Atlanta Jewish Times, Vol. XCII No. 17, April 28, 2017

“Guide to Jewish Atlanta” Coming this Summer!

2017 Guide to

JEWISH ATLANTA

CELEBRATING ISRAEL’S INDEPENDENCE, PAGES 16-21 UPLIFTED GOING SOUTH HIT MAN

ORT’s youth villages in Israel develop productive citizens from the periphery. Page 16

Longtime nonprofit leader Jay Tenenbaum is leaving ORT for Florida. Page 20

Ex-New York Yankee Ron Blomberg will speak at JNF’s Hirsch Breakfast. Page 21

Atlanta Advertising and business listing opportunities available now.

Make sure you are not left out!

Call 404-883-2130

VOL. XCII NO. 17

WWW.ATLANTAJEWISHTIMES.COM

ADL: Anti-Semitism Jumps in Southeast Anti-Semitic incidents more than doubled in the Southeast in 2016 compared with 2015, the Anti-Defamation League said Monday, April 24.

The ADL’s annual Audit of Anti-Semitic Incidents counted 56 incidents in Georgia, Alabama, South Carolina and Tennessee in 2016, a 115 percent increase from the 26 incidents reported in 2015.

Thanks in part to the fake bomb threats made against the Marcus Jewish Community Center and JCCs in Birmingham, Nashville and other cities and against several Jewish preschools and day schools in the four-state Southeast Region, the trend has continued in 2017.

“We have already seen a doubling of the number of incidents in just the first quarter of 2017 in our region, jumping from 16 incidents to 32,” said Shelley Rose, the interim regional director at ADL’s Buckhead office, which received one of the threats. “It is particularly disturbing to see the number of incidents directed toward Jewish youth.

I have received several reports of Holocaust jokes being shared and offensive comments directed at Jewish youth.”

Michael Kadar, 18, an Israeli who also holds U.S. citizenship, has been ar-

rested and charged with making the phone calls threatening Jewish institutions among similar hoaxes against secular places and organizations.

The trend in the Southeast Region, which tends to have fewer incidents because of a smaller concentration of Jews compared with areas such as Florida and the Northeast, is similar to what ADL is seeing nationally. Harassment of Jews has soared, particularly since November, and anti-Semitic bullying and vandalism at secular schools have doubled.

Subscribe, Support, Sustain Support the AJT and Subscribe Today.

1-year subscription for home delivery of the Atlanta Jewish Times: $65 in Georgia, $89 outside of state, delivery by U.S. mail.

To subscribe, go to www.atlantajewishtimes.com/subscription.

For more information, please call 404-883-2130.

ADL reported 1,266 U.S. incidents of assault, vandalism and harassment against Jews and Jewish institutions in 2016, a 34 percent increase from 942 incidents in 2015.

Nearly 30 percent of the 2016 incidents (369) occurred in November and December. That surge continued in the first three months of 2017, when preliminary reports found 541 incidents nationwide, an annual pace of more than 2,160 incidents. That’s an 86 percent increase from the 291 incidents of the first quarter of 2016.

Without the bomb threats, the first quarter had 380 incidents, still a 31 percent increase.

The bomb threats and vandalism at Jewish cemeteries inspired the creation of the Atlanta Initiative Against Anti-Semitism, which launched with more than 150 groups March 30 and plans its first public meeting at 4:30 p.m. Sunday, May 21, at a location to be announced. To get involved, email VolunteersAIAAS@gmail.com.

The good news in the ADL audit is a national decrease in physical assaults, with six in the first quarter of 2017 compared with 10 in the first three months of 2016. All of 2016 saw 36 physical assaults, down 36 percent from 56 in 2015. ■

INSIDE Calendar ��������������������������������������� 4 Candle Lighting �������������������������� 4 Israel News �����������������������������������6 Opinion �����������������������������������������8 Business ��������������������������������������10 Obituaries ���������������������������������� 26 Marketplace ������������������������������ 28 Arts ���������������������������������������������� 30 Crossword ����������������������������������� 31

APRIL 28, 2017 | 2 IYAR 5777

JCC Threats Just Part Of Indictment

Israel has charged Israeli-American Michael Kadar with making thousands of threatening phone calls to Jewish community centers, schools, airlines, and other Jewish and non-Jewish people and places in a one-man global wave of terror.

An extensive eight-part indictment, announced Monday, April 24, and reported by The Times of Israel, portrays the 18-year-old Ashkelon resident as far more vicious and far more involved in criminal activity than previously revealed and sheds light on Israel’s resistance to extraditing Kadar to the United States.

Kadar was indicted in Tel Aviv on thousands of counts of extortion, publishing false information to cause a panic, drug dealing, money laundering and possession of child pornography, among many other charges.

The Israeli indictment came three days after 31 criminal counts were filed against Kadar in U.S. District Court in Macon and Orlando. The Macon criminal complaint alleges that Kadar targeted schools and a private home in Athens during his phone hoaxes. (See how the Athens connection helped the FBI and others break the case, Page 13.)

Israel’s Channel 2 reported that Israel turned down a U.S. extradition request.

When Kadar’s March 23 arrest was announced, it was in connection with U.S. and Israeli investigations into the wave of bomb threats to JCCs and other Jewish institutions starting in early January, including two threats to the Marcus JCC and others to at least two Atlantaarea Jewish schools. But authorities have said Kadar kept extensive computer records, including recordings of hoax phone calls, that connected him to wider efforts to cause public panic. ■

2

APRIL 28 â–ª 2017

MA TOVU

Respecting Converts in my case there was. I was deep in an epic personal struggle with tradition.

I felt I had no choice but to be part of the Jewish people but felt constricted by that fate. I could not imagine the world in which someone would happily embrace what troubled me so.

But my friend owed me no explanation. I made my problem his.

Taking Root

By Rabbi Ruth Abusch-Magder rabbiruth@gmail.com

I’ve seen others ask about reasons for conversion as part of a broader interrogation of the legitimacy of the conversion or the motivation for conversion, similarly inappropriately intruding on the privacy of others.

These are the very lines of questioning that the rabbis of old hoped to avoid when they taught that once an individual converts to Judaism, that person is fully Jewish, and that Judaism, like that of people born Jewish, is not a topic for discussion or question.

Unless it is in the context of a broader conversation about Jewish identity, asking a convert about the journey and its reasons is generally inappropriate and intrusive. Outside the context of the beit din, converts owe other Jews no answers.

Outside the beit din, we can engage with converts as we might with all other Jews, with respect, understanding, openness and good intentions.

How different might my cringeworthy college conversation have been if I had simply asked my friend to share some of what he found joyful about Judaism and shared with him some of my own struggles and joys? I can imagine a rich conversation about a love of Jewish holidays or a deep discussion of the role of G-d in our daily lives. Instead of putting the burden on him, connecting and sharing might have broken down some of my internal Jewish frustration.

It is not an accident that one of the great-grandmothers of King David, Ruth, was a convert. People who have chosen Judaism have much to teach those of us who have been Jews our whole lives. They have perspectives that are unique to their experiences, perspectives that can add to and enhance our Jewish collective if we value them as we do our own. ■

APRIL 28 ▪ 2017

I recently sat on a beit din with two other rabbis and asked a candidate for conversion the question that is always part of the process: “Why are you choosing Judaism?”

The answers I have heard over the years get to the core of what makes Judaism both eternally powerful and relevant today. Some people talk about the value of ritual in general or of particular rituals, such as Shabbat or holidays.

One woman in California spoke of how the observance of Shavuot and Sukkot elevated her long-held interest in growing her own vegetables to a spiritual practice, inspiring me to rethink the way I looked at gardening.

Others speak of space created in Jewish life for complexity and messiness while not forsaking holiness and divine connection. Growing up, one young man enjoyed a rich spiritual life. But when he came out, there was no space for him in the fundamentalist religion of his youth. Judaism allowed him to be at peace with his sexuality and his relationship with G-d.

For many, it is the Jewish commitment to debate among ourselves and with G-d that makes Judaism a good fit; for others, it is what they have sought their whole lives.

Inevitably, the answers inspire me. They remind me of the many reasons I chose to be a rabbi.

In the context of the beit din, the process of asking questions and getting answers is expected and acceptable. But every time I ask, I am reminded of a time when it was much less acceptable and still I persisted.

I was a college student sitting with a good friend late one night in the dormitory of the Jewish Theological Seminary. My friend was in graduate school and would go on to become a rabbi. But that evening I was focused on one thing and one thing only: I wanted to know why he had converted to Judaism.

I was rude and self-centered. He owed me no explanation or answers.

I have seen this scene play out many times: Jews by birth demanding to know why converts convert.

I’d like to believe that often what drives this questioning is general curiosity and true interest in the story of the other. While curiosity is understandable, it is important to remember no one owes our curiosity an answer.

But often there is an edge to asking why someone converted. I know

3

www.atlantajewishtimes.com

CALENDAR Atlanta

THROUGH JUNE 11

PUBLISHER

MICHAEL A. MORRIS

michael@atljewishtimes.com

ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER KAYLENE LADINSKY

kaylene@atljewishtimes.com

ADVERTISING

Senior Account Manager

BRENDA GELFAND

brenda@atljewishtimes.com Senior Account Manager

MICHAL BONELL

michal@atljewishtimes.com Account Manager

JENNIFER WOLPERT

jennifer@atljewishtimes.com

EDITORIAL Editor

MICHAEL JACOBS

mjacobs@atljewishtimes.com Associate Editor

DAVID R. COHEN

david@atljewishtimes.com Staff Writer

SARAH MOOSAZADEH sarah@atljewishtimes.com

Contributors This Week RABBI RUTH ABUSCH-MAGDER JASON ADLER KENNY BLANK MARK FISHER YONI GLATT JORDAN GORFINKEL LEAH R. HARRISON MARCIA CALLER JAFFE KEVIN MADIGAN LOGAN RITCHIE DAVE SCHECHTER TERRY SEGAL ELI SPERLING DUANE STORK RACHEL WASSERMAN PATRICE WORTHY

CREATIVE SERVICES Creative Design

DARA DRAWDY

CIRCULATION

Circulation Coordinator

ELIZABETH FRIEDLY

efriedly@atljewishtimes.com

CONTACT INFORMATION GENERAL OFFICE 404.883.2130 KAYLENE@ATLJEWISHTIMES.COM The Atlanta Jewish Times is printed in Georgia and is an equal opportunity employer. The opinions expressed in the Atlanta Jewish Times do not necessarily reflect those of the newspaper. Periodicals Postage Paid at Atlanta, Ga.

APRIL 28 ▪ 2017

POSTMASTER send address changes to The Atlanta Jewish Times 270 Carpenter Drive Suite 320, Atlanta Ga 30328.

Established 1925 as The Southern Israelite Phone: (404) 883-2130 www.atlantajewishtimes.com

4

THE ATLANTA JEWISH TIMES (ISSN# 0892-33451) IS PUBLISHED WEEKLY BY SOUTHERN ISRAELITE, LLC 270 Carpenter Drive, Suite 320, Atlanta, GA 30328 © 2017 ATLANTA JEWISH TIMES Printed by Walton Press Inc. MEMBER Conexx: America Israel Business Connector American Jewish Press Association Sandy Springs/Perimeter Chamber of Commerce Please send all photos, stories and editorial content to: submissions@atljewishtimes.com

“Atlanta Collects.” The second part of the exhibit of privately held art, covering contemporary work, is at the Breman Museum, 1440 Spring St., Midtown. Museum admission is $12 for adults, $8 for seniors, $6 for students and educators, and $4 for children 3 to 6; thebreman.org or 678-222-3700.

FRIDAY, APRIL 28

Holocaust remembrance. The Georgia Commission on the Holocaust holds its Days of Remembrance ceremony at 11 a.m. at Heritage Sandy Springs, 6110 Blue Stone Road, Sandy Springs. Free; sharrithomas@holocaust.georgia.gov or 770-206-1557.

Acoustic Shabbat. Marcus JCC Rabbi Brian Glusman and various community groups gather at San Francisco Coffee, 1192 N. Highland Ave., VirginiaHighland, at 7 p.m. to welcome Shabbat with music. Free (food and drinks available for purchase); 678-812-4161 or rabbi.glusman@atlantajcc.org.

SATURDAY, APRIL 29

Scholar in residence. Avivah Gottlieb Zornberg, a biblical scholar at Bar-Ilan University, is the Shabbat scholar at Young Israel of Toco Hills, 2056 LaVista Road, culminating in a reception at 6 p.m. and her lecture on “Isaac: Blindness and Blessing.” Free; www.yith.org.

SUNDAY, APRIL 30

Caregiver workshop. “The Mindful Caregiver” author Nancy Kriseman leads a workshop to help caregivers feel more empowered, more enlightened and more at ease with the journey at 10 a.m. at Berman Commons, 2026 Womack Road, Dunwoody. Free; www. geriatricconsultingservices.com.

JWV breakfast. American Bar Association President Linda Klein speaks

CANDLE-LIGHTING TIMES

Tazria-Metzora Friday, April 28, light candles at 8:01 p.m.

Saturday, April 29, Shabbat ends at 9 p.m.

Achare-Kedoshim Friday, May 5, light candles at 8:07 p.m.

Saturday, May 6, Shabbat ends at 9:06 p.m. at the monthly meeting of Jewish War Veterans Post 112, with breakfast at 10 a.m. and the program at 10:30, at the William Breman Jewish Home, 3150 Howell Mill Road, Buckhead. Suggested donation of $10; jwvpost112@gmail. com or 770-403-4278 (Robert Max).

Israeli birthday party. Congregation Or Hadash, 7460 Trowbridge Road, Sandy Springs, holds a community Yom HaAtzmaut celebration from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. with camel rides, games, music and dancing, and more. Admission, including everything but food, is $10 per person, $15 per couple or $25 per family; bit.ly/israelcelebration2017.

Yom HaShoah. Congregation B’nai Israel, 1633 Highway 54 East, Fayetteville, welcomes Christ Our Shepherd Lutheran Church for their 15th annual Holocaust remembrance service at 1:30 p.m. with keynote speaker Bishop Julian Gordy of the Southeastern Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. Free; bnai-israel.net.

Musical memories. Pianist Benjamin Warsaw and soprano Rebecca Flaherty present a medley of favorites, from Hebrew melodies to opera arias, from Broadway to Gershwin, at 2 p.m. at Congregation Shearith Israel, 1180 University Drive, Morningside. Admission is $5; www.shearithisrael.com.

Art showcase. The Jewish Tower Annual Art Showcase, a collaboration between JF&CS and the Zaban and Jew-

ish towers, runs from 2 to 4 p.m. at the Jewish Tower, 3160 Howell Mill Road, Buckhead, with refreshments provided. Free; proceeds of art sales benefit the JF&CS art therapy program.

Showtime at the Commons. Hadassah Greater Atlanta’s Ketura Group presents a screening of “Paris Manhattan” at 3 p.m. at Berman Commons, 2026 Womack Road, Dunwoody. A $10 ticket includes snacks; RSVP to Debra Sharker at dsharker@bellsouth.net.

Picnic prep. The Marcus JCC, 5342 Tilly Mill Road, Dunwoody, prepares picnic treats at 4 p.m. in the Kuniansky Center and discusses celebrating Lag B’Omer, which is May 14. Admission is $40 for a family of four JCC members, $65 for nonmember families; bit.ly/2pfnSlk. Yom HaZikaron ceremony. Hanna and Gad Levy, parents of fallen Israeli soldier Shilo Levy, appear at the memorial service held by the Consulate General of Israel and Israeli House Atlanta at 7:30 p.m. at The Temple, 1589 Peachtree St., Midtown. Free.

MONDAY, MAY 1

Yom HaZikaron and Yom HaAtzmaut ceremony. Congregation Or Hadash, 7460 Trowbridge Road, Sandy Springs, transitions from a somber day of remembrance of Israel’s fallen soldiers and victims of terrorism to a joyful day of celebration of Israel’s 69th birthday at 7 p.m. Free; dlee@or-hadash.org.

Send items for the calendar to submissions@atljewishtimes.com.

Find more events at atlantajewishtimes.com/events-calendar.

Remember When

25 Years Ago April 24, 1992 ■ State Sen. Cathey Steinberg, a DeKalb Democrat, has announced her campaign for the open congressional seat representing the 4th District. She faces Bob Wilson in the Democratic primary July 21, with the winner competing against one of six Republicans in November. “The issues I’ve stood for all my political career cross party lines,” Steinberg said. “Health care, consumer advocacy, ethics and education, these are not partisan issues.”

■ The bat mitzvah of Angela Nicole Frank of Atlanta, daughter of Linda and Bill Frank, will take place at 9 a.m.

Saturday, May 2, at Congregation Or VeShalom.

■ Philip and Lauren Stark of Matthews, N.C., announce the birth of a son, Jacob Louis, on Feb. 16.

50 Years Ago April 28, 1967 ■ The growth of neo-Nazism in Germany and other parts of the world will be the subject matter of the memorial services Sunday, May 7, at the Symbolic Tombstone-Monument at Greenwood Cemetery in memory of the 6 million Jews exterminated during the Hitlerian Holocaust in Europe. Rabbi Chaim Feuerman will be the principal speaker.

■ Michigan Gov. George Romney, the leading Republican candidate for president in 1968, hailed “the Judeo-Christian philosophy” as the basis for the Western world’s magnificence in New York. “Our nation’s heritage and both our great religions — Mormonism and Judaism — teach us that individuals, every individual, must be cherished.”

