WWII TRAVELS
KSU’s “Georgia Journeys” exhibit makes the war and Holocaust personal. Page 20
VETERANS DAY WWI TRUCE
The opera “Silent Night” finds a moment of peace in the horrors of war. Page 21
MAIL CALL
The Packaged Good and Love Notery organize card creation for the troops. Page 22
Atlanta VOL. XCI NO. 44
WWW.ATLANTAJEWISHTIMES.COM NOVEMBER 11, 2016 | 10 CHESHVAN 5777
Trumping Expectations: U.S., Georgia Are With Him Donald Trump overcame poll deficits and claims of anti-Semitic tropes in his closing campaign ads to win a presidential election Nov. 8 he had repeatedly claimed was rigged in favor of his Democratic opponent, Hillary Clinton. At 2:47 a.m., Trump — a man with Jewish in-laws, a Jewish daughter and Jewish grandchildren — made his first appearance as president-elect. “Mazel tov” was shouted from the crowd. He said the nation owes Clinton gratitude, and he vowed to be the president for all Americans and asked those who opposed him to offer guidance and help. “I promise you that I will not let you down,” Trump said. “I will do a great job.” With the exception of Virginia, Trump swept the South, including battlegrounds Florida and North Carolina. The insurgent Republican also captured Ohio and Pennsylvania and led throughout the night in Michigan before Wisconsin put him over the top in the Electoral College. Clinton did eke out a win in the popular vote but fell well short of a majority. Trump won Georgia with the lowest percentage for a Republican in 20 years. While the breakdown of presidential votes within Georgia was surprising — Republican strongholds Cobb and Gwinnett counties went to Clinton — most of the state’s results met expectations. Republican Johnny Isakson cruised
U.N. POLITICS
Ambassador Danny Danon, in Atlanta for an Israel Bonds dinner honoring Norman Radow, explains his optimism about Israel’s struggles at the United Nations. Page 8
Photo by Jacqueline Morris
(From left) Jenn Stokes, Felicia Schall Levin, Michelle Chelmer, Gilad Moyal and Dave Levin are among the young professionals watching the early returns at the Election Night party held by American Jewish Committee Atlanta’s ACCESS group at Jefe’s Tacos & Tequila in Brookhaven.
to re-election to the U.S. Senate with more than 55 percent of the vote against Democrat Jim Barksdale and Libertarian Allen Buckley. The GOP retained control of both chambers of Congress. All 13 U.S. House incumbents on the ballot won re-election, including Lithonia Democrat Hank Johnson, whose comments about Israel in July didn’t stop him from getting 76 percent support against Republican Victor Armendariz. In the race to replace retiring Rep. Lynn Westmoreland, Drew Ferguson beat Angela Pendley to keep the seat Republican. Few state legislators faced strong challenges. One who did, Democrat Taylor Bennett, lost by 315 votes (roughly 1.4 per-
REMEMBER PARIS
Pope High School junior Ellie Coe and the World Solidarity Club are holding a benefit concert on the first anniversary of the terrorist attacks that killed 130 last year. Page 23
cent) to Republican Meagan Hanson for the Brookhaven-Sandy Springs seat that belonged to Mike Jacobs until last year. Three of the four proposed constitutional amendments won easy approval: Amendment 2 (83 percent voting yes), providing secure funding sources to support victims of sex trafficking; Amendment 3 (63 percent yes), putting the commission that oversees judicial behavior and ethics under the control of the General Assembly; and Amendment 4 (81 percent yes), assigning taxes from the sale of fireworks to trauma care and public safety. But more than 60 percent voted against Amendment 1, Gov. Nathan Deal’s proposal to create an Opportunity School
District composed of individual schools deemed to persistently fail their students. Scores of representatives of Atlantaarea Reform congregations, including rabbis from The Temple, Temple Sinai and Temple Kol Emeth, spent Election Day at polling places in Macon-Bibb County, greeting voters, offering help and remaining alert for any problems. “The day went pretty easily. I wouldn’t say it was boring, but it was almost boring,” said Kol Emeth Rabbi Erin Boxt, who was stationed with the congregation’s youth director, Ezra Flom. Most of the voters they met were happy they were there, Rabbi Boxt said. The poll-watching effort was part of the Nitzavim initiative of the Reform movement’s Religious Action Center, conducted in cooperation with the NAACP, the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under the Law and others, and it marked the kind of Jewish re-engagement with civil rights that Jewish Council for Public Affairs CEO David Bernstein called for during a visit to Atlanta (see Page 19). Rabbi Boxt said it was interesting that at the end of the day at the church where the volunteers had received training, “there was a woman in a hijab and a gentleman in dreads and then a guy in a yarmulke, all standing next to each other discussing what they had experienced at their particular spots.” ■
INSIDE Calendar �����������������������������������4 Candle Lighting ����������������������4 Israel News ������������������������������6 Opinion ����������������������������������10 Local News ����������������������������� 15 Education �������������������������������23
Home ������������������������������������� 24 Business �������������������������������� 26 Obituaries ������������������������������27 Marketplace ��������������������������28 Arts ����������������������������������������� 29 Crossword ������������������������������ 31
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MA TOVU
Journey Going Forward good of the community and humanity — and, often more specifically, people devoted to faith in G-d and Torah. As I write this, my challah dough is rising, and my preschooler is next to me, falling asleep across two dining room chairs. Soon I will braid the loaves, which will be served at our Shabbat meals to family and guests.
Hand of Hashem By Mindy Rubenstein editor@nishei.org
It has been about 10 years since I made my first challahs. Though I sometimes hesitate to take on this mitzvah each week, afterward I feel such contentment and wholeness. In thinking more about it, I realize that this mitzvah uses all my senses. I mix the ingredients, let the dough rise, say the blessings before separating a symbolic piece of dough, braid the loaves and bake them, the aroma filling the house. The blessing said on the separated piece of dough, which I read from a laminated card on my fridge, talks about, among other things, becoming imbued with holiness, the spiritual influence of challah enabling our children to be sustained by the hands of G-d — and asking for His compassion to keep me from sorrow and pain. Sometimes when I read it, I hardly pay attention as my house swirls with the noise from my children and my head is filled with chatter. Other times, I catch myself being moved by these powerful words. How awesome these blessings could be if I would fully connect with them. This week’s Torah portion is Lech Lecha, which means to go forward. It is the same root as halacha, which I had assumed met a rigid set of rules. However, it’s the opposite. The wisdom and words of the Torah are meant to go forward with us, through time, through our individual and collective lives. As a friend said recently, “Torah is like good wine; it gets better with age.” Life is a journey, a process of discovering, connecting, drifting and reconnecting with G-d. It’s also about growing and going forward as a writer tasked with sharing a message I don’t always internalize myself. This continues to be both a blessing and burden. But maybe that’s the point. ■
NOVEMBER 11 ▪ 2016
I’m a writer, which is something I didn’t necessarily choose or even appreciate early on. It grew in part from a sense of dissatisfaction and searching. Now I feel the emptiness that comes from not writing and the explosion of fulfillment after getting my thoughts out, the words and sentences and paragraphs coming together to create a sentiment or idea that didn’t exist before. This process serves not only to clarify my own discoveries, but also, I hope, somehow to enhance the lives of others and bring a bit of light into the world. As a child, I would sit on my bedroom floor and fill notebooks and random pieces of paper I found around the house. There’s a story about me, age 3 or 4, finding a pen but no paper and expressing my unrefined creativity on a yellow leather 1970s chair. That chair, ink stains and all, remained there until it was reupholstered many years later. As an adult, I write for my parnassah, the Hebrew term for livelihood. During my years as a stay-at-home mom and for several years prior, I have written for various magazines, websites and newspapers. Sometimes I tell my own story; other times I help tell the stories of others. Sometimes people are thrilled to share their thoughts on what I’m writing about. Other times they’re not, or they’re simply just busy. In emailing an editor recently to tell her I was feeling frustrated, she reminded me of journalism’s challenges and why people do it. Later that week I received my own reminder. During one interview, I felt moved to tears. This mom had all but given up her Judaism, only to meet a Chabad rabbi and rebbetzin who were beaming with joy and love, welcoming this skeptical woman with open arms and open hearts into a world of Judaism many never experience. Years after the woman’s initial connection with this couple, she credits them with saving her life and those of her children, who went on to receive Jewish educations and to live proudly as Jews. Hers was part of a larger story about some special people doing important work. My role was to capture her words and feelings and those of the other interviewees and lace them into a larger story. Invariably, the articles I write are about people working for the greater
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Infertility support. The Jewish Fertility Foundation’s Wo/Men’s Infertility Support Havurah resumes monthly meetings with a kosher wine tasting at 6 p.m. at MACoM, 700-A Mount Vernon Highway, Sandy Springs. Free; RSVP at www.jewishfertilityfoundation.org. Book Festival. Peter Bergen (“United States of Jihad”) appears with Bill Nigut at 7:30 p.m. at the Marcus JCC, 5342 Tilly Mill Road, Dunwoody. Tickets are $18 for JCC members, $24 for others; www. atlantajcc.org/bookfestival or 678-8124005. Jewish ethics. The Intown Jewish Academy, 928 Ponce de Leon Ave., explores the Jewish responses to modern moral and ethical issues in society, business and medicine during a three-week course starting at 8 p.m. The fee is $25; www.intownjewishacademy.org or 404-898-0434.
FRIDAY, NOV. 11
Veterans Day observance. The Marcus JCC, 5342 Tilly Mill Road, and the Weinstein School hold a morning of songs and prayers to honor veterans of all faiths at 10 a.m. Free; rabbi.glusman@ atlantajcc.org or 678-812-4161. Mah-jongg. The Metulla Group of Hadassah Greater Atlanta sponsors a tournament, benefitting Alzheimer’s and neurological research, at 10 a.m. at St. Marlo Country Club, 7755 St. Marlo Country Club Parkway, Duluth. The cost is $40, including lunch; 404-6678831 (Barbara Lang). Book Festival. Ellen Feldman (“Terrible Virtue”) and Jennifer S. Brown (“Modern Girls”) join Anjeli Enjeti at noon at the Marcus JCC, 5342 Tilly Mill Road, Dunwoody. Tickets are $10 for JCC members, $15 for others; www.atlantajcc.org/bookfestival or 678-812-4005.
CANDLE-LIGHTING TIMES
Lech Lecha Friday, Nov. 11, light candles at 5:18 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 12, Shabbat ends at 6:14 p.m. Vayera Friday, Nov. 18, light candles at 5:14 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 19, Shabbat ends at 6:11 p.m. Sushi, sake, spirituality. Jump-start your Shabbat with Chabad of Cobb’s monthly Carlebach Kabbalat Shabbat at 5:20 p.m. at 4450 Lower Roswell Road, East Cobb. Free; 770-565-4412.
SATURDAY, NOV. 12
Food truck fundraiser. Second Helpings Atlanta holds its first Taste of the Trucks event — featuring more than 15 food trucks, an arts and crafts market, inflatables, games, live music, and youth community service projects — from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. in the fields at the Concourse, near the King and Queen buildings at 11 Concourse Parkway, Sandy Springs. Admission is $5 in advance or $10 at the door; www.freshtix. com/events/taste-of-the-trucks. Kiddush block party. The Shabbos Project brings an outdoor luncheon to Congregation Beth Jacob, 1855 LaVista Road, Toco Hills, at 11:30 a.m. Free; RSVP encouraged but not required at www.shabbatblockparty.com. Parents night out. Congregation Or Hadash, 7460 Trowbridge Road, Sandy Springs, offers camp-style fun and snacks for children 4 and older from 6 to 10 p.m., allowing parents to go out or join an off-site group activity. The cost is $36 for up to two children and $5 for each extra child; bit.ly/pnocampedition. Film screening. The Book Festival of the Marcus JCC, 5342 Tilly Mill Road, Dunwoody, shows “Supermensch,” about Hollywood agent Shep Gordon,
at 6:30 p.m. as a prelude to his appearance at 8. Free with tickets to his book event or $5 alone; www.atlantajcc.org/ bookfestival or 678-812-4005. Book Festival. Shep Gordon (“They Call Me Supermensch”) appears with Kenny Leon at 8 p.m. at the Marcus JCC, 5342 Tilly Mill Road, Dunwoody. Tickets are $18 for JCC members, $24 for others; www.atlantajcc.org/bookfestival or 678-812-4005. Havdalah concert. Israeli-American trio Simply Tsfat closes the Shabbos Project celebration with a show at Congregation Ariel, 5227 Tilly Mill Road, Dunwoody, at 8 p.m. Tickets are $10 and $15; atlanta.theshabbosprojectusa. org/havdallah.
SUNDAY, NOV. 13
Film screening. The Book Festival of the Marcus JCC, 5342 Tilly Mill Road, Dunwoody, shows “Breakfast at Ina’s,” about Chicago breakfast queen Ina Pinkney, at 10 a.m. as a prelude to her 11:30 appearance. Free with tickets to her event or $5 alone; www.atlantajcc. org/bookfestival or 678-812-4005. Book Festival. Ina Pinkney (“Ina’s Kitchen”) appears with Souper Jenny Levison at 11:30 a.m. at the Marcus JCC, 5342 Tilly Mill Road, Dunwoody. Tickets are $18 for JCC members, $24 for others; www.atlantajcc.org/bookfestival or 678-812-4005. Interfaith peace discussion. Congre-
Send items for the calendar to submissions@atljewishtimes.com. Find more events at atlantajewishtimes.com/events-calendar.
