SJL New Orleans, May 2017

Southern Jewish Life 3747 West Esplanade, 3rd Floor Metairie, LA 70002

Volume 27 Issue 5

May 2017

NEW ORLEANS EDITION

Southern Jewish Life

2 Southern Jewish Life • May 2017

When one is heavily involved in something for a long time, it is instructive to step back and take a look from a different perspective.

Synagogue presidents can lose a sense of awe in dealing with so much of the nuts and bolts, and the rabbi is no longer on a pedestal. After a certain number of trips to Israel, do you “have to” get to the Western Wall this time?

After 27 years of attending a wide range of events in our communities, it is easy to become a bit jaded, to be at “another one” of something. This year I attended six Passover Seders, including the two for our family.

Similarly, when I went to the Alabama Holocaust commemoration on April 25 as this issue was wrapping — well, over the years I have been to how many dozen such ceremonies in how many communities? Several Holocaust survivors are regulars at my congregation, I grew up around them, they’re simply part of the community. It’s easy to take their presence for granted.

And yet. After the ceremony was over, after the four survivors in attendance were recognized on the floor of the Alabama House, everyone was gathered in the lobby.

A group of formally-dressed students, the ambassador group from Blount County high schools, was also in the lobby. They had been in the observers area and saw the ceremony.

The students and teachers came over to meet the survivors.

As they left the building, one could sense the feeling of awe and excitement among the students and teachers. Completely unexpectedly, they got to meet — and even shake hands with! — a Holocaust survivor. They had a personal encounter with living history, and no doubt this will be what they remember from their class trip to Montgomery.

Jewish ritual is about infusing a bit of holiness into the mundane. Similarly, it is important to keep some spark to remind us of what is special. what is important, and keep it from becoming mundane.

That is another part of never forgetting.

Larry Brook EDITOR/PUBLISHER

Larry Brook

shalom y’all shalom y’all shalom y’all

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4 Southern Jewish Life • May 2017

agenda interesting bits & can’t miss events

Work continues on the Uptown Jewish Community Center’s expansion, with two new outdoor swimming pools, expanded fitness center and additional preschool space.

Torah Academy launches $3 million “burn the mortgage” campaign Torah Academy wants to burn its mortgage, and is embarking on a campaign to make that happen.

The board of the Metairie school announced a $3 million campaign to pay off the mortgage on the school’s building, and put the school on firm financial footing. The campaign has raised nearly $500,000 to date, and the goal is to complete the campaign by December of 2019.

The campaign committee plans on raising an additional $650,000 in 2017, and then $900,000 in 2018 and 2019.

In 2014, Torah Academy moved into a 15,000 square foot facility, with most of the construction being funded by a grant received from FEMA. The facility replaced Torah Academy’s old facility on West Esplanade Avenue, which had been badly damaged by Katrina.

While 96 percent of the construction cost was covered by FEMA, the school had to borrow to cover the cost of acquiring the land, and re-establishing the school and its contents after the storm.

When the school opened its new building in 2014, there were 27 children enrolled from Pre-Kindergarten to eighth grade. Today, 60 students are enrolled, with most of the growth in the Early Childhood program, so school leaders anticipate those students to bump up the enrollment in upper grades in the next few years.

While the campaign is officially being announced now, Torah Academy has already attracted several large gifts. Ron Shapiro, a former resident of New Orleans, whose children attended Lakeshore Hebrew Day School, Torah Academy’s predecessor, made a $200,000 gift, dedicating the multi-purpose room.

Barry Katz, a longtime resident of New Orleans, whose family has been involved in Jewish education for generations, dedicated the educa-

tional wing of the facility with a donation of $180,000. In addition, the school attracted a gift of $60,000 from the Friedman Family Charitable Trust, whose trustee, Daniel Friedman, attended Lakeshore, and a gift of $50,000 from a California philanthropist.

There have also been several smaller gifts, including a gift from the Meromim Foundation, the Oscar J. Tolmas Trust and the Tolmas family.

“With these funds, Torah Academy will be a jewel in the crown of the New Orleans Jewish community, allowing members of the community to enjoy unusually high quality education in a city with a relatively small Jewish population,” said Rivkie Chesney, the school’s director of development and admissions. “Torah Academy is committed to its mission of offering high quality, traditional Jewish and general education, for an affordable price.”

May 2017 • Southern Jewish Life 5

agenda May expands role at Beth Shalom New Orleans native Nick May has accepted a full-time position at Beth Shalom in Baton Rouge as music and programming coordinator.

May will continue his role in Shabbat services with Rabbi Natan Trief and provide continuity in weeks when Trief is not in town, aid Jewish education at the Rayner Center nursery school and work on other areas of congregational programming.

May has been songleader at the Henry S. Jacobs Camp in Utica for three summers and spent this past summer as songleader at JCC Camp Sabra in Rocky Mount, Mo. He has been travelling around the Deep South singing with different communities for Shabbat services, educational programs, as well as National Federation of Temple Youth events for the past four years. He has made numerous appearances at Temple Beth-El in Pensacola.

Last fall, he released an EP, “This Beauty,” and recently had a successful crowdfunding campaign for a full-length album.

Beth Shalom is also adopting a new Shabbat evening schedule this month. At 6 p.m. there will be a “pre-neg” nosh, sip and schmooze. The service will be at 6:30 p.m., so families can still have a Shabbat dinner together “at a reasonable time.”

There will also be a monthly Shabbat potluck dinner after services.

Temple Sinai Gala to honor Bartons Herbert and Sue Barton will be the honorees at this year’s Temple Sinai Spring Gala on May 13 at 6:30 p.m.

Robert Brickman, Temple Sinai president and Gala co-chair with Saundra Levy, said the Bartons are “a fantastic couple with a long history of contributing both to Temple Sinai and the local Jewish community.”

Herbert Barton was executive director of Temple Sinai from 1963 to 2001, and has been executive director of Hebrew Rest for 50 years.

The event will be catered by Chef Rommel. Tickets are $150, $75 for those under 35. Patron levels start at $275.

Shavuot all-nighter in Metairie For Shavuot, three Metairie congregations are having a joint community Tikkun Leil Shavuot n May 30.

The Orthodox, Conservative and Reform congregations, Beth Israel, Shir Chadash and Gates of Prayer, will combine for the all-night learning session at Beth Israel, starting with services at 8:30 p.m., followed by snacks and Rabbi David Posternock’s famous cheesecake.

The four scholars for the night will be Shir Chadash Rabbi Deborah Silver, Beth Israel Rabbi Gabe Greenberg, Shir Chadash Education Director Deborah Mintz, and Rabbi Ora Leah Nitkin-Kaner, chaplain resident at East Jefferson General Hospital. They will each lead multiple classes, starting with session one at 9:15 p.m. and session two at 10:15 p.m.

At 11:15 p.m. there will be a rabbinic panel, “Can an Atheist be a Jew? And Other God Questions.”

At 12:30 a.m. there will be midnight gumbo, followed by an option for individual or partnered learning until 5 a.m., or late-night Talmud study with Greenberg, studying Bava Metzia chapter 10. The Talmud study will be accessible to all backgrounds.

Shavuot minyan will be held at 5:30 a.m.

6 Southern Jewish Life • May 2017

agenda

3

On April 2, members of JewCCY and Big Easy BBYO participated in JServe Day, an international day of community service run by BBYO and several other non-profit organizations. This year, Jewish teens from the New Orleans area went to Our School at Blair Grocery in the 9th Ward.

Our School at Blair Grocery is a non-profit urban farm that educates the community about sustainable growth and supplies vegetables to local groceries and restaurants. The teens got a lesson in urban farming from founder Nat Turner, then helped in the goat pen, bringing trash to the compost piles, weeding the plant beds, and enjoying fresh Russian kale and carrots pulled straight from the ground.

Total eclipse of the camp

Ramah Darom hosting solar eclipse Shabbaton For the first time since 1979, a total solar eclipse will occur in the mainland United States, and right in the middle of the 70-mile-wide path of totality is Ramah Darom in north Georgia.

Just one and one-half weeks after summer camp ends, the Conservative camp is planning a Shabbaton around the eclipse, which will occur on Aug. 21. The 122-acre camp is in an isolated area surrounded by the Chattahooche National Forest.

The eclipse’s path will go from just south of Portland, Ore., reach its greatest duration in Hopkinsville, Ky., and then pass through Nashville on its way to northwest Georgia and down the middle of South Carolina.

The middle of totality should hit Ramah Darom around 2:34 p.m. and last around two and one-half minutes.

Partial eclipses, where the moon blocks part of the sun, happen two to five times per year, while total eclipses, where the moon blocks 99 percent of the sun’s surface, happen about every 18 months. Because so much of the planet is covered by water, having an eclipse over a populated area is relatively rare.

In 2024, a total eclipse will go from Mexico through Texas into the Midwest toward New England.

The Shabbaton will begin on Aug. 18 and include a Shabbat experience, solar art projects, stargazing, Jewish and scientific learning, and more.

One may participate in the entire weekend, arrive on Aug. 20 or stay offsite and be at camp only on Aug. 21, the day of the eclipse.

Participants can choose between camp-style cabins or retreat center hotel rooms. Tent camping will also be available.

More information is available at ramahdarom.org.

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The Summer Union Shabbat schedule for New Orleans’ Reform congregations has been finalized. June Shabbat services will be at Gates of Prayer in Metairie, Fridays at 8 p.m. and Saturdays at 10:30 a.m. in June.

In July, Temple Sinai will host Fridays at 6:15 p.m. and Saturdays at 10:15 a.m. Touro Synagogue will have August services on Fridays at 6 p.m. and Saturdays at 10:30 a.m.

May 2017 • Southern Jewish Life 7

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Beth Israel and Ben Katz Post 580 of the Jewish War Veterans will have JWV Shabbat on May 27 at 9 a.m. All veterans are invited and will be honored during the service. Major Carol Berman, a Beth Israel member, will speak on “A Jewish Soldier in a Hostile War Zone.”

The next Morris Bart Sr. Lecture Series at the Uptown Jewish Community Center will feature Christine Lehmann, a senior attorney at the Louisiana Capital Assistance Center, discussing “The State of the Death Penalty.” The talk is May 8 at 11:45 a.m. and lunch will be served.

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At the 9 a.m. service on May 13 at Beth Israel in Metairie, Dan Fertel will discuss the 50th anniversary of the Six Day War, from his perspective as a 14-year-old. He will also discuss the first New Orleans youth trip to Israel after the war.

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Chabad at Tulane will have the “best study break” on May 8 from 10 p.m. to midnight. They will have pancakes, waffles and an omelet station for a midnight breakfast.

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In advance of Shavuot, Chabad of Baton Rouge Women’s Circle will have a floral design workshop, May 25 at 7 p.m. at Chabad. Professional florist Emily Stitch of Trinity Flowers will lead the workshop, and everyone will have a floral work to take home. Suggested donation is $18, sponsorship is $54, and reservations are requested.

