GOOD TASTE
A feast of fine food and good drinks helps JF&CS raise over $200,000 for its Independent Living Program. Page 6
VOL. XCIII NO. 21
ISRAEL@70
AJC Atlanta’s annual meeting focuses on the Jewish state’s changes in business, politics and religion. Page 9
WWW.ATLANTAJEWISHTIMES.COM
CARING GRAD
By graduating from Emory’s nursing school, Jessica Nooriel fulfills a dream denied to her mother in Iran. Page 20
MAY 25, 2018 | 11 SIVAN 5778
All That She Can Be
ON A MISSION
The new ADL development director, Erica Greenblatt, answers the AJT’s 4 Questions. Page 15
LIKE BUTTER
This final 2018 Molly Blank concert celebrates the music of Barbra Streisand’s favorite songwriters. Page 23
POLL RESULTS
Voting in the Georgia primary election ended after the AJT went to press Tuesday. Visit atlantajewishtimes.com to see who won, who lost and who’s facing a runoff July 24.
INSIDE Candle Lighting �������������������������� 4 Health & Wellness ����������������������6 Israel News �����������������������������������7 Opinion ���������������������������������������10 Arts ���������������������������������������������� 22 Business ��������������������������������������25 Obituaries ���������������������������������� 26 Marketplace ������������������������������ 28 Crossword ���������������������������������� 30
Savannah’s Marissa Karp joins the ranks of Georgia’s Jewish West Point graduates, Page 18 Marissa Karp (center) says she’ll miss classmates such as sisters Destinee (left) and Daizjah Morris the most after graduation.
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MAY 25 â–ª 2018
MA TOVU
Study in Case Studies Before you clang the gavel and pronounce me guilty of fraud, allow me to give you a picture of who I am and the values I cherish. I am a paradigm of honesty and integrity. I refuse to borrow someone’s membership to a given entity so that I can enter a place free of charge. I have never lied about my age to diminish the correct ticket price of an attraction. I return to a store if I accidentally get too much change.
Shared Spirit Moderated By Rachel Stein rachels83@gmail.com
And in response to the resounding boom the one time I accidentally backed into someone’s car, I left a note on the windshield with my name and contact information. There was even one time when I began an online test, and the first question was “Did you study?” I could feel the blood draining from my face because I hadn’t. What in the world was I supposed to do? I quickly closed the computer and poured over my notes for 20 minutes. Reopening the document, I was then able to answer the first question with a resounding yes and a clear conscience. Back to my dilemma. I try calling Shelly again, to no avail. It’s too late to start with someone new, especially because I have a promising beginning with Robin. If you were in this bind, what would you do? Would you put more pressure on yourself by waiting for Shelly to call you back — possibly the next day or the day after — before completing the assignment? Or would you take some liberties and invent another scenario or two so that you could have peace of mind and a paper completed with plenty of time for necessary edits and revisions? Both options cause my heart to palpitate as if I’m running a marathon. Any suggestions for an aspiring student? ■ All dilemmas in this column are submitted by friends or readers. Send your responses to rachels83@gmail.com.
MAY 25 ▪ 2018
It’s hard to believe, but the end is finally in sight. With G-d’s help, persistence and hefty doses of coffee, I will achieve my master’s degree in special education this summer. The journey has been rife with peaks and valleys, and to see the crest of the mountain is invigorating. “Your case study is due next week,” our teacher says, and my insides begin a frenetic dance. Yes, I knew the deadline was looming. But when you’re working two jobs and taking college courses, life leaves you puffing and wondering why a 24-hour day keeps getting shorter. When I first reached out to Shelly regarding my case study, she was happy to allow me to spend time with her daughter, Robin, who is challenged with special learning needs. As a neighbor and friend, Shelly was happy to help. But I’m learning that even friends have their limitations. As my brother said, “People have their own busy lives. You’re only a tiny piece in the puzzle of their day, so even though this project is your priority, it’s not theirs. And that’s why you get shoved onto the back burner.” I sigh, clenching my fists in frustration as I hang up the phone. Shelly had assured me that 7 o’clock would be a convenient time to have a second meeting with Robin, but she said I should call first to confirm. What is that noise? Well, it’s like a low-throated growl inching its way up my throat because no one is answering the phone at Shelly’s house. That leaves me stuck while my deadline inches inexorably closer. Suddenly, a brainstorm niggles its way into the more fertile part of my mind. My conscience is appalled, but perhaps it’s justifiable under the circumstances. What if I invent the second and third parts of the case study? I am supposed to meet with Robin at three intervals so that I can see how she performs in different situations. Then I can analyze whether external factors are impeding her learning or whether her processing problems are unrelated to her environment.
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THURSDAY MAY 24
Rosie the Riveter. Carol Cain, who portrays the iconic World War II factory worker at the Little White House and elsewhere, speaks about Rosie at 10:30 a.m. to the Edgewise group at the Marcus JCC, 5342 Tilly Mill Road, Dunwoody. Free for members, $5 for others; www.atlantajcc. org/knowledgewise or 678-812-4070.
CANDLE-LIGHTING TIMES
Naso Friday, May 25, light candles at 8:21 p.m. Saturday, May 26, Shabbat ends at 9:22 p.m. Behaalotecha Friday, June 1, light candles at 8:26 p.m. Saturday, June 2, Shabbat ends at 9:27 p.m.
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EDITORIAL
Expecting after infertility. Jenny
Editor
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Contributors This Week BOB BAHR MARK L. FISHER RABBI DAVID GEFFEN TAL GRINFAS-DAVID LEAH R. HARRISON MARCIA CALLER JAFFE MOR LEWIT MARIANA MONTIEL LOGAN C. RITCHIE DENA SCHUSTERMAN TERRY SEGAL RACHEL STEIN
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MAY 25 ▪ 2018
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Frankly Speaking. Atlanta activist Sherry Frank leads a women’s discussion group on current events for NCJW Atlanta, 6303 Roswell Road, Sandy Springs, at noon (bring your own lunch and NCJW provides the beverages). Free; RSVP to christineh@ncjwatlanta.org or 404-8439600.
Barwick facilitates a Jewish Fertility Foundation support group for pregnant women who dealt with fertility issues at 6:45 p.m. at MACoM, 700A Mount Vernon Highway, Sandy Springs. Free; www.jewishfertilityfoundation.org/expecting-after-infertility.html or 678-744-7018.
FRIDAY, MAY 25
Graduation. The Weber School’s
Class of 2018 graduates at 11:30 a.m. at the Ferst Center for the Arts, 349 Ferst Drive, Midtown. Free (tickets required); www.weberschool.org or 404-917-2500.
SUNDAY, MAY 27
Classic film. The Classics Film Club at the Marcus JCC, 5342 Tilly Mill Road, Dunwoody, shows and discusses “Casablanca” at 10 a.m. Free for members, $5 for others; bit.ly/2IBXj2W.
TUESDAY, MAY 29
Female rabbis speak. The Jewish Women’s Fund of Atlanta presents “Wait … You’re the Rabbi?” with Rabbis Loren Filson Lapidus, Lydia Medwin and Samantha Shabman at noon at Temple Sinai, 5645 Dupree
helps East Cobb and Roswell families have fun before Shabbat, including grape juice and challah, at 5 p.m. at the splash park at Riverside Park, 575 Riverside Road, Roswell. Admission is $4 per child; bit.ly/2KHxNdd.
Bayning on the BeltLine. Chabad Intown’s BeltLine location at 730 Ponce de Leon Place, Atlanta, provides live music, chicken soup, challah and an open bar outside at 6 p.m. to wind down before Shabbat starts at 8:25, with an optional service to follow inside. Free; RSVP at chabadintown. org/bayning.
SATURDAY, JUNE 2
Exhibit opening. The Bernard A.
“Quieting the Silence.” The Blue Dove Foundation, in partnership with The Berman Center, Jewish Family & Career Services, HAMSA, Derech Transitional Living and Jewish Path to Recovery, holds an educational discussion on Jewish mental health and substance abuse at 7 p.m. at Temple Sinai, 5645 Dupree Drive, Sandy Springs. Free; tinyurl.com/ y8gjpqx5.
Splash into Shabbat. The Marcus JCC
Israel in the media. Bob Bahr leads a weekly discussion on public perceptions of Israel in the media age at 7 p.m. each Tuesday through June 5 at Temple Emanu-El, 1580 Spalding Drive, Sandy Springs. Free; templeemanuelatlanta.org or 770-395-1340.
WEDNESDAY, MAY 30
Graduation. The Atlanta Jew-
ish Academy Upper School, 5200 Northland Drive, Sandy Springs, holds its graduation at 7 p.m. Free; atljewishacademy.org or 404-8439900.
THURSDAY, MAY 31
Graduation. The Davis Academy, 8105 Roberts Drive, Sandy Springs, holds its eighth-grade graduation at 7 p.m. Free; www.davisacademy.org or 770-804-9191.
FRIDAY, JUNE 1
Dive into Shabbat. The Marcus JCC, 5342 Tilly Mill Road, Dunwoody, holds a pool party at 5 p.m. and Shabbat songs and blessings with Rabbi Brian Glusman at 6 p.m. Free to all; bit.ly/2IQsOJV or 678-812-4011.
Zuckerman Museum of Art at Kennesaw State University, 492 Prillaman Way, Kennesaw, holds a reception at 6 p.m. for the opening of an exhibit of contemporary printmakers titled “Time Like the Present,” which runs through July 29. Free; zuckerman.kennesaw.edu or 470578-3223.
SUNDAY, JUNE 3
Cookie flag. The Jewish community, at a time to be announced, assembles a record-setting cookie mosaic of the Israeli flag outside Congregation Beth Jacob, 1855 LaVista Road, Toco Hills, as the culmination of an effort to raise more than $1 million for three charities in Israel. Free to view, $10-per-cookie donation sought; www.cookiesforisrael.org.
ORT My School. ORT Next Gen, the Jewish Federation of Greater Atlanta and Jewish Family & Career Services rebuild the rooftop garden at Springdale Park Elementary School, 803 Briarcliff Road, Virginia-High-
PJ Library gatherings. PJ Library kicks off its Summer Series of family get-togethers at parks in Brookhaven, Decatur, Virginia-Highland, Alpharetta, Dunwoody, Fayetteville, East Cobb and Smyrna at 10 a.m. Free; RSVP at www.facebook.com/ pg/pjlibraryatlanta/events and contact Nathan Brodsky at nbrodsky@ jewishatlanta.org or 404-870-1870 for details.
Molly Blank Concert Series. The 2018 series at the Breman Museum, 1440 Spring St., Midtown, closes with “The Way We Were,” a Theatrical Outfit show on Jewish composers Alan and Marilyn Bergman, with a reception at 4 p.m. and the concert at 5. Tickets are $50 for Breman members, $60 for others, with discounts for students and young professionals; www.thebreman.org or 678-2223700.
Nature hike. Jewish Cub Scout Pack 1818 invites potential Scouts entering first to fifth grade in the fall to
join it for a nature hike at Stone Mountain Park, 1000 Robert E. Lee Blvd., Stone Mountain, at 8:15 a.m. Park entrance is $15 per carload; email 1818scouts@gmail.com to RSVP and get details.
MONDAY, JUNE 4
Judaic Mosaic. JumpSpark presents a camp today through Friday, June 8, for rising ninth-graders through new high school graduates to study music theory, songwriting and engineering while writing and recording a song, with a second session scheduled for June 11 to 15. Registration is $199 per session; atlantajewishteens.wufoo. com/forms/m1140k541hz66a1.
happy hour for Learning Engagement & Discovery Series alumni at 6:30 p.m. at Monday Night Brewing, 670 Trabert Ave., West Midtown. Admission is $8; jewishatlanta.org/ leads-alumni-happy-hour.
Israel in the media. Bob Bahr leads his final weekly discussion on public perceptions of Israel in the media age at 7 p.m. at Temple Emanu-El, 1580 Spalding Drive, Sandy Springs. Free; templeemanuelatlanta.org or 770-395-1340.
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 6
Graduation. Atlanta Jewish Academy, 5200 Northland Drive, Sandy Springs, celebrates its eighth-graders’ completion of middle school at 2 p.m. Free; atljewishacademy.org or 404-843-9900.
THURSDAY, JUNE 7
Art opening. Sisters Judy Robkin and Anita Stein open the latest art exhibit at MACoM, 700-A Mount Vernon Highway, Sandy Springs, at 7:30 p.m. Free; atlantamikvah.org or info@atlantamikvah.org.
SATURDAY, JUNE 9
“Sweeney Todd.” The Atlanta Opera presents the Stephen Sondheim musical about a murderous London barber at 8 p.m. at the Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre, 2800 Cobb Galleria Parkway, Cumberland, with additional performances June 12, 15, 16 and 17. Tickets start at $35; www. atlantaopera.org/performance/ sweeney-todd-demon-barber-fleetstreet.
Find more events and submit items for our online and print calendars at:
www.atlantajewishconnector.com
TUESDAY, JUNE 5
LEADS happy hour. The Jewish Federation of Greater Atlanta holds a
This calendar is sponsored by the Atlanta Jewish Connector, an initiative of the AJT.
MAY 25 ▪ 2018
land, at 9 a.m., with breakfast provided. Free; RSVP at form.jotform. com/80534614090148 or call 404327-5266 for details.
MAY 24-JUNE 9
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HEALTH & WELLNESS
The Tasting Serves Fundraising Feast Photos by Marcia Caller Jaffe
(From left) Laura Weiss, Michael Rosenberg, Betsy Levy, JF&CS President Michael Levy and Amy Fingerhut enjoy High Roller Sushi during the pre-event cocktail hour.
Michelle Horowitz and Michelle Cristal enjoy the event, where Independent Living Program participants mix with benefactors.
Sidney Melton, Stuart Fierman and chef Mike Manley from Fifth Group’s Lure serve a healthy watermelon radish, trout roe and green pea salad.