Remember When
10 years ago Nov. 10, 2006 ■ American-born Jeffrey Goldberg — who made aliyah in the 1980, found his romantic visions of Israel challenged by military service but maintained his optimism — talked about his hope for peace in the Middle East at the Anti-Defamation League’s National Commission meeting Oct. 27. ■ The bar mitzvah ceremony of Benjamin Mintz of Atlanta, son of Jonathan Mintz and Robin Kramarow, was held Saturday, June 10, at Congregation Beth Shalom. 25 Years Ago Nov. 15, 1991 ■ Since becoming the executive director of the Atlanta Jewish Community Center in July, Harry Stern has made such cosmetic changes as a fresh coat of paint and new carpet,
cut several staff positions, expanded and added programs, and refinanced nearly $6 million in debt, all in an effort to regain community confidence in the agency, whose membership has been falling. ■ Karen and Alan Stein of Atlanta announce the birth of a son, Jacob Emanuel, on July 26. 50 Years Ago Nov. 11, 1966 ■ The Ray and Philip N. Coleman Camp-Institute, operated under the auspices of the Union of American Hebrew Congregations, will add a Pioneer program for 14- and 15-yearolds to go with its eight weeks of camp for 9- to 13-year-olds. The fee for eight weeks is $550. For 16-to-18-year-old counselors in training, the fee is $400. ■ Mr. and Mrs. Eli Reich of Atlanta announce the engagement of daughter Joanne Louise Reich to Ruben Franco Owen, son of Mr. and Mrs. Ben E. Owen of Columbus.
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CALENDAR gation Dor Tamid, 11165 Parsons Road, Johns Creek, hosts a panel with Rabbi David Katz and Catholic, Buddhist, Muslim and Sikh representatives at 1:30 p.m. Free; reservations encouraged at cdtip4p.eventbrite.com. Book Festival. Jesse Itzler (“Living With a SEAL”) talks with Conn Jackson at 3 p.m. at the Marcus JCC, 5342 Tilly Mill Road, Dunwoody. Tickets are $10 for JCC members, $15 for others; www.atlantajcc.org/bookfestival or 678-812-4005. Paris memorial concert. Pope High’s World Solidarity Club holds a concert at 5 p.m. at Alliance Française, 1197 Peachtree St., Midtown, in memory of those slain in the Islamic State attack on Paris on Nov. 13, 2015. Donations of at least $10, benefiting Life for Paris, are requested at the door; RSVP to AFRoswell@afatl.com or 770-361-5916. Anniversary gala. Chabad of North Fulton celebrates 18 years serving the North Metro area under Rabbi Hirshy Minkowicz with a dinner at 6 p.m. at the Alpharetta Marriott, 5750 Windward Parkway. Tickets are $90; www. lchaimtolife.net or 770-410-9000. Book Festival. Daniel Gordis (“Israel:
A Concise History”) joins Ken Stein at 7:30 p.m. at the Marcus JCC, 5342 Tilly Mill Road, Dunwoody. Tickets are $18 for JCC members, $24 for others; www. atlantajcc.org/bookfestival or 678-8124005.
MONDAY, NOV. 14
Book Festival. Victoria Kelly (“Mrs. Houdini”) and Thelma Adams (“Last Woman Standing”) speak with Gail Cohn at noon at the Marcus JCC, 5342 Tilly Mill Road, Dunwoody. Tickets are $10 for JCC members, $15 for others; www.atlantajcc.org/bookfestival or 678-812-4005. Your backup. Josh Schroeder, a Hadassah orthopedic surgeon who specializes in the spine, speaks about Hadassah’s work, his cases and medical advances at 7:15 p.m. at Congregation Or Hadash, 7460 Trowbridge Road, Sandy Springs. The suggested donation is $18; RSVP as soon as possible to 470-482-6778 or aking@hadassah.org. NIF discussion. The New Israel Fund holds a discussion between Shatil Director Ronit Heyd and NIF Vice President for Public Engagement Libby Lenkinski at 7:30 p.m. at the Selig Center, 1440 Spring St., Midtown. Free; bit.
ly/2fkEhk5 or 212-613-4426. Book Festival. Alice Hoffman (“Faithful”) joins Melissa Long at 7:30 p.m. at the Marcus JCC, 5342 Tilly Mill Road, Dunwoody. Tickets are $13 for JCC members, $18 for others; www.atlantajcc.org/bookfestival or 678-812-4005. Hebrew class. The Intown Jewish Academy, 928 Ponce de Leon Ave., holds a five-week crash course in reading Hebrew, starting at 8 p.m. The fee is $50; www.intownjewishacademy.org or 404-898-0434.
TUESDAY, NOV. 15
Thanksgiving breakfast. American Jewish Committee Atlanta holds its Thanksgiving Diversity Breakfast at 7:30 a.m. at 1440 Spring St., Midtown. The cost is $18; www.ajcatlanta.org. Book Festival. Gynecologist Mache Seibel (“The Estrogen Window”) appears with Mimi Zieman at 12:30 p.m. at the Marcus JCC, 5342 Tilly Mill Road, Dunwoody. Tickets are $10 for JCC members, $15 for others; www.atlantajcc. org/bookfestival or 678-812-4005. Book Festival. Carson Kressley (“Does This Book Make My Butt Look Big?”)
appears with Holly Firfer at 7:30 p.m. at the Marcus JCC, 5342 Tilly Mill Road, Dunwoody. Tickets are $18 for JCC members, $24 for others; www.atlantajcc.org/bookfestival or 678-812-4005. Successful thinking. Explore Jewish secrets for leading a productive life in a six-week course at the Intown Jewish Academy, 928 Ponce de Leon Ave., on consecutive Tuesdays, starting tonight at 8, or consecutive Wednesdays, starting Nov. 16 at noon. The fee is $99; www.intownjewishacademy.org or 404-898-0434.
WEDNESDAY, NOV. 16
Book Festival. Lunch is at noon, followed by Lloyd Handwerker (“Famous Nathan”) and Ina Yalof (“Food and the City”) with Belinda Skelton at 12:30 p.m. at the Marcus JCC, 5342 Tilly Mill Road, Dunwoody. Tickets are $24 for JCC members, $28 for others; www.atlantajcc.org/bookfestival or 678-812-4005. Gap year fair. The Weber School, 6751 Roswell Road, Sandy Springs, working with Masa Israel Journey, hosts a fair of gap year opportunities in Israel from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. The event includes a light kosher dinner. Free; www. weberschool.org/gap.
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ISRAEL NEWS
Israel Pride: Good News From Our Jewish Home Auto-pilot. Israel is preparing a multiyear plan to develop and roll out smart transportation — ultimately meaning vehicles that drive themselves. The plan, expected to be presented for Cabinet approval within weeks, will use electric vehicles as part of Israel’s push for alternative fuels.
Closer to Dick Tracy. Jerusalem-based Glide, already on the cutting edge of video messaging for Android and iOS devices, this month launched CMRA, the first camera wristband accessory for the Apple Watch. Now owners of the Apple device can have video communication at the flick of a wrist.
Exposing Albanian archives. Yad Vashem and the Albanian National Archives have signed a memorandum of understanding under which the Israeli center of Holocaust remembrance will restore, catalog and share information found in the Albanian archives, which will retain the documents. Albania, a majority-Muslim nation, was the only country in Europe with a larger Jewish population at the end of World War II than at the beginning.
Cheaper protons. Lod-based P-Cure has received U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval for a compact, lowercost device to deliver proton therapy to cancer patients. The seated system, which is believed to be more effective than a setup requiring patients to lie down, has been sold to one U.S. and two European locations. The potential market is huge: Of 8,000 radiation oncology centers in the world, only 50, including 22 in the United States, have proton systems because of their expense.
Army mission. More than 70 leaders and supporters of Friends of the Israel Defense Forces are spending a week in Israel, starting Friday, Nov. 11, on the FIDF National Leadership Mission. The delegation will receive briefings from senior military leaders and tour the new IDF Training Campus in the Negev, where FIDF has spent more than $42 million to build 11 well-being facilities for soldiers.
Less expensive heart care. Petah Tikvah-based Teva Pharmaceutical has won Food and Drug Administration approval for generic versions of two drugs used to fight high blood pressure. One is an alternative to Tribenzor, which has annual sales of $240 million. Center for health innovation. Forty years after the Matam High-Tech Park
Israel Photo of the Week
Tourism Rising Photo by Tami Kazdan
Israeli tourism official Naama Oryan-Kaplan and Israel’s ambassador to Britain, Mark Regev, join Israeli Tourism Minister Yariv Levin (center) in opening the Israel booth at the three-day World Travel Market in London on Monday, Nov. 7. The Israeli area includes a giant graffiti wall, cafes and landscape photography. About 30,000 market visitors will have the chance to experience the Israeli booth.
opened at the southern end of Haifa to attract technology companies and their jobs — 10,000 of them are there now — the Haifa Economic Corp. is opening a companion center for innovation across the street: the Haifa Life Sciences Park. The first of five planned buildings should open before 2017.
Contemporary Israel Readings Assembled by Ken Stein and Eli Sperling
NOVEMBER 11 ▪ 2016
Our friends at the Center for Israel Education (www.israeled.org) have compiled a list of recent articles about Israel worth reading from all over the world: • Graham Allison, “Why ISIS Fears Israel,” The National Interest, Aug. 8, nationalinterest.org/feature/why-isisfears-israel-17286. • “American and Israeli Jews: Twin Portraits From Pew Research Center Surveys,” Pew, Sept. 27, www.pewforum.org/2016/09/27/american-andisraeli-jews-twin-portraits-from-pewresearch-center-surveys. • Yoni Ben Menachem, “The Businesses of Mahmoud Abbas and His Sons,” Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs, Sept. 14, jcpa.org/article/thebusinesses-of-mahmoud-abbas-andhis-sons. • Anna Borschevskaya and Navy Cmdr. Jeremy Vaughn, “How the Russian Military Reestablished Itself in the 6 Middle East,” Washington Institute for
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Near East Policy, Oct. 17, www.washingtoninstitute.org/policy-analysis/ view/how-the-russian-military-reestablished-itself-in-the-middle-east. • Daniel Glaser, “The Evolution of Terrorism Financing: Disrupting the Islamic State,” Washington Institute for Near East Policy, Oct. 21, www.washingtoninstitute.org/policy-analysis/view/ the-evolution-of-terrorism-financingdisrupting-the-islamic-state. • Daniel Gordis, “We Need to Talk About Israel,” Tablet, Oct. 14, www. tabletmag.com/scroll/213000/weneed-to-talk-about-israel. • Haisam Hasanein, “Egypt and Israel’s Growing Economic Cooperation,” Washington Institute for Near East Policy, Nov. 2, www.washingtoninstitute. org/policy-analysis/view/egypt-and-israels-growing-economic-cooperation. • Efraim Inbar, “Jerusalem Is More Important Than Amona,” BESA Center Perspectives, Oct. 27, besacenter.org/ perspectives-papers/jerusalem-important-amona. • Yossi Kuperwasser, “The West Must Insist That the Palestinians
Change Their Narrative,” JCPA, Sept. 5, jcpa.org/article/west-must-insist-palestinians-change-narrative. • W. Robert Pearson, “Turkey After July 16 — Dawn or Disaster,” Middle East Institute, Oct. 17, www.mei.edu/ content/article/turkey-after-july15-dawn-or-disaster. • Jonathan Spyer, “Patterns of Subversion: Iranian Use of Proxies in the Middle East,” MERIA, IDC Herzliya, Rubin Center Research in International Affairs, Sept. 5, www.rubincenter.org/ wp-content/uploads/2016/09/04_Spyer-TM-au-PDF.pdf. • Heiko Wimmen, “Lebanon’s State Erosion, Divisions of Conflict in Syria Sustain a Dangerous Stalemate,” German Institute for International and Security Affairs, October, www.swp-berlin.org/fileadmin/contents/products/ comments/2016C46_wmm.pdf. ■
Temple confirmation. A 10th century inscription in a mosque near Hebron says the Dome of the Rock originally was Beit al Makdas (in Arabic) or Beit Hamikdash (in Hebrew) — the Temple. Courtesy of verygoodnewsisrael.blogspot. com, Israel21c.com and other sources.
Today in Israeli History Items provided by the Center for Israel Education (www.israeled.org), where you can find more details. Nov. 11, 1973: Israel and Egypt sign the post-Yom Kippur War Kilometer 101 Six-Point Agreement after the first direct negotiations between the countries. Nov. 12, 2000: Leah Rabin, the widow of slain Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, dies at the Rabin Medical Center in Petah Tikvah after battling cancer. Nov. 13, 1893: Acclaimed painter Reuven Rubin is born Rubin Zelicovici in Galatz, Romania. Nov. 14, 1956: The Knesset debates Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion’s announcement that Israeli troops will withdraw from Sinai. Nov. 15, 1948: El Al, Israel’s national airline, is officially founded and legally incorporated. Nov. 16, 1947: The aliyah-bet (illegal immigration) ship Kadima arrives in Haifa under British escort. All of its passengers are taken to Cyprus. Nov. 17, 2012: Israeli businesswoman and fashion pioneer Leah Gottlieb dies in Tel Aviv at the age of 94.
