Inside: Celebration of Simchas, Pages 16-40 NEW PAL
TWIN JOY
Rabbi Adam Starr sends his son an important lifelong message from his first siddur. Page 28
Atlanta
“My Big Fat Greek Wedding” has nothing on the crazy fun of a double Hasidic b’nai mitzvah. Page 30
ARTISTIC TIES
Kennesaw State’s Daniel Sachs turns Jewish wedding contracts into personalized works of art. Page 32
INSIDE
Ma Tovu �����������������������������������3 Calendar ���������������������������������� 4 Candle Lighting ��������������������� 4 Opinion ����������������������������������10 Education �������������������������������13 Israel News ����������������������������14 Simchas ����������������������������������16 Youth ��������������������������������������41 Arts ����������������������������������������� 42 Obituaries ����������������������������� 44 Crossword ����������������������������� 46 Marketplace ������������������������� 47
PURIM PARTY
Beautiful weather for Beth Jacob’s 25th annual parade helps Toco Hills start the holiday week right. Page 8
LIBERTY OR ...
Gov. Nathan Deal is under pressure to veto a religious liberty bill. Page 9
ISRAEL’S ALLIES
At AIPAC, Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton agree with Benjamin Netanyahu on U.N. peace plans and Iran. Page 14
MOVIE STAR
At 21, Carmelle Danneman is making the film festival circuit for a second year. Page 43
VOL. XCI NO. 12
WWW.ATLANTAJEWISHTIMES.COM
MARCH 25, 2016 | 15 ADAR II 5776
Brussels Bombs Cause Latest Shock Wave
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t least 34 people died in bombings at the Brussels airport and a subway station during morning rush hour Tuesday, March 22, in the latest stunning terrorist attack on the West. Islamic State claimed credit for the attack on the Belgian capital, where a suspect was arrested days earlier in connection with November’s Islamic State slaughter of 130 people in Paris. Three days earlier a terrorist tied to Islamic State killed three Israelis (two of them dual American citizens) and an Iranian in a tourist area of Istanbul.
“The chain of attacks from Paris to San Bernardino to Istanbul to the Ivory Coast and now to Brussels and the daily attacks in Israel — this is one continuous assault on all of us,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a speech to AIPAC. “In all these cases the terrorists have no resolvable grievances. It’s not as if we could offer them Brussels or Istanbul or California or even the West Bank. … What they seek is our utter destruction and their total domination.” David Harris, the CEO of American Jewish Committee, arrived in Brussels
from London the night before. He said all AJC staff and families are safe, but “one of our colleagues was close to one of the stations and witnessed the event.” Yaakov Yeret, a volunteer emergency medical technician from Israel’s United Hatzalah, was praying at the airport synagogue when the bombs went off. “We felt the explosion,” he said. “We are determined to fight this scourge until it is defeated,” World Jewish Congress President Ronald S. Lauder said. “This is a fight of good against evil, and we must not shy away from it.” ■
Miraculous Story After Cobb Crash By David R. Cohen david@atljewishtimes.com Aaron Holder, wearing a plaid shirt, helps carry the driver from a car crash in East Cobb on Tuesday, March 15. The man who took this photo, Matt Chanin, is also Jewish, and after sharing the shot with Holder, he was invited to Holder’s house for Shabbat dinner.
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serious East Cobb traffic accident Tuesday, March 15, at the intersection of Johnson Ferry and Roswell roads had an unlikely hero in Aaron Holder. Holder was inside the nearby Sprint store when he witnessed a blinding flash of light and heard a deafening crash. “G-d just puts me into situations he knows I can handle, I guess,” said Holder, who ran across the street to the accident and found two men opening the passenger door to assist the driver, who veered into a power pole after suffering a stroke. “I went over to the driver-side door, and there were wires and fuel leaking everywhere,” Holder said. “I opened up the door, and with the help of one of those two guys, we got her out of the car. It was very surreal.” Holder, who is studying to be a chiropractor at Life University in Marietta, said he took precautions to minimize the
risk of head or neck injuries when moving the driver. The accident shut down that busy intersection for hours, including most of the afternoon rush hour, while crews cleared the power lines and repaired the pole. Holder organized a peaceful proIsrael rally at the CNN Center in October. He is also a singer-songwriter and
performed at halftime during the Atlanta Hawks’ Jewish Heritage Night in 2014. “I don’t usually go that way, and there was no need for me to go to that Sprint store,” Holder said. “It was a miracle that she survived, a miracle that I was there and able to help, and a miracle that everyone did their part to make sure that things went right. It was all a miracle, thanks to G-d.” ■