More than 700 people raised $226,714 for Jewish Family & Career Services’ Zimmerman-Horowitz Independent Living Program at The Tasting on Thursday, May 17. It was a record night for the 19th annual fundraiser for the nonsectarian JF&CS program, which serves people with intellectual and developmental disabilities so they can work, live and thrive in their communities. “We hope to allow others the opportunity to be self-sufficient and experience a better quality of life,” said JF&CS board President Michael Levy, a partner in the transaction advisory service practice at Aprio. The event returned to the Grand
Hyatt Atlanta in Buckhead, where it all started when Joan and Donald Brown held a low-key wine tasting for 130 people. Hilly Blondheim of High Roller Sushi sponsored the pre-event hour, including a colorful sushi display in the ballroom. The room was spacious enough to fit all the attendees with minimal lines for the innovative food. Twenty-three vendors served fabulous and creative dishes, from wild mushroom gnocchi with truffle oil (Davio’s) to fresh spring pea salad
Jaffe’s Jewish Jive By Marcia Caller Jaffe mjaffe@atljewishtimes.com
with watermelon radish (Lure). Cibo e Beve made a clever statement with matzah ball soup. Restaurateur Peter Kaiser, a firstyear participant, and son Christian served up a vivid purple yellow-fin tuna with avocado and leche de tigre on tortilla chips. He was impressed
Donald and Joan Brown, The Tasting’s original sponsors, pose with Elyse and Warren Zindler and fine libations.
with the ILP, learning about the program from his customers in the Horowitz family. Stuart Fierman, serving an English pea salad from the Fifth Group’s Lure, said: “Jerry Horowitz (whose daughter, Michelle, is a participant in the program) introduced me to this great organization. I wouldn’t miss it for anything.” More important, the warm crowd conveyed well wishes for those participants in the program who mingled at The Tasting while dressed in their snazziest outfits.
Rachael Rosenberg, mother of program participant Marla Rosenberg, said: “We trust this program where Marla has thrived over the past 16 years. I know they will always take care of her and look out for her wellbeing.” No one left hungry — the desserts were all fluffy and gooey in the lobby on the way out. “This year was a tremendous success — more sponsors, more vendors, more funds raised,” event coordinator Caryn Kroll said. “We are right on track!” ■
Berman Center, JIFLA Partner
MAY 25 ▪ 2018
JIFLA (Jewish Interest Free Loan of Atlanta) and The Berman Center in Dunwoody have established a loan referral program to expedite and ease the loan application and approval process for people seeking in treatment. The Berman Center is an intensive outpatient program for adults who 6
suffer from addiction, mental health issues or co-occurring disorders. JIFLA provides interest-free loans up to $7,500 for Jewish people unable to get money through traditional lending sources. After reading about The Berman Center in the Atlanta Jewish Times, JIFLA reached out to the center to learn more, and representatives of both organizations participated in the Jewish Federation of Greater Atlanta’s learning mission to Israel at the end of January as part of the Front Porch initiative. After exploratory conversations, the two organizations recognized how
working together will help ensure access to much-needed care. “Providing access to a loan for those who are unable to get one through tradition sources is a gamechanger for those seeking treatment,” said Justin Milrad, the CEO of The Berman Center. “Deductibles are so high these days that often the insured needs to satisfy their deductible before insurance starts paying for their treatment. Once again, the Jewish community demonstrates their commitment to community, healing, wholeness and tikkun olam.” Milrad explained that deductibles,
which can be as high as $10,000, can prove too much for people who need treatment. JIFLA is expanding its portfolio to provide interest-free loans for Jewish patients seeking mental health and/or substance abuse treatment at The Berman Center. JIFLA Executive Director Nancy Weissmann said: “Interest-free lending is a key value of the Jewish people. Ensuring that a patient can participate in this intensive outpatient program while maintaining financial stability is a double blessing. We are proud to partner with The Berman Center in this manner.” ■
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ISRAEL NEWS
What Day Schools Can Learn From Embassy Move the state’s actions to bring Jews from countries where they are still at-risk. Today, as narratives flood social media and cloud campus conversations about Israel, doing what is right means teaching the history of Israel. Recognize facts on the ground. Zionist leaders understood that the land they purchased in Palestine would help determine the map and borders.
Tal Grinfas-David, the Center for Israel Education (www.israeled. org) day school education specialist, led a dynamic learning session for the faculty of the Golda Och Academy in West Orange, N.J. The session was part of a two-day site visit for the school’s participation in CIE’s Day School Initiative.
Guest Column By Tal Grinfas-David
They did all they could to strategically select land that would contribute to the viability of the future state. Today, leaders in Israel understand that existing as a state in the Middle East neighborhood means that relationships with superpowers are ever more critical. Similarly, Jewish day schools can secure relationships with Israel to remain relevant to the community,
distinct from other public and private school options, and secure in their role as centers for fostering Jewish identity. Students should recognize that Israel, now the world’s largest Jewish community, is a thriving Jewish democracy, striving to provide freedom, security and respect for all its citizens. On Monday, May 14, we witnessed American and Israeli leaders celebrating and proclaiming Jerusalem as the official capital of the state of Israel. They did so knowing it would bring about violence and protests and skepticism from political pundits. And yet
Smile
they persisted. Day school leaders can learn from this move by making Israel education the center of their program, despite political leanings in the community, challenges to programmatic shifts, and criticism of faculty or parents. It is time to take risks and to fail forward for the sake of our students by celebrating the centrality of Israel to our mission and practice. ■ Tal Grinfas-David is the day school education specialist for the Center for Israel Education (www.israeled.org).
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MAY 25 ▪ 2018
Navigating change, whether in foreign policy or in education, is challenging for leadership but necessary for progress. Some have argued that the formal opening of the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem was merely a political gesture aimed at strengthening the voting of those in power. Others have suggested that the move is just a namesake formality because the building was already in use by the ambassador. For many Israelis, the move is historic, as the 70-year-old country seeks to normalize global relations and achieve full recognition. Regardless of how this move is interpreted, one thing is clear: Despite naysayers and protests, leaders took an opportunity to “be the first,” to do “what they think is right” and to strongly proclaim the reality of “recognizing facts on the ground.” Be the first. Being first implies taking risks, piloting initiatives, and assessing successes and failures as you go. Zionist pioneers first broke out of the walls of ancient cities and attempted new forms of settlement in the land of Israel. Several settlements failed, only to be re-established by later waves of immigrants with new skills, knowledge and resources. Similarly, Israel’s leadership hopes that the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem will be the first of many such openings by countries and will ultimately reinforce Jerusalem’s status as the capital of Israel (without its final borders being defined). In education, that may mean being first in the field to revamp the Israel curriculum, to contextualize Israel trips, and to provide students and families with quality Israel educational experiences. If Israel education is to become central to schools’ mission statements, it should be taught not only by the Hebrew and Judaic staffs, but also by all teachers in the school. Do what you think is right. Zionist leaders knew that without a sovereign state where Jews could take control over their own destiny, there would be no safe harbor for Jews in dire need. This is why, despite white papers curtailing Jewish immigration to Israel, Zionists risked all to bring Jews from Europe and the Middle East. This principle has also guided
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ISRAEL NEWS
Israel Pride: Good News From Our Jewish Home
MAY 25 ▪ 2018
Photo courtesy of Tell es-Safi/ Gath Archaeological Project
Israel Antiquities Authority photo
Nahal Haredi photo
This is the sacrificed donkey as it was found under a house from the Early Bronze Age.
(From left) Boaz Zissu, Yossi Nagar and Haim Cohen examine the skull of what is believed to be a victim of blood vengeance.
Lt. Col. Nitai Okashi has replaced Lt. Col. Itamar Deshel as the commander of the ultra-Orthodox Netzach Yehuda battalion.
Big bit of equid history. Archaeologists working in the Philistine city that was home to Goliath have found the earliest evidence of the use in the Middle East of a bridle bit to control an animal from the horse family. Examining the remains of a donkey sacrificed around 2700 B.C.E. in Gath (modern Tell es-Safi), the archaeologists found wear on a tooth that they believe was caused by a soft bit, likely made from rope or wood. “Only later, from the Middle Bronze Age and onward (after 2000 B.C.E.), was it thought that bits, in particular metal bits, were used — first with horses that were introduced to the Near East at the time, and subsequently with other equids, such as donkeys,” said Bar-Ilan University archaeology professor Aren Maeir, who has led the Tell es-Safi/Gath Archaeological Project for more than 20 years. The international archaeological team, including the University of Manitoba (St. Paul’s College), the University of Saskatchewan (St. Thomas More College), Ariel University and Grand Valley State University, as well as Bar-Ilan, published its findings Wednesday, May 16, in the journal PLOS ONE. Blood vengeance 1,000 years ago. The earliest evidence of blood vengeance has been discovered in a cave in the Jerusalem hills. The findings of a joint study by the Israel Antiquities Authority, Bar-Ilan University and Tel Aviv University were presented Thursday, May 17, at the 44th Archaeological Congress at Ben-Gurion University
of the Negev, in cooperation with the Antiquities Authority and the Israel Exploration Society. Bar-Ilan professor Boaz Zissu discovered a human skull and palm bones dated to the 10th or 11th century C.E. Yossi Nagar, an anthropologist at the Israel Antiquities Authority, and Haim Cohen of the National Center for Forensic Medicine and Tel Aviv University identified the bones as belonging to a man 25 to 40 years old. He likely was Bedouin. The remains showed evidence of violence before a fatal sword blow to the skull. The conclusion that he was a victim of blood vengeance is based partly on a 20th century story in which the victim’s skull and right hand are presented of evidence of a revenge killing. First Bedouin hotel rising. Epsilon Delta Holdings and Investments has won the contract to build the world’s first hotel in a Bedouin village. The 120room, four-star hotel will be at the foot of Mount Tabor in the village of ShibliUmm al-Ghanam. The winning developer will finance the development cost of the hotel, with the assistance of a Ministry of Tourism grant of up to 33 percent of the cost of construction. With about 70,000 residents, Shibli is on the route up to the churches atop Mount Tabor and on the axis of the Gospel Trail and the Israel Trail. More than half a million tourists pass through it every year. “I am convinced that tourists will enjoy its special location, its proximity to the Christian holy sites, and the unique
and authentic village experience,” Tourism Minister Yariv Levin said. “We are placing special emphasis on the development of tourism throughout Israel and all the different sectors, and I am convinced that, with the assistance of the ministry, together with the establishment of tourism infrastructure in the area, tourism will develop successfully in the area.” New Haredi commander. A ceremony Thursday, May 17, in ancient Shiloh installed Lt. Col. Nitai Okashi as the commander of the ultra-Orthodox battalion Netzach Yehuda (Nahal Haredi), replacing Lt. Col. Itamar Deshel. Okashi received a medal of distinction in 2007 for leading a platoon of the Golani Brigade in foiling a planned terrorist attack near the Gaza border — including a hand-to-hand struggle with a terrorist trying to set off a hand grenade—a display of courage, resourcefulness, determination, leadership, and a personal example for commanding his soldiers. Guatemalan Embassy’s move. While the opening of the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem on Monday, May 14, got all the attention, it was not the only embassy to mark Israel’s 70th birthday. Guatemalan President Jimmy Morales visited Jerusalem for the embassy opening May 16, and he was celebrated with a state dinner and receptions hosted by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Reuven Rivlin that day and by Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat the next day. “Guatemala was the first
Today in Israeli History
May 26, 1924: The United States enacts the restrictive 1924 Immigration Act. May 27, 1911: Teddy Kollek, the longtime mayor of Jerusalem, is born in Nagyvázsony, Hungary. May 28, 1964: The Palestine Liberation Organization is established during a Palestinian National Council meeting of nearly 400 delegates convened by King Hussein of Jordan. May 29, 1979: Foreign Minister
Moshe Dayan, in a Knesset address, recounts the events that transpired among Israel, the United States and Egypt the past two years. May 30, 2009: Ephraim Katzir, who immigrated to Palestine with his family at age 9 and went on to serve as chief scientist of the IDF and as the president of Israel, dies at 93. May 31, 1665: Shabbetai Zevi declares himself the Messiah. After his announcement, he gains followers across
Items provided by the Center for Israel Education (www.israeled.org), where you can find more details. May 25, 2010: Jazz artist, John Zorn hosts the first Israeli Jazz Festival at 8 The Stone.
Photo by Arnon Bosani
Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat (right) thanks Guatemalan President Jimmy Morales during a reception at the Tower of David on Thursday, May 17.
country to open their embassy in Jerusalem, and they are the first to return their embassy to Jerusalem,” said Barkat. A streetcar’s famed desire. The Israeli Cabinet on Sunday, May 13, approved spending an additional 200 million shekels ($56 million) toward the construction of a tourist cable car to the Old City. The line will run nearly a mile from the German Colony through the Mount of Olives to the Dung Gate and will include stops at Mount Zion and the City of David. “The cable car will be a unique tourist attraction,” according to a government market explaining the decision to move ahead. “The cable car project will also strengthen and further expand the tourist night life in the city and help overcome the accessibility issues for tourists seeking to visit the Old City.” Reprogramming cancer cells. A research group led by Varda ShoshanBarmatz of Ben-Gurion University of the Negev and the National Institute for Biotechnology in the Negev is developing a molecule to treat cancer by converting malignant cells into normal ones. “Basically, we’ve discovered a code for reprogramming cancer cells that causes them to lose their oncogenic features,” said Shoshan-Barmatz. The novel treatment, using small interfering RNA to silence the expression of a key mitochondrial protein, VDAC1, also inhibits the growth of cancer cells. the Sephardic world and into Europe, but in converts to Islam in 1666.
Fourth Aliyah pioneers milk cows at Moshav Kfar Hassidim in Emek Zevulun.
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ISRAEL NEWS
Love Unwavering as Israel Evolves, AJC Is Told Flare-ups in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict such as the violence in recent weeks on the Gaza border can force the religious community to speak up and enter the challenging realm of politics, said Rabbi Loren Filson Lapidus of The Temple. “While religious leaders try to stand in support of Israel, they also want to leave space for those who have legitimate concerns about what they see on the news,” she said. But she added that Judaism reminds us to be lovers of Israel and to remember that just as people have elasticity for their love of America and a willingness to criticize, people also should speak and act out of love for the state of Israel. “We need to be ambassadors, particularly at a time when there seems to be very few that are grabbing the headlines,” Rabbi Lapidus said. She and JANVEST Capital Partners co-founder Brian Rosenzweig spoke about Israel’s business, religious and political evolution the past 70 years during the 74th annual meeting of American Jewish Committee’s Atlanta Chapter on Thursday, May 17, at 103 West in Buckhead. For good or bad, Rosenzweig said, business and politics stay separate in Israel. The business world is aware of what is happening, but companies generally don’t let Israel’s political troubles distract them, he said. That approach has perhaps contributed to Israel’s growth as the Start-Up Nation, along with chutzpah and risk tolerance. “There is certainly no shortage of chutzpah, and if you tell an entrepreneur no, they just find another way to do it,” Rosenzweig said. “Given the
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geopolitical challenges and some of the political issues that Israel faces on its borders, Israeli entrepreneurs don’t look at 10 or 20 years down the road; they look at two years. And I think this approach gives them the ability to take high-risk ventures.” In the first 40 years of the Jewish state, Rosenzweig said, Israel’s economy was largely based on textiles, agriculture, diamond polishing and minerals, but change began after the influx of immigrants from the former Soviet Union in the early 1990s. Business and religion go hand in hand in Israel, Rabbi Lapidus said. “There is tremendous money involved in some of these religious acts in things like kashrut. … So there is always that question of where tax shekels are being spent, and the answer is maybe not in ways that would feel welcoming to non-Haredi Jews.” Haredi Jews have dominated Israel’s religious life from the start, she said. “The founding of the state really goes back to David Ben-Gurion making agreements with the ultra-Orthodox to keep power over religion with the chief rabbinate.” Rosenzweig described the relationship between business and religion in Israel as a messy marriage. For a long time, most Haredim were not involved in the workforce, but he said that is changing. “If you go into Jerusalem, there are a dozen or more incubators that are designed specifically for the ultra-Orthodox to learn how to code and write software.” Rabbi Lapidus, who is involved with the Jewish Women’s Fund of Atlanta, said Haredi women increasingly are applying for grants to enhance their entrance into the technology industry.