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NOVEMBER 11 â–ª 2016
www.atlantajewishtimes.com
ISRAEL NEWS
U.N. Envoy Pushes to Make Private Support Public By Michael Jacobs mjacobs@atljewishtimes.com
NOVEMBER 11 ▪ 2016
Danny Danon has had an interesting 15 months since he resigned his Knesset seat and his Cabinet post as minister of science and technology to become Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations. Israel has faced occasional international criticism for its handling of lone-wolf terrorists attacking with knives, guns and vehicles. Rumors of U.S. willingness to let a Palestinian statehood resolution pass the U.N. Security Council refuse to die. Evidence continues to emerge of Hamas’ use of relief funds to build tunnels and other offensive infrastructure right under the noses of U.N. Refugee Welfare Agency officials, some of whom have expressed support for the Palestinians and opposition to Israel on social media. The U.N. Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization and its various arms have passed resolutions ignoring if not outright denying historical Jewish ties to the Temple Mount, Jerusalem’s Old City and other archaeological sites — with the next step expected to be a Palestinian claim of ownership of the Dead Sea Scrolls. And testimony from left-leaning Israeli nonprofit organization B’Tselem before members of the U.N. Security Council drew an angry response from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and revived arguments over what it means to be pro-Israel during the stalemate with the Palestinians. But Danon, a Likud politician, not a career diplomatic, seems unfazed. “I am very optimistic, period. When you look at the story of Israel, when you see all the challenges and obstacles, when you see what we have today, you have to be optimistic,” Danon said in an interview before his appearance Monday night, Nov. 7, at the Israel Bonds dinner honoring Congregation Etz Chaim member Norman Radow at the Grand Hyatt in Buckhead. “I think we should be also optimistic about the U.N. for we are beginning to see a change with member states. Eventually, with their appreciation to Israel, we will see the results at the U.N. We’re starting to see it now. It’s not going to happen in one day.” Danon has reasons for optimism, including successes against the boycott, divestment and sanctions movement, recognition of Yom Kippur as a 8 day when the United Nations does no
AJT
Photo by Marcia Caller Jaffe
Eric Rinzler and Leanna Rinzler stand beside honoree Norman Radow (center).
official business, and a Passover seder that drew 44 other U.N. ambassadors. He won election in June as the chairman of the U.N. Legal Committee. No other Israeli has led a permanent U.N. committee. The Legal Committee, which Danon described as “193 lawyers in one room,” deals with terrorism, international law, various treaties and conventions, and, in a refreshing change for the Israeli ambassador, a range of conflicts and other issues having nothing to do with the Palestinians or any alleged shortcomings of Israel. “I’m very proud to be the first Israeli to chair a committee at the U.N. It was not easy to get elected to this position,” he said, explaining that the opposition of Israel’s traditional enemies forced a secret ballot, but, thanks in part to his political skills, he won, 109-44, even though the Organization of Islamic States has 56 members. “We showed that we have quiet support at the U.N. My challenge is to make it public. … When it comes to a vote, they are not always with us.” That shortcoming has emerged in recent weeks with a pair of UNESCO resolutions portraying Jerusalem and the Temple Mount as strictly Arab and Muslim heritage sites. Danon said those resolutions mean nothing themselves and just make UNESCO lose credibility, but the countries that vote for them should be held accountable for ignoring reality to support the Palestinians. “You could have a resolution saying that Atlanta was part of Mexico and that Israel was somehow to blame, and it would pass,” he said. It was a diplomatic victory that several countries, including Western Europe and Latin America, dropped previous support for the Temple Mount resolutions and abstained instead, Danon said. “We will never allow UNESCO to erase our history,” he told the bonds
Photo by Marcia Caller Jaffe
Elaine and Jerry Blumenthal flank Emory professor Ken Stein.
dinner. “We will continue to build and to stay in our eternal capital.” In the interview, he also cited a success involving one of Israel’s most strident critics at the United Nations, Venezuela. After the Venezuelan ambassador made a speech in which he accused Israel of having a “Final Solution for the Palestinians,” Danon demanded an apology and pushed the issue with colleagues and with Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. Danon said he got a phone call from his Venezuelan colleague, who noted that he does not talk to Israelis but felt he had to apologize for his speech. Danon said the apology needed to be public, and a few days later it was. That incident was representative of Danon’s strategy at the United Nations. Perhaps because he is not a career envoy and does not feel a need to be diplomatic, he believes that Israel should fight back whenever it is attacked at the world body. The response is trickier, however, when the criticism comes from an Israeli nonprofit such as B’Tselem. After the director of the human rights group called for U.N. action against Israeli settlements during a Palestinian-organized meeting meant to blame the settlements for the lack of progress toward peace, Danon called for the United Nations to cut off funding for B’Tselem. The ambassador, visiting Atlanta a week before a representative of B’Tselem backer New Israel Fund comes to town, said he supports freedom of speech, but an organization receiving U.N. funding can’t appear as an objective source of information for Security Council members. It’s a conflict of interest and a propaganda defeat for Israel, Danon said. Media reports pushed by the Palestinians led with the idea that an Israeli organization criticized the settlements, without emphasizing that B’Tselem is
Photo by Marcia Caller Jaffe
Among the younger crowd saluting Norman Radow and showing support for Israel are (from left) Shmuel Wolf, Bryan Gershkawitz, Lauren King and Molly Parnes.
Photo by Michael Jacobs
Ambassador Danny Danon thanks the Israel Bonds crowd for its unconditional love and support for Israel. Ken Stein said Danon’s U.N. committee chairmanship “suggests progress.”
not an official representative of Israel. Meanwhile, Danon is enjoying his time as an official representative of Israel. He said he relishes the challenge of getting up each morning with the knowledge that a couple of dozen members of the Israeli mission at the United Nations, including seven diplomats, must struggle against hundreds of envoys who would love to see Israel’s demise. He acknowledged that the United Nations is not the final stop in his career, saying that he anticipates returning to Israeli politics after three or four years in New York and noting that men such as Abba Eban, Chaim Herzog and Netanyahu have held the position. He said that not only is the Israeli mission holding the line at the United Nations, but it is making slow, steady progress in educating other nations’ diplomats about the reality of the Middle East through techniques such as group trips to Israel, thus creating a global “moral majority.” ■
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ISRAEL NEWS
Nonprofit Yeladim Paves Path out of Foster Care By Sarah Moosazadeh sarah@atljewishtimes.com Sukkot is a joyous holiday in which friends and family gather in the sukkah. Members of Congregation Or Hadash connected in a different way Sunday, Oct. 23, by raising awareness about the Israeli nonprofit Yeladim — Fair Chance for Children. “The sukkah brings a notion of joy,” Rabbi Analia Bortz said. “As we leave our comfort zone, we enter a weak structure, but the community comes together to become one people. Much like the lulav and etrog, we are tied together, and it is up to us to help members of the community.” Elite Ben-Yosef explained Yeladim’s work with at-risk children. “I wanted to leave a positive impact in this world before I left,” said Ben-Yosef, a college instructor who splits time between New York and Israel. “Everybody has a worth in society, and it is up to us to make sure they know they are needed. Yeladim — Fair Chance for Children provides exactly that.” The nonprofit organization has taken care of children’s needs in group
tributions to Israeli society. Since its creation 10 years ago, Bridge to Independence has had more than 600 participants, and over 85 percent have completed the program. More than 200 youths apply for Bridge to Independence each year, but the program accommodates only 100. “Members of Atlanta’s Jewish community can help raise money by asking family members to donate bat mitzvah gifts toward a future scholarship or group home,” Ben-Yosef said. You can donate at www.yeladim.org.il/en. Yeladim has launched homes for boys and girls. In 2015 it started serving the Haredi community by establishing homes in Jerusalem and Bnei Brak. An Arab sector was opened in 2014 for girls in the town of Majdal Krum. “The sukkah speaks about the vulnerability of life,” Rabbi Bortz said. “The outside of the sukkah is open and fragile, but the inside represents strength. When we invite friends and family under the sukkah, we reinforce it. Israel’s society has people who cannot always take care of themselves. It is up to us to help those who need assistance and provide a greater stability.” ■
In addition to aiding youths through therapeutic sessions, the nonprofit provides programs that help participants stand on their own feet. The Bridge to Independence program is a prime example. It serves those who age out of foster Yeladim’s Bridge to Independence program guides Israelis who care and provides have aged out of the foster care system into the military or support from ages national service, college, or employment, or some combination. 18 to 24. homes for some 30 years. In addition to receiving apart“For most children, growing up in- ments with subsidized rent, particivolves sitting around the dining table pants can apply for scholarships in and having meaningful conversations academic and trade studies. Residents with their parents. Children in foster must work to pay the rent. homes in Israel rarely have that opporBridge to Independence also tunity,” Ben-Yosef said. “That’s where teaches life skills that ease the transiYeladim — Fair Chance for Children tion from foster care to military life. comes into play. The organization takes One of the program’s main goals children between the ages of 18 and 24 is to help young Israelis obtain college and helps integrate them back into Is- degrees within fields that interest them so that they can make meaningful conraeli society.”
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AJT 9
OPINION
www.atlantajewishtimes.com
Our View
Mr. President
NOVEMBER 11 ▪ 2016
President Donald Trump. From the moment in 2015 when he launched a presidential bid that seemed as much a publicity stunt as a political campaign until the minute the first polls closed Nov. 8, we never thought the reality show king would become the 45th U.S. president. Now we all must build a nation that provides opportunity and protects the rights of everyone. Trump had been criticized for undermining the foundation of American democracy by refusing to say he would accept the election results. Now he is the exemplar of that democracy: someone who overcame polls and media predictions by spurring strong turnout to put him in position for a peaceful handover of power from a president who mocked him and has reason (the birther nonsense) to despise him. Trump’s critics must not repeat his error: They must accept the results, no matter how sad, mad or bewildered they are. Despite fears that Trump will roll back access to abortion, birth control and health care and use the Bill of Rights as a checklist for freedoms to eliminate — if he doesn’t skip straight to fascist dictatorship or nuclear holocaust — we don’t know any more about what he will do as an elected official than he knows about living on only $400,000 a year (his new salary). He’s a blank canvas, and his graciousness in victory early Wednesday provides hope for anyone who is willing to work for the common good. With a man who hits back whenever he is attacked but who also relishes making deals, the best approach is to give him a chance and to try to work with and sway him. The outreach and reconciliation must run both ways. People who voted for Trump in the belief that he is not a racist, sexist, would-be authoritarian must keep a close eye on him and work to prevent any excesses. They share the responsibility for ensuring that 2016 will not be remembered as the start of America’s descent into irrelevance or worse. Trump voters, both true believers and those who acted out of dislike for Hillary Clinton, must demonstrate that aside from an ugly, vocal fringe — something like the 3 percent of the electorate won by the vile David Duke in Louisiana’s Senate primary Nov. 8 — they are not the uneducated, hate-driven knownothings Clinton herself depicted with her regrettable “basket of deplorables” comment. If we all open our minds and eyes instead of letting our fears and prejudices blur our perceptions, we might realize that we are not so dramatically divided. As “Saturday Night Live” showed during a “Black Jeopardy” skit with Tom Hanks last month, the pain and frustration of the nonurbanites who put Trump over the top Tuesday parallel the feelings of blacks and Hispanics trapped in an urban cycle of poverty. Cutting across demographic lines, many if not most Americans feel forgotten and unwanted in 21st century society. The American Dream has no meaning for them, and they are willing to tear apart a system that does not serve them, whether the image of their despair is a boarded-up row of homes, a shuttered factory or a lost family farm. We’ll all be better off if Trump can find policies 10 to help them. ■
AJT
Cartoon by Dave Granlund, Politicalcartoons.com
Visiting Small-Town Southern Past There we heard, among others, Walton High The first weekend in November offered an grad Shari Rabin, now a professor at the College of escape from the madness of the election season with Charleston, speak about postbellum Jewish legal the annual conference of the Southern Jewish Hiscases. Emory’s Sally Wolff King talked about the detorical Society, held this time in Natchez, Miss. partment store chain her The 40-year-old orgaimmigrant grandfather nization always presents and his brothers built. an interesting, meaningful Editor’s Notebook Marcus Rosenbaum, program, and it was typical formerly with NPR, that Jewish Atlanta was well By Michael Jacobs talked about the diary of represented. mjacobs@atljewishtimes.com his Atlanta grandmother, It’s the kind of gathHelen Apte, which he ering where you can see published back in 1998. Janice Rothschild Blumberg, Experiential learning, however, made this the widow of civil rights era Temple Rabbi Jacob conference special. Friday night, the sanctuary Rothschild, in an animated conversation over lunch was packed for the first time in decades. ISJL Rabbi with Susan Hart Sandler, the wife of Ahavath Achim Jeremy Simons, who leads services in Natchez on Synagogue Rabbi Neil Sandler. a visiting basis, said the big problem he faced was Stuart Rockoff, the former historian of the finding enough copies of the classic Gates of Prayer. Goldring/Woldenberg Institute for Southern Jewish The kindness of a congregation in Memphis Life who put together much of the program, said the ensured that enough prayer books were on hand, conference has never been held in a smaller town with a smaller Jewish community. But more than 140 but Rabbi Simons’ mini-crisis was a reminder of how special the crowd was, how far Natchez’s community people attended because so many of us are touched has fallen and how the South’s small Jewish commuby this year’s topic: Jewish life in the hinterlands. Natchez, at 300 the oldest city on the Mississippi nities have always been able to rely on the kindness of connections in the big city. River, is a typical Jewish story outside the big cities These days, that support extends to the supply of the South. Once a wealthy cotton depot, it had of kosher food, but a presentation Friday night by Jewish residents before the end of the 18th century Robin Amer reminded us that kashrut was one of and a thriving Jewish community before the Civil the compromises small-town Jews often made. When War. The city’s only fatality when the Yankees arNatchez had a Jewish homecoming celebration in rived was a 7-year-old Jewish girl, Rosalie Beekman. 1994, Amer’s grandmother refused to consider a Jews were crucial members of the city’s merspread that lacked such specialties as ham biscuits. chant class before and after the war, provided civic As if to drive home the point, the restaurant leadership (including a mayor who arrived with the where we had lunch Saturday botched the order and Union army and never left), and built a beautiful served dirty rice (with pork), black-eyed peas (with synagogue, Temple B’nai Israel, in 1872. When the pork) and catfish topped with barbecue shrimp. synagogue burned down in 1903, the congregation For good or bad, that’s part of our Southern Jewimmediately rebuilt, and that building, whose conish heritage. I’ll share more from the conference in gregation now can barely muster a minyan, served the coming weeks. ■ as the home of the conference.
