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SUPPORT FOR SEPSIS Football season provides the chance for a fundraiser for a woman struck by a catastrophic infection. Page 9
HATE AND THE LAW Two state legislators and the GBI director see the need but not the opportunity for hate crimes legislation. Page 15
STAR TURN Maggie Gallant’s professional and personal lives converge to bring her home. Page 17
FATHER AND SON The Foah family combines Italian food, business, art and music in Buckhead. Page 24
AUGUST 26, 2016 | 22 AV 5776
Digging In at Zaban Park
(From left) Bernard Howard, Erwin Zaban and Morris Benveniste break ground on the first full-service Jewish Community Center building at Zaban Park on April 30, 1978. Our annual look back at the way Jewish Atlanta used to be focuses on how some Dunwoody farmland Max Kuniansky bought with Zaban’s help 55 years ago to serve as a rural getaway for Jewish city kids has developed into the center of Atlanta Jewish life, Page 20. And don’t skip a montage of the AJT’s Olympic coverage from 1996 on Page 19.
Atlanta has lost the unofficial title of world’s largest Jewish film festival. The San Francisco Jewish Film Festival reports drawing attendance of 40,000 for its 18-day 36th annual festival, which ended July 31. That figure tops the record 38,600 the Atlanta Jewish Film Festival drew in 2015 to wrest the title of world’s largest from San Francisco. The AJFF attendance slipped to 36,092 this year, largely because Lefont remodeling reduced capacity, festival Executive Director Kenny Blank said. “Large or small, Jewish film festivals are united in a mission to celebrate a rich cultural heritage and showcase the finest in world cinema. We congratulate the San Francisco Jewish Film Festival in achieving such far-reaching impact across their 30-plus-year history,” Blank said in a statement. He previously said the festival was planning increased capacity in 2017. “AJFF anticipates another record-setting year in 2017, growing our audience with a focus on inclusiveness, diversity, and social and cultural understanding through film,” Blank said Aug. 18. “Bragging rights as world’s largest may temporarily fluctuate, but support for the AJFF phenomenon in our community and industry remains undiminished.” The AJFF’s shot at regaining the top spot comes at the 17th annual festival Jan. 24 to Feb. 15. It will open at the Cobb Energy Centre and close at the Woodruff Arts Center’s Atlanta Symphony Hall. ■
$300K Grant to Help Restore Cemetery A $300,000, three-year grant from the Rich Foundation will help restore the Jewish Hill section of Oakland Cemetery, Atlanta’s original municipal cemetery. The project will include hardscape, landscaping, repair and cleaning of grave markers, restoration of paths,interpretive signage and other educational materials, said Neale Nickels, the Historic Oakland Foundation’s director of preservation. The 1.5-acre Jewish Hill is one of three sections purchased by what is now The Temple in the 19th century. With Rich Foundation aid, HOF previously restored
the Old Jewish Burial Grounds, dating to the 1850s, and Jewish Flats, 1.5 acres purchased at the same time as Jewish Hill in the 1870s. Ahavath Achim Synagogue owns and maintains a separate section. “The trustees of the Rich Foundation believe the restoration of Oakland Cemetery’s Jewish Hill is significant because those interred in the area played an important role in Atlanta’s early history,” foundation President Tom Asher said. The roughly 500 Jewish Hill graves include Rich family members from Rich’s Department Store. Nickels thinks most of
the section’s burials date to the 1940s. The $450,000 budget for the painstaking project, involving historically accurate mortar and era-appropriate plants, requires raising $150,000 to supplement the Rich Foundation grant. “The great thing is that Atlanta has a strong Jewish community,” Nickels said. “People are very interested in helping out.” In addition to mailing a check or delivering one at the visitors center, you can donate at www.oaklandcemetery. com (select “Jewish Section” in the Special Designation drop-down menu). ■
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AUGUST 26 â–ª 2016
MA TOVU
A Few Words of Wisdom, I Made Them out of Clay a failure. The whole venture a waste of time. In my work as a mentor to parents who experience frustration with the progress their children make, I often turn to the experience of Moses and the people of Israel.
Taking Root By Rabbi Ruth Abusch-Magder rabbiruth@gmail.com
The journey from Egypt to the Promised Land began with celebration and optimism, but in the end it took 40 years to complete. It was filled with sacred moments and divine revelation but also with failures, conflict and lots of setbacks. Why should we expect less when we guide our children or, for that matter, when we take the journeys of our own lives? Educational psychologist Carol Dweck sees a growth mindset as the foundation for successful learning. Not to be confused with just trying your best, Dweck explains that to be successful learners, “students need to try new strategies and seek input from others when they’re stuck. They need this repertoire of approaches — not just sheer effort — to learn and improve. The growth-mindset approach helps children feel good in the short and long terms, by helping them thrive on challenges and setbacks on their way to learning.” Recognizing that my mindset needed some shifting, I engaged the other potter in conversation, praising her work and giving voice to my frustration with my own. Barely looking up, she asked me a few questions and recommended that I try a little less water on my next attempt. She also mentioned that she had been taking lessons for over a decade. Like the students of old in the heder, or the smiling children in the first-day photos, I have some more wandering to do in the desert. On the bright side, along with the failures and frustrations there are likely to be revelations and inspiration on the way if I get the right support and mindset in place. And, thankfully, it is unlikely to take 40 years. ■
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When coaching parents at the start of the school year, I encourage them to be supportive and patient, keeping the big picture in mind. But sitting in the pottery studio last week, staring at the bowl spinning on the wheel across from mine, I had none of those qualities. Instead, I was consumed by judgment. Hers were good. Mine, laughable. Judaism stresses the value of learning — secular and sacred. Judaism sees parents as responsible for teaching their children a trade. Torah study is meant to be a lifelong endeavor not just because doing so keeps us on the right path, but also because study is an end unto itself — both the content and process uplifting. In the shtetl, the words of the aleph-bet were covered in honey on the first day of school to set the stage for the sweetness of learning. The modern equivalents are the first-day school photos, which in recent weeks have been shared widely. The clean faces and bright smiles speak to the excitement of the learning process. But all the sweet honey and firstday smiles cannot conceal the fact that learning, however sacred or necessary, also involves frustration and failure. Judgment and criticism are rarely far behind. After nearly a 20-year hiatus, I recently returned to pottery. I took a short, eight-week intro class. Over the summer there were no classes, only open studio without instruction. I arrived for the first summer session optimistic and joyful. At the end of the session, I even had a few pieces to show for my effort — all charmingly lopsided. But a few sessions later, the wonder and magic were gone. In the course of several hours I had attempted to throw 10 times with very little to show for my effort. The results were pitiful even by my own standards and certainly in comparison with the prolific and polished output of the woman across from me. My 5-year-old inner self wanted to throw up my hands and stomp out of there in frustration. I was making no progress; I was
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AUGUST 26 ▪ 2016
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FRIDAY, AUG. 26
Play closing. Atlanta playwright Karen Wurl’s “Dispossessed,” a romantic comedy-fantasy set in a Yiddish theater in New York in 1928, ends its run at the Essential Theatre Play Festival at the West End Performing Arts Center, 945 Ralph David Abernathy Blvd., Atlanta, with performances at 8 p.m. today and Sunday, Aug. 28. Tickets range from $20 to $25; www.essentialtheatre.com/ play/dispossessed.
SATURDAY, AUG. 27
Big event. Birthright Israel Atlanta and Federation hold the Signature Event at 9:15 p.m. at the Fernbank Museum, 767 Clifton Road, Atlanta. Tickets are $18 in advance, $25 at the door; jewishatlanta. org/signature-event.
SUNDAY, AUG. 28
Learning about Judaism. Rabbi Brian Glusman teaches “Derech Torah: An Introduction to Judaism” at 10 a.m. on Sundays through Feb. 5 at the Marcus JCC, 5342 Tilly Mill Road, Dunwoody. Tuition is $280; www.atlantajcc.org or 678-812-4152. Bar & Bat Mitzvah Expo. Atlanta Party Connection links b’nai mitzvah families with vendors from 1 to 4 p.m. at the Westin Atlanta Perimeter North, 7 Concourse Parkway, Sandy Springs. The event includes a consignment sale of bat mitzvah dresses. Free registration; atlantapartyconnection.com/bar-andbat-mitzvah-expo. Ball fields. The Marcus JCC, 5342 Tilly
Mill Road, Dunwoody, welcomes the community to see the renovated fields on opening day for fall sports from 1:30 to 5:30 p.m. Free; www.atlantajcc.org. JWCA kickoff. Jewish Women’s Connection of Atlanta starts the year with inspirational speaker Ruchi Koval addressing the power of change at 2 p.m. at event chair Carrla Goldstein’s house. Registration is $18 in advance, $25 at the door; www.jwcatlanta.org. Thank-you event. Congregation Shearith Israel, 1180 University Drive, Morningside, holds a dessert and wine reception at 7:30 p.m. in honor of Rabbi Melvin and Lenore Sirner. Free; shearithisrael.com or 404-873-1743.
THURSDAY, SEPT. 1
Whiskey talk. Basam Odish from Jack Daniel’s owner Brown-Forman speaks to the Edgewise group at the Marcus JCC, 5342 Tilly Mill Road, Dunwoody, at 10:30 a.m. Free for JCC members, $5 for others; matureadults@atlantajcc.org or 678-812-3861. Football fundraiser. BBQ, Booze & Buffalo Dip at 7 p.m. at Sweetwater Brewing, 195 Ottley Drive, Buckhead, is a fundraiser for the Elizabeth Zweigel Health Trust, supporting a Temple member who became a quadrilateral amputee because of sepsis. Must be 21 or older. Tickets are $75 in advance or $85 at the door; bit.ly/2aUmBYx.
SUNDAY, SEPT. 4
Food festival. NoshFest returns to Temple Kol Emeth, 1415 Old Canton Road, East Cobb, with food, music, crafts and other activities from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. today and 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday, Sept. 5. Food items range from $1 to $5. Admission is two canned goods per family
for MUST Ministries; noshfest.com.
TUESDAY, SEPT. 6
Daily shofar blast. Rabbi Brian Glusman sounds the shofar at 11 a.m. each weekday through Sept. 30 on Main Street in the Marcus JCC’s ZabanBlank Building, 5342 Tilly Mill Road, Dunwoody, to wake people up to the approach of Rosh Hashanah. Free and open to the community; rabbi.glusman@atlantajcc.org or 678-812-4161. Movie education. Bob Bahr teaches “Fitting In — A Short History of Jewish Film in America” at 7:30 p.m. Tuesdays through Dec. 13 at the Marcus JCC, 5342 Tilly Mill Road, Dunwoody. Tuition is $200 for JCC members, $290 for others; www.atlantajcc.org or 678-812-3723.
WEDNESDAY, SEPT. 7
Book event. Steve Spurrier talks about his memoir, “Head Ball Coach,” at 7:30 p.m. at the Marcus JCC, 5342 Tilly Mill Road, Dunwoody. Free; www.atlantajcc.org/bookfestival or 678-812-4005.
THURSDAY, SEPT. 8
Jewish-Catholic program. American Jewish Committee and the Catholic Archdiocese of Atlanta hold a program on tolerance at 7 p.m., with a reception at 6, at The Temple, 1589 Peachtree St., Midtown. Free; www.ajcatlanta.org. Intown listening. Congregation Shearith Israel, 1180 University Drive, Morningside, holds a Listening Lab from 7:30 to 9:30 p.m. to hear from the intown community what people want in a synagogue and how the synagogue can reflect the community. Free; shearithisrael.com/listening-labs.
FRIDAY, SEPT. 9
Carlebach service. Chabad of Cobb,
Send items for the calendar to submissions@atljewishtimes.com. Find more events at atlantajewishtimes.com/events-calendar.
Remember When
10 years ago Aug. 25, 2006 ■ Rabbi Bradley Levenberg will be installed as Temple Sinai’s assistant rabbi during Kabbalat Shabbat services Friday, Aug. 25. Rabbi Levenberg, who hails from Cincinnati, moved to the Atlanta area with his wife of six years, Rebecca, and their toddler daughter, Ilana, to join Rabbi Ron Segal after Rabbi Philip Kranz shifted to emeritus status. ■ The bat mitzvah ceremony of Allie Fogel of Marietta was held Saturday, June 10, at Congregation Etz Chaim. She is the daughter of Harris and Stacye Fogel. 25 Years Ago Aug. 30, 1991 ■ Atlanta native Kim Yahr found herself in the middle of the coup against Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev while
working as the Union of Councils for Soviet Jews’ representative at the Soviet-American Bureau of Human Rights in Moscow, where she assists potential emigrants. The 22-yearold said anti-Semitism was apparent during the coup. ■ Mr. and Mrs. Paul Finkel of Atlanta announce the marriage of daughter Beverly Gail to Edwin Stuart Schwartz, son of Ms. Natalie Schwartz and Mr. Barry Schwartz of New York, on May 5 at Ahavath Achim Synagogue. 50 Years Ago Aug. 26, 1966 ■ The Jews of Cochin, a state on the west coast of India, are planning to celebrate the 400th anniversary of their main synagogue in 1968. Jews have lived peacefully in Cochin for 1,900 years. The community is making an effort to associate other Indian Jews in the celebration. A non-Jewish group, the Kerala History Association, has agreed to take part. ■ Mr. and Mrs. Joseph J. Galkin of Savannah announce the birth of a daughter, Amy Rae, on Aug. 14.