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Janvest Capital Partners co-founder Brian Rosenzweig and The Temple’s Rabbi Loren Filson Lapidus discuss Israel’s business, religious and political changes during AJC Atlanta’s annual meeting May 17.
In addition to the integration of the Haredi population into Israel’s economy, Rosenzweig said the Arab population’s involvement in technology and business is increasing, thanks in part to the implementation of Government Resolution 922, which allocated almost $4.5 billion to building technology parks and accelerator programs and making other economic enhancements in Arab communities. Israel’s integration of minorities includes religion, Rabbi Lapidus said. For example, Palestinian Muslims who choose to remain as permanent residents of Israel rather than citizens still have the freedom of religion to pray at their mosques. Rabbi Lapidus believes that Israel can be a place for all Jews and that peace is possible. “My hope is that we live in an age that we have voices and influences to create and help Israel be the place that can welcome us, we are proud to visit and be a part of.” Rosenzweig added, “I think that business goes where politics cannot
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and can act as a great basis for coexistence between the Israelis and the Palestinians, wherever they may be.” In the business portion of the annual meeting, AJC Atlanta President Melanie Nelkin said the chapter has raised $1.2 million in its annual campaign. AJC Regional Director Dov Wilker said the national organization has sent a letter to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo with over 1,100 signatures from religious leaders across the United States to request that Pompeo appoint an envoy to fight anti-Semitism. The letter has the signatures of 64 members of Congress, Wilker said, but AJC’s goal is at least 100. To commemorate AJC Atlanta’s 75th anniversary in 2019, Nelkin said, the Selig Distinguished Service Award (given May 8 to Jim and Lauren Grien) will be retired, based on Steve and Cathy Selig’s wishes. In its place, AJC Atlanta will start handing out the AJC Legacy Award. ■
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MAY 25 ▪ 2018
By Sarah Moosazadeh sarah@atljewishtimes.com
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OPINION
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Our View
Bagel Sadness
MAY 25 ▪ 2018
Bagel Palace’s announcement of its closing after 25 years in Toco Hills would have shocked Atlanta’s Jewish community no matter when it came. That the owners shared the news less than 24 hours before turning off the lights for good and did so during the holiday of Shavuot only made the situation more dramatic and more upsetting. Many people who might have wanted a final bite of the New York-style bagels and store-made spreads didn’t learn about the closing until it was too late. Bagel Palace isn’t the first local eatery to close; it won’t be the last. But, as the overwhelming response to its Facebook announcement suggests, this one feels different or at least says something more than owners succumbing to new pressures in what’s always a thin-margin, tough-to-survive industry. The owners’ post points to problems with their landlord at the Toco Hill Shopping Center, Edens, and it’s clear that as the property management company has renovated the center, it has raised rents beyond the means of some longtime tenants. It’s even possible that Edens didn’t want to have a tenant with a look and fixtures straight out of the 1990s amid the shining, contemporary look of newcomers such as celebrity chef Hugh Acheson’s Spiller Park Coffee. We don’t blame Edens for upgrading the property and seeking tenants that might draw people down North Druid Hills Road from the sprawling medical complex Children’s Healthcare is building just east of Interstate 85. As Vito Corleone would say, it’s just business; it’s not personal. To be sure, the absence of Bagel Palace doesn’t mean people can’t get a bagel and a shmear in Toco Hills. The same shopping center complex now has an outlet of local chain Goldberg’s, whose food is a fair replacement for Bagel Palace’s. (Our ongoing bageltasting series doesn’t point to either eatery as serving the best bagel in Atlanta, although Goldberg’s won that distinction in this year’s Best of Jewish Atlanta survey. Bagel Palace didn’t make the top four.) Still, the loss of Bagel Palace, like the closure of kosher Broadway Cafe last year, is about more than the food. Longtime, family-owned eateries are key parts of their neighborhoods and help define them and give them character. Even for those who rarely ate there — including a significant portion of the heavily Orthodox population around it — Bagel Palace served as a reference point in both time and space (it gets harder and harder to give directions to find a specific point in that shopping center). As at least one Facebook commenter wrote, “And so goes another Atlanta landmark.” That’s why the end of Bagel Palace feels so wrong. It’s almost like a death in the family — and just as we hurt when a relative we loved dies, so we as a community feel the loss of Bagel Palace, regardless of when we last popped in for an onion bagel with cream cheese. So here’s hoping that owners of Bagel Palace can find a new location, one in Toco Hills or at least close by. Our community needs its landmarks, and it needs 10 its loved ones. ■
Cartoon by Rick McKee, The Augusta Chronicle
Israel Faces Genocidal Slander
Seventy-five years ago, the Jewish people were swastikas were flying from Gaza to Israel. in danger of joining the ranks of the Parthians, the But, to take one offensive example, when Cagle Huns, the Vandals, the Ostrogoths, the Visigoths and Cartoons’ Sean Delonas created an editorial cartoon so many other peoples who have been lost in the hisin response to the Gaza violence, he depicted Israeli tory of human civilization. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu with blood on As Hitler pursued his Final Solution, Jews were his hands in a Hitlerian uniform, complete with an on the verge of the nightmare transformation from Israeli-flag armband in place of the swastika, saying, a tiny but prominent minority to a piece of living “Israeli über alles” at a rally, surrounded by Palestinhistory, hanging on in a few places, including the ian corpses and backed by Jared Kushner doing a United States, but doomed “sieg heil” salute. to extinction. Israel, or at least the We owe our existence Netanyahu government, is to the U.S. military’s might supposed to be reveling in Editor’s Notebook and the Soviet Union’s Palestinian blood as part By Michael Jacobs willingness to lose an of a genocidal plot. But mjacobs@atljewishtimes.com almost limitless number the Palestinian population of soldiers to defeat Nazi keeps growing — faster Germany. But it was near than the Jewish population thing. in Israel, by most reckoning — and that includes the So now our homeland, our haven, Israel, is unlivable, outdoor prison of the Gaza Strip. portrayed as a fascist, Nazi-like nation intent on the If Israel is attempting genocide, it’s the most extermination of the Palestinian people. incompetent effort in human history. Somehow, neutral observers around the world Could Israel use nonlethal force to defend the can look at tens of thousands of rioting Palestinians Israeli civilians across the border from Gaza? I don’t along the Gaza-Israel border, including some trying know, though I’m sure the IDF would prefer nonleto break through the fence with deadly intent, and thal methods. Unfortunately, it’s tough to risk genconclude that Israel is genocidal because 60 people tler approaches when facing an onslaught of people are killed. who would happily kill you. I don’t want to minimize 60 deaths, but if But it’s a reasonable response when people who Israel’s intent was to use the Hamas-driven March have vowed to kill you try to charge across the borof Return as an excuse for mass murder, a military der to use any means necessary to keep them back. as powerful as the Israel Defense Forces could have The IDF’s responsibility is protect every Israeli life, caused far more carnage. not to protect as many as possible without killing More people — actual innocent civilians trying anyone on the other side. That’s why the argument to go about their lives — are killed on a single day that Israel is in the wrong because no Israelis have in the Syrian civil war than the roughly 110 people been hurt makes no sense: This isn’t about being fair killed during six weeks of Gaza rioting and attemptand ensuring equivalent pain suffering; it’s about ed infiltrations, and it appears that most of those protecting our people. killed in Gaza were affiliated with Hamas or Islamic So how do people make the leap to Israelis Jihad, organizations devoted to the Jews’ destruction equaling Nazis? How does a defensive stand, even if as well as Israel’s. it’s one you think is overly aggressive and too lethal, The men who acknowledged trying to cross the become genocide? How are people two or three border to kill or kidnap as many people as possible generations from destruction now accused of that were trying to go from Gaza to Israel. The kites very crime? carrying incendiary devices and decorated with It can’t just be anti-Semitism, can it? ■
www.atlantajewishtimes.com
OPINION
What Iranians Think About the Iran Deal under fire for writing anti-Israel tweets after Trump’s announcement. He wrote on his Twitter account May 8, “Every dirty treacherous ugly and pernicious act happening in the world just wait a few days and the ugly name of Israel will pup…” This in conjunction with Iranian
President Donald Trump’s announcement Tuesday, May 8, that the United States is withdrawing from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action was perhaps prophesied. Not foreseen were Iranian claims that Iran upheld its commitment to the nuclear deal. Iranian-American journalist and commentator Negar Mortazavi, for example, wrote on her Twitter account: “Trump did not just leave the nuclear deal, he violated it. Iran has complied to its commitments under the deal, as verified by the international community and even the U.S. State Department. But America just broke its commitment by re-imposing sanctions on Iran. That’s a violation.” She also wrote, “You know the era of American leadership in the world is ending when Iran can say we stood by our international commitments (which they did) and the U.S. did not.” That tweet garnered nearly 1,200 likes at last count. More recently, Columbia University professor Hamid Dabashi came
Viewpoint By Sarah Moosazadeh sarah@atljewishtimes.com
lawmakers who lighted a paper U.S. flag in parliament while shouting, “Death to America!” Many Iranians, including Mortazavi, claim that Iran can no longer trust the United States. But in light of recent protests in Iran, the Islamic regime’s human rights violations and hard-liners’ threats to destroy Israel, can the United States or its allies trust Iran? The answer is no. What Iranian commentators
may not have written about are the billions Iran’s banks have used to fund terrorist organizations such as Hamas, Hezbollah and the IRGC Quds Force, led by Qasem Soleimani. Billions that should have trickled down to the Iranian people to create jobs and place food on the table but never did. Money that was supposed to help create jobs and boost Iran’s economy, which has long suffered from U.S. sanctions. What Iranian commentators may not have written about are the proceeds from the nuclear deal being used on military ventures from Yemen to Syria to create bases and launch rockets into countries opposed to the Iranian regime, including Israel. What Iranian commentators may not have written about is that Iran announced it would produce higherenriched uranium if the United States left the nuclear deal. Yet a number of Iranians support Trump’s decision. After Trump delivered his speech, many took to Twitter to express their gratitude using the hashtag #ThankYouTrump. In his speech, President Trump
delivered the following message to the Iranian people: “The people of America stand with you. It has now been almost 40 years since this dictatorship seized power and took a proud nation hostage. Most of Iran’s 80 million citizens have sadly never known an Iran that prospered in peace with its neighbors and commanded the admiration of the world.” To echo Trump’s sentiments, many Iranians have used “#WeAreHostages” in support of the JCPOA pullout. Thus, while many Iranians are concerned about the U.S. exit from the nuclear deal, perhaps they should be more concerned about hard-liners who fail to keep their promises. Many Iranians also believe that the Islamic regime’s days are numbered and that it has bitten off more than it can chew. But as President Trump said, “The future of Iran belongs to its people. They are the rightful heirs to a rich culture and an ancient land, and they deserve a nation that does justice to their dreams, honor to their history and glory to G-d.” ■
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OPINION
Why You Must Know What Is Happening in Israel
MAY 25 ▪ 2018
I am watching CNN’s Ben Wedeman standing out near the fence that the Palestinians continue to storm, the fence separating Israel and Gaza. (His complete, current opinion on this crisis is on the CNN website.) He is telling the world that Israel has no right to kill the Palestinians who breach the fence. Let them just do as they please and invade. What he doesn’t want to understand is that Israel must protect its borders and its citizens. “Israel is not really interested because the country has an economy continuing to grow,” he says. “It has the greatest military might in the region.” No word about Hamas, the group that suggests and in many cases orders these Palestinians to breach the fence. These Palestinians are “unarmed,” so again Wedeman emphasizes that Israel should do nothing. On Monday, I was in Tel Aviv, where our granddaughter had a ballet recital with the members of her danc-
12
ing school. As I watched this beautiful young woman (I am prejudiced) gracefully spinning around the stage in her various dance steps, I closed my eyes and I thought to myself, “Did Rita and I bring our children to Israel in 1977 so that their children — our grandchildren, male and female — would have to face conflict after conflict, even facing death at times?”
Guest Column By Rabbi David Geffen
Clearly, we brought them here so they could dance, they could enter high tech, they could prepare instant ads for the Internet and TV, they could express their Judaism in a most natural fashion. We see them grow in this positive manner, but they must serve in the IDF when they are of age to protect their country. Israel still is an island
of democracy seeking peace with its rivals. I will not continue to quote from the CNN commentators or any high Palestinian official because they do not seem to get the point. When Japan attacked the United States at Pearl Harbor, did America just turn the other cheek? When North Korea attacked South Korea, an American ally, did the United States fight back? Israel grew out of the horrors of the Holocaust because its people were prepared to make all types of sacrifices to help their country, which started with nothing, grow and develop. This was to ensure a better future for their children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren. Our family has lived here for 41 years. Our three children and three of our grandchildren, and now a fourth grandchild, have been in the IDF in wartime and at times been required to deal with terrorists who want to execute Israelis. They have entered the IDF with a commitment to serve while hoping for a future that will offer success and a full and positive life. My wife and I are just American youths who grew up and chose to be in the Jewish state for our lifetime. We have seen Israel provide educational opportunities for all parts of the population. We have seen Israel challenge its citizens to live up to their potential and help change the world. We have seen Israel maintain the migratory bird routes so millions of birds can fly through our country on their annual pilgrimage. We have seen Israel raise a new generation of filmmakers whose work is touching people all over the world. We have seen Israel create, create, create so that the world will be a better place. There is no point criticizing the Arab countries because they would choose to see Israel pushed into the sea. There is no point criticizing the great powers other than the United States because they want to mollify the Arabs and love to see Israel lashed over and over again. There is no point asking Ameri-
can college students to recognize that Israel is not an apartheid country; it is a country that makes the lives of over 1.5 million Palestinians, Israeli citizens, amazing. They are healthier than their fellow Arabs because they have access to Israeli medical facilities. They are the most educated Arabs in the world because they attend Israeli universities, technological colleges, medical schools, law schools and graduate schools. Israeli Arab doctors head the hospitals of our (their) country. They sit on the Supreme Court of Israel. They are, at times, the leading students when they graduate with full honors. Is everything perfect? No, but Israel tries its best to make all its citizens feel that they are completely respected and can rise to whatever level they work for. You can call me prejudiced for Israel. I am because I am proud of what the only Jewish state in 2,000 years has accomplished. If my country wants to defend itself against people who seek to be killed so that Israel will be criticized for committing war crimes, I have no problem with this. I know that some Jews in Israel and around the world are not happy to hear what I have to say. Nevertheless, I have to challenge myself. David, state what you must, as written in the Ethics of the Fathers: “When there are no men, stand up and be a man.” Please listen to your hearts. You can be a spokesman or spokeswoman for Israel. Let your neighbors know that Israel stands for life, not death; that Israel stands for peace, not war; that Israel stands for democracy, not dictatorship. Ben Wedeman has written and said, “The peace negotiations are dead because the USA has recognized Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.” I cannot answer that bold statement. All I can say is that I believe that Jerusalem is the capital of Eretz Yisrael, as it has been for 3,000 years, and I am happy that the world has to face that fact now and forever. ■
If my country wants to defend itself against people who seek to be killed so that Israel will be criticized for committing war crimes, I have no problem with this.
www.atlantajewishtimes.com
OPINION
Check Your Facts Before Slamming Israel Hamas publicly declared that 50 of the “innocent Palestinians” killed were Hamas “militants.” These people’s agenda is clear: They wish to infiltrate Israel and kill as many Jews as they can. Israel, therefore, has an absolute right to defend itself against such attacks.
