April 2007 Nisan/Iyar 5767 Volume XXXI: Number 7 FREE Celebrate Israel Take 3—Focus on Jewish music and art Ellisha Caplan, special to the WJN In this issue… n Sunday, April 29, the Washtenaw Shir Hadash high school Page 12 In search of a Torah County Jewish community will band and Kol HaLev Ogather at the Eastern Michigan choir. Celebration-goers Page 16 Father’s first family University Student Center to celebrate the will have the chance to 59th anniversary of the State of Israel at try Israeli karaoke and Page 17 Geoffrey Berdy’s Celebrate Israel 3. This year’s celebration, Israeli dancing (with Sunday School which runs from 3 to 6 p.m., marks the third instruction). Page 26 Sudanese find refuge collaborative effort of nearly 20 Ann Arbor Wonderful Jewish art, Jewish organizations under the leadership from photography of Is- Page 28 Poverty in Israel of the Jewish Federation of Washtenaw raelis by Paul Goldman County. Co-chaired by Marc Bernstein and (1943-1961) to paintings Shirit Kamil, the planning committee is by Ruth Weisberg on dis- Advertisers.....................................39 comprised of representatives from the Ann play in the EMU Student Arbor Orthodox Minyan, Ann Arbor Recon- Center Art Gallery, and structionist Havurah, Beth Israel Congre- more, will be on display Art & Culture ..................................4 gation, Jewish Cultural Society, Hadassah, in the building. Children Andrew Rudick, Mira Sussman and Evan Zacks, 2006 Celebrate Israel Jewish Community Center, Jewish Family will have the opportunity Calendar .......................................34 Services, Keshet Ann Arbor, Temple Beth to participate in a special hands-on art project Emil Boch, will prepare Israel-inspired food Emeth, Young Judaea, Habonim Dror, EMU with glass artists Dani Katsir and Gail Kaplan, that will be available throughout the festival. n Hillel, U-M Hillel, the Israeli Community of who will work with the youngsters to create a Classifieds ......................................38 EMU Student Center is located at 900 Oak- Ann Arbor, Chabad of Ann Arbor and the mosaic to commemorate Celebrate Israel 3. wood Street, approximately five miles east of Hebrew Day School. In a change from past years, the 2007 event Ann Arbor. To get to the Student Center, travel Congregations ...............................12 This year’s theme for Celebrate Israel is is at the brand new EMU Student Center. “The east on Washtenaw or Packard (which be- “Kikar Safra: A Celebration of Jewish Music space is going to be great, especially since the comes Cross). Turn left onto Oakwood. Take and Art in Honor of Israel Independence weather tends to be iffy in April,” says Shirit Ka- Israel ..............................................25 Oakwood past the first stop sign, past the large Day.” Neil Alexander and his “Klezmer Fusion mil, event co-chair. The venue will also allow the parking structure and turn right into Student Band” will play klezmer, Israeli folk and rock entire program to take place in one large area. Center guest parking lot. Register online for this On Another Note ...........................32 music, and other local community groups will Of course, no festival would be complete event by visiting jewishannarobr.org/ci07. also perform, including Temple Beth Emeth’s without food. U-M Hillel’s new kosher chef, Seniors ...........................................10 Library offers films and book event for JCC holds Film Festival Youth/Teens ...................................18 opening night sponsor gala Holocaust Remembrance Rachel Rosenthal, special to the WJN Vitals .............................................39 Emily Eisbruch, staff writer he Jewish Community Center of he Ann Arbor District Library will dinary film is the story of Maud Dahme, a Washtenaw County will host a gala World Jewry ..................................24 feature three events during April in six-year-old Dutch girl who survived the Ho- Treception for sponsors of the Lenore honor of Holocaust Remembrance locaust because of the decency and bravery Marwil Jewish Film Festival on Sunday, May T 6 at 6:30 p.m. at the Michigan Theater. Par- Day. The documentary The Hidden Child, of complete strangers. Dahme’s own story is the story of Maud Dahme, a six-year old one of courage and hope in the face of evil ticipants will enjoy a delicious cocktail buf- girl in the Netherlands at the time of the and death, and the film imparts important fet prepared by local caterer Lori Shepard of Holocaust, will be lessons about courage, struggle, survival and Simply Scrumptious. This event marks the shown on April 9. tolerance. This one-hour, unrated film is co- beginning of four days of Jewish films from On April 16, the sponsored by Michigan Television. The film around the world. Library will pres- will be followed by a discussion led by Jen- The contributions of Film Festival spon- ORG. NON-PROFIT PAID Postage U.S. MI Ann Arbor, No. 85 Permit ent the film Play- nifer White, station