Letters To The Editor
Israel’s Right Isn’t Problem
I can understand Shai Robkin’s desire to open a dialogue with young people on their own turf (“The Answer on Campus: Liberal Zionist Education,” Oct. 28). However, I feel that his emphasis on “liberal Zionism” reinforces the mistaken notion that policies of Israel’s “right-wing” government are the cause of the hostility Israel faces. The inconvenient truth is Muslim leaders were inciting their people to attack Jews even before the modern state of Israel declared its independence. Liberal Zionists had to establish the self-defense units that eventually developed into the Israel Defense Forces. Arab terrorists were carrying out attacks in Israel, within the boundary that eventually came to be designated as the Green Line, during the nearly 20 years that Jordan and Egypt illegally occupied what we are now told is “Palestinian land.” The Six-Day War and the Yom Kippur War were both launched by Arab states when Israel’s government was in the hands of liberal political parties. Leaders from the “right-wing” parties (Menachem Begin and Ariel Sharon) were responsible for the most dramatic moves toward peace in Israel’s history. Begin signed the peace treaty with Egypt, and Sharon oversaw the withdrawal from Gaza. Unfortunately, neither event brought real peace. Relations with Egypt remained frosty, with anti-Jewish invective continuing to spew in Egypt after the treaty was signed. Worse, Egypt permitted the Sinai to become a conduit of arms into Gaza, something that is only now being halted because terrorists from Gaza are attacking Egyptian troops. The Gaza withdrawal has been reciprocated by thousands of rockets being fired at Israeli population centers (from Gaza population centers — a double war crime), and cement intended for the construction of homes and schools in Gaza has been diverted to the construction of tunnels under Israel to facilitate the abduction and murder of Israelis. While Hamas is open about its refusal ever to recognize Israel, the Palestinian Authority’s Mahmoud Abbas urges his people to violently resist the occupation and has refused multiple Israeli proposals for the establishment of a Palestinian state. He tells the world that his people are frustrated at the lack of progress toward peace, neglect-
ing to mention in the Western press that he does not intend to grant the Palestinian “refugees” citizenship even if a state is established. His plan is to destroy the Jewish character of Israel by flooding the nation-state of the Jews with people who have been raised to blame Israel for the fact that they have been refused rehabilitation by their own leaders. Apologists for the intransigence of the Palestinian leadership are enabling the continued abuse of the Palestinian people by that leadership. — Toby F. Block, Atlanta
No Luxury in Welfare
People like Laurie Weinstein who believe that Democrats have carried social issues “too far, enabling people who do not work to be supported by government programs,” clearly have never been forced to live on Supplemental Security Income, Social Security Disability Insurance, welfare or food stamps (“Jews’ Voting Habits Hard to Break,” Nov. 4). My husband and I would much prefer to be working and not living on his disability income. A chronic illness forced him into “retirement” in 2003 at age 52. I lost my career job in 2008. At this point, his illness prevents me from working for the most part, so in addition to caring for him, I give back by running a support group and being active with the organizations that support people like us. I promise you that our standard of living has suffered tremendously as a result of our situation (which neither of us caused). Ms. Weinstein, I hope that you never have to experience wondering how you will pay your bills for your extravagant life: one car, no iPhones, no Netflix, no big fancy house, no vacations, etc. It is impossible. I am proud to say I am a Democrat and have chosen to vote for a person who shares many of my values. Someone who does not encourage bigotry and violence. Someone who isn’t a serial adulterer and liar. Someone with empathy. Go ahead and remain in your ivory tower. Your lack of empathy is what is wrong with today’s Republican Party. — Jan Rabinowitz, Sandy Springs
Write to Us
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NOVEMBER 11 ▪ 2016
OPINION
AJT 11
www.atlantajewishtimes.com
OPINION
Judaism as Only a Religion Enables a Right Turn Was I wrong? In 1972 I published an article in Religion and Society, a sociological journal, in which I proposed that Jews in the United States, influenced by values rooted in Jewish social history, had instituted a commitment to a liberal economic and political stance. I believed that we Jews had internalized a particular perspective rooted in our interpretation of our national Egyptian memories, extant or not, and further influenced by 2,000 years of life among people who were hostile to us and reinforced by the great conflagration, the Holocaust, as well as half a century of struggle to maintain a sliver of land where we could live and maintain independence. Regardless of economic standing, we believed in a universal social perspective that emphasized human rights, a sense of justice and an equitable distribution of “life chances.” I believed that because of our teachings and the understanding of our historical experiences, Jews, unlike other ethnic and religious groups
who immigrated to the United States, would not change their political perspective and become conservative after increasing their wealth. To a great extent, Jews did maintain their propensity for liberalism.
One Man’s Opinion By Eugen Schoenfeld
Before World War I, Jews voted for the Republican Party, which was the liberal party, the party of Abraham Lincoln and Theodore Roosevelt. When the political ideologies changed, the Republicans under William Howard Taft advocated conservatism. Jews switched their allegiance to Woodrow Wilson and the Democratic Party and then embraced Franklin Roosevelt’s New Deal coalition. Recently, however, Jews’ commitment to liberalism and staunch adherence to the Democratic Party have faltered. This change became evi-
dent in this election, in which wealthy Jews not only espoused Republican conservative economic views, but also and more tragically perceived Donald Trump as the savior of America. What has changed? We long held the belief that Jewish ideals are important to Jewish survival and well-being. Rashi, the great commentator on the Torah and Talmud in the 11th century, said the Jews enslaved in Egypt merited liberation because they maintained their religion and, perhaps more important, their civilization — names, customs and lifestyle. In the same sense, Mordecai Kaplan, the scholar and sage and founder of Reconstructionist Judaism, foresaw that the loss of Judaism as a way of life centered in Jewish civilization would lead to a loss of identity. He proposed that Judaism could not and should not be viewed merely as a religion. If we fail to commit to Judaism as a civilization, Jews will soon integrate into the larger culture and join the historical ash heap of disappeared cultures. If we fail to see Judaism’s great depth and moral perspectives and instead define it primarily as a religion, be it Reform or Orthodox, we will hasten its demise. Johann Herder, a clergyman and philosopher in the 18th century, said that a people without a common geography, if they wish to maintain their identity and uniqueness, must maintain a common language (such as Yiddish), collective memories (history or Hebrew) and collective aims. It is this view that led Isaiah Berlin to propose that Jews who were knowledgeable of their history were more successful in maintaining their Jewish identity and values than those to whom Judaism is merely a religion. While a high percentage of Jews remain committed to social liberalism,
there has been a great rise the past two decades of Jews committed to the conservative Republican perspective. I propose that this change derives from synagogues’ rejection of Judaism as a culture and a civilization in favor of its definition as an ancient religion or as one of many American religions. This is clear in Will Herberg’s treatise “Protestant, Catholic, and Jew.” To Herberg and many other American Jews, being Jewish in America is being a part of the dominant American way of life, centered on adherence to one of the faiths of the American religious trilogy. Being an American is tantamount to being a person of faith, whatever that faith may be. Herberg and many of those in the Reform movement sought to interweave the faiths into some sort of notion of a religious mischeling called Judeo-Christianity. Perhaps, as Isaiah Berlin proposed, German Jewish modernism was an attempt “to escape from the weakness and humiliation of a depressed or wounded social group by identifying oneself with some other movement that is free from the defects of one’s original condition.” This could be achieved, some thought (or still think), by acquiring “a new set of clothing, a new set of values, habits, new armor which does not press upon the old wounds, on the old scars left by the chains once worn (by us) as slaves.” The price for being convinced that we belong is too steep. Once, we were the prophet to nations and advocated universal ideals of human interresponsibility and social justice — the ideals that we Jews have distilled from our experiences in historical tragedies. Let’s not give up our historical role. Let’s continue to advocate the ideals of the world to come. ■
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OPINION
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We finally made it. After a brutal election season, we are on the other side. G-d willing, we are rid of all the speeches, debates, tweets, posts, and pundits shouting and creating noise. As I write this article on Monday, Nov. 7, I have no idea of the outcome of the 2016 election. Because I voted a few weeks ago, there isn’t much more I can do other than worry and pace. So I have chosen to let it go and begin transitioning my mind beyond the election. This exercise has been freeing but challenging. It’s freeing because I find myself un-obsessed with the election coverage. I stopped reading articles on social media and am not paying attention to drawn-out news stories about nothing. I hope that most of us have discovered from this campaign that the greatest instigator of the hatefilled rhetoric wasn’t the candidates, but the media and their need for our attention. News articles about policies, vision and national direction aren’t as interesting apparently as email servers, Twitter accounts, violence and sexual licentiousness. If we were to be honest, the fault lies with us and not the media. They didn’t force us to open and read those blogs and share those posts. As I moved my attention from the toilet bowl of social commentary toward what lies ahead, I received an interesting perspective from our weekly cycle of Torah reading. I was struck by the contrast between the tone and tenor of last week’s portion (Noach) and this week’s (Lech Lecha). The election comes sandwiched between these two epic tales, and we can glean much. What’s surprising isn’t the messages of the stories, but G-d’s apparent temperament in each. Because temperament has been an issue in this election, it might be time for us to look toward G-d for guidance. Before the election, we read about Noah, a righteous individual who walks with G-d. The world is corrupt and evil, and Noah is charged with building a massive vessel to save himself, his family and a representative sample of nature to weather the storm and rebuild after the destruction. In the rhetoric of this election season, the tone of last week’s Torah portion seems about right. And where is G-d in all this? G-d is the instiga-
tor, the agitator and a main actor in Noah’s tale. After reviewing the state of the union, G-d determines that the world isn’t worth saving and that the only way to create a great society is to destroy it first. Can you imagine that knock on your door? You find G-d standing there with a look of panic, shouting: “Quick,
Guest Column By Rabbi Laurence Rosenthal lrosenthal@aasynagogue.org
build an ark! I’m going to destroy it all!” How would you respond? Probably like a chicken with its head cut off, running from room to room, gathering clothing. With pants on backward, mismatched socks, one shoe and no glasses, you stumble out the front door, trying to catch up with G-d. Juxtapose that with Lech Lecha. We begin with G-d’s first encounter with Abram (who later will become Abraham). Go, G-d tells Abram, away from your home and your family to a place I will show you. G-d’s tone is completely different. Instead of a voice of panic, we hear one of calm and quiet. Come on, Abram, let’s go for a walk. We need to talk. One story begins with panic; the other begins with calm. One story ends in destruction and intoxication; the other ends — well, it hasn’t ended. The story of Abraham continues to this day after starting simply with a walk. This election season has been all Noah: destruction, chaos, hate, fear, noise and a lot of, well, let’s say animal excrement. How will the days after Nov. 8 look? Our country will emerge from the ark, and we will need to rebuild — not institutions, but the concept of what it means to be and act like an American. To be one country, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. On the days after the election, each of us needs to reach out to our neighbors, our families, our co-workers, our unfriended Facebook friends and speak these holy words: Come on, let’s go for a walk; we need to talk. ■ Laurence Rosenthal is the associate rabbi at Ahavath Achim Synagogue.
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LOCAL NEWS
Camp Leadership, Fellowship Thrive With Olim When Brett Hausler, the assistant director of the Union for Reform Judaism’s Crane Lake Camp in Massachusetts was a freshman in college, a trip to Atlanta with the URJ’s Olim Fellowship program inspired him to go into education. “It gave me the resources to see the impact that one person or a whole group of people can have on one person or a whole group of people,” Hausler said. On Oct. 28 and 29, Hausler accompanied fellows from his camp and four other URJ camps — Coleman in Georgia, Eisner in Massachusetts, Greene in Texas and Harlam in Pennsylvania — on a similar retreat to Atlanta, where they visited The Temple and the National Center for Civil and Human Rights, and to Camp Coleman, where they toured camp with Coleman counselors and heard speakers about making a difference, including Sandy Roberts, who started the famous Paper Clips Project. “The backdrop of where we are in Atlanta fits really nicely with the theme and goals of the weekend,” said Bobby Harris, whose first 25 years as Camp Coleman’s director are being celebrated at a gala Nov. 19. “In Olim, we focus on stepping up as a leader and doing the right thing even when it is uncomfortable. What better way to convey that lesson than to reflect on the life of Martin Luther King? Atlanta, with the King Center, Center for Human Rights, is an ideal setting for the kallah.” The Olim Fellowship, a two-year leadership training program for firstand second-year camp counselors, began 11 years ago when Harris, Louis Bordman of Eisner and Rabbi Frank DeWoskin of Haram received a grant from the Foundation for Jewish Camp to start the Olim Fellowship. The past three years the program has been coordinated by Michelle Shapiro Abraham, URJ’s director of learning and innovation for youth. During the two-year fellowship, the counselors attend kallot (retreats) with the theme “Changing the World One Bunk at a Time.” Harris said that message is what camp is all about. “My belief is that our summer camps are here for a purpose. They are places in which we can begin to build a kinder, more just, more peaceful world,” he said. “The Olim Fellowship is a chance to really position camp in that way and to enable the counselors
to view it that way.” To apply for the fellowship, high school seniors must commit to work at camp for two summers and attend three kallot during the two years. They also meet weekly during the summer, and at the Atlanta kallah the fellows planned a special project to implement at their respective camps next summer. “I know that this is what I’m doing for my next two summers. It takes someone who cares about camp to commit to this,” said Coleman fellow Dylan Rice, 18, of Columbus. “I knew since I was a little camper I wanted to be on staff. I just elevated the counselor experience, and a lot of my favorite counselors were Olim.” Many of the fellows said their Olim counselors were their favorite counselors, inspiring them to apply for the fellowship. “All of my favorite counselors were fellows,” said Julia Cutler, 18, of Albany, N.Y., a counselor at Eisner. Austin Rich, 18, of Atlanta echoed that sentiment. “They have a passion and drive to help you at all times and to be a role model to you,” Rice said.
