INSIDE: TRAVEL, PAGES 20-25
woodruffcreateATL.org
FLYING HIGH
EAST END BOYS
Take a stroll through London’s old Jewish district, where 200,000 immigrants once were crammed together. Page 20
CHUGGING ON
When land plans fell through, a Jewish couple saw a zip-line over Hilton Head take off instead. Page 21
Less than a day’s drive away, Roanoke offers mountain leisure, surprising art and a blast from the railroad past. Page 24
Atlanta INSIDE Calendar ����������������������������������� 4 Candle Lighting ���������������������� 5 Israel News ������������������������������ 6 Local News ������������������������������� 8 Opinion ���������������������������������� 10 Business ��������������������������������� 19 Travel �������������������������������������20 Education �������������������������������26 Health & Wellness ���������������28 Obituaries ������������������������������29 Crossword ������������������������������ 30 Marketplace ���������������������������31
NEW TURF
Once threatened with closure, the Israeli Consulate is expanding to cover three more states. Page 13
SEEING SURVIVORS
Yom HaShoah is observed from Peachtree City to the Capitol to the JCC. Pages 14-15
HATE EDUCATION
A national AEPi conference sends a powerful message about inclusion. Page 26
VIRAL WORRIES
Led by Emory’s Raymond Schinazi, experts delve into Zika’s dangers as mosquito season arrives. Page 28
VOL. XCI NO. 19
WWW.ATLANTAJEWISHTIMES.COM
MAY 13, 2016 | 5 IYAR 5776
Federation Picks CEO
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he Jewish Federation of Greater Atlanta has found its next president and CEO: Eric Robbins (shown at right), who has led Camp Twin Lakes since September 2005 and is also known for helping bring Limmud to town more than eight years ago. Federation’s board made the choice official Thursday, May 5, and Robbins will take the post in August. The Pittsburgh native, 53, has been part of the Atlanta Jewish community since he
first went to Camp Barney Medintz at age 10 and has spent his entire career in the nonprofit world, most of it with Jewish agencies. Now he’s embracing the challenge to transform Federation for the 21st century to fulfill what he sees as its core purpose: community building. “This is a time when it really needs to change,” Robbins said. “It’s exciting.” ■ • Robbins’ community vision, Page 8 • Refreshing choice, Page 10
Take 2 Swings at Braves Schmoozing
By David R. Cohen david@atljewishtimes.com
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raves fans, rejoice: May brings two Jewish-themed opportunities to take in a game in Turner Field’s final season. The Atlanta Braves host Jewish Heritage Night on Thursday, May 26. Tickets purchased with this package include a Chipper Jones replica jersey and an opportunity to participate in a pregame parade around the field.
“The Braves are always looking to bring the community together, and there is no better place to do it than at a game,” said Braves Vice President of Marketing Adam Zimmerman. “Our group sales department has worked in the past with groups from the Jewish community for separate outings and wanted to create an inclusive night.” Jewish Heritage Night is one of a series of Braves events focused on a specific community. The Atlanta baseball calendar also includes Asian American
Heritage Night, Hispanic Heritage Night, LGBT Night and Heritage Weekend. Jewish Heritage Night does not include a kosher food stand, but the second Jewish event four days later does. On Memorial Day, Monday, May 30, the Braves, in partnership with the Atlanta Kashruth Commission, host Kosher Day. The AKC-certified food for sale on the club patio that afternoon includes hot dogs, chips and cookies. The Braves, and presumably Kosher Day, move to SunTrust Park next year. ■
What: Jewish Heritage Night, Braves vs. Milwaukee Brewers
What: Kosher Day, Braves vs. San Francisco Giants
Where: Turner Field, 755 Hank Aaron Drive, downtown
Where: Turner Field, 755 Hank Aaron Drive, downtown
When: 7:10 p.m. Thursday, May 26
When: 1 p.m. Monday, May 30
Tickets: $26 upper deck, $39 outfield, $41 field reserved; 404-6141327 or rick.coller@braves.com
Tickets: $10 ($8 for groups of four or more); 404-634-4063 or akc@ kosheratlanta.org
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MAY 13 ▪ 2016
MA TOVU
My Lord, Open My Lips To Declare Your Glory get upset. There also are times, when facing a seemingly insurmountable challenge, I get stuck in my own mind and feel as if I’m grasping for solutions in the dark. Then there are those magical moments when I manage to stop, to
Hand of Hashem By Mindy Rubenstein editor@nishei.org
breathe deeply and to softly speak those all-powerful words: “G-d, I need help.” Then it comes. Each time I’m able to move beyond my mind and emotions and eek out that simple prayer, the entire feeling and momentum of the situation change. It is no longer just me and my thoughts navigating a seemingly crazy and unpredictable world. It is me connected with the infinite. When I allow that spark to enter the darkness, suddenly the situation is flooded with light. I realize, however, that my children should hear my often-silent prayers. I can tell them over and over again that G-d runs the world and that everything He does is for the good. But when they are in pain emotionally or physically, my role is to acknowledge their pain, show compassion and articulate my own faith. “G-d, please help me make the right decision.” “G-d, my children are fighting, and I feel like I’m going to lose it. Please help me be a good mom.” “Thank you, G-d, for giving me the ability and resources to feed my family.” “Please, G-d, help me choose the right words so they can reach the right people.” In a world where discussing faith can be a faux pas, my challenge, I think, is to feel more secure speaking aloud to G-d at any moment — to remember to reach out to Him even in the trenches when life is messy and even when others may be listening. ■ Mindy Rubenstein lives in Toco Hills with her husband and four children. She serves as founder and editor of Nishei, the magazine for Atlanta Jewish women.
MAY 13 ▪ 2016
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y husband and I were sitting at a kosher restaurant recently, and before eating, we said our usual brachas. Growing up, I witnessed only people of other faiths praying before meals. I didn’t realize until learning more about Judaism as an adult that it’s common to thank and praise G-d many times throughout the day, such as when waking up, before eating and even after using the restroom. When it comes to food, there are blessings for the various kinds. Hamotzi for bread, mezanot for other grains, ha’adama for things like vegetables that grow in the earth, ha’etz for fruits from trees and shehakol for drinks. It took me years to remember and really understand them. But now taking a bite or a sip without being aware of what it is and where it came from — and not making a bracha first — seems strange. As my children feed their pet rabbits, I watch the fuzzy little creatures dive into and devour their food, and I think, “This is one thing that separates us from the animals: being mindful and having the ability to thank G-d.” This recent trip to the restaurant, as we each said our brachas and amens, it occurred to me that we say these blessings in hushed tones while people around us naturally speak somewhat loudly to each other about mundane things. And I wondered, “Why do we whisper our words to G-d, but when we speak to each other, whether it’s recounting a story or getting irritated, we speak loudly or even yell?” What would the world be like if the opposite were true — if we passionately articulated our prayers of gratitude but held our tongues when it came to criticism or complaints? Despite my evolving faith, many of my waking moments are still compartmentalized and disconnected. I sometimes go about my day mindlessly maneuvering the mundane — unloading my cart at the grocery store, helping my children find their shoes, listening to my middle-schooler groan about homework, spreading jelly on bread while my preschooler asks me to play a game with him. There are times when nature and nurture get the best of me and I yell at my children or husband when I
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Yom HaAtzmaut celebration. Young Israel of Toco Hills offers music, dancing and other activities and sells kosher barbecue from 5 to 7 p.m. at Mason Mill Park, 1340 McConnell Drive, Atlanta. Free; www.yith.org. Food trucks and freedom. The Marcus JCC plays host to Food Truck Thursday to celebrate Yom HaAtzmaut with free music and activities and kosher food for sale from 5 to 8:30 p.m. at Brook Run Park, 4770 N. Peachtree Road, Dunwoody. Free; www.atlantajcc.org.
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Contributors This Week
STEPHEN BURSTIN • MARK FISHER YONI GLATT • R.M. GROSSBLATT LEAH R. HARRISON • JAN JABEN-EILON MARCIA CALLER JAFFE BENJAMIN KWESKIN MICHAEL LEFKOVE VICKI LEOPOLD • KEVIN MADIGAN TOVA NORMAN • JEFFREY ORENSTEIN MATTHEW PRATER MINDY RUBENSTEIN • DAVE SCHECHTER SHAINDLE SCHMUCKLER • AL SHAMS RABBI MARK ZIMMERMAN
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MAY 13 ▪ 2016
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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 © 2016 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
Challah baking. InterfaithFamily/Atlanta and Rabbi Ruth Abusch-Magder explore the mixed history of the twisted Jewish bread at 7 p.m. at 675 Ponce de Leon Ave., Suite 8500, Midtown. Dinner will be served, and everyone will go home with a loaf ready to bake. Entry is $18 for one or two; bit.ly/1VQplva.
SATURDAY, MAY 14
Scholar in residence. Rabbi Arnold Goodman returns to Ahavath Achim Synagogue, 600 Peachtree Battle Ave., Buckhead, for a scholarly weekend. He presents the sermon at the morning service and discusses the Roman siege of Jerusalem after the Kiddush at 12:45 p.m. Free; aasynagogue.org.
SUNDAY, MAY 15
Greek history exhibit. “Synagonistis: Greek Jews in the National Resistance” has its final day in the Katz Family Mainstreet Gallery at the Marcus JCC, 5342 Tilly Mill Road, Dunwoody. Free and open to the public when the center is open; www.atlantajcc.org. Pew discussion. With moderator Steve Chervin, Rabbi Arnold Goodman and
Israeli Deputy Consul General Ron Brummer discuss the recent Pew report on Israeli religious and political opinions at 10 a.m. at Ahavath Achim Synagogue, 600 Peachtree Battle Ave., Buckhead. Free; aasynagogue.org. Caring for a parent. Jenifer Firestone and Rabbi Ilan Feldman lead a twopart workshop, “Navigating the Journey From Child to Caretaker,” today and May 22 at 10 a.m. at Congregation Beth Jacob, 1855 LaVista Road, Toco Hills. Free; RSVP to bit.ly/1Ud8eCh or 404-633-0551. Yom HaAtzmaut festival. Congregation Or Hadash, 7460 Trowbridge Road, Sandy Springs, hosts a communitywide celebration from noon to 3 p.m. with a shuk, food, games, Israeli music and dancing. Admission is $18 per person, $24 per couple or $36 per family; ulazusman@gmail.com, ekleigh@ gmail.com or www.or-hadash.org. Student awards. The Marian F. Perling Hadassah Chesed Student Awards are presented to outstanding seventh- to 12th-graders at day schools and synagogue religious schools at 2:30 p.m. at Congregation Or VeShalom, 1681 N. Druid Hills Road, Brookhaven. Free; RSVPs appreciated by May 10 to 470482-6778 or atlanta@hadassah.org.
Benny Goodman” at 5 p.m. Tickets are $49 for members, $59 for nonmembers; thebreman.org or 678-222-3700.
MONDAY, MAY 16
Book talk. Simon Sebag Montefiore discusses his new book, “The Romanovs: 1613-1918,” at 7:15 p.m. at the Georgia Center for the Book at the DeKalb County Public Library, 215 Sycamore St., Decatur. Free; bit.ly/1WiFcT3.
TUESDAY, MAY 17
Babyccino. The mom-and-tot classes at Chabad of North Fulton, 10180 Jones Bridge Road, Alpharetta, focus on creation each Tuesday at 10:30 a.m. through June 21. This week’s topic is plants. The cost is $12 per class or $80 for the series; j1sinasohn@aol.com or www.chabadnf.org. Stepping up to the plate. Miami Marlins President David Samson is the featured speaker at the annual ACCESS Entrepreneur’s Night at 6:30 p.m. at 103 West, 103 W. Paces Ferry Road, Buckhead. Admission is $35, including ACCESS membership and one drink, or free for ACCESS members; www.ajcatlanta.org/enight2016.
WEDNESDAY, MAY 18
Cole Porter concert. Ahavath Achim Synagogue, 600 Peachtree Battle Ave., Buckhead, presents “Let’s Misbehave” at 3 p.m. Free but donation requested to AA’s Cultural Art Fund; ivanmillender@earthlink.net or aasynagogue.org.
Selig Award. American Jewish Committee’s Atlanta Chapter presents the Selig Distinguished Service Award to Spring and Tom Asher and hears from AJC CEO David Harris at 6 p.m. at the Atlanta History Center, 130 W. Paces Ferry Road, Buckhead. Tickets are $180; www.ajcatlanta.org/Selig2016.
Swing concert. The Molly Blank Jewish Concert Series at the Breman Museum, 1440 Spring St., Midtown, concludes with “The King of Swing: A Night of
Conexx Women. The group gathers for after-work drinks and networking at 5:30 p.m. at Eclipse di Luna, 764 Miami
Remember When
10 Years Ago May 12, 2006 ■ Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue has authorized the purchase of $2 million in Israel Bonds in the state’s second-ever investment in the bonds. The state’s first purchase, totaling $5 million, came in 2005 after the General Assembly passed a law allowing the state to buy lower-rated bonds. “This is another indication of the growing bilateral business relationship between Israel and Georgia,” Israeli Consul General Shmuel Ben-Shmuel said. ■ John and Cathy Zedd of Atlanta announce the birth of a daughter, Sarah Evelyn, on Oct. 19. 25 Years Ago May 10, 1991 ■ The Atlanta Jewish Federation’s Young Leadership Council for the first time will participate in a United Jewish Appeal-sponsored mission to Israel from July 28 to Aug. 8. Some 35 Atlanta singles have signed up for the trip, called the Hatikvah Singles Mission, and there is room for more
THURSDAY, MAY 19
before the June 7 deadline to sign up. Co-chairs Cydnee Dubrof and Andy Rinzler persuaded Federation to participate in the trip, held annually for about 10 years. ■ The b’not mitzvah ceremony of Tracy Beth Feibel and Lori Michelle Feibel of Marietta, daughters of Ron and Karen Feibel, will take place at 9:30 a.m. Saturday, May 18, at Etz Chaim Synagogue. 50 Years Ago May 13, 1966 ■ The Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Abe Harman, Israel’s ambassador to the United States, have announced that Israel’s office in Atlanta is being upgraded to a general consulate, recognizing the importance of the Southeastern states and their Jewish communities to Israel. Only five other U.S. cities have general consulates: New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Philadelphia. Meanwhile, Consul General Shimon Yallon will leave Atlanta in June. ■ Mr. and Mrs. Irving Stone of Atlanta announce the engagement of their daughter, Linda Sue Stone, to Bernard Ralph Wolfe, son of Mrs. Gertrude W. Wolfe of Atlanta and the late Morton Wolfe. An Aug. 28 wedding is planned.
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CALENDAR
AIPAC event. Congregation Or Hadash, 7460 Trowbridge Road, Sandy Springs, hosts an AIPAC program with Foundation for Defense of Democracies research analyst Grant Rumley speaking about the future of Israeli-Palestinian relations at 7 p.m. Free; RSVP at aipac. secure.force.com/event/EV153695. LGBTQ substance abuse. “What if the G-d of My Understanding Hates Me?” at 7 p.m. at the Rush Center Annex, 1530 DeKalb Ave., Atlanta, is an interfaith discussion of how a crisis of faith can drive LGBTQ people to substance abuse. Free; bit.ly/1sagkAZ.
