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PLACE TO PLAY
Chabad of Cobb celebrates 15 years with Rabbi Ephraim Silverman while honoring some leading lights. Page 4
CAMP INCLUSIVE
Toco Hills is a little more than $4,000 away from winning a new playground. Page 6
Camp Ramah Darom is launching a program to ensure Jewish summers for children with autism. Camping, Page 26
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Conventions Exhilarate ATL A
Shabbat celebrated by more than 3,200 Jewish teens. Jewish actresses, Atlanta rappers and Hawks cheerleaders. Messages from Shimon Peres and Michael Steinhardt. Service done and services participated in. The annual conventions of BBYO and NFTY in downtown Atlanta, the gathering of Young Judaea in Winder, and associated summits and meetings have come and gone. They started in earnest with a lunch for several hundred participants in the Summit on Jewish Teens at the Hyatt Regency on Feb. 12. They ended with a blowout celebration of NFTY’s 75th birthday at the Marriott Marquis on Feb. 16. Along the way, Atlanta’s Elise Eplan was named B’nai B’rith Girls’ Alumna of the Year and celebrated the lifelong friends generations of her family have made in BBYO. Atlanta Council BBYO’s Meredith Galanti of Lehavah BBG was elected BBG’s 71st international mazkirah, or secretary, while East Cobb’s Jordy Frankel fell short in a bid for NFTY membership vice president. You can read some of the highlights on Pages 15 to 20 in this issue and more in our Feb. 27 issue, plus catch an assortment of photos and a few videos from the action at atlantajewishtimes.com. ■
MAGIC ABILITIES
Two adaptations of Disney masterpieces, “Aladdin” for Jerry’s Habima Theatre and “Pinocchio” for AJA, take the stage within days. Page 23
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FEBRUARY 20, 2015 | 1 ADAR 5775
In Denmark, ‘When, Not If’ By Suzi Brozman sbrozman@atljewishtimes.com
J
The combined choirs of The Temple and Ebenezer Baptist Church put on a show to Rabbi Micah Lapidus’ “Rise Up” for their congregants and nearly 200 Jewish teens visiting the church from the BBYO and NFTY conventions Feb. 15. Read what Rabbi Peter Berg had to say to the packed sanctuary on Page 15.
DIFFERENT BIRD
Michael Gurevich took a flight path through the IDF and cosmetics before landing on the idea for the Seven Hens schnitzel empire. Page 24
Photo by Michael Jacobs
Calendar 2
INSIDE
Arts 21
Candle Lighting 3
Business 24
Local News 4
Camping 25
Israel 9
Obituaries 29
Opinion 10
Marketplace 31
ohanna Bach-Frommer, a half-American woman who is integral to Copenhagen’s tightknit Jewish community, was away from Denmark when news broke early Feb. 15 of a shooting death at the city’s largest synagogue. She and her family instinctively knew who the victim was. Dan Uzan, 37, was a 6-foot-5 volunteer guard described as a gentle giant, a warm and protective person always doing anything and everything for others. He died helping police protect some 80 guests celebrating a bat mitzvah. Copenhagen’s Jews are convinced that Uzan and the armed guards, on duty in response to recent anti-Semitic violence in Europe, prevented a massacre. Uzan had been a volunteer guard since age 17 and took courses to increase his skills. “He was one of those people everyone liked — such a nice guy,” said BachFrommer, connected to the Atlanta Jewish Times through a friend. “You always felt safe and protected when he was around. And he gave his life for it in the end.” Being a volunteer guard is a Jewish custom in Copenhagen. Parents and others, usually under age 40, volunteer at synagogues and at the facility for Jewish nursery school through high school. Within hours, police killed the suspected attacker, a 22-year-old Palestinian who always lived in Denmark. “Dan would have hated if his memory would have been used to divide people. That would not have been in his spirit,” Bach-Frommer said. “We appreciate the outpouring of love and solidarity. We are in shock but not shocked. It was a case of when, not if.” ■
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CALENDAR St., Roswell, at 7:30 p.m.; tkcrabbi@ gmail.com, 770-641-8630 or www. kehillatchaim.org.
ONGOING Through Feb. 22. The comedy play “Bad Jews” runs through Sunday at Actor’s Express, 887 W. Marietta St., Suite J-107, Atlanta. Tickets are $26 to $46; actors-express.com or 404-607-7469.
SATURDAY, FEB. 21 Bet on the IDF. Friends of the Israel Defense Forces holds its youngleadership casino night at 8:30 at the Westside Cultural Arts Center, 760 10th St., Midtown Atlanta. Tickets are $50 in advance, $70 at the door; 678-250-9027, Jamie.perry@ fidf.org or www.fidf.org/Southeast.
Through March 31. EthiopianIsraeli artist Hirut Yosef presents “Chalom Yashan — A Journey Back Home” at the Marcus JCC’s Katz Family Mainstreet Gallery, 5324 Tilly Mill Road, Dunwoody. Admission is free; www.atlantajcc.org or 678-812-4071.
SUNDAY, FEB. 22 Virtual dementia tour. Stop by the Cohen Home, 10485 Jones Bridge Road, Johns Creek, between 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. to experience what having dementia feels and sounds like. This interactive experience helps improve care and communication with those who have dementia; 770-475-8787 or info@ cohenhome.org.
THURSDAY, FEB. 19 Young-adult happy hour. The free monthly third-Thursday happy hour at Smash Kitchen & Bar, 804 Town Blvd., Brookhaven, starts at 6:30 p.m.; 678-812-4055 or roey. shoshan@atlantajcc.org.
FRIDAY, FEB. 20
Kicking for Autism. The teen-run nonprofit group offers free soccer clinics from 12:30 to 2:30 p.m. for children ages 7 to 14 who have highfunctioning autism or Asperger’s at the Norcross Soccer Academy, 4541 S. Berkeley Lake Road. Pizza, water, snacks and other supplies are provided; kickingforautism@gmail.com.
Disability awareness Shabbat. Eric Jacobson, the executive director of the Georgia Council on Developmental Disabilities, discusses “Creating a Welcoming Community for All” during Jewish Disability Awareness Shabbat at Temple Kehillat Chaim, 1145 Green
AJA grad brings “Son” home. Atlanta Jewish Academy graduate David I. Stern attends the 2 p.m. opening performance of AJA’s winter musical, “Disney’s My Son Pinocchio Jr.,” which he wrote, for a post-show discussion. Additional performances will be Wednesday, Feb. 25, at 4 p.m. and Thursday, Feb. 26, at 7 p.m., all at the AJA auditorium, 5200 Northland Drive, Sandy Springs; www.showtix4u.com for tickets and tcarmona@atljewishacademy.org or 404-843-9900 for information. Mikvah kickoff with Anita Diamant. The “Red Tent” author speaks at 7 p.m. about reimagining ritual in the modern age at the inaugural event for the Metro Atlanta Community Mikvah (MACoM), which will be at Congregation B’nai Torah. The free event is at The Temple, 1589 Peachtree St., Midtown; info@ atlantamikvah.org or www.atlantamikvah.org.
MONDAY, FEB. 23 Anita Diamant book discussion. The “Red Tent” author talks about her latest novel, “The Boston Girl,” about growing up Jewish in the early 20th century, at 7:30 p.m.
at the Marcus JCC, 5342 Tilly Mill Road, Dunwoody. Tickets are $10 for center members, $15 for nonmembers; www.atlantajcc.org or 678-8124002.
TUESDAY, FEB. 24 Flying, playing and speaking for Israel. Noam Gershony, an Israeli helicopter pilot who overcame war injuries to win a tennis gold medal at the 2012 London Paralympics, speaks at Ahavath Achim Synagogue, 600 Peachtree Battle Ave., Buckhead, at 7 p.m. in a free event co-sponsored by Friends of the Israel Defense Forces. Advanced registration is required for security purposes; fidf.org/Atlanta_ATLGershony or 678-250-9027.
THURSDAY, FEB. 26 Chevra Kadisha dinner. The annual gathering of Atlanta’s Chevra Kadisha societies for a seudah on the Seventh of Adar, the traditional yahrzeit for Moses, starts at 6 p.m. at Young Israel of Toco Hills, 2056 LaVista Road. The speaker is Rabbi Joshua Einziq, the headmaster of Torah Day School of Atlanta. The event is free for Chevra Kadisha members and their spouses. RSVP to fredglus@comcast.net.
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URBAN BLIGHT? Cityhood proposals could slice up Toco Hills Page 2
PRAYER AND STUDY
A new mosque in Cobb, a new kollel in DeKalb Pages 4, 22
INSIDE
3 Education 9 Simchas 10 Business 10 Obituaries Candle Lighting 12 Cartoon Calendar 19 Classifieds Shaindle’s Shpeil
Israel Pride Opinion Editorial
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Jewish Music Festival Goes International
Je Suis Juif! T
Midtown A silent march through solidarity Atlanta on Jan. 11 shows days of terror. with Paris after three
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By David Cohen david@atljewishtimes.com Music Festival he Atlanta Jewish onal music to is bringing internati event. town for the sixth annual will feature IsThe Spring Festival um and Diwan Saz raeli Yael Deckelba Jump Babylon. and Montreal-based g young, attractin on eye With an will put on 10 events intown Jews, AJMF The festival will in 12 days in March. band Red Heifers include Macon-based (Hannah) Zale, and Atlanta-area artists and Tony Levitas. Sammy Rosenbaum about this “We are really excited ” said Russell Gottyear’s Spring Festival, founder and direcschalk, the festival’s onal performtor. “We’ve had internati our opening at never but past the ers in focused entirely night, and we’ve never specifically peron international artists, main event. at our formers from Israel, r Yael DeckMain event headline a ed since age 16 as elbaum has perform an album this releasing is solo artist and member of the Israeli spring. She is also a a. folk trio Habanot Necham seven Jews, of consists Diwan Saz s who perform Muslims and Christian Central Asia, Turkey ancient music from g peace and underand Israel, promotin music. standing through their y, March AJMF6 kicks off Thursda with Jump Baby12, at Steve’s Live Music inspired ska/roots/ lon and its klezmervenue will also rock. The Sandy Springs party March 14. host Zale’s album release at will produce a stage festival The 22 Community Food 31st annual Atlanta 25 the Hunger Walk/Run on March 15. Bank be March 21 at 26 The main event will se. 27 the Variety Playhou Festival inAdditions to the Spring 31 showcase at Temple clude a cantorial a closing Ho31 Emanu-El on March 22 and March 23. concert locaust remembrance Photo credit: Jon Gargis
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CALENDAR CANDLE-LIGHTING TIMES
Parsha Terumah Friday, Feb. 20, light candles at 6:08 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 21, Shabbat ends at 7:04 p.m. Parsha Tetzaveh Friday, Feb. 27, light candles at 6:14 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 28, Shabbat ends at 7:10 p.m.
Talking technology safety. Aaron Griffin, the Epstein School’s principal of digital learning and technology, leads a free discussion open to the community on how parents can make the best, safest use of the Internet and other technology for children. It’s at 7 p.m. at the school, 335 Colewood Way, Sandy Springs; epsteinatlanta.wufoo.com/forms/ talking-technology. Tabori conference. Two University of Georgia academic departments are holding an international conference on Hungarian-GermanJewish playwright George Tabori on Feb. 26, 27 and 28, starting with a keynote address by German scholar Anat Feinberg at 4:30 p.m. Feb. 26 in the Russell Special Collections Library on the Athens campus; www. drama.uga.edu/event/tabori.
FRIDAY, FEB. 27 Meditative Shabbaton. Daat Elyon and the Yoga and Judaism Center bring Rabbi Yoel Glick to town for a Shabbat featuring Jewish meditation. Free events are a contemplative Kabbalat Shabbat service at 7:30 p.m. Friday at Ahavath Achim Synagogue, 600 Peachtree Battle Ave., Buckhead; a celebratory Havdalah service at 7 p.m. Saturday at Vista Yoga, 2836 LaVista Road, Decatur; a talk on the rabbi’s spiritual journey at 11 a.m. Sunday, after meditation at 10:30, at the Vedanta Center of Atlanta, 2331 Brockett Road, Tucker; and a talk and workshop on the three pillars of the spiritual life at 1 p.m. Sunday at the Vedanta Center. A meditation workshop Saturday morning at the Lang Carson Center, 100 Flat Shoals Ave., Atlanta, is $20, preregistration required; yajcenter@aol. com or 770-270-8290.
SATURDAY, FEB. 28 Artistic breast cancer battle. Greater Atlanta Hadassah’s Big Reveal A.R.T. Gala and Auction — part of Breast Strokes, Hadassah Bares All for A.R.T. (Awareness, Research, Treatment) — to benefit breast cancer research starts at 8 p.m. at the Westside Cultural Arts Center, 760 10th St., Atlanta, with body-painted torsos, talented artists and photographers, auction items and samples of delicious food. Tickets start at $50 but go up to $65 Feb. 25; www. hadassah.org/atlanta/breaststrokes or 404-441-0093. Hamantaschen bake-off. General Muir and Yalla chef Todd Ginsberg judges the hamantaschen bake-off at Jewish Kids Group’s adults-only Purim party at 8 p.m. at Decatur Arthouse, 619 E. College Ave., Suite E, Decatur. Tickets are $20 in advance, $25 at the door; www. jewishkidsgroups.com/adult-purimparty.html.
PERSONAL CARE • RESPITE CARE • COMPANION CARE • MEDICAL CARE • HOME MANAGEMENT • DEMENTIA CARE
SUNDAY, MARCH 1 Children’s stitch-in. Children 10 and older can learn cross-stitching at 1 p.m. at a free workshop run by the Pomegranate Guild of Judaic Needlework-Peach State Stitchers, Atlanta Chapter, at a Dunwoody home; peachstatestitch@aol.com or 404-664-6784.
TUESDAY, MARCH 3 Post-festival film. “Anita B.,” a dramatic film based on the true story of an Auschwitz survivor who reaches womanhood in postwar Czechoslovakia, plays once at 7 p.m. at Carmike Cinemas Movies 278, 185 Metromont Road, Hiram. Tickets are $10; www.carmike. com/ShowTimes/Theater/285/ Date/030315.
SUNDAY, MARCH 8 Berman Commons grand opening. Take a tour of the new community owned and managed by Jewish Home Life Communities at 2026 Womack Road, Dunwoody, from 2:30 to 4:30 p.m.; www.bermancommons. org or 678-222-7500. Send all your items for the calendar to submissions@atljewishtimes.com.
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Theatrical magic. Jerry’s Habima Theatre, featuring special-needs actors, presents “Disney’s Aladdin Jr.” at the Marcus JCC, 5342 Tilly Mill Road, Dunwoody, in seven performances through March 8. Tickets are $25 ($10 for children 12 and under) for center members and $35 ($15 for children) for nonmembers; 678-812-4002 or www.atlantajcc.org/ boxoffice.
