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50 YEARS AFTER THE SIX-DAY WAR, PAGES 14-20 BATTLEGROUND MIRACLE OR CURSE? SWEET SORROW
The Kotel’s capture has led to increasing internal fights, Rabbi Geffen says. Page 14
The Jewish community is divided over how to observe the war’s anniversary. Page 16
Rabbis Emanuel and Ilan Feldman share memories of Jerusalem in 1967. Page 20
Atlanta
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VOL. XCII NO. 20
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Film Academy Grants $10K to AJFF The Atlanta Jewish Film Festival has received a competitive grant from the Oscar-granting Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for the second time in the festival’s 17-year history. The $10,000 grant supports programming that showcases Israeli history, culture and politics at the annual winter festival — the second-largest Jewish film festival in the world — and during AJFF’s increasing efforts at year-round events. The May 11 launch of the AJFF Selects series with a showing of the romantic comedy “The Wedding Plan” and the April screening and discussion of “Brave Miss World” in partnership with the Jewish Women’s Fund of Atlanta are examples of year-round Israeli programming. AJFF is among 44 programs splitting $500,000 for the 2017-18 fiscal year through the academy’s FilmCraft and FilmWatch programs, which aim to identify and empower future filmmakers from nontraditional backgrounds, cultivate new and diverse talent, promote motion pictures as an art form, and provide a platform for underrepresented artists. Each grant is $5,000 to $20,000. The $10,000 FilmWatch grant to AJFF is earmarked for the Life in Israel program, featuring films and panels exploring issues tied to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, immigration, sports, history, culture and life in Israel.
Photo courtesy of AJFF
Festival Executive Director Kenny Blank speaks at the May 11 screening of “The Wedding Plan,” an Israeli comedy that kicked off the AJFF Selects series.
“It is an honor to be recognized not only by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, but to be in the company of so many other film festivals and film presenters that we hold in such high esteem,” AJFF Executive Director Kenny Blank said. “There is no greater validation in the film arts field than to be recognized by the academy.” The nearest programs outside Atlanta to receive academy grants are Indie Grits’ Visiones program of Latino film and culture in Columbia, S.C.; the Full Frame Documentary Film Festival’s fiveweek documentary film school for high school students in Durham, N.C.; and the
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New Orleans Film Society’s Emerging Voices Mentorship Program. The only other Jewish program to receive a grant is the San Francisco Jewish Film Festival, Atlanta’s rival for the unofficial title of world’s largest Jewish film festival. The Bay Area festival won money to support a two-week program on the experiences of immigrants and refugees. The previous AJFF grant from the academy came about a decade ago and was more general in supporting the festival’s mission of using film to build bridges of understanding between communities. That grant largely supported operations of the fledgling festival. ■
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MAY 19, 2017 | 23 IYAR 5777
Kotel Visit Key Part Of Trump Trip
President Donald Trump’s plan to be the first sitting U.S. president to visit the Western Wall is likely to be the most dramatic moment of his 26-hour trip to Israel, said two U.S. experts on Israeli diplomacy convened Tuesday, May 16, by the Jewish Federation of Greater Atlanta. Daniel Shapiro, the U.S. ambassador to Israel for the last 5½ years of the Obama administration, and Scott Lasensky, an Atlanta native who served as Shapiro’s senior adviser, called in from Israel for the second in a three-call educational series led by Lasensky. But the scheduled topic, common interests and values between the United States and Israel, was changed to address Trump’s trip to Israel on Monday, May 22, the third stop on his first foreign trip as president. Shapiro called it “meaningful” and reflective of strong relations that Israel is part of the trip. He said the itinerary is packed, likely including Yad Vashem and possibly the first presidential visit to Jerusalem’s Old City, let alone the Kotel. Traveling to the Old City might upset the Palestinians, Shapiro said, but could help Trump cushion Israeli disappointment at a likely decision to postpone the U.S. Embassy’s move to Jerusalem. While the embassy, Iran, Syria, Islamic State, security and terrorism are likely to be discussed, Trump’s surprising emphasis is on restarting the peace talks, even though the same leaders, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Mahmoud Abbas, are dealing with the same pressures and same mistrust. “My strong impression is that both of them are rather nervous,” said Shapiro, the keynote speaker at Federation’s annual meeting at 7:15 p.m. Wednesday, June 7, at Ahavath Achim Synagogue. ■