… FEBRUARY 27 • 2020 | 5 Views for openers At First Yuck E veryone has those special foods that remind them of home or childhood. But as you dig in and are “mmmm-mmmm”ing happily away, you might find that people around you don’ t quite share your enthusiasm. They’ re watching you incredulously, saying thing like, “How can you eat that? That’ s disgust- ing!” I grew up in Australia, and a childhood staple was toast with butter and V...…
…6 | FEBRUARY 27 • 2020 guest column Finding Hope in a Spring Views I magine checkpoints lining 8 Mile Road. A bus approaches the border of Detroit and the suburbs, headed for Oakland County, and two heavily armed officers step on board to check IDs. Depending on your residency status and ability to obtain a rare permit from Oakland County’ s government, you’ re permitted to cross. Few Detroiters are able to obtain these permits...…
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…Views commentary The Truth About TruNews P resident Trump’ s deplor- able and shameful polit- ical relationship with anti-Semitism recently took another troubling turn. Last month the Trump administration approved press credentials for coverage of the Jan. 21-24 Davos conference in Switzerland for a website, TruNews, which, according to its Facebook page, is a network “reporting the countdown to the second coming of Jesus. ” ...…
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…10 | FEBRUARY 27 • 2020 OUR JN MISSION: We aspire to communicate news and opinion that’ s trusted, valued, engaging and distinctive. We strive to refl ect diverse community viewpoints while also advocating positions that strengthen Jewish unity and continuity. As an independent, responsible, responsive community member, we actively engage with individuals and organizations dedicated to enhancing the quality of life, and Jewish life, in ...…
…Congratulations to JVS Human Services President and CEO Leah Rosenbaum on her retirement after nearly 41 years of service to the Metro Detroit community. Leah’s work may be done, but the positive impact she’s had on countless lives will continue to be felt for generations. A CAREER IN SERVICE TO OTHERS 248.559.5000 jvshumanservices.org JVS_12964_LL_FullPage_JN.indd 1 2/19/20 7:36 PM …
…12 | FEBRUARY 27 • 2020 Jews in the D Facebook group connects Metro Detroit Jewish mothers online. KAREN SCHWARTZ CONTRIBUTING WRITER S tephanie Barr likes having a community of moms at her fingertips. The Bloomfield Hills resident, who works as an attorney, is part of Jewish Moms Of Metro Detroit, a Facebook group with more than 2,100 members who ask questions, share successes and struggles, and find camaraderie at all hours...…
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…Jews in the D 14 | FEBRUARY 27 • 2020 moms, but not for Jewish moms specifically. Having led classes in the area for babies and toddlers, Mall said she enjoyed connecting moms in person, but that this seemed like a way to reach so many more. Moms can post under their own names or anonymously through one of the admins, Mall said. “That was the goal, to get the taboo questions, the questions that were hard to ask, ” she said of t...…
… FEBRUARY 27 • 2020 | 15 Join us for a presentation by attorney Eli Gabay about his role as a prosecutor in the trial of John Demjanjuk, the Cleveland autoworker accused of being the infamous Treblinka extermination camp guard “Ivan the Terrible.” Gabay features prominently in the Netflix documentary The Devil Next Door. 28123 Orchard Lake RoFarmington Hills, MI 48334-3738 Dessert reception to follow Tickets 248.536.9605 or www.holoca...…
…Jews in the D 16 | FEBRUARY 27 • 2020 spreading fast when the group began, with some 10 new mem- bers joining weekly. She offered to help, and the rest is history. She said she was amazed to see what started as a safe place for local moms to talk about par- enting evolve into a network for advice, referrals and friendships. Having a diverse group of women in conversation online means they’ re able to share dif- ferent ways of celeb...…
