Southern Jewish Life, Deep South, August 2020

Southern Jewish Life

August 2020

Volume 30 Issue 8

Southern Jewish Life P.O. Box 130052 Birmingham, AL 35213 At Temple Beth-El, Birmingham

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August 2020 • Southern Jewish Life

shalom y’all While the world has been occupied with responding to coronavirus, economic issues and the Black Lives Matter demonstrations, many who oppose Israel have warned that on July 1, thanks to the Trump peace plan, Israel was going to use the lack of world attention to take over the territories known colloquially as the West Bank through illegal annexation. Because colonialism and oppression.

July has passed, and there has been no movement toward that end, but there has been a lot of ink spilled, and a lot of misinformation as to what is actually being discussed.

Even in the American Jewish community, there are widespread misperceptions as to what is being discussed, and inaccurate loaded terminology being used, leading to unnecessary alarm.

The Oslo agreement in 1993 set up three zones as temporary measures, pending an actual peace settlement. In Area A, the Palestinians have civil and security authority, though Israel has the right to pursue terrorists. In Area B, the Palestinian Authority has civil administration and Israel oversees security.

Area C, the area in question, contains the Israeli villages, a relatively small number of Palestinians, and a lot of wide open spaces. It is under Israeli military control.

That means while almost all of the Palestinians in the “occupied” territories are under a civilian administration, it is actually the Israelis who are living under military rule!

The current proposal is to extend Israeli sovereignty to less than half of Area C, meaning that Israeli civilian law would be in force, for Israelis and the Palestinians living there.

It would make life — and receiving governmental services and benefits — a lot easier for everyone in the region.

It is not annexation.

Annexation is formally taking over the land of another sovereign country. No such entity has existed in the territories, and by international law, such as the San Remo conference a century ago, the territories were designated for a Jewish state. When in 1947 the area was proposed for yet another Arab state, the Arab nations thoroughly rejected the plan, and there has been no binding agreement to that end superceding the San Remo declaration. continued on page 6

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August 2020 • Southern Jewish Life

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commentary

MESSAGES

Maccabi USA leader praises Birmingham Games I have had the honor of attending many Maccabi competitions around the world. From Israel to Australia to South America, Europe and the JCC Maccabi games around the United States and Canada, I have logged many miles seeing how sports can be a vehicle to help build Jewish identity, especially in our young.

Greater Baton Rouge Jewish Community Open Letter to Our Black Neighbors

I feltshared honored to come to Birmingham for the first timecountry and fellfaces in love not just city Our history holds within it moments as our thiswith moment of the reckoning, butpowerful the people.

You havebetween taken Southern hospitality to a too newlong levelinwith your kind and caring of partnership our communimuch coming. approach theholds JCC Maccabi ties, and itto also momentsGames. of estrangement The watchword of our faith is Shema or listen. andLed points pain. and In Helds, full awareness of that In that spirit, we commit to listening with open by theofSokol your hard-working volunteers were wonderful.

They partnered complicated history, and for those members of hearts, in the coming days, months, and years, with your outstanding staff, led by Betzy Lynch, to make the 2017 JCC Maccabi games a huge hit. our community whose overlapping identities to the voices, truths, and feelings of our Black I want to take this opportunity as executive director of Maccabi USA to say thank you on behalf — Black andinvolved.

Jewish — connect us to each oth- neighbors. Furthermore, our Torah teaches that of everyone er, we write this letter to express our solidarity at we must not stand idly by while our neighbor just returned games with a U.S. to delegation of thisI had difficult time. from the 20th World Maccabiah bleeds, and in soIsrael we also commit acting, intenover athletes fromtionally 80 countries.

Back intoJuly the eyes thelasting entire We1100, abhorwho thejoined recent10,000 killingJewish of George Floyd and swiftly, create real of and Jewish world were on Jerusalem and the Maccabiah.

This in past month 1000 athletes andnation by Minneapolis police officers and detest the change our local with community and our coaches from around the We world beingthe in Birmingham, youdismantle became the point. officers’ delayed arrests. abhor recent that will thefocal systems of white supremkillings of Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, acy that surround all as Americans.

Everyone from the Jewish community andand the community at large,usincluding a wonderful so many others.

Webehave not forgotten the ab- willSpecifically, commit to: a seminal police force, are to commended.

These games go down inwe history as being horrent Altoncommunity Sterling in our beloved a deeper understanding of ourJewish histomomentkilling for theofJewish as we build to theSeek future by providing such wonderful city four years ago, and we continue to mourn ry and how generations of Black trauma directmemories. his loss. ly relate to the struggles of the present day. We Jed Margolis We mourn alongside you the Black and will attempt to fully understand the discrepancy Executive Director, Maccabi USA Brown lives lost to racially motivated violence between who we say we are as a nation and who and despise the institutionalized racism that has we truly are as regards civil and human rights. supremacists would like to continually shielded those responsible.

Be more courageous in see ourpushed effortsback to preOn Charlottesville into aand corner and made to feelacts lesser.

We stand We see you, we hear you, we love you, and vent respond to future of racial and with and pray for the family of Heather Heyer, we stand with you in the conviction that Black other discrimination emanating from any Editor’s Note: This reaction to the events in who wasWe there uprace-based to the face of thisand Lives Matter. Wewritten will strive to be allies with you source. willstanding condemn hate Charlottesville,

by Jeremy Newman, hate. against Black and Brown members of bigotry Master of the Alpha Epsilon Pi Theta Colony our society whenever and wherever we see it, We recognize the essence of the American at Auburn University, was shared by AEPi even and especially when we find it within narrative as a two-century old struggle to ridour National, which called it “very eloquent” and own community. ourselves of such corners, and allow those in praised “our brothers at AEPi Theta Colony at Support public policy that them the seatmeaningful at the table that they so deserve.

Auburn University and… the leadership they addresses the myriad of issues that plague It is the struggle to fulfill the promise of the display on their campus.” minority communities, including Declaration of Independence, that “allthe menwide are healthcare and economic disparities that with have created equal… endowed by their Creator become so apparent during the COVID-19 White supremacy has been a cancer on certain unalienable rights. ” We know our work pandemic.

We will advocate, in our country since its beginning, threatening is far from finished, but we know particular, we will notfor much needed policing reform measures and its hopes, its values, and its better angels. move backwards. will seek to be strong coalition partners in the The events that took place in Charlottesville When men and women, fully armed, take public sphere. represented the worst of this nation. Those to the streets droves with swastikas and us Our sharedinprophetic tradition instructs who marched onto the streets with tiki torches other symbols of hate, it is a reminder of how to do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly with and swastikas did so to provoke violence and relevant the issues of racism and anti-Semitism God and with one another.

We will harken to fear. Those who marched onto the streets did are today.

It is a wake-up call to the work that this and other prophetic voices that call us to so to profess an ideology that harkens back to needs to be done toinaction, ensure a better, more reject complicity, and indifference a bleaker, more wretched time in our history. welcoming country.

But it should not come every A time when men and women of many creeds, and to put our values into practice with without a reflection on how far we’ve come. step and with every breath.

We vow to do our races, and religions were far from equal and far best to makewas eternal moments America born the a slave nation.of A powerful century from safe in our own borders. A time where partnership that we ourengaged communities have formed Residential Repaint Specialist into our history in a war in part Americans lived under a constant cloud of at critical times throughout the history of our to ensure we would not continue as one.

We racism, anti-Semitism and pervasive hate.

The • Interior/Exterior Painting to fight bigotry, racism andissue hate.of civil found ourselves confronted by the events that took place in Charlottesville served country • Wood, Plaster, & Withand heartfelt empathy for the to pain of this rights, embarked on a mission ensure as a reminder of how painfully relevant these Sheet Rock Repair moment, with high hopes for no thematter chance to the fair treatment of all peoples their issues are today.

Family Owned and Operated build a better tomorrow, and in solidarity, skin color.

Although we’ve made great strides, Auburn’s Alpha Epsilon Pi stands with the The Jewish we’re Federation of Greater Baton it is a mission still grappling with today.

Jewish community of Charlottesville, and Rouge America was also born an immigrant with the Jewish people around the country Beth Shalom Synagogue country. As early as the pilgrims, many and around the world. We also stand with the Congregation B’nai Israel Members of hate that groups and families found in the country the minorities whoInvolved are targeted by the Temple Shalom in Lafayette Birmingham’s Jewish Community opportunity to plant stakes, chase their future, was on display in Charlottesville. We stand Hillel at LSU and be themselves. Few were met with open with the minorities of whom these white Hadassah of Baton Rouge

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4 August 2020 • Southern Jewish Life

July 2020 August 2020

Southern Jewish Life PUBLISHER/EDITOR Lawrence M. Brook editor@sjlmag.com ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER/ADVERTISING Lee J. Green lee@sjlmag.com V.P. SALES/MARKETING, NEW ORLEANS Jeff Pizzo jeff@sjlmag.com CREATIVE DIRECTOR Ginger Brook ginger@sjlmag.com SOCIAL/WEB Emily Baldwein connect@sjlmag.com PHOTOGRAPHER-AT-LARGE Rabbi Barry C. Altmark deepsouthrabbi.com CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Rivka Epstein, Louis Crawford, Tally Werthan, Stuart Derroff, Belle Freitag, Ted Gelber, E. Walter Katz, Doug Brook brookwrite.com BIRMINGHAM OFFICE P.O. Box 130052, Birmingham, AL 35213 2179 Highland Ave., Birmingham, AL 35205 205/870.7889 NEW ORLEANS OFFICE 3747 West Esplanade, 3rd Floor Metairie, LA 70002 504/249-6875 TOLL-FREE 888/613.YALL(9255) ADVERTISING Advertising inquiries to 205/870.7889 for Lee Green, lee@sjlmag.com Jeff Pizzo, jeff@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.

