woodruffcreateATL.org
Prepare for the Marcus JCC’s Nov. 5-20 celebrationof books by Jews, about Jews and of interest to Jews with the AJT’s 28-page pullout section, Pages 11-38.
Atlanta VOL. XCI NO. 41
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OCTOBER 21, 2016 | 19 TISHREI 5777
Olens: Safety, Protection of Students Come First Sam Olens has begun his transition from elected official to academic administrator with a promise of open, honest communication and a commitment to mutual respect and tolerance. He also has faced a campus protest and a promise of an Equal Employment Opportunity Commission complaint against his hiring. The University System of Georgia Board of Regents named Olens, who as attorney general has been Georgia’s highest-ranking elected Jewish politician for almost six years, the fourth president of Kennesaw State University while he observed Yom Kippur on Wednesday, Oct. 12. “I tried my best to watch the activity once I got back from synagogue and not return calls, etc.,” Olens said in an interview with the AJT (Page 40). He said he and wife Lisa had about 50 people at their house to break the fast, so “it wasn’t until about 11 o’clock at night after we had cleaned up enough that we could go to bed, then I started looking at emails.” He is resigning his elected position and assuming the presidency of the university with more than 33,000 students at campuses in Kennesaw and Marietta on Nov. 1. In an email that went out to members of the Kennesaw State community Thursday morning, Oct. 13, Olens called it “an institution that has helped
NOBEL DYLAN
Bob Dylan is a genius, and his song lyrics are literature. But that doesn’t mean Dylan is more worthy of the Nobel Prize than Philip Roth. Our View, Page 8
Sam Olens will assume the Kennesaw State presidency a week before the elections but tells the AJT on Page 40 he remains committed to helping pass Amendment 2 to the Georgia Constitution, which would create a financial system to support the recovery of victims of child sex trafficking.
transform our community and has earned a reputation as one of Georgia’s top universities.” “I am excited to join the KSU community. The tremendous growth both in size and academic stature that this university has achieved in a relatively short amount of time speaks volumes about your dedication and commitment to excellence,” he wrote, adding that he has a passion for the university that is rooted in his belief in “the life-changing impact”
MUSICAL ACTIVISM
Israeli Gabriel Meyer Halevy is bringing a message of peace and justice with his unique world music sound when he visits Atlanta this month. Page 39
of education. He said the grit and determination of Kennesaw State students and the inclusive campus are consistent with his own values. That letter did not stop about 70 people from staging a 10-minute silent protest outside the university administration building midday Thursday. Many were motivated by concerns for the LGBTQcommunity at Kennesaw State because Olens as attorney general waged court battles to defend Georgia’s ban on same-sex marriage and block an Obama administration directive on transgender bathroom rights; an anti-Olens online petition before the regents’ decision focused on LGBTQ concerns. But Olens said he has never publicly expressed a personal opinion on those issues. “My job is to represent the state. That’s what I’ve done,” Olens told the AJT. “As far as being university president, there’s nothing more important in that capacity than the safety and protection of the students. The universities are there for the students. The point’s gonna be made loud and clear that my job is to do everything I can to ensure their success, and that doesn’t impinge on any type of political beliefs. That doesn’t come into the equation.” Faculty members have also criti-
cized the process that led to the hiring of Olens, whose career has consisted of the law and politics, not academia. The University System of Georgia did not conduct an official search or consider any other candidates after Daniel Papp resigned in May, effective June 30, after a decade as president. Susan Raines, a professor of conflict management and the editor in chief of Conflict Resolution Quarterly, told WXIA-TV (11Alive) on Oct. 13 that she and others planned to file an EEOC complaint within a week because women and minorities were not allowed to apply for the job. Raines said she tried to apply for the position. The Kennesaw State reaction was far from entirely negative. “We are thrilled and honored to welcome you to the Owl Nation!” the Chabad Jewish Student Center at the university posted on Facebook. In his email to the KSU community, Olens said he plans to meet with individuals and groups for a thoughtful dialogue on both campuses in the coming weeks. “I want to share my initial thoughts about KSU’s priorities but more important want to hear from you, the members of the campus community, about your vision and what priorities we should emphasize going forward.” ■
INSIDE Local News �������������������������������2 Calendar �����������������������������������4 Candle Lighting ����������������������4 Israel News ������������������������������6 Opinion ������������������������������������8 Sukkot ������������������������������������ 10
Arts ������������������������������������������39 Education ������������������������������ 40 Business ���������������������������������43 Marketplace ������������������������� 44 Obituaries ����������������������������� 46 Crossword ������������������������������47
LOCAL NEWS “I feel like I’ve taken, not given,” said Gary Saban, who doubted that he deserved the award but agreed that his wife did.
Museum Honors Ackerman Steve Berman dons a Queen of Hearts costume in honor of Carole Kirschner.
Fred Halperin warns that his emeritus status means the JHLC board will never get rid of him.
OCTOBER 21 ▪ 2016
Jewish Home Transitions
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Jewish Home Life Communities marked two major changes in leadership during its 66th annual meeting Sunday afternoon, Oct. 16, at the William Breman Jewish Home: • Steve Merlin, who served as board chair the past three years, passed the title to a cousin, Deborah Maslia. • Fred Halperin ended a 25-year run as an elected member of the board of directors but became JHLC’s first board member emeritus. That means, he told the crowd in accepting the honor, that JHLC is stuck with him forever. Presenting Halperin the special recognition, unanimously approved by the board, was Merlin’s final act as chair. “You’re our goodwill ambassador to the community and our largest fundraiser,” Merlin told Halperin. “You just can’t go now.” Merlin added: “We never want you to retire from being our No. 1 advocate.” Two couples received the nonprofit organization’s annual awards: • Carole (a past president of the Jewish Home Auxiliary and former JHLC board member) and Sid Kirschner (a former JHLC board chair) received the Founders Award, presented by Steve Berman, whose costume made the point that Sid is the Jack of All Trades and Carole is the Queen of Hearts. “That was, uh, entertaining,” Sid Kirschner said. • Sue and Gary Saban received the Chair’s Award from Merlin. Sue has been one of the organization’s most active volunteers since starting in the gift shop 13 years ago and is a past president of the auxiliary and a Weinstein Hospice board member. Gary, who took up glass art after retiring from dentistry, has created pieces for the Breman Jewish Home and Berman Commons and is working on items for the Cohen Home.
The Michael C. Carlos Museum at Emory University recently honored Charles Ackerman by naming its reception hall the Charles S. Ackerman Hall after the Jewish entrepreneur donated $1 million to the museum’s endowment. “It is so wonderful to have the Ackerman name in the building and especially above the entrance to the beautiful reception hall,” Museum Director Bonnie Speed said in a statement. The reception hall is used for lectures, concerts, children’s activities, poetry readings, exhibition openings and other events. Ackerman has supported the Carlos Museum for more than two decades, including 10 years as co-chair of the advisory board. He began as board chair in 2003, the year the museum returned Rameses I to Egypt, and he joined the Carlos entourage on the trip to Cairo. Ackerman has paid for technology initiatives and important acquisitions over the years, the museum said in an announcement.
Police Adjustment
Complete Spine Solutions’ Brookhaven location provided free services to Brookhaven police officers on Police Appreciation Day on Tuesday, Oct. 11. Officers received assessments through digital posture screens and received laser treatments and massages to relieve pain, much of which results from the heavy equipment they wear. “Our bulletproof vests impact our posture, but are pretty important to wear,” Officer Russell Davis said. “When we can’t even sit or stand up straight, it affects our knees, back, necks and shoulders, and we must push through this constant pain.” “I feel excited to go to work and take on the day,” Officer Carlos Nino said after his morning treatment at Complete Spine Solutions (www. CompleteSpineSolutions.com).
A Brookhaven police officer receives a digital posture screen at Complete Spine Solutions.
MA TOVU
What’s in a Name?
their wedding invitation. Was it inadvertent, or was it intentional that my name did not appear? Confusion and hurt swirled, threatening to drown me in their turbulent waves, and I was swept away in a maelstrom of pain. So that’s the way it is? All of my efforts, every ounce of my caring, are meaningless?
Shared Spirit Moderated By Rachel Stein rachels83@gmail.com
Bruce got many earfuls, and I wanted him to take up my cause. “Do you want me to tell them to redo the invitations?” he asked. “Yes,” I said, my breath ragged. “But what if it causes contention?” he asked. I glared at him. “You’re right,” he soothed. “I’m totally on board with you. This was hurtful and inexcusable. But if your whole premise has been to solidify our foundation, are you sure you want to rock the boat? Maybe we’re supposed to just swallow this and look the other way.” “I need to think,” I mumbled, stalking out the front door, my shoulders bent from the burden. How dare she! I seethed. After all I’ve done! It’s so wrong, so ungrateful. Yes, a soft voice piped in. You’re right. But isn’t selfless giving and devotion what defines a mother? Does it really matter if your name isn’t on an invitation that will ultimately be laid to rest in a garbage heap? Really now, is that what will last? And is it possible that if you make this an issue, the fiery altercation that might ensue will eat away at the castle you’ve tried so hard to create, threatening to destroy your beautiful edifice? There was a thought-provoking response printed in this column advocating forgiveness even when someone shouldn’t necessarily be forgiven — because living in harmony might just be worth more than being right. Coming out on top may feel good temporarily, but it can be lonely standing at the top. Forgiving might mean bending and swallowing hard, but the benefits are transcendental. ■ How do you think Amy should handle this dilemma?
OCTOBER 21 ▪ 2016
Shared Spirit is a forum in which readers share their problems. Acting as mediator, I pose the issues to my readers, then print responses. Life is good, studded with stunning opportunities for rebirth and transformation. I can attest to this because I am privileged and eternally grateful to have been granted a second chance. G-d sent me a wonderful man to be my husband, someone who lifted me from the quagmire of a first marriage that was never a marriage and taught me the meaning of love within the framework of a real relationship. For two years I have endeavored to build a lasting edifice, a home for myself and my new husband. And for two years I have attempted to embrace Bruce’s family as my own, welcoming his children and grandchildren into my home and heart. Creating a home takes work, and sometimes all I wanted was to be alone with Bruce. We had so much catching up to do, so much construction to replace the destruction. But then the calls would come. “Hi, Amy,” my stepdaughter began, “is it a good weekend to visit?” “Of course!” was my ready answer, while my heart frantically beat an opposing view. After a busy week at work, all I wanted was to sit beside Bruce, catch up with him and enjoy his company. My dreams of peaceful nighttime walks, playing Scrabble over coffee and cake, and taking in our favorite TV show late at night went up in wistful smoke. Because, ready or not, Jill, her husband and their three little ones were going to scramble in, creating joyful havoc in what would have been our island of serenity. Oh, well, I mused, the sacrifice is worth it for family closeness. Isn’t it? I lost count of the times I said yes to Bruce’s children when I wanted to say no, all in the name of becoming a mother and grandmother minus the “step” prefix. His family would be my family, I vowed. Time passed, our family bonded, and good tidings knocked on our door. Bruce’s second daughter got engaged to a fine young man. I offered to help the bride-to-be shop for her trousseau, and we happily shopped till we dropped. Everything was grand in my world until I saw
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CALENDAR Atlanta
THURSDAY, OCT. 20
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CANDLE-LIGHTING TIMES
Southern Sukkot. Chabad of North Fulton, 10180 Jones Bridge Road, Alpharetta, celebrates Sukkot with barbecue and family fun (crafts, inflatables and more) at 5 p.m. Admission is $5, with food costing extra; www.chabadnf.org or 770-410-9000.
Shabbat Sukkot Friday, Oct. 21, light candles at 6:37 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 22, Shabbat ends at 7:32 p.m. Shemini Atzeret Sunday, Oct. 23, light candles at 6:35 p.m. Simchat Torah Monday, Oct. 24, light candles after 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 25, holiday ends at 7:29 p.m. Bereshit Friday, Oct. 28, light candles at 6:30 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 29, Shabbat ends at 7:25 p.m.
Young-adult Sukkot. Chabad Intown’s YJP group jazzes things up with an open bar, sushi, socializing and the 4th Ward Afro-Klezmer Band at 8 p.m. in the sukkah at the home of Rabbi Eliyahu and Dena Schusterman, 990 St. Charles Ave., Virginia-Highland. Admission is $10 in advance or $15 at the door; www.yjpatlanta.org/#events.
FRIDAY, OCT. 21
SOJOURN in the sukkah. The Southern Jewish Resource Network for Gender and Sexual Diversity holds a breakfast program about its work in the Southeast at 7:30 a.m. at Congregation Shearith Israel, 1180 University Drive, Morningside. Tickets are $18; www.sojourngsd.org/calendar/sukkah. Sukkot celebration. Congregation Ner Tamid, 1349 Old Highway 41, Suite 220, Marietta, decorates its sukkah and celebrates the holiday with music, crafts, a potluck feast and a special holiday service led by Rabbi Joseph Prass at 7:30 p.m. Free; www.mynertamid.org.
SATURDAY, OCT. 22
20s and 30s are invited to join Temple Sinai Rabbi Sam Shabman and her husband, Rabbi Natan Trief, at their home at 8 p.m. for Havdalah, cocktails, noshing and a discussion about making Sukkot meaningful. Free; templesinai. wufoo.com/forms/z1opu7mn01m98wi.
SUNDAY, OCT. 23
Jam in the sukkah. Steve and Heleen Grossman lead a music jam at their home sukkah with Mic Levine and friends and others who want to join in from 7 p.m. until late. The suggested donation to attend is $10, with all proceeds going to the Atlanta Community Food Bank; steve@steveslivemusic.com for the address.
Individual Israeli independence. Congregation Or Hadash, 7460 Trowbridge Road, Sandy Springs, hosts an event, including breakfast and a film screening, about the Bridge to Independence program of Israeli nonprofit Yeladim: Fair Chance for Children at 10:30 a.m. Free; www.or-hadash.org.
Young-adult Sukkot. Adults in their
Souptoberfest. Souper Jenny Levison
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OCTOBER 21 ▪ 2016
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POSTMASTER send address changes to The Atlanta Jewish Times 270 Carpenter Drive Suite 320, Atlanta Ga 30328. Established 1925 as The Southern Israelite Phone: (404) 883-2130 www.atlantajewishtimes.com THE ATLANTA JEWISH TIMES (ISSN# 0892-33451) IS PUBLISHED WEEKLY BY SOUTHERN ISRAELITE, LLC 270 Carpenter Drive, Suite 320, Atlanta, GA 30328 © 2016 ATLANTA JEWISH TIMES Printed by Walton Press Inc. MEMBER Conexx: America Israel Business Connector American Jewish Press Association Sandy Springs/Perimeter Chamber of Commerce Please send all photos, stories and editorial content to: submissions@atljewishtimes.com
Remember When
10 years ago Oct. 20, 2006 ■ Two Greenfield Hebrew Academy seventh-graders, Ari Allen (whose father is a cancer survivor) and Alexa Ratner (whose uncle died of lung cancer), have launched a Denim Day mitzvah project to benefit the Israel Cancer Research Fund. On Oct. 20, GHA, Torah Day School of Atlanta and Yeshiva Atlanta High School will let students wear blue jeans instead of school uniforms in exchange for a $5 donation. ■ The b’not mitzvah ceremony of Brooke Kahn and Hayley Kahn of Atlanta was held Saturday, Aug. 19, 2006, at Temple Sinai. They are the daughters of Brian and Sharla Kahn. 25 Years Ago Oct. 25, 1991 ■ Atlanta’s Iranian Jewish community has been rebuffed
hosts a festival from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at 1082 Huff Road, Atlanta, offering all-you-can-eat soup from 20 chefs competing for the Golden Ladle while raising money for a new nonprofit, the Zadie Project, which aims to get dinner to hungry Atlanta families. Admission is $25; www.souperjennyatl.com. Sukkot festival. Jewish Kids Groups and B@OVS celebrate Sukkot with face painting, a camp fair and pizza for sale at noon at Congregation Or VeShalom, 1681 N. Druid Hills Road, Brookhaven. Free; www.jewishkidsgroups.com/ sukkot-parties.html. Sukkot festival. The Marcus JCC, 5342 Tilly Mill Road, Dunwoody, holds a fes-
from buying a synagogue building for a third time. Congregation Ner Hamizrach failed to win DeKalb County approval to convert 1858 LaVista Road into a synagogue. Ner Hamizrach now meets in the chapel of Congregation Beth Jacob. ■ Jill and Sheldon Fram of Marietta announce the birth of a daughter, Jordan Brooke, on Sept. 17. 50 Years Ago Oct. 21, 1966 ■ Hadassah’s national president, Mrs. Mortimer Jacobson, will be the guest speaker Oct. 30 when Hadassah celebrates its golden jubilee in Atlanta. A champagne toast will be made to the chapter founders and the 19 past presidents, only one of whom, Mrs. Jacob Buchwald, is no longer living. Six founders are expected at the 50th anniversary gala. ■ Mr. and Mrs. Herman Neugass Stern of New Orleans announce the engagement of daughter Claire Blum Stern of Atlanta to Lee I. Kaufman Jr. of Atlanta, son of Mr. and Mrs. Lee I. Kaufman of St. Louis. A Dec. 24 wedding is planned.
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CALENDAR Or Hadash Bar Mitzvah
Congregation Or Hadash, 7460 Trowbridge Road, Sandy Springs, dedicates its PrayGround during services for Shemini Atzeret/Simchat Torah and Yizkor on Monday, Oct. 24, in the first of 13 special events celebrating the Conservative congregation’s 13th year. The PrayGround is a space within the sanctuary that aims to welcome families with children so they can pray with the whole congregation. The area to the side of the front of the sanctuary features a rug, books, and quiet, ageappropriate activities for young children, as well as puzzles and quiet toys for older children to bring back to their seats. Or Hadash got inspiration and guidance in designing the space from Grace Lutheran Church in Apple Valley, Minn., which has a similar area. Rabbi Analia Bortz said that providing the family-friendly area helps Or Hadash fulfill the promise of Exodus 15:8: “You will build for Me a sacred space, and I shall dwell among them.” Or Hadash President Marc Medwed said: “We welcome children of all ages as integral members of the congregation, and the sounds and activity that accompany them. It is possible that more children will come into the service with the PrayGround, and if that is the case, we will be thankful for the presence of the next generation in services with us.” He praised “the wiggle, energy and noise from children” as important elements of Or Hadash. The service starts at 9:15 a.m., followed by a free, family-friendly Kiddush lunch. Visit www.or-hadash.org or call 404-250-3338 for more information. ■
Farm-to-table dinner. An urban farm, Aluma Farm, 1150 Allene Ave., Atlanta, plays hosts to a Sukkot dinner highlighting local Jewish chefs and restaurateurs at 4 p.m. Tickets are $45 (ages 12 and under free); bit.ly/2dnjFqZ. Sukkot finale. Temple Beth Tikvah, 9955 Coleman Road, Roswell, wraps up its sukkah fun with pizza in the hut at 5 p.m., followed by a Simchat Torah service at 6. Free; RSVP by Oct. 21 at www.bethtikvah.com/calendar/ event/2016-10-23/sukkot-pizza-hut.
WEDNESDAY, OCT. 26
Just the worst. Former newspaperman Robert Strauss discusses his book, “Worst. President. Ever.,” about James Buchanan and our obsession with ranking presidents, at 7 p.m. at the Carter Presidential Library, 441 Freedom Parkway, Atlanta. Free; www.jimmycarterlibrary.gov/events.
THURSDAY, OCT. 27
Camp open house. The Marcus JCC, 5342 Tilly Mill Road, Dunwoody, holds an open house for families to learn about Camp Barney Medintz from 7 to 8 p.m. on the first day of registration for new campers. Free; summer@ campbarney.org or 678-812-3844. Jewish voting. AJC ACCESS Atlanta,
Federation Under 40 and the Birthright Israel Alumni Atlanta Network at 7 p.m. at the Selig Center, 1440 Spring St., Midtown, hold a panel discussion, including Atlanta Journal-Constitution reporter Greg Bluestein and former Netanyahu Chief of Staff George Birnbaum, on the issues American Jews consider when casting ballots. Tickets are $10 online through Oct. 26 or $18 at the door; bit.ly/2dTH5p0.
congregationbethaverim.org/lchaim.
Camp open house. The Marcus JCC, 5342 Tilly Mill Road, Dunwoody, holds an open house about Camp Barney Medintz from 1 to 2 p.m. Free; summer@campbarney.org or 678-812-3844.
ADL reception. The Anti-Defamation League holds a dessert reception and its Community of Respect Briefing with The Atlantic’s Jeffrey Goldberg and The Wall Street Journal’s Bret Stephens at 7 p.m. at the St. Regis Hotel, 88 W. Paces Ferry Road, Buckhead. Attendance is open to donors of at least $100 to the annual campaign; contact Jacki Beres at jberes@adl.org or 404-262-3470.
Safe Harbor discussion. A panel of experts, including child sex trafficking survivor Dorsey Jones and state Rep. Andy Welch, addresses the importance of passing state constitutional Amendment 2, providing support for sex trafficking victims, at 2 p.m. at Ahavath Achim Synagogue, 600 Peachtree Battle Ave., Buckhead. Free; www.facebook.com/events/1782780965337165. Interfaith pet blessing. Clergy individually bless pets at Marietta Square, 87 N. Park Square, at 2 p.m. Free; www.facebook.com/events/1120429471339832.
WEDNESDAY, NOV. 2
Bet Haverim celebration. Congregation Bet Haverim toasts “L’Chaim” — 18 years of Rabbi Joshua Lesser’s spiritual leadership at the 30-year-old Reconstructionist congregation — at 6 p.m. at Gallery 874, 874 Joseph E. Lowery Blvd., Atlanta. Tickets start at $118; www.
THURSDAY, NOV. 3
MONDAY, NOV. 7
Israel Bonds gala. Norman Radow receives the Star of David Award and Israeli Ambassador to the U.N. Danny Danon speaks at Israel Bonds Atlanta’s dinner at 6 p.m. at the Grand Hyatt, 3300 Peachtree Road, Buckhead. Tickets are $160 (people 35 and under may make a $100 bond investment instead); conta.cc/2dWMQQp or 404-857-1063.
WEDNESDAY, NOV. 9
AJC dinner. Georgia-Pacific CEO Jim Hanan receives the American Jewish Committee’s National Human Relations Award during a gala at 6 p.m. at the St. Regis Atlanta, 88 W. Paces Ferry Road, Buckhead. Tickets are $300; www.ajcatlanta.org.
FRIDAY, OCT. 28
Comedy. “Old Jews Telling Jokes” opens at 7:30 p.m. at the Earl Smith Strand Theatre, 117 N. Park Square, Marietta, and continues at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 29, and 1 and 5 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 30. Tickets start at $39.95; www.playhouseinfo.com or 844-448-7469.
SUNDAY, OCT. 30
Super Sunday. The Jewish Federation of Greater Atlanta’s key phone-a-thon of the 100-day community campaign runs from 8:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. at the Davis Academy Lower School, 8105 Roberts Drive, Sandy Springs. Register for a 2½-hour shift at jewishatlanta.org/ event/super-sunday-7, or contact Joel Abramson at jabramson@jewishatlanta.org or 678-222-3718. Pet blessing. The Marcus JCC holds a blessing of the pets, along with a 2-mile walk, a vendor fair and entertainment, at noon at Brook Run Park, 4770 N. Peachtree Road, Dunwoody. Free; atlantajcc.org or 678-812-4161. Registration for the dog walk, to fight canine cancer,
Send items for the calendar to submissions@atljewishtimes.com. Find more events at atlantajewishtimes.com/events-calendar.
OCTOBER 21 ▪ 2016
tival for families, including a petting zoo and live bluegrass, from 12:30 to 2:30 p.m. Free; atlantajcc.org or 678812-4161.
is $20 for adults and/or a fundraising commitment; tinyurl.com/z89stno.
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ISRAEL NEWS
Israel Pride: Good News From Our Jewish Home Beating cancer’s resistance to treatment. Researchers at the Technion have discovered how a cancer patient’s own body fights treatment, strengthens tumors and causes them to spread (metastasis). Now they are working on ways to inhibit the body’s response to anti-cancer treatments. Defective gene behind Alzheimer’s. Researchers from Tel Aviv University say that in laboratory tests they have successfully treated the defective gene ApoE4, found in 60 percent of patients with Alzheimer’s disease. Global race to save boy’s hand. Surgeons managed to re-attach the finger of a little boy who suffered an accident in northern Israel. But they needed a medical instrument that was not available in Israel to finish the procedure. Via Israeli charity Ezer Mizion, a volunteer brought the device from New York, and the boy’s hand was saved. Drinking wine for charity. The socializing, fundraising concept Wine Wednesday has raised over $21,000 in Israel for women’s empowerment, atrisk youth, the disabled and other social causes. Now it’s gone global with 15 cities hosting Wine Wednesday events, with each participant donating the $10 entrance fee to a specific charity.
