Atlanta Jewish Times, Vol. XCII No. 26, June 30, 2017

INTO ISRAEL

Temple Emanu-El’s mission helps Marita Anderson return and Sally Mundell see with fresh eyes. Pages 3 and 8

URBAN DIVERSITY

Gentrification isn’t always the enemy in urban renewal, Jamestown’s CEO explains to ACCESS members. Page 14

CATCH A CRAZE

Nine Atlanta women who took up catchball, a volleyball variant, now get to compete in Israel. Page 44

Atlanta VOL. XCII NO. 26

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INSIDE Calendar ��������������������������������������� 4 Candle Lighting �������������������������� 4 Israel News �����������������������������������5 Opinion ���������������������������������������10 Business ��������������������������������������14 Sports ������������������������������������������ 44 Obituaries �����������������������������������45 Crossword ���������������������������������� 46 Marketplace ������������������������������ 47

Atlanta artist Flora Rosefsky’s “Dance” (above) is part of her “Tradition Series,” commissioned by the William Breman Jewish Home in 1999. The bride and groom are hoisted on chairs for the hora while holding a piece of cloth. Rosefsky (www.FloraRosefsky.com) depicts that cloth as a special quilted handkerchief for a Jewish wedding. It’s a Holocaust remembrance piece with six embroidered yellow daffodils in the shape of a Star of David. The original quilted handkerchief is part of the Breman Jewish Heritage Museum’s permanent collection.

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Floating on Thick Air In the evenings we went looking for food and would stop at the playground where Muslim children were having iftar, the fast-breaking meal of Ramadan, and Jewish children were looking to play after the long lull of Shabbat. Games formed quickly because kids, up to a certain age, have a language of their own and have no

Light & Bones

By Marita Anderson

need for words or permission to touch.

My other companions were new friends from Atlanta, where they studied and prepared for this trip for a long time. They braved the heat and the slick cobblestones, trekking up to the old part of the city and down again with hearts wide open, listening.

For many, this was a first encounter with the city, but they were not tourists. They came to claim a sense of belonging and leave a small print of their own story. They came to read from the Torah, affirming their place among the Jewish people and their responsibility in the world at large.

And they came to remember.

I marveled at the words from Ezekiel 37:14 etched into the stone of Yad Vashem’s gates: “I will put my breath into you and you shall live again, and I will set you upon your own soil.”

It is impossible to describe the emotional impact of memorializing the devastation of the Jewish people as individuals. Yad Vashem is still searching for nearly 2 million individuals missing from the Hall of Names. This year I added the name of my greatgreat-grandfather Fievel Eidelman, who was murdered at Babi Yar with his wife and children. His name is the only name we remember.

We happened to be in Jerusalem the week of the 50th anniversary of the Six-Day War and the reunification of the city, when Jews were again allowed to live here. Fifty years is a blink of an eye in the life of this ancient place, but it is a lifetime to our generation.

We are still praying for peace. Not just peace between Jews and Arabs, but also peace among Jews, whose vision about the future of our people is driven by hope and sacred ideals yet fragmented and often dysfunctional. It is a place of our dreams. ■

JUNE 30 ▪ 2017

The air in Jerusalem is different.

My daughter complained of a headache as our bus climbed toward the heart of the city, but I told her it was just the change in elevation. I did not tell her that the air is thicker in Jerusalem — not thicker with smog, but something else.

“The air over Jerusalem is saturated with prayer and dreams,” wrote Israeli poet Yehuda Amichai. “Like the air over industrial cities.

It’s hard to breathe.”

I walked the familiar streets, picking up threads of memories. I lived here 12 years ago as a student and a witness to a tiny slice of life in the city.

I remembered my ulpan (Hebrew immersion) teacher, Neta, which means sapling in Hebrew. While I was training my tongue to speak a language that had atrophied in my family, Neta was training her left hand to write on the blackboard. Her right hand was injured by shrapnel in an explosion at the university cafeteria weeks before, and it hung limp in a sling.

I remembered Maya, whose little flower shop overflowed with fresh-cut flowers before Shabbat. And Beni, whose vegetable stand was my go-to place as I collected ingredients and agonized over recipe books during my first year of marriage.

I remembered the thin frame of my Arabic teacher, Yael, who stood in front of the class and made us mirror the muscle movements of her throat as she made guttural sounds entirely foreign to her Anglo-speaking students.

Peering into the stonewalled houses, I wondered about the persistence of Jerusalemites who live here in the face of myth and prophecy, despite war and promise, under the gaze of tourists, to the rhythm of hushed silence on Shabbat.

When I lived here, I had trouble with my eyes and was told to wear sunglasses, as the city stones reflect too much sunlight, burning the corneas. I wished there were sunglasses of a different kind, as the city can be too much for the mind if one is not accustomed to the intensity of it all. When you live here, you get used to church bells and muezzin calls to prayer at the mosques, punctuated by the constant honking of impatient drivers.

I returned to Jerusalem with new companions: my children, with their own experiences and child’s-eye views.

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CALENDAR Atlanta

THROUGH JULY 16

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TUESDAY, JULY 4

AIAAS solidarity. The Atlanta Initiative Against Anti-Semitism is gathering at 8 a.m. near Jett Ferry and Mount Vernon roads to participate in the Dunwoody Fourth of July Parade, starting at 9 a.m., and the festival afterward. Free; email lauren.menis@gmail.com for details.

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

FRIDAY, JULY 7

Back to the balcony. “The Women’s Balcony,” the Israeli comedy that closed the Atlanta Jewish Film Festival, begins a run at Lefont Sandy Springs, 5920 Roswell Road, Suite C-103, and Regal Tara Cinemas 4, 2345 Cheshire Bridge Road, Atlanta. Ticket prices and show times vary; www.menemshafilms.com/ womens­-balcony.

SATURDAY, JULY 8

Mysterious masquerade. The Sixth Point hosts a Mardi Gras murder mystery set at a masquerade cocktail party at 8 p.m. at JavaVino, 579 N. Highland Ave., Poncey-Highlands. Tickets (participation and dessert) are $15 in advance, $20 at the door; thesixthpoint. org/event/mardi-gras-murder-mystery.

SUNDAY, JULY 9

Sanctuary dedication. Israeli Chief Rabbi Israel Meir Lau speaks at the dedication of the renovated Congregation Beth Jacob, 1855 LaVista Road, Toco Hills, at 5 p.m. after a Torah procession from Breezy Lane at 3:30. Free; www. bethjacobatlanta.org or 404-633-0551.

CANDLE-LIGHTING TIMES

Chukat Friday, June 30, light candles at 8:35 p.m.

Saturday, July 1, Shabbat ends at 9:36 p.m.

Balak Friday, July 7, light candles at 8:34 p.m.

Saturday, July 8, Shabbat ends at 9:35 p.m.

Pinchas Friday, July 14, light candles at 8:32 p.m.

Saturday, July 15, Shabbat ends at 9:32 p.m.

Corrections & Clarifications

• The year Ronen Shacham was born was incorrect in his obituary June 23. He was born Oct. 27, 1972.

• The Indian Consulate’s International Day of Yoga observance was held June 21. The date was incorrect in the June 23 issue.

• In the June 23 article on anti-Semitic harassment in some schools, Fulton County Schools has responded that at Haynes Bridge Middle School, there was no report or evidence that a student was paid to make slurs or poke a classmate; the school did not refuse Anti-Defamation League but felt that it already had programs in place equivalent to what the ADL could offer; a parent of a harassed student was not notified of the specific consequences handed out because that’s a violation of federal law unless the other students’ parents consent; and the award a student received despite bullying a classmate was given to 30 percent of the student population over the course of the school year.

On Vacation

The Atlanta Jewish Times is taking our annual Fourth of July break, so there will be no newspaper July 7. We will be back in print July 14. Until then, please visit www.atlantajewishtimes.com for fresh news and information keeping Jewish Atlanta connected, and enjoy Independence Day. Book event. Author Ben Mezrich talks about “Woolly: The True Story of the De-Extinction of One of History’s Most Iconic Creatures,” at 7:30 p.m. at the Marcus JCC, 5342 Tilly Mill Road, Dunwoody, in a Page From the Book Festival event. Tickets are $10 for JCC members and $15 for others; www.atlantajcc.org/ bookfestival or 678-812-4002.

WEDNESDAY, JULY 19 Book event. Author Dan Silva talks about his latest Gabriel Allon spy thriller, “House of Spies,” at 7:30 p.m. at the Marcus JCC, 5342 Tilly Mill Road, Dunwoody, in a Page From the Book Festival

event. Tickets, including a signed copy of the book, are $30 for JCC members and $36 for others; www.atlantajcc­ . org/bookfestival or 678-812-4002.

THURSDAY, JULY 20 Songwriter showcase. With support from the Atlanta Jewish Music Festival, Ahavath Achim Synagogue, 600 Peachtree Battle Ave., Buckhead, plays host to “Songs & Stories: A Night With Local Jewish Songwriters,” including Hannah Zale, Sammy K, Adam Klein, Paula Krone and Ariela Ehrens, at 7 p.m. Donation of $5 to $10 suggested; hzalet@gmail.com.

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

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

Remember When

25 Years Ago June 26, 1992 ■ The third time was the charm for Keith Rinzler, who used a billboard along Interstate 75 near Howell Mill Road to propose to Dawn Brenner on June 15. Rinzler had “Dawn, will you marry me and spend the rest of your life with me?” painted that morning and drove by the sign with Brenner before a lunch date, but she didn’t see it. She missed it when he made an excuse to circle around, then broke into tears and said yes during a third pass.

■ The bat mitzvah of Eve Michelle Lerner of Roswell, daughter of Linda and Steven Lerner, took place Saturday, June 20, at Temple Kehillat Chaim.

■ Amy and Steven Fine of Atlanta announce the birth of twins, Jennifer Beth and Ellen Michelle, on March 23.

50 Years Ago June 30, 1967 ■ Israel has a legal right to claim some of the land conquered in the Middle East, a University of South Carolina professor said. John B. McConaughy, a specialist in international law, said that because Israel was defending herself, she would have a right “under existing law of the charter of the United Nations” to keep some land.

■ Cantor Joseph Schwartzman’s brother, Haim, arrived from Bendery, Russia, May 26 to visit him in Atlanta and their sister, Rose Klingman, in Newark, N.J., after 15 months of negotiating red tape. The cantor and his brother last saw each other in 1932, more than a decade after Rose and Joseph immigrated to the United States.

■ Miss Sandra Nell Newton of Forest Park, daughter of Mrs. Grace W. Newton, married Murray Allen Freedman of Savannah, son of Dr. and Mrs. Louis M. Freedman, on June 17.

ISRAEL NEWS

Brooklyn Protest Reflects Israel-Haredi Tensions

By Eli Sperling Nearly 20,000 ultra-Orthodox men and boys gathered at Barclays Center in Brooklyn on Sunday, June 11, to protest the enforcement of laws requiring young Hasidic Israeli men to enlist in the Israel Defense Forces.

The event, primarily in Yiddish, reflected longstanding tensions between the Israeli government and certain ultra-Orthodox communities in the United States and Israel. Theology and law lie at the center of the conflicts.

Since the establishment of Zionism, many ultra-Orthodox groups have outspokenly opposed a Jewish state in the land of Israel. Holding the belief that a Jewish state cannot legitimately exist until the arrival of the Messiah, these groups, despite having a significant demographic presence in Israel, continually clash with the Israeli government over issues of state power.

The struggle for military exemptions for yeshiva students, a legal process that began in 1982 with a series of petitions from the Haredi community, is at the center of this tension.

While service in the military is mandatory for all Israeli citizens at age 18, a temporary series of conscription exemptions had been instituted for ultra-Orthodox yeshiva students.

Seen as an interim solution to the longstanding issue, the Tal Law, based on the recommendations of the Tal Commission, stipulated in 2002 that yeshiva students, at the age of 22, could choose between a year of unpaid, nonmilitary national service or a 16-month reduced term of military service after their religious studies.

The law, which proved ineffective at raising Haredi conscription rates, was ruled unconstitutional and subsequently revoked in 2012. Since then, the Israeli government has taken numerous measures to enforce conscription among young Haredi men. Despite modestly increasing numbers, Haredi soldiers often face ridicule and abuse within their communities.

A slowly growing minority in that community sees Israeli military service as a means of achieving upward mobility and escaping the rampant poverty associated with the Haredi neighborhoods in Israel, but that is not a widespread phenomenon.

Despite many Haredi Jews in Israel and the United States refusing to acknowledge the legitimacy of Israel

Photo by Debra Nussbaum Cohen

Haredi men and boys pack Barclays Center to protest Israeli army conscription policies.

or its government, their community is a part of the state and accordingly will need to figure out some way of reconciling theology with citizenship and the associated civic responsibilities. ■

Smile Eli Sperling is the Israel specialist and assistant program coordinator for the Center for Israel Education (www. israeled­.org).

MORE REASONS TO For Further Reading

• www.jpost.com/Opinion/Haredimand-the-IDF-470366 • www.haaretz.com/israelnews/1.414009

Smile

• knesset.gov.il/lexicon/eng/tal_eng. htm

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ISRAEL NEWS

Israel Pride: Good News From Our Jewish Home Exoskeleton for stroke patients.

Yokneam-based ReWalk Robotics has unveiled its prototype for a soft-suit exoskeleton to enable many of the millions with lower-limb disabilities to walk upright. Initially, the new Restore suits will assist stroke survivors, followed by multiple sclerosis patients.

Giving tree. Scientists at the Weizmann Institute of Science in Rehovot have proved that mature spruce trees take up carbon molecules in their top branches and pass them down through the soil, to be shared with nearby beech, larch and pine trees. The molecules travel through underground highways formed by connected root fungi. The studies could help predict how future climate changes, including global warming and the rise in greenhouse gases, will affect forests.

Healing wounds. The U.S. Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority is exercising its option under a 2015 agreement to increase its investment in Yavne-based MediWound’s research and development by $22 million. BARDA, part of the Health and Human Services Department, has committed a total of $62 million to MediWound, with an option to invest an additional $50 million as MediWound develops its NexoBrid product to treat burns and chronic wounds.

Photo by Vered Bosidan, Israel Antiquities Authority

Israel Photo of the Week

Crusader Couture

One of the thousands of schoolchildren participating in the archaeological excavations at Tittora Hill in Modi’in models an earring dating from 900 years ago. Dozens of rings, earrings, bracelets and hairpins have been found in the ruins of a kitchen from a crusader-era tower. The Israel Antiquities Authority is leading the ongoing excavations as an educational project.

of 100, University of Haifa researchers have discovered a genetic mutation that affects the growth hormone receptor gene. Men with this mutation live on average 10 years longer.

Life-giving gene mutation. In a study of American Jewish men over the age

Biotech rooted in kibbutz. Dror Ben-

Asher and Ori Shilo founded RedHill BioPharma, named after the hill overlooked by Kibbutz Givat Brenner, where they grew up. Now their company is running trials of treatments to cure Crohn’s disease, Helicobacter pylori, stomach cancer and more.

How jellyfish sting. Researchers at the Technion and the University of Haifa have explained for the first time the mechanism by which the most common jellyfish attack their enemies.

They inject toxic material from thousands of microscopic syringes, resembling poisoned arrows, located on each of their arms.

Shazam for flowers. FlowerzBot from Kibbutz Yotvata-based startup Cnature can identify 1,000 types of flowers and wildlife using only a smartphone. Simply take a picture of a flower with your phone, and the app tells you its species.

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Compiled courtesy of verygoodnewsisrael. blogspot.com, Israel21c.org and others.

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ISRAEL NEWS EXPERT CONNECT

Today in Israeli History

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

June 30, 2012: Yitzhak Shamir, Israel’s seventh prime minister and a staunch advocate for settlements in the West Bank, dies in Tel Aviv at the age of 96.

July 1, 1244: Duke Frederick II of Austria issues a charter extending rights to Jews. His goal is to build the region’s economy. The charter encourages Jewish money-lending and Jewish migration to an outlying area. It also guarantees Jewish safety.

July 2, 2010: Chelsea Football Club in the English Premier League, one of Europe’s most prized soccer teams under the ownership of Jewish billionaire Roman Abramovich, offers Yossi Benayoun, one of Israel’s top players, a three-year, multimillion-dollar contract.

July 3, 1982: The First International Conference and Festival of Jewish Theater opens in Tel Aviv. The festival coincides with the beginning of the first war in Lebanon and is almost canceled because many Israeli participants are called up for reserve military duty.

July 4, 1976: Elite Israeli military

Israelis rejoice while awaiting the arrival of the freed Entebbe hostages at Ben Gurion Airport on July 4, 1976.

forces launch a successful rescue at the Entebbe airport in Uganda of Israeli hostages taken on a hijacked Air France flight by Palestinian terrorists.

Benjamin Netanyahu’s older brother, Yoni, is killed in the operation.

July 5, 1950: Introduced as part of a festive legislative session marking the anniversary of Theodor Herzl’s death, the Law of Return is enacted by the Knesset. The law creates an open-door Israeli immigration policy for Jews throughout the world.

July 6, 1989: When Bus 405 passes a ravine near Jerusalem, a Palestinian terrorist seizes control of the wheel and runs the bus over the cliff, killing 16 passengers and injuring 17 others.

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ISRAEL NEWS

Taking a Tour of a Beautiful Mess

JUNE 30 ▪ 2017

I stepped into the busy baggage claim area with my two small children and my parents and heard words over the intercom in French and then a loud boom.

“Was that gunfire?” I asked my mom.

Armed guards ran by us through the corridor, and we huddled together, not sure what was going on. My worst fear of my Israel trip was actually happening.

Except we were in the Paris airport for a 10-hour layover, meeting a tour guide for a quick tour of Paris, and the “threat” was luggage left by itself that the French airport police blew up after announcing in French that it was going to happen.

Our trip literally started out with a bang, and the scariest part of the trip ended up being that moment in Paris, not in Israel.

Israel, to my surprise, wasn’t scary for me at all. It was beautiful.

We kicked off our 10-day tour in Tel Aviv and met our group from Temple Emanu-El, led by Rabbi Spike Anderson. Our trip surprised me and broadened my knowledge and awareness of Israel.

