SJL New Orleans, June 2015

Southern Jewish Life NEW ORLEANS EDITION

JEWISH TOURISM TO NEW ORLEANS MISSISSIPPI MEETS ISRAEL JAMES BEARD RECOGNIZES SHAYA GIVING A LOT TO GIVENOLA BATTLING THE MARRIAGE AND CONSCIENCE ACT ANNUAL SUMMER TRAVEL ISSUE INSIDE:

June 2015

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shalom y’all shalom shalomy’all y’all As we gear up to celebrate the 25th anniversary of Southern Jewish Life magazine, I found myself in the 40th anniversary issue of Moment magazine.

If you receive our weekly e-news, This Week in Southern Jewish Life (and if you don’t, you should, it’s the most comprehensive of its type anywhere), you saw us mention in March that Moment’s editor suggested a radical idea to combat anti-Semitism and promote understanding — invite someone non-Jewish to your Seder (why is “Take an Indian to Lunch” from Stan Freberg’s “The United States of America” going through my head?).

That this would be considered radical was surprising, as it’s a very common occurrence here in the South, and there are many Christians around here who know the Seder better than a lot of Jews!

I expressed surprise and gave several examples of initiatives around the region, personal and institutional, showing this has been going on around here for a long time. Sure enough, their new issue had my comments as a letter to the editor (as an aside, I’m not going to address those who said that it’s forbidden to have non-Jews at a Seder).

Since this is a year of going back in our publication’s history… this appearance in Moment is a bit better than our other one. A favorite column there is Spice Box, kind of like Jay Leno’s “Headlines” but for a Jewish audience — odd typos or Judaic words used in a different context. If you’re a publisher, it’s like the obituaries — you check it first to make sure you’re not listed.

About 20 years ago I did just that and saw a snippet of our layout. Sure enough, someone sent the headline we did stating that a Temple was going to experiment continued on page 36

in the center of this issue of Southern Jewish Life

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June 2015 March 2015

Southern Jewish Life PUBLISHER/EDITOR Lawrence M. Brook editor@sjlmag.com ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER/ADVERTISING Lee J. Green lee@sjlmag.com CREATIVE DIRECTOR Ginger Brook ginger@sjlmag.com WEB EDITOR Eugene Walter Katz eugene@sjlmag.com PHOTOGRAPHER-AT-LARGE Rabbi Barry C. Altmark deepsouthrabbi.com CONTRIBUTING WRITER Doug Brook brookwrite.com BIRMINGHAM OFFICE P.O. Box 130052, Birmingham, AL 35213 13 Office Park Circle #6 Birmingham, AL 35223 205/870.7889 NEW ORLEANS OFFICE 3747 West Esplanade, 3rd Floor Metairie, LA 70002 504/780.5615 TOLL-FREE 866/446.5894 FAX 866/392.7750 connect@sjlmag.com ADVERTISING Advertising inquiries to Lee Green, 205/870.7889 or lee@sjlmag.com Media kit, rates available upon request SUBSCRIPTIONS It has always been our goal to provide a large-community quality publication to all communities of the South.

To that end, our commitment includes mailing to every Jewish household in the region (AL, LA, MS, NW FL), without a subscription fee.

Outside the area, subscriptions are $25/year, $40/two years. Subscribe via sjlmag.com, call 205/870.7889 or mail payment to the address above.

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4 Southern Jewish Life • June 2015

agenda interesting bits & can’t miss events

Southern Region delegates to the Hadassah Big and Easy Super South Tri-Region Conference in New Orleans, April 17 to 19. More photos, page 39

The community gave big for GiveNOLA The New Orleans Jewish community tripled its participation in this year’s GiveNOLA Day, paced by a stunning performance by the Jewish Federation of Greater New Orleans.

The second annual GiveNOLA Day was held on May 5, a 24-hour online fundraiser involving about 550 non-profits in the area. The minimum donation is $10. All donations made on that day give the nonprofits the opportunity to earn lagniappe dollars, awards and hourly prizes.

Awards include most money raised, most unique donors and randomly-drawn $1,000 hourly prizes.

Donations to the Lagniappe Fund will be distributed to all agencies in proportion to what they raised on May 5.

Overall, the 10 Jewish organizations that participated raised $137,981.

Last year, six Jewish organizations participated.

The Federation had set a goal of $50,000 after raising $20,670 last year.

This year the Federation raised $89,110 from 147 donors. Last year’s total came from 151 donors.

Because they were third overall in funds raised, the Federation will receive a $3,000 bonus.

Morton Katz, president of the Federation, called the day “wildly successful.” He and incoming president Eddie Soll each sponsored a Power Hour, matching up to $1,000 of donations during a particular hour.

Perhaps even more surprising than the Federation result was the total achieved by the Jewish Endowment Foundation. When midnight struck, JEF had exactly $18,000 from 35 donors. Last year, JEF raised $10,451 from 40 donors.

Jewish Family Service raised $10,255 from 96 donors, up from last year’s $3,544 from 78 donors. Jewish Children’s Regional Service raised $6,972 from 62 donors, up from 70 gifts totaling $5,814 last year.

The New Orleans Jewish Community Center raised $4,240, up slightly

from last year’s $4,020 despite the number of donors dropping from 97 to 59.

AVODAH: The Jewish Service Corps topped the newcomers, with 46 donors for $3,096. The National Council of Jewish Women raised $2,414 from 25 donors, up from last year’s $1,672 from 31 donors.

The Anti-Defamation League raised $2,327 from 39 donors, Hadassah brought in $1,067 from 18 donors and the Northshore Jewish Congregation raised $510 from 12 donors.

The Ogden Museum of Southern Art repeated as top fundraiser, with $223,840 from 152 gifts. Last year they raised $101,285 from 147 donors.

Team Gleason once again topped the day in most donors, with 1,068, raising $55.281. Last year they had 631 donors for $42,864.

In all, GiveNOLA Day raised $4.083 million through 34,539 gifts. It was part of a national effort, Give Local America, which had 120 communities participating, with 9,000 nonprofits raising over $68 million.

Northwest Louisiana had Give for Good Day, raising $1.74 million.

Next year’s Give Local Day nationally will be May 3.

Panel kicks off Katrina 10 events With this August’s 10th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina and the subsequent flood, plans are underway to commemorate and reflect.

The Jewish community’s celebration of 10 years of rebuilding and revitalizing the city will be on Aug. 30 at the Uptown Jewish Community Center, starting at 5 p.m.

A Jewish Community Service Project Day is also being planned for Aug. 9 by the Jewish Federation of Greater New Orleans.

Reflections will begin this month with a June 16 program co-sponsored by the Jewish Women’s Archive, Hadassah and the National Council of Jewish Women. “Ten Years Later: A Celebration of Community and Jew-

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June 2015 • Southern Jewish Life 5

agenda ish Women’s Leadership” will be at Touro Synagogue from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Light refreshments will be served and dietary laws will be observed.

The program will explore key leadership roles taken by Jewish women in the aftermath of the storm. Jewish Women’s Archive Executive Director Judith Rosenbaum and oral historian Rosaline Hinton will lead a panel discussion with Michelle Erenberg, Deena Gerber, Leanne Opotowsky Moses, Sarah Rivkin and Roselle Ungar.

They will explore the impact of women’s leadership during the hurricane and beyond, and assess the state of Jewish women’s leadership in New Orleans today.

There will also be a screening of excerpts from “Katrina’s Jewish Voices,” the oral history collection at the archive.

Reservations are $10 per person.

Pollin named to RAVSAK editorial board Sharon Pollin, Head of School for Jewish Community Day School, has been selected to serve for a two-year term on the editorial board of RAVSAK’s HaYidion, the leading journal for Jewish day school practitioners. RAVSAK is The Jewish Community Day School Network, representing 132 member schools in the U.S., Canada and worldwide.

The editorial board of HaYidion represents a wide cross-section of field leaders, with participation of board members, school heads and Judaic directors, from schools of different affiliations, geographic location, size and ages served. In this capacity, Pollin will join with day school leaders to bring her perspective, knowledge, and her passion for Jewish day school education to the RAVSAK journal.

“We are truly honored that Sharon Pollin, Head of School for the Jewish Community Day School, has agreed to join the editorial board of HaYidion, RAVSAK’s quarterly journal,” Elliott Rabin, RAVSAK’s Director of Project and Content Development said. “Sharon has contributed as a writer to HaYidion in the past, bringing an impressive combination of academic knowledge together with school leadership experience.

Time for Summer

Celebrating the last day of Hebrew School for the year at Chabad of Metairie 6 Southern Jewish Life • June 2015

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agenda Outgoing Consul General marvels at grassroots support for Israel in region

by Jacob Kamaras JNS.org

Over the course of more than three decades working for Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Meir Shlomo has represented the Jewish state in India, Denmark, Peru, El Salvador, and Boston. But this globetrotting diplomat says he never saw “such a level of grassroots support” for Israel like what he has witnessed in the Southwest United States.

Shlomo, the Consul General of Israel to the Southwest U.S., ended his Houston-based assignment in mid-May and will return home to assume a post as the Israeli foreign ministry’s second-ranking diplomat dealing with North American affairs. (The top official in that division is Ambassador Liora Herzl, deputy director general for North America.) Shlomo’s previous role was Head of Mission at the Boston-based Consulate General of Israel to New England, and his Houston post includes Louisiana.

“It’s really almost overwhelming,” Shlomo says in an interview with JNS.org, describing support for Israel in the Southwest, where he has served since August 2010. That support comes not just from Israel’s usual advocates such as Jews and Evangelical Christians, but from “the regular Americans,” he says.

“People that I meet all the time, when they know that I’m presenting about Israel, they come out and say something nice about Israel,” says Shlomo. “That happened everywhere [I represented Israel for the ministry], but here [in the Southwest]… it’s really heartwarming to see this kind of grassroots support that we have. It’s very visible, and people feel the urge to make a statement out of it. It’s one thing to support Israel, and another thing to say it out loud.”

Why is the Southwest so warm to Israel? Besides the large Evangelical Christian community in the region, Shlomo believes it may come down to the famous slogan, “Don’t Mess with Texas.”

“Texans share a lot of the same attitude as Israelis, that we say what we think and we think what we say, and that makes it much easier to communicate,” he says. Shlomo, 60, explains that Israelis also have much in common with the Hispanic community, another significant demographic in the Southwest.

“Israel is a country of immigrants, and for us, the Hispanic experience is not just words, it’s actually something that Israelis are still going through,” he says. “Jews still come to Israel and go through this immigration experience, which is a very complicated experience, so I think there is also a lot of commonality there.”

Another bond between Israel and the Southwest is the energy sector—in particular due to the fact that Israel’s two major offshore gas

fields, Tamar (discovered in 2009) and Leviathan (discovered in 2010), are both operated by the Houston-based firm Noble Energy.

“We have a very good relationship with Noble Energy, and we try to be a bridge to whatever concerns they have vis-à-vis the Israeli market,” Shlomo says.

According to Shlomo, the Israeli Consulate to the Southwest U.S. has been reaching out to other independent oil companies about exploring the Israeli market, but has been met with some obstacles.

“Unfortunately, the Exxons and the Shells of the world do not come to Israel for reasons that I will leave to the imagination of everybody else.

I won’t speculate on it, but it’s a fact: they are not coming,” Shlomo says, likely referring to Arab influence over American energy giants. Nevertheless, he notes that the Southwest Consulate has managed to help arrange a few delegations of various energy companies to visit Israel, including one trip headed by Mary Landrieu, the former U.S. senator from Louisiana.