Guest Column By Mor Lewit
The radical Hamas leaders are paying innocent Palestinians (young and old) to go on suicide missions on behalf of them, while they sit comfortably in their homes, far from the bloodstained fence, where their people are dying for what they think they want. The Israeli army and government have a right to protect this one, only, beautiful country so that you have a place to spend your summer vacations, eat hummus, and buy Michal Negrin hamsa jewelry for your friends and family back home. And in return? You go and damage our name internationally when you should be our biggest supporters and strongest ambassadors. Where is your Israel pride? Where is your Zionism? Where are your love and passion for the only country we have? Where are you when we most need you? It is incredibly difficult, frustrating and complex to negotiate peace with a people who chose a listed terror organization to run them. What’s easy, though, is to write a few big, sophisticated words about a massacre, a blood bath, a brutal siege, and hit POST. I believe that people need to check their facts more thoroughly before they criticize a country’s handling of security situations at its borders. Today’s social media platforms enable quick and easy communication, yet also impulsive, irrational and intuitive posting and tweeting. This phenomenon leads to information overload, much of which is incorrect. I strongly advise people to think twice before every post and share and to check their facts carefully to avoid the detrimental spread of falsity on the web. I am deeply disappointed and personally offended by the Facebook posts I am reading by my own un-
grateful, hypocritical Jewish “friends” in the States. How can you feel free to preach hate from your comfortable couches and lives far away and continue to vacation here and enjoy Israel’s sun and culture when convenient? Shame on you. We do not expect you to serve in the Israel Defense Forces or to live through the sirens and the stabbings that characterize our daily lives, nor even to try to comprehend the pressure caused by the international big brother watching and criticizing our every move. We do, however, expect and need you to stand with us, stand FOR us. Spread words of love, peace and tolerance and convince the world that the Palestinians are being used, manipulated, incited, sent on suicide missions — and not by us. By sources from within. Dear friends, your self-righteous words are not changing anything. Instead of condemning Hamas and advocating new leadership in Gaza, you are only spreading igno-
rance and falsity and subsequently are only killing more innocent Palestinians. Lucky for us (and despite his questionable sanity and many flaws), we have someone on our side who recognizes the legitimacy of the Israeli state. And even luckier, he happens to be the most powerful person in America. On that note, I’d like to personally thank the few, incredibly strong, exceptionally wise, bravely nonconforming Jewish American brothers and sisters who are continuously and undeniably supporting Israel, despite how unusual and absurd it may seem. I am proud of you and deeply appreciate you! Thanks to people like you in the world, great things will happen. Maybe even peace, Inshallah. ■ Mor Lewit is a student at BenGurion University of the Negev, studying business and communications. She graduated from the Weber School in 2010, then returned to Israel to join the army as a lone soldier.
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MAY 25 ▪ 2018
I woke up Tuesday, May 15, to a large amount of hateful, anti-Israel, ignorant Facebook posts regarding the riots on the Israel-Gaza border the day before. I was taught to avoid debating with stubborn, narrow-minded people — that it is a waste of my time and words. But after reading some highly uninformed words from both Jewish Americans and IsraeliAmericans, I feel it is my duty and responsibility to burst your politically correct bubbles and spread the hard truth. The inconvenient truth. The ugly truth. The truth that is too complicated to grasp, so you settle for simplistic, catchy, politically correct truths. The truth that doesn’t sound very good on news media: Hamas doesn’t mind how many Palestinians are killed. And contrary to popular belief, the IDF wants as few Palestinians killed as possible. The PR is unfortunately working great for Hamas, and we are once again at fault. For trying to survive. To thrive. To do great things. To invent. To contribute. To better the world. To win Nobel Prizes. To win Eurovision. First, it is important for me to stress that I hurt for the 62 Palestinians killed in Monday’s riots. And I hurt for their families. My heart goes out to the innocent lives taken. The weapons may have been ours, but it is Hamas who is pointing them. The ongoing Israeli-Palestinian conflict cannot continue. But as long as Hamas is in control of the Gaza Strip, peace remains a distant dream. Hamas is once again using the Palestinians, inciting them to hate on the wrong guy. Instead of using their money to grow, thrive, and prosper, Hamas is using it for war purposes — to purchase weapons and ammunition. Abu Mazen is cutting off the Palestinians’ resources because they are encouraging and choosing a culture of war and violence. They are taught to hate and die for Allah instead of to love. As long as the Gaza Strip’s potential and future are in the hands of Hamas, things will remain unsettled. Their people will continue to suffer, Israel will continue to be the “bad guy,” and peace will be heard of only in songs and inauguration speeches. After the events, an important fact that came up in retrospect is that
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LOCAL NEWS
Ramban’s Debate Skills Forced His Exile
MAY 25 ▪ 2018
Moshe ben Nachman, known as Nachmanides and Ramban (not to be confused with the great Maimonides, known as Rambam), was born in Gerona, Catalonia, about 1194 and died in Palestine around 1270. He was acknowledged as the greatest rabbinic authority of his time. He was also a physician and jurist. Despite his scientific studies, he is considered the maximum representative of the spiritual and mystical branch of medieval Judaism (as opposed to the intellectual and philosophical trends, of which we will talk in future articles). In his Torat-ha Adam he analyzed mourning rituals and burial customs, while criticizing those scholars and philosophers who declared that man should not succumb to pleasure and pain. He insisted that this idea went against the law, which commands us to rejoice on days of joy and weep on days of mourning. Nachmanides said the body, with all its functions, is the work of G-d and does not possess impulses intrinsically objectionable. Even though Nachmanides’ name is often associated with Kabbalah, which he venerated, he was reserved about this subject in his writings and maintained that the Kabbalistic doctrine should be transmitted orally. Ramban’s successful life as the chief rabbi of Catalonia and as a physician was destroyed by the Disputation at Barcelona, which forced him to leave his family and his country. In 1263 he was ordered by King James to participate in a religious debate with Pablo Christiani, a Jewish apostate. Christiani assured the king that he could prove the messianic claims of Jesus from the Talmud and other rab-
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binical writings, and he thought that the fear of the Christian dignitaries would impede Nachmanides’ willingness to speak freely. Ramban complied with the order of the king, and for four days he debated with Christiani in the presence of the king, the court and many ecclesiastical dignitaries. Ramban won and published an account of the proceedings. But the Dominicans showed the king several passages that were deemed to
The Sephardic Corner By Mariana Montiel
be blasphemies against Christianity, and Nachmanides was banished from Catalonia. After wandering three years in Castile and southern France, he moved to Palestine in 1267, settling in Acco until his death in 1270. During his three years in Palestine, Nachmanides maintained a close correspondence with his family, students and colleagues. At this time he wrote “Commentary on the Pentateuch.” The following passage comes from this last work and has been widely reflected on: At the briefest instant following creation, all the matter of the universe was concentrated in a very small place, no larger than a grain of mustard. The matter at this time was so thin, so intangible, that it did not have real substance. It did have, however, a potential to gain substance and form and to become tangible matter. From the initial concentration of this intangible substance in its minute location, the substance expanded,
expanding the universe as it did so. As the expansion progressed, a change in the substance occurred. This initially thin noncorporeal sunstone took on the tangible aspects of matter as we know it. From this initial act of creation, from this ethereally thin pseudo-substance, everything that has existed, or will ever exist, was, is and will be formed. Jerusalem Changed Montefiore This month the protagonist of our post-expulsion Sephardic story is Moses Montefiore, who had an impact on the Jewish world during the 19th century, together with his relation to the Sephardic community of Jerusalem, which dates to 1267 and the arrival of Nachmanides. Montefiore was born in Livorno, Italy, in 1784 and died in London 101 years later in 1885. He descended from the Sephardic nobility, and among his ancestors were scholars, merchants, rabbis and doctors from medieval Spain and the post-expulsion Italian Sephardic community. He grew up in London and learned Hebrew from his uncle Moses Mocatta, a member of the famous Sephardic congregation of Bevis Marks. He was a successful businessman, stockbroker and merchant, led the London police force in 1837, and served as the president of the Board of Deputies of the British Jews from 1835 to 1874. He was knighted by Queen Victoria for his contributions to the welfare of the city of London and for his philanthropic work all over the world. Montefiore married Judith Cohen, sister-in-law of Mayer Rothschild. She was a writer and accompanied him throughout his life, influencing and directing many of his endeavors. After his first visit to Israel in
1827, Montefiore’s wealth and social position moved into the background of his daily life, as his contact with the Jewish reality in Palestine at that time moved him deeply and inspired his strict observance of Judaism. On the other hand, he admired the Palestinian Jews, the old Yishuv, and did everything in his power to modify the often-cruel decrees of the Ottoman Empire and achieve dignified conditions for these Jews actually living in Israel, whom he saw as morally superior. The projects he launched there include Jerusalem’s first Jewish newspaper and printing house, its first textile factory, several agricultural settlements, and exclusive authority over Rachel’s grave. In 1860, Montefiore established the first Jewish residential area outside the Old City, Mishkenot Sha’ananim. Planned for Sephardic and Ashkenazi traditions, the area had a Sephardic synagogue at one end and an Ashkenazi one at the other. There were cisterns for drinking water, a mikvah, public ovens and a flour mill. The mill is now a museum, known as the Montefiore windmill. After Sir Moses’ death in 1885, the Yemin Moshe neighborhood was established in 1892 to 1894 on the remaining lands of Mishkenot Sha’ananim by the Montefiore Welfare Fund. Montefiore’s philanthropic work for Jews worldwide was appreciated when he turned 100. That day there was public festivity in Jewish communities all over the globe. ■ The Sephardic Corner is a monthly contribution of Congregation Or VeShalom to the greater Jewish community.
QUESTIONS
With Erica Greenblatt, ADL Director of Development
By Sarah Moosazadeh sarah@atljewishtimes.com
with local philanthropists and activists.
Working for the Anti-Defamation League was a no-brainer, says the organization’s new director of development, Erica Greenblatt, because it bridges her two identities as a social justice advocate and Jewish leader. The recent transplant from New York says she has no regrets about moving to the South. She answered the AJT’s Four Questions.
AJT: What are some skills you are bringing with you? Greenblatt: I would have to say passion for our work, boundless energy, creativity and charisma. I am coming from ADL’s largest region, working at a very fast pace with high expectations and in a demanding atmosphere. Moving into a bit of a slower culture is actually quite refreshing and allows me time to sit back and strategize. Moreover, I have the honor of being a member of the second fellowship cohort at the Ruskay Institute for Jewish Professional Leadership. Over this past year I’ve had the opportunity to learn critical leadership skills like adaptive leadership and design thinking, building one’s vision, and the importance of giving and getting feedback. And lastly, I am a true extrovert. To effectively do our work, it is critical
AJT: How do you hope to expand the ADL’s mission in Georgia? Greenblatt: As a global anti-hate organization, ADL’s mission to “stop the defamation of the Jewish people and to secure justice and fair treatment to all” has never been more important. Particularly here in Georgia, as there has been a tremendous increase in anti-Semitic incidents over the last three years. ADL is already doing such impor-
Erica Greenblatt hopes to change some misconceptions about ADL.
tant work in the community that many locals may not realize, such as our No Place for Hate program to combat bullying and bias is in every Atlanta public school. As the founding member of Hate-Free Georgia, we also have been leading the way to pass hate-crime legislation and have been working closely with law enforcement to provide information on local extremists and hate groups. My hope is to corral businesses, community leaders and individuals committed to our mission. I want to expand our corporate sponsorships, create exciting and engaging community events, and build strong relationships
for a development professional to get out there and meet those supporting the organization, as well as meet others who haven’t yet but hopefully will soon. AJT: What are some challenges you are facing? Greenblatt: We do a lot of local programs and advocacy work, but unfortunately not many people are aware of what we are doing on the ground. Additionally, challenging people’s preconceived notions of ADL and its policies may pose an obstacle. AJT: What are you most looking forward to in your new position? Greenblatt: I get to be innovative. I get to create a new fundraising and events strategy while having the support and guidance of my brilliant colleagues. I have had a blast getting to know our board members, community members and other Jewish communal leaders and look forward to meeting many, many more. ■
MAY 25 ▪ 2018
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LOCAL NEWS
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LOCAL NEWS
Etz Chaim Has Serious Fun at Gala
Photos courtesy of Congregation Etz Chaim
Jerry and Lydia Quan arrive for the gala.
A friendly welcome awaits arrivals at the Etz Chaim gala May 6.