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CALENDAR
SUNDAY, SEPT. 11
Camp fun. PJ Library and the Jewish Federation of Greater Atlanta hold a family fun day and a camp expo from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Brook Run Park, 4770 N. Peachtree Road, Dunwoody. Admission of $18 per family includes pizza; bit.ly/2bhGOwA. Details from Nathan Brodsky, 404-870-1870 or pjlibraryatlanta@jewishatlanta.org. Intown listening. Congregation Shearith Israel, 1180 University Drive, Morningside, holds a community Listening Lab from 10 a.m. to noon to hear from the intown community what people want in a synagogue and how the synagogue can reflect the community. Free; shearithisrael.com/listening-labs. Sephardic sound. Israeli band Baladino performs at the Marcus JCC, 5342 Tilly Mill Road, Dunwoody, at 7 p.m. Tickets are $15 for JCC members, $22 for others; www.atlantajcc.org or 678-812-4002. Sexual misconduct discussion. Stu-
dent safety advocate Katie Koestner speaks about “Silence Changes Nothing: Healthy Relationships and Understanding Harassment, Consent and Sexual Misconduct” at 7 p.m. at the Weber School, 6751 Roswell Road, Sandy Springs. Free; weberschool.org/katie.
CANDLE-LIGHTING TIMES
Eikev Friday, Aug. 26, light candles at 7:52 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 27, Shabbat ends at 8:47 p.m. Re’eh Friday, Sept. 2, light candles at 7:43 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 3, Shabbat ends at 8:37 p.m.
TUESDAY, SEPT. 13
Corrections & Clarifications
Book event. “Black Flags: The Rise of ISIS” author Joby Warrick discusses his Pulitzer Prize-winning book at 7:30 p.m. at the Marcus JCC, 5342 Tilly Mill Road, Dunwoody. Tickets are $10 for members, $15 for others; 678-812-4005 or www.atlantajcc.org/bookfestival.
Righteous Filipinos. Congregation Or Hadash, 7460 Trowbridge Road, Sandy Springs, hosts a screening and discussion of “An Open Door,” about the rescue of Jews in the Philippines, at 10:30 a.m. Free; dlee@or-hadash.org.
Election event. Emory political scientist Alan Abramowitz speaks about the election at 7 p.m. at Temple Emanu-El, 1580 Spalding Drive, Sandy Springs. Free but preregistration required; 770395-1340 or templeemanuelatlanta.org.
THURSDAY, SEPT. 15
SPLC speaker. Lecia Brooks, who heads the Southern Poverty Law Center, talks at 10:30 a.m. about fighting hate, teaching tolerance and seeking justice to Edgewise at the Marcus JCC, 5342 Tilly Mill Road, Dunwoody. Free for JCC members, $5 for others; matureadults@ atlantajcc.org or 678-812-3861.
• An article Aug. 19 mischaracterized the current roles of Rabbis Daniel Dorsch and Shalom Lewis at Congregation Etz Chaim. Rabbi Dorsch is the congregation’s senior rabbi, although Etz Chaim does not use that title. • An article Aug. 19 incorrectly said Temple Kol Emeth’s NoshFest will feature 35 to 40 vendors; instead, its food vendors will offer 35 to 40 food items.
SUNDAY, SEPT. 18
Mah-jongg. Congregation Beth Shalom, 5303 Winters Chapel Road, Dunwoody, and ORT Atlanta host MahJongg Madness, with registration at 10:30 a.m. and play at 11. The cost is $25; RSVP by Sept. 12 at cbshalom.wufoo. com/forms/mah-jongg-madness. Kabbalah and numerology. The Hadassah Greater Atlanta Health Profes-
sionals group hears at 1 p.m. at Harmony Place Spiritual Center: The Blue Barn, 1035 Green St., Roswell, from numerologist Gloria Parker and Karin Kabbalah Center director Shirley Chambers. Free, with optional $7 contribution from first-time guests; RSVP to Ellen Sichel (ellen@customcalm. com or 770-313-6162) or Sharon Frank (sharonafrank@aol.com).
MONDAY, SEPT. 19 Bat Mitzvah Club. The club for sixthand seventh-grade girls meets biweekly at 6:30 p.m. at Chabad of North Fulton, 10180 Jones Bridge Road, Alpharetta. Tuition for the year is $300; www. chabadnf.org or 770-410-9000.
AUGUST 26 ▪ 2016
4450 Lower Roswell Road, East Cobb, includes sushi and sake with its monthly Carlebach Kabbalat Shabbat service at 6:30 p.m. Free; 678-773-4173 (Yaacov Gothard) or 770-565-4412 (Chabad).
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ISRAEL NEWS
Israel Pride: Good News From Our Jewish Home
Sleep apnea device for teens. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved extending the use of the WatchPAT sleep apnea device from Caesarea-based Itamar Medical to people as young as 12. Previously, it was approved only for those 17 and older.
Bike paths for the disabled. Athletes with physical disabilities who use adaptive bicycles such as hand cycles will be able to access dozens of miles of bike paths, thanks to a 5.7-millionshekel ($1.5 million) Accessible Cycling Complex at the National Sport Center in Tel Aviv’s Yarkon Park. Still saving Syrians. In one week, eight Syrians who were severely injured in artillery strikes on a hospital were evacuated by Israeli helicopters to Israel. They included two children, ages 7 and 11. Israel has treated 2,500 wounded Syrians the past three years. Solving Indian health problems. The India Israel Affordable Healthcare Hackathon from July 22 to July 24 brought 600 participants to Tel Aviv, Mumbai, Hyderabad and Bangalore.
They developed innovative ideas and prototyped solutions to address the health care challenges of lower-tomiddle-income communities in India. Israeli teams won prizes for addressing malnutrition and hearing impairment. Fighting bird flu in Cameroon. Israel has provided urgent assistance to Cameroon to fight the spread of the bird flu virus. The Israeli Embassy in Cameroon initiated and organized the arrival of emergency protective equipment.
Beginning of the end for supermarket checkout lines. The bar code self-scanning and checkout payment smartphone app from Rosh Haayin-based startup SuperSmart could be the start of a revolution in Israeli grocery shopping. The app is on trial at an Osher Ad supermarket branch in Tel Aviv. Playing for $4.4 billion. A Chinese consortium has bought Israel’s Playtika for $4.4 billion, the third-largest sale in Israel’s history. Playtika is based in Herzliya but is owned by Caesars Interactive Entertainment. Playtika’s games are played daily by over 6 million peo-
Going Home
Photo by Shahar Azran
Yifat Kadosh, 20, a 2013 graduate of Yeshiva Atlanta High School (now Atlanta Jewish Academy) prepares to board a chartered Nefesh B’Nefesh flight at New York’s JFK International Airport on Wednesday, Aug. 17, to make aliyah. Kadosh, a former Dunwoody resident and Jewish Kids Groups teacher, has completed her national service and is starting at a university in Israel. She was on the same flight with fellow YA/AJA alumni Uri Pearl, Ariela Bland and Shani Weinmann, who are joining the Israel Defense Forces. The flight of 233 olim (new immigrants) included 72 other Lone Soldiers, an 85-year-old and the 50,000th Nefesh B’Nefesh immigrant since 2002. More than 90 percent of immigrants assisted by Nefesh B’Nefesh have stayed in Israel.
ple in 190 countries, in 12 languages and on at least 10 platforms. Building roads in Colombia. Ramat Gan-based Shikun & Binui will build a 100-mile toll road near Bogota, the cap-
ital of Colombia. The contract is worth around $640 million. The world’s scariest bridge. Haim Dotan Architects of Tel Aviv designed the vertigo-inducing 1,400-foot bridge across the Zhangjiajie Grand Canyon in China. The $3.4 million bridge, set to open in September, is the highest and longest glass bridge in the world. The Zhangjiajie National Forest’s jagged rock formations and lush vegetation inspired the floating peaks in “Avatar.”
AUGUST 26 ▪ 2016
Healthier fish farming. Haifa-based Gili Ocean has designed a fish farming solution for open waters that could weather storms and bring healthier and larger fish harvests. The Subflex system, which includes sensors and image processors to boost efficiency, aims to make offshore aquaculture a longterm sustainable solution. In 2006, Gili Ocean launched its first commercial system about seven miles offshore of Ashdod and produced 400 tons of fish per year. The company recently won an Israeli contract to launch the largest open-sea fishing system in the world, with a capacity of close to 2,000 tons.
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High-tech tax cuts. The Finance Ministry plans to cut the corporate tax for multinational high-tech companies that register their intellectual property in Israel. The move would encourage large companies to move or continue research and development in Israel. Compiled courtesy of verygoodnewsisrael.blogspot.com, Israel21c.org and other news sources.
ISRAEL NEWS
This 1912 Russian book, “The Great in the Small,” includes “The Protocols of the Elders of Zion,” first published nine years earlier.
Today in Israeli History
AUGUST 26 ▪ 2016
Items of interest provided by the Center for Israel Education (www.israeled.org), where you can find more about these people, places and things. Aug. 26, 1903: The most widely distributed anti-Semitic publication in modern history, “The Protocols of the Elders of Zion,” is first published in Znamya, a Russian newspaper. Aug. 27, 1892: A passenger train arrives in Jerusalem as part of the Levant’s first railroad project, the Jaffa-Jerusalem railway line. The 53-mile route cuts the travel from the seaport to the holy city to four hours from two days. Aug. 28, 1898: The Second Zionist Congress convenes in Basel, Switzerland, with 400 delegates, nearly double the number at the first congress. Aug. 29, 1967: The Fourth Arab League Summit convenes in Khartoum, Sudan, and reacts to Israel’s crushing victory in the Six Day War. The summit promises no peace, no recognition and no negotiation with Israel. Aug. 30, 1944: Harold Macmichael ends his term as the fifth British high commissioner to Palestine after six years. He greatly restricted Jewish immigration and land purchases in 1939. Aug. 31, 1947: The U.N. Special Committee on Palestine presents its report, with eight of the 11 committee members recommending partition into two states with an economic union. Sept. 1, 1915: Chaim Weizmann is appointed an honorary technical adviser to the British Admiralty for the production of acetate, which is crucial in the manufacture of cordite.
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LOCAL NEWS
AUGUST 26 ▪ 2016
Hemy Neuman Gets Life Without Parole
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Hemy Neuman’s retrial for killing fellow Jewish community member Rusty Sneiderman ended Tuesday, Aug. 23, with a guilty verdict and a sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole. Neuman’s defense had argued that the 57-year-old suffered from “erotomanic delusions” that caused him to gun down Sneiderman outside a Dunwoody preschool in November 2010. The jury rejected the claim of insanity. Instead, the eight women and four men found Neuman guilty of malice murder and a felony weapons charge, for which Neuman was sentenced to an additional five years in prison. Sneiderman’s brother, Steve, spoke before the sentencing by DeKalb County Superior Court Judge Gregory Adams. He said he and his family are serving a life sentence without possibility of contact with his brother, whom he called a trusted mentor. “I can’t pick up the phone and call Rusty to get his advice anymore,” he said. “That is a life sentence without possibility of parole, and that is what we ask the judge to impose.” Neuman was found guilty but insane at his first murder trial and sentenced to life behind bars without a chance for parole, but the state Supreme Court last year overturned the conviction on the grounds that a court ruling had violated attorney-client confidentiality. Before the sentencing, DeKalb District Attorney Robert James told the court that Neuman was not insane. He pointed to the steps the killer took before and after the shooting to avoid being caught. “Mr. Neuman visited Andrea Sneiderman and her family while they mourned for their loss,” James said. “He even attended Rusty Sneiderman’s funeral and poured dirt over the grave. He did it all to conceal his actions.” Andrea Sneiderman, who worked with her husband’s killer at GE, did not testify during the retrial. She was convicted of perjury, as well as obstruction of justice, for her testimony in the first trial regarding her relationship with Neuman. She served part of a five-year prison term. Public defender Duana Samson made a final statement to the court Tuesday, saying she had “no doubt of Neuman’s mental illness.” The defense requested the possibility of parole and a suspended sentence on the firearms felony. Neuman declined to make a statement to the court.
Atlanta Braves Back Leitz, Backpack Project
Just as Backpack Project founder Zack Leitz was getting started on his junior year at the University of Georgia, the Atlanta Braves gave him a surprise honor Thursday, Aug. 18. The Braves singled out one hero a day for Community Heroes Week during the home stand against the Minnesota Twins and Washington Nationals. Leitz, a Dunwoody High School graduate, was honored on the field and, more important, received a $5,000 donation from the Atlanta Braves Foundation for the Backpack Project, which fills backpacks with necessities and distributes them to the homeless. Braves such as Matt Kemp, Chase d’Arnaud and Joel De La Cruz helped UGA students fill more backpacks.
Hadassah’s Pencil Power
The Hadassah National Convention in Atlanta in late July had a goal of collecting 10,000 No. 2 pencils for its Pencil Power service project. The convention more than doubled the goal. Lee Kansas and Ruthanne Warnick, who co-chaired the service project, collected 22,750 pencils for schoolchildren served by the Atlanta Community Food Bank’s Kids in Need program. Hadassah members, associates and convention guests donated 17,750 pencils, and Office Depot contributed 5,000. Barbara Prevost Overton, who directs child hunger programs for the food bank and oversees the Kids in Need program, had suggested pencils when Kansas and Warnick sought ideas for the project. Overton said a child can easily go through 50 pencils during a school year, and the donated pencils ease the financial burden of school supplies for families and for teachers. Kansas and Warnick presented a symbolic box of pencils to Overton at the closing ceremony, and they thanked attendees for their generosity toward Atlanta schoolchildren.
Pencil Power co-chairs Lee Kansas (left) and Ruthanne Warnick (center) help deliver 22,750 pencils to Barbara Prevost Overton for the Atlanta Community Food Bank’s Kids in Need program.