SATURDAY, MAY 21
Cancer fundraiser. Sandy Springs Music and 5 Seasons Brewing, 5600 Roswell Road, Suite 21, Sandy Springs, hold a concert at 5 p.m. featuring David Szikman & the Parkside Players and the Ian’s Friends Band to raise money for Ian’s Friends Foundation, which funds research into pediatric brain tumors. Admission is $10; bit.ly/1rJS9IQ.
SUNDAY, MAY 22
Talent show auditions. Singers, danc-
ers and musicians ages 6 to 18 are invited to perform a 90-second, family-friendly audition at the Atlanta Workshop Players’ Barefoot Playhouse, 8560 Holcomb Bridge Road, Suite 111, Alpharetta, for the Dec. 4 Tower of Talent benefit for Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta. By appointment only; Ashlyn@AtlantaWorkshopPlayers.com. Digital teens. The Marcus JCC, 5342 Tilly Mill Road, Dunwoody, and Jewish Family & Career Services present the documentary “Screenagers: Growing Up in the Digital Age” at 11 a.m., followed by a panel discussion. Tickets are $12 in advance and $15 at the door; YTFL.org/screenagers. Holocaust remembrance. Reuven Milikovsky, a survivor’s son, tells his family’s story at 1 p.m. at Congregation Ner Tamid, 1349 Old Highway 41, Suite 220, Marietta, in partnership with the Kennesaw State University Museum of History & Holocaust Education. Free; www.mynertamid.org, events@mynertamid.org or 678-264-8575. Icon Award. The Atlanta Jewish Film Festival presents its first Icon Award to filmmaker Lawrence Kasdan at 7 p.m. at the Woodruff Arts Center’s Rich Au-
CANDLE-LIGHTING TIMES
Kedoshim Friday, May 13, light candles at 8:13 p.m. Saturday, May 14, Shabbat ends at 9:13 p.m. Emor Friday, May 20, light candles at 8:18 p.m. Saturday, May 21, Shabbat ends at 9:19 p.m. ditorium, 1280 Peachtree St., Midtown. Tickets are $36 ($200 for VIP access, including a post-ceremony reception); ajff.org. Date night. Congregation Beth Jacob holds a date night at 7:30 at Sips n Strokes, 3019 N. Druid Hills Road, Toco Hills, with painting, wine and light refreshments. Admission is $40 per Beth Jacob member couple, $45 per nonmember couple; bit.ly/1QxwtEp or 404633-0551.
TUESDAY, MAY 24 Babyccino. The mom-and-tot classes at Chabad of North Fulton, 10180 Jones Bridge Road, Alpharetta, focus on creation each Tuesday at 10:30 a.m. through June 21. This week’s topic is space. The cost is $12 per class or $80 for the series; j1sinasohn@aol.com or
www.chabadnf.org.
THURSDAY, MAY 26 Adoption and fostering. Wo/Men’s Infertility Support Havurah and Jewish Family & Career Services’ Cradle of Love present three speakers — adoption consultant and counselor Michelle Lambert and Temple Sinai members and parents Phil and Betty Klein — on these alternative methods of creating a family at 7 p.m. at Temple Sinai, 5645 Dupree Drive, Sandy Springs. Free; www.wishatlanta.org.
THURSDAY, JUNE 2 Eagle Star Awards. Conexx: America Israel Business Connector holds its annual awards gala at 6 p.m. at Twelve Atlantic Station, 361 17th St., Midtown. Tickets are $125; www.eaglestargala. com.
Send items for the calendar to submissions@atljewishtimes.com. Find more events at atlantajewishtimes.com/events-calendar.
MAY 13 ▪ 2016
Circle, Buckhead. Free; www.conexx. org or osharon@conexx.org.
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ISRAEL NEWS
Israel Pride: Good News From Our Jewish Home The most unlikely place for a Pilates session. A Haifa hospital is promoting health with a project that pairs Pilates training with patients on dialysis. The people who come every day to the Rambam Health Care Campus for treatments have stopped watching the clock; they’re too busy stretching and exercising with an in-house instructor showing them workout moves. Instead of rolling a mat out on the floor, patients are hooked up to the dialysis machine with one hand and given resistance bands for their other. The Pilates workout includes proper breathing exercises and ball exercises. Organizers of the project at Rambam explain that it is set up for each patient individually according to her or his health needs. Turning Israel’s desert into a teaching experience. Israeli farmers are renowned for making the desert bloom. They’re also proving that this desolate area is fertile ground for a new crop of agriculturalists and agronomists. Midway between the Dead Sea and Eilat, in the heart of the Arava desert, the Arava International Center for Agricultural Training is growing entrepreneurs. The past 20 years, the program has hosted over 10,000 undergraduates from Asia and Africa in a 10-month agricultural work-study program. Students earn salaries while learning information about Israel’s modern approaches to all aspects of agriculture that they can apply in their home communities. Detecting skin cancer with military imaging. Emerald Medical Applications’ DermaCompare is a free smart-
phone app that uses image processing and predictive analytics to detect changes in marks and moles over time. The app alerts the user to changes that ought to be screened for cancer. The company, founded in Petah Tikva in 2013, has distribution agreements in Israel, Sweden, the United Kingdom, Germany, Italy, Brazil, New Zealand and Australia. “This is a proprietary technology that we adapted from the Israeli air force, using aerial photos to track enemy moves,” Emerald CEO Lior Wayn said. “Our enemy is moles, and we know how to track them.” New gauze stops bleeding in minutes. The cloud of war constantly hanging over Israel has one shiny silver lining: groundbreaking advances in wound care developed for the battlefield and shared with the rest of humanity. WoundClot gauze is a flexible and easy-to-handle material made of highly absorbent regenerated cellulose (plant cells). The gauze absorbs about 2,500 percent of its own weight in fluids and forms a coagulating gel membrane with platelets from the blood on the open wound. By absorbing blood and enhancing the natural clotting process, this gauze stops hemorrhaging within minutes and naturally dissolves within 24 hours. Made in Petah Tikva, the WoundClot line includes products for surgical and trauma care that are used in European hospitals and by American and Israeli first responders. The products could become staples of the home medicine cabinet. Because WoundClot can be folded or rolled into any shape, it can be applied to uneven surfaces
King Joins President for Award Ceremony Photo by Haim Zach, Government Press Office
Atlanta’s Martin Luther King III visits Israeli President Reuven Rivlin on Sunday, May 8, for the presentation of the Unsung Hero Award from King’s Drum Major Institute to journalist Anat Saragusti (left), artist Idan Raichel, and former Knesset member Pnina Tamano-Shata, the first Ethiopian-born woman to serve in the Israeli parliament, for their activism for Ethiopian Jewish immigrants in Israel. Rivlin quoted the final speech of King’s father, Martin Luther King Jr.: “We as a people will get to the Promised Land together.” “The Promised Land is of course an actual place,” Rivlin said, “but at the same time it is also a vision, a dream and also a responsibility. It was this old dream of the Promised Land that kept the fire burning in the hearts of the Jews of Ethiopia for so many years, for centuries. It was that fire, that deep faith, that dream, that brought them to Israel, to Jerusalem.” In response, King said: “It seems to me the message of Martin Luther King Jr. still resounds loudly in our nation and throughout the world and perhaps is needed even more so now today than back then. I think the world is crying out for a message of hope and healing. We are honored to be in this nation and honored to be in this official residence.”
like the nose during a nosebleed. HP jumping in. Hewlett-Packard is launching HP Tech Ventures, with offices in Palo Alto, Calif., and Tel Aviv, to make strategic investments in startup companies in areas such as artificial intelligence, 3D printing, virtual reality and the Internet of Things. Expecting more tech investment.
Oracle CEO Safra Catz, back in her childhood home of Israel for a conference, told Globes that she anticipates more acquisitions of Israeli startups. She said Israel is like an “under-fire experiment” and continues to gain momentum for investments coming from China and India. Compiled courtesy of Israel21c.org and other news sources.
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SAVE TIME AND CAST YOUR VOTE EARLY FOR SANDY SPRINGS CITY COUNCIL SPECIAL ELECTION!
When and Where is Early Voting? Monday through Friday, May 2-20, 2016 8:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.
Fulton County North Fulton Annex • 7741 Roswell Road
Can’t Vote During the Week? There is ONE SATURDAY ONLY that you can early vote! Saturday, May 14, 2016 - 8:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. Fulton County North Fulton Annex • 7741 Roswell Road
ELECTION DAY VOTING LOCATION
May 24, 2016
7:00 a.m. - 7:00 p.m.
Hammond Park • Round Program Building 6005 Glenridge Drive
The following families Support Joe Houseman and Endorse his campaign Mr. Dale and Susan Schwartz Mr. Eric and Lisa Vayle Mr. Andrew and Shawn Tavani Ms. Vicki Frysh
MAY 13 ▪ 2016
Mr. Chuck and Bonnie Berk Dr. Bruce and Carol Greene Mr. Jeff and Elizabeth Langfelder Dr. Ron and Maxine Rosen
www.joehouseman.com | joe@joehouseman.com
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LOCAL NEWS
Robbins: Imagine Federation as Limmud By Michael Jacobs mjacobs@atljewishtimes.com
I
MAY 13 ▪ 2016
f you want an idea of the transformation incoming CEO Eric Robbins has in mind for the Jewish Federation of Greater Atlanta, just check out Limmud, the free-form, no-hierarchy, communal learning movement he and Jodi Mansbach brought to Atlanta. “Limmud is a place where titles are dropped, where everybody is invited to come with whatever they want to teach. … Some people might teach something that is very traditional, and someone might teach something that’s very radical, and everybody’s treated with respect and dignity, and it’s free will,” Robbins said in an interview Friday, May 6, the day after the Federation board hired the Camp Twin Lakes CEO to succeed Michael Horowitz. “I think that those values and so much of what I’ve come to love in Limmud … are very much the values and the atmosphere and traditions and the culture that I’d like to create in this community,” Robbins said. After more than 10 years of expansion at Twin Lakes, the 53-year-old isn’t
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taking arguably the top job in Atlanta’s Jewish community just to maintain the status quo. He gave up “the best job you could possibly imagine” for the chance to have Eric Robbins will begin his job at a wider impact Federation in August. on a Jewish community he has loved since he traveled from Pittsburgh to Camp Barney Medintz for the summer when he was 10 years old. He wasn’t looking to leave Twin Lakes, but when Federation contacted him, he was pleased that the leadership recognized the need to change. “I said, ‘Are you interested in transforming the organization?’ They said, ‘We have no choice but to transform it.’ ” The Federation model is no longer relevant to much of the community and doesn’t speak to millennials, Robbins said, but that situation creates exciting opportunities. The flaws begin with the focus on
fundraising — an important function that it must improve but that should not be its primary purpose, he said. “I really think it’s community building first, and that’s what I love to do.” Because the mission is building community, Federation must stay out of politics and be a neutral ground for different opinions within the spectrum of support for Israel, Robbins said. Federation should be the convener of all the elements of Jewish Atlanta to develop a vision of where the community is going and how it will get there. The chance for transformation exists in part because of transitions across the community. Jewish Family & Career Services and the Marcus Jewish Community Center have new CEOs, and several synagogues have new rabbis, including Robbins’ home congregation, Shearith Israel, where Rabbi Ari Kaiman takes the pulpit this summer. Robbins has not worked for Federation, but “my other jobs have prepared me for what I think this job needs.” He has experience in programming, fundraising, lay leader and staff development (“part of my signature skill”), and relationship building. His
whole career before Camp Twin Lakes was in Jewish communal service, and even Twin Lakes, founded by Doug Hertz (who Robbins said “defines leadership in its purest form”), is closely connected to the Jewish community. Robbins said his inexperience with Federation nitty-gritty will enable him to see operations with fresh eyes. He has ideas about uniting the community around issues of social justice, helping synagogues be more innovative in programming and membership, seeking opportunities for small and shared communal spaces and even a Jewish farm space, and helping fill the gaps in programming needs, perhaps by supporting startup organizations. But while Robbins hopes for dramatic results, he does not intend to act in haste. After Federation’s lengthy period without a CEO, he plans to focus internally and rally the staff behind the shared mission to revitalize Federation, followed by a deep process that incorporates as many people and organizations as possible to develop a threeto-five-year plan. “The traditional things aren’t going away quickly,” he said. ■
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LOCAL NEWS
Kogon Keeps Focus on Federation Future By Marcia Caller Jaffe mjaffe@atljewishtimes.com
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he Jewish Federation of Greater Atlanta honored former Chairman Marty Kogon with its Lifetime of Achievement Award before a crowd of 500 on Thursday, May 5, at Fed Talks at the Buckhead Theatre. Betty Sunshine, who is chairing Federation’s community campaign, noted that the $17.1 million Federation has raised in all campaigns this fiscal year includes $500,000 in new money and 300 new donors. She declared 2016 the year of “individuals making an impact,” and Fed Talks picked up that theme with its celebration of “Movers, Shakers and Jewish Change Makers.” The third annual event featured David Yarus, the founder of JSwipe; Randy Gold, the founder of JScreen; and Susan Jackson, the CEO of Focus on a Jewish Tomorrow. Kogon jokingly said he was shocked to learn that he was receiving the award because Howard Feinsand, the current Federation chairman, asked to meet him at the Blue Ridge Grill. “Normally,” Kogon said, “the
Photos by Marcia Jaffe
Grandson Gerald Kogon joins the celebration for Marty Kogon.
meeting place is the Waffle House on Powers Ferry. That’s usually where important issues are discussed.” Kogon urged the audience of Federation donors to think about the organization’s future. “There is an old Chinese expression: If you want to know your past, look at your current situation. If you want to know your future, look at your current actions,” he said. “What actions do we need to take to ensure a successful future?” Kogon said Federation should focus on three areas: programming, facilities and lay leadership development. “We have to reach out to singles,
young marrieds, empty nesters, intowners as well as outside the Perimeter. … We cannot allow travel or capital constraints to be major deterrents to Jewish participation. We must be smarter than that,” he said. “Our Federation needs to be the Silicon Valley of philanthropic entrepreneurship,” he added. Kogon’s sons, Ross and Michael, have followed him in business at Pull-aPart and in Jewish communal involvement at Federation, as well as the Epstein School and AIPAC. “My father has been my friend, mentor, business partner and role model all my life,” Michael said. “He taught us family first, then business and then community. The interesting thing is that it is self-supporting. If you put your family first, you want to be successful in business so you can support them and have time and resources to build the community for the future.” Before Fed Talks, Marty Kogon’s friends and family offered more thoughts about him: • Grandson Gerald Kogon: “Zaikes makes Shabbos fun by singing Hebrew songs to the ‘Paw-Paw Patch’ tune.”
Those honoring Marty Kogon on May 5 include (from left) Jerry Blumenthal, Alan Lubel, former Congressman Elliot Levitas and Kevin Levitas.