Dr. Melanie Sheen, MD Specializing in breast cancer treatment, genetic breast cancer risk counseling and treatment options

The New Orleans Section of the National Council of Jewish Women will have its installation dinner and closing event on May 11 ay 6:30 p.m. at The Forum in Metairie. Karla Loeb, director of policy and government with PosiGen will speak on alternative energy in Louisiana. Barbara Kaplinsky will succeed Susan Kierr as president. Members are asked to bring a teddy bear for the Family Justice Center.

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JNOLA will have a Jewish Newcomers Day at the Ballpark, May 14 at 1 p.m. at Tulane University’s Turchin Stadium, for those who have moved to New Orleans since the storm. There are 75 tickets available for the Tulane-Houston baseball game, through the Federation office.

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With numerous genetic diseases common in the Jewish community, JScreen will have a genetic screening event at the Uptown Jewish Community Center on June 11 from noon to 4 p.m. In many cases, the diseases are dangerous only if both parents are carriers, making testing important for those seeking to start a family. The screening is for ages 18 and up, and there is a fee for the test kit.

Chabad in Metairie is planning a Lag B’Omer family picnic for May 14. Details were not available at press time.

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The Shir Chadash Open Shabbat on May 13 will feature Imam Abdul Hakim from the Kenner Mosque, along with some members of the Muslim community, to answer questions. The Open Shabbat will be at the home of Rabbi Deborah Silver at 3 p.m.

Temple Sinai will have its annual Brotherhood Bingo on May 28 at 4:30 p.m.

Jewish Family Service of Greater New Orleans will have its final session of the Spring Continuing Education Series, “Working with AtRisk Adolescents,” presented by Marvin W. Cliffors, May 19, from 8:45 a.m. to noon. Cost is $60 and participants may receive 3 CEUs.

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The newest Rohr Jewish Learning Institute course marks the 50th anniversary of the Six Day War, which reunified Jerusalem under Jewish control for the first time in 1900 years. “Survival of a Nation: Exploring Israel Through the Lens of the Six Day War” will run for six weeks. The Chabad Center in Metairie is offering two sessions, Mondays at noon or at 7:30 p.m., starting May 8. Registration is $70 with a 10 percent discount for multiple sign-ups or returning students.

community Anti-Semitic flyers precede white nationalist talk at Auburn Richard Spencer allowed to speak, event generally peaceful In the end, everybody had their say and went away.

After several days of conflict and concern over an announced speech by white nationalist Richard Spencer at Auburn University on April 18, a court ruling cleared the way for the speech to go on as planned, hundreds demonstrated and the evening was, for the most part, peaceful, if a bit loud on occasion.

Though many news reports trumpeted “violence” breaking out near the talk, there was only one incident, where three men who were not Auburn students or from the Auburn area were arrested for disorderly conduct after the evening’s only altercation. One was from Montgomery and two were from the Birmingham area.

Auburn Police Chief Paul Register told the Auburn Plainsman he was “pretty happy with the way things have gone. It could have been a lot worse. I attribute the peaceful nature to the students.”

There had been concerns about violence, especially because Spencer was bringing some of his supporters, and anti-fascist groups from outside the Auburn area were also coming in to take a stand against him.

The saga began around April 6, when flyers from a so-called Auburn White Student Union started appearing around campus. The flyers purported to reveal Jewish control of non-Jews through the Noahide laws and alluded to Jewish supremacism.

The group initially used the acronym “WAR EAGLE,” standing for “Whites of the Alt-Right Empowering Auburn Gentiles for Liberation and Enlightenment.” After the university condemned the flyers and spoke of trademark infringement, the group removed the acronym from its website and added a disclaimer that it was not affiliated with Auburn University.

The white students website advertised in the flyers starts with a column about “The True Story of a Sinister, Secret Holiday,” showing President George H.W. Bush “obediently” signing a proclamation about the Noahide Laws, which the site mischaracterizes as instruments of Jewish supremacy. The proclamations are part of Education Day, which honors Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, who was the rebbe of Chabad.

“Here at the Auburn White Student Union, we will never submit to Jewish supremacists like Scheerson (sic), nor to anti-Christ Noahide Laws,” the site says.

The site also lashes out at “wars for Israel,” such as the “useless Iraq war,” “criminal bankers… a disproportionate number of whom are Jewish,” Hollywood, “mandatory lessons about only one genocide in history,” and those who ignore purported “Jewish-Communist ordered” atrocities.

In listing Auburn ethnic organizations, the group references Auburn Hillel and Jewish Student Organization, “whose page, by the way, shows only an Israeli flag — they make no pretense of loyalty to the US.” They claim “we have nothing at all against any of these groups,” adding, “except for the blatantly treasonous behavior of Hillel, as noted above.”

The site does distinguish regionally, stating that Southern Jews “were historically much less radically-leftist than Jews from Eastern Europe [who tended to settle in NYC and LA], though this difference has been diluted in the past 50 years as the Holocaust has become the central tenet of Jewish identity, even among Southern Jews.”

Some speculated the group wasn’t even local, and may have had something to do with Spencer. That sentiment was strengthened when Spencer issued a Youtube video on April 12, saying he would speak at Auburn on April 18.

Security was increased at Auburn’s only synagogue, Beth Shalom, and around campus. The community Passover Seder was held on campus just

May 2017 • Southern Jewish Life 9

Anti-Semitic flyers posted at Auburn University

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hours after Spencer’s initial announcement on April 12. The Seder had 80 reservations but 110 showed up, which many attributed as a desire to come together in the face of the flyers and the pending talk.

The Friday before the talk, Auburn Hillel President Lily Buder received a “very odd” email from the White Student Union to “extend an olive branch… and wish you a nice Shabbat.”

The email said the group has “no grievances with any of y’all personally” and they have never “contemplated saying an unkind word to you personally, let alone any kind of violence.”

They indicated the flyer’s timing was not intended to coincide with Passover but with the Lubavitch Rebbe’s birthday, and they wanted to illustrate “the power of Lubavitch to demand a holiday for itself.”

The email said white nationalists “are even seeking to emulate” the Jewish “ethnically-based cohesive religious community that values high intelligence” and offered to open a dialogue, but “if not, we understand.”

Buder said despite the email, there were more anti-Semitic posters on campus the next day, which angered her.

The room in Foy Hall for the April 18 talk was reserved for $700 plus security expenses. Shortly after the announcement was made of Spencer’s speech, the university closed the loophole by which the reservation was made.

While the university initially spoke of freedom of expression while condemning Spencer, on April 14 the university cancelled the talk, “in consultation with law enforcement… based on legitimate concerns and credible evidence that it will jeopardize the safety of students, faculty, staff and visitors.”

Spencer responded by saying he would show up anyway, and Auburn would “rue the day” some “cowardly bureaucrats” made that decision.

Cameron Padgett of Atlanta, who originally

community booked the venue, filed a motion in Federal court on April 17, seeking to force Auburn to allow the speech.

Arguing the case was Sam Dickson, an Atlanta attorney who spoke before Spencer’s speech on April 18, saying that “diversity is a curse. It is not a blessing, it is not a strength.”

An Atlanta attorney, Dickson has routinely defended the Georgia Ku Klux Klan and other white supremacists. In 1978 he ran for lieutenant governor on a segregationist platform.

A 2006 profile of Dickson in SPLC’s Intelligence Report stated Dickson is a “real estate prospector” who would badger individuals in Atlanta, usually black, who had property tax liens to sell their properties to him for pennies on the dollar, something known in the trade as “bullying title.” One Atlanta real estate expert referred to him as “the terrorist of the Atlanta real estate community.”

Dickson has also been on the editorial board of the Holocaust denial publication “The Barnes Review.”

Judge W. Keith Watkins of United States District Court in Montgomery ruled early in the afternoon that the university did not offer proof that Spencer advocated violence, so the speech must be allowed.

Shortly after the ruling, Timothy R. Boosinger,

provost and vice president for academic affairs, and Taffye Benson Clayton, associate provost and vice president for inclusion and diversity, issued a statement to the “Auburn Family,” saying “Whether it’s offensive rhetoric, offensive flyers around campus, or inappropriate remarks on social media, we will not allow the efforts of individuals or groups to undermine Auburn’s core values of inclusion and diversity and challenge the ideals personified by the Auburn Creed.”

They added that “It is now more important than ever that we respond in a way that is peaceful, respectful, and maintains civil discourse.”

Spencer called the ruling “an amazing victory” and that the event in Auburn “will have echoes around the world.”

Several activities were planned at the same time to draw people away from the area where Spencer spoke. A quickly-organized AuburnUnites Music Fest was held on the Green Space, drawing hundreds of students.

The Auburn chapter of the Southern Poverty Law Center on Campus held a previouslyscheduled dialogue, AUTogether Hashing it Out. On April 17 there were training sessions for non-violent resistance. Engineering student

Shira Gorin taught how to fold white rose pins, which were worn “in homage to the white rose society” a non-violent intellectual resistance group in Nazi Germany.

As tensions grew, Auburn Hillel, the AntiDefamation League and Southern Poverty Law Center advised Jewish students to participate in events elsewhere and stay away from Spencer and his followers, and all students were advised to not engage the visitors..

Still, hundreds gathered near the Foy building to protest Spencer’s presence, chanting antiKlan and anti-fascist slogans.

At Spencer’s talk, the first few rows were filled with fans of Spencer, almost exclusively white men above college age, who often gave him standing ovations. The back two-thirds of the room consisted mostly of a diverse mix of students, who were not nearly as enthusiastic and generally registered their disapproval with an occasional sarcastic comment.

As Spencer entered, it was unclear whether some supporters were saying “Hail Victory” or “Heil Victory.”

In the video announcement, Spencer said he would discuss President Trump and the Syria situation, though neither was mentioned on April 18. Instead, he spoke of how whites are the only group not allowed to celebrate their own

May 2017 • Southern Jewish Life 11

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identity.

Credited with coining the term alt-right, Spencer explained what it means and what it does not.

“The alt-right is about identity, period, end of story,” Spencer said, “being European in the 21st century.”

When a student called out that Spencer’s movement was about hatred, Spencer responded, “try to be a little more creative.”

He then added, “even if white people were inferior in every way, I still would fight for my people.”

Spencer said “we don’t have a black problem, we don’t have a Jewish problem or a Hispanic problem. We have a white problem” of selfhatred. He asserted that it is more difficult to be white today than to be black.

One student challenged him on his assertion of the difficulty of being white, asking “How are white people more racially oppressed than black people? Because I’m a black woman at a predominantly white institution and I want to know what challenges y’all face that I don’t?”

Spencer spoke admiringly of the connection blacks have to each other through a common narrative, saying whites aren’t allowed to have such an identity in society. Instead, things like patriotism, capitalism and a worship of freedom are substituted as a form of identity to fill a hole within.

