STANLEY DECLINES JNF AWARD
REMEMBERING ROTHSCHILD
First Baptist Church Atlanta Senior Pastor Charles Stanley wins praise from opponents by pulling out of the JNF breakfast to stop the conflict within the Jewish community. Page 13 Responses to the honor, Pages 12-14
Activist Marcia Rothschild, daughter of The Temple’s longtime spiritual leader, dies in a car crash. Page 21
Atlanta VOL. XC NO. 15
APRIL 24, 2015 | 5 IYAR, 5775
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Galambos Dies at 87
Holocaust Heroes In Spotlight
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he “founding mother” of Sandy Springs, Eva Galambos, died of cancer at age 87 Sunday, April 19, just two days after being honored with the Georgia Commission on the Holocaust’s Humanitarian Award. Galambos had been scheduled to accept the award during the commission’s annual Days of Remembrance observance at the state Capitol. The extent of her illness was revealed when commission Executive Director Sally Levine announced that Galambos couldn’t attend because she was in hospice care at home. Galambos for 30 years led the fight to incorporate Sandy Springs, and when the city finally was born Dec. 1, 2005, she was sworn in as the first mayor, a post she held for eight years. “This is a great loss for the city and a great loss personally,” her successor, Rusty Paul, said in a statement from the city. “Eva was truly our city mother.” Galambos and her family escaped Germany in the 1930s, moving to Italy before settling in Georgia. Her husband survived Bergen-Belsen. She was instrumental in finding a permanent home for the “Anne Frank in the World” exhibit in Sandy Springs. ■ Galambos Tribute, Page 20
1 STATE FOR NOW
Rabbi Arnold Goodman tells a group at Ahavath Achim that a two-state solution with the Palestinians is a long way off. Page 18
By Michael Jacobs mjacobs@atljewishtimes.com
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In Touch With Past, Future Photo by Michael Jacobs
The morning rain clears enough at the end of the community Yom HaShoah observance Sunday, April 19, for people to look for familiar names among the Holocaust victims on the family plaques inside the Memorial to the Six Million at Greenwood Cemetery. Hundreds of people, including dozens of survivors, attended the ceremony to mark the monument’s 50th anniversary. The community observance continued that day at the Breman Museum with keynote speaker Stuart Eizenstat. Full coverage, Pages 6-8 Photo by Michael Jacobs
THE RANT IS DUE
Comedian Lewis Black talks comedy, politics and Atlanta traffic with the AJT before his appearance at the Cobb Energy Centre May 1. Page 24
Calendar
INSIDE
2 Business
23
Candle Lighting
3 Arts
24
Local News
4 Simchas
28
Israel
9 Obituaries
29
Opinion 10 Crossword
30
Education 22 Marketplace
31
eorgia paid tribute to the heroes produced by the Holocaust at the annual Days of Remembrance observance Friday, April 17, at the Capitol. The climactic candle-lighting ceremony, featuring survivors and troops who liberated Nazi camps or visited them soon after, helped mark the 70th anniversary of liberation. “On the 70th anniversary of liberation, with the last witnesses in their twilight, the responsibility falls on all of us” to educate people about what happened, said Sally Levine, who heads the Georgia Commission on the Holocaust. Memory is not enough to prevent genocide, Levine said. “Never again” is a call to action, and to hear a witness is to become a witness. Rather than hear from the witnesses, the audience learned about their experiences from a mix of state representatives, consuls general, a police chief and Attorney General Sam Olens. Ambassador Opher Aviran, Israel’s consul general to the Southeast, received the Lifetime Achievement Award and expressed gratitude for the commission’s work to ensure remembrance and education as defenses against anti-Semitism, racism and other forms of persecution. “We are becoming increasingly removed from the era in which the horrors and atrocities of the Holocaust occurred,” Aviran said, so it’s easier for people to forget or ignore what happened. ■ Photos and more, Page 32
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CALENDAR Yom HaAtzmaut lunch. Paratrooper Yedidya Harush speaks at Jewish National Fund’s Ladies Who Lunch Israeli Independence Day event at 11:30 a.m. at Founders Hall, 1076 Canton St., Roswell. Register by April 17. The cost is $36; www.jnf.org/aboutjnf/events/2015/2nd-annual-yomhaatzmaut.html or 404-236-8990.
Jazz Man Native Atlantan and Epstein School grad Joe Alterman, who headlined the Jewish Educational Loan Fund benefit concert in January, is back in town for a show at 7 p.m. Sunday, April 26, at the Rialto Center for the Performing Arts, 80 Forsyth St., Atlanta. Alterman, a pianist who’s a rising star in the jazz world, is performing with 80-yearold saxophonist and mentor Houston Person and with longtime bassist James Cammack. The Hot Sardines, described as “wartime Paris via New Orleans or the other way around,” are opening for Alterman. Tickets range from $44.04 to $72.12; tickets.rialtocenter.org or 404-413-9849.
ONGOING
Yom HaAtzmaut barbecue. The community is invited to join Young Israel of Toco Hills for food, fun, Israeli music and flag dancing at 5 p.m. at Mason Mill Park, 1340 McConnell Drive, Decatur. Free (charge for food); www. yith.org or 404-315-1417.
APRIL 23
Film history. Bob Bahr teaches “Fitting In — A Short History of Jewish Film in America” each Tuesday at 10 a.m. for six weeks (started April 7) at Temple Sinai, 5645 Dupree Drive, Sandy Springs. Open to all; register at www. templesinaiatlanta.org. Temple Sinai and the Atlanta Jewish Film Festival are co-sponsors.
Yom HaAtzmaut breakfast. Paratrooper Yedidya Harush is the honoree at Jewish National Fund’s 12th annual Jack Hirsch Memorial Breakfast to celebrate Israeli Independence Day at 7:30 a.m. at The Temple, 1589 Peachtree St., Midtown. Free; www.jnf.org/aboutjnf/events/2015/12th-annual-jackhirsch.html or 404-236-8990.
Yom HaAtzmaut celebration. Celebrate Israel’s Independence Day with food, dancing, music, face painting, crafts and other activities at 5 p.m. at the Marcus Jewish Community Center, 5342 Tilly Mill Road, Dunwoody. Free; rabbi.glusman@atlantajcc.org or 678812-4161. Genocide remembrance. The Breman Museum, 1440 Spring St., Midtown, at 7 p.m. hosts the citywide observance of the centennial of the slaughter of 1.5 million Armenians by the Ottomans. Scheduled participants include Rabbi
David Spinrad of The Temple, the Rev. Charles Stanley of First Baptist Church Atlanta and the Rev. Creflo Dollar of World Changers Church International. Free; RSVP to RememberArmenianGenocide@gmail.com.
SUNDAY, APRIL 26
Autism walk. The Walk Now for Autism Speaks 1.5-mile walk starts with ceremonies at 9:15 a.m. at Atlantic Station, Pinnacle parking lot, 20th Street, Midtown. Free; raise at least $150 to get a T-shirt. Register in advance at www.walknowforautismspeaks.org or at 8 a.m. at the walk. Israel festival. Celebrate Israel’s 67th birthday with Jewish Atlanta’s community Yom HaAtzmaut party at 1 p.m. at the Davis Academy Upper School, 7901 Roberts Drive, Sandy Springs. Free; clevitan@jewishatlanta.org. To life. Jewish Family & Career Services and Greater Atlanta Hadassah’s Ketura Group hold Ketura’s fifth annual L’Chaim program, “Being Connected,” at 1:30 p.m. at JF&CS, 4549 Chamblee-Dunwoody Road, Dunwoody. The cost is $10; 678-441-0650 or sdalmat@gmail.com.
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won’t Nonverbal autism from stop Dalia Cheskes h becoming a bat mitzva at Beth Shalom. Page 4
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the Federation honors many individuals who make the community ve. inclusi more Page 8
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to Atlanta to g Jewish teens come Nearly 3,500 leadin d. communal paths forwar chart personal and Page 18-25
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GoldHonest Tea CEO Seth e of man brings a messag corporations as change ss busine Emory to agents students. Page 3
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simAnti-Semitism isn’t ple, which means there ns to are no simple solutio Eurothe problems facing pean Jews. Page 7
Diamant To Help Launch Community Mikvah
By Suzi Brozman om sbrozman@atljewishtimes.c known as the nita Diamant, best Tent,” is comauthor of “The Red two public ing to Atlanta to make appearances this month. Boston Girl,” “The book, Her latest her visit Feb. 23 to the will be the focus of ity Center. But Marcus Jewish Commun will help local orgathe night before she a new project, an allnizers plunge into at Congregation denominations mikvah Springs. B’nai Torah in Sandy n of reimaginDiamant’s discussio age will be free ing ritual for the modern at The Temple in and open to the public the Metro Atlanta Midtown to launch (MACoM) into the Community Mikvah Atlanta. Jewish of consciousness ent nonprofit MACoM is an independ construction of the that plans to start in May and finish community mikvah . The project will before the High Holidays of the existing faciliinvolve a renovation has the support of ties at B’nai Torah and synagogues and other more than a dozen organizations. diverse supMACoM’s board reflects rabbis and repreport, including three Conservative and sentatives of Reform, Judaism. Orthodox streams of the model Diamant helped establish al community for a nondenomination 10 years at Boston’s Education 27 mikvah the past Waters). Mayyim Hayyim (Living Obituaries 28 to the idea of a “People responded ng and beautiful, Simchas 29 place that was welcomi to s and sad, a way for happy occasion Sports 29 ” Diamant said. mark life’s changes, thoughts on the Crossword 30 See more about her Page 6. ■ modern mikvah on Marketplace 31
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CALENDAR CANDLE-LIGHTING TIMES
Parshah Tazria-Metzora Friday, April 24, light candles at 7:57 p.m. Saturday, April 25, Shabbat ends at 8:55 p.m. Parshah Acharei-Kedoshim Friday, May 1, light candles at 8:03 p.m. Saturday, May 2, Shabbat ends at 9:02 p.m.
Artful celebration. Weber School students perform musical theater selections from Broadway for the first two days of Artfully Yours at 5 p.m. today and 7 p.m. Monday, April 27, at the Marcus Jewish Community Center, 5342 Tilly Mill Road, Dunwoody. Students 18 and under are free. General admission is $18, while VIP admission is $118; www.weberschool.org. High school play. Atlanta Jewish Academy’s Upper School presents “The Third Wave,” about an out-of-control high school experiment in fascism, at 6:30 p.m. today and Monday, April 27, at AJA, 5200 Northland Drive, Sandy Springs. Tickets are $15 in advance, $18 at the door; www.atljewishacademy. org.
FRIDAY-SUNDAY, MAY 1-3
Scholar in residence. Rabbi Shmuel Lew visits Chabad of Cobb. Events include dinner with a discussion of his adventure in Greenland at 7:30 p.m. Friday ($24 for adults, $14 for ages 7 to 12, $8 for ages 3 to 6 until April 27, then $5 more each); a lunch discussion on “Realizing Our Potential” at 12:30 p.m. Saturday (free); and a discussion of Chabad teachings on happiness at 10 a.m. Sunday ($12). Register at www. cobbjewishacademy.org, or call 770565-4412.
SUNDAY, MAY 3
Kosher Day at Turner Field. Take in a Braves game against the Cincinnati Reds at 1:35 p.m. and enjoy a variety of kosher food available for purchase. For more information, call the Atlanta Kashruth Commission, 404-634-4063.
TUESDAY, APRIL 28
Student awards. Greater Atlanta Hadassah presents the 24th annual Marian F. Perling Hadassah Chesed Student Awards to seventh- to 12thgraders at 2 p.m. at Congregation Beth Shalom, Free; atlanta@hadassah.org or 678-443-2961.
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 29
Golf for a cause. Atlanta Jewish Academy holds its Jerry Siegel Legacy Golf Tournament at the Dunwoody Country Club, 1600 Dunwoody Club Drive, and honors Jerry Siegel’s sons, Michael and Andy. Entry is $350; www. atljewishacademy.org.
Fine arts showcase. Weber School students display visual, literary and scientific works of art, along with dance, drama and music performances, at 7 p.m. at the school, 6751 Roswell Road, Sandy Springs. Free; www. weberschool.org.
His mother’s story. Michael Epstein presents “From Leipzig to Leeds: My Mother’s Holocaust Journey,” a presentation he delivered to high school students in Leipzig, Germany, to a general meeting of the Mount Scopus Group of Greater Atlanta Hadassah at 7:15 p.m. at the Central DeKalb Senior Center, 1346 McConnell Drive, Decatur. Contact Edie Barr, embarr1@bellsouth. net or 404-325-0340.
THURSDAY, APRIL 30
Breman benefit. The Wildest Party of the Year starts at 7 p.m. at the Hyatt at Villa Christina, 4000 Summit Blvd., Brookhaven. Tickets are $150 ($100 if you’re 36 or younger); thebreman.org/ Events/Wildest-Party.
MONDAY, MAY 4
AJC dinner. The American Jewish Committee’s Atlanta Chapter honors Eliot Arnovitz with its Selig Distinguished Service Award at 6 p.m. at the Ritz-Carlton, Buckhead, 3434 Peachtree St. Tickets are $180; www. ajcatlanta.org or 404-233-5501.
WEDNESDAY, MAY 6
Tradition! Explore “Judaism Decoded: The Origins and Evolution of Jewish Tradition” weekly through June 10 at 7:30 p.m. at Chabad of Cobb. Fee of $89 includes the textbook; www.myjli.com.
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Spa evening. Jewish women are invited to a Spa for the Soul, including spa activities and a guest speaker, at 5:30 p.m. at Chabad of Cobb, 4450 Lower Roswell Road, East Cobb. Admission is $36; www.chabadofcobb.com or 770-565-4412.
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Ambassador: Hezbollah Biggest Threat to Israel
Iran should worry United States more, Ginsberg tells Beth Shalom audience By Benjamin Kweskin
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he greatest existential threat to Israel is not Iran but Hezbollah, the Lebanese terrorist group largely financed by Iran, Ambassador Marc Ginsberg told an audience at Congregation Beth Shalom on Thursday, April 16. Like Iran, Hezbollah is seeking nuclear weapons, Ginsberg said, and unlike Iran, Hezbollah is sitting right on Israel’s border. He said Hezbollah’s military capacity, with 100,000 rockets, serves as a major deterrent to any Israeli military action to eliminate or slow down Iran’s nuclear program. Iran, with its “suffocating Shi’ite belt” expanding through the Middle East, is a bigger threat to the United States than to Israel, Ginsberg said. Ginsberg spoke as an expert on the region at a Yom HaShoah program cosponsored by Beth Shalom and Friends of the Israel Defense Forces. From 1994 to 1998, he was the U.S. ambassador to the kingdom of Morocco, making him the first Jewish ambassador to any Arab country. Ginsberg was born in Brooklyn, N.Y., spent some formative years in Israel, Egypt, Jordan and Lebanon, and is fluent in Arabic, English, French and Hebrew. He has advised presidents and presidential candidates, including Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton and Al Gore, and has more than 30 years of commercial, legal and governmental affairs experience. He is a political analyst for several major media outlets and has written for The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal and Foreign Policy. He has personal reasons to see Hezbollah as the biggest threat to Israel. His brother was killed in Israel’s 2006 war against Hezbollah in Lebanon, and his mother’s home in Kibbutz Misgav Am was destroyed. He also proudly said his nephews are all accomplished IDF soldiers. Ginsberg did not dismiss the Iranian nuclear threat. He said Iran hates Israel for three main reasons: for being an agent of the United States; for having been allied with the shah until his ouster in 1979; and for being on the wrong side of a theological divide.
As for the Palestinians and the threat of Hamas in the Gaza Strip, Ginsberg said Israel faces fallout if its security agreements with the Palestinian Authority unravel, and Israel could be forced to intervene in what are now Palestinian-controlled areas of the West Bank. He also said the recent decision by the International Criminal Court to accept Palestine as a member state will cause political and diplomatic strains that could be felt on the ground. Those strains have implications for the IDF and thus for FIDF, whose executive director in the Southeast, Seth Baron, is a friend of Ginsberg’s and introduced him at the event. Garry Sobel, the chairman of FIDF Southeast, said the organization was founded by Holocaust survivors and supports Israeli soldiers by offering scholarships and providing nonmilitary resources to army bases throughout Israel. FIDF also assists hundreds of families of fallen and wounded soldiers from the war in the Gaza Strip and supports lone soldiers, the thousands of volunteer soldiers from dozens of countries who travel to Israel without their families to serve in the IDF, including 30 now serving from the Atlanta metro area. Three lone soldiers attended the program. Beth Shalom Rabbi Mark Zimmerman tied the program to Yom Ha Shoah, which he said was purposefully placed on the calendar in proximity to Passover. It also coincides with the start of the Warsaw Ghetto uprising in 1943. Rabbi Zimmerman said Jews have a special obligation to stand up for justice, and he offered a stirring prayer for the 6 million Jews slain in the Holocaust. Ginsberg said that after Hezbollah and Iran, the biggest threat to the Jewish people 70 years after the Holocaust is faced on college and university campuses, which he said are inundated with left-wing, radical professors and organizations that are anti-Israel and demonize the Jewish state. He urged the audience: “Speak with one voice on Israel, regardless of your political opinions.” ■
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LOCAL NEWS Atlanta
74-year-old building up to city code. The decision to shut down avoided a hearing in Municipal Court, set for April 18, but enraged Jewish students and members of a traditional congregation that held services there.
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Contributors This Week DAVID BENKOF SUZI BROZMAN JORDAN GORFINKEL LEAH HARRISON MARCIA JAFFE JERI KAGEL BENJAMIN KWESKIN KEVIN MADIGAN LOGAN C. RITCHIE DAVE SCHECHTER SHAINDLE SCHMUCKLER JOE STERLING ROB WERNER
10 Years Ago April 22, 2005
■ One of the Jewish Federation of Greater Atlanta’s top legislative priorities, state funding for the Naturally Occurring Retirement Community project, was a winner in the recently completed Georgia General Assembly session, the first in 130 years to feature Republican majorities in the House and Senate. The NORC program, operating in Toco Hills and East Point, received $250,000.