• Wife Judy: “We inherited a tremendous legacy from our parents, who set the example. Marty embraced it.” • Joel Marks, the next Federation chairman: “Marty has been my mentor for a long while. He has made a personal difference in my life with his thoughtful wisdom. Among friends, he has your back.” • Cousin Gayle Goldstein Heyman: “When Marty adjusted to Judy’s family, it was as if he had our DNA. He has been the go-to to know what to do for the good of the family at all times.” Kogon couldn’t help thinking about his father-in-law, the late Gerald Cohen, a past winner of the same Federation award and an inspiration for him. “I’m sure he’d be pretty proud.” ■
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OPINION
Our View
Good Choice
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MAY 13 ▪ 2016
he Jewish Federation of Greater Atlanta’s hiring of Eric Robbins as its next CEO caught us by surprise. But that fact reflects a lack of imagination on our part — a problem we’re happy to say didn’t afflict Gerry Benjamin’s search committee, any more than it troubles Robbins. We’re excited to see Robbins take arguably the most important job in Jewish Atlanta. The Federation board was right to choose someone different from Michael Horowitz, who announced his resignation as Federation CEO in September and left the post in mid-February. Horowitz came from Detroit, where he was a businessman and philanthropist involved with the Jewish communal world only as a lay leader. Moving into nonprofit leadership was an alternative to semiretirement, and he made that move with a personal style that could rub people the wrong way. Robbins isn’t from here, but he’s close. Atlanta became his home away from home when he was 10 and first attended Camp Barney Medintz, which he liked too much to leave after the first session. He attended Georgia State University and worked at Camp Barney, and after time in New York, he came back to Atlanta more than 10 years ago to run Camp Twin Lakes. He knows and loves the Jewish and non-Jewish communities here and won’t have to learn who’s who. He’s a career nonprofit leader, usually working within or with the Jewish community, so he approaches Federation as a professional. The growth of Camp Twin Lakes the past decade shows his effectiveness, and he’s as likable a person as you’ll find. At 53, he might be a few years older than the ideal nextgeneration leader we envisioned, but his energy and infectious enthusiasm serve as reminders that age is just a number. He’s certainly at home in social media. All of those traits are nice, but they wouldn’t mean much if not for Robbins’ commitment to transform Federation. He’s open-minded: He acknowledges needing to go through an extensive process with the community to develop a detailed vision of what the Federation of the future needs to be, but, crucially, he’s starting with the belief that it cannot be what it was 50 years ago and what it largely remains today. Marty Kogon, the former Federation chairman who received the Lifetime of Achievement Award on Thursday, May 5, the day Robbins was hired, offered valuable ideas in his acceptance speech for what Federation should do in the areas of programming, facility construction and leadership development. But he began with the old-school idea of Federation as the center for Jewish philanthropy — that is, the place to raise and distribute money for the Jewish community. Robbins said Federation can and should do better with fundraising, which hasn’t fully recovered from the 2008 recession. But he sees the organization’s core function as community building, not developing donors. Turn Federation into the central convener for all of Jewish Atlanta and everything else — the programming, the leadership, the facility cooperation, the fundraising — will fall into place. We don’t know whether that 21st century transformation of Federation is truly possible, but we’re 10 optimistic that if anyone can do it, Robbins can. ■
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Cartoon by Yaakov Kirschen, Dry Bones
Why Not a Woman?
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fter interviewing Eric Robbins, I was happy to able to find a woman just as qualified or capable?” jump aboard the bandwagon supporting his It’s a question that could be asked of any tradihiring as the Federation CEO. He’s a smart, tionally disadvantaged group straining to reach the experienced, creative nonprofit leader who isn’t intop, of course, and whether that group is women or terested in the Federation job as some sort of career blacks or Hispanics or, in the not-too-distant past, achievement award; he’s coming to transform the Jews, it’s hard to connect the big-picture ideal of organization and drag it toward the 22nd century. equity and leadership that looks like America with Then I got an email from Rabbi Lou Feldstein, the individual decisions that distort the picture. It’s a former high-ranking Federaan issue that’s more tion executive, with a link to a glaring as we seem column he posted Monday, May to move closer to Editor’s Notebook 9, at eJewish Philanthropy. electing our first feBy Michael Jacobs Before I say more about it male U.S. president. mjacobs@atljewishtimes.com or you read it at bit.ly/24IEG2v, Still, it took Fedit’s important to note that the eration nine months column calls Robbins “a talented, to find Robbins. skilled, remarkable and amazing Should Federation individual” who in many ways “is exactly what a have kept looking indefinitely for a woman just as community like Atlanta needs.” perfect for the job? Should Federation have tried But Rabbi Feldstein noticed something I missed: harder to recruit one of our community’s outstandOur three biggest communal organizations — Feder- ing female leaders for the position? ation, Jewish Family & Career Services, and the MarI’m not an affirmative action advocate, but it’s cus Jewish Community Center — have hired CEOs easy for me as a white man to take the “hire the best since the start of 2015, and all are men. Because the person” position. Unlike Rabbi Feldstein and Robprevious JCC CEO was Gail Luxenberg, we’ve gone bins, I don’t have a daughter to broaden my perspecbackward in terms of female communal leadership. tive, so this is kind of a blind spot for me. Each of those three hires was warmly received Rabbi Feldstein makes the case that we men for good reason. Each of the three came from within must do more to encourage women and must chalthe community; Rick Aranson at JF&CS and Jared lenge our deep-seated biases, but also that women Powers at the JCC came from within the organizaneed to be more aggressive. His column itself could tions themselves. It’s an excellent sign for Jewish have come from a woman standing up for herself. Atlanta that we are developing our own communal The first comment on the column is from Robprofessionals who are as good or better than any bins, who shows why he’s the right person for the leaders we might find out of town. job. He thanks Rabbi Feldstein for pointing out the But Rabbi Feldstein looks beyond the trees to see “unfortunate reality” and emphasizes the importhe forest and is troubled, writing: “If Atlanta reflects tance of mentoring and staff development in his Jewish life in North America, what does it say that leadership practice. after decades of struggles to engage and hire women Perhaps part of the transformation Robbins at the very top that when the three largest CEO posiaims to bring to Federation will pave the way for his tions are open in the same community, none were own female successor. ■
OPINION
THAT Congregation Marks Three Decades
importance of not forgetting history while planning for the future. At its founding, CBH was not welcomed by segments of Atlanta’s Jewish communal structure. The founders resisted any compromise that amounted to less than equal status. Times have changed; today the congregation finds
From Where I Sit By Dave Schechter dschechter@atljewishtimes.com
Jewish allies on a variety of fronts. From the four men who conceived the congregation around a seder table in April 1985, there are now 275 member households. High Holiday services — no ticket required — attract twice that number. The Sunday school has some 125 children. Congregation Bet Haverim as an entity and its congregants individually have an evolving commitment to what it means to be Jewish, both in its responsibilities and its opportunities. Our rabbi is an Atlanta native who, leading by example, exemplifies the injunction to pursue social justice spoken of in Deuteronomy. Like other congregations, we have a board and staff and committees and members who volunteer and members who don’t. We have fielded a team in the congregational men’s softball league, albeit in the lowest division and with a record of minimal distinction. On the other hand, the choir’s reputation extends beyond the sanctuary’s walls and has brought invitations to sing at various Atlanta events. Toward the end of services, CBH congregants recite the “Prayer for the End of Hiding,” which speaks to a desire that the LGBT community in particular and Jews in general be able to live authentically and express themselves openly. The prayer speaks to a time when attitudes in and beyond the Jewish world were less welcoming and to challenges that remain today. Congregation Bet Haverim has entered its fourth decade with the knowledge that it belongs, with a home of its own (a dream realized shortly after the High Holidays last year) and with a membership that belongs because, for a myriad of reasons, there is no place else we can imagine being. ■
MAY 13 ▪ 2016
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his is why we joined our congregation: Two decades ago, as my wife and I sat in the Rosh Hashanah morning service, the children’s service ended, and a dozen or so kids, including our almost-6-year-old daughter, quietly entered the room. Without interruption, adults repositioned their chairs, opening an area where the children congregated with their toys or books. It was done naturally, without any fanfare. I grew up in a large congregation where on the High Holidays children dressed like small versions of their parents and were expected to behave likewise. Here the presence of children was encouraged. Adults talked to them with genuine interest. If a child was rambunctious, someone other than a parent might pick her/him up. It was a small congregation and fairly easy to know most of the members. The Sunday school program began with just 10 children, our daughter among them. Back then, when I identified the congregation, the response was often, “Oh, THAT congregation,” as if it were peculiar and not in the mainstream (aside from its affiliation with Judaism’s Reconstructionist movement). Congregation Bet Haverim was different. It had been founded by gay and lesbian Jews who did not feel welcome elsewhere and turned to one another to sustain and nurture their Judaism. CBH was created to ensure them a spiritual home. Circumstances forced some of those pioneers to guard their identities, to maintain confidences out of real fears, and to express themselves as Jews only to the degree that they felt secure in their persons. For a time the congregation newsletter was mailed in a plain brown envelope to avoid inadvertently outing a member. A couple of weeks ago, 140 people attended a video retrospective and panel discussion — with a cake and champagne afterward — to celebrate CBH’s 30th birthday (official papers of incorporation were filed in June 1986). An original member poignantly noted that because of the AIDS epidemic the fledgling congregation suffered deaths before it celebrated such simchas as births, weddings and b’nai mitzvah. The event underscored the
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OPINION
When Prayers Go Unanswered
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had an interesting encounter at the barber shop recently. As I walked in, I was greeted with a “Hi, rabbi” by one of the stylists who knows me, then I proceeded to get my regular haircut. A gentleman with a pronounced Southern accent was getting his hair cut in the chair next to me. He was finishing up and paying his bill. He then said in a slightly raised voice: “I hear that man over there is a rabbi. Well, I need all the prayers I can get, so let me pay for his haircut as well. Here’s a $50 bill to cover the both of us.” Well, I’ve been a rabbi 27 years, and that had never happened to me before. I was taken by surprise. I didn’t want to seem ungrateful by declining his kindness, so I thanked him profusely and wished him all the best. But I had an uneasy feeling. I wondered if he thought rabbis take a vow of poverty and could use the charity. Or perhaps he thought that if he helped a rabbi, G-d would show him special favor and answer his prayers. It sounded to me more like the
latter. I also got the impression he was one of the many Christians who take Genesis 12:3 literally. That’s the verse in which G-d promises Abraham (and by extension the Jewish people): “I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse.” As you may know, many Christians take that verse to mean they have
Guest Column By Rabbi Mark Zimmerman
a religious obligation to demonstrate their kindness to the Jewish people by supporting the state of Israel. But if that was the motivation for the gentleman’s kindness, I felt guilty about it. Perhaps that’s a knee-jerk Jewish reaction. But according to my religious calculus, I felt this man was getting cheated, since I don’t believe G-d works that way at all. Nothing disturbs my theological sensitivities like seeing the way some
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people project onto G-d all kinds of things about their own lives. They get angry at G-d when misfortune strikes, and when spared from tragedy, they are convinced that G-d took particular interest in their individual situation. It’s the ultimate question of “Is G-d running the show down here on Earth, or are we?” My personal belief is that G-d gives us absolute freedom of will, and vulnerability is the price we pay for that freedom. G-d doesn’t alter all the outcomes, but G-d gives us the wisdom, the strength and the ability to follow our conscience and, through mitzvot, the ability to make the world the best that it can be. It is a scene played out repeatedly on the evening news. A tragic fire or devastating natural disaster destroys a residential area. One family makes it through unscathed, and everyone they love is OK. Meanwhile, other families nearby are not so fortunate. Yet the person whose family has been spared gushes forth with praises to G-d for the divine intervention and mercy that miraculously spared their lives. When I watch such an interview, my thoughts always turn to the family that was not spared. What is that family — the ones who just suffered such a tremendous loss — supposed to think at this moment? Does G-d somehow love them less? Did they not pray hard enough? Or did they simply not deserve to be saved? I hardly think so. But if it’s the case that G-d directs all the outcomes in our lives, should we not also blame G-d for every earthquake, plane crash and disease outbreak? I don’t believe that either. I believe that these tragedies are random, amoral events that simply happen. And G-d gives us the strength to heal the wounds and spread a little divine favor around wherever we can to bring about tikkun olam — to help repair our often fractured world. I don’t claim to have all the
answers as to why things turn out the way they sometimes do. If we knew the answer to such questions, we would have the mind of G-d, the Infinite. And those who claim to have all the answers typically have none of the answers — at least none that is satisfying. As intelligent people, we know that our lives are often determined by factors over which we have little or no control. And if we are honest with ourselves, we know that things don’t always turn out the way they ought to. If they did, there would be no need for us to fight for just causes, give tzedakah or strive to repair the world. For those who firmly believe that G-d has a plan for everything, that everything is beshert and unfolds according to G-d’s divine will, I admire your steadfast faith. But, respectfully, I have great difficulty accepting your worldview. One and a half million Jewish children perished in the Nazi death camps. That’s not a plan I can ever imagine my G-d endorsing. Ever. The disciples of Rabbi Moshe Leib once asked their teacher: “Why are there atheists in the world? Why does G-d even permit atheism to exist?” The rabbi answered: “G-d has a need for atheism, one that is ultimately for our own good. If someone seeks your aid, you must act as if there is no G-d to help. In that way, even atheism can be exalted. Even atheists can be blessed.” When our prayers are answered, let us show humility and remember that others are not always so fortunate. And when we are confronted with the opportunity to ease the burden of others whose lives have been scarred, let us respond in the same way we would hope that G-d would deal with us. ■
Letter To The Editor
had the honor of having the help of so many fine people. This event would not have been possible without the dedication and hard work of all of them: the HJDR committee, the volunteers, our sponsors and the Marcus Jewish Community Center staff. My family and I are so grateful to all the runners and walkers who attended. The money raised will go to help people with special needs. Rest up: No. 24 will be here before we know it. Y’all come, you hear? — Kitty Jacobs and family
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On May 1, 393 runners and walkers raced through the beautiful Dunwoody neighborhoods, all striving to be the first to finish. With their smiling faces and willing bodies, they made the 23rd annual Harris Jacobs Dream Run a run to remember. Once again, we
Rabbi Mark Zimmerman is the spiritual leader of Congregation Beth Shalom.
LOCAL NEWS
Israeli Consulate Is Adding Three States
MAY 13 ▪ 2016
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ast August the Israeli Consulate General to the Southeast was threatened with closure. This August it will become bigger than ever. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs notified Ambassador Judith Varnai Shorer in late April that Kentucky, West Virginia and Missouri are being added to her area as part of the shakeout from the closure of the consulate in Philadelphia in a budget-cutting move. “The consulate expansion is a nice present to Israel for its 68th birthday, and we are delighted with this new juncture,” Shorer said. Kentucky and West Virginia have been part of Philadelphia’s Mid-Atlantic region; Missouri is switching from Chicago’s oversight. The initial budget that proposed closing the Philadelphia office also called for shutting the Atlanta and San Francisco consulates, along with several embassies. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Cabinet gave first approval to that spending plan Aug. 6, sparking months of nervousness that Israel would be left with no diplomatic presence between Miami and Houston 50 years after elevating its Atlanta office to a consulate. Shorer, who had just taken office as consul general when the threat to the consulate emerged, led a behindthe-scenes fight to save the mission. It wasn’t until Jan. 6, more than six weeks after the Knesset approved the final budget, that the consulate was officially spared. Now, as of Aug. 15, its territory will expand, as will its staff: Two new hires are planned to help serve the new states, which will join Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee and the Carolinas. “With the consulate expansion, we will not only be in the Deep South, but will cover states in more middle America. There is no doubt that Atlanta in a sense will remain the center,” Shorer said. “We want the consulate’s work that we have been doing here to reflect what we want to gain with these changes and opportunities that we have with these new states.” But just as the Southeastern Conference hasn’t changed its name while expanding over the years, including encompassing Missouri, so the Israeli Consulate General to the Southeast is keeping its identity. ■
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LOCAL NEWS
The grandchildren of Holocaust survivors Eva and Sholem Iteld light the third memorial candle. Eva Iteld died April 23.