Citing things like the displacement of Native Americans, the Holocaust and colonialism, he said there is an eternal “black cloud” hovering over whites, “this eternal guilt trip preventing us from being who we are.”

He quickly added that “the white race has sinned” and he is “willing to own slavery… the terrible things the white race has done against other races and to other whites.”

Ultimately, he said, different races “need different countries. We need our own ways in life.” He said diversity makes the world ugly, and is “a way of bringing to an end a nation and a culture that was defined by white people.”

The biggest negative reaction came from his attacking football.

He disdained how Auburn watered down its standing and history as a white institution, especially through admitting black athletes, who he said are “not the greatest exemplars of the African race” and alluded to sexual violence against white women. That comment, which was a view prevalent during the days of segregation, was ill-received by the students in the room.

The “Southern football identity” is “covering up some hole in ourselves,” he said, and if it were up to him, he would end football because it is a substitute for “an identity that has been declared illegal.”

The talk lasted about 40 minutes, the question and answer session was much longer. A wide

range of students calmly asked their questions, some of which Spencer dismissed as “boring.”

Born in Boston, Spencer grew up in Dallas. He currently heads the white nationalist National Policy Institute and extreme-right websites.

In 2014 he tried to organize a white nationalist conference in Hungary, which got him kicked out of the country and banned from 26 European countries for three years.

At a conference in Washington in November, he received national attention when audience members gave a Nazi salute during his talk, something he ascribed to their exuberance.

He received further publicity on January 20 while in Washington for President Trump’s inauguration. On a Washington street, a man punched him in the face, and the video went viral.

In February, he was kicked out of the Conservative Political Action Conference, where attendees found him “repugnant.”

His family currently lives in Whitefish, Mont.

After the town issued a resolution denouncing hate, Spencer supporters started a “trolling” campaign, specifically targeting the small Jewish community of Whitefish. A neo-Nazi march was threatened but postponed.

Spencer’s parents, in a December open letter to Whitefish, said “We are not racists. We have never been racists. We do not endorse the idea of white nationalism.” Since Spencer is an adult with views they can not control, “we feel we are not part of the story, nor do we wish to be a part of this story.”

On April 18, the SPLC filed a Federal suit against Andrew Anglin, founder of the neo-Nazi Daily Stormer website, for specifically targeting and harassing Tanya Gersh, a Jewish real estate agent in Whitefish, and her family. They have received over 700 threatening messages since December.

Spencer’s family also has Louisiana ties, as his grandfather was a prominent doctor in Monroe.

The Spencers own thousands of acres through Dickenhorst Farms and other companies in East Carroll, Madison and Tensas Parishes in northeast Louisiana, along the Mississippi River.

From 2004 to 2014, they received $940,000 in USDA subsidies payments for Dickenhorst alone.

In 2008, his mother was listed as having a 90 percent stake in the properties, while Spencer and his sister each have 5 percent shares.

While the days leading up to the talk were “uneasy,” Buder said, “it was nice seeing the community unify to fight against Spencer’s hatred and the rest of the alt right neo-Nazis who came to Auburn.”

Gorin said “The people who were scared are relieved, everyone who was ignoring it is still ignoring it, and a lot of people are very impressed at how well so many people came together.”

May 2017 • Southern Jewish Life 13

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Jewish Children’s Regional Service past presidents were honored at the April 1 gala

Past, present and future honored at JCRS gala The Jewish Children’s Regional Service looked to its past, present and future in this year’s Jewish Roots gala.

The April 1 event was held at the Hyatt Regency, drawing about 400 supporters from around the seven-state region the social service agency serves.

After a silent auction and cocktail hour, Creole Cuisine Restaurant Concepts provided the family-style dinner.

The agency’s past presidents and scholarship committee chairs were the honorees, with 29 individuals profiled in the program. There were 17 past presidents in attendance.

“An organization does not survive for 162 years without a dedicated corps of supporters,” JCRS Executive Director Ned Goldberg said.

Marc Beerman, who finished his term as president the next morning, said the idea was to “honor those who led us in the past” so the current leaders and supporters can know how the agency got to the present.

The current activities of the organization were celebrated, and “we look forward to the future of JCRS so we can continue to help the Jewish

Harold Steinberg of Memphis and Milt Grishman of Biloxi present a contribution from B’nai B’rith toward JCRS efforts to serve families affected by last summer’s flood in Baton Rouge

14 Southern Jewish Life • May 2017

children that we serve in the seven states.”

Over the years, JCRS has adapted, Beerman said, but “our work continues to help kids in need.” Through JCRS “we have the opportunity to bring profound change to lives.”

That was evident throughout the evening.

Under Beerman’s message in the program book was a photo of his grandfather from 1924, Abraham Beerman and his eight children. A widower, Abraham Beerman would bring the six youngest children from Waco to New Orleans and admit them into the Jewish Children’s Home, the predecessor to today’s JCRS. As part of the evening, Mark Rubin introduced a new video that the agency will use in promotional events and solicitations.

Harold Steinberg of Memphis and Milt Grishman of Biloxi spoke of the long ties between B’nai B’rith and JCRS. At the first District 7 meeting in New Orleans in 1875, the group decided to support the Jewish Children’s Home.

The seven-state region JCRS serves — Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Tennessee, Arkansas, Texas and Oklahoma — is still the footprint of the old District 7, back when B’nai B’rith ar-

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Amanda Abrams and JCRS Executive Director Ned Goldberg eas were divided that way.

They presented a check for $5,000 from the B’nai B’rith Disaster and Emergency Relief Fund, for JCRS activities with families whose homes were flooded in Baton Rouge last August.

“We know JCRS knows how to get the job done,” Grishman said.

The evening’s main speaker was Amanda Abrams, a Brookhaven, Miss., native who is one of the agency’s “success stories.”

Two of the honorees were Abrams’ teachers at St. Martin Episcopal High School — Harriet Aguiar-Netto and Betsy Threefoot Kasten, and they introduced Abrams at the event.

Abrams noted that parents don’t hope for a life of struggles for their child, but “some families are dealt cards that they didn’t intend” and have to make the best of it. In her case, her parents divorced when she was two years old.

The agency provided emotional and financial support, enabling her to attend the Henry S. Jacobs Camp.

“It was really important to my mom that we had a strong Jewish identity,” so every weekend they drove to Jackson’s Beth Israel for religious school.

At age 9, she moved to New Orleans with her mother and brother. “It was tough, and finances were hard,” she said. They had discounted membership to the Jewish Community Center and Gates of Prayer, and received assistance from many groups. “It takes a village to raise a child… I know I wouldn’t be the person I am today had it not been for the experiences I had as a kid.”

She spent 11 summers at Jacobs Camp and then received JCRS assistance to attend the University of Pennsylvania. That “would not have happened without this organization,” and she said “I was never made to feel that I was asking for help.”

She entered the non-profit world as a professional, starting off as the first Education Fellow

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community at the Goldring/Woldenberg Institute of Southern Jewish Life, and working at Jacobs Camp as program director of Dream Street, an annual camp for children with physical disabilities. She worked at the Jewish Federations in Los Angeles and Atlanta, and is now the chief program and innovation officer at the Marcus Jewish Community Center of Atlanta.

“Time and time again, the Jewish community was here for me,” she explained. Now, “every day I get to help others through my job.”

At the board meeting the next day, Justin Sackett was the guest speaker.

A New Orleans native, Sackett received JCRS assistance to attend Ramah Darom, and a health care subsidy. He is now a project manager at Lucid, a software company in New Orleans. Prior to that, he did research on the economy of New Orleans at the University of New Orleans.

Founded in 1855 as an orphanage, JCRS is the oldest Jewish children’s social service organization in the nation. The agency funds need-based support for Jewish summer camp experiences, college scholarship aid, expenses dealing with psychological, physical or social needs, and economic support for exceptional situations.

The agency is also the regional coordinator in communities that do not have a local organizer for PJ Library, which provides free Judaic books to all Jewish youth every month. It also coordinates an annual Chanukah gift program for youth in need.

In 2016, JCRS served over 1600 Jewish youth in 200 communities in its seven-state region.

Not really a nurse: Marthe Cohn spied against Nazi Germany

Bringing her story to Baton Rouge, New Orleans In September 2015, Marthe Cohn’s talk in Metairie, “Behind Enemy Lines: The True Story of a French Jewish Spy in Nazi Germany,” was very popular.

This month, she returns to the region for a May 10 talk in Baton Rouge, and when Chabad in Metairie found out she would be in the area, “we said we must have her speak again” in Metairie, Rabbi Mendel Ceitlin said. “She was amazing when she spoke here in 2015.”

Coordinated by Chabad of Baton Rouge, Cohn will speak on May 10 at 7 p.m. at the Arts Council of Baton Rouge. Tickets are $20 and include a dessert buffet. VIP tickets of $180 include a signed copy of her book and two VIP seats. Sponsorships are $360.

Her May 11 talk at Chabad in Metairie will be at 7:30 p.m. Admission is $10 by May 7, $18 after, and sponsorships start at $180.

Now 97, Cohn lives in California and travels the world telling a story that stunned her family when she was honored at age 80 with France’s highest military honor, the Medaille Militaire.

During World War II, she posed as a German nurse named Marthe, running around Europe desperately looking for her missing fiancé and asking Nazi soldiers for assistance.

Little did they know that she was actually a devout Jew from France, wasn’t a nurse and the fiancé did not exist — she was a spy using that cover story to travel the countryside and approach troops sympathetic to her “plight.” Through that, she obtained critical information for the Allied commanders.

She was born in Metz, France, near the German border. As the Nazi occupation escalated, her sister was sent to Auschwitz while her family fled to the South of France.

Cohn chose to fight back, and joined the intelligence service of the First French Army, using her perfect German accent and Aryan appearance.

As of April 16, there were only 50 seats left for her talk in Baton Rouge.

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ADL documents rise in anti-Semitism Anti-Semitic incidents surged by more than one-third in 2016, and are already up by 86 percent in the first quarter of 2017, according to the annual Audit of Anti-Semitic Incidents from the Anti-Defamation League.

ADL reported a “massive increase” in harassment of American Jews, especially since November, and a doubling in the amount of anti-Semitic bullying and vandalism at non-denominational K-12 grade schools.

In 2016, there were 1,266 acts targeting Jews and Jewish institutions, a 34 percent increase over 2015. Nearly 30 percent of these incidents occurred in November and December.

During the first three months of 2017, there were already 541 reported incidents. Each of the JCC bomb threats counts as an incident, but even taking those out of the count, the number is still much higher.

Shelley Rose, interim regional director of the ADL Southeast region in Atlanta, said there were four incidents in Alabama in 2016. The words “Hitler did nothin’ wrong” were painted in purple outside of a teacher’s classroom, and someone broke several panes of a stained glass window at Temple Beth-El in Anniston, also bending the frame. Alabama had two harassment incidents in 2015.

