… 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...…
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…thejewishnews.com $200 Feb. 20-26, 2020 / 25 Shevat-1 Adar 5780 Hues of Jews Jews of color discuss their pathways, joys and obstacles. See page 14 …
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… FEBRUARY 20 • 2020 | 3 OUR JN MISSION: We aspire to communicate news and opinion that’ s trusted, valued, engaging and distinctive. We strive to reflect 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 South...…
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… FEBRUARY 20 • 2020 | 5 H orace Dodge didn’ t build the house on West Forest Avenue, but he ushered it into the new century with an expanded foot- print and cutting-edge technol- ogy. The home’ s indoor plumbing would have long since lost its novelty but for the curious case of bathroom tile inlay in the shape of a Jewish star. Was Horace’ s handiwork an elaborate practical joke on Henry Ford? A secret message to Albert Kahn? ...…
…Views 6 | FEBRUARY 20 • 2020 editor’ s note Building the Big Tent essay We Do Have Allies, You Know? I ’ m excited to share this week’ s JN cover story with you although I can’ t take credit for it because it was in the works before I arrived here. Our pair of features on Jews of color in Metro Detroit give us the opportunity to tell the kinds of Jewish sto- ries we unfor- tunately tend to overlook when we talk about “the ...…
… FEBRUARY 20 • 2020 | 7 Your five-year-old is ready for Kindergarten. No worri es . NOW IT'S OUR JOB TO HELP YOU GET READY TO HAVE A KINDERGARTNER. www.bloomfield.org/kindergarten A limited number of tuition spots are available K-12 for the 2020-21 school year. Enrollment acceptance is based upon applicants meeting current tuition guidelines and space availability. Submitting an application does not guarantee acceptance. Spac...…
…Views To make a donation to the DETROIT JEWISH NEWS FOUNDATION go to the website www.djnfoundation.org The Detroit Jewish News (USPS 275-520) is published every Thursday at 29200 Northwestern Highway, #110, Southfield, Michigan. Periodical postage paid at Southfield, Michigan, and additional mailing offices. Postmaster: send changes to: Detroit Jewish News, 29200 Northwestern Hwy., #110, Southfield, MI 48034. 8 | FEBRUARY 20 • 2020 ...…
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…10 | FEBRUARY 20 • 2020 Views had a story of his own. When he was just 8 years old and the internal armed conflict was raging, there was a knock on the door of his home early one morning. His father rose from the breakfast table and cracked the door open; he then turned to his family and said, “There are men outside who want to speak with me.” Then, looking directly at his eldest son — the 8-year- old boy who would one day beco...…
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…Views 12 | FEBRUARY 20 • 2020 My dear friend and colleague Rev. Deedee Coleman, the co-chair of the Coalition for Black and Jewish Unity, recently wrote a powerful editorial in the Detroit News about the need for her community to support the Jewish people. Coleman, the former president of the Council of Baptist Pastors of Detroit and Vicinity, is a longtime advocate for the Jewish people and Israel, and noted: “To my fellow A...…
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…JENNIFER LOVY CONTRIBUTING WRITER Jews in the D W hen Re’ uvein Rickman entered the sanc- tuary at Adat Shalom Synagogue for his first Shabbat service as a Jew, his thoughts immediately turned to where he should sit. The can- tor told him to find a seat wherever he wanted, so Rickman chose one at the end of the aisle, seven rows from the bimah. Sometime during the service, the significance of his seat selection became clear. Just a fe...…
… FEBRUARY 20 • 2020 | 15 continued on page 16 are Jews of color. A 2018 Brandeis University study found that 1.9% of the estimated 7.4 million American Jews, or about 150,000 people, identifies as black and non-Hispanic. However, a study released in 2019 by the Jews of Color Field Building Initiative, a San Francisco Bay Area- based national effort to advance the Jewish professional status of Jews of color, estimates that figure to...…
…16 | FEBRUARY 20 • 2020 HUES from page 15 households is increasing. Locally, no statistics are available on how many Jews of color live in the Metro Detroit area. The Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Detroit’ s 2018 Jewish Population Study did not count them. The JN talked to nearly a dozen Metro Detroit Jews of color about their thoughts on being a minority within a minority. They worship at a variety of congregations, from Refo...…
… FEBRUARY 20 • 2020 | 17 Mike Bloomberg grew up in a middle-class family and worked his way through college. Mike started a news and information business, creating tens of thousands of jobs. MIKE WILL GET IT DONE. Paid for by Mike Bloomberg 2020 mikebloomberg.com PROVEN After New York City was attacked on 9/11, Mayor Mike Bloomberg helped rebuild the city. As President, Mike will: Guarantee every American the health care they dese...…