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agenda interesting bits & can’t attend events

Each Thursday, Birmingham’s Levite Jewish Community Center distributes hundreds of food boxes at the Farmers to Families food box pickup. On July 9, thanks to Better Basics, families were also given new books for school-age children.

Auburn Coach Bruce Pearl to Headline NOLA Federation Annual Event Auburn basketball coach Bruce Pearl, who was the first coach to take a team from the state of Alabama to the Final Four, and a passionate speaker about Jewish causes and Israel, will be the guest speaker at the Jewish Federation of Greater New Orleans’ 107th Annual Meeting.

For the first time, the meeting will be held virtually, on Sept. 10 at 7 p.m.

As part of the event, Mara Force will receive the Herbert and Margot Garon Young Leadership Award. Federation CEO Arnie Fielkow and Board Chair Joshua Force will also give updates.

Donors to the 2020 Annual Campaign, who are a part of a Jewish household, are considered members of the Federation and are eligible to vote for the slate of officers that will be presented.

Pearl has been the Auburn basketball coach since 2014, and in 2019 led Auburn to the Final Four, the third Jewish coach ever to be in the Final Four. During that tournament, Auburn became the first team ever to knock off the three winningest programs in college basketball history in a row, defeating Kansas, North Carolina and Kentucky.

During his time as head coach at Tennessee, the team traveled to Europe and he made sure to include stops at the Theresienstadt and Dachau concentration camps on the team itinerary.

He coached the U.S. national team to a gold medal in the 2009 World Maccabiah in Israel. Before the Covid pandemic hit, he was planning to take the Auburn basketball team to Israel during the summer of 2021.

In 2019, he was the keynote speaker for the Alabama state Holocaust commemoration at the State Capitol in Montgomery. He also was the first president of the Jewish Coaches Association.

Baton Rouge Emeritus Rabbi Weinstein takes pulpit in Lake Charles Rabbi Barry Weinstein, rabbi emeritus of B’nai Israel in Baton Rouge, won’t be making the long drive back and forth to Lake Charles to serve Temple Sinai as visiting rabbi any more.

After 10 years, he is moving to Lake Charles to become the resident rabbi, a position the congregation has not had since the 1990s.

“Over the years Linda and I have been asked more than a few times when we would be relocating to Lake Charles,” he said.

The arrangement was approved by the congregation’s membership on July 20. Temple Sinai has approximately 55 member families.

Weinstein served B’nai Israel from 1983 to 2008. After retiring, he was visiting rabbi for Temple Shalom in Lafayette from 2008 to 2015, and in 2010 he started serving Lake Charles. “I have so enjoyed my service to our loving members for the past 10 years, and now I am so deeply thrilled and grateful to be honored as full time rabbi,” he said.

Temple Sinai President Randy Fuerst said “This is a rare opportunity for Temple Sinai… Rabbi Weinstein is energized and fully capable of organizing many inter-faith activities within our community as he has everywhere else he has been. I am very excited on behalf of our Temple and our Greater Lake Charles Community.“ Weinstein was a founder of the Interfaith Federation of Greater Baton Rouge and the Holy Grill Emergency Feeding Program.

During the past 10 years, Fuerst noted that Weinstein “has helped organize two interfaith worship services at the temple in memory of synagogues, churches and mosques in America and elsewhere that were attacked.”

August 2020 • Southern Jewish Life

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>> Editor’s Note

continued from page 3

Only Britain and Pakistan ever recognized Jordan’s claim to the territory, and 20 years after Israel captured it in a defensive war (internationally legal!) Jordan officially relinquished claims to the area. Israel has the best legal case for sovereignty in what is a disputed, not occupied, area.

One common argument is that extending sovereignty would mean a lack of rights for Palestinians, such as voting rights. That argument is, and always has been, a farce. Well over 90 percent of the Palestinians in the territories live under the rule of the Palestinian Authority, their own governmental structure. They vote for their own leaders — at least, when their leaders allow it, as Mahmoud Abbas is in the 14th year of his fouryear elected term.

Sovereignty is also not the death knell to the peace process. While much is made of how the Palestinians have refused to cooperate with Trump in office, they weren’t cooperating at all under a much friendlier Obama administration either. There has been no genuine peace process in two decades — whenever the Palestinians have reached the limit of what they feel they can get out of Israel, they have launched a terror wave.

The experience of Gaza, where Israel withdrew with the hopes that the Palestinians would build a prosperous society, then quickly degenerated into a terror base run by a group that vows to never accept a Jewish state anywhere in the Middle East, made even left-wing Israelis hesitant to try anything similar in the territories.

For all the talk about wanting “just” 100 percent of the territories, the Palestinian leadership has made it clear that the end of the “occupation” would not be the end of the conflict, the next steps would be Tel Aviv, Haifa and Beersheva — and ending the concept of a Jewish state.

The current stalemate has gone on for 53 years, and there are no signs of it changing any time soon. Why, then, should Israel sit around and wait on a miraculous change of heart by the Palestinians? Isn’t it time for some semblance of normalcy, even in the territories?

And if you aren’t going to come to the table to resolve things, shouldn’t there be consequences to the foot-dragging? Even the Arab states have long tired of Palestinian maximalist rejectionism, which is part of the reason why, instead of a Middle East in flames, there was mostly a massive yawn when the U.S. moved its embassy to Jerusalem last year, aside from a few face-saving sternly-worded statements. It’s not far-fetched to expect similar if Israel does pass a sovereignty bill.

Even in Jordan, which has been the most vocal opponent, that is mainly for show. In a majority-Palestinian country with a Hashemite minority family holding onto unstable rule (with Israeli assistance), the last thing Jordan wants is a troublemaking Palestinian entity on its border, and the sovereignty proposal provides for an Israeli buffer in the Jordan Valley along the length of the border with Jordan.

Also, this isn’t some right-wing Netanyahu dream — even under Shimon Peres and Yitzhak Rabin, there was always an understanding that the pre-1967 lines were nothing more than “where the fighting stopped” and were never intended to be a national border, and larger Israeli communities in the territories would be included in Israel under any peace agreement. Why not go ahead and make official something that pretty much everyone has always envisioned as part of the solution?

Israel isn’t forcing anyone, Israeli or Palestinian, from their homes. Israel isn’t setting up an apartheid system. The latter charge is ironic, given how huge red highway signs warn Israelis of Area A, and state entrance to Israelis is forbidden because of the grave danger to them if they enter.

Not to mention how Abbas repeatedly has said no Jew would be allowed to live in a future Palestinian state. But hey, that’s not apartheid, that’s self-determination. The thing Palestinians should be granted but which Jews shouldn’t have.

Most of the Arab world has turned away from the Palestinian issue to build their own futures. Since the Palestinian leaders are refusing to think about any path other than death and destruction, it is time for Israel to push forward with its own future. Maybe the Palestinian leadership will get the hint — Lawrence Brook, Publisher/Editor but don’t hold your breath.

agenda Tulane holding panel on ADL contemporary antisemitism guide

GREG ARCENEAUX CABINETMAKERS CELEBRATING & PRESERVING LOUISIANA’S UNIQUE CULTURE & HERITAGE

ADL head, historian Sarna among panelists In March 2020, the Anti-Defamation League published “Antisemitism Uncovered: A Guide to Old Myths in a New Era,” a comprehensive new guide to contemporary antisemitism. Tulane University will host an online event to discuss the project’s origins, contents and implications for the past and current American Jewish experience.

The Sept. 9 event will feature Tulane’s Golan Moskowitz moderating a conversation among Jonathan Greenblatt, executive director of the ADL; historian Jonathan Sarna of Brandeis University; and Magda Teter, professor of history and Shvidler Chair in Judaic Studies at Fordham University.

The guide offers a concise history of anti-Jewish hatred and explores seven myths that underpin it.

The event is sponsored by the Tulane Department of Jewish Studies.

The link to the 7 p.m. event will be posted at events.tulane.edu/content/ antisemitism-uncovered.

Menkowitz stepping down as Ramah Darom director

Geoff Menkowitz, director of Camp Ramah Darom for the past 13 years, will be leaving at the end of his contract in October 2020. A search for his successor will begin, with the hopes that a new director will be in place for the summer of 2021, the camp’s 25th anniversary.

This past summer, the camp did not hold sessions due to Covid-19, but in July offered limited-enrollment socially-distant family retreats at the facility, with no more than 10 families at the camp at any of the threenight or five-night sessions.

Menkowitz said “At Camp, I encourage individuals each summer to stretch and grow, to seek new challenges and new adventures. As stressful and uncertain as the past six months have been, during moments of reflection I have come to appreciate that it is time for me too to stretch and seek out new adventures.”

Board president Ben Miller and CEO Wally Levitt said Menkowitz’s “energy and passion have inspired thousands of campers and he has instilled in them a love for Israel, Hebrew language and Jewish living,” and he “has led our community with distinction through hardships and crises and helped raise a generation of youth to be caring and kind.”

The camp serves Conservative congregations throughout the Southeast, along with being a year-round retreat center.

Israel Bonds hosting virtual events Netanyahu featured on Aug. 18 simulcast Israel Bonds is holding a series of virtual events as the High Holy Days approach. Brad Young, executive director of the Southeast region office in Atlanta, said the series features “high-level Israeli dignitaries, inspiring guests, and exhilarating entertainers highlighting the importance of supporting Israel through investments in Israel bonds.” The online events are all at 7 p.m. Central.