Rich said he hopes he can inspire his campers in the same way. “I want to give them the passion to help others, to have an effect on someone else.” The fellows also said the Olim Fellowship helps build their confidence as leaders. “I feel like I have the skills to be able to talk to my superiors when something is wrong,” said Samantha Altman, 18, a counselor at Eisner. Coleman counselor Ben Remer, 18, of Atlanta said the Olim Fellowship has taught him “how to step up and how to be a leader.” “Step up out of your comfort zone,” Rich added. Rice said, “How to commit to something bigger than yourself.” Harris said the fellowship is about more than creating great counselors and inspiring future leaders. (Although it has been effective at that. At this kallah, three assistant camp directors leading the trip had participated in the Olim Fellowship: Hausler, Wilson Bear of Eisner and Sean Harlin of Harlam.) Olim also gives the counselors a way to stay connected with their camp friends and their camps during a ma-
jor life transition: from high school to college. “The transition from high school to college is the most significant upheaval in a young person’s life until that time,” Harris said. “Through Olim, camp and their camp friends and community become the thing in their life that anchors them during this huge transition.” For each group of fellows, sharing their camps is especially meaningful. “There is a pride that is involved in hosting people at one’s own camp,” Harris said. “Counselors love to lead tours and talk about their camp. It gives them a rare opportunity to share what they truly love and appreciate about the camp in which they grew up.” ■
What: Celebration of Bobby Harris’ quarter-century at Camp Coleman Where: Temple Emanu-El, 1580 Spalding Drive, Sandy Springs When: 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 19 Tickets: $120 over age 30, $75 30 and under; www.campcoleman.org/ celebration
NOVEMBER 11 ▪ 2016
By Tova Norman
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Chanukah ART CONTEST
We’re looking for a festive Chanukah illustration for the cover of the Atlanta Jewish Times’ Dec. 23 issue. If you’re age 15 or under, send us your Chanukah-themed artwork by Friday, Dec. 9.
Size: 9.5 inches wide by 6 inches high Materials: Anything that shows up bold and bright, such as crayons, markers or cut paper. We suggest taping your artwork to cardboard to protect it. Do not fold artwork. Digitally produced art is accepted. Artwork may be submitted as JPEG or PDF file at atlantajewishtimes.com. To enter: All work must be received at the Atlanta Jewish Times office, 270 Carpenter Drive, Suite 320, Atlanta, GA 30328 ATTN: Art Contest, or submitted through the website. (One entry per child, please.) All work must have an entry form attached on the back or filled out online: Deadline is 3 p.m. Friday, Dec. 9, 2016. Artwork may be picked up in January at 270 Carpenter Drive, Suite 320, Atlanta, GA 30328 during regular business hours. There are four age categories: 6 and under, 7 to 9, 10 to 12, and 13 to 15.
GRAND PRIZE $50 Gift certificate to Binders. Winner’s art may be the cover of the Dec. 23 AJT.
FIRST PRIZES $25 Gift certificate to Binders for each category (total of 4)
Awards: Contest winners will be honored at a reception at Binders Art Supplies. Artwork may be reprinted in the Atlanta Jewish Times, posted online and publicly displayed at Binders.
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Entry Form - 2016 Chanukah Art Contest NAME (FIRST AND LAST)
Deadline: Friday, Dec. 9, at 3 p.m. PHONE
NOVEMBER 11 ▪ 2016
ADDRESS
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PARENT’S NAMES ONE ENTRY PER CHILD, PLEASE 270 Carpenter Drive, Suite 320, Atlanta, GA 30328 www.atlantajewishtimes.com For additional entry forms call 404-883-2130 or look in future issues of the Jewish Times.
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LOCAL NEWS NCJW Gathering in Atlanta
The National Council of Jewish Women is holding its 47th National Convention at the JW Marriott Atlanta Buckhead from March 23 to 25. “We are so excited to have hundreds of women from across the U.S. come together in Atlanta for NCJW’s major triennial event,” said NCJW Atlanta Section President Rachel Rosner of Sandy Springs. “The convention marks the election of a new national board and draws renowned speakers. We look forward to extending a warm Georgia welcome.” Convening two months after the inauguration of a new president, NCJW members and supporters will hear from experts on trends in women’s social justice, public policy, community building and grassroots organizing. The conference will include leadership training and awards for people who have made a national impact on the lives of women, children and families. The national president of NCJW, Debbie Hoffmann of Cleveland, said: “NCJW has been at the forefront of social change for more than 100 years, engaging women of all ages. True to form, our conference in Atlanta will include meaningful programs for baby boomers, empty nesters, young professionals, Gen Xers and millennials. We hope many Atlantans will join us.” You may attend the convention even if you are not an NCJW member. Registration will open in early December and will include one-day passes and tickets to meals with specific speakers. To be notified when registration opens and as speakers are announced, go to bit.ly/NCJWConventionInfo. NCJW’s current initiatives include opposition to sex trafficking, support for reproductive rights and a campaign on judicial nominations.
of Marietta; Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints; Earthkeepers, First Nation; East Cobb Islamic Center; East Cobb United Methodist Church; Emerson Universalist Unitarian; Holy Trinity Lutheran Church; House of Hope; Masjid Al-Muminum; Roswell Community Masjid; Sikh Educational Welfare Association; St. Catherine’s Episcopal Church; St. Benedict’s Episcopal Church; Transfiguration Catholic Church; and Unity North Atlanta. “For me, meaningful interfaith partnership begins by learning about other faiths,” said the Rev. Jeff Jones, a minister at the Emerson Unitarian Universalist Congregation. “It is out of our not knowing that people sometimes respond out of fear.” The program will offer music, hu-
mor, and reflections by clergy and inspirational speakers. “One of the good examples of coexisting and learning is that you will hear the beautiful Islamic call of prayer sung from a Jewish synagogue’s pulpit,” said Kol Emeth’s Hal Schlenger, the event chairman. “While we each pray a little differently, the purpose is the same.” During the reception after the program, people will be able to add their thoughts to a Wall of Words. For more information, visit www. facebook.com/Ecumenical-Thanksgiving-Celebration-119602054760740, or call Kol Emeth at 770-973-3533.
ORT Auction Is On ORT Atlanta launched its fifth annual ORTBuy online auction Monday,
Nov. 7. The auction features more than 400 name-brand gift certificates and items such as services and trips. Also offered are such experiences as a behind-the-scenes VIP tour of the Georgia Aquarium with AJT Publisher Michael Morris, Georgia wine tastings, three-day VIP NASCAR passes, Disney World passes, a behind-the scenes tour of “The Clark Howard Show,” an ice skating party for 20 at Park Tavern by Piedmont Park, and a Tuscan escape. The auction has raised more than $65,000 in its history. The money funds ORT programs in 56 countries. ORT Atlanta’s focus is the Hodayot Youth Village in the Galilee. Go to www.biddingforgood.com/ ORTBuy to register, browse and buy. Bidding will close at 10 p.m. Nov. 20.
Temple Kol Emeth is hosting its 12th annual Ecumenical Thanksgiving Celebration at 7 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 17. “This year’s event will focus on the welcoming spirit of the United States and will feature many stories about making positive changes in the lives of others,” said Bassem Fakhoury of the Roswell Community Masjid. “I think it’s a very timely and apt subject in light of the negative political rhetoric associated with the election cycle.” The free event, open to the community, features the theme “The Ripple Effect: Together We Create Waves.” It takes place at 1415 Old Canton Road in East Cobb and involves Kol Emeth and 16 other congregations: Ahmadiy ya Muslim Community; Baha’i Faith
NOVEMBER 11 ▪ 2016
Ecumenical Thanksgiving
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LOCAL NEWS
Bet Haverim members close the night by dancing the hora. Photos courtesy of Congregation Bet Haverim
Bet Haverim President Shoshana Ben-Yoar uses the rabbi’s sock monkeys in her presentation.
Alayne Lesser (left) and Lanny Lesser, the rabbi’s parents, and Sandra Lesser, Lanny’s wife, enjoy the celebration.
Nefesh Chaya (left), Gayanne Geurin, Will Robertson and the congregation chorus perform.
A Rainbow of Fun at Bet Haverim Gala By Allison Carter What kind of Jewish fundraiser has a greeter named Baton Bob and an aerialist as entertainment? A fun, festive, surprise-filled party put on by Congregation Bet Haverim in honor of the Reconstructionist synagogue’s 30th anniversary and the 18 years of service by Rabbi Joshua Lesser. More than 250 friends and colleagues raised their glasses to Rabbi Lesser at the event Wednesday, Nov. 2, at Gallery 874. The thought-provoking
entertainment included performance art about domestic violence and an aerialist from the Race Circus. Baton Bob greeted guests and took photos with them. Bet Haverim’s chorus kicked off the tributes with songs of freedom, a common thread in the social justice work for which Rabbi Lesser is known. Lanny Lesser and Alayne Lesser spoke of their pride in their son’s accomplishments. Congregation President Shoshana Ben-Yoar talked about the rabbi’s ac-
complishments at CBH and his ability to bring people together in tough times, inspire people to speak out and act on what is right, and be a voice of fairness and justice beyond the doors of the synagogue. She held up his sock monkeys, often featured in Rabbi Lesser’s social networking and now a pair because of his recently engagement to partner Alex Ramaldez. ■ Allison Carter is Bet Haverim’s communications and events manager.
Rainbow candles are lighted by hand to represent CBH’s achievements the past 30 years.
Rabbi Joshua Lesser holds the award he received Nov. 2.
Photos by Marcia Caller Jaffe
NOVEMBER 11 ▪ 2016
Top left: Board member Bill Torres (left), Lauren Levin, Elaine Levin, and Jack Sawyer, a former ADL honoree, support ADL’s mission against hate. Top right: Rick Warren (left), board member Bennet Alsher and Polly Warren attend the dessert reception. “For 15 years I have attended this ADL event,” Alsher said. “It’s important to fight hate and promote fair treatment for all.” Left: Troutman Sanders lawyers Stacy Hyken (left), a board member, Jill Schwartz and Marty Bock say it’s their mission to make an impact early.
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R-E-S-P-E-C-T at ADL
The Anti-Defamation League’s Southeast Region dived into an issue that has been prominent this election season — respect, or the lack thereof — during a dessert reception for donors Thursday night, Nov. 3. Still operating under the interim leadership of Shelley Rose, ADL brought in a former regional director, Deborah Lauter, now ADL’s national senior vice president for policy and programs, to moderate a discussion between two Jewish journalists who are on the front lines of national politics and have seen the anti-Semitic venom flung at writers who have questioned or criticized Donald Trump: Wall Street Journal columnist Bret Stephens and new Atlantic Editor in Chief Jeffrey Goldberg. ■
LOCAL NEWS
By Patrice Worthy Conversations on Jewish participation in the “second civil rights movement” have come to the fore since the Movement for Black Lives platform labeled Israel an apartheid state. That one paragraph in the lengthy MBL document sparked a debate on how Jews could and whether they should contribute to the Black Lives Matter movement. David Bernstein, the president and CEO of the Jewish Council for Public Affairs, spoke about Black Lives Matter, the new civil rights movement and intersectionality during a visit to Atlanta on Tuesday, Nov. 1. Intersectionality is the idea of overlapping identities causing multiple threats of discrimination, and the focus of the discussion the Jewish Community Relations Council of Atlanta held at the Selig Center was the claim of a connection between Palestinians and Black Lives Matter. “We were starting to see causes connecting that had not yet connected. We were seeing groups the Jewish community had known or not known well starting to join a much more ideological, hardened discussion around Israel,” Bernstein said. Bernstein featured tweets posted during the protests in Ferguson, Mo., from Palestinians advising BLM demonstrators on how to combat tear gas. Each tweet ended with “#Fergusonsolidarity #fromfergusontopalestine” and was retweeted more than 672,000 times. The support from Palestinians fostered a relationship between BLM and Palestinians for Justice, built on the theme of shared oppression. But Bernstein said other forms of intersectionality are overlooked. “Jews were very involved in the civil rights movement because we understood a society that can be racist against African-Americans can also be racist against Jews,” Bernstein said. “And we have a stake in transforming the society, and that’s intersectionality as well.” He said the Jewish community has an opportunity to engage in the civil rights movement in a new way. He also said Jews’ failure to engage in and influence the new civil rights movement makes it easy for BLM to point a finger at Israel. “To have a friend, you have to be
a friend,” Bernstein said. “How do we influence anyone’s views if we’re not a part of the conversation? Not because we’re trying to shape the movement, but because it’s the David Bernstein right thing to do. We spend too much time putting out fires around the boycott, divestment and sanctions movement and not enough time on the preventive medicine of connecting with other communities.” Some event attendees said Jews have always been proponents of intersectionality, but Palestinians have hijacked BLM to include an issue irrelevant to blacks and their fight for justice. Others said that labeling Israel as apartheid is particularly upsetting because Jews have a history of helping blacks gain equality. Emotion levels must be turned down and education levels turned up so blacks can be better equipped to deal with attacks, JoVantreis Tolliver said. She said many young blacks don’t know about the Jewish involvement in the civil rights movement and the Jewish tradition of fighting for justice. “A lot of us are just now realizing the history of the civil rights movement and how closely involved Jewish people were in the liberation of black people,” Tolliver said. “On the other end of the spectrum, African-Americans have been afflicted with so much trauma that sometimes we’re not even able to heal ourselves enough to speak out about it. So how are you going to save someone else’s life when your life is on the line? We need to start empowerment through education.” JCRC President Harvey Rickles said education is why the council decided to bring Bernstein to Atlanta, the cradle of the civil rights movement. Rickles said the talk created an intersection of world issues and local issues in the Jewish community. “The theme of re-engaging is good. It’s true Jews have always been there, but we need to still be there. Tikkun olam, or repairing the world, is a key theme of the JCRC,” Rickles said. “You can’t always cherry-pick. … You have to look at the central issue. If you ever want to come to a common ground, it is certainly better to be talking to people than not be talking to them.” ■
NOVEMBER 11 ▪ 2016
Community Grapples With Civil Rights Fight
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VETERANS DAY
KSU Museum Follows Overlapping Ga. Journeys By Michael Jacobs mjacobs@atljewishtimes.com
NOVEMBER 11 ▪ 2016
A new exhibit at Kennesaw State University’s Museum of History and Holocaust Education, just east of Interstate 75 at Exit 271, offers a fresh and refreshingly personal look at the members of the Greatest Generation. “Georgia Journeys” in some ways takes a familiar approach to the museum’s mission to provide World War II and Holocaust education in free exhibits. Like the 10-year-old “Parallel Journeys,” this show taps into Kennesaw State’s repository of recorded personal histories to bring the scope of that epic era down to a relatable level. As the title indicates, the 12 people in this exhibit — 13 if you count parttime Georgian Franklin Delano Roosevelt, who curator Adina Langer said gets a panel for the big picture — lived in Georgia during World War II or later. They fit into three broad categories: Holocaust survivors, war veterans and people on the home front. But life is complicated, so categories overlap. The four Holocaust survivors: • Andre Kessler, who not only went on to serve in the Navy in the 1950s, but also played two years of NBA basketball alongside Wilt Chamberlain on the Philadelphia Warriors. • Herbert Kohn, whose family escaped Germany for Alabama in 1940 in part because of his father’s distinguished record for the German army in World War I. Kohn then served in the U.S. Army late in World War II. • Norbert Friedman, who did time in 11 Nazi camps before being liberated May 1, 1945, by the U.S. Army, for which he then provided translation services. • Tosia Schneider, who lost both her parents and her brother in Nazioccupied Poland but managed to make it to America after the war.