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LOCAL NEWS
Teen Outreach Keys Growth
Chabad of Cobb celebrates 15 years with Rabbi Silverman By Cady Schulman cschulman@atljewishtimes.com
W
FEBRUARY 20 ▪ 2015
hen Rabbi Ephraim Silverman came to Chabad of Cobb in 2000, his goal was to be open to the community and engage more with Jewish students. Fifteen years later, his goal is the same: to increase Chabad’s involvement in high schools and colleges as well as in the community. Chabad of Cobb celebrated 15 years of Rabbi Silverman and his wife, Chani, in East Cobb with a gala Feb. 7 at which Lenny and Nina Beck, Barry Frankel, and Liz Helgesen were honored with awards. “When I think about 15 years, I think about the impact we’ve hopefully been able to have [like] the programming we do in the local high schools,” Rabbi Silverman said. “I think about the communitywide holiday planning we provide. I think about the Jewish center we’ve opened up at Kennesaw State. I think about the programming at Life.” Chabad formed Jewish clubs in the East Cobb high schools 10 years ago, and now hundreds of students meet at each school every other week to socialize over pizza or bagels and take part in a program that typically involves guest speakers. The clubs are a way to engage students during the teen years. “I think for them to be able to identify at the school that they’re Jewish and are part of a Jewish club has a tremendous impact on their identity and who they are,” Rabbi Silverman said. The Fellowship of Christian Athletes “has a very strong presence, and we need one too.” The students also go to nursing homes to visit with Jewish residents, especially during the holidays. “We try to take some responsibility to make sure they’re taken care of,” Rabbi Silverman said. “On Rosh Hashanah we have a mitzvah hike where people walk to six to seven local nursing homes and blow the shofar. We do that for the different holidays.” Chabad also has a big focus on adult education, Rabbi Silverman said, meeting at such locations as libraries and coffee shops for discussions and guest speakers. A women’s class has 30 to 40 regular attendees 4 on Wednesday mornings, and the
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Kabbalah Cafe on Sunday mornings is popular. “All of these are areas that we are hoping to expand and grow and beginning to service more of the other areas in Cobb County as well,” Rabbi Silverman said. Sherry Kornheiser started attending Chabad three months Photos by Jon Marks Photography after the SilverAt the Chabad of Cobb gala Feb. 7 are (top left) Rabbi Ephraim and Chani Silverman mans arrived. (top right) Chabad Lamplight Award winners Nina and Lenny Beck “There’s (bottom left) Chabad Service Award winner Liz Helgesen with husband Bob been tremen(bottom right) Barry Frankel receiving the Chabad Leadership Award from Rabbi Silverman. dous growth in bership, Rabbi Silverman said the find ways to engage them intellectuadult education, children’s program number of people who attend services ally that gives them a deeper appreand teen programming,” she said. ciation so their opinion of Judaism is likely double. “We have extensive programs for the “It’s open seating, and anyone isn’t one of stories they learned in little kids. The camp has grown trecan come in off the street for High Hebrew school of the 10 Plagues. It mendously. Membership has grown Holidays,” the rabbi said. “If you has no real sophistication or depth tremendously. They’re incredibly sinwant to come in without any strings or meaning to them as teenagers. cere [in] their passion for the commuattached, we’re here with arms open.” We want to open up their minds that nity and their love for Judaism. The Plans include more involvement there is a lot more to Judaism.” feedback is incredible on the two of Next month Chabad will get a in the high schools. them.” “When the kids are in high school, new Torah that was written for it The congregation started out they’re at an age where they’re open- in Jerusalem. Representatives from meeting in a small building, then ing up their minds to the world Chabad will finish the final letters replaced the existing house on the around them, beginning to open up March 22 with a scribe at Dickerproperty on Lower Roswell Road their minds to things,” the rabbi said. son Middle School and parade the across from the post office with a “There’s a time post-bar and -bat Torah down Lower Roswell Road to much larger synagogue that is kept mitzvah where they’re not engaged. Chabad’s building under a wedding in pristine condition. canopy with a police escort. The celThat’s a void that we’d like to fill.” “We take tremendous pride in The goal is to create knowledge- ebration will continue with a lunch. our building,” Kornheiser said. “It’s a able, proud Jewish leaders, Rabbi “We really try to have people beautiful reflection of what the rabbi bring their children to be able to get Silverman said. and Chani have done so far.” “It’s very hard to be proud of out there on the street and celebrate Membership has grown from 25 something that you’re ignorant of,” the Torah and Jewish identity,” Rabfamilies in 2000 to 200. But because the rabbi said. “A lot of organizations bi Silverman said. “It’s very inspirathe synagogue doesn’t require memprovide social activities. We want to tional for many people.” ■
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LOCAL NEWS
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DAVID BENKOF MICHAEL BERNSTEIN SUZI BROZMAN JON GARGIS JORDAN GORFINKEL KEVIN MADIGAN REBECCA MCCARTHY LOGAN C. RITCHIE MINDY RUBENSTEIN DAVE SCHECHTER SHAINDLE SCHMUCKLER EUGEN SCHOENFELD CADY SCHULMAN TERRY SEGAL
By David Cohen david@atljewishtimes.com
S
upport is growing in Toco Hills for incorporation into the new city of LaVista Hills, according to a survey the Merry Hills Homeowners Association released Feb. 10. The survey found that 95 percent of Merry Hills residents favor a proposal to be part of LaVista Hills, compared with 5 percent who prefer being annexed by the city of Atlanta. In a survey conducted by the Merry Hills neighborhood in mid-December, 87 percent of those who favored incorporation preferred the LaVista Hills proposal; 12 percent chose At-
lanta. The increased support for the LaVista Hills proposal came after three meetings at Young Israel of Toco Hills in presented the options of joining Atlanta, becoming part of LaVista Hills and remaining an unincorporated part of DeKalb County. In the new survey, 74 percent of those who responded were in favor of joining a city rather than remaining unincorporated. Toco Hills and surrounding neighborhoods have been facing proposals for annexation that could divide the neighborhood along La Vista Road. Divided jurisdiction would complicate municipal services, zon-
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ing laws and school systems for the largely Orthodox Jewish community of nearly 3,000 people. The LaVista Hills proposal, which depends on legislation to create the city, would keep the Toco Hills neighborhood together. “I am reading with great interest all the survey results,” said state Rep. Mary Margaret Oliver (D-Decatur), who represents Toco Hills. “As of today, we have requests for Merry Hills to be included in maps for both LaVista Hills and Together in Atlanta, and we are working towards a resolution.” The General Assembly, will adjourn for the year in early April. ■
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LOCAL LOCAL NEWS NEWS
Toco Hills Nearing 1st Playground Half of $8,500 fundraising goal has been met By Mindy Rubenstein
T
he Toco Hills community may soon have a neighborhood playground, thanks to an $85,000 grant, but the community has only a few weeks left to raise the matching 10 percent to earn the grant. Friends of Kittredge Park, which oversees the park off North Druid Hills Road within the neighborhood of Merry Hills, won the grant from Washington, D.C.-based KaBOOM!, a nonprofit group that works with communities and corporate sponsors to build community playgrounds. The grant was funded by Foresters, a life insurance and investment company. The community must raise $8,500 by March 25 to ensure that
the project goes forward. Three weeks into the campaign, 51 donors had pledged nearly half the required money, including $1,700 from the North Amanda Civic Association. “This means we really have the chance and capability to make the playground a reality,” said Toco Hills resident Danny Minkow, who is spearheading the fundraising effort. “Every donation, no matter the amount, is very helpful. But we need them soon.” To donate, visit www.gofundme. com/Playground2015. The playground will sit on the lot adjacent to Yeshiva Ohr Yisrael. Next to this lot is the somewhat obscure path leading into the main area of the park, which consists primarily of a wildlife preserve with trails, bridges and creeks. The park re-
cently received an overhaul by park volunteers, who installed benches, cleared paths and removed invasive plant species. Many of the Jewish residents of Toco Hills observe Shabbat, which means walking to synagogues and homes for meals and classes. Some of the park trails provide shortcuts. The playground would draw families from throughout Merry Hills, as well as nearby neighborhoods. The
Photos by Danny Minkow
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Children from the Toco Hills area get their say Feb. 12 in envisioning what the new playground at Kittredge Park should look like.
closest playground is at Mason Mills Park on Clairmont Road, more than two miles from Kittredge Park. A meeting Feb. 12, dubbed Design Day, helped plan and design the playground. Parents brought their children, who were asked to draw their ideal playground, and the drawings were presented to the group. Afterward, adults had the opportunity to discuss the official playground’s design and tried to match the children’s renderings with possible equipment. “The purpose of the children’s meeting was to get input from the playground experts: the kids,” Minkow said. Youth involvement and participation are important parts of the KaBOOM! model, and the planning meeting was the first step in learning about the interests of the children and their parents, according to officials at the organization. Assuming the community can raise its share of the funds, the playground will be assembled Saturday, April 25. ■
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LOCAL LOCAL NEWS NEWS
Sacks Tracks Anti-Semitism’s Mutations
Rabbi’s warning in Toco Hills precedes Copenhagen shootings by days
B
eing different is what makes Jews a target for hatred, but differences are also what make us human, Rabbi Jonathan Sacks told a crowd of more than 600 people at Young Israel of Toco Hills on Feb. 11. “A society with no room for Jews has no room for humanity,” the former chief rabbi of the United King-
Photo by Michael Jacobs
Rabbi Jonathan Sacks speaks from the bimah of the new Young Israel of Toco Hills building Feb. 11.
dom proclaimed toward the end of a powerful speech tracking anti-Semitism through four deadly mutations the past two millennia. “We have to say that loud and clear.” Rabbi Sacks spoke less than 72 hours before the latest murderous attack on European Jewry: the killing of a guard in a shooting attack on the largest synagogue in Copenhagen.. Rabbi Sacks had mentioned Copenhagen at the start of his Toco Hills speech. In the Danish capital as in Paris last month, Jews are filling an all-too-familiar role as scapegoats in places where society is breaking down in some way. Rather than deal with the problems, people turn against the Jews. “Anti-Semitism is not caused by Jews,” Rabbi Sacks said. “We are the victims, not the cause.” He traced the dramatic changes in anti-Semitism that have brought us to a world where extremist Muslims are killing Jews in the same places where Nazis rounded Jews up for slaughter 70 years earlier. Rabbi Sacks said an anti-Jewish feeling among Greeks and Romans was more an expression of xenophobia than anything specific to the
Jews. Like a Mafia hit, he said, “it was just business.” It became personal with the first mutation after the birth of Christianity and Emperor Constantine’s adoption of the religion in the fourth century. Rabbi Sacks said church leaders were concerned about Christians attending synagogue services and began producing anti-Jewish literature to stop the practice. What was at its root an internal church dispute flared up as a source of hatred. That hatred produced mass murder with the second mutation of anti-Semitism after Pope Urban II declared the First Crusade at the end of the 11th century. Crusaders took a detour on the way to the Holy Land to slaughter Jews in Northern Europe, and from that point, Rabbi Sacks said, Jews were seen as a dark, demonic force responsible for all evil. Jews were blamed for plagues and poisoned wells and, in “an absolutely crazy story,” the Blood Libel, which arose in England in 1149, five years after a boy died in Norwich. It’s an entirely Christian myth, Rabbi Sacks said, because it ignores Jewish food-purity laws and reflects a belief in the doctrine of transubstantiation. The horrors were just starting for the Jews, thanks to the third mutation in the late 19th century (the term anti-Semitism itself being born in 1879), Rabbi Sacks said. Taking on a scientific veneer, anti-Semitism began targeting Jews not for religion, but for race. “This form of anti-Semitism is much more dangerous,” the rabbi said, because someone can change a religion but cannot change a race. This virulent, pseudo-scientific anti-Semitism from Vienna to Paris led to Alfred Dreyfus’ false treason conviction in France, Theodor Herzl’s turn to Zionism, and, within half a century, the Holocaust. Rabbi Sacks called the fourth and latest mutation of anti-Semitism ironic because it is occurring after 50 years of European anti-hate legislation to prevent another Holocaust. He has long sounded the warning about the new anti-Semitism, which aims to undermine Israel’s legitimacy, is centered in the Middle East among Muslims instead of Europe among Christians, and appeals to the 21st century’s highest author-
ity, human rights. The upheaval from the Arab Spring since 2010 has made the situation worse for Jews by disrupting the rule of law. Those who are different — Christians as well as Jews — are targets, and, as the recent attacks in Europe have shown, they’re targets everywhere, Rabbi Sacks said. “The
threat today is to all of Europe.” He said the battle against antiSemitism is not just about the Jews. “It is about Western freedom itself.” But Rabbi Sacks sounded a note of hope. “We must not allow ourselves to be intimidated,” he said. “We have Israel now. We have a home.” ■
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FEBRUARY 20 ▪ 2015
By Michael Jacobs mjacobs@atljewishtimes.com
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www.atlantajewishtimes.com
LOCAL NEWS
Jewish Pursuit of Justice for Non-Jews
Violence against women is among Messinger’s global issues at AJWS By Dave Schechter
FEBRUARY 20 ▪ 2015
“J
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ustice, justice shall you pursue,” the biblical injunction found in Deuteronomy, is one tenet by which the American Jewish World Service (AJWS) operates. Another is an interpretation of “Shema,” the first word of Judaism’s central prayer, that emphasizes listening to people in need rather than offering preconceived solutions to their problems. “Our mission is to be an organization that is inspired by Jewish values, the Jewish application to pursue justice, to do what we can to realize human rights and end poverty for marginalized people in the developing world,” AJWS President Ruth Messinger told the Atlanta Jewish Times at the Carter Center on Feb. 9. Messinger participated in a fourday meeting convened by former President Jimmy Carter, Beyond Violence: Women Leading for Peaceful Societies. The meeting focused on the rights of women in what have been known as developing nations but now are being called the Global South. The subjects included how to work across boundaries of culture and faith, particularly in nations where men hold positions of legal, religious and cultural authority. Founded in 1985, AJWS funds more than 300 grassroots organizations in 19 countries in Asia, Africa, Central America and the Caribbean. The organization raises and spends $32 million on what Messinger calls its “core work,” compared with $2.8 million when she took the helm in 1998. Charity Navigator, which evaluates charities based on financial performance and accountability and transparency, gives AJWS a fourstar rating. At a time of heightened antiSemitic activity in Europe and elsewhere, Messinger said the Jewish aspect of AJWS is almost never a problem “because we don’t work with governments. We don’t work with national religious leaders. We work in countries with people of all kinds of religious backgrounds.” Religion is not a factor in receiving support from AJWS. The issues addressed by AJWS range from gender-based violence to
strategy of AJWS: land rights, from funding groups in access to educaother countries and tion to reproinvolving faith comductive rights, munities, including from forced child numerous rabbis and marriage to rape congregations as well as a weapon of as non-Jews, to lobby war. AJWS does for U.S. government not advocate for policies that support lesbian, gay, bithose activities. sexual and trans A current priority gender (LGBT) is Senate passage of rights but supthe International Vioports groups that lence Against Women do so in their own Act (IVAWA), which countries, Messhas been introduced inger said. in Congress each of Messinger the past five years. pointed to the Photo by Jeff Zorbedian for AJWS The act would re“ask, don’t tell” Ruth Messinger quire that the issue approach AJWS employs. “Part of what we think is “be addressed by the United States our special niche — and we believe in its broader geopolitical, diplomatic it’s Jewish — is we listen to people work,” Messinger said, and formalon the ground,” she said, explain- ize a State Department Office of ing that it can be tempting for well- Women’s Issues, to be headed by an intentioned outsiders to tell locals how to solve their problems, but the greater value is assisting with indigenous solutions. “I believe that as Jews … of every stripe, we are instructed by our faith to work for social justice. You can choose where you want to do that, but we’re told that’s an obligation to pursue justice. We’re told to work for the other and the stranger. We’re all about the And you’re reminded that you might music and the teens not win, but you have to participate,” in town for Jewish she said. youth conventions in AJWS does not work on issues this week’s installdirectly affecting Jews in the Unitment of Seen on Social ed States or Israel. The populations Media. Facebook and subjected to violence and rape or the Atlanta Jewish without access to clean water and Music Festival bring us sufficient food “are by and large not a few highlights from the Jewish and by and large not in this Feb. 15 open-mic session for country,” Messinger said. “So we arNFTY Convention attendees gue that there should be a Jewish at The Temple, while Jason organization that is addressing these Dixson, through Instagram issues. We are seen by many people and Twitter with an assist who may never have met a Jew who from BBYO Insider, gives us come to the conclusion that Jews are a close-up view of Flo Rida a people committed to social justice.” performing for the BBYO Messinger came to AJWS afcrowd. To see your photos ter two decades in New York govhere, just tag us on Facebook ernment, first as a councilwoman (facebook.com/atljewishrepresenting the upper west side of times) or Twitter (@atljewManhattan and then as Manhattan ishtimes). borough president. She left politics after a losing mayoral bid in 1997 against incumbent Rudy Giuliani. Her political savvy aids the dual
ambassadorial-level official. Messinger has asked Carter to help persuade Sen. Johnny Isakson, R-Ga., to co-sponsor IVAWA. The Atlanta Leadership Council of AJWS has met with Isakson to seek his support. Critics contend that the measure would impose “politically correct” American standards on other nations and unfairly target men, to the exclusion of other social factors. For those interested in seeing its work in person, AJWS offers study tours, including trips to Mexico this June and Cambodia next year. The AJWS Global Justice Fellowship is a program that involves rabbis (including several in Atlanta) and lay leaders in a more intensive commitment. The Atlanta Leadership Council of AJWS was created about a year ago. Anyone interested can contact Enid Draluck at fullcircle1@mindspring.com. ■
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LOCAL ISRAELNEWS
Israel Pride: Good News From Our Jewish Home
Preventing hospital infections. Another Israeli company is countering the risk of contracting infections in hospitals. Nahariya-based Nano Textile coats hospital bed linens and clothing with nano particles of zinc and copper oxides that kill even antibioticresistant bacteria. Nano Textile plans to raise $3 million on Wall Street. Accurate injections. Rehovot-based biotech company SteadyMed has developed a disposable patch pump delivery system to administer medicines safely and accurately into the body. SteadyMed plans to raise $55 million on Nasdaq. Crowdfunding helps solve disease mystery. Crowdfunding — money raised from a large number of people over the Internet — has enabled researchers at Tel Aviv University to conduct whole exome sequencing and identify the genetic mutation responsible for mental retardation and severe developmental delays in children. Ethiopian orphan fulfills IDF dream. Worku Abiy arrived in Israel as an orphan at the age of 15 and appeared in the documentary “Take Us Home.” Exempt from the Israel Defense Forces because of medical issues, he volunteered and got exceptional basic training scores. Abiy later applied for and completed an officer’s course. Israel hosts international seminar for judges. A four-day seminar for judges took place in Haifa recently. It focused on the central role of judges in combating human trafficking. Supporters included the United Nations, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, and the International Organization for Migration. Personal hydroponics. Growing crops on water used to be available only to big industry. Now Tel Aviv-based Flux has developed a device that lets individuals and small businesses install hydroponics on rooftops, in school gardens, in basements and even in restaurants. Flux demonstrated its product at Israel’s Cann Tech conference.