The series starts on Aug. 18 with an International Celebration of Heritage and Unity, with Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Ambassador Ron Dermer. Israeli performers David De-Or and Gil Shohat will also be featured.

On Sept. 10, there is an Israel Bonds Chef ’s Table with Michael Solomonov, and on Sept. 15, it’s Live from the Kotel with Israel Bonds.

On Oct. 1, there will be a Sukkot program, and on Oct. 18 the women’s division will have an archaeological tour of the ancient village of Korazim.

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The next Together Tuesday, a monthly gathering for individuals from all backgrounds in Shreveport, will be on Sept. 1 at 6 p.m., via Zoom. A link can be obtained from B’nai Zion.

Birmingham’s Levite Jewish Community Center is offering fall youth soccer for ages 3 to 13. Ages 8 and up will participate in the Birmingham United Soccer Association league. New safety protocols are in place due to Covid-19. Registration is open and the season starts on Aug. 17.

Beth Shalom and B’nai Israel in Baton Rouge will have a joint Shabbat on Zoom, Aug. 14 at 6 p.m. The service will be led by Rabbi Batsheva Appel of B’nai Israel, with the sermon by Rabbi Teri Appleby of Beth Shalom.

Chabad Emerald Coast in Destin is now holding Shabbat services under an outdoor canopy, with fans. Services are followed by Kiddush with packaged refreshments.

FDA Approved

The Louisiana Architecture Foundation, North Louisiana Jewish Federation and director Gregory Kallenberg, are hosting the delayed world premiere of the documentary “Unexpected Modernism: The Wiener Brothers Story,” Sept. 10 at 6 p.m. at The Strand in Shreveport.

The premiere was originally scheduled for April. The 43-minute film tells the story of Jewish architects Samuel G. and William B. Wiener, half brothers from Shreveport, whose modernist designs of residential, institutional, and commercial buildings from the 1930s through the 1960s made Shreveport an early hub of International Modernist design in the United States. Tickets are now on sale, and tickets purchased for the previous date will be honored.

COVID-19 SWAB & ANTIBODY TESTING

Birmingham’s Levite Jewish Community Center is beginning Club J All Day for those doing remote schooling this fall. Hours will be 8:15 a.m. to 3 p.m. with before and after care available. Club J All Day will support virtual learning as well as provide opportunities for smallgroup activities and brain-breaks. Covid-prevention guidelines will be similar to those used during the LJCC’s summer camp. The program starts on Aug. 24.

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The Birmingham Jewish Federation will have its annual meeting on Aug. 30 at 4 p.m. The virtual event will include the presentation of the Joanie Plous Bayer Young Leadership Award to Isa Dorsky, and the Susan J. Goldberg Distinguished Volunteer Award to Fran Godchaux.

August 2020 • Southern Jewish Life

“Food For Thought,” a panel discussion on food insecurity in Birmingham and in Israel, will be held on Zoom on Aug. 19 at 11:30 a.m.

The lunch and learn program features Josef Gitler, founder of Leket Israel, Israel’s national food bank; Elizabeth Wix, director of partnerships for the Community Food Bank of Central Alabama; and Jesse Hoyer, regional director of the Society of St. Andrew. Lauren Schwartz, executive director of Collat Jewish Family Services, will moderate. The panel is co-hosted by CJFS, Levite Jewish Community Center, the Birmingham Jewish Federation and the Jewish Community Relations Council.

Birmingham’s Knesseth Israel will have its annual Estate Sale, with masks and social distancing. The congregation is accepting “everything but clothing,” though they are accepting “gently used shoes, scarves, hats, and higher end clothing items.” Donations may be brought during office hours, and volunteers are needed for the sale.

The sale will be on Sept. 4 from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., then Sept. 6 and 7 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

On Aug. 30, Beit Ariel Chabad in Birmingham will host a virtual event with Rabbi Chaim Bruk on “Raising Our Biracial Family in Rural America.” Bruk and his wife Chavie are the directors of Chabad of Montana continued on page 29

Breakfast Lunch & Dinner Our private room is available for parties, rehearsal dinners & meetings.

On July 12, students, faculty and alumni at the N.E. Miles Jewish Day School in Birmingham held a surprise socially-distanced parade for Pamela Cohen on her retirement

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Back to school?

Jewish schools prepare for a year that could feature just about anything After a summer of uncertainty where summer camps were closed because of coronavirus concerns but Jewish Community Center Day Camps eventually opened — under restricted capacity and social distancing — the Jewish schools in the area are planning for pretty much anything as they open their doors for the new school year.

While the situation is subject to change at any notice, Slater Torah Academy in Metairie was planning on an Aug. 7 opening for in-person classes, while Jewish Community Day School in Metairie and the N.E. Miles Jewish Day School in Birmingham open on Aug. 12.

At NEMJDS, families have the option between in-school learning or an alternate remote learning option.

Unlike public schools, the Jewish schools are smaller, generally with small class sizes that facilitate social distancing. At the NEMJDS, the total enrollment is around 50 students.

All of the schools closed in March as states went into lockdown during the early days of the pandemic, and finished their school years online through virtual classrooms.

During the summer, the school convened task forces and committees, assembling the best advice from medical and workplace safety experts, mental health professionals, government officials, educational networks, staff and parent voices.

Guidelines include face coverings, social distancing, health monitoring, increased hygiene protocols, extensive cleaning and enhanced ventilation.

All of the schools have plans in place for a “seamless” transition to distance learning if the schools have to close once again, and have adjusted their online learning experience in response to what was learned on those platforms in the spring.

The schools are introducing health protocols that include a daily health check while still in the car. Anyone with a temperature of over 100 or other symptoms will be sent home. That also includes students who have been given Advil or Tylenol for a headache or sore throat, because the fever reducing properties can mask Covid-19 symptoms.

Students who are unable to attend in person will need to attend virtual classes if they are able.

Masked staff will escort students from cars into the school, and parents are discouraged from entering the school building. Similarly, at pickup, students will be escorted out by staff.

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August 2020 • Southern Jewish Life

6/19/20 8:46 AM

Students will be required to have masks, including a spare, as appropriate for their age, and as water fountains have been turned off, students need to bring their own refillable water bottle each day.

While all of the schools emphasize a community feel among the grades, health protocols dictate that the students remain with their core group throughout the day, and not interact with other classes. That includes having lunch in the classrooms or a socially-distanced picnic lunch outdoors.

The schools are also encouraging outdoor classes whenever possible. NEMJDS said there will be many outdoor opportunities during the day, including lunch outdoors and fresh air breaks.

At JCDS, the Beit Midrash will become a studio, broadcasting to the classrooms. Webcams will also be used to have virtual contact with friends and siblings in other classes.

Through grants and CARES funding, JCDS doubled its technology supply. Students in Kindergarten through second grade will be assigned an iPad, while upper grade students will have Chromebooks. A donor also enabled the school to secure individual desks for grades 1 to 6.

If distance learning becomes necessary, JCDS students will be able to check out their devices, and “because much of our all-school programming will be set up to unite the classrooms electronically anyway, it will be a small step to shift that programming to beam out to everyone’s home.”

Any student who has direct, extended exposure to someone who has tested positive will be required to stay home for 14 days.

Torah Academy explained that is someone tests positive, that class will close for two weeks and be deep cleaned.

The NEMJDS said all students and employees in that pod will stay at home for 14 days following the last known exposure. Testing should take place four to six days after final exposure, to reduce the chances of a false negative. Those who test positive can return if at least 10 days have passed and there are no symptoms, and there have been at least three days without a fever over 100 degrees.

Because of the shifting nature of the situation, none of the schools are saying for certain what the year will look like, but Debra Abolafia, head of the NEMJDS, said “We believe if everyone follows the guidelines we have proposed for in school learning, we may be able to remain open” even if other schools in the area have to shift to virtual instruction.

AT JCDS, plans are in place for in-person and distance learning, “and experts tell us that this year is likely to feature both.”

community

Cotton States no more: BBYO region changes name For Jewish teens in the Deep South, Cotton States Region of BBYO is no more — the region has been renamed Delta Region.

The announcement was made on July 17 by regional directors Zoe Goldberg and Skylar Haas, after several years of debate over perceived racial connotations of “cotton states.”

On June 1, the international Jewish fraternity and sorority issued a statement “in Solidarity with the Black Community and All Communities of Color,” pledging to “listen and learn” about racial injustice “so that we can become even better allies.”

The statement announcing the name change said after that first step, “we also wanted to engage in a profound introspection, examining longheld traditions and practices to be sure they aligned with our inclusive and anti-racist values.”

The decision was made in consultation among teens, alumni and parents to change the name and “ensure that BBYO remains a respectful and open home for all.”

The transformation makes the region “a racially progressive and inclusive space for all. This re-branding honors the impactful contribution of the Mississippi Delta and River Valley on our Southern culture,” said Grant Baxter of Memphis, regional s’gan (vice president of programming). “As the world continues to change around us, we are up to the task to dive into these changes and shape our region into the best it can be.”

“I’ve always been proud to say that one of the best things about BBYO is that it is teen-led. So, when our teens decided that it was time for CSR to have a new region name, I was fully behind them,” said Rhonda Feiler, Memphis BBYO advisor and alumna. “They discussed it in great detail

Regional convention in Birmingham, 2011 and spent countless hours coming up with a name they believe best represents our region, and I am thrilled to support them in their endeavors.”

The change has been discussed and debated for several years. Student leaders brought forth a name change resolution at the 2015 regional convention, prompting some members of River City BBG in Memphis to start a Facebook page, to “Keep the Cotton in States.” The resolution failed at that convention.

