Atlanta VOL. XCII NO. 10 WWW.ATLANTAJEWISHTIMES.COM
MARCH 10, 2017 | 12 ADAR 5777
Anti-BDS Case Needs Nuance Pastner Top ACC Coach Georgia Tech men’s basketball coach Josh Pastner was hired last April with limited expectations for his first season. Some didn’t expect the Jackets to win a single Atlantic Coast Conference game. Instead, the ragtag squad Pastner inherited from Brian Gregory won eight conference games and went 17-14 overall. The Jewish coach’s surprising success was recognized Sunday, March 5, when he was named ACC Coach of the Year. He was picked by 24 of the 53 voters. “From where we started Year 1 in a rebuild job with the least experienced team in all of college basketball and where we are right now with 17 wins is a lesson in team over individual and how we’ve become a really good basketball team,” Pastner said after the Jackets won their final home game of the season Feb. 28 against Pittsburgh. “I believe eight wins in the ACC should be an automatic berth in the NCAA Tournament.” Georgia Tech center Ben Lammers was voted the ACC Defensive Player of the Year and second-team All-ACC; guard Josh Okogie was named All-Freshman. The Jackets entered the ACC Tournament as the 11th seed and were scheduled to face No. 14 seed Pittsburgh at 7 p.m. Tuesday, March 7, in Brooklyn. Tech likely needs a deep run for an NCAA berth. ■
INSIDE: PURIM, PAGES 20-26
Party Like It’s 499 B.C.E. Photo by Michael Jacobs
There’s nothing but joy coming from the Netzach Israel entry in Congregation Beth Jacob’s 26th annual Purim Parade down LaVista Road in Toco Hills on Sunday morning, March 5. Netzach Israel won the grand prize for best float (Beth Jacob’s own “Where’s Waldo?” float scored highest but wasn’t eligible for the prize). See more from the parade and the festival that followed on Page 26, plus Dena Schusterman’s thoughts on who rules the world on Page 25, Robbie Medwed’s cocktail suggestions on Page 24, Beth Jacob’s Adarstarting upside-down dinner on Page 23, our full Purim events calendar on Page 22, and all the news that fits in print from The Times of Shushan on Pages 20 and 21.
Subscribe, Support, Sustain Support the AJT and Subscribe Today.
1-year subscription for home delivery of the Atlanta Jewish Times: $65 in Georgia, $89 outside of state, delivery by U.S. mail. To subscribe, go to www.atlantajewishtimes.com/subscription. For more information, please call 404-883-2130.
INSIDE Calendar ��������������������������������������� 4 Candle Lighting �������������������������� 4 Israel News �����������������������������������6 Opinion ���������������������������������������10 Education ����������������������������������� 27 Obituaries �����������������������������������33 Arts �����������������������������������������������34 Marketplace �������������������������������36 Crossword �����������������������������������39
The Jewish community needs to learn how to respond to supporters of the boycott, divestment and sanctions movement as if they are swing voters whose minds can be changed, not as if they are dupes who can’t see through the effort to delegitimize and eliminate Israel. That was the core of the advice offered by Israel Action Network Deputy Director Max Chamovitz at a discussion hosted by the Jewish Federation of Greater Atlanta on Monday morning, March 6. The BDS movement in more than 10 years has largely failed to compel businesses, governments or nonprofit organizations to sell their holdings in companies that operate in Israel. Many states, including Georgia, have passed laws barring companies that boycott Israel from doing business with state agencies. But the movement has persuaded some entertainers not to perform in Israel and some academic associations not to work with their Israeli peers. More important, Chamovitz said, BDS is using more nuanced arguments that feature concepts no one would oppose — freedom, justice and equality — while trying to isolate Israel as the latest incarnation of apartheid South Africa. Chamovitz said the intention of BDS is clear: Its three stated goals of forcing Israel to retreat to its pre-1967 borders, ending its “apartheid” system and enforcing the right of Palestinian refugees to return would destroy Israel. But it’s ineffective to tell people who believe Israel should exist but are drawn to the progressive BDS message that they’re being tricked, Chamovitz said, because that’s the same as telling them they’re stupid. And clever retorts — “If you want to boycott, throw away your cellphone” — won’t change minds. Chamovitz suggested positive messages about the good Israel does and responses that address specific interests. To someone who seeks peace and a two-state resolution, for example, he would say BDS drives people apart and keeps them from finding solutions. ■