From the beaches of Tel Aviv to mystics of Kabbalah in Tzfat to the rows and rows of crops in the middle of the desert to the Sea of Galilee to the views at Masada and the Golan Heights to the ancient city of Jerusalem, I was amazed to see all the beauty of Israel when I had mainly heard about the fighting and the conflict.

My attempt to share the beauty was translated only in fragments through the camera. Being there at the top of Masada, where our ancestors had been before us, looking out to the Dead Sea and to the valleys below, was breathtaking. Cruising on a boat on the Sea of Galilee was refreshing.

Peering out from the top of the Golan was inspiring.

I was in awe that the Middle East could be so beautiful.

And so compassionate and loving.

We met an artist who shared his love of Kabbalah through his art and declared that giving and loving were the higher states of consciousness. We met with Arab children who wanted to understand Jews and the world around them. Who laughed and played games with my own children and talked about wanting to be a doctor and 8 chemist one day.

Guest Column

By Sally Mundell

Above: The Sea of Galilee is one center of Israeli beauty.

Left: Matilda Mundell plays in a waterfall in the desert.

The Mundell girls climb atop an Israel Defense Forces tank in the Golan Heights.

We also visited Save a Child’s Heart, a nonprofit that provides free cardiac care to children from developing countries who can’t get adequate treatment for heart disease.

Most of the children were from Africa, but many were from Israel, the Palestinian Authority, Lebanon and Syria as well.

Lifeline of the Aged, one of our stops in Israel and another nonprofit, provides opportunities for people over 64 years old to learn new artisan skills and work for money, medical care and food.

We saw elderly people of all religions making crafts that would later be sold in the gift shop, and they proudly showed us what they each had been working on.

Both of those nonprofits exemplified love for all people.

We spent a few days in Jerusalem exploring the city. As I stood in front of the Western Wall like so many before me and saw thousands of folded little pieces of paper representing hopes, dreams and prayers shoved into every crack and cranny, I felt connected to everyone who had ever visited who had hopes, dreams, burdens, pain and prayers like me.

I saw a wall that showed compas-

Tel Aviv’s beach provides a connection with the Mediterranean.

sion for all people and a country that allowed all people to pray to their G-d.

At the heart of Israel were beauty, love and compassion.

But I still couldn’t overlook what I knew about the conflict and fighting.

The kibbutz we visited was strategically placed next to the Lebanese border. It added extra security for Israel.

The head of protection took us to the edge of the kibbutz, where we saw fields of apple trees next to the fence separating Israel from Lebanon.

He pointed to a billboard on the other side with a threatening message aimed at him and the Israeli soldiers who guarded the border, calling Israelis’ names and honoring terrorists who had killed people.

I can’t imagine putting my kids to bed next to that every night and walking them to school, knowing what could happen at any moment. We drove up the hill past the crops, and the guide pointed to the preschool, not even a mile from the billboard.

We went to the top of Mount Bental and peered down at a big black cloud coming from the Syrian border.

Intense fighting was so close by.

We drove by the Jordanian border, and the tour guide pointed to the loca-

tion where a group of girls had been gunned down while on a field trip.

All those reminders of danger were lurking around the corner.

One night we learned from a political expert that when the Jews conquered Jerusalem in 1967, they had the opportunity to destroy the Dome of the Rock, the Islamic shrine on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem, as past conquerors had done to the Jewish Temples. But Israel chose not to do that, and a Muslim organization under Jordanian leadership maintains oversight of the Temple Mount.

Destroying the Dome of the Rock would have angered Muslims everywhere, but keeping it intact continues to bring conflict and questions of ownership.

How do you live peacefully next to your enemy? How do you manage (and secure) a city that has multiple owners and religious claims?

It’s complicated and messy. But at least I know now that it’s a beautiful mess. ■ Temple Emanu-El member Sally Mundell is the founder of the Packaged Good and a mother of two. Read more about the Emanu-El Israel mission in Marita Anderson’s column on Page 3.

www.atlantajewishtimes.com

ISRAEL NEWS

Put Down the Wine many Israelis have a casual, no-bigdeal attitude about lots of things. In 1967, or 50 years later, did he take it in stride, or did he think of it as momentous?

Over the din of the crowd, with measured clarity and pride, he told me how he felt about that snap of the

Guest Column

By Joel Alpert

shutter.

“The moment that you are fighting for in Jerusalem, and you arrive at the moment that they make you a hero, so then you can speak to the people, to the Jews, to the world, because they know that you participated in the war, and, therefore, you succeeded in being in the picture. And you arrive with that picture where everyone recognizes you,” Zigi said.

“And after all, every war has a semel.”

Every war that is fought has a semel? I didn’t understand that word, semel, so I asked its meaning.

“I will tell you in a minute,” Zigi said. But as he went on, I was stuck understanding the meaning, so I asked again “Mah-zeh ‘semel’?”

“The semel of that war is us, the three paratroopers,” he said.

“When people see the picture, they say, ‘They are the ones who fought in the Six-Day War.’ When one sees the picture of the soldier in Iran, he says, ‘This is the war.’ … For everything there has to be a semel.”

“What’s a semel?” I asked this other gentleman. He explained that it is “a symbol. There’s no war without a symbol. He’s saying that they were blessed to be the symbol. They can go out … and tell the story.”

“I want you to explain that we are the semel of war,” Zigi said. “There is no war that doesn’t have a semel.

You understand? So the moment we received the (recognition of becoming the) semel of war, we could come to the public and tell the story of the war.”

I struggled to ask whether during his life it changed everything.

“Certainly!” he said. “It changed my whole life. It’s a change of a person’s entire life. We’re connected to history, you know. … We’re connected

Joel Alpert poses with the iconic paratroopers of the Six-Day War: (from left) Zion “Zigi” Karasanti, Yitzhak Yifat and Haim Oshri.

to history.”

That night on Peachtree Street, Zigi connected us all. We got the picture of a moment that is history, connecting us viscerally to our rich heritage. And to that, I lift my glass of wine. ■

Big thanks to Rina Chaya (Siegelman) Lebovic for the Hebrew translation of Zigi’s remarks. Joel Alpert is a former newspaper reporter and editor for secular and Jewish newspapers in New York and now a branding and marketing guy in Atlanta.

JUNE 30 ▪ 2017

I didn’t expect to be told by an Israeli guy I’d never met that I had to put down my wine glass for a photo with him, even if he was an Israeli.

But this was no ordinary Israeli.

Zigi is one-third of the trio — Zion “Zigi” Karasanti, Haim Oshri and Yitzhak Yifat — photographed by David Rubinger in what was to become the visual symbol of the Six-Day War. The three men were the reason we came together for the Friends of the Israel Defense Forces event at The Temple on June 12: It was about nothing less than the reclaiming of the location of the Holy Temple in Jerusalem.

When I walked over to have my photo taken with them, the cheese plate was parked, but the glass of wine was still in hand. Maybe it was the kippah on my head that prompted Zigi to say to me in Hebrew, “Put down your wine; this is a historic moment.”

I thought this was a little odd. I didn’t think it was disrespectful to have a glass of wine in my hand for my photo; I thought it suggested a toast. But saying yes to this request was easy enough, so I did.

This moment — a photo opportunity for me, just one guy at the event 50 years later — also didn’t quite seem historic. But commemorating this moment was just as distinctive for Zigi as it had been 50 years ago.

The event at The Temple had even the most jaded among us on the edge of our seats, hanging on every word, as this remarkable trio of paratroopers told the personal stories of their experiences — fighting their way through the narrow alleys of Jerusalem and taking back a sliver of land that represents our direct connection to Jewish history.

As the event concluded, I was still eager to understand their personal perspective on being part of an iconic image.

I had to lasso Zigi to ask my question. He wanted to speak only in Hebrew. So I struggled through articulating my question in English in my own mind, then translating it into something resembling conversational Hebrew.

I wanted to know what he felt being part of an iconic photo. Did he think of himself as just another soldier? Was that photo a big deal or not such a big deal?

From my perspective, I thought so

9

www.atlantajewishtimes.com

OPINION

Our View

Betrayed

JUNE 30 ▪ 2017

Most of Jewish Atlanta has spent the past two months celebrating the Six-Day War’s 50th anniversary with one dramatic, emotional image in mind: paratroopers Zion Karasanti, Yitzhak Yifat and Haim Oshri standing beside the Western Wall on June 7, 1967, with looks of awe and wonder on their faces.

It was the defining moment: the liberation of the wall and the Temple Mount above. Amid charges of occupation and uncertainty about how to achieve the goal of all people between the Jordan and the Mediterranean living in peace and security with full citizenship rights, we clung to the Kotel, representing the Jewish people’s eternal return to our holiest sites.

We have cheered declarations that Israel will never again allow Jerusalem to be divided. We have shouted in outrage at Arab statements and U.N. agency resolutions denying the historical Jewish connection to Jerusalem and its holy sites — a connection demonstrated by the Western Wall itself, a Jewish construction erected more than 2,000 years ago to support an expansion of the Temple Mount.

But now it appears that we in the Diaspora were conned. We put our trust in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government to fulfill his vision of an Israel for all the Jewish people; he repaid us by making clear that our value begins and ends with our money and our lobbying power.

We see no other way to interpret the betrayal in the Israeli Cabinet’s decision Sunday, June 25, to freeze the much-celebrated, long-delayed plan to provide a permanent area for egalitarian prayer at the Kotel.

Atlanta native Stuart Eizenstat, the co-chair of the Jewish People Policy Institute, was at that Cabinet meeting. He told The Times of Israel that he warned of the damage to the relationship with American Jews.

Israel can’t be the state of the Jewish people, he said, “if it is only for some of the Jewish people. It cannot be only for the ultra-Orthodox in the world.”

The compromise worked out by Jewish Agency Chairman Natan Sharansky and announced by Israel in January 2016 was far from perfect, but it was based on one fundamental principle: The Western Wall belongs to all Jews, not just those who live in Israel or who practice their Judaism in a particular way.

It was a compromise that the ultra-Orthodox leadership in Israel accepted because it maintained Haredi oversight of the heart of the wall while forcing egalitarian observances to the southern end, an area less scenic and less developed. Those same ultra-Orthodox leaders who endorsed the deal soon changed their minds when they saw celebratory reactions from their “enemies” — fellow Jews who seek acceptance of diversity in observance, a tradition at least as old as the Kotel itself.

First Netanyahu stalled for a year and a half to appease the religious political parties. Now the deal is frozen while a couple of Netanyahu’s cronies try to work out a new “compromise” between the previous compromise and the Haredi hard line.

We have no faith in the prime minister to enact any Kotel compromise, even if he’s in power until the 75th anniversary of the 1967 war. By email, Facebook, Twitter or other means of communication, we all 10 must ensure Netanyahu knows how we feel. ■

Cartoon by Yaakov Kirschen, The Jerusalem Post

Stop With the Hate I am glad the 6th District election is finally over. response (and it trickled in over two weeks).

There has been much banter as to whether this elecWithin 24 hours, we had over 50 vitriolic retion was a referendum on our president, the major sponses to the pro-Handel piece. I personally believe political parties or future elections. I do not think it that this was a coordinated initiative by a Democratwas a referendum on anything, except maybe how to ic Party process that seeks to stifle freedom of speech spend an obscene amount and debate if it “does not of money in a short period. conform to my views.” To I will offer one be fair, this opinion is not Publisher’s Letter small benefit of the gross shared by all at our offices.

By Michael A. Morris amount spent on this More troubling than michael@atljewishtimes.com election: The vast majorthe speed, however, was ity of the $50 million-plus the tone of anger, disgust supported American jobs, and hate. This op-ed was and our economy can always use a boost. (The AJT clearly labeled an opinion, but most writers did not shared in the windfall.) want to be bothered by that fact. It was more imporThe legacy of this election, however, is the tant to angrily reprimand. continuation of pro- vs. anti-Trump rhetoric. I hope Common threads ran through in virtually all that the Atlanta Jewish community will begin to the LTTEs: There is no point in a debate because stop, that the extreme animosity and polarization Handel has no redeeming qualities. Everything a will abate, and that we as a community can return to pro-Handel person says about Ossoff is a lie. The normal debate, disagreement and further discussion. AJT should not publicize an op-ed for a candidate Let me offer a glimpse of the venom that needs (when it is for Handel; on the other hand, it is OK for to dissipate.

Ossoff). The AJT should not foster debate. The AJT In May, we ran a column submitted by a wellshould not take a position on a candidate (we didn’t, respected citizen of our community (and avid reader but we were chastised as if we did). of the Times). It was a pro-Jon Ossoff opinion, and, I think our editor, Michael Jacobs, said it well in to the best of my knowledge, we did not receive a response to dozens of letters: “The article you refersingle letter to the editor (LTTE) for or against the ence is an opinion piece written by a guest columnist substance of the column. As you would expect from and is labeled as such. The previous week, we ran a a guest column, it was one-sided and did not rely on guest column supporting Jon Ossoff. That’s the free data to substantiate its claims. exchange of ideas we support. Neither piece is preOne week later, another well-respected commusented as a news article; in fact, we ran reported pronity member wrote a pro-Karen Handel column. The files on both candidates before the April 18 election.” reaction was not quite the same.

We at the AJT strive to be fair and balanced. We Within 12 hours of the article’s posting online, attempt to foster intelligent and meaningful debate. we received almost three dozen scathing emails/ This one-sided outpouring of contempt was distasteLTTEs. Personally, I find it hard to believe that so ful, lacked authenticity and furthered the narrowing many people were inclined to write us so quickly. We of the freedom of speech to “only those I agree with.” had an article last summer that was viewed in excess It did not represent Jewish values, and it eroded of 200,000 times, and we received 20 percent of the the American freedoms under which we thrive. ■

OPINION

Bad Deal on Climate Change

I read Harold Kirtz’s column about President Donald Trump’s decision to pull out of the Paris climate accord (“Paris Decision Is Making America Irrelevant Again,” June 16) and read the Los Angeles Times editorial and New York Times excerpts, and I have seen and heard the hysteria on CNN, MSNBC­and the mainstream media.

They are universal in their emotional opinion that we will now destroy the planet and alienate the United States from the world community.

I’ve known Harold for a long time and like him, but here’s what I’d like Harold or someone to explain: If we had decided to stay in the accord, the best estimate, which President Barack Obama disclosed, is that with full compliance for 20 years we would have reduced global warming by 0.17 degree.

To accomplish that, it is estimated that we would have lost 6.5 million industrial jobs, experienced a $3 trillion loss in GDP and experienced a reduction of $7,000 in average household income.

Meanwhile, China, the world’s worst polluter, would be allowed to double its coal production and increase its emissions for the next 13 years. And other major polluters, like India, would not participate unless they received billions of dollars of aid from developed countries. (Can you say U.S. taxpayers?)

The tax structure of the accord is meant to strangle U.S. GDP to benefit other countries at our expense.

What if I asked you to go on a stringent diet to lose weight, said you’d have to eat only very expensive foods while paying into a fund to provide other dieters’ food, and assured you that after 20 years, if you followed the diet completely, you would lose 0.17 pound?

Seem like a good deal to you?

Harold is also concerned that not participating in the Paris accord will hurt the renewable energy business in the United States. Before Trump canceled the deal, China already was the world’s leading provider of renewable energy, with six of the top 10 suppliers of solar panels to the world.

If U.S. suppliers offer a better product at the same price as China or the same product at a lesser price, the business will flow to the U.S. producer, regardless of the world climate accord.

This decision to cancel the Paris accord was not climate change denial; it was a response to a bad deal.

— Chuck Berk, Sandy Springs

I concur with Dave Schechter that news isn’t fake simply because the information reported doesn’t agree with the reader’s point of view (“When News Is and When It Isn’t ‘Fake,’ ” June 23).

However, I am concerned that many people fail to understand that much of the news about Israel is slanted in a way that makes Israel look like the victimizer of the Palestinians, a subject briefly touched on in the “Forget Peace” editorial (Our View, June 23).

The editorial focused on the reactions of Palestinian leaders to the killing of Palestinians who had attacked Israelis and fatally stabbed Border Police Staff Sgt. Hadas Malka. The Palestinian leaders either praised the attack on Malka as an act of resistance against the “occupation” or condemned the “murder” of the Palestinian attackers.

In contrast, an Israeli soldier, Sgt. Emma Browne, speaking recently at a Friends of the Israel Defense Forces event in Atlanta, reflected on the many lives saved when an attacker is killed.

Browne’s words were similar to many TV reports I saw that praised the quick action of the British police and military in killing the perpetrators of the ramming and stabbing attacks on London Bridge several weeks ago. But media coverage of the attacks that took Malka’s life was quite different.

For example, the June 17 Washington Post ran an article with the headline “3 Palestinians Killed After Attack on Police,” which concluded by saying that far fewer Israelis than Palestinians have been killed during the past two years of Palestinian attacks. The article did not identify Malka.

A follow-up article, after she died of her wounds, again failed to identify her. Rather, the article focused on Israeli restrictions placed on Palestinians in the wake of recent attacks.

I have to admit that the June 17 headline was a bit of an improvement over one the Post used May 13 (“Jordanian Killed by Israeli Police Officer After Alleged Attack”), which implied that an innocent person had been executed for an attack that might not have occurred.

The article revealed that an Israeli officer was stabbed and killed the attacker.

Unfortunately, many people read only the headlines.

We need to demand that the media tell Israel’s story. The media should note that there would be no deaths on either side if Palestinian leaders would negotiate on Israel’s peace proposals instead of firing missiles at population centers, inciting “violent resistance” and paying stipends for answering that call.

— Toby F. Block, Atlanta

JUNE 30 ▪ 2017

Letters To The Editor

Fake, Not Fake

11

www.atlantajewishtimes.com

OPINION

A Moral Anchor in Israeli Politics Recently I read an Honest Reporting article bemoaning the seemingly huge loss of support for Israel among Jewish college students.

Clearly if true, and I assume that the reported result of a completed survey is true, it would be a great loss to the Jewish cause and support for the Jewish homeland, especially in the future.

The idea of having a homeland to which we can return is to have a country serve as a refuge whenever and for whatever reason other countries make the lives of Jews difficult if not impossible. Think of the thousands of Jews who were killed when other countries denied them refuge.