Two years ago, the region started going by the initials CSR, rather than

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community its full name.

As the region prepared the announcement of the new name, a change. org petition was started by Sigi Shure and Lilah Ephraim to change the name, saying it “perpetuates a racist history that BBYO should not memorialize.” The petition, which quickly became moot, had 65 signatures when it was closed.

The region consists of Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Tennessee. There are currently 13 chapters and over 400 members. In the SJL coverage area, there is Rocket City BBYO in Huntsville; Rabbi Abraham J. Mesch AZA and Magic City BBG in Birmingham; and Big Easy BBYO in New Orleans. There are no chapters in Mississippi or Arkansas.

The fraternity Aleph Zadik Aleph was formed in Omaha, Neb, in 1924 when Jewish high school students were barred from school fraternities.

B’nai B’rith Girls was formed in 1944, and both groups were under the B’nai B’rith Youth Organization umbrella.

The groups adopted the B’nai B’rith district system, with smaller regions in each district. Cotton States was part of District 7, which also included Texas and Oklahoma. The New Orleans-based Jewish Children’s Regional Service also uses the old District 7 footprint. Districts were phased out following a 1977 vote at the international convention.

In 2001, the group was spun off from B’nai B’rith, becoming the renamed independent BBYO. Today there are 700 chapters in 50 countries, and at the 2018 international convention in Orlando, there were over 3,000 teens from 35 countries.

JCRS unwraps plans for this year’s Chanukah gift distribution Though it is still late summer, Chanukah is in the air at Jewish Children’s Regional Service, as preparations are underway to assist families in the region through the Oscar J. Tolmas Chanukah Gift Program — but as with so many things this year, Covid-19 is affecting plans.

Based in New Orleans, JCRS is the oldest Jewish children’s social service agency in the United States. The gift program focuses on Jewish families with children who are in need, special needs Jewish children and institutionalized Jewish adults.

Weeks before Hanukkah, every recipient receives at least eight small Chanukah gifts, one for each night. For some clients who are socially isolated or unaffiliated, JCRS programs, such as holiday outreach, encompass their only ongoing contact with the organized Jewish community.

In addition to possible greater need due to economic conditions brought on by pandemic shutdowns, a major change this year is that the gifts will be delivered unwrapped, except for recipients in the Dallas area.

Each fall, over 2,000 gifts have been wrapped at a party in New Orleans, but the pandemic has cancelled the event for volunteer wrappers. Instead, wrapping paper will be included in the shipments, so parents can wrap the gifts.

Each year, 250 to 350 children and adults become gift recipients. The gifts are stored, sorted by gender, interest and age, and finally shipped to families and to institutions in the South.

To register their children for Chanukah 2020, parents needs to go to the JCRS website, www.jcrs.org, and find the Oscar J. Tolmas Chanukah Gift Program. There is a simple from to fill out and submit to JCRS. Parents have the ability to indicate a child’s interests on the application form.

Eligible Jewish families must live in the states of Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Oklahoma, Tennessee or Texas.

The website also has information on how to support this program and other JCRS programs, which serve 1,800 Jewish youth in the region. The agency’s largest programs are need-based Jewish summer camp scholarships and college assistance, and assistance for children with special needs.

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August 2020 • Southern Jewish Life

community

More congregations opting out of in-person High Holy Day services A few congregations will socially distance, Birmingham’s Beth-El plans prayer walks While most congregations in the region have not announced High Holy Day plans, some have already made their decisions — and most are choosing not to have in-person services.

On July 13, Temple Beth-El in Anniston announced that the monthly service in August, as well as all High Holy Day services, would be cancelled.

Beit Ariel Chabad in Birmingham is planning outdoor services for the High Holy Days, under a tent. All participants will be required to wear masks, and there will be social distancing between individuals or families.

Birmingham’s Temple Beth-El will have a series of meditative Prayer Walks for the High Holy Days, with a pre-set course for masked and socially-distanced groups. Rabbi Stephen Slater said there will be “different spots along the path where there will be prompts that invite them to reflect on their lives in light of this moment and Hashem’s call on us as Jews.”

The paths will be about an hour in length, and “we hope that the intellectual, emotional, and spiritual work of this season will be lifted up in a new way for people through this experience,” Slater said.

On the first day of Rosh Hashanah, several pastors and leaders in the Black community have been invited to take part.

Birmingham’s Temple Emanu-El announced on July 3 that it will not have in-person High Holy Day, Sukkot or Simchat Torah services this year. Rabbi Adam Wright and Emanu-El President Robert Berman said the congregation will conduct focus groups and surveys to ensure that the worship experience will complement spiritualty and Jewish ethos.

On July 22, Temple B’nai Sholom in Huntsville announced that “it is most prudent to worship virtually” rather than have High Holy Day services in the sanctuary. The congregation has contracted with Cantor Ted Labow, who is working with Rabbi Berk on planning the services. The congregation is working on procedures to provide “loaner” copies of the High Holy Days prayerbook, and has links to discounted physical copies and Kindle editions that congregants can purchase.

The North Alabama Community Hebrew School at Temple B’nai Sholom in Huntsville will meet virtually for the first half of the academic year, with Aug. 30 as the first day of classes.

Rabbi Natan Trief, formerly of Beth Shalom in Baton Rouge, will lead virtual High Holy Day services for Springhill Avenue Temple in Mobile. The service will be broadcast from the

Springhill Avenue sanctuary for Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, while the intermediate Shabbat will be led from his home in Atlanta.

On July 17, Tuscaloosa’s Temple Emanu-El announced it will not have in-person High Holy Day services, “in the best interest for the safety and health of our temple family.” Plans are bring formulated for virtual services.

B’nai Israel in Baton Rouge is planning to hold High Holy Day services virtually. President Andy Blumberg said “we are not completely eliminating the possibility of gathering together physically with appropriate precautions,” but at the moment he is not convinced that can happen.

With Hebrew Union College holding its fall classes entirely online, student rabbi visits will also be virtual. Temple Shalom in Lafayette is working out a virtual High Holy Day schedule with Student Rabbi Shirah Kraus.

Touro Synagogue’s religious school in New Orleans will be modeled after its summer pro-

gram, Yamim Yafim, a camp-style outdoors socially-distanced in-person learning experience.

Shir Chadash in Metairie decided for the first time in the congregation’s history that it would use technology to broadcast its High Holy Days services, following a new ruling from the Conservative movement’s Committee of Jewish Law and Standards. The plan is to utilize both Livestream and Zoom.

Shir Chadash Rabbi Deborah Silver said the risk to the health and safety of congregants from gathering in person during the Covid-19 pandemic has made it incumbent upon the synagogue to explore safer options.

“We believe these recommendations fulfill the mandate of Conservative Judaism to strike the right balance between tradition and change,” Rabbi Silver said. “They provide the greatest access to our services for the greatest number of people in our community during the Covid-19 emergency while preserving the culture of our sacred spaces and the lay leadership who make

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Shir Chadash in Metairie will also have David Kaplinsky, “one of our own,” as service leader.

In Gulfport, Rabbi Akiva Hall said the Beth Israel board is working on a safe plan to reopen, and they anticipate being open for the High Holy Days with safety protocols, barring a state-mandated closure.

Beth Israel in Jackson was the first congregation in the region to definitively rule out in-person services. The June 24 announcement was made by the congregational board and Rabbi Joseph Rosen. “We will be sure to be diligent in seeing that our congregation will be well equipped to offer a quality spiritual opportunity,” Rosen said.

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MSJE online program gives tips for preservation Been cleaning out closets while having to spend a lot more time at home due to coronavirus? Anna Tucker, curator at the Museum of the Southern Jewish Experience, will lead an online program, “L’Dor V’Dor: Preserving Your Family Story for the Next Generation,” Aug. 23 at 7 p.m.

Tucker will give techniques to preserve documents, photographs and artifacts, followed by a discussion on how to research and record family stories. The program is especially geared for those who have stacks of fading photographs, dog-eared documents and crumbling scrapbooks in the attic, and want to learn how to preserve them.

The program is free, but registration is required to view it on Zoom.

It will also be available without registration on the museum’s Facebook Live page.

The museum is slated to open in New Orleans in early 2021.

PensaKosher market launches Keeping kosher on the panhandle just got easier, with a four-part PensaKosher initiative from Chabad of Pensacola.

Rabbi Mendel and Nechama Danow announced the program in a video during which they seek out kosher items in Walmart.

“All over the place there’s a little bit, but it just doesn’t suffice,” Rabbi Danow said. “There’s a lack, and we want to fix that.”

As part of the initiative, Chabad is opening a kosher market, with items from brisket to Swiss chocolate, spices, wine, deli meats and many other staples. The market is available at the Chabad Center on Sundays from 1 to 3 p.m., and on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 5 to 7 p.m., or by appointment. There will also be special orders available, through a monthly delivery from Miami.

Nechama Danow is launching Cook_It_Kosher, a Pensacola kosher Instagram vlog, with videos of Jewish classics.

The third component is educational, with online resources about kashrut, and a planned three-part course on the laws, history, practice and practicality of keeping kosher.

The fourth element, for those who want to take the plunge, is assistance in making one’s kitchen kosher. “Just take it one step higher,” Rabbi Danow urged. “At some point, maybe you’ll find it’s not so hard to keep kosher in Pensacola.”

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community “I Don’t Want Your Babies Fighting Racial Battles 50 Years From Now”

By Richard Friedman As the national temperature continues to rise over racial issues, Birmingham’s Levite Jewish Community Center recently hosted a Zoom seminar with one of the city’s most prominent African-American activists and race discussion facilitators, T. Marie King. The session centered on how to help parents talk to their children about race.