A truly Green Ride. Israel’s Green Ride has launched the INU, an electric scooter that makes commuting much easier. It folds automatically, recognizes its owner and has a range of 25 miles at speeds topping 15 mph. Solar power day and night. Tel Avivbased Brenmiller Energy will establish a 10-megawatt solar power station in Dimona that is capable of generating electricity from solar energy for an average of 20 hours a day on a typical summer’s day. Previous Israeli solar fields could manage no more than five hours a day. Goggles that enhance reality. Israeli startup RideOn has developed augmented reality goggles that superimpose a computer-generated image into the user’s view. Direct-to-eye display technology positions the transparent display directly over the eye, eliminating the need to look away or refocus to read the data. Speeding up the mobile Internet. The CODS Mobile Edge Computing platform from Israel’s Yokneam-based Sa-
guna Networks increases mobile network speeds while reducing network congestion. Saguna has just received funds from Akamai Technologies and SoftBank Ventures Korea to help it expand in Asia, North America and Europe. Developing alternate fuels with Italy. Through the Israel Fuel Choices Initiative (IFCI), Israel has signed a memorandum of understanding with Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, Iveco (a brand of CNH Industrial) and Magneti Marelli (FCA Group) for cooperation in the development of natural-gas-based technologies. Budget surplus. Israel’s Ministry of Finance announced a 5.3 billion-shekel budget surplus for January 2015. Tax revenues were 2.3 percent higher than for January 2014 and have grown 4 percent to 5 percent each month. Reinforcing the rain in Spain. A delegation of 11 Israeli water companies visited Spain, presenting technology such as filtering and purification to infrastructure companies. The del-
egation impressed at least one multinational, Abengoa, which employs 26,000 people in 80 countries. Spain trails only Israel in water recycling. Huge demand for Israeli high-tech jobs. Impressive success in Israel’s high-tech industry boosted demand for employees by 12% in 2014 from 2013. Salaries of mobile developers rose by 10 percent to 30 percent. A billion-dollar Israeli company. Earnings for Ra’anana-based NICE Systems reached $1.0124 billion in 2014, up from $950 million the previous year. NICE specializes in data and voice security and analysis. Tel Aviv a top 10 oceanfront city. Tel Aviv was chosen by National Geographic as one of the top 10 oceanfront cities in the world. The magazine highlights plenty of room for beach bathing in this modern Israeli city and the vibrant gallery, cafe and restaurant scenes at the historic port of Jaffa. Compiled courtesy of verygoodnewsisrael.blogspot.com and other news sources.
NINETEENTH ANNUAL LECTURE in the TENENBAUM FAMILY LECTURE SERIES in JUDAIC STUDIES
Sarah Bunim Benor
Associate Professor of Contemporary Jewish Studies Hebrew Union College, Jewish Institute of Religion
Becoming Frum: How Newcomers Learn the Language and Culture of Orthodox Judaism There is more to becoming Orthodox than observing religious laws. Newly Orthodox Jews, or ba’alei teshuva (lit. ‘those who return’), encounter a very different culture, including new ways of talking, dressing, and acting. Focusing on the Yiddish and Hebrew words used by English-speaking Orthodox Jews, this lecture explores how “BTs” integrate into the community partly by taking on these new practices.
February 26, 2015 Thursday, 7:30pm Reception Hall Michael C. Carlos Museum, Emory University This event is free and open to the public ~ Please join us for a reception following the lecture Free parking available at Fishburne and Peavine Parking Decks
FEBRUARY 20 ▪ 2015
3 million united with Israel. United With Israel (UWI), the world’s largest grassroots pro-Israel community, is celebrating 3 million supporters. The occasion was due to be marked in Jerusalem on Feb. 18 and broadcast around the world. Founder Michael Gerbitz said, “We’ve been able to connect with millions of people — many in some of the most anti-Semitic countries — who are proud to stand united with Israel.”
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www.atlantajewishtimes.com
OPINION
Our View
Being Jewish
W
FEBRUARY 20 ▪ 2015
e were little more than a month past the horrible, anything-but-random killings in Paris, spread across about 50 hours, when we saw a repeat in miniature in the space of 10 hours in Copenhagen: first, the murderous attack targeting a cartoonist who has made fun of Mohammed, then the inevitable targeting of a Jewish institution, then the death of the suspected killer in a police shootout. The toll in the Danish attacks Feb. 14 is small compared with the 17 slain in the French shootings, but the terror and the targets are the same. One man died in a hail of automatic gunfire at a discussion of art and blasphemy that featured Lars Vilks, a Danish cartoonist who drew death threats in 2007 for drawing Islam’s prophet with the body of a dog. A 37-year-old Jewish man, Dan Uzan, was shot in the head and died that night in an attack on a synagogue where he was serving as a volunteer guard while people celebrated a bat mitzvah. Uzan thus joins Yoav Hattab, Yohan Cohen, Philippe Braham and Francois-Michel Saada, the four Jewish men killed at a Hyper Cacher supermarket in Paris on Jan. 9, on an ever-growing list of people killed in Europe simply for being Jewish. Make no mistake: Their killers found them because they had the nerve to live public Jewish lives and spend time at Jewish institutions, but those institutions were just targets of convenience. The killers would have been just as happy to gun them down if they had hidden their Judaism and cowered at home, for their crime was not practicing a religion; it was being Jewish. In the latest iteration of anti-Semitism, as described by Rabbi Jonathan Sacks at Young Israel of Toco Hills only three nights before the Copenhagen killings, a growing extremist element in Islam has adopted the attitude that sent Alfred Dreyfus to Devil’s Island in 1895 and 6 million Jews to their deaths in the Holocaust: that Jewishness is a racial, ethnic identity that is inherently evil and whose only cure is death. Paris and Copenhagen are not the last times Jews will be slain in Europe for the one crime for which they have no defense: being Jewish. Jewish institutions will increase security, but the attack on the Copenhagen synagogue, where two policemen on guard duty were wounded, shows that security can at best minimize the toll. Our hope comes from the more than 3,000 Jewish teens celebrating Shabbat together 4,500 miles from Copenhagen during the attacks Feb. 14. Those teens came together at the BBYO and NFTY conventions in Atlanta because they love being Jewish. It is who they are, and while the antiSemites might scare them, those 15-, 16-, 17- and 18-year-olds are wise enough to know that the answer is not to hide. They are, as they repeatedly proclaimed, stronger together. Everywhere we live, we will remain targets for being Jewish, and we will endure and come out 10 stronger as a people by being Jewish. ■
AJT
Just Watch These Kids Go
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ers from BBYO CEO Matt Grossman to philanmagine that the European Union had been thropist Michael Steinhardt to Rabbi Jonathan formed not by politicians and bureaucrats, Sacks mentioned repeatedly: The adults need to but by teenagers — people not constrained enable the teens, then get out of their way. by the practical or the realistic or history, people Nothing will kill teen initiative more quickly not worried about protecting the past and focused than adult meddling in the guise of facilitation entirely on creating a better future. and guidance. That guidance inevitably leads the What would Europe look like today? Would it youths down the paths be even more tightly inadults have already tegrated? Would national walked, stifling creativity borders even exist? and innovation, killing My mind raced with EDITOR’S NOTEBOOK motivation, and leadsuch theoreticals as I By Michael Jacobs ing us back to where we watched the potentially mjacobs@atljewishtimes.com started. historic work of the Co Rabbi Sacks talked alition of Jewish Teens about an effort to create a on Feb. 12 and 13. children’s siddur in the United Kingdom when he Convened by BBYO, 40 to 50 leaders from the was chief rabbi. The adults let 5-, 6- and 7-yearfive major national Jewish youth groups spent olds tell them what to put in the prayer book, and 24 hours focusing on what they have in common it became a smash success. and putting aside decades of rivalry, jealousy and The power of youth is the ability to imagine competition — decades that meant nothing to 17the impossible and make it reality. The job of and 18-year-olds who kept their eyes fixed on the future not only of their individual movements, but our Jewish professionals and philanthropists is to give them everything they need and nothing of the Jewish people as a whole. more. Those young leaders of BBYO, NFTY, USY, Maybe our Jewish teen leaders will take us NCSY and Young Judaea within five hours they down the road to the CJT as the only major Jewhammered out a mission statement for this orgaish youth organization. Maybe, as they see it now, nization they were forming: “We, the Coalition of it will simply supplement and support the existJewish Teens, stand united to shape the Jewish ing organizations. future through shared Jewish values.” Like the EU, the CJT will surely make a lot They tried to balance the need to create a of people uncomfortable if it follows a disruptive statement with meaning today and with the course to success. Unlike the EU, the CJT should potential to remain vital decades into the future. avoid bureaucratization and calcification simply They didn’t look to a future without their sepafrom the continual infusion of fresh leadership rate organizations but dreamed of one in which and ideas as members graduate. the groups are stronger through cooperation and Friday, Feb. 13, marked the end of the beginreach far more than the 4 percent of Jewish teens ning for the CJT. We should all enjoy watching they touch now. where the kids go from here. ■ The key may be something adult Jewish lead-
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OPINION
Why I oppose Georgia’s religious liberty legislation
O
n Jan. 28 I visited the Georgia Capitol to talk with my state representative about the House bill commonly referred to as RFRA, Georgia’s version of the Religious Freedom Restoration Act. In that same week, the Capitol saw many public demonstrations and private conversations in support or opposition to the bill. The battle lines have been drawn, for the most part in familiar places. Supporters tend to highlight that the proposed Preventing Government Overreach on Religious Expression Act (H.B. 29) protects the rights of the religious and does not impinge too much on the lives of anyone else. Opposition to the bill emphasizes that the measure would legalize discrimination, especially against those whose sexuality, gender identity or expression is deemed forbidden by another’s beliefs. As a Conservative rabbi and what is often called “a person of faith,” I feel strongly that this proposed legislation is harmful, and I expressed to my state representative that whatever one believes personally about the lives of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) individuals, there are still good reasons to oppose the bill. The fear of government overreach into people’s personal lives, a powerful reason given by some of the bill’s supporters, is not something to be taken lightly. However, for me, the effect of Georgia’s current denial of the legality of same-sex marriages affects my own religious life greatly. As a Conservative Jew, I have seen great scholars of Jewish law struggle with how to understand the holiness of a loving relationship between two men or two women or a family that is built on these relationships. My inspiration to become a rabbi, however, came hand in hand with a strong sense that Jewish teachings of the holiness of sexuality and recognition of the image of the divine in every human being had to point toward fully including and celebrating loving relationships across the spectrum of human sexuality and gender.
I became a Conservative rabbi despite the fact that the movement’s official policies at the time did not reflect my own support of gay men and lesbians becoming rabbis and
GUEST COLUMN By Rabbi Michael Bernstein
being recognized in marriage. However, I believed that the Conservative movement would embrace this position, as it now has. I have had the honor of performing same-sex weddings in Massachusetts and elsewhere. Now, however, despite my religious beliefs and the official permission of my religious institutions, I am told by the state of Georgia that weddings I would perform according to my faith would be considered invalid. And I am, of course, not alone. Many Christian, Jewish and other religious leaders represent branches of our faiths that recognize and sanctify same-sex unions in matrimony. In this way, I believe that commitment to religious freedom, as well as freedom to act according to conscience, would call for supporting state recognition of same-sex marriage rather than legislation that would allow only certain religious beliefs to hold sway over the way others live their lives. Freedom is a powerful value without which our country’s greatest achievements would be meaningless. For me, what Jewish tradition teaches us about freedom is that it goes hand in hand with the respect for human dignity and the call to be holy that are core values of our Torah. The continuing recognition and support for all, regardless of how and whom they love and regardless of how they identify and express their gender, is for me a vital part of living in good faith. ■ Rabbi Michael Bernstein is the spiritual leader of Congregation Gesher L’Torah in Alpharetta.