Shari Dollinger
CUFI Names Dollinger CoExecutive Director
MAY 25 ▪ 2018
Longtime Atlantan Shari Dollinger was named co-executive director of Christians United for Israel on April 16. She is sharing the leadership of the nation’s largest pro-Israel organization with Diana Hagee, the wife of CUFI founder and Chairman John Hagee. “Diana and Shari are perfectly equipped to handle the organization’s day-to-day affairs as well as plan for what we see on the horizon,” Pastor Hagee said. “For years, Diana and Shari have been working hand in hand behind the scenes to harness the power of the American Christian Zionist community into an effective voice for Israel. Without their vital contribution, we would not be the organization we are today, and with these two women leading the staff, I am extremely optimistic about our future.” CUFI’s founding executive direc16
Congregation Etz Chaim honored Maj. Jerry Quan during its annual gala, a night of comedy and celebration Sunday, May 6. More than 210 people attended the gala, during which a state proclamation was presented to Quan, the retired Precinct 4 commander of the Cobb County police. Quan provided security on Shabbat and other occasions at Etz Chaim and was regularly seen at the other East Cobb congregations. “For 17 years, Maj. Jerry Quan has had a special relationship with
Congregation Etz Chaim. He has been part of our fabric,” Etz Chaim Executive Director Marty Gilbert said. “He has watched leadership change, new members join, and children grow and become members themselves. Through all these years he has been a warm and steady presence. We wish only good things as he enters this new phase of his life.” Randy Figur, Janis Greenfield, Ilene Levin, Jennifer Pila and Ellen Spandorfer formed the gala committee.
Rabbis Daniel Dorsch and Shalom Lewis (right) lead a standing ovation for Jerry Quan.
tor, David Brog, also is Jewish and remains on the executive board. CUFI, which will hold its Washington summit July 23 and 24, recently topped 4 million members. “Our growth has been explosive. We’ve added 100,000 new members in the past month alone,” Dollinger said in mid-April. “Moving forward, we will maintain the ability to maximize the impact of our members as we simultaneously plan the direction CUFI will take during the coming months and years. There has never been a more exciting or impactful time to be working with CUFI.” Dollinger was scheduled to be one of the panelists Tuesday afternoon, May 22, in a community discussion about Israel organized by the Jewish Federation of Greater Atlanta (look for coverage at atlantajewishtimes.com and in the June 1 print issue of the AJT).
Bishko Joins JIFLA Board
JIFLA (Jewish Interest Free Loan of Atlanta) has added Adrienne Litt Bishko to its board and executive committee as the board secretary. Bishko has been active with JIFLA as a volunteer on the loan committee for more than a year. A University of Michigan graduate and former middle school teacher in Ohio, Bishko has served as the executive director of Temple Emanu-El
and Congregation Beth Tefillah and, through her Adrienne C. Bishko Consulting, had a multiyear engagement with Congregation Ariel.
Decatur’s Lubell Receives Bronfman Prize
“This is an evening devoted to welcoming,” said Stephen Bronfman, cofounder of the Charles Bronfman Prize, which Monday, April 30, in New York celebrated “those who improve the world.” Bronfman presented the award to David Lubell, founder of Decaturbased Welcoming America, which has enabled immigrants to be welcomed in 200 U.S. communities. Dan Meridor, former deputy prime minister of Israel, who spoke on behalf of the international panel of judges that selects the recipients, said recent immigration has “awakened” xenophobia and racism, which “contradicts Jewish tradition to welcome the stranger.” Lubell, Meridor said, lives up to that tradition. In an interview with the AJT after
Etz Chaim Vice President Randy Figur and retired Maj. Jerry Quan mark years of friendship.
The Quan family helps Congregation Etz Chaim celebrate its annual gala.
the Bronfman Prize was announced last June, Lubell said he is inspired in his work by the Jewish principle of tikkun olam (repairing the world) and the social justice commitment of his journalist parents and his great-grandfather Samuel Lubell, one of the founders of the Reconstructionist movement. The Charles Bronfman Prize is an annual award of $100,000 presented to humanitarians under age 50 whose innovative work informed by Jewish values has significantly improved the world.
Cinderella Soccer Story
A Marcus JCC youth soccer team made a surprise run to the championship game of a Catholic school league after entering the postseason tournament as the bottom seed. The under-10 boys team, coached by Rabbi Yaakov Fleshel with Tal Frank as his assistant, had to beat another JCC team just to qualify for the tournament, then upset the top seed in the opening game just days after losing to the same team. Fresh off finishing second in their league tournament are under-10 JCC soccer players (from left) Asher Frank, Malachi Freedman, Noam Glazer, Ari Fleshel, Aryeh Rabin, Akiva Senior, Shalom Yosef Fleshel, Paul Budhram, Zev Rodbell and Gavin Rolnick, backed by coaches Rabbi Yaakov Fleshel and Tal Frank.
CAMPS
Campers to Take Over Hal’s Kitchen By Logan C. Ritchie lritchie@atljewishtimes.com If your child would rather construct a vegetable quiche than a Lego robot this summer, Hal’s Kitchen is offering the icing on the cake. For one week in June, Hal’s Kitchen plans to teach knife skills, kitchen sanitation and safety, and preparation of French, Italian and American specialties. Yes, pizza is included. On the last day of camp, parents join their young culinary geniuses for a lunch planned, prepped and cooked by the kids. The camp is geared toward children who will be third- to seventhgraders next school year, and Hal’s Kitchen owner Cyndi Sterne said she put thought into bringing practical culinary skills to campers. “Kids can be effective in the kitchen. It’s a great outlet for them,” she said. “As they get older, it becomes more difficult to find kid and adult interaction. But, like you see on TV, your whole family can be in the kitchen cooking together.” To increase accessibility, Kids Culinary Boot Camp is a week of vegetarian cooking. The camp menu includes vegetable quiche, breakfast potatoes, mixed fruit compote, sauce espagnole with mushrooms over scratch-made biscuits, veggie pot pie with veloute, asparagus with hollandaise, broccoli and
pasta casserole with béchamel, pizza and pasta from scratch, eggplant parmigiana, gluten-free chocolate amaretti tort, bagels, cinnamon buns with salted caramel glaze, chocolate layer cake, and ice cream. Hal’s Kitchen recently moved from Brookhaven to a new space at 4969 Roswell Road, Suite 220, in the Chastain Park area. Sterne, who started cooking at 11 years old, has owned Hal’s Kitchen for seven years with her “not so silent” partner-husband. “I’ve been working in restaurants since I was 15, so I’ve done every job in the industry. Being the owner means that sometimes you’re doing the glamorous things, and sometimes you’re in back getting the dishwasher to work,” she said with a laugh. The location serves as a place for corporate team building, culinary events and birthday parties. Sterne said it is a great location to celebrate a bar or bat mitzvah. “The best way to learn and gain interaction between co-workers and friends is hands-on,” she said. Hal’s Kitchen hosts chefs for special events, such as the modern Israeli cooking class it held April 15 with Israeli chef and cookbook author Danielle Oron. Kids Culinary Boot Camp runs Monday to Friday, June 25 to 29, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. The cost is $295. Call 404-345-9610 or email info@halskitchen.com. ■
Spaces are still available at the Marcus JCC’s day camps, which open for the summer Tuesday, May 29, and continue in one-week sessions through Aug. 10. More than 100 camp options, some with overnight elements, are offered in Dunwoody, East Cobb and intown for youths who be in pre-kindergarten through 10th grade next school year. Free bus transportation is available from 23 locations. “The MJCCA day camps have held a special place in my family’s heart for generations,” Lindsay Medwed said. “From my husband and I going as campers, then as counselors, and now our children as campers, we continue to look forward to our camp memories
every summer and hold them close throughout the year." Joining traditional day camp, sports camps and performing arts camps this summer are such options as Camp INC for budding entrepreneurs, Coding Camp for video game design, Drone Camp for new and experienced unmanned aerial vehicle enthusiasts, camps to let children role-play that they’re at veterinary or medical school, and a week of camping around Savannah. Get more details and register at www.mjccadaycamps.org, or call 678812-4004. The Marcus JCC offers a discount for campers who attend at least five weeks. Extended care is available from 7:30 to 8:15 a.m. and from 4 to 6 p.m.
MAY 25 ▪ 2018
JCC Still Has Day Camp Space
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EDUCATION
She’s in the Army Now
West Point helps Marissa Karp be all she can be By Sarah Moosazadeh sarah@atljewishtimes.com Marissa Karp did not know West Point existed until her sophomore year of high school, but she knew she wanted to attend a college that would allow her to serve others. When the Savannah resident considered colleges, she thought about her passion for community and public service and wanted a career that focused on helping people. Karp thought West Point would be a good fit because it would allow her to maintain the kind of busy schedule she was accustomed to in high school. “West Point had a great program all rolled up into one,” she said. “It’s known for its academics, offers a lot of opportunities to train, and I am guaranteed a career in service for the next five years.” Karp and the West Point Class of 2018 are due to graduate Saturday morning, May 26, and receive their commission as Army officers that afternoon. People are free to be open about their faith in the U.S. military, Karp said, but political and religious discussions are not common because they are not relevant to the academy’s mission. Consequently, Karp does not think about being a rare Jewish woman from Georgia to graduate from the U.S. Military Academy. “I think they are two arbitrary metrics to use,” she said. “When I think about my identity, I don’t think of myself as a Jewish woman from Georgia, and that is not the way I pre sent myself.” Admission to West Point is competitive enough without bringing religion into the process. In addition to
Savannah resident Marissa Karp has gained experience in smallunit and platoon-level tactics.
completing extensive applications with multiple essays, an applicant must be nominated by a member of Congress or, in some cases, by the president or vice president of the United States. Nominations also can come through JROTC for participants in that high school program. Karp was nominated by Rep. Jack Kingston during the Republican’s last term in Congress. “They look at your application holistically to determine who is well rounded,” Karp said. “A lot of colleges look for that, but West Point requires that you are not only involved in community service, but sports outside of academics. They want applicants to be able to handle the time commitment and physical requirements.” Before college, Karp attended Sa-
Marissa Karp will enter the Army as a second lieutenant serving as an adjutant general officer.
vannah Country Day School. Her activities in middle and high school included mock trial, basketball, softball and musical theater. She volunteered in hospitals and served on the Chatham County Youth Commission for three years, which she said was a big part of her life. “I was worried I would not be considered competitive, which is why my acceptance is a great source of pride for me,” Karp said about being admitted to West Point. “I worked very hard, and getting in validated that for me.” Karp has studied kinesiology at West Point while following a track in electrical engineering. Cadets who do not major in engineering must adopt an engineering track. After their first year of college, cadets have a month of training at Camp
Buckner, which teaches them smallunit tactics. The second summer, each cadet shadows a lieutenant in a military branch of interest and undergoes three weeks of intensive field training for platoon-level operations and leadership training. In her spare time at West Point, Karp participated in the ski patrol, cooking club, pre-medical society, Hillel and the Jewish choir, which she arranged to perform at Congregation Agudath Achim in Savannah. Karp did not have a bat mitzvah celebration during middle school, so her newfound Jewish community at the academy helped her mark the milestone during her sophomore year. Her family traveled from Savannah to help celebrate the simcha. In addition to getting a Distinguished Cadet Award at West Point, Karp earned a place on the Dean’s List all four years. She received the German Armed Forces Proficiency Badge and Superintendent’s Award for Excellence. After graduation, Karp will enter the Army as an adjutant general officer. She has always been interested in biomechanics and is considering a master’s in biomedical engineering before applying to medical school. West Point is a challenging place and offers a lot of opportunities to discover yourself, but Karp said she will miss her friends and roommates the most. “They have been crucial in my experience here,” she said. “West Point is not a place you can get by without a lot of help from your friends, and I have gained so many lifelong friends and experiences you would not get at a regular university.” ■
MAY 25 ▪ 2018
From Camp Coleman to Galloway Awards
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Two graduating Galloway School seniors who are alumni of URJ Camp Coleman received mastery awards during Galloway’s honors assembly Friday, May 4. Melinda Hartz received the Atlanta Journal-Constitution Cup for “the senior who combines excellent academics, character, leadership and extra-curricular involvement.” The Journal-Constitution recognizes students from public and private schools across metro Atlanta.
In August, Melinda will enter the University of Miami. She is a member of Temple Sinai and the daughter of Eric and Jennifer Hartz. Dean Kopitsky earned the coveted Elliott Galloway Alumni Book Award for students who “exemplify kindness, decency, seeing the potential in each person, and commitment to academic progress and physical fitness.” Dean is going to Vassar College in the fall. He is a member of The Temple and the son of Stacey Kalberman and Neil Kopitsky.
After Galloway, Dean Kopitsky and Melinda Hartz are off to Vassar College and the University of Miami, respectively.
EDUCATION
The Questions to Expect at a College Interview
“Who Are You?” Questions • What interests you about our college? • How did you find out about us? • What are your goals in the four years after high school graduation? Academic Questions • Have there been any trends in your transcript since your freshman year? • What has been your academic strength? • Among your studies, what has been your favorite subject? Have you gone beyond the classroom assignments in that subject? • What has been your weakest subject area in high school? “You as a Person” Questions • If you started high school all over again, what would you do differently? • What do you feel are your strengths as a person? • Who has been one of your role models while in high school? • How do you feel about political protests on campus?
Extracurricular Activities • What has been your most outstanding extracurricular activity? • Are you satisfied with your extracurricular accomplishments? • Do you plan to engage in that favorite activity when you get to college? • Are you involved in athletics?
The Admissions Game By Mark L. Fisher drmarkfisher@yahoo.com
Community Activities • Are you involved in any community activities, such as a youth group? • Have you volunteered at any point? • Are you a member of an athletic team outside school? • What do you feel is your greatest accomplishment in your community outside school? General Questions • What books have you read beyond teacher assignments? • Do you have a favorite author? • How do you spend your leisure time? • What is your favorite thing to do? • How do you help your family? • If you could meet any important figure in the past or present, who would it be, and what would you talk about? • What makes our college meet your needs, values and interests? • Why do you think you are a competitive for our university? Students, are you somewhat comfortable in answering the questions in this article? Or are you in panic mode? Remember to practice, practice, practice. What questions should you ask in the interview? My next article, probably shorter, will focus on that part of the interview. ■ Dr. Mark L. Fisher is a college and career consultant at Fisher Educational Consultants (www.fishereducationalconsultants.com) and a consultant for the College Planning Institute (www. GotoCPI.com).
MAY 25 ▪ 2018
My most recent Atlanta Jewish Times article highlighted the importance of college interviews, which can be required or optional for admissions or necessary for honors programs. In addition, some scholarship competitions require an interview. Before reading the questions below, what are you going to do with them? One obvious response is to practice answering the questions with a parent, friend, another adult, teacher or counselor. Ready for the possible questions? I can’t discuss all possible questions but can give you a heads-up. “Welcome to our campus” is commonly an opening statement by the interviewer. You respond, “I am glad to be here at your fine college.” Poor response! You are in the interview to sell yourself. Before you even go to the interview, choose five accomplishments you want to sell and why you are even interviewing at that college. Start talking about why you are interested in the college, using facts from your research about the school.