History is full of examples of Jews who were forced out of European countries during our two millennia in the Diaspora. And when we were begrudgingly permitted to settle in a country, we did so with the humiliation of life in ghettos.

Unfortunately, history has a tendency to repeat itself; for that reason

alone, Israel needs our support.

After thousands of years of seeing the wandering Jews, some countries finally understood the Jewish tragedy offered various solutions to our urgent need to have a country of our own.

The Soviet Union proposed to make Birobidzhan in the far eastern provinces of Asia, bordered by China and Korea, an autonomous Jewish

One Man’s Opinion

By Eugen Schoenfeld

oblast. In its capital, street markers were erected in Russian and Yiddish.

The stipulation was that the semiautonomous state would be a Yiddish state with Yiddish as its official language, with Jews subject to Soviet policies. Moreover, because the Soviet Union claimed to be an atheist country, Judaism as a religion would not exist.

How could we trust the Soviets,

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with their history of hostility to Jews during tsarist and post-tsarist times?

This plan was, of course, rejected not only by Zionists, but by most Jews.

Britain made a similar offer in 1903, proposing to make the Mau Plateau (today part of Uganda and Kenya) a Jewish state. Like the Russian plan, this idea was rejected.

A homeland is not merely a piece of land, especially a foreign land; it must be a place where the habitants have a historical and moral attachment.

For Jews, only the country that was our ancestral home, the land we believe was promised to us by G-d, the land of Israel, was and is a country from which we were expelled but never gave up our claim to return to it.

Only Israel can be justified by its history to be called a Jewish homeland.

Israel is not merely a piece of land; it is a country for which Jews have shed their blood and fought many wars against conquerors. The blood we shed for it gives us a moral right to it, and we were and are justified to reclaim our heritage.

Let me now turn to my generation and our revolutionary Zionist perspective.

Let me first propose the following: Zionism consisted of a group of young and revolutionary Jews who wished to create a revolutionary Jewish state.

There were other Jews who wished to return to Israel. But unlike the Zionists, they were wealthy and older Jews who simply wanted to die and be buried in the sacred land. They also wished to be buried in Israel to be spared the indignity of rolling underground to Israel when G-d institutes the techiyat hametim (the revival of the dead) after the coming of the messiah.

Zionists did not wish to die in Israel. To the contrary, they sought to break with the submissive Jewish attitude that marked the Galut (Diaspora) mentality. Zionism was a morally induced Jewish rebellion, and like most, if not all, rebellions, it sought to legitimate its goal — to create a Jewish state — based on a moral claim of the right to return to historic heritage.

I was a young Zionist, a member of the Betar movement, committed to the moral stance of our claim.

Being young seems to be a common feature of revolutionaries. The young, often college students, are the committed members of most revolutionary movements.

Young intellectuals became the 18th century philosophs, who cre-

ated the moral underpinnings of the French Revolution and the European revolutions of 1848.

The various American revolts in the 1960s — the black revolution, the sexual revolution and even the fledgling economic revolt associated with Bernie Sanders — were mostly supported by college students and their peers.

Israel’s ideological battles, as well its real battles, were fought by young zealots like my friend Yaakov Weisz, my classmate, who was caught by the British during the raid on Akko prison and was hanged there and whose image now is displayed in the Akko prison hanging room.

Young people are the rebels, the seekers of change, the fighters for causes. In my time, young Jews were committed to Israel as a moral cause.

Young Zionists were committed to the idea of a homeland as dreamed by Theodore Herzl and published as his moral vision under the title “The Old New Land.”

He envisioned a land in which justice and accommodation with the native Arabs were central to the constitution. Indeed, Israel’s founders declared that “the State of Israel (will) preserve peace (and requests the Arabs) to participate in the up building of the state on the basis of full and equal citizenship and due representation in all its provisional and permanent institutions.”

That was a moral statement that resonated with all young Jewish people.

To rebuild Jewish students’ trust in Israel, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu must recognize that young people are moralists, and most interpret the world from a moral perspective. Jews in Israel must rebuild their former perspective to reinforce the idealism that was displayed in the kibbutzim and reflected a central vision of a just state, as it is elaborated in the Torah.

Of course Israel must deal with the political reality, but it must not display the cynical perspective that developed as a reaction to the Arab worldview and its reluctance to achieve a just accommodation.

If I am not for myself, who is for me? But being for myself alone is selfishness and is not a moral stance.

Israel, if it wishes to have the future support of American Jews, must reflect our moral stand, for only in this way can we keep the young Jewish students attached to our heritage — Israel. ■

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JUNE 30 â–ª 2017

BUSINESS

www.atlantajewishtimes.com

Jamestown CEO: Gentrification Is Complicated

By David R. Cohen david@atljewishtimes.com As intown property values skyrocket, earning both condemnation and praise, one of the catalysts for the city’s rising real estate fortunes says Atlanta needs at least some gentrification to thrive.

“People throw out gentrification like it’s a bad word, and that is an oversimplification,” Jamestown CEO Matt Bronfman said at American Jewish Committee’s ACCESS in the ATL event Thursday, June 22, at the Industrious office space at Ponce City Market. “You want to have some degree of gentrification because you need to improve your tax base and support public services like arts, education and parks. So some degree of gentrification is absolutely necessary if you are going to be part of a successful city.”

Bronfman, whose company’s Ponce City Market development has revitalized the surrounding Old Fourth Ward neighborhood since it opened in 2014 (the official opening party wasn’t until October 2015) and has helped make the BeltLine project even more popular, said he remains committed to diversity and affordability.

The Jamestown CEO told the

JUNE 30 ▪ 2017

Lead Matrimonial Lawyer

Jonathan R. Levine, a founding partner of Atlanta family law firm Levine Smith Snider & Wilson, was named the president of the Georgia Chapter of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers in May. Jonathan R. The organizaLevine is a tion aims to promote founding partner the highest degree of of Levine Smith professionalism and Snider & Wilson. excellence in the practice of family law.

A former chairman of the Atlanta Bar Association Family Law Section, Levine has focused his practice on family law since 1988. Selected to the Georgia Top 10 List by Super Lawyers in 2016 and 2017, Levine also lectures on family law issues.

Emerald City Bagels’ Home

Emerald City Bagels, whose New York-style bagels are sold in coffee shops and other Atlanta breakfast spots, is opening its first store this sum14 mer in East Atlanta Village.

Jamestown CEO Matt Bronfman and event moderator Leah Fleming chat at American Jewish Committee’s ACCESS in the ATL June 22 hosted at Industrious inside of Ponce City Market.

group of mostly young professionals who attended the ACCESS event, now in its 27th year, that his company has undertaken numerous initiatives to maintain diversity and affordability around Ponce City Market, including offering 20 percent of the apartment rentals at the multiuse project at affordable prices.

“We need to make sure that our prime property along the BeltLine is affordable for a diverse group of people,” he said. “I think it is our obligation to the community, and I’m a real believer that diversity is key to being part of a successful community.”

Jamestown, which was founded in Atlanta in 1983 as a real estate investment and management company, has a large portfolio of commercial propThe 2,000-square-foot shop, the former home of Gravity Pub, will serve to-go bagels, bagel sandwiches and craft sodas with limited inside seating.

“We chose East Atlanta over other areas because we live in the neighborhood and the location fits most closely with what we were looking for in a space,” including street visibility and free parking, said Emerald City Bagels owner Deanna Halcrow, who runs the operation with daughter Jackie.

New Head for Private Bank

Private Bank of Buckhead, a division of National Bank of Commerce, on Wednesday, June 21, announced the appointment of Robert B. Aland as its Atlanta market president.

Aland most recently served as Birmingham market president for National Bank of Commerce.

He replaces Charles B. Crawford Jr., who helped found Private Bank.

Crawford is going to help a Philadelphia community bank recapitalize.

Private Bank, including Private Bank of Decatur and PrivatePlus Mortgage, completed a merger with National Bank of Commerce on Jan. 1.

“Private Bank of Buckhead has

erties nationwide, including two in Atlanta and seven in New York.

One of its New York properties, Chelsea Market, bears many similarities to Ponce City Market. The multiuse development, which opened in 1997, features a food hall and office space and connects to the High Line, a 1.45-mile-long aerial greenway built on an out-of-use railroad line.

Since Chelsea Market opened, property values in the surrounding neighborhoods have gone up vastly.

The market and High Line are now among New York’s biggest tourist draws.

The biggest difference between the two markets? Parking.

While Ponce City Market has 2,600 parking spaces to account for Atlanta’s car-centric transportation model, Bronfman joked that Chelsea has only two spots — if you count the loading dock. But he said one of the biggest surprises about Ponce City Market is the number of people who aren’t driving to get there.

“After the airport,” he said, “we believe Ponce City Market is the second-most-popular Uber destination in Atlanta. So between Uber and the BeltLine, we are really not using all of our parking, which is not what we expect-

ed. We actually had people tell us when we opened that we didn’t have enough parking.”

Another unexpected success for Bronfman has been the demand for office space at Ponce. Jamestown recently signed a lease with a commercial office tenant at the highest rent ever achieved in Atlanta. He attributes that price to the uniqueness of the property compared with the many predictable glass high-rises in Atlanta along Peachtree Street.

Bronfman, who grew up in a Jewish family in Kansas City and is a member of both The Temple and Congregation Shearith Israel, is a strong supporter of the Jewish Federation of Greater Atlanta. He recently lent his expertise to Federation CEO Eric Robbins for the organization’s urban farming initiative on the soon-to-be-completed south-side BeltLine.

“I love the thought process that Judaism teaches on thinking through issues and taking them seriously,” Bronfman said after event moderator Leah Fleming asked how he has been influenced by his religion. “I think the discipline and restrictions it imposes have been incredibly good for me even though I wouldn’t say that I’m particularly religious.” ■

done an outstanding job of delivering high-touch service and tailored banking and mortgage solutions to individuals and businesses across the metro area and beyond,” Aland said. “I am proud to be part of Robert Aland this team that, in its 11th year, will keep moves to Private Bank of Buckhead taking the bank to from Birmingham. the next level.”

Aland holds an undergraduate degree and an M.B.A. from Vanderbilt University and has been in banking for 28 years. He will work with Crawford for a month or so to ensure a smooth transition.

“Robert is a great fit for Private Bank of Buckhead and the clients it serves, in terms of both character and culture, and his qualifications and experience are certainly stellar,” said Joel Arogeti, a founding board member of Private Bancshares Inc., the parent company of Private Bank of Buckhead, who now serves on the boards of National Commerce Corp. and National Bank of Commerce in addition to being the

president and CEO of law firm Kitchens Kelley Gaynes and the board chair of the Marcus Jewish Community Center.

Capstone Hires Greenfield

Atlanta’s Capstone Financial has appointed Scott Greenfield as managing partner and eventual successor to managing partner Chuck McCray.

The hiring is part of an expansion for Capstone, a MassMutual agency.

Greenfield will help manage the firm’s strategic growth in response to the rising demand for financial advice and services. He has 23 years’ experience in financial services, most recently with Lenox Advisor in New York.

“Scott is an accomplished and compassionate leader who will strengthen our leadership team and provide inspiration, support and resources to our associates, leading the firm into the future,” McCray said.

He and Greenfield will lead the firm together until McCray’s retirement in January 2019.

“I am delighted to have the opportunity to help Capstone Financial grow and am committed to giving the professionals on the team the resources and support they need,” Greenfield said.

BUSINESS

ISM CEO Gets a Kick From Sports Licensing Raymond Goldsmith’s accomplishments range from becoming a professional soccer player for the English Premier League’s Chelsea to producing pop videos for major artists. He didn’t expect his passion for filmmaking to lead him into the video game industry, but the Atlanta resident has found success by doing business according to Jewish ethics.

After a knee injury ended his sports career, Goldsmith worked on feature films as a production assistant.

He worked his way up until he discovered an opportunity with a video production company and started producing videos alongside Australian director Russell Mulcahy.

Not long after, Goldsmith created a feature documentary showcasing British Olympic gold medalists’ achievements. The project not only made money for sponsor Panasonic, but also caught the attention of the British Olympic Committee.

The organization asked Goldsmith to do some marketing, which included expanding the licensing activities related to the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona. Goldsmith took the opportunity to introduce video games to the worldwide Olympic movement after he secured a licensing deal with publisher U.S. Gold and its platform partner, Sega.

Goldsmith grew the business from 1992 to 1994, then brought his family to Atlanta for the 1996 Olympics. The Goldsmiths still live here, in addition to maintaining a house in Britain.

Goldsmith’s company later became the worldwide licensing agency for the Olympics, representing various products, including video games.

He joined the International Olympic Committee in Switzerland and continues to manage the rights to interactive entertainment software.

During the 2016 Rio Olympics, Goldsmith introduced Mario and Sonic from Nintendo, combining the characters from each family, in addition to the intellectual property of Sega and Nintendo, into one sports-based title. In doing so, he worked closely with a design studio and more than 140 developers to create the characters and code for a family-friendly experience.

Goldsmith now serves as the chairman and CEO of International Sports Multimedia, offering entertainment

Raymond Goldsmith is the chairman and CEO of International Sports Multimedia, which provides fantasy sports, digital signage and entertainment software.

For the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio, ISM created a Wii console game combining characters from Nintendo’s Mario and Sega’s Sonic universes.

software, fantasy games and digital signage, with offices in Atlanta, Barcelona and London.

Fantasy sports have soared, and ISM has become No. 1 in the world, specializing in events such as the FIFA World Cup, Rugby World Cup and Cricket World Cup. ISM also formed partnerships with the UEFA (soccer’s governing body in Europe), Major League Soccer, the English Premier League and Fox Sports in Australia.

ISM’s next project is the creation of programs for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. “Japan is regarded as the home of gaming, so no pressure,” Goldsmith said. “But we are currently focused on creating four mobile and two to three console titles, scheduled for release in two years.”

In the past, Goldsmith worked with a technology developer in Tel Aviv to create the 100-year history of the modern Olympics, “The Centennial.”

“It was a great success and was offered through a DVD where consumers could select different Olympics. Israel is very focused on back-end technology, and although they don’t specialize in development studios themselves, they are hugely involved in different support technologies, such as Waze.”

Goldsmith’s family and solid Jewish values have allowed him to create and maintain a successful business he is thankful for. “I am often challenged by a lot of people who don’t necessarily possess ethics, and I’ve found those opportunities unattractive. I am happy with the success ISM has had and attribute it to preserving strong morals.” ■

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By Sarah Moosazadeh sarah@atljewishtimes.com

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EDUCATION

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Lembeck Reflects on ‘Opportunity Business’

By Sarah Moosazadeh sarah@atljewishtimes.com Emily Lembeck didn’t set out to become a teacher, let alone the superintendent of Marietta City Schools, a position she held more than 11 years, but an encounter with a little girl in a Coney Island classroom changed her life.

In her first summer of retirement, Lembeck can look back at an educational career that reflected the values of hard work and tzedakah instilled in her by her two working parents.

“We are in the opportunity business,” Lembeck said. “We provide openings for all students despite challenges they may face. There can be no losers in public education as everyone needs to move forward.”

She chose an education degree in her sophomore year at Brooklyn College, following the example of numerous classmates. Only when she entered a classroom did she understand the implications of her decision.

Lembeck was assigned to teach reading to a little girl in an at-risk school in Coney Island. The girl had matted hair and smelled unbathed, and her reading abilities were below grade level. Yet she was an inspiration.

“That moment was a life-changing experience for me,” Lembeck said, holding back tears. “It didn’t take long for me to realize this is what I was meant to do.”

After more than 11 years, Emily Lembeck retired as Marietta City Schools superintendent in December.

Lembeck said she also had struggled with reading at a young age, and “I wanted to develop a learning environment in which children would be happy to learn and attend school.”

In a tough job market in 1974, , she had to start as a paraprofessional for a remedial reading program in an at-risk high school. At the principal’s suggestion, she returned to school to get an English degree on the way to a full-time position. Lembeck passed her exams shortly before moving to Florida.

She eventually got a job as a kindergarten teacher, but “time and time again I came back to literacy and my commitment to teach minorities in atrisk schools how to read.”

Before moving to Georgia in 1987, Lembeck became certified in teaching literacy.

She taught in another Atlantaarea district before being hired as a first-grade teacher in Marietta’s school system. Within a few years she became an instructional lead teacher, then the principal of Dunleith Elementary.

Photos by Eli Gray

10 Graduate From Yeshiva Ohr Yisrael

JUNE 30 ▪ 2017

Graduation season in Jewish Atlanta came to a close Sunday night, June 25, when Yeshiva Ohr Yisrael held its graduation at Congregation Beth Jacob’s Heritage Hall for the 10 members of the high school’s Class of 2017: Yehoshua Berger, Ben Bogart, Gavi Boroosan, Avi Cavalier, Tuli Garfinkel, Aaron Lewis, Yitzi Nir, Ephraim Rodbell, Shua Silverman and Ben Steele. The ceremony marked the completion of the Toco Hills school’s first year under Rabbi Avrohom Tkatch as the menahel (principal). Rabbi Tkatch, Rabbi Mayer Neuberger (rosh yeshiva) and 16 Rabbi Shimon Wiggins (principal of general studies) addressed the graduates. ■

“I think my ability to relate to teachers and my understanding how much their work is a part of who they are enabled me to work well with them,” Lembeck said.

She earned a doctorate in educational leadership. “I’ve always considered myself a public servant, and, in the end, it was not about the title, but because I wanted to know I could do it.”

After Dunleith, Lembeck became the principal of Marietta Middle School, which was struggling to meet the needs of a pivotal age group. She improved the academics and school culture enough to earn a promotion to associate superintendent, putting her in position to be appointed to the district’s top job when Harold Barnett retired as superintendent in 2005.

Even while moving up the administrative ladder, Lembeck retained her particular interest in helping at-risk children learn to read. She helped establish Marietta Reads, which has developed foster children’s enthusiasm for reading for nearly 15 years.

“The school district possessed a lot of traditions but was also ready to move forward, and I was able to balance both the traditions and a 21st century learning environment needed for students to succeed,” Lembeck said about her time with the Marietta City Schools.

Before retiring in December, Lembeck reached a professional peak in 2012 when she was named Georgia’s

Superintendent of the Year. Another highlight was when she discovered that a former student from Westside Elementary had grown up to become a teacher in the same grade and classroom where Lembeck had taught.