“It’s a win-win, because we (Israel) will win from their (energy companies’) expertise, and they will win because it looks like there is a huge potential in this area to explore it and find even more gas fields,” says Shlomo.

In addition to his various overseas posts, Shlomo has headed the foreign ministry’s Public Diplomacy Division, which is responsible for Israel’s public diplomacy campaigns throughout all of its missions around the world. Asked to assess the current challenge of working on the Jewish state’s international image, Shlomo says that, unlike the task of marketing most other entities, promoting Israel involves the dual agenda of positive marketing and responding to intense opposition.

“What have you not?” says Shlomo. “From Arabs who will take the Arab side no matter what, to vehement anti-Semites who have found a new way to be anti-Semitic by being anti-Israel and kind of disguising their anti-Semitism.

There is a very active negative campaign against Israel…. It’s an active war. No other commercial or country brand is actually fighting this kind of intense negative war, so that’s a huge challenge, because it’s not only about marketing Israel. It’s about dealing with the opposition to the Israeli brand that we are trying to market.”

The other challenge in enhancing Israel’s image, Shlomo says, is limited funds — a $10 million worldwide public diplomacy budget within the foreign ministry during a “good year.”

Yet as a diplomat focused on specific regions, Shlomo has gotten the chance to focus on the micro, and in both Boston and Houston, he has seen Israel’s image cast in a largely positive light. continued on page 37

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agenda Metairie. It is a return to New Orleans for her, as she is a graduate of Tulane. The wine and appetizers social will be at the Howling Wolf Den from 6:30 to 8 p.m. Members, children of members and young professionals ages 22 to 40 are welcome.

Shir Chadash in Metairie is gathering goods for its annual Nearly New Sale. Merchandise can be brought from June 1 to 30, Sunday to Friday from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., and Tuesday and Thursday from 7 to 9 p.m. There will be truck pickup for large furniture items on June 25. The sale will be July 12 to 14 and July 19 to 20.

On June 20, Touro Synagogue will once again be marching in the Pride Parade, which brings together straight and homosexual communities in a united and positive stance against discrimination and violence against lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people. Pride Festival weekend is also used as an opportunity to educate youth about suicide prevention and anti-bullying. Touro was one of the first faithbased participants in the Pride Parade and has been a participant each year.

The American Queen Steamboat now has Hebrew Union Congregation as a tour site when docking in Greenville. The ship started docking in Greenville in March, and has regular week-long cruises between Memphis and New Orleans, with additional stops at Oak Alley, St. Francisville, Natchez and Vicksburg. The new arrangement with Greenville calls for roughly 10 visits per year for the next three years.

After 22 years as director of education at Touro Synagogue, Eileen Hamilton has stepped down from her position. Scott Silbert, outgoing president of Touro, noted that she has been “an amazing asset to Touro” and “all of us feel a great sense of sorrow and personal pain.” He also noted that she requested that there not be a ceremony in her honor.

USY On Wheels, a 6-week cross-country bus trip for teens in United Synagogue Youth, will be in New Orleans on June 30 and July 1.

Members of Shir Chadash in Metairie are doing home hospitality for the teens.

Anshe Sfard’s next Young Jieuxish Professionals Shabbat dinner will be a farewell to Paul Cohen and Ariel Wand Cohen as they move to Pittsburgh. The June 19 Carlebach-style service will begin at 7 p.m. and a roast beef po-boy dinner will start around 8 p.m.

On July 7, there will be a program for Young Professionals of the Greater New Orleans Jewish community to meet Rabbi Alexis Pinsky, the first assistant rabbi for Gates of Prayer in

Touro Synagogue has been awarded a grant from The Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism for their garden to help feed the hungry in the community. The garden marries environmental justice of maintaining a community garden with human justice in helping to alleviate food insecurity in the neighborhood and RAC’s Commission on Social Action recognized this initiative as a model for the greater Reform Jewish community.

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Chef Art Smith presents Alon Shaya with the James Beard Award for Best Chef South

Alon Shaya named Best Chef South When a culinary tour of Israel for this summer was announced recently, New Orleans Chef Alon Shaya said it would be a chance for people to tour Israel with James Beard Award winners — then quickly noted it was the other three chefs on the tour who are the James Beard winners.

Make it four for four.

A change of venue for the James Beard Awards to Chicago served as the charm for Shaya as he was named Best Chef South on May 4. He has been a nominee for the previous three years and a finalist for the previous two.

Shaya opened his self-named Israeli restaurant, Shaya, in New Orleans earlier this year after being executive chef and co-owner at Domenica and Pizza Domenica. In 2012 he was named Chef of the Year by New Orleans magazine.

At the award ceremony, Shaya said he was “totally not prepared to make a speech.” He thanked New Orleans for embracing him. “I’m an Israeli who grew up in Philly who is cooking food in New Orleans, and somehow that all comes together and tastes good.”

He noted that no chef gets to that level without a lot of assistance, and he thanked “the team we have at Domenica, Pizza Domenica and Shaya,” the “300 employees that make those restaurants tick every day… none of this could ever happen without all the hard work, dedication and passion.”

He also thanked his wife, Emily, for her support, and John Besh and Octavio Mantilla who “have been huge parts of my career and my growth.”

After his name was announced and Shaya made his way to the stage, the announcer suggested “don’t get between this chef and his extra-virgin olive oil.”

Reform summer schedule set in NOLA The summer Reform schedule for New Orleans has been announced, with Shabbat services rotating among the three congregations monthly.

Temple Sinai will host services in June, with Friday services at 6:15 p.m. and Saturday services at 10:15 a.m. Touro Synagogue will host in July, with services at 6 p.m. and 10:30 a.m. respectively.

Gates of Prayer in Metairie will host August services, at 6:15 p.m. and 10:30 a.m.

10 Southern Jewish Life • June 2015

community Louisiana rabbis battle the controversial Marriage and Conscience Act Rabbis across Louisiana spoke out against House Bill 707, called the Marriage and Conscience Act, which proponents say would protect business owners from sanction if they act on religious objections to same-sex marriage.

Advocates stated the bill does not grant an individual right to discriminate or apply to private business owners and their providing of goods and services, it only forbids the state from withholding a legal status, contract or employment based on a belief in “traditional marriage.” Opponents said it would allow discrimination and eliminate any legal remedy to those who are discriminated against.

The bill was voted down in committee on May 19, but within two hours Governor Bobby Jindal said he was issuing an executive order that would accomplish the bill’s provisions. The order, which went into effect immediately, is valid until 60 days after the end of the next legislative session, or earlier if the next governor revokes it.

In response to Jindal’s order, New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu issued his own order reaffirming the city’s anti-discrimination laws, saying it is an important, symbolic affirmation that discrimination in any form will not be tolerated in New Orleans, and it should not be tolerated anywhere in Louisiana.”

Tourism officials in New Orleans are particularly concerned about a backlash against the state. New York legislators have already asked for that state to ban non-essential state-funded travel to Louisiana.

The New Orleans Convention and Visitors Bureau and the New Orleans Tourism and Marketing Corporation issued a joint statement declaring the order is basically a political statement by a governor who is planning a presidential run. “It is important for those who visit Louisiana to

know that its effect in essence is that of a political campaign document.”

House Speaker Pro Tem Walt Leger of New Orleans called the bill “nothing more than bigotry enshrouded in religion.”

On April 24, the Times-Picayune published a piece by Rabbi Gabe Greenberg of Beth Israel in Metairie, making a “religious case” against the bill and calling Jindal’s advocacy for it “sacrilegious and offensive.”

Greenberg noted that it might seem odd that an Orthodox rabbi who would not officiate a gay marriage would take such a position, but he stated that “for every Biblical precept about one’s sexual activities, there are a dozen more that speak of the imperative to fight for those who are disenfranchised and discriminated against.” Jindal and some other faith leaders have chosen to emphasize the former over the latter, he said.

On May 1, the Reform movement’s Central Committee of American Rabbis sent Jindal a letter: We, the Rabbis of Reform Judaism who lead more than 1.6 million Jews, believe religious freedom to be a sacred American principle, as you do. However, that principle is precisely why we are so dismayed at your approval of the legislation passed in Indiana last month and at your intent to pursue a similar bill in Louisiana. The bill, like similar laws in various states, does nothing to protect religious freedom. But it does target the freedom of LGBT individuals and families. As many have said, bigotry in the name of religion is still bigotry.

Under the guise of religious liberty, you’re trying to justify laws discriminating against the LGBT community. In doing so, you style yourself as the defender of faith-based Americans and attack unnamed “left-wing ideologues” purportedly hostile to religion as being behind the efforts to make marriage equality a reality. You say your opponents “believe that religiosity is folly.” You are wrong. It is precisely our religiosity that compels us to sup-

June 2015 • Southern Jewish Life 11

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port our LGBT brothers and sisters in their quest for equal rights. We support marriage for same sex couples because it is fully in line with the principles of equality, justice and tolerance that underpin our religious ideals.

Those who oppose marriage equality cannot pretend that they speak for all faith-based communities. Reform Rabbis have been at the forefront of the struggle for gay rights in the United States.

As early as 1977, we were on record opposing discrimination against LGBT individuals — discrimination you are promoting today. And we have supported civil marriage equality. Now LGBT couples are married in Jewish weddings in many states, and we rabbis consider it an honor to bless their commitment to each as holy before God. “If it’s not freedom for all, it’s not freedom at all,” you wrote. We couldn’t agree more. That’s precisely why laws targeting members of the LGBT community must be opposed. Our religious beliefs call for nothing less than full equality.

The letter was signed by CCAR Chief Executive Rabbi Steven Fox and CCAR President Denise Eger of Kol Ami in West Hollywood, Calif.

It was also signed by Rabbi Deborah Gardner of Northshore Jewish Congregation in Mandeville, Cantor David Mintz and Rabbi Alexis Berk of Touro Synagogue in New Orleans, Rabbi Thomas Gardner of Beth Shalom in Baton Rouge, Cantor Joel Colman and Rabbi Edward Cohn of Temple Sinai in New Orleans, Rabbi Jordan Goldson of B’nai Israel in Baton Rouge, Rabbi Barbara Metzinger of B’nai Israel in Monroe, Rabbi Robert Loewy of Gates of Prayer in Metairie, and Rabbi Barry Weinstein, who serves Temple Sinai in Lake Charles and Temple Shalom in Lafayette.

After Jindal’s order, Allison Padilla-Goodman, South-Central regional director of the Anti-Defamation League, said that while ADL considers itself “pro-religion,” it “does not condone the mis-use of religion to justify discrimination or prosecution” and was disappointed by the executive order.

When Mississippi Charm Meets Israeli Chutzpah On April 27 and 28, Mississippi Governor Phil Bryant held “Israel Meets Mississippi,” a first-in-the-region business summit that brought Israeli companies to Jackson for meetings with potential Mississippi counterparts.

For the summit, Israeli Ambassador Ron Dermer made his first visit to Mississippi, accompanied by Ambassador Opher Aviran, Israel’s Consul General to the Southeast, based in Atlanta.

Throughout the summit, the importance of personal relationships was stressed, as was Mississippi’s affinity for Israel. “This is about building relationships, knowing one another,” Bryant said.

There is a lot of room for growth. Of Mississippi’s $11.4 billion in exports in 2014, just $33 million went to Israel.

Dermer said the partnership between Israel and Mississippi will be “remarkable,” and Mississippi “has a lot to offer.” The wide range of Mississippi industries and expertise is a story that isn’t well-known and needs to be further publicized, Dermer said.