About 70 parents and a few grandparents participated in the hour-long program, which was highlighted by King sharing six recommendations to help parents have such conversations with their children.

King, an experienced race discussion facilitator who is widely known for her work locally and nationally, combines a forthright and probing speaking style with introspection, deep intelligence and a capacity for listening to others and not passing judgment. She urged participants to be honest and to ask any questions they would like — and she was successful on both accounts.

LJCC Executive Director Samantha Dubrinsky, whose family is bi-racial, helped frame the discussion. Dubrinsky also talked with pride about the LJCC’s commitment to diversity and it being a safe place for people of all faiths, races and backgrounds. She asked King what more the LJCC could do to advance race relations in metro Birmingham.

King, who has worked with Jewish leaders and who is admired and trusted, suggested that the Jewish community, through its well-known institutions such as the LJCC, should vest itself even more in the nitty-gritty and building blocks of racial harmony and equity, through programs such as the one being sponsored that evening. She also said sometimes it’s simply a matter of the Jewish community making resources available — such as meeting space — for the kind of workshops and dialogue sessions that King facilitates.

As the black community leader moved into her review of her six key “tips” for parents, she emphasized, “Our children are never too young to start learning about these things. Be brave as we go through tonight’s conversation together.”

The first thing King urged parents to do was “ground yourself in truth” — to be honest with themselves and their children as to how America has gotten into the racial predicament and unrest it faces today. She also suggested, however, that parents should strive to develop the skills to explain things on levels that children can process and understand, knowing that young kids in particular are not ready or able to grasp some of the more heinous and graphic episodes in the country’s history.

The second thing she urged dealt with language. “Use the words — race, racism, bias, discrimination — become comfortable with them,” she said, so that parents can talk to kids comfortably about these realities without shying away from such words.

Moving to point number three, she told parents, “You’ve got to start early.” She said that kids see differences among people, particularly among peers, and that parents and children should talk about them and “embrace them in a healthy way.” When it comes to the external ethnic, August 2020 • Southern Jewish Life

15

community racial and religious differences among kids, “instill healthy acceptance” she urged, rather than shying away from talking about these differences.

Tell your children, “It’s okay to see color, but that regardless of a person’s skin color, they should be treated fairly.”

“You have to practice what you preach,” was tip number four. “Your children are watching you — everything you do.” She said this is often how kids learn, either in a positive or negative way. “Know your biases,” she urged the group, calling on parents to do all they can to not allow their prejudices to result in sending negative messages about others to their children.

She also urged parents to “expand your circle” — to look at your friends and ask yourselves if you are modeling inclusion and acceptance of a diverse group of people. Additionally, she said, let your kids see you “stand up for injustice.” She also cautioned parents to be on the lookout for media and cultural messages that create negative pictures in their children’s minds and to strive to correct those impressions.

Regarding point number five, King told the parents to encourage questions from their children — to create a family environment where kids feel safe enough to ask about anything that is on their mind, particularly when it comes to differences among people. And, she told the parents, “It is okay to say ‘I don’t know but we will figure this out together’.”

King also encouraged parents to take their children to places, such as the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute, that will “encourage discussions,” noting that she took her nieces and nephews, who live in Washington, to the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum. She said the goal is to introduce young people “to the uncomfortable parts of our history” and encourage honest, open and safe discussion through which important lessons about discrimination, bias and hatred can be taught.

Her sixth and final point was for parents to “embrace empathy.” To live lives that reflect kindness and fairness to others — in other words, “how to look out for one another.” This will create an impact and lasting behaviors among your children, she said.

“If you do these things,” King emphasized as she finished her six points, parents can create a foundation for teaching their children about the importance of people of different races, faiths and ethnicities getting along and respecting one another, so that all can benefit from a more harmonious world.

All of this is especially important right now, King added, alluding to the racial unrest that has recently plagued the country. “Two months ago, I would have said we were in a moment — now I believe that we are in a movement.”

Looking out on the Zoom call audience, which was mainly made up of parents of children of pre-kindergarten age, King ended with a powerful yet simple statement: “I don’t want your babies fighting these battles 50 years from now.”

(Richard Friedman is Associate Editor of Southern Jewish Life and its sister magazine Israel InSight.)

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August 2020 • Southern Jewish Life

“Darkness Into Life” now exhibiting at Anniston’s Berman Museum The Birmingham Holocaust Education Center exhibit “Darkness Into Life” is now on display at the Berman Museum in Anniston, through Oct. 11. The photography and art depict the experiences of 20 Holocaust survivors who made their home in Alabama.

In a release, the museum said it was honored to be hosting the exhibit, as “our founder, Farley L. Berman, was from a prominent Jewish family, and the strife of the Jewish people has always been a part of his story.”

The exhibit also includes artifacts on loan from Mike Garrard of Gadsden, and the history exhibit from Anniston’s Temple Beth-El, “Quiet Affirmation: An Alabama Jewish Community,” is on display in the lobby.

community Bruce Pearl, Madeleine Albright to headline BHEC L’Chaim event

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As the annual L’Chaim celebration by the Birmingham Holocaust Education Center moves virtual this year due to social distancing limitations, former U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright and Auburn Basketball Coach Bruce Pearl will be the keynote speakers for the online event.

The organization will honor Susan and David Silverstein at the 2 p.m. virtual event on Aug. 23.

The program will also feature virtual performances arranged by Keith Cromwell of Red Mountain Theatre Company.

“Now more than ever, the BHEC is dedicated to preserving and sharing our Alabama Holocaust Survivors’ stories, which are powerful reminders to us all, of the consequences of hate, and silence in the face of hate.

Even during this challenging COVID-19 pandemic, we are empowering teachers and our greater community through Holocaust education online workshops,” said Rev. Melissa Self Patrick, BHEC executive director.

Born in Prague in 1937, Albright fled as a toddler with her family when the Nazis invaded Czechoslovakia, and lived in England during the war.

She was raised Catholic but later found out her parents had converted from Judaism, and three of her grandparents died in concentration camps during the Holocaust.

In 1993, President Bill Clinton named her U.S. permanent representative to the United Nations, and in 1996 Clinton nominated her as the first woman to be Secretary of State, a position she held until the Bush administration began in 2001. Her tenure included numerous rounds of Israeli-Arab negotiations.

In 2012, she was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Barack Obama.

Pearl has been the Auburn basketball coach since 2014, and in 2019 became the first coach in the state to lead a team to the Final Four. During that tournament, Auburn became the first team ever to knock off the three winningest programs in college basketball history in a row, defeating Kansas, North Carolina and Kentucky.

During his time as head coach at Tennessee, the team traveled to Europe and he made sure to include stops at the Theresienstadt and Dachau concentration camps on the team itinerary.

A passionate advocate for Israel, he coached the U.S. national team to a gold medal in the 2009 World Maccabiah in Israel. Before the Covid pandemic hit, he was planning to take the Auburn basketball team to Israel during the summer of 2021.

In 2019, he was the keynote speaker for the Alabama state Holocaust commemoration at the State Capitol in Montgomery.

Albright and Pearl will “share words of hope, empowerment, and why Holocaust education is critical today,” according to the BHEC. In addition to being the loving mother to five children and the grandmother to eight grandchildren, Susan Silverstein supports many causes, including the American Heart Association, the Juvenile Diabetes Foundation, The Exceptional Foundation and the UAB Comprehensive Diabetes Center.

Her husband, David Silverstein, is the founder of The FiveStone Group, a newly established commercial real estate firm based in Birmingham, specializing in the development of mixed-use projects. Before that, he was an operating principal at Bayer Properties.

He has served as president of the Alabama Chapters of the American Heart Association and the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation. He is a member of the Board of Directors for Ascension Alabama, Leadership Alabama and the Red Mountain Theater Company, among others.

For information about the live broadcast, and contribution information, visit bheclchaim.swell.gives. Proceeds from the event benefit the agency’s educational programming.

August 2020 • Southern Jewish Life

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community Shreveport lawmaker criticized for comparing mask ordinances to Nazi tyranny Another Louisiana lawmaker is being criticized for comparing Covid-19 mandates to the tyranny that led to Nazi Germany.

In a July 7 video posted to his Facebook page, State Rep. Danny McCormick posted a video decrying a facemask mandate that had been declared for Shreveport. In the video, and in a July 10 video decrying a similar mandate by the Caddo Parish Commission, McCormick emphasized that “Masks aren’t bad. Mask mandates are.”

In the first video, he said that the mandate was shredding the Constitution and individual liberty, and made the statement while firing up a chainsaw that he then directed toward a mask hanging next to him. “This isn’t about whether you want to wear a mask or you don’t want to wear a mask. This is about your right to wear a mask, or not,” he said.

Saying “government needed a villain,” he added, “People who don’t wear a mask will be soon painted as the enemy. Just as they did to Jews in Nazi Germany. Now is the time to push back before it is too late.”

Before that statement, he said “If the government has the power to force you to wear a mask, they can force you to stick a needle in your arm against your will. They can put a microchip in you. They can even make you take the mark. After all, it’s for the ‘greater good’.”

On July 6, Mayor Adrian Perkins issued the order mandating face masks in public, effective July 8. The Caddo Parish Commission issued a similar order for unincorporated areas, as of July 9.

Among the penalties for non-compliant businesses in the Shreveport ordinance are losing liquor licenses or having water service shut off.

On July 10, Caddo District Court Judge Craig Marcotte issued a temporary injunction preventing the mayor from enforcing the order. Four business owners had filed suit, charging that Perkins did not have the authority to issue the order and declare penalties for non-compliance.