Global center of veganism. Israel is the most vegan country in the world, with a full 5 percent of its population eschewing all animal products — more than double the percentage in 2010. There are over 400 vegan-friendly restaurants in the country. Breaking the waves. Researchers at the Technion and Yokneam-based SELA have rewritten engineering rules to build the Dganit, a boat that is lighter, faster, more durable and more fuelefficient. The design stops waves from delivering the “slamming” effect that causes stress. Israel Photo of the Week
Smartphone repairs at home. Tel Avivbased startup MOBILAB sends you a trusted technician to fix your smartphone at home or the office. Use the app (if your phone is still working) or the website (themobilab.com). Available in Tel Aviv, Ramat Gan, B’nei B’rak and Givatayim, MOBILAB will soon expand to the rest of the country and maybe internationally. Going high-tech in Shanghai. One hundred Israeli companies attended the GoforIsrael 2016 conference in Shanghai, China. Matching Israeli R&D with Chinese manufacturing was seen as a win-win scenario. It was the first time in its 16 years that the conference was held outside Israel.
Jewish History
Photo by Mark Neiman, Government Press Office
Israel President Reuven Rivlin gets some help decorating his sukkah in Jerusalem on Thursday, Oct. 13, in preparation for Sukkot, the festival that commemorates the Jewish people’s journey across the Sinai and, in the time of the Temple, was celebrated with pilgrimages to Jerusalem. Also on Oct. 13, the member nations of the U.N. Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization passed a resolution on a 24-6 vote, with 26 abstentions, that treated the Temple Mount as simply a Muslim holy site and almost entirely ignored the very Jewish heritage of which Sukkot is a vivid reminder.
Haifa to Acre by cruise ship. The Israeli Ministry of Tourism has spent 11 million shekels ($2.9 million) upgrading the ports of Haifa and Acre and has inaugurated service with a mini-cruise liner running across Haifa Bay between them. The ship leaves Acre at 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. and returns from Haifa at 11 a.m. and 4 p.m. The ship can carry 200 passengers.
Sci-fi festival. The 20th Icon Festival for Science Fiction, Fantasy and RolePlaying was set to take place in Tel Aviv from Oct. 18 to 20. Scheduled guests included British sci-fi author Charles Strauss and actor John de Lancie, who played Q in “Star Trek: TNG.” Compiled courtesy of verygoodnewsisrael. blogspot.com and other sources.
43 Years After Yom Kippur War By the Center for Israel Education The Yom Kippur War was 43 years ago this month. What follows is the text of the U.S. intelligence estimate at the start of the war on Oct. 6, 1973. Records of the war as seen from Washington are found in “Foreign Relations of the United States, 1969-1976,” Volume XXV, Pages 283 to 1202.
Arab-Israeli Hostilities And Their Implications OCTOBER 21 ▪ 2016
Heavy fighting is almost certain to be short in duration — no more than a week. Neither side is logistically prepared for lengthy hostilities. The Israelis have the strength to blunt the Syrian offensive capability within a few days and, as quickly, to push the Egyptians back across the canal. Fighting on a lesser scale, say an artillery duel across the canal, however, could be more pro6 longed.
AJT
The hostilities pose serious threat to American interests. All Arabs, even those most well-disposed to the U.S., will press Washington to be at least even-handed, if not to join in sanctions against Israel. The more radical states — Libya, Syria, and Iraq in particular — will be strident in attacking the U.S. They will not limit themselves to oratory and maneuvers in the United Nations but will also foster moves against U.S. personnel and property in their own countries and elsewhere. Even moderates like Kings Husayn and Faysal will be under increasing pressure to distance themselves from the U.S. Some interruption of oil supply to the West is likely, whether through Arab government action or through sabotage of oil facilities. Libya is almost certain to be the first to retaliate against Western oil interests. Particularly if the fighting does not end immediately, Saudi Arabia and the Gulf states are likely to limit oil production
and may join in a general oil embargo. Though this would most hurt Western Europe and Japan in the first instance, it would also aggravate the present supply problems in the U.S. The Arabs would hope that the West Europeans and Japan would press the U.S. to bring influence to bear on Israel.
The Soviets will have to give political support to the Arab side, but they are following a cautious policy and would probably be willing to concert with the U.S. in dampening tensions. ■ See transcripts in the CIE archives at israeled.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/ FRUS-1969-1976-1973-war.pdf.
Israel’s ‘Angel’ For another glimpse into this decisive part of Israel’s history, you can hear one of the foremost authorities on the Yom Kippur War, Uri BarJoseph, when he discusses “The Angel: The Egyptian Who Saved Israel” at the 25th annual Book Festival of the Marcus Jewish Community Center at 7:30 p.m. Monday, Nov. 7. “The Angel” is an account of a senior Egyptian official-turned-spy for Israel who, by alerting the Mossad in advance of the joint EgyptianSyrian attack on Yom Kippur, saved Israel from a devastating defeat. Tickets are $13 for JCC members and $18 for others. Visit atlantajcc.org/bookfestival for tickets and more information.
An Egyptian army pontoon bridge crosses the Suez Canal in October 1973.
ISRAEL NEWS Today in Israeli History
Menachem Begin in 1978
OCTOBER 21 ▪ 2016
Items provided by the Center for Israel Education (www.israeled.org), where you can find more details. Oct. 21, 1949: Benjamin Netanyahu, the ninth and current prime minister of Israel, is born in Tel Aviv. Although he spends a good portion of his childhood in Philadelphia, Netanyahu returns to Israel in 1967 to fulfill his service requirement in the Israel Defense Forces. Oct. 22, 1952: Eliahu Elath presents his credentials to Queen Elizabeth II and becomes Israel’s first ambassador to the United Kingdom. Oct. 23, 1868: Alfred Mond, an early Zionist supporter who becomes the first Lord Melchett, is born in England. Even though his parents are Jewish, Mond is not brought up as a Jew, marries in the Anglican Church and raises his own children as Protestants. Oct. 24, 1915: Correspondence begins between the sheriff of Mecca, Husayn ibn Ali, and the British high commissioner in Cairo, Sir Henry McMahon, in which the British government agrees to support Husayn’s effort to restore the caliphate in exchange for his help in the war against the Ottoman Empire. Oct. 25, 1895: Israel’s third prime minister, Levi Eshkol, who holds office during the Six-Day War in 1967, is born into a Hasidic family near Kiev, Ukraine. Oct. 26, 1994: Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and Jordanian King Hussein sign a peace treaty witnessed by President Bill Clinton at the Wadi Arava border crossing between Eilat, Israel, and Aqaba, Jordan. It is Israel’s second peace treaty with an Arab neighbor. Oct. 27, 1978: Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin and Egyptian President Anwar Sadat are named joint winners of the Nobel Peace Prize for their efforts to achieve peace between their nations.
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OPINION
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Our View
Nobel Snub
OCTOBER 21 ▪ 2016
Bob Dylan’s selection as this year’s Nobel laureate in literature likely marks the first time most of us have paid attention to the prize in years. Go ahead: Without using Google, name any of the past five winners of the Nobel Prize in Literature. So the Nobel Committee for Literature accomplished its No. 1 goal with its selection Oct. 13: It has made the literary tastes of an unknown group of Scandinavians relevant — or at least the subject of hot takes on blogs and social media, especially among the baby boomers who form the core of Dylan’s fans. Given that we’re doing our best to fill the role of literary critic in our preview of the Book Festival of the Marcus Jewish Community Center this issue, we can’t resist responding to the Swedish judges. They made a bad call. We acknowledge Dylan’s genius, and, to the extent lyrics are poetic, they deserve literary recognition. But to be judged as literature, songwriters’ words must stand on their own and not be considered in combination with music. And while many of Dylan’s lyrics do work as stand-alone poetry, most do not. They’re literature, but they’re not great literature. It’s easy to create a long list of great Dylan songs, starting with “The Times They Are a-Changin’,” “Blowin’ in the Wind,” “Like a Rolling Stone,” “Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door,” “All Along the Watchtower,” “A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall” and “Shelter From the Storm.” But similar lists could be created for Paul McCartney, Eric Clapton, Paul Simon, Carole King, Bruce Springsteen, Kris Kristofferson, Willie Nelson, Stevie Wonder, Michael Stipe, Merle Haggard (he was still alive when nominations were due in January) and so many other living songwriters across genres. More important, however, is that while an argument can be made for Dylan — after all, the only real criterion for selection is that a qualified person submitted a formal nomination — too many great living writers were overlooked so that the Nobel Committee could gain headlines and buzz. The most prominent snub, again, is someone who, like Dylan (born Robert Zimmerman), is a product of the American Jewish community: Philip Roth. Few writers have approached the quality and influence of Roth since 1950, but he has fallen victim to the committee’s desire to use the prize to highlight nonWestern, particularly non-American, writers. Before Dylan, the last American to win was Toni Morrison in 1993. The last American man was Joseph Brodsky in 1987. The last man born in the United States was John Steinbeck in 1962. The committee’s stated reason for breaking the long American drought with Dylan could apply to many others: “for having created new poetic expressions within the great American song tradition.” Sara Danius, the permanent secretary of the Swedish Academy, described Dylan as a great poet in the English-speaking tradition who “can be read and should be read.” Can be read, yes, but should be heard. Without the music, he’s no Robert Frost (who didn’t win the Nobel) or W.B. Yeats (who did). And with Dylan, the Nobel Prize slips further from being the mark of true 8 literary greatness. ■
AJT
Cartoon by Petar Pismestrovic, Kleine Zeitung, Austria
Finding Joy in Yom Kippur I can’t remember the last time my wife and I Stephen Listfield, serves as the guest rabbi for the went out of town for the High Holidays, but we took Holy Holidays and returns to Huntsville for about Yom Kippur on the road this year. one Shabbat a month. He reiterated the Robertses’ It’s something I did 25 years earlier when my invitation and noted our presence several times durbrother was a freshman at Brown and I was a few ing services, and congregants responded by greeting months into my first job in northern New Jersey — us and encouraging Caleb to return any time. driving several hours with a meal Yom Kippur can to ensure he was fortified for the be grueling. You’re fast and we both had familiar hungry, thirsty and Editor’s Notebook faces to attend services with. caffeine-deprived By Michael Jacobs Now with my wife doing all the while remembering mjacobs@atljewishtimes.com hard prep work, repeating the lost friends and famfeat for my freshman son at the ily and going about University of Alabama in Huntsthe serious business ville seemed like a good way to ensure he ended the of earning forgiveness from G-d and from fellow Days of Awe the right way. humans. Fortunately, unlike that trip to Providence, R.I., But as Rabbi Listfield and Etz Chayim members in 1991, going to Huntsville didn’t mean worshipping pointed out in a discussion of Unetanah Tokef — the among strangers, thanks to the warm, welcoming prayer about Yom Kippur being the day of judgment community of Congregation Etz Chayim. for the coming year and about penitence, prayer and My congregation, Temple Kol Emeth, always good deeds being methods of annulling the severity does a good job with Yom Kippur services, but some of G-d’s decree — it also is a day of great joy. of the spirituality is lost when you’re packed in By the time we hear the great shofar blast that with 1,000 or so people, far from the bimah, feeling marks Yom Kippur’s end, we have a clean slate for pressed by the clock because a second shift of the the rest of the year. We have reconnected with G-d, morning service is coming in the early afternoon. renewed our covenant and recharged our spiritual Etz Chayim might need more than a decade of batteries. And we’ve done it all as a community, supKol Nidre services to total 1,000 attendees, so it’s a porting and embracing one another. much more intimate experience. The three Jacobs That sense of community was the key to our visitors had never set foot inside the small shul joyful Yom Kippur. The members of the Huntsville before 6 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 12, yet, like everyone else congregation were so happy to spend time together, who attended services, we made multiple appearand Rabbi Listfield and the lay leaders kept the atances on the bimah for honors the next 25 hours. mosphere so relaxed and informal. It was impossible Etz Chayim isn’t close to the UAH campus, and not to smile and feel at home throughout the day, it’s Conservative, a bit jarring for my Reform-raised making for an easy fast. son. But AJT contributor Ted Roberts, and his wife, Thank you to Etz Chayim and Rabbi Listfield for Shirley, are longtime members and invited us. helping the Jacobs family truly celebrate the start of Just as important, an Atlanta resident, Rabbi 5777. ■
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OPINION
We Know It When We See It A crude joke asks: What is a k-ke? Answer: A gentleman of the Hebrew persuasion who just left the room. I have no trouble recognizing this genteel anti-Semitism. My standard for what is (or isn’t) anti-Semitism emanates from Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart’s phrase in a 1964 pornography case: “But I know it when I see it, and the motion picture involved in this case is not that.” I know anti-Semitism when I see it, when I hear it, when I feel it. So do you. We each have our own standard. Though anti-Semitism has a roughly 2,000-year history, the term itself was coined in 1879 by Wilhelm Marr — a German social agitator and, well, anti-Semite — to describe Judenhass (Jew-hatred) in Europe. A poll suggests that three-quarters of American Jews believe it to be a problem in this country. When the American Jewish Committee surveyed 1,002 Jewish adults in August, 21 percent said anti-Semitism
is a very serious problem, and 52 percent said it is somewhat of a problem. My children have grown up in Atlanta with occasional exposure to bias based on their religion. This year’s
From Where I Sit By Dave Schechter dschechter@atljewishtimes.com
presidential campaign has prompted us to have numerous conversations about what constitutes anti-Semitism. We are not alone. “For a long time we were told that anti-Semitism was everywhere, and we rolled our eyes at that,” a 24-yearold woman, prominent in a leftleaning group, told Politico. “This feels like the closest thing to the type of anti-Semitism that my grandparents talk about experiencing in Poland.” Much of it has been “dog whistles,” language that is innocuous to most people but stings a certain audience.
The dog whistle rang in my ear when Donald Trump said Hillary Clinton “meets in secret with international banks in order to plot the destruction of U.S. sovereignty,” phrasing reminiscent of an old anti-Semitic trope. This is not to suggest that the Republican nominee is an anti-Semite, but that such language is music to the ears of a segment of his supporters. There was an “it is/it isn’t” debate when Trump’s campaign depicted Clinton alongside money and a sixpointed star (a graphic taken from a white-nationalist message board). His reposting Twitter comments from white supremacists is dismaying. Across the aisle, when the chief financial officer of the Democratic National Committee suggested that the Clinton campaign weaponize Bernie Sanders’ relationship with his Jewish heritage, I heard the whistle. Meanwhile, some American Jews believe that the fates of Israel and the Jewish people are so closely linked that criticism of Israel is anti-Semitic. Israel’s government should not be exempt from criticism, including from
American Jews, though it sometimes appears that Israel receives more than its share compared with nations that deserve condemnation. Anti-Defamation League National Director Jonathan Greenblatt wrote: “When a person conflates Jews, Israelis and the Israeli government, it is antiSemitic. When all Jews and all Israelis are held responsible for the actions of the Israeli government, it is anti-Semitic. When Jews would be denied the right to self-determination accorded to all other peoples, it is anti-Semitic.” Jews are well-regarded by their fellow Americans. We comfort ourselves that what is happening to the Jews of Europe cannot happen here, but we are taken aback when swastikas and slogans are spray-painted on the walls of Jewish institutions or we hear reports of Jewish students harassed on college campuses. There may be less in-your-face anti-Semitism than in decades past, but the dog-whistle variety proliferates. Our personal standards alert us when we see it, when we hear it, when we feel it. ■
Collective Punishment Wrong for Trans Issues Six months ago I did not know I had a transgender problem. Having been in clinical practice since 1980 and one of the first ENT doctors to treat HIV patients, I have been aware of the alternative lifestyle community and welcomed them into my office. I also work with a wide array of doctors of all races, genders and sexual preferences. However, since North Carolina passed its infamous bathroom law, I cannot escape an almost daily barrage of news stories about the oppression of the transgender population and the aggressive retaliatory acts against North Carolina for passing legislation. The NCAA removed 15 or so championship tournaments from the state because of the law. The University of Vermont, considered by some the most drug-infested institute of
higher learning, canceled its basketball game with Duke because of the
Letter To The Editor Influence in Israel To supplement the wonderful cov-
agree with the liberal progressive agenda, we will punish you. With Yom Kippur past, I urge my fellow chosen people to reflect on the name-calling and ill will against people on the other side of the discussion. If you are for securing borders, you are not a xenophobe. This is a worldwide issue, and if you visit Europe, you will see walls being built to protect sovereignty. If you worry about public health issues (Does anyone think that illegal immigrants have the same vaccinations or are screened like legal immigrants?), you are not anti-immigrant. If you note that in 40 wars and hot spots in the world, half the participants are radical fundamentalist Muslims, you are not Islamophobic. This start of a new year is a time to put down your agenda and relentless march to somewhere and chill. ■
erage of Israel in the AJT: • America is halachically correct for Sukkot. Throughout Jerusalem, the following sign has been seen on light poles: “Aravot from America — last longer — stand straight — stay fresh — first come first serve.” They have been grabbed up throughout the city.
An entrepreneur got a license from the Agriculture Ministry to import the willow branches for lulavs. • In the music scene, look up the Facebook page of Ori Burg, greatgrandson of Louis and Anna Geffen of blessed memory and a descendant of Rabbi Tobias Geffen. For three years he
and several colleagues have made clips of individual songs of Israeli pop singers. Their company is ZOA. The newest clip on Facebook is a song by Mika Hary, an Israeli singer known in the United States. Move down Ori’s page to see many more clips created by ZOA. 9 — Rabbi David Geffen, Jerusalem
Blinded by the Right By Jeffrey Kunkes
OCTOBER 21 ▪ 2016
law (I did not know stoners could find a basket, much less make one). This is becoming an Orwellian nightmare of groupthink. Did anyone have any idea that the transgender population was so large and influential? If only people would react so verbally and publicly when some progressive college (an oxymoron) passes some boycott, divestment and sanctions dictate or, like UCLA, refuses to let Jews who hold student offices from accepting a Birthright visit to Israel.
I am reminded about the Genesis story of Abraham meeting the messengers of Hashem. He asks where they are going, and they say they are going down into the plains to punish Sodom and Gomorrah. Abraham, being a truly righteous man, asks if lives will be spared if they can find 50 good people. Abraham eventually bargains Hashem down to saving the cities if 10 holy people are found. Instead, the progressives want to punish an entire state for legislation passed by a duly elected representative group. North Carolina is a battleground state, so let us suppose 45 percent are either Democratic or Republican, with 10 percent deciding the electoral future of the state. Is this the Jewish way, to punish the entire state for noncompliance with an agenda? Is this how we change hearts and minds? We see this attitude increasingly on college campuses: If you do not
AJT
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SUKKOT
Some Liquid Warmth for the Sukkah By Robbie Medwed There are some folks who celebrate the holiday of Sukkot for its biblical roots; they connect to the pilgrimage festival and all of its laws as a matter of form and obligation. The technicalities and specifics of building a kosher sukkah enthrall them, as do the conversations regarding just how far the fabric walls can blow in the wind before they’re considered no longer kosher. And then there are those who simply enjoy spending time with family in a beautiful setting under the stars. No matter how or why you observe Sukkot, everyone can enjoy a great cocktail as they celebrate the season. Here are four autumn-ready cocktails that are great for a fancy night of entertaining or a casual night with family.
Paper Chains
OCTOBER 21 ▪ 2016
Atlanta’s own Monday Night Brewing recently obtained its kashrut certification from the Atlanta Kosher Commission. Its Scotch ale, Drafty Kilt, is a fantastic choice for a cool autumn night. It’s even better mixed with bour-
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bon, citrus and spices. 2 ounces bourbon ½ ounce orange juice ½ ounce lemon juice ½ ounce honey syrup* Muddled orange peel or orange bitters** 2 taps each ground cinnamon and ground cloves Top with Monday Night Drafty Kilt Place the orange peel, spices and honey syrup in the bottom of a shaker and muddle with a muddler or the back of a spoon. Add the bourbon, citrus juice and Paper Chains ice, and shake well. features the kosher Pour into a rocks Scotch ale from Monday Night glass with a large Brewing, Drafty Kilt. ice cube and top with the beer. * Honey syrup: Heat equal parts honey and water in a saucepan until fully blended. Cool and store in the fridge; it will keep for about 3 weeks. ** Orange bitters: Drop 2 oranges’
worth of peels into a container and cover with overproof grain alcohol. Let that sit for 3 or 4 days, and you’ll have some simple orange bitters/extracts that can be used for cocktails and baking.
Mezcal Tov!
Muscadines are the South’s local grape variety — you might also know them as scuppernongs — and they’re in season now. They’re sweeter and more flavorful than regular grapes. You should be able to find them Mezcal Tov! combines the at any of the local farmers markets Southern flavor of muscadines with or even grocery the south-of-thestores. border smokiness Mezcal is a of mezcal. fantastic Mexican spirit that’s enjoying newfound fame. (Tequila is a variety of mezcal.) Look for a bottle that says “espadin.” Just like scotch and other spirits, mezcal is inherently kosher and does not need certification unless other flavors have been added. Beware, though: Avoid bottles that say “pechuga”; those are definitely not kosher. If you’re wary of mezcal, you can sub tequila, but the cocktail won’t have the incredible smoke flavor mezcal brings. 2 ounces espadin mezcal 1 ounce grapefruit juice ¾ ounce muscadine syrup* Combine all of the ingredients in a shaker with ice and shake well. Strain and pour into a coupe or other stemmed glass. * Muscadine syrup: Combine 2 cups of muscadines with 2 cups of water and 1½ cups of sugar. Bring that mixture to a boil for about 10 minutes, and use a potato masher to crush the grapes. Cool and strain the entire mixture through a very fine strainer or with cheesecloth. The syrup will last in the fridge for 2-3 weeks.
Bees’ Knees
As much as many of us would like for autumn in the South to be cooled by crisp air, it usually still feels a bit like the end of summer. This classic cocktail is a perfect fit for a night that’s still a bit too warm but hints longingly at fall.
2 ounces gin ½ ounce lemon juice ½ ounce honey syrup Pour all the ingredients into a large glass with ice and stir well. Strain and serve Nothing speaks to in a coupe or oth- the sweetness of the holiday season er stemmed glass like honey, the and garnish with a key ingredient in twist of lemon. the Bees’ Knees.
Apple Bourbon Sangria
We all have that one bottle of red wine we just can’t bring ourselves to drink because it’s just, well, not good. That bottle was made for this recipe, and Apple Bourbon this recipe is made Sangria should be to serve a crowd. a starting recipe Pretty much you can tweak to any bottle of red your fruity tastes. wine will work, as will almost any fruit of your choosing. I like to start here, then mix things up depending on what I have. Use this recipe as a guide rather than a strict list. The only rule: This has to be made in advance — as little as one day, as much as a few days. 1 bottle red wine 1 orange, cut into thin wedges 1 large Bartlett pear (or pear variety of your choice), sliced into thin wedges 1 large honeycrisp apple (or apple variety of your choice), sliced into thin wedges 2 tablespoons whole cloves 6 3-inch cinnamon sticks 1 cup bourbon ½ cup apple juice Soda water and ice to top, optional Slice all the fruit and throw it into a pitcher. To minimize straining as you’re serving, stick all of the cloves into one or two of the orange wedges to keep them from floating around. Add all of the liquids and stir. Let the mixture sit in the fridge for at least a day. It’s traditional to serve sangria over ice with a splash of soda and pieces of fruit in the glass. I personally like my sangria without the ice or soda, but you can find what works best for you. ■ Remember to send photos of your sukkah to submissions@atljewishtimes. com by Oct. 27 for our Nov. 4 gallery.