■ Mr. and Mrs. Sidney Irving Broome of Savannah announce the engagement of their daughter, Simone Erica, to Bernard Harris Wilker, son of Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Wilker of Rockville Centre, N.Y. The wedding will be Aug. 20.

www.atlantajewishtimes.com

TUESDAY, MAY 2

JNF breakfast. Jewish National Fund honors Ron Blomberg and hears from JNF CEO Russell Robinson at its annual Jack Hirsch Memorial Breakfast at 7:30 a.m. at the Westin Atlanta Perimeter North, 7 Concourse Parkway, Sandy Springs. Free; jnf.org/atlbreakfast.

Yom HaAtzmaut lunch. Weight Watchers Group President and CEO Florine Mark speaks at JNF Atlanta Women for Israel’s Independence Day Luncheon at 11:30 a.m. at Dunwoody Country Club, 1600 Dunwoody Club Drive, Dunwoody. Tickets are $54 ($36 for those under 40); jnf.org/atlwfiluncheon.

Yom HaAtzmaut. Temple Sinai, 5645 Dupree Drive, Sandy Springs, with Hadassah Greater Atlanta, marks Israel’s birthday with a discussion of innovation over wine and snacks at 6:15 p.m.

Free; tinyurl.com/celebratingisrael.

Women’s event. The Laughing Luau, Chabad of North Fulton’s 15th annual Jewish Women’s Inspiration Night, features Leslie (Esther) Russell along with dinner and drinks at 7 p.m. at the Minkowicz home, 320 Hall Court, Alpharetta. Tickets are $36; chabadnf. org/JWIN.

WEDNESDAY, MAY 3

SUNDAY, MAY 7

Friends of the Israel Defense Forces holds its Atlanta gala dinner with speaker Naftali Bennett at the InterContinental Buckhead, 3315 Peachtree Road, at 6 p.m. Tickets are $250 ($118 for those 35 and under); 678-250-9030 or fidf.org/ATLgala17.

FDR live. James Fowler, who performs as Franklin Roosevelt, appears at the weekly meeting of the Edgewise group at 10:30 a.m. at the Marcus JCC, 5342 Tilly Mill Road, Dunwoody. Free for members, $5 for others; 678-812-3861 or matureadults@atlantajcc.org.

Infertility training. Naomi Marmon Grumet of the Eden Center leads infertility sensitivity training for mikvah attendants, rebbetzins and others at 11 a.m. at the Marcus JCC, 5342 Tilly Mill Road, Dunwoody. Tickets are $10; www. jewishfertilityfoundation­.org.

Not the Messiah. Atlanta Scholars Kollel Rabbi Daniel Freitag discusses why Jews reject Jesus on three Monday nights, starting tonight at 7:30, at the Kollel Dome, 5237 Tilly Mill Road, Dunwoody. Free; ASK@atlantakollel.org.

Yom HaAtzmaut. The Marcus JCC leads a celebration of Israel’s independence during Food Truck Thursday from 5 to 8 p.m. at Liane Levetan Park at Brook Run, 4770 N. Peachtree Road, Dunwoody. Free; 678-812-4161 or rabbi. glusman@atlantajcc.org.

Education awards. Hadassah Greater Atlanta presents the Marian F. Perling Hadassah Chesed Student Awards at 2 p.m. at Temple Emanu-El, 1580 Spalding Drive, Sandy Springs. Free; 470482-6778 or atlanta@hadassah.org.

Israel 50 years after. Intown Jewish Academy, 928 Ponce de Leon Ave., Midtown, offers the six-session class “Survival of a Nation,” about Israel after the Six-Day War, starting at 8 tonight or at noon Thursday, May 11. The cost is $99 per person or $169 per couple; www. intownjewishacademy­.org/soan.

Conexx Gala. The America Israel Business Connector presents five awards at 6 p.m. at Twelve Atlantic Station, 361 17th St., Midtown. Tickets start at $125; www.conexxgala.com.

THURSDAY, MAY 4

That guy in that thing. Actor Stephen Tobolowsky talks about his new book, “My Adventures With G-d,” in a Page From the Book Festival event at 7:30 p.m. at the Marcus JCC, 5342 Tilly Mill Road, Dunwoody. Tickets are $13 for JCC members, $18 for others; 678-812-4002 or www.atlantajcc.org/bookfestival.

JCC run. The Harris Jacobs Dream Run/ Walk starts at 6:45 a.m. at the Marcus JCC, 5342 Tilly Mill Road, Dunwoody.

Registration is $25 for adults and $15 for children under 12 for the 5K or $15 for the mile; bit.ly/2pirnd0.

Kidney donation event. Rabbi Josh Sturm, director of outreach for Renewal, and kidney donor Shai Robkin are among the speakers at 7 p.m. at Young Israel of Toco Hills, 2056 LaVista Road.

Free; www.renewal.org or 718-431-9831.

MONDAY, MAY 8

FIDF gala. The Southeast Region of

TUESDAY, MAY 9

“Waking Up to Life.” This course analyzes some of the Bible’s most controversial episodes, uncovering powerful insights into the human spirit and man’s purpose, at 8 p.m. today and May 16 at Chabad of Cobb, 4450 Lower Roswell Road, East Cobb. Tuition is $18; www.cobbjewishacademy.org.

APRIL 28 ▪ 2017

CALENDAR

5

www.atlantajewishtimes.com

ISRAEL NEWS

Israel Pride: Good News From Our Jewish Home Early diagnosis of autism. Hanna Alonim founded the nonprofit Mifne Center in Rosh Haayin, the world’s first organization to diagnose and treat toddlers on the autism spectrum and to use a family therapy approach to treatment. Alonim’s ESPASI Screening Scale is used in Israel, in the United States and across Europe.

Emergency bone marrow test. Health support organization Ezer Mizion, based in Bnei Brak, found a likely DNA match on its database for a patient in need of a bone marrow transplant, but the donor was in the Czech Republic.

Using the nonprofit’s Linked to Life WhatsApp group, volunteers rushed a sample kit from Tel Aviv to Vienna to Prague to Brno and back again in less than 24 hours to confirm the match.

A nephew for a first patient. Ben Shetiat’s first call after completing his sixmonth emergency medical technician training course was for an infant having seizures — at his sister’s house. He arrived in two minutes. Shetiat’s nephew was taken to a hospital and was well enough to be discharged that night.

Treating Syrians. The Israeli army provided medical treatment to seven Syrians severely wounded by shrapnel in their country’s civil war. After treatment, all were transferred to hospitals in northern Israel.

Training responders in India. At the request of the International Committee of the Red Cross, instructors and paramedics from Magen David Adom spent two weeks in India to train Indian Red Cross instructors to improve first responses in India, a country prone to disasters and traffic accidents.

Avoid hitting that motorcycle. Autotalks, based in Kfar Netter, warns vehicle owners of impending collision with hazards (other vehicles, people or objects). Autotalks has received $30 million of funding to help it equip more new vehicles with its lifesaving chipsets. The U.S. Transportation Department is targeting 2023 for mandatory installation of such equipment.

Surveying by drone. The DatuSurvey drone and camera system from Nazareth-based Datumate has been chosen

to survey water ponds being built by the Colorado Department of Transportation. The system also is being used on Britain’s redevelopment of London’s A14 road and railway intersection.

Home shuk shopping. Residents of Jerusalem and Gush Etzion can place orders with startup Shukrun to have delivered fresh fruit and vegetables from Jerusalem’s Machane Yehuda Market (the shuk). An English-language website is now part of the service.

Integrating startup Haredim. At KamaTech’s second annual fair for Haredi startups, the eight best (of 450 applicants) demonstrated their ideas.

Each received a 20,000-shekel ($5,500) grant. The group included Doctorpedia, which enables patients to have online consultations with doctors.

Going for winter gold. Israel plans to send its largest delegation ever to the Winter Olympics in PyeongChang, South Korea, next February. Israelis could win a historic medal in the men’s skeleton or the men’s 1,500-meter short-track speed skating.

Ironic venue for Balfour conference.

The venue for the conference 100 Years Since the Balfour Declaration was Jerusalem’s Waldorf-Astoria Hotel, which is on the site of the previous Palace Hotel.

The Palace was built by the anti-Semitic Mufti of Jerusalem Haj Amin al Husseini. It was also the site where the Peel Commission met in 1936.

Going to Oxford. Israel has its first Rhodes scholars after decades of lobbying. Tel Aviv residents Maayan Roichman of Tel Aviv University and Nadav Lidor of Stanford will start at Oxford in October. “We are most gratified by the decision to include Israel as a permanent candidate nation for Rhodes scholars,” said Gary Pickholz, the chairman of Oxford’s Weird Science Lab. “This underscores the very strong academic ties and research ties between Great Britain and Israel, as well as Oxford’s continued leadership at countering the BDS movement.” Two Palestinian students are part of the same Rhodes scholar class.

Compiled courtesy of verygoodnewsisrael. blogspot.com and other sources.

Efficient, Effective Care

APRIL 28 ▪ 2017

By Eli Sperling

6

In the United States, where the average life expectancy is 79.3 years (30th in international rankings), a bitter partisan debate over how to improve and operate our costly health care system has recently dominated headlines.

It would behoove our policymakers to look at countries with successful and efficient health care programs.

Israel, which has the world’s eighth-highest life expectancy at 82.5 years, maintains a health care system that provides universal care to all (roughly 8 million) citizens. Boasting 47 hospitals and more than 2,000 primary care clinics, Israeli health care relies on four health maintenance organizations, each providing different payment and care plans to Israelis.

Similar to the objectives of the 2010 Affordable Care Act in the United States, Israel’s 1995 National Health Insurance Law requires all citizens to purchase health insurance from one of the four providers. However, unlike the United States, Israel employs numerous mechanisms to ensure that all citizens can pay for the coverage: • Insurance premiums are based

on income and ability to pay.

• Employers pay health insurance taxes, which cover about 30 percent of Israel’s national health care expenses.

• Using Israeli-developed technology, administrative and operational expenses have been radically reduced by nationally digitizing medical records.

The National Health Insurance Law requires that all insurance plans provide full coverage for a myriad of health costs, including all hospitalizations, treatment for drug abuse and alcoholism, ambulance rides, fertility treatments and obstetrics, and physical and occupational therapy.

While Israel may not be fully applicable as a model for health care in the American context, U.S. policymakers can certainly look to the Jewish state for answers. Likewise, Israel’s medical technology industry is providing the world with tools to deliver higher standards of health care at lower costs. ■ For more, visit the Health Affairs Blog at bit.ly/2ptuOP5 or the Foreign Affairs Ministry at bit.ly/2ooBTAg. Eli Sperling is the Israel specialist and assistant program coordinator for the Center for Israel Education (www.israeled.org).

ISRAEL NEWS

Shahar Pe’er’s highest ranking on the WTA tour was No. 11.

Items provided by the Center for Israel Education (www.israeled.org), where you can find more details.

April 28, 1982: Yehuda Amichai, considered by many to be Israel’s greatest poet, jointly wins the 1982 Israel Prize for literature with Amir Gilboa.

April 29, 1956: Ro’i Rothberg is killed in an ambush near Nahal Oz along the Gaza border. Eulogized by Moshe Dayan, Rothberg becomes a symbol for the inability to achieve peace in Israel’s early years.

April 30, 2003: The Quartet issues its Roadmap for Peace. Conceived by President George W. Bush during the Second Intifada, the Roadmap serves as the centerpiece of failed peace negotiations at the beginning of the 21st century.

May 1, 1987: Shahar Pe’er, the highest-ranked professional tennis player in Israel’s history, is born in Jerusalem. Peaking at No. 11 in the rankings, Pe’er wins five singles and three doubles titles on the WTA tour and twice reaches the quarterfinals of a Grand Slam event.

May 2, 1921: Writer Yosef Haim Brenner, a pioneer of modern Hebrew literature who was born in Ukraine in 1881 and reached the land of Israel in 1909, is killed by an Arab gang during the 1921 Jaffa Riots after he refuses to flee the Abu Kabir neighborhood on the edge of Jaffa, where he moved to focus on his writing.

May 3, 1882: The May Laws, which restrict Jewish land tenure and residency rights, are passed amid widespread pogroms in Russia. As a result of such oppression, more than 2.5 million Jews leave Eastern Europe between 1881 and 1914.

May 4, 1994: The Agreement on the Gaza Strip and Jericho Area, the first accord to grant Palestinians a measure of autonomy, is signed by Yitzhak Rabin and Yasser Arafat in a ceremony in Cairo.

APRIL 28 ▪ 2017

Today in Israeli History

7

OPINION

Our View

Politics as Usual

APRIL 28 ▪ 2017

We’re supposed to be in an anti-establishment era, when activists on both sides of the spectrum are fired up about toppling the political status quo, draining the swamp, throwing the bums out and otherwise working metaphorical magic on a system that has left most of us disgusted with our elected officials.

So, naturally, which two of the 18 candidates easily advanced to the June 20 runoff in the 6th Congressional District? The most controlled, polished politicians in the field and the ones least likely to rock the boat by bucking their party leaders in Washington.

Democrat Jon Ossoff, despite running for office for the first time, and Republican Karen Handel, who is facing voters in at least part of the 6th District for the sixth time, were the only candidates we interviewed before the April 18 special election who kept us from breaking through their public facades.

Even the three candidates we didn’t interview — Bruce LeVell, Dan Moody and Mohammad Ali Bhuiyan — felt more human in their public appearances than Ossoff and Handel did across a table.

Ossoff might as well have been wielding his college lightsaber, and Handel could have been clutching her pearls, the way they defended themselves against appearing too human.

Handel had two moments during our interview March 20 when she almost let us see past the political persona: when she felt that we were asking too many questions about Ossoff and when she talked about having to leave an unsafe home at an early age.

Ossoff never broke from the script during our interview Feb. 22, but we saw his passion at least two other times. When we initially posted online that Ossoff identifies as Jewish, he called to ensure we understood that he doesn’t identify as Jewish — he is Jewish. Then, in an interview with CNN on Election Day, he broke into a laugh when asked when he’s going to marry his longtime girlfriend.

None of this is meant to criticize Ossoff or Handel. To the contrary, they deserve credit for understanding better than their opponents that what people say about Washington and how they vote are two different things. That’s why Congress as an institution gets horrible approval ratings, but incumbents are almost unbeatable.

Ossoff got 48.1 percent of the vote, roughly 50 times the total of the other four Democrats and the two independents combined. Handel got 19.8 percent, nearly double the total of third-place Bob Gray. There was tension the night of April 18 about whether there would be a runoff; there was never any doubt about who would be in the runoff if it happened.

Neither Ossoff nor Handel offered any dramatic or original policy proposals. Neither held a big edge in experience over party rivals. Neither wielded Obamaor Reagan-esque charisma or rhetorical skills.

But for uncommitted voters, both were unthreatening. We’re never certain what a new member of Congress will do, but Ossoff and Handel feel familiar enough that we trust them not to go wild in Washington. We expect Ossoff to be just another Democrat and Handel to be just another Republican vote.

That’s the choice voters asked for April 18, and 8 that’s the choice they’ll have June 20. ■

www.atlantajewishtimes.com

A Day to Cross the Divide If you listen closely, you can hear a difference in It’s vital that we take time to remember the 6 how Israelis and American Jews sing “Hatikvah.” million slaughtered by the Nazis and to celebrate the I don’t have the musical vocabulary to describe survivors while we can, and it’s great that we have so the differences, but we Americans seem to smooth many ways as a community to celebrate the ongoing out the melodic edges of the Israeli national anthem. miracle that is the state of Israel, flaws and all.

You get a lot of chances to hear “Hatikvah” this But there’s that third yom between the day of time of year. It’s the season of the yoms, three modour deepest sorrow and the day of our greatest modern observances created by ern joy: Yom HaZikaron, IsIsrael and adopted by the rael’s Memorial Day, filling Diaspora: Yom HaShoah, the 24 hours immediately Editor’s Notebook Yom HaZikaron and Yom before Yom HaAtzmaut,

By Michael Jacobs HaAtzmaut. as a reminder of the price mjacobs@atljewishtimes.com They are spread over (approaching 27,000 nine days — one day londead) Israelis have paid ger than Passover, the story to establish and preserve of our historical physical the Jewish homeland as an redemption, and one day independent nation. shorter than the Days of We Americans give Awe, the period of our anshort shrift to our own nual spiritual redemption.

Memorial Day, which we It’s easy to perceive think of more as the start a redemptive narrative of summer than as the in the passage from Yom time to reflect on the sacriHaShoah, Holocaust fices so many in our armed Remembrance Day, to forces have made.

Yom HaAtzmaut, Israeli It’s hardly surprising, Independence Day, as you therefore, that we don’t recan see in our observances spond to Israel’s Memorial in Jewish Atlanta.

Day, but it’s a mistake and Yom HaShoah this a missed opportunity. year began Sunday night, Until last year, I never April 23, and we had two thought about the fact that community commemoraJewish Atlanta usually has tions that day: first at the only one Yom HaZikaron Memorial to the Six Milevent, nor did I consider lion at Greenwood Cemthe makeup of the crowd. etery, then at the Marcus While I was sitting in Jewish Community Center the sanctuary at Ahavath (moved inside from the Achim Synagogue, awaitBesser Holocaust Memoing the start of the Yom rial Garden). As usual, Jewish Atlanta turned out in HaZikaron service, an Israeli behind me went on force for both. (See our coverage on Pages 14 and 15.) a rant (in English) about the lack of non-Israelis in Yom HaShoah-inspired events and discussions attendance. He was frustrated that Americans fail to will continue through Sunday, April 30, when Conunderstand the importance of the day to Israelis. gregation B’nai Israel in Fayetteville will host its anI was reminded of former Israeli Deputy Consul nual shared Holocaust memorial service with Christ General Ron Brummer’s frustration in his final interOur Shepherd Lutheran Church at 1:30 p.m. view with the AJT about the deep divide between Even as the Yom HaShoah events are wrapAtlanta’s Israeli population, numbering as many as ping up, we’ll be moving into celebrations of Yom 15,000, and its non-Israeli Jewish population of more HaAtzmaut, which officially runs from Monday than 100,000. Nothing reflects and perhaps contribnight to Tuesday night, May 1 and 2. utes to that gap like our response to Yom HaZikaron.