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HEALTH & WELLNESS
Sepsis Victim’s Friends Kick Off Fundraising College football season is many Southerners’ favorite time of year, but it takes on a whole new meaning this year for Elizabeth Zweigel and her family. Zweigel, a graduate of the University of Georgia, where she met her husband, Scott, recently recovered from a March bout with sepsis, which cost her both hands and both legs below the knee. In the past the Zweigels, who are members of The Temple, have thrown a party for about a dozen friends to celebrate the Dawgs’ season opener. This year that party will have a few extra guests: Thanks to support from the community, it will be hosted at Sweetwater Brewing Co. as a fundraiser for Zweigel’s medical trust. The first signs that anything was wrong with the mother of two young children came one Saturday in late March. Zweigel was feeling tired and sluggish and blamed her symptoms on the flu. “I’ve never had the flu, but it felt worse than a cold,” she said. “It wasn’t until Sunday that I started feeling much worse. My husband flew in from out of town, and I ended up in the ER later that night.” Zweigel added: “They realized pretty quickly I was septic. My hands were very cold, and they struggled to get any blood to flow to them. It was close to midnight before we all knew how serious it really was.” She remembers some of what happened Monday morning but spent the next two weeks in a coma. In that time, the damage to her hands became more severe as less and less blood flowed to them, and by the time she woke up, they had been amputated, along with her left forearm. “My organs had started to shut down,” Zweigel said. “Amputating my hands allowed the organs to start recovering. When I woke up, I still had my feet, but the blood flow was leaving them, and I could tell what needed to happen.” After 6½ weeks at Northside Hospital, she moved to the Shepherd Center in early May for recovery and rehabilitation. Zweigel said the difficult process has been a learning experience. “I’ve had to relearn everything. When I first went to my physical therapist, I couldn’t even sit up by myself. I’m very mobile now though.” Zweigel said she has received in-
credible support from the community, and she’s thankful to everyone who reached out to bring food or donate to help her and her family, including son Carson, 3, and daughter Mia, 9 months, through trying circumstances. “The Temple was incredible,” she said. “My son had been going there (for preschool), and the families of his class have been amazing, making lunch for him and doing everything they could. That was really the most important thing to me.” The fundraiser Sept. 1, to help with such expenses as prosthetics, rehabilitation services, child care and renovations to adapt the Zweigel home to her needs, will include a live band, raffles,
an auction, souvenir glasses, and plenty of food and drink. The menu includes Zweigel’s famous buffalo dip. “I’ve always loved college football kickoff,” Zweigel said. “I love getting together with friends, having some food. I think having a fundraiser tied to it was a really good idea and fun for us.” ■ What: BBQ, Booze and Buffalo Dip, a benefit for the Elizabeth Zweigel Health Trust When: 7 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 1 Where: Sweetwater Brewing Co., 195 Ottley Drive, Buckhead Tickets: $75 in advance (fundraiserforliz.eventbrite.com) or $85 at the door
Elizabeth Zweigel is home again with husband Scott, son Carson, who’ll be 4 in October, and daughter Mia, 9 months.
AUGUST 26 ▪ 2016
By Eddie Samuels
AJT 9
www.atlantajewishtimes.com
OPINION
Our View
BDS Truth
AUGUST 26 ▪ 2016
“Israel’s right to exist and to self-defense is for us non-negotiable.” That’s a quote from an anti-BDS resolution recently passed by the student government at Germany’s University of Leipzig, and it’s a sentiment we wish more American college students and their professors would take to heart. Unfortunately, many students, like many readers, either don’t know what the boycott, divestment and sanctions movement is or fail to understand the goals of the movement and its leaders. BDS wears the guise of the boycott movement against apartheid South Africa in the 1980s, but instead of the morality of that movement, BDS relies on the Nazi technique of the big lie, starting with the myth of “apartheid Israel.” “They will repeat that lie that Israel is an apartheid state; it doesn’t matter if people from South Africa say it’s not true,” Robbie Friedmann, the founding director of the Georgia International Law Enforcement Exchange, said during his Aug. 10 appearance at the monthly meeting of the Jewish Breakfast Club. Friedmann has become an expert on BDS because, since June 2009, his program has been targeted by those who would isolate and undermine Israel. GILEE should be beyond reproach. It helps police from 22 countries and 20 states share best practices from counterterrorism to community policing. But Georgia State students, backed by pro-Palestinian activists off campus and by 15 professors on campus, petitioned more than six years ago to have GILEE shut down because of the role of Israel. Failing in that effort, they have tried to use massive freedom-of-information requests to tie up the GILEE staff and make its work impossible (publicizing detailed travel arrangements risks turning law enforcement delegations into targets for terrorists). After Georgia amended its open-records law to shield those details, the BDS crowd began spreading the story that the purpose of the training is to teach American police to kill innocent blacks in the same way that Israelis kill innocent Palestinians. That story is nothing less than a modern blood libel, Friedmann said. “Until this, I had not experienced anti-Semitism in person.” It’s anti-Semitism because Israel is singled out as the world’s only Jewish state. It’s OK for other nations to establish religions, to proclaim themselves “Islamic republics,” to deny religious freedom to minority groups. And the right of every other people, especially the Palestinians, to have a homeland is sacrosanct. But Israel’s very existence is considered offensive, worthy of boycotts of academics and divestment from companies until “the occupation” ends. That occupation is not a reference to the West Bank; it’s all the land from the Jordan to the Mediterranean. There’s a reason BDS leaders have taken cues from Nazi propaganda techniques: They have a similar destructive goal. But instead of wiping out the Jewish people, they want to wipe out the nation-state of the Jewish people. No other result will satisfy the BDS movement, which is why supporters of Israel must forever be prepared to answer BDS lies and distor10 tions with facts, just like those students in Leipzig. ■
AJT
Cartoon by Sabir Nazar, Cagle.com
Perfect Environment for Israel
Louisiana and Israel were oddly absent from the volunteer with a group like Nechama (nechama.org). My relief that Louisiana was left out, howinterfaith discussion on environmental stewardship ever, gave way to frustration that Israel was not Sunday, Aug. 21, at Ahavath Achim Synagogue. One mentioned at all during the two-hour event. Israel omission was good. The other was disappointing. doesn’t have to be a part of every interfaith converThe discussion on some of the ways people are sation, but its exclusion in this case seemed like an destroying G-d’s creation touched on global warmeffort to avoid anything divisive while seeking coming. The Rev. Kate McGregor Mosley, the executive mon ground among Judaism, Christianity and Islam. director of Georgia Interfaith Power & Light, said The crowd likely included advocates of the boywe have knocked the world out of balance, creatcott, divestment and sanctions movement against ing the erratic weather patterns that produce more Israel. After all, Mosdroughts and more floods. ley’s Presbyterian While she spoke, 20 parishes denomination has in southern Louisiana were still Editor’s Notebook flirted with BDS for assessing the damage as the By Michael Jacobs more than a decade. floodwaters receded from the mjacobs@atljewishtimes.com All the more most devastating natural disaster to hit the United States since Superstorm Sandy. As The New York Times had rushed to tell its readers at the peak of the disaster, when tens of thousands of homes were underwater, rainfall totaling up to 31 inches within a few days and the resultant flooding looked “a lot like climate change.” To the credit of Mosley, fellow panelists Hounada Sinno of the Islamic Speakers Bureau and Rabbi Laurence Rosenthal of Ahavath Achim Synagogue, and the crowd of 50 or so people, no one at the Aug. 21 meeting followed the Times’ lead and used Louisiana as Exhibit A of climate change. It’s reasonable, although unprovable, to conclude that the Louisiana flooding is an effect of global warming. But it’s offensive to use a disaster as a debating point while it’s ongoing. There’s ample time to argue about the reasons and the necessary actions to prevent a repeat, but now is the time to focus on assisting those who are suffering. You can donate through Jewish Federations of North America (www.jewishfederations.org), B’nai B’rith (www.bnaibrith.org), or Temple Sinai, which is collecting gift cards for the Baton Rouge congregants of Rabbi Natan Trief, husband of Sinai Rabbi Sam Shabman (sshabman@templesinaiatlanta.org). Or
reason Israel needed to be a part of the discussion. When Mosley talked about global deforestation, she or Rabbi Rosenthal or one of us in the audience should have mentioned that one country in the world has more trees now than a century ago: Israel (thanks to Jewish National Fund and despite forest fires sparked by Hezbollah rockets). When Rabbi Rosenthal mentioned that a long-term Middle East drought has been cited as a cause of the Arab Spring uprisings of 2011 or when Sinno complained about wasted resources in our disposable society and the lack of drinking water in Beirut, it would have been appropriate to mention that Israel has largely defeated the regional drought through desalination, water-saving technologies such as drip irrigation, and the recycling of threequarters of its waste water. Israel has shared those innovations from China to Africa to California and could give them to Arab neighbors if they only recognized the Jewish state. But the interfaith crowd at AA didn’t hear about the environmental benefits that could be lost by isolating and ostracizing Israel. That means the event was a lost opportunity. ■
OPINION
ISIL Won’t Be Satisfied Until We Become Them
that one should be faulted, mocked and ostracized for recognizing that the astonishing signs we witness day after day are the creation of the Wise, AllKnowing Creator and not the result of accidental occurrence.” So ISIL offers a warning: “As long as your subjects continue to mock
From Where I Sit By Dave Schechter dschechter@atljewishtimes.com
our faith, insult the prophets of Allah — including Noah, Abraham, Moses, Jesus and Muhammad — burn the Quran, and openly vilify the laws of the Shari’ah, we will continue to retaliate, not with slogans and placards, but with bullets and knives.” To the nations allied against it: “We hate you for your crimes against the Muslims; your drones and fighter jets bomb, kill and maim our people around the world, and your puppets in the usurped lands of the Muslims oppress, torture and wage war against anyone who calls to the truth. … We hate you for invading our lands and fight you to repel you and drive you out. As long as there is an inch of territory left for us to reclaim, jihad will continue to be a personal obligation on every single Muslim.” Forget changing policy. “The fact is, even if you were to stop bombing us, imprisoning us, torturing us, vilifying us and usurping our lands, we would continue to hate you because our primary reason for hating you will not cease to exist until you embrace Islam.” In a mocking conclusion, ISIL says, “So you can continue to believe that those ‘despicable terrorists’ hate you because of your lattes and your Timberlands, and continue spending ridiculous amounts of money to try to prevail in an unwinnable war, or you can accept reality and recognize that we will never stop hating you until you embrace Islam and will never stop fighting you until you’re ready to leave the swamp of warfare and terrorism through the exits we provide.” The ways out: Convert to Islam, pay jizyah (a tax on non-Muslims under Muslim rule), or “as a last means of fleeting respite — a temporary truce.” An exit any time soon appears unlikely. ■
AUGUST 26 ▪ 2016
Call it ISIL, or call it ISIS. Argue about its origins. Debate which presidential candidate would deal with it more effectively. Abhor the terrorism committed in its name. Check out reports of its battlefield losses and money troubles. And read “Why We Hate You & Why We Fight You” in the latest issue of Dabiq, the online magazine of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (or Syria, if you prefer). Or, as Muslim author and commentator Arsalan Iftikhar calls it, “the Un-Islamic State.” Dabiq is a Syrian village. ISIL’s interpretation of Islam holds that a climactic battle there between Muslims and infidels will precede the apocalypse. ISIL rejects labeling as “senseless violence” such acts as “the blessed attack on a sodomite, Crusader nightclub.” That was Pulse, the Orlando gay nightclub where a gunman professing allegiance to ISIL killed 49 people and wounded 53 others in June. “One would think that the average Westerner, by now, would have abandoned the tired claim that the actions of the mujahidin — who have repeatedly stated their goals, intentions, and motivations — don’t make sense.” To ISIL, they make sense. Why? “We hate you, first and foremost, because you are disbelievers; you reject the oneness of Allah — whether you realize it or not — by making partners for Him in worship, you blaspheme against Him, claiming that He has a son, you fabricate lies against His prophets and messengers, and you indulge in all manner of devilish practices.” Next: “We hate you because your secular, liberal societies permit the very things that Allah has prohibited while banning many of the things He has permitted, a matter that doesn’t concern you because you separate between religion and state, thereby granting supreme authority to your whims and desires via the legislators you vote into power.” “The atheist fringe” is scorned: “You witness the extraordinarily complex makeup of created beings, and the astonishing and inexplicably precise physical laws that govern the entire universe, but insist that they all came about through randomness and
AJT 11
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OPINION
Letters To The Editor
Johnson Scapegoats Israel
It was curious to read that Hank Johnson asserted that “I do not seek to blame Israel, the Jews, for every problem that exists in the world” (Aug. 12). More worrying is “But it is clear that the growth of terrorism is aided and abetted by the frustration born out of the establishment of the state of Israel and the failure to solve the issue of a Palestinian state.” By blaming Israel’s founding, he falls into the trap of ignoring the real cause of terrorism: decades of indoctrination in which hatred for another group is used as the sole permissible distraction. Scapegoating others is an age-old tool of Middle Eastern and other despots. It is currently being used by Turkey’s Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who has sought to cast the United States and a Turkish cleric in exile as responsible for the recently failed coup. As for the issue of a Palestinian state: There could have been one in 1948, 1967 or many times since. Every Palestinian leader has rejected any resolution of the conflict that allows a permanent Israel of any size and behind any boundaries. Mahmoud Abbas himself has made it clear that a Palestinian state in the West Bank would not end the conflict but would be used for further hostilities against a more vulnerable Israel. Blaming the more pliable party, Israel, is easy. Demanding that Arab leaders reverse decades of indoctrination and start to educate for coexistence is more difficult. However, it is in their own interest and should be a necessary condition for U.S. aid. The incitement against others has come back to haunt Arab regimes in the form of terror across the region. Imagine how different things could have been if Arab leaders had looked forward, as did Israel, building a thriving economy and democracy even though under siege? — Doron Lubinsky, Sandy Springs
Johnson Doesn’t Get It
AUGUST 26 ▪ 2016
I believe that Hank Johnson honestly wants to see the situation of the Palestinian people improved. I am heartened that he recognizes that the Israel-Palestinian conflict is certainly not the main cause of Islamist terrorism. However, I do not think he fully grasps how the Palestinian situation has been manipulated by the leaders of the Muslim world, including the Pales12 tinians’ own leaders.