Rose noted that Alabama already has four incidents in the first quarter of 2017, but all four were the bomb threats phoned in to the Levite Jewish Community Center and N.E. Miles Jewish Day School in Birmingham.

The second quarter in Alabama, though, is already off and running, with the recent anti-Semitic flyers at Auburn University, and the painting of a swastika on the door of a non-Jewish lawyer’s office in downtown Huntsville on April 21.

Mississippi reported one instance of vandalism and one instance of harassment in 2015, and none in 2016.

Incidents in Louisiana are on the upswing after two years with three anti-Semitic incidents per year.

“There’s been a significant, sustained increase in anti-Semitic activity since the start of 2016 and what’s most concerning is the fact that the numbers have accelerated over the past five months,” said ADL South-Central Regional Director Allison Padilla-Goodman in New Orleans. “It is also troubling that in Louisiana specifically, we have seen a spiked increase in the number of harassment incidents in the first quarter of 2017.”

In the first quarter of 2017, there have been five reported incidents of anti-Semitic harassment, compared to three during all of 2015. The three reported anti-Semitic incidents in 2016 in Louisiana were all vandalism, including prominent anti-Semitic graffiti along a high-traffic area of Tchoupitoulas Street in November 2016.

With that and the recent bomb threat to the Jewish Community Center, Padilla-Goodman said “the Jewish community is on high alert. Clearly, we have work to do and need to bring more urgency to the fight. At ADL, we will use every resource available to put a stop to anti-Semitism and we will be drawing on the strength of our coalitions and partnerships.”

Incidents on college campuses remained mostly flat, but anti-Semitic incidents at non-Jewish elementary, middle, and high schools increased 106 percent, from 114 in 2015 to 235 in 2016. This increase accelerated in the first three months of 2017, when 95 incidents were reported.

While harassment and vandalism have increased sharply, physical assaults are down significantly, with 36 nationally all of last year, and just six in the first three months of 2017.

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On the eve of Passover and the start of the Christian Holy Week, a coalition of 19 Birmingham-area churches and seven ministries stood in solidarity with “our neighbors” in the Jewish community.

On April 10, Tom Bradford of the National Christian Foundation of Alabama and Scott Dawson of Scott Dawson Evangelistic Association were joined by numerous pastors and representatives of the Christian community at a ceremony in the Levite Jewish Community Center board room. There, they presented a check for $111,745 to the campaign to enhance security at Birmingham’s Jewish institutions.

The campaign was launched after the LJCC and N.E. Miles Jewish Day School received four bomb threats from mid-January until early March, as part of several waves of threats that affected about half of the JCCs in the country. Though an arrest was made on March 23, an increase in other threats nationally, including vandalism and other incidents, has led to a continuation of efforts to enhance security at the facilities.

The overall campaign has a goal of up to $1 million and will focus in part on the community campus on Montclair Road, which contains the LJCC, Cohn Early Childhood Learning Center, Day School, and the Federation and Birmingham Jewish Foundation offices.

Area synagogues and other institutions will also receive funds to enhance their security, but the funds from the Christian campaign will go toward the Montclair Road campus.

As of April 19, the campaign had reached $500,000, while recommended enhancements already identified by law enforcement and security advisors have topped $655,000 and may go higher.

Dawson referenced the holy days as a time of coming together for a good purpose, saying “we need some good news in Alabama on a day like today,” which was the day Governor Robert Bentley resigned.

Donald Hess, who is chairing the security campaign, opened the ceremony by remarking that he was at the 1959 dedication of the building.

He thanked the Christian representatives for being “so responsive to the pressures we were feeling in the Jewish community.”

Growing up in Mountain Brook, he said people elsewhere in the country would ask about anti-Semitism in the area, but “generally that hasn’t been the feeling” here. Still, there were times when the Jewish community has felt isolated.

As many in the Christian community started attending AIPAC events, Hess said, “we realized a large part of the Christian community wanted to stand with us,” and “it makes us feel stronger.”

He said that though there are areas of disagreement, “it’s just incredible when we find issues we can coalesce around and work together.”

Dawson said there were three main reasons why the groups responded to the call. “God has commanded us to love our neighbors as ourselves,” he said. It is also an opportunity “to share what we stand for” instead of being seen as against something. “We stand for religious liberty, that anyone can live out their faith,” he said.

The third reason was the children, Dawson said. “When innocent children have their days interrupted with bomb threats, anyone with common sense rises up.”

Over two-thirds of the LJCC’s membership is not Jewish, and it is seen as being a place to bring together those from a wide range of religions and ethnicities.

Honora Pinnick, communications director at Independent Presbyterian, spoke as a parent of two of the more than 100 Christian children who attend the Cohn ECLC at the LJCC. She said the effort by the churches show “the Gospel isn’t something (the children) listen to every Sunday at church, it’s a way they live their lives.”

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Allison Weil, LJCC president, accepts the check for security enhancements from a group of churches and ministries Rebekah Weinberger, founder of Parents of the LJCC, said they felt “an outpouring of love” from the community over the last four months, and having so many churches stand in solidarity shows, as Elie Wiesel said, “people have learned from history.”

Hess said he and Bradford started to really get to know each other while working with United Way. “We were looking for ways to make this a stronger community for everybody.”

Bradford said he has done fundraising for decades, but “this was the most fun and easiest” to raise money for.

Bradford said he spoke with Richard Friedman, executive director of the Federation, a month ago as the campaign began. That night, Bradford wondered what he would have done had he been a Christian in Germany in the 1940s. He also thought of “all the national publicity we get as a city of hate, but that’s not the Birmingham I know.”

Raising a substantial amount “would send a statement to the Jewish community, our whole community and maybe nationwide, that Birmingham is a city where people come together,” he said.

The next day he addressed a leadership meeting, and “about 7 or 8 came up after the meeting and said we have to do this.”

He mentioned it to Rick Burgess of the nationally-syndicated “Rick and Bubba” radio show, and Burgess said he wanted to mention it on the air. That weekend, Harry Reeder, senior pastor of Briarwood Presbyterian church, said he wanted to be involved.

After sending out an email “so we’d all be singing from the same hymnal, the money started pouring in.”

The participating churches are Briarwood Presbyterian, Canaan Baptist, Canterbury United Methodist, Cathedral Church of the Advent, Catholic Diocese of Birmingham, Church at Brook Hills, Church of the Highlands, First Baptist Church of Birmingham, Gardendale First Baptist, Independent Presbyterian, Liberty Church, Mountain Brook Community Church, Mt. Signal Baptist of Chelsea, Oak Mountain Presbyterian, Shades Mountain Baptist, Shades Mountain Independent, St. Luke’s Episcopal, St. Mary’s Episcopal and St. Peter’s Anglican.

Participating ministries are Alliance Ministries, Center for Executive Leadership, JH Ranch, Lifework Leadership, National Christian Foundation of Alabama, Scott Dawson Evangelistic Association and Young Business Leaders.

In the first of two closing prayers, Reeder said it “pains our heart” to reflect on the threats that brought everyone together. He gave thanks for the LJCC “as an asset to the community” and for the opportunity to be “part of the continuing of its work.”

Rabbi Laila Haas of Temple Emanu-El expressed thanks “for the fellowship of those around us” and spoke about the Passover journey “from darkness to light, despair to hope and redemption.”

Dawson said the campaign crossed denominational and racial lines.

And they’re not done.

“Just this morning I got emails from three churches” that want to participate, Bradford said, but “once we got over $100,000 I wanted to bring this check.”

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50 Bazaar Years Beth Israel event eagerly awaited annually in Jackson

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On March 29, the doors of Beth Israel opened for the 50th time for the congregation’s bazaar, and like every other year, a wide cross-section of Jackson went in to enjoy the wide range of traditional Jewish foods.

The bazaar was one of the first major community events held at Beth Israel after it moved into its current building in 1967.

In the mid-1960s, Katherine Weiner remembered going to the annual bazaar at St. Andrews Episcopal Cathedral. She was convinced that this was something Beth Israel could do, and the first year, the bazaar made $5,000, which was a lot of money in the late 1960s.

The bazaar is Beth Israel’s largest fundraiser of the year, and it supports the congregation’s outreach effort to numerous community organizations, “which is one of the reasons why the community supports it,” Beth Israel President Michele Schipper said.

And “it’s almost like a family reunion,” said Sisterhood Co-President Frankie Springer.

Early bazaars offered crafts made by the members, but the emphasis soon shifted to the food, which has remained mostly the same for 50 years.

The white elephant sale, book sale and silent auction have continued to grow in recent years.

Two months before the bazaar, volunteers start the process of spending “countless hours” preparing items. The Sunday before, the Men’s Club does the annual Raising of the Poles, assembling the structure for the booths. After many years, they pretty much have it down to a science.

The bazaar is now a congregational event, not the Sisterhood bazaar.

Susan Fijman explained “we can’t do it by ourselves,” and this acknowledges the role the entire congregation plays. “It’s all about community.”

“You never realize how much work goes into it,” Sisterhood Co-President Suzanne Freedman said. “Everyone in the congregation steps up.”

For many, working the bazaar is a multi-generational endeavor. For relative newcomers, the bazaar became a way to integrate into the congregation.

Schipper said her grandmother was involved from the very beginning.

Her mother headed the kitchen, then her sister. “When I moved back to Jackson, I became kitchen help.”

Fijman remembers being invited to help prepare food and feeling “intimidated.” Finally, she signed up to do cabbage rolls one year. Gilda Hesdorffer instructed her on how to make the perfect cabbage roll, and “to this day I use the Gilda Hesdorffer method of doing cabbage rolls.”

Dana Larkin noted that each congregant is asked to make at least two casseroles or desserts to sell at the bazaar. “Lots of people make more

community than two,” she said. Sometimes people come in looking for a cake made by a particular congregant each year.

Larkin said that when she returned to Jackson after college, she started working the bazaar, “and I was the young one.” She recalls how the women “made me laugh all day long.”

Co-chair Jo Ann Gordon, who has led the bazaar for eight years, said she started working the garden rooms, where people sit to eat after going through the line. “I got to play hospitality,” she said.

Doing the bazaar “spoke to my heart,” because it involves over 100 volunteers and brings people together “for the good of this Jackson community.”

Everyone emphasized the community aspect of the event, as Beth Israel opens its doors to greater Jackson and says “you are welcome here,” Fijman said.

The bazaar finds its way onto office calendars across Jackson, and now there are children and grandchildren bringing those who had first brought them to the bazaar years ago. Freedman said many people at work ask her about it.

To attract more of the younger crowd, this year they decided to have a bazaar pop-up

at Fondren First Thursdays in early March, serving samples of items that would be at the bazaar.

Gordon, who co-chaired the bazaar with Paula Erlich, said the bazaar is becoming a Mississippi event, not just Jackson. “We’re getting people from other areas of the state who say they’ve heard about it and want to see for themselves.”