Congregation Or Hadash is holding a commuAmericans recognize its importance but rarely nity festival to mark Israel’s 69th birthday from 11 take it to heart. Israelis, most of whom have served a.m. to 5 p.m. April 30. in the military and all of whom know or are related On May 2, Jewish National Fund is holding its to some of the honored dead, live with the knowlJack Hirsch Memorial Breakfast at 7:30 a.m. at the edge that they or their loved ones could be next. How Westin Atlanta Perimeter North and its women’s could it not be personal and crucial?

Independence Day Luncheon at 11:30 a.m. at the This year’s Yom HaZikaron service is at 7:30 Dunwoody Country Club. That night, Temple Sinai is p.m. Sunday, April 30, at The Temple in Midtown. hosting a celebration with Hadassah at 6:15.

If you can be there, please attend. We owe Israel’s The fun keeps going at least through Thursday, fallen soldiers and terrorist victims our time and May 4, when the Marcus Jewish Community Center thoughts, and we owe our Israeli friends and neighand its partners turn Food Truck Thursday at Dunbors the respect of sharing the burden of memory. woody’s Liane Levetan Park at Brook Run into an And maybe one fine yom can help Israelis and Israeli birthday party from 5 to 8 p.m. non-Israelis get in tune. ■

OPINION

An Atlanta Blessing For the ‘Beautiful Game’ mier League game a couple of years ago at Fado Irish Pub in Buckhead, Rosen struck up a friendship that led him to join Resurgence.

He enjoys the atmosphere in the section for supporter groups.

“Everyone is standing, chanting

From Where I Sit

By Dave Schechter dschechter@atljewishtimes.com

and cheering for the entire game. It’s really a cool way to see the game. I’m a fan of a lot of different sports and have been to a lot of different venues, but it’s an atmosphere that I have not experienced before. The product being put on the field by the front office helps keep the stadium loud, but the diversity of this Southern city has helped it become a soccer city, and the fans are finally able to show their knowledge and love of the game,” Rosen said.

Dov Wilker may be less hard-core, but he is no less excited.

“While I’ve been a casual sports fan and have attended matches in Israel, I really do not know more than the basic rules of the game. I wanted to be a part of something unique within sports in Atlanta. All of the professional sports teams that I follow are from New York, but to me, becoming a supporter of Atlanta United was something that I could share with my entire family,” said Wilker, the regional director of American Jewish Committee Atlanta. “Being at the first match was an incredible, adrenaline-filled experience. The cheering, the camaraderie, was something I was not expecting.”

My wife has been heard to say (sometimes with exasperation) that soccer is “a second religion” in our household.

Our 20-year run as soccer parents, through our daughter and two sons, is nearing an end.

Over nearly five decades, I have attended countless soccer games, from under-6 to the World Cup. The atmosphere at AUFC’s home games has been something special. So, thank you to Arthur Blank for enabling us to reach this season, when, as my older son said, “we finally have a team for our sport.” ■

APRIL 28 ▪ 2017

The most Jewish thing about the Atlanta United Football Club may be its owner, but the tribe is well represented among the team’s passionate supporters.

Arthur Blank has the gratitude of the Five Stripe Nation — named for the black-and-red pattern on the home jerseys — for bringing a Major League Soccer franchise to the city.

Some of the fans who populate online forums refer to him as “Uncle Arthur.”

For Jewish fans of “the beautiful game,” AUFC’s inaugural season has been something of a Shehecheyanu moment.

The hard-core members of four official supporter groups — Terminus Legion, Resurgence, Footie Mob and The Faction — can be seen jumping up and down in the stands behind the north goal at Georgia Tech’s Bobby Dodd Stadium (AUFC’s home until Mercedes-Benz Stadium is ready) and heard chanting at the top of their lungs.

Jordan Suresky was among the founding members of Terminus Legion. (Terminus was the original name of the settlement that grew to become Atlanta.)

The 26-year-old grew up at Temple Kehillat Chaim in Roswell. He serves on the leadership committee for Chabad Intown’s YJP Atlanta and is active in other Jewish organizations.

Suresky played club soccer at Tucker Youth Soccer Association and in high school at the Atlanta International School but competed in tennis for Team Atlanta in the JCC Maccabi Games.

His involvement with Terminus Legion dates to 2014 and the ATL Wants MLS movement. He serves as the legion’s travel coordinator, an outgrowth of his job as a marketing representative for AAA Travel.

“The club has done a really good job of marketing to young professionals like myself and other demographics, like families who play the game in youth leagues,” Suresky said.

Jonathan Rosen, who became a bar mitzvah at The Temple and remains a member, also played at TYSA until he chose baseball at age 13. Today, the 30-year-old works as a paralegal in commercial real estate and plays soccer in a recreational league.

While watching an English Pre-

9

www.atlantajewishtimes.com

BUSINESS

Conexx Set to Celebrate U.S.-Israel Connections

By Logan C. Ritchie lritchie@atljewishtimes.com

The Conexx Gala, formerly the America Israel Business Connector’s Eagle Star Awards, will be held Wednesday, May 3, at the Twelve Atlantic Station.

Conexx will hand out five awards at the gala to recognize people and companies that have stood out in strengthening business ties between Israel and the Southeast.

Read about the winners except for the Israeli Company of the Year, Tosaf, which refused to speak to the AJT without getting to review and approve the article in advance, a violation of standard journalistic practices.

Deal of the Year: NICE Systems, Nexidia

APRIL 28 ▪ 2017

From its days in the Georgia Tech incubator to its $135 million acquisition in 2016, Nexidia came a long way.

The company was created in the 1990s to convert and archive cassette tapes of speeches delivered by U.S. Sen. Sam Nunn and donated to the Georgia

10

Tech library.

Founder Mark Clements, who studied speech recognition for 25 years, and Peter Cardillo, a Georgia Tech grad student, worked to build software that recognized individual speech sounds.

Nexidia thrived in the field of speech analytics. It provided software and service expertise to help companies synthesize data into tools to improve operations.

Meanwhile, NICE was established 30 years ago in Israel by several former Israel Defense Forces colleagues. Unlike most startups, NICE went public and grew exponentially.

NICE Systems, a global provider of software solutions with $1 billion in revenue, recognized Nexidia’s innovation and bought the company in 2016.

Conexx is recognizing NICE’s purchase of Nexidia as the Deal of the Year.

“It is because of the amazing technology and quality of people who comprise Nexidia that we are excited about this new relationship,” said Erik Snider, based in NICE’s Hoboken office. He stressed the importance of incorporating Nexidia’s employees.

Speech analytics software is used

in call centers when consumers hear, “The following call may be recorded for training purposes.”

For example, the information exchanged during a call regarding a smartphone purchase is recorded, analyzed and reported to the company.

The data identify issues with products, qualify loyal customers and relay important feedback to the company in real time.

“Nexidia is the most robust analytic engine on the market. Its performance of analytics is more accurate, scalable, quicker, and allows clients the capability to support and manage analytics from the cloud,” Snider said.

NICE CEO Barak Eilam said: “The acquisition of Nexidia is part and parcel of our strategy to enhance our analytics offering. It is an important step in our mission to deliver the power of customer data and insight beyond the contact center.”

U.S. Company of the Year: Southern Co.

Michael Britt credits Conexx for helping Southern Co. find ways to break into the Israeli market.

“There is incredible innovation that goes on throughout Israel, especially in Tel Aviv, where energy and water technology is quickly advancing.

There’s more going on there than anywhere else in the world,” said Britt, vice president of the Southern Co. Energy Innovation Center.

For Southern, a gas and electric utility company with 9 million customers in the Southeast, advances in renewable solar, wind and biomass energy are front and center.

Britt said utility companies are about providing solutions for customers. Sometimes a solution is at hand and can be enhanced by technology; other times a problem must be solved.

Conexx connected Southern with companies such as GenCell, which makes fuel cell power backup solutions.

“One complicated factor is that we are generating a product at the time it is expected. We are moving at the speed of light to provide power at the instant you flip a switch,” Britt said.

Getting affordable and reliable power to customers in an instant requires new approaches. If Southern can store and deliver power with the aid of GenCell, it does not have to match power generation and demand at all times.

Trendsetters like Israeli sensor software leader Mobileye bring inno-

vation to customers in an aging demographic.

As customers grow older, Britt said, they want to stay in their homes longer with autonomy and dignity. Statistics show that 1 billion people worldwide will be over age 65 by 2030. To make aging in place possible, Southern is researching the ways in which unobtrusive technology in the home can help.

Sensors tracking movement inside a home would identify each person by gait and determine whether it is a senior citizen, a caregiver or a regular visitor. This information is transmitted to caregivers and adult children for peace of mind.

Southern Co. research and development team members and executives have visited Israel on missions with Conexx to look at water solutions. Israel is the world leader in desalination, water recycling and other water technologies.

In addition to energy storage and sensors, Southern is working with Israel on water use and indoor agriculture.

The idea is that if the company can cater to baby boomers, it can cater to millennials interested in organic and sustainable food.

“Conexx has been a great partner on so many different fronts,” Britt said.

“From our joint efforts with Smart Cities to introducing us to Start-Up Nation, we are very proud to work with Conexx and receive this award.”

Community Partner: AJT

Labor lawyer Benjamin Fink excitedly joined the American-Israel Chamber of Commerce (now Conexx) in the 1990s when he moved to Atlanta to attend Emory University law school, marrying his love for Israel and his love for law.

“It used to be all about getting deals done and creating opportunities.

Now it is about connecting American and Israeli companies in unique ways,” the Conexx board chairman said.

When Conexx traveled to Israel last fall with 30 people, most of whom had never been to Israel, business leaders gained a positive view of the country, which they shared with friends, family and co-workers. Such experiences, Fink said, counter even the most negative impressions of Israel.

For its coverage of that mission and Israeli businesses and its promotion of Conexx’s work, the Atlanta Jewish Times is Conexx’s Community Partner of the Year.

“Michael Morris has taken a prod-

BUSINESS

Tom Glaser Leadership Award: Nathan Deal

Because of his longtime support of Israel Bonds and efforts to connect innovation and industry partnerships between Israel and Georgia, Gov. Nathan Deal will receive the Tom Glaser Leadership Award from Conexx.

The governor promotes strong cultural, academic and economic ties with Israel. In March, Georgia purchased $10 million in Israel Bonds.

“The Atlanta Jewish community is especially vibrant, and its members are active in the business community, state and local government and in cultural events and initiatives,” the governor’s office said.

The governor’s last trip to Israel, in 2014, included meeting with such top political figures as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. He visited historic and religious sites and met with business leaders and other stakeholders.

Soon after Deal’s trip to Kibbutz Sdot Yam, manufacturer Caesarstone announced its expansion in Bryan County (southwest of Savannah). The company opened a facility in Georgia, joining more than 40 Israeli companies already operating in the state, including Amdocs, Verint, Given Imaging, PCI (Blades), Alpha Omega and Baran Telecommunications.

The Georgia Ports Authority has a partnership with two Israeli ports, and the intermodal facility in Savannah is critical to Israeli businesses such as Caesarstone.

The Port of Savannah handled 28 percent of Israel’s container trade via East Coast ports during the 2016 fiscal year.

In 2015, Georgia exports to Israel totaled $180.5 million. Israel is the 41stlargest export market for Georgia.

Georgia leads the nation in the export of the following goods to Israel: gas turbines, carpets and other textile floor coverings, kaolin, marble and building stones.

Also in 2015, Georgia imports from Israel totaled $437.7 million. Israel ranks 28th among Georgia’s importer nations. Top imports from Israel include plastics, medical equipment, aircraft and spacecraft, sports equipment, and heavy machinery.

Two direct, weekly container services run between the Port of Savannah and Israel: ZIM’s Container Service Atlantic (last year’s recipient for Conexx’s Israeli Business of the Year) and MSC’s Indus Express.

Georgia.gov reports that the University System of Georgia offers three study abroad programs to Israel in business and dance. More than 50 Israeli students were enrolled in USG schools during the 2015-16 school year, and 58 students studied in Israel.

University System of Georgia institutions have 17 visiting scholars from Israeli universities. Emory University provides exchange programs with Tel Aviv University and Hebrew University in Jerusalem.

In addition, cybersecurity and tech industries in Israel and Georgia have increased collaboration and partnerships.

Three Israeli cities serve as sister cities to Atlanta and Sandy Springs: Ra’anana, Yokneam-Megiddo and the Western Galilee Cluster. After establishing these relationships, Israel has seen tourism from Georgia increase.

The governor said he values Georgia’s partnerships with Israeli leaders, companies and institutions and his relationships within the state’s Jewish community. He is committed to strengthening and fostering these bonds. ■

When: 6 p.m. Wednesday, May 3

APRIL 28 ▪ 2017

uct that was incredibly niche and brought it to a new level of professionalism. There’s a broader range of opinions with a lot more knowledge and perspective on things. Content is appealing to a wider audience,” Conexx President Guy Tessler said. “The Atlanta Jewish Times is an important resource to the community.”

In the past year, the cooperation between the business connector and Jewish Atlanta’s community newspaper included not only coverage of events, such as last spring’s Conexx awards celebration and its co-sponsored fall conference on financial technology, but also participation by AJT Associate Editor David R. Cohen on Conexx’s November mission to Israel.

AJT Publisher Michael Morris said, “For 25 years, the American-Israel Chamber of Commerce has been connecting Israeli companies and Southeastern U.S. companies for business and economic growth on both sides of the ocean. For 25 years, the Atlanta Jewish Times has been reporting, sharing and encouraging their work.

“Today, Conexx and the AJT come together to praise what has occurred, celebrate this year’s accomplishments, and secure a vision for future work and engagement.”

Tickets: $125 for admission, $165 for admission and one $50 raffle ticket; www.conexxgala.com

11

What: Conexx Gala Where: Twelve Atlantic Station, 361 17th St., Midtown

BUSINESS

THE SONENSHINE TEAM

Putting People First Keeps AGH on Top

Atlanta’s Favorite Real Estate Team

DEBBIE SONENSHINE STAR NEWMAN KATIE GALLOW Top 1% of Coldwell Banker Internationally Certified Negotiator, Luxury, New Homes and Corporate Relocation Specialist #1 Sales Associate in Sandy Springs Office Voted Favorite Jewish Realtor in AJT, Best of Jewish Atlanta

#1 Team Coldwell Banker Atlanta

Debbie Sells Houses!

Estate Living in Your Own Tropical Paradise!!

• Peaceful & Private Move-In Ready Home on 1+ Acres in Riverwood High!

• Exquisite Main-Level Walkout Heated Saltwater Pebbletech Pool Has 2 Waterfalls, Romantic Lighting & High-End Sound System • Master Suite on Main w/ Sitting Room, Private Sunroom & Custom ‘His’ & ‘Hers’ Room-Size Closets

Sandy Springs/ ITP/High Point $1,250,000

• 5 Bedrooms/ 4 Full Baths / 2 Half Baths • Kitchen w/ SubZero, 2 Sinks, Gas Cooktop & Granite Open to Keeping Rm • Terrace Level Man Cave w/ Handcrafted Bar, Billiards Rm, Home Theatre, Gym, Bedroom, Full Bath & More • Custom Chicken Coop or Dog Run

direct 404.250.5311 office 404.252.4908

Debbie@SonenshineTeam.com | www.SonenshineTeam.com

APRIL 28 ▪ 2017

©2014 Coldwell Banker Real Estate LLC. Coldwell Banker is a registered trademark licensed to Coldwell Banker Real Estate LLC. An Equal Opportunity Company. Equal Housing Opportunity. Operated By a Subsidiary of NRT LLC.

12

How do you become one of the best places in all of Atlanta to work?

That is just one of the questions I posed to Kathie Gottlieb, the president of AGH, LLC, which has its headquarters in Atlanta. AGH is a leading accounting and advisory firm providing audit, tax, accounting and consulting services to clients globally.

Almost a decade ago, AGH was voted by its employees as the No. 1 place in Atlanta to work, as reported by the Atlanta Business Chronicle. Things have only gotten better and grown since then.

Before I get into the bits of wisdom shared by Kathie, allow me to explain how I came to change the slant of this column.

I can write and expound on the correct ways to run and grow a business. On paper it all sounds good, yet it is just theory.

I believe more can be learned from people running successful businesses than just theories by an expert.

When theory and the actual real world collide, usually practical advice and experience have shown to be better guidelines.

So I’ve decided to take a different approach moving forward.

I am now seeking local, Jewishowned businesses that are successful to be highlighted in this column. Ideally, I would like to interview the CEO or president. It can also be one of the founders or owners.

I want to know your secret sauce.

What sets you apart from your competition? Share with the community a tip or two so that we can all get better and grow.

Part of being Jewish is helping to lift one another up and grow. Together, we can make Atlanta one of the top places for business in this country.

I am starting out by highlighting AGH because I believe to it be an example of any definition of a well-run company. Out of all the things Kathie Gottlieb shared with me, one quote stuck out the most: “If you want to grow, empower your people.”

It is such a simple idea, yet so very hard to do in practice.