AJT
When Arab nations went to war to prevent Israel’s rebirth, they blocked the creation of what would have been the first Palestinian Arab state. They then forced the descendants of the Arabs who fled the 1948 Arab-initiated war into refugee limbo, blocking U.N. Relief and Works Agency efforts to provide jobs for the people and assist them in relocating. Most Muslim countries have laws specifically barring Palestinians from becoming citizens and limiting their pursuit of professional careers. Yet their despotic rulers have often used the saga of the Jews’ mistreating the Palestinians as a way to distract their subjects from their own poverty and lack of freedom. Israel has put forth several proposals for Palestinian statehood, even withdrawing from territory, only to be rebuffed at the negotiating table and subjected to attacks (whether it be missiles aimed at Israeli population centers or stabbings and car rammings instigated by leaders who call on the people to violently resist the occupation that the leaders refuse to end via diplomacy). Constant incitement against Jews is just part of a culture of intolerance that has led to persecution of Christians, Baha’is and the wrong type of Muslim (whether it’s Sunni killing Shia or Shia killing Sunni). Refugees fleeing the Syrian civil war and Islamic State terrorism fear being trapped in the same limbo to which the Palestinian have been consigned. They risk their lives trying to enter Europe via dangerous ocean crossings. Few have been given refuge in Muslim countries. The first step toward resolving the refugee crises is raising our expectations of the Muslim world. Anti-Muslim incitement has to cease. Muslim governments need to stop funding terrorism. Aid to the Palestinians, as well as to the current refugees, needs to be monitored carefully to ensure that it reaches the people and is not diverted to the war against Israel and Western civilization. — Toby F. Block, Atlanta
Johnson Wrong on Israel
The article that appeared in the Aug. 12 edition on Hank Johnson and the subsequent interview only exasperated the situation and truly showed his ignorance and stupidity. In his feeble attempt to apologize and put a spin on it, he only showed his lack of knowledge and frankly anti-Semitic tendencies. In the article he double-talks about BDS and asserts that terrorism is somehow the fault of the Jewish state,
never stating that there has not been a peaceful resolution because of the Palestinians themselves. It appears obvious that he doesn’t learn much, as he has been on an AIPAC trip. If he is so concerned about “human rights,” then why doesn’t he focus his efforts on the scores of African and Middle Eastern communities that have despicable human rights records with little concern for minority rights, women’s rights and alternative lifestyle rights? He misses the boat on Israeli training on law enforcement. The Israelis are training on techniques and not on political policies. Lastly, his true colors come through as to the lesson he learned: to be politically correct and not to offend people. He never learned from the substance of his comments. In my opinion he epitomizes an ignorant anti-Semite (that might not be “politically correct”). — Larry Benuck, Sandy Springs
Latinos Lead Immigration
In her report on the fourth annual Charla and Challah Jewish-Latino community event (“Immigrant Experience Helps Unite Jews, Latinos,” Aug. 12), Sarah Moosazadeh has “informed” your readers that “today, immigration restrictions stand in the way for Latin American immigrants who seek new opportunities and a better standard of living in the United States.” Respectfully, that statement is absurd. Event participant Judge Dax Lopez said, “People have valid concerns, but debates should be based on facts vs. feelings.” We wholeheartedly agree. The latest available annual official figures show that of the more than 1 million legal immigrants admitted to the United States in 2014, Mexico was the No. 1 sending nation. The Department of Homeland Security flow chart “U.S. Lawful Permanent Residents: 2014” shows that Cuba, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador and Colombia also are in the top 20 sending countries. By region, the combined numbers of immigrants from Central America and South America are far ahead of Europe and Oceania, for example. We hope that the AJT’s future news coverage of immigration will include more careful research, less baseless opinion, and perhaps a nod to the underrepresentation and possible oppression of European immigrants in the oft-described “rich tapestry of the diverse fabric” of the “press-one-for-English,” changing American population. Perhaps the object of the commu-
nity event or news report was to add to the ongoing push for officially open borders and unrestricted immigration. In that case, we would point to the obvious fact that such a policy would be the end of any semblance of a sovereign, defined nation and a mindless betrayal of struggling American workers. — D.A. King, Marietta, president, Dustin Inman Society, for the board of advisers
No More Illegals
I disagree with the “Immigrant Experience” article and its implied support for the positions put forth by Judge Dax Lopez and GALEO. There is no comparison between being committed to a diverse Atlanta Jewish community and condoning illegal immigration into the United States. GALEO supports, condones and encourages illegal immigration. We are a country of laws. Our laws are being flouted by our neighbors to the south. Leveraging Eric Robbins’ request for community diversity into a call for unlimited Latin American immigration does not report the news. Yes, “immigration reform remains a key concern in upcoming elections.” Immigration reform as used by GALEO is code for open borders. The rest of us wish to see our existing laws enforced and strengthened. Our country cannot accommodate unlimited immigration, especially unskilled immigrant labor. Our natural resources are reaching capacity. Witness Atlanta’s and Georgia’s present drought situation. Comparing the situations faced by Holocaust victims before and after World War II to the Latin Americans’ situation today is insulting at best. Latin Americans appear to want an open door to the United States and our support systems, whether or not they have any skills or means of support. Already, Latin Americans’ illegal immigration results in overcrowded schools, overburdened welfare rolls and depressed wages for unskilled labor. Unemployment for unskilled workers continues to be high. Why does the Latin community want its unemployment rate to be higher? — George Nathan, Sandy Springs
Write to Us
The AJT welcomes readers’ letters (generally up to 400 words) and guest columns (up to 700 words). Email your submissions to editor@atljewishtimes. com. Include your name, the town you live in, and a phone number for verification. We may edit submissions for style and length.
LOCAL NEWS
Faiths Share Devotion To Sustainable Environment By Michael Jacobs mjacobs@atljewishtimes.com
Rabbi Laurence Rosenthal
The Rev. Kate McGregor Mosley
“I believe that we are all called to join G-d in this work of healing,” she said. Mosley focused on the problem of deforestation and said the world is losing 20 football fields’ worth of trees every minute. The loss of trees contributes to rising global temperatures because forests absorb greenhouse gases, she said. She said Americans are complicit in the loss of trees in ways ranging from our use of paper to our demand for avocados, which has led Mexican farmers to clear-cut old-growth pine forests to plant the profitable crop. Rabbi Rosenthal concentrated on another food source, fish, and the damage done to aquatic ecosystems through commercial fishing and fish farming. “The oceans are in deep, deep trouble,” he said, noting that Atlantic fisheries have been exhausted. He went into detail about the waste and destruction involved in standard commercial longline fishing and trawling and about the disease and toxicity involved with some fish farming. He advised looking for the Marine Sustainability Council’s blue fish logo when buying fish, and he had news of little comfort for observant Jews: Great advances have been made in sustainable production of shellfish. The rabbi, a vegetarian, also warned of the effects of the hormones, antibiotics and toxic substances working their way up the food chain to humans. He cited several biblical commandments that dictate the need to change our ways, including the prohibition on wanton destruction of the environment, the ban on causing animals pain and the necessity to save lives. Sinno said there are many reasons to lead a greener life, including being answerable to G-d. “I believe one day I’ll be held accountable for everything I do.” ■
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AUGUST 26 ▪ 2016
Judaism, Christianity and Islam share a belief in sustainability and stewardship of the environment, according to a panel discussion organized by the Neshama Interfaith Center at Ahavath Achim Synagogue on Sunday afternoon, Aug. 21. “It isn’t just me trying to do something nice because it makes me feel good,” AA Rabbi Laurence Rosenthal said. “It isn’t. It’s an obligation.” About 50 people attended the interfaith discussion on the environment, “Mother Earth, Our Common Home.” Joining Rabbi Rosenthal on the panel were the Rev. Kate McGregor Mosley, the executive director of Georgia Interfaith Power & Light, and Hounada Sinno, a member of the Roswell Community Masjid and representative of the Islamic Speakers Bureau of Atlanta. The three Abrahamic faiths share a responsibility to tend and protect the world under Genesis 2:15, which Mosley and Rabbi Rosenthal referred to as the first commandment in the Torah. “We need to live in relationship with nature,” not a relationship to nature, Mosley said, emphasizing the necessity to maintain “gratitude and awe” toward G-d while observing and caring for the wonders of nature. “We are just sharing the planet” with the rest of creation, Sinno said, but we are causing destruction with a use-it-and-toss-it culture. “We are part of it, and we don’t really think about it.” Mosley’s organization, GIPL, aims to help all 15,000 houses of worship in Georgia become models for sustainability and stewardship, and Rabbi Rosenthal said the organization does a great job of being patient and encouraging rather than badgering and demanding. GIPL offers grants for renovations that, for instance, enhance energy efficiency. Rabbi Rosenthal said a key factor in AA’s environmental efforts is “force of nature” Myrtle Lewin. He said every congregation needs someone like Lewin to push it forward. “I bless you all with lots of Myrtles.” Thinking about all the world’s environmental problems can be overwhelming, Mosley said, but we shouldn’t get caught up in trying to solve everything at once or seeking the perfect response.
AJT 13
LOCAL NEWS
Photo by Eli Gray
(From left) Rabbis Don Seeman, Yale New and Naftali Estreicher join Yacov Freedman for a discussion of Orthodox unity at New Toco Shul.
Orthodox Rabbis Weigh Unity vs. Uniqueness By Eli Gray
AUGUST 26 ▪ 2016
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AJT 14
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For the Orthodox community, Tisha B’Av is a day on which the hard questions of life are addressed, one of the toughest being the topic of Jewish unity. So the New Toco Shul used the waning hours of the day Sunday, Aug. 14, to hold a panel on Jewish unity. Rabbi Don Seeman, a professor at Emory University, Rabbi Yale New, the executive director of the Friendship Circle, and Rabbi Naftali Estreicher, rebbe at Yeshiva Ohr Yisrael, discussed whether “Orthodoxy is better off united, divided or something else,” moderated by Yacov Freedman. Rabbi Estreicher stressed that the Torah needs to remain the central focus to ensure that Orthodox Jews are united by the same goal. That being said, he added that each individual needs to recognize his or her own uniqueness and must not suppress uniqueness on the count of unity. Rabbi New said true unity involves different people with different ideas combining to create a brighter and greater picture. Rabbi Seeman prefaced his remarks by saying we need to remember that unity is not binary; the answer to the question is not a simple yes or no. “Unity, for what purpose?” he said. “There are going to be people on the inside and people on the outside for different purposes, and the difficulty is to sensitively figure out what those purposes are. And we get into a lot of trouble this way. We exclude people when it’s not necessary and include when not necessary. There is no ironclad answer how to do it.” The panelists addressed their lines in the sand — the point at which they
would say, “No, I will not cross this line for the sake of unity.” Rabbi Seeman said boundaries are vital to a community’s existence but must be examined to ensure they don’t exclude people we are trying to include. Rabbi New brought up the issue of differing standards in regard to conversion. He pointed out that lines in other areas may be of a communal rather than a halachic nature, though such communal standards often are what make the community. Rabbi Estreicher’s approach involves deciding whether the issue will lead to something that’s against the Torah, even indirectly, in which case there is nothing to talk about. The moderator closed the discussion by asking whether there is a particular area in Orthodoxy in which unity is strained, and if so, what can be done about it. For Rabbis New and Estreicher, the importance of sharing and respecting different ideas while evaluating their suitability for the community is an area that can use some attention. Rabbi Seeman said gender roles — what’s appropriate for women to do in the Orthodox community —can cause divisions. “There is not currently a sophisticated conversation taking place, but rather both sides seem to be shouting at one another,” he said. “While we do have to draw boundaries, we need to be careful to make clear arguments based on sources in halacha rather than just following our gut.” He added, “When it comes to matters of policy, I’m much more skeptical of reading people into and out of the community.” ■
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LOCAL NEWS
Why Georgia’s No Place for Hate Crimes Law More than 5,400 hate crimes were reported in the United States in 2014, but Georgia reported only 56 in 2015, Georgia Bureau of Investigation Director Vernon Keenan said. That’s not because Georgia is a state too busy to hate, but because it is one of five states that do not have hate crimes legislation. So Georgia does not have mandatory reporting of hate crimes or any statewide definition of what constitutes a hate crime. Thus, Keenan told the 100 or so attendees at an Anti-Defamation League panel discussion Wednesday, Aug. 17, titled “Hate Crimes: Political Rhetoric, Reality, and Action,” Georgia’s data collection has been insufficient, and the state’s statistics are inaccurate. Keenan and his fellow panelists examined the reasons and consequences for the Georgia General Assembly’s hate crimes inaction. With support from the Jewish community, Georgia passed a hate crimes law while Roy Barnes was governor, but the state Supreme Court in late 2004 unanimously struck down the law as “unconstitutionally vague.” Subsequent efforts to pass a constitutional law have stumbled in the legislature, usually over the inclusion of crimes against LGBTQ people. The FBI states that hate crimes legislation focuses on crimes committed “against a person or property motivated in whole or in part by an offender’s bias against a race, religion, disability, sexual orientation, ethnicity, gender, or gender identity.” Working with local and national partners, the ADL a year ago launched an initiative, 50 States Against Hate, to pass or enhance hate crimes laws across the nation. The four pillars of the initiative are stronger laws, better training for law enforcement, improved data collection, and increased community awareness and reporting. The program Aug. 17 was the culmination of this summer’s ADL Glass Leadership Institute. The participants selected the topic and helped pick the panel. Greg Bluestein, a political reporter for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, moderated the discussion among Keenan and Democratic state Reps. Simone Bell of Atlanta and Taylor Bennett of Brookhaven. Bell, Lambda Legal’s regional director, said Georgia has failed to enact hate crimes legislation “due to lack of political will” amid many variables.