Book Festival Preview Section
The Marcus JCC’s Festival Turns
NEW CHAPTER
The co-chairs share their excitement for the 25th edition, Page 12
CUT LOOSE
Kenny Loggins turns an ’80s hit into a children’s tale, Page 14
CRAZY TIME
Jeffrey Toobin follows Patty Hearst into the insane ’70s, Page 16
LIVING AGAIN
A SNIP
TRUE MENSCH
STATE SAGA
DISASTERS
SEPARATION
PLANNER
HOMEFRONT
Shep Gordon serves stars from Alice Cooper to Groucho Marx, Page 20
Issues great and small pack Jonathan Safran Foer’s latest, Page 21
Our overview helps you pick your musthave tickets, Page 24
Stay-at-home dad Christopher Noxon makes a big choice, Page 28
Daniel Gordis’ “Israel” explores the history of Zionism, Page 30
Jeffrey Selman recalls battling religion in biology class, Page 34
Peter Bergen shines a light on America’s own jihadists, Page 37
OCTOBER 21 ▪ 2016
A Holocaust survivor finds a revival in postwar Savannah, Page 18
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BOOK FESTIVAL
Heeeeey, Who Needs the Fonz With This Lineup? The 25th edition of the Book Festival of the Marcus Jewish Community Center from Nov. 5 to 20 offers local, national and Israeli authors, reality TV stars, a pop music legend, and topics ranging from Nazis and World War II spies to Nathan’s Famous hot dogs and from Zionism to identity theft. But the festival won’t have the Fonz. Henry Winkler, best known for wearing a leather jacket and riding a motorcycle on “Happy Days,” was supposed to appear with writing partner Lin Oliver on Sunday, Nov. 6, to promote the latest entry in their “Here’s Hank” children’s series. It would have been a special, higher-profile version of the Family Reading Festival that falls on one Sunday each Book Festival. Instead, Winkler had a conflict with his new NBC reality show with William Shatner and others, “Better Late Than Never.” He and Oliver have agreed to appear at the JCC in the spring, and the Family Reading Festival will be back next year, said the Book Festival’s director, Pam Morton. In another sign that the festival, despite its popularity, can’t get everyone it wants, an appearance couldn’t
This year’s Book Festival co-chairs are Deborah Jacobs (left) and Dee Kline.
be worked out with the top pick of the selection committee, “Irina’s Children” by Tilar Mazzeo, but Mazzeo agreed to be the guest speaker at the JCC’s Yom HaShoah observance in April. Thomas Friedman, always a big draw, isn’t coming out with his latest book until after the festival, so he’ll appear Feb. 1 instead. As many restaurants use a farmto-table concept, “we are author to audience,” festival co-chair Deborah Jacobs said. “We have to go with what is being offered by the authors, and then we bring it to the audience.” What’s being offered for children of all ages opening night is Kenny Loggins with a children’s book, “Footloose,” a zoo-based reimagining of his
’80s pop hit. Every ticket comes with a copy of the book, and Loggins will perform a mini-concert. Loggins’ publisher approached the festival, “and we were so excited and thrilled about it,” Morton said. With the elections three days after opening night, festival organizers were happy to open with something light. “That was an exciting time to get Kenny Loggins,” Jacobs said. Festival co-chair Dee Kline said one attraction for authors is the format of conversations with well-known interviewers, such as CEO Derreck Kayongo of new festival partner National Center for Civil and Human Rights, instead of standard book readings. Such partnerships, as well as special access for book clubs, helped the festival grow to 13,000 attendees last year, and Kline expects at least that many this year. When the festival began in 1992, it ran five days with six authors, Jacobs said. This year, 39 authors are appearing in 30 events over two-plus weeks. “It has really built into a keystone event for the community,” Jacobs said. “A lot of organizations look to us to ask,
‘How do you do this?’ ” The festival will have some special touches to celebrate 25 years, including a trivia contest, recognition for past chairs, a special reception for festival patrons, and a gallery of past festival images along the center’s Main Street. ■ Local Voices The 25th Book Festival of the Marcus JCC includes the following metro Atlanta authors: • Brian Curtis, “Fields of Battle.” • Jesse Itzler, “Living With a SEAL.” • Zoe Fishman, “Inheriting Edith.” • Jeffrey Selman, “G-d Sent Me.” The festival also offers Savannah resident Jonathan Rabb with “Among the Living.” Project GIVE The Book Festival’s book collection, Project GIVE, is supporting ORT Atlanta’s ORT My School project by helping Atlanta’s Dobbs Elementary School build its library. Through Nov. 30, you can drop off new or gently used secular books appropriate for kindergarten through fifth grade in a bin by the Marcus JCC’s front desk.
OCTOBER 21 ▪ 2016
Book Festival Chairs
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The Book Festival of the Marcus Jewish Community Center has been led by 27 chairs over its 25 years. 1992: Phyllis Joffre, Rebecca Srochi 1993: Phyllis Joffre 1994: Norman Estroff 1995: Norman Estroff, Patty Maziar 1996: Elaine Blumenthal, Patty Maziar 1997: Marsha Gilbert, Kathy Portnoy 1998: Marsha Gilbert, Kathy Portnoy 1999: Norman Asher, Barbara Schneider 2000: Norman Asher, Barbara Schneider 2001: Cary Rosenthal, Susanne Katz 2002: Cary Rosenthal, Susanne Katz 2003: Hope Green, Al Finfer 2004: Hope Green, Al Finfer 2005: Hope Green, Rina Wolfe 2006: Ann Rawn, Rina Wolfe 2007: Ann Rawn, Lisa Siegel 2008: Lisa Siegel, Adam Katz 2009: Beth Arogeti, Julie Mokotoff 2010: Beth Arogeti, Julie Kleinman 2011: Sherie Gumer, Ina Enoch 2012: Ina Enoch, Sherie Gumer, Wendy Bearman 2013: Marcy Bass, Wendy Bearman 2014: Marcy Bass, Susan Tourial 2015: Susan Tourial, Deborah Jacobs 2016: Deborah Jacobs, Dee Kline
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BOOK FESTIVAL
Kid-Friendly Loggins Cuts Loose at Zoo By David R. Cohen david@atljewishtimes.com Thirty-two years after Kenny Loggins released the hit song “Footloose” from the soundtrack to the 1984 Kevin Bacon film of the same name, the catchy, toe-tapping tune remains a classic. Now Loggins has given it new life in the form of a children’s book set in a zoo with reimagined lyrics and characters. The book marks Loggins’ first foray into children’s projects since 2000’s “More Songs From Pooh Corner” and 1994’s “Return to Pooh Corner,” two of the best-selling children’s records of all time, although he has stayed in the public eye beyond the music world. For example, he voiced an animated version of himself who demanded to be called “K-Logg” in an episode of the Atlanta-based series “Archer” in 2014, the same year he appeared onstage with a Loggins tribute band in the series finale of “Raising Hope.” At 8:15 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 5, he will kick off the 25th edition of the Book Festival of the Marcus Jewish Community Center by talking about
Illustrations by Tim Bowers for “Footloose” Zoo animals from chimps to hippos to a flamingo bring Kenny Loggins’ “Footloose” to life.
his book with Mara Davis and presenting a short music show. Ahead of his trip to Atlanta, Loggins talked with the AJT about his children’s book. AJT: You’re not making many ap-
pearances to promote this book. Why Atlanta and why the Book Festival of the MJCCA? Loggins: Well, I did the Chicago book fair, and my publisher also wanted me to do this book festival. They felt it was one of the more important ones to be a part of. AJT: You completely rewrote “Footloose” for this book. What was that process like? Loggins: Those of us who know the movie “Footloose” know the story
of the repression of dancing in a Southern town, and this is not that at all. I got a call from Charlie Nurnberg, who has been my book publisher for the past few years, and he asked me what I thought of doing “Footloose” as a kids’ book. We ended up deciding to do the book at a zoo with a bunch of dancing animals and Jack the Zookeeper. I held on to almost all the names from the original songs but turned them into animals who were having fun dancing with each other. AJT: What’s the actual story inside the book? Loggins: The idea is that Jack lets the animals out of their cages during a full moon so they can come out and dance. But they have to make sure all the people have left the zoo. No humans are allowed to see this except for Jack. Two little kids sneak in and see all the animals dancing. Little kids love animals. I’ve got a granddaughter who is a year and a half old. Anything with animals is OK with her. We just had fun with it. AJT: I saw another interview you did about this book where you cautioned against reading this to kids as a bedtime story. Loggins: The book comes with a CD, so we’re gonna play “Footloose,” which is still the same rocking version but with new lyrics. So you play that
Get Up and Dance
OCTOBER 21 ▪ 2016
By David R. Cohen david@atljewishtimes.com
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Already with one of the top-selling children’s albums of all time to his name, Kenny Loggins has released his first children’s book. Inspired by the birth of his first grandchild in 2015, Loggins took to rewriting his iconic 1980s tune “Footloose” for a new generation in the form of a children’s book with an accompanying CD. It is his first work aimed at children since 2000’s “More Songs From Pooh Corner.” The book tells the story of two children who hide in a zoo after closing to watch zookeeper Jack and all the animals dance the night away. The rewritten lyrics are sure to get kids up and moving to the fun and colorful book and the included song. “All the animals are watchin’/to see if everyone’s gone./Gettin’ ready to party,/they’re gonna be dancin’ till the
dawn.” The book, vividly illustrated by Tim Bowers, features textured, colorful double-page spreads that bring Loggins’ lyrics to life with fun visuals like a quartet of tutu-clad llamas, a hip DJ elephant spinning albums with forelegs and trunk, and a hippo dressed for a hoedown in white cowboy boots. This new variation on “Footloose” is easy enough for adults to read aloud, but kids may need to hear the CD to read and establish the rhythm. Be warned, though, that despite the nighttime setting, this book is not a bedtime story. Because of the highenergy nature of the song and story, Loggins suggests reading it to your kids at least an hour before bed. ■ Footloose By Kenny Loggins; illustrations by Tim Bowers MoonDance Press, 28 pages, $17.95
BOOK FESTIVAL
Photo by Stephen Morales
Kenny Loggins will speak and perform at 8:15 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 5, the opening night of the Book Festival.
song, and the kids are going to want to get up and dance. It’s not exactly what you would do for bedtime, so I advise you play it an hour before that. AJT: What can you say about the man behind the illustrations in this book, Tim Bowers? Loggins: It’s been a joy working with Tim. The way he painted all the animals was brilliant. I would give him all these characters, but he really brought them to life with the illustrations.
AJT: What made you decide to get back into children’s music? Loggins: Children will play a song 6,000 times if they like it. As a parent, that can wear you down. I’ve always loved making music that the parents could enjoy as much as the children. It’s music for parents that the children can love too. I’m also working on another record now that we are debating whether it’s a romantic or children’s record that’s going to be called “Music to Make and Enjoy Children By.” AJT: Anything to say to the people of Atlanta? Loggins: I know this sounds like pandering, but I love hanging out in Atlanta. They have the prettiest girls and a lot of fun places to go. ■
OCTOBER 21 ▪ 2016
AJT: Neil Sedaka also recently released a children’s book that reimagined one of his big hits in “Waking Up Is Hard to Do,” which was a play on “Breaking Up Is Hard to Do.” If you do another book, have you given any thought to another song that would make a good book? Loggins: We were just joking about that, and we think we should take “Danger Zone” and make it a Christmas book called “Manger Zone.”
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BOOK FESTIVAL
Toobin Takes Us Back to Crazy ’70s By Marcia Caller Jaffe mjaffe@atljewishtimes.com New Yorker staff writer, CNN senior legal analyst and best-selling author Jeffrey Toobin returns to the Book Festival of the Marcus Jewish Community Center on Saturday night, Nov. 19, with his latest book, “American Heiress: The Wild Saga of the Kidnapping, Crimes, and Trial of Patty Hearst.” Toobin talked about the book and Hearst in an interview with the AJT. Jaffe: After reading this book, will the reader go away with a conclusion about the extent of Hearst’s guilt? Toobin: Ultimately, I want to leave those judgments to the reader, but I think there was abundant evidence to support the jury’s decision to convict Hearst of bank robbery. Jaffe: During the Hearst trial, you note that her high-profile attorney, F. Lee Bailey, made some errors. Please elaborate. Toobin: Bailey put Hearst on the stand without getting a clear ruling from the judge on the scope of permissible cross-examination by the prosecutor. When the prosecutor started asking about Hearst’s other crimes — besides the first bank robbery — disaster followed for the defense.
Jaffe: Did you attempt to get Hearst’s input for the book, and how did that go? Toobin: I tried many times to get her cooperation, both directly Jeffrey Toobin and through inwill appear in termediaries. I conversation with failed. Hearst is in 11Alive anchor Vinnie her early 60s — a Politan at 8 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 19. mother, a grandmother, a widow. She prefers not to revisit this whole period. Jaffe: If this wild saga of kidnapping had occurred in 2016 rather than 1974, would it have played out differently in your eyes? Toobin: Certainly the media coverage would have been greater. In 1974 there were just three half-hour evening news shows and one morning news show, “Today” (“Good Morning America” started in 1975). In a world without cable news, to say nothing of the Internet and social media, what qualified as big news then looks like just a smattering of attention today. Jaffe: What one revelation did you
discover that we baby boomers would find most intriguing? Toobin: I thought the ’60s were the time of madness in the United States. But the ’70s were even crazier — with 1,000 political bombings a year in the United States, two hijackings a month, as well as Watergate and the energy crisis. The United States today is an island of stability compared to the ’70s. Jaffe: How did you explain the kidnapping and crimes (detailed in your book) to your own children? Toobin: My kids are in their 20s. They are smart, savvy adults who need no special handling. Jaffe: With your genre of highprofile courtroom drama and analysis, what’s your next project? Casey Anthony? George Zimmerman? Oscar Pistorius (not our system of laws)? Toobin: Not sure at this point. I’ll keep you posted. Jaffe: Post-election, will you take on the new Supreme Court appointee as a topic? Toobin: I will continue to write about the Supreme Court for The New Yorker. I’m not sure I have another Supreme Court book in me. I’ll need a lot more change on the court to make another book worthwhile.
Jaffe: You’ve been to Atlanta before; any observations or connections? Toobin: CNN has moved its center of gravity to New York, but Atlanta remains the ancestral home of my network. I love going to CNN Center and seeing the tourists from all over the world visit. Atlanta is also the headquarters of CNN International, which has a dazzling collection of journalists from around the world. Jaffe: You have met famous people from Martha Stewart to Supreme Court justices. What one person would you like to meet in the future? Toobin: The next three Supreme Court justices — so I get to know them before they go on the bench. Jaffe: Is there anything in your Jewish upbringing (described as secular) that spills over into your legal analysis, work or lifestyle? Toobin: My parents described themselves (accurately, I think) as more cultural than observant Jews. I’ve enjoyed learning more about the rituals as an adult. It’s so easy to be Jewish in my world (in New York, in the United States) that it’s important for me to remember that that is not the case everywhere, and collective vigilance is important around the world. ■
Hearst Case: Lots of Questions, Little Certainty By Marcia Caller Jaffe mjaffe@atljewishtimes.com
OCTOBER 21 ▪ 2016
We baby boomers remember our outrage, puzzlement and fear in 1974 when we witnessed Patty Hearst wielding that ominous machine gun during bank robbery footage. Especially because we knew her father could buy
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her a bank. Senior CNN legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin, who similarly took on the O.J. Simpson trial, takes his best shot at the Heart case with “American Heiress: The Wild Saga of Kidnapping, Crimes and Trial of Patty Hearst.” The New Yorker staff writer labels the saga as “defining an insane era in
American history.” Questions abound. What was the Symbionese Liberation Army? Something with a real core or a bunch of half-baked radicals with a toxic mix of sex, politics and violence? They were “an army” of six with nothing to liberate for their fake cause of Symbia; is that even a country? Did this wealthy young woman willingly join her captors? We saw her as both steely-eyed and terrified, the picture of a lock-jawed aristocrat and, true to her own notes, quoted by Toobin: “After a couple of weeks, I started to feel sympathy with the SLA. … Beginning to see what they wanted to accomplish was necessary … although hard for me to relate to the tactic of urban gorilla warfare. … But how can someone disagree with wanting hungry people to have food?” Toobin takes us along a journey whose ending we know. Hearst, who didn’t cooperate with the book, became deprogrammed, married a police offi-
cer and now shows her shih tzus at the Westminster Kennel Club. With his legal background, Toobin provides a front-row analysis of the trial, where famous criminal defense attorney F. Lee Bailey mistakenly allowed Hearst to take the stand. She went off script and said she “didn’t really resist her captors’ sexual advances.” Oops. We see Hearst softening in jail as her family visits. She crochets scarves as she engages in chitchat about dogs and cosmetics. Toobin compiled meaningful photos, FBI reports, and the like for “American Heiress.” The bottom line is Hearst’s felony murder conviction was commuted by Jimmy Carter, and she was pardoned by Bill Clinton. The reader will come away informed but maybe not with certitude. ■ American Heiress By Jeffrey Toobin Doubleday, 384 pages, $28.95
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BOOK FESTIVAL
Savannah Serves Quiet Lessons on Dignified Living By Michael Jacobs mjacobs@atljewishtimes.com Novelist Jonathan Rabb said he had no idea Jews lived south of the Mason-Dixon Line before he moved from New York eight years ago to become a writing professor at the Savannah College of Art and Design. But when he and his wife, Andra, arrived, they were immediately embraced by a community that dates back almost to the founding of Georgia. “These are Southern Jews, and they are still so devoted to tradition,” Rabb said in an interview in advance of his appearance at the Book Festival of the Marcus Jewish Community Center on Monday, Nov. 7. He had been in Savannah less than a week when he answered a phone call from a number he didn’t recognize. Bubba Rosenthal was on the line, inviting the Rabb family to a synagogue event in a Southern event so thick, Rabb said, that “it took me 30 seconds to return to planet Earth.” The plan was to stay for a year before returning to the North, but Rabb and his wife and two children haven’t left yet. The community is fairly unified now, Rabb said, but it has a history of deep divisions between Conservative and Reform. That community divide helps form the setting for Rabb’s new novel, “Among the Living.” It’s the story of a 31-year-old Holocaust survivor from Czechoslovakia, Yitzhak Goldah, who arrives in Savannah in 1947 to stay with his only living relative, shoe store owner Abe Jesler, and his wife, Pearl, who are members at the Conservative shul, Agudath Achim. Pearl is dismayed when Yitzhak, whom she and Abe decide should go by Ike in America, begins spending time with a war widow, Eva De la Parra, who at-
tends Reform Congregation Mickve Israel. To get the details of those community tensions right, Rabb needed the help of his Savannah neighbors. With his recent Berlin trilogy of mysJonathan Rabb will appear at noon teries taking Monday, Nov. 7, in place between a program with a the world wars, fellow Georgia writer, no one wanted Zoe Fishman. to talk to him about the setting, Rabb said. He didn’t have that problem in Savannah. Community members were proud to talk about their city’s history, good and bad. Rabb told of a 93-year-old man who insisted he join him and his 90-year-old wife for lunch to talk about Jewish Savannah. Rabb showed up with a legal pad full of questions, and after asking the first one, he didn’t speak for the next three hours. Still, Rabb said he didn’t feel extra pressure. “There wasn’t this sense of ‘You better get this right.’ They were just overjoyed that someone wanted to bring that moment to life.” Rabb uses that flexibility and understanding in the book. For one thing, he has Ike arrive a few years earlier than survivors actually got to Savannah. He also makes up one of the best scenes in “Among the Living,” one that proves pivotal. The Conservative congregation decides to do Tashlich off a pier at the ocean, only to find that on this particularly beautiful Rosh Hashanah, the Reform temple had the same idea. Mickve Israel members are already there when Ike, the Jaslers and the other AA mem-
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bers arrive. The idea is floated to have all the Jews share the pier, but instead the Conservative crowd charges onto the beach, most of them vainly trying to cast their sins far enough into the water so that they don’t roll back amid the waves. Rabb said he needed a dramatic water scene, and he couldn’t resist having fun with an oceanfront standoff, even though it’s not something that actually happened. The inspiration for a survivor’s story was personal for Rabb. He said he had a cousin who survived the camps, and it was obvious when they met that something had shattered inside him. “I needed to find a way to tap into what that experience had been,” Rabb said. Savannah provided the answer: having a character dehumanized by the Nazis settle in the Jim Crow South, where he would live on the other side of the racial power divide. That scenario shows the roots of the black-Jewish alliance during the civil rights movement, Rabb said. He wasn’t planning to incorporate a love story — his wife had complained that he never used such plot lines — but Rabb found that he needed the relationship with Eva to open Ike up and, as the title indicates, bring him back among the living. While Ike, a newspaper writer who goes to work for Eva’s father, is the book’s central character, and Abe and a few other men and boys drive an important subplot involving shoe smuggling and organized crime, the most powerful characters in the book are women: Pearl, Eva, and Malke, a survivor who arrives midway through the book and claims to be Ike’s fiancée. The pain and resilience Rabb conveys through Eva and Malke when they meet drive one of the most powerful moments in the book and testify to the
writer’s skill. Rabb, a writing instructor who never had any formal training in writing himself, said “Among the Living” was a struggle to complete. He spent 2½ years writing it and at one point took a hiatus of about five months to write a graphic novel and get away from the world of 1947. The work took so long that a global refugee crisis emerged and became a major political issue while he was completing a refugee’s story. Rabb said lessons can be drawn from the postwar Jewish refugees, but he hopes readers stay in the novel’s moment and experience the book’s time and place. This novel wound up being his shortest book at 82,000 words, compared with about 140,000 for his other novels. Because that brevity reflects a willingness to “get in late and get out early” — providing as little background and as little closure as possible to complete the story, an approach used by one of his literary heroes, Graham Greene — “I’m really happy about that,” Rabb said. Like a Greene novel, “Among the Living” seems to do so much in so few words, all on a human scale that somehow elevates the everyday activities and emotions of life to epic heights. ■
Among the Living By Jonathan Rabb Other Press, 320 pages, $26.95
BOOK FESTIVAL
Laughing at Ourselves By April Basler abasler@atljewishtimes.com “All Jewish holidays can be described in nine words. These nine words? THEY TRIED TO KILL US. WE WON. LET’S EAT.” Michael Krasny’s “Let There Be Laughter” is a compilation of over 100 of the best Jewish jokes he has encountered in his lifetime and throughout a career in radio, where he hosts the show “Forum” on National Public Radio. Krasny analyzes films, cartoons, comics, jokes, etc., in this amusing book and explains the cultural implications behind the comedy. He has been told Jewish jokes since his bar mitzvah, and he claims to know more of them than anyone in the world. Krasny references jokes and comedy from such famous Jews as Jerry Seinfeld, Amy Schumer, Joan Rivers and Neil Simon. The book is divided into topical chapters, such as jokes on Jewish mothers and bubbes, celebrations, suffering, Yiddish, generations, and assimilation. Some of the references were be-
Michael Krasny will appear at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 17.
fore my millennial time, but I did learn a lot about the history of Jewish comedy and the stereotypes and stigmas behind the Jewish jokes. I also learned a few more Yiddish words, such as naches — the joy and pride a parent derives from a child’s accomplish-
ments. “Let There Be Laughter” (a play on “Let there be light” from Genesis) is entertaining and funny. Some jokes are funnier than others, of course, but each one made me at least chuckle, if not laugh out loud. Krasny’s writing is eloquent. I enjoyed his dialogue on the meaning behind the jokes, and I would recommend this book to any adult. Be sure to pick up this funny read. You won’t regret it. ■ Let There Be Laughter By Michael Krasny William Morrow, 304 pages, $19.99
By Michael Jacobs mjacobs@atljewishtimes.com
Jesse Itzler is the kind of self-made, say-anything, do-anything business superstar I think many Donald Trump voters want to see in their candidate. He’s a guy who has forced his way into the establishment elite by, not despite, playing by his own rules. He wanted to be a rapper on MTV; he made it happen. He wanted to write theme songs for NBA teams; he made it happen. He wanted to get close to fellow innovative Jewish entrepreneur Sara Blakely; he married the Spanx founder. So in 2010 when he decided that he needed to shake up the fitness routine enabling him to run marathons and ultramarathons and that a Navy SEAL he saw at a 24-hour run in San Diego was the person who could help him do it, Itzler made it happen. That unnamed SEAL, with nearly superhuman mental and physical powers, moved in for 31 days with Itzler, Blakely and their toddler son in New York’s toney Central Park West (the likes of Sting and Bob Costas share the building) on the condition that Itzler would do whatever he told him to do at
any time. “Living With a SEAL” tells of that fanatical, fantastical, frozen month of 6-mile runs, 50-pound weight vests, burpees, sit-ups, pullups and as Jesse Itzler will appear at 3 p.m. many as 1,000 pushSunday, Nov. 13. ups a day. Itzler and the SEAL run at 6 in the morning and 10 at night. They work out during breaks in business meetings. They smash holes in a frozen Connecticut lake to risk hypothermia by jumping in. It’s all mind-blowingly insane and amazingly entertaining. By all rights, jealousy should drive readers to hate Itzler as he and his beautiful wife travel among homes in Atlanta, New York and Connecticut in a world where money is no object. Instead, his irresistible charm leaps from every page, taking us along on a series of physical adventures, one crazier than the next. ■ Living With a SEAL By Jesse Itzler Center Street, 272 pages, $26
OCTOBER 21 ▪ 2016
SEALed With a Kick
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BOOK FESTIVAL
A Supermensch’s Guide to Success and Happiness By Kevin Madigan kmadigan@atljewishtimes.com
Photo by Jesse Dittmar
Celebrity agent Shep Gordon has packed a lot of fun with famous people into his 70 years, as he covers in his autobiography, “They Call Me Supermensch: A Backstage Pass to the Amazing Worlds of Film, Food, and Rock ’n’ Roll.” He will talk about the book with True Colors Theatre founder Kenny Leon on Saturday night, Nov. 12, at the Book Festival of the Marcus Jewish Community Center, which also will screen the 2013 documentary about him, “Supermensch.” The AJT reached Gordon, 70, at his home in Hawaii, where he has lived for 40 years. AJT: You’re doing a book tour at the moment? Gordon: I guess so, yeah. I’m doing a lot of the Jewish book fairs, and I just did an author dinner at the 92nd Street Y with Anthony Bourdain and Alice Cooper, and a lot of TV and stuff. AJT: You and Bourdain are friends, right?
Shep Gordon will appear at the Book Festival in conversation with Kenny Leon at 8 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 12, after a 6:30 screening of the documentary “Supermensch: The Legend of Shep Gordon.”