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EDUCATION
Nursing Degree Fulfills Persian Family’s Dreams
Photo courtesy of Jake Rosmarin
Jessica Nooriel is a graduate of the Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing at Emory.
By Sarah Moosazadeh sarah@atljewishtimes.com
MAY 25 ▪ 2018
Jewish Iranian-American Jessica Nooriel believes her graduation from the Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing at Emory fulfills not only her dreams, but also those of her parents, who were forced to flee Iran. Nooriel studied nursing at Emory because of the program’s accessibility to undergrads and her interest in medicine, she said. “I knew I wanted to do something related to medicine and knew Emory was a great place for that. I did not know if I wanted to go to medical school or pursue public health but knew that’s where I wanted to start.” Emory’s nursing program was rigorous, Nooriel said, and the content was challenging. But more important was changing the way students thought. “We were supposed to think not just like students, but nurses,” she said. “If they tested me just on content, I would have gotten a 100 on every test, but we were tested on how we could use the content, which was the hardest part.”
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Jessica Nooriel celebrates graduation with some family photos. Her nursing degree is in part a fulfillment of her parents’ dreams.
Nooriel said her cultural background influenced her work ethic in college. “I think my parents’ story and their inability to achieve their dreams as Persian Jews back in Iran motivated me to work even harder,” she said. “I am obviously doing what I am doing for myself, but I am also doing it for my parents.” Because Nooriel’s mom is Jewish, she was not allowed to attend medical school in Iran, Nooriel said. Yet mother and daughter still have conversations about medicine and nursing because they share that passion. Atlanta native Nooriel attended Greenfield Hebrew Academy and Yeshiva Atlanta before they merged into Atlanta Jewish Academy. Her family attends the predominantly Persian Congregation Netzach Israel in Toco Hills. Part of the reason Nooriel said she chose Emory is because of the heavily Jewish population. Nooriel was involved in Emory Hillel and served on the student board as vice president for the High Holidays programs. She also served as an engagement intern and was involved
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with Emory’s BUNDLE program, which encourages students to discuss diversity in the workforce for nurses and how some patients require different nurses. One of Nooriel’s highest accomplishments was working with BUNDLE for her senior capstone project. She investigated health care before and after incarceration and discovered that while most people received excellent care in prison, most returned to old, poorer habits once they left. Nooriel presented her findings to nearly 60 DeKalb County probation officers, encouraging them to focus on helping ex-convicts find not only homes and jobs, but also proper health care. The presentation was the first the DeKalb probation office had received and is being used as a template for other Georgia counties, Nooriel said. Out of a class of 1,400, Nooriel was one of 100 seniors nominated for her leadership and scholarship in the community. She is now in the job market and is open to a nursing career in any city but said she is looking for the best fit and wants to work in a hospital that will support her growth. If she had not entered medicine, Nooriel said, she would have studied education. During her first year at Emory she began working for Jewish Kids Groups and eventually became the Hebrew director. That experience helped with her creativity and leadership skills, she said. She later worked for In the City Camp and interned for JScreen’s marketing team. Nooriel helped translate brochures from English to Farsi to better reach the Sephardic community, who may think Jewish genetic diseases are more of an Ashkenazi problem. As a Jewish Iranian-American, Nooriel said she loves her dual identi-
ties but has found it trying at times to express them. “I am very proud to have this other culture which is a part of me and excites me so much because of what my parents have shared with me over the years, but, living in America, I have this Jewish-American identity, which I have struggled with,” she said. “I am sure everyone has who feels like they have more than one identity.” Nevertheless, Nooriel said college helped her discover a lot of things about herself and accept her identity because she was able to meet likeminded people. She said the best part of graduating is looking back and seeing what you accomplished not just for yourself, but also for and with the people around you. “I am leaving Emory knowing that our Jewish community, friends and leadership positions are in good hands,” she said. “I am excited to see where it will go, and some of my best memories are of the friends I have made at Emory. I am very grateful for all the support my friends and family have given me.” ■
Jessica Nooriel’s mortarboard at graduation reflects her interest in medicine.
EDUCATION
Educator’s Wandering Leads to Toco Hills By Logan C. Ritchie lritchie@atljewishtimes.com
No matter the age of your high school son or daughter, now is the time to investigate the CollegeBridge approach to college preparation, selection, and application. YouTube screen grab
Rabbi Meir Cohen is the new head of Torah Day School of Atlanta.
I believe in setting up classrooms and culture of a school to cater to what is best for each student,” Rabbi Cohen said. His vision for Torah Day School is to inspire people to be part of the school, working toward a shared goal. “A key component of the shared goal will be to uphold the tradition of Torah Day School, including student mastery of Torah skills, while tapping into the passionate and prideful culture to move the school towards the next phase of excellence,” Rabbi Cohen said. As the head of school, Rabbi Cohen will make decisions about the leadership structure and budget and staffing issues for the 2018-19 school year. The TDSA community welcomed him with a boost for the budget and a demonstration of achieving a shared goal by raising more than $262,000 in less than a day and a half through an online fundraising campaign in April. ■
C-SPAN Honors Davis Duo Davis Academy Middle School students Ava Stark and Jessie Schulhoff were honored Monday, May 7, for a seven-minute documentary video they produced about the First Amendment for the annual C-SPAN StudentCam competition. Ava and Jessie’s entry, “Speaking Up to the Limits,” addressing the issue of whether there should be limits on free speech, was among 97 awarded honorable mentions across the nation at the high school and middle school levels. Overall, C-SPAN presented prizes to 151 of the 2,985 entries it received. Each video was five to seven minutes long and responded to the prompt “Select a provision of the United States Constitution and demonstrate its im-
portance to you in a video.” C-SPAN representative Joel Bacon presented the prize to Ava and Jessie at a Davis Academy ceremony that was also attended by representatives of Sens. Johnny Isakson and David Perdue. Ava and Jessie spoke on camera about free speech with Bill Nigut and Tanya Ott of Georgia Public Broadcasting and Greg Bluestein of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. The girls also presented facts gathered from their indepth research to support the differing responses they received about whether free speech should have limits. Ava and Jessie’s award is the 10th for Davis students in six years of participation in the C-SPAN competition. You can see all the winning StudentCam entries at www.studentcam. org/winners18.htm. ■
Our approach will impact your child’s success in college and in life. Take the time to explore our website. Visit us at www.collegebridge.net
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MAY 25 ▪ 2018
The new head of school at Torah Day School of Atlanta likes to take a scientific approach to Jewish education. “I’m interested in how things work and the research that backs it up,” said Rabbi Meir Cohen, who in March was announced as TDSA’s head of school, effective for the 2018-19 school year, after a couple of years of the Toco Hills day school operating under interim leadership. A self-proclaimed “wandering Jew,” Rabbi Cohen and his family plan to move from San Diego to Atlanta in July. He was born in South Africa and lived in Toronto, Israel and several cities in Florida before his post as assistant head of school of the Soille San Diego Hebrew Day School, a position he has held for seven years. Previously he was the principal of Torah Academy of Jacksonville, Fla., for five years. He holds a master’s degree in educational leadership and is pursuing a doctorate in the same area from the Azrieli Graduate School of Jewish Education. He will complete his dissertation next year. Rabbi Cohen taught swimming in high school and college. He discovered an interest in how kids learn, progress and grow. “I am a student-centered educator.
It’s Never Too Early to Prepare for College.
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ARTS
Jewish Jazz Man Delivers World of Music
MAY 25 ▪ 2018
We were intrigued when we saw Oran Etkin’s jazz show, part of the Breman Museum’s Molly Blank Concert Series, promoted on the Atlanta Jewish Connector (www.AtlantaJewishConnector.com). The Breman auditorium was transformed into an intimate jazz cafe for the concert Sunday, May 6. Foods from around the world and some delicious wines were served at the hour-long reception before the concert. Etkin’s album “Gathering Light” was inspired by his worldly travels and cultural experiences, which include tours of Indonesia, China, Japan, Israel and Europe. The music interweaves melodies and rhythms from those regions with Etkin’s fresh compositions, emanating an openness to discovery in the world, in himself and within his music. On “Gathering Light,” Etkin says, he dug deep, taking inspiration from the depths of the jazz tradition that he grew up with, the New Orleans roots that inspired him to play and ancient
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sources from around the world to create venturesome music that pushes the art form in new directions. In addition to Etkin on bass clarinet, clarinet and tenor saxophone, the
On the Town with Jen & Michal By Jen Evans and Michal Bonell jen@atljewishtimes.com band members featured at the Breman were Nir Felder on guitar, Marcos Varela on bass and Alverster Garnett on drums. Etkin also continues music education through a groundbreaking method of teaching called Timbalooloo, which he used to create an award-winning children’s CD, “Wake Up Clarinet!” His music has been featured on several compilation CDs, including the Grammy Award-winning “All About Bullies … Big and Small,” which includes two tracks composed and performed by Etkin. We had a group of six attend the
Oran Etkin leads a four-piece band that includes Nir Felder on guitar and Marcos Varela on bass.
The AJT entourage at the Molly Blank Concert Series show May 6 includes Brenda Gelfand (center) with Jen Evans (left) and Michal Bonell.
performance. We all were grateful to take part in the Breman’s Molly Blank Concert Series — “Celebrating Jewish contributions to music” — which concludes for 2018 with Theatrical Outfit’s tribute to Jewish composers Alan and Marilyn Bergman on Sunday, June 3. Our next outing is planned for the Candler Park Music & Food Festival on Friday and Saturday, June 1 and 2. This is the neighborhood festival’s 10th year, and it will include a food village,
an artist market, adult field games and a cocktail bar. General-admission tickets are $30; VIP tickets are $80 (candlerparkmusicfestival.com/tickets-2018). The festival takes place at 1500 McLendon Ave. Gates open at 4 p.m. June 1 and at noon June 2. The festival is an all-ages event. Children under the age of 12 who are accompanied by an adult ticketholder get in free. ■
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ARTS
Breman to Celebrate Streisand Songwriters What are you doing the rest of your life North and South and East and West of your life I have only one request of your life That you spend it all with me. Alan and Marilyn Bergman wrote the lyrics for the hauntingly beautiful “What Are You Doing the Rest of Your Life” for the 1969 film “The Happy Ending.” Today the film is all but forgotten, but the Bergmans’ words, with music by their frequent collaborator Michel LeGrand, live on. This year, as they celebrate their 60th wedding anniversary, Marilyn Bergman at 92 and Alan Bergman at 96 have one of the longest-running love affairs in Hollywood. While they might not be household names to most of us, we do know many of the hundreds of songs they’ve written that celebrate love and life. They have won three Academy Awards. The first was for “The Windmills of Your Mind” from the 1968 Steve McQueen/Faye Dunaway film, “The Thomas Crown Affair.” The second was for “The Way We Were,” the Barbra Streisand film of the same name in 1973, and, finally, they grabbed an important Oscar for the lyrics to the 10 songs in “Yentl,” Streisand’s 1983 masterwork and one of the most successful Hollywood films about Jewish life. The Breman Museum will celebrate the lives and works of the Bergmans at 5 p.m. Sunday, June 3, in the third and final show of the 2018 Molly Blank Concert Series: “The Way We Were,” a musical journey produced by Atlanta’s Theatrical Outfit. Alan and Marilyn Bergman were born in the same hospital in Brooklyn and grew up in the same sort of middleclass Jewish home, including piano lessons beginning at age 6 and mandatory visits to the Saturday afternoon Carnegie Hall children’s concerts of the New York Philharmonic. The strong influence of growing up Jewish in what was at the time the largest Jewish city in the world is something that Adam Koplan, who created the production for the Breman, has tried to emphasize. “The Bergmans themselves have credited the exodus narrative of all the Eastern European Jews coming from places in the Pale of Settlement to the kind of Brooklyn culture that was the crucible that forged them and their
lives,” Koplan said. But while Brooklyn Jewish life was a strong and formative influence, it was not until they each moved to Los Angeles in the 1950s that they finally met. They were writing lyrics for the same pop music composer — she in the morning, he in the afternoon — when they finally were introduced in 1956. They married two years later. Alan didn’t have the money for a ring, so he wrote her a song instead. It’s the only full song he has ever written without her. Through the years they’ve worked for just about all the music greats of our time, from Frank Sinatra and Tony Bennett to Fred Astaire and Ray Charles. They have created the theme music for two of Norman Lear’s biggest hits, “Happy Days” and “Maude,” and have been nominated for Oscars 16 times. Their longest-running and most successful partnership has been with Streisand, for whom they have written more than 60 songs, many of them favorites in her large repertoire. She paid tribute to them in a program presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, the home of the Oscars, in 2009. “Their lyrics are profound, poetic and very conversational,” Streisand said. “They have the most exquisite way of expressing affairs of the heart … with specifics and detailed observations that make it so easy for me, as an actress, to relate to.” The Bergmans returned the compliment. “When we write a song, we hear Barbra,” they said. “She makes the connection from the heart to the mind, and it emerges through her voice.” Streisand’s 2011 recording “What Matters Most” celebrated 20 of her favorite Bergman compositions in a twodisc deluxe edition. In Hollywood, where friendships and working relationships are often as disposable as a paper towel, the Bergmans’ relationships endure. As Theatrical Outfit’s Koplan said: “Everybody loves them. They seem, through four or five decades of public interviews, to have tremendous affection for each other. Barbra can’t stop gushing about them at every opportunity. Similarly with Quincy Jones, Michel Legrand and all their collaborators.” Marilyn Bergman once said that their compositions have been woven
Alan and Marilyn Bergman grew up in Jewish Brooklyn at the same time but didn’t meet until they were working in the music business in Los Angeles.
