Comedian and actress Gilda Radner Image by Wikimedia Commons

Boisterous Brisket: The Oprah Winfrey Show named Lisa C’s brisket as one of America’s best sandwiches in 2008. Image by courtesy of Zingerman’s Delicatessen

1) 82,270 Jews live in Michigan.

2) Michigan’s first Jewish settler was Ezekiel Solomon. A fur trader, he operated a general store during the Revolutionary War.

Forwarding the News

Thoughtful, balanced reporting from the Forward and around the web, bringing you updated news and analysis each day.

Terms(Required)

I agree to the Forward's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy

Email(Required)

3) Montreal-born fur trader Chapman Abraham was Detroit’s first Jewish settler, arriving there in 1762.

4) Founded in 1885 in Traverse City, Congregation Beth El is Michigan’s oldest synagogue.

Comedian and actress Gilda Radner Image by Wikimedia Commons

5) Alderman Samuel Goldwater ran as the Democratic candidate for mayor of Detroit in 1895. He lost to the Republican candidate Hazen S. Pingree.

6) Edward Israel, son of the first Jewish settlers of Kalamazoo, died in 1881 at the age of 24 during the Lady Franklin Bay Polar Expedition.

7) Charles Lindbergh, one of the villains in Philip Roth’s “The Plot Against America” was born in Detroit in 1902.

8) Michigan Democratic U.S. Senator Senator Carl Levin was born in Detroit and attended Detroit Central High School.

9) Notorious insider trader Ivan Boesky, who was reputed to be the inspiration for the character of Gordon Gecko, played by Michael Douglas in “Wall Street,” attended the Cranbrook School in Bloomfield Hills and Mumford High School in Detroit.

10) Comedian and actress Gilda Radner was born in Detroit in 1946. Her father Herman ran the Seville Hotel.

11) In 2008, The Oprah Winfrey Show named Lisa C’s Boisterous Brisket as one of America’s best sandwiches.

12) Detroit Tigers’ manager Brad Ausmus coached the Israeli team in the World Baseball Classic.

A message from our CEO & publisher Rachel Fishman Feddersen

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.

The coming year promises to be filled with more complex and historic developments. We are entering an era where independent, fact-based Jewish journalism will be more important than ever. We need to be ready for whatever 2025 will bring, and with your help, we can be.

We’ve set a goal to raise $260,000 by December 31. That’s an ambitious goal, but one that will give us the resources we need to invest in the high quality news, opinion, analysis and cultural coverage that isn’t available anywhere else.

If you feel inspired to make an impact, now is the time to give something back. Join us as a member at your most generous level.

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

With your support, we’ll be ready for whatever 2025 brings.

$36 $500

$120 $180 Other amount