Assisted by Georgia Supreme Court Justice David Nahmias, World War II veteran Irving Feinberg lights the first of six memorial candles.
‘A Call to Action’
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om HaShoah is not simply a time to remember the Holocaust and mourn, Georgia Commission on the Holocaust Executive Director Sally Levine said during the annual Days of Remembrance observance Friday, May 6, at the state Capitol. “Our memory is not enough,” she said. “We must ensure that ‘never again’ is not a hollow phrase. It’s a call to action.” The commission used the theme “Mothers and Fathers: Stories of Love and Loss” this year for its Creative Arts Student Contest — the winning entries can be viewed at www.holocaust.georgia.gov/2016-winners — and for the commemoration. The ceremony emphasized the difficult decisions and sacrifices parents made to save their children — in Jewish families and among other minorities targeted by the Nazis, such as Roma and Slavs, as commission Chairwoman Claire D’Agostino emphasized in intro-
ducing Humanitarian Award winner Andrea Videlefsky. Videlefsky is the president of Holocaust education and child protection organization Am Yisrael Chai, whose signature project is planting 1.5 million daffodils worldwide in memory of the 1.5 million children killed in the Holocaust. “One daffodil on its own is a beautiful flower, but many daffodils standing together bring hope, light, beauty and unity to the city of Atlanta, the state of Georgia and around the world,” Videlefsky said. Like Levine, she urged the crowd of diplomats, elected officials, Jewish community members and students to do more than remember what happened in Europe more than 70 years ago. Videlefsky, whose organization works against genocidal efforts in places such as South Sudan and Darfur, said we each have an obligation to uphold justice. ■
Photos by Eli Gray, Gray Imaging
Brendan Murphy, who has created the Holocaust curriculum at the Marist School, receives his second Commission on the Holocaust Distinguished Educator Award, presented by commission members Lisa Olens (left) and Robbie Friedmann and Executive Director Sally Levine.
George Rishfeld, who as a child was hidden with a Christian family to escape the Warsaw Ghetto, lights the fourth memorial candle.
Betty Sunshine lights the final memorial candle at the May 8 ceremony.
Am Yisrael Chai President Andrea Videlefsky (left) accepts the Humanitarian Award from the Commission on the Holocaust’s chairwoman, Claire D’Agostino, and executive director, Sally Levine.
Members of the Young Singers of Callanwolde perform at the Days of Remembrance ceremony May 6.
Rabbis Peter Berg and Philip Kranz lead “El Malech Rachamim.”
Celebration of Survival in Peachtree City By Vicki Leopold
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MAY 13 ▪ 2016
he email went out at 11:55 a.m. Wednesday, May 4, with an apology. Rabbi Yossi Lew explained that there had been no certainty until that moment, but, yes, that night Helen Gerson, 88, a survivor of the Lodz Ghetto, Auschwitz and Bergen-Belsen, would speak on Yom HaShoah. “It would be doubtful that this could happen again in Peachtree City,” the Chabad of Peachtree City rabbi’s email read. By 7 p.m., a small, mostly Jewish crowd had gathered at the Chabad house to meet Gerson and daughter Rhoda Gleicher, a history teacher at Torah Day School of Atlanta. Gerson, a petite, attractive woman with a ready smile and bright eyes, relayed a story of horror and survival. She was a young girl when her fa14 ther, a pattern maker, was advised to
AJT
Rhoda Gleicher and her mother, survivor Helen Gerson, visit with Chabad of Peachtree City’s rebbetzin, Shternie Lew (center).
leave for a safer place. They moved to Lodz, Poland, where her father was employed by the Nazis to make uniforms for German soldiers. Eventually, the ghetto was emptied; Gerson and her family were shipped to Auschwitz. Josef Mengele sent her healthy family to the right and the youngest, Helen, to the left, but when he looked away, the teenager ran from her line and joined her family. Gerson remembers always being hungry and receiving hot water with
Helen Gerson shares some family photos with Stephanie Sansom.
a peel of potato for soup. Once a guard was kind, brought her to the kitchen, and gave her bread and sausage. She hid the food to bring to her father, aunt, sister and cousins. Gerson worked in the garden picking vegetables for the soldiers after being moved to Bergen-Belsen. Once she hid a small carrot in her dress. An older female guard noticed and punched her in the mouth, knocking out a tooth. “See, I got a new one,” Gerson said, smiling. The camp was liberated by the
British in spring 1945. In 1946, Gerson and the surviving family joined an uncle in New York. Rabbi Lew called Gerson a hero. Not only did she survive the Holocaust, but she also rebuilt her Jewish life with children and grandchildren. Gleicher said each person there became a witness to the Holocaust. On Sunday, May 1, Christ Our Shepherd Lutheran Church and Congregation B’nai Israel continued a 14year tradition of observing Yom Ha Shoah together, this time at the church. Rabbi Rick Harkavy and Cantor Susan Burden joined Pastors Miriam Beecher and Fritz Wiese in sharing thoughts and inspirational messages. The highlight of the service was a short documentary, “Fate Did Not Let Me Go,” about a farewell letter Valli Ollendorff wrote to her only surviving son in the United States from the Theresienstadt concentration camp. ■
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LOCAL NEWS
Photos by David R. Cohen
Among the lighters of the six memorial flames at the conclusion of the Yom HaShoah commemoration are Harry Maziar, Rabbi Joseph Polak, Abe and Marlene Besser, Georgia Attorney General Sam Olens and his wife, Lisa, Ambassador Judith Varnai Shorer, and Dunwoody Mayor Denis Shortal.
Ambassador Judith Varnai Shorer is the daughter of Holocaust survivors.
Georgia Attorney General Sam Olens addresses the crowd.
Rabbi Joseph Polak, who lives in Boston, says the Holocaust is still not over for its survivors.
Remembering Our Mothers JCC holds Yom HaShoah commemoration By David R. Cohen david@atljewishtimes.com
until he was nearly 50 years old. The now-74-year-old rabbi spoke of the response he received after moving to Montreal with his mother when people heard he was a child survivor. Rabbi Polak said the first prayer he learned was the Kaddish, so he could mourn for his father, who was killed in the Holocaust. No one at the shul in Montreal asked him why a 6-year-old was saying Kaddish, and no one asked him where his father was. That attitude, he said,
was almost as damaging to him as being at the Nazi camps. After Rabbi Polak spoke, members of the Atlanta Jewish community stepped up to light the Besser memorial’s six flames for the 6 million who perished during the Holocaust. The event was closed out by the El Maleh Rachamim memorial prayer, led by Cantor Lauren Furman Adesnik of Temple Emanu-El, and the Mourner’s Kaddish, led by the JCC’s Rabbi Brian Glusman. ■
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MAY 13 ▪ 2016
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om HaShoah was May 5, but the Marcus Jewish Community Center held its community commemoration three days later on Mother’s Day, providing the opportunity to celebrate the strength of Jewish women during the Holocaust. Child survivor Rabbi Joseph Polak spoke at the Marcus JCC’s Besser Holocaust Memorial Garden about his
journey surviving two Nazi camps, Westerbork and Bergen-Belsen, with his mother and about being separated and reunited before fleeing with her to Canada in 1948. “The Holocaust did not end in 1945,” he told the crowd. “It is still going on for the survivors, even today.” Rabbi Polak’s memoir, “After the Holocaust the Bells Still Ring,” which won a National Jewish Book Award last year, explores his attempts to deal with the past, something he refused to do
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LOCAL NEWS
Woodwork Honors Emanu-El Rabbi
Congregant crafts Torah rollers and handles to represent spiritual leader, friend By Jan Jaben-Eilon
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MAY 13 ▪ 2016
hen Temple Emanu-El Rabbi Scott Colbert asked woodworking artist and congregant Bob Greenberg to build the atzei chaim, the rollers and handles for a new Torah, for the congregation a year ago, Greenberg was touched and a bit overwhelmed. The Torah was to be created in Rabbi Colbert’s honor. Greenberg knows wood: His home is adorned with his beautiful wood bowls and other pieces. But a year ago he had no idea how to build the atzei chaim. Despite numerous rules governing the lettering and material of the actual Torah scroll, there are apparently no instructions for the rollers and handles. “My first thought was to make it out of exotic hardwood, but the scribe said that it would be too heavy,” Greenberg said days before the Torah was dedicated in a festive ceremony at Emanu-El on Sunday, May 1. After consulting a wood turner in Israel and doing much other research, Greenberg decided to design the rollers and handles to reflect the man the Torah would honor. Greenberg became acquainted with Rabbi Colbert in 2007 when his late wife was undergoing chemotherapy. They became close friends. “He helped me through Judy’s entire illness as my rabbi, pastoral counselor and psychologist,” he said. “I love Rabbi Colbert, so this was a true labor of love.” He said the making of the atzei chaim involved a lot of symbolism. “It’s a piece of artwork, but it’s more than that.” Greenberg told an Emanu-El sanctuary full of congregants about the
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Above: Rabbi Scott Colbert (left) joins sofer (scribe) Rabbi Mordechai Danneman at one of the sessions to complete the writing of the Torah. Below: Having crafted the woodwork for the Torah, Bob Greenberg gets a turn to help Rabbi Mordechai Danneman write the scroll.
Bob Greenberg didn’t have any firm rules on how to craft the rollers and handles for the Torah, so he packed them with symbolism to represent the many facets of Rabbi Scott Colbert.
symbolism he felt was needed to represent a rabbi, a pastoral chaplain and a cantor. He is “a peaceful, thoughtful man (as) reflected in the flowing lines incorporated in the discs, a line that never ends, like Rabbi Colbert’s compassion. The handles, simple, strong and dependable. The cantor, reflected by the musical-instrument-grade wood. This beautiful wood, like the man, a gift from our Creator, only reveals itself when you peel away the surface, allowing it to reveal its inner beauty. A well-grounded man who possesses the unique ability to hug you and make you feel safe and secure.” Greenberg added: “Finally, the simplest part, like the man who has
supported this congregation during its difficult times of transition, is reflected by the straight and strong oak that supports the entire Torah.” Indeed, Rabbi Colbert was lauded by several congregational leaders. Scott Walsey, one of the co-presidents, noted how Rabbi Colbert held the congregation together through many ups and downs in the nearly 30 years he has served Emanu-El. “This is about community and renewal,” Rabbi Spike Anderson told the congregation. “If we’re lucky, once in a generation, the saying goes, we have the opportunity to write a Torah to uplift us. Rabbi Colbert embodies what the Torah teaches us.”
The writing of the Torah served as a fundraiser for Temple Emanu-El. Walsey said congregants Ron and Lisa Brill made the foundational contribution for the project. Although the Torah was written in Israel, the letters were filled in by Atlanta scribe Rabbi Mordechai Danneman. Committee co-chair Arlene Marcus said there were 14 scribe sessions since the first one in June. “More than 1,000 individuals participated in the mitzvah” of writing the Torah, she said. The goal, Rabbi Colbert divulged, was to raise $200,000. Instead, the congregation contributed $578,000. ■
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A Torah for Lake Oconee By Michael D. Lefkove
F
riday, May 6, marked a special time at Lake Oconee’s Congregation Chai: the celebration, blessing and dedication of a Torah and ark for the nearly 4-year-old congregation. My wife and I arrived at Lake Oconee in May 2003. The area has become a destination for people looking for a laid-back way of life after a lifetime of working and raising children. Our community skews older because of the retirees and empty nesters. We are through raising kids but very much involved with grandparenting. Almost immediately after arriving, we began to meet other Jewish families at the clubhouses of Reynolds, on the golf course, at dinner parties and at informal Jewish events. Most of the Jews I met at Lake Oconee came from large Jewish communities. We belonged to synagogues. We enjoyed celebrating and worshipping together. But from Lake Oconee we needed to go to Atlanta, Athens, Augusta or Macon for Jewish worship. In the summer of 2012, I received word that there would be a rabbi-led Shabbat service at the Lake Oconee
Rabbi Ronald Gerson holds Congregation Chai’s first Torah.
Community Church. Rabbi Ronald Gerson was introduced to us as rabbi emeritus of Congregation Children of Israel in Athens. He had recently turned over his pulpit to a younger rabbi but was not interested in retiring. “I had originally come to the lake quite often to perform weddings,” Rabbi Gerson said. “I learned that there was a group of Jewish people there who met socially for holidays. I saw the potential to mold this into a religious organization.”
He met with the LOCC’s ministers, David Key Sr. and Becky Matheny, about using their space, “and they were wonderfully receptive,” the rabbi said. “So I was blessed to found Lake Oconee Congregation Chai, and we began meeting for services in July 2012.” That first Shabbat service drew approximately 20 people. The pattern became an evening service on the first Friday of the month, followed by a communal Shabbat dinner at a restaurant. Rabbi Gerson would bring siddurim, kippot, a challah, Shabbat candles, a Kiddush cup and his miniature Torah. Elaine and Gene Weinberger, who moved to Lake Oconee after many years in Augusta, have been a part of our congregation from the start. They knew Key in Augusta, where he grew up, and he talked to them several times at the lake about Rabbi Gerson’s interest in starting a congregation. “We have enjoyed our association with Congregation Chai, as well as with Lake Oconee Community Church members and staff,” Elaine said. The rabbi came for the High Holidays, and we started to resemble a real synagogue sans a building fund and dues (contributions are voluntary).
As our community grew, so did attendance at our services. A new family would show up every few months. Ronni Udoff, a weekender at Lake Oconee and a regular at our Friday services, told us that a congregation in New York was merging with another and had a Torah to donate. Rabbi Gerson said: “The Torah is the very center of the Jewish religion. It contains our history, our prophets and our other writings. It guides Jews in life. So it is very important for a congregation to have a Torah, and we are very fortunate to have one so that we can read from it at our services.” One congregant, a retired finance wiz-turned-master woodworker, built our ark while our donated Torah was evaluated for repairs by a rabbi in Atlanta. We established a memorial Torah fund — it turns out to be expensive to acquire a free Torah — and raised the money to give our Torah a proper home. Our Shabbat services now include a Torah service with all the attendant reverie that we became accustomed to in our previous synagogues. We feel blessed at Lake Oconee to have our little congregation, our rabbi, a place to worship together and our Torah. ■
MAY 13 ▪ 2016
LOCAL NEWS
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LOCAL NEWS
Diverse Communities Paved Atlanta’s Path to Glory By Sarah Moosazadeh sarah@atljewishtimes.com
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tlanta has become the fastest-growing hub in the South for businesses, economic growth and cultural diversity, yet the road to Atlanta’s glory did not come easy,” said Andrea Young, the daughter of former Mayor Andrew Young. “It took the courage of political, civic and faith communities to come together to help make a difference,” former Mayor Shirley Franklin said Thursday, May 5, during the National Center for Civil and Human Rights’ “The Making of Atlanta” discussion at the annual Power to Inspire Summit. The two-day summit, culminating in the presentation of the Power to Inspire Awards at a gala dinner May 5, honored human rights defenders who shed light on current civil rights issues. The panelists for the “Making of Atlanta” session included Franklin, business leader Laura Hardman, and Sherry Frank, the former American Jewish Committee Atlanta Chapter director who received one of the Power to Inspire Awards that night.