■ The bat mitzvah of Jill Megan Shovers of Atlanta, daughter of Carole and Andy Shovers, will take place Saturday, April 28, at B’nai Torah Synagogue. 50 Years Ago April 23, 1965
25 Years Ago April 20, 1990
■ Residents of the Jewish Home got an extra lesson in why the night of the second Passover seder was different from all other nights: A grease fire broke out in the meat kitchen, forcing the 57 residents and a number of holiday guests to evacuate after the soup course at the seder. The fire caused up to $10,000 in damage, but no one was hurt. The residents were able to finish the seder.
■ University of Georgia Hillel is homeless after the Georgia State B’nai B’rith Association shut down the Athens Hillel House rather than make $375,000 in repairs to bring the
■ Mr. and Mrs. Maurice Rich of Atlanta announce the bar mitzvah of son Freddy Steven Rich on Saturday, May 1, at Ahavath Achim Synagogue.
■ Jonathan and Kimberly Swartz of Buckhead announce the birth of daughter Madeline Brown on Dec. 31, 2004.
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Yom HaShoah Celebrates Survivors Memorial gathering looks to secure Jewish future By Michael Jacobs mjacobs@atljewishtimes.com
APRIL 24 ▪ 2015
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he annual Yom HaShoah observance at Greenwood Cemetery on Sunday, April 19, remembered not only the Holocaust and its victims, but also the survivors who came together 50 years ago to the build the Memorial to the Six Million in the southwest Atlanta cemetery’s Jewish section. Rain fell throughout the ceremony and forced people to crowd under tents or deploy umbrellas but did not stop the community from turning out in large numbers on the 72nd anniversary of the start of the Warsaw Ghetto uprising. “From the bottom of my heart, take my thanks for being here,” said Hershel Greenblat, the vice chairman of the Yom HaShoah planning committee. Coming 70 years after the liberation of the death camps, the gathering was a celebration of those who survived to make new lives in Atlanta in a continuing victory over the Nazis. “We owe you the deepest debt of gratitude,” keynote speaker Stuart Eizenstat said to the dozens of survivors
in attendance. “You are our connection to our rich Jewish heritage in Europe.” Jeannette Pichulik Zukor, who chaired the planning committee, explained that the survivors called themselves griners, or greenhorns, in contrast to the established Jewish community in Atlanta. Having lost their families in Europe, they became one another’s extended family. They spent holidays together and shared one another’s simchas, always with plenty of food and schnapps. “They lived the American dream,” she said, but they never ceased to be greenhorns. They got together in September 1964 to form Hemshech so they could build a memorial to their lost loved ones where they could say Kaddish, recalled Karen Lansky Edlin, whose mother, Lola Lansky, was one of the leaders in that effort. The survivors were largely on their own. They raised the $8,500 so that survivor Abe Besser could build the design of survivor Ben Hirsch. The Southern Israelite, the predecessor to the Atlanta Jewish Times, opposed the creation of a stone monument, as did many in the community. The Atlanta Jewish Federation didn’t
help Hemshech and didn’t join in the annual commemoration at the memorial until the 1970s. For 50 years, the survivors and their children and grandchildren have gathered at the memorial to mourn and remember, but Edlin said the Memorial to the Six Million also has become a memorial to the many survivors who have died the past seven decades. “The memorial is now a memorial to everyone.” Edlin made a special presentation to Hirsch as the architect of the memorial, which is the second-oldest Holocaust monument in the United States and is on the National Register of Historic Places. Hirsch also led the chanting of Kaddish. While the official purpose of Yom HaShoah is remembrance, much of the ceremony focused on the future. Edlin said remembrance is essential to ensure the existence of the Jewish people and all of mankind. She and other children of survivors, such as Enoch Goodfriend, who sang “The Partisan Hymn” in memory of his father, Cantor Isaac Goodfriend, played important roles in the planning and execution of the ceremony. Grandchildren and great-grandchildren of
survivors carried yellow flowers into the memorial. Grady High School senior Jack Arnold and Lakeside High School senior Hillary Sklar from Congregation Shearith Israel placed a special 50thanniversary floral yellow star. The Davis Academy chorus and the Epstein School band provided music. In a change to mark the 50th anniversary, every survivor at the ceremony lighted a memorial candle, assisted by high school students from the Jewish Student Union and J-Serve, who brought the candles into the monument. The survivors will be gone in 50 years when the community celebrates the memorial’s centennial, Zukor said, but “hopefully you will continue the tradition to gather here.” The multigenerational involvement represented what Federation Chairman Howard Feinsand described as the balance required by Yom HaShoah between memory and action. “Remembering the past will not matter if we do not move forward,” including standing up to rising antiSemitism, he said. Eizenstat, in remarks that served as a preview of his longer speech that
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LOCAL NEWS
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A: An honor guard stands watch by the Israeli and American flags in front of the memorial while Liliane Kshensky Baxter leads a responsive reading. B: Hillary Sklar and Jack Arnold place the 50th-anniversary floral yellow star amid steady rain at the start of the ceremony. C: Karen Lansky Edlin arranges some of the flowers within the memorial. D: The six torches in the memorial are lighted during the ceremony. E: Candles, flowers and stones remain on the memorial after the ceremony. F: Architect and survivor Ben Hirsch, who designed the memorial, visits his family’s plaques after the ceremony. G: The Davis Academy Magical Melodies sing under the direction of Michelle Cygielman. H: Mayah and Talia Loventhal, great-granddaughters of survivors Moshe and Dora Moran, carry flowers into the memorial. I: Members of the Air Force place memorial stones inside the Memorial to the Six Million after the ceremony.
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afternoon at the Breman Museum, explained some of the challenges requiring action from the world’s 13.5 million Jews — still fewer than the 17 million who lived in 1939. He said it is unacceptable that so many of the 500,000 remaining survivors live in or near poverty, including 35 percent of those in Israel and 25 percent of those in the United States. He decried the fact that only eight states require Holocaust education in their school systems. He said the rise of antiSemitism in Europe, from Hungary to France, is astounding, undeniable and almost unimaginable for people living in the safety of the United States. America itself has two very different Jewish worlds, Eizenstat said. Half of the 6.5 million U.S. Jews are engaged in vibrant Jewish lives, but the other half are assimilating to the point that they are disappearing. But he closed on an optimistic note: From the Assyrians and Babylonians to the Nazis and Soviets, every empire that tried to destroy the Jews has disappeared into the dustbin of history. “They don’t exist; we do,” Eizenstat said. “We have survived, albeit in small numbers. There’s reason to believe we will continue to survive.” ■
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APRIL 24 ▪ 2015
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www.atlantajewishtimes.com
LOCAL NEWS
Yankees Who Build Instead of Burn Atlanta
From April 11 to 18, a tikkun olam youth mission from Temple Israel of Westport, Conn., visited Atlanta. While the dozen teens were in town, they volunteered with Rebuilding Together Atlanta, an organization that provides critical renovations and modifications to the homes of low-income residents. ■
Keep Kosher With Braves May 3 at Turner Field By David R. Cohen david@atljewishtimes.com
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aseball fans longing for a kosher hot dog at Turner Field will have their chance with the return of Kosher Day on May 3. During the Atlanta Braves’ game against the Cincinnati Reds that Sunday afternoon, kosher food items including hot dogs, chips and cookies will be available from Goodfriend’s Grill on the club patio of the ballpark. The Atlanta Kashruth Commission will certify all food items. You can buy discounted food vouchers in advance from the AKC, along with game tickets. A prepaid voucher for a hot dog, chips and a cookie is $6. Because it’s a Sunday, children will be allowed to run the bases after the game. “One of the really nice things about this event is that it’s communitywide,” said the AKC’s director of supervision, Rabbi Reuven Stein. “It draws a very interesting mix from the Jewish community. It will draw people from the Orthodox, Conservative and Reform communities. It’s just a fun kind of event that attracts a lot of sports fans.”
Kosher Day is a tradition that Jewish fans started more than 10 years to enjoy kosher food while watching the Braves. All profits traditionally go to youth organizations. To prepare for the event, members of the AKC go to the park a few days early and use blowtorches to kasher hot boxes used to store food. Other items necessary for food prep are brought into the stadium. The Braves’ Cobb County stadium, SunTrust Park, set to open in 2017, raises the possibility of a dedicated kosher concession stand similar to what Yankee Stadium, Fenway Park and Marlins Park offer. “There’s always been talk about getting a seasonwide kosher stand,” Rabbi Stein said. “Now it’s being talked about even more with the new stadium opening up. “The challenge is that a kosher stand would be closed on Saturday games, and people that run the concessions really don’t like to have a stand that’s closed once a week.” Even without a kosher stand at SunTrust Park, fans will have Kosher Day to look forward to. Rabbi Stein said the AKC plans to continue the event for the foreseeable future. ■
Eizenstat: We Haven’t Done Our Part
APRIL 24 ▪ 2015
By David R. Cohen david@atljewishtimes.com
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The United States is not doing enough to educate future generations about the Holocaust or to take care of the remaining survivors, Ambassador Stuart Eizenstat said April 19 at the Breman Jewish Heritage Museum. “We have an urgent responsibility to educate future generations on the Holocaust when there are no more survivors to testify,” he said. About 500,000 survivors remain, but even the youngest of them are in their 70s. More than 200 people gathered to hear Eizenstat, who grew up in Morningside and attended Ahavath Achim Synagogue before moving to Washington with the Carter administration, talk about issues facing the world’s estimated 13.5 million Jews, including insufficient Holocaust education in the United States, European anti-Semitism, intermarriage and Iran’s nuclear program.
Germany has paid “Education is $60 billion to recovkey,” Eizenstat said, eries and pensions noting that Holofor survivors.” caust education is The Sunday afmandatory in Gerternoon event at the many but in only Breman was part eight U.S. states. of the community Georgia is one of observance of Yom them. HaShoah and the He complained 70th anniversary of that 25 percent of all the liberation of the Holocaust survivors death camps and the in the United States end of World War live in or near poverII. Eizenstat spoke ty, including nearly earlier in the day 30,000 of the 60,000 at the Greenwood who live in the New Photo by David R. Cohen York area. “We must Stuart Eizenstat seeks more attention to Cemetery ceremony do everything pos- the Jewish problems of today and tomorrow. marking the 50th anniversary of the sible so that those Memorial to the Six who survived can Million, which was unveiled April 25, live out their days in dignity,” he said. Eizenstat outlined the lengths 1965. Eizenstat also addressed rising that Germany has gone to in providing reparations. “The German government anti-Semitism in Europe, where he was has done its part,” he said. “Since 1952, the ambassador to the European Union
under President Bill Clinton. “Until very recently,” he said, “I was not one who thought that I would see modernday anti-Semitism rise again in Europe. It’s now painfully clear that there is in fact a rise.” A report from Tel Aviv University on April 15 found a 40 percent increase in anti-Semitic incidents worldwide in 2014 from the previous year, with most of the trouble in Western Europe. The last subject Eizenstat covered was perhaps the most troubling. He asked how we as Jews can ensure our continuity when so many Jewish millennials disengage from Jewish life and faith. He pointed out that in the 2013 Pew Research Center’s Religion & Public Life Survey, only 68 percent of Jewish millennials identified as Jewish. But just as he had during his shorter speech at Greenwood Cemetery that day, Eizenstat finished on an optimistic note. “We have survived,” he said. “We are here, and we are going to stay.” ■
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ISRAEL
Israel Pride: Good News From Our Jewish Home
Cancer detection. In a study of 484 people, including 99 with stomach cancer, the NaNose breath detector gave an 80 percent accurate diagnosis, matching far more expensive, slower and more invasive alternative diagnosis methods. NaNose, developed by the Technion’s Dr. Hossam Haick in Haifa, also detected precancerous growths that needed attention. Pregnancy rejuvenates. Medical researchers at Hadassah Medical School in Jerusalem who studied the effects of liver transplants in mice found that in 96 percent of older, pregnant rodents, the liver regenerated within two days, compared with 82 percent of young nonpregnant mice and 46 percent of older, nonpregnant ones. Lawn bowling for the blind. The allvolunteer Israel Lawn Bowls Association for the Blind coaches 50 adults with visual disabilities at clubs in Ra’anana, Kiryat Ono, Haifa and Jerusalem. Israeli blind and partially sighted bowlers recently won two gold and three bronze medals at the 2015 International Bowls for the Disabled World Championships in New Zealand. Solving Brazil’s water crisis. A delegation of 13 Israeli water companies visited Brazil to help the country overcome its worst-ever water crisis. The Israelis offered long-term solutions involving new technology and recommended
quick fixes using water conservation to maximize existing resources. Solar power for Burundi. Gigawatt Global, led by Israel’s Yosef Abramowitz, is building a 7.5-megawatt solar power plant for 60,000 households in the African nation of Burundi. Gigawatt Global has a research-and-development center in Jerusalem and was nominated for the 2015 Nobel Peace Prize for its solar field at Agahozo Shalom Youth Village in Rwanda. Israeli grapes available all year. Researchers in the south of Israel have used special pruning techniques and plastic sheeting to cover the vineyards and persuade an existing variety of seedless grape, Early Sweet, to ripen during the winter months. That innovation will enable Israeli farmers to harvest grapes throughout the year. Long-lasting flowers. Mishmar Hashiva’s Danziger Innovations and the Hebrew University’s Yissum tech-transfer company have developed a patented technology called MemoGene, which, together with a DNA editing platform developed by Precision Biosciences in North Carolina, extends the shelf life of popular flowers.
in the United States with the purchase of rival Sunstorm Games. The purchase will add 5 million users to the 40 million active users of TabTable’s apps. Packer buys home in Israel. James Packer, the fourth-richest man in Australia, has bought a luxury home in Caesarea. The media mogul also met with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and is apparently looking to invest in Israel. Alcohol-free music club for Jerusalem. On Monday, April 27, Blaze Sports and Rock Bar at 23 Hillel street will host a
benefit for Sobar, Jerusalem’s first alcohol-free and cigarette-free music bar for teens and young adults. The smallest Bible in the world. To mark the Israel Museum’s 50th anniversary, the Shrine of the Book is displaying a gilt nano chip the size of a sugar grain on which the entire Bible is inscribed. The Bible was produced at Haifa’s Technion Institute. The text needs to be magnified 10,000 times to be legible. Compiled courtesy of verygoodnewsisrael. blogspot.com and other news sources.
JNF Photo of the Week
Homeland Before the War Jewish National Fund helped establish communities such as Kfar Vitkin in 1930. By 1939, despite the severe restrictions imposed on Jewish immigration by the British Mandate authorities, 450,000 Jews were in Palestine, 10 percent of whom lived on JNF land. For more information, visit www.jnf.org.
A flexible screen that rolls up. Tel Aviv University scientists have developed a single-layer, organic material that emits a full range of colors. It can connect to a microprocessor or video chip to display images in the same manner as rigid LCD and LED screens. Soon you could watch films on a big screen that you could roll up to go. Game company is growing up. Israeli children’s game publisher TabTable has made its fourth acquisition and its first
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APRIL 24 ▪ 2015
New tests for cancer. Rehovot’s Rosetta Genomics has received a U.S. patent for its microRNA-based test for the primary tumor type in primary and metastatic (secondary) cancer. By identifying the origin of the tumor, physicians can select the best treatment options for the patient.