Letters to the Editor ‘Comedy Warriors’ Brings Essential Heart To Festival I saw “Comedy Warriors” Feb. 6. I am so proud of the Atlanta Jewish Film Festival for choosing to include this film in our lineup. Although, as the Atlanta Jewish Times wrote Feb. 6 (“Simply the Best,” Our View), “Comedy Warriors” is a film available on cable, it is much more than a “less essential film.” Experiencing “Comedy Warriors” on the big screen, followed by a Q&A with Joe Kashnow, one of the heroes of the film, brings home the absolute necessity for our audiences to try to understand the issues the men and women who defend our country bring home to family and friends. How one can describe “Comedy Warriors” as a “less essential film” is beyond comprehension. The gentleman guest, accompanied by his service dog, stood tall and proud,
on one leg, explaining how comedy can change the lives of those who have lost limbs and confidence and suffer from mental issues. The Jewish Times needs to see the film again. Open your eyes and heart to those who find solace in comedy in their own spirits and bring a sense of humor, calm and peace to themselves and families. Jan Epstein, Atlanta Jan Epstein is a member of the Film Evaluation Committee for the Atlanta Jewish Film Festival.
Write to Us
We want to hear what you have to say. Send letters to the editor and possible guest columns to Editor Michael Jacobs at mjacobs@ atljewishtimes.com. Please include a phone number, email address and city of residence for confirmation.
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Tuesday, February 10 | 5:30 - 7:30 pm Join us for The Virtual Dementia Tour – a unique, interactive experience that improves communication and care. During this FREE tour, you’ll learn how to create a positive environment for someone with dementia or Alzheimer’s by attempting to walk in their shoes. Presented in collaboration with:
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FEBRUARY 20 ▪ 2015
In Good Faith
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www.atlantajewishtimes.com
OPINION
Religious Aggression: The Case of Islam
FEBRUARY 20 ▪ 2015
L
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istening to the news about terrorism in Paris, I became outraged. I asked myself: How can people who claim to follow Abraham’s moral dicta and who believe in peace and justice commit such atrocities? Aren’t they aware how Abraham confronted G-d to save human lives even of the supposedly evil and unjust? We Jews, who were the first to adopt Abraham’s way of life, have sought the peace and justice denied to us by Christians and Muslim. Even after the Holocaust, we continue to face aggressive antiSemitism. I come neither to justify nor to condemn Islam. But an important question must be asked: Is religious aggression a singular characteristic of Islam, or is Islam’s aggressiveness no different from that of other religions? Perhaps we are too hasty to condemn all of Islam when Muslims are no different from other religions and their aggression is a function of some other force or forces. Maybe, before we condemn, we should consider the dictum suggested by Matthew in the Christian Bible: Be sure not to see the speck in another’s eyes before we notice the log in our own. Or adhere as we are instructed in Mishnah Avoth: Do not judge others unless you have experienced their problems. Faith and war have a long interrelationship. The Bible informs us that the first aggressive act between human beings occurred when Cain killed his brother Abel. Many biblical stories suggest that faith in G-d leads to radicalization. For instance, the Bible teaches us to love our neighbor and do justice while also instilling into us aggression to hate those who do not believe in our G-d. While the Bible depicts G-d as a benevolent entity, it also depicts G-d as an aggressive and hostile entity who, when angered, assumes a bull-like character: His nostrils flare, and His breath is exhaled as steam. The Bible often describes G-d as one who is jealous and vengeful. He cannot stand other gods before him and demands total and unquestioned submission to His will. Throughout the rebellious period in the desert when the Israelites question G-d’s capabilities, He becomes angry, and He commands
Moses to kill unto the thousands the Israelites who oppose Him. War and G-d go hand in hand. G-d was perceived as the leader of the army and was called Adonay Tzevaoth, the Lord of Hosts, the General of the Army, the G-d of might. This role of G-d as the Israelite warrior was symbolized by the Ark of the
ONE MAN’S OPINION Eugen Schoenfeld
Covenant when it had been carried by priests at the head of the army. G-d punished Saul, the first Judaean king, because he wasn’t adequately ruthless with the Amalekites. Constantine the Great, the first Christian emperor, also associated war with religion. At the Battle of Milvan Bridge, Constantine, in response to a dream, gathered his troops, formed a cross from two arrows and declared: “In hoc signo vinces” (with this sign you shall conquer). We should not forget the Crusades, which for three centuries were waged in the name of G-d against Islam. Let me mention the aggressive nature of the Inquisition, which condemned thousands of nonCatholics to die, and the brutality of the Thirty Years’ War. Let us not forget that G-d was also present in World War II. The German soldiers wore belt buckles scripted with the slogan “Got mit Uns” (G-d with us), and we Americans declared, “In G-d we trust.” Muslims also took their symbols into war. Their flags were emblazoned with passages from the Quran to symbolize it was a holy war. Their battle cry was “Allahu Akbar.” And like early Judaism and Christianity, Islam did manifest hostility and aggression to members of other faiths. They were all infidels. Like the Christian Bible, the Quran prophesied the doom of all infidels, particularly those considered to be most dangerous to Islam — namely, Jews and Christians. Most of us immediately associate atrocities committed by Muslims with Islam. No doubt there is a relationship between the teachings of Mohammed and the atrocities, just as the Bible justifies aggression. In
the Quran’s fifth chapter (Surah), the prophet in the name of Allah prophesizes the destruction of Jews and Christians if they fail to embrace Mohammed’s revelations. But the Christian Bible has a similar tone. Recently I was confronted by a Christian who was sorry for me because as a Jew I’ll not be given salvation, and my destiny is hell. Christians, I believe, are changing, and many disregard such teachings. What makes Christianity and Judaism different today from Islam? Christian and Jewish cultures have evolved into more modern stances, while Islam is a primitive religion. Religion reflects the intellectual
at least against the believers of other gods. The flags we Jews carried into battle against the Greek gods were inscribed with a single word, “maccabbe,” an abbreviation of the Hebrew statement “Who is like you, O Lord, among the mighty?” Christianity in a similar manner claimed absolute greatness for G-d and Christ. Of course Islam declares that Allah is the one and only G-d. Christianity and Judaism, unlike Islam, have undergone their revolution toward modernity. This is evident in the increased heterogeneity of beliefs. There are many forms of Jewish and Christian beliefs, and some people still wish to adhere to
state of the society in which it exists. Primitive societies and their religions emphasize the need for a homogeneous culture and do not permit the existence of heterogeneous points of view. The laws in primitive societies are punitive and seek to assuage the collective consciousness through vengeance. Hence, a violation of the laws reflects a need for the release of public anger through flogging, cutting off body parts, stoning, etc. Moreover, primitive societies are ruled by tradition and by charismatic leaders who supposedly reflect G-d’s will. G-d (or G-d’s representative) insists that we obey G-d.From a primitive perspective, to accrue G-d’s favors and his protection from nature, the believers must be willing to fight his battles with other gods. This view is similar to the one we encounter in Exodus when we are told G-d worries that the Egyptian gods will be seen as more powerful. G-d wants, and perhaps needs, our involvement with his battles against other gods,
a primitive belief — and they may. But most people in the West accept a more secularized belief. Freedom of diverse and heterogeneous beliefs and views is fundamental to modernity. But Islam has not entered modernity. Islam is still one belief system mired in primitiveness. As long as Islam remains a monolithic belief system, it will continue the wars that began in 620. Religious wars are still the norm against infidels and among Muslims. We cannot alter their belief system. They, like Christianity and Judaism, must undergo their own revolutions. But what should we do? We must leave them to their own wars. In a sense, they must fight as the Western nations did. One cannot and should not get involved in their battles. Of course, we must be vigilant against being drawn into their wars. Hence, isolation — this is what we have done when there is a threat for a pandemic. ■
EDUCATION
Education Briefs
Dor Tamid Offers Free Pre-K The ALEF Fund, the scholarship sponsorship organization that works with 15 Jewish day schools and preschools, has provided enough money for Congregation Dor Tamid to provide free pre-kindergarten to a limited number of children for the 201516 school year. The Preschool Place at Congregation Dor Tamid in Johns Creek boasts an intimate setting where educators are trained, experienced, nurturing and loving. Children learn through diverse programs about the world around them. Fine and gross motor skills help develop mind and bodies. Jewish life and learning instill a sense of pride for a lifelong love of Jewish culture and ritual. To get more information or register, call Rabbi Lauren Cohn, Dor Tamid’s director of lifelong learning, at 770-623-8860, or visit www.dortamid.org/tp40/page. asp?ID=137805.
ANITA DIAMANT The Boston Girl
Monday, February 23, 2015 at 7:30 pm In Conversation with Greg Changnon, Former Book Editor of the Atlanta Journal Constitution Community Partner: Congregation B'nai Torah
SCOTT STOSSEL My Age of Anxiety
Sunday, March 1, 2015 at 7:30 pm In Conversation with Elizabeth Cohen, CNN Senior Medical Correspondent
LAURA LIPPMAN Hush Hush
Tuesday, March 3, 2015 at 7:30 pm Community Partner: Sisters in Crime Atlanta Chapter
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AJA Cuts Kindergarten Tuition Atlanta Jewish Academy is cutting tuition for 2015-16 kindergartners as part of its efforts to make Jewish education more affordable. Families who complete kindergarten registration by April 30 will receive a 15 percent discount on tuition, and there will be no tuition increase for pre-kindergarten and 3-year-olds. “Our program is unique, with resources that smaller schools can’t duplicate, and we want everyone to know that,” said Rabbi Pinchos Hecht, AJA’s head of school. “So we decided to offer this significant discount for families who complete kindergarten registration by April 30.” AJA Director of Admissions Bonnie Cook added: “In the current economic climate, there are families who would love to have children at AJA but are concerned about the expense. This discount will allow younger parents just getting established to start their children at AJA earlier than they might have been able to do otherwise.” In general, tuition prices at AJA are rising a maximum of 2 percent for the 201516 school year.
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Community Mikvah Nourishes Ritual By Suzi Brozman sbrozman@atljewishtimes.com
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hirty years ago, you could count the number of mikvaot, or ritual Jewish immersion pools, in Atlanta on one hand. Orthodox synagogues maintained their own mikvaot for their members, and people outside the community who needed a mikvah for conversion or wanted to use it sometimes didn’t feel welcome. People also use the mikvah before conversion to Judaism. Kitchen utensils are dipped to render them kosher for use. In recent years, a movement has arisen in the world of ritual immersion, spurred by Boston’s Mayyim Hayyim (Living Waters) mikvah. The healing and restorative power of water has led to the development of new uses for one of Judaism’s most ancient practices and the need to provide an appropriate facility for those more innovative uses. For many years, the mikvah at Congregation B’nai Torah in Sandy Springs has served the needs of Conservative, Reform and Traditional congregations. Needed renovations will put the mikvah out of service in coming months, but B’nai Torah
Rabbi Joshua Heller saw the need as an opportunity to create a new mikvah — a community resource to serve many more Jews. For some time, The Temple’s Rabbi Alvin Sugarman has explored the concept of a community mikvah. He had met author Anita Diamant, who was instrumental in the start of Mayyim Hayyim, and been invited to visit the Boston mikvah. “It was so warm and inviting, so welcoming. They were doing programs and ceremonies. I saw how meaningful it was,” he said. “Josh Heller was a driving force,” he said. “To the non-Orthodox community, it was an outreach place. It was a natural to gravitate to him.” Thus, MACoM — Metro Atlanta Community Mikvah — was formed. The organization’s goal, Rabbi Heller said, is “to create a mikvah that will meet the highest ritual standards in terms of its construction but will be welcoming to Jews across the spectrum of observance.” He expects a diverse user base, encompassing more than 100 conversions a year, monthly users, and many who will explore innovative ceremonies for healing, lifecycle events, holidays and more. “This is a resource for people who are not cur-
rently being served.” Temple Sinai Rabbi Elana Perry is passionate about water as a powerful symbol in Jewish tradition. She has begun doing education, inviting people to explore the meaning of using water on a regular basis for marking life milestones and transitions in ways that could be more meaningful. She said those uses could be for happy and sad occasions and go far beyond the stereotype that a mikvah is only for Orthodox women on a monthly basis. “Not only is the mikvah halachic,” she said, “but it’s a beautiful, serene, welcoming space to inspire and encourage spiritual transformation.” “The plumbing is kosher,” Rabbi Heller said. “The rest is up to you. Individuals from all parts of the Jewish world use it. It’s up to people and their rabbis to determine its appropriateness for themselves.” Rabbi Heller said MACoM won’t argue with what rabbis require but will assist people in planning, following rules and expressing spiritual values. Diamant will appear at The Temple, 1589 Peachtree St., Midtown, at 7 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 22, to support MACoM. The program is free and open to the community. ■
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Contemporary Diamant Worth Following By Suzi Brozman sbrozman@atljewishtimes.com f you loved Anita Diamant’s iconic novel “The Red Tent,” you’ll want to hear her talk at the Marcus JCC on Feb. 23. But don’t expect “Red Tent” talk because Diamant has a new book to discuss, more contemporary but just as full of insights into Jewish life and values. “The Boston Girl” invites you to enter the mind and life of a girl growing up in the tumultuous early years of the 20th century, trying to decide where she belongs in America and how she can escape the traditional European mindset of her immigrant parents. In other words, this story relates to a common American Jewish experience — if not for us, then for our parents or grandparents. The young girl is Addie Baum, and the story is told as tape-recorded reminiscences for her granddaughter, who asked her, “How did you get to be the person you are today?” (Don’t we all wish our families had left us such priceless treasures?) In her usual fashion, Diamant sketches the world of Boston, filling in vibrant detail until we feel as if we are living through those memories with her heroine. We learn about her incipient feminism, the strong bonds of family and the pressures of American society that threaten those ties. We meet a young woman who wants to do it all: finish high school, go to college, fall in love and become a real American. We learn how people lived — tenements, settlement houses, sweatshops, personal relationships — all so grounded in reality that it’s a treat to pick up the book and a struggle to put it down for the mundane necessities of everyday life. No “Fifty Shades of Grey” here, but 50 shades of a life lived to the fullest and remembered lovingly. I plan to be there Feb. 23 at 7:30 p.m. at Zaban Park in Dunwoody to hear Diamant. Tickets are $10 for Marcus JCC members and $15 for others and can be purchased by visiting the box office, calling 678812-4002 or going to atlantajcc.org/ bookfestival. ■
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A Partnership to Improve the World
Rabbi Berg urges Temple, Ebenezer congregants not to flee divine mission
By Michael Jacobs mjacobs@atljewishtimes.com
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Photos by Michael Jacobs
Left: Rabbi Peter Berg and the Rev. Raphael Warnock meet with teens from the NFTY and BBYO conventions Feb. 15. During the service, Warnock called Rabbi Berg his “brother from another mother.” Right: Jewish teenagers visit with Ebenezer Baptist members before the service
celebration, Rabbi Berg brought a serious message of social action and personal and societal responsibility. “We live in a world of turmoil,” he said, but the trouble too often is met by “the arrogance of power and the arrogance of indifference.” He ran through a litany of woes far (the shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Mo., the ravages of Ebola in West Africa, the savagery of the Islamic State terrorists in the Middle East) and near (injustice, gun violence, illiteracy and sex trafficking), then criticized people’s tendency to accept the world as it is. “We must combat the detachment and callousness,” Rabbi Berg said. “We can’t give up on compassion.”