Gordon: Well, acquaintances who have respect for each other. He’s publisher of the book. I actually first met him when he walked up to me and said, “I’d like to do your book.” That was a couple of years ago. Then he came and did a TV show in my house and stayed for a week. We got to know each other. AJT: You’re still working and not really retired, is that correct? Gordon: I still manage Alice Cooper, and I do occasional projects. I thought I was retired, but now I have a completely new definition of retirement: You do exactly the same thing, but you just don’t get paid for it. AJT: After all this time, what’s the least favorite part of your job? Gordon: The worst part is prob-
ably the traveling. It just takes you away from living your life, from your own journey. I enjoy traveling when I choose to do it. AJT: Talk a bit about Groucho Marx. Gordon: I met Groucho through Alice. He called me and said, “You’re not going to believe this: I’m in bed watching TV with Groucho Marx, and we’re wearing Mickey Mouse ears.” So I went there, and he was! Groucho wasn’t very active at that time. My contribution was to help get the TV show (“You Bet Your Life”) back on the air. AJT: You managed Pink Floyd for about nine days? Gordon: (Laughs) I got them a show in Chicago for a lot of money, but when they got there, the theater had just burned down. I thought it was probably an inside job. They fired me immediately. AJT: You resisted the idea of a movie about you at first. Gordon: There was no reason for me to do it. It’s not how I make my liv-
ing. It’s really an ego exercise — no real upside that I saw for myself or anyone else. But I’m glad I said yes. It did a lot for my life personally, and the book and the movie caused me to reflect on how I’ve lived my life and see if there were any guiding principles that I used and forced me to look at it with a different set of eyes, maybe come up with some things that could help other people be successful and happy. The two parts aren’t always tied together. AJT: You kicked off the whole celebrity chefs thing. Gordon: I’m very proud of that. It’s really taken off. I remember the early days in Atlanta before the real celebrity chefs, there was a Greek family that was a foreshadowing of what was coming. I can’t think of the name now, but they did a great fried lobster dish. (Gordon was referring to Pano's and Paul's) AJT: We’re looking forward to seeing you. Gordon: Happy to be coming. By the way, the book is No. 16 on the NY Times best seller list. I’m very proud. ■
Entertaining Backstage View of Celebrity-Making By Kevin Madigan kmadigan@atljewishtimes.com
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Shep Gordon has done it all — or so he says. In his autobiography, “They Call Me Supermensch,” the affable celebrity agent lays out details of his life with candor and occasional hyperbole. “Every paper in the world,” he writes unflinchingly when describing how much coverage he will obtain for a client. His considerable charm, at least on paper, carries him through the book with nary a scratch. Gordon was the brains behind rock star Alice Cooper, his first client, and he spends a lot of the book on him. Too much, really. Some of his potentially more interesting clients, such as an aging Groucho Marx, get short shrift. But Gordon reveals his kinder side on the subject of the Dalai Lama, for whom he cooked while touring the United States. The modern-day celebrity chef was Gordon’s creation. Household names such as Emeril Lagasse and Wolfgang Puck were little known before the im-
presario noticed what a raw deal some of them were getting, despite running top-notch restaurants here and abroad. Comedian Mike Myers produced a documentary about Gordon in 2013, and this book is a follow-up to that effort. The two met on the set of “Wayne’s World” in the early ’90s and became friends, with Myers eventually taking up residence in Gordon’s home in Hawaii for a spell. Some of Gordon’s more cantankerous charges were singer Anita Baker, who threw a tray of food all over Gordon because she disliked its plastic wrapping. Gordon’s story is laid out with a touch of incredulity at his good fortune and self-deprecation, referencing with honesty his predilection for recreational substances as well as both his successes and failures. The “shy, Jewish nebbisher kid with no ambition” did very well for himself. ■ They Call Me Supermensch By Shep Gordon Anthony Bourdain/Ecco, 309 pages, $25.99
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BOOK FESTIVAL
Here It Is: The American Jewish Experience By Tova Norman Jonathan Safran Foer’s novel “Here I Am” is simultaneously about the human condition and the Jewish condition in 21st century America. The main characters, Jacob and Julia Bloch, a Jewish couple in their early 40s with three sons, are struggling to accept the distance between life as they imagine it should be and life as it is. When Julia discovers a cellphone that Jacob is using to have an affair, the earth shakes for the first time in the novel, hurling the Blochs toward a divorce that was on the horizon but not approaching. The second time the earth shakes in the novel, it is an earthquake with its epicenter in the heart of Israel that puts the fate of the country into question. Here the struggle is between Israelis and Diaspora Jews, which Foer shows by juxtaposing Jacob with his Israeli cousin Tamir, who has just landed in America to attend the bar mitzvah celebration of the Blochs’ eldest son, Sam, when the earthquake hits. In this more grown-up novel, Foer,
whose previous novels, “Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close” and “Everything Is Illuminated,” were made into movies, creates characters who are navigating the balance between family Jonathan Safran and self. Foer will appear It is a novel for at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 9. today’s reader and is particularly appropriate for Gen Xers. Besides the cellphones, television and movie references, and chat room messages (some chapters are written entirely in these), the characters embody the modern age of self-exploration, self-fulfillment and self-indulgence. They are not heroes whom people would seek to emulate; they are human beings whom readers will relate to. Although the novel could be relatable to anyone, it is quintessentially Jewish. Foer’s rich descriptions of modern American b’nai mitzvah, shiva houses
and Hebrew school Holocaust lesson plans, as well as of Jewish people everyone knows — unapologetic supporters of the state of Israel, Holocaust survivors, newly ordained young rabbis — put the Jewish reader at home among the Blochs. Foer explores, with keen understanding, the questions that plague American Jews: how to live as a Jew, how to respect the victims and survivors of the Holocaust, how to relate to Israel, how to be Jewish and not be religious, how to be religious and not be Jewish. This last question that Foer explores, mainly through Jacob’s character, is addressed by Sam in an explanation of his bar mitzvah parshah, Vayeira. The parshah contains the story of the binding of Isaac and the famous hineni from which the book takes its title. Sam explains: “I think it is primarily about who we are wholly there for, and how that, more than anything, defines our identity.” As Jews return to Israel to fight for its existence, as his marriage implodes,
as his children struggle, as his dog nears death, Jacob must decide whom he will be wholly there for. His answers are his own, but the journey — with Foer’s descriptive language, impeccable details, insightful understanding and laugh-out-loud moments — is one that American Jewish readers who have ever tried to make relationships work, questioned what it means to be Jewish or struggled in their connection with Israel should go on — all 571 pages of it. ■
Here I Am By Jonathan Safran Foer Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 571 pages, $28
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BOOK FESTIVAL
Gynecologist Unfolds Truth on Hormonal Health By Marcia Caller Jaffe mjaffe@atljewishtimes.com
ist, painter and cartoonist, said, “My work takes 25 minutes — and 25 years.”
Emory- and Harvard-trained gynecologist Mache Seibel presents “What Every Woman Over 40 Needs to Know” with his new, well-researched book, “The Estrogen Window.” Seibel, the creator of the Menopause Breakthrough Program and founder of The Hot Years, My Menopause Magazine, will help women be healthy, energized and hormonally balanced through perimenopause, menopause and beyond. Share in our conversation to ensure that you are privy to the latest research that can improve your health.
Jaffe: What feedback have you gotten? Do you feel like this book is changing lives? Seibel: The feedback on Amazon, from my patients and peers has been amazing. Lay people are finding it very helpful if not life altering. What is as dramatic is how the medical community has embraced it as the current go-to for understanding the use of estrogen. The North American Menopause Society review of the book recommended it as required reading for doctors in training.
Jaffe: Your wife, who is also an M.D., had health issues that led you to research this topic. Seibel: Yes, Sharon had genetic testing because she had lost so many women in her family to ovarian cancer. She tested positive for the BRCA2 mutation, which was a new test at that time, and immediately had her ovaries and tubes surgically removed and started a program for breast screening. This happened only months after a study called the Women’s Health Initiative (WHI) reported (erroneously) that estrogen caused breast cancer and heart disease. My experience and reading of the article was that the WHI study was flawed. But during that time and until the
Mache Seibel will appear at 12:30 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 15, in conversation with Mimi Zieman, an OB/GYN at Femasys.
present, millions of women stopped taking estrogen and thousands of doctors stopped prescribing it. I needed to know how to advise my wife and my patients about hormone replacement. We now know that estrogen does not increase the risk of breast cancer if taken in the estrogen window, even in women with the BRCA gene. I discuss this in great depth in my book, “The Estrogen Window.” It took years to validate.
Jaffe: You trained here in Atlanta? Seibel: My experience in obstetrics and gynecology at Grady Memorial Hospital laid the clinical foundation for me about how to approach research and use data. It was a quality experience. On the lighter side, we probably delivered 6,000 babies a year there, which may calculate to one every 90 minutes. There are a variety of now-35year-olds running around Atlanta with the name Mache, Machelle or a variation of Seibel.
Jaffe: How long did it take you to write the book? Seibel: Really only five months — after I spent years going through all the data and research and interviewing the researchers. Like Jules Feiffer, the art-
Jaffe: I heard you went down the Grady halls in a Groucho Marx mask to cheer up patients. What are some of your other talents? Seibel: I have a side career in music. See my music website, healthrock.
What Women Over 40 Need to Know By Marcia Caller Jaffe mjaffe@atljewishtimes.com
OCTOBER 21 ▪ 2016
I confess that my gynecologist wisely advised me to take hormone therapy 20 years ago. Upon hearing my late mother’s advice, “Don’t go looking for trouble,” and fearing the warnings that such treatment could cause breast cancer, I declined. Mache Seibel, a physician who is an international women’s wellness and menopause expert in Boston, wrote “The Estrogen Window” for patients and medical providers on hormone therapy. He takes the fear out of estrogen. He wants women to know that those treating their symptoms with estrogen are not exposing themselves to serious risks and that those considering estrogen therapy should understand the 22 window of time during which estrogen
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poses minimal risks with maximum benefit. After that window closes, outcomes can change. The following benefits are detailed throughout the book: • Extended protection from heart disease. • Reduced risk of Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of cognitive decline. • Reduced risk of osteoporosis and Type 2 diabetes. • Beneficial cosmetic effects on structure and resiliency of skin. • Relief from hot flashes. • Improved sleep. • Stabilized mood, especially in women with mental health diagnoses. • Support for bladder tissue and reduced risk of recurring urinary tract infections. The duration of woman’s estrogen
window depends on two factors: which estrogen-containing medicine is used and which symptom is targeted. If the same woman takes the same drug outside her window, she might face an increased risk of serious side effects. Seibel also takes on the Jewish outlook for women who think they have the BRCA gene. “If you are an Ashkenazi Jew, the BReast CAncer (BRCA) gene is something you especially need to know about because it is overrepresented in Jews and there are proactive things you can do. There are two BRCA mutations or abnormal changes, BRCA1 and BRCA2; both significantly increase a women’s lifetime risk of developing breast and ovarian cancer. Less well known, the BRCA gene mutation causes up to a 22-fold increase in pancreatic cancer and increases the risk of melanoma. This equal opportunity
com/music. I have published about 15 CDs on various meaningful (and lighthearted) topics, many for children about being potty-trained, brushing teeth or lullabies. For the ladies, we have “Red Hot Mama” songs of life, laughter and love (I write the music and lyrics). I have also appeared at medical conventions where I customize the music to their specialty. Jaffe: I can testify that you can sing “Greenie Cuziny” in Yiddish — quite a feat for a boy from Texas City, Texas. I remember when you were in People magazine (January 2000). Seibel: Yeah! I helped a famous gorilla at the Boston Zoo conceive. That one they didn’t name after me (laughing). Jaffe: You live in the Boston area now with your wife and three scattered grown children. You were in Atlanta recently promoting your book. Seibel: Yes, I had a great experience on WXIA in April, sharing the detail of “The Estrogen Window” and presenting the findings to the Emory School of Medicine. There was so much interest. Jaffe: We look forward to seeing you at the Book Festival on Tuesday, Nov. 15, at 12:30 p.m. at the Marcus JCC in Dunwoody. I can promise an informative and genuinely fun presentation. ■ gene also increases a man’s risk of prostate cancer,” the doctor writes. “I thought this was a beautifully written book, and I will encourage my resident and student trainees to read it. This will be essential reading for the teaching program at my hospital,” said Robyn Faye, a clinical assistant professor in the physician’s assistant department at Drexel University. ■
The Estrogen Window By Dr. Mache Seibel Rodale Books, 256 pages, $25.99
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BOOK FESTIVAL
Dayan’s Daughter Looks Back in Sadness Everyone’s life is filled with change. The life of Yael Dayan, writer, political activist and daughter of legendary Israeli military leader Moshe Dayan, has been dramatic and filled with passion, tragedy and adventure. Her life has been rich with unusual experiences. Her memoir, “Transitions,” now translated into English, describes her life from the vantage point of a 75-yearold woman dealing with illness and facing mortality after a life of many losses. She has buried her father, her husband and her brother. This book looks death in the face and describes it in a poetic style. To read Dayan’s memoir is to feel her sadness, know her disappointments and experience compassion for her as she accepts the loss of her younger self. Her writing is brutally honest as she reveals deeply personal experiences and feelings about life in Israel as the daughter of a military hero, with
whom she had a complicated relationship. In the preface, the author explains that she did not write her story in chronological order. She realizes that the order of the book and her prioriYael Dayan will ties in telling her appear at 7:30 p.m. life story might Sunday, Nov. 6. seem random to a reader. “I took the liberty of writing about my own transitions from the naïve Israeli teenager and soldier to the sophisticated and indulged best-selling writer; and from there all the way to the mature, wise old woman, looking back with a degree of frustration on dreams never to be fulfilled,” she writes. This is the way she describes herself in the beginning of the book: “I am a seventy-four-year old grandmother, a retired civil servant, the widow of a high-ranking IDF officer. I walk around the house with an oxygen concentrator, transposed from my place as
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an initiator, generator of action, to an object of it.” Like most seniors, Dayan is forgetful and has to deal with a mind that is not as sharp as when she was young. She describes her forgetfulness this way: “I jot down numbers in the wrong order, go to the kitchen only to forget what I needed, pour milk from a closed carton, look for things that I placed in their usual spot and don’t find them.” Something unusual about the structure of this memoir is the way Dayan vacillates between first and second person. Much of the book is written as if she is talking to herself as she remembers her life events. Her explanation for this method is that she has more than one self. “In addition to myself, ‘I,’ recounting and telling, there is also another me, observing, witnessing, daring to search deeper and addressing myself as ‘you’ conversing intimately with me.” She writes the way she has talked to herself and allows the reader to listen in. For instance, as she evaluates what life is like as a sick, old woman, she asks herself: “What do you miss?
The Jewish Breakfast Club Featured Speaker
BERNIE MARCUS Bernard Marcus is co-founder of The Home Depot, Inc., the world’s largest home improvement retailer. His company revolutionized the home improvement business with its warehouse concept. He served as chairman of the board until his retirement in 2002. He remains director emeritus and Home Depot’s largest single stockholder. From 1972 to 1978, Marcus was Chairman of the Board and President of Handy Dan Improvement Centers, Inc., a home center retail chain. Marcus’s personal civic involvement has been translated into the creation of The Marcus Foundation where he serves as chairman of the board. His areas of focus include Jewish causes, children, medical research, free enterprise and the community. A centerpiece of his desire to give back to the community is Georgia Aquarium in Atlanta, Georgia. Among his important philanthropies is the founding of the Israel Democracy Institute located in Jerusalem. This non-partisan and nonpolitical think tank serves as an important resource and change agent, dealing with the complex issues facing Israeli democratic society. Marcus serves in numerous leadership roles including The Shepherd Spinal Center, The City of Hope, The Marcus Jewish Community Center, and Business Executives for National Security.
What kind of happiness is now out of reach? When did the balance between the lust for life and the preoccupation with death shift? When did good health give way to illness and pain?” Dayan doesn’t write only about negative topics. She writes about conversations with famous writers such as Truman Capote, Tennessee Williams and Carson McCullers. This short book is an interesting read. Enriching the story are many photographs of Dayan as a young girl and young adult. There are photographs of her alone and others of her with the family she grew up in and of the family she and her husband created. There is one picture of her with Hillary Clinton taken when Bill Clinton was president. Yael Dayan has lived a life most would find exciting. Her story is a pleasant way to spend a few hours. ■ Transitions By Yael Dayan Mosaic Press, 160 pages, $19.99
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OCTOBER 21 ▪ 2016
By Arlene Appelrouth aappelrouth@atljewishtimes.com
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BOOK FESTIVAL
Plan Your Book Festival Tickets for the 25th edition of the Book Festival of the Marcus Jewish Community Center are available by visiting www.atlantajcc.org/bookfestival or by calling the JCC box office, which opens onsite one hour before each event, at 678-812-4005. This year’s festival offers 30 sessions with a total of 39 authors. Buying an individual ticket for each event would cost $399 for a JCC member and $543 for a nonmember. A series pass, good for admission to everything, is $120 for members and $145 for others. All programs are at the Marcus JCC, 5342 Tilly Mill Road, Dunwoody. Ticket prices do not include a $1.25 service fee.
SATURDAY, NOV. 5
8:15 p.m. — Pop music star Kenny Loggins plays a few tunes and talks with local media personality Mara Davis about “Footloose,” his children’s book based on his 1980s hit. The book, illustrated by Tim Bowers, shows what happens at a zoo after the people go home and the zookeeper lets the animals out to dance. Tickets, including a copy of the book, are $28 for members and $33 for nonmembers. A $75 premier ticket includes priority seating and a VIP book-signing line.
SUNDAY, NOV. 6
OCTOBER 21 ▪ 2016
Noon — Robert Wittman, retired from the FBI after a legendary career recovering stolen art and other treasures, and local author and sports reporter Brian Curtis are in conversation with Boston Globe book reviewer Kate Tuttle, the director of the Decatur Writers Studio. Wittman talks about “The Devil’s Diary,” the story of high-ranking Nazi Alfred Rosenberg, Nuremberg prosecutor Robert Kempner, and the long-lost Rosenberg diary that tied them and Wittman together across more than half a century. Curtis presents “Fields of Battle,” which 24 tells the story of the 1942 Rose Bowl,
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played in Durham, N.C., and the men who moved from the football field to World War II’s battlefields. Tickets: $10 members; $15 others. 7:30 p.m. — In the Esther Levine Community Read, Yael Dayan, daughter of Moshe Dayan and a former Knesset member and political activist, talks with CNN producer Nadia Bilchik about her memoir, “Transitions,” which Dayan says tells the truth and only the truth, but not the whole truth, about her life. Tickets: $13 members; $18 others.
MONDAY, NOV. 7
Noon — A program of Georgia novelists presents Zoe Fishman and Jonathan Rabb in conversation with best-selling author Lisa Baron Stone. Fishman’s offering is “Inheriting Edith,” in which a struggling New York housekeeper inherits a Sag Harbor mansion when a former employer kills herself. But the house comes with the dead woman’s 82-year-old mother, Edith, who has Alzheimer’s. Rabb’s novel is “Among the Living,” which tells the story of a Holocaust survivor who is taken in by distant relatives in Savannah and finds himself caught in the middle of multiple local struggles: between Jewish congregations, between blacks and whites, and between a shoe store owner and organized crime. Tickets: $10 members; $15 others. 7:30 p.m. — Authors Howard Blum and Uri Bar-Joseph share reallife spy thrills with former CNN Executive Vice President Gail Evans. Blum’s “The Last Goodnight” tells the story of Betty Pack, who gave up a comfortable upper-class Midwestern life, love and family to give her body and soul for the Allied cause in Europe. Bar-Joseph’s “The Angel” reveals how an Egyptian close to Nasser and Sadat, Ashraf Marwan, provided the information that saved Israel in 1973. Tickets: $13 members; $18 others.
TUESDAY, NOV. 8
12:30 p.m. — Biblical scholar Joel Hoffman presents his book about misunderstandings and mistranslations of Scripture, “The Bible Doesn’t Say That.” Tickets: $10 members; $15 nonmembers.
WEDNESDAY, NOV. 9
12:30 p.m. — Novelists Alyson Richman and B.A. Shapiro explore the artistic cost of the Nazi sweep across Western Europe in a conversation with WMLBAM 1690 host John Lemley. In Richman’s “The Velvet Hours,” a young Parisian woman talks with her grandmother about her treasure-filled apartment and the life stories behind the objects before fleeing the German occupation. Shapiro’s “The Muralist” also focuses on a young Frenchwoman, an artist who is living in New York and helping Rothko, Pollock and Krasner develop abstract expressionism while her relatives are trapped on the other side of the Atlantic. Tickets: $10 members; $15 nonmembers. 7:30 p.m. — Literary star Jonathan Safran Foer talks with former Atlanta JournalConstitution book columnist Greg Changnon about his third novel, “Here I Am,” which covers disasters domestic (a Jewish couple facing divorce over the husband’s affair) and global (an earthquake-sparked war that could be Israel’s doom). Tickets: $13 members; $18 others.
THURSDAY, NOV. 10
10:30 a.m. — Real-life women’s stories are the focus as authors Frieda Birnbaum and Marlene Trestman talk with lawyer Esther Panitch. In “Life Begins at 60,” psychotherapist Birnbaum talks about setting a record by giving birth to twin boys through artificial insemination at age 60. Trestman’s “Fair Labor Lawyer” recounts Bessie Margolin’s rise from New Orleans orphan to trailblazing lawyer before the U.S. Supreme Court. Free to all.
12:30 p.m. — Adam Levin and WSB-TV Channel 2 investigative reporter Aaron Diamant talk about Levin’s “Swiped,” which covers the spreading problem of identity theft and what to do if it happens to you. Tickets: $10 members; $15 others. 7:30 p.m. — CNN veteran Peter Bergen talks about the problem of homegrown terrorism as covered in his latest book, “United States of Jihad,” during a conversation with Georgia Public Broadcasting newsman Bill Nigut. Tickets: $18 members; $24 others.
FRIDAY, NOV. 11
Noon — Fiction and nonfiction mix in a conversation exploring women’s rights with literary critic Anjeli Enjeti. Ellen Feldman’s “Terrible Virtue” presents the true story of Margaret Sanger, who founder Planned Parenthood 100 years ago. Jennifer S. Brown’s debut novel, “Modern Girls,” shows a mother and her adult daughter trying to establish their places in the world while dealing with unplanned pregnancies in 1935. Tickets: $10 members; $15 others.
SATURDAY, NOV. 12
8 p.m. — Semiretired Hollywood agent Shep Gordon, whose clients have ranged from Alice Cooper to Groucho Marx, discusses his autobiography, “They Call Me Supermensch,” with True Colors Theatre founder and artistic director Kenny Leon. The book program follows a screening of the documentary “Supermensch: The Legend of Shep Gordon” at 6:30. Tickets (including film): $18 members; $24 nonmembers. Film-only tickets: $5.
SUNDAY, NOV. 13
11:30 a.m. — Chicago’s retired “Breakfast Queen,” Ina Pinkney, pre sents her cookbook/memoir, “Ina’s Kitchen,” in a conversation with Souper Jenny owner Jenny Levison. The program follows a screening of “Breakfast at Ina’s,” which audience members chose as the best documentary at this year’s Atlanta Jewish Film Festival. Tickets (including film): $18 members; $24 nonmembers. Film-only tickets: $5. 3 p.m. — Entrepreneur and Atlanta resident Jesse Itzler, whose career has ranged from rap music to private jets to minority ownership in the Atlan-
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ta Hawks, talks with media personality Conn Jackson about “Living With a SEAL,” in which Itzler tells of the intense winter month six years ago when he brought a Navy SEAL into his home, trained with him at all hours of the day and night, and changed his outlook on life. Tickets: $10 members; $15 others. 7:30 p.m. — Daniel Gordis takes time away from his duties as an administrator and teacher at Israel’s first liberal arts college, Shalem College in Jerusalem, to talk with Emory’s Ken Stein about his latest nonfiction book, “Israel: A Concise History,” which spends less time on wars and more on the intellectual and cultural underpinnings of Zionism. Tickets: $18 members; $24 others.
MONDAY, NOV. 14
Noon — Victoria Kelly and Thelma Adams talk about their novels based on real women with consultant and former radio host Gail Cohn. Kelly’s “Mrs. Houdini: A Novel” depicts Harry Houdini’s widow, Bess, in her search for a message he is sending her from beyond the grave. Adams’ “Last Woman Standing: A Novel” shows us Josephine Marcus, a daughter of Jewish immigrants, as she leaves San Francisco for Tombstone, Ariz., and finds herself as a source of conflict between lawmen Johnny Behan and Wyatt Earp. Tickets: $10 members; $15 others. 7:30 p.m. — Alice Hoffman and her latest novel, “Faithful,” are the focus of Book Club Night through a conversation with 11Alive anchor Melissa Long. The story concentrates on a young New York woman who feels that she has lost her soul after surviving a wintry car accident during her senior year in high school that has left her best friend in a permanent but pos-
sibly miracle-granting coma. Tickets: $13 members; $18 others.