through the fabric of the lives of many people they have known. “People have told us,” she has said, “that they have married to ‘What Are You Doing With the Rest of Your Life,’ broke up with ‘Where Do You Start?’ and divorced with ‘The Way We Were.’” After more than six decades of creating beautiful music together for the world and for each other, they are still working on what they are doing for the rest of their lives. ■
What: “The Way We Were,” a tribute to Alan and Marilyn Bergman Who: Theatrical Outfit Where: Breman Museum, 1440 Spring St., Midtown When: Sunday, June 3, with a reception at 4 p.m. and the concert at 5 Tickets: $50 for Breman members, $60 for others, with discounts for students and young adults; www.thebreman. org or 678-222-3700
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MAY 25 ▪ 2018
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ARTS
Carter Presidency Epic Surprisingly Good By Michael Jacobs mjacobs@atljewishtimes.com I am no fan of Jimmy Carter’s. My father, a student of American history, has pounded home the idea that Carter was the worst U.S. president, and I led a yearlong campaign against Carter’s 2006 book, “Palestine Peace not Apartheid,” in the pages of this newspaper. Perhaps it’s no surprise that the man from Plains has steadfastly refused to be interviewed by anyone representing the AJT. It’s definitely no surprise that I was less than eager to open Atlanta native Stuart Eizenstat’s magnum opus about the Carter presidency, “President Carter: The White House Years.” So here’s a surprise: I enjoyed the book. It’s clearly, even entertainingly written and worth reading even if you’re not a Carter fan or a student of modern American history or political science. Eizenstat, who ran the policy operation for the 1976 Carter campaign and served as Carter’s chief domestic policy adviser, delivers the ultimate insider’seye view of the administration, To say “President Carter” is the definitive history of the administration is an understatement. Eizenstat took more than 5,000 pages of detailed notes from 1977 to 1981, recording ev-
ery meeting and every phone call, then conducted 350 interviews, including five with Carter. If anything, Eizenstat has too much information. Forty years later, some details — Vice President Walter Mondale considered resigning or not running again in 1980 — are more interesting and more important than others, such as the daily ebbs and flows of efforts to get votes behind an energy bill or the Panama Canal Treaty. I can only imagine what tedium was cut during the book’s four-decade path to publication. To his credit, Eizenstat organizes all those details into major themes rather than tell the story strictly chronologically. While a chronological narrative would have demonstrated the complexity of being president — imagine dealing with Ted Kennedy, Menachem Begin, Leonid Brezhnev and Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini at the same time — it would have made understanding it much more difficult. Instead, Eizenstat makes it easy to read about only the elements of the Carter administration that interest you. You can see how an emphasis on a more equitable relationship with Latin America resulted in Panama taking control of the canal. You can watch Kennedy’s shift from ally to enemy, largely over health care. You can study
the frustrations of a Washington outsider who tried to avoid having a chief of staff while also refusing to engage in D.C. politics. Among the half-dozen distinct narratives, two are crucial for anyone who cares about Israel and the Middle East. The first covers the Camp David Accords. Eizenstat is clear in his belief that Carter was essential to the peace treaty between Egypt and Israel, just as he’s clear that Carter made mistakes during and after the process, most significantly in his interpretation of what Begin promised about settlements. The second concerns Iran, from the shah’s decline and fall to the hostage crisis, including the botched rescue attempt. If nothing else, there’s an invaluable lesson about the importance of good intelligence. If you don’t like Carter, you’ll find yourself silently arguing with Eizenstat. Although he frequently points out presidential mistakes, they are almost always things that Carter ultimately overcame, as in the two-year fight to get Congress to enact an energy policy that Carter promised to deliver in three months. Eizenstat tends to downplay shortterm problems or present them as inevitable — no one could have avoided or better handled the toxic mix of high
President Carter: The White House Years By Stuart Eizenstat Thomas Dunne Books, 1,024 pages, $40
inflation and high unemployment, for example — while making questionable claims that Carter deserves credit for good things that happened years or even decades later, such as the fall of the Soviet empire. But at a time when rational political and historical debate seems impossible, it’s a good thing to find an intelligently written, fact-packed book with which to carry on a dialogue. You might not change your mind about anything, but you’ll be better informed the next time you get into an argument. ■
Eizenstat Shines Light on Carter’s Achievements By Michael Jacobs mjacobs@atljewishtimes.com
MAY 25 ▪ 2018
Stuart Eizenstat is tired of Jimmy Carter being called our greatest expresident — not because he disagrees about Carter’s accomplishments the past 37 years, but because that claim overshadows what he did in office from 1977 to 1981. The native Atlantan who served as Carter’s chief domestic policy adviser has produced a thousand-page book, “President Carter: The White House Years,” to set the record straight on the credit his ex-boss deserves for Middle East peace (40 years without a violation of the Egypt-Israel treaty), Latin American democracy, the doubling of national parklands, the release of Soviet refuseniks and arms control, to name just a few. “It’s hard for people to appreciate and to trace that line between something you did that didn’t immediately 24 pay off in office and one that had a
long-term tail effect in a positive way,” Eizenstat said in a phone interview. “I felt it was time to end this sort of onedimensional caricature of someone who was a failed president.” He said his candor in reporting on Carter’s mistakes — many reflecting his election as an outsider determined to clean up Washington after the Watergate scandal, such as his refusal to mix politics and policy — gives the book credibility and thus supports his assertion that Carter was an excellent president, especially considering that he had only one term to establish a legacy. “A president should be judged on what he did and what long-term impact he had,” Eizenstat said. That impact includes people as well as policies, and Eizenstat touches on the president’s role in elevating future stars, including Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer. More important, he shows us how Carter:
• Underused a political genius, Ham Jordan, who comes in and out of the story “because he did come in and out. He was not a part of policymaking,” Eizenstat said. He counted Jordan, who secretly was halachically Jewish, among the champions of Israel in the administration. “This was Ham as he was. I included everything I could about him.” • Saw an early ally, Ted Kennedy, torpedo both their presidential dreams with a primary challenge that carried on to the Democratic convention largely because the United States didn’t veto an anti-Israel U.N. resolution right before the New York primary, a result of Carter’s mistaken belief that Jerusalem wasn’t included. “We saw campaign workers streaming out after the resolution vote,” Eizenstat said. Still, it was Iran that sank Carter, Eizenstat said, and he hopes a deeper understanding of what happened will help him, such as the revelation that
Photo by Brian Nemiroff
Stuart Eizenstat has spent four decades, on and off, working on “President Carter.”
bending visa rules saved tens of thousands of Jews from being sent back to Iran. He said Carter probably couldn’t have saved the shah, but he was right to try to keep him out of the United States. He said Carter should have considered mining Iranian harbors and shouldn’t have promised the families that no harm would come to the hostages. Most important, Eizenstat said, Carter shouldn’t have made his administration a hostage to the crisis, including canceling a Chicago campaign appearance to fly back to Washington in a final, hopeless bid to free the hostages the weekend before the election. ■
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BUSINESS One of Atlanta’s most popular independent bagel shops has closed, although it might not be gone forever. Bagel Palace ended its 25-year run in the Toco Hill Shopping Center at 4 p.m. Sunday, May 20. The eatery was packed with customers seeking a final dozen bagels after the owners announced the closure in a Facebook post at 8:22 p.m. Saturday, just before the start of Shavuot. “We never thought it would end this way when we began a new episode in our lives upon moving to Atlanta, 25 years ago,” Bagel Palace’s owners wrote. “With the current rent, under the new landlord, it was impossible to stay.” Edens has managed the shopping center since signing a 35-year lease in late 2015, Tomorrow’s News Today reported. Bagel Palace has faced increased competition for the breakfast crowd in recent years, with Goldberg’s opening at the other end of the sprawling, twoshopping-center at LaVista and North Druid Hills roads and Spiller Park Coffee opening nearby. It was the consistency and the New York feel that kept customers coming
back, according to the Facebook comments, even though it was not kosher in an increasingly Orthodox community. The owners told fans in the comments that they are “looking very close by” for a new location. “We have been blessed to meet so many wonderful people that have come through our doors,” Bagel Palace’s Sue and Joe and Robin and Manny posted. “So many of you have become our friends and family and shared many important events in our lives as we’ve shared yours.”
GreenSky Targets $23 Share Price
Sandy Springs-based, Jewish-led financial technology business GreenSky could raise almost $902 million through its initial public offering, according to an updated S-1 form it filed with the federal Securities and Exchange Commission on Monday, May 14. According to the filing, GreenSky Inc. intends to issue 34,090,909 shares of stock — with an additional 5,113,636 shares available to the underwriters if they choose to exercise their options
GreenSky CEO David Zalik
within 30 days of the offering — at a price expected to be between $21 and $23 per share. If all 39,204,545 shares are sold at $23 each, the total sales price will be $901.7 million, just shy of the $1 billion estimate issued by analyst firm Renaissance Capital after GreenSky’s initial filing April 27. Without the underwriter options, the total offering will still be above $700 million if the stock hits its target range. The Wall Street Journal reported that the market value for GreenSky, if the stock goes for $22 a share, would be $4.2 billion, up from a $3.6 billion valuation when it accepted a $35 million investment in September 2016. GreenSky’s founder and CEO is Sandy Springs resident and Jewish community member David Zalik, an Israeli native who grew up in Alabama
and has been a serial entrepreneur since he was a teenager attending Auburn University. He still owns about half the company, which makes quickdecision online loans for people contracting for home improvement projects, optional medical care, veterinary surgery and other purchases that force consumers to take on debt. At that $22 price, GreenSky expects net proceeds of $701.4 million ($807.1 million if the underwriters exercise their options), with the most of that money being used to buy shares in GreenSky Holdings, which manages the actual lending business, from Zalik, other officers and directors, and other investors. GreenSky Inc. will be a holding company wholly invested in GreenSky Holdings.
Hertz Honored, Elected
United Distributors CEO Doug Hertz made the cover of the May issue of Georgia Trend magazine as its 2018 Most Respected Business Leader. The magazine cited the Temple member’s philanthropy and civic involvement as well as his business acumen. Hertz was elected secretary of the Georgia Historical Society’s board of curators Thursday, May 17.
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MAY 25 ▪ 2018
Bagel Palace Closes
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OBITUARIES
Generations of Stories Carry Us Through
MAY 25 ▪ 2018
Life is great. Life is also sometimes difficult and filled with challenges. Yet there are no problems, only opportunities — that’s what I work on telling myself and my children. It’s also true that there is real pain and sadness. Troubles and sorrows. Suffering is what happens when we don’t work through the agony, when we cannot or will not find meaning in the pain. A year ago our community suffered a loss so great that it was a struggle to find any context or comfort. A dear man, Ronen Shacham, a loving husband and doting father, died from a brain aneurysm, leaving behind his wife, Zoe, two sons, Ari and Lev, and our entire intown community. Personally, I felt a sense of déjà vu because my friend Rashi Minkowicz died three years earlier in an eerily similar way. The shock and pain of this tragedy were not minimized. If anything, the reality hit like a bolt, and the anguish for what I knew the family would face was very real. A few weeks after Ronen’s sudden death, I heard about ELI Talks, a Jewish idea-sharing platform like TED Talks. ELI Talks was going to film in Atlanta in conjunction with the Jewish Federation of Greater Atlanta and the Breman Museum. I was intrigued, and as I watched many of the videos online, I was further curious. There were so many varying angles of people’s understanding of the Torah text, I wondered whether I could contribute my voice and passion for Torah through the lens of Jewish mysticism. Serendipitously, that week we had Shabbat dinner with Federation CEO Eric Robbins, and he graciously made the introduction between myself and Mary from ELI Talks, who was taking applications for the Atlanta fellowship. Ronen, his family and our community were on my mind. I was thinking a lot about how and if I could truly find meaning within my own hardships and family tragedies. I knew that when I could, it was not about someone saying something pat or profound in the moment or having one big idea to fall back on. It was a slow process filled with subliminal stimulus to the psyche. When we are in pain, we are not thinking clearly, so sparks of meaning 26 and solace come in waves of under-
standing and moments of reflection. But where does one draw from to acquire this understanding and reflection? What is the seed for the inner voice of acceptance and comfort? Everything I thought about led me to the stories I knew — not ideas or concepts, but stories.
Guest Column By Dena Schusterman
Stories I had been told by my father as a child, stories that I had heard from others or stories that I read on my own. Jewish stories. Unsanitized, authentic Jewish classics. From the Torah. From the Talmud. From the treasure-trove of Hasidic tales. Stories about men and women. Sephardic and Ashkenazic in origin. Stories about my own family’s struggles and triumphs over the past century. I was slightly late to apply for the Atlanta ELI cohort, but my application was accepted with its proposition about Jewish storytelling as a means “to build a muscle memory of faith and resilience.” I was prepared to join 14 others for the Atlanta production of ELI Talks. (See the result at elitalks. org/dena.) I started with preconceived notions of storytelling, but it wasn’t until my ideas were fleshed out and nurtured through the kind and thoughtful professionals at ELI Talks that sense was made. They encouraged me to find sources, personal stories and Torah texts to support my thoughts. A few years ago our family was in New York for my husband’s sister’s wedding on a Sunday evening. We arrived on Thursday night, anticipating a Shabbat with extended family. On Shabbat afternoon my maternal grandmother died. My sadness was compounded by the guilt at having not visited her earlier in the day while she was alive. On Sunday afternoon we left the children with a babysitter to get ready for the wedding while my husband and I went to my grandmother’s funeral. My husband left the funeral immediately after the service to be with the children at the wedding, while I remained at the cemetery with my parents and siblings. When I came back from the funeral, I got dressed quickly, reflect-
ing on the fact that having my makeup and hair done professionally was truly superficial, and I would celebrate just as well. I got to the wedding after the chuppah was over, and immediately I could tell that something was wrong. My children’s grief-stricken faces were only slightly better than my husband’s pall. What they finally told me, in hushed tones, was that my husband’s first cousin had been killed two hours earlier in a water accident. My two young teenagers understood that we were at a wedding and that the bride and groom could not find out what had happened to the bride’s first cousin, so we sat in our corner, crying and whispering. There were many such collections of relatives dispersed throughout the wedding hall. I also knew I needed to ask my children to be strong. They needed to be able to wipe the grief and confusion from their faces for the next few hours because we were at a wedding, and we were required to display happiness and even pick up our feet to dance. Not because we weren’t in a lot of pain and not because we were trying to squelch our feelings, but because our purpose was to make the bride and groom happy on their special day, far removed from the reality of the tragedy. My children amazed me. Their strength of character shone through as we all wiped our faces clean and danced the night away. The bride never knew that anything was amiss until the next day, when we all mourned with our cousins appropriately. In my own sadness and confusion from that long and difficult weekend, I was present enough to smile for the bride only because I had context. I had my own story. When I was 18, I went from the funeral of the Lubavitcher Rebbe to the wedding of my first cousin. No one in my extended family was in the mood to be at a wedding, but tradition told us that when you have a bride and groom waiting to be wed, you do not push off the wedding, so you celebrate. And you dance. I believe that my children’s conviction and ability to compartmentalize, to find import in their moment of pain that wedding night, came from their own integration of the stories we had told them. This ability was being passed from generation to generation. The stories my father had told me built a muscle memory of faith
and resilience, and now the same had happened for my children. It says in Exodus, “V’higadita l’vincha” — “and you should tell it over to your children.” A literal biblical commandment to tell our stories. Traditionally, we tell stories to entertain, to appease, to convey a message, to mind-travel, and to understand the precepts of goodness and kindness, troubles and sorrow. Each Jewish tale tells us something about how G-d is manifest in the world. Overtly through miracles or in the nuanced, small details. Emory University’s Marshall Duke researched family storytelling, and his astonishing conclusion is that the more children know about their family’s history, the higher their selfesteem and overall emotional health and happiness. While I did not do any scientific research to come to my conclusions, I believe that telling our collective Jewish stories has this same effect. We learn from our “personal” (Abraham was our father and Sarah was our mother) stories about how someone walked these difficult steps before us and came out whole on the other end. “You too can get through this difficulty, you’ve got this.” When Zoe Shacham told her sons that their Aba had died, Ari, age 5, asked if he would get a new aba. Zoe told him, “There will never be another Aba, but he lives in our hearts and in our minds all the time, forever. And he loved you so much. He will always be with you.” “Like Hashem?” Ari asked. “Yes, exactly like that,” Zoe said. (You can donate to a memorial fund for the family at www.youcaring. com/zoeariandlevshacham-845434.) Stories about Chanukah, Purim and the Exodus give a young child this kind of undiluted faith. And this is the faith that helps even a child find meaning and hope amid the great pain. It is my belief that we all have one Aba, one Father in heaven, and He loves us, He is always there for us, and He, even in times of great distress, is our source of comfort. ■ Dena Schusterman is a founder of Chabad Intown, a Jewish educator, and a founding director of the Intown Jewish Preschool and the Intown Hebrew School. She and her husband, Rabbi Eliyahu Schusterman, are native Californians living in Atlanta for two decades with their eight children.