The food is still the star, and the bazaar is the only time many traditional Jewish foods are available in Jackson.

A popular option is the Taster’s Plate, with matzah ball soup, stuffed cabbage, brisket, noodle kugel, carrot tzimmes, potato knish and a blintz.

The Raising of the Poles Other popular items include corned beef sandwiches, Israeli salads and chopped and nobody would know the difference.” liver. On the stage, a lengthy table is filled with Schipper said she has never heard anyone homemade desserts. question whether to keep the bazaar going. “It A huge part of the bazaar is the take-home is so important to the congregation and to the frozen casseroles. By the time the doors open, community.” half of the food sales for the day have already Instead, Larkin said, sometimes they get retaken place as people placed advance orders, quests to have the bazaar twice a year. Knowing with some people stocking up for the year. how much work it takes to put it on annually, “It’s great, it’s all homemade,” Schipper said. her reaction is “no… it’s an annual thing — and “You can put it on your table, say you made it it’s a big deal.”

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La. Supreme Court Museum hosts exhibit on Jewish lawyers in Nazi Germany An internationally-acclaimed exhibit on the persecution of Jewish lawyers and judges in Nazi Germany is on display in New Orleans this month.

“Lawyers Without Rights: Jewish Lawyers in Germany under the Third Reich,” will be at the Louisiana Supreme Court Museum in New Orleans through the end of May. The exhibit is also slated for the Louisiana State Bar Association’s annual meeting and summer school, June 2 to 10.

In 1933, half of the 3,400 lawyers in Berlin were Jewish. That year, Jewish lawyers and judges were barred from German courts, ending the most likely legal recourse for Jews who were suddenly being stripped of their livelihoods and had their property seized.

The idea for the exhibit was conceived in 1998 when an Israeli lawyer asked the regional bar of Berlin for a list of Jewish lawyers whose licenses had been revoked by the Nazi regime.

“The regional bar decided not only to research a list of names but also to try to find out more about the fates behind all those names,” said Axel Filges, past president of the German Federal Bar. “Some were able to leave the country after the Nazis came into power, but very many of them were incarcerated or murdered. The non-Jewish German lawyers of those days remained silent. They failed miserably, and so did the lawyers’ organizations. We do not know why.”

After the Berlin bar transformed its research into an exhibit, other regional bars began asking whether they could show it and add their own research. “So, like a puzzle, a portrait of the fate of Jewish lawyers in Germany has emerged step by step,” Filges said.

The exhibit debuted in 2012, sponsored jointly by the German Federal Bar and the American Bar Association.

“In a time when world events are moving very quickly and many politicians are playing to our worst fears and prejudices, the exhibit represents an important opportunity for our community to remember what happens when the rule of law collapses,” said Meredith and Mark Cunningham, who helped organize the exhibit in New Orleans. “The judiciary in Louisiana receives an annual state appropriation that represents less than one percent of the total state budget. Our indigent defense system is in a state of collapse. These are all signs of a lack of respect for the rule of law which hurts the reputation and economic development of our great state.”

This showing is presented by the Supreme Court of Louisiana Historical Society, the Anti-Defamation League, the Louisiana Center for Law and Civic Education, the Louisiana State Bar Association and the New Orleans Bar Association in conjunction with the American Bar Association and German Federal Bar with financial support from local law firms. The exhibit has been shown in more than 100 cities in Germany, the United States and others parts of the world, but this is the first time in Louisiana.

summer travel an annual SJL special section Courtesy of The National WWII Museum

PT 305 boat on Lake Pontchartrain

WW II Museum opens democracy exhibit in June; PT boat rides offered

by Lee J. Green The National World War II Museum in New Orleans continues its expansion and enhanced focus on creating an interactive, immersive experience with its new “The Arsenal of Democracy” permanent exhibition opening next month, along with recently launched PT boat rides on Lake Pontchartrain.

The “Arsenal of Democracy: The Herman and George Brown Salute to the Home Front” opening on June 10 in the Louisiana Memorial Pavilion will tell the story of the road to war and the Home Front, drawing on personal narratives as along with evocative artifacts to highlight facets of World War II-era American life through an experiential narrative.

“There were a lot of American heroes and those who didn’t get the recognition they deserved for their war support efforts in the U.S. while our troops were fighting overseas,” said Museum Public Relations Director Michelle Moore.

Last November, the Museum finished its restoration of a Patrol Torpedo boat — PT 305, completing a 10-year process. In March they put it back on the water on Lake Pontchartrain and started offering rides as well as deck tours.

“These boats were originally made by the Louisiana-based Higgins Boat Company more than 70 years ago,” said Moore. She said the museum will offer shuttle service to the boat. The cost for a ride is $350, but a more minimal cost for deck tours.

As of early April, rides were only offered on Saturdays, but they will expand as response warrants. “This could be a very special Father’s Day present. Maybe someone’s dad served in World War II and that man wants to also share this with his son,” she said. “We want these stories to be passed from generation to generation so they will always be known.” The museum is home to more than 9,000 first-hand accounts of the war.

In March 2016, the museum welcomed its five millionth visitor, and Moore said they set an attendance record again this past March.

The museum opened as the National D-Day Museum in June 2000, with more than 200,000 in attendance. In 2004 an Act of Congress designated it as America’s National World War II Museum.

More than 85 percent of museum visitors come from outside of Louisiana and 30 percent of visitors cite the museum as the top or one of the most important reasons to visit the city.

TripAdvisor ranked the museum as the number one attraction in New Orleans; the number four museum in the U.S. and 11th in the world according to its Travelers’ Choice awards.

Moore added that the temporary exhibition, “State of Deception: The Power or Nazi Propaganda,” will remain up until June 18.

“We plan to continue to grow and add to the Museum to make it the most educational, immersive and important we can,” she said.

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May 2017 • Southern Jewish Life 23

summer travel

steamboat Vulcan on top of some great events

by Lee J. Green

Last authentic steamboat on the Mississippi River Three cruises a day from the French Quarter Dinner Jazz Cruise, Sunday Brunch & more Calliope Concerts & Engine Room Visits Inside and outside seating

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In June, Vulcan Park and Museum will host a birthday celebration for Birmingham’s Iron Man. In July, they will host a birthday celebration for the United States. In both cases, attendees get the gift of entertainment.

The 112th annual Vulcan Birthday Bash will be on June 4. The party will feature games for kids, balloon making with clowns, an interactive photo booth, musical entertainment including a drum circle, a children’s book author, food trucks, a plane from the Southern Museum of Flight and a actual racing automobile.

The auto will promote the new exhibition that will open in late May — “Southern Thunder: The History of Alabama Auto Racing.” Vulcan is partnering with Talladega and the Jefferson County Commission to present the exhibition, which will be up for 18 months.

“We’re excited about this exhibition. Auto racing is part of the fabric of Alabama and there is a rich history here,” said Vulcan Park and Museum Marketing/PR Director Morgan Black. “This will also be our biggest and most fun birthday bash ever.”

One month later, on July 4, Vulcan will be present its annual fireworks show and salute to America, Thunder on the Mountain.

Black said June and July are big, but so is this month. On May 16 at 5:30 p.m., Vulcan will host a special Taste of Five Points event. This will highlight the culinary scene in Five Points as a “closing ceremony of sorts” for the current Five Points exhibition.

In May, work will also begin on a $4 million enhancement and expansion at Vulcan Park. Thanks to a $4 million gift from the Kiwanis Club of Birmingham in honor of its 100th birthday, the first component will be to physically reconnect Vulcan to downtown Birmingham by landscaping the north slope of the park, renovating the Vulcan trail plaza entrance and building steps for access to the park from the north side. This municipal and event space will be known as Kiwanis Centennial Park.

The one-mile Vulcan Trail will be extended to a two-mile trail and serve as a future hub of the planned 750 miles of Birmingham’s Red Rock Ridge and Valley Trail System.

Finally, a dynamic, multi-colored light show will be installed and projected onto Vulcan and his pedestal nightly. The light show will be comparable to the lights projected onto New York City’s Empire State Building.

According to Vulcan Park and Museum President and CEO Darlene Negrotto, “in addition to enhancing Vulcan’s prominence on the skyline, this visionary project will physically connect Vulcan as the central hub from which locals and tourists will access our cultural institutions and parks.”

The Henderson adds new dimension to Destin’s highly-lauded Henderson Park Inn

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www.cafebeignet.com 24 Southern Jewish Life • May 2017

While there’s no shortage of beachfront hotels in Florida to choose from when deciding where to book a beach vacation, those looking for a romantic, adults-only getaway should look no further than the Henderson Park Inn in Destin.

Henderson Park Inn is reminiscent of the charming yet sophisticated boutique hotels of Northern California’s Wine Country or Nantucket in New England. The Inn itself is best described as a modern luxury boutique hotel but a step back in time in romantic beach ambience. A large veranda overlooks a long expanse of grass and the beautiful white sugar sands of the Emerald Coast. Guest rooms are elegant private sanctuaries and evoke a feeling of relaxation and serenity. Special amenities include wine, grapes and flowers upon arrival, all which make an overnight stay quite a treat. All this — and the Inn is right on the beach.

Even with all that, Henderson Park Inn has added new luxury amenities making a stay at this idyllic boutique hotel on par with the finest small hotels in the world.

Guests at the all-inclusive Gulf-front Henderson Park Inn now have the best of both worlds: the serenity of the beachside luxury boutique hotel and

May 2017 • Southern Jewish Life 25

summer travel

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access to all of the amenities next door at The Henderson, a Salamander Beach and Spa Resort.

The Inn’s sister property, The Henderson, is home to two swimming pools. Couples will love relaxing at the Adults Only Pool, which features a luxury cabana with poolside beverage service.

Guests who want to keep up with their workout routine can take advantage of The Henderson’s excellent fitness center. In addition to the standard weights and machines, the fitness center offers a variety of daily classes to enjoy, with everything from yoga to indoor cycling. For the ultimate in relaxation, Henderson Park Inn guests can book spa services including massages, facials, manicures, pedicures, mineral scrubs and more.

The Henderson Park Inn’s onsite restaurant, Beach Walk Cafe, has built a reputation as Destin’s premier location for fine dining. Beach Walk Cafe is now joined by a wonderful collection of new eateries at The Henderson including Primrose and Horizons.

Voted the most romantic hotel in America by both the users of About. com and TripAdvisor.com, this luxury boutique hotel provides an idyllic beachside atmosphere for a honeymoon, anniversary, or any special vacation. As the only beachfront hotel in Destin, it is easy to see why the Henderson Park Inn has become a nationally recognized destination for honeymoons, anniversaries and couples getaways.

Discover Bellingrath Gardens Step out of time at Bellingrath Gardens and Home, where guests stroll through a vibrant, ever-changing 65-acre estate Garden and tour the historic Bellingrath Home, built in 1936 and filled with the original antiques and collections of founders Walter and Bessie Bellingrath.