He added it will be interesting to see what happens when Mississippi charm meets Israeli chutzpah, but both qualities are needed for business.

The summit was an outgrowth of a Mississippi trade mission to Israel that Bryant led last November. Not only was this a follow-up on Bryant’s promise to hold a trade seminar in Mississippi, it was mentioned at the summit that there will be another larger Mississippi trade mission to Israel, likely in early summer of 2016.

Bryant said the Israel trip was “to see not only our friends but those who would be our friends.” When he spoke about having an Israel trade

Israel Ambassador Ron Dermer addresses Mississippi Governor Phil Bryant at the opening reception for Mississippi Meets Israel, April 27 at the Fairview Inn. summit in Mississippi “I’m sure there were many who thought that could not happen, but look around,” he said.

After the November trip, Bryant said Israel “is the best opportunity for Mississippi since our relationship with Japan.”

One aspect he noted in Israel was how the first 10 minutes of a business contact was getting to know each other, “how’s your mama, how was your trip… that sounds like Mississippi.”

General Robert Fogelsong called the summit “a potential tipping point for the state of Israel and Mississippi.” A retired Air Force general and former assistant to the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Fogelsong is CEO of Israel Aircraft Industries North America and Chairman of the Board of IAI subsidiary Stark Aerospace, which is located in Columbus.

Fogelsong said he has flown with the Israeli Air Force and has been visiting the country for four decades, and while he was president of Mississippi State University he created many relationships with Israeli institutions. “I have deep roots in both areas,” he said.

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He said Israel and the U.S. “are twins. Those things we value in the U.S. are the same things that are valued by our Israeli friends,” and he comes to that conclusion having visited 132 countries.

“In the security business, we’re twins,” he added, noting that he was at the Pentagon on Sept. 11, 2001, when the airplanes hit. The first phone call he thought to place was to counterparts in Israel because “we share common enemies.”

During the Israel trip, Bryant spoke at the Third International Israel Homeland Security Conference, and marveled at the thought of him speaking to Israelis on the subject. “I think they know more about homeland security than we may ever know.”

While in Israel, Bryant was scheduled to meet with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for 15 minutes, but it stretched to 40 minutes, much to the consternation of Netanyahu’s aides who were trying to keep him on schedule.

Among the benefits Mississippi has to offer are the most advanced warships on the planet being built in Pascagoula, 120 aerospace companies, agricultural research and advanced tele-medicine companies. Mississippi is in the top 10 in economic development and fifth in growth of woman-owned businesses.

Bryant said Mississippi is ready to share oil and gas expertise with Israel, as Israel recently began developing an industry around offshore drilling in the Mediterranean.

Every state has a different set of industries and different advantages, Dermer noted. “It’s very smart for the governor to be ahead of the curve and get Mississippi on Israel’s maps.”

Dermer added, “People would be surprised at some of the industries you have here. What Mississippi can offer will be different from Massachusetts and California and other states can offer. You need a tipping point where people get it and more and more companies come here.

Then you have critical mass.”

When he was in Israel, Bryant went by booths for different defense industry companies and asked if they had a U.S. nexus. Many did not and were thinking they eventually would, so Bryant handed them his card.

“When that company is ready to come to the U.S., I don’t want them going to Texas or California or Massachusetts.”

The summit began with a reception at Fairview Inn, where representatives from the different businesses could get to know each other.

Bryant, Aviran and Dermer gave remarks, during which Bryant noted the close personal relationships Aviran has developed in his time based in Atlanta, and proclaimed him an honorary citizen of Mississippi. Aviran’s time in Atlanta will end this summer and he will return to Israel.

As an example of the close ties that have developed, Secretary of State Delbert Hosemann said Aviran called him on Dec. 24 one year looking for dining suggestions in the area, unaware that there would be few restaurants, if any, open on Christmas Eve in Mississippi. Instead he hosted Aviran at his home for Christmas dinner.

Aviran reflected that his first visit to Mississippi was three weeks after arriving in Atlanta, when he addressed the Christians United For Israel event in Jackson in August 2010. “About 2,000 people came that night to support Israel, and it meant so much.”

MDA Trade Bureau Director Rose Boxx told the Israeli businesspeople “Mississippi can be your second home, like it is for Opher Aviran.”

Dermer also officially thanked the state for its hospitality in May 2014,

L’Shanah Tovah

14 Southern Jewish Life • June 2015

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when the Israeli Air Force had a joint training exercise with the Mississippi Air National Guard during Operation Emerald Warrior on the Mississippi Gulf Coast. He said Israel’s Air Force will return to the state later this year.

Bryant referenced the David and Goliath showdown in a valley. “Today Israel continues to be in valleys, but Mississippi is standing with you. It is my hope and the hope of all of us in this room that the United States will be in that valley when Israel needs us most.”

Dermer noted that many people have forgotten that Israel is an outpost of Western civilization in the Middle East, but Mississippi remembers.

He compared the Middle East situation to Wile E. Coyote and the Roadrunner. “He says beep beep and gets away. That’s what we’ve been doing for 67 years. We have to be a better roadrunner, a smarter roadrunner.

“To face these challenges we’ve had to be very good at what we do, and we are.”

Dermer explained how Israel had gone from “a small agricultural backwater to global technological power” with 42 of the top 50 tech firms in the world having research and development facilities there, “for many it is their only one” in the world.

Companies like HP and Apple aren’t in Israel because they are Zionists, he said. “They want to have access to the winning formula.”

An initial success story was water technology, because Israel didn’t have any water. Security expertise was born out of necessity, and now Israel has become a power in cyber. Despite a population of just 8 million, 11 percent of world investment in cyber last year was in Israel. “Israel in cyber is China,” Dermer said, punching at 110 times its weight.

But necessity isn’t enough to explain Israel’s success, Dermer said. He noted the phrase “people of the book,” and explained that Israel is a 67-year-old country “that is standing on the shoulders of a 4,000-year-old people” that has always pushed learning and education.

The Israeli military is “our MIT,” where elite thinkers and innovators are identified and given the freedom to go outside the box.

There is also a strong sense of chutzpah, Dermer explained. Noting the translation of the name “Israel,” he said “if we’re going to struggle with God, we’re going to struggle with AT&T and Apple.” The key is to “be skeptical, to ask questions.”

One advantage Israel has, Fogelsong noted, is “they are not as encumbered by regulatory guidelines.”

At IAI in Mississippi, Fogelsong said, the goal is to “take advantage of the strengths on both sides of the ocean.”

To that end, in his remarks during the summit’s luncheon Bryant brandished a well-worn copy of “Start-Up Nation,” Dan Senor’s book

about “Israel’s economic miracle.”

Afterward, Bryant commented that the book’s message about “the ability to do great things” is something “I’m trying to instill in every Mississippian.”

After a breakfast that included video presentations touting business benefits of Mississippi and Israel, there were over 100 pre-scheduled one-on-one meetings between Mississippi companies and Israeli companies, with Israeli companies at a dozen tables in the convention center lobby.

As the one-on-one meetings wrapped up, Manning McPhillip, chief administrative officer of the Mississippi Development Authority, said he had heard great reports from the morning’s activities.

Dermer said the partnership can go in unexpected directions. A partnership can be developed in one area, then the Israeli partner may come up with an innovation in an area the company hadn’t considered before.

There were also sessions on procurement procedures for the Israeli Ministry of Defense, and how the BIRD Foundation funds industrial research cooperation between U.S. and Israeli companies.

Going to the Egg Bowl?

At the opening reception, Dermer remarked that he plans to attend an Egg Bowl, the annual football game between Ole Miss and Mississippi State, and he would no doubt be the first Israeli ambassador to do so. It isn’t far-fetched, as Dermer has a nephew attending Ole Miss. He did note that he would likely have to stay within walking distance of the stadium.

It being Mississippi, football was a common theme during events. After mentioning the Egg Bowl, Dermer referred to the rivalry game in Alabama, the Iron Bowl between Alabama and Auburn, stating Israelis were far more in tune with Iron Dome, the missile defense system.

One recent proposal for a peace agreement between Israel and the Palestinians involved land swaps, with Israel keeping certain settlement blocs outside the pre-1967 borders and giving the Palestinians an equivalent amount of land within the pre-1967 borders.

Dermer instead proposed a neighbor swap — “We’ll take Alabama and give you Syria.”

After a moment of contemplation, Bryant said “Nah.” Dermer responded, “you’ll do better in the Southeastern Conference,” to which Bryant said “That’s why I had to think for a moment.”

In concluding the opening reception, Mississippi musician Raphael Semmes performed “Mississippi Feels Like Coming Home,” after commenting that Mississippi is the birthplace of B.B. King. “Y’all also have a famous person named Bibi, but his last name isn’t easy to pronounce.”

Dermer responded that some people “call him king also.”

June 2015 • The Jewish Newsletter 17

18 The Jewish Newsletter • June 2015

From the Jewish Community Center Bart Family Film Series The Bart Family Film Series is back this July with two outstanding dramas. “Gett: the Trial of Viviane Amsalem” will be shown July 7 at 7 p.m. The story of a woman trapped in a loveless marriage whose religiously devout husband refuses to grant a divorce (gett), the film combines a social and political message with a powerful and suspenseful courtroom drama. Winner of the Israeli Film Academy Ophir Award for Best Picture, “Gett: the Trial of Viviane Amsalem” is an uncompromising, heart-rending portrait of a woman’s struggle to overcome an unmoving patriarchy and live a life of her own design.

JCC Summer Day Camps Summer is just around the corner and the JCC has eight great weeks of fun planned for all of its campers, ages 21 months through 8th grade. Limited spaces are available in the Uptown Tennis camp and in the Early Childhood, General Day Camp, and Taglit units in Metairie. Pre- and post-camp mini camps are also offered, though they are filling quickly.

“Ida,” the 2015 Academy Award winner for Best Foreign Language Film, will be screened the following Tuesday, July 14. Described by Keith Turan of the Los Angeles Times as “a film of exceptional artistry, whose emotions are as potent and persuasive as its images are indelibly beautiful,” “Ida” is a moving and intimate drama about a young novitiate nun in 1960’s Poland. On the verge of taking her vows, she is shocked to learn that her parents were Jewish and had been murdered during the Nazi occupation. This discovery leads her on a journey into her own past, evoking the legacy of the Holocaust and the realities of postwar Communism.

If you have a teenager looking for something different to do, the JCC is the place to be. JCC camps offer two options geared toward the interests and busy schedules of students entering the 6th through 8th grades. Tennis Camp, held Uptown, offers morning tennis instruction at the Atkinson-Stern Tennis Center followed by an afternoon of camp activities at the JCC. The Metairie campus offers our Taglit Teen Camp.

Taglit means “discovery,” and each week brings a different theme and the opportunity to discover a new interest. Visit nojcc.org for more details and to download an application.

Both films will be shown at 7 p.m. in the Mintz Auditorium at the New Orleans JCC. Generously underwritten by Cathy JCC Cardboard Boat Race and Pool Party and Morris Bart, the series is free and open to the communiMark your calendar and start saving those boxes! The 11th ty. Popcorn and movie snacks will be served.