Photo by Benjamin Kweskin
GBI Director Vernon Keenan (left), Rep. Taylor Bennett, Rep. Simone Bell and AJC reporter Greg Bluestein (right) talk about hate crimes legislation at an ADL event Aug. 17.
“We don’t want there to be a misconception of what a hate crime is,” Bennett said. “Some representatives don’t even have a firm grasp of the definition.” Encouraging the public not to politicize potential hate crimes, he said: “It is not a political issue. It’s a human rights issue.” Bell largely agreed that it can be difficult to decide what constitutes a hate crime. “For example, if someone attacks someone who is LGBTQ, calls them offensive, derogatory names, and then robs them, is this a hate crime?” The two legislators said they want to avoid putting a bad law on the books. Keenan said the lack of such legislation “sends a message to criminal elements that this behavior is acceptable.”
The GBI director said the overwhelming majority of law enforcement officers nationally and locally support hate crimes laws, including a resolution passed by the Georgia Association of Chiefs of Police about 10 years ago, but “some in the electorate do not want to be seen as privileging certain segments of the community.” Bennett said hateful rhetoric has “reached a pinnacle … on the national level and is worrisome and scary.” The panelists alluded to local and national political figures stoking such rhetoric and thus inciting if not endorsing violence. “Rhetoric is currently out of control,” Bell said in answer to a question about Muslims and LGBTQ people being targeted. “This rhetoric has set us
back, harming the good work the Jewish community and other communities have been doing for years. This is why we need to continue to build coalitions in order to come together as one large voice. We need people to be able to tell their stories, and we need to continue to collect data.” Bennett reiterated the need to depoliticize the problem of hate crimes and to educate elected officials as well as the general public. “We need to accurately define what is a hate crime and deal with these on a case-by-case basis.” Noting that strong, specific laws target crimes against the elderly and children, Keenan wondered why legislation shouldn’t protect other vulnerable parts of the population. Asked whether targeting and killing police officers constituted a hate crime, Keenan said no. Including police officers, the director said, “dilutes other hate crimes.” He is not optimistic about enacting a hate crimes law. “Unfortunately, the federal government will only prosecute the most egregious of acts,” he said. “It will take a horrific crime in Georgia for legislation to be pushed through.” ■
AUGUST 26 ▪ 2016
By Benjamin Kweskin
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LOCAL NEWS
Lipstadt Defines 4 Types of Anti-Semites By Arlene Caplan Appelrouth aappelrouth@atljewishtimes.com Talking about the nature and behavior of anti-Semites is like “opening a Pandora’s box of hatred,” Emory professor Deborah Lipstadt told more than 150 people Sunday, Aug. 14, during her annual Tisha B’Av speech at her shul, Young Israel of Toco Hills. The Dorot professor of modern Jewish history and Holocaust studies was introduced as “one of the great Jewish leaders of our time” by Rabbi Adam Starr of Young Israel. Addressing “The Anti-Semite, a Typology,” Lipstadt based her remarks on a book she is writing about the taxonomy and typology of anti-Semitism. It is her first book with prepublication contracts around the world. Her previous books include “Denying the Holocaust” in 1993 and its 2005 followup, “History on Trial,” about the libel case Holocaust denier David Irving brought against her in English court. The story of that trial has been turned into the film “Denial,” making its premiere in September and arriving in Atlanta on Oct. 7. Starring as
Lipstadt is Rachel Weisz, who Rabbi Starr joked is a “Deborah Lipstadt look-alike.” Lipstadt divides anti-Semites into four categories: extremists; Deborah Lipstadt enablers; polite speaks at Young Israel in the waning anti-Semites; and hours of Tisha B’Av. accidental antiSemites. The lines are not strict, she said, and one person can be in more than one category. What anti-Semites have in common is hatred of Jews, Lipstadt said. The roots of anti-Semitism are planted in the New Testament with the death of Jesus, she said, and “while we like to think anti-Semitism is dead, it isn’t.” Anti-Semites in the extremist category are usually on the right wing and often participate in groups such as white supremacists and neo-Nazis. But “they aren’t the ones who worry me,” Lipstadt said. Anti-Semitism’s enablers are savvy people who often use social media
to promote their views. Lipstadt characterized them as “utilitarian.” Lipstadt mentioned the Jewish conservative journalist Bethany Mandel, who tweeted about the anti-Semitic supporters of Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump. Mandel soon was the victim of an extreme social media campaign. The enabling anti-Semites barraged her with tweets and texts that were so threatening the journalist purchased a gun for protection, Lipstadt said. “People hide behind social media by making statements anonymously,” the professor said. “This behavior is done in a coward’s way.” These anti-Semites also employ coded messages and dog whistles. They want to draw the attention of likeminded people to the Jews they are targeting with their hatred. As an example, she said certain publications were using parentheses, called echoes, around Jewish names. At first, the code was not readily understood. When it became obvious that the signs targeted Jews, some Jewish people put their own parentheses around
their names in a show of defiance. The polite anti-Semites, Lipstadt said, make comments such as “Some of my best friends are Jewish” and “We have a new partner, and she’s Jewish.” The accidental anti-Semites,” on the other hand, have integrated and absorbed prejudicial attitudes to the point that they often are unaware that their views are anti-Semitic. Lipstadt spoke of a friend who was the only Jew in a New York nursing school. When the friend went to a celebratory lunch with a group of non-Jewish nursing students, one of them talked about bargains and said to Lipstadt’s friend: “Now, Barbara, you would be interested in this.” Barbara, who thought fast, replied that she didn’t know Jews were the only ones smart with their money. The woman who made the remark about bargains probably thought it was a compliment, Lipstadt said. She added that people usually don’t know how to respond to accidental prejudice. Using an old definition, Lipstadt concluded: “An anti-Semite is someone who hates Jews more than necessary.” ■
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JNF’s Standard Honor
Former Jewish National Fund Southeast President Alan Lubel (second from left) is joined by Paul Freeman (left), Roy Steinberg and Bob Friedman (right), along with 86 other golfers, at JNF’s ninth annual Sam P. Alterman Memorial Golf Tournament at the Standard Club in Johns Creek on Monday, Aug. 15. With the help of 33 sponsors, the event raised $60,000 toward JNF’s Billion Dollar Roadmap to develop Israel’s Galilee and Negev.
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BUSINESS
Love, Film Industry Bring PR Star Home By Logan C. Ritchie lritchie@atljewishtimes.com No detail is too small and no task is too large for clients, according to Maggie Gallant, publicist to the stars. In an improv class the Atlanta native learned a career-changing lesson: Never say no. Onstage, one actor would ask a question, and the other took the material and ran with it. Gallant applied that go-getter philosophy by always trying to exceed the wants and needs of clients. Now 37, she has taken just two vacations in a 17year career. She is dedicated to brand strategy work with prominent clients including Spanx, Target, Neiman Marcus and the Kentucky Derby. Gallant has created award-winning campaigns for HGTV, DIY Network, Oxygen, Bravo, Discovery and DirecTV. “It’s a very intimate relationship,” said Gallant. “My job is to care for every element and facet of what my client is doing. You have to be ready to do things that are not in the job description.” Gallant recently moved back to Atlanta for a job with APA PR, the first public relations firm to sprout from a
Maggie Gallant is launching a family and the Atlanta office of a new PR firm, APA PR.
talent agency. She is building the Atlanta office from the ground up at One Buckhead Plaza to connect with Georgia’s thriving film and TV industry. The stakes are high with highprofile media people, she said. Her job is like being a cheerleader — similar to her days at the Westminster Schools. Gallant created a major in public relations at George Washington University. She stepped into a role as a feature writer for USA Weekend during college; soon after, she was trained to be the kind of publicist reporters would want to work with. She built her career in New York
and Los Angeles, living a bicoastal lifestyle for 15 years. She founded Spotlight Communications, then created and led the entertainment and lifestyle division of PR agency Rogers & Cowan. She was a guest lecturer at New York University and received UJA-Federation of New York’s young leadership award. “I plan to die at my desk at a very old age,” she joked. She was just plugging along, hopping flights with her dog and crashing at the Four Seasons in Los Angeles for work, when everything changed. When you are a publicist, especially in entertainment, you suspect anything can happen. You learn to think on your feet, she said. It was Passover. She was visiting Atlanta to celebrate her mother’s 70th birthday, and a friend wanted Gallant to meet Jason Isenberg. The pair met for coffee, and she was hooked. “I knew right away that he was a mensch. I was immediately stressed out. I knew I was going to be moving to Atlanta. There was something when I met him and we locked eyes. I started thinking about changing my life,” she said. Gallant and Isenberg married in
2015. They built a home with room for her stepchildren, Jacob, 11, and Ava, 7, and a baby who is due in September. It’s been a whirlwind, but Gallant lives by TV host Tim Gunn’s mantra, “Make it work.” Her love of family, including local cousins, outweighs the convenience and familiarity of New York. She pushed back her fears to figure a way to make herself happy. “It’s all important: connecting to family and community, falling in love, deciding to do something that had never been done before. My career has always been precious to me. I feel lucky. As I watched other people struggle to find what they’re good at and what they’re excelling in, I never had that challenge. Now, it took a long time to find my husband,” she said with a laugh. “Before I met my husband, the love of my life was my career.” Gallant chooses clients who inspire and captivate her, like Dylan’s Candy Bar by Dylan Lauren and Skinnygirl Cocktails by entrepreneur and “Real Housewife” Bethenny Frankel. “When you’re a publicist, you are talking about brands all day long,” Gallant said. “You have to be excited about it.” ■
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EDUCATION
Schools Are Back for Summer
Summer vacation ends long before the fall these days, and day schools, public schools and colleges have been celebrating the start of classes since the start of August. Examples on this page include the Sandy Spring campuses of the Epstein School, Davis Academy and Atlanta Jewish Academy, as well as Chabad at Kennesaw State University. Before the school year began, ORT Atlanta joined with volunteers from Federation Under 40 and Jewish Family & Career Services’ Volunteers in Action for its annual ORT My School service project. ■
Atlanta Jewish Academy students gather on the first day of school at the Northland Drive campus Monday, Aug. 22.
Davis Academy first-grader Sophia Molinari arrives on the first day of school Monday, Aug. 15, with little brother William, who is new to Davis as a Mechina (kindergarten prep) student.
Epstein School first-graders Zahara Gelber and Hershey Woolfson share a laugh and get to know each other on their first day of school.
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Alexis Schulman goes for the gold as she creates her own Olympic medal on the first day of kindergarten at the Epstein School.
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ORT Atlanta-organized volunteers take a break Sunday, July 31, from preparing Dobbs Elementary School in South Atlanta for the first day of school the next day. The volunteers painted murals in the cafeteria and cultivated and harvested the vegetable gardens at the Title I school, which also will be the beneficiary of the Project Give book drive at the Book Festival of the Marcus Jewish Community Center in November.
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Davis Academy kindergartners learn their way around the school on their first day, including a stop in the office of Head of School Amy Shafron.
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Photos by Aaron Roberson for Chabad Jewish Student Center at KSU The signs say it all as Kennesaw State students start the school year right by spending some time with Chabad.
Jewish Atlanta’s Olympic Flame The end of the Rio Olympics on Sunday, Aug. 21, naturally reminded us of Atlanta’s time to shine in the Olympic torchlight 20 years earlier, when, of course, the Atlanta Jewish Times was a keen observer of the Summer Games. Fortunately for all of us, former AJT writer and editor Roni Robbins kept a copy of a special, 56-page, glossy-covered publication that she edited for the occasion, “The Jewish Guide to the 1996 Summer Games.” We couldn’t reproduce the entire guide, but we hope a look at some of the highlights will bring back memories of where you were 20 years ago. ■
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AUGUST 26 ▪ 2016
ATLANTA HISTORY
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ATLANTA HISTORY
Jewish Center Sprouts From Dunwoody Farmland The JCC’s Zaban Park grew from a speculative purchase 55 years ago By Logan C. Ritchie lritchie@atljewishtimes.com
AUGUST 26 ▪ 2016
The Marcus Jewish Community Center’s 53-acre, tree-covered property in the middle of Dunwoody serves 55,000 people a year and is rooted deep in the history of Jewish Atlanta. For transplants and suburbanites, Zaban Park and Dunwoody are a natural draw. Go where the Jews live, where the Jews play, where the Jews learn. For city dwellers, Zaban Park is a divisive entity; the sprawling property offers inclusive, top-notch fine arts, sports, education and events. But it is fraught with frustration for intown Jews who want agency-led programming inside the Perimeter. The history of the Marcus JCC’s Zaban Park does not begin with the property’s purchase in 1961; it stretches back to before the JCC was housed on Peachtree Street. To celebrate today’s home of Atlanta’s JCC is to recognize the organizations from which Zaban Park bloomed. Atlanta Jews founded the Young Men’s Hebrew Association YMHA in 1906, but the space was too small to serve as a community center. The YMHA joined the Free Kindergarten Association to create the Jewish Educational Alliance in 1909. JEA thrived downtown on Capitol Avenue near the area of today’s Turner Field. Natives recall JEA’s rickety basketball court and showers with no hot water. Boys were taught boxing in an upstairs room to defend themselves against anti-Semitic bullies. JEA served as a home to Boy Scout and Girl Scout troops, educational classes, meeting rooms and a library. Immigrants and underprivileged citizens had a soft place to land at JEA. It was a lively, albeit spartan, hub. In 1914, JEA reported that 14,000 people attended events or programs there in one month. JEA changed its name to the Atlanta Jewish Community Center in 1946. By 1956, after years of fundraising, the JCC erected a building at 1745 Peachtree St. Today this is the border of Buckhead and Midtown. At the Peachtree property, children played on athletic fields, held BBYO events and attended preschool. During the late 1950s Max Kuniansky was a real estate mogul in Morningside and Moores Mill; he built, sold and financed property. 20 Dunwoody was the opposite of
AJT
Programming starts early at Zaban Park.