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Holocaust survivor Herbert Kohn visits the “Georgia Journeys” exhibit.
Photos courtesy of the Museum of History and Holocaust Education
Nine of the 12 people featured in “Georgia Journeys” attend the opening reception Oct. 23: (from left) Herbert Kohn, Andre Kessler, Jimmy Doi, Tosia Schneider, Tooken Richardson Cade, Jane Tucker, Alton Cadenhead, Louvinia Jordan and Hillard Pouncy.
All four have worked with the Breman Museum, which provided some materials for this exhibit. “The museum community here in Atlanta is collegial and tight-knit and very response to requests for assistance,” Langer said, also citing the Atlanta History Center and the state Department of Natural Resources. Among the other eight people featured, Tooken Richardson Cade, Louvinia Jordan and Jane Tucker spent the war on the U.S. home front, although not necessarily in Georgia. Jimmy Doi at first was limited to a different home front existence, held in an internment camp with other Japanese-Americans, but he and his three brothers all fought for the United States. Also representing veterans are Tuskegee Airman Hillard Pouncy, who became a chemist; Alton Cadenhead, whose service with the Marines took him to Iwo Jima; Guy Gunter, who flew a glider behind enemy lines on D-Day; and Lorenzo Wallace, who was among
the first blacks to enlist in the Marines. “One of the comments that came out of the opening was just the astonishment at how powerful these stories are when you hear them from the people who lived them,” Langer said. That’s one of the differences between “Georgia Journeys” and “Parallel Journeys”: the extensive use of interviews on video as well as a range of artifacts to bring the stories to life. Langer said she was hired last year with a mandate to bring new interpretative approaches to the exhibits, and that’s what she has done. Whereas “Parallel Journeys” involves looking at a few photos and lots of reading, the new exhibit enables visitors to interact and learn in different ways. A World War II-era living room, for example, plays authentic audio from the 1940s, including reports on the war. You can touch and pick up items such as scrapbooks. Maps and timelines help tie the 12 individual journeys and the bigger world story together.
Jane Tucker, who founded the Rome chapter of the American Rosie the Riveter Association in 2010, talks with Tuskegee Airman Hillard Pouncy.
Those intersection points are important, Langer said, because they correct the tendency to study and think about the Holocaust and World War II as if they aren’t connected. The museum soon will install two iPads so visitors can access the digital side of the exhibit (georgiajourneys. kennesaw.edu), a new element people can view anywhere. The bigger picture for Kennesaw State is that “Georgia Journeys” represents the second part of a three-phase plan, Langer said. The first phase was the introduction of some of the museum’s rotating exhibits into a hall space near the staff offices. The third phase, whose fruits we should see next fall, includes an overhaul of the “V for Victory” exhibit. And while the “Georgia Journeys” exhibit is a permanent part of the museum, it could evolve as the museum captures as many personal histories as possible while members of the World War II generation remain. ■
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VETERANS DAY
Opera’s Truce Hits Deep Notes of Humanity By Cady Schulman cschulman@atljewishtimes.com
German Lt. Horstmayer (Craig Irvin, right) and French Lt. Audebert (Matthew Worth) get to know each other during the Christmas truce in “Silent Night.” “Silent Night” involves the German, French and British armies during World War I.
they’re being told it’s what they have to do. The background about his wife makes him even more similar to those around him.” Discovering similarities among enemies is something Irvin said hits home for Americans at a time when the population is split by partisanship. Those who may be at odds politically could have more in common than they realize. “If you sat down to break bread with someone you fundamentally hate, they might not be the person you think they are,” Irvin said. “As people, we’re more alike than we are different.” Irvin has performed in many operas throughout the country, including
“La Bohème,” “The Mikado,” “Gianni Schicchi,” “Le Nozze di Figaro” and “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” but he said “Silent Night” is the most amazing opera he has been a part of. “I’ve never been so emotionally impacted by a show,” Irvin said. “I’m almost moved to tears. This is the sixth company I’ve done this with, and I’m still moved onstage and emotionally drained from it.”
Irvin said he has been approached by people backstage or at bars who said they bought tickets for a second show after seeing “Silent Night” the first time. Seeing stage management crying and audience members’ “ugly weeping” hit him hard. “It’s so powerful and so gut punching over and over and over to me,” he said. “It truly is a special piece. I love it immensely.” ■
What: “Silent Night” Who: Atlanta Opera Where: Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre, 2800 Cobb Galleria Parkway, Cumberland area When: 8 p.m. Friday, Nov. 11; 3 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 13 Tickets: $35 to $131; www.atlantaopera.org or 404-881-8885
NOVEMBER 11 ▪ 2016
As a singer who has performed in operas across the country, baritone Craig Irvin said nothing had touched him to the core like the musical “Next to Nothing.” It was his hope to be a part of something that touched people on the same deep level, and that’s what he found in “Silent Night.” Directed by the Atlanta Opera’s Israeli artistic director, Tomer Zvulun, the opera is based on the 2005 film “Joyeux Noël” and tells the story of the 1914 Christmas truce along the Western Front during World War I. “It takes an amalgamation of different things that happened up and down the Western Front in one narrative,” Irvin said. “You see different sides: the German army, the French army and the Scottish army. There are main characters in each army. It’s a story of finding peace in the middle of war.” The opera begins in the late summer of 1914 when war is declared. It follows the three armies through horrific battles and violence. But on Christmas Eve the soldiers drop their weapons, celebrate the holiday around a makeshift tree and play soccer. The soldiers are reprimanded by their commanding officers, but their actions show the good in humanity amid the inhumanity of war. Irvin’s character, German Lt. Horstmayer, who is Jewish and has a French wife, is at the moral center of the opera. He loves his wife but feels that he must fight for his country and against hers. The fact that Horstmayer has a French wife doesn’t come out until the end of the opera when he tells a French lieutenant that his French is good because his wife is from Marseilles. “I think of it as a really wonderful layer to the character and to the show,” Irvin said. “They thought they were going off to fight for their country, prove you’re a man and come back home. I think when he mentions his wife is from Marseilles, it humanizes him even more.” The opera takes the connection of its characters even further when Horstmayer discovers that the French lieutenant lives in his favorite part of France. “My wife and I went on our honeymoon there,” Irvin said of his character. “Literally, these people might have passed on the streets before, and now they’re fighting each other because
Photos by Jeff Rothman
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VETERANS DAY
Event photos by Kim Ranlett Photography
Letters From Home
Almost 100 people spent part of Saturday, Nov. 5, at an event organized by The Packaged Good (www.thepackagedgood.org) and Love Notery (www.lovenotery.com) to write letters and create care packages for troops serving overseas, away from their families. The gathering in Dunwoody produced more than 350 letters to troops, including those shown on this page. ■
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QUESTIONS
The first anniversary of the deadliest attack in France since World War II is approaching. On Nov. 13, 2015, 130 people were killed by coordinated Islamic State attacks across Paris. Pope High student, Temple Beth Tikvah member and East Cobb native Ellie Coe was hit hard by the slaughter in France. The daughter of Robin and David Coe is a self-described “avid Francophile” who speaks fluent French and dreams to live in France someday. Ellie responded by launching the World Solidarity Club at Pope to show support for victims of terrorism. Now the club is holding a concert on Sunday, Nov. 13, the anniversary of the attack, as a benefit for a Life for Paris, a French nonprofit group supporting attack victims and their families. The concert will feature student bands Pinkest, Fully Torqued and Blue Spinning Circus to “celebrate the resilience of youth and music in light of the attack on the Bataclan concert hall, where many young people were hanging out the night of the attack,” Ellie said. “Having music groups made up of people my own age really captures that idea of solidarity and courage.” The concert won’t be the end for the club. Ellie, a junior, hopes to turn its attention toward refugee children, first by getting students to make cards for children in refugee camps, then perhaps by holding a poetry night to raise money and awareness.
She answered our 4 Questions. AJT: Why did you start the club? Ellie: For months after the Paris attacks of Nov. 13, I had the Ellie Coe has started feeling that I had learning Russian in addition to French. no impact on the world as a whole, especially in light of such inhumanity. As someone who loves foreign cultures and nations, I came up with the idea for the World Solidarity Club because I was really fed up with not being able to do anything to help people internationally, especially those who have survived events such as terrorist attacks and continuous war. I wanted to raise money and awareness to help these survivors, and I also wanted to form a sort of support community for the teenagers like me who are so deeply touched by the cruelty committed by humans. I thus decided to start this club at my high school, which would allow us to organize events that would show solidarity with and raise awareness for the survivors of the horrors of the world, while finding solace in connecting with people my age. AJT: Why did the Nov. 13 attacks affect you so much? Ellie: As a Francophile who was
With Ellie Coe, World Solidarity Club just a baby when the events of 9/11 happened, this attack on Paris really shook my world. The fact that these young people were attacked while they were doing nothing more than hanging out, listening to music, and eating en terrasse really shocked me. Already having a deep connection with France, I felt such empathy for these people; I imagined myself in their shoes, attending a concert in Paris or eating outside in the 11e Arrondissement, thinking about what I would do in their situation, how I would have felt afterwards. When I think of the families and friendships destroyed, their joie de vivre attacked, I begin to cry. … A lot of the survivors still haven’t completely recovered yet. Some of them are still in the hospital months later, and many of them are still trying to heal psychologically from the things they saw that night. My heart always rests with all the people who have lost someone, who were at the scene of the attacks on Nov. 13, or both. AJT: How did you pull together this concert at the Alliance Française? Ellie: I am a member of the Alliance Française, a community of Francophiles from the metro Atlanta area. In April of last year, I helped organize and advertise a new class there for teenagers who want to improve their spoken French. When I was looking for a venue for this concert, I decided to turn to the Alliance Française because
I knew that they would support me in this endeavor. The amazing teacher of the class that I helped organize, Catherine Thille, graciously offered to help me organize the concert … and allowed me to reach out to all the members of this community to spread the word about the concert. AJT: Why did you choose Life for Paris as the beneficiary? Ellie: Life for Paris is an organization made up of survivors of the Paris attacks — a safe place for these people to heal by connecting with others who have lived through the same events that they have. I chose this organization as the beneficiary for my concert because I love what it stands for, and I am really touched by the members’ bravery, resilience and desire to heal (I wish them all bon courage, for their stories make me cry). It has been my dream for months to find a way to help those affected by the Paris attacks, especially those affected psychologically by what they saw that night. I feel as if donating to this organization is the best way to get money and support directly to these survivors. ■ What: Paris memorial concert Where: Alliance Française d’Atlanta, 1197 Peachtree St., Midtown When: 5 to 7 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 13 Tickets: $10 donation suggested; www. afatl.com or 770-361-5916
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EDUCATION
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HOME
Sunshine Weathers Storms as Turkish Consul Mona Sunshine’s gracious home serves as an elaborate showcase of Turkish and Italian objets d’art, replete with Ottoman customs and history. Sunshine, Turkey’s honorary consul in Atlanta, bridges the continents and some current turbulent political seas. As stunningly beautiful as she is gracious, Sunshine supplies the tales behind her Turkish brass coal Mongol home heater and collectibles such as Osmanli Koleksiyon perfume bottles. Clear Pasabahce glass structures with blue swirls light up shelves. Pomegranate, tulip, Iznik tiles and lokum candy all paint the exoticism of another place and time. Jaffe: How did you acquire your post as honorary consul? Sunshine: In 2005 a motion was presented to the Parliament in Turkey, and then a formal decree was signed by the president of Turkey for me to represent Turkey in Georgia. The past three years I worked with Mayor Reed and the Atlanta airport to get service for Turkish Airlines. As of May 2016, Turkish Airlines flies seven nonstop daily flights to Istanbul on its Boeing 777, which many are now using with their final destination being Tel Aviv. Turkey and Israel have now restored full diplomatic relations, which include each country having an embassy and an ambassador. Trade between the two countries is very high. Also, the travel ban from Russia to Turkey has been lifted, and Russians are again making Turkey a destination for summer holidays.