“I loved learning, and when you help students discover the same philosophy, they can accomplish anything,” she said. “That’s what builds you as a person: It’s the experiences you have.”

Lembeck looks forward to retirement and more time with her husband, Harry, and five grandchildren. But she also has signed on as the executive director for Leadership Engaged, a future academy formed in partnership with the Cobb County Chamber of Commerce and Cobb Community Foundation to integrate retirees’ skills and experience to support nonprofits.

Judaism has always been a part of who she is and what she does.

“I believe the desire to learn, the ability to question and possessing a great deal of faith is a part of who I am and how I identify with my religion. I don’t think you can separate the two,” Lembeck said. “Having compassion, high expectations and a strong work ethic is critical, as is the desire to make life better for those in need. It is something I grew up with, and while some give through advocacy or a check, I believe I have contributed in the most powerful way, and that’s by providing one a good education.” ■

EDUCATION Honoree Lori Kagan Schwarz says people from board members to faculty to donors to parents are far worthier of honor than she is.

Head of School Miriam Feldman offers a hug as well as a diploma to one of the dozen graduates.

By Michael Jacobs mjacobs@atljewishtimes.com

The 12 young women in the Temima Class of 2017 received four letters of advice to take into the world after four years of high school: no and we.

Lori Kagan Schwarz, who was recognized during the graduation ceremony at Congregation Beth Jacob’s Heritage Hall on Thursday, June 15, as the 2017 honoree of the Richard & Jean Katz High School for Girls, told the graduates the power and importance of those two little words.

“I stand here in spite of the word no, and I am fulfilled and enriched by the impact of we,” she said.

Kagan Schwarz said you need at least one person in your life whom you can’t or don’t want to say no to. One of those people for her is Julie Silverman, Temima’s advancement director, who asked her two years ago to help the high school with strategic planning and board development, then asked her to be this year’s honoree.

“Lori’s involvement with Temima says something about what it really means to serve the Jewish community,” said Diana Cohen, a co-president of Temima. “She does not have any immediate personal connection to Temima.

But when she learned about what we were trying to do and saw how she could help, she dove in with her full heart.”

Diving in helped Kagan Schwarz expand her “we,” her favorite pronoun.

Although Lynda Walker had introduced her to the high school about 10 years ago, she didn’t know many of the board members or feel much a part of the school two years ago, and she already had served as the president of two other day schools, the Davis Academy and the Weber School. Now she’s

part of a group embracing initiatives to secure Temima’s future, such as a scholarship drive.

“We is what I really got out of this thing,” Kagan Schwarz said.

She advised the 12 graduates to approach their life plans just as the school board will use its strategic plan: as a guide to be adjusted continually along the way.

“I hope you find people you can’t say no to and that you try as often as you can to be part of the we,” she said.

They should try to follow Kagan Schwarz’s example, said Mark Satisky, who represented the Jewish Federation of Greater Atlanta at the ceremony.

“Her intelligence, her determination and her compassion have allowed her to do such a huge amount for our community and to be such a wonderful leader.”

Temima has given the graduates the tools to be blessings for the community and the world “because this school’s reputation exceeds all schools of its type,” said Rabbi Ariel Shoshan, the father of one of the graduates and the son-in-law of Head of School Miriam Feldman. “Because of its first-rate Torah education and because of its first-rate general studies. And there is no such thing in this school as secular studies.”

After discussing Jacob’s Ladder and recalling that Boston Red Sox slugger Ted Williams’ dream was to have people call him the greatest hitter who ever lived when he walked down the street, Rabbi Shoshan said: “Where these young women walk, no one will say as individuals there walks anything. They’ll say that wherever you walk, there walks godliness, indivisible individuals standing for the mission of connection to the top of the ladder.” ■

Class of 2017

Jessica Kaminetzky

Rachell Ora Shoshan

Tsipora Deutsch

Meechal Danielle Lovett

Nechama Liba Spotts

Laya Ely

Malkah Neuberger

Rachel Varon

Shira Goldberger

Yael Meira Pollock

Shira Golding

Tamara Avigayil Sawyer

JUNE 30 ▪ 2017

Temima’s 12 Graduates Urged to Walk as ‘We’

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LOCAL NEWS Scholarships Survive

Georgia’s tax credit program for private schools overcame a legal challenge Monday, June 26, when the state Supreme Court ruled that the taxpayers suing the state Department of Revenue lacked standing to bring the case.

The Qualified Education Tax Credit Program has been a boon for Jewish day schools and preschools since 2008. Under the program, singles may donate up to $1,000 each and couples may give up to $2,500 to student scholarship funds, such as the Jewish Federation of Greater Atlanta-established ALEF Fund, which pass the money on to designated private schools, including religious schools, to provide scholarships to students.

Donors get a dollar-for-dollar credit on their state income taxes. The tax credit program has helped more than 13,000 students a year.

Several Fulton County residents sued, claiming that the program violates the Georgia Constitution by providing public money to religious institutions. But the Supreme Court unanimously ruled that tax credits are the not the same as state expenses and that the program uses only private donations. Therefore, the plaintiffs aren’t being harmed and have no case.

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The Breman Jewish Heritage Museum named Deputy Director Ghila Sanders as acting director, effective June 21, after the resignation of Aaron Berger as executive director.

Sanders has been with the Breman since 2013. Before that, she was the Ghila Sanders programming and is the acting director of the events manager at Breman Museum. the Jewish Museum of Rome, Italy.

“Thanks to Aaron’s vision and tireless work and to the dedication and confidence of our extraordinary staff, lay leaders, volunteers and supporters at large, the Breman is on very solid ground,” Sanders said.

Craig Frankel, the Breman’s board chair, said she has a strong relationship with the staff, is well regarded by peers and is the right person to lead the museum through some strategic efforts.

Board Vice Chair Lori Shapiro is leading the search for a new director.

The Breman also recently named Rabbi Joe Prass the interim director of the Weinberg Center for Holocaust Education in place of Liliane Kshensky Baxter, who retired in April.

Noshfest Is Returning

Noshfest is returning Labor Day weekend, Sept. 3 and 4, to Temple Kol Emeth in East Cobb.

The festival celebrates Jewish food and culture with local food vendors, craft booths and a krav maga demonstration. The bagel-eating contest, with a $500 prize, will be back, and Noshfest also will include a kugel cook-off and cooking demonstrations.

Activities for children will include inflatables, games, face painting and a petting zoo. Providing live music will be Dixieland Band, Peyton Parker, Chip and the Guys, and The TJT’s.

Admission is two canned goods per family. All collected food will go to MUST Ministries. More information is available at www.noshfest.com.

ADL Honors Atlanta Schools

The Anti-Defamation League’s Southeast Region awarded its Stuart Lewengrub Torch of Liberty Award on Thursday, June 22, to Atlanta Public Schools and Superintendent Meria Carstarphen at the annual Torch of Liberty Corporate Breakfast.

“This award recognizes the incredible work that Atlanta Public Schools has done over the past two years to implement ADL’s No Place for Hate program throughout the entire school district,” said Shelley Rose, the ADL interim regional director.

The ADL offers No Place for Hate to schools to rally them around the goal of creating a welcoming community committed to stopping bias and bullying. In 2012, as the superintendent in Austin, Texas, Carstarphen announced plans to bring the program to the entire district.

Carstarphen brought that commitment to Atlanta when she became superintendent in July 2014, and in 2015, Atlanta Public Schools introduced the initiative systemwide.

“We are sending a clear message that hate, bullying and disrespect have no place in our schools,” she said.

At the Torch of Liberty Corporate Breakfast on June 22 are (from left) interim ADL Regional Director Shelley Rose, Atlanta Public School Superintendent Meria Carstarphen, keynote speaker Robin Sangston of Cox Communications and ADL regional board Chair Steve Pepper.

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Bat Mitzvah Honors Bar Mitzvah, Mom Find Hospital for Miracle Birth Faith With Help of OVS At Hadassah University HospitalEin Kerem, Ilana Weismark woke up and refused to believe she was a new mother. After 48 hours in a medically induced coma, a consequence of a neardeath delivery of her first child, she had no recollection of being pregnant or delivering a girl just days earlier.

Weismark suffered an amniotic fluid embolism, a rare emergency that occurs during pregnancy or childbirth.

A small amount of amniotic fluid escaped into her bloodstream and caused her to collapse as her daughter was crowning.

AFE develops rapidly and is often fatal for mother and baby. Symptoms include sudden shortness of breath, low blood pressure, chills, seizures, coma and bleeding.

“I looked at my husband and said, ‘I don’t feel good.’ He kept reassuring me, using all the terms he had read about childbirth. ‘You’re OK. This is normal. You’re just transitioning,’ he was saying. But then my eyes rolled to the back of my head, and I passed out,” Weismark recalled.

Everyone rushed into action.

The midwife shoved the doula and Ilana’s husband, Adee, out of the way to push the medical alert button. Nurses and doctors poured into the delivery room.

A vacuum extractor was employed to guide the baby out of the birth canal.

She scored zero out of 10 on her first Apgar score (a measure of a newborn’s physical condition) one minute after birth.

She was blue, was not breathing and had no detectable heartbeat, but within minutes Kinneret Weismark was kicking and screaming.

Rushed to the operating room, the mother was bleeding externally and suffering from a blood clot in her lungs.

For seven hours specialists performed a dance coordinated by OB-GYN David Mankuta.

Weismark later learned she was medically dead for four minutes.

The next few days in Jerusalem were a blur for the Weismark family: Kinneret in the neo-natal unit, Ilana in a medically induced coma, Adee running back and forth between them.

Her parents flew in from France.

With her mother by her bedside, Weismark was brought out of the coma on

By Patrice Worthy

Ilana and Adee Weismark now have three children: Kinneret, 12, Amishai, 10, and Kedem, 7.

Shabbat. She had no idea why she was at the hospital; she attempted to leave.

Doctors increased her psychotropic meds.

“I told my mother, ‘I have my period.’ She said, ‘No, you just had a baby,’ ” Weismark said.

“I couldn’t understand. Probably the 10th time she said it, I said, ‘A baby?

Where is the baby?’ Suddenly, everything settled in, and my brain was back.”

Today, Ilana Weismark is a mother of three living in Atlanta: Kinneret, 12, Amishai, 10, and Kedem, 7, all whom attend Brookhaven Innovation Academy.

Kinneret celebrated becoming a bat mitzvah on Shavuot, her birthday.

Kinneret was attending Camp Ramah Darom at the time of the interview for this article. Weismark described her daughter as energetic, kind and hilarious. She loves to watch cooking shows and makes dinner many nights each week. Her dream is to attend culinary school in Italy or France.

As a tribute to the medical team, Weismark felt that Kinneret’s bat mitzvah celebration should honor Hadassah Hospital. The family organized a talent show fundraiser at Young Israel of Toco Hills, making nearly $3,000 for the neo-natal unit.

Weismark visited Hadassah Hospital in September during a trip to Israel. A friend arranged for the medical team, some of whom had retired, to meet her and recall Kinneret’s miracle birth. The team called Kinneret on FaceTime to wish her mazel tov.

“They were retelling my story as if it was yesterday,” Weismark said about the nurses.

One nurse told her that G-d’s finger touched her that day. There’s no other way to explain it, she said.

The Weismark family will tell the story during Hadassah Greater Atlanta’s Toco Hills Tour of Kitchens on Aug. 27. All money raised from that event will go to Hadassah Ein Kerem. ■

When Gael Juarez-Romero stood up in front of the congregation during his bar mitzvah speech and said, “I don’t have much family, but you are my family,” there wasn’t a dry eye in the sanctuary at Congregation Or VeShalom.

Gael began attending Or VeShalom with his mother, Isadora Romero, when he was 4 years old. He has grown a lot since he and his mother left Mexico City for a better life in the United States, but what began as a simple immigration story turned into a spiritual journey for Gael and his mother.

“I’m ready to have the responsibility of being Jewish,” he said late one Saturday night after Havdalah.

He and his mother never miss a service, driving 45 minutes to an hour between their home in Woodstock and OVS in Brookhaven.

Romero said G-d brought them to OVS. “When we first started coming, my car had an engine that was about to die, but we would always get here,” she said in Spanish. “It was Hashem. There are so many miracles that we’ve had in our lives.”

She is a woman of faith, believing in things unseen and constantly praying to Hashem. She has countless stories of divine intervention, including a sentence of a $6,000 fine and probation with an ankle monitor as a result of an expired visa that was reduced to $1,000.

“I cried,” she said, holding back tears through broken English. “I told Hashem I have emunah.”

Romero’s grandmother in Mexico was Jewish, but her religion was hidden, she said. “My father would always say there is only one G-d.”

She saw her grandmother say the blessings over the bread and wine and light Shabbat candles, but she didn’t have a point of reference for the experience until she attended synagogue.

From there, she taught herself and Gael Hebrew. Now she sits in the women’s section at OVS and reads from the siddur.

“It was easy to learn the Hebrew.

Every time I came, I felt happier and happier,” Romero said.

But Gael needed a little time to grow before fully embracing Judaism.

“I thought they were speaking Japanese,” he said. At age 4, he slept

Isadora Romero and son Gael JuarezRomero never miss a Shabbat at Congregation Or VeShalom.

through services, and as he got older, he focused on other things.

“The most exciting part about synagogue was playing,” Gael said.

Saturday services at OVS begin at 10:30 a.m. and last until about 12:30 p.m. Gael usually played with his friends, running around the halls of OVS during the two-hour stretch.

But as time inched closer to his 13th birthday, one by one his friends left until he was the only kid his age.

“I was told by Rabbi (Hayyim) Kassorla I had to sit down and go to the men’s section the entire service,” Gael said.

Soon he was preparing for becoming a bar mitzvah. Standing in front of the entire congregation to declare his commitment to the Jewish people was nerve-racking for the outgoing 13-yearold, but he mustered the courage to get through it.

For Gael, becoming a bar mitzvah May 20 meant taking on a bigger role within a synagogue family that is home to many Mexican Jewish men he admires.

“I want to do this because I want to be in a minyan and become even more a part of the family,” Gael said.

“I hope he is OK and contributes to the community,” Rabbi Kassorla said at oneg after Shabbat services. “I was more nervous than he was.”

The Sephardic rabbi credits Romero with overcoming adversity to be a part of the Jewish people. Her spirit and joy make her an exemplary Jew, Rabbi Kassorla said.

“His mother single-handedly found Judaism and instilled it in her family. … She’s our family,” Rabbi Kassorla said. “They’re a light of joy and happiness. It’s been an honor to be as19 sociated with the family.” ■ JUNE 30 ▪ 2017

By Logan C. Ritchie lritchie@atljewishtimes.com

SIMCHAS

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Photos courtesy of the Peach State Stitchers

The convention registration table includes a sample centerpiece and copies of the Atlanta Jewish Times for the delegates. More about the Atlanta chapter is available by emailing peachstatestitch@aol.com or visiting www.peachstatestitchers.org.

Peach State Stitchers volunteering at the convention registration table are (from left) Brenda Bookman, Linda Moore, Pamela Rishfeld and Roberta Gross.

Convention Stitchers Practice Spiritual Act

JUNE 30 ▪ 2017

About 75 enthusiasts attended the Pomegranate Guild of Jewish Needlework national convention at the Le Méridien Atlanta Perimeter in Dunwoody from May 21 to 23.

Hosted by the Peach State Stitchers, the convention featured a keynote address by Congregation Or Hadash Rabbi Analia Bortz.

Convention co-chairs Susan Big and Barbara Rucket received enthusi-

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astic reviews of the exciting and educational experience.

Local artist Flora Rosefsky, to set the mood for a workshop she led on “Jewish Inspired Design: Your Vision, Your Voice,” read the following statement, based on an essay by Lisa Rauchwerger about art and spirituality at the American Guild of Judaic Art’s website, supplemented by comments from Emory University Middle East studies pro-

fessor Carrie Rosefsky Wickham and Rosefsky herself: “Creating Jewish art is a spiritual act. It reminds us of our roots and our ties to our tradition and our people in a way that few things can. Just as Jewish music fills our souls, creating Jewish art fulfills our need for making art with meaning.

“As Felix Mendelsohn once wrote, ‘Art can rise above mere handicrafts

only by being devoted to the expression of a lofty thought.’ Let us free up our creative spirit that resides within each of us to generate our own personal and unique mirror of the beauty and transcendence of G-d’s creation. It’s your vision and your voice.”

Delegates asked for some of the Atlanta workshops to be repeated at the next Pomegranate Guild convention in Calgary, Alberta, in 2019. ■

SIMCHAS

Pomegranates and peaches made for use in convention centerpieces are shown in the home studio of Cheryl Miller during a pre-convention Peach State Stitchers stitch-in for the centerpiece project, cochaired by Miller and Pamela Rishfeld.

Adrienne Kuperberg from New Jersey, the Pomegranate Guild’s president-elect, holds the pillow she created for the “We Have a Dream for Peace” convention challenge. Kuperberg taught classes on 3D paper cutting and Jewish holiday seasons using fusing techniques, as well as an introduction to needleweaving.

JUNE 30 ▪ 2017

Pillows created by Peach State Stitchers for a convention challenge reflect the theme of “We Have a Dream for Peace.”

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SIMCHAS

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Bring Summer Into Your Simcha

JUNE 30 ▪ 2017

What does your mitzvah kid love most about summer? Does he or she count the days till sleepaway camp, help plan your family’s travels abroad or live to hit the beach?

No matter when your mitzvah falls, you can use your child’s favorite summer activities as inspiration for a simcha, a great departure from typical mitzvah themes. Summer-influenced parties can transport your guests to the most relaxed season.

Some possibilities: • Get campy. Summer camps are popular with teens, and bringing that camp vibe into a mitzvah celebration can be great fun for kids and adults.

Consider a more casual dress code, and investigate outdoor venues that have space for dancing and dining.

Or bring the outdoors inside with creative campy touches, such as having your DJ teach guests a cheer to shout when your mitzvah kid enters the party, making a bunk bed the focal point of a lounge for the kids or creating a campfire for serving dessert s’mores.

Find more camp-themed ideas

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on my Pinterest page (www.pinterest. com/ATLpartyconnect).