Atlanta. It was rural farmland. When Kuniansky purchased a little cabin on a pond on Roberts Road in Dunwoody, his family referred to it as The Farmhouse. Kuniansky became interested in buying more pastureland in Dunwoody. He envisioned city kids escaping the summer heat to swim and fish and play on open land. According to his son Doug, Kuniansky knew Jewish camping was important to Jewish continuity. He believed education, community and growth could combat anti-Semitism in the South. Kuniansky, who was the president of the JCC, needed financial backing from his friend Erwin Zaban to acquire what became Zaban Park. With the purchase of 40 acres in 1961, the pair kick-started Jewish day camp and the development of Dunwoody. It could be argued that without the foresight of Kuniansky and Zaban, there would be no prosperous Dunwoody Jewish community. Harry Maziar, one of the Marcus JCC’s trustees, said the Dunwoody purchase was “not strategic and not done with projections and formulas and spreadsheets. It was affordable, reachable farmland. Sometimes you’re right, and sometimes you’re wrong. Max and Erwin were right.” Day camp was the first thing to open at Zaban Park, located on Tilly Mill Road. Children as young as 5 boarded a school bus at the JCC in Midtown early in the morning, then returned again in the late afternoon. Zaban Park had no buildings other than open-air shelters with cubbies for campers’ towels and sack lunches. Day camp activities included tether ball, kickball and pony rides. Children often used the day camp
at Zaban Park as a steppingstone for Camp Barney Medintz, which the JCC established in 1963 in the north Georgia mountains. The swimming pool at Zaban Park, an amenity for the day camp, also was available to the general JCC membership by the mid-1960s. During Zaban Park’s developmental stage Kuniansky served as the JCC president for three terms, which was unusual. According to census records, during the 1960s and 1970s the black population in Atlanta increased from 38 percent to 51 percent. The city experienced a drop of 60,000 white residents. Across the nation, cities were experiencing white flight — a massive migration of whites to suburbia. Residential development went into high gear in Dunwoody in the 1960s in the form of housing and strip malls. As the Jewish community of Atlanta migrated to the northern suburbs, the Midtown location of the JCC became less and less convenient. In 1979, the JCC broke ground on a building at Zaban Park with past Presidents Sidney Feldman, Bernard Howard and Morris Benveniste and current President Perry (Pete) Morris. At the ceremony, Zaban was handed a comical award, a rooster in a cage, while everyone else received alarm clocks. Zaban was known for calling very early morning meetings. Dozens of men contributed to making the Marcus JCC “the viable organization it is today,” Maziar said. “The center always had great community support and sponsorship. Erwin was a guy you didn’t say no to. He was key to leadership and programming.” Zaban Park grew by 13 acres in the 1980s, and programming increased. By the late 1990s the JCC closed the
Peachtree location, staged a capital campaign and solidified Bernie Marcus’ support, all under Executive Director Harry Stern, who arrived in 1991. The renovated and expanded Zaban-Blank main building opened in April 2000, and the Atlanta JCC was officially renamed the Marcus Jewish Community Center of Atlanta. “At the time, closing Peachtree was a wonderful idea. There had been flight to the suburbs. Supporting two institutions was a financial burden. It wasn’t an improper decision,” Maziar said. The Marcus JCC fell into financial difficulties in 2006-07, about the time Stern left, and Maziar was drafted by Marcus to create a new structure and “get it out of the ditch” with board Chair Jack Halpern. The board had grown to more than 40 members; Maziar cut it to 10 to get through the crisis. “A small, dedicated, tuned-in, turned-on board is beneficial,” he said.
A Brief History Of Zaban Park 1946 — The Atlanta Jewish Community Center is incorporated. 1961 — The 40-acre Dunwoody site is purchased for use as a family park and day camp. 1979 — Zaban Park is expanded to serve as a full JCC site for the northern suburbs. 1982-1985 — Zaban Park grows with the purchase of 13 acres. 1996 — The day camp program at Zaban Park is relocated and named Camp Isidore Alterman. 2000 — The Zaban-Blank Building is completed and opened in April, and the agency is renamed the Marcus Jewish Community Center of Atlanta. 2009 — The Barbara and Eddie Mendel Splash Park opens. 2010 — The Besser Holocaust Memorial opens. The outdoor basketball court is converted into a gymnastics building. 2014 — The Framework for Our Future capital campaign is launched, and $7 million is raised for infrastructure and expansion needs at Zaban Park and Camp Barney Medintz. The gymnastics building is named the Besser Gymnastics Pavilion. The Orkin Teen House is renovated and opened. 2015 — The Kuniansky Family Center opens with two art studios, a culinary art studio, a multipurpose room and the Rich Foundation Dance Studio. 2016 — The newly renovated fields are named the Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation Sports Complex. Zaban Park’s lake is named Lake RB.
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ATLANTA HISTORY
The lake at Zaban Park, recently named Lake RB, is a key feature of the day camp.
The day camp, Camp AJECOMCE, is well established by 1968, seven years after the purchase of the first 40 acres of what became Zaban Park.
Erwin Zaban and Bernie Marcus are at the center of a distinguished group of community leaders at the groundbreaking that led to the opening of the Zaban-Blank Building in April 2000.
Pony rides remain a feature of the day camp even after the addition of Zaban Park’s full-service building in 1979.
After serving for eight years, he joked that he’s now been turned out to pasture. Zaban Park continues to boom. In 2015-16 a $7 million fundraising campaign helped open the Kuniansky Family Center with art studios, kitchens for cooking classes, a dance studio, classrooms and after-school facilities. Along the way, the Marcus JCC opened, closed and sold an East Cobb facility, Shirley Blumenthal Park. But the struggle to meet a widespread Jewish community continues. “Today it is obvious that so many Jews live intown, whether in Fourth Ward or Candler Park or just inside the Perimeter. Do we need a presence downtown? Yes. Do we need a presence up north? Absolutely,” Maziar said. “It is hard to address an entire community” from one location. “We look for four outcomes from our members: to make a connection; to build community; to feel enhanced
identification with Jewish ideas; and to learn something. We want participants to feel their quality of life has been enhanced,” said Janel Margaretta, the center’s chief development and communications officer. “If people feel like they connect to others, create a lifelong connection while learning new skills in a Jewish context, and their lives are better, we reached our goal.” Doug Kuniansky, who completed his term as chairman of the board this spring after also serving as the interim CEO, said that leading the center was one of the best things he ever did. “What would my dad say? Serve the communities. He was always looking to expand the services of the JCC to where the Jews were living.” Zaban Park has been a part of Marcus JCC CEO Jared Powers’ life for 37 years. He participated in day camp, sports, BBYO and young adult programming. He worked as a counselor at Camp Barney Medintz. Along with
his wife, he is now raising his family at Zaban Park. “One thing about Zaban Park is there’s limited amount of growth without reimagining, redesigning, reconfiguring the space. There are constraints,” he said. “We are looking at ways to grow the agency that are not confined within Zaban Park. How do we serve people who cannot get here? How do we serve Jews outside of Dunwoody? It’s our greatest challenge and greatest opportunity.” The rich history of the property hits home with Howard Hyman, the Marcus JCC’s board secretary. “I have fine memories of playing sports on Peachtree Street. It was one of the highlights of life at the JCC,” he said. “And I love helping to create that for the next generation. I want to see kids growing up here, making best friends here at this facility. I can’t wait until they look back and reminisce the way I do.” ■
Zaban Park Today • In 2015 the Marcus JCC distributed $600,000 in scholarships, offered 10,000 opportunities to engage and encouraged 600 volunteers to support the center’s mission. • The annual Book Festival of the Marcus JCC attracts 12,000 people. • The day camp serves 2,000 children each summer. • More than 100 adults with special needs participate regularly in cooking, arts, music, dance, sports, drama, travel and other cultural programs. • A renovation of the ball fields, which began in November, was recently completed with new shade, irrigation and bathrooms. An open house will show off the newly named Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation Sports Complex on Sunday, Aug. 28, from 1:30 to 5:30 p.m.
AUGUST 26 ▪ 2016
The day camp, renamed Camp Isidore Alterman in 1996, has moved from its original Camp AJECOMCE location on the campus.
The preschool at Zaban Park is an enduring feature through the decades.
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SPORTS
In Columbus, the girls 16U soccer team, coached by Jack Vangrofsky and Ryan Pollard, won gold.
Photos courtesy of Libby Hertz and Stacie Graff
Members of the boys 14U basketball team pack meals for the St. Louis Area Foodbank as part of the community service component at the games.
Team Atlanta won seven medals in tennis at the Maccabi Games.
Atlanta Medal Count
Team Atlanta won eight gold, 10 silver and four bronze medals in this summer’s Maccabi Games. Columbus Results Girls soccer 16 and under: gold; coaches Jack Vangrofsky and Ryan Pollard Baseball 16 and under: gold; coaches Todd Starr, Tommy Carola and Daniel Kaufman Boys basketball 16 and under: gold; coaches Brian Seitz and Jacob Gluck Boys soccer 16 and under: bronze; coaches Bob Meyer and Roey Shoshan The silver-medal-winning lyrical duet dance team performs “Tears in the Ocean.”
The 16U baseball team beat the rain, a shift in the tournament schedule and tough competition to earn a silver medal in St. Louis.
Chasing Olympic Glory
St. Louis Results
Team Atlanta brings home 22 Maccabi medals
AUGUST 26 ▪ 2016
More than 100 Atlanta Jewish teens got to live out an Olympic experience a few weeks before the real Summer Games began in Rio. The Marcus Jewish Community Center sent 115 athletes ages 13 to 16 to the 2016 JCC Maccabi Games in Columbus, Ohio, from July 24 to 29 and St. Louis from July 31 to Aug. 5. The teams returned with 22 medals: eight gold, 10 silver and four bronze. The two five-day Olympic-style games were a chance for Jewish athletes from cities across the United States and around the world to meet in friendly athletic competition while learning lessons in humility and sportsmanship. The athletes also participated in community service initiatives through the JCC Cares program. In Columbus 22 they entertained senior citizens and
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played with Special Olympics athletes; in St. Louis they packed more than 150,000 meals for the St. Louis Area Foodbank. Forty-six athletes and 10 coaches/ delegation heads traveled to Columbus, and 69 athletes and 16 coaches/delegation heads went to St. Louis. Team Atlanta participated in soccer, basketball, baseball, flag football, dance, tennis, and track and field. “Team Atlanta embodied the spirit of the JCC Maccabi Games, which emphasizes sportsmanship, good will and a strong Jewish identity,” said Libby Hertz, who served as a delegation head for the Atlanta athletes. “Team Atlanta was polite and respectful, and each one of our athletes showed compassion and kindness. I am incredibly proud to have been able to be a part of this team.”
Tennis — boys 16-and-under competitive: bronze; boys 16-andunder recreational: silver
Last summer in Dallas and Milwaukee, Team Atlanta won 31 medals: 11 gold, 15 silver and five bronze. ■
Athlete Reflections
Some of Team Atlanta’s athletes share their Maccabi experiences. • “I liked meeting new people from all around the country, out of the country, and connecting with them and sharing our lives.” — dancer • “Our favorite memory of the week was staying with our host family. They were gracious enough to take in six baseball boys, supported us at all of our baseball games and treated us as their own sons.” — baseball players • “I liked meeting people from other basketball teams. They cheered us on at our games, and we supported them at their games. When we played Baltimore in the semifinals, L.A. Westside all came to cheer us on.” — boy basketball player
Baseball 14 and under: silver; coaches Michael Cohen, Tyler Andrew and David Levy Girls basketball 16 and under: Midot Medal for sportsmanship; coaches Michael Feldman and Mike Radetsky Flag football 16 and under: silver; coaches Ronald McRae and Jared Khan Dance — student choreography: silver; girls 14-and-under lyrical duet: silver; girls 14-and-under jazz group dance: bronze Track and field — 800 meters: gold and silver; 110-meter hurdles: gold; 5x200-meter relay: gold; 4x400-meter relay: gold; 300-meter hurdles: silver Tennis — boys 14-and-under recreational: gold, two silvers and bronze; girls 14-and-under competitive: silver Boys soccer 14 and under: did not medal; coaches Mike Wolff and Daren Silberman Boys basketball 14 and under: did not medal; coaches Kenny Silverboard and Arron Critchfeld
SPORTS
Photo by David R. Cohen
Arthur Blank and WSBTV’s Dave Huddleston chat at the Atlanta Press Club’s Newsmaker Luncheon on Aug. 17.
