Issue link: http://viewer.e-digitaledition.com/i/613029
metro » a r o u n d t o w n 20 December 10 • 2015 Veterans Day Jewish Senior Life honors residents for their military service. Fleischman R esidence hosted a recognition event for its 15 veteran residents. Lev Goldman and Khaya Potashinskaya Jewish War Veterans: Kenneth Weitman, Art Fishman and Jerry Order. Fleischman residents Fay Smith and Lou Linden look at a veterans display with JSL staffer Nick Earnest. J ewish Senior Life featured many opportunities to honor military vet- erans living in JSL residences around Veterans Day. They participated in Operation Pal by writing letters to current U.S. soldiers injured in the line of duty; they were hon- ored at a party at Coville Assisted Living Apartments, home to five vets, and Prentis Apartments in Oak Park; they heard a patriotic concert by Christine Schinker at Hechtman Apartments in West Bloomfield, home to 20 veterans from WWII, Korea and the Canadian and Israeli armies; they were feted at Meer Apartments in West Bloomfield, home to 16 vets, mostly from WWII; and a veterans recognition event was held at Fleischman Residence/Blumberg Plaza in West Bloomfield, home to 15 vets, including one woman who served in WWII. Residents Frank Machlis (WWII vet) and Donny Schlossberg (Korea vet) were featured Nov. 9 on WXYZ-TV, talking about their military experiences. * FIDF Michigan Director of Development Paula Lebowitz; treasurer Rick Bloom; FIDF National Director/CEO reserve Maj. Gen. Meir Klifi-Amir; and IDF Col. Dany Moshyov. Jackson Partrich, Samantha Partrich, Ross Partrich, Charlotte Brown, co-chair Myrna Partrich, Ari Partrich, Tatum Partrich, hon- oree Spencer M. Partrich, co-chair Joel Brown; Oliver Brown; Stella Brown; Eliza Brown; and co-chair Andrea Brown Honoree Spencer M. Partrich and his wife, Myrna, flank the FIDF IMPACT! scholarship recipient they sponsor and IDF Sgt. 1st Class Elior, IDF Col. Dany Moshyov. FIDF supporters David and Kelly Victor, Rob Orley, Lauren Bean, Marcie Hermelin Orley and Brian Hermelin Ron Lieberman Photography Supporting Soldiers FIDF annual dinner honors Spencer Partrich, raises $1.5 million. M ore than 1,100 prominent lay leaders and FIDF supporters from across Michigan gathered Nov. 3 for the Friends of the Israel Defense Forces Michigan Gala Dinner honoring Spencer M. Partrich, a philanthropist and co-owner of Lautrec Ltd., a Farmington Hills-based real estate man- agement and development firm. The gala raised more than $1.5 million for well-being and educational programs for the soldiers of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), including sponsorship for more than 50 new FIDF IMPACT! scholarships for Israeli com- bat veterans. Attending the gala were wounded Israeli war hero Capt. Ziv Shilon, who lost his arm in a Hamas terror attack near the Gaza Strip security fence; retired U.S. Marine Corps veteran Gunnery Sgt. Edward Schrank, whose life was saved when he was diagnosed with a potentially terminal brain tumor during treatment for a head wound he sustained in the line of duty; and IMPACT! Scholarship recipient reserve Staff Sgt. Elior, a former paratrooper who participated in one of the first rescue missions in northern Gaza during Operation Cast Lead. When dinner speaker Ron Dermer, Israeli Ambassador to the U.S., was called back to Israel by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, he was able to address the crowd by video. Netanyahu also spoke via video, thanking Detroiters for their support of Israeli soldiers and commending FIDF "for honoring a very special individual, my close friend and a committed, dedicated Jew, Spencer M. Partrich." Partrich said, "The real honor belongs to the brave men and women of the IDF. The threats we face are more profound than ever, and it is these soldiers who put their lives in harm's way every day to protect and defend the State of Israel — and Jews everywhere. It is paramount that we, in turn, give back to them." *