TUESDAY, NOV. 15
12:30 p.m. — Gynecologist Mache Seibel explains “The Estrogen Window,” which argues that there’s a time for each woman when hormone replacement therapy is safe and effective, in a conversation with OB/GYN Mimi Zieman of Femasys. Tickets: $10 members; $15 others. 7:30 p.m. — Carson Kressley, who gained fame as one of the “queer eyes” offering fashion advice to straight guys, turns his attention to women and what they wear in “Does This Book Make My Butt Look Big?” CNN’s Holly Firfer helps him talk about the book. Tickets: $18 members; $24 others.
WEDNESDAY, NOV. 16
Noon — It’s lunchtime at the festival with kosher hot dogs, followed at 12:30 p.m. by authors Lloyd Handwerker and Ina Yalof discussing different aspects of New York food with WSB radio host Belinda Skelton. Handwerker talks about his grandfather, Nathan Handwerker, the Jewish immigrant who founded the Nathan’s hot dog empire at Coney Island, in “Famous Nathan.” Yalof takes a broader, deeper dive into New York’s food scene and history in “Food and the City,” including lox at Zabar’s with Woody Allen and the city’s Jewish expert on Chinese food. Tickets (including lunch): $24 members; $28 others. 7:30 p.m. — Israeli storyteller Meir Shalev discusses his novel “Two She-Bears,” which spans three generations, two murders, love, loss, betrayal, revenge and redemption in a story that begins in the early days of British Mandatory Palestine. Tickets: Members $10; others $15.
THURSDAY, NOV. 17
10:30 a.m. — East Cobb resident Jeffrey Selman, who launched a successful court fight against the county
Board of Education’s 2002 decision to put stickers dismissing evolution as just a theory in the front of biology textbooks, recalls the case as described in his book, “G-d Sent Me,” during a conversation with AJT Editor Michael Jacobs. Free to all. 12:30 p.m. — Liane Kupferberg Carter shares the story of her son Mickey, who has autism, in “Ketchup Is My Favorite Vegetable” and in a conversation with Janel Margaretta, the Marcus JCC’s chief development and marketing officer. Carter explains the fears, frustrations, guilt and joy of life with Mickey. Tickets: $10 members; $15 others. 7:30 p.m. — It’s time to giggle in a comedy-focused program with Punchline Comedy Club owner Jamie Bendall and two authors, William Novak (“Die Laughing: Killer Jokes for Newly Old Folks”) and Michael Krasny (“Let There Be Laughter”). Both books should arm you to laugh at yourself and the world around you. Tickets: $13 members; $18 others.
FRIDAY, NOV. 18
Noon — Writer Christopher Noxon has some famous TV connections. His wife, Jenji Kohan, is the creator of “Weeds” and “Orange Is the New Black”; his sister, Marti Noxon, was one of the creative forces behind “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” and served as showrunner the final two seasons. So his novel, “Plus One,” about a husband who becomes a stayat-home dad while his wife thrives in Hollywood, has elements of real life without being autobiographical. But Noxon plans to talk about his next book, which might be even more interesting: “Prick” will tell his story of converting to the Judaism of his wife and children. Tickets: $10 members; others $15.
SATURDAY, NOV. 19
8 p.m. — Jeffrey Toobin has made a name as a legal analyst on CNN, in the pages of The New Yorker and in books about cases such as the O.J. Simpson
murder trial. Now he’s delving into what he found to be the crazy, dangerous 1970s with the saga of rich girl-turnedb a n k- r o b b i n g revolutionar y Patty Hearst in “American Heiress.” Vinnie Politan, an 11Alive anchor, discusses the book with Toobin. Tickets: $18 members; $24 others.
SUNDAY, NOV. 20
Noon — CNBC producer Jason Gewirtz, who has reported from Israel on business and war, combines those interests with “Israel’s Edge,” a brief history of the Israel Defense Forces’ elite Talpiot unit, whose purpose is to produce the innovations that keep the IDF ahead of its enemies and which, as a side effect, has helped turn Israel into the Start-Up Nation. Gewirtz appears in conversation with GILEE’s founding director, Robbie Friedmann. Tickets: $10 members; $15 others. 3:30 p.m. — The refugee experience is in the spotlight when Harriet Levin Millan talks about her new novel, “How Fast Can You Run,” based on the life of Sudanese “Lost Boy” Michael Majok Kuch, who was driven from his village in South Sudan at age 5, fled to a refugee camp in Kenya and received asylum in the United States. Millan discusses the book and the reality behind it with Kuch and with Derreck Kayongo, the CEO of a new festival partner, the National Center for Civil and Human Rights, and himself a former refugee. Free to all. 7:30 p.m. — Bravo TV’s Andy Cohen closes the festival in conversation with a fellow Bravo star, Phaedra Parks of “The Real Housewives of Atlanta,” about his latest book, “Superficial: More Adventures From the Andy Cohen Diaries.” It promises to be juicier than the first foray into those diaries (the publisher wanted us to sign a nondisclosure agreement just to get a review copy). Cohen’s appearance also is this year’s Eva & George Stern Lecture. Tickets: $28 members; $33 others. As with opening night, a $75 premier 25 ticket brings the VIP treatment. OCTOBER 21 ▪ 2016
BOOK FESTIVAL
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BOOK FESTIVAL
When Football Wasn’t Just a Metaphor for War By Michael Jacobs mjacobs@atljewishtimes.com Dunwoody resident Brian Curtis has written books about sports, from Alabama head coach Nick Saban and big-time college football to college basketball, the New York Giants and Hall of Fame wide receiver Jerry Rice. The former president of Congregation B’nai Torah also has produced a book about national tragedy, editing a collection of letters from family members of 9/11 victims for the 10th anniversary of the terrorist attacks. That book, “The Legacy Letters,” led to a 9/11 program in September at the Davis Academy, where his children go to school and he serves on the board. His newly released nonfiction book falls into both categories. “Fields of Battle: Pearl Harbor, the Rose Bowl, and the Boys Who Went to War” tells the story of the 1942 Rose Bowl between Duke, which was a national power at the time, and Oregon State College, which had never reached the Rose Bowl and hasn’t won it since. Because of the attack on Pearl Harbor, the game was moved across the
country to Duke’s stadium in Durham, N.C., and the men who took the field on that rainy New Year’s Day knew they were mere months away from replacing the marPhoto by Eric Bern tial metaphors of Brian Curtis will appear at noon football with real Sunday, Nov. 6. military service. Curtis said in an interview that he and his publisher wondered from the start whether “Fields of Battle” would be a book about sports, the military or history. “I think it’s all of it. I think if someone likes sports, they’ll get something out of it. If someone’s a historian or loves reading about World War II, they’ll get something out of it.” Curtis didn’t know about the Durham game until he saw it mentioned in a Rose Bowl newsletter in late 2012 or early 2013. He was intrigued, and some research into the coaches and players led to an article for Sports Illustrated in August 2013. Two more years of re-
search, including interviews with relatives of the players and with Jim Smith, the only surviving player as the game’s 75th anniversary approaches Jan. 1, produced the book. “I think in the end it’s really the story of ordinary people, especially young boys, doing extraordinary things,” Curtis said. “And that can apply to the football field, that can apply to wartime, that can apply to coming home and just living an extraordinary life.” Many extraordinary moments didn’t make it into the book, he said. For example, the son of an Oregon State player, after talking to Curtis, was inspired to search online for memorabilia from the game. On eBay, he found his father’s Rose Bowl ring, which he didn’t even know had been stolen from his parents’ home in the 1980s. He thought the ring had been buried with his father. That’s how precious those rings were to the players. Four players — Walter Griffith, Everett Smith, Al Hoover and Bob Nanni — never made it home from World War II. At least two of them died with
their Rose Bowl rings. Those four never married, so they had no descendants for Curtis to track down. “It really hit me that there are no memories of these gentlemen,” he said. “That was important to me as well, to make sure they received recognition.” Another hero who stands out for Curtis never went to war or even played in the game. Because Oregon State end Jack Yoshihara was born in Japan, government officials barred him from traveling, and an injury later blocked him from enlisting in the Army. He spent much of the war in an internment camp. One of the heartbreaking moments in a book packed with them — including postwar alcoholism, divorce, suicide and early death from natural causes among men who couldn’t regain normality after the trauma of battle — takes place before the real fighting starts. When the Oregon State players start the train trip east for the game, their revelry screeches to a halt when they spot Yoshihara tearfully watching them go from the platform. “It’s emblematic of the country at the time,” Curtis said. ■
Battles Worth Fighting
OCTOBER 21 ▪ 2016
By Michael Jacobs mjacobs@atljewishtimes.com
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One of the less important effects of World War II was the change it wrought on college football. The postwar G.I. Bill, which paid for battle-hardened men to attend universities, proved to be the last hurrah for many elite institutions as football powers because of the backlash of traditional academics against the rougher, less traditional students flooding campuses. Schools that had combined top academics and great football for decades — for example, Tulane and Temple played the first Sugar Bowl in 1935 — responded in the 1950s by de-emphasizing athletics even as more top-flight athletes were attending college. Local author Brian Curtis takes us back to that earlier football era in “Fields of Battle: Pearl Harbor, the Rose Bowl, and the Boys Who Went to War,” which tells the story of the only Rose Bowl played on the East Coast and what happened when the players shifted from the fields of football to the fields of World War II. On Jan. 1, 1942, Duke served as
Rose Bowl host and favorite against Oregon State College because military authorities refused to let the game be played in Pasadena, Calif., after the attack on Pearl Harbor less than four weeks earlier. The first half of “Fields of Battle” focuses on that game and how those two teams wound up meeting on a rainy New Year’s Day in Durham, N.C. The second half covers the war and beyond. Curtis shares improbable moments from the war, as when Oregon State’s Frank Parker saves the life of Duke’s Charles Haynes Jr. by carrying him off a hilltop in Italy. At a time when we’re failing a new generation of veterans wounded and traumatized by war, Curtis shows that it’s an old problem. Many of the player/ soldiers struggled with alcoholism after the war and never seemed able to settle down to normal lives. Ultimately “Fields of Battle” is an uplifting story of what we as a nation and as individuals are capable of. ■ Fields of Battle By Brian Curtis Flatiron Books, 320 pages, $29.99
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Tasting the American Dream, 1 Dog at a Time “It was in Galicia, Austria-occupied Poland, on June 14, 1892, that Nathan Handwerker had the misfortune to be born.” So begins the story of one of the best-known purveyors of the humble hot dog, the man behind Nathan’s Famous. Written by Nathan’s grandson Lloyd Handwerker, “Famous Nathan: A Family Saga of Coney Island, the American Dream, and the Search for the Perfect Hot Dog” paints a comprehensive picture of the life and persona of Nathan Handwerker. The author presents each stage of his journey within the context of concurrent world events and includes additional background information on individuals as they relate to the story. The book also covers the evolution of Coney Island, Nathan’s secret to perfectly crispy potato chips and the etymological background of “hot dog.” Many successful entrepreneurs have sprouted from the throes of a difficult beginning, and Nathan was no different. The third-oldest son in a family of 13, Nathan was more than familiar with poverty and hunger. He was first apprenticed to his father in the trade of shoemaking at the age of 6, but it was at his first job in a bakery that he learned the necessity of hard work and the advantages of being employed in an environment whose principle commodity was food. When Europe seemed to be moving closer to what would prove to be World War I, Nathan joined the masses in immigrating to the fabled America in 1912. Armed with only a cooked chicken, money in his shoes, and the determination of one who has nothing to lose and everything to gain, Nathan embarked on his adventure to a new world without knowledge of the language or any literacy. Like the thousands of refugees who joined him, Nathan’s primary objective was to find work. His first stop, at a luggage factory, was short-lived. “I wanted something else, not to be a shopman,” Nathan said. He found a position at a luncheonette to be much more appealing, even though the pay was half what he earned in the sweatshop. Unlike the factory, here he was always guaranteed a meal. With the gall of a desperate yet
quick-learning immigrant, Nathan rose through the ranks of the food service industry, not even understanding the phrases he was boldly announcing to cusLloyd Handwerker tomers. Thus Nawill appear at 12:30 than Handwerker p.m. Wednesday, learned to speak Nov. 16. English. Searching for work beyond the hours of a typical workweek brought Nathan to the blossoming shores of Coney Island. His placement at the frankfurter station of
an existing restaurant planted the seed that led the mature 24-year-old to open his first blip of a shop. The real money started coming in when Nathan dropped his prices to a competitive nickel a dog. His acute business sense coupled with precision and dedication to quality propelled him to the top the food chain, literally. Nathan’s tale has within it the ups and downs of a life lived without apologies — love, loss, family, strife and rare success. Unique to his saga is the dominion he attained over his food item of choice and the fond popularity that became associated with the name on his sign. ■
Famous Nathan By Lloyd Handwerker Flatiron Books, 320 pages, $26.99
OCTOBER 21 ▪ 2016
By Rena Gray
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BOOK FESTIVAL
Noxon Shares Fears, Joys of Being Dad at Home By Cady Schulman cschulman@atljewishtimes.com You know those books that get you hooked to the point where you can’t put them down? That is “Plus One.” I didn’t want to stop reading this book from the moment I started, and I battled through a cluster headache to finish it because I just HAD to know how it ended. “Plus One” is the story of Alex, the husband of television writer Figgy, who quits his job and has to deal with the strains in the marriage from her long hours and his fear of her — or himself — straying, as well as how to handle being the householder. That role is something that’s becoming more common but is still seen by society as threatening to the husband, said author Christopher Noxon, whose wife, Jenji Kohan, created the hit TV shows “Weeds” and “Orange Is the New Black.” “It’s true,” Noxon said. “I’ve seen that in my life a lot. When Jenji hit it, there was concern among my relatives and friends. There’s this expectation that the success of women is threaten-
Relatively new Jew by choice Christopher Noxon will appear at noon Friday, Nov. 18.
ing to men.” Dealing with the mental aspect of staying home with the kids, as well as how society views men who do so, is what Noxon wanted to explore in his book. It’s something he said can feel oppressive. “It’s suffocating and isolating and can be a form of oppression,” Noxon
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said. “I wish I was the kind of guy who could say, ‘That’s enough. I just want to take care of my kids.’ I just hope that men are able to deal with these issues in a very honest and forthright way. I feel like there’s even pressure to deny that it’s an issue at all.” Although the book isn’t literally based on Noxon’s life, it does contain pieces of real life. For example, he has experienced the discomfort and uneasiness that comes with being a male householder. In the character of Alex, Noxon created a more isolated version of himself. “Unlike Alex, I really do have an outside life,” he said. “He’s isolated, and he goes crazy. The joke is that I tried to have my midlife crisis on the page so I wouldn’t have to have it in real life. I thought, ‘What would happen if? What would happen if?’ ” And he said it was important to get his wife to sign off on the book before it went to print. “I get two questions more than any others about the book,” he said. “The first is ‘How much is true?’ and the second is ‘Does your wife hate you?’ The answer to both of those questions is a little. I told her if anything feels too close or too private, just mark it, and it will come out. We don’t have to have a debate. I don’t have to negotiate. My marriage is more important than this book. She didn’t mark anything. She said, ‘I love it.’ “Then we got close to publication, and she started to freak out. She worried that while nothing in the book is literal, there are pieces and scraps and inspirations that are literally true. She worried that people would think it was a thinly veiled autobiography. We talked about it endlessly, and it was hard to get her on board. In the end, the Audiobook came out, and when she heard another voice reading it and was reintroduced to the superfictional world I had created, she became much more comfortable again.” Noxon knew where the story was going to end from the beginning, but he did have to figure out what the book’s central question was going to be. “If I’m writing a story about a family and a relationship and a marriage, in ugly Hollywood terms, what are the stakes?” he said. “What is the central question? It is ‘Are they going to stay together?’ I wanted that tension to feel really real and not fake. I had to sort of push the question of whether they would stay together to the most extreme place I could take it. I feel like the
real, true meaning of what suspense is is a question. I’m writing about families and relationships with no spies and none of the things that make fiction enjoyable.” Noxon’s newest project is a graphic memoir called “Prick,” based on his experience converting to Judaism. That’s the book he’ll be talking about when he visits the Marcus Jewish Community Center on Friday, Nov. 18. Noxon said it took 18 years of marriage for him to get up the courage to go through with the conversion process, which, for a circumcised man, requires a blood-drawing prick to symbolize the bris. Although he wasn’t Jewish, his wife was, and she insisted their children be raised with her religion. “I thought it would be great for my kids to be raised in a tradition that obviously had such value and would give them something else to rebel against besides their father,” Noxon said. “I remained on the sidelines.” Noxon was involved in the preparations and plans for his children’s b’nai mitzvah celebrations, but he was unable to participate in the ceremonies. That’s what ultimately made him want to convert. “The more I got involved, the more I felt I found my people,” Noxon said. “Then I guess I just finally resolved that I wanted to make it official. After my daughter’s bat mitzvah, I decided I needed to declare allegiance. I felt like I had a green card that allowed me to work, but I didn’t have the full rights and citizenship.” ■
Plus One By Christopher Noxon Prospect Park Books, 304 pages, $24.95
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BOOK FESTIVAL
The Devil Unknown
Some secrets are more trouble than they’re worth By Michael Jacobs mjacobs@atljewishtimes.com “The Devil’s Diary: Alfred Rosenberg and the Stolen Secrets of the Third Reich” is a Holocaust history full of mundane surprises, starting with the fact that Rosenberg, despite the Jewishsounding name, was one of the Nazi war criminals executed at Nuremberg. Rosenberg, the devil in the name of Robert K. Wittman and David Kinney’s book, lived up to the title. He provided the pseudo-intellectual case for Nazism, for the concept of an Aryan master race and for the necessity of cleansing Europe of its Jews. He was hand-picked by Adolf Hitler to lead the party during Hitler’s imprisonment after the failed 1923 Beer Hall Putsch. He helped pillage the intellectual and artistic wealth of European Jews. He oversaw the administration of the lands the Germans tried to seize from the Soviet Union and thus played a direct role in the slaughter of millions. That Rosenberg is not a household name alongside the likes of Goring, Goebbels and Himmler is largely
the result of two factors: He was a colorless, bland, widely disliked man whose voluminous writing bored people senseless, and his damning diary of a decade of the Nazi rise and fall Robert K. Wittman at will appear at noon disappeared Nuremberg. Sunday, Nov. 6. That disappearance was the work of the second main character in “The Devil’s Diary,” Robert Kempner, a World War I veteran and lawyer who was ousted as a high-ranking bureaucrat in Berlin in 1933 because of his Jewish parents, then returned to Germany in triumph as an American citizen serving on the prosecution team at Nuremberg. Kempner stole more than 400 pages of the Rosenberg diary, along with tons of other documents, and shipped them home to Pennsylvania. His likely motive was to use the papers to write
his own history of the Nazi regime from the perspective of one of its victims. He wanted to be sure the story was told right, but instead he managed to bury the evidence and the significant role of Rosenberg for more than half a century. How the diary and other documents resurfaced and found a home at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum serves as an extended prologue to the book, which tries to tell the Nazi history as a dual biography of Rosenberg and Kempner. It’s a difficult task because both of the main characters are repellent. Rosenberg is, of course, a monster, but Kempner is a self-aggrandizing, womanizing egotist who abandons teenagers in his charge and leaves his own sons behind to make his escape to America, spreads false stories in the press about his exploits, and undermines efforts to document Nazi crimes. Wittman, an FBI veteran at finding stolen treasures who helped recover the Rosenberg diary, and Kinney,
a veteran journalist, do a good job of weaving together a readable narrative, but despite the eye-catching title, their book has little new to offer. Rosenberg’s secrets consist of details about the infighting among Hitler’s lieutenants and reveal Rosenberg’s increasing separation from the real power and decision-making. In the end, if you’re not a Holocaust scholar, “The Devil’s Diary” requires a lot of reading for a slight gain in Holocaust knowledge. ■
The Devil’s Diary By Robert K. Wittman and David Kinney Harper, 528 pages, $35
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A Special Celebration Honoring Bobby Harris’ 25 Years as URJ Camp Coleman Director
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BOOK FESTIVAL
Gordis Restores Context to Israel Conversation By Michael Jacobs mjacobs@atljewishtimes.com
Daniel Gordis didn’t have any intention of writing a survey of modern Israel’s history — until he realized no one else had done it. A U.S. Federation leader asked Gordis to recommend a history book for lay leaders that wasn’t too long and was fun, interesting, accurate and inspiring. He drew a blank on any such book written by someone born in the United States since Howard Sachar’s much longer “A History of Israel From the Rise of Zionism to Our Time” 40 years ago. Gordis said he realized American Jews have a surprising lack of Israel knowledge even as Israel faces increasing vitriol. “Israel: A Concise History of a Nation Reborn” is his roughly 500page (not counting appendixes and endnotes) attempt to fill that gap. Gordis said he had at least three distinct American audiences in mind for his book: college-age Jews about to go on or just returning from Birthright Israel; Christians; and people who are extremely knowledgeable about Israel.
A history with an American perspective is important, he said, because “every society thinks about Israel just a tiny bit differently. … Young American Jews, Daniel Gordis will especially given appear at 7:30 p.m. their tendency Sunday, Nov. 13, in toward liberala conversation with Center for Israel ism and a kind Education President of universalism Ken Stein, whom and so on and Gordis calls “a fabulous, so forth, need wonderful guy.” to know that behind Zionism was actually a liberation movement. In other words, Zionism was the Jewish people’s liberation movement.” Nearly 40 percent of the text covers the period before 1948 because Gordis wants to set the intellectual underpinnings of the striving for a Jewish homeland. Zionism was about
a yearning and a longing, Gordis said, not about creating conflict or responding to 19th century nationalism. He said it’s important for the book to demonstrate that Zionism was never a static concept but has always been a conversation — often a heated one — about how a reborn homeland can remake Jews in the modern age. To that end, though the book chronologically ends with the Iran nuclear deal, the final chapter covers the trend of secular Israelis defying the intentions of the nation’s founders by digging into their Jewish roots. In most cases, they’re not trying to become observant, but they want to gain a familiarity and closeness with tradition. That gives the book an optimistic end, Gordis said. It’s “the return of Judaism to the Jewish state.” The book is packed with poetry and with discussions of writers and their work because Gordis wants to show the crucial role of culture in Israel’s history. Those touchpoints provide a lens through which to see what Israelis were thinking and worrying about.
One example Gordis found in his research was a poem called “For This” that Natan Alterman published Nov. 19, 1948, during the War of Independence. In murky terms, the poem tells of what appears to be an Israeli soldier killing an elderly couple, although it’s not known whether Alterman is referring to a real incident. David Ben-Gurion responded by asking to print 100,000 copies so every Israeli soldier could carry it. “From the very beginning of the country, there was this deep commitment to self-criticism,” Gordis said. While he wants people to gain a sense of Israel’s grandeur, he also rejects the idea that his history should be a cheerleading book. Still, Gordis, who calls himself “a passionate centrist,” knows he’ll face flak for being too critical of Israel and for not being critical enough. “I tell my wife all the time: If the hate mail I get, and I get plenty, is coming pretty much equally half from the left and half from the right … I feel that kind of by definition makes me a centrist.” ■
‘Israel’ Takes History Beyond the Battles By Michael Jacobs mjacobs@atljewishtimes.com Modern Israel is a nation for which war is an inescapable fact. Violence by Jews and Arabs for most of the British Mandate forced the United Kingdom to submit the problem of Palestine to the United Nations, which decided on partition. Israel earned its independence on the battlefields against all of its neighbors in 1948, has fought wars in 1956, 1967, 1973, 1982, 2006, 2008, 2012 and 2014, and forces most of its citizens to do mil-
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Israel’s battlefield exploits. He’s much more interested in the unending conversation among Jews in Israel and the Diaspora about what Zionism is and should be and about the culture that has developed along the way. So the highlights in the pages about the War of Independence, for example, are not heroic stands by kibbutzniks, but the problems with Arabs fleeing or being driven out, the rare but horrible slaughter of Arab civilians, and the critical response from Israeli writers.