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OBITUARIES
David Benda
Sheldon Moss
David Benda of Atlanta passed away Monday, May 21, 2018, at the age of 94 , after a long illness. Best described as loving and dedicated to his family, David was intelligent, independent, a true leader professionally and in the community, logical, organized, generous, and righteous. Throughout his entire life, he beat the odds, fighting to survive and to thrive, yet always playing by the rules. David was born in Breslau, Germany, living through and witnessing firsthand the horrors the Nazis inflicted upon the Jewish population, including Kristallnacht. He was able to escape the Nazi regime during deportation to a work camp and soon managed to find his way to Baltimore, thanks to a Jewish relief agency that sponsored displaced children. While a student at Johns Hopkins University, he became an American citizen and enlisted in the U.S. Army, serving during World War II in the Pacific theater, where he worked as an official photographer for Gen. Douglas MacArthur and as a combat soldier. After the war, David went to Chicago to study electrical engineering at Illinois Institute of Technology. It was there that he met the love of his life, Zena Zeman, whom he soon married and with whom he started and raised his family. After completing college, David and Zena moved to Geneva, N.Y., where he became one of the true pioneers of the then-infant-stage color television industry, working for Sylvania (now Philips/Magnavox), heading up its research and design team for color television. His inventions led to 24 patents, including the first color television picture tube and the “instant on” feature. In addition to television innovation, his research team led to the growth of commercial air travel by converting radar signals from planes to video screens for tracking by controllers and developed a lightweight rocket fuel that enabled space travel to achieve faraway distances never reached before. In addition to professional acclaim, he became extremely active in Upstate New York’s Finger Lakes region. He would not join an organization, club or other group without becoming its leader, as his organizational and leadership skills were recognized and desired by many. He served as the president of Temple BethEl in Geneva, served five terms as the president of the Seneca Falls Country Club, served as the board chair of the Finger Lakes Regional Hospital Authority, was a 33rd degree Mason and Shrine Club leader, served as the president of the Finger Lakes Investment Club, was the chair of the United Jewish Appeal campaign and ran adult athletic leagues. Upon retirement, David and Zena moved to Atlanta to be near family, most notably his two grandsons. But not being content with retirement, David soon became extremely involved as a leader in numerous organizations, serving as a vice president and board member at Ahavath Achim Synagogue for nearly two decades and as a trustee for life of the Epstein School, where he was instrumental in the expansion and construction of its middle school. He was active in the AtlantaIsrael Chamber of Commerce, served as founding co-president, along with Zena, of the Soleil Chapter of B’nai B’rith, and served as an official mentor and adviser to technology companies in the Atlanta area. Without any doubt, however, his crowning achievements were his success at serving as a role model for the love and guidance he shared with family, his hard work and study, his living a devout Jewish life full of spirit and observance of the Sabbath and holidays, his sense of humor, and his dedication to education and charitable causes. David and Zena (Zee) Benda were married for 56 years and were an example of true love and partnership until she predeceased him in 2004. David is survived by daughter Gail Benda of Dana Point, Calif.; son Gerald (Jerry) Benda of Atlanta; grandsons Eric Benda and Darren Benda, both of Atlanta; daughter-in-law Faith L. Benda of Atlanta; and by niece Mara Zeman and several cousins. David’s family wishes to extend heartfelt thanks, appreciation and love to his caregivers, who labored tirelessly the past five years: Mary Hines, Sandra McWillis, Patricia Williams and Pauline Thom. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations in David Benda’s memory be made to the David and Zena Benda Building Improvement Fund at Ahavath Achim Synagogue or to the Epstein School. Arrangements by Dressler’s Jewish Funeral Care, 770-451-4999.
Sheldon Wayne Moss, age 69, of Alpharetta died Sunday, May 20, 2018. A native of Jacksonville, Fla., Mr. Moss relocated to Atlanta in 1984. He enjoyed a lengthy and successful career as an independent sales and marketing agent and consultant. He was a member of Congregation Gesher L’Torah. Mr. Moss is survived by his wife, Elyne; daughter Robin (Perry) Brannen; daughter-in-law Angie Gora; brother Frank (Arlene) Moss; sister Rosanne (Andy) Kauss; and grandchildren Jordan and Rebecca Brannen and Savannah and Shayna Gora. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the American Cancer Society or the charity of your choice. The funeral was held Tuesday, May 22, at Arlington Memorial Park in Sandy Springs. Arrangements by Dressler’s Jewish Funeral Care, 770-451-4999.
69, Alpharetta
Death Notices
Irv Greenstein, 91, of Cincinnati, father of Temple Sinai members Marla Hoppenfeld and Jana Tessler and of Doug Greenstein, on May 17. Harriet Jaffe, 69, of Atlanta on May 18. Risa Saffran, 77, of Marietta on May 19. Henry Steinberg, 69, of Augusta, son of Mary Steinberg and brother of Stephen Steinberg, Barry Steinberg and Temple Sinai member Lynn Redd, on May 15.
Obituaries in the AJT are written and paid for by the families; contact Associate Publisher Kaylene Ladinsky at kaylene@atljewishtimes.com or 404-883-2130, ext. 100, for details about submission, rates and payments. Death notices, which provide basic details, are free and run as space is available; send submissions to editor@ atljewishtimes.com.
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BRAIN FOOD
“HARDWOOD WORDS”
ACROSS
By Yoni Glatt, koshercrosswords@gmail.com Difficulty Level: Challenging 1
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1. King David and King George; abbr. 4. Draw in 10. Quintet in “Hamlet” 14. Have a mortgage, e.g. 15. Brie or Gary 16. Streetcar, in Liverpool 17. Observing the mitzvot of pe’ah and leket, perhaps? 19. Like a Hasmonean coin 20. “Let ___” 21. The Mexican sun 22. Sad work by Yirmiyahu 23. Aspire laptops, e.g. 25. Arthur Miller? 28. Hollers 30. Indian Boudreau 31. “___-wee’s Playhouse” 32. Black, Red or Yellow 33. “Curious George” writer 34. What Owens captured in Berlin? 35. Middle of the Sanhedrin? 38. “Beowulf” and others 40. Fly by Green or Greenberg, for short 41. Diagnostic scan, for short 42. Jewish sch. in Riverdale, N.Y. 43. Krypton, for one 44. Bavli and Yerushalmi
48. Gush Katif and the Sinai? 51. Buffalo athlete 52. George of literature 53. Paper and pencil game winner 55. It may be checked 56. Bona ___ 57. Ends of 17 Tammuz and 9 Av? 60. In a bit, in a poem 61. Singer Krauss 62. Indy driver Fabi 63. Not quite a jock 64. David Irving or Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, e.g. 65. Fig. in identity theft
12. Jordan, once 13. Bad-mouthed 18. Slow primates 22. Flightless Aussie 24. Perceived 26. Knighted Guinness 27. Big name among cello virtuosos 29. Moshe who was president of Israel 33. Jewish sem. in Wyncote, Pa. 34. Anguished expression 35. Hallway 36. Simplicity 37. Some links 38. Gloria or Emilio 39. Critic Kael 43. Fetched DOWN 44. 2005 best foreign film 1. Vergara and Coppola from South Africa 2. Sharp movement 45. Some WWII crafts 3. “If I Had a Hammer” 46. Devil Dogs maker composer 47. Assails 4. Former times, poetically 49. ___ in sight 5. Noodges 50. It’s in the bag, on the 6. Golani members 7. “That ___” (closing words) mound 54. An English horn is lower 8. Klink’s rank, for short 9. Ends of Sivan and Chesh- than it 57. Fidget spinners, e.g. van? 58. Not a lager 10. Parts of hearts 59. Vacation letters 11. Loon
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25 Years Ago // May 21, 1993 ■ New Israeli Consul General Arye Mekel says Israel at age 45 is ready for a more mature relationship with the American Jewish community. Mekel arrived
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10 Years Ago // May 23, 2008 ■ Camp Barney Medintz has to move all water activities this summer to Lake Louis after the water drained from Lake Wendy through a damaged dam. The trouble started May 13 when caretakers discovered mud flowing from the 53-year-old lake through an underground conduit pipe that was deteriorating. A 40-foot hole formed in the dam, and the 26-acre lake was empty within 14 hours. Engineers are designing a new dam so the lake will be ready for summer 2009. ■ Robert and Shana Amar of Gainesville, Fla., announce the birth of a son, Evan Joseph, on March 2.
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in Atlanta on April 22 to succeed Alon Liel, who became the ambassador to South Africa. The 47-year-old former director general of the Israel Broadcasting Authority says economics is a good place to start, with American Jews investing in Israeli companies or importing Israeli products. ■ The bar mitzvah ceremony of Alexander Chase Deitch of Atlanta, son of Susan Chase Wasserman and Gilbert H. Deitch, was held Saturday, May 1, at Temple Sinai. 50 Years Ago // May 24, 1968 ■ The Atlanta Jewish Welfare Federation has extended its annual campaign by two weeks in the hope of passing the $2 million mark in total contributions for the year, general campaign chairman Marvin Goldstein has announced. As of May 20, the regular campaign has raised $980,000, compared with a goal of $1.11 million, and the emergency campaign for Israel has brought in $820,000. In addition, almost $160,000 remains outstanding from last year’s pledges. ■ Mr. and Mrs. Meyer Goldstein of Atlanta announce the engagement of daughter Lisa Goldstein to Steve Zaritsky, son of Mr. and Mrs. Herman Zaritsky of Tampa, Fla. Wedding plans will be announced.
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Imagine World Change Rosh Chodesh Sivan began Tuesday, May 15. During Sivan, we celebrate the wheat harvest in Israel and observe Shavuot, with all-night Torah study, dairy food and the reading of the Book of Ruth. This month’s powerful new moon is in Taurus, which Uranus entered for the first time since June 1934. This points to many changes ahead. Astrologers suggest that unexpected things will occur, with greater revelations forthcoming. During Sivan we turn our awareness to the layers in the universe. We’re at the middle realm on Earth, striving to express the yetzer tov, or inclination to goodness. Then there’s the lowest level, containing the negative vibration of the yetzer hara, the inclination to evil. The astrologers are urging us to slow down and be mindful of the changes in the world. Our best defense is to remain present and flexible, accepting these changes. Apparently, we’re on the verge of such transformation that the world will operate as it never has before, much like when we entered the technology era. We couldn’t imagine life the way it is now. Cellphones weren’t a thing, but now, who can be without one? Smart houses are real. According to a New York astrologer, Uranus rules “the Internet, television, radio, social media, progressive ideals, human rights and the field of astrology itself.” The traditional ways are set to become relics of the past. The lyrics of the John Lennon song “Imagine” keep swirling in my head. Imagine there’s no heaven It’s easy if you try No hell below us Above us only sky Imagine all the people living for today Imagine there’s no countries It isn’t hard to do Nothing to kill or die for And no religion too Imagine all the people living life in peace You may say I’m a dreamer But I’m not the only one I hope someday you’ll join us And the world will be as one Imagine no possessions I wonder if you can No need for greed or hunger
A brotherhood of man. Sivan’s layers are referenced here as heaven above and hell below, with the people in the middle, living peacefully. As Jews, we can easily imagine no heaven and no hell, but peace? That’s a difficult one.
Nominate Jewish Atlanta’s 18 Under 18! We invite members of the community to nominate those under the age of 18 who they believe are Jewish Atlanta’s rising leaders in academics, religious and family life, as well as community action.
New Moon Meditations
A NEW DE
AL? Meet the five leadin g Republi in the rac cans e to keep a GOP governor in Georgia . Pages 30 -34
Dr. Terry Segal tsegal@atljewishtimes.com
VOL. XC
Also, no religion? If anything, I find it imperative to connect with our Judaism more than ever. Its ancient wisdom goes beyond religion and encompasses psychology, sociology, astrology, numerology and sacred geometry, right down to the double inverted triangles that make up the Star of David. Our task during Sivan is to embrace the divine and make it manifest on Earth. How do we do that? One astrologer echoed that we must “slow down and pay attention. It’s not a good time to zip around.” I laughed out loud at that because I recently sustained an injury when I slipped on wet grass during one of those storms. I’ve been crutching along in a boot, unable to zip around, which has definitely slowed me down. According to the Book of Formation, Sivan is associated with the sense of walking, with the left foot being the controlling limb. It’s my left foot that’s healing, which is the feminine side of our circuitry. Women are in the news, finally being heard and having a leg to stand on. The #MeToo movement has gathered its forces and is moving forward. Maybe some justice being served is one way to see G-d manifest in earthly issues. We seem to be in a period of re-examination of everything that gets our time and attention. We’re being called to stop running around and unconsciously doing what we’ve always done out of habit. It’s time to consciously focus on what matters to us, accept change and adjust accordingly. Meditation focus: Quiet yourself and consider what gets your energy. Do these things feed your soul, or are they forced? If you were a dreamer, what would you imagine a changed world would look like for you? ■
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A nominee must be Jewish, at least 10 years old and must not have turned 18 before July 25, 2018. You can nominate yourself, a friend, student or your child - anyone who meets the criteria. Nominees are judged on their academic and community achievements as an active member of Jewish Atlanta.
The deadline for nominations is Sunday, July 1, 2018. Please visit atlantajewishtimes.com/18-under-18/ for more information
MAY 25 ▪ 2018
CLOSING THOUGHTS
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MAY 25 â–ª 2018