Many owners and business leaders want to control everything. This is truly a limiting factor on your business, as it will never grow past what

one person can accomplish.

Let’s examine the AGH model of empowering your people.

First and foremost, you have to attract and hire the right people.

When asked what AGH looks for in a great hire, Kathie shared that it is

Coach’s Corner

By Jason Adler JasonAdler@johnmaxwellgroup.com

more than just technical skills. Skills should be a given, she said. What AGH truly looks for are a great attitude and an excellent fit for the culture. They are always seeking complementing people, not people who seek complimenting.

In her words, Kathie views people in three ways: minders, finders and grinders. AGH is always looking to find the right balance of these three types of people to maximize their growth potential.

Put into other words, it’s about finding the right mix of visionaries, rainmakers and workers. Everyone has a role, none more important than the other. Truly a company that embodies the acronym TEAM: Together everyone achieves more.

Some other foundational practices at AGH are receiving unlimited personal days off, dressing for your day, and being celebrated for little achievements as well as milestones. All this serves well for personal responsibility.

All employees should know what’s expected of them. If they can achieve that and more, they can live their lives (time off and dress) the way they want.

Truly AGH is a people-first company.

In summary, Kathie shared a personal motto that we would all do well to follow: “Always do your best, nothing more, nothing less!”

Imagine what we all could achieve if we followed those words.

To have your company spotlighted in this column, please reach out to me. ■ Jason Adler is a John Maxwellcertified executive coach (www. johncmaxwellgroup­.com/jasonadler) helping people and their organizations hire and keep quality employees.

www.atlantajewishtimes.com

LOCAL NEWS

Athens Hoaxes Helped Break JCC Bomb-Threat Case the same address Jan. 3 this year, and Athens police rushed to the scene and found that the call was another hoax.

The Jan. 3 incident led to the charges.

That call came just before the highly publicized series of hoax bomb threats began hitting JCCs, such as the Marcus JCC on Jan. 9 and March 15, as well as Jewish schools and offices of the Anti-Defamation League, including the Southeast office in Buckhead.

The Athens investigation — led by the FBI, the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Macon, and the Justice Department’s Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section — uncovered the repeated use of Internet addresses in Israel and

reached out to Israeli authorities in October 2015. Israeli police opened a parallel investigation into domestic calls by the fall of 2016. Officers in Australia and New Zealand also shared findings.

The Internet addresses used in the Athens calls helped Israeli police find Kadar’s neighborhood.

But the Georgia investigation and the FBI-led probe of the JCC bomb threats were separate until the Internet evidence brought them together, leading to FBI agents traveling to Israel and joining in Kadar’s arrest March 23.

The investigation of the threats against Jewish organizations was based in Orlando, where two Jewish schools

received threats Jan. 4, the day Kadar made at least 31 threatening calls, according to a separate criminal complaint and arrest warrant filed April 21.

That complaint charges Kadar with 15 counts of making threatening interstate and foreign communications and 13 counts of willfully making a threat and maliciously conveying false information concerning an attempt to kill, injure or intimidate anyone and to damage and destroy any building.

The complaint says the evidence against Kadar includes a thumb drive with an archive of targets listed by date and fake account used, as well as recordings of the threatening calls. ■

APRIL 28 ▪ 2017

A Georgia investigation played a crucial role in helping FBI agents and Israeli authorities home in on the suspect in hundreds of bomb threats against Jewish community centers and other Jewish institutions.

That was one of many details revealed Friday, April 21, when the U.S. Justice Department announced federal charges filed in Georgia and Florida against 18-year-old Michael Kadar, the Israeli-American arrested in Ashkelon in March and accused of a global wave of anonymous threatening phone calls.

“This kind of behavior is not a prank, and it isn’t harmless. It’s a federal crime,” FBI Director James Comey said in the Justice Department press release. “It scares innocent people, disrupts entire communities and expends limited law enforcement resources.”

Kadar’s attorney and mother have blamed his actions on a brain tumor and have said he has autism.

According to an arrest warrant and criminal complaint filed in Macon, Kadar’s habit of using hacked email addresses, voice-disguising software, Google Voice accounts, spoofing services, stolen Internet access and Bitcoin to anonymously threaten people and places began by the summer of 2015.

That year, Kadar is believed to have made 11 “swatting” calls — hoaxes intended to provoke SWAT-type police responses — to Athens-Clarke County public schools from Aug. 12 to Dec. 15, sparking the FBI investigation that led to his neighborhood in Ashkelon.

The first of those calls, to Barrow Elementary, featured a voice that sounded computer-generated saying, “We are in the school. We see children.

We have guns. There will be a blood bath, and something will detonate.”

The Athens calls were among more than 240 swatting calls, most to schools, placed to the United States and Canada through six email addresses linked to Kadar, whose identity has been kept secret in Israel by court order.

But the Macon complaint charges Kadar with making threatening interstate and foreign communications, conveying false information and perpetuating a hoax, and cyberstalking in connection with another recurring target, a private home in Athens.

Emergency calls about hostages, threats and a heart attack were placed about the same Athens home on three consecutive nights in December 2015.

University of Georgia police then received a call reporting a home invasion with a man shot and three hostages at

13

www.atlantajewishtimes.com

LOCAL NEWS

Glimmers Shine Through Yom HaShoah Gloom

By Michael Jacobs mjacobs@atljewishtimes.com

Synagogue Rabbi Neil Sandler, who delivered the d’var Torah.

Hemshech President Karen Lansky Edlin said we should also be thankful to Atlanta’s survivors for the Memorial to the Six Million.

“If you’re lucky enough to encounter a survivor, Photos by Michael Jacobs please be sure to thank As Marlene Besser watches, survivor Erica Lauten lights the fifth of six candles at the JCC ceremony with the help of them for the gift they Bernie Gross. (More photos at www.atlantajewishtimes.com.) have left us all,” said EdAtlanta’s Jewish community. He noted lin, the daughter of surthat Federation made the Holocaust vivors. She reminded the crowd of the Survivors Support Fund a priority in dwindling number of survivors.

2015 and that the fund has since raised The memorial’s architect, survivor more than $1.6 million to support the Ben Hirsch, was there to lead Kaddish, basic needs of 75 local survivors living but the singing of “The Partisan Song,” at or below the poverty level. long led by Cantor Isaac Goodfriend, About two dozen survivors lighted then by his son Enoch Goodfriend, who candles with the help of teens in NFTY died last year, passed to the next genat the observance, held under the aus- eration, Miriam and Avi Goodfriend. pices of Eternal Life-Hemshech, the Ambassador Judith Varnai Shorer, Breman Museum and Federation. the Israeli consul general to the South“Thank G-d many found the east, attended both ceremonies and strength and fortitude to transcend spoke at Greenwood. She cited the need their silence” and tell the world what for the Jewish community to find parthappened,” said Ahavath Achim ners in remembering the Holocaust

On a day of gray skies and relentless rain, Jewish Atlanta remembered the Holocaust by focusing on the points of light illuminating the dark past.

The rain forced the Yom HaShoah service at the Memorial to the Six Million at Greenwood Cemetery under tents and drove the Marcus Jewish Community Center’s observance inside from the Besser Holocaust Memorial Garden. But Holocaust survivors, their families and the community as a whole turned out Sunday, April 23, to remember those lost, honor those who remain and celebrate the signs of Hitler’s failure to destroy the Jewish people.

“The Yom HaShoah commemoration is an ongoing announcement to the world that such inhumanity must stop. We must treat one another with justice and mercy, not with camps or weapons or destruction,” said Harold Kirtz, who chaired the committee organizing the Greenwood Cemetery event.

Jewish Federation of Greater Atlanta President and CEO Eric Robbins said the event speaks to the strength of

Survivor Manuela Mendels Bornstein speaks of the daily miracles of Holocaust survival at the Greenwood Cemetery ceremony.

A NFTY member lights a memorial candle for a survivor at the Memorial to the Six Million.

and fighting hatred at a time when the number of survivors is declining and anti-Semitism is rising.

“Educate, educate and educate,” Shorer said. “Never forget. Never again.

Now, more than ever, is that true.”

Wish your special graduate

Mazel Tov

with a tribute in the Atlanta Jewish Times! es.com

tajewishtim

m

The grad ION s. of Atlanta EDUCAT to Toco Hill School day, Torah Day th-graders Mon s its eigh y is held k. graduate ceremon Botwinic itage ally, the the grad in orian Avi t dict nex Jacob’s Her June 6. Usu ool is the School’s raders ation Beth Epstein Sch Weber eighth-g n during Congreg 41 ope in the with with hen ers ch remains r their cer. on lineup, 2016 gath Hall, whi building school afte Geor- uati at the Class of at on high 24, cuten ds to frien sday, May stand the moving constructio family and p.m. Tue Arts at e who can rtners ny at 5:30 For thos ter for the kinderga school. y h Day mony emo ’s Ferst Cen ative day e the ceremon the Tora gia Tech Conserv , 22, the cere on year sinc the is ness uati May full ner nd day, nnew high r own grad Jessica Bach ol’s and Gree In its seco 11 a.m. Sun dozens of have thei Atlanta er Scho 8. inick is sh ld, but will send Katz Yeshiva the Web ay, June Avi Botw nta Jewi the wor not only tatorian. ard & Jean merger of Wednesd er School’s demy, Atla uates into u2016 salu u, the Rich the Web ol gradu. rew Aca s its grad two grad Temima school grad dictorian field Heb the day scho Girls, hold es to hold 2016 vale at kick off ors and nd Drive High School for nta. y continu June 16, y, seni thla Atla dem also will ol sh rsda Nor Aca scho . Thu er tem on for Jewi ium at the er comfor high 7:30 p.m The Upp y of who l, immedia the Web ation seas ation at the auditor ations: one Springs. itage Hal lights of raders, man , at May include in Sandy The high Jacob’s Her t year.

Tuesday, for eighth-g ual meeting duled to campus at 7 p.m. a one ets Jaguars nex the Beth r the school’s ann are sche ll, in first e AJA (tick pbe ent uate goes plac off ain take mencem line Cam ly afte School rs grad will rem be raffled th-grade ker Caro monies will ion of e Miller $5,000 will Ilen the eigh ch Both cere faculty spea and the recognit 31; whi and . es the valeuation. her, at 6:30 p.m ). Jonathan y complet hner and next day are $100 math teac s at the grad k for is Academ Jessica Bac Sandy honoree ute boo The Dav ence in will be the salutatorian y’s for the trib thent sequ dem line eigh cem Aca 59 commen odward The ad dead 6. sends out g to Infrom Wo s at the when it mony of ers is June Daly, goin graduated ity; Springs to get their diploma pus at 7 the Mill final graduation cere day Coleman students n Univers cam the first The ng Jewish graders 14: Thomas Hampto dle School n s place on in Abram The followi Saturday, May Meagan Dillon, emy’s Mid spring take day, June 20, whe 2. ity; Benjam on; ool on Lau- acad is the , Mon Yisrael rsday, June Bloomingt Christian Univers on; Samantha 2008 Dav Upper Sch iva Ohr p.m. Thu of summer y features versity at , Texas alumni school school Yesh Bloomingt Clemson Univerceremon man g the at diana Uni The as high Erd rdin ity ve its Grant - boa Elon Hecht, Univers Michalo omas to an Lobel, Alexander man, Indiana d from Emo uate Leah Alexi Elle rds dipl Jord uate grad ida; awa lie ia grad .

Flor d Lyd Feld Kay just ity of sure to s at 7 p.m d to spen Lalonde Virginia; Catherine ity; speaker. She graduate events, be schedule an, Univers versity; versity of ard a of these ity and is ol in adts Univers Elon Uni ren Freedm Jacob Lefar, Uni For any ying tow the scho an ry Univers man, Tuf Marcus, uel years stud ropology details with helle New erg, Americ sity; Sam Sidney Benjamin next two confirm social anth Jessica Roc a Maciel Rosenb ity; Brandon the degree in with her University; man University; Tali - master’s vance. ■ e Univers of Oxford Georgia; rgia Stat Hunter Sny University Morris, Fur , University of mon, Geo . e; Garrett dra Sobel, at the nik Salo ship itut Rez olar ia den Inst Oliv Alexan uel Hol technic Rhodes Sch

n Co on Seaso

Graduati

W

y’s Jewish d Academ Woodwar

Submit your tribute today for the

Lydia,

ts s then shif uation focu

Mazel Tov!

www.atlan

tajewishtim

From Wo odward Academ y now on Furman Universit to y. From War Eag le to Pal adin.

Congratula tions on working so fulling you hard and r dreams.

Love, Mo m & Dad

Graduates

We can't wa it

e,

Mazel To

v!

You have graduated one the from finest Un iversities in Americ a, Washi ngt Universit y in St. Lou on is.

Mazel To on your UGv A degree, Josh Jacobs .

to see you at the Osca Love, Mom rs. & Dad

ren

Sam Poly Lau University; rman, Worcester of Chicago; and e ppe Scott Sna of the Art Institut der, School versity. k Uni New Yor

OV

MAZEL T

e Jenny Ric n!

u. oud of yo are so pr ued Sarah we shes for contin wi s.

Our best happineshman d an s succes Howie Rot

raduatio

proud We are so of you. & Jerry

2016

AJ38T

14

on

, Dad, Aar

Love, Mom

MAY 20 ▪

APRIL 28 ▪ 2017

on your G

v Mazel To Tal and ur yo l al “peeps”!

ss of Epstein Cla the NEW 2016 and 0!

Class of 202 So proud of

you!

e, Mimi and All our lov Super sweet us Adored by Ruach friend A top notch Humorous & Happy g, Hardworkin

n ng woma of the you So proud Thank you become! to Weber you have demy & off Davis Aca experiences await. at gre where Journey.

Enjoy the you!

We love y Mom, Dad

& Haile

Congratu latio on gradua ns tion, Caleb Jaco bs.

We're prou d that charging ah you're ead.

Lov e, Mom & Da

d

Mazel To v Bradley Rudy!

You ma de it thr High an ough Jr. d on yo ur way Walton to HS.

We are Love, Mo so proud of you! m, Lou, Ben

my and Aba

, Mom Lots of love

& Carlie!

We are pro ud of you r hard wor persevera k, nce & pas sion.

Love, Mo

m & Dad

Mazel To v

DARC DENNE Y EN on your gra duati The Davis

We are so

Mazel To v

To submit, visit:

Gabriell e Cohen on your Grad uation!

www.atlantajewishtimes.com/graduationtribute

Love, Mo m, Dad, David Elie, Leo and Bear ,

Mazel T Rachel Ni ov! co LaVictoi

As you gra

re

le

duate fro m Washi Universi ngton ty-St Lou is

We are so proud where you of you and can’t wa r next cha it pter takes to see you Lov e, d & Max

Graduation Issue May 26th* 1/8 page ad for $36 Including graduates from junior high, high school and college.

on from Academy!

proud of you!

Love, Mom and Dad

Mom, Da

*Reserve by May 19, 2017

es.com

Jacquelin

2016

mences

GRADUA TION

chools at Day S

MAY 20 ▪

www.atlan

AJT

39

or call 404-883-2130

www.atlantajewishtimes.com

LOCAL NEWS

To that end, Kirtz said 12 schools in the Atlanta area painted stones with the names of child victims of the Holocaust. Survivors each received a stone when they lighted memorial candles.

“How do we really commemorate an event, a tragedy, as obscure, as horrific as the Shoah?” Rabbi Brian Glusman said at the JCC ceremony.

He mentioned efforts ranging from the Paper Clips Project in Tennessee to Am Yisrael Chai’s Daffodil Project to plant 1.5 million flowers to represent the children killed in the Holocaust.

“All of these attempts are powerful, and they’re praiseworthy, but they just don’t do enough,” Rabbi Glusman said. “They aren’t enough. They aren’t powerful enough. They aren’t sacred enough, not deep enough, to describe the immensity of what happened.”

Taking a cue from the mitzvah to remember the Exodus, not the suffering of slavery that preceded it, Rabbi Glusman emphasized the need to find the glimmers of light and sparks rising from the ashes.

“The challenge is to find meaningful ways of paying respect to the tragedy. But more important is what we do the rest of the year” to share goodness, light and beauty, he said.

“Irena’s Children” author Tilar Mazzeo, the keynote speaker at the JCC, highlighted some of the glimmers from one of the darkest places, the Warsaw Ghetto, including the 2,500 children Irena Sendler saved and the 14 pages of the names of the people Sendler said helped make those escapes happen.

Mazzeo said those children didn’t just survive the war; they went on to have growing families. She said she has spoken to the great-grandchildren of Ala Golab-Grynberg, one of her book’s heroines. Her descendants don’t want publicity, the author said, but they continue to tell the stories and remember what happened in the ghetto.

Each of those child escapes was a miracle, but as survivor Manuela Mendels Bornstein explained in her keynote address at the Greenwood ceremony, each of those miracles of survival was itself composed of multiple miracles.

The Davis Academy Magical Melodies prepare to sing beside the Memorial to the Six Million.

Like a real-life version of “Dayenu,” Bornstein described a series of miracles that enabled her Dutch family, who had lived in Paris for a decade before the Germans conquered the French capital in June 1940, to escape beatings, to avoid detection of their illegal radio, to inexplicably avoid the

In front of a Dobbins Air Reserve Base color guard and Harold Kirtz, Steve Alhadeff and Pat Alhadeff Schneider present a Ladino reading, “Oh Mes Hermanos” (“O My Brethren”).

roundup of 13,000 Paris-area Jews in two days in July 1942, and to stay safely hidden in the south of France, where her parents had another child.

“The greatest miracle is that while four of us had left home, five of us were coming back,” Bornstein said. ■

After the ceremony, attendees walk through the Memorial to the Six Million.