…continued on page 20 18 | FEBRUARY 20 • 2020 The McMillans, along with their dauther, Aliza Bracha Klein, had a Reform conversion about 13 years ago. Klein of Oak Park took her conversion further, subsequently undergoing an Orthodox one. Unlike Rickman, who describes occasional curious glances at his synagogue, Klein, 34, says her skin color drew more attention at her shul than she’ d like. Now she rarely attends Shabbat serv...…
…JERRY ZOLYNSKY continued on page 20 FEBRUARY 20 • 2020 | 19 Long Road Home James Allen Jones, 94, has had a six-decade journey to Judaism. ALLISON JACOBS DIGITAL EDITOR T emple Beth El member Dr. James Allen Jones is 94 years old, but he could easily pass for 70. He stands tall, dressed in a casual suit with a purple vest and tie. He doesn’ t need any help get- ting around, and he has plenty to say — especially about his conv...…
…20 | FEBRUARY 20 • 2020 Jews in the D HUES from page 18 it at the time. For exam- ple, mixing milk and meat always bothered him, and on Saturdays he felt a strong desire to rest and abstain from things like listening to music. “ Are you sure you’ re not Jewish,” a Jewish friend and client once asked him. His response: “I think I have a Jewish soul.” Rickman, who is 15 years sober, expressed an interest in Judaism to his Alcoholi...…
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…Jews in the D HUES from page 20 22 | FEBRUARY 20 • 2020 Aryeh, who is white. In social situations, people sometimes treat Aryeh with more respect. And it’ s especially hurtful when someone thinks it’ s OK to make a racially inappropriate comment to Aryeh. “I don’ t necessarily see things as being racially insensitive like my wife sees it,” Aryeh says. “So I’ m constantly attempting to see things from her viewpoint … Often, the best...…
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…T hree of the top man- agers at Wayne State University Press were dismissed from their posi- tions Feb. 7, leaving uncer- tainty at one of the nation’ s most prominent publishers of Jewish studies books . Editor-in-Chief Annie Marten; Editorial, Design and Production Manager Kristen Harpster; and Sales and Marketing Director Emily Nowak lost their jobs without a public explanation and were escorted from the University Press Buil...…
… FEBRUARY 20 • 2020 | 25 …
…26 | FEBRUARY 20 • 2020 SEEKING ANSWERS Soon after University Press authors and oth- ers were notified of the dismissals, 60 indi- viduals, including former University Press Executive Director Jane Ferreyra, wrote a letter of protest to Wilson, demanding the dismissals be reversed. “We are writing to express our shock and anger at what is tantamount to the destruc- tion of this venerable institution,” the letter states. “In a series of...…
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…Jews in the D I recently boarded a flight to Des Moines, Iowa, with an excited and energetic crew. My friend, Danielle McGuire, an award-winning author and historian, her 11-year-old daughter, Ruby, my 11-year-old daughter, Olivia, and I were headed to the 2020 Iowa Caucus. We couldn’ t wait to witness history by attending the first major vote of the U.S. presidential primary. We went with KidUnity, a Los Angeles- based nonprofit o...…
… FEBRUARY 20 • 2020 | 29 ONLY 4 LUXURY BIRMINGHAM CONDOS REMAIN FURNISHED MODEL AVAILABLE TO TOUR 750FOREST.COM Click. Call. Give Now. www.hfldetroit.org 248.723.8184 Hebrew Free Loan Detroit 6735 Telegraph Road, Suite 300 Bloomfield Hills, Michigan 48301 @HFLDetroit When Dr. Edward Stein was a child, he was aware of the good that Hebrew Free Loan did in the community. Now in his eighties, Eddie recalls HFL being there to help the f...…
…30 | FEBRUARY 20 • 2020 Jews in the D A School’s Education GVSU to focus on Holocaust learning after football coach’ s Hitler comment. G rand Valley State University says it will increase its curric- ulum around the Holocaust and Native American history after one of its football coaches referenced Hitler as “a great leader” and said he would like to have dinner with Christopher Columbus. University President Philomena V . Mante...…
… FEBRUARY 20 • 2020 | 31 Something Missing? Ford-sponsored Auschwitz exhibit at National Archives failed to mention founder’ s role in Holocaust. A three-week-long exhibit sponsored by the Ford Motor Company Fund honored the 75th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz at the National Archives in Washington, D.C. But the exhibit raised eyebrows by overlooking Ford’ s own role in fueling anti-Semitism during the Nazi regime. ...…
…32 | FEBRUARY 20 • 2020 | faces&places Jews in the D Jewish Metro Detroiters joined Hazon Detroit, the Jewish Community Center of Metro Detroit and at least 16 synagogues from across the denominational spectrum for a communitywide Tu b’ She- vat seder Feb. 9 at the JCC in West Bloomfield. Attendees celebrated the new year of trees, learned about the cli- mate and together envisioned a healthier and more sustain- able world for all...…