The Atlanta way united leaders across faiths. The Christian and Jewish communities worked through differences and built bridges of understanding. Social functions became more prevalent and promoted Photos by Sarah Moosazadeh (From left) Andrea Young, Shirley Franklin, Laura Hardman relationships. and Sherry Frank discuss what has made Atlanta great. Since 1982, the Black-Jewish Coalition “A lot of people believe that the National Center for Civil and Human has spread awareness about issues afRights belongs in the North, but discus- fecting both communities. “There are some things we can sions about human rights should take do, such as share a meal and hold conplace everywhere,” Franklin said. Atlanta was best known for “Gone structive dialogues, even though we With the Wind” and Martin Luther may disagree,” Franklin said. “Over 100,000 people move to AtKing Jr. until the city hosted the 1996 lanta every year,” Young said, because Centennial Olympics. “Civic and political leaders came they consider the city a destination together to embrace the Atlanta way,” for community and tolerance. Mayor Franklin said. Atlanta’s social-political Maynard Jackson helped by creating order changed, and economic fortunes a cultural affairs office, and since then were created. Companies such as UPS Atlanta has flourished in the arts. The Atlanta Jewish Film Festival is moved their headquarters to Atlanta the biggest such festival in the world and created opportunities. “The Olympics unified Atlanta and and brings communities together with became a beacon of hope for the rest of films that confront discrimination and spread cultural awareness, Frank said. the nation,” Franklin said.
National Center for Civil and Human Rights Executive Vice President Deborah Richardson and CEO Derreck Kayongo host the Power to Inspire Summit.
Shulamith Bahat (left), the CEO of Beit Hatfutsot of America, helps Sherry Frank celebrate her Power to Inspire Award.
Emory University has influenced interfaith programs in the city and continues to draw large numbers of visitors to lectures throughout the year. “Courage, cooperation and coalition drive the Atlanta way,” Franklin said. “It takes people who decide to make a difference and who are willing to work hard to make an impact with the community. With privilege comes great responsibility, and it’s up to us to help build a community and add to Atlanta’s history and glory.” ■
Women in Mideast Struggle for Rights By Sarah Moosazadeh sarah@atljewishtimes.com
MAY 13 ▪ 2016
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omen lag in rights across much of the Middle East, but they are standing up to repressive regimes, according to a Power to Inspire Summit session on “Women’s Human Rights Defenders: Challenges in the Middle East.” Jill Savitt, the National Center for Civil and Human Rights’ human rights curator, discussed those challenges with 2016 Power to Inspire Award recipient Sussan Tahmasebi. Tahmasebi was born in Iran and moved back in 1999 at a time of reform. She is a founding member of the One Million Signatures Campaign, which encouraged discussions about ending gender-biased laws, and has spent two decades fighting for women’s rights. “Women in Iran are highly educated, yet the legal system is different from the reality within their lives,” Tahmasebi said. Rights are a challenge across the Middle East. Egypt has 40,000 political prisoners, compared with 800 in Iran.
Turkey has the highest number of journalists in prison. Kurds are targeted in Turkey, Iraq and Afghanistan. “Each country provides a counternarrative, but the Sussan Tahmasebi challenges they face are similar,” Tahmasebi said. Rights campaigns and movements have spread across the Middle East. Young people have responded to repressive regimes by expressing a need for democracy. Women have joined in. “If you’re a woman who wants to create change, you will receive backlash,” Tahmasebi said. “Yet where there is a will, there is a way.” Nonprofit organizations such as the International Civil Society Action Network, for which Tahmasebi works, help bring people together and raise awareness for human rights and equality. “A revolution will not be funded,” she said. “It takes grass roots and people to come together to make a change.” ■
BUSINESS
OurCrowd Returns
What Is Crowdfunding? In general, it is a process by which an entrepreneur places some information about an investment online and invites people to invest as an alternative to angel investors, venture capital or public offerings to raise capital. Crowdfunding is largely unregulated, and situations can range from responsible to insane. Many abuses with crowdfunding have arisen. Unless you have significant knowledge of and confidence in the promoter, you should be highly skeptical. Israeli Startups Israel is No. 2 as a location for startups; Silicon Valley is No. 1. In 2015, approximately $5 billion was invested in Israeli tech companies; $9 billion was generated from the sale of Israeli companies to outsiders. Clearly, the entrepreneurial spirit in Israel is strong and vibrant, producing jobs and economic growth. OurCrowd Approach Historically, it has been difficult for outside passive investors to participate in the dramatic returns earned by Israeli startups. Usually these opportunities were limited to hedge funds, pension funds, wealthy individuals and institutional investors able to invest sums too large for most individual investors. Audrey Jacobs, an OurCrowd partner, provided insight into the firm’s history and success during a visit to Atlanta facilitated by Conexx. She is responsible for the firm’s activities in the Americas. She has an extensive background in finance, has been an entrepreneur for more than 10 years and was OurCrowd’s first employee outside Israel. She thinks Israeli startups can be financed for less than comparable companies in Silicon Valley. OurCrowd’s prime goal is to
democratize venture capital fundraising so that unique opportunities are available to a much larger investor group on terms comparable to what institutional investors receive. In three years, OurCrowd has raised more than $220 million from 12,000 members (investors) in 110 countries for 95 portfolio companies with 50 follow-on rounds and six exits.
Atlanta’s Favorite Real Estate Team
DEBBIE SONENSHINE STAR NEWMAN KATIE GALLOW Top 1% of Coldwell Banker Internationally Certified Negotiator, Luxury, New Homes and Corporate Relocation Specialist #1 Sales Associate in Sandy Springs Office Voted Favorite Jewish Realtor in AJT, Best of Jewish Atlanta
#2 Team Coldwell Banker Atlanta
Debbie Sells Houses
Business Sense By Al Shams
Low Maintenance Home in Montgomery Elementary!! In June 2013, OurCrowd became the first fund to require its Israeli companies to commit a portion of their equity to a charitable cause. The contributions are made on the closing of any financing. The idea is to share the startups’ good fortune. 3 P’s OurCrowd brings people, process and product to the table: • People — A highly experienced team of more than 90 professionals who have participated in all phases of the venture capital business. • Process — A well-defined, deliberate and comprehensive due diligence process that screens more than 2,000 prospective deals and selects 1 percent to 2 percent. OurCrowd initially invests its own capital, then makes the transaction available to members on the same terms. • Products — Three investment platforms are offered to investors. This article seeks only to describe a method of raising capital for small high-risk venture capital startup companies. It does not constitute a recommendation or solicitation. Any reader who wants to take this process further should conduct due diligence. I recently made a small, nonmaterial investment in one of the OurCrowd startups. I have not received any form of direct or indirect compensation for preparing this article. I cannot end this article without mentioning another “Our Crowd,” a tremendous book written in 1967 by Stephen Birmingham about the great Jewish families of New York. ■ Al Shams is a Sandy Spring resident, a former CPA and an investment professional with more than 36 years’ experience.
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MAY 13 ▪ 2016
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onathan Medved visited Atlanta two years ago and introduced crowdfunding to some select investors. He discussed how his firm, OurCrowd, has provided capital to a number of Israeli startups. Medved was prominently mentioned in “Start-Up Nation.” The Washington Post considers him one of Israel’s leading high-tech investors. He has been deeply involved with more than 100 startups, 12 of which achieved valuations of at least $100 million.
THE SONENSHINE TEAM
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TRAVEL
London’s Wild East
Cramped Old Jewish Quarter produced heroes and villains By Stephen Burstin
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MAY 13 ▪ 2016
he good, the bad and the ugly didn’t just roam the Wild West. They laid claim to the Wild East too — the East End of London, where Jewish heroes and villains competed for the minds and souls of 200,000 impoverished Jewish immigrants. The good came in the shape of philanthropists, idealistic young Jews and others with big hearts. The bad included mischievous anarchists, the bizarre rabbi who practiced sorcery, and the Kosher Nostra, spawning several generations of vicious gangsters. The ugly? Well, that’s the sprawling and appalling two square miles of the East End’s Old Jewish Quarter, where the 200,000 were crammed into pitiful accommodations, earning a reputation as Britain’s most overcrowded slum of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. To improve the living conditions, Lord Nathan Mayer Rothschild, Britain’s first Jewish lord, built a series of apartment blocks to provide subsidized housing for several thousand families. Rothschild led countless other philanthropic works, all aimed at improving the lives of the Eastern European Jews who settled in the East End. But there was a dark side to Rothschild’s dealings with the Jewish immigrants, earning him the double billing of Jewish hero and villain. With the onset of the 20th century, Rothschild and other long-established, wealthy, Anglicized Jews felt that their hard-won status in company boardrooms was being jeopardized by the continuing influx of ill-mannered Eastern Europeans who spoke only Yiddish, dressed like peasants and refused to adapt to their new surroundings. In the 1900 general election Rothschild backed the anti-Semitic Conservative David Hope-Kyd, who described Jewish immigrants as “the scum of the unhealthiest continental nations.” The new Zionist Federation of Britain also declared its support for HopeKyd because he favored a homeland for Jews in Palestine. The federation apparently did not care that his support for Zionism was governed by his hatred of Jews and desire to rid the East End of them. Oblivious to English politics were members of the Machsike Hadass Synagogue in the East End’s Brick Lane. An ultra-Orthodox community whose 20 name meant Upholders of the Faith,
AJT
An engraving from 1810 depicts London’s Great Synagogue.
their synagogue was the scene of a most unorthodox confrontation between Jews during Yom Kippur in 1904. When worshippers came out of their synagogue to take a break, Jewish anarchists were lying in wait and pelted them with bacon sandwiches. The worshippers fought back, and Brick Lane soon became a battleground with fists and lumps of bacon flying amid the cashmere coats, fur hats and ringlets. The nearby Great Synagogue was the seat of Britain’s chief rabbi for a couple of centuries. Most renowned of those holding the high office was Nathan Marcus Adler, who started his rabbinical career in his German hometown of Hanover. There he became a hero for Queen Victoria. In 1840 the queen, seven months pregnant with her first child, was visiting Hanover when labor pains began, causing panic for the royal court: If the child were born on German soil, his succession to the English throne might be in question. Among the guests of the royal party was financier and philanthropist Sir Moses Montefiore, who was praying in the Hanoverian synagogue, where Adler was the rabbi. After prayers, Montefiore told Adler about the royal dilemma, and the rabbi reminded his visitor that the British warship Ark Royal, on which the queen had traveled to Germany, was moored just 100 miles away at Bremerhaven. A child born on the ship would be seen as having been born on English soil. Montefiore relayed this advice, and Queen Victoria was rushed to the ship, which set sail into international waters. She gave birth to the future King Edward VII that night and did not forget the Hanover rabbi. In 1845, her attention was drawn to the quest for a new chief rabbi, and she sent a note to the Jewish community: “Since Rabbi Adler saved me when I was in trouble, he will certainly be the
Lord Nathan Mayer Rothschild
right guardian and leader for your congregation.” And so it was. A century earlier, another German-born rabbi at the same synagogue was Chaim Jacob Samuel Falk. Alchemist, Freemason and Kabbalist, Falk arrived in London in 1742 after fleeing Westphalia to avoid being burned at the stake for sorcery. The legends associated with Falk became more and more bizarre over the years. One story said that when the back wheel of his carriage came off along Whitechapel Road, he ordered the coachman to drive on, and the wheel followed the carriage the rest of the way. When a fire broke out at the Great Synagogue and all efforts at dousing the flames failed, Falk reportedly wrote G-d’s name on the main door frame, causing the wind to change direction and ending the blaze. In 1942, during World War II, a 14-year-old started his apprenticeship in an East End hairdressing shop. That lad, Vidal Sassoon, went on to be a Jewish hero. Sassoon was too young to fight in the war, but afterward, at age 17, he became the youngest member of the 43 Group, which broke up Fascist meetings in East London. The Daily Telegraph later called him an “anti-fascist warrior-hairdresser.” In 1948 at age 20, he joined the Haganah and fought in the Israeli War of Independence. During an interview many years later Sassoon described the year he spent training with the Israelis as the best of his life. Less heroic was Max Moses, a leading member of the East End’s Stop at Nothing gang in the early 20th century. Also known as the Bessarabians because the Jewish gang originated in the Bessarabia region on the Russian-Romanian border, they were “the greatest menace ever known to London,” police
An 1881 painting depicts Sir Moses Montefiore.
Rabbi Nathan Marcus Adler, shown as a young man, helped protect the succession from Queen Victoria to King Edward VII.
inspector Benjamin Leeson said at the time. Moses’ first victims were Jewish shopkeepers, who were ordered to pay protection money and rarely went to the police because the authorities in their Eastern European homelands were more often villains than saviors. Moses’ next target was the parents of prospective brides. A few days before a wedding, he would approach the bride’s parents and threaten to expose all manner of embarrassing indiscretions unless he was paid off. A gang war broke out between the Bessarabians and another Jewish gang, the Odessians. Fearing arrest for the murder of an Odessian, Moses fled to America. He served in the U.S. Army during World War I, acted in a few Hollywood movies, and avoided a life sentence for the murder of his seventh wife on the grounds of brain damage caused by years in the boxing ring. He committed suicide in Detroit in 1940. Other Jewish gangs came and went in the East End, earning the nickname of the Kosher Nostra. ■ Stephen Burstin (www.jewishlondonwalkingtours.co.uk) is a former journalist and conducts Jewish-themed guided tours in London.