APRIL 28 ▪ 2017

After performing in the morning at the Greenwood Cemetery ceremony, the Atlanta Jewish Male Choir sings at the JCC event.

15

YOM HAATZMAUT

www.atlantajewishtimes.com

Mission Explores ORT’s Role in Israel’s Future

By Sarah Moosazadeh sarah@atljewishtimes.com

APRIL 28 ▪ 2017

When Jay Tenenbaum, then the ORT Atlanta director, wanted to nominate me for the ORT America Next Gen Mission to Israel, my response was yes before he could finish asking. I was ecstatic to return to Israel after many years, especially with an organization that means so much to me and countless other minority Jews around the world.

My encounter with ORT began when I volunteered for its Honey From the Heart fundraiser.

I looked forward to the event every year, not so much because I enjoyed packing and labeling hundreds of boxes of honey, but because of the bonding with other volunteers who believe in investing in Jewish values in ORT schools in 60 countries.

Years later, my next engagement with ORT involved interviewing World ORT’s first female director in Iran, Parvine Motamed, in Farsi this winter for the AJT. That interview, combined with my enthusiasm for Israel and ORT, led me to join the Next Gen Mission.

The Atlanta delegation, composed of Goza Tequila Creative Director Adam Hirsch, real estate agent Ben Rosenberg and me, met 16 other mission participants from Illinois, Florida, New York and California at Ben Gurion Airport.

Before spending the night at Kibbutz Lavi, we had dinner with former ORT America President Shelley Fagel and assistant national campaign director Allison Halpern at Makom B’Sejera in Ilaniya, which was home to the first Jewish pioneers in the lower Galilee, including David Ben-Gurion.

Our first full day in Israel took us to the Atlanta-sponsored Hodayot youth village in the lower Galilee, where we met with World ORT Kadima Mada CEO Avi Ganon, ORT’s head in Israel, and Chief Development Officer Avital Govrin.

We met with students and toured facilities renovated with Atlanta donations, including a new science lab, a student lounge and an empowerment center that is in the works.

A plaque ceremony dedicated the Joe Cohen Family Dining Hall, which was named for an Atlantan who was ORT America president and which was sponsored by Phyllis, Delilah and Steven Cohen and Jodi and Shon Mekyten.

16 A separate plaque ceremony

Photos by Tony Gorkiewicz

Atlanta delegates Adam Hirsch, Sarah Moosazadeh and Ben Rosenberg share a moment before rappelling down the Ramon Crater.

dedicated the empowerment center in memory of Jane and Herald Yudelson, Rosenberg’s grandparents.

“I lost both of my grandparents over the past two years. They were a huge presence in my life and in my family,” Rosenberg said. “My life is certainly better for having known them, but it is amazing to see that their acts of generosity will improve the lives of people they would never meet for years to come. Having the opportunity to meet some of those students was really a privilege.”

We also toured the greenhouse, horse stable and cafeteria and made mishloach manot (Purim baskets filled with candy) for children at the Poriya hospital in Tiberias.

“Going to Hodayot was such an incredible experience for me,” Hirsch said. “Not only is this school doing incredible things, but they wouldn’t be able to function if it weren’t for the donations and care from the Atlanta Jewish community. Atlanta has adopted this school and helped change the lives of thousands of young Jewish kids in Israel.”

We traveled to Kiryat Yam, where we saw the water sports center, Yitzhak Rabin High School and Mada Park, before going to Tel Aviv, where I visited my aunt and two of my four cousins in Hod Hasharon. I met one of my cousins and her husband for the first time after missing their recent wedding.

As we ate a traditional Persian dish of quince, chicken and plums, we spoke in Hebrew, English and Farsi about life in Israel, family gossip and politics. It was bittersweet to leave my aunt and cousins after only a few hours, but there was much to see and do.

AJT reporter Sarah Moosazadeh visits the Kotel.

After Tel Aviv, the mission continued to explore World ORT Kadima Mada (Science Journey) schools by visiting the Kfar Silver youth village, then received a geopolitical briefing in Yad Mordechai near the Gaza Strip and had a brief stay in Be’er Sheva, where we experienced the Future Learning Space classroom at the Tuviyahu school and received a quick tour of the technical college.

Between school visits, we drove to Mitzpe Ramon, where we toured the Ramon Visitor Center, named for Israel’s first astronaut, Ilan Ramon, tackled a few team-building activities and rappelled down the cliffs of the Ramon Crater.

We arrived in Jerusalem for a security briefing from Brig. Gen. Shalom Harari and visited the new Holocaust museum at Yad Vashem. We had time to hit the Machane Yehuda Market as Israelis prepared for Shabbat, then went to the Kotel.

I had seldom felt a spiritual connection when visiting the Western Wall, but this time it was different. As a little girl, I used to peek over the wall separating the men and women at our synagogue, and I decided to continue the tradition.

While looking through the dividers, my eyes shifted toward Israeli World ORT alum Matan Levi, who was praying with closed eyes and a hand against the wall.

In that moment I understood what the state of Israel symbolizes for its citizens, as well as the value of Jewish identity.

During our last night in Israel, we enjoyed dinner with Ganon and Govrin and shared our trip experiences and

ideas to increase awareness of ORT. “In education there are very few shortcuts. Progress comes when educators and communities commit to showing up and staying involved,” Rosenberg said. “There are many World ORT educators and leaders who are passionate about what they do and are making real changes for at-risk youth and young adults in Israel. I need to do what I can to make sure those educators have the resources they need.”

Most students at Israel’s ORT schools come from the periphery in the north or south and have low socio-economic status. Many are from dysfunctional families.

ORT schools such as Hodayot provide a learning environment for the students to attain success in Israeli society.

Each student we met was appreciative of the opportunities ORT provides and was happy to build bonds and learn skills to help keep Israel on the cutting edge of technology and science.

The ORT America Next Gen Mission exceeded my expectations. I was surprised by how much Israel has grown and by the abundance of Israeli warmth around every corner.

“I almost didn’t go on this trip, and, boy, am I glad I changed my mind,” Hirsch said. “This was such an incredible group of individuals. We are all in the same place in our lives and took a week out of our schedules to see how ORT is changing lives abroad. We were able to brainstorm new programs and come up with better ways to work together. I felt like we had been lifelong friends, and we came together in such a wonderful and organic way.” ■

YOM HAATZMAUT

www.atlantajewishtimes.com

Hodayot Provides Haven, Educational Foundation

By Sarah Moosazadeh sarah@atljewishtimes.com ORT America’s Atlanta Region has adopted Israel’s Hodayot youth village, part of World ORT Kadima Mada (Science Journey).

Atlanta donors since 2015 have helped renovate classrooms and have upgraded the learning environment at Hodayot.

Participants on the ORT America Next Gen Mission met with World ORT Kadima Mada CEO Avi Ganon and re-

ceived a tour of the school.

They also had a speed-dating session with students, learning about their backgrounds and Hodayot’s impact on their lives.

The students said the school is a haven from the struggles they face at home. Hodayot enables them not only to create friendships, but also to become full members of Israeli society.

After graduation, Hodayot’s students enter the Israeli army or participate in service programs close to their professions of interest. ■

World ORT Kadima Mada CEO Avi Ganon and former ORT America President Shelley Fagel unveil the plaque dedicating the renovated dining hall to the late Joe Cohen, an Atlantan and ORT alumnus who was ORT America president.

Students play pool in the student lounge, renovated with donations from Atlanta.

Students and mission participants prepare Purim gift bags for children hospitalized in Tiberias.

Atlantan Adam Hirsch expresses gratitude to Hodayot students after lunch in the new dining hall.

Hodayot’s new Empowerment Center is dedicated to Jane and Harold Yudelson, Atlantan Ben Rosenberg’s grandparents.

APRIL 28 ▪ 2017

Photos by Sarah Moosazadeh, Tony Gorkiewicz and Mike Amerikaner

17

YOM HAATZMAUT

Mission participants (from left) Morgan Newman, Cali Hersh, Jon Lanznar and Marla Levine get a feel for the livestock program at Kfar Silver.

Vegetables and flowers thrive in the garden cultivated as part of Kfar Silver’s agricultural leadership program.

Kfar Silver Nurtures Youths Making Aliyah

By Sarah Moosazadeh sarah@atljewishtimes.com Kfar Silver is the latest addition to World ORT Kadima Mada youth villages in Israel.

The boarding school, east of Ashkelon in the south, serves multicultural students who have made aliyah independent of their families.

ORT America Next Gen Mission participants visiting the campus heard students’ stories of aliyah and the impact of Kfar Silver.

Among the many activities are

agricultural initiatives designed to help the students and the community.

When they enter ninth grade, students have the option of entering the agricultural leadership program, which provides hands-on experience in cultivating soil, planting seeds and preparing meals with vegetables the students grow.

The agricultural department was added with the vision of creating an eco-village to produce food and energy.

Everything is organic, and the produce winds up in meals served at the dining hall. ■

After-School Enrichment

By Sarah Moosazadeh sarah@atljewishtimes.com

APRIL 28 ▪ 2017

World ORT’s YOUniversity Center of Excellence in Nahariya was one of several Kadima Mada schools visited during the ORT America Next Gen Mission.

YOUniversity offers hands-on courses in aerospace, physics, forensics, architecture, robotics and astronomy, among others. Each subject is taught by experts in the field.

ORT America Next Gen Mission participants were separated into two

18

Photos by Sarah Moosazadeh and Mike Amerikaner

A student shows off some of the robots created at YOUniversity.

groups, in which they observed scientific tests performed by the faculty, viewed combative robots made from scratch, and engaged in leadership activities that involved aerodynamics and physics with tools the students had constructed.

The after-school program helps students become more involved with science, technology, engineering and math courses and broadens their technical skills.

YOUniversity serves students of various backgrounds, including those with special needs. ■

Students from YOUniversity explain how the after-school technology and arts program has affected them.

YOM HAATZMAUT

Students in the Future Learning Space use technology to tackle an assignment.

The planetarium at Mada Park is not necessarily unusual, but oversize pillows for the virtual trip through the universe are.

Top left: Goza Tequila’s Adam Hirsch takes a selfie with students in the Tuviyahu Future Learning Space.

Bottom left: Instead of reading out of textbooks, students apply collaborative discussions to solve problems.

Science Comes Alive

By Sarah Moosazadeh sarah@atljewishtimes.com

The ORT America Next Gen Mission visited Mada Park and the Yitzhak Rabin Comprehensive High School while in Kiryat Yam along Haifa Bay in Israel.

Mada Park contains a planetarium, an oceanarium, an open-air science park, and Mada-Na, an interactive science exhibition. The facilities serve as learning platforms for the students and for the community throughout the year.

In the planetarium, the mission attendees watched a brief video and took a science quiz while making themselves comfortable on oversize bean bags.

The open-air science park offered

the opportunity to participate in outdoor science experiments.

The visiting Americans observed a medical training course in which students learned how to properly conduct an ultrasound.

According to World ORT Kadima Mada, Rabin High School serves over 1,300 students ages 12 to 18.

Most of those students are immigrants and live in poverty.

The school provides numerous opportunities and paths to earn diplomas in fields that fit students’ interests, including medical studies, theater, highlevel robotics and graphics.

The school is recognized by the students and faculty as a place of excellence and fosters a high-level academic learning environment. ■

Innovation Starts With Closing Textbooks

By Sarah Moosazadeh sarah@atljewishtimes.com The Future Learning Space at Tuviyahu High School in Be’er Sheva is unlike most classrooms in Israel. The students have access to the latest technology, devices and modern furnishings to create a robust learning environment.

ORT America Next Gen Mission participants interacted with the Tuvi-

yahu students while collaborating on a class assignment requiring the use of technology.

Students and faculty expressed satisfaction with the FLS environment and its deviation from the traditional use of textbooks and chalkboards.

World ORT Kadima Mada, the science-based educational program ORT America supports in Israel, hopes to expand FLS to more schools through donations and government subsidies. ■

APRIL 28 ▪ 2017

A Rabin High School student demonstrates an ultrasound machine in the World ORT school’s medicine and science track.

www.atlantajewishtimes.com

19

YOM HAATZMAUT

www.atlantajewishtimes.com

ORT Atlanta Director Leaves for Florida Job

By Sarah Moosazadeh sarah@atljewishtimes.com ORT America’s regional director in Atlanta, Jay Tenenbaum, resigned in March to lead fundraising for Jewish Family Services in Broward County, Fla. The Atlanta native’s family has lived here since 1905, and he has been involved with such organizations as American Jewish Committee’s ACCESS young professional group and the Jewish Federation of Greater Atlanta. His professional positions have included regional director of Jewish National Fund and development director of Jewish Family & Career Services.

Tenenbaum helped found Havinagala, a fundraiser for the JF&CS PAL program, and the JF&CS Community of Caring Luncheon, being held for the 11th time Friday, April 28. He launched JNF’s Jack Hirsch Memorial Breakfast, being held for the 14th time Tuesday, May 2.

“Leaving Atlanta has been a difficult decision” because of the expansive network he leaves behind, said Tenenbaum, who is married with two kids.

Tenenbaum worked in the corporate world, traveling to New York, Dallas and Philadelphia, before returning to Atlanta and joining nonprofits.

“Moving to the south now saved me the trouble of moving down later once I retire, and because the position is nascent, it also creates greater prospects,” Tenenbaum said. “My father always said, ‘If you see yourself at the bottom, the only way to go is up.’ ” He’ll be the first chief development officer at Broward JFS, whose CEO, Jacob Schreiber, was the editor of the AJT and the director of Hillels of Georgia.

“They are not nearly as sophisticated as Atlanta’s JF&CS,” Tenenbaum

Jay Tenenbaum has resigned as ORT America’s Atlanta regional director to work for Jewish Family Services in Broward County, Fla.

said. “They don’t have an annual campaign and never made any efforts toward planned giving. Also, as enthusiastic as the staff is, they never had any sense of direction or focus. I’m coming in as a stranger, and that also makes it difficult to ask people for money.”

To replace Tenenbaum, ORT America is conducting a national search in partnership with board members, who will make the choice. ORT seeks someone with fundraising experience and a focus on major gifts, but it is open to a lay leader who has chaired annual campaigns and is enthusiastic about continuing to raise ORT’s local profile.

“ORT still has so much potential in Atlanta, particularly because the mission of providing an education to Jewish youth resonates with so many people,” Tenenbaum said.

He suggested a 2 percent solution to finance Jewish education in general.

While visiting an ORT school in Mexico City, Tenenbaum noticed that of 10,000 Jewish students, 8,000 were receiving a Jewish education. Tenenbaum said that if all Jewish community members gave 2 percent of their income, enough money would be raised for every Jewish child to attend day school.

“For some, this does not mean much, but for others it may lead to a tremendous investment,” he said. ■

We offer freshly baked cinnamon rolls, cookies and brownies.

APRIL 28 ▪ 2017

Call to place your catering order today. www.cinnaholic.com

20

Vegan/Kosher Pareve Bakery Edgewood Retail District 1230 Caroline Street • Little Five Points UNDER SUPERVISION OF THE ATLANTA KASHRUTH COMMISSION

404-343-0805

Photos courtesy of the Marcus JCC

Teens portray their love of Israel through graffiti art March 19. The resulting eight 4-by-5-foot murals will be on display at the Katz Family Main Street Gallery from April 30 to May 31.

Pro-Israel Graffiti Art Goes on Display at JCC The Marcus Jewish Community Center is holding a public gallery opening at 1 p.m. Sunday, April 30, to launch a display of eight pro-Israel graffiti murals.

Nearly 70 Atlanta-area teenagers created the 4-by-5-foot murals on March 19 as part of J-Serve, the International Day of Jewish Youth Service, when hundreds of local teens performed community service projects.

The graffiti murals will be on display at the Katz Family Main Street Gallery inside the Marcus JCC, 5342 Tilly Mill Road, Dunwoody, from April 30 through May 31.

The teen co-chairs of J-Serve came up with the idea of using graffiti to express feelings about the Jewish homeland. As part of the project, the teen artists were trained on how to be Israel advocates.

The event was a collaboration among StandWithUs, an Israel education organization, Artists 4 Israel, an artistic rights organization that advocates Israel and its freedoms, and the Marcus JCC. The Katz Family Main Street Gallery is along the main corridor of the Zaban-Blank Building and is accessible whenever the building is open. ■

WE BUY DIAMONDS AND ESTATE JEWELRY. Our experience and access to international markets assures you of attaining the highest prices. Allow us to make you an offer.

There’s no obligation, and payment is immediate.

3960 Old Milton Parkway #300 Alpahretta, GA 30005

www.iroff.com 770-751-7222

YOM HAATZMAUT

www.atlantajewishtimes.com

‘Designated Hebrew’ Steps to the Plate for JNF

By David R. Cohen david@atljewishtimes.com Ron Blomberg hasn’t played baseball in almost 40 years but still is recognized in New York, where he played for the Yankees from 1969 to 1976.

The native Atlantan and member of the National Jewish Sports Hall of Fame is most famous for becoming the first designated hitter in major-league history in 1973, but Blomberg was one of the best high school athletes Atlanta has ever seen. He remains the only athlete to be named All-America in football, basketball and baseball while at Druid Hills High School in the 1960s.

When multiple knee injuries ended his baseball career, Blomberg returned to Atlanta and played softball in the Jewish Community Center’s modified fastpitch league, where there are stories of him hitting 450-foot home runs over the train tracks in center field at the old JCC on Peachtree Street.