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www.atlantajewishtimes.com
OPINION
Our View
Our Apology
A
APRIL 24 ▪ 2015
pril 19 marked a special if soggy occasion in the history of Jewish Atlanta: the 50th anniversary of the Memorial to the Six Million at Greenwood Cemetery. The memorial stands as a monument to the perseverance of the Jewish people in general and Holocaust survivors in particular. Launching the project in September 1964 and breaking ground in early 1965, the survivor organization Hemshech had the memorial ready for Yom HaShoah in April 1965. The survivors typically arrived with nothing, sometimes without family or friends. Yet they raised all the money needed for the memorial ($8,500 in the end). One of their own, Ben Hirsch, created the design, brilliant enough to win a national award in 1968 and to gain National Register of Historic Places status in 2008. Another survivor, Abe Besser, built the precise stone structure with its narrowing entrances, walls of different heights and six towering torches. Hemshech could have stuck with the original, cheaper plan to erect a tombstone monument to meet the survivors’ primary need: a place to say Kaddish. But with Hirsch’s plan and the vision of leaders such as Dr. Leon Rozen and Lola Lansky, the group gave us a powerful interactive experience that should endure as long as Jews are here to care. What makes this gift more remarkable is that a large portion of the community didn’t want it. “We cannot give our support to any monument at all,” Southern Israelite Publisher Adolph Rosenberg wrote Nov. 13, 1954, “if the monument is to take the form of a pile of stones.” Rosenberg’s argument, echoed in letters to the editor, was that the survivors themselves, by thriving and living Jewishly, were the true memorial to the 6 million. That sentiment offers a lot of truth: Nothing shows our ultimate victory over Hitler more than our survival as a vibrant people. But the argument rests on a false dichotomy. Survivors did not have a choice between the memorial and full participation in Jewish life. They did not have to cut off other giving to fund the memorial. To the contrary, we could argue that having a place to mourn helped the survivors thrive and contribute to the community. Just look at the Besser Holocaust Memorial Garden and the Besser Gymnastics Pavilion at the Marcus Jewish Community Center or the Hirsch-designed Camp Barney Medintz chapel and Breman Museum Holocaust exhibit as examples. Hirsch says Rosenberg’s hostility toward the memorial reflected more than a philosophical difference on honoring the slain. Rosenberg wanted the survivors to leave Europe behind and become Americans. He wanted them to forget so they could move ahead. Our purpose is not to criticize Rosenberg, an outstanding newspaperman committed to the Jewish community. But with the benefit of a half-century of hindsight, we can say he and those who agreed with him were wrong. We are grateful to the survivors who gave all of us a place we can remember the Holocaust any time, in a group or in solitude, now and forever. And we are sorry if this newspaper’s opposition caused pain or distress to the people who most 10 deserved lives of tranquility. ■
AJT
Treating a Parasite Called Carter
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layers of nuance and difficult disputes over borders immy Carter is getting the Barack Obama treatand religious rights and natural resources and trade ment from the Israeli government. and missiles and history and birthrates and birthCarter reportedly is planning to turn up in rights and who took what from whom when, but Israel around the end of April to do what the former it’s really simple: Israel just gives back what it took/ president does — make a show of going to Gaza conquered/stole/colonized. and the West Bank, meet with the “democratically That view contains elected” Hamas leadership, a world of anti-Semitic look for every opportunity undertones (those sneaky to criticize and embarrass Editor’s Notebook shyster Jews), ignores Israel, and declare that the what Palestinians say (“the only obstacle to peace in By Michael Jacobs occupation” started with the entire Middle East is mjacobs@atljewishtimes.com the War of Independence, Israel’s refusal to abandon not the Six-Day War, and every inch of land cap“justice for Palestine” tured since 1949 — and means the end of Zionism, the “simple solution” so Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President many of Israel’s foes still have in mind) and involves Reuven Rivlin are refusing to meet with him. an workable diplomatic imbalance (Israel takes It’s tempting to see the decision as payback for concrete actions while the Palestinians offer words Obama’s refusal to see Netanyahu when he visited of assurance; even the fatally flawed Iranian nuclear Washington in March to speak to Congress about framework requires Iran to do things). Iran’s nuclear program. But I’d like to think Israel Let’s just say Carter has nothing new to offer the would just say no to Carter even amid the warmest Middle East. of relations with the United States. The emptiness of his ideas for peace and his reI long ago tired of detailing all the ways Carter lentless drumbeat of anti-Israel statements provide is wrong about Israel, but I do admire his determiall the justification Israeli leaders need to refuse the nation to prove that you can’t teach an old dog new protocol of meeting with an ex-president in the best tricks. Since being the wrong man in the right place of times. But the timing of Carter’s visit is horrible, in 1978 for the Camp David Accords between Israel and he knows it. and Egypt, he has claimed that blissful peace in our Netanyahu still hasn’t formed a ruling coalitime was just a few more Israeli land withdrawals tion. Carter plans to arrive roughly a week before the away, and nothing from Tehran to Tripoli the past deadline to do so. Why should the prime minister four decades has changed his mind. take an hour or two out of the crucial governmentHe offered the familiar formula for peace in building process to let a man who hasn’t held elected January on “The Daily Show”: Israel just gives back office in 34 years chastise him and gloat to the media the West Bank, Jerusalem and Gaza (in Palestinian about it? control since 2005, by the way); the Palestinians It seems Carter will never go away, but his only promise to play nice; and we all live happily ever power is that of a parasite. He feeds on the attention after. he gets and the irritation he causes. Respond to him, It’s the favorite tune of what could be called the meet with him, treat him as if he’s important, and he Simple School of Middle East Diplomacy. The idea grows in annoyance. Ignore him and he’s harmless. is that Israel is tricking the world into thinking the Good choice, Israel. ■ Israeli-Palestinian (and, by extension, Israeli-Arab and Jewish-Muslim) conflict is complicated with
OPINION
When Turning 50 Stops Being a Joke
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y friends and I have been turning 50 the past couple of years. We have all been kidding each other about all the new aches and pains and not feeling as young and vibrant as we did in our 20s (go figure) — back pain, less endurance, teeth issues, can’t eat everything we used to, allergies, gray hair, knees just not working like they used to and more. If you are over 50, you know what I am talking about. It’s time to start eating more healthfully and exercising. We laugh at how much we understand our parents’ aches and pains. Then the laughing stopped. Four weeks ago my best friend told me he had a cancerous tumor nestled in his back. A slap in the face, a rude awakening, a real wake-up call.
kind of cancer he had. Different doctors were recommending slightly different treatment paths. You never know how chemotherapy will affect you until treatment begins. The exact outcome of each step of a treatment plan is unknown until you get there.
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A life-changing event to which I could only humbly offer support. Luckily it was detected early, but I know he would say there is nothing lucky about it. The tumor was detected by a CT scan of his spine — he has chronic back pain that seemed to get worse as he got older. Four weeks have taught him, me and our friends a few things. The most important is recognition that in times like this, you are your own best advocate. All of his doctors care, but no one has your best interest in mind 24/7 except you. In today’s age of information, research becomes a fulltime occupation as well as your best friend. Diagnosis, prognosis, protocols, physicians, specialty clinics, new treatments, every facet of this specific disease can be studied, learned and used to create the optimal treatment plan for you and your body. Another thing that I have witnessed is that the unknown is the hardest aspect to control. For several weeks, he did not know exactly what
AFTER
with him when he shaved his head before chemotherapy began. We had to race because his Type A personality didn’t give us much notice as to when and where he was getting his haircut. He told me that maintaining control of the process is better than waking up each morning with hair on your pillow. He knew that one of us was going to join him in the barber’s chair; he did not know it was a team effort. It was nice to laugh with him before he started chemo the next day. That was the most we could offer that Sunday. I know that on Monday, any one of us would have sat in for him if it could have helped. Over the past week I find myself running my fingers over my buzz cut several dozen times a day. Each time I do, I think of Evan. Support is easy compared with his job. Evan, I want to leave you with this thought: You are going to beat this! To Beth and Evan, Joe, Bruce and I want to leave you with one other thought: We love you. ■
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APRIL 24 ▪ 2015
BEFORE
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OPINION
Gay and Committed to JNF
I
APRIL 24 ▪ 2015
am writing today about the situation brewing in Atlanta regarding JNF Atlanta’s decision to honor Dr. Charles Stanley with the Tree of Life Award. From what I have read and heard, there is a sandstorm that has been blown out of proportion. Emotions are running high, which is affecting the ability of those involved to step back and look at the larger picture. For the record, I feel I can offer a unique perspective on the subject as a both a JNF regional president and a married gay man. We live in a complicated world. In my life I have been marginalized as a Jew and a gay man. My husband and I were married under a chuppah by a Conservative rabbi over a decade ago. At that time the movement had not officially condoned same-sex marriage. A welcoming rabbi who respected us ordained our commitment to each other and our desire to build a strong Jewish home. Even finding an appropriate ketubah was a challenge. Our road to freedom and equal rights has not been without setbacks, compromise and disagreements. We have often supported leaders (political and spiritual) with whom we were not 100% in sync, yet we worked to achieve our goals. At the time we stood under the chuppah, the state of Vermont offered us only the civil union certificate. We believed we deserved full marriage equality, but we were forced to accept the lesser option. It was in the moment standing under the chuppah, hearing the hazzan adjust the Sheva Brachot to masculine and masculine, that we understood the importance of the full marriage equality we were denied. It pains me to hear the discourse coming out of Atlanta. Trust me when I say I fully understand the issues at hand, the levels of emotion and the debate. However, I have learned to find balance in an imperfect world. I have learned through my years of activism working for LGBT rights and equality, the homeless, and our people that we do not achieve all of our goals overnight and that sometimes we need to compromise as we forge our way up the mountain. JNF is an amazing organization that is doing the most incredible work for Israel. As a Jew, as a Zionist and as a gay man, I love JNF and our accom12 plishments for Israel and the Jewish
AJT
people. I especially love that I live as an openly gay man who is embraced by JNF and am given the opportunity to lead a region as the JNF regional president. At a time of unprecedented antiSemitism and anti-Israel rhetoric in the world and in America, we need all the friends we can get. Sometimes
Guest Column By Ron Werner
we say the enemy of my enemy is my friend, and other times we say that the friend of my friend is my friend. JNF Atlanta made a decision to recognize a man for his support of Israel — nothing more and nothing less. I was not part of the process and cannot weigh in on it. All I can say is that it pains me to see the baby thrown out with the bath water as I think of the potential damage to a great organization and to Israel that is occurring in Atlanta. JNF’s decision was based solely on Dr. Stanley’s and his congregation’s longtime and continuous support for Israel. JNF merely followed the lead set forth by the Atlanta Jewish community, which came out in force to Dr. Stanley’s church just two years ago in salute of Israel. Present with the Jewish Federation were Israel’s consul general to the Southeast, Opher Aviran, and many local rabbis, including Rabbi Neal Sandler of Ahavath Achim Synagogue. In the weeks since JNF’s event was announced, I have become pained by the hurtful comments coming from the Atlanta community. I believe that we as a people are stronger when we stand together, as opposed to the fractured mess now raising its ugly head in Atlanta. I believe we need to stand together in our support of Israel, which so badly needs our help. That does not mean that I oppose discussion and debate. To the contrary, I advocate for good discussion and discourse. However, I do not see it as healthy for the community and certainly not healthy for Israel when these differing views cause important community members to boycott an event that is so beneficial to Israel. Perhaps you will hold back on your applause, but please do not hold back on your support for Israel and JNF.
Please do not harm the land you love so much. Your presence and commitment are crucial. I understand the feelings and arguments that SOJOURN supporters have made. Trust me, I am sensitive to the subject. I have a board member in my region from a similar large church with whom I have built a wonderful relationship based on our shared commitment to Israel. It concerns me that local LGBT leaders might have inaccurately reported JNF’s steps to encourage a dialogue to work together and move forward. They have painted a picture that JNF has ignored them and has been unresponsive. That is simply untrue. JNF’s local and national leaders have had multiple conversations with local rabbis, Jewish leaders and SOJOURN members, all leading up to a planned meeting in early May that JNF’s CEO will attend and that I intend to serve as an adviser. I have been witness to the JNF efforts from the highest levels within the organization. Again, I wish to underscore that JNF is a truly inclusive organization that not only welcomes me as an openly gay man, but also counts on me as a critical leader. JNF has always stood for tolerance and respect for individual rights and is open to the views of all, including the LGBT community. JNF representatives have participated in events at Atlanta’s Bet Haverim synagogue and have encouraged JNF involvement with the congregation. This outreach is in keeping with JNF national programming that embraces diversity and has always included the gay and lesbian community. You should know that people involved in JNF leadership fully recognize me and my spouse as an equal couple and introduce my other half as my husband, if not my better half. I would ask that Atlanta’s Jewish community look at the growing worldwide anti-Semitism and anti-Israel sentiment and recognize our need for all the support we can muster to keep Israel strong and our global Jewish community safe. We need each other. We need to work together. We need
to support each other. We really must stand together. As Jews, Christians, people of color, and those of various ethnicities, persuasions and sexual orientations, we have long devoted ourselves to develop and protect the land and the environment of Israel for all the people of Israel. JNF’s invaluable contributions to Israel range from building forests and parks to creating water reservoirs, communities, medical centers, therapeutic and rehabilitation centers, and fire stations, supporting the Alexander Muss High School in Israel (of which I am an alumnus), and encouraging tourism and the preservation of historic sites. The JNF Mountain States Region recently hosted Ambassador Ron Dermer in Denver. He addressed over 1,000 diverse supporters of Israel. The room was filled with religious Jews, secular Jews, evangelical Christians, and many others, including my husband and myself, who were front and center. As the ambassador addressed the situation between Israel and Washington, he made a comment that resonated with me in regard to what I refer to as the Atlanta sandstorm: “Don’t let a 5 percent disagreement with a friend turn your friend into your enemy.” The Atlanta Jewish community, SOJOURN and JNF are longtime friends with the common goal of a safe and strong Eretz Yisrael. Please keep your eye on the big picture. We need to stand together for Israel. This is part of the magic of JNF. We are an inclusive organization that unites diverse groups with the common denominator of Israel and tikkun olam. I respectfully ask that you open your minds to what we can accomplish together and what our beloved Israel needs. I hope that I can help all of us build bridges, not battles. I offer myself to you for further dialogue with the hope of moving forward, securing a safe and prosperous Israel for all, and continuing to be strong together. Am Yisrael chai. ■
Editor’s note: This column and other opinions about the JNF event were written before Charles Stanley’s decision to decline the honor.
Ron Werner is the president of JNF’s Mountain States Region.
www.atlantajewishtimes.com
We Deserve Not to Be Forgotten
M
y initial decision to voice horror at Jewish National Fund honoring Charles Stanley at its annual Jack Hirsch Memorial Breakfast has grown into the concerns and voices of many. I sat on the JNF Southeast board for two terms until about two years ago. I knew I was the token lesbian, but I believed the regional director, Beth Gluck, who told me that JNF wanted to attract more intown Jews. I have been a vocal supporter of JNF to many in Congregation Bet Haverim, even as some have voiced disapproval of various JNF actions in Israel, and I have hosted a table for friends and CBH congregants at the annual Hirsch Breakfast. Until this year. Having lived in Atlanta for over 30 years, I knew of Dr. Stanley’s homophobia. I knew he was not quiet about his views and that through his large First Baptist Church Atlanta congregation, his radio broadcasts and his Internet presence, he has been a powerful and persistent opponent of the LGBT community. Surely he wasn’t the only possibility this year. I called Beth, a goodhearted and well-meaning person. After I told her about Dr. Stanley, she apologized and said she did not know his views on homosexuality. She said she wanted to do something to accommodate my hurt. She and Alan Lubel, co-president of JNF Southeast, felt bad for me personally because, as Alan said, I was “part of the JNF family.” I could tell that neither understood that the decision was a direct affront and marginalization of LGBT Jews and their allies. I told Beth I was going to send an email to let other Jewish people know JNF was honoring Dr. Stanley. When she asked if I would also tell people that she wanted to do something to balance out that decision, I told her that when she told me what JNF would do, I would let them know. I also told her that I understand when an organization is so focused on its own mission that it is unaware of things outside that mission. I mentioned LGBT organizations that schedule events on Jewish holidays. I told her of organizations and individuals who do or say something homophobic because they don’t know. I also assured her that we LGBT people are
used to people making mistakes and that we are forgiving. It feels as if that conversation happened a very long time ago. I am so grateful to The Temple, Temple Sinai, Ahavath Achim, CBH, SOJOURN and all in the greater Atlanta Jewish community who understand what JNF’s
Guest Column By Jeri Kagel
decision truly is. Your thoughts and actions have warmed my heart. Hearing how many believe, thoughtfully and Jewishly, that JNF must change its decision or do something to affirm and embrace Jewish LGBT supporters of Israel has been incredibly gratifying. Meanwhile, JNF has not offered to do anything to indicate a respect for, or a desire to honor, LGBT Jews and their allies who support and care about Israel. We have gone to Israel and taken our children. We have planted trees. We have argued on behalf of Israel. We have donated to JNF in Atlanta and throughout the world. We deserve not to be forgotten. We deserve not to be left out. We deserve not to have to watch JNF honor someone who says that we can’t go to heaven, that AIDS is our punishment from G-d, and more. JNF Atlanta, the national office in New York and a few Atlantans seem to see this in black-and-white terms: If you support JNF/Israel, you have to support this decision and this breakfast; if you don’t support the decision, you don’t support JNF. That argument is reminiscent of the “love it or leave it” arguments people made when young people voiced opposition to the Vietnam War. I’m sorry, but there are complexities to relationships. I can support JNF but say no to this breakfast. I can take a stand on this issue. We are not your enemy. We are not advocating that folks no longer support JNF. We are only talking about this decision. JNF has dug in its heels. Communications from JNF talk about how Dr. Stanley has supported Israel. I reply that other Jewish and non-Jewish clergy also support Israel and could have been honored.
What may have started as a mistake has become an intentional and ugly decision. JNF’s communications convey a sense that the group can’t make everyone happy. This is not about people being unhappy. This is about JNF ignoring outspoken homophobia and what so many rabbis are calling bigotry. This is about ignoring Jewish values. This is about the disingenuous suggestion that we can separate one aspect of a person from another. How often would we want a secular organization we are involved with to honor someone who is virulently anti-Semitic? JNF has also suggested that critics don’t support the right to free speech. But no one is trying to silence Dr. Stanley or change his ideas (I’ve learned not to bang my head against a steel wall). Dr. Stanley has the right to spew his homophobic rhetoric at his church, on the street corner, in Israel and on the Internet. But we have a responsibility to listen. JNF has either not listened or does not care. Either way, it is time for JNF to do something to rectify the decision. I trust that the JNF powers in Atlanta are not homophobic, yet they are immoveable about this decision. Beth told me in our first conversation that JNF did not want to embarrass Dr. Stanley. She had compassion for him. What about showing compassion for those of us in the Jewish community who want the right to love whom we love? What about welcoming LGBT Jews who support Israel and JNF? JNF has shown no compassion for us, our allies, or the underlying Jewish values that created Israel, including providing a safe place for all Jews. Now JNF is willing to meet with us at a gathering put together by the rabbis at The Temple. I believe in building bridges and healing relationships. I’ve done that for a living. I’ve done it with many organizations and individuals in a variety of relationships. I’m glad JNF wants to come to this meeting, but JNF should understand that it is not up to us — the ones you have discriminated against — to continue to reach out to you. It is time for JNF to reach out. Coming to the meeting is not enough. Defending yourself is not enough. To move toward healing, JNF must make amends. You are smart people. You can figure out what to do. ■
Stanley Declines JNF Honor
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harles Stanley is not being honored by Jewish National Fund’s Southeast Region after all. The senior pastor at First Baptist Church Atlanta declined JNF’s Tree of Life Award “because of his deep love for Israel and his reluctance to be a point of controversy and conflict within the Jewish community,” JNF announced Tuesday, April 21, two days before the Jack Hirsch Memorial Breakfast. The breakfast was scheduled to go on at The Temple at 7:30 a.m. April 23 with JNF’s other honoree, Yedidya Haroush, an Israeli paratrooper from the Negev community of Halutza. JNF said it “looks forward to uniting all of Israel’s supporters on the country’s 67th anniversary.” “I am thrilled that Dr. Stanley recognized the damage he has already done to the Jewish and LGBTQ communities, and I respect that he does not want to continue on that path,” said Robbie Medwed, the assistant director of SOJOURN: Southern Jewish Resource Network for Gender and Sexual Diversity. “We heard from people across the USA and Israel, both gay and straight, Jewish and not, expressing their disappointment with JNF’s choice of honoree, which shows that this wasn’t just a gay issue — it was about what is and is not acceptable behavior.” JNF had faced increasing criticism over the decision to honor Stanley, known as much for his strong statements against LGBT people as for his strong support for Israel. Rabbis from several congregations decided to skip the event while still supporting JNF. “We are grateful for the strong support of hundreds of rabbis, community leaders and community members from around the country and in the Southeast,” SOJOURN, which brought the issue to light April 2, said in a statement applauding Stanley’s decision. JNF argued that it was honoring him strictly for being a loyal friend to Israel, as when he led hundreds of Baptists on a mission to Israel last year. “I really hope this opens up a dialogue about who the Jewish community chooses as its advocates for Israel in the future,” Medwed said. JNF CEO Russell Robinson is scheduled to visit Atlanta and to meet with LGBT representatives and others 13 at The Temple on May 8. ■ APRIL 24 ▪ 2015
OPINION
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LOCAL NEWS
Letters to the Editor JNF Made Bad Choice
We are writing in response to Marcia Jaffe’s column “On JNF, Not Needing to Make a Choice” (April 17). The title and the reasoning contained therein are wrongheaded and demonstrate the complete lack of understanding that Jewish National Fund and its supporters have exhibited for several weeks as this controversy has unfolded. We initially hoped that by working quietly behind the scenes it would be possible to reach some kind of resolution without harming the reputation of JNF, an organization we have always supported. It is no longer possible to remain quiet.