… FEBRUARY 27 • 2020 | 17 “THI S I S THE MOST I MPORTANT FI GHT OF OUR LI FETI MES. WE HAVE TO MAKE DONALD TRUMP A ONE-TERM PRESI DENT. LET’ S GET I T DONE TOGETHER. ” – MIKE BLOOMBERG Paid for by Mike Bloomberg 2020 MIKE WILL GET IT DONE. mikebloomberg.com Election Day in Michigan is Tuesday, March 10th. Miracles of Hadassah The Meridian of Farmington Hills SAVE THE DATE SUNDAY, MAY 17, 2020 ©2020 Ha...…
…18 | FEBRUARY 27 • 2020 Her family grew up at Temple Israel, where her great-grandparents were founding members. Through her hus- band, they’ re connected with The Shul. But not everyone these days is choos- ing to engage with Judaism through such classic routes, she noted. “ A lot of people my age haven’ t con- nected the same way, ” she said. “So, we need some other way to connect us because we’ re looking for people of a similar s...…
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…‘This Problem Is Here’ Following MSU swastika, Rep. Slotkin hosts East Lansing forum on anti-Semitism. CORRIE COLF STAFF WRITER Jews in the D U .S. Representative Elissa Slotkin brought members of the com- munity and a panel of speakers together at the East Lansing Public Library on Sunday, Feb. 23, for a conversation sur- rounding a recent local spike in anti-Semit- ic acts. The event took place nearly a week after a swastika was f...…
… FEBRUARY 27 • 2020 | 21 As featured on: Need Help with an IRS or State Tax Problem? Call the experts at 1-800-TAX-LEVY (829-5389) Tax Liens Collection Notices Penalties Unfi led Tax Returns Audits Call us today to answer your questions or to schedule a meeting and say goodbye to those sleepless nights! 1-800-TAX-LEVY (829-5389) www.levytaxhelp.com We Listen …. We Care … We Help! HQ: 28400 Southfi eld Road., Lathrup Village, M...…
…22 | FEBRUARY 27 • 2020 Playdates with a Purpose Partnership melds Jewish themes with service for little ones. J ewish families in Metro Detroit now have a fun option to introduce their young children to the joys of volunteering, with activities like making cards for seniors or packing warming kits for local shelters. PJ Library of Metropolitan Detroit and Repair the World Detroit created a program called “Playdates with a Purp...…
…METROPOLITAN DETROIT Limmud Michigan2020! Register: limmudmichigan.org/register Eric Acton Simi Adler Jessica ‘ Decky’ Alexander Alana Alpert Lynne Avadenka Rebecca Belkin Josh Bennett Meredith Berlin Jeffrey L. Bernstein Tim Burke Courtney Bushnell Alicia Chandler Alexa Cooley Yonatan Dahlen Nathan DeGroot Robert Dobrusin Levi Dubov Jake Ehrlich Carol Ellstein Jenna Englender Michele Faudem Eliezer (Louis) Finkelman Marilyn Finkelma...…
…WSU Press Changes Come Full Circle Interim director resigns; a former director returns; dismissed top leaders now rehired. SHARI COHEN CONTRIBUTING WRITER Jews in the D I n less than two weeks, four top man- agers left Wayne State University Press, its organizational position within the university structure was changed and a previous interim director was returned to her post. Now, almost everyone has their job back. The organizatio...…
… FEBRUARY 27 • 2020 | 25 continued on page 26 F or 12 years, the University of Michigan-Dearborn helped fund a Hillel pres- ence on its campus. That changed in December 2019, when the school ended its annual $25,000 contribution to Hillel of Metro Detroit (HMD). HMD is a regional Hillel chapter that coordinates Jewish student life across six different Metro Detroit universities. In addition to UM-Dearborn, it has a presence at La...…
…26 | FEBRUARY 27 • 2020 continued from page 25 ber of students. The university’ s budget was reevaluated and, according to Kettenbeil, cuts were made across the univer- sity, including the $25,000 for HMD. Grasso’ s predecessor as chan- cellor, Dan Little, had been the first to establish Hillel’ s pres- ence on campus in 2007. Starkman told the JN that HMD’ s funding typi- cally comes from its own fundraising efforts, as well as an a...…