Special Sunday School Lesson The Rev. Raphael Warnock, only the fifth senior pastor in Ebenezer Baptist Church’s 129-year history, gave his young visitors from the NFTY and BBYO conventions a brief history lesson between the church’s two Sunday services Feb. 15. That lesson went beyond Ebenezer’s role in the civil rights movement as the home church of Martin Luther King Jr. “The faith of the people gave them their courage,” Warnock said. Warnock explained that Ebenezer is part of the long tradition of the black church in America as center of the fight for freedom, going back to the days when white churches were using the Bible to defend slavery. He noted that King’s grandfather used the Ebenezer pulpit to fight for Atlanta’s first public high school for black students and that King’s father, fought for voting rights for blacks in Atlanta in 1935, 30 years before the federal Voting Rights Act.
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combined congregation of Jews and Baptists heard Rabbi Peter Berg’s call Feb. 15 to take responsibility for the work of perfecting G-d’s creation. “G-d needs every single person here to complete the work of the universe because G-d purposely left the work undone,” The Temple’s senior rabbi said, explaining that G-d wants to share the joy of creation with humanity just as a parent takes joy in seeing his children carry on a family business or other work. “G-d has no hands but ours,” he said. “The warmth of G-d’s love travels only through us.” Rabbi Berg spoke from the pulpit of Ebenezer Baptist Church to an audience of his own congregants, Ebenezer members, and nearly 200 teenagers visiting from the BBYO and NFTY conventions. As part of a partnership that stretches back at least to the days of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and Rabbi Jacob Rothschild, the two houses of worship get together on the Friday night before King Day at The Temple and the Sunday before Presidents’ Day at Ebenezer Baptist. “It’s good to be back home in Ebenezer today,” Rabbi Berg said. The service featured combined performances by the church and synagogue choirs, including a rendition of Davis Academy Rabbi Micah Lapidus’ composition “Rise Up.” Rabbi Berg also pointed out the man in charge of football rising up in Atlanta, Falcons owner Arthur Blank, in the second row of pews. But amid the general feeling of
Too often, he said, we assign responsibility either to an invisible man named “Nobody” or to the unseen collective “They.” “The tendency to transfer blame is the universal ill of all humanity,” Rabbi Berg said. The inability to solve everything is no excuse not to perform small acts of kindness, Rabbi Berg said. “G-d asks us only to do ordinary things but to do them extraordinarily well.” He said people must answer with a simple but clear “hineni”: Here I am. “To be here today is to say yes to G-d,” he said. “G-d needs us desperately just as we need G-d.” ■
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Steinhardt: Boldly Go Where Jewish Officials Won’t By Michael Jacobs mjacobs@atljewishtimes.com
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FEBRUARY 20 ▪ 2015
hilanthropist Michael Steinhardt urged BBYO members to lead the way to a better Jewish future by walking away from the system of Jewish institutions. “One of the most serious problems in the Jewish world is its institutional structure. We are old and weary, Photo by Michael Jacobs and we show it all the time. This must change,” From one philanthropist to another, Lynn Schusterman presents the BBYO Stand Up Award for Inspirational LeadSteinhardt said at the ership to Michael Steinhardt. BBYO International Convention’s opening plenary Feb. 13. “We cannot have leaders who have been in the same position for decade after decade and think we are cutting edge.” Steinhardt told of his exasperation with Jewish organizations 18 years ago when he recognized the flagging connection between young Jews and Israel and decided the solution was to provide free trips to Israel. With Charles Bronfman, Steinhardt went on to found Birthright Israel, which has sent more than 400,000 young Jewish adults on 10-day trips to Israel since 1999. But Steinhardt said Birthright came about despite Jewish organizations, not because of them. “The Jewish world was mostly appalled by the idea of a free trip. We were not going to compromise on that,” he said. “Now, after 15 years, we see how boldness pays off.” As an example of why he prefers to disrupt institutions rather than try to improve them, Steinhardt pointed to his effort to establish Hebrew-language public charter schools as alternatives to private Jewish day schools. He said the day school system reaches only 3 percent of America’s nonOrthodox Jewish children, so change is needed. But he said system professionals put their own preservation first and thus “do more to hurt than help Jewish people.” Steinhardt was accused of encouraging anti-Semitism by bringing Hebrew and Israel into publicly funded schools, and he was blamed for declining enrollment in Solomon Schechter schools when only two of the charter schools existed. “Don’t do things in a parochial Million-Dollar Challenge way, but in the public sphere, where Philanthropist Michael Steinthe majority of Jews are,” Steinhardt hardt gave BBYOers a chance to said. “I can’t imagine not wanting to stand up to earn an extra $1 million do that.” for the organization after he ac Steinhardt held up Israel’s first cepted the BBYO Stand Up Award prime minister, David Ben-Gurion, for Inspirational Leadership on Feb. as the exemplar of the bold leadership 13. he thinks the Jewish world needs. He All they have to do is “find that said Ben-Gurion was confident in his ideal man, that singularly attracown judgment amid others’ doubts tive, heterosexual male,” to marry and criticism and took decisive action the widowed philanthropist Lynn in declaring the state of Israel. Schusterman. “He was a lion. He defined cour Schusterman, 76, who works age,” Steinhardt said. “I believe that’s through the Charles and Lynn what Jewish boldness has to be: Don’t Schusterman Family Foundation, turn a deaf ear to criticism, but don’t based in Tulsa but with an office at let others’ convictions deter us.” Atlantic Station in Atlanta, was the Fellow philanthropist Lynn driving force in BBYO’s indepenSchusterman said Steinhardt himself 16 dence from B’nai B’rith. is such a leader.
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“I hope all teens today see some of themselves in you and look to you as a role model,” she said in presenting Steinhardt a BBYO award. “So much of the Jewish world has become staid and archaic,”
Steinhardt said, that Jews need exactly the kind of original ideas that will draw criticism and derision “Be bold for your people,” he said, “and hopefully, in the end, your people will be bold for you.” ■
Israel Travel Sparks Homeland Connection
Personal experience at young age is the key, summit hears By David Cohen david@atljewishtimes.com
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hat’s your connection to Israel? The BBYO Summit on Jewish Teens discussed feelings toward the Jewish homeland Feb. 12 before the official kickoff of the BBYO International Convention at the Hyatt Regency downtown. Moderated by David Makovsky, a fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Peace and the director of the Project on the Middle East Peace Process, the session aimed to explore teens’ connections to Israel and their Jewish identities. “There is such a focus Photos by David Cohen on college campuses and the role of Israel on the campus Top: After the panel discussion, the group stays to right now,” Makovsky said. further discuss connections with Israel. Bottom: The panel of seven gathers Feb. 12 at the “We want to create more of a Hyatt Regency downtown. conversation on how the high school kids feel about it and how that gives us some insight into the trajectory of the kids’ thinking.” Joining Makovsky were teens Micheala Davenport, Jacob Finke, Eli Krule, Cole Pergament and Kyle Price, as well as a member of the Israel Scouts. The session focused on the teens’ personal encounters with Israel. Each teen took a turn to describe his or her aha moment that brought a stronger connection with the Jewish homeland. The group also discussed perceptions of Israel at high schools. A key theme of the session was involvement and inclusion for young people. Traveling to Israel to get a personal Jewish experience while young shapes Jewish identity and helps Jewish youths decide to become more involved as leaders and members of the community, Makovsky said. “The kids who had that personal Israel experience at a formative age,” he said, “that shapes their identity, and it shapes their institutional involvement. The biggest takeaway is that you want to give kids more formative experiences to be able to be more and more involved.” BBYO’s Summit on Jewish Teens provided an opportunity for adult stakeholders and professionals to explore topics such as leadership, community building, Jewish learning, Israel and service with teens from BBYO and other Jewish youth organizations. ■
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Teen Coalition Aims for Stronger Future By Michael Jacobs mjacobs@atljewishtimes.com
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hey came together in a downtown Atlanta hotel as four dozen teenagers representing five distinct Jewish youth movements with different goals, structures and approaches to engagement. A Photos by Michael Jacobs mere 24 hours later, they Left: (From left) NCSY’s Tova Sklar, USY’s Hailee Grey, NFTY’s Ashley Jones and Young Judaea’s Mikayla Carno-Harf join a BBYO representative in anhad crafted the words and nouncing the work of the Coalition of Jewish Teens. Right: Facilitator Andrew Paull takes notes on CJT working groups’ proposed mission statements. a plan of action to have a lasting, shared impact on the Jewish future. movements and perhaps to share study topics. Convened by BBYO before its International Convention at the Hyatt Re At the local level, they intend to hold events under the CJT banner that gency and meeting at the same time as the adult Summit on Jewish Teens, bring together young Jews regardless of whether they are affiliated with any the Coalition of Jewish Teens didn’t just talk about the many obstacles to youth movement. Jewish engagement and continuity; the group set about finding solutions. “These events would not be recruitment or a battle for dominance but That meant both embracing their identities as leaders in BBYO, NFTY, rather under the CJT brand,” international USY President Hailee Grey of USY, NCSY and Young Judaea and putting aside group rivalries that are East Cobb and Congregation Etz Chaim told the summit adults. “We would much older than the teens themselves. bring the national social action theme decided by the teens to the teens.” As NFTY’s Ashley Jones noted when the coalition reported on its prog As five young women representing the five movements stood before some ress after 24 hours, the five organizations together reach only 4 percent of of the top Jewish funders and professionals working with youths to complete Jewish teens, and cooperation is their best chance to increase that number. the report on the coalition’s work, Jones said: “We are individually unique but “The CJT is not us creating another movement. It’s bringing all of our together complete.” movements together,” Jones said. “We are trying to diminish competition and The five in unison then said, “We are stronger together through CJT.” get rid of the unknown stereotypes of each denomination.” “Music to my ears,” Jewish Federation of Greater Atlanta CEO Michael As the young leaders began their 24-hour effort by examining their orHorowitz said. ■ ganizational missions to craft a CJT mission statement, they dug into the minutiae without getting stuck in the mud. They argued over whether to include “Zionism” or “Israel advocacy,” expressing concerns about the former indicating support for all Jews moving to Israel and the latter indicating a rejection of any criticism of Israel’s government or actions. They discussed “pluralism” vs. “inclusion.” They bounced around whether to address “communities” or “community.” DEBBIE SONENSHINE The result focused on the big picture without risking division over too STAR NEWMAN many details and definitions: “We, the Coalition of Jewish Teens, stand unitKATIE GALLOW Top 1% of Coldwell Banker Internationally ed to shape the Jewish future through shared Jewish values.” Certified Negotiator, Luxury, New Homes The teens immediately worked to put those words into action and immeand Corporate Relocation Specialist diately confronted practical problems. #1 Sales Associate in Sandy Springs Office Voted Favorite Jewish Realtor in AJT, Should the coalition continue to meet as an adjunct to one of the annual Best of Jewish Atlanta conventions of the youth movements, even when the conventions don’t happen to be in the same city at the same time? Does the coalition hold its own national or international gatherings, thus adding financial pressures on the movements and the youths? Does it work as a top-down organization or operate at the grass roots? And what does cooperation in the field look like when, say, Atlanta Council BBYO looks for its equivalent in NFTY and finds the structure of the much larger Southern Area Region? Does the CJT exist as something wholly independent, as a United Nations-like neutral-ground gathering for the five movements, or as a place for East Cobb members of those movements to come together as individuals? 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At the top level of the movements, the teens envision continuing to gathdirect 404.250.5311 er as the CJT annually, using technology such as videoconferencing to meet office 404.252.4908 more often and spreading the word about the coalition through social media. Debbie@SonenshineTeam.com | www.SonenshineTeam.com They hope to use the coalition to set a unified social-action theme for the ©2014 Coldwell Banker Real Estate LLC. Coldwell Banker is a registered trademark licensed to Coldwell Banker Real
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Knowledge, Allies Key to Fighting Anti-Semitism By Jon Gargis
FEBRUARY 20 ▪ 2015
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hile Jewish teens were taking part in the NFTY Convention in downtown Atlanta, a pair of shootings thousands of miles away in Copenhagen killed a member of Denmark’s Jewish community and another man and wounded five police officers. The incident, little more than a month after four Jewish men were slain at a kosher supermarket in Paris, was news to some of the teens who took part in a NFTY breakout session titled “Today’s Anti-Semitism in Europe and Denying the Holocaust” Feb. 15. “Unfortunately, this is a pattern that’s been going on. It’s been getting worse and escalating,” said NFTY’s Jacob Markey, one of the two presenters of the session. Leading the presentation was Rabbi Sandford Kopnick of the Valley Temple of Cincinnati. He shared details of January’s three-day reign of terror in France that included the shooting at the offices of magazine Charlie Hebdo and the slayings at the kosher supermarket. Rabbi Kopnick had participants close their eyes as they listened to a news report about France experiencing an increase in anti-Semitic attacks, including an incident late last year in which three masked men robbed a young Jewish couple and said, “You Jews have money.” The woman was raped. The rabbi said last summer’s Israeli military operation in Gaza seems to have been a catalyst for violence against Jews. “This past summer, because of what went on in Israel, seemed to unleash some stuff that was simmering beneath the surface. It’s not that it created new stuff; it’s that people felt a little more emboldened to start talking about Jews differently than they have been,” he said. Rabbi Kopnick later showed a video clip on anti-Semitism in Europe and asked the teens whether they thought anti-Semitic sentiments would get worse in Europe or the United States. Most raised their hands to indicate a belief that antiSemitism would get worse in both. A few said they have seen it get worse already in the States. One girl said someone tied a noose on a swing set at her congregation a few years