APRIL 24 ▪ 2015
After apparently failing to vet their selection of this honoree and being confronted with the Rev. Charles Stanley’s homophobic vitriol, JNF has indeed made a choice: It has chosen to ignore the objections of not just the LGBT Jewish community, but also the community’s friends and allies, by persisting in the determination to honor this man. In effect, JNF sends a clear message: No matter how heinous a person’s views are on any subject, if that person supports Israel, the person should be honored, and it is permissible to disregard the impact of those views, even if they are hurtful and/or an affront to basic dignity, on members of our own community. We completely understand the need for a strong Israel. There are many politicians with whom we disagree on other political issues whose strong support for Israel is welcomed and, occasionally, rightly honored. There is a distinct difference between honoring someone with whom you have policy differences and celebrating someone who cannot and will not tolerate your existence as a human being. It must be made clear that our opposition is to Stanley as an honoree, which implies acceptance of the man in full. This is a far cry from thanking him for his support.
Clearly no Jewish organization would ever confer an honor on a pro-Israel person who had made 14 odious statements about black
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people. This is no different. It is inconceivable and abhorrent to us in a world where ethnic and religious conflict (as always) fuel hatred and war and in which, as Jews, we remain vulnerable to such hatred, that any Jewish organization would honor someone who promulgates bigotry of any sort or would excuse it as religiously based. No, we simply cannot separate Stanley’s views on homosexuality from his views on Israel. Israel is viewed by many of its ideological enemies and critics as being racist and intolerant. Whether that is fair or accurate (we are well aware of the difference in treatment of gay people in Israel and the Muslim world), the perception and argument are out there in the BDS movement and elsewhere. We don’t see how it helps Israel combat that criticism and hatred to honor someone who is intolerant, especially when he is invoking G-d to support that bigotry. We think it’s a huge mistake to do so. It reinforces the views of Israel’s enemies and inhibits bridge building with people who have misguided or skewed views about Israel and who might be supporters if they could be properly approached and educated. The argument regarding Elie Wiesel is a false and illogical one. His participation in a Christians United for Israel event does not in any way parallel this situation. Wiesel is a symbol of tolerance and understanding, and we cannot imagine any way in which he could have been a controversial choice as a speaker to that group, unless there were anti-Semitic members of the group or Holocaust deniers among them. If so, that audience could benefit from hearing his benevolent message. This situation is the exact opposite in that Wiesel promotes acceptance, whereas Stanley espouses ostracism and exclusion. We have no problem engaging in dialogue with people like Stanley and even finding common ground with them where we can. That’s not the issue here. For the benefit of its future as an organization, we implore JNF to accept the fact that it has made a mistake, to acknowledge this mistake and to make amends quickly.
Susan Kupferberg and Richard Mitchell, Atlanta
People Wrong To Rebuke JNF
It grieves me deeply to see rabbis and others in organizational positions of authority take issue with Jewish National Fund on its decision to honor the Rev. Charles Stanley for his support of Israel. They have no standing to publically criticize and rebuke Dr. Stanley’s theological position on any subject, and in the process they damage the integrity of JNF. Dr. Stanley’s position on gay relationships, in reality, is a legitimate commentary on the teaching of Torah. Ivan Millender, Atlanta
Appalling To Defend JNF
I am completely appalled by the recent column written by Marcia Jaffe. I simply can’t believe Jewish National Fund has chosen the Rev. Charles Stanley for this honor, and for Jaffe to justify that decision is incredible. I will continue to read the newspaper, which I look forward to receiving after 40-plus years, but I do not plan to read Jaffe’s column going forward. I also plan to purchase trees through JNF, but not through the Atlanta office. This is how strongly I feel about JNF’s poor judgment regarding this matter. For an individual who is a man of G-d to make the claims Stanley has and for a Jewish organization to honor him simply seems to me too sad to be true. I am simply shaking my head about this, as others are doing as well. Judy Bernhardt Glatzer, Bethlehem, Ga.
Three Inspiring Women
Sally and I almost didn’t go in. After Shabbat services and Kid-
dush, Ahavath Achim sponsored a discussion in our chapel about special needs children. Having none of our own so afflicted, initially we were lukewarm to the idea of spending time listening to a subject irrelevant to us. But since our cousin Gail Heyman was one of the participants, we slipped into the back, intending to make a hasty retreat if the proceedings got too boring or depressing. Thank goodness we decided to stay. Moderated by Dr. Sara Hoffenberg, Gail, Fran Galishoff and Jean Jackson held us spellbound for a fleeting hour. They recounted experiences rearing their children: Gail’s son has Fragile X syndrome; Fran and Jean’s sons, autism. From what must have been that heartwrenching day of discovery to acceptance, their tenacious problemsolving skills and incalculable decision-making responsibilities were challenged every day. Waves of stories engulfed us regarding hardships, anguish, frustration, and, eventually, blessed successes. Given the circumstances, incredibly there were no expressions of anger, no wallowing in self-pity, no tears, no “why me?” Instead, these articulate women were poised, upbeat, smiling and even humorous, explaining with a steely resolve how they solved the day-to-day problems that beset them. From an existence none of them expected, with the help of their appreciated husbands, they’ve overcome unimaginable obstacles and, in so doing, fashioned rich, fulfilling lives for all the members of their families. I sat there in awe, riveted by these extraordinary women, who reminded me that despite the dreadful burdens life sometimes throws at us, it’s possible not only to survive, but to thrive. It was regretful more people didn’t hear their message that day, but for those of us who did, it was a powerful, uplifting experience. Philip Kaplan, Marietta Send letters to the editor to editor@atljewishtimes.com. Please include your name and hometown. Letters may be edited for style and length.
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OPINION
Judaica Tells a Story
Local Briefs AJA to Sell Upper School Atlanta Jewish Academy has reached an agreement to sell its Upper School campus in Doraville, the former home of Yeshiva Atlanta High School, to Tapestry School, board Chairman Ian Ratner announced April 20. Ratner said the schools hope to close the sale in early summer. The deal will provide capital and a nudge for planning to develop AJA’s unified campus in Sandy Springs at what was Greenfield Hebrew Academy before GHA and Yeshiva Atlanta merged to form AJA last year. As part of the agreement, AJA will lease back the space it is using on the Doraville campus for up to two years. Ratner said the building on Raymond Drive is big enough to accommodate AJA and Tapestry. AJA also signed a multiyear deal to keep using the Hartman Competitive Gymnasium at the Upper School for practices, games and other extracurricular activities even after AJA moves all students to the Sandy Springs campus. Eventually, AJA will build a new gym at the Northland Drive campus in Sandy Springs. AJA has the option to develop land around the Doraville campus into ath-
sheets and other Passover materials put away for another year. On a kitchen counter are two long-empty bottles of Manischewitz extra-heavy Malaga, fitted with metal rings to serve as candleholders, with wax drippings down their sides. These were the last two bottles recovered from the home of my wife’s paternal
From Where I Sit By Dave Schechter dschechter@atljewishtimes.com
grandmother, a woman named Rose but known to all, myself included, as “Sugie.” It was my good fortune to gain another mother and a grandmother in marriage. On a wall in the foyer is a photograph of an arched corridor in the Rockefeller Archeological Museum in Jerusalem. On a wall downstairs are prints of photographs shot in and around the Old City more than a cenletic fields for use by AJA and Tapestry, Ratner added. Last Call for WZC The polls are closing for the World Zionist Congress elections April 30. Any American age 18 or older who identifies as Jewish, didn’t vote in the Israeli elections (for you dual citizens) and accepts the World Zionist Organization’s Jerusalem Program (if you support the existence of Israel as the Jewish homeland, you’re pretty much there) is eligible to vote. Just go to www.myselfourisrael.com, register for a $10 fee ($5 if you’re 30 or younger), and cast a vote for one of 11 slates. If you’re not familiar with the options, take a few minutes to read through the descriptions of the slates right on the site. The results of the voting will determine the makeup of the American Zionist Movement’s delegation to the WZC this fall. With 145 of the 525 delegates, the United States will have the secondlargest delegation to the congress, behind only Israel. The WZC will play a role in setting policies and allocating money on issues such as aliyah and land sales. Kerbel Wins Spot in Ethics Program Judah Kerbel, one of Congregation Etz Chaim Rabbi Paul Kerbel’s sons, is one of 12 seminary and divinity students
tury ago. On the walls and shelves in the den are photographs of four generations on both sides of our family. There is art we collected in Israel. My wife drew a squiggly line on a canvas one day, and the artist Yossi Stern took it from there, creating a sketch of a Bedouin father, mother and baby. There are clay sculptures — a large erect bird, a herdsman with a cow, a man and woman with a churn, and a woman with a baby on her back — signed by an Ethiopian artist named Muli. In 1985, Ethiopian olim brought to Israel in Operation Moses were our neighbors in a Negev Desert absorption center while we attended a study program. Of course, as “people of the book,” we have books. Hundreds of them. (There were more, but you have to start downsizing somewhere.) Prayer books and books about Jewish prayer. Volumes covering Jewish culture, Jewish food, Jewish politics, Jewish humor, Jewish athletes (not such a slim volume). Histories and photographic albums of Israel. Scrapbooks of our three children’s b’nai mitzvah.
This Judaica serves as markers from our journey, one I remain grateful to share with love, respect and admiration.
chosen by Fellowships at Auschwitz for the Study of Professional Ethics to participate in the two-week FASPE ethics program this summer in New York, Germany and Poland. Kerbel is a student at the Yeshiva University-affiliated Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary. “The Holocaust is history, but what do we learn from it?” he said in an announcement from Yeshiva University. “Many people declare never again — and indeed we pray that nothing close to that magnitude ever be repeated — but what are the lessons we need to learn in order to make sure that it is never again?” FASPE explores the history of the Holocaust to engage graduate students across the fields of business, journalism, law, medicine and religion in an intensive study of contemporary ethics. Participants visit Auschwitz and travel in Germany and Poland to help them consider how to apply the lessons of history to the ethical challenges they will confront in their professions. “By educating students about the causes of the Holocaust and the power of their chosen professions, FASPE seeks to instill a sense of professional responsibility for the ethical and moral choices that the fellows will make in their careers and in their professional relationships,” said C. David Goldman, the founder of FASPE.
AJC Takes Atlantans to S. America Members of the Atlanta Jewish community joined two recent two-day American Jewish Committee leadership trips to South America. AJC Executive Director David Harris led 17-member delegations to Uruguay and Chile. “Uruguay has long been admired as a Latin American country that strongly defends the values of human rights and human dignity while being a major contributor to U.N. peacekeeping operations around the world,” Harris said. “Moreover, we shall never forget that Uruguay was an early and ardent supporter of Israel’s rebirth in 1948.” The visit to Uruguay covered relations between that country and the United States and Israel, as well as the country’s plans for its term on the U.N. Security Council, expected to begin in 2016. The Chile visit faced tougher issues. Chile is home to approximately 400,000 people of Palestinian descent, the largest Palestinian community outside the Middle East. Most are Christians. The AJC said the Jewish community’s ties with the Palestinians have frayed. “We conveyed our deep disappointment that Chile recalled its ambassador from Israel last summer, an act we did not believe was justified by the circumstances of a Hamas-triggered war against Israel,” Harris said. 15
To Honor and Clarify Parents, with the end of the school year in sight, thank your children’s teachers, who work in an environment in which every other commentator, politician and philanthropist is a selfprofessed expert on education. In this vein, I want to clarify a reference in my article April 10 about a future without Holocaust survivors. Tina Ratonyi is the daughter of a survivor and a teacher at River Eves Elementary in Roswell. She left a job as a paralegal and has spent 15 years teaching because “I wanted to have an impact in people’s lives.” That motivation is what makes Tina and her colleagues throughout the Atlanta area worthy of our appreciation. ■ Dave Schechter is a veteran journalist whose career includes writing and producing reports from Israel and the Middle East.
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ur ketubah is on a wall in the living room. Actually, it’s our second ketubah. The first was signed 30 years ago in Kansas City (the exact date marked earlier this week) but was lost in storage when we left for Israel six months after getting married. Its replacement was signed as part of our daughter’s bat mitzvah ceremony a dozen years ago in Atlanta. As it does in many Jewish homes, the Judaica we display tells part of our story. In a glass case in the living room is a Chanukah menorah that my father’s mother bought in Israel. As the oldest of five children, I declared it to be mine. In the same case are tzedakah boxes, a shofar and “shana tova” greetings written on birch bark from trees by the cabin in Maine where my parents spent many summers. In the cabinet below are the haggadahs, song
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LOCAL NEWS
Governor in Leo Frank Case to Be Honored
Historic marker will be dedicated 100 years later; lynching marker sits in storage By Joe Sterling
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eorgia Gov. John Slaton sacrificed his political career when he commuted Leo Frank’s murder sentence from death to life in prison in 1915, only for Frank to be abducted from prison and lynched two months later. A century later, Slaton finally will be honored. The Atlanta History Center, Georgia Historical Society and Jewish American Society for Historic Preservation will dedicate a historic marker for Slaton at the center in Buckhead on June 17, four days before the centennial of the day Slaton commuted Frank’s sentence. “It was a matter of personal courage and conviction to do what he did,” said Michael Rose, the center’s executive vice president. “It was a volatile situation. He followed his conscience to do what was the right thing to do. He received death threats. He was in an amount of personal danger.” Jerry Klinger, the Jewish historic preservation organization’s president, said Slaton’s courage has never been honored. “He made a decision he thought was right.” Frank, a Jewish native of Texas who grew up in Brooklyn, N.Y., and married into the Selig family, was the superintendent of Atlanta’s National Pencil Co. factory, where 13-year-old employee Mary Phagan of Marietta was killed April 26, 1913. Frank was convicted of murder that summer in a controversial trial held under a cloud of mob intimidation and anti-Semitism. Elyse Butler, the Georgia Historical Society’s membership and outreach associate, said the Frank commutation occurred at the end of Slaton’s second term and was “arguably Slaton’s most memorable act as governor.” That act did not save Frank’s life for long. He was still recovering from a nearly fatal stabbing in prison in Milledgeville when he was abducted Aug. 16, 1915, and driven overnight to Marietta to be hanged from a tree the next day. It’s the only known lynching of a Jew in American history. A historical marker was erected in 2008 near the site of the lynching at Roswell and Frey’s Gin roads, just west of Interstate 75 and a quarter-mile east 16 of the Big Chicken.
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But the Georgia Department of Transportation removed the marker last fall to make way for the Northwest Corridor Project. The marker is in storage at a GDOT office in Marietta. GDOT spokeswoman Natalie Dale said there’s no specific time when the marker will be reinstalled, but it will take place long after the centennial of the lynching. The construction in the area won’t start until next spring and could last a couple of years. “We want the construction in the area to be completed so the marker will not be damaged,” Dale said. When the marker returns, it will be across Roswell Road from the original location in a site with a sidewalk and landscaping, Dale said. The marker was difficult to see from the road in its old spot. John Hancock, a GDOT engineer, said the new location is off Chert Road, just off Roswell Road. When everything is done, he said, motorists on the nearby lanes will surely see it. The access will be better, and the location will be safe for visitors to park and look at marker, Hancock said. “Win-win for everybody.” Rabbi Steve Lebow of Temple Kol Emeth in East Cobb was responsible for the only previous lynching markers: yahrzeit plaques placed on the outside of a nearby building on the 80th and 90th anniversaries of Frank’s death. The two plaques were returned to Kol Emeth when the building was demolished, and the rabbi said he might find a place for them at the synagogue if he can’t find a spot near the lynching. Having worked to get the historical marker erected in 2008, Rabbi Lebow is working on plans for an August centennial event and said he’ll try to get the marker out of storage for the memorial. Butler said plans are tentative, but the Georgia Historical Society hopes to rededicate the marker for the lynching centennial. Frank was pardoned posthumously in 1986 because of the state’s failure to protect him or bring his killers to justice, but the pardon did not address his guilt or innocence. That’s not enough, Rabbi Lebow said. Frank needs to be declared innocent. Rabbi Lebow said he plans to ask the Georgia General Assembly, Cobb County and the city of Marietta to exonerate Frank.
Alonzo Mann, 83, gave a sworn statement in 1982 about what he saw when he was a 14-year-old office boy for Frank. He said a janitor, Jim Conley, the key witness against Frank, actually was the killer. Rabbi Lebow also wants the centennial to celebrate societal changes. “Georgia of 2015 is different,” he said. “Cobb is better and greater and more open than it had been.” ■
The historic marker from the site of the lynching of Leo Frank (top) is now in storage at a Georgia Department of Transportation office in Marietta. Gov. John Slaton (right), who commuted Frank’s death sentence to life in prison, will get his own historic marker in Buckhead in June (Slaton photo courtesy of Hargrett Rare Book and Manuscript Library, University of Georgia).
Honoring Slaton
The following is the text of the historic marker for John Slaton: Gov. John M. Slaton (1866-1955) John Marshall Slaton was born in Meriwether County and graduated from the University of Georgia before practicing law in Atlanta. Slaton served in both houses of the Georgia legislature and two terms as governor (1911-12 and 191315). While in office, he modernized Georgia’s tax system and roads. Concerned by the sensationalized atmosphere and circumstantial evidence that led to the notorious 1913 conviction of Jewish businessman Leo Frank in the murder of teenager Mary Phagan, Slaton granted Frank clemency in June 1915. Slaton’s commutation of Frank’s death sentence drew national attention but hostile local backlash resulted in Frank’s lynching in August 1915, and the end of Slaton’s political career. Forced to flee Georgia, Slaton later returned to live on property adjacent to today’s Atlanta History Center and Slaton Drive (named in his honor). He is buried in Oakland Cemetery.