… FEBRUARY 27 • 2020 | 27 YOUR CHILD deserves the BEST Education For more information go to www.mivoicecounts.org Help Our Children Get The Best Education And Complete The 2020 Census. To make sure your school gets money for school lunches and education programs, you must complete the 2020 CENSUS this spring. The 2020 CENSUS is quick and EASY to fi ll out. Use it to count EVERYONE in your home. And by law, it is 100% CON...…
…28 | FEBRUARY 27 • 2020 Jews in the D Yeshiva Beth Yehudah and Oak Park to improve pedestrian safety. Y eshiva Beth Yehudah Schools and the City of Oak Park have received a grant to construct safer pedestrian routes to help students cross busy intersections at 10 Mile Road and Lincoln Road. The $464,321 grant to the Jewish educational institu- tion from the Safe Routes to School (SRTS) program was announced at the Oak Park Cit...…
…W hen Erik Bean’ s 17-year-old son, Ethan, died by suicide, he was enveloped by a dark shroud of grief and guilt. For years, Bean and his wife, Stacey, who lived in Farmington Hills, had tried to help Ethan, who struggled with behavioral issues due to mental health disorders that included autism, psychosis and ADHD. Finally, no longer able to bear his ongoing pain, Ethan ended his life on Aug. 24, 2018. “As a parent, you feel like...…
…30 | FEBRUARY 27 • 2020 continued from page 29 full-color illustrations, the book addresses topics such as coping with difficult emotions, being kind to those who may appear dif- ferent, and seeking support from parents and other safe adults. It also has a section on internet safety, includ- ing the dangers of the dark web. The book premiered Nov. 19, 2019, which is National Suicide Survivor’ s Day. It is the first official proj...…
… FEBRUARY 27 • 2020 | 31 Moments Zwickl-Storm B ecky Zwickl and Bill Storm were married in Columbus, Ohio, by Rabbi Elyse Seidner-Joseph. They were joined under the chuppah by their parents, Tim and Sara Zivian Zwickl and Patti Russ. The wedding party included Bill’ s children, Kylie, Tony and Brayden; siblings, Josh and Sheri, David and Alyson, James and Ronald; a parade of dear friends; and the couple’ s nieces and nephews, Sha...…
…32 | FEBRUARY 27 • 2020 Marsch-Brookfield M ichelle and Steve Marsch of West Bloomfield are thrilled to announce the engagement of their daughter Nicole Erin to Michael Louis Brookfield, son of Cathy and David Brookfield of Newton Falls, Ohio. Nicole earned her bachelor of arts degree in communicative sciences and disorders from Michigan State University and her bachelor of arts degree in fashion design from the Art Institute of...…
… FEBRUARY 27 • 2020 | 33 A s a person who loves building projects, I find Terumah’ s intri- cate description of the blueprint and materials needed for the construc- tion of the Mishkan more exciting than most. Reviewed again and again, the Torah takes the precision of holy space’ s construction quite seri- ously. The building of the tabernacle is a watershed moment in the history and emergence of our people. The dedication of ...…
…34 | FEBRUARY 27 • 2020 Arts&Life theater Fiddler 2.0 Israeli actor brings diverse talents to his role as Tevye in this stage revival. SUZANNE CHESSLER CONTRIBUTING WRITER I sraeli actor Yehezkel Lazarov jokes that he understands why this tour of Fiddler on the Roof needed a second year. The first year did not take him to Detroit. At last, Lazarov will appear at the Fisher Theatre, where the original show had its 1964 trial run be...…
… FEBRUARY 27 • 2020 | 35 that started with tap dancing in kindergarten and moved into choreography, singing, acting, directing, teaching and explor- ing photography and videography. “It took many years for me to do all that, ” Lazarov said. “It was not easy in the beginning because people did not under- stand me. I think they can be afraid of inter-disciplinarian people (because it is expected) that a person needs to do one thing. ” Laza...…