Blank: Falcons Stadium Remains on Schedule By David Cohen david@atljewishtimes.com
Mercedes-Benz Stadium is on schedule, according to Atlanta Falcons owner Arthur Blank. Speaking at the Atlanta Press Club’s Newsmaker Luncheon on Wednesday, Aug. 17, Blank, who also owns the Atlanta United FC franchise in Major League Soccer, said the stadium remains on track to open in June. The MLS season starts in March, however, so Atlanta United will have to play its first 12 games on the road or find a temporary home. Despite construction delays, Blank said Atlanta United has collected 31,000 deposits for season tickets, a number he attributed to Atlanta’s interest in the sport and Mercedes-Benz Stadium’s design for intimate soccer viewing. Blank also touched on concerns about the renewal of the Vine City and English Avenue neighborhoods west of the stadium, saying his organization has been committed to revitalizing the area since embarking on a plan to build a Georgia Dome replacement
eight years ago. “We believe in making a difference in people’s lives,” Blank said. “We felt in that location downtown that could be a catalyst to help jump-start some of the issues that the area has faced for many, many years.” Among his plans for the area around the stadium are a community gathering place similar to Midtown’s Piedmont Park and a transit system running from downtown through the stadium area into Vine City. Blank said he hopes the location will become a venue for events every weekend. As for the Falcons, who kick off the season Sept. 11 at home against Tampa Bay, Blank said he is positive about this year’s team. He pointed to the free agent signings of center Alex Mack and wide receiver Mohamed Sanu as big improvements. “I like where we are as a team,” he said. “We’re a faster team than ever, and we didn’t have a lot of injuries in camp. We have work to do, but I have confidence.” ■
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Stadium to Make ‘Madden’ Debut
AUGUST 26 ▪ 2016
We’re a year away from the Falcons’ opening game at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, but gamers playing “Madden NFL 17” won’t have to wait that long. The game, set for an Aug. 23 release, includes the new stadium, playable using the Play Now feature or after completing one Falcons season in Franchise Mode.
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HOME
Bellissimo! Italian Art Meets Glorious Food sher butcher and was a huge influence in my life. Later in life he was knighted by the Italian government. In 1939, with $10 in my pocket, I took off for America, where I studied forestry in college and worked at a dude ranch in Colorado to send money back to the family in Italy during and after World War II. As luck would have it, while at the dude ranch, I met the Buitoni family, who manufactured
Jaffe: How did two Jewish Italians end up in Buckhead? Robert: The short story is my great-uncle Enrico Leide, a cellist and conductor, was the founder of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra from 1920 to 1930. He married a Candler (Coke heiress). I doubt they (the Candlers) knew at the time what his religion was. The longer version is I started in the Bronx, went to college in Kentucky, taught photography, worked for the United Nations, commandeered one of the first audiovisual companies, and installed World’s Fair pavilions for the United Nations in Korea, Kenya, Italy and Vienna, Austria. With Ph.D. studies in art history and a master’s in photography and music, I now conduct the Atlanta Musicians’ Orchestra, a community orchestra, which performs six times a year, three of which are at the Breman Jewish Home. There are around 40 very accomplished musicians. We also have both open rehearsals and concerts for the residents of the Breman Jewish Home. It is an honor to rehearse and play there. Mario: My Sephardic maternal grandfather, Lazzaro Leide, was the head rabbi of Naples, Italy, circa 1906, where he traveled around Sicily, Senigallia and southern Italy, performing 24 Jewish ceremonies. He was also a ko-
Jaffe: Your late mother was the artist? Robert: Yes. She painted in oils and excelled in collage. She exhibited in many shows and repeatedly won first prize. Mario: Luciana and I were married for 60 years; I proposed over a dinner of pasta after three dates. We were married less than three months later. In terms of her art, she was very quick, producing a major piece in two to three weeks. She had no patience for watercolors. I think her best works were the collages. Her trademark was stairs leading to an empty chair. As you see, the oils show bold peach and lime tones. The views of Italy are very sentimental, of course.
AUGUST 26 ▪ 2016
Envision a romantic movie and dream in Italian voices? Fantasize about rich Italian red sauces and anchovies? Dream that hearing classical music lifts us mortals to heaven? Meet all of the above in Robert (Dahlan Roberto) Foah, trained orchestra conductor and world-traveled multimedia expert with installations from Australia to Rio, and his father, Mario, a young 95, who was knighted by the Italian government for opening the American market to Italian specialty food companies. Mario also founded the North American Specialty Food Trade Association, which owns and operates the Fancy Food Show. From the view atop the city, the Foah walls are filled with paintings of wife and mother Luciana, pillboxes from Nigeria to New Orleans, centuryold photographs from Naples, furniture and silver from the 1800s. The living room houses a 1923 hand-calligraphied edition (No. 189 of 300 copies) of the works of St. Francis of Assisi.
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Chai-Style Homes By Marcia Caller Jaffe mjaffe@atljewishtimes.com
Italian specialty foods. Moving back to New York to work for them, I learned the food business and started my own company, which we still run today. Representing various factories, much of the food you see in tubes (onion paste, sun-dried tomatoes, anchovy paste, garlic paste) we make privately labeled for others along with our own Amore and Montali brands.
Jaffe: So where do connoisseurs like you dine in Atlanta? Mario: For fun, we like Little Bangkok on Cheshire Bridge, Chateau Saigon on Buford Highway and Kyma. But my real favorite is Pricci. The chefs know me and spoil us with gourmet fare. Robert: Sotto Sotto in Inman Park is really the best Italian dining. Jaffe: Best vino? Mario: Brunello Tuscany. Jaffe: What’s the key to running
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A2 a successful overseas business from here? Mario: In Italy we are now employing the fourth generation of our own workers. We have to train Italian workers to have an American work ethic and teach Americans how to eat like Italians. Also, my other son, Lou, runs the business from Atlanta. I have scaled down to five hours a day. Jaffe: What’s in the future? Robert: With my wife, a producer/ director, we are working on a live performance and world premiere of “The Birth of Color” with the famed Cantate chorus in Budapest. This is actually a frequency opera, telling the story of creation by combining modern physics with string theory — vibration creating the original light and dark. I hope to bring it to Atlanta and am searching for just the right venue. I
will continue to mix business with art. Jaffe: What’s the secret to your longevity? Mario: I have a younger girlfriend in Italy, where I travel every month or so. We Skype almost every day. Robert: He’s amazing. He eats three good meals a day, but no snacking. All the medicine he takes is an aspirin! I teased father and son that their conversing in Italian to each other reminded me of my parents speaking Yiddish in their own “private” club. The most charming gesture was the departing father/son kiss before Mario scooted off to his private workout training session. Mangia bene, ridi spesso, ama molto: Eat well, laugh often, love much. ■
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AUGUST 26 ▪ 2016
Photos by Duane Stork
A1&2: Mario Foah stands beside son Robert on a balcony overlooking Buckhead now and holds him in 1954. B: Mario Foah’s collection of exotic pillboxes C: Sal Brownfield’s original oil “Fields of Genoa,” an area shown to him by Robert Foah during the 1992 World’s Fair, which Robert produced. D: Luciana Foah’s cheerful oils feature peach and lime tones. E: Mario Foah shows his numbered, 19th century St. Francis of Assisi manuscript near Luciana Foah’s oil of an Italian streetscape. F: Lazzaro Leide, Mario Foah’s maternal grandfather, was the head rabbi of Naples and was knighted by Italy. G: Mario Foah’s favorites of wife Luciana’s paintings are her underwater collages, displayed over the family silver (“Attut Mano” from 1880). He recalls buying the circa-1700 dining chairs in a Vermont estate sale: “They are sturdy and simple, and I got a good price.” H: The front entrance welcomes guests with Luciana Foah’s oils and an antique abalone umbrella stand. I: Pasta makers work in Naples a century ago.
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OBITUARIES
Dorothy Bresky 94, Atlanta
Dorothy Bresky, nee Fabricant, born July 19, 1922, in Newark, N.J., died Wednesday, Aug. 10, 2016, in Atlanta. She was the daughter of Nathan and Esther Fabricant, the youngest of seven brothers and sisters, and the last surviving member of her immediate family. She was predeceased by husbands Harold Shapiro and Bernard Bresky and son Stephen Shapiro. She is survived by her daughter, Vicki (Alan) Goldenberg, and two sons, Michael (Mila) Shapiro of Hernando, Fla., and William Shapiro of San Rafael, Calif. She leaves behind six grandchildren, Gregg (Freddy) Goldenberg of Atlanta, Scott (Krista) Goldenberg of Staunton, Va., Amy Goldenberg (Chuck) Fox of Atlanta, and Jacob, Emma and Cora Shapiro, and seven great-grandchildren. She graduated from Southside High in Newark at 16. Dorothy was a homemaker and working mom who loved to travel. She was a lovely, strong, determined and clever lady. She was an adventurous spirit with many creative outlets and was a devoted longtime member of Temple B’nai Darom of Ocala, Fla. A private graveside funeral was held at Arlington Memorial Park in Sandy Springs on Friday, Aug. 12.
Harvey Kronitz 85, Johns Creek
Harvey Kronitz, 85, of Johns Creek passed away peacefully Thursday, Aug. 18, 2016. Born Feb. 22, 1931, in Brooklyn, N.Y., to Pauline and Julius Kronitz, both of blessed memory, he moved to Atlanta in 1975. Harvey was preceded in death by his loving wife of 56 years, Thelma; a son, Brian; and a brother, Murray. He is survived by his daughter, Ellen Rizzo (Jeffrey); sons Andrew and Hugh; grandchildren Aaron (Rebecca) and Sophie Rizzo and Brock Star, Brandon and Alec Kronitz; and great-granddaughter Victoria Rizzo.
Sign the online guestbook at www.edressler.com. Graveside services were held Sunday, Aug. 21, at Crest Lawn Memorial Park with Rabbi David Spinrad officiating. Memorial donations may be made to the Jewish Federation of Greater Atlanta. Arrangements by Dressler’s Jewish Funeral Care, 770-451-4999.
Betty Lipson 92, Atlanta
Betty Brinker Lipson, 92, lovingly remembered as Bub, died Tuesday, Aug. 16, 2016, surrounded by the embrace of cherished family members. She relocated to the Atlanta area in 2006 from south Florida with her late husband, Cantor William W. Lipson. She is survived by her children, Rabbi Norman (Shoshi) Lipson of Weston, Fla., Shelley Covin (Dr. Louis) Milakofsky of Sandy Springs, and Denny (Gary) Ticker of Dallas, Texas; grandchildren Josh (Felissa) Covin, Staci (Matt) Brill, Ilana (Todd) Cohen, Dr. Aliza Lipson (Seth Finck), Leah (Alan) Hiller and Dr. Becca (Dr. Andrew) Perin; and great-grandchildren Jessica and Zachary Covin, Ryan and Olivia Brill, Zana and Daniel Cohen, Lyla Finck, and Celia and Eden Daisy Hiller. Betty was a devoted partner to her husband of nearly 65 years. She took great pride in her role as mother to their children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren and in service to the Jewish community of greater Miami, where they are fondly remembered. Donations to honor the life of Betty Lipson may be made to the Congregation B’nai Torah Chesed Fund. Private graveside services were held. Shiva was observed at the Milakofsky residence on Thursday, Aug. 18. Arrangements by Dressler’s Jewish Funeral Care, 770-451-4999.
Bernice Lovitky 88, Johns Creek
Bernice “Bunny” Lipsky Lovitky, age 88, of Johns Creek passed away peacefully Monday, Aug. 15, 2016. She is survived by her four children, Lanny and Bonnie Lipsky, Hal and Pam Lipsky, Terry Lipsky, and Ellen and Martin Domnitch; six grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren. Bunny was born in Brooklyn, N.Y., and moved to Atlanta in 1958. She spent many years working at the Atlanta Jewish Federation. She and her beloved husband, Bernie, of blessed memory, dedicated their lives to the Zaban Couples Center. Sign the online guestbook at www.edressler.com. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to the Zaban Couples Center, 1605 Peachtree St. NE, Second Floor, Atlanta, GA 30309. A graveside service was held Tuesday, Aug. 16, at Arlington Memorial Park with Rabbi Loren Filson Lapidus officiating. Arrangements by Dressler’s Jewish Funeral Care, 770-451-4999.