Annual JCC Cardboard Boat Race will be on June 28, at the New Orleans Jewish Community Center. This popular Mah Jongg and All That Jazz event features a poolside Enjoy a lovely jazz brunch followed by an afternoon of mah party, great music, and jongg at the Harriet Wainer Kugler Memorial Mah Jongg Tour- entertaining races as nament, which will be held on August 16 from 10:30 a.m. to boats made completely 2:30 p.m. The tournament features open seating. Participants of cardboard and duct can register individually or may bring their entire game. Both tape compete in a varirounds of play will be played in place, without rotating seats. ety of categories. Prizes Cash and door prizes will be awarded. Tournament details will be awarded for the fastest boat, the most and registration forms are available at www.nojcc.org. creative design, the most spectacular sinking, and the best representation of this year’s SAVE THE DATE Your Way to the J!” theme. Admission to the event Hurricane Katrina 10-Year Anniversary “Navigate is free, but open to JCC members only. Hamburgers and hot Community-wide Celebration dogs will be available for purchase. Whether entering a boat in Sunday, August 30, 2015 5-7 p.m. the race, or just there to watch some spectacular sinkings, it’s New Orleans JCC – Uptown a fun afternoon for the entire family! Boats must be registered Free and open to the community

by June 26. Visit nojcc.org for details and to register online.

June 2015 • The Jewish Newsletter 19

From the Jewish Community Day School Natasha’s Journey By her grandmother Anne Zoller Herzog Kiefer It is with pride that I write about my favorite granddaughter, Martha Natasha Salas, whom we affectionately call “Nana,” and share with you her journey from her earliest Jewish education to her recent Bat Mitzvah.

Natasha began her Jewish education soon after Katrina when Head of School Gwynne Bowman opened her loving arms to a little girl who fit right into the kindergarten at the Jewish Community Day School (then New Orleans Jewish Day School). Natasha loved the ritual of daily prayers as her teachers guided her through the days and months of learning and laughing, making friends and bringing home stories of fun at school. The study of Hebrew drew her closer to her mother’s family’s religion and soon Natasha could recite her prayers, reading also in Hebrew and English.

JCDS stresses strong family values and ethics and morals along with a strong academic curriculum and Jewish education. The study of Hebrew gives each child a strong knowledge of the language of Israel and the Torah and every child benefits from this gift. When Natasha reached fifth grade and it was time to graduate, I was there to hear each child tell us whatever was in their heart. How beautifully these children stated that our school enriched their lives.

Natasha never could forget the Jewish education she received at JCDS. She went on to St. Martin’s and became a cheerleader, but her heart was still at the Day School reciting prayers with her beloved teachers. She so missed her Jewish education and she was yearning for more. The school had given her a wonderful foundation on which to build. Natasha decided that she wanted to study for her Bat Mitzvah. It was a natural progression from her Jewish Day School studies and it would include reciting her beloved prayers in the synagogue. At Shir Chadash Conservative Congregation she met Rabbi Ethan Linden who became her rabbi and her mentor. Natasha’s mom, her beloved grandfather and I each took turns accompanying her to weekly services — what a joy! She had her Hebrew tutors, both of whom had been her teachers at the Day School, and together Team Natasha set a goal for May 9, 2015 for her Bat Mitzvah.

Natasha’s Bat Mitzvah has come and gone. It was a child’s dream that became a young woman’s reality. Natasha was flawless as she read from the scriptures of our ancestors, the Torah.

She chanted from her heart and she prayed with the soul of all those who came before her. When asked if her preparation had been difficult, she said they were not, because she just enjoyed it all so much. She looked forward to her study classes as much as she did to her day school classes. Natasha was both satisfied and happy that her Jewish education, begun so long ago at her 20 The Jewish Newsletter • June 2015

beloved JCDS, was not at an end. She is not finished. Natasha looks forward to continuing her relationship with Judaism and especially to participating in Kabbalat Shabbat on Friday evenings at Shir Chadash.

And so, as a proud grandmother of a recent Bat Mitzvah, I can tell you that Natasha’s love of Hebrew and her prayers all began and were carefully nourished by the teachers and staff of our JCDS. Their dedication to Jewish values is steadfast and the challenging curriculum broadens our students’ ability to learn and succeed in today’s world. Our school is a gem just waiting to nurture each and every child as it did for my Nana. It will always and forever have my sincere gratitude.

Natasha Salas celebrated her Bat Mitzvah with friends and family members on May 9 at Shir Chadash Synagogue. A graduate of Jewish Community Day School, Natasha wanted to do a Mitzvah for her “alma mater” elementary school. So, she was the inspiration behind this extraordinary tower of school supplies, which was produced by her Grammy Ronda Herzog. Also contributing to the beautiful schoolroom décor were numerous creative centerpieces of books, notepads and paint bottles filled with daisies set up on each table for the Kiddush Luncheon, before being turned over to JCDS. Natasha is the daughter of Julie Herzog and Federico Salas and the granddaughter of Anne Kiefer, Ronda and Mitchell Herzog. Lower photo, Natasha with her grandmother, Anne Zoller Kiefer.

JCDS Science Fair

Students at JCDS proudly display their Annual Science Fair Certificates of Excellence. All entries were judged by a panel of Judges (back row, left to right) Jack Gross, Dr. Michael Wasserman, Joel Edison and Dr. Edward Lang. The judges scored each project based on the effectiveness of “The Scientific Question, Process and Procedures and the Display Board.”

From Jewish Family Service of Greater New Orleans Jewish Family Service has moved! Homemaker Services Available!

Please note our new address: 3300 West Esplanade Avenue, Suite 603 Metairie, LA 70002 Our phone, fax and email will remain the same: p) 504.831.8475 f ) 504.831.1130 e) jfs@jfsneworleans.org Contact information for our Northshore and Uptown offices is also unchanged.

Sponsorships — including dedications for the mezuzot that will be affixed to each doorway as well as space-naming opportunities ­­— are available. Please contact the Development Office for additional information.

Volunteer as a “Visiting Friend” “Bikur Chaverim” is a program which arranges home visits for homebound or partially-homebound seniors with a focus on creating lasting relationships built upon shared interests.

Visitor-volunteers for Bikur Chaverim are paired with new friends, with whom they facilitate conversation in order to share ideas and life experiences. The program is designed so that both parties feel purpose and meaning through being together. Many paired friends have remained friends for life. Please contact us if you are interested in participating in this fulfilling program.

Homemaker is a light housekeeping and transportation service at JFS for older adults who need extra assistance to maintain their independence at home. It is particularly helpful for individuals who are going home after a hospitalization, who struggle with routine housekeeping, who are adjusting to a disability or who recently stopped driving. Each visit with one of our highly trained and experienced Homemaker staff is 2 ¼ hours, and sliding scale fees are available. There is no long term contract and you only pay for the visits you receive. Each client receives a professional in-home assessment with a social worker prior to starting services. Please contact us for more information.

JFS offers counseling services Counseling for individuals, couples, families and groups is one JFS’s core programs. Services are provided by licensed behavioral health professionals and fees are assessed on a sliding scale basis. Appointments are available at all three offices – Metairie, Uptown and the Northshore. Call us for an appointment: (504) 831-8475, Metairie and Uptown; (985) 253-1619, Northshore.

Position Announcement JFS is seeking a Bilingual (Spanish) Case Manager for its Post Release Services for Unaccompanied Alien Children program. A Master’s degree (MA or MSW) and a minimum of two years’ experience in case management are required. Please see the full job description at worknola.com (https://worknola. com/jewish-family-service-greater-new-orleans/bilingual-spanish-case-manager-post-release-services-0)

From Tulane Hillel The 2014-2015 Academic Year has been another year of tremendous growth for Tulane Hillel. More students than ever before view Tulane Hillel as a welcoming place and a launch point for exciting, impactful student-led programming. Student participation has continued to increase. Hillel has now engaged more than 85% of Tulane’s Jewish student population, and more than 52% of Tulane’s total student body, including 35% of students who do not identify as Jewish.

The Tulane Jewish Leaders initiative grew in participation by 24.3% over last year, with 266 student leaders involved in developing and executing programs through Hillel. These leaders represent 13 Greek houses, every academic unit, and more than 75 different student groups.

Engaging with the community was a top priority for the TJL program this year. In creating and launching over 100 student initiatives, student leaders worked with more than 50 different local and national community organizations including: KIPP Primary School, Grow Dat Youth Farm, Hope Community Gardens, New Orleans Citizens Diplomacy Council, Coalition to Restore Coastal Louisiana, the Louisiana SPCA, CASA New Orleans, the Israeli American Council, and many more.

Just a few examples of these initiatives include, Passover Bag Decorating, where students partnered with Jewish Family Ser-

vices and decorated bags with a Passover theme, which were then stuffed with kosher food, and distributed to low-income elderly members of the community. Students had fun while giving back during the 4th Annual Play Your Heart Out 3 on 3 Basketball Tournament, which raised over $22,000 for Save a Child’s Heart. Since the city of New Orleans doesn’t recycle glass, the Glass Recycling Initiative was born when students decided to take all of the leftover bottles from Shabbat to the glass-blowing studio on Tulane’s campus for them to be reused.

Whether the purpose is to further education, build community, give back or just simply have fun, Hillel’s students are engaging in an incredibly diverse range of meaningful programming. Next fall promises to be another exciting semester at Tulane Hillel!

June 2015 • The Jewish Newsletter 21

From the Jewish Endowment Foundation Albert and Pearl Daube Leave a Legacy for Their Heirs Albert and Pearl Daube enjoyed a long, happy and prosperous life together. When Pearl passed away in 2013, they had been married for 68 years. Al recently passed away at the age of 95.

Al was born in 1920 in Manheim, Germany. In 1937, as a teenager, he was brought to Ardmore, Oklahoma, by relatives. From there, he moved to jobs in Texas and Louisiana where he worked until he joined the army.

While stationed in England, he met Pearl Jacobs, who was from Manchester, and they were married after World War II. They settled in New Orleans for a short time and then moved to Kingston, Jamaica, to sell textiles exported to Jamaica by Pearl’s family. Their two children, David and Faye, were born there.

Shortly thereafter, they moved to back to Manchester to be near Pearl’s family.

Seeking better opportunities to express his entrepreneurial spirit, Al moved his young family back to New Orleans. In 1958, he started Sun Finance, a mortgage lending, insurance premium financing, and real estate management and development com-

22 The Jewish Newsletter • June 2015

pany. Al’s son, David, joined him in the business in 1979 and David’s son, Brian, joined in 2007. Sun Finance has grown to four locations in Greater New Orleans and currently has 19 employees.

According to his son, David Daube, Al was always interested in finance and investing and he was a world class saver. He started buying stocks and bonds as soon as the business showed signs of success. He bought quality assets and kept most of them for a long time, benefiting from the major stock market upswings and never panicking when there was a drop.

Shortly before Al sold his home and moved to Lambeth House, he asked JEF Executive Director Sandy Levy to visit him to discuss the charitable aspect of his estate plan. David said, “After my Mother died, my Dad decided that he had already provided for family members and business succession, his main priorities, and that he could then consider leaving money to others.” Al’s professional advisor, Jonny Lake, helped him prepare his estate plan. They concluded that the best solution for Al’s philanthropic vision was to establish two donor advised funds.

Al told Sandy that he had been more successful in life than he ever could have imagined and he wanted to share his good fortune by creating two donor advised funds from several different asset sources: life insurance, IRAs, and other investments. Al and Pearl left very substantial assets to be divided between the two funds, one for each of their children. Sadly, Al and Pearl’s daughter, Faye, passed away in 2014, so the donor advised fund that Al intended for her will be advised by her two daughters, enabling them to provide donations to their favorite causes.

Al and Pearl left more than just tangible assets to their family.