To be clear, Gordis is not in the camp of revisionist historians who find fault with every Israeli action. Nor is he the type to hide or deny Israel’s mistakes. As the title promises, he delivers a concise, readable history that celebrates its subject without idealizing it. It’s a book that belongs on the shelf of every believer in the Zionist dream. ■ Israel: A Concise History of a Nation Reborn By Daniel Gordis Ecco, 560 pages, $29.99
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itary service because of the constant threat of terrorism, tunnel infiltrations and rocket fire. The easy way to write a history of Israel is to create a history of armed conflict. Fortunately, Daniel Gordis chose the more difficult, more enlightening path. His “Israel: A Concise History of a Nation Reborn” does not ignore the Arab neighbors or skip the wars, but neither does he dwell on them. He addresses the causes and consequences of each conflict but doesn’t rehash tales of
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The Spy Who Loved Them By Chris Jacobs “The Last Goodnight” by Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and New York Times best-selling author Howard Blum is an intriguing, memoirlike biography of one of World War II’s premier Howard Blum will female espionage appear at 7:30 p.m. Monday, Nov. 7. agents, Amy Elizabeth “Betty” Thorpe Pack Brousse. Using a staggering number of primary sources to construct a seamless perspective, Blum narrates the absorbing tale of Pack’s entry into the murky world of British and American espionage. He painstakingly describes her adventures as she pursues objectives for the British Secret Intelligence Service and the American Office of Strategic Services, one mission and one love affair at a time, and he illuminates the
demons and passions driving her from one mission to the next. Pack, known as secret agent Cynthia and declaimed by Vanity Fair as “the blond James Bond,” was responsible for several key intelligence victories for the Allies, including insight into the Germans’ vaunted Enigma encryption machine. Blum’s careful personalization of these events using Pack’s memoir notes, journals and recently declassified documents opens a fascinating window into what motivated a daughter of the American upper crust to abandon all sense of propriety in service to the war effort. Given the raw material masterfully delivered in “The Last Goodnight,” it is no surprise that the book has been optioned by Hollywood, with Jennifer Lawrence rumored to be under consideration to play this unsung heroine of our last world war. ■ The Last Goodnight By Howard Blum Harper, 528 pages, $28.99
By Michael Jacobs mjacobs@atljewishtimes.com We recently passed the 43rd anniversary of the start of the Yom Kippur War, the surprise fight for survival that shattered Israel’s overconfidence in its Jason Gewirtz will military and intelappear at noon ligence services Sunday, Nov. 20, in only six years af- conversation with Robbie Friedmann. ter the victory of the Six-Day War. The assessments of what went wrong in October 1973 compelled two Hebrew U professors, Shaul Yatziv and Felix Dothan, to develop a game-changing concept for the Israel Defense Forces: a unit of elite minds devoted to maintaining Israel’s military edge over enemy forces. In 1979, the IDF moved ahead with the idea. Jason Gewirtz, an executive producer with CNBC, tells the story of the elite unit in “Israel’s Edge.” Each year, a few army recruits selected for their intelligence and cre-
ativity — about two dozen to start, now about 50 — are enrolled in the program, in which they pursue advanced scientific and engineering degrees while undergoing military training. Taught teamwork and outsidethe-box thinking, the members of each Talpiot class train with each element of the Israeli military, then are turned loose to solve the problems they find. Upon graduation, they have their choice of assignments in the IDF. Unfortunately, Gewirtz writes as an enthusiastic fan of Talpiot, not an objective observer. The program isn’t cheap, but going unasked are questions ranging from the opportunity costs of taking the best of the best away from the general army population to the potential value of implementing the Talpiot approach more widely. Still, Gewirtz makes a convincing case that the hundreds of brilliant Israelis trained by Talpiot have developed defensive ideas such as Iron Dome and helped drive Israel’s emergence as the Start-Up Nation. ■ Israel’s Edge By Jason Gewirtz Gefen, 256 pages, $18
OCTOBER 21 ▪ 2016
Not the Sharpest ‘Edge’
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Bible Relevance Starts With Accurate Understanding By Marita Anderson Joel Hoffman’s latest book, “The Bible Doesn’t Say That: 40 Biblical Mistranslations, Misconceptions, and Other Misunderstandings,” caught my eye soon after it was published. I love studying and teaching Torah, and I am always on the lookout for ways to engage with biblical text from a new perspective. I mostly teach adults who consider themselves to be secular or liberal-minded Jews. Sometimes they come to Torah study with reluctance, sometimes with curiosity; more often than not, they come with a lot of preconceived notions. I picked up Hoffman’s book because it was published in the year of one of the most contentious elections of my lifetime, with politicians slinging faith-based statements to win favor. Hoffman’s book proved to be a useful tool for wading through the misinterpretations of biblical text and an interesting read beyond the goal of staying sane during an election cycle. Time and time again, I realize that my students’ experience of the Torah is derived from second- and third-hand perspectives. They have heard the main stories of the biblical heroes. They chanted Torah when they became b’nai mitzvah. They have been talked at by various educators about the Torah. What many of my students have in common is that they rarely handle the book itself, and we often begin by getting comfortable with finding our way through the maze of narratives, chapters, verses and commentaries. We open several Bibles from different publishers offering different translations, and we analyze how translation itself is an interpretation of text.
Many students ask why we, in the 21st century, are still reading and studying biblical texts that seem antiquated and irrelevant. Jack Miles, a Joel Hoffman will modern theologian discuss biblical mistranslations who wrote “G-d: A and Biography,” begins misconceptions his book with the at 12:30 p.m. following stateTuesday, Nov. 8. ment: “That G-d created mankind, male and female, in his own image is a matter of faith. That our forebears strove for centuries to perfect themselves in the image of their G-d is a matter of historical fact.” Jews and Christians have revered the Bible, a book on the all-time bestseller list for thousands of years, as the backbone of Western civilization. Regardless of whether you read it literally or as a work of literature, the Bible has permeated our culture, and the reading of it, with all of its complexities, offers a window into what it means to be human. And it is worth reading. Hoffman, whose audience is anyone who cares about the Bible, is an academician and holds a doctorate in linguistics. What I found refreshing about “The Bible Doesn’t Say That” is that it is written in an engaging, accessible language without being condescending to lay readership, yet it holds the attention of someone who is a habitual Bible reader. Hoffman points out five pitfalls that cause the distortion of biblical text: ignorance, historical accident, culture gaps, mistranslation and misrepresentation. He warns against un-
trained recitation of biases and misconceptions, offering to take the reader on a journey stripped of any agenda. Hoffman’s most recent book tour has brought him through the heart of the Bible Belt, and he has captured the attention of Jewish and Christian audiences alike. He is careful about not being prescriptive in matters of faith, as that is not the goal of his writing. In “The Bible Doesn’t Say That,” Hoffman’s research is not focused on the origin of the Bible, and he does not challenge its religious context. He is merely addressing the misunderstanding of some the most familiar biblical passages in an attempt to set the record straight. For example, I appreciate Hoffman’s insight into New Testament texts, shedding light on mistaken claims of Jews’ role in the death of Jesus that fueled centuries of hatred. The end of the book addresses what the Bible says about two of the most politically contentious issues of our time, homosexuality and abortion. Hoffman’s analysis is that the Bible doesn’t care much about homosexuality, and its stance is “limited to rejecting male homosexual sex with the same vehemence as, for example, clothing made from wool and linen mixtures.” As for abortion, the issue at the core is the sanctity of life. Hoffman points out that if we want to understand what the Bible says about abortion, we need to know whether a fetus is considered a person. As frustrating as it is, the Bible doesn’t give us an answer for the crucial question of when life begins. Therefore, many of the beliefs around those two issues are based on
politically driven interpretation of text and not on what the text actually says. It is important to note that Hoffman is not suggesting that we not interpret biblical text. That would turn the text static and certainly make it irrelevant to a modern reader. I think Hoffman is attempting to sensitize the reader to common distortions of text so that we make informed choices about our understanding of the Bible. If it seems like a daunting task, that is because it is. Perhaps that is the reason many of us will read the Torah, year after year, repeating the same passages, going over the same narratives. Rabbi Ismar Schorsch, a former chancellor of the Jewish Theological Seminary in New York, wrote that “the Bible is a universal book, with a chapter for every part of human experience — lust, desire, renewal, rage, pedantry, and inexplicable suffering, a book of mourning and a book of passion and many books of pain.” Doesn’t that sound like a book worth reading? ■
The Bible Doesn’t Say That By Joel Hoffman Thomas Dunne, 304 pages, $25.99
Frustrations Fill Family Life With Autism By Kevin Madigan kmadigan@atljewishtimes.com
OCTOBER 21 ▪ 2016
Anyone who has a child with any type of autism will relate to “Ketchup Is My Favorite Vegetable,” a revealing memoir by Liane Kupferberg Carter in which she chronicles the turbulent upbringing of her son Mickey. An axiom in the autism community is “If you’ve met one person with autism, you’ve met one person with autism,” about which Carter writes: “Some people on the spectrum may struggle with empathy; others can feel overwhelmed by other people’s 32 feelings. Then there is everyone in be-
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tween. You know what? That’s why we call it a spectrum.” Carter recounts a torturous timeline from when Mickey was first found to have a speech defiLiane Kupferberg Carter will appear cit and learning difficulties to his at 12:30 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 17. eventually being diagnosed with autism, and she laments the time it took to get any kind of effective treatment. Her frustration at the entire system is palpable, but she agonizes over
whether she could have done more initially to help her struggling offspring. “I’d continually felt as if there was one more therapy, one more intervention, one more special diet out there to try. That it would be the critical one, the magical, miraculous one that had eluded us. And that if we didn’t try, we weren’t good parents,” Carter writes. The book covers the two decades after Mickey’s diagnosis and provides an often-harrowing journey through adversity to ultimate fulfillment, with Carter recounting the frustration and despair that precede a semblance of normality in Mickey’s troubled young life.
Charlatans along the way who profess cures to the family include the appropriately named Dr. Lawless, who was barred from practicing medicine after writing opiate prescriptions to fake patients, then using the drugs himself. The book is a touching, personal account of the boy’s precarious existence, told with tenderness and honesty by a mother who never gives up. ■ Ketchup Is My Favorite Vegetable By Liane Kupferberg Carter Jessica Kingsley Publishers, 352 pages, $18.95
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BOOK FESTIVAL
Kressley Guides You to Better Body Image Who doesn’t want to feel more comfortable in their own skin? Whether you’re overweight or underweight, most women feel insecure about something, and you shouldn’t. That’s the point Carson Kressley hopes to convey in his new book, “Does This Book Make My Butt Look Big?” Kressley, who enjoyed trying out his mother’s makeup as a child, knows firsthand how it is to feel awkward and uncomfortable. I was excited to improve my self-esteem through this book. “I’m always out and about at an airport or the grocery store, and I would often get asked by women, ‘How do I look?’ ” Kressley said in an interview. “I realized I was doing this almost every day, and I should write all my tips and advice down and share them with the world.” Kressley, who will talk about his book in a conversation with Holly Firfer at the Book Festival of the Marcus Jewish Community Center on Tuesday, Nov. 15, said life is too short to feel bad about yourself. He also said everybody has something about her body that she doesn’t like. “The important thing is to minimize the flaws (real or imagined) and maximize the positives,” he said. “Loving your body just as it is is the first step to looking and feeling great in your clothes.” One section in the book that I loved is “The Ancient Legend of the Car Selfie.” I take a ton of selfies in my car, and I agree with what Kressley says. Take pictures of yourself from different angles. Check. Take some with your eyes open and closed. Check. He is right: That approach is a great way to see how your makeup is working for you. Kressley is starring in a new competition reality show on GSN called “Window Warriors,” which premieres the night of his Book Festival appearance. In January, he’s scheduled to star in NBC’s “Celebrity Apprentice,” and later in 2017 he’ll return to Logo to judge “RuPaul’s Drag Race.” Purging and downsizing are pretty big these days, and Kressley uses part of his book to tell you how to do those things with your wardrobe. With his 10-step plan, you can easily part with what you don’t need, keeping things that you will actually wear. You need only 25 basic pieces — he tells
Photo by Rainer Hosch
Carson Kressley will appear at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 15.
you exactly what those are — to have a classic wardrobe that you can mix and match and build on. Out of those 25 pieces, Kressley creates 40 chic combinations for daytime, nighttime and anytime wear. My closet is overflowing, and most of my clothes don’t even get worn anymore. I’m excited to try this plan to downsize my wardrobe. Not only will it likely make it easier to pick outfits, but it will also force me to become more creative. Kressley also tells you the most flattering ways to wear wardrobe staples like maxi dresses, little black dresses, jeans and skinny pants. Did you know to size down in jeans rather than up? Neither did I. Learning how to rock your curves and feel comfortable with how you look is vitally important, and Kressley dedicates an entire chapter to the subject. Staying off the scale and, instead, going by how your clothes fit and how you feel are things all women should start doing, Kressley said. In fact, that combination is the second of five “body commandments” created by Anansa Sims, the daughter of supermodel Beverly Johnson. You’ll find all five of Sims’ commandments in Chapter 6. The scale is “just a number,” Kressley said. “If you look and feel great in an outfit, who cares what the scale says?” I love his insider tips for shopping popular department stores such as Kohl’s, Target, Macy’s and T.J.Maxx/ Marshalls. I shop these stores often, so I’m going to be referring back to these pages quite a bit. This book is your guide to shopping. Want to know when the best
times to shop during the year are? Kressley has you covered. Throughout the book are “Carson’s Confessions,” which are little stories from his own life on a variety of subjects. In one, he talks about his “Cinderella Fantasy” when he scored a pair of Tom Ford goatskin loafers for $325 even though they regularly sell for $3,200. In another, he reveals the identity of his longtime muse, Grace Kelly, and what he admires about her: her poise, her tailored style and “her ability to rock any accessory as if it had been made for her.” Those pieces are Kressley’s favorite parts of his book. “They chronicle my own fashion foibles,” he said. “I’ve had some fashion disasters of my own, and they’re pretty funny.” You’ll find Kressley’s favorite beauty, laundry and other projects sprinkled throughout the book. I love the fact that a fashion icon uses and recommends drugstore and other products easily accessible for the rest of us. I’m definitely more likely to buy something if I know that one (or more) of my favorite celebrities uses it as well.
The one thing Kressley hopes women take away from his book is how to find their own personal styles. “I’m not telling women what to wear but instead helping women discover their own style,” he said. “When your clothes are an expression of your personality and your authentic self, that’s a real win.” ■
Does This Book Make My Butt Look Big? By Carson Kressley St. Martin’s Griffin, 192 pages, $25.99
OCTOBER 21 ▪ 2016
By Cady Schulman cschulman@atljewishtimes.com
AJT 33
www.atlantajewishtimes.com
BOOK FESTIVAL
Meet the Alarm Clock of Church-State Separation By Michael Jacobs mjacobs@atljewishtimes.com East Cobb resident Jeffrey Selman didn’t set out in 2002 to win notoriety when he spoke out at Cobb County Board of Education meetings and eventually sued to get evolution disclaimer stickers removed from textbooks. He just felt as if he was waking up to a threat to American democracy. Now 70 and semiretired, he’s devoted to talking about his book, “G-d Sent Me,” and trying to stop more people from sleepwalking through life. In some ways, he has mellowed — not in the strength of his convictions, but in his restraint at unleashing the passion behind his beliefs. He credits his wife for helping him calm down the streetwise Bronx stickball player inside ready to fight for what is right. Through a speakers bureau Americans United for Separation of Church and State is launching, he hopes to make frequent appearances to talk about the book and his court cases (he also battled the Cobb County Board of Commissioners over invocations at the start of meetings). Before his appear-
ance at the Book Festival of the Marcus Jewish Community Center on Thursday, Nov. 17, he talked to the AJT. AJT: Why did you decide now to write this book? Selman: I’ve Jeffrey Selman will been writing it for appear at 10:30 a.m. 10 years. It takes a Thursday, Nov. 17. while. The original book was involved with the two cases I started, the evolution sticker and Pelfrey vs. Cobb County. … That was the prayer case, which (Sam) Olens says he won, but he didn’t. There’s a check on my wall I never cashed. You don’t get money unless you win. AJT: Why just this case? Selman: The original book was over 600 pages long. … I got a new editor, and it took her a year and a half. She said you can’t have a book this long; nobody’s going to read it. You can have two books. And I said, “No, we’ll have one book. I can’t do this anymore.
I’m a talker, not a writer.” AJT: What are you hoping to accomplish with the book? Selman: Well, the original title of the book was “Democracy Sleepwalking Away.” … I’m retired. I’m doing well. I have a nice house. I don’t need the money. It would be nice. I’m out there to make the point: You can’t sleepwalk through democracy anymore. You can’t count on somebody else to do this for you. So I want to get out there and speak and push the concepts in the book. Because Americans have got to wake up that we can’t just assume the Constitution is there. It’s like any other thing: You buy something in the store, it doesn’t work, you bring it back, you demand they give you a better one to live up to the guarantees. But we don’t do that in this country. I finally woke up and did something about it. I’m trying to wake people up also. AJT: What will it take for people to open their eyes? Selman: One by one. We just slowly wake up, and pretty soon there’ll be a wall of people. … Nothing happens
overnight. Till the day I die, I’m going to be doing this. AJT: Do you feel like each time this comes up and it gets fought, more people are waking up? Selman: It’s like a pot of boiling water. When you have a full pot and you turn the heat on, slowly but surely it begins to bubble up. … All of sudden, the water’s almost gone, and it’s going crazy. … The people of true faith are starting to understand that they live in a mixed society. … Their side is getting smaller and smaller, so they’re making more noise. AJT: Is the First Amendment in better shape now than a decade ago? Selman: It’s opened up the door tremendously. The issue obviously has not gone away, but more and more people are understanding. AJT: Anything else? Selman: Look at millennials. … It’s changing, and those kids are so accepting of each other. … I really trust that the younger kids are going to pull it together. ■
Time for a Disclaimer
OCTOBER 21 ▪ 2016
By Michael Jacobs mjacobs@atljewishtimes.com
AJT 34
When I was in high school in the 1980s, I went to a debate on evolution staged for the public at George Mason University. Each expert easily undermined the other’s case, so neither won. A stalemate, of course, is a victory for the pro-creationism, anti-evolution side, whose first goal is to be part of the scientific discussion. Evolution is vulnerable in such arguments because we can’t say for sure how it happens. But it’s clear that while Darwin got the big picture right, he erred on details. Much as Holocaust deniers try to argue that if the holes in the roof of a gas chamber at Auschwitz can’t be found, the Holocaust didn’t happen, evolution deniers want to claim that any mistake by Darwin means the whole concept is wrong. It’s silly, but it’s not an easy argument to counter in court. So it was courageous for Jeffrey Selman to sue the Cobb County Board of Education over its decision in 2002 to add stickers declaring “evolution is a theory, not a fact,” to biology textbooks.
Selman’s victory two years later in federal court was a landmark in the struggle to ensure that religion and science are kept separate in public schools. It’s therefore curious that it has taken Selman himself to write a comprehensive history of the case in “G-d Sent Me: A Textbook Case on Evolution vs. Creation.” Selman’s book is exhaustive and exhausting in its details on the struggle against the sticker, especially in the extensive use of court testimony. Even if he’s right, however, Selman is hardly an objective source. His book is not, and does not pretend to be, a dispassionate history. As he says repeatedly, he wants to wake up Americans to the threat of theocracy, but he risks putting some readers to sleep by emphasizing advocacy over information. Still, Selman has created, if not a textbook, an invaluable resource for anyone who wants a reminder that science and religion can coexist, but not in the same classroom. ■ G-d Sent Me By Jeffrey Selman Blossom Press, 288 pages, $17.76
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BOOK FESTIVAL
Women Hanging On to Modernity’s Edge Spanning Aug. 16 to Sept. 12, 1935, the novel “Modern Girls” covers a pivotal month in the lives of Dottie and Rose Krasinsky. The narrative rotates between the voice and perspective of Dottie, 19, a promising bookkeeper working in Midtown Manhattan, and Rose, her 40ish Jewish immigrant mother of four with a home on the Lower East Side of New York. Jennifer S. Brown’s carefully timed work of historical fiction artfully weaves the stories of her characters against the backdrop of the Great Depression and barely emerging women’s rights in America (the 19th Amendment, granting women the right to vote, passed in 1920) and National Socialism and the growing specter of Hitler’s rise to power in Europe. In her debut novel, Brown wastes no space in providing significant information without seeming predictable or manipulative. While Dottie’s kosher sack lunch of a tongue sandwich her first day at the office may seem heavyhanded, the description of other details is not. Mr. Dover, the principal of her insurance company, reveals prevalent attitudes when he offers Dottie a promotion, saying, “I recognize the superiority of your work, and I would like to offer you the position of head bookkeeper, but I’m afraid you will leave us soon to start a family.” Dottie says she hopes he would consider retaining her even if she marries, to which he replies, “I’m afraid that would be up to your husband now, wouldn’t it?” He doesn’t know the unmarried Dottie has just discovered she is pregnant. In one revealing interchange two days later, a group of friends is discussing reporter Willie Klein’s insightful article, “The Nazi Movement in America.” Dottie’s boyfriend, Abe, says the Nazis “can’t be taken seriously” and “will prove to be no more than a German fad.” With Dottie’s counter — “Abe, my uncle is trapped in Poland. The Jews in Europe are in trouble. The Nazi threat is real” — it seems that the match between Dottie and Abe is not as perfect as it initially appeared. The issues get heavier as the days progress, and Dottie is caught between the comfort and familiarity of her reliable, traditional Jewish boyfriend
and way of life and the pull of contemporary issues, the intriguing, barely observant and challenging reporter, a changing world, and Jennifer S. Brown the unraveling will appear at noon situation in EuFriday, Nov. 11, in a program with literary rope. critic Anjeli Enjeti Conversely, and fellow author Rose for years Ellen Feldman. put family and tradition before her own needs and aspirations. Now, faced with her own preg-
nancy at a later stage in life, she is confronted with a life-altering decision and an opportunity to pursue a new course. Through flashbacks and personal contemplations, Brown skillfully reveals the difficulties and dilemmas of being a woman in such tumultuous times. Both women come to terms with their ambitions and innermost desires as they weigh them against their choices and responsibilities. In one amazing month we see mother and daughter become confidantes and friends, just as we witness their roles reversing, causing the reader to question who truly is the more
modern of the two. Brown concludes by bringing just enough loose ends together, while leaving plenty of possibilities going forward. Makes you wonder whether a sequel is in the works. ■
Modern Girls By Jennifer S. Brown New American Library, 366 pages, $15
OCTOBER 21 ▪ 2016
By Leah R. Harrison
AJT 35
www.atlantajewishtimes.com
BOOK FESTIVAL
Painting a Realistic World of Art, Refugees By Michael Jacobs mjacobs@atljewishtimes.com Author B.A. Shapiro has no illusions about being a visual artist. “My stick figures don’t even look like stick figures.” But she loves art, always visiting the art museums in the cities she visits, and she is able to paint beautiful images with her words. So it’s no surprise she decided to try writing historical novels set in the art world. “I get to pretend to be the artist.” The first of a trilogy of such books was the best-selling “The Art Forger,” which moved between Edgar Degas in the mid-19th century and a contemporary artist. The third book, a draft of which Shapiro has sent to her editor, is set in 1920s Paris and Philadelphia and features Gertrude Stein and a fabulously evil con man. The second book, released last fall but just out in paperback, is bringing Shapiro back to Atlanta for the Book Festival of the Marcus Jewish Community Center. (She spoke about the book last year at the Margaret Mitchell House, a special thrill because “Gone
With the Wind” inspired her to be a writer.) “The Muralist” is set largely in New York on the cusp of World War II among impoverished artists who are employed B.A. Shapiro will appear at 12:30 p.m. by the federal Progress Wednesday, Nov. 9. Works Administration and who, after the war, will become famous for creating the first school of art developed in the United States and exported to Europe: abstract expressionism. Shapiro said she has always liked abstract expressionism, even if she didn’t know much about it, and its emergence fit the time period of the story she wanted to tell. “They say you should write what you know,” she said. “This is my 11th novel, and I ran out of what I know 10½ books ago.” Writing about mid-20th-century art gave her an opportunity to read all about the art movement and visit plac-
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AJT 36
Alizee, whose parents were killed when she was a child. With all of the artists, Shapiro said, she enjoyed exploring the idea that genius and mental illness are connected. All of the elements of mental illness in the book are true and provide depth to her characters. “The Muralist” also allowed Shapiro to gain some literary vengeance against Breckinridge Long, a friend of FDR’s who controlled the flow of refugees from his post in the State Department. Shapiro includes a memo that proves Long was accepting far fewer Jews than the law allowed, and she makes him pay for his real crime against humanity by targeting him with a fictional assassination plot. “The whole Breckinridge Long thing just totally blew me away,” Shapiro said. “It was just horrible.” The parallels to the modern refugee debate are obvious, and Shapiro doesn’t shy away from them. “I am proud of the book, proud of having created this world that’s fiction that people can read and think about things that are happening now.” ■
Making Art of History
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es important to artists such as Rothko and Pollack. “The Muralist” also let her bring Eleanor Roosevelt to life. The first lady is the historical character in “The Muralist” Shapiro would most like to meet. “As much fun as it was to be (main fictional character) Alizee and get inside her painting and be there in the zone, being Eleanor Roosevelt was so cool.” Roosevelt also played a key role in the formation of the story. Having decided she wanted to write about art and the Great Depression, Shapiro looked into the WPA, which paid artists a living wage to create inspirational murals and other public works. The WPA brought her to Roosevelt, who was involved in the agency. Roosevelt had said her failure to push her husband harder to welcome European refugees was her biggest regret, so that gave Shapiro an opening to tell a Holocaust-related story. She was able to include something she did know about — she has a doctorate in social psychology — because of the psychological problems of Rothko and Pollack. She also added details of post-traumatic stress disorder to
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The historical record leaves far too many holes in our knowledge of people’s personalities and their private moments, leading my favorite college history professor to use this line: “I can’t prove it, but I know it’s true.” The beauty of good historical fiction is it fills those gaps, and even if we know it’s not real, it at least feels true. The title character in B.A. Shapiro’s “The Muralist,” Alizee Benoit, is fictional. She’s a young, orphaned, Jewish, French-American painter working for FDR’s Works Progress Administration on the eve of World War II while her brother and other relatives are still in Europe. Their best chance of escaping Hitler is foiled when their voyage on the St. Louis proves circular. Most of the characters around her, however, are real. Fellow painters such as Mark Rothko, Jackson Pollack, Lee Krasner and Willem de Kooning. Villainous State Department official Breckinridge Long. And first lady Eleanor Roosevelt. I can’t prove Eleanor would have been charmed by a pretty, dirt-poor
artist eager to demonstrate the power of nonrepresentational art to her, but after reading “The Muralist,” I know it’s true. Shapiro’s talent for giving life to her historical figures makes “The Muralist.” We feel Rothko’s domestic frustrations and desperation to avoid the suicidal depths of his manic depression. We yearn for Eleanor to slap FDR for letting Long stifle immigration. That’s not to criticize the novel’s well-paced, double-barreled, then-andnow plot. In Alizee’s time, the emergence of abstract expressionism serves as the backdrop for her efforts to save her family while maintaining her sanity. In the modern era, Alizee’s greatniece, Danielle, who has given up her own art career and works in forensics for auction house Christie’s, is trying to solve two mysteries that might be related. The resolution is satisfying if not surprising, but Shapiro’s true art is in the journey, not the destination. ■ The Muralist By B.A. Shapiro Algonquin Books, 352 pages, $26.95
www.atlantajewishtimes.com
BOOK FESTIVAL
Bitter Harvest Produces Homegrown Jihadists “United States of Jihad: Investigating America’s Homegrown Terrorists” was a timely read even before the shooting massacre at an Orlando, Fla., nightclub in June and the bombs that detonated in New York and New Jersey in September. In his seventh book, journalist and terrorism analyst Peter Bergen profiles men and women who, in the name of Islam (or at least their understanding of the religion), turned on America. Bergen will discuss “United States of Jihad” in a conversation with local TV journalist Bill Nigut on Nov. 10 at the Book Festival of the Marcus Jewish Community Center. “The reason I wrote this book is that this is a threat we face because we’ve done a very good job preventing the other kind of attacks since 9/11,” Bergen told the AJT. These “‘lone wolves,” who are not members of a larger network, though they may claim an allegiance, are a “symptom of that success,” he said. His book is recent enough to include the December 2015 husband-andwife shooting spree that killed 14 and wounded 22 at a San Bernardino, Calif., office party. Bergen, 53, is Minneapolis-born but British-raised and -educated (a graduate of the University of Oxford). He is a national security analyst for CNN, the vice president of the New America think tank in Washington, D.C., and an adjunct professor in the School of Politics and Global Studies at Arizona State University. Bergen’s résumé carries a unique entry: producer of the first television interview with Osama bin Laden, conducted with correspondent Peter Arnett for CNN in March 1997 in a cave in Afghanistan. (Disclosure: I formerly worked for CNN.) Just 10 days before Sept. 11, 2001, Bergen turned in the manuscript of his first book about bin Laden. Ninety-four Americans have been killed in the United States by homegrown Islamic militants in the 15 years since 9/11. “This is a problem that has been largely contained,” Bergen said. “That doesn’t mean it has been eliminated.” The FBI may be conducting 1,000 investigations of suspected Islamic militants in all 50 states, but a lone individual determined to cause harm with
low-tech weapons or legally purchased guns can slip through the net. And while the political season has been replete with talk of restricting the entry into the Photo by Jeremy United States Freeman, CNN Peter Bergen will of Muslims or appear at 7:30 p.m. people from Thursday, Nov. 10. countries where terrorism is endemic, the record presents a different picture. Since 9/11, 80 percent of the approximately 360 Islamic militants either indicted or convicted in the United States of crimes ranging from sending money to a terrorist organization to murder have been American citizens or legal permanent residents. Rather than the stereotypical “young hotheaded loners,” their average age was 29, more than one-third were or had been married, many were parents, and a small number (increasingly common) were women, according to New America’s research. “They’re usually people with personal disappointments of one kind or another. This allows them to claim to be soldiers in a cause,” Bergen said of the American jihadists. “They’re looking to belong to something. They’re looking to be heroes in their own stories. This ideology provides them a way to do that.” They cherry-pick from Islam what they think supports and justifies their actions and discount and disregard teachings contrary to these beliefs. Among the examples Bergen cited in an interview was Army Maj. Nidal Hasan, the Virginia-born psychiatrist who killed 13 and wounded more than 30 at Fort Hood, Texas, in 2009. Another was New York-born Omar Mateen, who killed 49 people and wounded 53 at the Orlando gay nightclub after failing in his desire to become a police officer. Russian-born Tamerlan Tsarnaev, the older of the two brothers who bombed the April 2013 Boston Marathon, had dreamed of becoming a boxing champion. Tsarnaev held permanent resident status but his citizenship application had been delayed. Their radicalization and that of numerous others included absorbing an ideology online.