• Take a trip. Your venue can become your mitzvah kid’s favorite

Guest Column

By Shelly Danz

vacation spot, using décor, food and ambience to set the scene.

New York lovers can send guests down “streets” to taste real NYC bagels and lox, fold-over pizza slices and hot pretzels, pushcart vendor style.

To honor a treasured Israel visit, a milk-and-honey-themed celebration can use murals of landmarks along the walls, fresh oranges in tablescapes, and plenty of Israeli food and music.

Family photos of visits to your city or country of choice make great decorations, either in centerpieces or as wall decorations. Or you can use travel in general as your décor motif, using maps, globes, airline tickets and

luggage to provide your guests with the sensation that they’re going places.

See more ideas at www.pinterest. com/ATLpartyconnect/travel-themedmitzvah-party.

• Surf’s up! For a mitzvah kid who never wants to leave the beach, a sand and surf theme is ideal. Think of a tropical paradise with palm trees, beach balls and limbo contests. Some venues have pools on site, so you can invite teens to hit the water after they heat up the dance floor.

Beach-inspired party favors could include flip-flops, toy sand buckets filled with treats and logoed sunglasses.

• Backyard bash. If your mitzvah kid loves to hang at home with friends during the lazy days of summer, transform your party into a backyard retreat. Consider décor touches to replicate the look of twinkling fireflies and summer constellations, set up hammocks and beach chairs in conversational groupings, and bring on the traditional bean bag toss and cornhole.

Food can be barbecue-casual with beloved warm-weather treats such as popsicles and ice cream sandwiches that seem so special out of season.

Want to capture that summer feeling at a simcha celebration any time of year? Shelly Danz can show you how.

Your mitzvah kid may find other elements of summer more exciting.

Find out what he or she loves most, and shape a seasonally inspired simcha that is unique and personalized.

Long live summer! ■ Shelly Danz is the founder and chief party officer of Atlanta Party Connection (www.atlantapartyconnection.com), the premier bar and bat mitzvah resource in the metro area, helping thousands of families create their ideal mitzvah celebrations. APC connects parents with top vendors, secures exclusive deals and discounts on services, provides party consulting, and produces a twice-yearly Bar & Bat Mitzvah Expo. The next is Aug. 27.

SIMCHAS

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Conservative Vision of Marriage and Covenant future is to strengthen Jewish identity, beginning with the Jewish family. This is also the path which Torah and tradition command. JTS will in coming months expand our efforts to welcome all families, including those that are interfaith, to explore Judaism together with us. We will do all we can — along with our partners in the Conservative movement — to make the process of joining our age-old covenant attractive, accessible and compelling. This is not the moment for Conservative Jews

and their rabbis to abandon the profound and joyful practice of rituals and learning, work for social justice and

continue to make this form of Jewish life a source of community and meaning for hundreds of thousands of Jews in North America and beyond.

Let us join together in confidence about the wisdom of the path to which we are committed. ■

By far the most effective path toward building a Jewish future is to strengthen Jewish identity, beginning with the Jewish family.

This is also the path which Torah and tradition command. encounter with the divine, love of Torah and love of the Jewish people that

The AJT welcomes further discussion about this important issue in the Jewish community. Send letters and possible guest columns in response to the JTS statement to mjacobs@atljewishtimes. com.

JUNE 30 ▪ 2017

The Jewish Theological Seminary, the flagship educational institution of the Conservative movement, issued the following statement regarding interfaith marriage Thursday, June 22.

The Jewish Theological Seminary affirms that the study of Torah, the sacred wisdom of our people, and the performance of mitzvot, Judaism’s sanctified pattern of religious practice, stand at the very core of Jewish identity. Torah and mitzvot have always been the foundation of the Jewish people’s covenant with G-d, guiding and sustaining us for three millennia in nearly every corner of the globe. They remain so today. Individuals from other backgrounds are warmly invited to join the covenant through conversion. There is also much that Jews can and must do to signal our respect and welcome for non-Jews in our community, whether or not they choose to become Jewish.

What we must not do is to abandon the core beliefs and practices which are the very foundation of Jewish life.

For JTS and its partners in the Conservative movement, the wedding ceremony is not only a celebration of a couple, but a commitment to the Jewish covenant. Its opening blessing thanks G-d for infusing our lives with holiness through the mitzvot, and its closing lines connect this marriage to the rebirth of the Jewish people in Jerusalem.

Such statements can be said truly only if both partners identify as Jews.

Judaism was never meant to be practiced alone. Our faith emerged as a family journey, and it is in the concentric circles of family, community and peoplehood that Jewish civilization has flourished. Throughout our history many individuals from other backgrounds have been welcomed into the Jewish people. That remains true, even in the greatly altered circumstances of life today. For those who are or wish to be members of our communities and of our families, the door is open to study and commit to join our ancient faith.

We respect the choice of those who prefer not to become Jewish, understanding that their religious identity is no less significant than is our own.

We understand the arguments made for our clergy to officiate at interfaith weddings, knowing that they come from a place of genuine concern for bringing near individuals and families who are or might be estranged from the community and tradition we love. However, we believe — and the data confirm — that by far the most effective path toward building a Jewish

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SIMCHAS

The Gift of the Gabbai Take a moment, I say to a nervous 13-year-old, a hand on his or her arm.

Look out at the congregation. Loving faces gaze back.

They are your team, I say. And this is your “Shehecheyanu moment,” I explain, mixing the word for the Hebrew prayer of thanksgiving with the “Kodak moment” expression, although now I substitute “take a virtual selfie” or another more timely cultural reference.

As we both look into the congregation, I’m not sure who is more ferklempt: me or the parents sitting with anticipation after many months of emotion-filled preparation.

I want to say to this child on the cusp of adulthood, standing next to me on the bimah: Savor this moment. Save this memory deep in your heart.

Your younger brother, squirming in a suit, may soon tower over you.

Your grandparents, well, who’s to say what’s in store for any of us? Enjoy this precious time with them, and with your cousins, who may have flown in from other states. Get to know your

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aunts and uncles and your parents’ and grandparents’ cherished friends.

For 11 years I’ve had the honor of serving as gabbai rishon, the one who

Guest Column

By Audrey Galex

guides the recitation of the Torah, for dozens of b’nai mitzvah services at Congregation Bet Haverim, the Reconstructionist synagogue in Atlanta.

In that role, I explain what’s about to happen on the pulpit for those not familiar with Jewish tradition. I explain that the other person on the bimah with me is the gabbai sheni, who has likely tutored the bar/bat mitzvah and will help make sure the ancient words and melody are properly chanted.

I generally offer a brief tease of the Torah portion and invite congregants to stay tuned for the d’var, the speech the bar/bat mitzvah has likely labored over for months to showcase

SIMCHAS

Audrey Galex is a producer/program content manager for the AIB Network, the president of the board of Faith Alliance of Metro Atlanta and a board member of Friends of the Arava Institute, in addition to being a member of Bet Haverim with husband Dave Schechter.

JUNE 30 ▪ 2017

why the ancient text remains relevant — and possibly challenging — to a 13-year-old.

I often lead the Mi Sheberach prayer for healing, inviting people to share the names of their loved ones out loud or to keep them in the silence of their heart, before we sing together while the Torah is open. I make sure to have the laminated blessings in both the traditional and Reconstructionist wording available, along with extra tallitot (prayer shawls) to drape over loved ones’ shoulders.

Perhaps the most deeply moving part of being the gabbai rishon is the honor of calling family members and sometimes friends to the pulpit to chant the blessings before and after each section of Scripture is read.

Singing aloud their Hebrew names, including the Hebrew names of their parents, I can almost see in my mind’s eye the generations standing among us, back through time to Mount Sinai, which is what I’ve learned the Torah service re-enacts.

When possible, I take the liberty (with permission) of adding personal details and, in the same melody, announce, for instance, that aunt and uncle so-and-so are also celebrating a wedding anniversary, or that this is the first time someone (other than the bar/bat mitzvah) is chanting Torah.

Together, we honor that special moment by singing the Shehecheyanu.

What never fails to touch me is the intimacy of the pulpit, which often feels like a sacred, timeless cocoon: It is as if the past, present and future spiral and commingle.

A grandmother who never had the chance to chant from the Torah at her own bat mitzvah holds the scroll open for her granddaughter. A grandfather takes the fringe of the tallit he wore at his own bar mitzvah and kisses the place where his grandson will chant.

Nearly 50 years ago, I was not allowed to chant from the Torah when I became a bat mitzvah at the “Conservadox” congregation where I was raised.

Being on the bimah now, guiding that very service, I hold dear this sacred trust and hope that my contribution helps create a lasting memory for the adult-to-be, even if I embrace the idea that I am again standing at Sinai, having my own Shehecheyanu moment. ■

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SIMCHAS

www.atlantajewishtimes.com

Rabbi Lau, Beth Jacob and Miracle of Jewish Renewal “The Nazis didn’t only attack the Jews physically, but also spiritually.

What’s the proof? The very first thing they did before the war even started was Kristallnacht. They destroyed over 1,000 shuls in a single night. Ten months before the war began, they were already fighting against synagogues and sifrei kodesh, our holy books. This shows what their real intention was. They attacked our soul before our body. If we abandon the Torah, we are helping them win the battle.

We must be victorious by clinging to the Torah. Our eternity, our continuity, depends on it.” — Chief Rabbi Israel Meir Lau

JUNE 30 ▪ 2017

As Beth Jacob, the synagogue I have led the past 25 years, completed a major renovation of our 50-yearold sanctuary, the question of how to properly mark this milestone arose. Of course, dedicating a renewed synagogue space is always an inherently valuable undertaking, one that stands on its own merits. But one would think that the significance is best understood by those members who week after week and year after year have toiled and prayed and studied in its hallowed space.

Specifically in the case of Beth Jacob, with its rich, 75-year history, one would expect the dedication to be a localized event, best appreciated by those who have spent decades with the synagogue.

Why, then, was the decision made to contact Chief Rabbi Israel Meir Lau, an international figure, to ask him to come from his home in Tel Aviv all the way to Atlanta? Why should the former chief rabbi of Israel and current chairman of Yad Vashem, a

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Holocaust survivor and renowned spiritual guide, travel across the world to preside over a synagogue dedication in a relatively small North American community?

Put more bluntly: What does he have to do with us?

My answer may surprise you. It is one word: revenge.

Let me explain.

In the fall of 1943, eight men con-

Guest Column

By Rabbi Ilan D. Feldman

vened and formally established Beth Jacob “for the purpose of creating a Holy House of Worship in the northeast section of Atlanta.”

This small band of Jews saw the need to preserve the Old World traditions, to create a holy space to perpetuate the simplicity and faith they had been raised with.

In other words, they wanted to pass the torch of Jewish tradition, as they had experienced it in their youth, to the next generation.

Many wrote them off, laughing that tradition was on the ropes and faltering and that the future lay with those who would innovate and assimilate.

When we think back to the year 1943, we have to realize the significance of the time. We must keep in mind that in 1943 our people were in the throes of the most barbaric genocide in history: the Shoah.

And it was in the shadow of that historic tragedy, just a few years after Kristallnacht and during the ensuing tragedy throughout Europe, when one

The fruits of more than a year of renovation work at Beth Jacob will be revealed July 9.

out of every three Jews on this planet was systematically murdered, that a small group of Jews halfway across the world had the gall and chutzpah to say, “Am Yisrael chai — the nation of Israel lives,” by creating a shul, a synagogue, to forge a community to keep the torch burning and 3,000 years of tradition alive.

And as this small group of Jews gathered every single day in little Atlanta to proclaim our collective creed of “Shema Yisrael,” the exact same utterance was on the lips of the millions of our brothers and sisters who were being gassed, shot and slaughtered in places like Auschwitz, Treblinka and Buchenwald, to name just a few.

While our nascent congregation was coming together for Shabbat and holiday services, a 7-year-old boy nicknamed “Lulek” was fighting for his survival in the Nazi hell.

Lulek was a scion of an incredible lineage of 38 generations of rabbis, a chain that stretched back almost 1,000 years. He was the next link in the chain, and, by divine providence and miracles, he survived.

He emerged from Buchenwald as an icon of faith and survival, an innocent child who had his childhood and family robbed from him but refused to allow that loss to shackle his future.

And Lulek — later Chief Rabbi Lau —

looked to the future and transformed himself into a teacher, a guide, a shepherd to our people.

The rededication of the Beth Jacob sanctuary, and indeed every synagogue anywhere in the world, is the ultimate revenge against those who have tried, time after time, to extinguish the flame of our tradition.

When young Israel Meir “Lulek” Lau was liberated from Buchenwald at age 8, he was given a Hitler Youth uniform to wear because he had no other clothing. He appears in this uniform in a beautiful photo that was taken upon his arrival in Palestine. He also has a rifle slung over his shoulder, which he received as a gift from an American soldier upon being liberated from Buchenwald.

To quote his autobiography, “From the Depths”: “The American soldier asked me what I wanted to do with my life, and I answered, ‘I want to take revenge.’ Hearing this, he gave me his rifle, and I kept it with me on my trip through Germany to Paris, then on to Lyon, Marseille, Genoa.”

With this rifle Lulek first set foot on the holy soil of the land of Israel.

However, over time he learned that not all revenge is taken with a rifle or brute force and that there are other ways to defeat those who would have tried to extinguish the flame of Jewish

SIMCHAS

Rabbi Israel Meir Lau arrives in Palestine, rifle in tow.

tradition.

This iconic photo, Rabbi Lau writes, hangs in his home, and “since then, every time I leave the house, I look at the picture hanging in the entryway to the right of the door: a boy wearing a Hitler Youth uniform with the terrifying word ‘Buchenwald’ on the sleeve, carrying a suitcase and holding a rifle. Affixed to the left side of my doorframe is a mezuzah.

Together, these symbols surround me, forming my entire world. Every time I look at that photograph it tells me: Israel Meir, you have a mission — to justify your survival and your existence; to serve as the messenger of your murdered father, mother, and brother; and to continue the dynasty.”

As a people, our survival against all odds is nothing short of miraculous. Nobody embodies the miracle of our resilience and rebirth more so than Rabbi Lau. And so, 75 years after its founding, as Beth Jacob looks toward the future and rededicates our sanctuary with a majestic renovation, it is fitting for Chief Rabbi Israel Meir Lau to grace the event with his deep wisdom and experience, serving as an ambassador for the millions of voices who may have been physically silenced but whose melodious chant of “Hear, O Israel” still echoes through history and resounds in our neshamas, reminding us to hold tight to our rich heritage and to never forget those who came before us. ■ Rabbi Ilan D. Feldman is the spiritual leader of Congregation Beth Jacob.

When: 5 p.m. Sunday, July 9

JUNE 30 ▪ 2017

What: Dedication of renovated sanctuary

Cost: Free (not including VIP dinner at 7 for event sponsors); www. bethjacobatlanta.org/dedication

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Where: Congregation Beth Jacob, 1855 LaVista Road, Toco Hills

SIMCHAS

Our Holiday Too Thomas Jefferson, the author of the Declaration of Independence, was not Jewish. Sure, Adam Sandler, Goldie Hawn, Kirk Douglas, Alan Greenspan and Bill Goldberg are. So is Madeleine Albright (though she forgot about it for a long time), as were (at least to start) Sigmund Freud, Albert Einstein, Benjamin Disraeli and Jesus.

But, alas, fellow Jewish Americans, George Washington was not. No Jewish property holder would sit on 400 acres in suburban Washington without once calling a developer about carving it into house lots.

I’m afraid our first president never attended a minyan. But he was a believer in religious freedom.

America, the New Zion founded by those quirky Puritans, has provided a flourishing home for Judaism. The founders envisioned their brave new world with all the sanctity of Jerusalem. They were a rare breed, having an affinity for Zion because they were Old Testament believers and choosing to leave England because the church

wasn’t up to their theological snuff.

Their basic idea was to introduce religion into every facet of their life.

Church and state were one to them.

In a way, they were the hasids of Christianity — without the joyfulness.

Scribbler on the Roof

By Ted Roberts

They prayed more than they played.

They spent more candlelit New England nights studying Leviticus than playing stud poker.

In the dull old days when public schools taught American history instead of hot-air ballooning, every high school freshman knew that those prim Puritans had a strong Old Testament core. They were not frivolous folks.

These were the forebears of the long-dead white men who signed the Declaration of Independence that epochal July 4, 1776.

Who would have thought that the

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proclamation of the Continental Congress on that hot day in Philadelphia would affect the wandering tribes of Israel? But it did.

A little over 100 years later, the dispossessed of Israel flocked en masse to the New Zion. They knew a good thing when they saw it.

Our team missed the Mayflower by a couple of centuries. We also missed the Queen Mary. There were no deck chairs on the cattle boats that brought our ancestors to the New World of golden streets paved with dreams. They were stuffed into the hold like pickles in a jar and probably didn’t spend the eight-day crossing mourning what they left behind: the poverty, hunger and persecution that ruled the masses of Eastern Europe, Jew and gentile alike.

There’s a deep ache in our hearts when we think of the Old World they left behind because a few decades later it was consumed in the ovens of the Holocaust.

What would those martyrs — pious and profane alike cleansed by sacrifice — say about America in 2017?

What would they think to see our cars and homes and DVRs and bulging pantries? What would these cultural loners say to our integration into a warm, tolerant society?

For our ancestors, the grim Old World receded in the rearview mirror of the good ship Hatikvah, steaming for the shining city on the Hudson where the only king was Abie, the corned beef king of lower Hester Street.

They poured out of their ships onto the sidewalks of New York, which they found to be of concrete, not gold.

But concrete was better than the muck and mud of Polish villages.

Sweatshop bosses had hearts as hard as the concrete sidewalks, but they couldn’t kill you or take your daughters for pleasure and your sons for their army. The charter of the New Jerusalem prevented that.

They could only fire you. And right around the corner was another who’d give you the same handful of silver that bought lots of bread and vegetables and even meat.

There was too much work and not much leisure. But nobody starved. And if a family jammed into a cheap flat collected their silver into a single pile, eventually they could transform themselves into the nobility of this brave new world. Here, it took only money, for goods and education.