Blomberg is scheduled to speak at the 14th annual JNF Atlanta Jack Hirsch Memorial Breakfast on Yom HaAtzmaut, Tuesday, May 2, at the Westin in Sandy Springs.

something, it was fun.

AJT: You speak to Jewish groups all the time. What are you planning to say at the JNF breakfast May 2?

Blomberg: I have no idea what I talk about until I get up onstage. I’ve Ron Blomberg, whose autobiography is titled “Designated Hebrew,” takes a swing while playing for Benator’s Senators in the early 1980s in the Atlanta city softball league.

playing JCC softball in Atlanta after your baseball career. Did you really play?

Blomberg: I couldn’t play baseball anymore, and I didn’t have anything else to do. Some of my friends were in that league, and they asked me to play.

So I agreed to play, but I didn’t want people to know who I was because once they find out, they expect you to hit a home run every time. If you don’t do that, you’re not good. So it’s a no-win situation. I played at the JCC and also in the city league on Gene Benator’s team.

Whenever I got up to bat, they used to put everyone in the outfield at the old JCC on Peachtree. It was a bunch of older guys that I went to high school and Hebrew school with, but, let me tell you

been booed in front of 50,000 people; being booed in front of a few more doesn’t faze me. I just enjoy talking to people and relating to people. If you relate to people, you don’t need a script.

People want to know that you’re a real person. ■

What: Jack Hirsch Memorial Breakfast When: 7:30 a.m. Tuesday, May 2 Where: Westin Atlanta Perimeter North, 7 Concourse Parkway, Sandy Springs Cost: Free; RSVP to bgluck@jnf.org or 404-236-8990, ext. 851

DISPUTES INVOLVING: Personal Injuries Contracts Employment Construction Landlord/Tenant Real Estate

Scott I. Zucker, eSq. Certified Mediator & Arbitrator 404.364.4626 (direct) scott@wzlegal.com

Weissmann Zucker Euster Morochnik P.C. One Securities Centre 3490 Piedmont Road, Suite 650 • Atlanta, GA 30305 wzlegal.com | wzemadr.com

AJT: You managed in the first and only season of the Israel Baseball League in 2007. What did you think of Team Israel’s surprising showing in the World Baseball Classic in March?

Blomberg: Israel needs baseball. I think Israel’s performance in the WBC will be great publicity for the game in Israel. Each year it’s going to get better and better. Of course, soccer and basketball are the two biggest sports there, but baseball is moving up. The World Baseball Classic got so much publicity in New York. All of my friends there were going to sports bars to watch.

AJT: There are legends about you

APRIL 28 ▪ 2017

AJT: You grew up in Atlanta, but you seem to still be very connected to New York. Why is that?

Blomberg: When I played up there, I became a role model. There aren’t too many Jewish professional athletes, and because I’m a very proud Jew and I always have been, to be able to be the first Jewish Yankee, I think they brought me into their family. To be a role model in this day and age is very important, and I think it’s important for the Jews to have a role model.

When you wear the Yankee pinstripes with 1 million Jews in New York, they take you on like family.

21

SPORTS

www.atlantajewishtimes.com

Atlanta Sending 15 to Maccabiah Games in Israel Fifteen athletes and coaches from Atlanta will take part in the 20th World Maccabiah Games this summer in Israel, joining more than 10,000 Jewish athletes from 80 countries in over 40 sports. Taking place every four years in Israel, the Maccabiah Games are the world’s third-largest sporting event.

Atlanta is sending 12 athletes, two coaches and an accommodations manager to the games from July 4 to 17.

To compete, U.S. athletes must raise $8,000 to $11,000 to support Maccabi USA. See the capsules for individual athletes to find out how to help them.

Athletes

Brooke Koblitz Sport: Open track and field Age: 24 Current team: None Highest level: High school (Centennial),

APRIL 28 ▪ 2017

College (UGA) Awards or championships: Georgia high school champion in the 1,600 meters Fundraising: bit.ly/2oyiKHl Most exciting part of Maccabiah: “There’s nothing more exciting to me than the combination of being able to represent the USA, running track and doing that in Israel with thousands of other athletes. I feel so lucky to have the chance to compete on an international stage after I thought my competitive running career was over when I graduated from UGA.” Zachary Fisher Sport: Open swimming Age: 22 Current team: University of Pennsylvania Highest level: College Awards or championships: Three-time Ivy League championship team member; 2015 50 freestyle finalist Fundraising: Send a check with “Zach Fisher” in the memo line to Maccabi USA, 1511 Walnut St., Suite 401, Philadelphia, PA 19102.

Most exciting part of Maccabiah: “I am really looking forward to representing Team USA in Israel. This experience combines my passion for swimming with my passion for Israel, and I look forward to celebrating Jewish athletes from all over the world. This also gives me an opportunity to take ownership of my training like a professional would.”

Andrew Winton

22 Sport: Open swimming

Age: 17 Current team: Swim Atlanta Highest level: High school (Collins Hill), U.S. Olympic Trials Awards or championships: Eagle Scout, high school AllAmerica, 6A state champion in 100 breaststroke, 2017 Gwinnett County Swimmer of the Year Fundraising: bit.ly/2pZc7CB Most exciting part of Maccabiah: “I’m looking forward to the atmosphere and opportunity to meet new people from around the world while representing the United States in my first international competition.”

Leah Marks Sport: Open equestrian Age: 24 Current stable: Ellenwood Equestrian Center Highest level: Intermediate 1 open division (professional) Awards or championships: U.S. Dressage Federation bronze and silver medals with horse Dartagnan, champion and reserve champion at USDF regional championships Fundraising: bit.ly/2oynnAW Most exciting part of Maccabiah: “It has been a lifelong dream of mine to be able to represent my country riding in an international competition.

The World Maccabiah Games present a unique opportunity to meet other Jewish athletes from all over the globe and tour Israel. This intrigued me the moment I heard about the games. The combination of reaching a personal dressage dream — riding for Team USA while celebrating my Jewish heritage — will truly be an honor.”

Brent Rodgers Sport: Juniors soccer Age: 16 Current team: Weber School Highest level: JCC Maccabi Games Awards or championships: Gold medal in 2015 JCC Maccabi Games, captain of Team Atlanta Fundraising: bit.ly/2odf6qV Most exciting part of Maccabiah: “Being able to compete in the 20th Maccabiah Games is a chance of a lifetime. I have the opportunity to represent the United States of America, the Weber School, my community and my family

while learning about the Jewish culture and heritage alongside Jewish athletes from around the world, in Israel.”

Jason Aspes Sport: Masters basketball Age: 45 Highest level: High school (Riverwood) Fundraising: “Be sure to support the younger athletes.”

Most exciting part of Maccabiah: “To represent your country and your religion is incredibly special. To still be healthy enough to do it at this age is just icing on the cake.”

Scott Alterman Sport: Masters basketball Age: 45 Current team: Marcus JCC rec league Highest level: High school Awards or championships: First-team All-County in high school Most exciting part of Maccabiah: “Meeting new people, hanging out in Israel and playing in a high-level sports competition in a game I love. My body is beginning to break down, so this gives me something to train for. I look forward to leaving my jersey in our homeland and retiring … for good, this time.”

Noa Allen Sport: Open fencing Age: 21 Current team: UNC Highest level: College, 2013 Maccabiah Games Will Feldman Sport: Open fencing Current team: Duke Highest level: College Ari Berliner Sport: Open judo Age: 18 Current club: Atlanta Judo Midtown Highest level: International competition Awards or championships: Bronze medal in 2016 national championships; three bronze and one silver in international competition Emily Duner Sport: Open soccer Current team: Northwestern club soccer

Highest level: High school (Weber), 2015 Pan American Maccabiah Games Awards or championships: 2015 and 2016 Weber soccer team captain Allison Chernow Sport: Open basketball Age: 19 Current team: Emory University Highest level: College Awards or championships: 2016 firstteam All-Conference (high school), four-time Suburban One American Conference champion (high school)

Coaches and Staff

Daniel Kaufman Assistant coach Sport: Baseball Age: 32 Coaching since age: 18 Current team: Team Atlanta in JCC Maccabi Games Highest level as player: Emory and Tel Aviv Lightning (Israel Baseball League) Awards or championships: Two silver medals and a bronze medal playing at JCC Maccabi Games, multiple gold medals coaching at JCC Maccabi Games, 2007 All-Star pitcher in IBL Most exciting part of Maccabiah: “I’m looking forward to the experience of helping represent the United States in a worldwide gathering of top Jewish athletes. I’m also looking forward to getting back to Israel (fourth time going) to reconnect with some old friends.”

Brian Seitz Assistant coach Sport: Men’s youth basketball (17-18) Age: 43 Coaching since age: 22 Highest level as player: High school Most exciting part of Maccabiah: “Representing the USA at the 20th Maccabiah Games in Israel will be the highlight of my coaching and sports career.

It has been a dream since I was a young coach to work with the best Jewish athletes in the country. This is truly a once-in-a-lifetime experience.”

Kenny Silverboard Accommodations manager Involvement: Third trip with Maccabi USA in this position (2013 Maccabiah, 2011 Pan American Maccabiah) Most exciting part of Maccabiah: “I had goosebumps walking into the opening ceremonies in 2013. When they started singing ‘Hatikvah’ with 40,000 people in that stadium, it was spine-tingling. It doesn’t get any better than that.” ■

EDUCATION

www.atlantajewishtimes.com

Do You Need to Take Subject Tests? take? While no more than three tests can be taken on a given day, you can take other tests another time. If a college wants two Subject Tests, it usually will take your top two scores.

Which tests should you take?

The Admissions Game

By Dr. Mark L. Fisher drmarkfisher@yahoo.com

First, take a test in a subject in which you excel. Second, if a college wants a specific test, you must take it.

Here are examples of criteria: • University of Rochester — SAT or ACT, plus two or more results from SAT Subject Tests, AP exams or IB exams.

• Vanderbilt — SAT or ACT. Will consider Subject Tests if submitted.

School of Engineering applicants should strongly consider taking the math Level 1 or 2 Subject Test.

• University of Miami — SAT or ACT. The Honors Program in medi-

cine requires minimum scores of 600 on a math Subject Test and a science Subject Test.

• Stevens Institute of Technology — SAT or ACT. Subject Tests in math (1 or 2) and chemistry or biology are required for the accelerated medical program.

• Johns Hopkins — SAT or ACT. Subject Tests are a way to demonstrate an academic strength; engineering applicants encouraged to submit math Level 2 and one science.

• Boston College — SAT or ACT. Subject Tests may highlight a talent in a specific area.

• University of Georgia — SAT or ACT. Certain applicants are recommended to submit Subject Test scores.

• University of Pennsylvania — SAT or ACT. Any two Subject Tests are recommended for arts, humanities and social science applicants. STEM applicants are strongly encouraged to take math Level 2 and a science Subject Test.

Physics is recommended for engineers.

Math Level 2 is recommended for business applicants. Nursing applicants are encouraged to take a science Subject

Test, preferably chemistry.

Under no circumstances treat the examples above as current. Purposely, I did not verify the information because you must study the admission requirements of each college to which you may apply. That is your responsibility.

Now research each potential college for its admissions requirements as far as testing is concerned.

Note that the Subject Tests are given at the same time as the SAT. Therefore, if you are going to take the SAT and the SAT Subject Tests, scheduling becomes more important. You can’t sit in two testing rooms at once.

Also, while there are 20 SAT Subject Tests, you must study what tests are given on what date. For example, the Modern Hebrew test is administered only in June.

The deadline for the June testing is May 9. That is soon. ■ Mark L. Fisher is a college and career consultant at Fisher Educational Consultants (www.fishereducationalconsultants) and a consultant for the College Planning Institute (www.GotoCPI.com).

APRIL 28 ▪ 2017

For months, juniors and seniors have been taking the SAT or the ACT. Either will suffice for almost every four-year college that requires an entrance exam.

Tutoring agencies have been busy helping some students prepare for these tests. Other students have used online prep courses.

Also taking students’ time are AP exams, for which, in most cases, they have taken AP courses.

But don’t forget the College Board Subject Tests, for which you can sit Saturday, June 3, or Sunday, June 4.

What subjects are tested? Literature, U.S. history, mathematics Levels 1 and 2, biology (ecology or molecular), chemistry, physics, French, German, Modern Hebrew, Italian, Latin, Spanish and Korean with listening (new).

You can take up to three Subject Tests on one day. But do you need to take those tests?

The answer depends on the colleges that interest you. At one time, most of the top academic colleges wanted three Subject Tests. But then the Writing Subject Test found its way into the regular SAT. Colleges then tended to require two Subject Tests.

Now there are a variety of options. About 40 highly ranked colleges require the Subject Tests, and about 60 recommend them.

If a college recommends a Subject Test and you can do well, take the test.

What about colleges that will accept the tests if taken? Again, can you do well on them?

Unlike AP tests, the Subject Tests are used more in the admissions process than in placement, like grades and the SAT or ACT. Occasionally, the ACT alone will meet the criteria when a school wants the SAT and two Subject Tests. Then there are colleges that require specific Subject Tests for a major. An example would be an engineering major.

But why Subject Tests?

Suppose High School 1 (HS1) is much harder than HS2. A student in HS1 who has a B could know much more than a student in HS2 with an A. Having each student take the Subject Test will show colleges which student knows more. A similar situation can exist within a high school.

Students know there are differences in teachers and how they grade.

How many Subject Tests may you

23

HOME

www.atlantajewishtimes.com

Historic Marietta Estate Lands in Jewish Hands We have covered a wide variety of homes and artists in this column.

Never before have we shared a historic landmark, featured alongside the Big Chicken in Marietta as a preservation treasure.

Third-generation Cobb County resident Philip Goldstein and his wife, Elise, recently bought Ivy Grove, an antebellum mansion that has been destroyed and rebuilt on 5.94 acres just blocks from Marietta Square.

Philip, who serves on the Marietta City Council, has Marietta roots dating back to 1912, when the family opened a dry-goods store that operated for nearly a century on the square, where he remains a major property owner.

He and Elise are dedicated to restoring the over-10,000-square-foot house to its original glory as a family compound with a Jewish touch.

With a massive dogwood tree, the land is replete with gardens, a fountain, a Hollywood-scale pool and a Southern porch Aunt Pittypat would envy.

Philip has excavated to recover the original garden boundaries and a marble patio, while Elise, who is musically inclined and sings in a synagogue choir, plays records on an antique phonograph in the music room.

Take the historic tour with us.

APRIL 28 ▪ 2017

Jaffe: Tell us about the history of this estate.

Philip: The property was part of the Cherokee Land Lottery, passed in 1831 by the Georgia legislature, and first went into private hands in 1837.

The house dates back to 1845. I’m a history buff; and I had an eye on this house for a long while. In 1864 the deed was destroyed when the Union troops left Marietta and the courthouse was burned. Fortunately, the then-owner refiled the deed, so there is only a five-year gap in the title, which is rare in Cobb County, as the early deed books burned with the courthouse. The house burned to the foundation in 1925 and was then rebuilt on the foundations.

It has been featured in “Peachtree Garden Club — Historic Gardens of the South 1733-1933” and 2010’s “Marietta — the Gem City of Georgia.”

At one point, it was owned by the McNeel family, who owned a large marble company. Thus, you see the marble fireplace mantle and extrava24 gant use of marble in the bathrooms.

Four generations of the McNeels lived at Ivy Grove from 1872 to 1945. The photograph from 1891 shows one of the owner’s sons, Mr. Freyer, on his “High Wheel” bicycle in front of Ivy Grove.

In the 1940s most of the porch fronting Cherokee Street was converted into separate men’s and women’s restrooms and dressing areas. The

A Chai-Style Homes

By Marcia Caller Jaffe mjaffe@atljewishtimes.com

ladies dressing area and closet setup are quite unique. In 1980 the master wing, large game room, garage and mother-in-law suite were added.

Jaffe: Describe your property.

Philip: The original land encompassed 1,200 acres. We now have 5.94 acres, and we are only six blocks from the downtown Marietta Square. Much of the original land is now subdivisions.

We love the gardens. … We have planted figs, table grapes, apples, peaches, blueberries, pears and plums, and soon rose and vegetable gardens.

The two tennis courts need work, along with the 98,000-gallon pool.

There is a freestanding pool house. We have six separate heating and cooling systems. Again, we kept the bones of the house and enjoy the privacy.

For three days the North Georgia Relic Hunters scoured the dirt and found all sorts of interesting treasures: toy soldiers, bullets as seen in our display area. We believe that the 2nd Ohio Cavalry used the house as a post, and a portion of the grounds were used for a hospital tent during the Civil War. A soldier had to bite the bullet to avoid pain sans anesthesia; some of the bullets have teeth marks.

Jaffe: What about the background of the Goldstein family?

Philip: In 1900 my grandfather Philip Goldstein emigrated from Romania. He found his way to Marietta as a merchant in 1912. The Goldstein store opened in 1912 and closed in 2006. He sold everything from Levi’s jeans to shoes for the family, ready-to-wear and dry goods and did shoe repair. The sign said, “Buy Here, Save Money.”

Jaffe: How do you plan to use Ivy

B

C Grove?

Elise: Right now, it is a family compound and recreational retreat.

We had over 40 for Thanksgiving, family reunions and Passover. It is a long way off before we settle in as our primary home.

We let special-occasion groups like Marietta High School shoot a group prom photograph on the porch.

Philip: We have created a wall in the entrance which shows the history of the house and grounds. We have also featured our family’s history in Marietta in the game room and office with pictures and artifacts from the store.

Jaffe: What furnishings came with the house that you are keeping?

Elise: Many of the chandeliers and draperies came with the house.