… FEBRUARY 20 • 2020 | 33 PHOTOGRAPHY BY LIZZ CARDWELL/JCC More than 200 people attended Winterfest and Camp Registration Day Jan. 26 at the Jewish Community Center of Metropolitan Detroit in West Bloomfield. Families enjoyed a hot chocolate bar, giant games, a bounce house and music. Winterfest also featured representatives from local organizations as resources for families. JCC Special Needs Director Stephanie Zoltowski said, “It...…
…34 | FEBRUARY 20 • 2020 quick hits There are openings for athletes and artists who want to represent Detroit this summer at the JCC Maccabi Games & ArtsFest. San Diego, California, and Pace University in Westchester County, New York, are the Maccabi Games sites. ArtsFest will be held in San Diego. Detroit will be sending golfers, boys and girls tennis players, and boys soccer and girls volleyball teams to San Diego. Pace will have 14U...…
…people watching. Ryan was chosen to com- pete by the show’ s producers from about 10,000 appli- cants, who each sent in audi- tion videos and answered questions. There also are 9-10 and 11-12 age divisions. The show is a spinoff of the popular competition show American Ninja Warrior. “I enjoy the American Ninja television shows,” Ryan said. “I think they’ re cool. “I thought I had a chance to be picked for American Ninja Warrior Juni...…
…36 | FEBRUARY 20 • 2020 Spirit torah portion T his week, we read a special portion called Parshat Shekalim, where we learn about the half-coin contribution that each person would give toward communal funds and needs. So many outstand- ing and inherent life messages about being a part of a community are embedded in this short reading. The parshat teaches that it is neces- sary to belong to a com- munity even if it entails spend...…
… FEBRUARY 20 • 2020 | 37 Moments DEC. 10, 2019 Lori (Robinson) and Michael Silver of Los Angeles, Calif., are thrilled to announce the birth of their daughter, Cora Robinson Silver, sister of Thea Mae. Overjoyed grandparents are Judy Robinson, and Dorit and Stephen Silver, all of West Bloomfield. She is also the granddaughter of the late Mark Robinson. Excited great-grandmother is Kati Gottlieb of Toronto. Cora is named in loving memo...…
…Arts&Life theater 38 | FEBRUARY 20 • 2020 ‘With a Little Bit of Luck’ Audiences can catch Adam Grupper in a lead role in My Fair Lady. JULIE SMITH YOLLES CONTRIBUTING WRITER F or a nice Jewish guy from Brooklyn, Adam Grupper has spent the past few years getting to church on time. Grupper — pronounced “grouper,” like the fish, and, yes, he’ s been kidded about it his whole life — has had a stellar Broadway ride since his stage de...…
… FEBRUARY 20 • 2020 | 39 subversive than he’ s ordinarily portrayed. Director Bart Sher has me portraying Doolittle as more violent and threaten- ing. He’ s a lowbrow guy with a political moral code that makes him a great counterpart in Edwardian England, which makes this part so irresistible. ” The Lincoln Center pro- duction of My Fair Lady took home five Outer Critics Circle Awards and was nominated for five Drama Desk Awards, t...…
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… FEBRUARY 20 • 2020 | 41 Arts&Life music Bridging the Divide Michael Barenboim builds on his parents’ legacy as musical director of the West-Eastern Divan Ensemble. SUZANNE CHESSLER CONTRIBUTING WRITER M usic can go way beyond mere cul- tural enjoyment; it can build cross-cultural con- nections. Violinist Michael Barenboim’ s parents serve as role models for that idea. Twenty years ago, his father, Israeli conductor and pian...…
…42 | FEBRUARY 20 • 2020 continued from page 41 Arts&Life music the Barenboim-Said Academy, also started by his father, developed the ensemble in the spirit of the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra, only with a more musician-focused for- mat. The idea of the ensemble is to provide concertgoers a more intimate atmosphere to experience the musicians, said Barenboim, the orchestra’ s concertmaster. “If you hear a big sympho- ny, whateve...…
…Hunters: Chasing Nazis on Amazon A l Pacino leads a team of covert anti-Nazi vigilantes in Amazon Prime’ s new show Hunters. The entire first season pre- mieres on the service Feb. 21. Set in 1977 New York, the action-drama is based on some real-life efforts to bring fugitive Third Reich offi- cers to justice in the United States. Pacino’ s shadowy millionaire Meyer Offerman, a Holocaust survivor, leads a team of loose cannons a...…
…Arts&Life celebrity jews 44 | FEBRUARY 20 • 2020 AT THE MOVIES Opening on Friday, Feb. 21, are The Call of the Wild and The Invisible Man. Call is based on the famous 1903 novel by Jack London. It’ s the story of Buck, a very big dog whose idyllic life in Northern California ends when he is stolen and transported to the Alaskan Yukon during the Gold Rush of the 1890s. Buck is mistreated by a series of owners, who have him lead ...…
