of the greater 
Detroit Jewish community, reflecting the diverse views and interests of the Jewish community while advancing the 
morale and spirit of the community and advocating Jewish unity, identity and continuity.

DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
32255 Northwestern Hwy. Suite 205,
Farmington Hills, MI 48334
248-354-6060
thejewishnews.com

 
 
Publisher
The Detroit Jewish 
News Foundation

| Board of Directors:
 Chair: Gary Torgow
 Vice President: David Kramer 
 Secretary: Robin Axelrod
 Treasurer: Max Berlin
 Board members: Michael J. Eizelman 
 Larry Jackier, Jeffrey Schlussel, 
 Mark Zausmer
 
 
 Executive Director:
 Marni Raitt 
 Senior Advisor to the Board: 
 Mark Davidoff
 Alene and Graham Landau Archivist Chair: 
 Mike Smith
 Founding President & Publisher Emeritus: 
 Arthur Horwitz
 Founding Publisher 
 Philip Slomovitz, of blessed memory

 

 Editorial 
 Director of Editorial: 
 Jackie Headapohl
jheadapohl@thejewishnews.com
Contributing Editors: 
David Sachs, Keri Guten Cohen
Senior Staff Reporter: 
Danny Schwartz 
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Editorial Assistant: 
Sy Manello
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Digital Manager:
Elizabeth King 
eking@thejewishnews.com 

Contributing Writers:
Nate Bloom, Rochel Burstyn, 
Suzanne Chessler, Shari S. Cohen, 
Louis Finkelman, Samantha Foon, 
Yevgeniya Gazman, Stacy Gittleman, 
Esther Allweiss Ingber, Barbara Lewis, 
Jennifer Lovy, Rabbi Jason Miller, 
Alan Muskovitz, Karen Schwartz, 
Robin Schwartz, Steve Stein, 
Nathaniel Warshay, Julie Smith Yolles, 
Ashley Zlatopolsky 

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6 | MARCH 7 • 2024 
J
N

PURELY COMMENTARY

student’s corner
Making A Difference
D

uring my winter break, I did a 
bake sale for the IDF. At the very 
end, I raised over $1,000. Over the 
course of one week, I baked around the 
clock and made sure everything that was 
going to be sold was perfectly delicious 
and baked to perfection. 
I have always loved bak-
ing, but I did not do this for 
the sole reason that I like to 
bake. I did it because I think 
it’s important to not just use 
your words but to also use 
your actions. It pains me 
just to sit in my house with a 
normal life while my brothers and sisters 
in Israel are losing their homes, struggling 
with sadness and being worried sick 24/7.
I go to a Jewish day school where we 
learn about core values and about our 
Jewish culture and background. Not only 
do I go to a Jewish school but, as an indi-
vidual, I love Israel and learning about my 
Jewish culture and background. More than 
half of my family lives in Israel. We have 
visited Israel multiple times, and I am very 
proud of it. 
Because of that, I felt a responsibility 

to step up and show how much I care. 
I would describe my love for Israel as a 
Milky Way’s worth of affection and con-
cern. I think if I was raised a different way, 
I would not have the same love for Israel 
or my education. My parents, grandpar-
ents and friends all had an impact on me 
— either by just being there to support 
and teach me or supporting my Jewish 
education and love for Israel. 
So, I put my baking skills to use. I made 
several different goodies, such as banana 
bread, spiral cookies and brownies. In 
total, I baked 20 batches of treats. 
My first thought was to sell in front of 
stores, but they said no because they did 

not want to get involved with this sensitive 
topic. That just made me want to work 
even harder and push myself out of my 
comfort zone because I knew what I did 
could help a good cause. 
So, I did it out of my house. People who 
ordered (strangers and community mem-
bers) came to the house to pick them up. 
At the end of the bake sale, we raised so 
much money I could not even believe it. 
I was completely dumbfounded! We gave 
the money to our closest friends in Israel 
who were fighting in Gaza. Some of the 
money went to buy food for the soldiers 
and some to buy a device for guns to help 
with aim. I got to help soldiers in Gaza not 
have to eat Bamba everyday but real, hot 
food they could enjoy as much as possible. 
At first, I did not want to write this 
because I was taught (in school and at 
home) that the best way to do a mitzvah 
was anonymously, but I changed my mind 
because I thought that this could inspire 
other kids just like me who care for and 
love Israel to do what they can, too. 
 

 

Avital Ohana is a seventh-grader at Hillel Day School. 

She lives in West Bloomfield.

Avital Ohana

Avital’s 
treats