manager for Michigan sors make it possible for the JCC to bring the ing for Time, with Television. event to Ann Arbor. Sponsor categories begin an award-winning Of the 1.6 million Jewish children who lived at $360 for a Movie Lover; $500 – Screenwrit- script by Arthur in Europe before World War II, only 100,000 er; $1,000 – Casting Director; $2,000 – Direc- Miller. Finally, on survived the Holocaust. Most were hidden tor, $5,000 – Producer; and $10,000 – Mogul. April 20, editor children, shut away in attics, cellars, convents Sponsors receive invitations to the reception Berl Falbaum will or in villages or farms. Dahme was one of the as well as passes for the entire festival. The opening night gala will honor all sponsors, From The Hidden Child discuss his book estimated 3,000 to 8,000 Jewish children in Shanghai Remem- the Netherlands who were hidden and saved especially the Charles and Rita Gelman Edu- bered...Stories of Jews Who Escaped to Shang- from Nazi death camps by Christians who felt cational Foundation and Michael and Patricia hai from Nazi Germany. According to Tim a moral obligation to do the right thing, even Levine, our Producers. Grimes, community relations manager at at the risk of their own lives. continued on page 8 the AADL, “These are all very different and Dahme recalls dodging bullets and being very interesting events, each of which was forced to lie in order to survive, as well as suggested by our community partners.” the compassion of the strangers who risked their own lives to save Jewish children. Un- For more on the The Hidden Child like Anne Frank, who hid with her family in On Monday, April 9 from 7 to 8:30 p.m. Amsterdam, Dahme was separated from her JCC Film Festival, the Downtown Library will present a free parents. She and her younger sister Rita were screening of the award-winning 2006 docu- see pages 6 – 8 mentary, The Hidden Child. This extraor- continued on page 8 Jewish News Washtenaw 2935 Birch Hollow Drive MI 48108 Ann Arbor, COMMUNITY 2935 Birch Hollow Drive Ann Arbor, Michigan 48108 Deir Yassin remembered – in full voice: 734/971-1800 By WJN staff writers fax: 734/971-1801 n Palestine “every acre of land acquired and of the Palestinian leadership vowed to e-mail: [email protected] by the Jews has been bought at a price thwart Jewish independence, even if it were fixed by buyer and seller,” noted Albert limited to areas of Jewish majority, the acres I Editor and Publisher Einstein in an outraged letter to the Man- “bought and paid for” with money raised Susan Kravitz Ayer chester Guardian (October 12, 1929). Two from small donations throughout the world months earlier, Arabs in Palestine had riot- (Einstein’s first trip to the United States was as Copy Editor ed for a week, massacring Jews in Jerusalem, a Zionist fundraiser). A number of Arab UN Emily Eisbruch Safed and Hebron, where the ancient Jewish delegates (Egyptian, Iraqi and Palestinian) community even threat- Calendar Editor Claire Sandler was forced en revenge out. Britain’s v i o l e n c e Design and Layout response was against the Dennis Platte to close the indigenous country to Jewish com- Staff Writers Jews. This, m u n i t i e s Emily Eisbruch, Sandor Slomovits argued Ein- throughout Contributing Writers stein, was the Middle Yosef Israel Abramowitz, Peggy Adler, Dan punishing the E a s t a n d Baron, Geoff Berdy, Jacob Berkman, Elli- victim. North Africa sha Caplan, Jonathan Cohn, Rabbi Robert “ D o e s if the resolu- Dobrusin, Emily Eisbruch, Devon Fitzig, public opin- Rabbi Aharon Goldstein, Esther Goldstein, tion passed. Tim Grimes, Ben Harris, Peretz Hirshbein, ion in Great On No- Meredith Jacobs, Ron Kampeas, Dina Kraft, Britain re- vember 30, Abigail Lawrence-Jacobson, Marilyn Krimm, a l i z e t h a t Palestinian leader offers his services to Hitler. Berlin 1942. 1 9 4 7 t h e Carol Lessure, Rabbi Robert Levy, Debbie the Grand United Na- Merion, Craig Pollack, Rachel Rosenthal, Mufti of Jerusalem… is the centre of all the tions did pass U.N. Resolution 181, calling Dina Shtull-Leber, Matt Siegel, Elliot Sorkin, trouble?” Einstein demanded, pointing to for the internationalization of Jerusalem Tom Tugend the Mufti’s incitement of the violence. “Is and partition of the British Mandate of Mailing Committee it tolerable that… so utterly irresponsible Palestine into two states, Arab and Jewish. Ruth Ankiewicz, Ruth Breslaw, Lucille Cas- and unscrupulous a politician should be Widespread disagreements over partition, sel, Ethel Ellis, Steve Fishman, Esther Gold- enabled to continue to exercise his evil in- tensions, and intermittent fighting between man, Betty Hammond, Jayne Harary, Doris fluence…?” Jews and Arabs boiled as British rule dete- Jamron, Marilyn Krimm, Doris Miller, Bob In 1929, even Einstein could not foresee and Sophie Mordis, Dorothy Newman, Es- riorated, culminating into widespread ri- ther Perlman, Irwin Pollack, Esther Rubin, the evil that would be stirred by Amin al- ots and low intensity warfare.