The ceiling-size mirror bench in the hall was originally mahogany, then gilded in 1980. The majestic dining room chandelier was stolen while the house was for sale; and we replaced

it with one from a 1920 Morningside house estate sale. The hardwood floors and arched doorway are treasures.

Jaffe: What are some unusual features of the house?

Elise: We have a kosher kitchen: two dishwashers, two sink areas, dual appliances, etc. A three-stop elevator, the rec room with a ping-pong table, video game machines and full-length bowling alley. Downstairs, we have the mother-in-law suite traditionally decorated.

Jaffe: What will this house look like in 2022?

Philip: The same as it looks now, except it will have been repaired, where needed, and have a new coat of paint. We are seeking the right furniture and wall hangings or memorabilia. The grounds will be very colorful, as the trees and gardens will come to life and blossom.

Jaffe: You weave quite an unusual tale for Southern Jewish history. ■

HOME

www.atlantajewishtimes.com

G

H

I

J

D

E

F

APRIL 28 â–Ş 2017

Photos by Duane Stork except where noted

A: Photos and other memorabilia from the Goldstein store are part of the background in the rec room, where the family can watch videos, bowl or play table games.

B: Philip and Elise Goldstein enjoy their Judaica and Southern books while rocking in the library.

C: The Goldsteins have a 98,000-gallon pool and a freestanding pool house.

D: Photo courtesy of the Goldsteins Elise and Philip Goldstein are preserving history at Ivy Grove with a mansion of more than 10,000 square feet.

E: This original floor-to-ceiling hallway mirror was gilded in 1980 over the original mahogany.

F: The great room showcases the marble mantle installed by the McNeel family, who owned a large marble company. The hardwood floors are splendid.

G: The dining room has ample room for entertaining, although the chandelier is a 1920s-era replacement from Morningside because the original was stolen while the house was on the market.

H: Historical photograph An 1891 photograph shows Ivy Grove when it belonged to the Fryer family, part of the McNeel clan. That house burned down in 1925.

I: Photo by Marcia Caller Jaffe A three-day search of the ground turned up relics such as a belt buckle, toy soldiers and bullets, some with bite marks.

J: The music room has Judaica on the mantle, an antique phonograph and highly textured, burgundy, flocked fabric.

25

OBITUARIES

Dede Cohen 76, Atlanta

Dede Cohen, 76, died in Atlanta on Friday, April 20, 2017.

She was the adored wife of the late Kenneth Conrad Cohen, loving mother to Jeffery and Julie and Mark and Holly, caring sister of Stanley, Geraldine, Susan and Morey, and devoted Mimi to Benjamin, Lauren, Douglas and Charlie. She was predeceased by her parents, Frances and Morris.

Dede, who grew up in Manhattan, was a proud member of the Myer family, a lover of collectible furniture and antique pieces, and crazy about animals (including her beloved dogs, Chico and Lola). A strong, resourceful and beautiful woman, Dede saved countless lives through her work with drug addicts.

Sign the online guestbook at www.edressler.com. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to Jewish Family & Career Services. A graveside service was held Monday, April 24, at Arlington Memorial Park. Arrangements by Dressler’s Jewish Funeral Care, 770-451-4999.

Samuel Eckstein 87, Atlanta

APRIL 28 ▪ 2017

Samuel (Sam) Eckstein of Atlanta passed away Monday, April 17, 2017, at the age of 87.

He was born in Slovakia (then Czechoslovakia) on June 19, 1929, to Martin and Molly Eckstein. Sam immigrated to the United States in 1937. He joined the U.S. Marine Corps in 1946 and was honorably discharged in 1949. Sam was recalled into the service during the Korean War, serving for one year. One of the highlights of his service was being in Shanghai in 1949 when Mao Zedong captured the city without firing a shot.

Sam was stationed on the USS General W.A. Mann, a troop-carrying ship evacuating the last dependents back to the United States from Shanghai.

Sam returned to school in 1953 to study radio and TV production. During his

26

www.atlantajewishtimes.com years in TV, Sam had the opportunity to work as the lead cameraman on “Wide Wide World” with Dave Garroway, the first host of the “Today” show. He also produced and directed a 19-hour telethon starring Johnny Carson. Sam worked his way south at several TV stations as a producer-director until he arrived in Atlanta at WXIA-TV. Sam Eckstein Advertising was born in 1960 and was his profession for over 45 years. Sam handled advertising campaigns for Maynard Jackson for the U.S. Senate, Chief Justice William Henry Duckworth for re-election to the Georgia Supreme Court, and Buddy Folks, Milton Farris and others running for alderman in the city of Atlanta. He had many other diversified accounts, such as Paschal’s La Carousel Lounge, Paschal’s Restaurant and Paschal’s Motor Hotel during the height of the civil rights movement, plus Fan & Bill’s Restaurant and the Ambassador Restaurant. His other accounts included Hub Ford and Landmark Dodge.

He also handled public relations for such luminaries as Aretha Franklin, Betty White, Jayne Mansfield, Frankie Avalon, and Israeli Maj. Gen. Joshua Saguy, who masterminded and implemented the destruction of the nuclear reactor in Iraq.

Sam was a member of the Jewish War Veterans, vice president of ORT Atlanta, board member of Ahavath Achim Synagogue, and member of the Variety Club, the Breman Jewish Heritage Museum and the William Breman Jewish Home.

Sam is survived by his loving wife, Marilyn G. Eckstein; brother and sisterin-law Harold and Harriet Eckstein; six nieces and nephews; 14 great-nieces and -nephews; and over 50 great-great-nieces and -nephews.

Sign the online guestbook at www.edressler.com. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the charity of one’s choice. A graveside funeral was held Wednesday, April 19, at Arlington Memorial Park with Rabbi Neil Sandler officiating. Arrangements by Dressler’s Jewish Funeral Care, 770-451-4999.

Howard Hillman 77, Atlanta

Howard Sanders Hillman, 77, passed away peacefully Wednesday, April 19, 2017.

Howard was born Jan. 9, 1940, to Sara and Ralph Hillman. He leaves behind his daughter, Shoshanah Hillman; granddaughters Ava and Chavi; brother Jack Hillman; sister-in-law Michal; nieces Annsley and Ben Klehr and Brittany and Alan Schwartzwald; and great-nieces and -nephews Layla and Sawyer Klehr and Mack and Mimi Schwartzwald.

A native of Atlanta, Howard went to Inman Elementary School and was a Grady High School graduate. He graduated from Georgia State University. He enjoyed his summers at Camp Blue Star in Hendersonville, N.C. He always enjoyed his Grady reunions. Howard was passionate about reciting Hebrew, and he loved the many times he spent in Israel. He made many trips to Israel and even considered moving to Israel in his earlier years. His favorite hobby was collecting and trading stamps. Earning his Georgia insurance license was a proud highlight of his life.

He loved following sports, first as a young boy following the Atlanta Crackers and going to their games at the Ponce de Leon Ballpark. In later years he diligently followed the Braves, Falcons and Hawks. Howard loved his synagogue, Temple Sinai; it was the center of his Jewish life. He had the greatest respect and admiration for Rabbi Bradley Levenberg. Howard appreciated the rabbi’s friendship and valued his spiritual guidance.

Most of all, Howard loved his family. He always enjoyed family celebrations with his many relatives. He was so proud of his daughter and his beloved granddaughters. He was devoted to his loving parents. He admired their wonderful marriage of over 70 years and how deeply they cared for each other. He was always so thankful that they were in his life. They were truly his beloved best friends, and he missed them deeply when they passed away. He was a resident of the Jewish Tower for many years and the Jewish Home for three years. The family would like to thank the wonderful staff of the William Breman Jewish Home for the compassionate care for Howard. The family also thanks the many doctors and particularly the nurse practitioners at the Jewish Home who helped sustain Howard’s health through the years. We would also like to thank Elton Osmonson for his loyal service to so many of Howard’s needs.

Sign the online guestbook at www.edressler.com. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to Temple Sinai or the William Breman Jewish Home.

A graveside service was held Friday, April 21, at Greenwood Cemetery with Rabbi Levenberg officiating. Arrangements by Dressler’s Jewish Funeral Care, 770-4514999.

OBITUARIES

Miriam Jacobs 97, Atlanta

Miriam Wernick Jacobs, age 97, of Atlanta died Thursday, April 6, 2017.

Beloved mother to Marcia, Francine and Steven and in-laws Barry and Joan; grandmother to Brandon, Gabriel, Jessica, Benjamin and Noah; great-grandmother to Molly, Jake, Aaron, Adam, Eli, Jack and Lucy. She was preceded in death by her devoted husband, Albert, of blessed memory. She was much appreciated and will be much missed.

Sign the online guestbook at www.edressler.com. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to Hadassah, Weinstein Hospice or Congregation Shearith Israel. A graveside service was held at Crest Lawn Memorial Park on Sunday, April 9, with Rabbi Ari Kaiman officiating. Arrangements by Dressler’s Jewish Funeral Care, 770-451-4999.

Louis Pichulik 71, Atlanta

Louis Pichulik, 71, died suddenly at home on Sunday, April 16, 2017.

He is survived by his loving wife of 40 years, Jo Pichulik; daughters Elissa (Greg) and Suzanne (Seth); son David; sister Jeannette (Michael); and four grandchildren, Sam, Henry, Sela and Solomon.

Louis was born Nov. 16, 1945, to Holocaust survivors Sara and Rubin Pichulik in Anapa, Russia, a port city on the Black Sea. Shortly thereafter, he moved to several displaced persons camps in Germany. In 1951, he, his parents and his sister, Jeannette, immigrated to Atlanta through the port of New Orleans. He grew up in Morningside, surrounded by a strong Jewish community that was his family.

During this time, his parents owned a grocery store in the Kirkwood area. He spent many long days helping his parents at their store.

After graduating from Grady High School, he went to Tulane University, where he received a bachelor of arts in economics and a minor in art history in 1968. This time was an influential time for Louis. He fell in love with architecture, food and culture. He proceeded to foster these loves in his long Atlanta real estate career. Upon moving back to Atlanta, he earned his real estate license and began brokering land deals. After a real estate crash in the 1970s, he began investing in apartment complexes. Eventually he transitioned into commercial real estate, which was his true passion. He rehabilitated historic spaces that reminded him of his Tulane days. He loved creating restaurants in these spaces. Louis was a creative visionary who found great joy in every tenant’s success.

In 1971 he met a hardworking nurse from the small town of Dewy Rose named Mary Jo David. Though from different worlds, they fell in love and married in July 1976. Louis loved his “Jo-Jo” with complete adoration. He had his first child, Elissa, in 1978. Suzanne followed in 1982. After they lost baby Margo in 1988, David was born in 1990. Louis could not believe he had a boy. He was a devoted father and endlessly proud of his children and grandchildren. A doting husband, successful businessman, loving father and loyal friend, he will forever be in our hearts.

Funeral services were held Wednesday, April 19, at Arlington Memorial Park with Rabbi Laurence Rosenthal officiating. In lieu of flowers, please donate to the William Breman Jewish Heritage Museum, www.thebreman.org, or Ahavath Achim Synagogue, www.aasynogogue.org. Sign the online guestbook at www. edressler.com. Arrangements by Dressler’s Jewish Funeral Care, 770-451-4999.

www.atlantajewishtimes.com University in rehabilitative counseling and education.

A counselor throughout her professional career, Barbara worked at the former West Paces Ferry Hospital, former DeKalb College in Atlanta and Northern Virginia Community College. She managed a carpentry business during her marriage to her former husband, Ralph Watters. In 2006, Barbara retired from counseling at North Forsyth Middle School in Forsyth County. She relished adventure and, after graduating from Brandeis, backpacked across Europe and lived on an Israeli kibbutz. The photographs she took of the trip and throughout her life reflected her great artistic talent. Barbara enjoyed “running” (walking) the Peachtree Road Race with her daughters, dancing to the musical performances of her son’s bands, the company of family, friends and pets, making decoupage furniture, and giving community support by charity walks and Atlanta Community Food Bank shifts. Her big heart, shared with family, friends, colleagues, students, strangers and animals is an abiding trait, for which she always will be remembered.

In addition to her father, Barbara is predeceased by her grandmothers, Celia Zwerner Hecht and Hattie Wolff, and an uncle, Herbert Zwerner. In addition to her children, Barbara is survived by her mother, Margie Z. Wolff; sisters Shella Blaustein (David) and Donna Wolff (David Howard); nephews Jack Blaustein (Ashley) and Daniel Blaustein (Sara); aunt Grace Zwerner; and uncle Carl “Chubby” Zwerner. Also surviving Barbara is her very dear friend, Lee Born; her former husband, Ralph; and many cousins and friends. Barbara’s family wishes to express gratitude on her behalf to supportive friends and her caregivers at Peachtree Creek Assisted Living and Hospice for their care and kindness.

In lieu of flowers, please send any donations to the Alzheimer’s Association at www.alz.org. Graveside services were held at Crest Lawn Memorial Park on Sunday, April 9. Arrangements by Dressler’s Jewish Funeral Care, 770-451-4999.

Death Notices

Yakov Eyfa of Atlanta on April 10.

David Franco of Atlanta, Congregation Or VeShalom member, husband of Leah Franco, and father of Monica Webb and Elena Franco, on April 14.

Helene Louza of Atlanta on April 11.

Barbara Watters Barbara Wolff Watters, age 65, of Atlanta died Friday, April 7, 2017, at the Peachtree Creek Assisted Living Facility in Vinings with her beloved children, son Seth Watters (Crystal) and twin daughters Rebecca Watters (Michael Richie) and Rachel Watters, by her side after a long but courageous battle with early-onset Alzheimer’s disease.

Barbara was born in Atlanta to Margie Z. Wolff and the late Mortimer S. Wolff and graduated from Cross Keys High School in DeKalb County, where she had many friends, was a gifted student, writer, editor of the high school’s literary magazine, in the National Honor Society and a National Merit Scholarship finalist. She graduated in 1973 from Brandeis University in Waltham, Mass., with a B.A. in psychology and later earned two master’s degrees from Georgia State

APRIL 28 ▪ 2017

65, Vinings

27

www.atlantajewishtimes.com

MARKETPLACE

FINANCIAL SERVICES

GENERATOR SERVICES

COMPUTER SERVICES

COMPUER HOUSE CALLS

Also Lending in Florida & Southeastern States When it comes to finding your perfect home, it’s important to have options. The same is true when Whenitit comes comes to finding perfect home, it’s When findingyour your perfect deciding on yourtomortgage.

That’s why wehome, offer important to have options.

The same is true iswhen it’s important to have options.

The same a wide variety of mortgage options to fit yourtrue deciding on youronmortgage.

That’s why we offer when deciding your mortgage.

That’s why particular needs: a wide varietyvariety of mortgage options options to fit yourto fit we offer a wide of mortgage yourparticular particular needs: • Purchases andneeds: Refinances • Purchases and Refinances Conventional, & VA • Purchases andFHA, Refinances •• Conventional, FHA, & VA Jumbo Loans with no Conventional, & PMI VA •• Jumbo Loans FHA, with no PMI 100% Financing Financing for Doctors •• 100% Jumbo Loans with no PMI for Doctors

Voted #1 by Atlanta Jewish Community

770-751-5706 www.HealthyComputer.com

• • • • • • •

• 100% Financing for Doctors

Jay Givarz Jay Givarz

Senior Mortgage Banker

678-522-2343 jay.givarz@lionbank.com 678-522-2343 jay.givarz@lionbank.com NMLS# 203728 NMLS# 203728

fakakta computer?

770-251-9765

24/7 Power Protection Hands Free Operation | Professional Installation

I’ll drive to you! → Desktop & Laptop Repair → Home/Business Networking → Performance Upgrades → Apple Device Support → Virus/Spyware Removal

GENERATORS 24/7 POWER PROTECTION

INSULATION SERVICES

As Seen On

It’s Time to Call for Help!

Generator Sales & Service, Inc. www.perkinselectric.com

Senior Mortgage Banker

PC, MAC, iPhone/iPad Service Home & Commercial Service Virus/Malware Removal Laptop Screen Repair Data Recovery/Forensics Wireless Corporate Networks We beat competitor pricing!

SOCIAL SERVICES

Fast Appointment Scheduling Reasonable Rates All Services Guaranteed

404-954-1004 damon.carp@gmail.com FOR SALE BY OWNER

APRIL 28 ▪ 2017

Renovated 2BR/2BA Roomate Plan at The Barclay in Buckhead. 24/7 Security. Close to Lenox Mall/Phipps Plaza. Available May 1st. $240,000. Contact Rita at 404-869-1296.

28

FOLLOW THE ATLANTA JEWISH TIMES ONLINE. Tenth Series Jubilee Bonds ($25,000 minimum) for 10 Years

3.80

Tenth Series Maccabee % Bonds ($5,000 minimum) for 10 Years

3.65

Seventh Series Mazel Tov % Bonds ($100 minimum) for 5 Years

3.34%

Seventh Series eMitzvah Bonds ($36 minimum) for 5 Years

3.34%

(404) 817-3500 Atlanta@Israelbonds.com Development Corp. for Israel Member FINRA Effective through April 30, 2017

www.atlantajewishtimes.com

LOCAL NEWS

Beth Tikvah to Celebrate 30th Anniversary Temple Beth Tikvah (House of Hope) is now the spiritual home for more than 500 families in a beautiful building in Roswell, 30 years after the Reform congregation was started by several families looking for more traditional Jewish worship.

Under the leadership of Home Depot co-founder Arthur Blank, those families met in homes throughout the year. A small group visited Ottawa, Ontario, to try to bring the congregation’s future spiritual leader back to Atlanta.