ago. Last year, she said, vandals broke a window. “They’re just getting more and more violent in my area,” she said. The presentation also examined the issue of Holocaust deniers, who Rabbi Kopnick said are found most often in two places students go: the Internet and the college campus. Markey said students should ignore those online who spend their time denying the Holocaust or spreading hatred. “There are people — Internet trolls — out there that do these sort of things,” he said. Debating them “is
not going to be productive.” Rabbi Kopnick advised knowing which websites present accurate information and which ones are fake sources and helping others understand the difference. When a group schedules a Holocaust denial event on a college campus, Rabbi Kopnick said, students should try to do something bigger and better rather than go to debate. “My challenge to you is to learn as much as you can about Judaism, so when somebody wants to say something stupid, you are coming from a place of knowledgeable Judaism,” he
said. “Have great, meaningful relationships with all kinds of people so that when they say something about a Jew, they’re saying something about you, and they’re going to think twice.” Both presenters urged students once they get to college to find their allies quickly in case issues arise. “Jewish communities where you go to college, they are there to help. They are there to deal with these situations,” Markey said. “Find your allies, find the people, the power in numbers that you can do things with in great ways.” ■
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By Kevin Madigan kmadigan@atljewishtimes.com
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n interesting though unconfirmed statistic emerged during a breakout session Feb. 13 at the BBYO Summit on Jewish Teens: 72 percent of teenagers would like to set up their own business once they become adults. “You have to believe you can do it,” said Sam Perlen of Nashville, BBYO’s Grand Aleph Godol for 2014-15. “Becoming an entrepreneur is about having a vision, knowing your goal, how you want to Photos by Kevin Madigan change the world and the community around you.” Sam Perlen He cited a friend who recently launched a website that sells clothes to teens. “People who wear his clothes now can go out and be proud.” The dozen participants around the table for a discussion facilitated by Jewish educator David Bryfman agreed that technology has facilitated teens’ creativity. “We have so many more ways now to get things out,” Perlen said. Much of the discussion centered on defining relevant terminology; innovation, for example, was described as the ability to turn a fresh idea into a systematic way of doing something better. The result needs to be a measurable improvement — more efficient and less costly. Howard Wohl, a past BBYO chairman, said it’s difficult for existing nonprofit organizations to be innovative. “Their customers’ requirements, their stakeholders, their funders’ demands, all push them in a direction that does not lead to innovation.” Others agreed that it’s impossible for a Jewish Federation or a Jewish Community Center to be an innovator but said that within those agencies, innovation can and does take place. ■
The BBYO Syndrome
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s soon as I entered the MJCCA building, I knew something was up. First, there was this low-hanging din in the air. Then there were all these fabulous-looking young people wearing badges, schlepping every variety and size of luggage through the building, representing every designer and every color. What was most obvious to me, however, were their SHAINDLE’S SHPEIL smiles and the hugs they bestowed on one another. Shaindle Schmuckler “Who are you shaindle@atljewishtimes.com people?” I asked. “BBYOers” was the reply. “The International Convention is in Atlanta this year. We are waiting for transportation.” “If you don’t have transportation, how did you all get here?” “Oh, host homes.” When I asked who the hosts were, they began naming families with whom they were bunking. I could not believe how many families volunteered to house these teens from around the world. I know many of these host families; these kids were really lucky. I chatted with a few BBYOers and quickly realized what a massive undertaking and responsibility this BBYO International Convention was. I soon understood I was in conversation with the future Jewish leadership. A leadership who will be well trained to become presidents of Jewish organizations, CEOs of innovative enterprises, philanthropists with a purpose. I was in the presence of greatness. These young people will be lighting and carrying the torch into the future, the torch that will remind others upon whose shoulders they are standing, the torch that will light the way for future generations of Jews, a torch that will bring the past into the future. Thank you, BBYO. Thank you to all the BBYOers who prove the best and the brightest will be there for my grandchildren.■
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Working for Israeli Equality By Michael Jacobs mjacobs@atljewishtimes.com
the Kotel benefit from permanently housed Torahs. The Reform movement is engaged in planning for new facilities at the Wall to ensure that the complex accommodates the full range of Jewish worship. But just as the Wall is of symbolic importance to the Jewish people, so the struggles at the Wall are symbolic of broader issues for women. “It’s a microcosm of Israeli society,” said Kelman, the director of Noar Telem, the Reform youth movement in Israel. He cited the now-outlawed practice of women being forced to sit in the back of buses in some Haredi areas to allow the men to sit separately in the front. Noar Telem is using hidden cameras on bus passengers to monitor and record harassment of female passengers. Nir, an Israeli shlicha (emissary) for the Union for Reform Judaism, made the comparison to Rosa Parks refusing to move to the back of the bus in Montgomery, Ala., and Posner said religious Israeli men have to deal with the reality of women: “We’re here, and we’re not going away.” While the struggle for women’s equality is about the quality of life and an equitable Israeli society, the response to the Price Tag attacks is potentially about life and death. So far those attacks against Muslims and Christians have targeted property through graffiti and arson. But if the attacks aren’t stopped, Nir said, the violence will escalate to killing. She showed the teens bumper stickers that read in Hebrew and Arabic, “All the neighbors are good in my view,” an instantly familiar phrase in Israel from a popular children’s book. Those stickers are from a counter-Price Tag coalition called Light Tag, of which the Reform movement is a part. “We don’t want them to be the voices of Judaism,” Kelman said of Price Tag. “That’s not what Judaism teaches us.” ■
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eens at the NFTY convention Feb. 15 saw examples of how Israel falls short of Western ideals and how young members of the Reform movement are working to improve society. The workshop with Jerusalem residents Alona Nir, Anna Posner and Damian Kelman, all of whom work with the Reform movement, looked at efforts to combat perceived discrimination beyond the efforts of Women of the Wall to have a section for full women’s worship at the Western Wall. Speaking with nine teens in the second of two sessions on the topic, the three adults emphasized that Women of the Wall made remarkable progress in a year from police arrest-
Photos by Michael Jacobs
Top: Alona Nir shows the bumper sticker that translates roughly as “all the neighbors are good in my view.” Bottom: Damian Kelman heads Noar Telem, the Reform youth movement in Israel.
ing participants during their monthly Rosh Chodesh services at the Kotel to police protecting them. Israel resolved the controversy
over women bringing the Torah to women-only worship at the Wall by banning anyone from bringing in a Torah, but men at Orthodox areas of
FEBRUARY 20 ▪ 2015
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ARTS
Jewish Banjo Virtuoso Is Coming to Atlanta
Noam Pikelny and the Punch Brothers will perform Feb. 26 at the Tabernacle
O
ne of the top banjo players in the world is Jewish, and he’s coming to Atlanta. Noam Pikelny is at the forefront of progressive bluegrass music in the United States with his band, the Punch Brothers, and his solo work. On Feb. 26, Pikelny will make his first appearance in Atlanta since 2012 with the Punch Brothers at the Tabernacle. Pikelny grew up in a Jewish family on the north side of Chicago and attended the Solomon Schechter Day School of Metropolitan Chicago. He picked up the banjo when he was 9 years old and is one of the most indemand musicians in the genre. In 2010 he won the inaugural Steve Martin Prize for Excellence in Banjo and Bluegrass. In 2014 he was named the IBMA banjo player of the year. From attending Jewish day school to leading the next generation of banjo greats, Pikelny said bluegrass music and culture were quite a leap from his Jewish upbringing. “Growing up as part of a Jewish family in Chicago and being infatuated with bluegrass, at first it was a little confusing for a 9-year-old kid,” Pikelny said. “Bluegrass in its essence is such a rural, Southern type of music. And so much of the tradition from the original days of bluegrass is defined by spiritualty and gospel music. The further I traveled with bluegrass, the more uncharted it felt for me as a kid from Chicago. I found myself making music and sharing tunes from people across the country that had very different upbringings. That is something to me that I really cherish.” Nowhere was this difference in culture more apparent than at an early performance with Lora Hebert and the Hoosier Prairie Band. “One of my very first professional shows was in Indiana at what was supposedly the Porter County Park
CLAYTON STATE UNIVERSITY MORROW, GEORGIA
“Spivey Hall in Morrow takes home the blue ribbon as the region’s best small concert space.” – Atlanta Journal-Constitution
SHAI WOSNER
Festival,” he said. “My dad was driving me down there, and he went to synagogue in Chicago that morning. The plan was that he would pick me
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Noam Pikelny
up after, and we would drive to the festival. So we roll up to the festival, and instead of the Porter County Park Festival, it was actually the Porter County Pork Festival. I think we were probably the only people that day who made a beeline from a temple to a county pork festival.” From touring and recording with the Punch Brothers to receiving awards and accolades for his solo work, Pikelny continues to break ground in progressive bluegrass. He follows in the footsteps of Jewish progressive bluegrass mandolinists David Grisman and Andy Statman, as well as banjo legend Bela Fleck — all of them proudly Jewish and highly respected in bluegrass circles. Pikelny and the Punch Brothers are performing at the Tabernacle, 152 Luckie St., Atlanta, at 8 p.m. Feb. 26. Tickets are $43.50 and available at concerts.livenation.com/ event/0E004D6CB21D6FDC. Get more info on Pikelny and his music at www.noampikelny.com. ■
FEBRUARY 20 ▪ 2015
By David Cohen david@atljewishtimes.com
Where Great Music Thrives
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www.atlantajewishtimes.com
ARTS
Conference Puts Tabori in Spotlight Acclaim in Europe hasn’t translated to fame in America By Rebecca McCarthy
T
he University of Georgia has held conferences and symposiums on race, wars, peace, farming, teaching and a host of other topics. From Feb. 26 to 28, the state’s flagship institution will hold its first symposium on the Holocaust as scholars from around the world come to Athens to discuss “George Tabori and the Theatre of the Holocaust.” The symposium is being held in conjunction with the production of Tabori’s signature play, “Mein Kampf,” a dark, satirical work focusing on Hitler as an art student in 1910 Vienna. While a ticket is required for the play, all the symposium activities are free and open to the public. Co-sponsored by UGA’s Germanic and Slavic studies department and theater and film studies department, the symposium brings together speakers and participants from Austria, Canada, England, Germany, Israel and Italy, as well as the United States. Financial support has come from across the university, from Duke University and from the German Consulate. Born in 1914 in Budapest into a secular Jewish family, Tabori was working as a war correspondent in World War II when his parents were placed into a concentration camp. Tabori’s father died in Auschwitz,
but his moth The coner escaped. ference has Tabori three keylived in Engnote speakland, the ers: one Middle East dealing with and the Unitfarce, aned States, other with moving from Tabori himcountry to self and the country for third about 25 years, Jewish perbefore reformance turning to studies. Europe, said Anat FeinMartin Kaberg is a gel, the head professor of of the GerJewish and Photo © Nathalie Bauer manic and Hebrew litSlavic stud- George Tabori, shown in Vienna in 2006, died in 2007. erature at ies departthe Jüdische ment. Hochschule “Though in Germany George in Heidelberg, Germany. His talk, “ Tabori is regarded as one of most ac- ‘Macht Kein Theater’: George Tabori claimed playwrights and directors of and His Theater Revisited,” is Feb. the 20th century, in the U.S. he is al- 26 at 4:30 p.m. in the Richard Rusmost unknown, and his work receives sell Special Collections Library audiscant attention from scholars,” Kagel torium. said. An expert in German-Jewish The UGA conference aims to theater, Feinberg wrote “Embodchange that, organizers said. ied Memory: The Theatre of George “The conference brings together Tabori” and “George Tabori,” a biogscholars, but anyone interested in raphy of the playwright. the play would enjoy the opportunity “The Funny Thing About Jewish to hear and learn more about Tabori,” Performance Studies” is the title of said David Saltz, who heads the the- Henry Bial’s lecture Feb. 27 at 1:15 ater and film studies department. “It p.m. in the Russell Special Collecwould be an enriching experience.” tions Library.
Bial is the author of “Acting Jewish: Negotiating Ethnicity on the American Stage and Screen” and is a theater and American studies professor at the University of Kansas. He is also the president of the Association for Theatre in Higher Education. Freddie Rokem, the Emanuel Herzikowitz professor at Tel Aviv University, will speak on “From Tragedy to Farce” on Feb. 28 at 5:15 p.m. in the Fine Arts Building. Rokem is an authority on German-Jewish theatrical relations and the author of the award-winning “Performing History: Theatrical Representations of the Past in Contemporary Theatre.” Two performances are on tap for the symposium. A close collaborator with Tabori, composer Stanley Walden will perform “Fiddlers on the Roof” at 6:45 p.m. Feb. 26 in the Russell Special Collections Library. Roger Grunwald, a veteran theater, film, television and voice actor, will perform a one-man play, “The Mitzvah Project,” about the Mischlinge who served in the German army, Feb. 28 at 2:30 p.m. in the Fine Arts Building. Nazis used the disparaging term to describe soldiers descended from one or two Jewish grandparents. For information about all the symposium, visit www.drama.uga. edu/event/tabori. ■
Portrait of a Monster as a Young Man UGA brings Tabori’s ‘Mein Kampf’ to the stage By Rebecca McCarthy
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FEBRUARY 20 ▪ 2015
very year a selection committee in the theater and film studies department at the University of Georgia picks works to perform. Department head David Saltz remembers suggesting George Tabori’s play “Mein Kampf” and learning that no one but him had read it. But once the committee did so, it was anxious to bring the show to UGA and Athens. Performances will be in the cellar theater of the Fine Arts Building on Baldwin Street from Feb. 19 to 21 and 24 to 28 at 8 p.m. and March 1 at 2:30 p.m. Tickets are $16 for the general public and $12 for students. The play will move to Atlanta’s 7 Stages for shows March 12 to 14 at 8 22 p.m. and March 15 at 5 p.m.