They have provided a means for their children and their families to carry on their legacy of philanthropy. They were a very special couple, devoted to each other, to their family, and to their Jewish community. During their lifetimes, they contributed generously to Temple Sinai, Hadassah and the National World War II Museum. In creating these donor advised funds, they gave their children and grandchildren a free hand to decide what charities they will support.

Al and Pearl and their heirs are generational philanthropists giving support to the causes that matter to them now and into the future. As David states so well, “We are all looking forward to our new positions as donor fund advisors and we are very thankful to have been given this wonderful gift by our parents.”

If you are interested in learning about how you too can share your blessings and leave a legacy for future generations, contact Sandy Levy (sandy@jefno.org) or Patti Lengsfield (patti@jefno. org) at (504) 524-4559 to arrange a visit to discuss a philanthropic plan that is tailored to your needs.

June 2015 • The Jewish Newsletter 23

24 The Jewish Newsletter • June 2015

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summer travel an annual SJL special section Julie Schwartz leads attendees to a tri-region Hadassah conference in New Orleans on a Jewish heritage tour of the city in April.

New Orleans an Easy draw for Jewish tourism In a reader survey last year, Travel + Leisure Magazine rated New Orleans one of the world’s top 10 cities to visit. Not surprisingly, there is a large number of Jewish tourists who make their way to the area.

In 2014, New Orleans had 9.52 million visitors, according to the New Orleans Convention and Visitors Bureau and New Orleans Tourism Marketing Corporation. Tourists spent $6.81 billion in the city.

With the national Jewish population at 2 percent of the total, that means close to 200,000 Jewish tourists — but Michael Weil, executive director of the Jewish Federation of Greater New Orleans, noted that Jews “tend to be far more mobile and a larger part of the tourism market in general,” so the numbers are likely much higher.

The New Orleans Tourism Marketing Corporation even has a web page, “Oy! Such a Home!” about Jewish resources in the city.

Joel Brown, owner of Kosher Cajun in Metairie, said barely a day goes by without him bringing a delivery to out-of-towners at a hotel, a convention or business meeting, from a sandwich to a supply of kosher groceries.

Weil said the attraction to New Orleans is very broad-based because of the area’s culture, wide range of activities and history, rather than just coming to see Jewish New Orleans. “It’s not like Prague where you are doing a Jewish pilgrimage, or Rhode Island where you’re going to Newport to see America’s oldest synagogue.”

Whatever the motivation, Jewish tourists are flocking to New Orleans and they are interested in the local Jewish community.

Brown said that is one of the most enjoyable aspects of his business — meeting the visitors, playing Jewish geography and answering their questions. The first thing they usually ask, he said, is about the community, and then Katrina is usually one of the next questions.

A major portion of New Orleans visitors comes

for conventions. After Katrina, numerous Jewish organizations made a point of supporting the then-recovering convention market by having their meetings in New Orleans.

In recent years, major Jewish conventions have included United Synagogue Youth, TribeFest, Alpha Epsilon Pi, the Jewish Federations of North America General Assembly, the Jewish Community Centers Association biennial, Jewish War Veterans, Reconstructionist Rabbinical Association, Men of Reform Judaism, and the Central Conference of American Rabbis.

The city hosts dozens of conventions each year that each draw at least 3,000 participants. Many of those conventions, especially in the legal, medical and educational fields, have a significant proportion of Jewish delegates.

Some tourists are attracted to uniquely Jewish expressions of New Orleans life, such as early in Mardi Gras season when the two Jewish Krewes, Jieux and Mishigas, march in their respective parades.

Touro Synagogue’s JazzFest Shabbat is a similar draw for Jews attending JazzFest. The annual event packs in a full house for Shabbat services and a special jazz performance. Touro Executive Director Kerry Tapia estimates that between 10 and 20 percent of the crowd is from out of town.

Anshe Sfard often is the point of entry for visitors, as the closest synagogue to the French Quarter and CBD. The small Orthodox congregation routinely has visitors on Shabbat, sometimes hosting a dozen or so conventioneers.

The Shabbat before the Super Bowl, they had about 30 visitors.

Because of the large number of Jewish tourists, New Orleans has kosher availability far beyond what is normal for a Jewish community of roughly 10,000 — especially given that the community is predominantly Reform.

In Metairie, there are Casablanca and Kosher Cajun. In New Orleans, Waffles on Maple is near

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Tulane, and another location in Metairie is planned, along with a new kosher restaurant in the Warehouse District. Also Uptown is Hillel’s Kitchen at Tulane Hillel, which is open to the general United Synagogue Youth International community.

Additionally, tour- Conference 2013 was held in New Orleans ist “must-do” stops are under kosher certification — beignets at Café du Monde and pralines from Aunt Sally’s. Zapp’s potato chips are also kosher — even the Cajun Crawtators.

Places that are not kosher certified but of interest to the community include the Philadelphia-meets-Louisiana Stein’s Deli, the new and renowned Shaya Israeli restaurant, Israeli-owned steakhouse Doris Metropolitan, Green to Go at the Uptown Jewish Community Center and Mardi Gras Zone. Bagel establishments, though, have been a bit more fleeting in recent years.

Because travelers who keep kosher tend to check on availability before traveling somewhere, Brown advertises in the Jewish Press, an Orthodox newspaper in New York, and a national kosher restaurant magazine.

Brown said a kosher meal can be had in just about any restaurant in the city, “made by us, on china, with silverware.” A few years ago, convention officials noted the number of Jewish VIPs coming to town and asked Brown to develop something beyond the typical pre-packaged kosher meals, so he developed these meals, which are double-wrapped so they can be heated in a non-kosher oven, and which come with extensive preparation instructions.

This way, if there is a business luncheon for 20 people and two or four happen to be kosher, they have an easy option and don’t just have to drink and not eat.

Because of their kosher expertise, Kosher Cajun also can supply halal, gluten-free or dairy-free meals as needed.

Belinda Dahan said Waffles on Maple has done some catering for conventions, and they have sent many meals downtown.

Federation and Chabad routinely field inquiries about services available to Jewish travelers.

While Jewish history may not be the motivating factor for the bulk of Jewish tourists, New Orleans is becoming one of two anchor points for Jewish tours of the Deep South. Many groups touring the Mississippi Delta’s Jewish history bookend the trip with New Orleans and Memphis as the starting and ending points.

In late August, the American Jewish Archives in Cincinnati will have a five-day “Travels in American Jewish History” trip to New Orleans.

In the aftermath of Katrina, a large number of Jewish congregations and other groups did mitzvah trips to New Orleans, to help in the city’s rebuilding process. With the 10th anniversary of the storm approaching, those groups are still coming.

The Reform movement’s National Federation of Temple Youth does an annual Summer Experience, bringing teens to New Orleans for two weeks of volunteering and local touring, with a side trip to the Jacobs Camp in Mississippi, and civil rights sites in Selma, Montgomery and Birmingham.

With roughly 2,250 Jewish students, Tulane University brings a lot of Jewish families Uptown. In recent years, tour guide Julie Schwartz has led sold-out tours of Jewish New Orleans for those families.

“Jews want to hear about the Jewish history of the places they visit,” Schwartz said, adding that they feel pride when they see the large number of contributions local Jews have made to civic life in New Orleans.

It isn’t just Jewish tours — non-Jewish tourists are often exposed to New Orleans Jewish history. For example, the Historic New Orleans Cemetery District Tour includes the Dispersed of Judah cemetery on Canal Street.

There are also numerous walking tours that highlight a wide range of Jewish sites.

“Anyone who comes to New Orleans has an amazing time,” Brown noted.

summer travel INTERACTIVE EXHIBIT OPEN NOW Promoting Israel travel in the Southeast For a lot of people, Jewish and Christian, going to Israel is on the list of things to do — eventually.

Eyal Carlin, Southern region director for the Israel Government Tourist Office in Atlanta, said “we have a lot of people say ‘someday.’ We want that someday to be in six months.”

Carlin was in Birmingham recently for the Religious Conference Management Association’s Emerge conference, part of his outreach to an 11-state territory that includes Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana.

With turmoil around the Middle East and lingering effects of last summer’s operation in Gaza, it has been a challenging time for Israel’s tourism industry, which saw 3 million tourists last year.

Until last June, 2014 was shaping up to be a record year, with 20 to 30 percent growth over the corresponding month in 2013. Then the Gaza operation hit “and we saw a drop of 30 percent.”

For the year, tourism was down 6 percent, though it was still a record year for tourists from the U.S. — thanks to those who see beyond the headlines and realize the situation on the ground in Israel, he said.

In May, it was announced that hotel stays had dropped 28 percent in the first quarter of 2015, compared to the same time last year. Immediately after Protective Edge, tourists had fall reservations they couldn’t cancel, but early 2015 reservations would mostly have been made last summer and fall, and conventions would have been planned then, leading to the delayed effect of the Gaza operation on tourism.

Another major challenge has been the cost of visiting Israel. The World Economic Forum’s Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Report came out last month, ranking Israel 136th out of 141 countries in price competitiveness. Israel’s overall ranking was 72nd, right in the middle of the pack.

Carlin said the Ministry of Tourism has been working for the last couple of years on how to get prices down, from de-regulating parts of the industry to promoting investment in family and budget hotels, to freeing up more land for hotels.

He added that the Reform movement is working on how to promote more affordable family travel.

There is also more competition at the high end, with a new Ritz Carlton in Herzliya, a Waldorf Astoria in Jerusalem and boutique hotels in coastal areas.

As for greater convenience for travelers from the Southeast, Carlin said it is unlikely that there will be direct Atlanta to Tel Aviv flights anytime soon, as Delta had a decade ago. There were a lot of groups that used that route but not enough business travel to sustain it. A Miami or Dallas flight is more likely.

Roughly 90 percent of Carlin’s time in the region is spent on developing the Christian market, speaking at religious conferences and urging church

General

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June 2015 • Southern Jewish Life 27

summer travel

leaders to visit — and then come back and speak about their experiences.

Social media is a big emphasis, as is content from writers about things that are not in the headlines — such as Israel’s growing culinary scene.

The ministry is also focusing more on the Jewish market. “For years we operated under the assumption that Jews travel to Israel. More and more we’re discovering this isn’t the case,” Carlin said.

Among the initiatives is a website for those looking to do a Bar or Bat Mitzvah in Israel.

“We’re here to help people promote tourism,” Carlin said, providing materials for synagogues, Hillels or other groups, assisting with connections in Israel, especially if they are looking to do something unique.

As an example, he noted a “mega-tour” for Baptist worship leaders. In October several large choirs will travel to Israel and perform with Israeli choirs in Nazareth, the Galilee, Tel Aviv, Jerusalem and Bethlehem.

“People have a place in their heart for Israel and helping the Israeli economy in a very broad way,” he said, and visiting Israel is a way to show that support.

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There’s more than one word that comes to mind when travelers think of Destin, Florida.

Destin, with its prime location on the Gulf of Mexico, has long been known as the “world’s luckiest fishing village” and is a haven for yacht owners — trophy deep-sea fishing, award-winning golf courses, upscale dining, shopping and entertainment.

The Destin beach is nationally recognized as one of the country’s finest.

While there’s no shortage of beachfront hotels in Florida to choose from when deciding where to book a beach vacation, for a romantic, adults-only getaway, visitors turn to the Henderson Park Inn. Nestled among the fine sugary white dunes overlooking one of the most beautiful beaches in the world, Henderson Park Inn is the “best kept secret on the Gulf of Mexico in Destin.”