It was a game they knew how to play: Suffer now; prosper tomorrow. A small price compared with that paid by those they left behind. L’chaim! ■

JUNE 30 ▪ 2017

SIMCHAS

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SIMCHAS

www.atlantajewishtimes.com

Navigating Into the Three Weeks In 1946, when I returned with my parents to Atlanta after my father finished six years as a judge advocate, I was informed that I was going to be attending Camp Daniel Morgan, the Educational Alliance camp, in August during the second session.

Only 7, I was traveling to the wilderness of Rutledge to become a young man. As it turned out, it was a physical experience and had some elements of spirituality too.

We lived in tents on wooden platforms, four cots to a tent. When the weather was dry, no problem, but when it rained, the camp was a mud field. Moreover, the tents leaked, so the counselors had to figure out how to seal them. My counselor was Ralph Saul, and he did an effective job.

The spiritual part came on Shabbat. I had never been away from home, so I had celebrated Shabbat only with my parents and grandparents.

On Friday afternoon, a few hours before Shabbat, we had a chance to shower and put on our whites. About

half an hour before Shabbat, we made some type of formation, and the girls across the lake joined us in their whites.

In those days, Hebrew songs were limited, so we sang “Hava Nagila” and “David Melech Yisrael” and “Artza Aleinu.” We did not know it, because

Guest Column

By Rabbi David Geffen

Daniel Morgan was not a Zionist camp, but the staffers from the director down were Zionists. They wanted us to have a feel of Eretz Yisrael.

In the dining room, we sang “Sholom Aleichem,” and a counselor from Congregation Or VeShalom chanted the Kiddush. Someone else cut the challah (just dribs and drabs).

We ate, then we sang some zemirot (hymns). I can remember only a few, but one was “Come, O Sabbath Day.” My first summer in camp was in August, so Tisha B’Av and the Three

Weeks had been completed. From then on, whenever I could, I tried to take advantage of the time from the 17th of Tammuz until Tisha B’Av to build up my strength as a Jew. I saw my father, Louis Geffen, putting on tefillin every morning before he ate and went to work. Clearly, my grandfather also did it, but usually at Shacharit minyan at Shearith Israel. He was the rabbi. My father, a lawyer, had to be at work, so he davened at home.

What did I do for this spiritual lift? First, I went swimming at the Progressive Club. In those years polio germs were floating around, but I wanted to be courageous.

As I got older, I was scared stiff about polio. Being courageous meant I could relate to Judah Maccabee, Bar Kochba, and my cousins Bert Lewyn and Professor Dov Levin, both of whom died this past year.

Bert survived in Berlin; Dov survived in the Lithuanian forests.

The second thing I did was try to go to shul with my zayde several times a week in the morning. I woke up very early where we lived at Washington and Bass, dressed and hurried to meet

him at 593 Washington St. We walked together, and I sat by his side at the davening. I followed the siddur as best I could. We walked home together, and my bubbe Sara Hene gave me breakfast. There was no school, so I did not have to rush away.

The third thing I did was take a walk to the Capitol and explore the museum cases there. I believe there were stuffed animals, but there may have been Native American models as well. I think I did it for two reasons: • I was in the key building in Georgia, and I could easily walk in because we were Georgians and Americans and were free.

• I felt the history of the state through the displays in the cases. I knew I was at home.

When I reached Tisha B’Av, the saddest day of the year, I was reminded of the anguish of our people, but because of my courage and a little more davening and a feeling of freedom, I knew that the Jews had survived even after a terrible Holocaust and that they would survive for many years to come.

The Three Weeks this year begin the evening of July 10. ■

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SIMCHAS

www.atlantajewishtimes.com

Barry Flink stands by his display of Jewish collectibles.

The Flink collection includes four generations of bar mitzvah Kiddush cups.

These oil lamps date back thousands of years in the land of Israel.

Many Israeli bottles are among Barry Flink’s collection of liquor miniatures.

Barry Flink, a True Collector 1969 Georgia State Chess Championship.

He owns 43 chess sets from more than 20 countries. Pieces are made of wood, ivory and pure leather.

Flink is running out of wall space for his liquor and liqueur collection.

His collections room is overflowing with aged bottles of wine and liquors of all sorts: 753 bottles of wine, as old as a 47-year-old Chateau Clerc, and 3,432 miniature liquor bottles.

His collection represents rich re-

ligious and cultural traditions, with the bottle designs often reflecting their countries of origin. Flink has no interest in parting ways with any of the collection.

While preserving the wines and the miniature bottles and opting not to drink from his collection, Flink does use the hard liquors and liqueurs to create memorable entrees and desserts. Four desserts using his liqueurs have been served in high-end restaurants.

Some items in the collection help tell Flink’s own story. He keeps traditional wine pourers from Greece and Israel to reflect the heritage of himself and his wife, Vicki. Precious items in a glass display case include four generations of bar mitzvah cups, ancient oil lamps and a rare oil menorah (the only other one of its kind in Georgia is in the Breman Jewish Heritage Museum through a gift of the Flink family). ■

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Atlantan Barry Flink maintains a growing collection of chess sets, miniature liquor and liqueur bottles, and family antiques in pristine condition out of a desire to keep the heritage of his family and his wife alive.

Many of the pieces reflect family histories and traditions.

“If you don’t know your past, you’ll never know your future,” Flink said.

Flink’s passion for chess started when he was 6. His father taught him the game, and he finished second in the

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SIMCHAS

No Pills, No PCs

Joseph Perling Turns 100 With His Wife at His Side

By Kevin C. Madigan kmadigan@atljewishtimes.com

JUNE 30 ▪ 2017

Dunwoody • Midtown • Alpharetta - Avalon • Atlanta Airport

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“You’re looking at a guy here who doesn’t take any pills,” said a remarkably hale Joseph Perling, who celebrated his 100th birthday in June.

His 95-year-old wife, Doris, has been by his side for seven decades, and the two have lived in the same house since 1957, when they moved to Atlanta from Minnesota.

The couple met in England, where Joseph’s military unit was stationed during World War II, and married less than two months later.

“Everyone said it wouldn’t last because we didn’t know each other long enough. Now it’s been 73 years,” Doris said, laughing.

“I would A Londoner by birth, Do- advise anyone ris Flank first e n c o u n t e r e d that’s healthy, her future husreally and band at a party truly, do in Blandford, Dorset. not retire “It was a from life. … dance for solRetire from diers at the Corn Exchange a job, find there,” Joseph something said. “We knew each other else to do, but about seven don’t retire weeks and got married by a from life.” guy named Bastard!” More laughter.

After a monthlong honeymoon at the centuries-old Crown Hotel, Joseph, by now a sergeant, returned to active duty in Africa and Sicily, among other postings. He was discharged in 1945 in what was then Czechoslovakia and returned to the United States with his bride, taking a position at the Veterans Administration.

A series of sales jobs followed — mostly footwear — and then a long stint at various Publix stores in Atlanta. “At 75 I went to work as a bagger and retired from there after 18 years, so that put me at 93 when I left work.

I chose her over Publix,” he said, pointing to Doris. “I was only going to be there for a couple of years. There were

SIMCHAS

other jobs, but I didn’t want them. I like bagging.”

Doris added, “He enjoyed doing it.

He met people and got away from me for a while.”

He responded, “I didn’t want to say that.”

Joseph and Doris have three children, two grandchildren and three great-grandsons, and photos of them adorn the walls of their Toco Hills home.

“Every Friday night the kids come for dinner. Sometimes it’s a success; sometimes it’s an omelet. But they still come back,” said Joseph, the cook of the house.

“I think actually that’s what got me where I am today: I keep active,” he said. “I would advise anyone that’s healthy, really and truly, do not retire from life, which a lot of them do. Retire from a job, find something else to do, but don’t retire from life.”

Asked about the world they now live in, the Perlings were unimpressed.

“I have grandkids. What are we turning over to them?” Joseph asked.

“World War II was supposed to be the war to end all wars. We haven’t been out of a war since. We have military all over the world, and now they want to send more troops to Afghanistan.

Why? If they were smart, they’d get out of there. It’s a losing battle.”

Joseph blasted President Donald Trump for his isolationist stance and for ignoring human rights issues. “That last trip he made? Saudi Arabia is the worst country in the world when it comes to treating women and children badly, and he didn’t even bring that up.

Why not? All he said was ‘How many armaments do you want?’ ” The couple has no time for modern technology either. “We don’t have any of those fancy gadgets, don’t have a computer,” Joseph said. “I’ve got a cheap cellphone just for emergencies.

Facebook and all that junk? Don’t need it. We get along pretty well, don’t we dear?” ■

JUNE 30 ▪ 2017

Joseph and Doris Perling have been married 73 years since meeting in England during World War II.

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SIMCHAS

JUNE 30 ▪ 2017

Mitzvah Project Is Just the Start of His Good

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We normally think of an angel as an adult, but a number of young people in our Jewish community are performing good deeds.

We have a responsibility to recognize and applaud their contributions.

This week’s angel is Harrison Frank, who has provided great assistance to his school, the community, and the Packaged Good, a Dunwoodybased nonprofit that empowers children and teaches personal responsibility through the preparation of decorated gift bags for the needy.

Harrison is a seventh-grader at the Davis Academy, and his family members have been part of Temple Emanu-El for many years.

Harrison was aware of the Packaged Good and decided that for his bar mitzvah project he would raise money and donate merchandise for the nonprofit. His efforts met with great success, as he was able to have three large pallets of gifts donated.

He was so impressed with the Packaged Good’s efforts that he has helped in a number of other ways: • He is the youngest member of the Packaged Good’s advisory board.

• He wrote the organization’s bar/ bat mitzvah service project outline of requirements.

• He wrote the nonprofit’s Young Leadership Program requirements.

• He serves as founder Sally Mundell’s right-hand man on numerous projects.

Harrison’s other activities include: • Head of crew for Davis school plays.

• Member of Temple Emanu-El’s Young Leadership Program and the youngest person to receive the annual synagoguewide volunteer award.

• Writer of Emanu-El’s b’nai mitzvah service project guidelines and mentor to future students in completing their service projects.

• Member of the Davis Middle School Leadership Training Institute.

• Soccer referee.

• Recognized leader in his Boy Scout troop.

In addition, his cousin serves on the USS Nimitz, the Navy’s oldest nuclear-powered aircraft carrier. He collected Halloween candy and sent many boxes to the ship’s crew in conjunction with the Packaged Good.

When not otherwise occupied,

Angels in Our Midst

By Al Shams

Harrison Frank, with his mom, Wendy, and one of his brothers, Avi, brings a donation of gift items to the Packaged Good.

Harrison is a budding entrepreneur and has operated a trash removal business for elderly neighbors and sold novelties at events.

It is important to note that these accomplishments did not come easily for Harrison. At an early age, he discovered that he had some learning difficulties and had to work especially hard to overcome those challenges. His determination and hard work taught him valuable life lessons and laid the basis for a positive attitude to address life’s challenges.

Asked why he has tackled so many community service projects, Harrison said he feels a responsibility to give back to a community that has provided so much to his family. He acquired these attitudes and values from his parents, grandparents, teachers and synagogue.

He believes that his life has been enriched by helping others, and he seeks to be a good role model for his two younger brothers — incredible wisdom and insight from such a young person.

Harrison is a great role model and an inspiration for children and adults.

We can all benefit from his example.

One of the great wonders of life is that we can all learn from one another, regardless of age or position.

In conclusion, let’s not forget the first angel of the Packaged Good, Sally Mundell: a courageous young woman who turned a personal loss into a positive movement for her two daughters, other young children and the needy in our community. ■ Al Shams is a Sandy Springs resident, an ex-CPA and an investment professional with more than 36 years’ industry experience.

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35

SIMCHAS

Sheila Schwartz’s regular trips to Israel result in the Beth Shalom shop stocking items such as this copper sculpture.

Some Shul Gift Shops Survive

By Kevin C. Madigan kmadigan@atljewishtimes.com

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Many Atlanta synagogues have closed the doors on their gift shops in recent years, and some remaining vendors are struggling to maintain their hold on customers.

“The one at Sinai closed, the AA (Ahavath Achim Synagogue) shop closed, Shearith Israel, they all closed.

It’s crazy,” said Sheila Schwartz, who manages the store at Congregation Beth Shalom. The Temple, Atlanta’s largest congregation, briefly tried a self-service Judaica shop in partnership with ModernTribe after turning its store into a coffee lounge.

The remaining shul stores offer options for simcha shopping to members and nonmembers alike.

“Our biggest challenge is getting people into the shop. We are not exactly a destination. They have to know about us, and unless you belong to our synagogue, you don’t,” she said in a telephone interview. “Getting our name out is very difficult. There are a lot of people who are unaffiliated and might want something, but they don’t know we exist.”

Schwartz has run the Beth Shalom location for 15 years and laments the advent of online shopping for cutting into her business, but she doesn’t use the Beth Shalom website for commerce. “We don’t sell anything (online).

None of us is that computer-literate. If someone wants to do that for us, we’d

SIMCHAS

www.atlantajewishtimes.com

Tallitot and kippot are plentiful at the Beth Shalom gift shop.

love it. We’re just a lot of little old ladies who volunteer and work very hard.”

She said one advantage of a brick-and-mortar Judaica store is that shoppers can see and touch the merchandise. She touted the wide array of tallitot she has available, as well as items usually found only in Israel, where she goes frequently on buying trips.

“My children live in Israel. I go there twice a year, and while there, I shop, and I bring things back in my suitcase so I don’t have to pay any ship-

The Beth Shalom gift shop offers a wide assortment of mezuzahs.

ping,” Schwartz said. “I’ve been to a shofar factory, which was a very interesting experience. Been to Tel Aviv, Jaffa; it’s fun. I get lost a lot. My husband drives, and we have adventures trying to find where we want to go.”

Calling a synagogue gift shop “a unique animal,” Schwartz said it’s a mitzvah to shop there “instead of going to a place where they’re in it for the profit. We do it as a fundraiser for the synagogue. You get points in heaven if you shop with us.”

A key element in this type of retail

operation is a dedicated group of volunteers, Schwartz said, and that point was echoed by Illyse Sheaffer, Temple Kol Emeth’s Sisterhood president.

“It is the volunteers that make and/or break the gift shop,” Sheaffer said. “Volunteerism has declined in areas like this, but we continue to pursue the best we can. We too have been faced with the decision to keep the gift shop open or close it in recent months. It is the persistence and passion of some very special people that are ensuring us keeping our shop open.”

Money raised by sales at the TKE Sisterhood store go toward provisions for Habitat for Humanity and the Zaban Paradies Center shelter, donations to Jewish youth groups, and the synagogue’s High Holiday campaign, among other endeavors.

Beth Shalom’s Schwartz said she doesn’t know why those other synagogue shops closed. “Maybe they couldn’t get enough volunteers; maybe there was not enough business. They all have their reasons, but we just keep going.” ■

JUNE 30 ▪ 2017

This chanukiah at the Beth Shalom gift shop makes a nice wedding gift.

The Beth Shalom gift shop has several options to beautify the observance of Shabbat.

37

SIMCHA RESOURCE GUIDE Catering Alon’s Bakery, 1394 N. Highland Ave., Atlanta, www.alons.com, 678-397-1781 Bagel Boys Cafe, 6355 Peachtree-Dunwoody Road, Sandy Springs, www.bagelboyscafe.com, 678-5853435 Bagelicious, 1255 Johnson Ferry Road, Suite 37, Marietta, 770-509-9505 Buckhead Life Restaurant Group, 265 Pharr Road, Atlanta, www.buckheadrestaurants.com, 404-2372060 Café Vendôme, 4969 Roswell Road, Suite 155, Atlanta, www.cafevendome.com, 404-551-5163 Cinnaholic,1230 Caroline St., Suite B110, Atlanta, www.cinnaholic.com, 404-343-0805 Citi Wine & Spirits, 5861 Roswell Road, Sandy Springs, www.CitiWineandSpirits.com, 404-2284260 Corks & Caps, 4600 Roswell Road, Suite D-110, Atlanta, www.corkscaps.com, 404-483-1050 Create Your Cupcake, 203 Hilderbrand Drive, Sandy Springs, www.createyourcupcake.com, 844354-7487 Cuzin’s Duzin, 2121 Windy Hill Road, Suite 128,

Marietta, www.sweetdreamsminidonuts.com, 347724-6200 Epic Events, 1119 Logan Circle, Atlanta, www.