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Jaffe: What are some of your official duties? Sunshine: They are much the same as a career diplomat, as I represent Turkey in every capacity, including helping Americans wishing to visit Turkey with visas, etc. I work closely with our universities and have established the Turkish Lecture Series at Emory University. We are presently working with Georgia State University to do an exchange program with the Koc University in Istanbul in the field of nursing and law. I promote trade between Georgia and Turkey and have had the pleasure of leading a trade mission with Governor and Mrs. Nathan Deal. I speak about the 24 economy of Turkey to many groups,
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such as Rotary. As honorary consul we are part of the consular corps together with career consuls. We meet once a month for lunch and speakers. When I started my post, we were 40 consuls. Now we have over 70 countries, illustrating how international Atlanta has become. We support each other’s country by attending functions such as their Inde-
Chai-Style Homes By Marcia Caller Jaffe mjaffe@atljewishtimes.com
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pendence Day celebrations. Jaffe: How often do you travel to Turkey? Sunshine: Up to four times a year. My favorite city is Istanbul, the capital of many cultures. It connects the East to the West, the old with the new, the traditional to the modern, and local to universal. It is a legendary city. My favorite spot is Cesme, a beach city outside of Izmir, where I vacationed. Jaffe: Are you active in the Jewish community here? Sunshine: I am very proud to be a board member of the American Jewish Committee. I am a Lion of Judah with Federation and support the William Breman Jewish Home and AIPAC, the Marcus Jewish Community Center and ADL. Jaffe: What are your most treasured collected Turkish art pieces? Sunshine: My home is full of Turkish antiques: Iznik tiles (note the cocktail table book about Omer Koc’s collection of these tiles originating in that eponymous city and used in 15th and 16th century palaces and mosques) and silver mirrors. I have a glass collection from Pasabahce that is shown off when friends visit. My carpets are Turkish, of course. Jaffe: What are some unusual Turkish customs we see in your house? Sunshine: I treasure my tea set — our custom is serving in glass to be able to determine the strength of the tea through coloration. In the guest powder room we have a collection of reversed mirrors (as gifts to brides) oddly turned backwards to illustrate the modestly of demur young women who eschew vanity. Throughout you
B will see the evil eye and a variety of pomegranate figures, which are quite popular there. I like to offer Turkish delight candy lokum in silver serving displays. The bookcase houses the solid-silver seal from the Ottoman Empire and this gold Posha plate. Jaffe: What are some of the sentimental things that you cherish? Sunshine: My son, who is a talented hobbyist woodworker, made the aqua mirror over the main fireplace. The living room lamp was my mother’s. The Steuben Coca-Cola bottle was a gift from Muhtar Kent, the current CEO of Coke, who is Turkish. The Russian samovar fits right in too. Jaffe: How do you use your dining room? Do you like to entertain? Sunshine: I love to cook Turkish food. I am best known for my leg of lamb, rice pilaf, and huge platters of borek, made with layers of phyllo dough. Most of the paintings in here are Italian. The chandelier is Turkish. Jaffe: You lived in Turkey? I know you speak fluent Turkish, but you are a
native of Philadelphia. Sunshine: Yes, I lived in Turkey from 1984 to 1994. When I returned to the U.S., I transported crates and boatloads of furniture. Even the curtains have been resized for current décor. Jaffe: What can you share about the volatile political situation in Turkey? Sunshine: I would like people to know that Turkey is a democratic republic of 80 million people and has a Swiss code of law. A most difficult time for me has certainly been this past year with the bombings that have taken place in the cities of Diyarbakir, Ankara and Istanbul. The most tragic was the recent bombing of the Ataturk Airport in Istanbul, where 41 people perished and hundreds were injured. Most concerning was the failed attempted coup, with which we are now dealing. Jaffe: Tell us a fun tidbit about Turkey. Sunshine: Most people think the tulip was of Dutch origin. The Turks gave the bulb to Holland as a gift because the Dutch soil is more suitable. ■
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A: Mona Sunshine’s grand living room includes a fireplace mirror built by her son as a woodworking hobby. B: Turkish Honorary Consul Mona Sunshine, who lived in Turkey for a decade, works at her home office. C. Turkish Honorary Consul Mona Sunshine holds a handmade Turkish vase invoking the Tulip Era. Turkey gave the tulip bulb to Holland. Behind her are a Russian samovar, the evil eye and blue-striped Pasabahce glass. D: The master bedroom chaise is where Mona Sunshine relaxes to catch up on reading about Turkish culture and events. E: One of Mona Sunshine’s Iznik-style tiles is on the wall in her kitchen. F: A Turkish chandelier hangs over the dining room, which is always set for dignitaries. G: Mona Sunshine, dressed in white with a colorful Turkish necklace, is known for preparing traditional feasts of lamb, rice pilaf and borek. H: The foyer features Italian oils and fabric imported from Turkey. I: A cocktail table displays Omer Koc’s book about his collection of Iznik tiles alongside a Turkish tea set, whose glass cups show the strength of the tea. J: Mona Sunshine’s collection of reversed bridal mirrors, a Turkish custom for modesty, hangs in the front powder room. K: An antique brass coal Mongol heater sits by a Turkish rug.
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BUSINESS
Arteeni.com Integrates Giving Into Art Buying By April Basler abasler@atljewishtimes.com Arteeni.com launched in September as a marketplace for artisan goods with a charitable twist. Every item on the site is handcrafted in North America. One-of-a-kind pieces make up much of the online gallery. Arteeni.com offers high-end products including fine art, home goods, jewelry and small-batch foods. As for the twist: A customer who makes a purchase on Arteeni.com is prompted to register on the site and choose one of seven charities available. A portion of the sale is donated to the charity chosen by the customer. Arteeni’s co-founder and chief creative director, Arwen Fine, who is a designer herself, came up with the idea for the business several years ago. “I had always wanted to give back to charity because I find that artists always agreed to donate products to charity whenever I asked,” Fine said. “So I thought it would be a good way to sort of mash the two things together: designers/artists and charity. Then I came across my partner, Jason Weis-
Arlene Fine
Jason Weisbrot
brot, and he has the technical ability that I do not. He liked the idea, and we started working on it.” Fine and Weisbrot met at a foodie meet-up group on Buford Highway. “Entrepreneurship has always been an interest to me,” Weisbrot said. “I had been in the corporate world for about 10 years, and I was kind of over that. I was looking for a change, and it was serendipity that we met.” About two years ago, they started working on the business. Six months into it, Fine’s husband, Marc, was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease at the age of 59. They then reached out to the Michael J. Fox Foundation, which is dedicated to finding a cure for Parkinson’s and to ensuring the development of improved therapies. The Fox Foundation welcomed Ar-
teeni.com, and Fine and Weisbrot made the foundation their spotlight charity. The site’s charities also include Homes for Our Troops, the Alzheimer’s Association and the Animal Welfare Institute. Fine said her husband’s diagnosis further inspired her business and drove her to devote more time to it. “I’ve always been very fortunate. I’ve always been a designer, and my husband has always supported me for 26 years,” she said. “Once he was diagnosed, I realized that I really had to make this a reality because I don’t know how much longer he’s going to be able to work. He had just applied for disability. So that’s when it really hit me that it had to be a real business.” Arteeni.com sells pieces from 113 artists. Fine markets to artists via email and through networking. Other artists sign up through the website. The artists submit their products to the company for approval. “I make sure that they are photographed well and titled well,” Fine said. “Then I approve them, and then we can put them live on the site.” Once a customer makes a purchase on the site, the founders and the artist are notified by email. The customer pays for the item on the website and chooses a charity, and the artist ships the item directly to the customer. The artists keep 70 percent of the sales. The charities’ shares come from Arteeni’s 30 percent. The amount donated varies, depending on what promotions are running that month. Charity and community service have always been a part of Fine and Weisbrot’s lives. Weisbrot was the adviser for the
NOVEMBER 11 ▪ 2016
Morgan and DiSalvo Achieve Top Tier
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Alpharetta-based law firm Morgan and DiSalvo has been named to the 2017 edition of the Best Law Firms rankings as a Tier 1 regional practice in trusts and estates by U.S. News & World Report and Best Lawyers. Firms on the 2017 list are recognized for professional excellence with persistently strong ratings from clients and peers. Achieving a tiered ranking signals a combination of quality law practice and breadth of legal expertise. The Metro Tier 1 status earned by Morgan and DiSalvo is the highest regional status given. Only 23 law firms in Georgia achieved this status for 2017. “We are passionate estate and tax
Arteeni.com sells items from 113 artists and designers, including a leather handbag from Havenstreet Studios and an urn from Eileen Braun.
Dunwoody BBYO’s boys chapter and volunteers in other ways as well. Fine has given back since she was a child helping disabled and underprivileged children with her parents. “We had always participated in philanthropy as a family,” Fine said. “I’ve grown up giving back.” ■ planners,” said Richard Morgan, partner at Morgan and DiSalvo. “Having our efforts recognized by our peers and clients is a true honor and one we work diligently to maintain year after year.” The 2017 rankings assess 74 national practice areas and 122 metropoliRichard Morgan tan-based practice areas. Richard Morgan was a founding member of one of the two Reform congregations that became Congregation Dor Tamid and has been active with Jewish Family & Career Services and the Jewish Federation of Greater Atlanta. ■
OBITUARIES
Irving Schiff 101, Atlanta
Irving Schiff, age 101, died Monday, Nov. 7, 2016, in Atlanta. Irv was born in New York City on Aug. 15, 1915, to Ida and Abraham Schiff. He grew up in Tallahassee, Fla., with his oldest sister, Ann Gilberg. He served with the Army in the South Pacific during World War II. Irv had a long career in the men’s clothing business. Mr. Schiff is survived by his wife, Norma; sons and daughter-in-law Brian Schiff and Barbara Sachs and Alan Schiff; grandchildren Stephanie Kozma, Jennifer Schiff-Ivers and Brad Ivers, and Jordan and Matthew Schiff; great-granddaughter Ariella; step-grandchildren Lauren Yurfest and Johanna and Drew Bailey; stepgreat-granddaughters Ansley and Cameron; and niece Francine Holowell. Sign the online guestbook at www.edressler.com. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to Ahavath Achim Synagogue. A graveside funeral will be held Wednesday, Nov. 9, at Greenwood Cemetery with Rabbi Neil Sandler officiating. Arrangements by Dressler’s Jewish Funeral Care, 770-451-4999.
Frieda Spector 91, Atlanta
Frieda “Fritzi” Spector, age 91, of Atlanta died Sunday, Nov. 6, 2016. Survivors include her daughters and sons-in-law, Deborah Spector and Jeffrey Victor of Atlanta, Susan and Jack Miller of Lexington, Ky., and Patricia and Dr. Van Wilson of College Station, Texas; brother Lou (Audray) Schneier of Riverdale, N.Y.; grandchildren Adam (Kerrie) Miller, Matthew (Sarah Packard) Wilson and Keith Wilson; and great-grandchildren Aiden and Rebecca Wilson and Leo and Ivy Miller. Frieda was predeceased by her husband, Maurice, after 53 years of marriage. She is also survived by many cherished nieces and nephews and other family members. Frieda graduated from New York University in New York. She was a life member of Hadassah and a member of the Ahavath Achim Sisterhood for 69 years. She retired from National Data Corp. as a data entry specialist. Sign the online guestbook at www.edressler.com. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the charity of your choice. A graveside service was held Tuesday, Nov. 8, at Greenwood Cemetery with Rabbi Neil Sandler officiating. Arrangements by Dressler’s Jewish Funeral Care, 770-451-4999.
Sara Spotts 79, Atlanta
Death Notices
Myron Jay Kaufman, 70, of Decatur, husband of June Kaufman and father of Daniel Kaufman and Aaron Kaufman, on Oct. 23. Ida Resnick, 98, of Harrisburg, Pa., mother of Temple Sinai member Anita Rottner, on Oct. 11. Rabbi Allan Schwartz of Atlanta on Oct. 12. Rita Schwartz, 89, of Dunwoody, mother of Donna, Rafi and Boaz, on Oct. 25. Earl Sisson, 81, of Knoxville, Tenn., father of Temple member Sara Steinfeld and Susan Lower and husband of Tillie Ann Sisson, on Oct. 7.
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Sara Spotts, age 79, died Sunday, Nov. 6, 2016, in Atlanta. Ms. Spotts was born in Petrosani, Romania, in 1937. After the Holocaust, she moved to Israel, where she lived for several years before immigrating to the United States. She moved to Atlanta in 1970, where she spent most of the rest of her life. Ms. Spotts, a passionate advocate of Jewish education, taught children and adults for over 50 years. Ms. Spotts is survived by her daughter and son-in-law, Nonny and Ed Kelly (Baltimore); sons and daughters-in-law Rabbi Yoel and Chavie Spotts (Atlanta) and Joshua and Aviva Spotts (Israel); and grandchildren Yoni, Rina, Nechama, Yosef, Meira, Temima, Chaim, Shoshana, Hadassah, Ezra and Tamar. Sign the online guestbook at www.edressler.com. A graveside funeral was held Tuesday, Nov. 9, at Crest Lawn Memorial Park with Rabbi Ilan Feldman officiating. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to Hadassah, the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum or Congregation Beth Jacob. Arrangements by Dressler’s Jewish Funeral Care, 770-451-4999.