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LOCAL NEWS
Frankly, He Gives a Damn
Barney Frank longs for government to be about public service
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efore there was Barney Frank, the quick-witted liberal stalwart on Capitol Hill, there was a 14-year-old boy who knew that he was interested in government and attracted to other males. Retired after more than three decades as a Democratic congressman from Massachusetts, the plainspoken Frank has written his autobiography, “Frank.” Frank made a name for himself in public service at the local, state and federal levels but kept private his sexual preference until he came out several years into his congressional career. The decline in public regard for government, contrasted with increasing public acceptance of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community, is one theme of “Frank.” Frank’s 45-minute talk April 14 at the Carter Center focused on economic issues. Only one question from the audience was related to LGBT issues. Frank is also a former bar mitzvah boy who today acknowledges his agnosticism while retaining aspects of his Jewish identity. “Part of it is the liberal politics, the respect for the written word, … the commitment to charity, the tzedakah boxes. We had a tzedakah box. The food preferences. The humor. It’s very much a collection of cultural activities. Now, none of them are uniquely Jewish — well, the food is — but taken together … they create strong cultural and ethnic identity,” Frank said in an interview. He is a frustrated friend of Israel, outraged by the appearance before Congress of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in opposition to negotiations between the Obama administration and Iran. “I would have boycotted it. I think it was a great mistake and damaging to Israel. It has always been a great strength of Israel that it has been supported broadly,” Frank said. “I have fought very hard with people on the left who have been unfairly critical [of Israel]. Netanyahu has jeopardized the nonpartisan center for Israel.” Frank said he was writing a newspaper column on the issue. “It’s important for us now to make it clear that you can be anti-Netanyahu and pro-Israel. But I think injecting himself into
all the bad intervention all over the world. We are American politics stuff wasn’t not morally obligated nor is it practical on the side of the illegal. … A for us to try to be the enforcer of order right wing, which he lot of that and the guarantor of peace and serenclearly did and knew stuff was ity everywhere in the world. It’s very he was doing, was a wrong but expensive, and it doesn’t work very great mistake.” not illegal. well,” Frank said. Given the un“Second, we should stop prosecutS e c o n d l y, happiness of many some of the ing people because of their choice of American Jews with higher-ups recreational drugs unless they have President Barack had insu- harmed somebody else.” Obama, Frank exFrank said that the $125 billion to lated thempects Republicans selves very $150 billion a year that could be saved to make inroads in Photo courtesy of the Carter Center c l e v e r l y by those two actions would permit the 2016 into traditional Barney Frank expects the Supreme Court from being expansion of Medicare to people as Jewish support for to rule in favor of same-sex marriage. young as 55 years old, make available culpable.” the Democrats’ presGovernment can become a good college education at a cost of $1,000 idential candidate. “There will be some erosion. I word again, Frank said, by “improv- a year at state universities, and credon’t think it will be huge. I think it will ing government’s capacity to improve ate jobs, particularly for women and African-Americans, in the construction be more in the money,” he said. “The people’s lives.” “We’re in a vicious cycle,” he said. trades needed to repair America’s inchoice between Hillary Clinton, who I expect to be the nominee, and any Re- “Government has lagged in doing that, frastructure. In the meantime, “people are mad publican will be ideologically sharper particularly for white, working-class men, who have seen this erosion in at government,” Frank said, “so they than it has been for a long time.” Frank would not predict a Republi- their relative position in the economy.” put people in power who don’t want There are trade-offs. “One, sub- the government to do anything and can nominee but said: “I think they will be badly split, whoever they nominate. stantially reduce America’s military certainly don’t give us the resources.” ■ They’re going to go away from their nominating convention with more angry people than any of the parties have had for some time.” Frank’s visit to Atlanta came after DEBBIE SONENSHINE Georgia legislators tabled a “religious STAR NEWMAN liberty” measure widely criticized KATIE GALLOW by the LGBT community and by JewTop 1% of Coldwell Banker Internationally ish organizations and rabbis and two Certified Negotiator, Luxury, New Homes months before the anticipated ruling and Corporate Relocation Specialist #1 Sales Associate in Sandy Springs Office by the U.S. Supreme Court on whether Voted Favorite Jewish Realtor in AJT, there is a legal right to same-sex marBest of Jewish Atlanta riage. “I’d be shocked if they don’t say that [same-sex] marriage is a right,” Frank said. In his personal life, Frank came out in May 1987. He married Jim Ready on July 7, 2012, in Boston and divides his time between their home in Ogunquit, Maine, and Boston. Stunning Brick Home in Gated Sandy Springs Frank was a major figure in Con$899,000 Sentinel Ferry Subdivision gress on finance issues. His name is • Romantic Master on Main with His/Hers • Terrace Level Gym, Media Room, Playroom, on the Dodd-Frank law that Congress Walk-in Closets Full Bath, Room for Wine Cellar & Plenty of passed to strengthen oversight of the Storage • Gourmet Kitchen Open to Keeping Room • Outdoor Living!-Level Walkout Backyard with financial industry in the wake of the • Mudroom w/ Lockers, Butler’s Pantry & Stone Patio & Outdoor Kitchen Large Dining Room economic crisis that began during the • Great Price for a Home in this Wonderful • 6 Bedrooms/ 7 Full Baths / 2 Half Baths second term of President George W. Swim/Tennis Neighborhood! Bush and continued into the first term of Obama. direct 404.250.5311 Asked why no one went to prison office 404.252.4908 for nearly bringing down the U.S. finanDebbie@SonenshineTeam.com | www.SonenshineTeam.com cial system, Frank said: “The reason we ©2014 Coldwell Banker Real Estate LLC. Coldwell Banker is a registered trademark licensed to Coldwell Banker Real had to pass a lot of laws after this is that Estate LLC. An Equal Opportunity Company. Equal Housing Opportunity. Operated By a Subsidiary of NRT LLC.
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LOCAL NEWS
Goodman: Don’t Expect a 2-State Solution Soon By Michael Jacobs mjacobs@atljewishtimes.com
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sraeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was right when he declared on the eve of mid-March elections that now is not the time for a two-state solution with the Palestinians, Rabbi Arnold Goodman told a group of about 35 congregants at Ahavath Achim Synagogue on April 16. Rabbi Goodman said no prime minister concerned with the security of his nation could enter into an agreement to shrink Israel while “the rest of the Middle East is a cauldron.” The emeritus AA rabbi was visiting from Israel for his regular scholarin-residence weekend at the Buckhead synagogue. He was joined by Emory University’s resident Israel expert, Ken Stein, with educator Steve Chervin moderating their free-flowing hourlong discussion on Israel. Rabbi Goodman said his family of 10 adults reflected the general populace in the election with votes across the political spectrum, often depending as much on feelings about the party leaders as about issues such as the peace process and pluralism. He predicted that the yet-toemerge governing coalition under Netanyahu will make American Jews
Photo by Michael Jacobs
Ken Stein likes what he hears from Rabbi Arnold Goodman.
unhappy because it will tilt to the right and empower the religious parties. For all the excitement about the elections, Stein said, the left-centerright divide among the electorate was largely the same as in 2013. While Rabbi Goodman said a twostate solution is the ideal and will happen someday, he has a hard time seeing how it will happen soon. For one thing, 300,000 Jews living in the West Bank would have to be resettled within Israel, and he said the country still hasn’t dealt with the 8,000 Gaza settlers evacuated in 2005. And Rabbi Goodman said even an immediate withdrawal to the pre-1967
borders wouldn’t satisfy the boycott, divestment, sanctions movement and other critics. “A two-state solution won’t stop the delegitimization of Israel,” he said. Lois Frank expressed concern that no two-state solution means a drift toward an oppressive river-to-the-sea Israel or a multinational single state that would cease to be the Jewish homeland. But Rabbi Goodman said neither will happen. “Israelis are just waiting for Elijah to return.” He added that he draws hope from what he sees in Israel’s shopping malls, such as Arab and Haredi women sitting and talking together. People are learn-
ing to get along mixed together, he said. Stein said Israel can afford to let the Palestinians wait because they don’t represent an existential threat. But he warned the audience that history is not linear. “We are always surprised by the right turns in history.” Stein said Israel can handle those surprises because it has the most powerful military in the Middle East, although he said he wouldn’t want to decide whether Hamas, Hezbollah, Islamic State, Iran or something else represented the biggest threat. “Where do we go from here?” Rabbi Goodman asked. “Israelis will hold the line as best they can.” ■
Torah Tidbits Rabbi Arnold Goodman was selling his new book, a compilation of his writings about the weekly Torah portion called “Ma Nishma From Jerusalem,” during his visit to Atlanta. “I wanted it to be a quick and easy read for people who wanted a quick and easy read,” the rabbi said. You can get a taste of his Torah commentary at www.aasynagogue. org/about-us/clergy/manishma-rabbigoodman.html. His book is available through Amazon and other online retailers for $24.95 in hardback or $14.95 in paperback.
Stein: Obama Brings Reason to a Bad Neighborhood By Kevin Madigan kmadigan@atljewishtimes.com
APRIL 24 ▪ 2015
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en Stein, an Emory University expert on the Middle East who famously criticized former President Jimmy Carter for a book he wrote about the region in 2006, defended President Barack Obama’s stance on Israel and negotiations with Iran during a talk in Toco Hills on April 19. Speaking at Young Israel of Toco Hills, Stein explained that Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have valid points regarding the current situation, and he praised the U.S. policy of pragmatism and engagement instead of containment in dealing with Iran’s nuclear program. “Israel’s discussion with the United States on the Iranian issue has to do with how Israel controls Iran, which is an existential threat,” Stein said. “The issue for the state of Israel is how to manage a region of the world where our priorities are, one, the security and
territorial integrity of our state; two, how to protect our citizens; and three, what do we do to assure ourselves that tomorrow will be better than today?” The answer, Stein said, is to create alliances of convenience rather than alliances of conviction, and he pointed to historical precedents to illustrate his case. “I’m going to use a phrase that may not immediately have relevance. I want you to think about the phrase ‘buying time.’ Historically, that’s what Jews have done when they’ve lived in a non-Jewish world. We’ve bought time. “We are a minority, and therefore we’ve had to negotiate within the minority in order to assert our position and state our preferences, promising to give something to a ruler of a country, exchange our expertise or ideas so that we can be preserved as a people, because we will always be a minority. We were a minority 3,000 years ago and will be in 300 years. Its reality. We’re always lobbying or negotiating with someone for enhanced status, for pre-
serving our status quo.” Netanyahu’s purpose is to buy time, find and keep allies, and increase security, Stein said, and whether or not Iran has a nuclear capability, Israel has to plan for one, just in case. “Israel has to live in this highly complex neighborhood, and it has to make foreign policy based on changes. You have to prepare yourself for umpteen different contingencies,” he said. “A lot of conflicts have nothing to do with Israel. Sunni and Shia, for instance. It’s just the neighborhood where Israel happens to live.” Stein, a professor of contemporary Middle Eastern history, political science and Israeli studies at Emory, praised Obama in spite of current tensions with Netanyahu. He quoted an interview Obama gave to the New York Times on April 4 in which he said the negotiations with Iran are “our best bet by far to make sure Iran doesn’t get a nuclear weapon … and sending a very clear message to the Iranians and to the entire region that if anyone messes
with Israel, America will be there.” Stein said Obama should be taken at his word. “People who don’t like Obama failed to read that or ignored it. He didn’t say, ‘I don’t have Israel’s back.’ He didn’t say, ‘Everything Netanyahu said [to Congress] is a load of...” The Obama doctrine is engagement, Stein said. “He’s engaged with Cuba, now with Iran. He is trying to use logic and reason to persuade bad guys to do better things.” Obama declared during the 2012 election campaign that he was not seeking regime change in Iran but was only interested in engaging with its leaders. “That was an enormous statement for the Iranian government,” Stein said. The Iran deal will be a transaction, not a transformation, he said. “It’s a contract where sides will agree, where behavior will be monitored, and some restrictions or penalties will be imposed for not observing what has been agreed to. Iran will continue to protect its regime to ensure its longevity.” ■
LOCAL NEWS
Join american jewish committee at The Selig Distinguished Service Award Dinner
Every Picture Could Be Telling a Fairy Tale By Marcia Jaffe mjaffe@atljewishtimes.com
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he Republican Jewish Coalition flew in Chicagoan Gary Kenzer, the North American executive director of honestreporting.com, for a talk Sunday, April 19, in Sandy Springs. Kenzer began his talk with two suppositions: • Israel is innocent until proved guilty, not the other way around. • Israel is not perfect. Kenzer said he often shares his topic — “Does a Picture Paint a Thousand Words?” — with colleges as he tours the country to speak to chapters of Students for Justice in Palestine, “most of whom surprisingly are Jewish.” An animated, turquoise-clad Kenzer showed slides of slanted or openly anti-Semitic cartoons (always with an extended nose) and news stories with deceptive photographs. He offered two quotes for consideration: • Ansel Adams — “You don’t take a photo; you make one.” • Mark Twain — “If you don’t read a newspaper, you are uninformed. If you do read one, you are misinformed.” Kenzer showed famous media photos in which an Israeli flag appears to fly directly over a mosque when, in fact, the flag is on a building a mile away. Selfies taken by a Palestinian that are labeled “Israeli army chasing young man” are actually a mob scene from a rock concert. Another photograph shows a teen thrusting a rock, but the original photo shows the teen posed in front of 120 reporters with cameras. “You see,” Kenzer said, “this is not
a gag. Churchill said a lie gets halfway around the world before the truth has a chance to put its pants on.” When five Israeli Jews were slaughtered in a Jerusalem synagogue in November, CNN mislabeled the terrorist act as “Deadly Attack on Jerusalem Mosque.” Only 20 people called CNN to complain. Photography delivers emotion, blood and the deaths of Arab children to the world. “We Jews can’t compete,” Kenzer said. “We are above that. We do not publish pictures of our dead.” He showed a photo of Egypt’s construction of a gigantic wall to distance itself from Gaza. “The media has castigated Israel for building a fence, but nothing about Egypt. Do we see this in the media or just hear about Israel’s ‘apartheid’ wall?” “It’s disheartening to see so much media bias and untruths against Israel and Jews, and much of it in Jewishowned media or by Jewish reporters,” said Chuck Berk, the local RJC chapter’s co-chair. “We need to speak out and hold the media accountable for the truth.” Kenzer provided dramatic advice on the effects of social media. “On Twitter, everyone is a correspondent.” He said someone stuck a death threat in Kenzer’s home mailbox. When the FBI came, agents explained to him to that his Facebook photos included GPS data with which their address of origin could be tracked. “Delete this function,” Kenzer said, “and also go ‘incognito’ setting on Goggle to not be tracked.” Remember, according to Kenzer, what Napoleon said about the media: “I fear three newspapers more than a hundred bayonets.” ■
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APRIL 24 ▪ 2015
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Gary Kenzer says he has found that most Students for Justice in Palestine members are Jewish.
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www.atlantajewishtimes.com
LOCAL NEWS
Eva Galambos, Jewish Mother to an Entire City By Dave Schechter dschechter@atljewishtimes.com
APRIL 24 ▪ 2015
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va Galambos was the Jewish mother who brought the city of Sandy Springs into existence and nurtured it through childhood. For three decades, Galambos was the leading advocate for transforming a section of Fulton County into Georgia’s first new city since World War II. When that effort succeeded, she was elected its first mayor in 2005 and served until 2013. Galambos died of cancer Sunday, April 19, at age 87. Sandy Springs is home to a significant Jewish population (an estimated 15,000 in Sandy Springs and adjacent Dunwoody) and to synagogues and Jewish day schools. Her death brought tributes to Galambos from Jewish religious, communal and political leaders. “Eva was an incredible, pioneering leader who helped turn an anonymous suburb into a true community. She combined a strong will and a gentle touch,” said Rabbi Joshua Heller of Congregation B’nai Torah, a Conservative synagogue in Sandy Springs. “We had the honor and pleasure of hosting Mayor Galambos at synagogue events. She was always humble and gracious. She showed genuine interest in the development of our community. Together with our City Council representative, Tibby DeJulio, the mayor was a great supporter of religious institutions, valuing their roles and presence in Sandy Springs,” said Rabbi Yossi New of Chabad’s Congregation Beth Tefillah. Galambos and her husband, Dr. John Galambos, were early members of Temple Kehillat Chaim after its founding in 1982, when the congregation was a “wandering Jew,” renting space in Buckhead and Sandy Springs. Its founder and spiritual leader, Rabbi Harvey Winokur, officiated at Galambos’ funeral April 21 at the temple. When the congregation found a permanent home in Roswell in 1987, Rabbi Winokur thought he might lose the Galamboses as members, especially because Eva was so prominent in the effort to make Sandy Springs a city. But they stayed and remained involved, contributing members. “She appreciated being able to worship in peace,” Rabbi Winokur said, adding that Galambos was anonymous to much of his Roswell-centric congregants.