New Orleans, Jefferson Parish and East Baton Rouge Parish have mask mandates.

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The Anti-Defamation League’s South Central regional office in New Orleans issued a statement that “comparing mask mandates to the Holocaust is deeply offensive, wrong and demeans the memory of the six million who perished. Now is a time for our words to bring us together, not tear our communities farther apart.”

Rabbi Sydni Rubinstein of Agudath Achim in Shreveport said “It’s really belittling the experience of the Jewish people in Nazi Germany.”

McCormick has not responded to inquiries from Southern Jewish Life, but told KTBS, “I’m not referring to the murder of the Jews. I’m not referring to that. I’m talking about leading up to that, that began by the demonization of the Jews. That’s what led to the Holocaust. Not that this is equal to the Holocaust. But those of us that don’t want to wear a mask are being painted as villains.”

On July 10, McCormick shared a post from Rep. Mike Johnson, who said the controversy isn’t about whether wearing a mask is a “wise and appropriate step,” as “I personally agree with my physician friends that wearing a mask is a wise and helpful thing for everyone to do if they are able,” and the medical consensus is that wearing masks will enable conditions to get the economy going again.

Instead, Johnson said, the question is “whether a city’s executive can use draconian measures (e.g., cutting off a water supply) to penalize businesses and churches — that are already down on their backs and struggling to survive — if they do not ‘fully comply’.”

In the July 10 video, McCormick did not reference the Nazis as he blasted the Caddo Parish mandate. He emphasized the 11 exemptions, making special note of the religious exemption as pertinent to him, though he did not explain a religious rationale for refusing a face mask.

In May, Rep. Dodie Horton, also from the Shreveport area, was criticized for referring to the shutting down of businesses that were not in compliance with Covid restrictions by asking “are we in Nazi Germany?”

She later said her comments were not intended to make any linkage between self-isolation restrictions and the Holocaust, but she was alarmed at provisions by which citizens were encouraged to anonymously snitch on those not in compliance, creating a “secret police” for enforcement.

She said the public should be wary of “tyrannical processes” that erode liberty and, in the case of Germany, led to the rise of the Nazis.

She told this publication that “My intent was never to compare the current global health pandemic to the Holocaust.”

August 2020 • Southern Jewish Life

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Roy Moore defamation suit against Sacha Baron Cohen can proceed The defamation lawsuit filed by former Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore against comedian Sacha Baron Cohen, Showtime and CBS can proceed, according to a New York District Court judge.

On July 6, Judge Andrew Carter rejected Cohen’s motion to dismiss the suit, which stems from an episode of Cohen’s short-lived 2018 series, “Who Is America,” which included an interview with Moore.

“Who Is America” debuted on Showtime in July 2018, and an interview with Moore was aired during the third episode, on July 29.

The suit, which was filed a month later, is for defamation, intentional infliction of emotional distress and fraud, and seeks “actual, compensatory and punitive damages in excess of $95 million.”

To lure Moore, Cohen and his agents “falsely and fraudulently represented… that Yerushalayim TV — which does not actually exist — was the producer and broadcaster of the show that Judge Moore would appear on” and that Moore would “receive an award for his strong support of Israel in commemoration of its 70th anniversary as a nation state.”

Had Moore known it was a ruse, the filing states, he and his wife would not have traveled to Washington for the Feb. 14 ceremony.

During the segment that aired, Cohen was disguised as Erran Morad, “a supposed Israeli anti-terrorism expert and former Mossad agent.”

During the segment, Morad started by talking about Alabama’s historic support for Israel, then pivoted to innovations in Israeli technology, including a fraudulent device that supposedly detects child molesters through a hormone in their sweat.

During Moore’s 2017 run for U.S. Senate, four women accused Moore of inappropriate conduct when they were underage and he was around 30 years old. Moore passionately denied the allegations, but in the segment, Morad’s device “malfunctioned” by going off whenever it was placed near Moore, much to the feigned surprise of Morad. Moore then cut off the interview and walked off the set.

After the segment taped, Moore’s counsel sent a letter saying they would seek legal remedies if the segment aired.

The suit states that “this false and fraudulent portrayal and mocking of Judge Moore as a sex offender, on national and international television… has severely harmed Judge Moore’s reputation and caused him, Mrs. Moore and his entire family severe emotional distress, as well as caused and will cause Plaintiffs financial damage.”

Moore signed a release before the interview, but claims it was obtained through fraudulent means, and was done in the name of Yerushalayim TV, which does not exist.

Cohen’s attorneys claim that Cohen is covered under the First Amendment and court rulings on satire, “especially where the satirical work ‘could not reasonably have been interpreted as stating actual facts about the public figure involved’.”

On July 31, the judge ruled that a full discovery could take place, meaning Cohen and the other defendants, and third party witnesses, will be required to answer questions orally under oath, instead of having attorneys answer for them.

Others duped into interviews included Sarah Palin and Dick Cheney.

Rep. Matt Gaetz of the Pensacola area was interviewed, also lured with the pro-Israel angle, but Gaetz said he was a fan of Cohen and looked forward to seeing how he was portrayed.

“We are gratified that the Court is allowing the Moores’ case to go forward and we look forward to putting Cohen and the other defendants under oath,” Larry Klayman, Moore’s attorney, said. “The alleged defamation of Chief Justice Moore was malicious and despicable and it is time that a jury of the parties’ peers allow justice to be done.”

A year ago, the suit was moved from Washington to New York.

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By Beverly Katz As a local Landscape Designer and owner of Exterior Designs, I am always interested in hearing about the value of the services I provide to New Orleans and its surrounding areas. I recently read landscaping can add tens of thousands of dollars to the value of a residential property. And it’s no wonder, because with time, interior décor generally goes out of style. However, landscaping only matures and becomes more valuable as time goes on.

From my experience working with realtors and their clients, among the top things buyers seek the most in a new home are a well-manicured design and large, mature plants and trees. Homebuyers typically understand the costs associated with creating a new landscape and many are willing to pay more for one that’s already established. It reduces their out-of-pocket expenses as they can absorb the costs into their mortgage, and it also takes the burden off of the new homeowner to add yet another project to their long to-do lists.

Planning to sell soon?

If you are planning to sell your home in the near future, Exterior Designs has a few suggestions to immediately improve your home’s curb appeal.

Start by creating a sharp, well-defined edge around your garden beds. Add a fresh layer of mulch to liven them up. You should also start fertilizing your lawn so potential buyers are met with a lush, green carpet of grass, instead of spots of brown grass and weeds. Lastly, add a punch of color by including annuals in decorative planters or in the garden beds themselves.

Planning to stay put?

If you plan to stay in your home for years to come, I always suggest starting with a master plan. When my clients come to me, they say, “Beverly, we want something that is low maintenance, provides a place for entertaining and can make the most out of our space.” The biggest mistake I see is homeowners not having a cohesive plan. They put a tree in here, and a few years later add a garden bed there. Fast-forward a few more years and their yard looks disorganized, and is not fully utilizing the space available. Having a long-term landscaping plan is so essential if you don’t plan to sell anytime soon. You can achieve your goals without blowing your budget, and make the most use of the space available.

As a licensed landscape contractor, horticulturist and longtime resident of New Orleans, I and my team embrace the natural landscapes and historical character the region offers. Problem yards are my specialty; along with creating New Orleans style courtyards and correcting poor drainage issues.

Regardless of whether you are looking to sell and want to maximize your return, or you want to increase your home’s value by enhancing its curb appeal, landscaping can only benefit your bottom line. Exterior Designs is committed to helping homeowners make the most of their outdoors. We invite you to contact us with any questions or to visit our portfolio for inspiration.

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Acropolis on Freret wants cken Fridays d Chi Sushi its customers to and feel asFrie if they are getting Mediterranean days-Thursdays, 10am-7pm; OpenaMon dining and cultural experience Fridays and Sundays 10am-3pm without having to leave New Orleans. ? We Will Ship Your Order To You! Arealike ansfeel Orleto the New idewant Outs “We them they are on a vacation when they come visit us,” said CJ Jumonville. She and her husband, Bob Vaughn, opened Acropolis on Freret last December. “It’s about creating an experience every time with food, music and entertainment.”

Jumonville knows all about creating an experience from her many years of working in event planning, sales, marketing, television production and hospitality.

After closing for two months due to the coronavirus pandemic, Acropolis on Freret reopened May 21. When restrictions are lifted, they plan to start “Talent Tuesdays,” bringing in a visual artist, poet or storyteller once a week.

They also hope to soon feature some musical entertainment on Thursday and Saturday nights. All of the time at Acropolis on Freret, Mediterranean music plays on the sound system, including some music from Israel.

“We plan to add Israeli couscous a few other Israeli dishes” as early as August, said Jumonville, whose mother’s side of the family is Jewish. “We are so much more than a Greek restaurant. We have cuisine and music from across the Mediterranean… and we do it all with a New Orleans flair.”

Acropolis on Freret offers the largest Greek and Mediterranean wine list in New Orleans, and every wine is available by the glass.

They also recently added brunch service from 10:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays, featuring specialties including Greek omelets, salmon plates, tiganites (Greek-style pancakes with honey and walnuts) along with mimosa flights.

They open for dinner 5 to 9 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday and offer patio seating as well as takeout. Jumonville said that they have put an enhanced focus on customer and employee safety.

“We take everyone’s temperature when they come in. We’ve spaced the tables to allow for social distancing. We sanitize thoroughly. All of our staff wear masks,” she said.

Jumonville said that she and her husband are regularly at the restaurant, calling Acropolis on Freret a “labor of love.”