…Arts&Life music 36 | FEBRUARY 27 • 2020 The Conducting Circuit Yaniv Segal will raise his baton with orchestras in Ann Arbor and Detroit. SUZANNE CHESSLER CONTRIBUTING WRITER Y aniv Segal, a performer enriched by varied entertainment achievements, will conduct both the Detroit and Ann Arbor symphony orchestras this sea- son. Segal, who has been based in Ann Arbor for more than a decade, has sung with the Metropolitan Opera in ...…
… FEBRUARY 27 • 2020 | 37 University of Michigan (U-M) for advanced degrees. “I realized conducting allowed me to fulfill my dreams of performance with the greatest possible palette of colors: all those instruments and people working together to bring the most beautiful compositions to life, ” he said. “I also realized I needed the creativity of composing to be fulfilled. ” While a U-M student, Segal learned about the DSO Soundcard pr...…
…38 | FEBRUARY 27 • 2020 STREAMING CATCH-UP The original, 10-episode Hulu series High Fidelity was released in its entirety on Feb. 14. If the title is familiar, you are probably thinking of the hit 2000 film of the same name that starred John Cusack as Rob, the owner of a Chicago record store. The 2000 film co-starred Lisa Bonet, now 55, as a great singer who Rob is attracted to and a then-unknown Jack Black, now 50, as a clerk in...…
…On The Go people | places | events FEBRUARY 27 • 2020 | 39 FRIDAY, FEB. 28 BIM BOM BABY ART 10-11 am, Feb. 28. At Temple Shir Shalom. Program is for babies through 4 years old with a special adult. Moms, dads, aunts, uncles, grandparents and nannies come celebrate Shabbat: braid challah with the rabbis, sing songs with the cantor and make new friends. SHABBAT APPELLA 6 pm, Feb. 28. At Adat Shalom Synagogue. The beautif...…
…On The Go people | places | events 40 | FEBRUARY 27 • 2020 continued from page 39 TUESDAY, MARCH 3 JLEARN CLASS 7-8:30 pm, March 3. At the Max M. Fisher Federation Building. “Suddenly Sexy Detroit: Architecture and Urbanism in a Rebounding City.” With Michael Hodges. An exclusive tour of the Fisher Building included on Sunday, March 29, 4 pm. Hodges, Detroit News fine arts writer and author, will lead a photographic jou...…
… FEBRUARY 27 • 2020 | 41 continued on page 42 Living Life Fully Dylan Bressler refuses to let stuttering defi ne him. RONELLE GRIER CONTRIBUTING WRITER Health COURTESY DYLAN BRESSLER D emocratic presidential candidate and former U.S. Vice President Joe Biden makes no secret about his lifelong struggle with stuttering. In addi- tion to sharing his personal experiences in public, most recently during a Feb. 4 CNN Town Hall broad...…
…42 | FEBRUARY 27 • 2020 Health continued from page 41 when I started high school. “I learned along the way I cannot shy away from speak- ing in front of people, and I have to embrace that I am a person born with a stutter and I cannot control that, but I can control how hard I work to overcome it. ” STATISTICS AND HELP Approximately 3 million Americans stutter, accord- ing to the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communi...…
… FEBRUARY 27 • 2020 | 43 Hi-Tech Medicine Israel prepares for coronavirus patients with apps, robots. S heba Medical Center at Tel HaShomer, Israel, is caring for 11 Israeli citizens who had been confined to the Diamond Princess cruise ship in Japan during past weeks who have not exhibited coronavirus symptoms. They arrived Feb. 21. At press time, one woman, who is in her 70s, has tested positive for the virus but has not ye...…
…44 | FEBRUARY 27 • 2020 Pancreatic Cancer Treatments Advance A team at Sheba Medical Center’ s ARC Innovation Center (Accelerate, Redesign, Collaborate) has joined forces with Sheba’ s Dr. Talia Golan, one of the world’ s leading doctors in pancreatic cancer, to redesign the way oncolo- gists treat the deadly disease. The team is using person- alized medical treatments in search of the most useful options for patients. During t...…