This luxury boutique hotel has become a getaway for couples seeking a romantic respite. The 36-room inn offers adults an experience where the only thing that has to be decided is where to enjoy a glass of wine on the veranda as the sun sets.

Rooms are furnished and decorated with sitting areas and writing desks, flat-screen TVs, microwaves, refrigerators and views of the Gulf of Mexico.

Guests are greeted in their rooms with a bottle of wine, grapes, roses and romantic music.

As the only all-inclusive hotel in the region, snacks are accessible 24 hours a day and other amenities such as DVDs are provided to guests.

Complimentary beach umbrellas and chairs on the beach as well as bicycles are available for use by guests as well.

For those looking for more than the beach, Destin-area activities like deep-sea fishing, golf, scuba diving or shopping are all right there. The wildflower-filled, 208-acre Henderson State Park, is adjacent to the Inn. It features guided hiking trails, 6,000 feet of natural shoreline and boardwalks that traverse through sand pines, scrub oaks as well as dune rosemary.

Vacationers and locals will also enjoy free concerts in Destin every Saturday this summer with Rock the Docks, one of the city’s most popular traditions. The 2015 Rock the Docks concert series on the HarborWalk Village stage kicks off on May 30, and takes place every Saturday night until Aug. 29.

Aviation lovers this summer can enjoy weekly World War II aircraft flyovers and fireworks in Destin at the Red, White & Blue Hero’s Celebrations.

The Red, White & Blue festivities will begin on May 28 at the HarborWalk Village in Destin and will continue to be held every Thursday evening throughout the summer months.

For more information about Destin and to stay at the Henderson Park Inn, visit www.hendersonparkinn.com.

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World War II Museum hosts Year of Remembrance; opens new pavilions

by Lee J. Green Those visiting the National World War II Museum in New Orleans can be transported back in time to wartime Germany and Tokyo with the Museum’s new Road to Berlin and upcoming Road to Tokyo exhibits.

Road to Berlin opened this past December and provides an immersive, interactive experience through artifacts, narrative, lights, sound, video projection and recreation of physical structures, everything from bunkers to native vegetation of the time and place.

“Our goal is to educate and engage through creative an interactive environment that really brings this important history to life,” said Museum Marketing Director Kevin Barraco. He added that Museum visitors can register to get a free military “dog tag” that, when swiped on some video screens, will e-mail more lengthy information about a topic to a museum visitor who asks for it.

This December, the Campaigns of Courage: European and Pacific Theaters will reach completion with the launch of Road to Tokyo: Pacific Theater Galleries. The exhibition hall’s newest exhibits will trace the journey from Pearl Harbor to Tokyo Bay, examining the logistical challenges, fierce battles and range of extreme conditions that confronted the troops in this vast theater of war.

Throughout the galleries, artifacts will connect visitors to the intense struggle, featuring uniforms, personal effects and an authentic, restored P-40 Warhawk bearing the distinctive markings of the Flying Tigers.

This past April, the World War II Museum installed a pedestrian bridge that connects the Museum’s Louisiana Memorial Pavilion, home of the original D-Day Museum, with the rest of the six-acre campus.

After visitors begin their WWII journey in the Louisiana Memorial Pavilion’s replica Union-Pacific train car, the American Spirit Bridge takes them “overseas” to immersive exhibits that explore how the war was fought and won in Europe, northern Africa and the Pacific. Along the way, a soundtrack mimics the sounds of an ocean crossing, the rhythmic beep of Morse code and the echoes of naval commands.

The WWII Museum also is hosting several events in 2015 in its Year of Remembrance programming, remembering victims of the Holocaust and honoring the bravery of those who liberated the camps of Europe.

On Sept. 30, the Museum will present Harry Nowalsky and the Rebirth of Berlin’s Jewish community after World War II. The event features Jessica Greenberg and special guest Ruth Jaffe, a Holocaust survivor.

The Great Escape: Nine Jews Who Fled Hitler and Changed the World, a program by Kati Marton, will be on Oct 8.

From Nov. 19 to 21 the museum will host a Holocaust Symposium and the 2015 International Conference on World War II. The “1945: To The Bitter End” conference is sold out and a waiting list has been formed. At the closing banquet on Nov. 21, Efraim Zuroff will speak on “Operation Last Chance: One Man’s Quest to Bring Nazi Criminals to Justice.”

Barraco said Trip Advisor named the World War II Museum the number one attraction in New Orleans. It also ranked it as the fourth-best museum in the United States and 11th globally.

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summer travel

Vulcan Park hosting “Darkness Into Life”

by Lee J. Green Vulcan Park and Museum, nestled high atop Red Mountain in Birmingham, has served as the Magic City’s history museum.

Starting in late September, the museum will present a special exhibition: “Darkness into Life: Alabama Holocaust Survivors Through Photography and Art.” More information on the opening reception and date of the traveling exhibition by photographer Becky Seitel and artist Mitzi Levin will be announced in the coming weeks. It will be up for at least six months.

“We are looking forward to our partnership with the Birmingham Holocaust Education Center to bring this exhibit to Vulcan Park and Museum’s Linn-Henley Gallery,” said Vulcan Park and Museum President/CEO Darlene Negrotto.

“In keeping with our mission to share the history of Birmingham’s diverse community, this display portrays the triumphant stories of human survival and the impact these survivors had on our community upon re-entry into society.”

When “Darkness into Life” was displayed for the first time at Birmingham’s Levite Jewish Community Center on April 1, 2007, it drew 1,700 people on opening day.

Since then the exhibit has traveled across the state. It has been expanded and updated over the years by Seitel and Levin. Today it features more than 80 pieces of art and photography telling the stories of 20 Holocaust survivors who came to Alabama.

Vulcan Park and Museum Marketing/PR Director Morgan Berney said they will be looking for some sponsors for opening reception.

The next big event at Vulcan is the annual Vulcan Birthday Bash, June 7 from noon to 4 p.m.

Berney said this year’s event has been expanded and will be the biggest yet.

It features a next-generation game room, a Home Depot building workshop for kids, a vignette from the Birmingham Children’s Theatre production of “The Gingerbread Boy,” a plane exhibition presented by the Southern Museum of Flight, an archaeology dig, musical entertainment (also including a drum circle), clowns, face-painting, a Birmingham fire truck display and food available for purchase.

On July 4 after dark, fireworks will light up the sky accompanied by music in the annual Thunder on the Mountain Independence Day celebration.

According to Berney, 156,196 visitors came to Vulcan in 2014, up from 143,171 in 2013.

30 Southern Jewish Life • June 2015

summer travel

Alabama Splash Adventure owners started first U.S. theme park

by Lee J. Green In 1946, the family who owns and runs Alabama Splash Adventure also started the first U.S. theme park in the town of Santa Claus, Ind. That park is now called Holiday World, but the Kochs never take a holiday during Alabama Splash Adventure’s open season, which started May 23.

“We’re here just about all the time to greet people and make sure their time at Alabama Splash Adventure is a second-to-none quality, fun experience,” said Dan Koch.

He and his mom can be found at the Birmingham area theme park, which is two parks in one with wet and dry attractions and rides. They took ownership of Alabama Splash Adventure two months before it opened for the 2014 season.

“My mom Pat Koch, who is known as ‘The General,’ is 83 years old and she loves coming here every day. She started Holiday World (now owned

by Dan Koch’s sister-in-law). This is our absolute passion. We’re all about family here,” he said.

The Kochs had been looking at opportunities in the South for a few years when the previous owner of Alabama Splash Adventure announced the sale.

“We see the South and this region as a great opportunity to reach receptive families. This is the only family-owned theme park in Alabama and Mississippi. The only other one in the region is Dollywood” in Sevierville, Tenn., he said. “It is so much more special and personal to have a family-owned theme park experience versus the large, corporate-owned parks.

We’re a ‘park with a heart’.”

The Kochs tabbed Adam Reiver to be their vice president and director of operations. Reiver is Jewish and had been working and living in south Florida. Dan Koch is not Jewish, but was in Zeta Beta Tau at the University of Miami in the 1980s and was Reiver’s fraternity brother. “I guess you could

say I am as Jewish as a non-Jew can be,” said Koch.

The group has made many enhancements already to Alabama Splash Adventure with more on the way. They upgraded the Rampage roller coaster to make for a smoother, faster ride. The wooden roller coaster is 3,500 feet long and reaches a speed of 60 miles per hour. It was recently chosen as one of the top 50 U.S. thrill rides by The Weather Channel. It is a part of the $10 million in capital improvements the Koch family has brought to Alabama Splash Adventure.

The parks include several miles of water slides, lazy rivers, wave pools, roller coasters and other rides. Park admission ranges from $19.95 to $29.95 based on age.

“With that they get two parks in one. We also want to offer as much value as possible. The pass includes free soft drinks, free parking, free sunscreen, free Wi-Fi, free use of inner tubes and life jackets,” said Dan Koch.

On June 13 from 1 to 4 p.m., Skai Jackson will meet park-goers. Jackson plays Zuri on the Disney Channel TV show “Jessie.” Koch said to expect appearances this summer by Big Al, Aubie and Blaze, the mascots for the University of Alabama, Auburn University and UAB.

Celebrate 80 years of Aunt Sally’s pralines Aunt Sally’s is celebrating its 80th anniversary this month, highlighted

by National Praline Day on June 24.

The New Orleans landmark has two locations — the remodeled location on Decatur Street near Café du Monde, and at 750 St. Charles Avenue, where free tours are available. Both locations will have specials and prizes throughout June, with information on the website and Facebook pages.

Their pralines, available in several flavors, are kosher dairy and can be shipped.

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June 2015 • Southern Jewish Life 31

summer travel

“Robot Zoo,” Jerusalem and Space Camp reunion at Alabama’s top attraction The U.S. Space & Rocket Center in Huntsville is well known for its collection that marks significant moments in space flight. In addition to its Saturn V moon rocket and Pathfinder Space Shuttle, there are many other reasons to make a road trip to Alabama’s No. 1 tourist attraction this summer.

The Center currently has on display “The Robot Zoo,” a fun featured exhibition of oversized robotic animals. This family-friendly exhibit includes hands-on activities that show the biomechanics of why flies can walk on the ceiling and chameleons change colors. Guests can also see inside the robots and watch the simple machines that make them move.

The Center has a variety of educational activities for all ages as well, from weekly “Science of Imagination” activities for ages 4 to 6 to monthly “Saturday Scientist” lessons for ages 6 to 9. The museum’s education staff offers programs for homeschool students throughout the year, and the “Pass the Torch” lecture series brings in speakers on topics such as space, aeronautics, engineering and other fields.

While visiting, guests can pick from several movies shown in the Center’s two theaters. The IMAX Spacedome Theater displays 70MM films on a 67-foot dome, providing a truly unique viewing experience. If you didn’t catch “Interstellar” in IMAX, head to Huntsville this summer to see the film the way director Christopher Nolan meant for it to be seen. The National Geographic Theater showcases 3-D movies from the National Geographic collection, including “Jerusalem” and “Pandas: The Journey Home.”

The USSRC is a member of the Association of Science-Technology Centers and offers free admission to members of other ASTC museums, such as the McWane Center or Southern Museum of Flight in Birmingham, the Exploreum in Mobile, the Louisiana Art and Science Museum in Baton Rouge,

the Louisiana Children’s Museum in New Orleans, Sci-Port in Shreveport or the Mississippi Museum of Natural Science. The Center is also offering a special Summer Pass that allows families to visit as often as they wish. This pass for $40 provides unlimited admission Sunday through Thursday for one adult and two children, and one can add additional people for $10. For more information, visit rocketcenter.com.