Bergen cited Gabriel Weimann, a professor of communications at Haifa University in Israel, who has written that the Internet has created “virtual wolf packs.” “I don’t think you can undersell the importance of the Internet,” Bergen said. In the 117 U.S.-based cases that New America studied of people who either traveled to Syria or attempted to (before changing their minds or being apprehended by law enforcement), 88 were active online, and none had been recruited in person. “United States of Jihad” also focuses on a key figure in this online radicalization: American-born (and American-killed, by a drone strike in Yemen in September 2011) cleric Anwar al-Awlaki, creator of the magazine Inspire, a product of the terrorist group al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula. New America found that in 58 cases investigated since al-Awlaki’s death, links were found to his writings and sermons. Bergen cautioned that homegrown terrorists should not be taken as representative of the American Muslim community. He also has written about a double standard by which
acts committed by non-Muslims (such as the racist-inspired church shootings in Charleston, S.C.) are not labeled terrorism. Bergen will speak in Atlanta two days after the country elects a new president. Several weeks before the election, he assessed the two major candidates. Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, a Democrat, “would be to the right of Obama,” he said. “She’s a hawk, a smart hawk on foreign policy,” with a record that indicates “she is comfortable with the U.S. military and the use of force.” As for Republican nominee Donald Trump, “it’s hard to discern some sort of serious policy proposals,” Bergen said. “He’s been sort of all over the map. It’s hard to predict what policies he would pursue. It’s easier to know what a Clinton presidency would look like, a little more robust use of American force. With Trump, it’s hard; he has no track record to judge him.” ■ United States of Jihad By Peter Bergen Crown, 400 pages, $28
OCTOBER 21 ▪ 2016
By Dave Schechter dschechter@atljewishtimes.com
AJT 37
www.atlantajewishtimes.com
BOOK FESTIVAL
Survivorship, Hope Bring Hoffman’s Book to Atlanta By Sarah Moosazadeh sarah@atljewishtimes.com Alice Hoffman is no stranger to the literary world: She has composed more than 20 novels for children and adults. Her work has been translated into more than 20 languages and has received countless mentions in publications such as The New York Times, People Magazine and the Los Angeles Times. Six of her books have been made into movies, including “Practical Magic” and “The Dovekeepers.” Her last novel, “Marriage of Opposites,” about impressionist artist Camille Pissarro’s mother, Rachel, became an immediate sensation and New York Times best seller. Hoffman returns to Atlanta to discuss her new novel, “Faithful,” at the Book Festival of the Marcus Jewish Community Center on Monday, Nov. 14, when she’ll be in conversation with 11Alive’s Melissa Long. In a phone interview, Hoffman described “Faithful” as “a coming-ofage story which deals with mother and daughter relationships.”
Shelby Richmond, the young main character, must come to terms with being the driver in a car accident that leaves her best friend in a coma. Guilt, fear and loneliness are Photo by Deborah among the many Feingold Alice Hoffman will emotions Shelby overcome appear at 7:30 p.m. must Monday, Nov. 14, to build a life and Book Club Night. adapt to the modern world. Shelby’s mother stands by her as she attempts to find her own path. “I think it is important for women to support each other in various facets of life,” Hoffman said. “I believe it makes a big difference for women when they have an extra support system. It can raise their level of confidence and esteem.” Hoffman particularly enjoys writing about female characters who are dealt difficult life challenges while striving to come to terms with their
own identity. “It’s important to capture trauma and how women can make something out of it.” The author added: “Women face struggles all the time, not only in our society, but in other societies. At times it can be difficult to find their inner strength because there are just so many challenges. A lot of people feel like they are on their own during hard times, and that is certainly true for Shelby. She feels like her traumas are only her own, and it takes her a long time to see herself and understand that this is life. It doesn’t always go by the playbook or the way you want it, but it’s not always your fault.” Survivorship is a concept Hoffman is all too familiar with. As a breast cancer survivor, Hoffman experienced an array of emotions and relied on her inner strength to help get her through. “I often asked myself, ‘How did I survive, and why not someone else?’ ” she said. Hoffman grew up on Long Island, N.Y., which is where the car accident in “Faithful” occurs, and she was extremely close to her mother and grandmother.
She spent a great deal of time reading fairy tales and listening to her grandmother share Russian stories. “I was always fascinated by how they related to our lives and how symbolic they were.” “The Diary of a Young Girl” by Anne Frank had a big influence on Hoffman as a child. “Finding beauty, wonder and hope in the toughest times was intriguing to me and made me interested in stories of survivorship,” Hoffman said. “Finding your inner strength and being independent is a common theme among women, and I think that’s why Shelby’s story resonates.” Hoffman has written many stories that primarily involve mother-daughter relationships, and she is looking forward to writing about women’s relationships in the future. She now is working on a prequel to “Practical Magic,” which is about sisterhood, magic and fun.. ■ Faithful By Alice Hoffman Simon & Schuster, 272 pages, $26
Safe Harbor YES: Amendment 2 Panel Presentation Join us to hear an expert panel of speakers discuss how voting for Amendment 2 can change the lives of children in Georgia. Our panel of speakers include:
October 30, 2016 2:00 - 4:30 pm
Susan Norris Rescuing Hope
RSVP at aasynagogue.org under “Events”. For more information, contact Steve Chervin at stevenchervin@gmail.com or Linda Bressler at lindafb@bellsouth.net
OCTOBER 21 ▪ 2016
Dorsey Jones Survivor, Advocate
AJT 38
Representative Andy Welch Co-Author of the Safe Harbor Amendment Heather Stockdale GA Cares
Ahavath Achim Synagogue 600 Peachtree Battle Ave NW Atlanta, GA 30327
“Every year in Georgia, hundreds of children are trafficked bought and sold for sex - abused, and exploited. Cases have been reported in at least 90 counties. The average age is only 13, and victims can be as young as 9.” “Amendment 2 will create the Safe Harbor for Sexually Exploited Children Fund, which will provide up to $2 million every year in dedicated funding that can be used to provide a safe place to live, medical care, counseling and education all of which are desperately needed by child victims.” - Safe Harbor YES
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ARTS
‘While I’m Here’ Fitting After Bikel’s Gone By David R. Cohen david@atljewishtimes.com Revered actor-singer Theodore Bikel died at age 91 in July 2015, but shortly before his death, he completed work on what became his final album. The two-CD celebration of Bikel’s life, “While I’m Here,” was released Sept. 16 on Red House Records. The first CD is a series of spokenword reflections and stories from the Austrian-born Jewish American, whose 70-year career included stage and film acting, songwriting, musical performance, and several appearances in Atlanta, with his final local performance on closing night of the 2015 Atlanta Jewish Film Festival. The CD begins with the actorsinger explaining how his great-greatgrandfather in Austria chose the surname Bikel and continues with a humorous reflection on his mother before getting into his thoughts on Judaism and social justice.
“I believe in an open learning process, not a closed mind,” he says of Judaism. “You cannot be a good Jew without being concerned about social justice,” he says on the next track. Even at 16 spoken-word tracks, the stories are so interesting and Bikel’s voice so colorful that the CD does not get repetitive. Instead, listening to Bikel tell his stories is an enjoyable and nostalgic trip back in time. And even more was cut from the album. By the end of his life, Bikel had so many stories that the hours of audio needed to be cut significantly. The producers removed stories about Mary Martin, the original “Sound of Music” Maria, and about Bikel’s time on the board of the Newport Folk Festival with Pete Seeger and Bob Dylan going electric. What remains are Bikel’s stories about himself and a final spoken rendition of Phil Ochs’ “When I’m Gone.”
“You won’t hear me singing any songs when I’m gone,” he says. “So I guess I’ll have to do it while I’m here.” The 17-song career musical retrospective that follows on the second CD spans Bikel’s early work in the 1950s to his last recordings during his 90th birthday concert in Los Angeles in 2014. Most of the recordings are exclusive to this CD. Some older songs were never released. Some songs were recorded for the CD. Some were obtained from long out-of-print sources. There are tracks in Yiddish, Hebrew, English and French, including “Edelweiss” from “The Sound of Music,” which was written for Bikel by Rogers and Hammerstein. Each track, selected by producers Michael Stein, Cathy Fink, Marcy Marxer and Eric Peltoniemi, showcases Bikel’s eclectic talents to the fullest extent. The retrospective concludes with a live recording of Bikel singing “When I’m Gone” from his 90th birthday con-
cert at the Saban Theatre in Beverly Hills from 2014. “While I’m Here” is a fitting commemorative for beloved folk hero, activist and world citizen Bikel. ■
What: “While I’m Here” Who: Theodore Bikel Price: $20; redhouserecords.com/ store/while-im-here
World Music and Jewish Values
See Israeli Gabriel Meyer Halevy perform in Atlanta By David R. Cohen david@atljewishtimes.com
and I was involved with human rights together with my father.
He has lived everywhere from Argentina to Acre and played his unique brand of world music for people all over the globe. Now Gabriel Meyer Halevy is coming to Atlanta for shows Thursday and Friday, Oct. 27 and 28. The Israeli musician and activist will perform three times while he’s in town: Oct. 27 at Intown Coffeehouse and Oct. 28 at the Weber School in the morning and later at Temple Sinai. We caught up with him ahead of his trip to Atlanta.
AJT: What was the inspiration behind your latest album, “The Human Project”? Halevy: My most recent CD, “The Human Project,” which is what I’m going to be featuring mostly at the Intown Coffeehouse and Temple Sinai, has to do with all my work that has been done beyond enemy lines. For example, I wrote a song with a Pakistani musician that I met in Egypt. Israel and Pakistan don’t have diplomatic relations, so we were sending music files back and forth between Tel Aviv and Pakistan. That’s how the song came about. Much of the CD is done across enemy lines, proving that there is no enemy when it
AJT: Is there a specific message you try to get across when performing? Halevy: Yes, the message is connecting through song and story the
values of the Jewish people which I got from my late father, Rabbi Marshall Meyer. Those are “Justice, justice shall you pursue” and “Love your neighbor as yourself.” The combination of those is kind of what we’re all about as Jews and as human beings. AJT: What motivates you in your activism work? Halevy: Again, it’s based on those values I got from my family. My father was a rabbi. He was very close to Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel, who was close to Martin Luther King Jr., so those are the values that I got from birth. I also grew up in Argentina, which was a dictatorship throughout my childhood,
AJT: How can people get their hands on “The Human Project”? Halevy: The best way to get the CD is on Band Camp or my website. AJT: Where else are you headed on this U.S. tour, and do you have any more openings if people want to book you for a show? Halevy: I’m still open for house concerts and private shows. Message me on Facebook (facebook.com/gabrielmeyerhalevy) if you’re interested. I’ll be performing at the Heschel School in New York City on Oct. 21, and I’m about to head out to Connecticut in a few days for a Sukkot festival at the Isabella Freedman Jewish Retreat Center. ■
2 Chances If you’re not a Weber School student, you have two opportunities to see Gabriel Meyer Halevy perform with Iranian santoor player Alan Kushan. Where: Intown Coffeehouse, 1219 Houston Mill Road, Toco Hills When: 7 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 27 Tickets: $10 at freshtix.com/events/gabriel-meyer-halevy-presents-the-human-project or $15 at the door Where: Temple Sinai, 5645 Dupree Drive, Sandy Springs When: Erev Shabbat service, 6:30 p.m. Friday, Oct. 28 Cost: Free
OCTOBER 21 ▪ 2016
AJT: You’re on a bit of a U.S. tour. How did Atlanta get added as one of your stops? Halevy: Actually, it was through (Temple Sinai Bunzl Family Cantorial Chair) Beth Schafer. I heard from a good friend of mine that she liked my music, and then I contacted her through Facebook. She said they would love to have me, so I booked my flights. I have to thank her from the bottom of my heart for bringing me there.
Gabriel Meyer Halevy, a world music artist from Hararit in the Western Galilee, will perform publicly in Toco Hills on Oct. 27 and in Sandy Springs on Oct. 28.
comes to music.
AJT 39
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EDUCATION
Despite Protests, Olens Vows to Make KSU Better By Elizabeth Friedly efriedly@atljewishtimes.com
buildings. So I think that the students will see me in the cafeteria and in the various buildings, what’s going on at both the Marietta campus and the Kennesaw campus.
After the University System of Georgia Board of Regents announced Wednesday, Oct. 12, that Sam Olens will take the position of Kennesaw State University president Nov. 1, the outgoing attorney general answered questions from the AJT about his new job, the post he’s leaving behind and his political future. Olens also addressed KSU faculty concerns that there was no national candidate search and that Olens lacks academic experience, as well as student worries about the maintenance of an LGBTQ-friendly environment.
AJT: Was it a difficult choice to give up the position of attorney general halfway through the term? Olens: No. 1, I love the job. The governor and the AG, they represent the state in litigation, etc., so it’s a great, great job. The lawyers here are fantastic. I love the lawyers that I get to work with. I’m vice president of the National Association of Attorneys General, so at the end of this term I would have been president. That would have been a great opportunity to represent all of the 56 or 57 attorneys general. There’s the 50 states, D.C., the Virgin Islands, Guam. The decision to leave was not any displeasure with the current job. It was an opportunity where openings for president don’t happen all the time, and when you have the opportunity, let alone one at an institution you’re very familiar with, that’s important to take advantage of.
AJT: First off, how are you holding up? Too exhausted to fast? Olens: I’m fine. When you’re the state’s lawyer, it’s always busy. It’s just busy. That’s just the process. AJT: Were you able to observe Yom Kippur? Olens: Actually, yes, the letter that was submitted to the students and faculty didn’t go out until Thursday at 8 a.m. because I intentionally did not want that to go out on Yom Kippur. I tried my best to watch the activity once I got back from synagogue and not return calls, etc.
OCTOBER 21 ▪ 2016
AJT: How or when did you decide to pursue this? Olens: So prior to this position opening, I had already had in the back of my mind to go into academia rather than a private law firm after the political career. So that was already being considered. When the opening arose with Dr. (Dan) Papp, it immediately caught my attention. I know Dr. Papp; he’s a very nice man. I’ve known him for many years. A lot of the Cobb County community leaders had started reaching out to me. At the same time, I was familiar with some unfortunate incidents that had occurred at the campus — in the role of being the state’s lawyer. There were some files that were sent over to us from the chancellor’s office, so I’m familiar with allegations of impropriety of individuals at the university and the need for some changes. Kennesaw State has grown exponentially in a very short period of time. It now has over 34,000 students. Quite possibly, in the next two years, it will be the second-largest institution in the state, with Georgia State 40 being No. 1. UGA would be No. 3. With
AJT
Even without the Kennesaw State job, Sam Olens says, he wasn’t planning to run for governor in 2018.
that exponential growth comes a lot of challenges and a lot of opportunities, so I look forward to working with the leadership to make a lot of the necessary improvements and to really turn what’s already an excellent institution into an even better institution. AJT: How long ago exactly did you begin to consider academia? Olens: Oh, I’d say probably five years. I didn’t know where or in what capacity. I didn’t know whether it meant to potentially be a dean at a law school or other opportunities, but clearly I was thinking about it. AJT: What inspired that desire? Anything in particular? Olens: A love of learning. I always told my kids, “You know, Dad brings the paper home every night. Dad’s on the computer every night,” if I weren’t at a public meeting, if I weren’t at a nonprofit event, etc. So I would always tell my kids that learning is a lifelong process. It’s not just a function that you have homework in K through 12 or in college. Your job is to constantly learn. The point that you think you know everything is the point that you fail. As county commissioner and chairman, I had to learn a whole lot about water and waste water and transportation
that I certainly hadn’t thought about before. That served me well in this position because we represent GDOT; we represent numerous agencies in that regard. A third of the workforce in Cobb County is public safety. Well, now I have the honor to represent GBI, State Patrol and others. Those are all experiences that assist. For instance, it’s just one example, Clery (the Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act) that deals with public safety of the students and faculty on campus — crimes or sexual assaults. So I’m very keen to what that act requires and what needs to happen. In this position, I’m very familiar with the necessity to comply with Title IX, and that of course is a big issue at any university. There are parts of this job that are very familiar to me. I consider maybe next fall teaching a class or co-teaching a class, either with regard to local government or constitutional law in the poli-sci department. I think that could be fun, another way to meet students. They’re gonna see plenty of me anyway. In the county we learned what’s called “walk the halls,” where you talk to all the employees. They need to see you and know that you care. I do the same thing here; we’re in several
AJT: Does this rule out a future run for governor? Olens: I frankly was not intending to run for governor before this. It’s a great honor and opportunity. I think over the last few years it’s a fair statement to say that I find politics more and more distasteful. The campaigns are more and more based on hyperpartisanship and not substance. I’m very interested in policy. I’m not very interested in how far right or how far left people can go. When I spoke at the JBC, I was very nonpartisan because I think that as the state’s lawyer, unlike other constitutional officers, I have an obligation to be so. I think, look, I’ve had a great opportunity. I’ve been in public service roughly 18 years, but the level of discourse in the political discussion now is beyond anything I want to be a part of. For instance, our governor has done an excellent job. The work that he has done in criminal justice reform is amazing and will serve the state very, very well and will serve as a model. Unlike the norm, where attorneys general and governors don’t get along most of the time, irrespective of party affiliation, even from the same parties, we’ve had a very healthy rapport. We’ve worked very well together. I think more and more, though, the divisiveness is unwelcome.
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EDUCATION start a relationship with, so we’re going to work constructively. I will tell you that numerous deans have emailed me saying that they know me, that they’ve worked with me over X number of years and that they look forward to working with me. I’ve had vice presidents at the institution who have done the same. Numerous faculty members have done the same. You hear the vocal minority, but you don’t hear the majority. That’s not to say I’d do anything other than to assuage the concerns of the vocal minority. And I will.
“Am I going to defend their right to the First Amendment? Am I going to defend their right to be protected and to be secure? Absolutely. That’s the beauty of our country.” — Sam Olens
AJT: Would you like to further respond to those in the faculty concerned about your lack of experience in education? Olens: It’s my understanding that over the last decade that there have been many “nontraditional” university presidents. In fact, there has been a significant percentage of those nontraditional university presidents having had a law career beforehand. Traditionally, the role of the university president has been academic success. Now, in addition to academic success, there’s fundraising, there’s compliance with the budget, there’s compliance with federal acts (such as the Clery Act and Title IX). There are efforts to frankly improve the growth for the students and the faculty: students with regard to scholarships and graduation rates; faculty with regards to more dollars for research, more ability to have them succeed from that financial perspective. So the role of the president is now very different than it was 10 or 20 years ago. I think they’ll get to know me; I’ll get to know them. What folks say in the heat of passion isn’t what you want to
AJT: Could you address those who are concerned that your leadership of KSU would negatively affect LGBT students? Olens: As I said before, my job is to represent the state. That’s what I’ve done. As far as being university president, there’s nothing more important in that capacity than the safety and protection of the students. The universities are there for the students. The point’s gonna be made loud and clear that my job is to do everything I can to ensure their success, and that doesn’t impinge on any type of political beliefs. That doesn’t come into the equation.
lamic Speakers Bureau). I’ve worked with several of the mosques. I know several of the imams. I choose to be inclusive. I choose to be supportive. I’ve been to the Roswell mosque within the last couple months. Am I going to have a discussion with them about Israeli politics or Middle Eastern politics? Absolutely not. But similar to the ADL, am I going to defend their right to the First Amendment? Am I going to defend their right to be protected and to be secure? Absolutely. That’s the beauty of our country. AJT: Do you plan to continue any involvement in previous projects, such as campaigning for Amendment 2 (Penalties for Sex Crimes to Fund Services for Sexually Exploited Children)? Olens: Clearly, I still have scheduled meetings; I have talks. You know, I’ve had three big initiatives as AG: the food bank program, the sex trafficking program and the prescription drug abuse program. When I leave office, I’m not going to leave these areas. I plan on continuing to support any and all efforts to reduce sex trafficking. I think Channel 2 is actually doing a series in about two weeks, and I previously was interviewed for that series. It is astounding to me how many young chil-
dren are sold throughout our state every night. The biggest thing we can do, even more important than passing new legislation, is getting the point across that the buyers will spend many years in jail. When the middle-aged male finds out that his friend, his colleague at work or whatever, was given 10 years in jail for having sex with a 12-year-old, that sends the message. The old days where you disregarded the acts of the buyer and only went after the seller are long gone. For instance, we had a training at Emory Law School for judges because the judges really need to understand that we can’t solve the problem without going after demand. That’s got to be an essential part of this scenario. The beauty of constitutional Amendment 2 is it gives the resources to assist the victims. So, for instance, now when I have a DA in South Georgia say, “I have a victim, there’s no place in South Georgia to assist the victim,” that’s unacceptable. If Amendment 2 is passed (Nov. 8), there will be institutions throughout the state to assist these victims. That’s paramount because too many of them are committing suicide or overdosing, and we’ve got to do what we can as a society for the most vulnerable to protect them. ■
AJT: So would you say that it’s unfounded for, say, trans students to feel as if they’re not safe? Olens: Absolutely. There’s nothing I’m going to do on that campus that’s going to infringe on their beliefs, on their rights, on their comfort. I’ve never expressed my personal opinions in any of these areas. The job of the university president is totally different. AJT: What have responses from the Jewish community been like? Olens: Well, I’ve got a lot of friends there. I’m a part of it. Look, there was an effort in this process to make me anti-everything. I mean, I saw emails that said, “He’s Jewish, that means he’s anti-Muslim.” I actually reached out to a friend of mine who is a lay leader at one of the mosques in Atlanta. I said, “Reach out to the Muslim student group and tell them what you know of me.” I have worked with the Muslim community in this state for many years. I have worked with the ISB (Is-
OCTOBER 21 ▪ 2016
AJT: How have you dealt with the controversy surrounding your appointment? Olens: Well, I’ve met with numerous folks already. I’m scheduling some meetings. I think it’s very important for folks to meet with me, for folks to talk with me. I’m the state’s lawyer; it’s my job to defend the state. As the university president, my job is to do the best I can for the university; it’s a very different position. When the state is sued, I have an obligation to defend the state. That’s what I did. If I had it over again, I would do the same thing. That’s my job; that’s the oath of office. I think unfortunately some groups did their best to try and scare students rather than create a fair process. I need to move forward and to meet with the groups (Kennesaw Pride Alliance, Executive of the Student Government Association) and assure them that the two positions are totally different. My interests at Kennesaw State are consistent with their interests. I think it’s about making yourself accessible.