AJT
The play’s guest director is Del Hamilton, a UGA graduate and the founder of the 7 Stages Theatre. Hamilton directed another Tabori play, “My Mother’s Courage,” at 7 Stages, Saltz said. Tabori, a Hungarian-GermanJewish playwright and the son of a Holocaust survivor, is well known in Europe, where his works won numerous literary prizes. He wrote screenplays in Hollywood, including “I Confess,” directed by Alfred Hitchcock, and wrote offBroadway plays, said Martin Kagel, the head of the UGA department of German and Slavic studies. He also wrote novels and did translations while in Hollywood, including works by Bertolt Brecht, who influenced him greatly. A native of Germany, Kagel met
Tabori in Berlin in 1997 and interviewed him about Brecht for a yearbook celebrating what would have been Brecht’s 100th birthday. Tabori told Kagel that meeting Brecht was “momentous” and persuaded him to write plays instead of novels. “Mein Kampf” opened in Vienna in 1987 and became one of the most performed plays in Germany. It was staged often into the 1990s and is considered Tabori’s signature work. But the play has been performed only once or twice in the United States, Kagel and Saltz said. “Mein Kampf” is set in 1910 Vi-
enna and shows Hitler as a young, struggling artist who is nevertheless yearning to take over the world. He lives in an area of the city where he comes into contact with Jewish residents. The play explores Jewish and German relations. “You can represent Hitler as a young artist in 1910, but you can’t represent him in 1944 without desecrating the memory of the Holocaust,” Kagel said. “But you can show him as the representation of evil in 1910.” The staging of the play coincides with a weekend international symposium at UGA, “Georgia Tabori and the Theatre of the Holocaust.” ■
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ARTS
Wishing for Habima Magic
New director Cline guides production of ‘Aladdin Jr.’ By Suzi Brozman sbrozman@atljewishtimes.com
T
he Marcus Jewish Community Center is proud of Jerry’s Habima Theatre, Georgia’s only theatrical company that features actors with special needs and is produced and directed by professionals. It was awarded a National Endowment for the Arts Challenge America Grant in December and, as is typical, is premiering its 22nd annual show in February to coincide with Jewish Disability Awareness Month. The theater this year welcomes a new director, Heidi Cline. A longtime Atlantan, Cline has worked as an intern at the Alliance Theatre, at the Shakespeare Tavern, at the Horizon and at the Lyric Theatre, among others. She has taught and worked with performers of all ages. “I get to know the actors, to approach them individually,” Cline said. “I have seen how theater can turn the lights on and bring their senses alive as they experience what it’s like to be creative. It’s made me
appreciate the ing together,” applications of Cline said. “You theater, entercan’t remove an taining and beaudience’s exing therapeupectations, but tic.” you can honor Cline is them, honor the married to actext but with tor, director and your own stamp choreographer on it.” Jeff McKerley, Dealing who is choreowith actors’ graphing this limitations can year’s Habima be a challenge. production, DisA couple of acney’s “Aladdin tors have viJr.” sion problems; While live Cline’s solution theater is limincludes the use ited compared a life-size tiger with the dypuppet that Photos by Jennifer Bienstock helps the actor namic Robin Williams peroffstage. One Jordan Harris plays Aladdin, and Katherine formance that actor who reBurnette is Jasmine in the Jerry’s Habima Theatre Disney animaquires a wheelproduction of “Aladdin Jr.” tors brought chair figured to life, some out for himself jokes and other clever elements are that he should be the magic carpet — retained from the “Aladdin” film. a magical moment for the show. “We’re doing a lot with puppetry, with The cast includes 37 amateurs hands, eyes, heart and voice all com- ages 18 to 60ish, plus four “ringers”
— professional actors. The show is professionally designed and staged and relies on help from families and staff members. Janet Cadranel is joining Terri Bagen in co-chairing Jerry’s Habima Theatre this year. “What I have always found to be so powerful is how Jerry’s Habima Theatre continues to provide a safe place for self-expression,” Cadranel said. “I see these actors come alive onstage without the fear of not being accepted because the audience allows them just to be themselves.” ■
What: Jerry’s Habima Theatre production of “Aladdin Jr.” Where: Marcus JCC, 5342 Tilly Mill Road, Dunwoody When: Thursday, Feb. 26, Saturday, Feb. 28, Wednesday, March 4, and Thursday, March 5, at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday, March 1 and 8, 3 p.m. Tickets: $25 for adults, $10 for children 12 and under for MJCCA members; $35 and $15 for nonmembers; 678-812-4002 or www.atlantajaa.org/boxoffice.
‘Pinocchio’ From a Father’s Viewpoint AJA follows alum’s vision for school musical
S
ome years ago David Stern, living in Sandy Springs, graduated from the Greenfield Hebrew Academy (now Atlanta Jewish Academy) and went on to Riverwood High School and the University of Pennsylvania. After studying computer science and communications, he graduated and realized he wanted to go into musical theater. So he moved to New York. But he didn’t have a job. So he called Scott Orlin, who had been his brother’s Aleph Zadek Aleph adviser and was working in New York. Orlin introduced Stern to two men, a writer and his partner, who were working on an off-Broadway show. He called one of the men, Richard, every day at 8 a.m., but to no avail. Finally, one day the man needed something done, and Stern accom-
plished it for him. He told Stern, “I can use a guy like you,” and continued to use him for years. His wife is the daughter of longtime Marcus Jewish Community Center theater person Beverly Shmerling, another Atlanta connection. Stern began working with Stephen Schwartze. They became good collaborators, working together on a number of projects, including a movie called “Geppetto.” They adapted it for a stage musical to tour, then as a school musical. One day Stern’s brother Mark Stern, the president of the Epstein School, was talking to the parent of an AJA student. When he heard the school was producing “Geppetto,” he said: “My brother wrote it!” AJA reached out to David Stern and asked him to do a talkback session after a performance. So he is. He said it’s a way to help kids pursue their dreams. “I want to talk to them about it — can you find a
path? Theater is a hard path. You need connections. Mine was in Atlanta. The real thing the kids need is a real-life barometer.” Why “Geppetto”? Stern wanted to tell Pinocchio’s story from the father’s viewpoint. “I was working on the movie when my father passed away. I’d always looked at the story as a son but then started thinking about it from the father’s side.” Geppetto wishes for a son and has his wish granted but isn’t prepared to be a father, Stern said. “He immediately starts telling him to do stuff with no preparation. Yesterday he was a puppet; now he’s flesh and blood. The dad didn’t fulfill his obligations as a parent.” So Pinocchio goes off on his own adventures, meets people and ends up in the belly of a whale, where he meets Geppetto again. “How did Geppetto end up in the whale? They both learned their lessons. Pinocchio learned respect,
while Geppetto learned to be a real father” and not just Pinocchio’s creator, Stern said. “He had to understand the child is another human, and it’s his job to support him but not stand in his way. All the worldly possessions he worried about Pinocchio breaking don’t matter. The only thing that matters is having a son.” The result of all that thinking is “My Son Pinocchio Jr.” It’s the Disney classic retold from Geppetto’s viewpoint and infused with Stern’s insights.” ■
What: “My Son Pinocchio Jr.” Where: AJA, 5200 Northland Drive, Sandy Springs When: Sunday, Feb. 22, and Wednesday, Feb. 25, at 4 p.m. and Thursday, Feb. 26, at 7 p.m. Tickets: Students under 14, $20; adults, $12; www.showtix4u.com
FEBRUARY 20 ▪ 2015
By Suzi Brozman sbrozman@atljewishtimes.com
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www.atlantajewishtimes.com
BUSINESS
Israeli Brings Schnitzel to the South
Seven Hens’ second location aims to help concept take flight By David Cohen david@atljewishtimes.com
M
ichael Gurevich isn’t your typical entrepreneur. The food he serves at his restaurants isn’t typical either. At least not in the United States. Gurevich’s eatery, Seven Hens, features a dish that is popular globally but has yet to fully catch on in America. With his second location now open in Sandy Springs, the Israeli transplant who has lived in Atlanta since 2008 hopes that the South is ready for more schnitzel. “In the United States, schnitzel is not as familiar as it is worldwide,” Gurevich said. “Different variants of the tenderizing technique are used here, but the original schnitzel is not as popular as it is around the world. I thought this would be a big opportunity to bring something from my own culture here because chicken schnitzel is a staple food item in Israel.” Seven Hens’ Sandy Springs location, in Abernathy Square at 6615
Roswell Road, across Abernathy Road from the Weber School, opened in November. The original location in Decatur, at 2140 N. Decatur Road, just east of Clairmont Road, has served chicken dishes adapted from world cuisine since 2012. The menu features schnitzel recipes inspired by seven countries: the United States, Mexico, China, France, Germany, India and Italy. Gurevich created the concept to become a fast-casual staple in America. The Sandy Springs location has seen a boost from Israelis, Jews and other Atlanta natives who know what schnitzel is, but Gurevich is aiming for a much larger bite of the market. “It helps that the Jewish population knows what schnitzel is, and the Israelis definitely know it,” he said. “That’s only part of my market. My goal is to make schnitzel one of the go-to options for fast-casual food in the public at large.” To that end, Seven Hens is launching an effort to franchise the concept.
aha a FEBRUARY 20 ▪ 2015
CREATING EARLY LEARNING MOMENTS
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Photo by David Cohen
Israeli Michael Gurevich is pounding out a schnitzel empire in the Atlanta area at Seven Hens.
Gurevich wasn’t always on the path to a chicken empire. As part of a special program with
the Israeli military, he got his bachelor’s degree before starting service as a logistics officer. The day after he finished his sixyear term in the Israel Defense Forces, he moved to the United States and started classes at Florida Tech, where he earned a master’s degree in technical and professional communications. After a job in the cosmetics field brought him to Atlanta, he saw an opportunity in fast-casual dining. “I thought, ‘What is a good business opportunity using my skill set that is unique to this market?’ ” Gurevich said. “I decided to go with chicken schnitzel. It was a conscious choice to present this product to the American market.” For prospective customers who don’t know what schnitzel is, Gurevich urges them to give it a try. “I think that people need to come in and try the food here,” he said. “Once you have it and understand how good it is, it will put a smile on your face.” ■
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CAMPING
Camp Gan Israel, IJP Split to Expand Intown Options
L
eah Sollish knows how to run a summer camp. After all, she is a mother of five boys ranging from 8 months to 10 years old. Lovingly referred to as “Gan Izzy” by intown residents, Sollish is the director of Camp Gan Israel in Midtown Atlanta. In her third year with Camp Gan Israel, Sollish is promoting big changes. Previously, Intown Jewish Preschool was a feeder for Camp Gan Israel. However, IJP is changing from a 10-month preschool model to a year-round facility more indicative of Jewish day care. This summer, IJP is offering camp at its site for children ages 2 to 5. Camp Gan Israel is creating a new program for children ages 6 to 11. “Our philosophy is the same, but our programming has changed. We will focus on taking care of the earth and appreciating nature in our new nature-based camp,” Sollish said. Garden art, recycling projects, food growing and cooking are some of the activities in the works for this summer. Field trips include Serenbe Farms for a lesson on farm-to-table practices, the Chattahoochee Nature Center for a look at environmental practices and Noah’s Ark for a day with exotic animal rescues. Music, sports, swimming and art are regularly scheduled throughout the sessions. Though Camp Gan Israel is not focused on religion or religious practice, Sollish said: “We have morning prayer in the form of song as well as a discussion of a mitzvah each day. We are focused on instilling a sense of pride and joy in Judaism and being Jewish.” Rabbi Ari Sollish, her husband, is the founder and director of Intown Jewish Academy. He will be present with the children to lead trips, science activities and Jewish lessons. Decatur parent Elizabeth Lenhard started sending her daughters to Camp Gan Israel years ago. “Schlepping my kids to the JCC or putting them on the bus didn’t appeal to us, so it was an intown camp or nothing,” she said. “At the time the girls were 3 and 5, and I loved how sweet, small, warm and welcoming the camp was for little ones. The kids did classic campy activities: art, sports, water play, and tons of singing and playing. As my kids have grown, the camp has kept up with
them, offering field trips and electives, so even my 8-year-old was still engaged last summer.” Camp Gan Israel is staffed by high school junior and senior girls and college-age women. “These girls come from New York only to work at our camp,” Sollish said. “They desire to work with children and give them a good time.” Sollish said Camp Gan Israel will be based at a school near Piedmont Park, although the location has not been finalized. For more information about Camp Gan Israel and Intown Jewish Preschool camp, visit www.cgiintown.org. Registration is open. ■
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CAMPING
Ramah Darom Opens Doors to Special Campers
Tikvah Program integrates children with autism with general population By Logan C. Ritchie lritchie@atljewishtimes.com
N
estled in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Georgia, Camp Ramah Darom is opening its inclusive arms even wider this summer with the Tikvah Program, a camp within a camp for youths ages 12 to 17 on the autism spectrum. While Tikvah is not the first program to provide a Jewish summer camping experience for people with special needs — Camp Living Wonders, for example, offers two weeks at Camp Arrowhead in Zirconia, N.C. — it is the first in the Southeast to provide within a general Jewish camp a traditional, immersive, fullsummer Jewish camping experience specifically for those diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder. Geoff Menkowitz, the director of the Conservative-aligned camp in Georgia’s Blue Ridge Mountains, said that although Tikvah is new for Ramah Darom, it is a program that “will help open doors wider than be-
fore. We have worked hard to accommodate children with special needs and those who fall on the spectrum. To date, more high-functioning campers attend with a personal counselor or other coping strategies. [Tikvah] will allow severe autism and other sensory challenges as part of our camp community.” Drawing campers from the Southeast Ramah district, which stretches from South Florida to North Carolina to Tennessee to Texas, Tikvah is run by Audra Kaplan. A clinical psychologist in the Chicago area, Kaplan has
SOUL FULL
SUMMER YMCA CAMP THUNDERBIRD At YMCA Camp Thunderbird, kids spend time investing in their SOULS. We help uncover what makes them tick and thrive. Campers feed their SOULS by unplugging from technology, getting to know the great outdoors, and making memories that last a lifetime!
FEBRUARY 20 ▪ 2015
Join us this summer at YMCA Camp Thunderbird.
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SAVE THE DATE
CAMP THUNDERBIRD OPEN HOUSE Camp Thunderbird: One Thunderbird Lane, Lake Wylie SC 29710
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To learn more and register, please visit campthunderbird.org
Through the Tikvah Program, children with autism spectrum disorder will share such Camp Ramah Darom facilities as the dining hall and the lake with other Jewish campers.
led a summer camp for children with autism spectrum disorder and similar disabilities since 2010. She also is an alumna of Camp Ramah Wisconsin. “I’m proud of Ramah for taking this on. My first reaction when Camp Ramah Darom reached out to me was ‘This is amazing.’ The campers will be part of the overall community: eating in the same dining hall and participating in Shabbat services and Havdalah,” she said. To foster security and ease, Ramah Darom is making modifications for Tikvah campers. For example, the group enters the dining hall before other campers to feel more grounded in the room. The camp has lots of singing and dancing, and Tikvah campers learn in a smaller setting before going into the big group. “This is a real inclusion program,” Menkowitz said. “There are other camps for children with special needs, but our vision is to provide one that embraces children with autism spectrum disorder in the broader Jewish community. Practically speaking, a parent may have one child on the spectrum and two neurotypical kids, and they could all go to the same camp. We want a shared camp community, a shared experience, the same T-shirt for all campers, the same social networks.” Living in the center of camp is part of that sameness. Tikvah campers will occupy a brand-new cabin with small pods for kids to experience an intimate setting. Tikvah will provide a counselor-to-camper ratio of 1-to-3 and staff each four-week session with college students who have experience at camp and are studying either special needs or occupational therapy. Camp registration for Tikvah
campers is a lengthy process. After the completion of an application, Kaplan interviews the camper via Skype, by phone or in person, depending on the child’s ability. The goal is for the potential camper to get comfortable with Kaplan so she can assess the child’s fit with the program. “I’m looking for several things,” she said. “No. 1: motivation. Is this person interested in going to camp? It will be a challenge. Can they handle it?” Kaplan said basic self-care and the ability to communicate needs are important. Campers require coping skills for frustration so Camp Ramah Darom can provide the correct support. She also considers diagnosis, although each community views autism labels in a different way. She talks at length with parents, teachers, caretakers and behavior specialists who are active in the child’s life. After 25 years of working with special-needs children, Kaplan said: “I can’t wait to see campers making a connection with the Jewish world and community around them.” For more information about Tikvah and Ramah Darom, visit www. campramahdarom.org. ■
A Family Experience
Camp Ramah Darom hosts Camp Yofi each August. Families with children on the autism spectrum attend together. Campers must be between 6 and 13 years old. For five days families experience the gorgeous Blue Ridge Mountains and all camp activities from swimming to art to Jewish programming. For more on Camp Yofi, visit www.campramahdarom.org/programs.