“I love the people I meet everyday and I love working alongside my husband. Our employees are like family,” she said. “This is truly a dream fulfilled.”

Greg Arceneaux Cabinetmakers 17319 Norwell Dr., Covington • (985) 893-8782 • gregarceneaux.com Former midwife and nurse Liz Arceneaux joined her husband at Greg Arceneaux Cabinetmakers in 1995. Founded in 1981, the company designs, builds and restores Creole and Acadian-style furniture.

“We look at it as giving new life to a style that is a part of our Louisiana culture,” she said. “When Greg started the company, this rare form of antiquity was disappearing. We feel like we are preserving it and creating family heirlooms to last for generations.”

Today the Creole and Acadian-style furniture made at Greg Arceneaux Cabinetmakers in Covington can now be seen at Brennan’s, the Historic New Orleans Collection, the Ogden Museum of Southern Art, the Louisiana Supreme Court, The Pilot House, the historic Pentalla Apartments at Jackson Square (built in 1849 and the nation’s oldest), actor John Good22

August 2020 • Southern Jewish Life

omen’s Wealth Connection of Warren Averett Asset Management was created to be your first call through all of life’s transitions.

We recognize that women often take a different approach than men when choosing advisors and that there can be limited options for women seeking financial advisory services that are specific to their needs.

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separate advisors across multiple firms. Our goal is to simplify your financial complexities, reduce stress that may be associated with your financial picture and ultimately empower you to make financial choices. We help clients find financial peace of mind so you can enjoy life to its fullest and find the answers to the questions that matter most — even in the midst of life’s unexpected changes.

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August 2020 • Southern Jewish Life

23

women in business

1in 3

Nearly 1 in 3 adolescents will experience an anxiety disorder.

If you or a loved one is suffering, there is help. help.

The Jewish Mental Health Initiative is a community-wide collaboration sponsored by Collat Jewish Family Services and the Birmingham Jewish Foundation.

For more information, call 205.879.3438 or visit https://cjfsbham.org/ jewish-mental-health-initiative-.htm

man’s home as well as homes, businesses and museums across the world.

The company even has its own room at the State Museum of Louisiana.

They use indigenous trees of Louisiana, including cypress, pecan, walnut, willow, cherry, mahogany and poplar, to craft antique furniture and use “the least amount of chemicals possible.”

Liz Arceneaux said she handles the marketing, works with customers and the bookkeeping. “I have always had a really good business mind,” she said.

“I learned from my mother. She managed the financials for our family and the family business.”

Arceneaux said she most enjoys working directly with customers and sharing with them the process of crafting custom pieces for them. “Our customers and our employees are like family. That’s what we’re about — a family-owned business working with families who appreciate the process of creating beautiful, unique furniture,” she said.

She said they usually need two to four weeks lead time on a standard build and three to six months for custom works.

Due to Covid-19, the Arceneauxs closed for two months. But when they re-opened in mid-May, “the phones were ringing off the hook.”

“People were just coming out of the woodwork. I think with people being at home much of the time, they put more focus on things they could do to make their home a more beautiful place,” she said. Currently, customers must schedule appointments before coming in and everyone wears masks.

After Greg Arceneaux Cabinetmakers reopened following Hurricane Katrina in 2005, they altered their business to do restorations and repair.

“We’re able to do whatever our customers need of us. Our dedication to serving them has helped us” overcome obstacles, said Arceneaux.

Applause Dance Wear 1629 Oxmoor Rd., Birmingham • (205) 871-7837 • applausedancewear.net Applause Dancewear has been in step with the dance community for almost 40 years, and owner Katie Wade Faught said the Homewood store credits its success to its loyal customers and employees.

“We treat our customers and employees like family. Our top priority has always been to build relationships with our customers. We bring them into our business and into our lives,” said Faught. “We are all current and former dancers here. Everyone loves what they do and it shows.”

Faught’s parents opened Applause in 1981 and she has been in dance since she was two years old. “I helped out at the store from an early age. I sold my first leotard at seven. I worked in the store when I was in middle school and high school.”

Faught earned a marketing degree at UAB in 1992 and considered a career in advertising. But Applause was so much a part of her life that she came back and her parents turned over ownership of the store to her.

Applause continued to grow and today is one of the largest dancewear stores in the Southeast. “People come from elsewhere in Alabama, Mississippi, Tennessee and Georgia to shop with us,” she said. “We work with our suppliers to make sure we’re offering our customers the best products at the best price.”

Faught said they are involved in the dance community and work with many of the schools as well as dance studios.

She said that the past few months have been a challenge, with school dance programs, studios and camps not able to operate due to Covid-19 safety concerns.

“We had to close the store for several weeks, of course,” she said. “Everyone has had to re-pivot. We’ve gone to great lengths to make sure we have a safe, clean environment for our employees and customers.”

“We’ve never gone through anything like this before,” said Faught, who added that they are now selling a wide array of fun masks. “But this time shows how important those relationships we developed are and a willingness to be flexible. I know everything will be okay.”

Special Section articles by Lee J. Green 24

August 2020 • Southern Jewish Life

women in business

McWane Center 200 19th Street No., Birmingham • (205) 714-8300 • mcwane.org Birmingham’s McWane Center, which reopened its doors to the public on July 8, has fun and safety down to a science.

“We want kids (and adults) to have an enjoyable science learning experience every time they come here,” said McWane Center CEO Amy Templeton.

“We’re a science institution, so we know how important science is. We spent the better part of two months working out a plan to help keep people safe,” she said. “We consulted infectious disease experts at UAB and the CDC to design a protocol based on science.”

The McWane Center science camps started back in mid-June and ran through the end of July, with no more than 10 kids per classroom. “The camps have been very successful and we’ve had a waiting list throughout, so that was encouraging,” said Templeton.

All adults and kids seven years old or older are required to wear masks (they are recommended for kids ages three to seven). In the museum, a few exhibits were removed to help facilitate social distancing and they put in extra sanitizing stations.

“We’ve always been dedicated to sanitization, but we’ve really upped the game,” she said. “We’re cleaning throughout the day and helping people to stay safe while they tour the McWane.”

Templeton said they determined the McWane Center could accommodate 50 percent of its usual capacity. They are offering special packages for groups of either 15 or 20 that includes a behind-the-scenes experience, the IMAX movie, sectioned off to allow for social distancing, and their own private room for an hour, with catering available or food that could be brought in.

The McWane Center’s current exhibition, “Guitar: The Instrument That Rocked The World,” hopes to strike a chord with kids and adults alike.

Running through Labor Day weekend, this special exhibition from The National Guitar Museum features hands-on, interactive exhibits, video performances and x-ray images of guitars’ inner workings. Among the 70 instruments and 100 historical artifacts are guitars owned by Elvis Presley, B.B. King, an “air guitar,” an oversized 30-foot-long guitar that can be played and “forerunners” to the guitar.

The IMAX movie “America’s Musical Journey” accompanies the exhibition. It delves into the origins and history of different types of American music enjoyed today, focusing on the rise of jazz in New Orleans and the blues in Chicago as a couple of examples.

Templeton said that the McWane Center’s area for younger kids, Itty Bitty Magic City, re-opens Aug. 5.

She said that during the time the McWane Center was closed due to the pandemic, they took the time to enhance their virtual presence and outreach.

“We want to be there to help teachers and parents to instill the love of science in their kids, whether they come here or are learning from us virtually,” said Templeton.

“We’re learning too about new ways we can connect… and how we can adapt,” she said. “Science is all about growing, changing and finding new things.”

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B&A Warehouse 1531 1st Ave. So., Birmingham • (205) 326-4220 • bawarehouse.com The B&A Warehouse, an event facility that has hosted many events for members of the Jewish community during the past 21 years, recently reopened.

Owner Susan Mason said they are currently providing catering services and hosting socially distanced functions, with an enhanced focus on Covid-19 safety and compliance.

Mason and head chef Deborah Thomas have been serving Birmingham residents for more than 20 years. Mason said the B&A Warehouse’s “experienced, talented team do anything they can to make a special event everything the celebrants dreamed it would be.”

Mason advises women who are thinking of starting a business to create enough funding to last an entire year in business, and to always be a very hands-on leader.

August 2020 • Southern Jewish Life

25

community

Building a “New Miss” Suzi Altman, James Meredith promote progress

WITH A MILLSAPS DEGREE, YOUR DREAM JOB IS WITHIN REACH.

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August 2020 • Southern Jewish Life

* SOURCE: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION COLLEGE SCORECARD WWW.COLLEGESCORECARD.ED.GOV

With the removal of monuments and other symbols of the Confederacy from public lands, one of the biggest hurdles was Mississippi deciding on June 30, after years of controversy, to redesign the state flag, which has incorporated the Confederate battle flag since 1894.

Now, national attention is focused on the Ole Miss moniker for the University of Mississippi, and its origins as the name used by slaves to refer to the owner’s wife, but which for others is seen only as a term of endearment for Southern women.

Jackson photographer Suzi Altman and her friend, James Meredith, the first Black man to attend the University of Mississippi, have entered the discussion, almost accidentally, and it started with a hat.

Pastor Robert West, a friend of Meredith’s, had been “embarrassed” seeing him wearing an Ole Miss hat, and a year ago gave him a custom-made hat in a similar style, with the term “New Miss” on the front.

West explained, “The day James Meredith stepped onto the campus of the University of Mississippi, it was no longer ‘Ole Miss’.”

Last year, Altman photographed Meredith wearing the hat, and there was little reaction. This summer, however, photos of him wearing the hat went viral, and requests for the hat started pouring in.