The USSRC is also home to the world-famous Space Camp programs.

This summer, the Center and the Space Camp Alumni Association are holding a three-day celebration open to the almost 700,000 Space Camp alumni as well as the general public.

The Alumni Festival Weekend, July 23 to 25, includes the chance to meet astronauts, take part in Space Camp and Aviation Challenge missions and much more. The 2015 Space Camp Hall of Fame dinner and ceremony takes place July 25, honoring this year’s inductees: Elizabeth Bierman, Senior Project Engineer at Honeywell Aerospace and national President of the Society of Women’s Engineers; Bobak Ferdowsi, NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory flight engineer; Susanna Phillips, Metropolitan Opera star; and Dr. Kate Rubins, a NASA astronaut scheduled to fly to the International Space Station in 2016.

The festival concludes with a concert in Shuttle Park with Yacht Rock Revue playing favorites from the 1970s and 1980s.

For more information, visit spacecamp.com/AlumniFestival or email festival@spacecamp.com.

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32 Southern Jewish Life • June 2015

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Southern Museum of Flight camps open; July 2 special concert Children and young adults who want to learn about aviation along with the heroes that preserve their freedoms can take part in the Southern Museum of Flight Aviation Adventure camps in Birmingham.

The Young Flyers camp, ages 6 to 10, will be June 15 to 19 and Junior Aviators camp, ages 10 and older, will be July 13 to 17. Registrations are open at www.southernmuseumofflight.org.

Campers will learn about the different facets of aviation through handson activities at the Museum and a field trip to the Birmingham International Airport. They will have a wind tunnel, flight simulators, helicopter demonstrations, and have flying contests with gliders that campers build.

On July 2 the United States Air Force Band of the West will perform a free Independence Day concert at the Southern Museum of Flight. Doors open at 4 p.m. and the concert will begin at 7 p.m. Activities for kids include Hoops for Fitness and Magic City Face Art.

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Much to do in Great Smoky Mountains

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Check out Dollywood or hike in the woods of the Great Smoky Mountains. These choice and many others await visitors to the greater Sevierville, Tenn., area.

Attractions in the Sevierville area range from museums featuring muscle cars and warbird aircraft to NASCAR-themed go-kart tracks, underground cave tours, petting zoos and even interactive mini-golf courses.

Sevierville’s most famous native is Dolly Parton. A statue of the country music and acting legend decorates the lawn of the Sevierville courthouse and Parton opened her Dollywood entertainment park in neighboring Pigeon Forge.

She comes home each April for the park’s seasonal Grand Opening and makes several appearances in the area during the year.

For those who love to shop, Sevierville features some top name outlet stores and many antique as well as craft stores.

Visitors who seek outdoor adventures can go to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, which is the most visited national park in the United States. The park offers 12 major hiking trails and nine self-guided tours.

The Sevierville area also offers several golf courses, fishing on Douglas Lake and plenty of fun events for the kids. Sevierville has more than 3,000 lodging facilities including campsites.

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Events, attractions abundant near Dunes of Panama Those visiting Panama City Beach and staying at Dunes of Panama Vacation Rentals can participate in numerous activities and visit attractions for all ages, or do nothing at all — just relaxing on the 1,500 feet of beach on the property.

Dunes of Panama features 331 fully-equipped rental units of various sizes along the Panama City beachfront. The Dunes also offers three Gulf-side pools, tennis courts, volleyball, basketball, picnic/pavilion areas, a fitness center, some fitness classes, a beachside swing set as well as a deli and a gift shop.

The Dunes of Panama is located near St. Andrews State Park and the Shipwreck Island Water Park. Guests have participated in area activities ranging from parasailing to pontoon boat rentals to fishing to golf.

On July 4, Panama City hosts an Independence Day extravaganza with fireworks. During Labor Day weekend, the Pepsi Gulf Coast Jam brings some of the top names in country music performing in concert.

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Jay Shames named to Touro Society The Touro Infirmary Foundation announced that Jay M. Shames, M.D. will receive the 2015 Judah Touro Society Award at the Touro Infirmary Foundation Gala on Nov. 14.

The JTS Award is the hospital’s highest honor and is voted on by previous JTS award recipients. It is given annually to individuals who have made outstanding contributions to the welfare of Touro Infirmary.

Shames graduated from Tulane Medical School, served as an intern at Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami, Fla., and Internal Medicine residency at Tulane University/Touro Infirmary.

He did his pulmonary fellowship at Tulane University with Drs. Ziskind and Weill. He was one of the founders of Internal Medicine Specialists, and was in the active practice of Internal Medicine and Pulmonary Diseases in Uptown New Orleans until January 2008.

Shames has been on the teaching faculty of Tulane Medical School since completing his fellowship and has been a clinical professor since 1986. He is board certified in Internal Medicine and Pulmonary Diseases; has served as Chief of Staff of Touro Infirmary and has been president of the Orleans Parish Medical Society and the Louisiana State Medical Society.

He has served on the Boards of Touro Infirmary, Kindred Hospital, Orleans Parish Medical Society and the Louisiana Chapter of the American College of Physicians Council. He serves on the Health Education Authority of the State of Louisiana. He is a Member of the American Medical Association and American Thoracic Society, and is a Fellow in the American College of Chest Physicians and Fellow and Laureate of the American College of Physicians.

Taylor, Mueller named ADL Torch of Liberty honorees The Anti-Defamation League has named Phyllis Taylor and Nick Mueller as this year’s A.I. Botnick Torch of Liberty Award recipients.

“Award recipients are people who care not just for themselves today, but for the children and grandchildren of tomorrow,” said Nancy Timm, ADL SouthCentral regional board chair, “who care enough to translate caring into action, who strive to build a future in which every citizen will share the fruits of democracy.”

Taylor is a leader in philanthropic engagement in New Orleans and has been an ardent supporter of education initiatives that have been transformational to the city and state’s educational landscape. With her late husband, Patrick F. Taylor, an ADL Torch of Liberty honoree in 1989, she has worked to see the continuance of the Taylor Opportunity Program for Students, an innovative program that provides access to college for all high school graduates of Louisiana that meet the certain core curriculum standards.

Taylor is chairwoman of Endeavor Enterprises L.L.C. and Taylor Energy Company LLC. She also chairs the Patrick F. Taylor Foundation, 34 Southern Jewish Life • June 2015

which has benefited numerous education, public safety, and humanitarian efforts across the Greater New Orleans area since 1985.

Mueller is president and CEO of The National World War II Museum, an institution that is facing a $325 million expansion as it secures a place among the world’s top museums.

The museum sees millions of visitors and has been ranked

by TripAdvisor as the No. 1 attraction in New Orleans, the No. 4 museum in the nation, and the 11th-ranked museum worldwide.

In addition to its permanent exhibitions and innovative education programs, the museum teaches about the meaning of the war effort in defending individual rights and democratic institutions, and will explore these themes in the upcoming Liberation Pavilion. The museum has long hosted ADL’s Echoes and Reflections program, a Holocaust curriculum for educators.

Mueller had a 33-year career as a professor of history and administrator at the University of New Orleans prior to his work at the museum, and now devotes his academic leadership skills NOLA

simchas to advancing the public good.

“Mrs. Taylor and Dr. Mueller are truly inspirational individuals,” said Allison PadillaGoodman, ADL South-Central regional director. “They are leaders in defining the future of New Orleans and have made immense

contributions to defining our educational landscape.”

The awards will be presented at the annual A.I. Botnick Torch of Liberty Award Dinner at the Hyatt Regency of New Orleans on Dec. 1.

Tickets are available from the ADL office.

B’nai Mitzvah Laura Center, daughter of Christina and Sherman Center, at Temple Emanu-El, Birmingham, on May 2.

Morgan Cohn, daughter of Tracy and Al Cohn, at Temple Emanu-El, Birmingham, on May 9.

Tanner Fawer, son of Leslie and Jonathan Fawer, at Gates of Prayer, Metairie, on May 9.

Adam Rovner, son of Melissa and David Rovner, at Beth Shalom, Fort Walton Beach, on May 9.

Natasha Salas, daughter of Julie Herzog and Federico Salas, at Shir Chadash, Metairie, on May 9.

Benjamin Yosef Tuvyana, son of Laura and Avi Tuvyana, at B’nai Israel, Panama City, on May 9.

Jack Kornman, son of JJ Kornman and Keith Kornman, at Temple Sinai, New Orleans, on May 30.

Andrew Strickland, son of Amy and Ron Strickland, at Temple Emanu-El, Birmingham, on May 30.

Confirmation Temple Beth-El, Birmingham, on May 9: Hamilton, Jacob Wolf Kohlman, Daniel KenDaniel Azrin, Ellis Goldstein, Gabe Ivker, Dan- neth Lovett, Eric Peter Margolin, Andree Keil iel Mazur, Emily Nomberg, Jack Pake, Kristen Moss, Camille Marguerite Moss, Carolyn Dupre Thomas.

Moss, Devin Gabriel Neal, Frances Eleanore Temple Emanu-El, Birmingham, on May Sperling, Shafir Davim Wittenberg.

1: Trey Collat, Zander Freehling-Kazzie, Rose Temple Sinai, New Orleans, on May 23: Levine, Will Lichtenstein, Gabe McPherson, Zachary James Lowentritt, Mathilda Jane MaySam Morse, Carly Nadler, Rebecca Robinson, er, Margaux Goldberg Schexnider.

Jack Rosenthal, Joseph Russell, William Russell, B’nai Zion, Shreveport, on May 22: SavanHannah Strickland, Adam Weil, Jordan Weis- nah Badt, Taylor Badt, Caroline Evensky, Tobias berg, Jake Weissman, Gabby Weissman, Katie Kallenberg, Harrison Rosen, Morgan Walker.

Wiatrak, Juliet Wiatrak, Marshall Wilensky.

Joint Montgomery Religious School, at Agudath Israel-Etz Ahayem on May 17: Nathan Ashner, Grant Lieberman, Sarah Claire Loeb, Zachary Mendelsohn.

Temple Beth-El, Pensacola, held at First United Methodist Church on May 22: Alyssa Borelli, Eviana Linder.

Beth Shalom, Baton Rouge, on May 23: Regan Dean, Ari Hoffman, Samantha Litten.

B’nai Israel, Baton Rouge, on May 29: Nina Jalenak, Henry Kantrow, Ian Sager.

Touro Synagogue, New Orleans, on May 29: Joshua Harris Balkin, Sophia Rose Brown, Philip Joshua Confirmation at Temple Sinai, New Orleans

Upcoming Events Sunday, June 14 Jewish Endowment Foundation of Louisiana Annual Event. Westin Canal Place, 11:30 a.m.

Tuesday, June 16 Jewish Women’s Archive 10th Anniversary of Katrina panel discussion. Touro Synagogue. 5:30 p.m.

Friday, June 19 Young Jieuxish Professional Shabbat Dinner. Anshe Sfard. 7 p.m. service, 8 p.m. dinner.

Sunday, June 28 Cardboard Boat Race. Uptown JCC.. 3 p.m.

Saturday, July 4 Independence Day Tuesday, July 7 “Gett: The Trial of Viviane Amsalem.” Bart Family Film Series. Uptown JCC. 7 p.m.

Meet Gates of Prayer Assistant Rabbi Alexis Pinsky.

Howling Wolf Den. 6:30 p.m.