EpicEventsAtlanta.com, 404-991-9128 For All Occasions and More, 5200 Northland Drive, Sandy Springs, www.foralloccasionsandmore.com, 404-953-8157 The General Muir, 1540 Avenue Place, Suite B-230, Atlanta, www.thegeneralmuir.com, 678-927-9131 Goldbergs Group, 4385 Roswell Road, Atlanta, www.goldbergbagel.com, 404-477-1110 The Kosher Gourmet, 2153 Briarcliff Road, Atlanta, www.kgatl.com, 404-636-1114 Liquid X Cream, www.liquidxcream.com, 678-7330084 Madras Mantra, 2179 Lawrenceville Highway, Suite A, Decatur, www.mandrasmantra.com, 404636-4400 Maggiano’s Little Italy — Buckhead, 3368 Peachtree Road, Atlanta, www.maggianos.com, 404-816-6257 Maggiano’s Little Italy — Cumberland, 1601 Cumberland Mall, Cumberland, www.maggianos.com, 770-799-1590 Maggiano’s Little Italy — Perimeter, 4400 Ash-

www.atlantajewishtimes.com ford-Dunwoody Road, Dunwoody, www.maggianos.com, 770-804-8898 Margot Alfie Catering & Cooking Classes, 3088 Greenfield Drive, Marietta, 404-275-1397 The Original Brooklyn Water Bagel Co., 2955 Cobb Parkway, Cumberland, www.brooklynwaterbagels.com, 770-988-9991 Pita — Mediterranean Street Food, 4709-B Ashford-Dunwoody Road, Dunwoody, pitastreetfood. com, 404-392-7070 Rumi’s Kitchen Persian Cuisine, 6112 Roswell Road, Sandy Springs, www.rumiskitchen.com, 404-477-2100 The Spicy Peach, 2887 North Druid Hills Road, Toco Hills, www.thespicypeach.com, 404-334-7200 Sufi’s Atlanta Persian Cuisine, 1814 Peachtree St., Atlanta, www.sufisatlanta.com, 404-888-9699 Tower Beer & Wine, 2161 Piedmont Road, Atlanta, www.towerwinespirits.com, 404-881-0902 Yum Boutique Catering, 678-592-1783

Décor

Balloons and Events Over Atlanta, 1231 Collier Road, Atlanta, www.balloonsover.com, 404-2313090

Encore Events & Entertainment, 253 Swanson Drive, Lawrenceville, www.encoreevents.com, 678427-0028 EventScapes, 1484 Atlanta Industrial Way, Suite B, Atlanta, eventscapesatlanta.com, 404-472-9233 Jim White Designs, 2922 Marlan Drive, Atlanta, www.jimwhitedesigns.com, 404-599-4731 Kagan Entertainment, 10270 Piney Ridge Walk, Alpharetta, www.kaganentertainment.com, 770826-8263 Total Lunacy, 215 Berry Glen Court, Johns Creek, www.totallunacy.com, 770-315-4116 Village Green Flowers & Gifts, 3246 Atlanta Road, Smyrna, www.villiageflowersandgifts.com, 770435-9393

Entertainment Bodyworks Atlanta, 600 Garson Drive, Suite 7304, Atlanta, www.makeupartistryatlanta.com, 404816-0989 Caricatures by Tony, 130 Canal Place, Fayetteville, www.caricaturesofatlanta.com, 678-817-0169 Encore Events & Entertainment, 253 Swanson Drive, Lawrenceville, www.encoreevents.com, 678427-0028 FlipnPics, 901 Gemtry’s Walk, Atlanta, www. flipnpics.com, 770-742-8910 Game Truck, 50 Barrett Parkway, Suite 3005-137, Marietta, www.gametruck.com, 770-755-5100 iFly Indoor Skydiving, 2778 Cobb Parkway, Cumberland, www.iFlyWorld.com, 678-803-4359 Premium Corporate Entertainment Group, 2981 N. Tower Way, Conyers, 678-663-7096 Rock Steady Ballroom, 270 Carpenter Drive, Suite 120, Sandy Springs, www.rocksteadyballroom. com, 404-254-1491

DJ & Live Music Atlanta Fever Entertainment, 978 Forest Pond Circle, Marietta, www.atlantafeverent.com, 404931-5779 Big Band Contractors, www.bigband.band, 770998-8888 Kagan Entertainment, 10270 Piney Ridge Walk, Alpharetta, www.kaganentertainment.com, 770826-8263 Party Express by Tevyeh, 2823 Arabian Trail, Marietta, www.tevyeh.com, 404-939-3813 Richard Siegal, Pianist, 404-994-7507 Sephinta Zarka Music, 141 Meriwether Circle, Milledgeville, www.sephintazarka.com, 404-4791719 Vibe Entertainment, 2080 Peachtree Industrial Court, Suite 107, Atlanta, www.vibeentertainmentinc.com, 404-257-0206

Venues & Hotels

JUNE 30 ▪ 2017

103 West, 103 W. Paces Ferry Road, Atlanta, www.103West.com, 404-233-5993

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Alpharetta Convention and Visitor Bureau, 178 S. Main Street, No. 200, Alpharetta, www.awesomealpharetta.com, 678-297-2811 Andretti Entertainment, 1255 Roswell Road, Marietta, www.andrettikarting.com, 678-496-9530 Atlanta Events Center, 1150 Peachtree St., Atlanta, www.atlantaeventcenter.com, 678-793-0030 Atlanta Marriott Peachtree Corners, 475 Technology Parkway, Peachtree Corners, www.marriott. com, 404-263-8558 Café Intermezzo, Midtown, Dunwoody, Alpharetta, Atlanta airport, www.cafeintermezzo.com, 770396-1344 College Football Hall of Fame, 250 Marietta St., Atlanta, www.cfbhall.com, 404-880-4800 Defoor Centre, 1710 Defoor Ave., Atlanta, www.defoorcentre.com, 404-591-3809 Embassy Suites-Perimeter, 1030 Crown Pointe Parkway, Sandy Springs, www.embassysuites3. hilton.com, 770-394-5454 Fernbank Museum, 767 Clifton Road, Atlanta, www.fernbankmuseum.org, 404-929-6339

SIMCHA RESOURCE GUIDE Game X, 275 Baker St., Suite B, Atlanta, www.gamexatl.com, 404-525-0728 Georgia Aquarium, 225 Baker St., Atlanta, www. georgiaaquarium.org, 404-581-4000 Georgia Freight Depot, 65 Martin Luther King Jr. Drive, Atlanta, www.dceatlanta.com, 404-656-3850 The Georgian Club, 100 Galleria Parkway, Suite 1700, Cumberland, www.georgianclub.com, 770952-6000 Hilton Garden Inn-Perimeter Center, 1501 Lake Hearn Drive, Sandy Springs, www.hiltongardeninn3.hilton.com, 404-459-0500 Hyatt Atlanta Perimeter at Villa Christina, 4000 Summit Blvd., Brookhaven, atlantaperimeter.regency.hyatt.com, 404-303-7700 Lake Lanier Islands, 7000 Lanier Islands Parkway, Buford, www.lanierislands.com, 770-945-8787 Le Meridien Atlanta Perimeter Hotel, 111 Perimeter Center West, Dunwoody, www.lemeridienatlantaperimeter.com, 770-396-6800 Omni Hotel CNN Center, 100 CNN Center, Atlanta, www.omnihotels.com/hotels/atlanta-cnncenter, 404-659-0000 The Pavillion at Olde Towne, 4950 Olde Towne Parkway, Marietta www.the-pavillion.com, 770578-1110 Sage Perimeter/Sage Woodfire Tavern, 4505 Ashford-Dunwoody Road, Dunwoody, www.sagewoodfiretavern.com, 770-804-8880 Sandy Springs Hospitality & Tourism, 5920 Roswell Road, Suite A-118, Sandy Springs, www.visitsandysprings.org, 404-206-1447 Sherwood Event Hall, 8610 Roswell Road, No. 200, Sandy Springs, www.sherwoodevent.com, 678643-9324 SlingShot Entertainment, 6344 Cash Court, Peachtree Corners, www.slingshotplay.com, 678585-2268 Spring Hall, 7130 Buford Highway, Suite A-100, www.spring-hall.com, 770-613-9973 The Standard Club, 6230 Abbots Bridge Road, Johns Creek, www.StandardClub.org, 770-497-0055 Stars and Strikes-Sandy Springs, 8767 Roswell Road, Sandy Springs, www.starsandstrikes.com, 678-965-5707 Sufi’s Atlanta Persian Cuisine, 1814 Peachtree St, Atlanta, www.sufisatlanta.com, 404-888-9699 Three Sheets, 6017 Sandy Springs Circle, Sandy Springs, www.threesheetsatlanta.com, 404-3038423 Tongue & Groove, Lindbergh City Center, 565 Main St., Atlanta, www.tandgonline.com, 404-261-2325 Twelve Hotel Centennial Park, 400 W. Peachtree St., Atlanta, www.twelvehotels.com/centennialpark, 404-418-1212 Westin Atlanta North, 7 Concourse Parkway, Sandy Springs, www.westinatlantanorth.com, 770-395-3900 Wyndham Atlanta Galleria, 6345 Powers Ferry Road, Sandy Springs, www.wyndhamatlantahotel. com, 770-955-1700

com, 404-464-5972 Harold Alan Photographers, P.O. Box 88744, Atlanta, www.haroldalan.com, 770-730-8911 Jon Marks Photography, 651 Maple Grove Way, Marietta, www.jonmarksphoto.com, 770-587-3365 Kissed With Light Photography, 655 Huntwick Place, Roswell, www.kissedwithlight.com, 404-5384977 Michael Rosser Photography, 3905 Remington Way, Marietta, www.michaelrosserphotography. com, 770-516-4332 Montage Mania, www.montagemania.net, 404444-5999 Paula Gould Photography, www.pmgphoto.com, 404-310-2094 RMB Studios, rmbstudios.zenfolio.com, 410-8046408

Beauty Anderson Center for Hair & Restoration, 5555 Peachtree-Dunwoody Road, Suite 106, Sandy Springs, www.atlantahairsurgeon.com, 404-2564247 For the Sole Foot Spa, 6690 Roswell Road, No. 550,

www.atlantajewishtimes.com Sandy Springs, www.ftsole.com, 404-254-3758 Joseph & Friends Salon, 6309 Roswell Road, Sandy Springs, josephandfriends.com Keri Gold Salon, 1258 W. Paces Ferry Road, Atlanta, www.kerigoldsalon.com, 404-990-3200 Noami’s Salon, 4401 Shallowford Road, Suite 132, Roswell, www.naomisalonandspa.com, 470-5450815 Premier Image Cosmetic & Laser Surgery, 4553 N. Shallowford Road, Suite 20B, Atlanta, www.picosmeticsurgery.com, 770-457-6303 Sweet Peach Wax & Sugaring Studio, 206-A Johnson Ferry Road, Sandy Springs, www.sweetpeachwax.com, 404-481-5488

Event Planners Atlanta Party Connection, 330 Highlands Court, Alpharetta, www.atlantapartyconnection.com, 770-744-5750 Balloons and Events Over Atlanta, 1231 Collier Road, Atlanta, www.balloonsover.com, 404-2313090 Mazel Tov Atlanta, www.mazeltovatlanta.com, 770-312-9722

Clothing & Accessories Chic Occasions, P.O. Box 144, Marietta, www.chicoccasions.com, 770-257-9007 Nina McLemore, 110 E. Andrews Drive, Suite 3, Atlanta, www.ninamclemore.com, 404-841-8111 Ticknors, 3500 Peachtree Road, Suite 2012A, Atlanta, www.ticknors.com, 404-946-5808 Under the Pecan Tree, 5482 Chamblee-Dunwoody Road, Dunwoody, www.underthepecantree.net, 678-694-8704 Zimm’s Dry Cleaning, www.zimmsdrycleaning. com, 404-227-4426

Jewelers D. Geller and Son, 2955 Cobb Parkway, Suite 230, Cumberland, www.dgeller.com, 770-955-5995 LeeBrant Jewelers, 127 Perimeter Center West, Sandy Springs, www.leebrant.com, 770-551-8850 Solomon Brothers Fine Jewelry, 3340 Peachtree Road, Atlanta, www.solomonbrothers.com, 404266-0266

Invitations

EventPrints, www.eventprints.com, 404-745-9590

7th Wave Pictures, 750 Ponce de Leon Place, Atlanta, www.7thwavepictures.com, 404-246-9674 Affordable Photography, 3000 Old Alabama Road, Suite 119-195, Alpharetta, www.affordablephoto.com, 770-992-1529 Blue Orchid Productions, 2184 Zelda Drive, www. blueorchidproductions.com, 404-275-2290 Chuck Wolf Photo Design Bar, 3763 Roswell Road, Atlanta, www.photodesignbar.com, 404-709-2981 Current Pixel, 5975 Roswell Road, Suite A125, Sandy Springs, www.currentpixel.com, 404-256-4108 Eric Bern Studio, 400 Mount Vernon Highway, Sandy Springs, www.ericbernstudio.com, 404-2520209 Gray Imaging Photo, www.grayimagingphoto. com, 770-284-0395 The Great Frame Up, 1432 Dresden Drive, Suite 400, Brookhaven, brookhaven.thegreatframeup.

JUNE 30 ▪ 2017

Photographers & Videographers

39

SIMCHAS

B’nai Mitzvah Temple Adults

The Temple held a group b’nai mitzvah celebration Saturday, May 13, for 10 adult members who never had the experience as youths. The group consists of (from left) Scott Morris, Gail Ripans, Wendy Heaps, Jennifer Kellett, Elizabeth Webster, Selene Bauman, Yang Yang, Ellen Frauenthal, Jack Rosenthal and Cecile Prager.

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Estate Sales

Atlanta’s Experts in Estate Liquidations

Photos by Duane Stork

Ros Kastin, who grew up in Bucharest and Paris, is the principal of Rosthema Ltd., Interiors of Distinction, which handles highend houses and condos from Manhattan to Miami Beach.

Penthouse Stuns With Continental Class Jaffe: You are multilingual. Share your background.

Kastin: I grew up (until adolescence) in Bucharest, Romania. My

Chai-Style Home

By Marcia Caller Jaffe mjaffe@atljewishtimes.com

father, an OB-GYN, petitioned for 11 years before being allowed to move us to Paris (since a Communist Party official coveted our home). We emigrated from France as “necessary persons” to the U.S. because of his professional credentials.

I speak English, French and Romanian and get by in Italian and Spanish. None, however, without an accent. All of this cultural exposure influenced my sense of design and taste.

The living room Tabriz carpet and the

Continued on the next page

940 CANTON STREET, ROSWELL PETERBARNDIESTATESSALES.COM

770.552.1899 ANTIQUESB@BELLSOUTH.NET

JUNE 30 ▪ 2017

Designer Rosthema Kastin’s Midtown penthouse is a return to glamour, bracingly beautiful with a global sense of chic. She got what she wanted by downsizing from a spacious Sandy Springs home to Cabbage Patch Kids founder and folk artist Xavier Roberts’ top-floor condominium, which she gutted and renovated.

Ros, an interior designer (Rosthema Ltd., Interiors of Distinction) for high-end houses and condos from Manhattan to Miami Beach, has a certain je ne sais quoi presence that dovetails into her being an avid golfer, snow skier and grandmother, all with the flair of a duchess.

The penthouse uses floor-to-ceiling mirrors to bring the city inside.

Ros knows her way around elegance and the execution of it.

One side’s view is downtown Atlanta. From upstairs there’s a panoramic view of Kennesaw Mountain and Buckhead to Stone Mountain.

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A 1960 crown glass Baker cabinets were my parents’, whose home was filled with objets d’art.

Jaffe: How would you describe your style?

Kastin: I treat each project to reflect what my clients would do if they had my interior design education, my eye and experience.

“Contemporary with European sensibility” is my personal style.

“Contemporary” lets my imagination soar, but it’s demanding and must be precise.

Each object has its own limelight but works with the rest of the pieces.

Attention to detail is crucial. I utilize every inch of space — nooks turned into hidden storage, like my hat collection in a foyer closet. I designed these light, aluminum-framed sliding doors to cordon off spaces, like hiding kitchen preparation while entertaining.

JUNE 30 ▪ 2017

Jaffe: What were the construction logistics?

Kastin: It took two years to build. I gutted the space down to the concrete. Before I tackled furnishings, I considered what could be done architecturally.

I addressed every surface, from ceilings to walls to floors. I already had an image in mind. Husband Paul, who was ultimately supportive, shook his 42 head until he saw it coming together.

B Jaffe: He should have known to never doubt your talent. What are some of your special touches that being a designer affords?

Kastin: I wanted French lavender and coral as accents to my neutral color scheme, not the red lilac hue more readily found in fabrics. I had the fabric made by combining stripes of the French lavender in a Canovas fabric with the silvery taupe satin from Bergamo, and voila! Perfect for the Chanel quilted bench and pillows.

We also have that lavender on the weeping-willow-tree, hand-painted silk wall covering hugging the glass-andsteel staircase.

Lacquered panels on the support columns have grid lines that mimic the surrounding buildings’ architecture.

The open plan’s transparency and reflective surfaces provide fluidity.

Jaffe: You have a specific approach to textures and surfaces.

Kastin: I use unusual materials for their interplay.

The glass elevator and stairs open things up. I love Makassar ebony wood from South America for its rich color and subtle pattern. Onyx surrounds the fireplace. Malachite, Murano glass, jade and antique cloisonné all have their place.

The most unusual natural material is the dark-green, tactile, African soapstone with light-green inclusions

enclosing the ribbon fireplace and see-through room divider between the master suite and the library.

Perhaps Mother Nature is the best designer.

bique wood paneling. Matching Indian ivory tiled dogs sit atop cabinets, and a mysterious oil of three Bukharan men was purchased while in central Asia.

Jaffe: How do you express your love of photography?

Kastin: That’s a full question.

My favorites (all black and white) are Elliott Erwitt, a Jewish photographer, who condensed the action in the car’s side-view mirror in “California Kiss.” I pass by it every morning, and it makes me smile.

Frank Horvat shot these high heels. … The details are in the triangles (1974’s “Paris, Shoes and Eiffel Tower A”).

Another favorite is Man Ray’s (Emmanuel Radnitzky, also Jewish) “Le Mannequin.”

Larger is the very emotional Susan Derges photograph.

Her face occupies the entire field, as viewed from a distance. Closer, her large portrait recedes, and her face reappears within drops of water strung like a necklace.

ists?

Jaffe: Who are your favorite art-

Jaffe: Your master suite is the entire top floor.

Kastin: The south end is the office, with the telescope by a primarycolored, surrealistic diptych. The library is on the north wing. We wake up to the beautiful view and have coffee at the morning bar with Mozam-

Kastin: The Picasso (“Jacqueline dans son Atelier,” 1956) and Chagall (“Sirene a L’Epine”) — they may be the most famous names but not necessarily my very favorite.

I love sculpture. When my husband went on a golf trip, I flew to Paris to meet Philippe Hiquily and acquired “La Gifle,” which we purchased over drinks at the hotel bar. Upstairs is a brass sculpture (Carbonell) of a seated woman, torso bending to frame a view of a church steeple.

Jaffe: What are some of your most unusual pieces?

Kastin: All have a story. The spectacular crystal 1850 Osler English dining room chandelier. The D’Ore French clock, Louis XVI, on a Charles X base with marquetry design.

I found this 17th century Venetian mirror covered in dust in a New Orleans gallery. The Khmer warrior terra cotta bust is stoic.

Jaffe: Last word — you’re a city gal.

Kastin: Give me concrete, bright lights, traffic, buildings, energy and urban activity, and I’m happy! ■

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D

E

I

F

J

G

K

H

L

A: The living room includes the custom fabric Ros Kastin made by combining stripes of French lavender from a Manuel Canovas fabric with the silvery taupe satin of Bergamo fabrics. Chagall’s “Sirene a L’Epine” from 1967 hangs just outside the dining room, which features an 1850 Osler English chandelier.