TRAVEL
Take a Sky-High Tour Of Hilton Head By Kevin Madigan kmadigan@atljewishtimes.com
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Jewish-owned business on Hilton Head Island has attracted more than 100,000 visitors since its launch five years ago. ZipLine Hilton Head opened on the island in 2011. It provides a two-hour tour through the trees while hooked to interconnected wires. “You start low and slow with two guides,” co-owner Pam Freedman said in a phone interview. “You get higher, longer, faster, and you can see the vistas, the marshes. Sometimes you see a dolphin. It’s such a spectacular view, a lovely vista of the Lowcountry, but you’re at the highest point in Hilton Head that the public can go, higher than the Harbour Town Lighthouse.” Two years ago the parent company added the adjacent Aerial Adventure Hilton Head, offering challenge courses on ropes high above the tree canopy. “We saw this concept in Europe. They’re designated by color according to ability, so the little guy does the green courses, and military types like to do the high, challenging black ones. It’s like a playground in the sky,” Freedman said. “We like to say we have highs in the Lowcountry. We’ve brought new thrills to a community that has a lot of wonderful things but always could use more. It has great beaches, great biking, great golf, but it can embrace newer kinds of sports.” The original plan for the business was far different, however. Freedman’s husband, Roger, wanted to construct a housing development on the 8.5 acres
of Broad Creek Marina he bought in 2003, but the subsequent real estate market slump put an end to that idea. “The recession came along, so what do you do instead of building 37 houses? You build a two-hour zip tour. It’s a logical progression, right?” Freedman said, laughing. The couple, married in 1998, had moved to South Carolina from Connecticut. Roger Freedman was the CEO of a Fortune 500 company and, according to his wife, was instrumental in bringing cable television to Poland. She at one time ran a high-profile public relations firm in New York. “He’s the quintessential entrepreneur,” she said of her husband. “He’ll never retire; he’s got 12 ideas going right now. His enjoyment is developing new projects, and he’s been very successful and creative in this one.” He was on the board of Congregation Mickve Israel in Savannah, she added, and the two now attend Congregation Beth Yam in Hilton Head. Pam Freedman is on the board of the local Boys & Girls Clubs of America chapter, and many of the group’s young members regularly visit the zip line and Aerial Adventure. She said an unexpected benefit of youngsters using the facilities is the increase in self-confidence they often gain. “It made me appreciate what we created a little bit more because I had not seen that sort of change in someone,” she said. “I’ve done it myself 11 or 12 times now; I’m starting to lose track,” Freedman said. “We both have a fear of heights, but it does build your confidence; that’s what zip-lining and all these new activities do.” ■
SUZI VOYLES SANDY SPRINGS
CITY COUNCIL DISTRICT 3 VOTE MAY 24TH
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el Aviv, which was named the smartest city in the world in 2014, is working to integrate several travel applications into 12 percent of the city’s hotels to help make it a smart tourism city. The apps will improve tourists’ communication with their hotels before and during their stay and enhance suggestions for activities and events. Eytan Schwartz, the CEO of Tel Aviv Global and Tourism, said the initiative “will benefit international tourists, Israeli visitors and local startups.” The participating technologies include Howazit, which provides a seamless connection between guests
and hotels; Dotz, which suggests events for visitors based on their location and interests; and Aspectiva, which offers customer review insights. The hotels involved are Royal Beach, Isrotel Tower, the Dan Group hotels, Deborah, Golden Beach, Arkadia Tower, Carlton, Mergoza, West, Alexander, Embassy, Cucu and Port. “It is our duty … to facilitate innovation across the tourism map of the city,” said Isaac Mizrachi of Tel Aviv Global. “There is such a dynamic startup scene here in Tel Aviv and so many great products that it would be a shame not to exploit that for the benefit of both visitors and businesses.” ■
MAY 13 ▪ 2016
Hotels Integrate Apps
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TRAVEL
Building Castles in Atlantic City By R.M. Grossblatt
I
grew up in a row house in Baltimore in the 1950s. Every morning, I walked to No. 59 elementary school with my younger brother, Julian. In the early evenings, as my parents sat on the porch and talked, I played games with my friends on the sidewalk and the lawns across the street: hide and go seek, Red Rover, and time. I rarely included Julian. After all, he was a year and a half younger than I was, and he had his own friends. But every summer I built castles with him in the sand on our family’s annual vacation. In July, when my father (z”l), who worked as a foreman in a factory, and my mother (a”h), who worked as a cosmetics representative in a department store, took their vacation, we would board a Greyhound bus to Atlantic City. Dressed in fancy clothes, including a purse dangling from a string, I rode in the bus next to my brother for four hours, anticipating a week of family fun. Atlantic City then, unlike today with glittering casinos, was a place for
families to relax. We rented a room at the Marylander Hotel and shared a bathroom down the hall with several families. In those days, no one cared. We ate breakfast at Betty’s, a oneroom restaurant. It was packed with children in shorts and jerseys like my brother and me. I can still smell the cinnamon French toast and pancakes as we walked through the door. After breakfast we often fed peanuts to the pigeons on the boardwalk in front of the Planters peanut factory. Then we walked back to the hotel to change into swimsuits and cover-ups. We always wore cover-ups to walk to and from the beach and at lunchtime to cross the boardwalk to buy a sandwich and fries. At the beach, my brother and I built those sand castles. We tried piling the wet sand high enough to survive the raging waves at the end of the day, but they never did. We kept trying. The beach held so much fun for us. Holding hands with our parents, we jumped the smaller waves, which sent sprinklings of salt water across our faces. We dug in the sand, trying to reach China, and basked in the sun, waiting
for the Good Humor man as he wove his way from blanket to blanket. Under the scorching sun, in his white shirt, pants and cap, he would sing out: “Ice cream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream.” Around 3 in the afternoon, we walked back to the hotel to nap and get ready for dinner. Like traveling, we always dressed for dinner and an evening at Steel Pier. At this unique boardwalk attraction, we swayed to the music of famous singers like Connie Francis and Johnny Ray. And we marveled at circus-type performances like the Diving Horse. Of course, there was a charge for all that, so we only visited Steel Pier once or twice during our stay. On other nights, we walked the boardwalk. That was free and exciting. There were games to play, souvenir shops to browse and a booth to cut a record. (I still have one of those 45s of my brother and me singing “Slow Boat to China” but no record player to hear it.) As the rhythmic song of the sea slapped against the shore, we walked back to the hotel. Sometimes we bought saltwater taffy that stuck to our teeth or frozen custard on cones. My favorite was chocolate — a sweet, creamy treat at the end of a summer day. Year after year, our family took this week’s vacation in Atlantic City until my brother and I became teenagers. Grappling with independence, we worked at summer jobs and hung out with our own group of friends.
But when I was 18 and my brother 17, my mother asked, “Would you like to spend July Fourth in Atlantic City with us?” We thought we had outgrown vacationing with our parents, but it was only for a day, so we agreed. The morning of the Fourth, in casual clothes, we boarded a Greyhound bus and spent a glorious day at the beach. My brother and I may even have built a sand castle; I don’t remember. What I do remember is reconnecting as young adults with each other and with our parents. We thought it was our last vacation day together. But as late afternoon and fireworks approached, my father asked, “Should we rent a room and stay overnight?” Again, we agreed. At a novelty store we bought what we needed and rented a room at the Marylander, which still had a bathroom down the hall. We also bought a new device: a tape recorder. After we ate dinner and walked the boards, we stayed up late in the room, laughing and recording our voices. Now, over 50 years later, I love to hear my brother’s voice on my cellphone when he calls from California. Our beloved parents are no longer alive. But when I shared this article with Julian, he said, “Our memories with Mom and Dad are everlasting.” Yes, they are — especially family vacations in Atlantic City, where, on our last trip together, we built castles in the sky. ■
Inbal Books Nonprofits
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he Inbal Jerusalem Hotel has begun using its lobby showcases to promote the work of local chari-
MAY 13 ▪ 2016
ties.
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The displays, which are between the deluxe hotel’s lobby and its restaurants, are part of a corporate social responsibility initiative. The first organization given the display space was Susan’s House, a nonprofit that empowers at-risk teens to find their place in society through artistic expression, personal investment and creative initiative. The showcases featured pieces of art created by Susan’s House youths. “For many years we have rented these showcases to local businesses to sell their wares, but we felt more could be done with the space,” said Alex Herman, the Inbal’s vice president of sales and marketing. “This is an exciting op-
portunity for us to help our local community and to engage our guests in some of the great charitable work that goes on in our city.” The 283-room Inbal Jerusalem Hotel (www.inbalhotel.com) overlooks the Old City walls and is minutes from the major cultural and historical sites. The hotel was recently voted the most luxurious hotel in the Trip Advisor Travelers’ Choice Awards. Conde Nast Traveler readers named it the best hotel in Israel and fourth best hotel in the Middle East. ■
TRAVEL
Roaming: Jackson Hole To Tetons to Yellowstone By Leah R. Harrison
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Getting There Delta has the only direct flights from Atlanta to Jackson Hole during the summer - three weekly, from June 6 - Aug. 30. Consider flying into Salt Lake City and driving because a rental car will be necessary anyway. Jackson Area Myriad summer activities are available with Jackson Hole or Teton Village as your base: • Whitewater and scenic float trips — Shoot Class III rapids like Lunch Counter or the Big Kahuna, or float peacefully, spotting bald eagles, moose and other wildlife along the Snake River. • Kayaking and paddle boarding — Lessons, certification and tours are offered, as are overnight excursions. • Guided fishing and fly-fishing — Take advantage of the scenic and active fishing options across the area, including the Snake and Green rivers. • Horseback riding — Ranches feature a variety of trails, including hourly, sunrise breakfast, summer pack and horseback fishing trips. • Teton County Fair — Witness pig wrestling, horse shows, livestock competitions, stock cars and the midway at the fair, now in its 60th year, July 22 to 31. Eat deep-fried everything and get a feel for local culture at the finals of the fiddle competition on closing day. • Mountain biking — Jackson has an extensive paved bike pathway system that safely navigates you under highways and through tunnels in town and connects to Moose-Wilson and Teton Village and into Grand Teton National Park. Driving the park is not the same as seeing it from the saddle of a bike. • Other activities — Options include golf, chuck wagon rides, the Alpine Slide at Snow King, hiking and rock climbing, shooting, parasailing, hang gliding, hot-air balloon rides, shopping in the Jackson stores, the 6 p.m. shootout, wildlife tours, and entertainment in Teton Village.
Above: The deck at Dornan’s provides an ideal view of the Tetons. Below: Swingin’ Sabbath is a latesummer attraction in Wilson, Wyo.
Shabbat Jackson has a thriving Reform Jewish community. Check jhjewishcommunity.org for dates for the next Friday night service and pot luck in Grand Teton National Park or Swingin’ Sabbath with the Richard Brown Orchestra under a tent in the valley toward summer’s end. Dining Casual options abound, but standouts include Trio, Snake River Grill, Nora’s Fish Creek Inn, Pearl Street Bagels and the Mangy Moose. National Parks Of course, your trip should begin or end with the national parks. If driving from town or the airport, you should enter Grand Teton National Park from the south gate at Moose Junction. Stop at family-owned Dornan’s gourmet grocery for provisions before advancing to the visitor center for your first amazing view. After a hike to Taggart Lake and a boat ride across Lake Jenny, Jackson Lake Lodge is a must-stop destination your family will never forget. Next, make your way into Yellowstone. Your adventure from here depends on the time you have. As you approach the Old Faithful turnout, you’ll become aware that the area hosts the most geysmeric activity in the world. No kids along? First view the famous geyser from the deck of the Old Faithful Inn with an adult beverage in hand. Next, walk as much of the geyser basin as possible. Must-sees here include the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone and Mammoth Hot Springs. Hayden Valley on east-side loop offers your best opportunity for seeing huge herds and getting stuck in a buffalo jam. Relax, stay at a safe distance, and keep the camera ready. ■
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MAY 13 ▪ 2016
itting the road this summer to explore our country’s untarnished natural wonders is one of the best ways to vacation as a family. A trip to Jackson Hole, Wyo., and Grand Teton and Yellowstone national parks offers just such an opportunity.
BUCKHEAD: 2161 Piedmont Road Atlanta, GA 30324 | 404-881-0902
DORAVILLE: 5877 Buford Hwy Doraville, GA 30340 | 770-458-3272
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TRAVEL
Mountain Retreat for All Seasons Roanoke offers art, the Blue Ridge and railroads
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f you enjoy scenic valleys, a mild climate, beautiful mountains, abundant outdoor recreation, art and/or trains, you should put Roanoke, Va., and vicinity on your mustsee list. This appealing city of about 100,000 (324,000 in the region), set against the backdrop of the Blue Ridge Mountains, has all of that and more. The geography that made the city just west of the mountains on the Roanoke River a natural trade center has shaped its history. It became a significant railroad town in the 1880s and has evolved as a major freight rail center that celebrates its rail history with two excellent museums and a railwalk downtown. Roanoke also has a lot of urban appeal because of its emergence as southwestern Virginia’s epicenter for business, education, tourism and health. Before You Go Check out the following: • www.visitroanokeva.com. • www.facebook.com/RoanokeValley. • www.virginia.org/cities/Roanoke. • www.downtownroanoke.org. Getting There Roanoke is easily reached by highway, air or train. • Roanoke-Blacksburg Regional Airport, six miles from the city center, is served by four airlines and has good service to many East Coast locations. • There is a bus link to Lynch-
burg’s Amtrak station. Direct train service to Roanoke is expected in late 2016 or 2017, bringing back passenger trains for the first time since 1979. • Roanoke is on Interstate 81. It is 6½ to seven hours from Atlanta, accessible through North Carolina by I-85 and I-77 or through Tennessee via I-75 and I-40.
Simply Smart Travel By Jeffrey R. Orenstein jorenstein@SimplySmartTravel.com
For a Short Trip Must-sees for a short stay: • The historic Roanoke City Market, open daily. • The 1/3-mile David R. and Susan S. Goode Railwalk’s interpretive displays. • The O. Winston Link Museum for some spectacular black-and-white rail photography from the steam era. • The Virginia Museum of Transportation, home of restored and operating steam locomotive N&W No. 611 and many other historical locomotives built at the Roanoke Shops. You can check out No. 611 on YouTube at youtu. be/MjKTpFlta2o. • The Taubman Museum of Art. For a Longer Stay If you have several days, explore the region by: • Kayaking on the Upper James River Water Trail. • Taking a drive on the Blue Ridge
MAY 13 ▪ 2016
Jewish Roanoke
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While Roanoke is not a major Jewish center, the city is more Jewish than many other small cities in the South. Roanoke has two Jewish congregations, Beth Israel (Conservative) and Temple Emanuel (Reform). It also is home to a Jewish Community Council of Richmond branch and the Jewish Community Preschool, a joint effort of the two congregations. As the city grew in the 1880s, the first Jews arrived and soon created a congregation, Beth Jacob. An influx of European immigrants eventually led to a split. In 1906, more traditional members left to start a Conservative congregation, soon known as Beth Israel, and the remaining members changed their name to Temple Emanuel. During the boom years after World War II, Jews
Photo by Jeffrey Orenstein
Photo by Dominion Images, Roanoke Valley CVB
The historic City Market is a downtown gathering place offering an array of shops and restaurants.
Parkway. • Hiking a section of the Appalachian Trail or other Blue Ridge trails. • Visiting Black Dog Salvage (as seen on the DIY Network), a 40,000-square-foot warehouse filled with antiques and commercial salvage items. • Participating in a Roanoke food tour (www.roanokefoodtours.com). • Visiting Natural Bridge Park, where George Washington carved his initials when he was a young surveyor. Dressing for Simply Smart Travel Because Roanoke is a regional business center with nice hotels and museums and some fine restaurants, the appropriate dress should be a bit more formal than resort casual. Business casual that is appropriate for the weather is always in order. For recreation in the surrounding Blue Ridge, though, typical activewear is the norm. At a Glance Mobility level: Low for intown strolling and shopping, moderate to high for Blue Ridge explorations on foot, boat or mountain bike. When to go: Any time. Spring is
continued to settle in Roanoke. By 1960 there were 800 in town, although they were excluded from most social clubs and some other organizations. The community dealt with typical anti-Semitism and exclusion until the civil rights era erased the formal exclusion. Today, the Jewish population of Roanoke is just over 1,000, and both congregations are vibrant and active. The Taubmans are a prominent Roanoke Jewish family. Advance Auto Parts, founded by Arthur Taubman in 1932, is Roanoke’s lone Fortune 500 company. Arthur was inducted into the Southwest Virginia Business Hall of Fame. Nick Taubman was named one of Roanoke’s 50 most influential people in 2001, and from 2005 to 2008 he served as the U.S. ambassador to Romania. The family has been influential in Roanoke’s
Three steam locomotives built in Roanoke are housed at the Virginia Museum of Transportation. The one in the center, the Spirit of Roanoke, still pulls trains for excursions.