… FEBRUARY 27 2020 | 45 the exchange community bulletin board | professional services For information regarding advertising please call 248-351-5116 Deadline for ad insertion is 10am on Friday prior to publication. “Let us love your pet while you are away” Pet resort • Daycare Training • Grooming Web Cameras 248-230-PAWS (7297) 2244 Franklin Road Bloomfield Hills, MI 48302 www.4pawscc.com $65 Service Call Nothing per hour, plus ...…
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… FEBRUARY 27 • 2020 | 47 PAULA ROSS BENSON, 87, of West Bloomfield, died Feb. 14, 2020. Paula was beau- tiful inside and out. She was a poet, essayist and short story writer. She was a retired decorator and loved fine art. She is survived by her son and daughter-in-law, Steven and Anne Benson; daughter and son-in-law, Linda and Bill FitzGerald; grandchildren, Heather (Brandon) Statfield, Laura (Peter) Capaccia, Matt (Nicki) Mul...…
…48 | FEBRUARY 27 • 2020 A Kind and Generous Patriar ch RONELLE GRIER CONTRIBUTING WRITER A rnold J. Shifman was a dedicated lawyer, a passionate activist and, above all, a beloved hus- band, father and grandfather. He generously opened his heart, his home and his wallet to those in need, earning the admiration of his clients and his community. “ Arnie” Shifman, who lived in Huntington Woods with his wife, Elaine, died Jan. 22,...…
… FEBRUARY 27 • 2020 | 49 Soul of blessed memory continued from page 47 continued on page 50 Interment was held at Beth Abraham Cemetery in Ferndale. Contributions may be made to a charity of one’ s choice. Arrangements by Hebrew Memorial Chapel. NANCY MYERS, 88, of Farmington Hills, died peacefully on Feb. 12, 2020. She is survived by her husband of 70 years, Marty Myers. She is also survived by her sons and daughters in-la...…
…continued from page 49 Soul of blessed memory 50 | FEBRUARY 27 • 2020 DR. MORTON RABAN, 79, of West Bloomfield, died Feb. 12, 2020. Mort was born in St. Louis, Mo., went to and graduated Harvard ’ 62 with an A.B. in history of science, then to Princeton for a Ph.D. (1967) in chemistry. He was a professor of organic chemistry at Wayne State University in Detroit for 35 years. He won the French medal Palmes Academiques as an o...…
… FEBRUARY 27 • 2020 | 51 continued on page 52 GARY ALAN SCHWARTZ, 69, of Newport Beach, Calif., for- merly of West Bloomfield, died Feb. 15, 2020. Gary loved to be around people. He was loved by many at his community in California. His friends con- sidered him family and or a mentor. He was a semi-pro golf- er, an excellent salesman, a black lab lover and a truly wonderful father, brother and friend. On his best day, he could ...…
…52 | FEBRUARY 27 • 2020 what she read and saw was all there in that remarkable country. She wanted to go back. Now her spirit returns to join that of her daughter in Bonnie’ s mobile intensive care unit ambulance, serving the nation medically. She has become a double patriot for the love of Israel and the USA. Mrs. Simmons is survived by her husband of 63½ years, Dr. Milton Simmons; daugh- ter and son-in-law, Melodie and Dr. Ala...…
… FEBRUARY 27 • 2020 | 53 Bella Piatti has been delivering exquisite fl avors for seven years. Mouthwatering Italian S orry, no Wahlburgers on the menu … Only some of the best Italian food in this region … Being in partnership with a prominent movie star like Mark Wahlberg on those delicious burgers certainly has its big value. But when it comes to the tongue and full tummy, the fine Bella Piatti Italian restaurant on Townse...…
…Looking Back From the William Davidson Digital Archive of Jewish Detroit History accessible at www.djnfoundation.org Looking Out for Jews in Washtenaw County L et’ s say you are an immigrant to America or a senior or someone who needs a bit of mental health support or some help with transporta- tion. Where do you turn? Well, if you live in Washtenaw County, you go to Jewish Family Services, where, since 1993, the JFS has helped tho...…
