West Bloomfield Protest Message: 'Stop the Killing, Stop the War'

Locals who support Palestine take their message to the corner of Orchard Lake and Maple Saturday.

As a tenuous cease-fire in the Gaza Strip held Saturday, a group of local residents braved stinging winds and temperatures in the 20s Saturday afternoon to rally for Palestine. A group of 30-40 people holding signs and flags gathered at the southeast corner of Orchard Lake and Maple at around 3 p.m. West Bloomfield Police maintained a presence in the area, blocking off a portion of the parking lot at The Shops at Old Orchard. Patrol cars were also visible at other locations in the area. Organizer Eslam Kersha said the purpose of the gathering was to raise awareness about the Palestinian side of the conflict with Israel.  "We're out here because we believe the Palestinians don't have a representative group to speak up for them (in the media…

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Gallery: Over One Thousand Enjoy Music, Fun at Walk for Israel

The seventh annual celebration of Israeli independence at Temple Shir Shalom was marked by sunny skies and smiling faces.

The sound of the shofar being played, passing cars honking in approval, and over one thousand marching down Orchard Lake Road in West Bloomfield on Sunday could only indicate another year of Israeli independence being celebrated at Temple Shir Shalom.  A high temperature hovering around 70 degrees and sunny skies which eventually gave way to clouds welcomed a crowd of 1,100 to celebrate what congregants Janice Schwartz and Art Fishman called "the best Walk ever." "Last year's event was kind of rainy and cold, but this year we've come back in a big way," said Schwartz, the president of the reform temple's Sisterhood group. "I had a lot of fun meeting people and I'd say this was the best Walk ever, at least, the best that I'd been to." The …

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Weekend Countdown

Pro-Israel Rally Returns to West Bloomfield

The Walk for Israel at Temple Shir Shalom scheduled for Sunday celebrates Israel's 64th birthday.

West Bloomfield is scheduled to become a destination Sunday for flag-waving activists in support of Israel during the annual Walk for Israel event. Walk for Israel takes place to coincide with Israel's independence day, which was April 26 this year, and includes a Kosher lunch as well as a line of speakers and activities for children. “I love seeing people that come out to support Israel. It puts a smile on my face,” said Omer Oppenheim, a senior at Frankel Jewish Academy in West Bloomfield, at last year's event. “We’re going walking ... because Israel is a cause that is important to all of us.” The event, now in its seventh year since being reorganized by a group of volunteers, hearkens back to annual celebrations organized by the Metro…

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Pro-Israel Rally Attracts 100 Demonstrators to West Bloomfield Intersection

With a UN vote on Palestine expected Friday, Thursday's peaceful demonstration comes at a time of tension in the Middle East, organizers say.

As the United States made its voice heard on the Palestinian bid for membership in the United Nations this week, West Bloomfield residents did the same. About 100 people filled Orchard Lake Road about a quarter-mile southeast of Maple Road, waving flags, singing songs and holding signs in support of Israel on Thursday afternoon. The United Nations is to vote Friday on whether or not to allow international legal recognition of Palestine, according to The New York Times. Although rally organizers said Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' announcement last week that he would pursue a vote was the impetus for organizing Thursday's rally, it was a peaceful, pro-Israel undertaking as opposed to carrying an anti-Palestine tenor. West Bloomfield …

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Israel's 63rd Year of Independence Celebrated with Art, Food, Fun

About 500 people from throughout Metro Detroit braved the rain Sunday to come together to honor the 63rd anniversary of Israel as a modern nation-state.

The pouring rain couldn’t dampen the outpouring of support for Israel at the communitywide Walk for Israel, an Israel Independence Day Celebration held Sunday afternoon at Temple Shir Shalom in West Bloomfield. “I love seeing people that come out to support Israel. It puts a smile on my face,” said Omer Oppenheim, a senior at Frankel Jewish Academy in West Bloomfield, who was sitting with other students at a table for the Jewish National Fund (JNF). “We’re going walking in the rain because Israel is a cause that is important to all of us.” While temperatures in the low 40s and a steady downpour undoubtedly kept some away and made the huge tent erected alongside the reform temple at Walnut Lake and Orchard Lake Roads unusable, more than …

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