Photo courtesy of the city of Roanoke
The David R. and Susan S. Goode Railwalk’s pedestrian thoroughfare offers informational displays about Roanoke’s railroads and a safe view of passing Norfolk Southern trains.
gorgeous, summer is pleasant, and fall color is incredible. Winters are cold but not severe. Where to stay: The classy Hotel Roanoke is downtown. The MainStay Suites Airport is a good choice for its proximity to restaurants, a mall and the airport. Special interests: Mountain exploration, railroads and rail history. ■ Jeffrey Orenstein is a syndicated travel writer from Florida’s West Coast. He and his wife, Virginia, enjoy simply smart travel and writing about it. Check out their travel tips, photos, articles and blog at www.SimplySmartTravel.com and like them at www.facebook.com/ SimplySmartTravel.
Photo courtesy of the Taubman Museum of Art
The striking architecture of the Taubman Museum of Art is an important part of Roanoke’s walkable downtown.
arts community. In the 1950s, Grace Taubman served on the board of Roanoke Fine Arts and helped develop the Roanoke Symphony Orchestra. In 2008 the family made a large donation to what is now the Taubman Museum of Art in downtown Roanoke.
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TRAVEL
Hit the Road for Roller Coasters, More Summer Fun By David R. Cohen david@atljewishtimes.com
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road trip can be a truly enlightening and unforgettable experience. All you have to do is pick a theme and climb into the car. The first themed road trip I went on was in the summer of 1998. I was 9 years old and obsessed with roller coasters. So my dad packed me, my younger brother and my 15-year-old cousin into our minivan, and we visited five theme parks in a week. We hit Dollywood in Pigeon Forge, Tenn.; Kings Island in Cincinnati; Kings Dominion in Richmond; Busch Gardens in Williamsburg; and Carowinds in Charlotte. We covered almost 2,000 miles of Georgia, Tennessee, Kentucky, Virginia and North Carolina. It was on this trip that I learned
an early lesson in patience when I waited with my cousin for more than five hours to ride a recently opened and wildly popular coaster called the Volcano at Kings Dominion. Looking back, I hardly remember the wait or any of the other 30-plus coasters I rode during that trip, but I remember all one minute and 10 seconds of that ride like it was yesterday. If roller coasters aren’t your thing, try these road trip ideas this summer. Baseball What’s more American than baseball and the open road? The classic baseball road trip involves a bit of planning but can’t be beaten. You can visit all 30 major-league stadiums in 30 days or just cruise a specific region to catch a few games. Baseball-roadtrip.com’s
planner tool can be used to find the schedules of all 30 big-league teams. Feeling adventurous? Add a few of the 244 minor-league teams to the trip.
National Parks There are 58 national parks across America. It might be hard to visit all of them in one trip, but picking two or three is a winning approach for outdoor enthusiasts. Try the drive from the Grand Canyon to Yellowstone. It’s one of the most scenic in the country and can hit Phoenix and Salt Lake City. Go West Nowadays, the American West is a lot less treacherous and a lot more family-friendly than it was in the 1800s. Capture the grandeur and wide-open spaces with a road trip from El Paso, Texas, up to Deadwood, S.D., and visit
the bar where Wild Bill Hickok was shot during a poker game. Stop at the multitude of ghost towns along Interstate 25 and finish at Mount Rushmore in South Dakota. Another fun jaunt includes a loop around the Four Corners area (Colorado, Utah, Arizona and New Mexico). Roadside Attractions Looking for something off the beaten path? Plan your trip around quirky attractions like the “future birthplace of James T. Kirk” in Riverside, Iowa; chained rock in Pineville, Ky.; and the world’s largest office chair in Anniston, Ala. My favorite has to be the world’s largest easel in Goodland, Kan. Roadsideamerica.com has a full database and maps of odd tourist attractions in all 50 states. ■
Lod Mosaic in Miami Until May 29 flanking a large square central medallion. Indigenous animals coexist with ferocious wild creatures such as lions, tigers, an elephant, a giraffe, Asian water buffalo and a sea monster.
After Miami, the mosaic will return to Lod, where its permanent home, the Shelby White and Leon Levy Lod Mosaic Center, is under construction. ■
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eople visiting Miami this month first opened the mosaic to the Israeli have a chance to see one of Isra- public for only one weekend, more el’s best-preserved artifacts, the than 30,000 people traveled to Lod to Lod Mosaic, on its final stop of a U.S. see it. tour. “We are absolutely delighted and The Roman mosaic dates to the honored to have been afforded this third century once-in-a-lifetime C.E. and was opportunity to exsaved by the hibit a significant Israel Antiquiwork from Roman ties Authorantiquity,” said ity after it was Jordana Pomeroy, discovered the Frost Muby a highway seum’s director. construction “The Lod Mosaic’s crew in 1996. excellent state of The mosaic preservation and is believed to the IAA’s superior have been the conservation alfloor of an aulow us to apprecidience room ate how the finest in a grand villa mosaic work can Photo courtesy of the Israel Antiquities Authority owned by a bring alive the anThe central medallion of the Lod Mosaic features an array of exotic animals. wealthy mercient world.” chant. Lod stands Because the mosaic has no reli- on the site of the ancient city of Lydda, gious content, archaeologists can’t be which developed on an important sure whether the owner was Jewish, trade route from Egypt to Syria and Christian or pagan. Mesopotamia. The mosaic is being shown The city was destroyed in 66 C.E. through Sunday, May 29, at the Patri- during the Great Jewish Revolt and was cia & Phillip Frost Art Museum, on the rebuilt as Diospolis, the “city of Zeus.” campus of Florida International Uni- Around 200 C.E., Emperor Septimius versity, in an exhibit called “Predators Severus made it a Roman colony. Archaeologists have calculated & Prey,” a reference to exotic menagerie depicted in the artwork. Admission that more than 2 million tiles were used to create the mosaic. to the museum is free. Three central panels were chosen The Lod Mosaic is one of the most viewed Israeli touring exhibitions. from the excavation for the traveling When the Israel Antiquities Authority exhibition: two rectangular end panels
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EDUCATION
College Application Process Not Over Yet
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hew! The May 1 deadline has passed for seniors, and they have chosen where they want to enroll. Students also should have sent appropriate notes to those colleges that sent acceptance letters but were not the final choice. For some students, the decision was easy, especially if they were admitted to their first-choice colleges. But it was not easy for all students; some had sleepless nights trying to decide. Let’s take a few decisions that drove students and their parents into many discussions. One of my students had to choose among Harvard, Princeton, Brown and the University of Georgia, among others. How did this student choose, without going into great detail? Alice (not her real name) visited those colleges a second time. Georgia offered a wonderful top honors program, and the cost to her family would be practically nothing. No tuition, room and board, and other expenses would be almost zero, a reward she earned with outstanding grades and test scores. Georgia was enticing. But she talked to students at the other colleges, gathered intelligent questions, talked to recent graduates
who now live in Georgia, and talked to professors. Then she made her choice: Princeton. Lesson: Visit colleges, even twice if necessary. Gather information about people, academic life, campus life, the student body, financial aid and Jewish
The Admissions Game By Dr. Mark L. Fisher drmarkfisher@yahoo.com
considerations. Each category has many factors. Examples under academic life include strength of primary major of interest, study abroad, class size, faculty advising system, distinctive programs, internships and accessibility of faculty. Jewish considerations may include the Jewish student population, Shabbat services, an active Hillel and/or Chabad, and a kosher dining program. Another student had to choose between two out-of-state public colleges with no money from the college he wanted to attend. He didn’t meet the scholarship deadline, which was his fault. I suggested phone calls to his No. 1 college, but nothing happened. He
enrolled at the other public university, which wasn’t a bad choice. Well, the calls to the preferred university worked. All of a sudden, a scholarship was awarded. Now he will attend his No. 1 choice, and he is working on getting money back from the other college. Lesson: Meet those deadlines! Talk to admissions and financial aid officials at the college when appropriate. A third student had to choose between a top college that offered no money and another fine college that offered $32,000 in merit money per year. He chose the college where the family will have to pay the full bill. How could he make such a choice? Lesson: He thoroughly investigated both colleges and visited again, and his family agreed to bite the bullet. Seniors think they are finished with high school. Well, almost. For those who have senioritis, find a remedy quick. Two quick stories. After being accepted to Georgia Tech, a senior decided to enjoy the rest of the school year — so much that her grades went way down. Tech revoked her acceptance. Why? Tech received her final transcript, and it was quite different from her application transcript (in the wrong direction) because
National AEPi Conference Battles Hate By Matthew Prater
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MAY 13 ▪ 2016
lpha Epsilon Pi brought 35 brothers from across North America together in Los Angeles from April 1 to 3 for the fraternity’s first Combat Hate Conference. David Marias, AEPi’s civic engagement coordinator, and others from the headquarters in Indianapolis spent more than 1½ years planning the event. The conference was created to honor Michael “Mickey” Schwerner, a Cornell AEPi and freedom rider who was killed in 1964. “We wanted to have a special conference in order to examine past instances of hate on and off campus and find ways that we can help bridge communities and work with other diverse groups of students to make our campus communities better for all students,” Marias said. Matthew Friedrich, Josh Shapiro and I attended the conference on behalf of AEPi at Kennesaw State University. Hillel at UCLA welcomed us for Shabbat services and dinner Friday, 26 April 1, then the conference began in
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Sophomores Matthew Friedrich (left) and Josh Shapiro (right) flank junior Matthew Prater at the conference.
earnest at 9 a.m. Saturday, April 2. The full day of presentations began with the Black-Jew Dialogues’ use of comedy to examine diversity, the hardships of racism and prejudice, and how to combat them. The use of comedy made it easier for people to open up and ask questions. White People 4 Black Lives then discussed racism and how AEPi brothers can support the Black Lives Matter movement on and off campus. AEPi alum Tyler Gregory, the director of programs and development at A Wider Bridge, spoke about the work
his group does advocating LGBT rights in Israel, as well as about LGBT rights throughout the Middle East. Although many of its neighbors discriminate against LGBT people, Israel as a society is accepting of the community. Tel Aviv hosts the largest Pride parade in the world, and many seek refuge in that city and other parts of Israel for work and acceptance. The final two speakers before dinner were Tim Zaal and Rabbi Aron Hier. Zaal, a former skinhead, spoke on behalf of Hate to Hope, an organization that does what its name says. He talked about acceptance of others in his story of reconciliation with someone he hurt more than four decades ago. His journey showed us how to overcome prejudices and fight against discrimination. Rabbi Hier, the director of campus outreach for the Simon Wiesenthal Center, facilitated a conversation on First Amendment rights and using them on campus to fight hate speech. AEPi’s supreme master, Elan Carr, gave an inspiring speech at dinner about the pride and power we have as
of the second semester. Lesson: All your grades count, to the last day of classes. In an article online, a student in Pennsylvania and her father were packing the car for the beginning of school. That day, the student received a letter revoking her acceptance, based on that final transcript. Unfortunately, the high school must have sent the final transcript to the college late, and the final transcript was not to the college’s liking. Lesson: Don’t only end the school year on a positive note, but also make sure that your high school sends your final transcript to your college as soon as it is available. Some students are awaiting decisions because they are on a wait list. What should students do to improve their chances of acceptance to firstchoice colleges that wait-listed them? Email me at drmarkfisher@yahoo. com, and I’ll email you an article with specifics. Let me know where you are trying to be accepted. There will be no fee for this request. ■ Mark Fisher is a college and career consultant at Fisher Educational Consultants (www.fishereductionalconsultants. com) and a consultant for the College Planning Institute (www.GotoCPI.com).
Jewish leaders. He emphasized that we are the new generation of Jewish leaders and can make a difference in the United States and Israel. The final day of the conference, we went to the Museum of Tolerance. We split into two groups and walked through the interactive exhibits, including scenes from the ghettos and concentration camps of World War II. The stories we heard and the presentations of the facts were jaw-dropping. I have been to Holocaust museums in Israel, Atlanta, Washington and elsewhere, but I think the Los Angeles museum will stick with me the most. Overall, the conference was an honor to attend. I brought back valuable knowledge and information to share with my brothers regarding tolerance and how we can be better community members by addressing issues I didn’t even realize we faced today. ■ Matthew Prater, son of Ilene and Michael Prater of Norcross, is a founding member and current president of the AEPi colony at Kennesaw State.
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Tech Award to Rubinoff
Scholarship winners Jessica Nooriel, Daniel Azizi, Andrew Alter and Rebecca Sirota are joined by Todd Maziar and Harry Maziar to the left and by Sherry Maziar, Lisa Philipson, Amy Sue Maziar and Neal Maziar to the right.
4 Bredow Scholars Named Emory University undergraduates Jessica Nooriel, Rebecca Sirota, Andrew Alter and Daniel Azizi have been awarded $4,000 Sam Bredow scholarships for next year. Nooriel and Sirota are Atlanta Jewish Academy alumnae. Since being created more than a decade ago in tribute to Bredow, who was the Tau Epsilon Phi adviser at Emory, the scholarship has been awarded to 83 Jewish students who have displayed exceptional academic credentials and been active beyond the classroom. Bredow’s daughter and son-in-law, Sherry and Harry Maziar, and their children held a brunch ceremony at the Marcus Hillel Center.
Atlanta lawyer Arn Rubinoff, an adjunct professor in the Scheller College of Business at Georgia Tech, was awarded the Dean George C. Griffin Georgia Tech Faculty of the Year Award, selected from the facArn Rubinoff ulty of all six Georgia Tech colleges. Rubinoff previously was Professor of the Year and Lecturer of the Year in the Scheller College. He teaches undergraduate and master’s level courses on technology transfer, international business, law for entrepreneurs, business law and business ethics.
