AUGUST 22 • 2024 | 31
J
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Statement from 
Windsor Jewish 
Federation 

Since Oct. 7, when Hamas 
terrorists started a war by 
violently attacking Israeli 
civilians, Jewish life on campus 
at the University of Windsor has 
become unbearable. Former 
University of Windsor Jewish 
Law Students Association 
president Sydney Greenspoon 
characterized the experience 
on campus after Oct. 7 as “an 
unsafe place to be an openly 
proud Jew. It is a campus 
that fosters hate and allows 
antisemitism to flourish, forcing 
the few Jewish students to hide 
any sign of our Jewish identity 
in fear for our physical and 
psychological safety. This is 
the new reality we, the Jewish 
students, are facing on campus.”

 On behalf of the Windsor 
Jewish Federation, including the 
Windsor Jewish community and 
its students who attend the uni-
versity, we are profoundly disap-
pointed and concerned. These 

agreements have far-reaching 
implications and impact the 
Jewish campus community 
directly. Making such agree-
ments and lending institutional 
validation to the harmful efforts 
of those seeking to further an 
anti-Jewish agenda emboldens 
lawlessness on campus and will 
only serve to marginalize Jewish 
students further while discour-
aging them from attending the 
University of Windsor. 

Sincerely,
 Stephen Cheifetz
 Windsor Jewish 
 Federation President

outgoing executive 
director of the Windsor 
Jewish Federation, “The 
University capitulated 
to them without 
consulting with the Jewish 
community.” 
Brotman attributes the 
outcome to an “adminis-
tration without courage” in a city 
that is “very Muslim and Arabic.” 
(About 8% of Windsor’s population 
of 237,000 speaks Arabic as a first 
language.) 
Hebert says, “We don’t have 
the same ability to protest like 
pro-Palestinians and anti-Zion-
ists. We don’t have the luxury or 
safety. We have a target on our 
backs.” 
However, he is grateful for a “ton 
of support from the community.”
Cheifetz says the agreements 
have engendered a “large blow-
back from across Canada includ-

ing from B’nai B’rith Canada, the 
Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs 
(CIJA) in Canada, and the Simon 
Wiesenthal Center in Canada. 
There is pressure from politicians 
who are starting to consider legis-
lation.” 
Hebert adds, “The administra-
tion is under a tremendous amount 
of pressure from donors, alumni 
and others.” 
He feels that the agreements “sti-
fle meaningful conversation” and 
that the university should “build 
bridges, not put up walls.” 
Emails and phone calls to staff 
members of the university’s public 
affairs and communications depart-
ment regarding implementation 
status of the agreements were not 
answered by press time. Instead, 
they referred people to the follow-
ing link to read about the agree-
ments: www.uwindsor.ca/653167/
student-dialogue-and-agreements. 

Dan Brotman

Stephen 
Cheifetz

I 

recently had a wonderful 
and informative conversa-
tion with my friend Rabbi 
Cantor Marcia Tilchin. Marcia 
grew up in Metro Detroit, and 
her family has 
deep connec-
tions with Adat 
Shalom. Now 
she serves as the 
spiritual leader of the 
Jewish Collaborative 
of Orange County, 
a nonprofit com-
munity-building 
organization she founded in 2016. 
She made me aware of an exciting 
concert she had just participated 
in called Stars of David, which 
she thought would be a great fit 
for the Adat Shalom community. 
After learning more about it, I 
wholeheartedly concurred. 
Based on journalist Abigail 
Pogrebin’s 2005 bestselling book, 
Stars of David: Prominent Jews 
Talk About Being Jewish, the 
musical Stars of David adapts the 
stories of well-known American 
Jews into humorous and touching 
songs. Some of the personali-
ties celebrated are Joan Rivers, 
Leonard Nimoy, Larry King, Fran 
Drescher, Kenneth Cole and Ruth 
Bader Ginsburg, among others.
How did this venture begin? 
Growing up in a New York Jewish 
home, Abigail Pogrebin was con-
fused about her heritage. She and 
her parents were ambivalent about 
religious customs, so she set out 
to discover how other Jews han-
dled their own religious conun-
drums. Being a well-known writer 
of celebrity profiles, she naturally 

turned to inter-
viewing famous Jews. Sixty-two 
of these conversations, different 
perspectives on what it means to 
be Jewish, were published in her 
book.
Seven years later, the idea was 
conceived to adapt excerpts from 
the book to music. Charles Busch 
wrote the script, and 22 notable 
songwriters were asked to trans-
form a celebrity interview of their 
choice into music. The collabora-
tions which resulted produced a 
song-cycle of 13 highly entertain-
ing musical pieces about Jewish 
identity in America. 
I am thrilled that on the eve-
ning of Wednesday, Sept. 4, Stars 
of David will be presented at 
Adat Shalom. Joining me from all 
across the country in this musical 
performance will be six highly 
talented cantors (including Marcia 
Tilchin!). 
This event will be the first in 
an ongoing series of the Lillian 
E. Kaufman Memorial Concerts, 
honoring the memory of the 
beloved matriarch of the Kaufman 
family. The community is invited 
to this very special evening.
Tickets and information are 
available at adatshalom.org/ 
starsofdavid or by contacting 
(248) 851-5100. 

Stars of David 

Hazzan 
Daniel Gross
Special to 
the Jewish 
News

Concert exploring Jewish identity 
in America takes 
place at Adat 
Shalom Sept. 4.