B: A colorful Lucero sculpture (bought from Fay Gold) occupies a niche in the master bathroom.

C: Dark-green African soapstone encloses the ribbon fireplace and the see-through room divider between the master suite and the library.

D: A surprise pop of color in a salmon lacquered bar cabinet reflects the tones in the Rosenquist lithograph “Pale Lamps.”

E: A 19th century Mandalay “Buddha on Lotus Pad” is highlighted by the stylized leaves of a weeping-willow-tree, hand-painted silk wall covering adjacent to the glass elevator. The stairs leading to the statue are glass with an etched diamond pattern.

F: Ros Kastin chose this 1956 Picasso (“Jacqueline dans son Atelier”) for its softer image.

G: Frank Horvat’s 1974 “Paris, Shoes and Eiffel Tower A” hangs below Horst P. Horst’s “Study in Ivory.”

H: A church steeple and woods are framed by Manuel Carbonell’s brass sculpture depicting a seated woman with a bent torso.

I: Philippe Hiquily’s “La Gifle,” which Ros Kastin bought from the sculptor over drinks at a Paris hotel, depicts a woman on a bar stool who slaps a man for getting too fresh.

J: The south end of the master bedroom is the office, with a telescope next to the surrealistic diptych “Balls” by Cheryl Laemmle.

K: A Baccarat lamp and Gallé vase line up with the Louis XVI clock on a Charles X marquetry base.

L: The penthouse balcony provides a panorama stretching far beyond Buckhead to encompass an area from Kennesaw Mountain to Stone Mountain.

JUNE 30 ▪ 2017

C

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SPORTS

Catchball Carries Atlanta Women to Israel

By David R. Cohen david@atljewishtimes.com

“The idea is that it’s a fun, social sport for every woman to participate,” team captain Tal Levy said.

A sport that has taken Israel by In late March, Gurvitch and Levy storm has found its way to Atlanta. got their best squad together and Catchball, a close relative of vol- traveled to Boston to compete in the leyball in which players first East Coast Catchball catch the ball and throw it Tournament.

Although Team Atlanta back over the net instead the team had played toRachel Gurvitch of bumping, setting and gether for only a few short Tal Levy spiking, has become the months, it finished in secmost popular participa- Yael Rottelman Matana ond place. tory sport among women Inga Raz That result landed the in Israel with an estimated Shiri Tzuk women a spot in the inter15,000 players. Now a team Sivan Amrani national catchball compefrom Atlanta is headed to tition taking place in IsNeta Grossman Israel to compete in the rael during the Maccabiah sport during the 20th Mac- Iris Sharoni Games from July 4 to 18.

Shely Izardel Parness cabiah Games in July.

Catchball is categorized as Israeli transplant Raa demonstration sport. chel Gurvitch, who lives in Dunwoody, The catchball tournament, schedhelped start a catchball team in Atlanta uled for July 6, 7 and 8, will feature six months ago. Playing at the Marcus three teams from the United States — Jewish Community Center once a week, Boston, Palo Alto, Calif., and Atlanta — the group quickly grew to more than 36 as well as 36 Israeli teams. women, most of them over age 30.

The Atlanta team, which goes by “We are not as athletic as we used the name Peach Perfect, is sponsored to be when we were in our 20s,” Gur- by Dunwoody coffee shop Crema and vitch said. “But this sport suddenly Margarita Activewear leggings. brought us all together. We are leaving “It’s going to be a challenge for us our houses, husbands and kids and get- to compete in Israel,” Levy said. “Evting out there and playing.” ery city in Israel had tryouts for their

New Jewish Hope for Braves

JUNE 30 ▪ 2017

The Atlanta Braves signed their 14th-round draft pick, Keith Weisenberg, for a $125,000 bonus June 20 and assigned him to the Danville Braves in the Appalachian League.

According to Jewish Baseball News, Weisenberg was the second of 11 Jewish players taken in the 40-round Major League Baseball draft in mid-June. The 21-year-old, right-handed relief pitcher decided to leave Stanford after his junior year to sign with the Braves.

“I literally could not be happier to be joining the Braves organization,” Weisenberg told the Bay Area News Group. “I’m really thankful for everything Stanford has done for me in preparing me for the next chapter in life.”

Weisenberg is from Seminole, Fla. He’s 6-foot-5 and listed as 195 pounds by the Danville Braves and 215 pounds

by Stanford. He had an ERA of 6.14 in 63 innings across three seasons for the Cardinal, but that number was inflated by a rough freshman year. His last two years, when he was used only as a reliever, his ERA was 3.89, and he struck out almost a batter per inning.

Through Monday, June 26, six games into Danville’s season, Weisen44 berg had not played.

On NASCAR’s Top Level

Alon Day started and finished in 32nd place Sunday, June 25, in the Toyota/Save Mart 350 at California’s Sonoma Raceway, becoming the first Israeli and probably the first Jew to race in NASCAR’s highest level.

Day lost any hope of making the top 10 on the road course when he was hit in Turn 11. The front right quarter of his BK Racing Toyota was shredded, but he kept the car running.

Day plans to skip the next five Monster Energy Series races, then return at Watkins Glen, N.Y., on Aug. 6.

JCC Golfers Raise $400,000

The Marcus Jewish Community Center’s Harry Maziar Classic golf tournament at the Atlanta Country Club in East Cobb raised a record $400,000 while honoring former interim JCC CEO Doug Kuniansky June 5.

“The Kuniansky family name has long been associated with dedication to Atlanta’s Jewish community,” said Joel Arogeti, who succeeded Kuniansky as the JCC board chair in March 2016.

“Doug is well known and highly respected as a committed philanthropist and fundraiser.”

The tournament had 140 players.

Atlanta’s traveling catchball team, Peach Perfect, earned a spot in an international tournament in Israel by placing second in a national tournament in Boston in March.

teams, and out of all the girls that play catchball in each place, they chose only the best 14 players. We are traveling to Israel with only nine girls.”

Levy said the team is also in dire need of a coach. Because catchball isn’t well known in Atlanta, they have searched for a coach with volleyball experience.

Israelis adapted catchball from Newcomb ball, which was invented late in the 19th century at Newcomb College in New Orleans but today is rarely played outside gym classes in the United States.

When the Atlanta squad competes in Israel this July, expect some sibling rivalry. Shiri Tzuk, one of the members of Peach Perfect, has a sister playing

AMSSL Standings — Week 3 A Division

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for the Herzliya team. When the tournament draw was made in June, the schedule set Atlanta against Herzliya in one of the first games.

“It’s Atlanta and Herzliya in the same house,” Tzuk said. “My mom supports Team Atlanta, and my dad supports Herzliya. It’s going to be a derby.”

Atlanta’s catchball league, Atlanta Net, starts a new season in August, playing on Monday and Wednesday nights at the Marcus JCC. Gurvitch said all women over 21 are welcome to play.

“The door is open for any woman,” she said. “Anyone can feel welcome and is invited to come play with us. We have no reason to limit. Israelis are just an easy crowd because they have heard of the sport.” ■

July 9 Softball Schedule East Roswell Park 12:30 — Beth Tefillah vs. Ahavath Achim | Chabad vs. Or VeShalom 1:45 — Dor Tamid vs. Temple | Sinai vs.

B’nai Torah 3:00 — Kol Emeth vs. B’nai Torah 2 | Beth Shalom vs. Beth Tikvah 2 4:15 — Beth Shalom vs. B’nai Torah 2 | Kol Emeth vs. Beth Tikvah 2 Ocee Park 9:00 — Gesher L’Torah vs. Or Hadash | Young Israel vs. Beth Tikvah 10:15 — Beth Jacob vs. Sinai 2 | Etz Chaim vs. Ariel 11:30 — Emanu-El vs. Dor Tamid 2 | Temple 2 vs. Sinai 3 12:45 — Sinai 3 vs. Dor Tamid 2 | Emanu-El vs. Temple 2

June 25 Results

Temple def. Or VeShalom 12-4 Temple def. Ahavath Achim 12-11 B’nai Torah def. Or VeShalom 7-2 B’nai Torah def. Ahavath Achim 11-4 Dor Tamid def. Beth Tefillah 8-4 Sinai def. Dor Tamid 9-8 Chabad def. Sinai 13-11 Beth Tefillah def. Chabad 10-6 Gesher L’Torah def. Sinai 2 9-7 Gesher L’Torah def. Beth Jacob 21-3

OBITUARIES

Phyllis Kravitch 96, Atlanta

Phyllis Kravitch, 96, a Savannah native who served nearly four decades as a federal appeals judge, died Thursday, June 15, 2017, at Piedmont Hospital.

The first woman to serve on the U.S. Court of Appeals in the Deep South, Kravitch was also the second Jewish judge who grew up in Savannah and was appointed to the federal bench by President Jimmy Carter to die in Atlanta in one week. Retired U.S. District Judge Marvin Shoob, 94, died June 12.

As a Jewish woman, Kravitch was a rarity when she earned her law degree from the University of Pennsylvania by graduating second in her class in 1944.

As one of her former law clerks, Deborah Danzig, told the convention of the National Council of Jewish Women in Buckhead in March, the big Eastern law firms wouldn’t consider hiring a Jewish woman at that time, so Kravitch went to work in her father Aaron’s Savannah law firm more than a decade before women could serve on juries in Georgia.

She also represented black clients in the segregated South and overcame resistance from her male colleagues to practice law in court. She went on to become president of the Savannah Bar Association in 1973 and was the first woman elected to the Superior Court in Georgia in 1976.

Carter named her to the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in 1979 — the third woman in the nation on the federal appellate court — and she moved to the 11th Circuit when it was formed in 1981. Although she shifted to senior status in 1996, she remained active on the bench until last year.

The Daily Report, Atlanta’s legal newspaper, honored Kravitch with its Lifetime Achievement Award in 2015. NCJW did the same thing at its Women Who Dared Luncheon on March 24, but Kravitch missed the event after falling ill the day before.

During the luncheon, Danzig said Kravitch, who never married, achieved greatness not only through the practice of law and her judicial rulings, but also through the 102 law clerks and six assistants who worked for her and carried her influence through their own careers.

Kravitch had a private burial in Savannah, and, according to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, a memorial service will be held in Atlanta.

Jerry Rosen 79, Philadelphia

It is with great sadness that the family of Jerry Rosen announces his passing at the age of 79 years old in Philadelphia on Friday, June 2, 2017.

Born in Philadelphia, he spent the majority of his adult life in Atlanta. After a lifetime of working in sales, he co-founded J&L Foods, a successful food distribution business, in 1979, and he retired in 2001. He was also a veteran of the United States Army. Jerry is remembered by his children, Holly, Amy and Mindi, and his sonsin-law, Brian Fink and Daryl Hirsch. Jerry will also be remembered by his grandchildren, Olivia and Max. Jerry is buried at Washington Crossing National Cemetery in Newtown, Pa., at Section 32, Site 1007.

Irvin Berland, 80, of Boca Raton, Fla., husband of Gloria Berland and father of Temple Sinai member Jerry Berland and Sheryl Gulla, on June 20.

Zev Gross, brother of Congregation Beth Shalom member Joel Gross, on June 17.

Bernard Harris of Marietta, father of Temple Kol Emeth member Steve Harris, on June 9.

Miriam Katz, 88, of Buffalo, N.Y., wife of Donald Katz and mother of Temple Sinai member Wendy Katz and Jody Katz-Chassin, on June 16.

Genya Kurlyanchuk of Atlanta on June 11.

Mark Kusher, 67, of Atlanta, father of Justin Kusher, on June 11.

Toby Menart of Atlanta, wife of Dale Menart and mother of Heather Bilotta, on June 24.

Gertrude Meyer, 74, of Atlanta, mother of Don Holbert and Barbie Marland, on June 9.

Aaron Poretsky of Atlanta, husband of Sylvia Taggart Poretsky and father of Elys­sa Poretsky and Curtis Poretsky, on June 19.

JUNE 30 ▪ 2017

Death Notices

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CLOSING THOUGHTS

Pebbles, Campers And Other Favorite Things Screen doors opening and closing, the sound my shoes make when I walk on wooden floors, babbling brooks, trees whispering in the wind, the sound of raindrops, birds singing, dried leaves crackling, children giggling and bear hugs.

Join with me and let’s all sing, “These are a few of my favorite things.”

On my way from the parking lot of the Marcus Jewish Community Center to the tennis doors leading into the Zaban building, I suddenly became aware of two of the sounds I love. Two sounds that nourish the memories in my soul: • The sound of campers chatting and laughing as they walk together down the hill to Camp Alterman.

• The sound of pebbles dancing around under the cars leaving camp carpool.

I love carpooling. Have you ever listened to the children in your carpool discussing their world? A world with both child-size challenges and, unfortunately in today’s world, adultsize challenges.

Their methods for solving problems are pure and, in my humble opinion, effective.

I’ve been privy to the most extraordinary inventions. I’ve had the distinct honor of being included in the most fun and most original games one can play only in a car. I’ve been asked difficult questions that reveal deepseated fears hurting the hearts of my carpoolers.

Oh, did I mention the magical feeling when little hands touch my neck?

The next time you take a walk or

a hike, spend some time searching for heart-shaped pebbles or rocks.

I don’t drink, nor do I smoke.

However, I am not boring. Give me a fresh bagel — scooped, of course — and I owe you my life. Another of my favorite things.

By Shaindle Schmuckler shaindle@atljewishtimes.com

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And I am addicted to Nips candies. Crazy, I know.

I yearn for the sounds of my grandbabies (none of which is a baby anymore) playing football on my street or playing basketball on my driveway.

There are also those rare moments when I make a basket, and they cry out, “Wow, great job, Savta.”

Or when they experiment with games they’ve invented or they’ve learned at Camp Barney.

And how about the sounds of prayers they can sing in perfect Hebrew, thanks to the Davis Academy and the Epstein School?

Let’s talk about pebbles.

I have handfuls of pebbles in my bathroom sinks. Large and small, with a beautiful diversity of hues. It’s so organic (forgive me, I am so tired of this word).

The next time you drive on a road built of rocks and pebbles, roll your car window down, turn off your electronics, including the radio, and listen to the sounds of history, the sounds of today, the sounds of the future.

See you on the trails. ■

How can we share our feelings As strangers to each other?

We work to help people improvisationally Our challenge — facing our insecurities Join us — build something new together For there are no right or wrong answers In our tiny space we plant the seed Let us blanket the world with the warmth of peace

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

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10. Sacrifice stock 16. “___ Be” (“Lu Yehi”) 17. Many people think turning cellphones off one day a week is a good one 18. Hachnasat ___ 19. Day of celebration in Eretz Yisrael 21. Get into an Inbal bed 22. Fig. for those at 47-Across 23. Dismays 24. Shoresh center?

25. Hebrew letter with a value of 9 26. Mel Brooks classic 30. Country in Jerusalem?

31. 2002 Streisand album 32. Actor Broderick, for short 35. Claremont or Martin 38. “You ___ heard nothin’ yet” (Al Jolson) 42. An Emanuel brother 43. Remove, as pages from this publication 45. Faith, in Judaism 47. Jewish institution established in 1886, or a hint to what’s missing in 19-, 26-, 61- and 75-Across 50. Confine, like the lion in Ezekiel 19 51. Those eating in a 1982 Barry Levinson film 52. When doubled, a kosher restaurant in Venice 53. An Emanuel brother 54. Shmutzy 55. “Sof haderech” 56. Ones in charge at 47-Across, for short 59. Like Laban 61. Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations from 1984 to 1988 68. Hair product from Natural 69. Ramat Hadar borders?

70. Kama and Basra 71. El ___ (1961 Anthony Mann classic) 73. Symbolic liquid of one who might need tzedakah 75. Jerusalem locale that gets very crowded on Friday

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80. Tisha B’Av readings 81. Addresses used by one medium of this publication 82. Part of Tommy Ramone’s kit DOWN 1. Make like the Jews through the desert 2. Pace or a chalav Yisrael brand in Australia 3. A Coen brother 4. Hamm or Kirshner 5. Props for Jacob and Moses 6. Big Apple offering 7. Some Omnicom or Joseph Jacobs workers 8. Pose a shaylah again 9. Dennings who played a “Broke Girl” 10. Something taken at 47-Across 11. Will on Hurwitz’s “Arrested Development” 12. Chan. that might air Billy Wilder films 13. Words between “Am” in Exodus 3:14 14. Say Joseph is comparable to Daniel 15. It’s the truth 20. She won gold four years before Sarah (Hughes) 24. Leading the Jews for 40 years, for Moses (at times) 27. It’s good in Yiddish but can be unhealthy in English?

28. Job of Michael Kahn on 1 2 3 4 virtually every L O B E Spielberg film 14 U P O N 29. Jacob’s twin, 17 S E R V and others 20 T R A I 32. Film mogul 24 S A T E Louis B. 28 D 33. Hapoel 33 34 35 O D E Jerusalem 41 L E S Basketball Club, 45 46 D U P E for one 49 S T I D 34. NYU’s ___ 53 O U School of the Arts 61 62 K E N 35. Stereotyped 66 67 I L A N Jewish job, abbr.

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37. Confrontation, as on Bochco’s “Hill Street Blues” 39. Iconic role for Mandy (Patinkin) 40. Refusenik Sharansky 41. Herb in a Simon & Garfunkel title 43. Make like Rothstein to the World Series, supposedly 44. “___ Lost You” (Elvis) 45. Puppet ending (e.g., Shari Lewis) 46. Zeresh, ___ 48-Across 48. Husband of 46-Across 49. Oy follower 54. Adjusts electric lights for Havdalah, perhaps 55. She wrote about Dagny (Taggart) 57. “___ Unchained” (film with a humorous Jonah Hill cameo) 58. 75-Across, e.g.

59. Legendary Lee 60. Ammo for Han Solo 61. Southern kibbutz 62. Rental name at Ben Gurion 63. Casspi or Curry, briefly 64. A brigade in the IDF 65. Famous abba and his family 66. Bin name in Halva 67. Miep Gies to Anne Frank 68. ___ Nation (Mayim Bialik website) 72. “Double ___” (Marc Summers’ game show) 74. Establishment for Rahab 75. Big Ten sch. of Sam Raimi and Magic Johnson 76. Karem or Gedi LAST WEEK’S SOLUTION 5

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