liberated from She briefly the Bergenserved on the Belsen concentemple’s board, tration camp but cityhood for by U.S. troops Sandy Springs in 1945. He imwas her priority. migrated to the Galambos United States in told her story in 1947. They met “A Dream Come at the UniverTrue: A Very sity of Georgia Good Life,” her and married in 2011 autobiogra1949 at a synaphy. gogue in Athens. She was He graduated in born into a fam1952 from the ily of secular Emory UniverJews in Germany. sity School of Eva Gabriele Medicine and beCohn’s earliest came a gastroenmemories interologist. John cluded walking and Eva had a on a Berlin street daughter and with her mother. Photo courtesy of the city of Sandy Springs two sons and six When the Nazis Eva Galambos served as mayor for eight years. grandchildren. came to power, The Epstein School honored her father, Sigmund, was forced from his job as a judge, and the Cohns fled Galambos in March 2012 as part of a Germany in 1933 for Genoa, Italy. When yearlong theme of recognizing role Mussolini imitated Hitler’s anti-Jewish models, “and with the mayor’s many laws, the family moved to the United years of dedicated service to our city, the school could not imagine a better States in 1938. After arriving in New York, they role model in the community to honsettled in Athens, where her father se- or,” read a news release at the time. “Mayor Galambos has had a long cured a position teaching law at the University of Georgia, thanks to the relationship with our school. When support of a Jewish refugee organiza- the school had applied for new zoning, tion and Atlanta lawyer Harold Hirsch. she was extremely fair and objective in Though she spoke little English when managing the situation. Her commonshe arrived, Eva Cohn graduated as sense approach spoke to who she was: valedictorian of her class at Athens someone unafraid to take stands,” said Stan Beiner, the head of the Epstein High School on D-Day, June 6, 1944. Galambos wrote about her sum- School from 2002 until April 17 this mer job in 1945 as a counselor at a Jew- year. “The mayor spoke to our students ish camp in the Poconos in Pennsylvania: “This was my first exposure to several times on visits to Epstein, but Jewish traditions and practices. I loved my favorite moment was when she the singing and absorbed the Hebrew came to spend time with us during our Holocaust Education Week. Each year, songs and chants with enthusiasm.” It also was her first exposure to we invite survivors to speak to our stularge numbers of Jewish children. The dents and host them for a luncheon. following three summers she worked Mayor Galambos joined us for the as a counselor at another Jewish camp meal and told her story. The exchange between her and the survivors was in upstate New York. She went on to earn a bachelor’s touching. She went on to share her stodegree in business administration ry with students as well. On that day, from the University of Georgia (1948), I got a glimpse into what made her so a master’s in labor and industrial re- unique. She had a quiet resilience that lations from the University of Illinois had come from her childhood,” Beiner (1949, at age 20, the first woman to be said. Attorney General Sam Olens, a awarded that degree) and a doctorate in economics from Georgia State Uni- Republican and the state’s highestranking Jewish elected official, said: versity (1969). Galambos’ husband, John, is a na- “Mayor Galambos was a tireless advotive of Budapest, Hungary, who was cate of good government. She repre-
sented tikkun olam wherever she went, as she constantly strove to improve her community. We will greatly miss her humor, intellect and drive.” An expression of gratitude came from Mike Bodker, who like Galambos was the first mayor of a new north Fulton County city, a Republican and a Jew. “It would be an understatement to say that we got advice and guidance from Eva,” said Bodker, now in his third term as the mayor of Johns Creek. “Eva was very open in providing mentoring and advice.” He said his image of Galambos “is that for 30 years she pushed a boulder uphill,” and when Sandy Springs became a city, “she was there on the other side of the boulder, holding it back from rolling downhill too fast.” “Without her tenacity, her fortitude, her intellect and her sheer will,” not only might Sandy Springs never have become a city, but without its example other new cities, including Johns Creek, might never have been incorporated. As for the advice Galambos gave him as the first mayor of a new city, Bodker said it was simple: “Don’t screw it up. … It was important to Eva that you govern in a way that would show it was worth it.” Sally Levine is the executive director of the Georgia Commission on the Holocaust, whose offices are in Sandy Springs. “My first personal encounter with Eva Galambos was during my interview for my current position,” Levine said. “Within just a few moments of her comments and questions, it became clear that she was all business. … One of her questions was particularly challenging: How did I plan on dealing with the politics of working for a state commission? As the interview continued, it became clear that former Mayor Galambos would become my mentor in that regard, setting up appointments with city and state officials. But her involvement did not end there. She accompanied me to these meetings and laid the groundwork for new and positive relationships.” Two days before her death, the Commission on the Holocaust honored Galambos, a member of its board, with its 2015 Humanitarian Award, crediting her with bringing the exhibit “Anne Frank in the World: 1929-1945” to Sandy Springs. The Galambos family asked that memorial donations be made to the exhibit or to a charity of the donor’s choice. ■
www.atlantajewishtimes.com
LOCAL NEWS
Car Crash Kills Marcia Rothschild
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sense of ethics and justice, she would not accept prejudice against herself and the LGBT community. “And that’s not easy for a single woman in the South,” Kaufman said. “Boy, what a loss. Here’s a woman who made her own way, found a way to stay close to her family, and kept going and learn-
ing, and that’s not easy.” Survivors include her mother, Janice Rothschild Blumberg, and her brother and his wife, Bill and Brenda Rothschild. Donations in her memory may be sent to the Rabbi’s Discretionary Fund at The Temple, 1589 Peachtree Road, Atlanta, GA 30306. ■
Atlanta Mourns Modern Orthodox Giant By Suzi Brozman sbrozman@atljewishtimes.com
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oung Israel of Toco Hills hosted an azkarah (memorial service) Monday, April 20, for Rav Aharon Lichtenstein, 81, who died that morning in Israel after more than four decades of teaching and leadership at Yeshivat Har Etzion in Alon Shvut. Har Etzion, known as Gush, is Israel’s first hesder yeshiva, where students combine Torah study and military training. Rav Lichtenstein shared rosh yeshiva duties with Rav Yehuda Amital from 1971 until he was forced by poor health to scale back his duties in recent years. From that post, he became a world leader in Modern Orthodoxy. “This is a tremendous loss to the Jewish people of a man who embodied the highest ideals of Torah both in learning and in deed,” Rabbi Adam Starr said. “Rav Lichtenstein’s vision of a committed Orthodoxy profoundly engaged with the world is one that guides and inspires who we are and what we strive to be at Young Israel of Toco Hills.” Rav Lichtenstein was born in Paris in 1933. In 1940 his family fled France and immigrated to the United States. At Yeshiva University, he studied under Rabbi Joseph Soloveitchik, who became his mentor and his father-in-law. Rabbi Michael Berger, now an Emory professor, was a close student of Rav Lichtenstein’s at Gush. He told the Young Israel audience that his teacher had an incredibly analytic mind that enabled him to see the validity of many sides in the complex world. “He didn’t want to clone himself through his students,” Rabbi Berger said. “Rather, he wanted to launch his students.” The day he had his admissions interview at Gush, “I was waiting, and a tall man came out and asked, ‘Are you waiting for me?’ ‘I don’t know, who are you?’ The man said, ‘Aharon Lichtenstein.’ I thought my career was over. But it is a testament to the rav that he
wasn’t looking for kavod,” or glory. He was looking for something else. He demanded much from his students, out of respect for them. “If we are to live by his example, we must commit to living in the worlds he mastered, not to look for easy solutions, for convenience or simple, popular answers,” Rabbi Berger said. “He struggled, and in the struggle, he found the Kodesh Barechu,” or G-d. Rabbi Eric Levy, a Gush graduate who teaches at Atlanta Jewish Academy, said the rav was “a towering figure of intellect. There was an awe factor. … Most of us were not comfortable breaking that shell that we ourselves had constructed. Rav Lichtenstein was the intellectual, very Olympian, almost a god, while his counterpart, Rav Amital, was more approachable, like a Hasidic rebbe, very warm.” Rabbi Daniel Wolf from Gush happened to be in Atlanta this week. He offered insights into the rav’s life and character. “He always said his family was his greatest accomplishment.” Rabbi Wolf said the rav spent Shabbat afternoons studying with his children. He played Chutes and Ladders with his toddler son for hours until the boy won without the rav’s aid. One son refused to eat the food that the family found acceptable, so the rav made sure food with the proper heksher was always available, Rabbi Wolf said. “He felt that it was important to invest all we can in our children … to make the most out of life.” Rav Lichtenstein always stopped to help people change tires, Rabbi Wolf said, and helped carry others’ luggage. Rabbi Starr said the rav was a towering intellect, a moral compass for all around him, an exemplar of humility and modesty, the pre-eminent leader of Modern Orthodoxy, and had the same love and caring for his students that they had for him. ■
APRIL 24 ▪ 2015
day morning, Torah study, Melton — she was taking a class with Shelly Buxbaum and talked about it all the time. She was extremely knowledgeable, very well read and very smart. She made beautiful contributions to every discussion,” said The Temple’s senior rabbi, Peter Berg. “Marcia embraced the community. By Suzi Brozman She was a real advocate for justice and sbrozman@atljewishtimes.com dedicated her life to it, to making the world a fair and balanced arcia Rothschild place. She became a docent was killed on at The Temple. She’d meet her way to do a groups — schools, nursing religious duty — she was homes — and would tell driving to Knoxville for a them stories and teach the funeral. It was important history of The Temple, of to her to remember anyJudaism.” one we had lost. Amid the Rabbi Berg said Rothstorms Sunday, April 19, schild followed the examher car hydroplaned, left ple of her father, who was Interstate 75 at Mile 59 in an outspoken civil rights Tennessee and hit a tree. advocate, saw The Temple Rothschild, 67, was through the bombing in Courtesy of Tam Institute the daughter of The TemMarcia Rothschild 1958, brought the Reform ple’s spiritual leader Rabbi community to support Jacob Rothschild and his wife, Janice. Born in 1947, she attended Zionism and worked with other segthe Westminster Schools, then Sim- ments of the Jewish community. “For mons College in Boston, and earned example, Rabbi Rothschild worked her master’s degree in early childhood with Rabbi Emanuel Feldman on selllearning from Georgia State University. ing Israel Bonds. They’d hold meetings Longtime friend Rabbi Leila Bern- at synagogues around town, without er, who led Congregation Bet Haverim, demanding kashrut laws be followed, recalled that Rothschild loved kids. just that fruit plates be offered for “She worked with kids with learning Rabbi Feldman. When the meeting was disabilities. She developed a career at Orthodox Beth Jacob, the story goes, around that and was excited when fruit was provided for Rabbi Rothsshe figured out a way to reach a child. child.” Perhaps inspired by her father, She was frustrated when she couldn’t reach a child and was in heaven when Rothschild became a bit of a rebel, takshe found the key. She wanted to help ing part in sit-ins and marches. She also came out as a lesbian. the world.” Her cousin Dr. Gus Kaufman said Her love of children extended to Rabbi Berner’s daughter, for whom she Rothschild was proud of her activism. was baby sitter and companion when She worked to bring people into the the rabbi needed her. One summer, mainstream and get over homophobia. Rabbi Berner led a student trip from She was a founder of Congregation Bet Emory to Israel and wanted to bring Haverim, which began as a gay and lesher 4-year-old daughter along. Roth- bian congregation, and of Lev Shalem, schild accompanied them at her own an LGBT chavurah. She was close to and protective of expense to care for the child with one stipulation: that she be allowed to ac- her mother, another profoundly intellectual person, and accompanied her company the group on tours. She was very involved in the life everywhere, including to classes and of the mind. She attended Bible study Emory lectures. She became involved classes and lectures. She switched ca- in a lecture series at the Tam Institute reers and made her living as an editor, for Jewish Studies at Emory, where an mostly of scholarly manuscripts. Like annual lecture in memory of her father many children of clergy, she had dif- was established several years ago. Kaufman said Rothschild had so ficulties with her father’s religion, but after Bet Haverim and time with Lev much love to give to friends, children and the community. He said she used to Shalem, she returned to The Temple. “Marcia came to everything. She go to Grady Memorial Hospital to hold could have been the recipient of the and rock HIV-infected babies because perfect attendance record if we had she knew they needed the contact. She came out because she was one. Every Friday night, every Saturproud of who she was. Because of her
For an extended version of this article with more Atlantans’ reminiscences, visit www.atljewishtimes.com. 21
AJT
EDUCATION
Greater Atlanta Hadassah proudly invites the community to be our guest as we honor the recipients of
The 24th Annual Marian F. Perling Hadassah Chesed Student Awards Sunday, May 3, 2015 2:00 – 3:30 p.m. Congregation Beth Shalom 5303 Winters Chapel Road, Atlanta, GA 30360 2014 Marian F. Perling Hadassah Chesed Student Award Recipients:
Ahavath Achim Synagogue - Mr. Isadore “Izzy” Jackson Atlanta Jewish Academy - Middle School - Ms. Shani Kadosh Atlanta Jewish Academy - Upper School - Ms. Tova Asher Congregation Beth Shalom - Ms. Tal Nechmad Congregation Dor Tamid - Mr. Sam Latzsch Congregation Etz Chaim - Ms. Hannah Wittenstein Congregation Gesher L’Torah - Mr. Justin Rubin Congregation Or Hadash - Ms. Deanna Lalo Congregation Or VeShalom - Mr. Jared Ladden Congregation Shearith Israel - Ms. Kira Lewitt
RSVP by April 30th to Greater Atlanta Hadassah Phone: 678-443-2961
Temple Beth Tikvah - Ms. Leah Faupel Temple Emanu-El - Ms. Olivia Lesnick Temple Kehillat Chaim - Mr. Jacob Best Temple Kol Emeth - Mr. David Ostrow Temple Sinai – Ms. Rachel Morochnik The Davis Academy - Mr. Jacob Rubin The Epstein School - Mr. Syd Pargman The Temple - Mr. Mark “Elliott” Williams The Weber School - Ms. Jenna Rubin Torah Day School - Mr. Yosef Spotts
Refreshments served Dietary laws observed
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APRIL 24 ▪ 2015
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AJT 22
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3-Week Business Course Delivers Emory Essentials By Michael Jacobs mjacobs@atljewishtimes.com
its to companies. One of the stops for Levine’s class of about 15 students was Google, where they met with an Emory mory University’s Goizueta Busi- alum. Levine introduced herself at the ness School might once have end of the visit and followed up with been the exclusive domain of a thank-you note, and now she has an the future titans of American finance advocate for her hiring inside Google. and industry, but as anyone recoverThe institute culminates in a group ing from the April 15 income tax dead- project to bring a product to market, line might realize, the knowledge and ending with a pitch meeting to invesskills involved in earning a bachelor tors. Levine’s group proposed a wearof business administration degree can able sports band, like Fitbit but with come in handy for just the ability to measure about anyone. static exercises such Three years ago, as pushups. It wasn’t a Goizueta came to the product she was excitrescue of undergradued about because she ates making their way thought the market through the liberal was saturated, but the arts and sciences at project allowed her Emory College with to practice her interthe Summer Business personal skills as well Institute, a three-week as her new business summer course that knowledge. covers the basics of Levine said the finance, marketing, institute provided Paula Levine has a job lined up in management, career Washington, D.C., after graduation. “everything that you planning and other key would want to know business topics. going into a company The six-credit program is for rising like I’m going into so I can be part of juniors and seniors outside the busi- the conversation about the business,” ness school who want to be ready to hit including a binder stuffed with inforthe career ground running when they mation as an ongoing resource. graduate. The institute ends the first That business is ID.me, a startup week of June, leaving enough time for in Washington, D.C., where she has students to do other things, for work or interned the past two summers. The fun, during the summer. company provides instant identity One product of the Summer Busi- verification in areas that are prone to ness Institute is Paula Levine, who is fraud and identity theft, such as veterdue to graduate from Emory in May ans’ benefits. with a film studies degree with a conLevine will be a customer success centration in film and media manage- executive with a portfolio of accounts. ment. Although Levine entered the The young Jewish woman from institute last summer with a stronger Princeton, N.J., followed a brother who business background than most of her is 10 years older to Emory to play socclassmates — her concentration in- cer and possibly pursue medicine like cludes 10 Goizueta classes — she found her mother, but one semester of prethe program attractive because “I was med biology changed her mind. confident I would be using more of the “I think everybody who comes to business side in my career.” Emory at first has in mind either busiThe program covers the founda- ness or medicine,” she said, but the libtions of business in the morning, from eral arts are a big part of its appeal. business law and competitive analysis A calf injury her freshman year to Microsoft Excel. In the afternoons, also ended her collegiate soccer career. the students focus on professional “It’s equivalent to losing your first love. preparation with workshops on such It was really heartbreaking.” essentials as résumés, cover letters, After taking a year off to regroup, team building and networking. Levine chose her major for its combina“We really went over everything tion of practical, bankable skills and its that I would have needed,” Levine said. creativity. The summer institute helped She emphasized that the institute fea- hone those skills. “It makes your liberal tures Goizueta’s best professors. arts degree even more valuable when The class includes a day for vis- you’re trying to sell yourself.” ■
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BUSINESS
Handy Randy Grows Into Commercial Construction
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ore than 13 years have passed since Randy Glazer opened his own construction busi-
ness. His company has redesigned and remodeled some of Atlanta’s finest homes and weathered the housing crash of 2008. Now Glazer, the owner of Glazer Design & Construction, is adding staff, branching into commercial projects and building a new office in Sandy Springs. Not bad for a Jewish kid who got started mowing lawns in his West Hartford, Conn., neighborhood. In those days, Glazer was known in the community as “Handy Randy” for his prowess with do-it-yourself projects. He moved to Atlanta in 1994 to take a job working for another contractor and soon after decided to start his own business. “I worked for several different contractors and companies in Atlanta,” he said. “I watched them, saw what they were doing, and I was checking out how I could open a company that would be one step better.” Glazer went solo under the Handy Randy moniker in 1995, but a short time later he fractured his wrist when he fell from a ladder. At that point, he said, he began to sub out work and became more of a general contractor. He founded Glazer Design & Construction in 2002 during one of the biggest real estate booms in U.S. history. During the recession, Glazer stayed in business by focusing on home remodeling and purchasing low-priced properties in metro Atlanta. The move paid off when real estate prices recovered, and Glazer cashed in. “The way I see it,” he said, “the prices of real estate right now are probably higher than what they were before the crash. Any lot that’s available is getting bought up and redeveloped.” Now in a competitive market for new housing developments, Glazer has shifted his focus toward commercial projects, home remodeling and, perhaps the most daunting of all tasks,
building custom kosher kitchens for his Jewish clientele. “Finding creative ways to make space in a kosher kitchen can be a challenge,” he said. Glazer Design & Construction recently won four awards in Atlanta Home Improvement Magazine’s 2014 Before and After contest: first and third
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Left: Randy Glazer is the owner of Glazer Design & Construction. Above: This bathroom renovation (before inset) won Atlanta Home Improvement Magazine’s 2014 Best Bathroom award.
place in the Best Bathrooms category, second place in the Best Master Suites category, and first place in the Best Stairway and Entryway category. (Photos of the makeovers can be found at glazerconstruction.com/4165/awardwinning-home-renovations.) For Glazer and his wife, Meredyth, the business’s office manager, this is an exciting time. The new three-story headquarters is expected to open in January and will feature a showroom and Frank Lloyd Wright-inspired architecture. “Going forward, we’ve added more project managers and designers to our staff,” Glazer said. “We’re going to take a lot more projects on.” ■
APRIL 24 ▪ 2015
By David R. Cohen david@atljewishtimes.com
Think you’re covered... are you sure?