Bellingrath Gardens and Home offers blooms and beauty every day of the year, and a variety of special events.

On May 12, Bellingrath will have National Public Gardens Day, to recognize the importance of public gardens in promoting environmental stewardship and awareness. Bellingrath will offer a special behind-the-scenes tour of the Production Greenhouses, conducted by the Horticulture Management Team.

On May 14, there will be a Mother’s Day Garden Concert with the Mobile Symphony Youth Orchestra at 1 p.m.

Wonderful Wednesdays will be held June 7 to July 26, a series of lectures and workshops helping Gulf Coast gardeners and enthusiasts make the most of an extended growing season. Each workshop covers a special feature of the Gardens or Home, tips for making a garden more spectacular or guest lectures and workshops from renowned members of the horticultural and gardening world.

June 14 will be Kids Gulf Discovery Day, an opportunity for children of all ages to learn about the wildlife and ecology of the Gulf Coast. A wide variety of environmental organizations will be on hand for activities and demonstrations from 9 a.m. to noon. Guests may also take a 45-minute guided cruise along the beautiful Fowl River with Wild Native Delta Safaris.

Bellingrath Gardens and Home is in south Mobile County on the Fowl River. The property is a 30-minute drive from downtown Mobile and a 20-minute drive from Dauphin Island, which also offers the option of regular ferry service to Fort Morgan and Gulf Shores. The Magnolia Café serves lunch daily from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Guided tours of the Bellingrath Home are offered hourly beginning at 9 a.m., with the last ticket sold at 3:30 p.m.

26 Southern Jewish Life • May 2017

summer travel

Exhibit marks 30th anniversary of Dolly Parton statue Those who want to say “Hello, Dolly” can visit Sevierville, TN, which through the end of the year is celebrating the 30th anniversary of the unveiling of the Dolly Parton statue.

The exhibit, “30 Years: Celebrating Dolly in Bronze,” is located on the Sevierville Courthouse lawn in historic downtown Sevierville.

The statue was originally created by artist Jim Gray and the artifacts that were part of the statue’s creation as part of the exhibition are on loan from the East Tennessee History Center.

On May 3, 1987, Dolly Parton came back to her hometown to participate in the event during which the statue was unveiled.

Gray said more than 2,000 hours went into the project of making the statue. In the past 30 years, millions of visitors from all over the world have made a pilgrimage to the Sevier County Courthouse to see the famous statue.

Those traveling to the Sevierville area and the Great Smokey Mountains in May can enjoy some smoky barbecue along with great music at the Bloomin’ BBQ and Bluegrass Festival, May 19 to 20. The barbecue competition features some of the nation’s top cooking teams and free bluegrass concerts by rising stars as well as legends.

While in town, Visit Sevierville recommends 50s-style The Diner, The Applewood Farmhouse Restaurant and Courthouse Donuts.

In the category of “quirky and cool attractions,” the area has much to offer including the Tennessee Museum of Aviation, Forbidden Caverns, Smoky Mountain Knife Works, Rainforest Adventures, NASCAR SpeedPark and Tennessee Smokies baseball.

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Renaissance Ross Bridge offers Birmingham area vacation trips

by Lee J. Green Some who stay at the Birmingham area’s only resort hotel come from other places to explore the Magic City and surrounding areas, while others live in Birmingham and just want a weekend getaway at Renaissance Ross Bridge Resort.

“We’re happy to give people tips on things to do when they are staying with us in this area and around Birmingham,” said Renaissance Ross Bridge Sales and Marketing Director Jonathan McKinney. “Others want to just have their whole vacation at the resort and enjoy golf, spa, family activities, great dining along with entertainment.”

The land the hotel is on in Hoover is owned by the Ross family. It includes a bridge that was utilized by both Confederate and Union soldiers in the Civil War. Near the resort is a Robert Trent Jones golf course, which is the fifth longest in the world, said McKinney. Renaissance Ross Bridge also features a spa on site that has won many national awards.

In the summer, those staying at Renaissance Ross Bridge Resort can enjoy “Summer at the Castle.” There are activities for the family, movies by the pool and opportunities to enjoy the nice warm weather.

For those who want to sightsee and be active within a few miles of the resort, McKinney recommends Red Mountain Park. Larger than New York’s Central Park, Red Mountain Park features miles of trails, zip lines, a high ropes course, a climbing wall and a dog park. Nearby there is also the largest indoor bouldering facility east of the Mississippi River.

Just a few more miles away is the famous Vulcan Park and Museum. “It’s not just a great view high atop Vulcan, but it’s a history museum for the region,” he said.

McKinney said Renaissance Ross Bridge also offers some special vacation packages that include attractions and activities.

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May 2017 • Southern Jewish Life 27

summer travel

Alabama Splash Adventure gearing up for family amusement

by Lee J. Green The owners of Alabama Splash Adventure know amusement parks — they started the first one in 1949 with Holiday World, located in southern Indiana.

Having great rides and attractions is important, but the Koch family places more emphasis on value, and treating all park goers like they are part of the family.

“We’re always making improvements to the park.

Some of them many people may not notice but to us it’s all about creating that environment; that place that families want to come to and come back to. It’s about giving them not just entertainment, but an experience,” said Dan Koch, who has owned Alabama Splash Adventure with his mother Pat, affectionately known as “The General,” for the past three years.

The plan for 2017 is to improve access and flow to areas of Alabama Splash Adventure, which features both water and land attractions and rides, as well as enhance the landscape to give the park a “more tropical feel” says Pat Koch.

“We’ve brought in a bunch of palm trees and we’ve done some landscaping to make the waterpark feel more like you are going to the beach,” she said. Alabama Splash Adventure has also added several cabanas that are decked out and can be rented.

Dan Koch said the access improvements are part of a bigger master plan of growth and the addition of more attractions. He pointed to some advanced new water slides and features for families that will add to the attractions as well as enhance total park connectivity. Work is already underway and the project will open for the 2018 season.

The 2017 season starts Memorial Day weekend and runs through Labor Day weekend. The Kochs also said that they have enhanced their party facilities at the park and want to encourage more groups to have their special celebrations at Alabama Splash Adventure. In 2016, they even hosted a group of 2,000 people.

“We have nice facilities indoors and outdoors at the park. For a party, we can do anything they want,” said Dan. Pat Koch, who is 83, still loves coming to the park just about every day to greet people. She said Alabama Splash Adventure is special because of that family feel.

“These families are like our family,” she said. “We want to give them a lot for a little money.” Alabama Splash Adventure offers free parking, free sodas and non-alcoholic beverages and free sunscreen to all park-goers. It just takes three visits for a season pass to pay for itself.

Part of the family is Samuel Linetsky, a member of the local Jewish community who works at Alabama Splash Adventure part-time during the season.

“I feel so honored every summer when I get to work at this amazing park,” said Linetsky. “One of my dreams came true when after moving to Alabama I got to work for the Koch family.” He first met them 10 years ago when he lived in Ohio and visited Holiday World.

“Dan and The Genera are hands-on owners who care deeply about their guests and building an amazing park,” he added. “Alabama Splash Adventure is one of the best values for summer fun around.”

28 Southern Jewish Life • May 2017

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May 2017 • Southern Jewish Life 29

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Visit nearby planets at Huntsville’s Space Center Ever wondered what a lightning storm looks like on Venus? You don’t have to travel 30 million miles or more to find out. You can take the short trip to Huntsville to see the U.S. Space and Rocket Center’s newest exhibit, “Neighborhood Earth,” which provides guests with a virtual walk through the solar system.

At the center of this multifaceted exhibit is a big, cinematic feature where one gets to stand, virtually, on the surface of the planets. It is an interactive, immersive experience of traveling through the solar system. The center of the space is a large planet that changes as the surrounding screens show actual images from the surface taken by probes and rovers that have traveled to those heavenly bodies, from the red spot on Jupiter to a view of a sunset on Mars from the Gale Crater.

While the cinematic feature is the star, Neighborhood Earth also has several other components, from hands-on activities to models of those spacecraft and probes that NASA has used to explore the solar system and ones that are planned for the future, such as NASA’s Space Launch System. There are also kiosks that use holographic technology to explain aspects of the planets and the spacecraft that have traveled to them.

There are some hands-on aspects to the exhibit as well, including a table covered in a Mars landscape and 3-D printed pieces one can use to build a Mars colony. Guests can also build and launch 3-D printed rockets. There’s also a projection screen that works with X-box Connect to make movements correspond with the astronaut on the surface of the different planets. Each scene has a funny “wish you were here” postcard message as if you are on a vacation to, for example, Mercury.

The Rocket Center isn’t just a site for the premiere of this world-class exhibit; its education team supplied the research on the planets and, with NASA Marshall Space Flight Center, provided the spacecraft models and artifacts on display.

Australian-based Flying Fish and Chronica Creative constructed and programmed the exhibit.

Rebecca Hitt, the Rocket Center’s museum education assistant manager, helped research the material for the exhibit and wrote the education guide aligned to K-12 Next Generation Science Standards.

Hitt looks forward to having families enjoy “Neighborhood Earth.”

“I want them to think about the exploration of the planets and what it would take for them to be there,” she said. “What would take them off our world and to other locations? It’s always good to expand the scope of children’s imaginations and open them up to ways of thinking about their home, their city and the galaxy. This exhibit encourages them to look at the bigger picture, literally.”

19th-century French Quarter Jewish house a landmark museum Step inside two historically-significant early 19th century homes in New Orleans’ French Quarter with a visit to the Hermann-Grima and Gallier Houses. The Hermann-Grima House, one of the finest Federal style homes in the city, was built in 1831 by Samuel Hermann, a Jewish immigrant from Germany who arrived in New Orleans in 1804 and was in the cotton business.

The Hermanns lost the home during the economic depression of the late 1830s, and in 1844, Judge Felix Grima purchased it. In 1925, the Christian Woman’s Exchange acquired the house and opened a rooming house. In the late 1960s they undertook a restoration and opened the house as a museum in 1971.

In 1996, the organization purchased the Gallier House and restored it.

On April 12, the Hermann-Grima House was honored at the 2017 Louisiana Landmarks Society Awards for Excellence in Historic Preservation.

The Hermann-Grima and Gallier Houses are eight blocks apart and can be toured the same day, or on consecutive days. The Hermann-Grima House has the only functional urban 1831 kitchen in New Orleans, and during the winter there are demonstrations of open hearth cooking.

The Hermann-Grima House is also available for events, with Broussard’s next door handling management and catering. In fact, from 1831 to 1922, the Broussard’s property was part of the Hermann-Grima estate.

See New Orleans from a different perspective, on the Steamboat Natchez Take a step back in time aboard the last authentic steamboat on the Mississippi River.