Stein Wins Aviran Award Ken Stein, the director of Emory University’s Institute for the Study of Modern Israel, received Hillels of Georgia’s Opher Aviran We Stand With Israel Award on Thursday, May 5, at the Marcus Hillel Center at Emory. In a video message of congratulations, Aviran, the former Israeli consul general, said he could not think of a better scholar to receive the award, presented during the Hillels of Georgia
annual board meeting. Hillels of Georgia President Michael Coles said the award honors partners who help students articulate the role Israel plays in their Jewish identities. “Hillel has to be on the cutting edge of fighting anti-Semitism and the boycott, divestment and sanctions movement to ensure a safe campus environment for Jewish students,” he said. “Ken Stein has shown his continual commitment to Hillels of Georgia by helping promote a positive image of Israel to not only increase pride among Jewish students, but to educate uninformed students on campuses across the state.” Stein said more than 80 percent of Israel education on American campuses comes in courses focused on the Arab-Israeli conflict, and based on his review of course syllabi, the content and reading assignments are heavily biased against Israel. Meanwhile, Stein is launching a pilot collaboration between his Center for Israel Education and the Atlanta Jewish Academy Upper School from May 16 to 20, the week after Yom HaAtzmaut (Israeli Independence Day). Beginning this year for a four-year high school cycle, AJA Upper School students in the week before or after Yom HaAtzmaut will take part in a 15-
Ken Stein accepts the Opher Aviran Award from Hillels of Georgia President Michael Coles (center) and Executive Director Russ Shulkes.
hour seminar using materials developed exclusively for AJA by Stein and Rich Walter, the associate director for Israel education at ISMI and CIE. The seminar will cover Zionist and Israeli history, politics, institutions, arts, culture, and foreign relations. For the full week before the seminar, CIE provides teacher training for the unit. “It’s a win-win situation for both AJA and CIE,” said Rabbi Reuven Travis, an AJA Judaics and history teacher, “because Dr. Stein is looking to us to pilot this approach to teaching modern Israel that he’s been wanting to implement for years. If this groundbreaking teaching method is as successful at AJA as I believe it will be, the four-year, 60hour seminar approach to the instruction of modern Israel can be expanded to other schools in the area and around the world.”
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EDUCATION
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HEALTH & WELLNESS
Restoring LGBTQ Faith in Substance Abuse Fight By Tova Norman
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hat if the G-d of my understanding hates me? That is the question an event sponsored by SOJOURN and funded by Jewish Family & Career Services’ HAMSA program will explore. The program, an interfaith discussion on how a crisis of faith can drive LGBTQ people to substance abuse, will take place Thursday, May 19, at 7 p.m. at the Rush Center Annex. The event will be facilitated by Rebecca Stapel-Wax, the executive director of SOJOURN; Eric Miller, the program coordinator of Helping Atlantans Manage Substance Abuse; and Rabbi Malka Packer, the director of InterfaithFamily/Atlanta. It also will feature LGBTQ people in recovery. It’s a complicated topic for members of the LGBTQ community. “Unfortunately, religion has been the largest form of oppression to people who are queer,” Stapel-Wax said, explaining that dealing with substance abuse through a relationship with a higher power becomes complicated. Miller said substance abuse is a huge issue in the LGBTQ community. For many, the 12 steps of Alcoholics Anonymous have become synonymous with recovery from addiction. But they emphasize a higher power.
Rabbi Packer, who has worked extensively with people in recovery, explained this struggle. “When people come into recovery from addiction, so many times they have a really challenging relationship with G-d or a higher power,” she said. “Either they think that G-d doesn’t love them, or they don’t feel connected to G-d — especially in the queer community. If you’re from a religion where you’re told it’s not OK to be gay, how do you reconcile with that when you join 12-step recovery?” That’s the issue this discussion hopes to address. “What I think we’re trying to do is help reintroduce G-d to the people that come to this conversation,” Miller said. Rabbi Packer said that this is just the beginning of people forming that relationship. “It’s a place for people to share what their experiences are and what strengths they have from that,” she said. “By sharing, giving strength and hope to folks who are struggling.” She added that finding a relationship with a higher power is different for each person. Miller said this is a great safe space to start the conversation. “If we have conversations like this, we can help start to bridge the difference between the G-d that people are raised with or that they fear or that has rejected them into a G-d that is loving and caring.”
He added, “G-d wants me to be happy and connected.” Stapel-Wax said it is important to open people up to finding their own paths to recovery. “The real goal is that there are different journeys to recovery and during recovery and realizing that one’s higher power really does and can be a motivator as opposed to a barrier.” Finding that motivation is important to recovery, Miller said. “Recovery is a spiritual process. You have to have a spiritual awaking, a moment of clarity that is going to carry you through when life happens, because life is going to happen.” The discussion is also about bringing a community of support together. This event is co-sponsored by partners that can provide further services: the Health Initiative, connecting LGBTQ patients with providers, and Positive Impact Health Centers, an organization that, among other things, supports people infected with HIV and provides substance abuse services. “I think one of our primary purposes is to let the person struggling with alcohol and drug abuse and the family struggling with alcohol and drug abuse know that they don’t have to run away from our community,” he said. “We are here to do this together because you can’t do it alone. No one gets sober alone.”
What: Interfaith discussion on substance abuse in the LGBTQ community Where: Rush Center Annex, 1530 DeKalb Ave., Atlanta When: 7 p.m. Thursday, May 19 Admission: Free; www.sojourngsd. org/calendar/hamsa
The discussion is open to everyone interested in this issue — people in recovery or considering recovery and those who work with and support people in recovery. It can be a great way for those who work with people in recovery to better connect with their LGBTQ clients, Stapel-Wax said. “If they are straight and allies, it is important in understanding what the life experience of someone who is queer has been,” she said, “in terms of reconciling their gender and sexual identity and their relationship with a higher power.” Overall, Rabbi Packer said she hopes people will gain strength and a sense of community from the discussion. “One thing that I would like would be for folks to not feel alone, to see that there is community, that there is support, and that if they have any struggles with G-d or a higher power, they can see that they are not the only ones having that experience.” ■
Zika Questions Don’t Prevent Action By Benjamin Kweskin
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MAY 13 ▪ 2016
ust as dengue and Ebola evoke fear and anxiety, Zika is the latest virus to cause international panic. While the mosquito-transmitted virus has infected more than 1 million people in Brazil, several hundred U.S. cases have been confirmed. When it infects pregnant women, the virus can cause microcephaly in babies. Emory University hosted a “Bridging the Sciences” conference on Zika from May 1 to 3 to educate immunologists, embryologists, epidemiologists, obstetricians, virologists, nurses and others on the biology of the virus and practical management of the infection. The conference closed with a panel of experts José Esparza, Mauro Teixeira and Glaucius Oliva of Brazil and Scott Weaver and Raymond Schinazi of the United States. Moderator Schinazi said that educating the public is of primary importance right now, especially because 28 most problem areas related to Zika
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about Zika remain, and the U.S. and other governments have tried not to overreact because scientists don’t yet know how to stop the virus. Photo by Benjamin Kweskin Scientists and docZika experts (from left) José Esparza, Mauro Teixeira, tors began studying this Glaucius Oliva, Raymond Schinazi and Scott iteration of Zika only a Weaver address questions about the virus May 3. couple of years ago (the are inside people’s homes. He said the major concern is for high-risk people, original strain is thought to have been including women — particularly those discovered in the late 1940s in East Africa), Oliva said, and it is not known who are pregnant — and children. Weaver said poorer communities how much the virus has mutated, what long-term effects it may have on peolack needed resources, exacerbating ple, and why some may be immune. the Zika problem. He said the risk of Teixeira said: “It took years for Zika outbreaks will increase as sumAIDS research to get to where it is now, mer brings more heat and humidity. and controlling mosquitos is certainly People must take responsibility not easy at all.” for their areas, Weaver said. If you have The panelists agreed that the potential mosquito breeding areas on technical response from the Brazilian your property, such as a fountain or government has been good and that pond outside or damp areas inside, the U.S. government needs a similar you should take action for the health response before the situation worsens. of yourself, your family and neighbors. Schinazi and other panelists acknowlEsparza said many unknowns edged that the U.S. scientific commu-
nity is waiting on government money. Schinazi said all governments have tended to be “reactive vs. proactive,” and concerted local as well as global efforts are needed on research, training and education. Oliva said Zika research must focus on diagnostics; drugs (perhaps repurposing old ones); and vaccines, an area in which much has to be learned. Weaver said infected people who have no symptoms could unknowingly transmit Zika to others sexually or otherwise. He suggested that people wear mosquito repellent and long sleeves to decrease the possibility of being bitten, but he also reminded the audience that most people who have been infected will be fine if they are not at high risk. Based on the current data, Schinazi said, it appears that once infected, a person cannot become infected again. Weaver said that while Zika will remain for the foreseeable future, the top medical objective is to have enough people develop an immunity, then eventually to vaccinate those in need. ■
OBITUARIES
David Beeber 89, Atlanta
David Beeber, age 89, a native of Atlanta, died peacefully at home Friday, May 6, 2016. He attended Boys’ High and the University of Georgia and served in the military in World War II. He was a kind and gentle man who loved parties, movies, classical music and libraries, where he could read for hours about all periods of history. Most of all, he treasured his family and friends. He was predeceased by his parents, Sam and Jennie Beeber, and a sister and brother-in-law, Lillian and Dan Block. Survivors include his loving wife of 66 years, Elaine; son and daughter-in-law Bruce and Linda Beeber, Atlanta; daughter and son-in-law Shelly and Mark Chester, Chicago; son and daughter-in-law Steve Beeber and Linda Schlossberg, Somerville, Mass.; grandchildren Jordana, Elan, Amira and fiancé Michael, Zev, Tova, Jonathan, and Kimberly; and greatgrandchildren Kellen and Zane, Michael and Helen, and Susan and Galia. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to Ahavath Achim Synagogue, the William Breman Jewish Home or another charitable organization. Sign the online guestbook at www.edressler.com. Funeral services were held Sunday, May 8, at Ahavath Achim Synagogue with Rabbi Neil Sandler officiating. Interment followed at Greenwood Cemetery. Arrangements by Dressler’s Jewish Funeral Care, 770-451-4999.
Sara Ellen Bloom 72, Atlanta
Death Notices
Adele Andrews, 87, of Smyrna, mother of Temple Kol Emeth member Janet Kelley, on April 28. Arthur Joel Axelrod, 80, of New Orleans, husband of Tiki Lebowitz Axelrod and father of Amy Axelrod and Foofie Schaefer, on May 1. Ray Caldwell, 86, of Marietta, husband of Betty Caldwell and father of Patrick Caldwell, Morris Buchman, Lendy Fedors and Martin Buchman, on May 8. Stanley Caress, 65, of Winston, husband of Lori Caress, on May 6. Claire Hahn of Atlanta on May 1. Henry Levy, 89, of Savannah, husband of Sissy Schram Levy and father of David Levy, Suzanne Falk and Congregation Or Hadash member Sidney Levy, on May 2. Seymour Lodinger, 91, of Sandy Springs, husband of Muriel Lodinger and father of Nora Floersheim, Robin Blass and Mark Lodinger, on May 8. Arlene Poretsky, 69, of Peachtree Corners on April 30. Martin Rubin, 70, of Marietta on May 7. Charles Henry Simon Sr., 87, of Atlanta, husband of Jerilyn Smith Simon and father of Harris Simon, Charley Simon Jr. and Bill Simon, on May 1. Leona Neuman Small, 79, of Dunwoody, wife of David Small and mother of Gregg Small, Joshua Small and Daniel Small, on May 1. Allen Weiss of Sandy Springs on May 4.
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Sara Ellen Bloom, 72, peacefully passed away Sunday, May 1, 2016, at her home in Atlanta. She was born November 3, 1943, in Atlanta to the late Ephriam and Minnie Klotz Berman. She graduated from Grady High School and from the University of Florida. In 1967 she married the love of her life, Robert D. Bloom. She is survived by her two sons, Barry and David Bloom; a grandson, Robert Bloom; a brother, Ivan Berman, and a sister-in-law, Kathy Berman, of Florida; sister and brother-in-law Libby and Bob Roseman of Texas; and numerous nieces and nephews. Sara was a loving wife, mother and grandmother. She will forever be remembered for her kindness, warmth and love. In her later years, she resided at her home in the William Breman Jewish Home, where she was a social butterfly, enjoyed scrapbooking, loved making cards for everyone and loved reconnecting with friends from her past. Although she is no longer with us, the memories we have will never leave. Sign the online guestbook at www.edressler.com. Graveside services were held Tuesday, May 3, at Greenwood Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to the William Breman Jewish Home, www.wbjh.org. Arrangements by Dressler’s Jewish Funeral Care, 770-451-4999.
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CLOSING THOUGHTS OBITUARIES – MAY THEIR MEMORIES BE A BLESSING
Life, Death And The Freshman 15
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urely you’ve heard of the dreaded freshman 15. You haven’t? Come out from under that rock. Ask college freshmen. If they have experienced this phenomenon, they will explain it to you without pleasure. If they have not experienced this phenomenon, you will hear the joy in their voice. Upon graduating from high school, most of my friends attended one of the New York state colleges or universities in the city. Chasing down the buses needed to transport us to the train station, then running up the stairs to chase down the train headed for our institution of higher learning pretty much guaranteed the freshman 15 would be the least of our worries. We were schlepping books — so many books that it felt as if we were carrying bricks to a construction site. (This reminds me of how we schlepped stones to Pharaoh’s construction site in Egypt.) We also were protecting our purses from sticky-fingered passengers. If exams were the order of the day, we desperately tried to memorize the assigned information, hanging on to the straps provided, rocking to the rhythm of the train, all while pushed every which way by passengers pretending they are the only ones riding. And let us not forget those male passenger who were never taught to keep their hands to themselves. So when my sweet friend shared the reason for her gaining 15 pounds, I laughed and said to myself: “Self, this has the makings of a Shaindle’s Shpiel.” Let’s talk a little more about the dreaded freshman 15. You do not have to be a freshman of any sort to pick up the 15. The world has created hundreds of ways, and thousands of reasons, to escape from, run from, exercise from or drop those 15 pounds. I chose not to mention any numbers above 15; you can do that for yourselves. A few regimens we’ve tried, hoping for miracles, include juice, shakes, grapefruit, point or calorie counting, all protein, and, last but not least, all carbs. There are programs for weight loss over 40, weight loss over 50 and weight loss over 60. 30 I think these mavens think that
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if you are over 60, just forget about it. They obviously have not heard the news: 70 is the new 60, which is the new 50, which is the new 40. I think you get the picture. My sisters will gleefully share with you that whenever there was a simcha to which we were all invited,
CROSSWORD
By Shaindle Schmuckler shaindle@atljewishtimes.com
most female friends or relatives would respond with “What are you wearing?” or “What shall I wear?” My standard response: “I have to lose weight!” Stop snickering; most of you worry about this same challenge. Back to how this shpiel got started. My friend was experiencing double vision. Not too intensely and not all the time. Being a mom, she had long ago discovered that moms don’t get sick and definitely do not make sick-mommy visits to the doctor. However, the doubles did not go away. Finally, a doctor visit was planned. It was at this visit the doctor, in all his wisdom, said don’t worry about the double vision. Let’s do some tests. Allow me to digress with a question. Why is it, although we moms are finished with our formal schooling, doctors are forever telling us “Let’s take some tests”? First of all, they are not taking the tests; we are. Second of all, what would happen if we said: “You take some tests.” Enough of that; on with the shpiel. So my friend takes some tests, only to discover she has not one, not two, but three aneurisms. These, by the way, have nothing to do with the doubles, even though the doubles sent her to the doctor, who sent her for tests, which discovered the three aneurisms. Everything happens for a reason. Suddenly, she feels hungry all the time. You guessed it: Here comes her freshman 15. Jokingly she tells me, “Who knows how long we will live? Might as well eat and be happy.” Fifteen, shmifteen — in the end, who really cares? ■
“Something’s Missing”
By Yoni Glatt, koshercrosswords@gmail.com Difficulty Level: Manageable
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