When the Atlantans told Rabbi Donald Tam they were developing a congregation for him to lead, he could not say no. In the summer of 1987, Rabbi Tam accepted the position of spiri-

Rabbi Donald Tam

tual leader of the small congregation, with David Herold as the first president and Hassia Levin as the religious school director.

Rabbi Tam conducted his first ser-

vice at Beth Tikvah on Aug. 7, 1987 and the first bar mitzvah celebration took place the next day.

For five years the congregation worshipped and held religious school at St. David’s Episcopal Church in Roswell. The two congregations forged a strong bond. A stained-glass window depicting the 12 Tribes of Israel still graces the St. David’s sanctuary. It was presented to the church by Temple Beth Tikvah as a thank-you and a reminder of the time shared.

After five years, Phase 1 of the synagogue’s permanent home on Coleman Road was completed. The first phase was the sanctuary. Rabbi Tam believed strongly that if the sanctuary was built

first, the school and social hall would follow, as they did.

Beth Tikvah has grown from a small group of dedicated families to a congregation of 500 families. The laughter of children fills the halls during the week just as the softer sounds of worship fill the sanctuary each Shabbat.

At 7 p.m. Saturday, May 13, Temple Beth Tikvah will celebrate the first 30 years of its House of Hope, as well as the retirement of its religious school director, Levin, with a gala featuring dinner and music. The community is invited to celebrate with the congregation. Tickets are $118 and are available at tinyurl.com/TBT30gala. ■

www.atlantajewishtimes.com

MARKETPLACE PHOTOGRAPHY SERVICES

PAVING SERVICES

HOME SERVICES

STANLEY PAVING

SIDING I WINDOWS I PAINTING STUCCO I ROOFING I GUTTERS

Asphalt Paving, Patching & Seal Coating

500 PACKAGE SPECIAL $

Just mention you saw our ad in the Jewish Times!

410-804-6408

richard@rmbstudiosllc.com www.rmbstudios.zenfolio.com

HOME SERVICES

Specializing in driveways & small parking lots Family Owned & Operated since 1969

CALL NOW FOR 10% OFF SPRING DISCOUNT 770.962.7125 770.480.1698 cell

770-203-0002 • SuperiorPRO.com For Great Discounts Visit SuperiorPRO.com/Offers

HOME SERVICES

HZ Solutions

HOME INSPECTIONS

• Home Inspections for single family homes

• Full service for Rental Companies: - Turnscope checklist - Home Ready for Rental Inspection - Move-in Walks with tenant - Move-out Walks with or without tenant

Max 404.483.1606

CARE GIVING SERVICES

max@hzsolutionsinc.com

Visit our website www.AtlantaJewishTimes.com for More of What You Need.

We’ll provide a helping hand with personal care, light housekeeping, meal preparation, companionship, transportation, errands and more!

Our caregivers can Call us: (470) 343-5403 help you or a loved one touchinghearts.com/northatlanta continue to live at home!

APRIL 28 ▪ 2017

The heart of home care.

29

ARTS

www.atlantajewishtimes.com

‘Brave’ Collaboration for Film Fest, Women’s Fund Collaboration and community partnerships are central to the missions of the Atlanta Jewish Film Festival and Jewish Women’s Fund of Atlanta. So when the opportunity arose for our two organizations to work together to commemorate Sexual Assault Awareness Month, it gave us the chance to expand our engagement throughout the Jewish and secular communities.

The resulting program was a resounding success, with more than 200 people at an encore screening of a 2014 AJFF documentary, “Brave Miss World,” whose 1998 themes are equally relevant today. A portion of ticket sales supported sexual assault prevention.

The movie tells the story of Linor Abargil, who at 18 was stabbed and raped while working as a model in Milan, Italy. Seven weeks later she was crowned Miss World 1998, a first for Israel. Abargil confronted her past and broke through the silence and shame experienced by other survivors. She became a powerful advocate for victims of sexual assault, sharing her story and encouraging others to speak out.

The documentary was originally chosen by AJFF under the mission to use cinema to spark conversation by sharing global, impactful stories. The annual festival allows AJFF to explore a limited number of these powerful

narratives during its three-week period, but partnering with like-minded organizations in year-round programs affords AJFF the chance to delve deeper into significant topics and engage

Guest Column

By Kenny Blank & Rachel Wasserman

with audiences on an ongoing basis.

Empowering and inspiring, “Brave Miss World” explores both the trauma of sexual assault and the possibility of healing through one woman’s journey from anguish to activism. After the film, survivor Jessica Caldas, lawyer Esther Panitch and therapist Judy Spira engaged in a Q&A session moderated

by Univision anchor Mariela Romero.

Of particular interest to the audience was the issue of engaging men to prevent sexual assault, including discussing consent with college students.

JWFA works year-round to prevent sexual assault and domestic violence through grant-funded programs locally and in Israel. JWFA’s grantee partners work with young men and women in high school and college to empower them to be active, not just bystanders, and to recognize signs of abuse.

As a result of JWFA funding, projects are being implemented at the

Photos by Greg Comstock and Tabitha Schwartz

Jewish Women’s Fund of Atlanta trustees (from left) Lauren Schrager, Lisa Greenberg and Laurie Kogon attend the “Brave Miss World” event.

Weber School, Emory University and the University of Georgia. Programs have a special focus on prevention and engaging men as allies in the work to move the needle on women’s issues.

JWFA imagines a world in which all Jewish women and girls are assured a healthy and supportive environment, a world in which we all have equal opportunities for economic, religious, social and political achievement.

JWFA strives to make this world a reality by providing education on vital issues, funding innovative programs, engaging in advocacy, and encouraging donors to view all philanthropy through a Jewish and gender lens.

This event was especially successful because of the many community partners with active roles: Congregation Dor Tamid Sisterhood, Hadassah Greater Atlanta, International Women’s House, Jewish Family & Career Services,

Mariela Romero (left) moderates a postscreening panel of (from left) Esther Panitch, Judy Spira and Jessica Caldas.

Jewish Federation of Greater Atlanta Women’s Philanthropy, Jewish Women International, MACoM, National Council of Jewish Women, Partnership Against Domestic Violence, Temple Kehillat Chaim Sisterhood, Temple Kol Emeth Women of Reform Judaism, Temple Sinai and The Temple.

AJFF and JWFA are committed to raising awareness and promoting social change and to creating experiences that bring our community together for dialogue and understanding. We are proud of our collaboration and hope that it serves as a model for other organizations whose purposes may align, affording them similar chances to engage and work in partnership. ■ Kenny Blank is the executive director of AJFF (ajff.org). Rachel Wasserman is the executive director of JWFA (www. jwfatlanta.org).

ASO Helps Temple Celebrate 150 Years

By Kevin Madigan kmadigan@atljewishtimes.com

APRIL 28 ▪ 2017

“It is only fitting that we commemorate the 150th anniversary of The Temple with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, an iconic institution that is central to the cultural heartbeat of our city,” Temple President Lauren Grien said before a concert Wednesday, April 19, at the Woodruff Arts Center.

The hour-long Temple 150th Anniversary Concert featured Jewishinspired compositions by Sergei Prokofiev and works by Jewish composers Ernest Bloch and Leonard Bernstein.

Joseph Young conducted the orchestra.

“Music is inviting. It nourishes our minds and our souls and has no agenda,” Grien said. “It can be enjoyed equally by everyone of all ages, gender, religion and race.”

She described The Temple as being 30 central to the Atlanta community and a

Photos by Elizabeth Nunnally Rawson

Doug Hertz, the board chairman of the Woodruff Arts Center and a former Temple president, helps set the mood before the sesquicentennial concert April 19.

cornerstone of the Reform movement.

ASO board Chairman Howard Palefsky spoke briefly. “You’re going to hear a phenomenal concert this evening, a specially curated set of pieces.”

The program began with Prokofiev’s “Overture on Hebrew Themes,” Opus 34b, composed shortly after he moved to New York from Ukraine in 1918. Though not Jewish, Prokofiev reportedly was first exposed and attracted to Jewish music during childhood at

the St. Petersburg Conservatory.

Nelly Kravetz of Tel Aviv University said “Overture on Hebrew Themes” was “the first work to witness Prokofiev’s unexpected interest in Jewish music.

It was also the first independent work (excluding arrangements) written by him in the United States. And Prokofiev was the first known Russian composer to base a Jewish score not on Jewish liturgical chants, but on klezmer tunes.”

Bloch’s ”Schelomo, ‘Hebraic Rhap-

Cello soloist Matt Haimovitz supports the direction of Atlanta Symphony Orchestra assistant conductor Joseph Young during Ernest Bloch’s “Schelomo.”

sody’ for Cello and Orchestra” followed Prokofiev, with soloist Matt Haimovitz shaking his mane while playing gorgeous, somber passages to Young’s effusive baton. With “Schelomo,” the Hebrew name for Solomon, Bloch claimed to be influenced by Ecclesiastes, which David was credited with writing.

Bloch wrote about Jewish themes in his work in a 1917 letter. “It is the Jewish soul that interests me — the complex, glowing, agitated soul that I feel vibrating throughout the Bible.”

The final scheduled piece was “Symphonic Dances From ‘West Side Story,’ ” excerpts from Bernstein’s modern opera based on “Romeo and Juliet” and set in New York. The rival groups are Puerto Ricans and self-styled Americans, but the original idea for the play involved Catholics against Jews during Easter and Passover.

The encore was Bernstein’s vibrant overture from “Candide.” ■

Iyar: From the Material To the Spiritual Rosh Chodesh Iyar begins Thursday, April 27. The focus of this month is on healing in the glowing luminescence of the sun.

Iyar’s acronym from Exodus 15:26 is “I am G-d your healer.” The challenge is to harness the fire, or lower the vibrations of passion or animalistic energies, and elevate that fire to the higher realm of spiritual thoughts and actions that light and repair the world.

We do this through the wisdom of the Sefer Yetzirah, the Book of Formation.

Iyar’s Hebrew letter is vav; zodiac sign, Taurus; tribe, Issachar; sense, thought; and controlling organ, right kidney. Imagine the letter vav as an elevator moving up and down between the material and spiritual realms.

Taurus, the bull, represents dense, immovable, raw, physical energy. We all have Taurus somewhere in our charts. When people behave like bulls, they’re careless, charging, blinded by their emotions, inflexible, and stubborn. They can also be too concerned with material possessions, keeping them on the ground floor.

The positive qualities of Taurus are dependability and patience. The more we can practice Midot, Kabbalah’s “seven attributes” of mercy, judgment, beauty, victory, splendor, foundation and kingship, the more we can rise up to the higher elevations.

Issachar is the tribe. It was composed of the scholars and mathematicians, who also understood astronomy and the esoteric secrets of the universe.

Thought is the sense. It involves flipping negative, hateful thoughts and actions that make the spirit stagnant.

Being mindful of the impact of your words is key.

The controlling organ is the smaller and lower right kidney. As with any limbs or organs, there’s a flow between the feminine yin and the masculine yang energy. The right kidney is yin, making it more passive. Kidneys regulate the flow of energy and fluids with regard to qi (life force), urine and blood. The yin water quenches the yang fire.

We’re supposed to spend the month of Iyar taming our primitive, animallike nature and refining ourselves in preparation for receiving the Torah next month during Shavuot.

We usually think of our animal-

istic qualities as unrefined, base and aggressive. We often associate them with unrestrained sexuality or other behaviors without boundaries. There’s so much aggression activated in the world that the incidence of it is becoming frighteningly common.

CROSSWORD 2

3

4

5

6

7

8

14

15

16

17

18

19

20 24

25

26

30

21

22

27

56

51

36

48

53

60

49

58

55 59

62

63

67

68

69

70

71

72

ACROSS 1. Ayin ___ 5. Elisheva to Nadav and Itamar 8. Tech training sites 14. Ghost friend of Winona’s in “Beetlejuice” 15. Freudian topic 16. Foe of 400 false prophets on a 7-Down 17. Fix, as a tallit 18. He defeats Jason Segal’s Vector in “Despicable Me” 19. Mr. Peterson (at times) on Burrows’ “Cheers” 20. Samson was bound in them 23. Like a dreidel, to a poet 24. Bearded animal (that’s kosher) 27. Available (at the makolet) 29. Clothing line from the Polo Sport designer 30. He spent a lot of time on a 7-Down 32. Myrtle branch 34. King novel with Frannie Goldsmith (with “The”) 35. Scott of Anthrax (born Rosenfeld) 36. Bulls and rams 39. Egyptian opera done at Masada in 2011 40. Wts. for those moving all they own to Israel 41. His vessel landed on a 7-Down 42. ___ Lanka (home of Tamil Jews) 43. Apple core you’d never make a blessing on?

44. Worked on a crew 46. Like lashon hara 49. Perlman and Seehorn 50. Not 46-Across 53. Wissotzky and Fuze 55. “___ & the Women” (2000 Helen Hunt movie) 56. 66-Down nearly sacrificed him on a 7-Down 58. He directed Goldie in “The Sugarland Express” 60. Effective Koufax delivery

38

45

54

61

37

44

47

57

13

41

43

52

12

33

40

46

11

29

35

New Moon Meditations

10

23

32

34

50

9

28

31

42

I’m not so sure that people are more refined than animals. What if we, in this month, could achieve the cleansing of our souls and elevation of our spirits through becoming more like the animals?

I’m thinking specifically of my dog. Her default is to love everyone, unless she has a reason not to, which she hasn’t found in 10 years. She doesn’t hold grudges.

Each day begins with yoga stretches, down dog being her favorite. When she feels pent-up, she runs herself silly for a few minutes, then plops on the ground, smiling while panting. Kisses are shared freely, and she stands to full height to slow-dance if invited.

She responds to nonverbal cues, licks my tears when I’m sad and nudges me outside when she knows I need to go for a walk. Toffee’s an ascended Zen master. I venture to say that the tribe of Issachar and she would understand each other.

Always ready to play by day, she sleeps deeply at night in the curve of my bent legs. She snuggles into her wolfpack between my husband and me, restoring her energy for the day ahead. Not one to watch news on TV, she observes the world from her chair at the kitchen window. Her cue to sit at attention before eating is “Hamotzi lechem min ha’aretz.” She offers her paw but doesn’t move to eat until she hears “Go get it.”

Toffee is more refined than most.

Imagine if everyone in the world behaved like her.

Meditation focus: On the elevator between the material and spiritual worlds, on which floor do you spend the most time?

How can you lighten yourself from the burdens of life to live like Toffee or your beloved dog or cat? ■

“On High”

By Yoni Glatt, koshercrosswords@gmail.com Difficulty Level: Challenging

1

39

Dr. Terry Segal tsegal@atljewishtimes.com

www.atlantajewishtimes.com

64

65

66

with American in 2015 28. Container for Dagim tuna 31. “The ___ near!” (what many might think during the 25th hour of Yom Kippur) 33. 1985 Holocaust documentary 37. Dog-___ (a Uris novel, perhaps) 38. Clip, like Jacob or David (in their first jobs) 40. Hookah puffs 41. Many a (false) Marvel god DOWN 43. Sports org. Israel’s a 1. Son of 41-Across 2. Drink in Ma’ale Adumim? member of (with 104 other countries) 3. (Han) Solo’s son 45. Hrs. that always end 4. Major Aussie band that after the High Holidays has never played in Israel 5. Fox in “Transformers” with 47. Find fault with (like a Jewish mother, as a cliché) Shia 48. One requiring tzedakah 6. Like Shrek (var.)

50. Bette Midler’s “Divine” 7. Location of memorable nickname moments for 16-, 30-, 4151. “Gam anachnu” and 56-Across 8. “My tongue is the ___ of a 52. Seder staple ready writer” (Psalms 45:1) 54. Palindromic Jewish name 9. Makes Kirk’s vessel 57. Her eye, in Hebrew invisible 59. Plague locale 10. How some get to NYC 61. Kodesh preceder from Woodmere 64. ___-El, “Hebrew” name 11. Large city or district in of Clark Kent India 12. Fox’s Bret who in 2016 65. Yamim needs?

66. Near sacrificer of interviewed Netanyahu 56-Across, for short 13. Free Eilat souvenir 21. Talmudist who was the LAST WEEK’S SOLUTION father-in-law of 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 E L B E I S M S N O O P S Rava 14 15 16 L A R A N E O W E I N E R 22. Drinks 17 18 19 A L L A H S A U E R B A C H that can be 20 21 22 T E S T S I R A T E streamed 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 N A C H A L L A H O U S E S 24. Theo 30 31 32 33 E S H T E E K E N N E L S Epstein (Red 34 35 36 S I C K O C L A N Sox) and 37 38 39 40 41 C U T T H E C H A L L A H Mark Shapiro 42 43 (Indians): abbr. 44P E S O 45 46 47 A 48U R A E 49 50 51 W R A I T H S T B S C H A 25. “___ a 52 53 54 55 C A T C H A L L A H A R O N Stranger” 56 57 58 (1955 Stanley 59 60 61 62 R O Y 63A L 64 E M E R Y I C H A L L A H D I D A H M Kramer film 65 66 67 A V I R I C O A F R I C A with Sinatra) 68 69 70 E S T E E M W I T S T E W 26. It merged 31 62. Infamous Amin 63. Big furniture retailer with a store in Kiryat Ata 67. Part of ASAP 68. Schulman of “Catfish” 69. Passover animal 70. Inge who was Arthur Miller’s last wife 71. Rabbi Elijah ben Solomon Zalman (with “The”) 72. “Anything ___” (Allen film of 2003)

APRIL 28 ▪ 2017

CLOSING THOUGHTS

32

APRIL 28 â–ª 2017