AJT 23
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ARTS
The Ranting Side of Life
Lewis Black talks comedy, politics and profits of religion By Kevin Madigan kmadigan@atljewishtimes.com Lewis Black is appearing at the Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre on May 1 as part of his “The Rant Is Due: Part Deux” national tour. The Atlanta Jewish Times caught up with the acerbic Jewish comedian on the phone for a quick chat. AJT: How are you? Black: Oh, it gets better all the time. AJT: Are you sure about that? Black: We’ve got things squared away now. We have a new vision coming in. We’re gonna move to a better tomorrow, finally. [Laughs.] Yeah, right. We’re really going to get right on top of this. AJT: It’s a mess. Black: We don’t do anything except discuss. Not even really discuss. We argue, and all we’re really doing is arguing about what we’re not doing.
APRIL 24 ▪ 2015
AJT: Evading the issues? Black: Yeah. How many times does each side have to tell us about the other side? Seriously. When you reach my age, you see it all. Republicans are going to continue to allow the tail to wag the dog, so we’re just not going to get anywhere. And Democrats basically don’t have the effective will to operate and are afraid, allowing the minority to have all the power. Same thing happened in the ’60s when I was a kid. Hell, I had more power than I should have had.
AJT 24
AJT: Candidates spewing out platitudes, not really talking about anything concrete. This Marco Rubio guy just announced his candidacy. Black: There’s nothing concrete. “We’re going to go to a new tomorrow.” That’s great. We’re supposed to be there already, a--hole. The way things are going, quite frankly, yesterday might well be tomorrow. But he’s handsome! Very good-looking man. [Laughs.] It would be nice to have someone running who had some real chops about how to get s--- done. Obama wasn’t seasoned enough to be president of the United States, and neither is this kid. AJT: Do you think Hillary Clinton is? Black: She may be over-seasoned. AJT: Overcooked? Black: Right, overcooked! [Laughs.]
AJT: Where are you right now? Black: Standing in front of a bus — no, a train station — in Baltimore, Maryland.
AJT: How did he do? Black: He did fine. You know, he learned a lot.
AJT: You’re all over the place on this tour. Do you ever get onstage and think, “I don’t want to do this tonight, I’m tired”? Black: Well, I’m tired, but that never happens. After I take my nap, I’m ready to go.
AJT: What’s his name? Black: I can’t — my brain. … God gives you a thousand names in your Rolodex. You push another one in, and one pops out. [Laughs.] I feel terrible but I just — I have an inkling. [The wounded warrior/ comedian is Joe Kashnow.]
AJT: Bill Cosby is playing the same venue the night after you. Black: I know. We have a big crossover audience! AJT: Do you know him? Black: Never met him. To be honest, people and other comedians I know and respect, they love him. But, his comedy — I should at some point listen more to him, but honestly, I liked him more on “I Spy.” That had more of an effect on me than his comedy did. I was doing fine with Lenny Bruce, Richard Pryor, those guys. AJT: What do you think about the new comedians, Trevor Noah, for instance? Black: I think we’ll have to see. I don’t really know him. We didn’t cross paths at “The Daily Show” at any time. As I’ve said, as long as they keep that production staff and writers in place, we’ll be fine, I think. It’ll be a different show, but it will be fine. Jon [Stewart] did a great job of focusing them to go where he was interested. He had a vision for each night’s show, but those guys can write. They throw away better material than what you see most of the time. AJT: You’re going to continue with it, right? Black: I guess. We’ll see, but I think so. Unless they’re stupid. AJT: You never know. There’s a lot of stupidity around. Black: [Laughs.] Especially at Comedy Central! AJT: Your Children of the Forest scholarship fund provides assistance to refugee and migrant children in the Thai-Burmese border region of the
AJT: Have you heard about this pastor here in Georgia, Creflo Dollar, who asked his congregation for $65 million to buy a new Learjet? Black: Yeah, I saw that. If I wanted to make more money — there’s two ways to make more money than by doing stand-up. There’s religion, or you can open Photo by Clay McBride a gun shop. These guys, Lewis Black is in the Atlanta area for one night it’s incredible. You know, only — unfortunately, a Friday night. when I was coming up, it Kanchanaburi province in Thailand. was [Jimmy] Swaggart. One of the great Can you talk a little about that? losses of my life was not being able to Black: The guy who runs my website watch Swaggart anymore. stuff, a place called Fan Asylum, his name is Tim McQuaid, he spent a lot AJT: With tears running down his face. of time in Thailand and somehow Black: Yeah. Schmuck. But, boy, he was stumbled across a group of kids. He fun to watch. He could really throw a said a year ago that we have all these speech out. Lewis Black T-shirts, how about we give them to the kids? I said sure. But then I AJT: Thanks for your time, Lewis. thought we can do a lot more than that. Black: Thanks. I look forward to comWe can send 11 kids to college for 25 ing to Atlanta. I hope you get to come grand. That’s a steal. I had the opportu- to the show. nity, and we’ve almost raised the money. We’re at 16 grand or so now [at press AJT: I’ll ask your publicist if she’ll get time, the amount topped $20,000]. me in. Look, whenever I have the opportunity Black: Oh, yeah, you’ll get in. I get to funnel cash, I do it, though most of comps everywhere I go. I don’t have 30 the stuff I do is here in the States. This friends in Atlanta! See you at the show. is an opportunity to have an effect Tell everybody I’m looking forward to somewhere else. It’s nice. the traffic. That’s what gives me the AJT: The documentary “Comedy Warriors: Healing Through Humor” has you and other comedians helping injured veterans become stand-up pros. It was a big hit at the Atlanta Jewish Film Festival. Black: Nice. That’s good. One of the guys is Jewish, lives here in Baltimore. I had him open for me when I played in Washington.
greatest joy of coming to Atlanta, Georgia. ■
Who: Comedian Lewis Black Where: Cobb Energy Centre, 2800 Cobb Galleria Parkway When: 8 p.m. Friday, May 1 Tickets: $35 to $72; www. cobbenergycentre.com/event/lewis-black
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ARTS
A Wandering Broadway Jew
Tory Trowbridge comes to town with ‘Pippin’ By David R. Cohen david@atljewishtimes.com
AJT: You are the only Jewish member of the “Pippin” cast. What’s your Jewish background? Trowbridge: I was born and raised in Los Angeles and have been going to temple for as long as I can remember. I attended Temple Israel of Hollywood. Throughout my training, looking back, I was singing and going to school during the day and then dancing at night. At the time it didn’t seem like that big of a deal, but it was always just a known thing that Wednesdays and Sundays I would not be at dance because I would be at Hebrew school. AJT: How is it being the only Jew in the production? Trowbridge: It goes back to how I was raised because it’s always a part of me. When it comes to practicing and celebrating Shabbat and even Passover, which just passed, it’s sometimes
tough. I went to Whole Foods and bought some chicken liver and matzah and called it my Passover. I think it’s just something that I’ve grown accustomed to. It’s still a part of me even if I’m not with my family and celebrating Passover or having Shabbat with them. AJT: Can you pull any Jewish themes from “Pippin”? Trowbridge: I think, when it comes to the end, Pippin finding his own path and his own way and not being distracted by other things around him. He decides on his own without anyone else’s help to find his happiness his own way. I feel like growing up, I went to such a nice temple, and it was very spiritual in the same way. My mother and father raised me to find my happiness, whether it’s what someone else is doing or not. I’ve always tied that into Judaism. AJT: Favorite part of being in a traveling production like “Pippin”? Trowbridge: My favorite is the people I get to travel with for sure. You kind of create a family. Last week, everyone knew it was Passover, and I’m the only Jewish actress in the show, so they all wished me “happy Passover,” and I even had a few friends who wanted to do a seder, but we didn’t have the time. It’s the family aspect that I really cherWhat: “Pippin” Where: Fox Theatre When: Eight shows May 5 to 10 Tickets: $30 to $80; foxtheatre.org
ish and love. Of course, I also pinch myself every time I’m onstage because I’m doing a Broadway tour. It’s pretty unreal. ■
Left: Tory Trowbridge Right: Photo by Terry Shapiro “Pippin” will be in town for eight performances from May 5 to 10.
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APRIL 24 ▪ 2015
The Tony Awardwinning Broadway revival of “Pippin” is coming to Atlanta’s Fox Theatre from May 5 to 10 and includes Jewish cast member Tory Trowbridge. The show, about King Charlemagne’s son, has been on a nationwide tour since August and is scheduled to continue through 2016. Trowbridge, who is a player in the show and the understudy for the character of Catherine, talked to the Atlanta Jewish Times about touring with “Pippin,” living on the road and being the only Jewish cast member. AJT: Pippin has been touring since August. How has it been so far? Trowbridge: It’s been great. We started in Denver and were there for a month and a half. We rehearsed in New York City for four weeks, and then we transferred our show to Denver. It was the first time that we were on a full-sized stage. After Denver, we hit San Francisco, Las Vegas and Los Angeles, which is my hometown. What’s great about this tour is we are somewhere new every week. [Pippin just wrapped up the Florida leg of the tour with stops in Miami, Tampa and Orlando.]
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ARTS
Artists Explore Their Judaic Souls
Jewish Arts Month provided an annual reminder of creativity By Suzi Brozman sbrozman@atljewishtimes.com
APRIL 24 ▪ 2015
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hat is Jewish art? Who is a Jewish artist? These questions were at the heart of Jewish Arts Month, which was in March, but for each artist it’s more a question of how can a person express himself or herself through artistic means. Art is so personal and inspiration can come from anywhere — religion, family, culture, nature — so it’s next to impossible to pin down a definition. Judaic art can be a ketubah on your wall, a Torah cover in the synagogue, the stained-glass windows designed by Marc Chagall that hang in the Hadassah Hospital in Jerusalem. It can be a seder plate you use at Passover, a collage, a print of a work by a famous artist, or whatever else you prize as art in your life. Back in the 1990s, Rabbi Avi Magid came up with the idea of using art to educate people about the Torah and to connect the community with Jewish artists. His idea, a Jewish art week, gradually morphed into Jewish Arts Month. March was chosen because that’s when we read Exodus, in which we are introduced to Bezalel, the artist/ workman who designed and built the Mishkan (Tabernacle). He used precious metals — gold, silver and copper — and supervised weaving and embroidery, metalwork and painting, all in the glory of G-d, to construct and embellish the first house of worship, as described in the Torah. Today, Jewish Arts Month is celebrated and sponsored each year by the American Guild of Judaic Art, which encourages the rich diversity and quality of Judaic art around the world. “The Guild is about mentoring and networking, not just about selling work,” said Flora Rosefsky, an Atlantabased artist who recently completed her term as the president of the guild. “It’s a community of artists who have a similar passion for what they do, for the ways they express themselves through their art.” The guild is an international notfor-profit membership organization dedicated to the promotion of Jewish art and culture in society. Members exhibit works and lead workshops and residencies encouraging knowledge of and participation in Jewish artwork.
The guild is but one of many arts groups, but it’s one with a specific purpose: representing visual artists with a definite Judaic influence in their work. Inspiration can come from anywhere, and the art doesn’t have to be specifically Jewish. At the guild’s website, Jewishart. org, you can acquaint yourself with many artists and view examples of their work. Rosefsky also suggests visiting local outlets, shops and galleries that carry Judaic art. “When you know the artist,” she said, “the work is more personal. It’s good to support those who support art in the community.” Part of the guild’s purpose is to offer an annual online exhibition. This year’s choices include works selected by juror Lisa Alembik; they are exhibited for a year. Many Jewish artists live in the Atlanta area and work in media from paper to paint to pottery to printing to glass to fabric and more. Here are three examples who are members of the American Guild of Judaic Art. Rosefsky (www.FloraRosefsky. com) describes her current art as collage work that uses ephemera (found paper). She has designed Torah covers, stained glass for synagogues, Sukkot art, quilts and much more. She frequently teaches workshops for children and adults, such as a paper cutout workshop she did at the Breman Museum at the end of March in connection with the “Where the Wild Things Are” exhibit. Rosefsky is a self-described folk artist whose work is frequently inspired by her Jewish heritage. Her work has been featured in many solo and group exhibits, and a number of synagogue sanctuaries display her designs. In addition to Judaic work, she loves doing illustrations and cutouts, especially of people and pets. Other work she is proud of includes an art quilt she designed with Anne Mandel. “Justice, We Shall Pursue” was sewn by several members of the Peach State Stitchers, the Atlanta chapter of the Pomegranate Guild of Judaic Art. The quilt was donated to the Center for Civil and Human Rights last May and is installed on the first level near the King Papers exhibition area. Ellen Filreis (www.mypetitstresors.com) works in mixed-media collage and assemblage, some Jewishthemed, some not.
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ARTS
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I A: Lynette Joel’s design for the glass mosaic donor wall at Young Israel of Toco Hills shows Zebulon’s ship sailing through a sea of white tiles, while mother-of-pearl tiles, white marble, and 18 shades of white and silver glass portray the tents of Issachar, the riches of the sea and students studying Torah. B: Flora Rosefsky designed this tallit bag, and Lynette Joel did the embroidery and sewing. C: “Alef Beis,” which is 11 by 14 inches, is an example of Ellen Filreis’ encaustic art. D: Ellen Filreis’ “Sealed With a Kiss” is mixed-media decoupage on glass. E: Flora Rosefsky’s “Community Embracing Torah” stained glass is in the sanctuary at Temple Kehillat Chaim in Roswell. F: From Lynette Joel’s series on the 12 tribes, this is her representation of Benjamin and the month of Kislev. G: Artists Bonnie Cohen (left) and Lynette Joel collaborated on the Young Israel donor wall but didn’t meet in person until the installation. H: “Under the Canopy” is part of Flora Rosefsky’s “Tradition” folk art series. I: Lynette Joel’s cutouts include a series of Jewish holidays. J: Flora Rosefsky’s “Jewish Celebrations Quilt” is at the Breman Museum in Midtown. K: This is a detail from Ellen Filreis’ shadow box assemblage “From Generation to Generation,” which is 13 by 13 inches and 3 inches deep.
a print of Zebulon. That led to Issachar, then Levi and more. Her work is imbued with symbolism, often from Midrash, so much so that educators use her prints as teaching tools. She saw the Young Israel donor wall as a way to honor people giving money to study Torah. “I wanted to use Zebulon, but a print wasn’t good enough,” Joel said. “I wanted something really significant, different. I had the idea of doing a mosaic. I got in touch with Flora Rosefsky. She introduced me to Bonnie Cohen, another member of the guild. We got together to try.” Joel wanted the work to be all white and glass. “I felt color would detract from it.” She and Cohen worked on the project remotely. The first time they met in person was when Cohen came down from Ohio for the Young Israel installation. “It was the first time we met in person,” Joel said. “We got along so well, we couldn’t sleep. It was a real mutual admiration society.” Joel is working on an art book about the 12 tribes, showcasing each one and highlighting the meanings through Midrash, so the book can be a learning tool and a coffee table book. ■
Colorful Visions of Home The featured artist at the Marcus Jewish Community Center during Jewish Arts Month was Israeli-Ethiopian Hirut Yosef. Her exhibit, “Chalom Yashan, A Journey Back Home,” was a selection of prints and originals by a young woman who drew inspiration from her Ethiopian roots. Her art honors strong African women and uses vibrant color and traditional design. She spoke at the exhibit’s opening, telling her story of travel from Africa to Turkey to Israel and now to Atlanta. When she was 5 years old, her family left a Jewish village in Ethiopia and walked almost 485 miles to Sudan to escape famine. She, her parents and eight of her 12 siblings were fleeing the Ethiopian civil war. Once out of Ethiopia, Yosef and her family were among the first Ethiopian Jews to be relocated to Israel through Operation Moses, Israel’s secret rescue mission in cooperation with the CIA. Through the years, she has studied and become an artist and fashion designer. The concept of home, which she didn’t remember, began to inspire her work. “Not only the physical home,” she said. “Home is also in my search for an identity because moving to Israel as a black girl was very traumatic. Like many black girls, I dreamed of one day having blue eyes and blond hair because that is what was all around me.” On a visit back to Ethiopia, she was reacquainted with the bright colors of her childhood — the colors that still inform her art and fashion.
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She’s working on a book for Jewish children, though through years of volunteering with seniors, she believes that this new work also will be beneficial for Alzheimer’s patients, focusing as it does on familiar things. Using mostly miniatures and all kinds of ephemera, each page of the book will deal with one aspect of Jewish life, such as Shabbat and holidays. Filreis is a former finance professional who became a self-taught artist. “I just decided to follow my heart’s desire and do something creative where I can do some good with my creations for the Jewish home and education,” she said. The new Young Israel of Toco Hills building features an eye-catching wall installation by Lynette Joel (www. lynettejoel.com). It’s the shul’s donor wall. Joel, a native of South Africa, lived for a time in Europe, then moved to Boston with her family before settling in Atlanta. She began making clothes and decorating them with silk screening. She progressed to machine embroidery and found herself using her skills to create wall art, often for fundraising. The Epstein School asked her to do
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SIMCHAS
Engagement Blass-Birnbrey
APRIL 24 ▪ 2015
Robin and David Blass of Dunwoody announce the engagement of their daughter, Jennifer Erin Blass, to Michael Alan Birnbrey, son of Karen and David Birnbrey of Sandy Springs. Jennifer is the granddaughter of Muriel and Seymour Lodinger of Atlanta and the late Doris Blass Steiner of Atlanta. Michael is the grandson of Henry Birnbrey and the late Ricky Birnbrey of Atlanta and Albert and Judy Weycer of Houston. Jennifer graduated from Woodward Academy and Indiana University. She received her master’s degree in clinical psychology at the Georgia School of Professional Psychology. She is employed at Mud-Pie. Michael graduated from Riverwood High School and Indiana University. He is employed at Salomon Real Estate Group as a real estate developer. A winter wedding is planned.