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CAMPING
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South Carolina Summer
Camp Thunderbird gets kids outdoors Provided by Camp Thunderbird
A
re you ready to soak up summer? YMCA Camp Thunderbird offers an exciting summer retreat for boys and girls ages 7 to 16. The overnight residential camp is on 1.7 miles of pristine South Carolina shoreline with plenty of fun in the sun on Lake Wylie. We provide a safe, action-packed experience where kids can make new friends and memories that last a lifetime. “T-H-U-N-D-E-R-B-I-R-D. Thunderbird, Thunderbird is where I like to be!” A big part of camp life includes the chants, cheers and songs that help kids vocalize their pride and excitement. When kids attend YMCA Camp Thunderbird, they join a legacy of future leaders that dates back almost 80 years. Our traditions and adventures inspire campers of all ages to grow mentally, physically, spiritually and socially. The lasting friendships and memories they make help shape their paths in life. It’s a chance to make a fresh start and cultivate new friendships. Our campers represent many states and several countries, giving everyone the chance to meet individuals from different communities and cultures. These relationships develop, change and deepen as our campers come back each summer. With all the activities we offer, campers expect to be sore — in a good way. Often, over half of their waking hours are spent outside, exploring land and water excursions. Their arms may ache a little from holding the wakeboard rope steady or wielding an oar in the water, and their calves may burn a little after playing tennis — but they’ll hardly notice, we promise. These outdoor activities exert the body and the mind so kids go to bed tired and happy, but not before a few giggles break out around the campfire. We encourage kids to find their wings and soar to new heights. Some grow by conquering fears; others thrive with newfound independence and the autonomy to make decisions away from parents and siblings. The Thunderbird experience is more than just a plateful of activities. Campers practice courtesy and respectfulness in a common environment. That means making the bed, cleaning up the cabin and taking turns setting the dinner table. This responsibility encourages self-sufficiency, setting kids up for long-term success away from the nest. Campers are likely to find mud on the soles of their feet after a day in and out of the water. They sprint around the baseball diamond, run to safety during laser tag and float across the dance floor with pride and passion. Campers also nurture their creativity through artistic pursuits like drama, arts and crafts, and pottery. Body and mind get a workout here. The weeks they spend at YMCA Camp Thunderbird are a time to invest in their souls. It’s an opportunity to uncover what makes them tick and thrive, revealing the qualities that contribute to personal and spiritual growth. Campers feed their souls by unplugging from technology and getting to know the great outdoors. Rather than focusing on screens and social media, they share their stories face to face, developing personal relationships with friends and counselors. In the process, they better understand themselves. Come see what all the fun is about this summer at YMCA Camp Thunderbird. Find out more information and check out the lakeside campus at the Camp Thunderbird open house Sunday, April 12, from 1 to 4 p.m., 1 Thunderbird Lane, Lake Wylie, S.C. 29710, or visit campthunderbird.org. ■
OBITUARIES – MAY THEIR MEMORIES BE A BLESSING
Sylvia Isikoff 93, Sandy Springs Sylvia Bock Isikoff, age 93, of Sandy Springs passed away of natural causes Feb. 12, 2015. Sylvia was born in Savannah. She was preceded in death by her husband, Otis Robert Isikoff. She is survived by her three children, Mark Isikoff of Amsterdam, Netherlands, Jerry Isikoff (Christie) of Chicago, and Beth Isikoff Huerta (John) of Roswell; two grandchildren, Joel and Rachael Huerta of Denver; her only sibling, brother Leonard Bock (Barbara) of Decatur; and many cousins, nieces and nephews. An online guestbook is available at www.edressler.com. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the charity of one’s choice. Graveside services were held Sunday, Feb. 15, at Arlington Memorial Park in Sandy Springs with Rabbi Scott Colbert officiating. Arrangements by Dressler’s Jewish Funeral Care, 770-451-4999.
Joan Rabin 62, Marietta
Joan Halperin Rabin, loving wife, mother, grandmother-to-be and sister, was born June 27, 1952, to Dorothy and Henry Halperin in Pittsfield, Mass. She passed peacefully and comfortably Feb. 13, 2015. After attending Cazenovia College, she became a special education teacher in the Boston public school system. She married Dan in 1981 and focused on family and raising three daughters: Sarah, Michelle and Stephanie. After moving to Marietta in 1993, Joan worked as a teacher at the Epstein School and later at the Davis Academy. She also worked at the Congregation Etz Chaim preschool and religious school and volunteered at many community agencies. She most recently was volunteering at the MDE School several days a week. She found fostering love and care within her family, working with children, and giving back to the community most fulfilling. Joan survived pancreatic cancer in 2005, and since that time, she lived by the motto “It’s not the number of years in your life, but the life in your years.” She and Dan spent as much time as possible at family occasions anywhere in the world and traveled extensively together and with friends and family. Each trip revealed Joan’s keen photographic skills with a focus on people and children in their native home environments. Joan always took the time to see and appreciate the beauty in nature and her surroundings, whether a beach sunset or a bird on her bird feeders. Survivors include her husband, Dan; daughter Sarah in Atlanta; daughter and son-in-law Michelle and David Manne in Atlanta; daughter and sonin-law Stephanie and Gilad Moyal in Vancouver, British Columbia; brother and sister-in-law Keith Halperin and Karen Grabow in Minneapolis; and brother and sister-in-law David Halperin and Carol Schifman in Traverse City, Mich. Sign the online guestbook at www.edressler.com. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests donations to Congregation Etz Chaim in Marietta for the Joan Rabin Memorial Youth Fund. May her memory forever be a blessing. Joan was laid to rest Feb. 15 at Arlington Memorial Park with Rabbi Shalom Lewis officiating. Arrangements by Dressler’s Jewish Funeral Care, 770-4514999.
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which were always drawn to her. Despite her limited mobility, she was training for and eagerly anticipating this year’s Morningside Mile Run, seeing it as the trailhead on the path to competing in wheelchair distance events. A memorial service celebrating her undaunted spirit, joy and talents was held at her parents’ home Feb. 3 with Rabbi Joshua Heller officiating. Her gentle sweetness will truly be missed. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made in Jamie’s memory to the Woodward Academy Alumni Fund (www.woodward.edu/go/ alumnigiving or Woodward Academy, 1662 Rugby Ave., College Park, GA 30337-2199), where she spent many happy years, or to the Atlanta Humane Society Memorial Fund (atlantahumane.org/donate/ways-to-give, Atlanta Humane Society, Attn: Memorial Department, 1565 Mansell Road, Alpharetta, GA 30009), where she found many of her loving pets. Express your condolences at www.GeorgiaFuneralCare.com. Georgia Funeral Care & Cremation Services is proudly serving this family; 678-574-3016.
Phillip B. Peskin Atlanta Phillip B. Peskin passed away peacefully Jan. 31, 2015. He was a native of Winder and resided in Atlanta. He graduated in 1953 from the University of Georgia, where he was a member of Tau Epsilon Phi fraternity. Mr. Peskin served in the U.S. Air Force during the Korean Conflict. Afterward, he began a very successful chain of retail stores. Mr. Peskin is survived by his wife of 62 years, the former Betty Ginsberg. He had three daughters, Brenda (Clayton) Cox, Jody Peskin and Shelly (Jerry) Barton, and a son, Scott (Amy) Peskin. Phil had three grandchildren, Rob and Mandy Peskin and Jordan Phillip Barton. In lieu of flowers, please make a donation to the charity of your choice. Sign the online guestbook at www.edressler.com. Graveside services were held at Arlington Memorial Park on Tuesday, Feb. 3, with Rabbi Neil Sandler officiating. Arrangements by Dressler’s Jewish Funeral Care, 770-451-4999.
Jamie Tanenbaum Wiegmann
Jamie Leigh Tanenbaum Wiegmann, age 39, died peacefully in her sleep on Jan. 31, 2015, at her parents’ home after 11 years of painful disability. She was born in Philadelphia on April 19, 1975. She leaves behind James (Jay) Wiegmann, her loving husband of 14 years; her parents, Shelly and Marc Tanenbaum; her sisters, Alisa Stoughton and Jessica Davis; her brothers-in-law, Seth Stoughton and Philip Davis; her nieces and nephews, Aidan and Lorelei Stoughton and Liam and Olivia Davis; grandmother Selma Tanenbaum; aunt Lee Tanenbaum; uncles and aunts Jak and Lynden Tanenbaum and Marc and Joan Parness; and Jamie’s four-legged fur children, Bella, Smoochy, Cali and Marteenie. Jamie graduated from Woodward Academy and went on to the University of Georgia. She took joy in working with children and animals, both of
FEBRUARY 20 ▪ 2015
39, Atlanta
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CLOSING THOUGHTS
Hope, Despair Lurk Amid Depths of Adar
R
FEBRUARY 20 ▪ 2015
osh Chodesh Adar began Thursday, Feb. 19. Adar is a time of increased joy, good fortune and miracles. Our task each month is to look for divine sparks that bring deeper meaning and richness to our current experience of Judaism. We can unravel the wisdom of Kabbalah, astrology, energy medicine and psychology. Our challenge for Adar: How can we laugh and be joyful with so much turmoil in our world? Here are the puzzle pieces to understand: Adar’s Hebrew letter is kuf, zodiac sign is Pisces, tribe is Naftali, sense is laughter, and controlling organ is spleen. Kuf means “monkey,” whose antics are often associated with entertainment and laughter. Laughter brings sweetness to the month and, as medicine, can turn despair into joy. Adar as the 12th month is a reminder that, somehow, we have come through the trials and tribulations of the year. Also, the written letter kuf dips below the line, which calls our attention to what else is beneath in the underworld. The evil we have witnessed on the news was brewing just under the surface. Destructive plans have erupted. We can feel the grief, but we mustn’t drown in a sea of despair. Adar and the Book of Esther celebrate our Purim story. When Mordecai learned of the plot to destroy the Jews, he collapsed his energy and grieved. Esther, instead took action. She made a plan to connect, gathered our people in strength and in doing so saved us. This is the miracle in Adar. The coordinating zodiac sign is Pisces, the two fish swimming in opposite directions. We have two expressions of power. At the lowest level is the evil underworld of uncontrolled violence and hatred, and at the highest is our joyful celebration of our miraculous history. Both Albert Einstein and Moses were Pisceans. Like the letter kuf, fish dip below the waterline, where things are murky or hidden. Water signs bring emotionality. Tears are shed. 30 All forms of watery things can trick
AJT
CROSSWORD “Gold Stars” By Yoni Glatt Editor: DavidBenkof@gmail.com Difficulty Level: Medium
us below the surface. The fish is considered a symbol of protection from the evil eye. We must look at things in both directions as we maneuver between the energies of dark and light, the seen and unseen. Naftali is the tribe of Adar. The
NEW MOON MEDITATIONS Dr. Terry Segal
tribe was counted as the last of the 12 tribes, and its translation, is “sweetness is to me.” The spleen is Adar’s controlling organ. Its function is to transform the food the stomach has digested into nutrition for the body, provide qi, or life force, for energy, and produce quality blood. In its connection to Piscean waters, the spleen also governs the metabolism of fluids in our bodies. When the fluids are out of balance, we suffer physical fatigue, anemia in the blood, and improper disposal of excess fluids, resulting in edema (swelling) or excessive phlegm. The skin can erupt in boils (one of our upcoming Passover plagues) and inflammation. Like a healthy spleen, we must digest the news of our time and transform it. We can’t allow it to deplete us and crumble our spirits. We drink in the sweetness of Adar until we don’t know the difference between “Blessed is Mordecai!” and “Cursed is Haman!” What will bring tikkun olam, the repair of the world, may be below the murky surface, but the how is likely in joining together. Do we sit back, complacent, and allow the events to unfold, or, like Esther, do we take some action to unite? We are not alone and need to remember G-d’s power to revitalize the fallen sparks of divinity. Meditation Focus Each day this month, quiet yourself and observe whether you are being carried away in a current of negativity. Lift your head above water and breathe in gratitude and hope. Acknowledge the pain in the world and exhale. Connect to your part in healing it and search for opportunities to laugh and increase your joy. ■
ACROSS 1. Full, as from brisket 6. Tzaraat, e.g. (See Exodus 4:6) 10. Tref flying mammals 14. One from an Arab country with few Jews 15. Comment from a Freudian analyst, perhaps 16. Mitch Miller’s woodwind 17. 2014 film about someone watching Geraldo Rivera’s news network? 19. Those were the days? 20. Israel’s in it 21. Isaac, to Abraham 22. Norris who starred in Menahem Golan’s “The Delta Force” 23. West without much tzniut 25. Sands, say, as a shofar 27. 2014 film about a Biblical punishment? 32. Moses had little 33. Amulet seen on jewelry, often 34. React to a Jackie Mason line 36. Novel in a Wiesel trilogy 40. American st. whose legislatiure was the first to support a Jewish homeland in Palestine 41. ISIS, by many 44. Telushkin’s “Rebbe”, e.g. 45. Maarat Hamachpela in Hebron is one 47. Level in Golder’s Green? 48. Prophetic signs 50. 47th Street fare 52. 2014 film about Gideon or Deborah? 54. Inner Jerusalem 58. Sleep locale at a crowded Shabbat house 59. Newman who scored “Toy Story” 60. Seder plate, e.g. 63. Lieberman, presidential -___ ran 67. Paddan ___ (whence Rebecca) 68. Best ___ Actor, category this puzzle’s movies are nominated for in the 2015 Oscars
70. Brent Spiner robot role 71. Torah talk? 72. The Torah commands shooing a mother bird from one 73. Like 1948? 74. “Lay ___ Lay” (Dylan tune) 75. Modern meeting DOWN 1. Shabbat crash location, perhaps 2. Book after Joel 3. Kaufman’s sitcom 4. Makes like the Jews by Sinai 5. ___ Internacional del Ladino (Sephardi occasion) 6. Sephardi Passover perk 7. Rav who compiled much of the Talmud 8. Samuel and Elijah 9. Joaquin Phoenix sci-fi flick 10. 2014 film about pre-Bar Mitzvah days? 11. Circa BCE 12. What Samson tied to foxes tails 13. Something one does for chametz before Pesach 18. Abbr. for a college department that might teach some Sondheim 22. Lowly bureaucrat in the Misrad Hapnim 24. Don’t spray this on apples... Adam’s or otherwise 26. With “out,” something for the Sanhedrin to do with punishments 27. When tripled, a catch-phrase for Sheila Broflowski 28. Michael or Raphael might have one 29. Not exactly a rabbi 30. Two dots, in Hebrew 31. Raise, as a blue-and-white flag
35. New Israeli 37. Schluffing 38. Item on the IAF logo 39. Job for a JAP? 42. Before Rosh Hashana 43. Where one might learn Krav Maga 46. 2014 film about Noah, the dove, and the raven? 49. Like Magneto’s genes 51. Like a yenta trying not to divulge a secret 53. Sound in a Negev machtesh 54. Peddler’s activity 55. Mercaz follower 56. Matrilineal 57. Para ___ (red heifer in the Book of Numbers) 61. Some people use it to daven, nowadays 62. Like Aly Raisman 64. Former currency in the land of the first ghetto 65. A chutzpadik person may get into one 66. Arch atop some old shuls 68. Character in Lumet’s “Dog Day Afternoon” 69. Howard’s best friend on “The Big Bang Theory”
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