Steamboat Natchez has been providing amazing views of New Orleans for 42 years, offering dinner and daytime jazz cruises, run daily around the year, departing from the Toulouse Street Wharf behind JAX Brewery at 11:30 a.m., 2:30 p.m. and 7 p.m. A buffet lunch is available for the mid-day cruises.

Music plays from the calliope upon departure, and the engine room is like being in a floating museum.

Upcoming events include Mother’s Day Brunch on May 14 at 11:30 a.m.

There will be a special menu and jazz trio for the two-hour cruise, and visitors will receive a complimentary drink ticket.

On June 17, there will be a Family Day cruise at 2:30 p.m., with special pricing and music. Children’s entertainment includes a magician, balloon clown, spray tattoos and a Super Hero. Tickets will be available in late May. Check the Steamboat Natchez Facebook page for upcoming specials and events.

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May 2017 • Southern Jewish 31 4/25/17 Life 3:41 PM

community New Barons pitching coach is Major Leagues’ only Jewish Dominican player

by Lee J. Green Birmingham Barons Pitching Coach Jose Bautista is one of 16 children born to a mother originally from Israel and a Dominican father, and his family could field its own baseball team.

The former major league pitcher, who made his debut in The Show almost 20 years ago, has the unique distinction of being the only Jewish major league baseball player from the Dominican Republic.

“I am proud to be Jewish and we are an observant family,” said Bautista, whose wife Lea is also Jewish. They met in Venezuela, where her family had moved from Israel.

“We observe the Sabbath and celebrate the holidays. My daughter Gloria is the vice president of Hillel at Florida State University and she had her Bat Mitzvah in Israel.” The Bautistas also have two sons — Leo and Jose, Jr. The 42-year-old Bautista was born in Bani, Dominican Republic and the family attended a synagogue in nearby Santiago. “It’s a pretty small Jewish community there but probably bigger than people might think,” he said.

The New York Mets signed Bautista as an international free agent in 1981, starting with the Kingsport Mets. After 7 years in the Mets minor league system, he was released in 1987, then picked up by Baltimore.

On April 9, 1988, he made his major league debut with the Orioles.

He spent four years in Baltimore as both a starting pitcher and a relief

32 Southern Jewish Life • May 2017

pitcher, pitching in 75 games for the Orioles.

In 1993, he signed with the Chicago Cubs and had his best year. Bautista went 10-3 with a 2.82 ERA. After short stints with the San Francisco Giants and Detroit Tigers, he finished his major league career in 1997 with the St. Louis Cardinals. Overall he had a 32-42 record with a 4.62 ERA and three saves over 312 appearances. He is fifth all-time among Jewish players in number of games pitched.

He would go into scouting and then coaching minor league baseball after retiring from the major leagues. Bautista started off in the Kansas City Royals organization and came to the Chicago White Sox organization, the Barons’ parent club, in 2008.

For a few years he was a roving instructor in the White Sox organization for Latin players, then spent a few years as pitching coach for the single-A Kannapolis Intimidators before being promoted to Birmingham for the 2017 season.

“As a roving instructor I came to Birmingham a few times,” but it was when the stadium was in Hoover, said Bautista. “I think this new stadium and this area of downtown Birmingham is incredible. I am very excited to be here.”

He said though during the season much of his time is devoted to the team and it involves a lot of travel across the Southern League cities, he looks forward to being involved as much as possible in the overall community and the Jewish community.

“When I can, I am happy to speak at the (Levite Jewish Community Center) and the synagogues about my experiences,” said Bautista.

P H Y S I C I A N

P R O F I L E

ANGELLE GELVIN, M.D.

Touro holding farewell for Cantor Mintz Touro Synagogue will say farewell to Cantor David Mintz at the May 19 Shabbat service. The 6 p.m. service will be followed by a celebratory Shabbat dinner in honor of his service to the congregation since arriving in 2014.

After dinner, he will lead the final Shabbat Kumsitz of the year, a spirit-filled song session with guest musicians.

DR. Gelvin

is a General Surgeon at Crescent City Physicians, Inc., a subsidiary of Touro Infirmary. Dr. Gelvin performs an array of surgical procedures with a special interest in minimally invasive procedures. She is board certified by the American Board of Surgery and a member of the American College of Surgeons and Isidore Cohn, Jr.-James D. Rives Surgical Society.

Cohn named Sugar Bowl president Stanley Cohn, a Tulane graduate and New Orleans attorney, assumed the duties as Sugar Bowl president in February.

A native of Union Springs, Ala., Cohn was elected to the Sugar Bowl Committee in 1998. He has served on a wide-range of committees, including several years on the bowl’s Executive Committee and chairing the bowl’s Team Liaison, Conference Liaison, Player’s Liaison, Swimming and National Football Foundation committees. In 2010, he was recognized by the National Football Foundation Stanley Cohn as a national chapter leader. Additionally, Cohn has served as a Sugar Bowl officer the past four years.

As president, Cohn will oversee the Sugar Bowl executive committee and work to ensure the its mission of promoting tourism in New Orleans through the organization of over 50 amateur sporting events.

The 84th annual Sugar Bowl will be played on Jan. 1 as a semifinal in this year’s College Football Playoff. Additional events throughout the year include every Louisiana High School Athletic Association state championship; the Crescent City Classic, a nationally-recognized road race featuring over 20,000 participants; the Manning Award, which honors college football’s top quarterback; three basketball tournaments; two volleyball tournaments; two soccer sponsorships; and events in baseball, bowling, cross country, golf, lacrosse, sailing, tennis and track and field.

“Like so many children growing up in rural Alabama, I developed a passion for college football early in my life,” Cohn said. “After coming to New Orleans as an 18-year old Tulane freshman, it was a natural for me to gravitate during my post-graduate life to a civic organization like the Sugar Bowl which supports our local community in so many ways and hosts a major college football bowl game each year.”

He said his goals are “to maintain the Sugar Bowl’s status as a highly regarded New Year’s Six bowl and position the organization to successfully maneuver the challenges which lie ahead due to the constantly changing college football landscape.”

Cohn “has earned the honor of being elected Sugar Bowl president through his hard work and dedication to the Sugar Bowl,” said Judge Lance Africk, a current executive committee member and past president.

“Stanley has always been committed to the mission of the Sugar Bowl.”

Cohn’s term runs through February 2018. He has also served as the president of the Tulane Alumni Association, the Lakeview Property Owners’ Association, American Counsel Association and the New Orleans Bar Association. A member of Temple Sinai, Cohn also has been president of the Hebrew Rest Cemetery Association.

Two of the Sugar Bowl’s founding members were Temple Sinai congregants, and various congregation members have served as committee members, committee chairs and presidents.

Dr. Gelvin is a New Orleans native, Mount Carmel Academy Alumna, and member of the Junior League of New Orleans. Dr. Gelvin is currently accepting new patients at her practice conveniently located on the campus of Touro Infirmary.

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May 2017 • Southern Jewish Life 33

Fifty years of foresight JEF celebrates milestone

On March 19, supporters of the Jewish Endowment Foundation of Louisiana celebrated 50 years of accomplishments, and having a strong rainy day fund that was actually used for a rainy day.

The gala was held at the Westin Canal Place Hotel, featuring a slide show of 500 photos chronicling the agency’s history.

Sandy Levy, executive director of JEF since 1991, spoke about each of the past 11 presidents she had worked with and their accomplishments during their tenures. President Andi Lestelle talked about JEF’s creation and its founders, Shepard Latter, Roswell Weil, Bernard Mintz, Marvin Jacobs, Ian Arnof and Charles Bennett.

Lestelle also made a special presentation to Immediate Past President Richard Cahn and thanked him for his commitment and dedication to JEF for the past two years, while Levy made a presentation to all of the past presidents.

“The visionaries who started JEF in 1967 hoped that it would grow and become a lifeline for our Jewish community,” Levy said.

The agency has served as a repository of

Photos by Donna Matherne

JEF President Andi Lestelle with 12 past presidents: Linda Wiener, Joe Pasternack Jr., Sandy Maslansky, Leon Rittenberg Jr., Richard Cahn, Ellen Yellin, Andi, Joel Mendler, Carole Neff, Max Nathan Jr., Carol Wise, Joyce Pulitzer, Rusty Levy funds contributed by people and organizations who share its vision of a strong and vibrant Jewish community. The General Fund provides financial support for ongoing and new projects and initiatives, as well as assistance in emergencies. JEF also funds programs through its donors who make distributions from their funds to non-profits that are important to them.

Shepard Latter was elected the first president of the Community Endowment Foundation of the Jewish Welfare Federation of New Orleans in 1968, and the first $100,000 was raised.

Roswell Weil succeeded Latter in 1971 and

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led a drive to raise $450,000 for the General Fund.

In 1976, the first distribution was made from a philanthropic fund, the Max Nathan Jr. Philanthropic Fund.

By 1980, the organization was renamed the Jewish Endowment Foundation, and the first two Charitable Remainder Trusts were established by Ed Polson and Michel Brener. By the next year, assets had grown to $2.4 million.

The first Supporting Foundation was created by Shirley and Robert Haspel in 1982, and the Professional Advisory Committee was es-

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34 Southern Jewish Life • May 2017

community tablished. Soon after, JEF started providing financial support to the Jewish Federation of Greater New Orleans with grants from the General Fund.

Max Nathan Jr. said the aim of his presidency from 1985 to 1987 was to increase JEF’s assets “so that more grants could be made to Jewish nonprofits.” Two donors offered challenge grants, and JEF assets reached $7.5 mil- Richard Cahn and Andi Lestelle lion, with the General Fund topping $1 million.

The New American Holocaust Memorial Fund and the Tzedakah Award were established, and the Willy and Erna Wolff Scholarship Fund was established to benefit Jewish professionals.

In 1991, Levy was named executive director, and Roger Weill made the first $1 million unrestricted bequest to the General Fund. The Carol B. Wise Family Supporting Foundation was also established.

Leon Rittenberg Jr. noted the Mintz family and Shorty Fraenkel became co-sponsors of the Annual Event, a partnership that continues to this day.

At the 25th anniversary celebration, Abba Eban was the guest speaker and there were 700 in attendance. JEF assets hit $15 million and the first block grants were made to the Federation’s constituent agencies.

In 1995, Linda Weiner became the first female president “when the stock market was booming.” Assets reached $24 million, and options for establishing Donor Advised Funds were increased.

The startup costs for the New Orleans Jewish Day School were provided by JEF, along with support for the new Edie and Paul Rosenblum Gift of Israel Experience. The Charitable Gift Annuity program was also established.

Another program started in that era was the Jewish Summer Camp Experience, an incentive program for first-time campers, providing $1,000 per child to encourage parents to send their children to Jewish summer camps.

That program soon was named for the Goldrings and this year the incentive was increased to $1,500. Almost 1,300 children have taken part in the program, which is open to all Jewish families in Louisiana, Alabama, Mississippi and the Florida Panhandle.