Lewis Silverboard
AUGUST 26 ▪ 2016
100, Atlanta
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Lewis Silverboard passed away Tuesday, Aug. 16, 2016, at his home in Atlanta, weeks shy of his 101st birthday. Mr. Silverboard was born in Glasgow, Scotland, on Sept. 29, 1915. He was preceded in death by his parents, Samuel and Mary Silverboard; his wife, Evelyn Iteld Silverboard; his son Stanley Silverboard; and his siblings, Bessie Bredow, Eddie Silverboard and Sara Ronick, all of Atlanta. A resolute optimist, Lewis encouraged his friends and family to embrace life, to be kind to others, to be, in the Jewish tradition, a “mensch.” Lewis grew up in the Old Fourth Ward and attended the old Boys’ High School. An accomplished player of both the flute and piccolo, Lewis was awarded music scholarships to Georgia Tech and the University of Georgia. After his father passed away, however, Lewis forewent college to work with his mother in the family’s grocery store. Eventually, Lewis opened his own store on North Highland Avenue, Gate City Supermarket, where his customers included Martin Luther King Jr. and Coretta Scott King. In 1938, Lewis rescued a mother and her baby from a burning apartment on Boulevard by shimmying up an outside pipe to the second floor, an event reported on the front of the Atlanta Journal. Lewis was also an indelible member of the Atlanta Jewish community, including Ahavath Achim Synagogue, his family having joined the AA in 1921. He
OBITUARIES was an active participant in Atlanta’s musical community, performing in the precursor to the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, the Atlanta Philharmonic, as well as the Yaarab Shrine Band. His lifelong friend Larry Greenberg saw to it that Lewis attended band practice with the Yaarab Shrine Band whenever Lewis was up to it. Lewis’ greatest passion was his wife of 65 years, Evelyn. He composed musical pieces, including one special piece in memory of Evelyn, titled “Chaveleh,” as well as countless love poems through the years. Lewis and Evelyn traveled the world, visiting the Far East, Europe and Israel, and raised five children in Lenox Park. Lewis is survived by sons Dr. Gerald Silverboard (Nancy) of Atlanta and Reid Silverboard (Jill) of Largo, Fla.; daughters Susan Silverboard and Nancy Greenberg (Mike) of Atlanta; daughter-in-law Helaine Cain; grandchildren Marc Silverboard (Marianne), Dr. Howard Silverboard (Hilary), Dr. Mindy Gofton (Rick), Dan Silverboard, Josh Silverboard (Lisa), Scott Silverboard (Shannon), Dr. Jake Greenberg, Adam S. Kaufman, Alex Silverboard (Grace), Wendy Greenberg, and Rachel and Laura Silverboard; and great-grandchildren Allison, Brian, Anderson, Quinn and Hannah Silverboard. The family wishes to extend gratefulness and thankfulness to the wonderful, loving caretakers who were entrusted with their father’s care: Andrea Freeman, Audrey Cox, Bernestine Hodges, Ketia Jean-Noel, Tequila “Boo” Dorsey, and most especially Barbara Bowen, whom Lewis adored to the end. Sign the online guestbook at www.edressler.com. Graveside services were held Thursday, Aug. 18, at Arlington Memorial Park with Rabbis Josh Heller and Neil Sandler officiating. The family asks that donations be made to the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum or the charity of one’s choice. Arrangements by Dressler’s Jewish Funeral Care, 770-451-4999.
Markus Spandorfer 81, Atlanta
Markus Spandorfer, age 81, of Atlanta, formerly of Columbus, died Wednesday, Aug. 17, 2016. Survivors include his loving wife of 54 years, Rochelle; son and daughter-inlaw Steven and Kathy Spandorfer of New York; daughter and son-in-law Karen and Joseph Cohen of Marietta; son and daughter-in-law Michael and Roxann Spandorfer of Charleston, S.C.; son and daughter-in-law Philip and Ellen Spandorfer of Marietta; sister Fern Cohn of Dallas, Texas; sister and brother-in-law Phyllis and Arthur Bargonetti of New York; and grandchildren Robert, Allison, Charli, Joshua, Benjamin, Adam, Jacob, Jack and Carly. Sign the online guestbook at www.edressler.com. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to the Jewish Federation of Greater Atlanta, Congregation Etz Chaim, the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation of America, Georgia Chapter, or the Georgia Celiac Foundation. A graveside service was held Friday, Aug. 19, at Riverdale Cemetery in Columbus. Rabbi Shalom Lewis officiated. Arrangements by Dressler’s Jewish Funeral Care, 770-451-4999.
Margie Steiner Margie Steiner, 65, of Atlanta died peacefully Friday, Aug. 19, 2016. She is survived by her daughter and son-in-law, Amy and Doug Nadler, Atlanta; her son and his partner, Evan Steiner and Eka Ekong, San Francisco; beloved grandchildren Aiden and Hannah Nadler; sister Janet Smith, Melbourne, Fla.; and many nieces, nephews, great-nieces and great-nephews. She was preceded in death by her parents, Byron Paris and Carole Paris Kutz; a sister, Patti; a daughter, Emily; and her husband of 34 years, George. Margie was born and raised in Toledo, Ohio, and graduated from Kent State University in 1973. As a gifted knitter and needle artist, she was an active member of the Atlanta Knitting Guild and the Pomegranate Guild of Judaic Needlework. Margie volunteered for several communal organizations, including the National Council of Jewish Women (past president), Art Partners of the High Museum and the Jewish Women’s Fund of Atlanta. Margie was a generous, caring person who will be missed by many. We give special acknowledgment and appreciation to her loving caregiver, Vickie Turner, and her tremendous Weinstein Hospice team. Sign the online guestbook at www.edressler.com. Graveside services were held Sunday, Aug. 21, at Crest Lawn Memorial Park with Cantor Donna Faye Marcus officiating. In lieu of flowers, please make memorial donations to Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, Weinstein Hospice or a charitable organization of your choice. Arrangements by Dressler’s Jewish Funeral Care, 770-451-4999.
AUGUST 26 ▪ 2016
65, Atlanta
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ARTS
Yiddish Theater Scores in Creativity By Marcia Caller Jaffe mjaffe@atljewishtimes.com I was intrigued with the Atlanta Journal-Constitution review of “Dispossessed,” a backstage comedy about a Yiddish theater troupe being performed in Southwest Atlanta — not exactly the grounds of the Marcus Jewish Community Center. Being a fan of intimate stages and period pieces, I gave it a go. The Essential Theatre’s premiere of “Dispossessed” was crafted by local playwright Karen Wurl, who won a Georgia creative writing award for it. Based on a Yiddish theater in 1928 on the Lower East Side of New York, the show puts nine actors through a
Photo by Stungun Photography
“Dispossessed” features (from left) Scott Rousseau, Amelia Fischer, Jake Krakovsky and Kathleen McManus.
mosaic of plights, including marrying
Dybbuk,” the Jewish play being per-
for love (or not), dealing with infidelity
formed by the troupe about the exor-
in your parents’ marriage, an early stab
cism of a bride-to-be who is possessed
at woman’s lib, women competing for
by the spirit of her dead true love.
the same lout of a guy, inner vs. outer
The spirit comes and goes, and the
beauty, and ultimately Old World val-
scene is often repeated with no particu-
ues being trumped by the New World.
lar function.
The harder plot to follow was “The
The actors do a fine enough job
with fake beards, a tallit, kippot and some sort of velvet Star of David covering. The main complaint here is that they do not quite get the accent on point. Some have an Irish lilt; some are Hispanic-like or event British. All are trying to get the German oy gevaltisms into Americana Yiddish. Bottom line: The play holds your interest and could attract a larger audience in a different venue. But I guess that misses the point. “Dispossessed” continues at the West End Performing Arts Center, 945 Ralph David Abernathy Blvd. through Sunday, Aug. 28. Tickets are $20 to $25; visit www. essentialtheatre.com for details. ■
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CLOSING THOUGHTS
Missing a Decal, Finding a Bumper Sticker
AUGUST 26 ▪ 2016
People can be categorized in so many ways. Democratic or Republican, believers or nonbelievers, rich or poor, organized or disorganized, detail-oriented or detail-averse. I rebel against details and am deadline-averse. Fortunately, I married a detail-oriented, organized man. He always had my back, helping me hide my character trait. Now I’m on my own, discovering it’s time to change or pay the price. So far I’m paying the price. My mail piled up for three months after my husband fell off a bicycle, went to a hospital and then a rehab facility, where another fall landed him in the ICU at Grady Memorial Hospital, where he died. During his illness, handling the mail and paying the bills were the last things on my mind. Organizing the bills and writing the checks became my husband’s responsibility after our third child was born, soon after we moved to Atlanta. Dan was building his private solo practice as a rheumatologist and had five part-time jobs. I was taking care of our preschoolers and handling the bills. Georgia Power didn’t care who was doing what or how busy each of us was. It turned off the heat in our Sandy Springs home because I neglected to pay the bill on time. The person I spoke to at Georgia Power responded with compassion when I told her I was new to Atlanta and overwhelmed because I had three children under the age of 5, the youngest a newborn. The heat was turned back on, and I passed the checkbook to my dear husband, Dan. Today that newborn is a 38-yearold rabbi, so I can’t tell the bill collectors my lack of payment is a result of juggling child care and bill paying. But I have told more than one of the debt collectors that I’m a recent widow, overwhelmed with trying to adjust and not a quick study when it comes to writing checks and paying my bills on time. Born at the end of June, I have to renew my car registration and driver’s license before July 1. I did both, only a little late. The decal that needed to be affixed to my 30 license plate got misplaced.
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I remembered taking the decal to the car, telling myself I’d paste it on as soon as I had an extra minute. Then I forgot, went on a trip and emptied my car so I could have it washed. Before I knew it, July had passed, and I couldn’t find that green decal.
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No matter how many times I searched my car and the trunk, I couldn’t find the decal. When August came, I realized I had better get another one or I’d end up with a ticket. I went to the tax office in DeKalb County, took a number and waited. I wasn’t sure if it made a difference to them why my decal never was applied to my license plate. I decided not to go into the whole story of being a new widow who never handled the details. I walked up to Window 5 and said: “I applied online for my registration. It came in the mail, and I lost it.” I waited. Would I be chastised? Scolded? “So you need a new registration?” the clerk asked. “Yes, and another decal,” I replied. “That will be $8,” the DeKalb person said. No scolding. No questions. I handed her the money, and she gave me a new registration and green decal. “You made my day,” I beamed. “You really made my day.” Before I drove off, I affixed my decal. And promised myself next year I’d be more conscientious. The next day, while sorting through one more pile of papers and mail, I found the missing car registration and decal. I also found a bumper sticker I had bought a year ago: “Outrageous Older Woman.” It’s now on the back of my car. ■
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By Arlene Appelrouth aappelrouth@atljewishtimes.com
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ACROSS 1. Implore (for tzedakah) 4. Where Melchizedek was high priest 9. Like Einstein 14. Lod to Beit Arye dir. 15. Perlman might play one 16. Much of R.L. Stine’s work 17. Mitchell novel about the end of the eighth plague? 20. Israel’s locale, technically 21. Those, to Gracia Mendes Nasi 22. Start of the Sabbath? 23. Walker novel about dye used for some hangings in the Mishkan? 28. Este, Danielle and Alana’s band 29. Israeli composer Holz whose first name might signify the land 30. Mashuga 33. Make (a golem) 35. He starred in the “Lethal Weapon” movies for Richard (Donner) 39. Catchphrase of Cher Horowitz 41. Wiesel novel regarding Maariv time? 44. Ring success for Roman Greenberg 45. Gadgets for Simon & Garfunkel 47. Surrealist Joan behind “The Penalties of Hell or the New Hebrides” 49. Elite makes it 50. “___ You” (Drake single) 53. Gathering places during the time of Titus 55. Warren novel about the servants of Solomon? 61. ___-fi (Jane Yolen genre) 62. Possible shape of a bronze snake made by Moses 63. Actress Harareet 64. Wharton novel about a Simchas Beit HaShoeva?
31. Great-great-grandson of David 32. Hummus, e.g. 34. Studio (mostly) started by Jews 36. Kvetch 37. Home of the Tisch sch. 38. Start of a fast? 40. Kaparot option 42. Zeyde’s stereo 43. 1982 Steven Lisberger film (with a 2010 sequel) 46. “Seinfeld” and “Rhoda” DOWN 48. NFTY, e.g. 1. Sired, biblically 51. End of a 2000 Coen 2. Son of Shet Brothers hit 3. Funny Disney character Eric Goldberg made “Jewish” 52. Keitel’s “Reservoir Dogs” 4. “And G-d ___ everything” character pulled several 54. Amoraic Rav (Genesis 1:31) 5. Start of a question in The 55. Company that makes Halva Bangles’ “Eternal Flame” 56. Joshua’s soldiers as they 6. Lang. Josephus might waited to ambush the Ai have spoken but did not 57. The K in CK1 write in 58. Phoenix’s “Her” co-star 7. Drug of choice in the Rooney and her sister, Kate Weinstein-produced “The 59. “Firm” Hebrew name Cider House Rules” 60. Snir or Prat 8. ___ Ramon (var.) 61. Chalav option 9. Is hopping mad (like a 65. Shabbat item, for some bovine sacrificial animal) 66. Leonard Cohen’s “Bird 10. Common (enough) ___ Wire” animal cry in Tel Aviv 11. City with many Russian 67. It might prevent the saying of Kiddush Levana Jews 68. Important Israelis: Abbr. 12. Get ready for bread 13. Actors Danson and Levine LAST WEEK’S SOLUTION 18. “To ___ 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 A B O R T K A T according to his R A M P S 14 15 16 O C E A N B O W I E N T H needs” (saying 17 18 19 O B I S H O W O F H A N D S popularized by 20 21 22 23 R I O S L O W E R H E W Marx) 24 25 26 27 L E B R O N A L I S T 19. One of a 28 29 30 31 32 33 S W I G A T T Y T O P E resting 25 34 35 36 37 38 E N I G M A W H O O P I 24. Klutz 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 A S P E L S E V E L I T 25. Judaic 46 47 48 49 50 Q U A K E S E M P L O Y animal 51 52 53 54 55 26. He brought 56O P U S 57 S 58E P T 59 60 U S S R R A R E S T B R I E R DeMarcus to 61 62 63 64 65 66 Israel in 2015 67T A Z R 68 I A 69 70 U N H 71 A K A U T Z C L A S S C L O W N S 27. Ruling 72 73 74 E E E S H E T E R N I E S 30. “Big” treif 75 76 77 E D S S O A R S P A S T A item 69. One of the original avot, originally 70. Motzetz user 71. Israeli bond rating 72. “Cedars from Lebanon to make ___ for thee” (Ezekiel 27:15) 73. Tzitzit woes 74. Where Vanessa Bayer sometimes plays a bar mitzvah boy, for short
AJT
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AUGUST 26 â–ª 2016
AJT
32
AUGUST 26 â–ª 2016