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ARTS
Alice Hoffman Justifies Readers’ Faith By Michael Jacobs mjacobs@atljewishtimes.com Two would-be reviewers started Alice Hoffman’s latest novel, “Faithful,” then begged off the assignment. The first was unprepared for and uncomfortable with Hoffman’s occasional use of raw language and explicit if unerotic sex scenes. The second found the novel to be a bit of slog at the start. Both were justified in their complaints. “Faithful,” which Hoffman will discuss at the Book Festival of the Marcus Jewish Community Center on Monday night, Nov. 14, is a novel about a young
adult, but it is not a young-adult novel. To the extent she feels anything, protagonist Shelby Richmond hates herself when the book begins. She lost control of her car on an icy Long Island road in February of her senior year of high school, and the crash, which did no permanent physical damage to Shelby, left her best friend, Helene Boyd, in an irreversible coma and as an object of veneration, believed to bring miracles to visitors. Two years later, after a suicide attempt and a stint in a psychiatric hospital where she was repeatedly raped, Shelby keeps her head shaved and lives in her parents’ basement, sleeping, popping pills, and venturing out at
night only to buy and smoke pot. It’s a dark, dreary, silent existence into which Hoffman drops the reader with stark prose, and the opening 20 pages are tough to get through. But, intentionally or not, the title “Faithful” refers not just to Shelby and the secret admirer/human angel who sends her postcards with inspirational messages such as “Do something” and “Want something.” It also applies to the fans Hoffman has gained with her dozens of books: Have faith in her, and she will reward you. Hoffman delivers on the title’s promise. Escaping her suburban existence for a life of Chinese takeout with her
Jewish drug dealer-turned-pharmacy student boyfriend in Brooklyn, Shelby evolves into someone the people around her, the dogs she rescues and finally she herself can like. The reader can’t help but join the crowd. “Faithful” is not a complicated story; it’s just life, with its twists and turns, tragedies and triumphs, and everyday kindnesses and cruelties. Hoffman’s characters and their development, however, transform that simple and sometimes rough read into a delight. ■ Faithful By Alice Hoffman Simon & Schuster, 272 pages, $26
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The Personal Cost of Sanger’s ‘Terrible Virtue’ By Leah R. Harrison lharrison@atljewishtimes.com From the outset, it is clear that Margaret Sanger was an unconventional thinker. Her views were progressive and her morals outrageous for the times, but things split wide open when she was asked to stand in at a women’s meeting of Socialist Local No. 5 and speak about women’s right to vote. All at once, her years of rage at the plight of women having no voice and being subject to the whims and compulsions of a male-dominated society came to the fore, and she focused her speech instead on “women’s health,” or ultimately available, legal contraception. Word spread, and that audience of seven next led to a crowd of 100, feeding her advocacy until it eclipsed the other aspects of her life. She drew on her memories of her mother, who died young — weak, ill, exhausted and spent from a life of bearing and caring for 13 children — and on her recollections of a childhood devoid of parental nurturing and creature comforts as resources were stretched too thin. She also called on her experiences as a nurse dealing with women’s issues at a time when birth control was pre-
scribed by doctors only for men to prevent the spread of disease in an era when women’s health and personal choices were not even an afterthought. FiEllen Feldman will nally, as a mother bring her historical she thought of her novel to the Book anger “at a sociFestival at noon Friday, Nov. 11. ety that would let children enter the world unwanted and unloved.” Sanger, a seemingly happily married but personally unfulfilled mother of three, was catapulted into a life of activism and research that resulted in the founding of Planned Parenthood and the opening of the first illegal birth control clinic in America in 1916. Thus, the seeds were sown. In the novel “Terrible Virtue,” Ellen Feldman provides a historical depiction and psychological study of the driving forces behind Sanger, who would become known as “the mother of the birth control movement.” Along the way Sanger faced many perils, including prison sentences and the decision to flee the country, and made some scarring sacrifices, includ-
ing her marriage and relationships with those she loved and anyone willing to risk life within her inner circle. “I’m not like other women,” Sanger’s character says. “Nothing could have kept me from my work. Nothing did keep me from my work.” It is fitting that Feldman brings us this historical portrayal in 2016, the 100th anniversary of Planned Parenthood and the establishment of that first women’s clinic, and that ‘Terrible Virtue” is being presented at the Jewish Book Festival of the Marcus Jewish Community Center at noon Friday, Nov. 11, with Jennifer S. Brown’s debut novel, “Modern Girls,” which deals with the issue of abortion less than 20 years later. It is clear how much progress was made in women’s rights in that short span. Feldman neglects to provide ages or dates to give historical context beyond referencing actual events within the story (women’s right to vote was ratified in 1920; Sanger founded Planned Parenthood in 1916; and in 1950, in her 80s, she secured funding for the research that led to the creation of the first human birth control pill). All are significant and pivotal issues, but they ebb and flow without reference to era or time until the last 25
pages of the book. Amid her somewhat lofty prose, Feldman often uses ominous foreshadowing, referencing events or characters yet to be introduced. More foreboding and annoying than intriguing, this writing style creates questions and confusion as it distracts the reader from the story at hand. Later, as we learn more about Sanger’s flawed character, the book becomes more of a psychological study in what drove her to so steadfastly and single-mindedly pursue her mission that she sacrificed her personal relationships to change the world for the better. ■
Terrible Virtue By Ellen Feldman HarperCollins, 260 pages, $25.99
Yalof Serves Gourmet Sample of New York By Ruth Abusch-Magder
NOVEMBER 11 ▪ 2016
On the surface, the shandy, the signature drink at Betony in New York City, is a simple drink, a uniform dark liquid poured over crushed ice. But take a sip and you open up a world of taste: hoppy beer, sweet honey, sour vinegar, and smoky overtones of tobacco inspired by Eamon Rockey’s memories of childhood summers spent with his grandparents in Colorado. Ina Yalof’s “Food in the City” is similarly deceptive. The premise is simple: She has collected the stories of those involved in a variety of food industries across New York, from the woman charged with feeding the thousands of inmates of the city’s prison to line cooks and high-end caterers. But dip into any one of these wellchosen personal narratives and you will discover not only a deeper understanding of food and life in New York, but also life lessons and the many shades of the American dream. In picking among the many pur30 veyors of food in New York, Yalof has
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wisely chosen to share stories of those who pursue and achieve excellence at whatever level they work. America is a place Ina Yalof will talk where being the best about “Food and the City” as part is valued and recogof a food program nized. starting with a There are, of hot dog lunch at course, five-star resnoon Wednesday, taurants and celebNov. 16. rity chefs, but Yalof shows that even a lowly job like shucking oysters can be done well and earn recognition. At 28, Lois Iglesias, a Mexican immigrant with an aversion to raw oysters, has won national competitions for his extraordinary ability to open and clean these prized sea creatures. And if you get good enough, the traditional boundaries fall by the wayside. Burt Leventhal, the best kosher caterer, for example, can cross over and cater meals at the American Irish Society. The flip side of excellence is am-
bition. Not surprisingly, the stories of food in New York include many immigrant stories. The food industry offers newcomers the opportunity to make a better life for themselves, a desire that fuels many dreams and hard work. As a young woman, Carmen Melendez made the dangerous journey by bus and foot from Nicaragua to New York, motivated by the desire to give her daughter a good life. Coming to work at Tom Cat Bakery, she knew nothing about making bread but was willing to learn and work hard. Today, her daughter is a dentist, and Melendez owns her own home. But she still comes in at 3 a.m., though now she overseas much of the bakery floor operation. Others, such as David Fox of Fox’s U-Bet egg creams, work hard to keep the dreams of their immigrant ancestors alive. While still others are migrants rather than immigrants, making their way to New York to fulfill dreams and often working long hours for low pay and just the opportunity to participate in one of the world’s most vibrant culinary cultures.
Some involved in the food industry knew from a young age that cooking and serving were a passion. Burt Leventhal fell in love with the idea of catering the first time he went to a wedding. Wilson Tang grew up in his family’s dim sum parlor, Nom Wah Tea Parlor, and, despite family pressure to stay away, was not happy until he made it a focus of his life. Others, including Sylvia Weinstock, a purveyor of high-end wedding cakes, and Connie McDonald of Levain Bakery fell into it by accident. Weinstock worked as a teacher, and McDonald worked in finance, but both found a calling mixing, baking and selling products known to be exceptional. Whether you are interested in food, Americana or just good storytelling, Yalof’s collection of well-told personal stories will draw you in and reflect a vision that is both unexpected and familiar. ■ Food and the City By Ina Yalof G.P. Putnam’s Sons, 384 pages, $28
Look to the Past, Book NOOK to the Future I do not have dreams about traveling back in time to hear me speak my first words or to witness the recognition on the faces of my parents (if they were the ones to hear those first words) when they realized they had a genius on their hands. Why? Because talking came fairly early and easily to me in both English and Yiddish. I was, after all, their first child; whom would they compare me to if not the other first-child geniuses? I do dream of traveling back to the moment I suddenly got it. When my entire being awoke as if from a coma (G-d forbid) and the power of the written word was revealed to me. I want to feel that awe again. I want to see the shock of recognition on my face. I want to experience the pride I must have felt. (I am betting pride was not in my vocabulary at that time, but the feeling sure was.) I want to see the world once more through this new recognition. I want to read and reread those words, honor them, thank them. I want to thank and honor the author of those words who sent me on a lifelong journey through time, space, adventure, happiness, sadness, tears and giggles. A lifelong love of the word. My love of the characters in the books who became my friends. So many of whom I hated to leave. So many I still miss. I am a reading addict. Not the worst thing to which a person can become addicted. Gene, my lifelong partner (aka hubby), claims it would have been cheaper if I had been addicted to furs or diamonds. What can I say? It’s not my style. Furs? Feh, wearing dead animals would freak me out. Diamonds? Hmm, let me consider this one. Oy, did I make a mistake? Until recently, all my books were on paper. Full disclosure: Until two weeks ago, I had not been in a library since childhood. I could not tell you what my aversion was to borrowing a book from the library. My books had to be new or borrowed from a friend or a relative. If you laid out all the books in our home in a straight line, they would
surround the world. And those don’t even include the hundreds and hundreds of books we have donated. Ten words I treasured, the 10 words I loved to hear: “Mom, do you have a book for me to read?” The following is a short story:
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ACROSS 1. ___ tova 6. Uzi filler 10. H or R for Greenberg 14. Bibi’s gofers 15. Stern (nautically) 16. One in Rome shows the menorah 17. 1983 Jerry Bruckheimer hit 19. Quote Rashi 20. Org. for Pe’er or Ram 21. Misplay by Ian Kinsler 22. Singer Haza 24. Nino who composed the score of a Brando/Caan classic 26. School with “Urim and Thurrim” on its seal 29. Makes like one in mourning, to cloths 32. 1999 Matthew Broderick title role 35. Jewish rights org. 36. One who might fight Magneto 37. Actress Michele 38. Pas ___ (bread choice) 42. Metal transformation Bezalel supposedly understood 44. ___ out a living (73-Across, perhaps) 45. First graphic novel to win a Pulitzer 47. ___ long way (hike from Tsfat to Jerusalem) 48. 2005 Isla Fisher hit 54. Bob from “Fuller House” 55. Where to store a sukkah 56. How Genesis is always started 57. Make like David after Jonathan’s death 59. “And mine eyes shall ___ spare thee” (Ezekiel 7:4) 61. Canaan or Gold 62. Yesh ___ 64. Missing Jews, or what can be found toward the end of
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One day there was a knock on my door. “Who is it?” I asked sweetly, even though I could see a small, purple talking object standing outside my stained-glass-with-purple-inlay door. The object spoke! “Shaindle,” it said, “boy, do I have a sussie (surprise) for you!” “Oh, I love sussies,” I said. “I come to bring you into the millennial world. Knowing your favorite color is eggplant, I brought you a purple NOOK.” Looking as if I’d been struck dumb, I could barely get the following words out of my mouth: “I thought a nook was a place you could display small items.” “No,” it said, “a NOOK is a way of reading books. You will love it. Enjoy.” End of story. If you believe this short story, I have an exquisite long bridge to sell you — cheap! But it is not the end of the story. I do love my Barnes & Noble NOOK, but every now and again I crave the feel of a real book. When I hunger for the activity of licking the tip of my finger to turn the page, I must give in, and my book pusher, Amazon, quickly delivers. Although I am taking baby steps toward borrowing books from the library, I have not quite made it all the way. It’s a process. I am proud of my eclectic collection of bookmarks. The bookmark I cherish is the pink velveteen with blingy letters that spell out “Lila,” given to me by Lila, my sweet granddaughter. I am here today to thank all those writers without whose imagination and clever way with words I would be a listless, bored, unimaginative, uncreative, unhappy girl. ■
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By Shaindle Schmuckler shaindle@atljewishtimes.com
“Missing in the Movies”
By Yoni Glatt, koshercrosswords@gmail.com Difficulty Level: Manageable
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www.atlantajewishtimes.com
of Esau 34. Star of “Keeping Up With the Joneses” 38. Trees that sound like many of this paper’s readers? 39. Big furniture retailer in Netanya 40. Actress Kyra 41. Schleps 43. Response to a bit by DOWN 1. Expedition where one might Brooks 46. BIU, e.g. see unique kosher animals 49. Original Ramone who was 2. Hotel with a Queen of not Jewish Sheba resort 3. Makes a film based on the 50. One paying a flat fee just for Passover? Bible, e.g. 4. “Contra” letters not related 51. Authorize, like Pharaoh to Joseph to Iran 52. Go over Torah again 5. “Stadium” man who beat 53. Like net sounds when (Tom) Okker to win the U.S. Casspi gets hot Open in 1968 58. “Guilty,” from Madoff 6. Noah’s landfall 60. Disney sci-fi film directed 7. Most biblical prophets 8. “Big” item known for being by Steven Lisberger 62. Give a Galil to tref 63. ___ chi (krav maga 9. Hydrox or Bloomeos alternative) alternative 65. Methuselah, for sure 10. Jerusalem, to the Jews 66. Singer with a lackluster 11. One of many in a Star of Tel Aviv performance in August David 2016 12. Perform like Portman 67. Ahasuerus emotion toward 13. Start of Kafka’s bestHaman known works 18. What many do to Shabbat clothing 23. Acting LAST WEEK’S SOLUTION 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 brothers James T R U M P L O T T O J C C 14 15 16 and Dave I N F O R C R A I G A L A 19 25. On ___ with 17N A O M I 18S H E M E R C U P 20 21 22 (like a good E Z R A B R E A K E R 23 24 25 26 27 chavrusa) S H A N E S S O S V I D A 28 29 30 27. Nova, e.g. W A R T S O H R B E E 32 33 34 35 28. Name inside 31E L I S F L U C A R M E L 36 37 38 39 Sherman and E V E E D A S N E R A R I 40 41 42 43 Wasserman T E L L E R H U E P S A K 44 45 46 30. Make a call, S A L G A N C L O S E 47 48 49 50 like Kagan R A H M A O N P H O N E S 51 52 53 31. Lisa Loeb’s A L A B A M A B E E T 54 55 56 57 58 59 No. 1 hit M O R H O W A R D S T E R N 60 61 62 33. Descendant A N O A R A V A E E R I E 17-, 32- and 48-Across 68. “Chariots of Fire” event 69. “Night” writer, to friends 70. “Uncircumcised” fruit 71. Bloomberg, to his friends 72. Last month, on some calendars 73. Those who need tzedakah
NOVEMBER 11 ▪ 2016
CLOSING THOUGHTS
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NOVEMBER 11 â–ª 2016