AJT 41
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EDUCATION
SIMCHAT TORAH fun 5777 V’ZOT HABERACHAH
Moshe gives blessings to each tribe of the Jewish people before his death. Moshe said that HaShem was “King over Yeshurun” or as Rashi explains, “the yoke of His rulership is constantly over them.” After the individual blessings, Moshe says that HaShem is there to assist the Jewish people – He defeated the enemy and Israel dwelt securely! Moshe ascends Mnt. Navo and HaShem showed him the entire land and all that would happen there in the future. HaShem reaffirms His covenant to give the land to the offspring of Avraham, Yitzchak and Yaacov. Moshe died and is eulogized by HaShem as a “servent of HaShem” and He buried Moshe in an unkown place. The children of Israel wept for Moshe for 30 days and Yehoshua took over Moshe’s role as leader of the Jewish people.
WORD FIND
Can you discover the Secret Message? Find and circle the bold, italicized words from the Torah summary in the Word Find. Write the unused Word Find letters in the spaces below to spell the Secret Message. Have Fun!
R O L
M E C O E K O Y M S E O T E
Which one is different? Hint: Moshe Rabbeniu
KING
120 YEARS
“FACE TO FACE”
MNT. NAVO
HUMAN
PROPHET
CROSSWORD Complete the crossword by translating each Hebrew
word into English. Use the parsha reference for help. 1
ACROSS
2 4
3
6 7
OCTOBER 21 ▪ 2016
8
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5
3. ( דגן33:28) 6. ( נסיום33:8) 8. ( עבד34:5)
DOWN
1. ( נביא34:10) 2. ( שמן33:24) 4. ( עשרים34:7) 5. ( אם33:9) 7. ( חול33:19)
R
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H Y O N I
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D S
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L O R P A A A A A E
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M A C H C W N E H H
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D A E O V D
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spot the difference
E W A V R A H A M
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SECRET MESSAGE
__ ________ _______ ___ _____ __ _______ _____
gematria
Hint: “Partners” with Issachar in learning Torah:
כה xב
ג xי
קע - קסד
י - ח
מט
÷ז ז
א ב ג ד ה ו ז ח ט י כ ל מ נ ס ע פ צ ק ר ש ת 400 300 200 100 90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10
9
WORD CMRLESAB CREIEJO _______ TTARS _____
Hint: Simchat Torah
GINS ____ INSFIH ______
8
7
6
5
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3
2
1
(scramble)
NDCEA _____ UCTIRCI _______
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BUSINESS
JBC: Coffee, Bagels and Great Conversation Georgia Aquarium Chairman and CEO Mike Leven, a veteran of the old Jewish Breakfast Club, speaks in September about Jewish unity.
event has grown to about 70 attendees a month. “The JBC is an opportunity for the younger generation to network and learn from mentors in our community,” Morris said. “It is also an opportunity for the leaders of our community to pass on core Jewish values to the next generation. L’dor vador.” If you haven’t joined us for the revamped, AJT-sponsored Jewish Breakfast Club, here’s what you have missed: • February — Ed Mendel, a financial professional, Marcus Jewish Community Center trustee and limited partner in the Atlanta Falcons, spoke about investing in a world in which nations are offering negative interest rates on government bonds and managing your finances in the midst of uncertainty. • March — Entrepreneur Michael Coles spoke about growing the Great American Cookie Co. from its founding in 1977 with an initial investment of $8,000 to its sale in 1998 with 350 stores. Coles also relayed important lessons he learned while serving as the CEO of Caribou Coffee from 2003 to 2012, talked about his record-breaking
Halpern Enterprises Taking Publix to Raleigh
Halpern Development, a division of Sandy Springs-based Halpern Enterprises, has a deal in place to develop a shopping center in Raleigh, N.C., that will be anchored by the state capital’s first Publix grocery store, the Atlanta Business Chronicle reported. The 49,000-square-foot grocery is scheduled to open in 2018 if the shopping center wins Raleigh planning approval. The center will have 14,000 square feet of additional retail space, the Business Chronicle said. Halpern Enterprises, under the leadership of Chairman Jack Halpern and his sister, Executive Vice President Carolyn Oppenheimer, recently moved its headquarters to a building at 5200 Roswell Road in Sandy Springs after half a century in Doraville.
Photo by Eric Bern Studio
Halpern Enterprises Chairman Jack Halpern and Executive Vice President Carolyn Oppenheimer have the support of Sandy Springs Mayor Rusty Paul and City Council member Andy Bauman at a ribbon-cutting ceremony Sept. 7.
Kessler & Solomiany Hires 3
Kessler & Solomiany recently added three lawyers to its family law practice: Doriet Fischer, Brooke French and Stefanie Potter. Fischer, a New York native and graduate of Pace University in New York, received her Emory law degree in the spring. She has experience as a law clerk for Kessler & Solomiany.
Robbie Friedmann, the founding director of the Georgia International Law Enforcement Exchange, warns the JBC crowd about the threat of the boycott, divestment and sanctions movement in August.
cross-country bicycle rides, and emphasized that his role as the president of Hillels of Georgia is his most important position. • April — Doug Ross, the chairman of Birthright Israel’s Atlanta Regional Council and a member of the national board of the Birthright Israel Foundation, talked about Birthright’s importance in engaging Jewish millennials with Israel at a transformative time in their lives. Atlanta has sent more than 6,000 young adults on Birthright trips. • May — Jeff Koplan, the vice president of global health at Emory University and former director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, talked about the threats to public health he has encountered through his years in the field and the increasing number of emerging threats, including the Zika virus. • June — Marty Kogon, the first chairman and current board member of the ALEF Fund, explained how the nonprofit student support organization enables Georgians to designate a portion of their state income taxes to provide scholarships at Jewish day French, a Massachusetts native and graduate of Union College in Schenectady, N.Y., earned her law degree from Emory in 2003. She previously practiced law with Boyd Collar Nolen & Tug- (From left) Brooke gle, Lawler Green French, Stefanie Potter and Doriet Givelber & Prinz, Fischer are new and Weinstock & associates at Atlanta Scavo. family law practice Potter, a Ken- Kessler & Solomiany. tucky native, has undergraduate and law degrees from the University of Louisville and a master of business administration from Indiana University. She practiced family law in Louisville, Ky., before moving to Cobb County and joining Kessler & Solomiany.
schools and preschools. • July — Georgia Attorney General Sam Olens offered insight into the inner workings of his office and went into detail about efforts to strengthen the penalties for sex traffickers and improve the state’s support for those traffickers’ child victims. He did not mention his interest in moving to Kennesaw State University to serve as its president. • August — Robbie Friedmann, the founding director of the Georgia International Law Enforcement Exchange, explained the threat of the anti-Israel boycott, divestment and sanctions movement and described the efforts of BDS activists to shut down GILEE, which provides opportunities for police officers in the United States, Israel and other nations to learn from one another. • September — Mike Leven, the chairman and CEO of the Georgia Aquarium, spoke about the importance of Jewish unity and how Jews in the Diaspora have become separated by beliefs and practices. The JBC took October off for the Jewish holidays. While the usual cost to the attend the JBC is $15, November’s special subscriber-only lunch program with Marcus will cost $20. Reservations are due by Friday, Nov. 4, at atlantajewishtimes. com/event/jbc-berniemarcus. If you’re not already a subscriber, you can take care of that at atlantajewishtimes.com/ subscription. The JBC will return to its normal breakfast scheduled in December. ■ The Atlanta family law practice, which celebrated its 25th anniversary this summer, now has a dozen lawyers.
New Gynecology Practice
OB/GYN Lillian Schapiro has started the Jewish year by opening IdealGynecology, a practice specializing in women’s concerns and health from the teen years well past menopause, at 3200 Downwood Circle, Suite 220, in Buckhead. Schapiro, a Yale graduate with a medical degree from Albert Einstein College of Medicine, is also the rare mohelet — a women who performs the brit milah ceremony. Schapiro has nurse practitioners Daniel Geller and Pamela Lyman working with her at Ideal Gynecology. The practice can be reached at idealgynecology.holodyn-demo.com or 43 470-312-3696. OCTOBER 21 ▪ 2016
After eight months of rising attendance, the Jewish Breakfast Club is holding a special session that for the first time will involve lunch instead of breakfast and will be limited to people who subscribe to home delivery of the Atlanta Jewish Times instead of being open to the community. The guest speaker at the 11:30 a.m. session Wednesday, Nov. 9 — the day after the national elections — will be Home Depot co-founder, philanthropist and prominent Republican supporter Bernie Marcus. Marcus’ son Michael Morris, the AJT’s owner and publisher, relaunched the Jewish Breakfast Club in February after a 16-year hiatus. Joe Lipsey III launched the original JBC in 1993 with the support of Perry Brickman, Erwin Zaban, David Kuniansky, Dan Uslan and David Zalik. Held monthly at Snack-n-Shop in Buckhead, the JBC sessions provided an opportunity for young professionals, whether just starting in business or just reaching the partner level, to network and learn from the previous generation. Over seven years, the JBC hosted 60 speakers, including Charlie Ackerman, Harry Blazer, Sen. Frank Lautenberg, Mike Leven, Ambassador Arye Mekel, Jeff Snow, Chuck Wolf and Steve Selig. The relaunched JBC meets on the second Wednesday of most months in the 25th-floor Buckhead offices of law firm Greenberg Traurig. Offering a kosher bagel-based breakfast along with thought-provoking discussions, the
AJT
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SYNAGOGUES
Ner Tamid’s New Beginnings Rabbi Joseph Prass, who was named the new spiritual leader at West Cobb’s Congregation Ner Tamid this summer, began his Jewish journey in the Reform youth movement, which led to jobs in education, youth, camping and synagogues. In these settings he learned how meaningful and vibrant Jewish life could be. Before he was ordained in 1999, Rabbi Prass was the regional director of the North American Federation of Temple Youth. He since has served various congregations and has worked with a diverse population before becoming a senior rabbi. He combines his duties at Congregation Ner Tamid with a job at the Wil-
Rabbi Joseph Prass
liam Breman Jewish Heritage Museum in Midtown, where he brings Holocaust and Jewish heritage programming to
area synagogues. Being a rabbi today presents different challenges from those Rabbi Prass grew up with in Minnesota more than 30 years ago. We live in a more mobile society in which people change jobs, residences and places of worship frequently. A large portion of Jewish Atlanta is composed of transplants seeking new affiliations but with the same qualities as those of the houses of worship in which they grew up. Living as a Jew in a predominantly Christian world presents daily challenges. Rabbi Prass said that educating gentiles is an ongoing process, and it is important not to treat people who have
different views as outcasts. Rabbi Prass has built his rabbinate around education, inclusion and a positive disposition. While the Mourner’s Kaddish for the dead and Mi Shebeirach for the sick are common elements in Shabbat services, Rabbi Prass has added an uplifting spin at Ner Tamid: He asks congregants what they have celebrated during the week. People then look forward to the next week and what they have to celebrate and be thankful for. Rabbi Prass strives to work with all ages and stages of the community through education to strengthen congregation members’ commitment to Judaism. ■
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OBITUARIES
Lillian Brodes 94, Plantation, Fla.
Lillian Brodes, 94, of Plantation, Fla., passed away peacefully in her home, Thursday, Oct. 6, 2016. Born in Chicago to Fred and Belle Sabath, Lillian married Joseph Brodes of Miami Beach, Fla., in 1946. They were happily married for 40 years, residing in Miami Beach, until Joseph’s passing in 1986. Lillian is survived by her loving daughters and sons-in-law, Renee and Mark Kaplan and Rhonda and Mark Siegel; grandchildren Craig Kaplan, Michele Shapiro and husband Stuart Shapiro, Jaclyn Siegel, and Brittany Siegel; and two great-grandchildren, Reid Kaplan and Blair Shapiro. Additionally, she is survived by her sister, Sylvia Novick, 98, who lives in Chicago. Lillian loved life — vacations, cruises, photography with her husband in the Florida Everglades, decorating, dancing and cooking. She enjoyed volunteering and participating in programs for the Veterans of Foreign Wars Auxiliary post in Miami Beach. She loved traveling every year from Florida to Chicago to visit her relatives. Lillian leaves a legacy of love, devotion, friendships and family traditions. In lieu of flowers, the family encourages donations in Lillian’s memory to VFW Post 3559, 650 West Ave., Miami Beach, FL 33139. Services were held Friday, Oct. 14, at Westlawn Cemetery in Norridge, Ill. Funeral arrangements entrusted to Lakeshore Jewish Funerals, 773-625-8621.
Adele Feinstein 88, Atlanta
Adele Feinstein, age 88, of Atlanta died Wednesday, Oct. 12, 2016. She is survived by her sons, Steve (Renee) Eilen, Gordon (Nancy) Eilen and Ken Eilen; grandchildren Dana, Michael, Anna and Alex Eilen; and brother Simon (Marsha) Londe. Sign the online guestbook at www.edressler.com. A graveside service was held Thursday, Oct. 13, at Arlington Memorial Park with Rabbi Neil Sandler officiating. Arrangements by Dressler’s Jewish Funeral Care, 770-451-4999.
Carol Kohn 96, Atlanta
Carol Doris Kohn, 96, of Atlanta passed away peacefully Thursday, Oct. 13, 2016. She was born March 27, 1920, in New York City to Pearl and David Sulzer, both of blessed memory. She grew up in New York, and she and her husband lived in New Hampshire before they moved to Georgia eight years ago to be closer to their family. An avid reader and wonderful cook, she enjoyed quilting and knitting and mastered playing golf with a single club. Carol was very active in her synagogue sisterhoods in Long Island and New Hampshire and volunteered for both a middle school and a library in New Hampshire. She had great passion for her family and will be remembered for the tremendously comforting atmosphere felt by all who entered her homestead. Carol was preceded in death by her loving husband of 68 years, Bernard Lester Kohn. She is survived by her daughter, Linda Wand (Ronald); sons Kenneth and Jack Kohn (Charlene); grandchildren Debra Brown (Mark), David Bressler (Monica), Jennifer Linowes, Jeffrey Wand, Joshua Wand (Alyssa), Kimberly Harper, Scott Kohn (Amy) and Jonathan Kohn; 12 great-grandchildren; and a sister, Ann Block. Sign the online guestbook at www.edressler.com. A memorial service was held Sunday, Oct. 16, at Temple Sinai with Rabbi Ron Segal officiating. The family requests that donations in Carol’s honor be made to the Bernard L. Kohn Memorial Scholarship at Littleton High School, 159 Oak Hill Ave., Littleton, NH 03561; the scholarship fund exists specifically for students pursuing a career in teaching. Arrangements by Dressler’s Jewish Funeral Care, 770-451-4999.
Death Notices
Michael Karasik of Atlanta on Oct. 3. Robin Kurtzman, 50, of Atlanta, daughter of Phyllis Kurtzman and sister of Barbara Fulmer, on Oct. 7. Gavrilova Tsiala of Atlanta on Oct. 3.
OCTOBER 21 ▪ 2016
MLK Attorney Dies
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Civil rights lawyer Jack Greenberg, who helped argue the Brown vs. Board of Education case before the Supreme Court and defended Martin Luther King Jr., died at age 91 on Wednesday, Oct. 12, 2016, in New York. The son of Jewish immigrants from Poland and Romania, Greenberg had suffered from Parkinson’s disease, his widow, Deborah Greenberg, told The New York Times. A World War II veteran of the U.S. Navy, he was the last survivor of the seven-man NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund legal team that Thurgood Marshall put together to argue the Brown case, which resulted in the 1954 Supreme Court ruling that overturned “separate but equal” segregation. According to the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, which he led from 1961 to 1984 as Marshall’s successor, Greenberg argued 40 cases before the high court, including Furman vs. Georgia, in which the court found that existing death penalty statutes violated the Eighth Amendment’s ban on cruel and unusual punishment. He also litigated the 1961 case that won James Meredith the right to integrate the University of Mississippi.
King called on Greenberg and the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund to handle cases involving the Southern Christian Leadership Conference in 1963, and that year he represented King when the civil rights leader was jailed in Birmingham. A graduate of Columbia Law School, Greenberg served as Columbia College’s dean from 1989 to 1993. He received the American Bar Association’s Thurgood Marshall Award in 1996. At the start of 2001, President Bill Clinton awarded him the Presidential Citizens Medal. Although Greenberg said he was motivated to fight for civil rights by a socialist Zionist upbringing and not Judaism, he did see a similarity between anti-Semitism and black oppression. “Thanks to Jack Greenberg’s devotion to justice, millions of Americans have known the freedom to learn and work and vote and live in a country that more faithfully lives up to its founding principle of equality under the law,” President Barack Obama said in a statement. “The son of immigrants who had fled anti-Semitism, he believed that civil rights was a cause for all Americans.” ■
Written and Sealed According to tradition, by Yom Kippur’s end the Creator has decided “who shall live and who shall die.” Reading about the different types of deaths is daunting. Imagining that your judgment is sealed is mind-boggling. When hearing of tragic deaths, I have to ask myself: Was this really ordained? The innocents who are knifed by terrorists and those who are victims of the careless driving of others — are those deaths decided, written, sealed and executed by a loving G-d? What about those stricken by debilitating diseases? Do they suffer and ultimately die at the will of an all-powerful G-d? I don’t intend to be sacrilegious. But I am a woman who has known a lot of loss. As a young adult, I lost my only sibling, a bright, handsome 17-yearold with a great future. Coping with Barry’s death changed my perceptions about life and my decisions. Did G-d intend for him to crash through the windshield of the car he was a passenger in? As a middle-aged woman, I watched in horror as my father’s personality changed because of Alzheimer’s. By the time he died at age 90, I felt relieved because he had become a sliver of the man he was. He looked like my dad, but his actions were those of someone I didn’t recognize. Am I to believe that Hashem decided that was what should become of him? On April 7, my beloved husband, Dan, took his last breath. Although he was in an ICU under the care of great doctors, he couldn’t be revived. The craniotomies, major hip surgery, falls and chronic diseases had all coalesced. It was too much for his body. Before I could say goodbye, he slipped into that great unknown. During Yom Kippur, we express the hope that by fasting, asking for forgiveness and giving charity, we will avert the severe decree of death. I can’t help but wonder if Dan’s fate was written and sealed last year. He was a man of great belief and faith. He was generous in his gifts to charity and encouraged others to do the same. Dan didn’t gossip. I can’t think of any sins he committed, although he was human. Dan was a giver. He was blessed with many gifts, and he served G-d by serving others. As a physician. As
a cantor. As a friend who went way beyond what was necessary. So it’s curious why Dan’s prayers, charity and character had no effect on what was decided last Yom Kippur. Perhaps what happens to us is random rather than ordained. I remember the book “When Bad Things Happen to Good People” by Rabbi Harold Kushner. He believes in
CROSSWORD
By Arlene Appelrouth aappelrouth@atljewishtimes.com
the randomness of fate. I go to services regularly and study the Torah and the views of sages with some prominent rabbis, but my knowledge is far from comprehensive. I wish I knew what I believed. I know Judaism values action over words. I may not believe nonkosher food affects my soul, but because my kitchen is kosher enough to satisfy the needs and beliefs of my Orthodox children, I think I am credited for my actions. Since moving to Toco Hills more than 12 years ago, I’ve been blessed to be part of Atlanta’s Orthodox community. The experience is like being in a large, supportive family. My husband was happy here. He loved going to the Toco Hill Shopping Center because there were always people he knew to schmooze with. Being Jewish is serious business in this neighborhood. Most residents who participate in synagogue life are mindful of observing Shabbat and the holidays, keeping kosher, learning more, and being there for one another. I’m glad to live where I do and grateful for the wonderful friends I’ve made. Living among Jews who place a high value on learning is contagious. The classes I take, both in my neighborhood and in Sandy Springs, increase my understanding of what it is to be a Jew. There’s no question in my mind that the introspection and reflection at this time of year are important. But it’s a stretch to believe that my losses were all predetermined. I have learned to accept what life brings. My prayer and wish for my friends, family and readers is that all are able to accept whatever divine providence sends their way. ■
“You Probably Know One”
By Yoni Glatt, koshercrosswords@gmail.com Difficulty Level: Medium
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According To Arlene
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over Great Britain at the World Baseball Classic, e.g. 35. Jay Fiedler didn’t like throwing them: abbr. 36. Woodmere, N.Y., time zone 37. Anti-Israel college grp. 39. Steroid ___ 42. Dell alternatives to Macs 45. Israeli diplomat Namir and DOWN others 1. ___ toppers 2. Plant pomegranates, again 47. Becomes chatan and kallah 3. “___ I like to call it” 50. Actress Jamie-Lynn (common Borscht Belt 52. “August: ___ County” (film punchline) 4. Common Jewish last name produced by Grant Heslov) 53. Panels on many Israeli 5. Tref king roofs 6. Make like David 55. Animal character in 7. Call off an IDF mission 8. Dark yellow or green, for a Landis’ “Animal House” 56. Shalom citron 57. 9 Av reading 9. Lang. spoke by many new 58. Be a nosy yenta Israelis 10. Accommodate a Hatzalah 59. Common Jewish last name, or at least a start to vehicle many 11. “East of Eden” director 60. Site of Napoleon’s exile Kazan 61. “___ the table,” words 12. ___ Dracula (animated parents might like to hear from Mel Brooks role) 13. “___ Can!”: Sammy Davis their kids Friday afternoon 63. ___ weight, post-Passover Jr. book goal for some 21. Matzah for a seder, e.g. 64. Made a blue fringe, e.g. 22. Touro grad, e.g. 25. Can’t stand (like Haman to 66. Israeli air force hero Mordechai) 27. What Jews try to make around Yom Kippur? 28. Kind of pit LAST WEEK’S SOLUTION 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 not far from R O O M S L U G J E S S E 14 15 16 Pico-Robertson A N O A H O P I O R A L S 17 18 19 30. Banned P I Z Z A H U T S S A G E T 20 21 22 23 spray that S T E E L S I E G E E W E 24 25 26 27 rhymes with a L E T C L A P S 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 month O R G S H A K E S H A C K S 36 37 38 39 31. There was W A R E E S S L U C E N T 40 41 42 N I A G A R A M I S H L E I one between 43 44 45 E M I G R E G A G A L A N Jacob and Esau 46 47 48 49 D I N E R B O O T H S O D E 32. Common 50 51 52 R E B I D T W O Jewish last 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 A B S S E L M A A B B A S name 62 63 64 65 G I A N T P A L M B E A C H 33. Admit to a 66 67 68 A B U S E A D A R S U R E sin, with “up” 69 70 71 N E S S E M E K G I L A D 34. Israel’s win 70. Sound that can be heard at the Makhtesh crater 71. Berkus or Silver 72. What Saul did by letting Agag live 73. Farm no-no on a sabbatical year
OCTOBER 21 ▪ 2016
CLOSING THOUGHTS
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OCTOBER 21 â&#x2013;ª 2016