A cornerstone $1 million gift for the Goldring Woldenberg Jewish Community Campus in Metairie came from JEF. The agency faced numerous struggles in the early days of the 2000s, with the Sept. 11, 2001 terror attacks, terrorism in Israel and a reeling stock market. Still, Joe Pasternack Jr., president from 2000 to 2002, said “we continued to grow as we provided much needed resources to our continued on page 37 1) JEF Past President Joyce Pulitzer with Morris and Melinda Mintz. The Jean and Saul Mintz Family Supporting Foundation is an event underwriter.

2) Francis “Shorty” Fraenkel (who is an event underwriter), JEF President Andi Lestelle, Event Chair Cathy Bart, Immediate Past President Richard Cahn. 3) Past Presidents Joe Pasternack Jr., Joyce Pulitzer, Linda Wiener and Sandy Maslansky. 4) Past Presidents Carole Cukell Neff and Max Nathan Jr. 5) Past Presidents Joel Mendler and Ellen Yellin with JEF Treasurer Bob Brickman. 6) JEF Secretary Mike Stern and Assistant Treasurer Jim Spiro.

7) René Lehmann and Laura Fine. 8) Executive Director Sandy Levy and Vice President Larry Lehmann. 9) Shorty Fraenkel and Past President Leon Rittenberg Jr. 10) Tom Lowenburg and Anne Lowenburg. 11) Vice President Allan Bissinger with Past Presidents Carol Wise and Rusty Levy.

May 2017 • Southern Jewish Life 35

Upcoming Events Sunday, May 7

Torah Academy Shining Stars. 6 p.m.

B’nai Israel Golf Classic. Island Golf Club, Plaquemine.

Noon.

Blood Drive. Gates of Prayer, Metairie. 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Blood Drive. Temple Sinai, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Monday, May 8 “The State of the Death Penalty.” Morris Bart Sr. Lecture Series. Christine Lehmann, speaker. Uptown JCC, 11:45 a.m.

Wednesday, May 10 “Behind Enemy Lines” with Marthe Cohn. Arts Council of Baton Rouge. 7 p.m.

Thursday, May 11 NCJW Installation. The Forum, Metairie. 6:30 p.m.

“Behind Enemy Lines” with Marthe Cohn. Chabad Metairie. 7:30 p.m.

Saturday, May 13 Temple Sinai Gala. 6:30 p.m.

Friday, May 19 Farewell service for Cantor Mintz. Touro Synagogue, 6 p.m.

Temple Sinai Annual Meeting. 6:15 p.m.

Gates of Prayer Annual Meeting. 6 p.m. Service at 8 p.m.

Saturday, May 20 TRIBE Shabbatsana. City Park, 11 a.m.

Sunday, May 21 Jewish Family Service Rhythm and Soul Gala. Audubon Tea Room. 5 p.m. patrons, 6 p.m. event.

Touro Synagogue Annual Meeting. 10 a.m.

Saturday, May 27 JWV Shabbat. Beth Israel. 9 a.m.

Monday, May 29 Memorial Day Tuesday, May 30 Tikkun Leil Shavuot. Beth Israel. 8:30 p.m.

Wednesday, May 31 First Day of Shavuot Thursday, June 1 Second Day of Shavuot Monday, June 5 New Orleans Mega Mission to Israel.

Clockwise from upper right: Dana Shepard, Loel Samuel, Ina Davis; Flo Schornstein, Celia Katz, Julanne Isaacson, Joan Berenson, Beth Bloch Rosenthal; Gala Co-Chair Eileen Wallen, President Susan Kierr, Barbara Greenberg, Gala Co-Chair Barbara Kaplinsky; Kathy Shepard, Patty Barnett, Mimi Schlesinger; Lis Kahn, Carole Neff, Julanne Isaacson; Sue Singer, Joyce Pulitzer, Flo Schornstein, Susan Hess; NCJW Gala Emcee Angela Hill, Gail Fenton Pesses.

36 Southern Jewish Life • May 2017

New Orleans NCJW Past Presidents

To 120… more On April 22, the National Council of Jewish Women’s Greater New Orleans Section celebrated 120 years of service, social justice and advocacy in the Greater New Orleans Area.

The Section’s achievements and leaders were lauded at the dinner and dance at Metairie Country Club. Emcee Angela Hill detailed the accomplishments, saying “it is my honor to be hosting this extraordinary event to pay tribute to all of the past presidents of this illustrious organization.”

She added that the Section has blended community services with community needs, establishing programs that showed what the needs were, and advocating for social and legislative change.

New Orleans is also the only Section that can boast three national NCJW presidents — Ida Friend, Gladys Cahn and Joan Bronk.

A patron party, featuring Rhodes Spedale and Live Jazz Group, preceded the gala, which featured The Yat Pack and a silent auction of over 90 items.

The gala’s co-chairs were Barbara Kaplinsky and Eileen Wallen, with major sponsors The Angel Wings Foundation, Sara Stone, Patrick F. Taylor Foundation, Oscar J. Tolmas Charitable Trust, and Sessions, Fishman, Nathan & Israel.

Continued from page 38

Spanish would be bordered by the Portugish and Frenchish, which sounds as good as Jewtch would.

Looking farther down the globe, the people who walk upside down on the planet would be the Australiish, Brazilish, Argentinish, and Chilish — a name that could easily be related to by many Jews about seven months of the year who live up north.

Lastly, Middle East peace might truly be found if there was a common ground with the Syriish, Jordanish, Saudi Arabish, Lebanish, Egyptish, and even the Palestinish.

Does this solve the generations-old debate about whether the Jewish people are a race or religion? Of course not. As long as every two rabbis average three opinions, and synagogue members are allowed to speak to each other at kiddushes after services, no debate will ever be resolved.

It’s possible history will always struggle to understand how the people of Israel came to be called Jewish, just as many struggle to understand how Trump came to be called “president.”

Doug Brook has also been called many things over the years, which can’t be reprinted here. To read past columns, visit http://brookwrite.com/. For exclusive online content, like facebook.com/rearpewmirror.

> > JEF Jewish community.” A bequest of over $1 million from the Young Foundation became the largest unrestricted gift in JEF history.

Rickie Nutik presided over the expansion of the summer camp experience to neighboring states, and the establishment of the B’nai Maimonides program and Young Philanthropist program.

Ellen Yellin wound up running JEF “out of a different city” after Hurricane Katrina. Before the storm, a campaign was launched for endowment funds for the Federation and constituent agencies, and the B’nai Maimonides program received local and national honors. A bequest of $1.4 million was received to benefit Anshe Sfard.

Then, the levees broke and the community scattered across the country, starting a lengthy process of returning and rebuilding.

“Katrina contributed to our being a more tightly unified community,” Yellin said, and JEF played a large role in developing a plan for the community’s future. Grants were issued to every synagogue in the community, and an additional $1 million was distributed through the Federation in 2008.

“When the visionary leaders of our Jewish community established the Jewish Endowment Foundation in 1967, they could never have imagined that our funds would be needed literally because of a rainy day, much less a catastrophic flood,” she said.

Carole Cukell Neff, who succeeded Yellin a year after the storm, said it was a time when the community “truly had the opportunity to view JEF in action and its importance to the community.”

The agency changed its name to the Jewish Endowment Foundation of Louisiana to include communities like Baton Rouge and Monroe, who did not have their own endowment organizations. For the 40th anniversary in 2007, JEF had $40 million in assets, including a General Fund of $5 million.

With the market crash of 2008, those numbers fell, but the Create a Jewish Legacy initiative began and started attracting donors. Create a Jewish Legacy is a partnership between the JEF and area agencies and synagogues, to build endowment funds that grow in perpetuity.

By the time Cahn served as president from 2014 to 2016, JEF’s assets approached $52 million, with over $3 million distributed annually. In 2015, JEF had $6 million in total contributions for the first time; in 2016 that would increase to around $6.9 million. By comparison, it took about 20 years for the agency to raise its first $6 million.

The anniversary event was chaired by Cathy Bart and underwritten in part by the Whitney Bank, Francis L. Fraenkel, the Jean and Saul A. Mintz Supporting Foundation, and Postlethwaite & Netterville.

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May 2017 • Southern Jewish Life 37

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The Jewish people have been called many things over the years. The one constant, however, has been the appellation “Jewish.”

This particular name-calling begs the question, why the hesitation?

After all, “-ish” is usually a suffix of approximation or uncertainty. “We’ll be there at six-ish.” “His hair was sort of gray-ish.” “I’m thinking about trying the swordfish.”

For decades, there have been debates about Jewish identity. Perhaps the uncertainty comes from the people’s uncertain name itself. Or maybe the name came along to fit the people.

To put it another way: Which came first, the chicken or the name?

Perhaps the explanation could come from elimination. If the name followed Catholicism, Jews would be known as Jewic. Of course, there is Judaic, but nobody refers to Judaic comedians.

The Methodist or Baptist examples would result in being Jewist. If Jews were like Episcopalians, they’d be Jewians. Of course, there is Judean, but nobody goes to work out at a Judean Community Center.

The again, the Jewish people have been around longer than many other religions. So, what if the question is reversed, and other religions followed the Jewish example? It would jarringly change the nomenclature of all the Christish people who follow Christaism.

Followers of Catholicism would be Catholish. Annually there would be a convening of the Southern Baptish Convention. The Methodish would sound more like a cooking show and less like theatre students trained in Stanislavsky’s teachings. Rather than Jewians, the world would be graced with millions of the Episcopaliish.

A very popular Broadway musical would be “The Book of Mormish.”

HOW DID WE Of course, these are other world reliGET “ISH” AT THE gions that could be considered. There are END OF “JEWISH” many more religions, but these examples sport almost all permutations of religion — AND WHAT IF name endings, unless one wants to explore OTHER FAITHS being Sikhish or Jewhovah’s Witnish.

However, this has considered the quesFOLLOWED SUIT? tion of the Jewish name relative to other religions. A tale as old as time is whether the Jewish people are a religion or a race.

Looking at other people around the world, some nationalities or ethnicities actually have a suffix affixed similar to the Jews.

The Amish are an obvious example, and one who themselves would probably face similar race-or-religion questions if they had a Talmud to debate. The Cornish and their game hens also fit somewhere into this pecking order.

The British. The Irish. The Swedish. The Polish. The Spanish. The Scottish... Whose name is far more conducive to a traditional Jewish drink than the short-lived Jewtch, which was a better drink than Manischewitz but was too hard to pronounce when ordering at the bar.

Appropriately enough, the Finnish could end the list. But one would be remiss to omit one of the largest domestic populations on our home world: the Heimisch.

To revisit the previous reversal, consider other names of nations if they followed the tradition of Jewish name endings. (This is still about large groups of people, not about someone named Christianstein or Rosenchrist.)

The people of the United States would be known as Americish. The continued on previous page

HUNTSVILLE, AL

May 2017 • Southern Jewish Life 63

48 Southern Jewish Life • May 2017