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Lifelong Friendship Leads to Autism Walk
12-year-old heads fundraising team By Logan C. Ritchie lritchie@atljewishtimes.com
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yan Cohen is a typical 12-yearold: He listens to Maroon 5 on his iPhone, plays trumpet and runs cross country at the Epstein School. He plays video games and has an affinity for silly YouTube videos. What’s not typical about Ryan is his compassion for longtime friend Jared Jay, who is living with an autism spectrum disorder. Ryan and Jared were born two weeks apart in November 2002 and were bound to be friends because their fathers, Michael Cohen and Gregory Jay, were fraternity brothers at the University of Georgia and moved to Atlanta after college. “We all had dreams of our boys growing up together, playing sports and building a friendship together,” said Lisa Cohen, Ryan’s mother. When Jared was diagnosed with autism at 2, the Cohens were shocked. “I remember where I was sitting when she told me. We couldn’t tell because we weren’t living with him, so we didn’t see the day to day,” Lisa said. “We let them know we were always there. We continued inviting them for dinner and birthday parties, but eventually it became too difficult for their family.” Jared’s mother, Jan Jay, said: “We felt very supported by our friends. I hear a lot of parents say they lost friends. Our case was different. We were always invited over. Everyone was extra-supportive.” As the years went on, Jared’s challenges became more pronounced. At 12, he cannot sit through services at Temple Sinai for more than a few minutes. His comprehension is unknown because Jared is nonverbal. “Jared has no meaning for social situations,” Jan said. “He doesn’t know to say hello. That’s what autism is, a lack of intrinsic desire to be social. For Ryan to accept that in a person is an amazing thing.” About a year ago, Jan and Lisa were surprised to discover that the boys were assigned the same weekend for their b’nai mitzvah in November 2015. Ryan, who attends Temple Beth Tikvah, had already decided to use autism awareness in his mitzvah project, and the Cohens and Jays quickly combined forces.
What started as Ryan writing a book about his friend has morphed into two creative endeavors: • Ryan is the captain of Jared’s Jaywalkers, a team that is raising research money and participating in Walk Now for Autism Speaks on Sunday, April 26, at Atlantic Station. By press time, the team had raised more than $2,000. • Riffing off Ryan’s book idea, Jan and Ryan are writing a Social Stories book to guide challenged children through becoming b’nai mitzvah. Social Stories, Jan said, are picture books for developmentally challenged kids. Some children with autism respond better visually than aurally. The book will be made for Jared and children like him to explain each step of the bar or bat mitzvah day. “It will walk him through each part: You go into the synagogue. You stand on the bimah. The rabbi will hold his hands up to bless you. You will wear a tallit. Each step is demonstrated by a picture,” she said. When the Social Stories are completed, the Jays and Cohens will distribute books to Atlanta-area synagogues for children with learning challenges. “It warms my heart,” Jan said. “This phenomenal family has instilled something in Ryan to make him want to do this. It is hard enough for adults, but for a 12-year-old to give back is incredible.” “He has not grown and developed the way I did, so it is hard for us to hang out together,” Ryan wrote on his donation page for the Autism Speaks walk. “He can’t communicate with me very well so we can’t talk about stuff like I do with my other friends. But Jared is still my good friend.” On the bimah this fall, Ryan plans to talk about his Torah portion, his mitzvah project and his friend Jared. ■ What: Georgia Walk Now for Autism Speaks Where: Atlantic Station, 240 20th St., Midtown When: Sunday, April 26; registration at 8 a.m., opening ceremonies at 9:15, walk at 9:30 Information: http://www. walknowforautismspeaks.org/faf/home/ default.asp?ievent=1121611 To donate to Jared’s Jaywalkers: bit. ly/1G6UAdI
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OBITUARIES - MAY THEIR MEMORIES BE A BLESSING
Jennie Isenberg Leff
Marcia Diane Rothschild
Jennie Isenberg Leff, age 97, a native of Atlanta, died Thursday, April 16, 2015. She was preceded in death by her loving husband, Nathan Leff, and seven siblings, of blessed memory. Survivors include son and daughter-in-law Michael and Bobbie Leff of Atlanta; daughter Brenda Raymon of Atlanta; grandchildren Kevin (Jennifer) Leff, Barry (Amy) Leff, David (Alison) Raymon and Tracy (Jose) Marcano; great-grandchildren Jordan, Alex, Nina, Evan, Danny and Lexi; and many nieces and nephews. Sign the online guestbook at www.edressler.com. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Atlanta History Center for the Dr. Sidney Isenberg Lecture Series. A graveside service was held Friday, April 17, at Greenwood Cemetery with Rabbi Hillel Norry officiating. Arrangements by Dressler’s Jewish Funeral Care, 770-451-4999.
Marcia Diane Rothschild, 67, of Atlanta died Sunday morning, April 19, 2015, in a one-car crash. Marcia was born Oct. 13, 1947, in Atlanta, the daughter of Rabbi Jacob and Mrs. Janice Rothschild. She graduated from the Westminster Schools in Atlanta and Simmons College in Boston and received her master’s degree in early childhood learning from Georgia State University. Marcia began her career as a special education teacher in public schools and was a counselor for learning disabilities. Throughout her life, she exhibited exceptional language skills, which led her to a second career as an editor with emphasis in translated scholarly works. Marcia inherited her father’s sense of humor, both her grandmothers’ strengths of character, and her mother’s analytical skills. She enjoyed adult Jewish learning sessions, including Torah study, at The Temple and elsewhere. She was a loyal friend to many, and she will be missed. Marcia is survived by her mother, Janice Rothschild Blumberg; her brother and his wife, Bill and Brenda Rothschild; and her nephew, Jacob Rothschild. Sign the online guestbook at www.edressler.com. In lieu of flowers, donations may be sent to the Rabbi’s Discretionary Fund at The Temple, 1589 Peachtree Road, Atlanta, GA 30306. A graveside service was held at Crest Lawn Memorial Park on Tuesday, April 21. Arrangements by Dressler’s Jewish Funeral Care, 770451-4999.
97, Atlanta
Joan Ruth Forman Lipsey 81, Atlanta
Joan Ruth Forman Lipsey, age 81, of Atlanta died Tuesday, April 14, 2015. She was born in Cleveland, Ohio, and raised in Atlanta. She was a graduate of Grady High School and Emory University. She spent several years as a teacher and then raised four children. She was a residential real estate agent for many years. She was longtime member of The Temple and was involved in several Jewish organizations. She was predeceased by her parents, Belle Ross Forman and Daniel Edward Forman, of blessed memory. Survivors include her loving husband of 60 years, Alan Lipsey; brother and sister-in-law Richard and Barbara Forman; daughter Patricia Lipsey; daughter and son-in-law Susan and Alan Wishneff; son and daughter-in-law Michael and Caren Cook Lipsey; son and daughter-in-law Mark and Susan Lipsey; grandchildren Anna Wishneff, Samuel Wishneff, Jacob Lipsey and Alexandra Lipsey; step-grandchildren Alyson, Drew and Caylan; nieces Rhyan Kime and Regan Gross; and nephew Daniel Forman. The family would like to thank the wonderful staff at the Cohen Home, Weinstein Hospice and Kadan Home Health Care. Sign the online guestbook at www.edressler.com. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Alzheimer’s Association of Georgia, The Temple, the American Cancer Society or the charity of your choice. A graveside service was held Friday, April 17, at Arlington Memorial Park with Rabbi David Spinrad officiating. Arrangements by Dressler’s Jewish Funeral Care, 770-451-4999.
67, Atlanta
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CLOSING THOUGHTS OBITUARIES – MAY THEIR MEMORIES BE A BLESSING
Twice-Stolen Necklace
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was, still am, a neat freak. I am not obsessive about being neat but pretty darn close. My brain is filled with the type of clutter I can’t tidy up the way I can my surroundings. I actually cannot think in a cluttered space. That’s how I knew our apartment had been robbed. When my family moved to a brand-new apartment building on the upper edge of the Bronx and lower edge of Yonkers, it boasted a large, airy apartment on the top floor. I was granted every teenager’s dream: my own room. White contemporary furniture, a corner desk, which I used mostly to store my precious items of interest, and a trundle bed, which, when opened, butted up against my dressers. It was a small room, but it was mine. My two sisters shared a spacious second bedroom. When my sisters and I realized we did not like being separated, we moved the bottom of my trundle into their room, and we were happy as clams. Eventually, I did move back to my own room. My sisters and I all have June birthdays. We always received lots of birthday cards from family and friends. Cards were proudly displayed unless they had cash or checks enclosed. I kept my money inside each card, inside the original envelope, so I could send thank-you notes. These cards were kept in alphabetical order. Did I mention I like things in order? One day I arrived home from school, ready to begin creatively saying thank you over and over again. When I opened my dresser drawer, all was as I’d organized it. I brought all the envelopes to the kitchen table. I had my ink pen and stamps. I was ready. I opened the first envelope to take out the card, only to discover it was empty. I opened a second and third envelope, all empty. I started to shake with dread. What could have happened to all my money, with which I hoped to buy clothes for summer camp? Mom (z”l) came home with her cart filled with groceries. She started unloading the groceries until she heard me, in a near-hysterical voice, ask her where my money was. She left the groceries on the table and hurried to her bedroom, with me close behind. All her good jewelry was gone; all the
costume jewelry was untouched. She instructed me to check my jewelry box. My graduation charm bracelet was gone. When my sisters arrived home from school, Mom had them repeat this exercise, and to their horror, the few good jewelry pieces they had were gone.
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CROSSWORD
“Character Actors”
By Michael Wiesenberg Editor: DavidBenkof@gmail.com Difficulty Level: Challenging
Shaindle’s Shpiel By Shaindle Schmuckler shaindle@atljewishtimes.com
We’d been robbed. But when? How? The door was intact; the windows had not been touched. Could the robbers have come from the roof? But how? We were all emotional wrecks. The police claimed they did not know when or how this robbery took place. Unbeknownst to us, they had a suspect in mind. A number of families in our building had experienced this same type of home invasion. We were all shocked at how neatly we were robbed. Nothing, and I mean nothing, seemed out of place. The robbers had a lot of time to move around quiet as a mice. When the superintendent of our building was arrested, he no longer had the jewelry or money he had stolen. Everything was gone forever. Or so we thought. Many years went by. My parents retired to Del Ray Beach, Fla. They often took weekend vacations with friends at a Miami hotel. On one of these weekends, Mom met a lady with whom she was chatting about this and that when Mom noticed her necklace. “Beautiful,” Mom said. “May I see it?” Mom turned it over and read the following: “To Paula, love Hymie,” with a date. “Is your name Paula too? My name is Paula.” No, the woman said, it’s an antique, been in the family forever. “Oh, no it’s not. It is my necklace,” Mom screamed. “Give it back to me. It was stolen from me.” The woman took off, and Mom ran to the desk to have the police alerted. By the time they came, the woman and her husband were gone. My poor mom was robbed twice. Mom was strong. She survived much worse in her lifetime. But seeing her necklace worn by a stranger was almost more than she could bear. ■
ACROSS 1 Sukkah protection for when it’s raining 5 “The Defiant Ones” Oscar nominee Williams 9 Leave a poker game 12 Intel Israel customer 13 Newsman David dubbed “The Brain” by his CNBC co-workers 14 Rachel’s is found in a Muslim cemetery on the outskirts of Bethlehem 15 Familiar PM 16 Rebound of sorts 17 Uzi fodder 18 They might request help getting started 20 Someone who likes to “cane” you? 22 Approximation phrase, for which Israelis might say “B’erech” 23 Temple Emanu-El, Washington’s first synagogue, is in this city 24 Like a Jewish name ending in -wich or -witz 27 Emulates Emma Lazarus 28 Rabbis or Hebrew school teachers, often 31 Spoon-bending Geller 34 States like 15A 35 Lod fig. 36 Gimme for Amy Alcott or Bruce Fleisher 38 How long it takes to say “Amen,” for short 39 Cry that may accompany a shot 41 They let people watch SNL on a Tuesday 43 “___ page 237 in your siddurim” 44 Speak clearly 47 Herzl, for short 48 Makes claims, as 15A is wont to 49 Playground equipment that hangs on a pole 53 “Climb ___ Mountain”: from Rodgers and Hammerstein’s “The Sound of Music” 54 Many an Israeli start-up 56 Jacob to Rachel and Leah: “___ that your father’s attitude toward me is not what it
was before” (Genesis 31:5) 57 Aleph-___ 58 Speak, as 15A did before Congress on March 3, 2015 59 Israeli pickles usually come in them 60 America Ferrera’s “Ugly ___” 61 “I ___ Teenage Werewolf” (early Michael Landon vehicle) 62 It could be mistaken for a vowel DOWN 1 Klezmer instrument 2 Where Israel technically is found 3 Country singer who starred on Broadway in 2001 as Irving Berlin’s Annie Oakley 4 Original or most effective force in an undertaking or work 5 Capital SSW of Jerusalem 6 Aleph-bet equivalent 7 ___ Speedwagon song writer Adrian Gurvitz 8 Original models 9 Punctuation mark missing from the Torah 10 Capital E of Jerusalem 11 “___ connected to the...” 13 “The Creation of Adam,” for one 14 “Eshet Chayil” verse: “She sets about her work vigorously; her arms are strong for her ___” 19 Emulates Elijah’s cup 21 Va-ed 23 Sound of a dropped scoop of Cherry Garcia 24 Ladino ladies: Abbr. 25 Subject of King David’s poetry 26 Whom Carrie referred to when she said “Help me Obi Wan Kenobi.
You’re my only hope” 29 What a shmegege might be said to be 30 Initials at Lod 31 “Modeh Ani” (prayer ___ wakening) 32 Makhtesh Ramon, essentially 33 Haaretz supplies this, informally 36 More emesdik 37 Richard Simmons specialty 39 Chagall exhibition, e.g. 40 “Psst, you!” 41 Hed Arzi’s music used to be on this 42 Common Jerusalem street sight 44 Either side of a 50-50 proposition 45 Northern Canadian territory 46 He was born Jerome Lester Horwitz 47 Phi Delta ___ (fraternity that barred Jews until 1954) 49 Neon fish 50 Bim’heyra be’yameinu 51 Night show host who spoke to Toronto’s UJA Campaign Launch 2015 52 “___ We Forget” (Holocaust slogan) 55 A Gershwin
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APRIL 24 ▪ 2015
Generations of Memories
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They came forward in pairs, the survivor and the liberator, to light the memorial candles, and in a ceremony that featured mostly non-Jewish elected officials and diplomats, they were the stars. Each candle at the Georgia Commission on the Holocaust’s Days of Remembrance event April 17 at the state Capitol created a virtual reunion of those liberation moments, narrated by top officials. The event also featured the presentation of three awards: the Chairman’s Lifetime Achievement Award, to Israeli Consul General Opher Aviran; the Humanitarian Award, to former Sandy Springs Mayor Eva Galambos, accepted on her behalf by current Mayor Rusty Paul; and the Distinguished Educator of the Year, to Dalton Middle School teacher Gretchen Abernathy. The winners of the commission’s Creative Arts Student Contest also were introduced while their winning works were on display to the side of the ceremony. Middle school art: Anna Yurkevitch of Woodstock Middle School, first; Keyla Pitts of Arlington Christian School and Laken Land of Dalton Middle, tied for second; and Jake Kyer of New Hope Middle School, third. High school art: Elmer Ivon of Vidalia High School, first; Kyra Tyler of Arlington Christian, second; and Alexandra Gipson of Arlington Christian, third. Middle school writing: Hillary Dong of Dalton Middle, first; Faith Shamley of Memorial Middle School, second; and William Rowland of Dalton Middle, third. Yi Jian Ma of Georgia Virtual School was the only high school writing winner.
Photos by Eric Bern
A: Awaiting their turns to introduce survivors, liberators or witnesses are (front row from left) Canadian Consul of Political and Economic Relations Peter Taylor, Belgian Consul General Genevieve Verbeek, Swiss Consul General Andreas Maager, Israeli Deputy Consul General Ron Brummer, German Deputy Consul General Thomas Wulfing, Rep. Sharon Cooper (R-Marietta) and French Consul General Denis Barbet and (back row from left) Sandy Springs Police Chief Kenneth DeSimone, Rep. Wendell Willard (R-Sandy Springs), Sandy Springs Mayor Rusty Paul, Attorney General Sam Olens and Rep. Tom Taylor (RDunwoody). B: First lady Sandra Deal presents the Distinguished Educator of the Year award to Gretchen Abernathy. C: The Atlanta Young Singers of Callanwolde perform “I Never Saw Another Butterfly.” D: Survivor Murray Lynn of Bilke, Hungary, and Alexis Scott, daughter of William Alexander Scott III, who photographed Buchenwald after liberation, light the fifth candle under the watch of Commission on the Holocaust board member Steven Sutton.
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E: Escorted by Japanese Consul General Kazuo Sunaga are George Aigen of Valdosta, who helped liberate Dachau, and survivor Manuela Mendels Bornstein of Paris for the first candle lighting.
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F: Rep. John Yates (R-Griffin), who flew liaison missions and witnessed the camps and who is the last veteran of World War II in the Georgia General Assembly, and survivor Ben Walker of Czernowitz, Romania, an Israel Defense Forces veteran, take care of the sixth candle under the gaze of Commission on the Holocaust board member David Rubenstein.
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G: Rep. Bruce Broadrick (R-Dalton) helps survivor Elizabeth Lefkovits of Foldes, Hungary, and liberator Howard Margol of Sandy Springs light the fourth candle.
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H: Sandy Springs Councilman Andy Bauman watches Dachau liberator Hilbert Margol of Dunwoody and survivor Paula Newman Gris of Czernowitz, Romania, light the third candle.
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I: Rep. Joe Wilkinson (R-Atlanta) escorts survivor Norbert Friedman of Krakow, Poland, and Edith Benson of Loganville, wife of Frank Benson, who witnessed Buchenwald within days of liberation, to the second candle.
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J: Commission Chairman Michael Altman and Executive Director Sally Levine join the advisory board’s chairman, Gary Alexander (left), in presenting the Humanitarian Award to Rusty Paul on behalf of Eva Galambos. It proved to be the last award of Galambos’ life.
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