Sunday, July 12 Shir Chadash Nearly New Sale. Through July 20.

Tuesday, July 14 “Ida.” Bart Family Film Series. Uptown JCC. 7 p.m.

Send in your Simchas!

Email photos and information to editor@sjlmag.com, or mail to P.O. Box 130052, Birmingham, AL 35213.

NOLA

June 2015 • Southern Jewish Life 35

community Mildred Covert did Louisiana Kosher Wherever Jews have gone, Jewish cooking has become infused with local influences. In Louisiana, where the predominant ingredients are shellfish and pork, that can be a daunting challenge.

Mildred Covert, who died on May 10 at the age of 88, showed it was not an impossible mix.

With co-author Sylvia Gerson, Covert wrote four cookbooks — the “Kosher Cajun Cookbook,” “Kosher Creole Cookbook,” “Kosher Southern-Style” and “A Kid’s Kosher Cooking Cruise.”

A New Orleans native, Covert learned homemaking and cooking from her grandmother.

With her strong Jewish background and love of New Orleans, she quickly experimented with melding the two worlds.

Covert and Gerson wrote the Creole book first, after repeated requests from friends for their recipes. It came out in 1982, followed by the Cajun cookbook in 1987 and Southern-style in 1993. The kid’s book came out in 1997, using recipes for kosher snacks and meals as part of the story of Hannah and Herschel, twins who sail up the Mississippi River with their grandmother.

The books were illustrated by Gerson’s son, Alan.

Maintaining a kosher home, Covert’s grandmother supervised Pearl Jones, who the family employed as a nanny, cook and housekeeper for 40 years. African-American and Jewish cooking fused in that kitchen.

Covert wrote about experiencing Yom Kippur break-the-fasts that started with Coca-Cola, then continued with fried chicken and brisket for meat meals, or Creole cream cheese and cheese grits with pickled herring and kugel if the meal was dairy.

Covert married a man who did not come from a kosher home, and after a failed attempt at red beans and rice by Covert, she decided to keep a kosher home, but quickly had to adapt

recipes for some of her husband’s New Orleans-style favorites, such as gumbo without shrimp.

Covert introduced the greater New Orleans community to the concept of kosher cooking through her freelance columns in the Times-Picayune, weaving Jewish and culinary stories. She called her style of cooking “Creosher,” which was expanded back out to Kosher Creole by the cookbook publisher.

The Newcomb College Center for Research on Women honored her in 2004 for her work in defining how modern, observant Jews adapted their cooking methods to enjoy traditional southeast Louisiana cooking. As a local model and actress, she appeared in commercial work and as a guest star in the pilot episode of “Memphis Beat.”

She donated her papers to the Southern Food and Beverage Museum’s Culinary Library and Archive in 2013.

Aside from her writing, Covert was president of the Sisterhood at Beth Israel and was active on the Chevra Kadisha. She also was active in New Orleans Hadassah, the Jewish Community Center, Tulane/Newcomb Alumni Association and the Louisiana Arts and Crafts Council.

She is survived by her three children, Golda Spiers (Wayne) of Slidell, Susan Seiden (Jan) of Miami and Martin Covert (Cecile) of New Orleans. She is also survived by grandchildren Adam Stross (Michele), Sarah Covert (Seth Knudsen), Jeffrey Seiden (Brenna) and Maggie Covert (Tim LeBlanc), along with two great-grandchildren, Aaron and Shaya Stross. Also surviving are her sister, Celia Katz, and her brother, Abe Daniel Lubritz. She was the half-sister of the late Ennis Kops.

>> Editor’s Note with holding Shabbat morning services.

“Might start a trend!” was the pithy comment below.

Unlike just about all Spice Box entries, this one drew protests. The story was about Temple Beth Israel in Gadsden, which is now defunct. At the time the small congregation held only Friday night services, which is typical for small-community congregations, but they decided to see if there was demand for the occasional Saturday morning.

Writers objected to Moment appearing to make fun of small communities where they do the best they can with limited resources and 36 Southern Jewish Life • June 2015

relatively few warm bodies.

While our main mission is to cover and serve the Jewish communities of the Deep South, we’re also here to remind the rest of the Jewish world that there are different perspectives and experiences out here.

We still have a lot of stories to tell…

Larry Brook EDITOR/PUBLISHER

EDITOR@SJLMAG.COM

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Continued from page 38

necked peoples. Able to effectively handle a staff (wooden and human). Good sense of direction through desert terrain. Ability to transport large, engraved stone tablets down from a mountain without damage.

Travel: Must be willing to relocate himself and approximately two million of his best friends. Proficient Travelocity users preferred.

Benefits: International best-selling novelization of your life story. 401k.

Timeframe: Immediate need, availability required for next 40 years.

Wanted: Almighty Seeking a miracle worker to create the universe as we (are yet to) know it.

Qualifications: Omniscience. Omnipotence.

Omnipresence. Comprehending reader of Omni Magazine. Immortal. Able to withstand continual public scrutiny. Extreme patience required. Ability to establish and encourage adherence to code of living for all creation. Able to create. Clear, unambiguous communicator.

Resemblance to George Burns is preferred.

Travel: None, or constant, depending on demonstrated aptitude for omnipresence.

Benefits: Dominion over all. Eternal devotion of followers. Office with great view. Diner’s Club card.

Timeframe: Eternal.

Proud to be the Jewish news magazine serving the New Orleans Jewish Community

Southern Jewish Life

Doug Brook is a writer in Silicon Valley who, if he applied himself, could not apply to any of these positions. For past columns, other writings, and more, visit http://brookwrite.com/. For exclusive online content, follow facebook.com/ the.beholders.eye.

>> Consul General “I think in both cases I found the Jewish communities to be very warm communities, very supportive communities, very engaging communities, communities that care about what’s going on in Israel, and communities that work to deepen the U.S.-Israel relationship… That’s the most important thing for us, to care about Israel, because indifference is probably the biggest enemy that we have in the long run,” he said.

Shlomo says he hopes to enhance Israelis’ understanding about America.

“The United States is not only the East Coast and the West Coast, there’s a big chunk in between these two coasts, and not too many people [in Israel] factor that in when they speak about the United States. I would like to bring this wider perspective about the United States, about the issues that the United States is facing.

“At the end of the day, a strong United States is a vital interest of the whole Free World, including Israel, and we would be fools not to be well-wishers for the United States to be a strong country, a strong leader, because the fate of the Western world is pretty much dependent on that.”

wwww.PainisaPuzzle.com

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June 2015 • Southern Jewish Life 37

rear pew mirror • doug brook The Classified Bible What were the unemployment rates in Biblical times? What jobs were available, beyond farmer or shepherd?

Wanted: Dust looking for a change Seeking dust of the earth interested in being coalesced into “man” — the first living being to be created in the Almighty’s image.

Qualifications: Experience being dust. Willingness to be molded and shaped for the future.

Travel: Some possible. Depends on whether “man” eats from the tree from which he should not eat.

Benefits: Work closely with other dust. No longer stuck lying around all day. Relative imperviousness to water.

Timeframe: Must be available to start on Sixth Day. Wanted: Boat builder Seeking strong, able craftsman to build exceptionally large wooden boat, and run zoological expedition. If successful, possible extension into restarting human civilization.

Qualifications: Good with gopher wood. Able to do detailed craft work based on arcane design specifications. Ability to command the completed boat through extended inclement weather. Proven track record in animal husbandry (the care and feeding kind).

Travel: Extensive, once boat is completed.

Benefits: Not drowning.

Timeframe: Immediate. Project must be completed before rainy season.

Wanted: Father of chosen people Seeking a motivated self-starter to begin the lineage of the Almighty’s chosen people.

Qualifications: No prior experience of fatherhood or fathering required.

Good negotiation skills, a welcoming personality, and a penchant for sacrifice are required. Experience destroying idols preferred. Willingness to slightly change name a plus.

Travel: Must be willing to relocate.

Benefits: Offspring as numerous as the stars in the sky. Full dental.

Timeframe: As soon as possible. There are a lot of stars to catch up with.

Wanted: Pharaoh’s right hand man Seeking a right-hand man for ruler of Egypt. Pharaoh requires a visionary, with a vivid imagination.

Qualifications: Experience interpreting dreams that depict future events. Proven ability to persuade people peacefully without invoking resentment. Experience running an Egyptian household. In case of famine and limited food reserves, must be a rational thinker. Prison record acceptable, but no prior involvement in pyramid schemes.

Travel: None. They’ll come to you.

Benefits: No Technicolor uniform required. Access to secret government files containing answer to the riddle of the Sphinx, and identity of the second shepherd on the grassy knoll. Reserved box seats to all performances of “Cats.”

Timeframe: Available to start prior to seven years of plenty.

Wanted: People savior Seeking a dynamic leader to secure the freedom of an enslaved people, lead them across multiple types of terrain, and effectively prepare them to repopulate their ancient homeland.

Qualifications: Strong public speaker, though government legislation requires consideration given to candidates who are slow of speech and slow of tongue. Patient with government officials, deities, and stiffcontinued on previous page 38 Southern Jewish Life • June 2015

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The Hadassah Big and Easy Super South Tri-Region Conference was held in New Orleans from April 17 to 19.

Above, the night before the conference there was a panel on “Sex, Lies and Politics: Human Trafficking” at Shir Chadash, co-hosted by Hadassah and the Shir Chadash Sisterhood.

Top right: Hadassah Southern Region Women of the Year: Amy Sedlis, Birmingham; Arlene Hines, New Orleans; Paula Samuels, Baton Rouge; Nili Friedman, Nashville; Shannon Martindale, Knoxville; Rebecca Alexander, New Orleans.

Right: Toby Parker, President, Hadassah Southeastern; Lee Kansas, President, Hadassah Southern; Janice Bernstein, President, Hadassah Southern Seaboard.

Having a Field Day At the 2015 Annual Jewish Community Day School Field Day in Metairie, students got the opportunity to practice good sportsmanship in a competitive environment as the Games began. JCDS students were divided into four teams consisting of children from each grade.

Each team had the chance to work on team building, teamwork and team spirit as they created their team name, cheer, and banner. Members of “Red Flames,“ “Blue Jays,“ “Yellow Bees“ and “The Mean Green Monsters“ participated in a suitcase relay race, a four-team soccer game, an all school capture the flag, and a tug-of-war battle with the “Red Flames” (front row, left to right: Demi Kilburn, “Yellow Bees” (front row, left to right: Tyler Kilburn, teachers.

Vincent Dyer, Gabby Toca, Isaac Morales, Joseph Todd, David Benjo, Sam Shaya, Miles Holmes, Avery Hart and Juelz Hampton; Back row: Coach Neal Alsop, JCDS During closing ceremonies, Seth Berk and Harry Hart; Back row: Coach Neal Alsop, Teachers Aleeza Adelman and Lisa Vaughn and stustudents were given certifi- and JCDS Teachers Aleeza Adelman and Judy Fried). dent Shimmy Lang). cates, not for winning a game, “The Mean Green Monsters“ (Standing, left to right: “Blue Jays” (left to right, Alexandra Stone, Nathan Ben- but for sportsmanship, most Evellen Bruchis, Jonas Benjo, McKenzie Bourgeois, jo, Rachel Naghi, Judah Lang, Aiden Hawkins, Jamari creative work, team work, and Noah Rapps, Sienna Kansas, and Mrs. Jessy Posternock.

Seated: Cori Hawkins and Gianna Harris).

Hernandez, Eyan Callais). team spirit.

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June 2015 • Southern Jewish Life 39