Born in Kosciusko, Meredith has said his father told him he had a divine mission to destroy the system of white supremacy. After attending Jackson State for two years, in 1961, the Air Force veteran sued Mississippi for the right to enroll at the University of Mississippi. After the federal courts ordered the university to enroll him, a riot broke out in Oxford. He was successfully enrolled on Oct. 1, 1962, accompanied by hundreds of federal representatives who were there to keep order, with President Kennedy invoking the rarely-used Insurrection Act. During the riots, one-third of the federal agents were injured.

Though harassed and ostracized, Meredith graduated a year later.

While attending Columbia University Law School, in 1966 he decided to do a March Against Fear through Mississippi, from Memphis to Jackson, to inspire Black voter registration. The second day, June 6, he was shot by a sniper, and still has pellets from that attack under his skin.

After the shooting, Martin Luther King Jr. and other leaders came to the state to continue his march, which Meredith was able to rejoin as it approached the finish line in Jackson, with about 15,000 taking part in the final steps on June 26, the day after his birthday.

After Meredith was shot, Stokely Carmichael, president of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, felt that SNCC members should continue the march, and during a June 16, 1966 speech in Greenwood, coined the phrase “Black Power.”

An Ohio native, Altman first met Meredith shortly after she moved to Mississippi from New York almost two decades ago. The New York Times asked her to visit Oxford for a piece on the 40th anniversary of integration at the university, and gave her a list of people to photograph. For some reason, Meredith himself was not on the list.

She decided to track him down, and having been told Meredith was in Jackson, she found him through exhaustive research — in the Jackson phone book. Her photo of him standing at the entrance of James Meredith Auto Sale wound up on the front page of the Times on Sept. 27, 2002.

Altman has been featured in prestigious publications worldwide, and demonstrates using photography for social change. She has extensively photographed the Mississippi Delta, and in 2008 was Mississippi’s honored artist for the state committee of the National Museum of Women in the Arts. Her work is in the permanent collection at the museum in Washington.

She founded the Mississippi Folk Art Foundation to try and preserve the Vicksburg landmark Margaret’s Grocery. In 2005, she covered the trial of Edgar Ray Killen, accused of taking part in the notorious 1964 murder

of Meredith’s 1966 march.

Altman posted photos of the encounter, during which Meredith was wearing the New Miss hat, on her Facebook page and website.

In the current climate, the photos quickly spread, with thousands of shares.

A Clarion-Ledger reporter who had been there published a story the next day, and a Photo courtesy Suzi Altman few days later CNN published a piece by James Meredith sports his New Miss hat Meredith, “I am George Floyd,” in describing of three civil rights workers, Andrew Goodman, how it was to grow up Black in Mississippi in the Michael Schwerner and James Chaney. mid-20th century.

Three days after the George Floyd murder in “One year ago I made photos of him in the hat Minneapolis, Altman called Meredith to meet and no one noticed,” Altman said. With the enfor lunch. She had been rereading “Down at the counter with the students in the park, the Covid Crossroads,” the history of Meredith’s March pandemic, George Floyd and the state flag issue, Against Fear. They arranged to get together again now “the hat and New Miss became an interest.” on June 4 at Smith Park in Jackson.

Altman knew the story behind the hat, and While they were at the park, a mostly-white had contacted West to get his blessing to make group of elementary school students, ages 5 to more of them. She then put it on Facebook, ini12, was holding a Black Lives Matter protest at tially not anticipating much of a response. the Old State Capitol nearby. “It was amazing, Almost immediately, requests for the hat they had homemade signs,” Altman said, and she poured in — from around the world. There were mentioned to them that Meredith was nearby. also requests for T-shirts, bumper stickers, even He agreed to meet them, and for two hours they flags for tailgaters to have at the Grove. And of sat at the park on the ground around him, as he course, in the midst of Covid-19, there were spoke about the civil rights era. plenty of requests for face masks.

Two days after Meredith met with the students, Altman formed an LLC to trademark and there was a Black Lives Matter demonstration in copyright New Miss, consulting with numerous Jackson, the largest gathering there since the end attorneys to make sure she was on solid ground.

If the university wanted to use the phrase, “they had 60 years to claim it,” she said. “They didn’t change their brand and made no move to do that.”

There are numerous differences between their logo and the university’s Ole Miss logo, from the typeface to the spacing. She obtained the site “thenewmiss.com” and sell the hat there, with additional items to come. They are being selective on the types of things they sell with the logo.

The wool blend hats have “New Miss” in 3-dimensional lettering on the front, and on the back it says “James H. Meredith 1962.” A portion of the proceeds goes to Black Lives Matter Mississippi and the James Meredith Interpretive Center.

What started as “I can’t believe people want this hat” has blossomed into a much larger effort.

Altman is helping Meredith set up a foundation, and they envision setting up “a center for racial healing, education and peace.”

Altman said the logo “is taking on a whole lot of meaning for different people,” beyond Meredith’s entering the university in 1962.

Meredith, now 87, says he has accomplished two of his three missions in life — to break white supremacy at the university, to do the March Against Fear, and now, to help heal racial division through honest dialogue and promoting good moral character.

For more, visit thenewmiss.com.

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Phase 2 NOW OPEN

community Sidewalk Film Festival goes to the drive-in for 2020

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August 2020 • Southern Jewish Life

This year, the Sidewalk leads to the drive-in. Birmingham’s annual film festival, historically held in the downtown theatre district, will relocate to The Grand River Drive-In at The Backyard in Leeds, Aug. 24 to 30, due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.

The 2020 event transition will provide this year’s attendees with a safe option to view the more than 150 feature and short films during the festival on four drive-in screens every evening during the week.

Since the pandemic quarantine began in mid-March, the new Sidewalk Cinema Center at The Pizitz downtown has been closed. Sidewalk began offering some programming online and tested out the drive-in format with some films in the spring held in the REI parking lot at The Summit.

“We are thrilled that there is a unique, safe way to have Sidewalk this year despite the many obstacles that the ongoing coronavirus pandemic has presented,” said Sidewalk Film Festival Executive Director Chloe Cook. “We are thankful for the partnership with The Drive-In at Grand River and know that this year’s event will be one to remember for all involved.”

One of the feature films in this year’s festival examines the rise in antisemitism online. The “Feels Good Man” documentary centers on artist Matt Furie, who created Pepe The Frog. Furie seeks to “take back” Pepe from the alt-right, who have co-opted Pepe’s images in antisemitic memes.

In the narrative feature “Harley,” the title character is a single, out-ofshape 51-year-old criminal defense attorney whose father is a Holocaust survivor. Harley meets a younger woman online, who is into underground mixed martial arts. He tries to impress her by getting in shape and training to fight in this dramady.

Some of the older movies featured in this year’s Sidewalk Film Festival have Jewish connections. “Teen Witch” stars Zelda Rubenstein. The other part of the “double feature” — “Teen Wolf ” — stars Jerry Levine and is written by Jeph Loeb along with Matthew Weisman.

Jennie Livingston directs the 1990 documentary “Paris is Burning.”

Filmed in the mid-to-late 1980s, the film chronicles the ball culture of New York City and the African-American, Latin, transgender communities involved in it.

One of the opening night films, “First Cow” by Jewish director Kelly Reichardt, will likely be in consideration for an Oscar. This movie centers on a skilled cook who has traveled west and joined a group of fur trappers in Oregon. He connects with a Chinese immigrant and the two soon collaborate on a successful business.

Some other notable announced titles include a documentary on singer-songwriter “Suzy Q,” who helped redefine the role of women in rock and roll when she broke out in 1973.

Another film, “Jasper Mall,” by Alabama filmmakers Bradford Thomason and Brett Whitcomb, chronicles a year in the life of a dying shopping mall.

“Banksy Most Wanted,” a new documentary, paints the picture of the graffiti artist who is a household name, but little is known about the man himself. The movie attempts to uncover one of the art world’s biggest unanswered questions — who is Banksy?

For information about tickets and more titles as they are announced, go to www.sidewalkfest.com. Gates will tentatively open each evening at 6:30 p.m., with the start of the first films of the night scheduled to begin at 8 p.m. On-site ticket pricing will be based on the car’s occupancy.

Sidewalk officials also said that information on the second Birmingham Jewish Film Festival will be announced soon, but go ahead and put Nov. 16 to 22 on the calendar.

community >> Rear Pew Mirror

continued from page 30

be masks,” and there were masks. And God saw the masks were good, and social distanced the light from the darkness. God called the light “day” and called the darkness “night.” And there was evening, and there was morning – one day with no new cases.

One can even find 21st century truisms in well-known prayers: Listen, Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one and says to wear a mask.

Love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your might by wearing a mask. And these words I command you today you will take to heart, through your mask. Teach them to your children, while wearing a mask. Recite them wearing a mask when you are at home or away, morning and night. Bind them as a sign on your hand, make them a symbol above your eyes, and wear a mask over not just your mouth but also your nose. And inscribe them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates, while wearing a mask.

Masks. They’re not just for Purim anymore.

Doug Brook looks better wearing a mask – he always had a perfect face for radio. To read past columns, visit http://brookwrite.com/. For exclusive online content, follow facebook.com/rearpewmirror.

>> Agenda

continued from page 8

and have five adopted children, including a Black son. A frequent Huffington Post writer, Bruk was the subject of the documentary “The Rabbi Goes West.” At the 7 p.m. event, Bruk will share “heartwarming, stereotype-shattering, timely, hilarious stories, perspectives and thoughts.”

The Jewish Historical Society of Memphis and the Mid-South will have a Zoom meeting on Aug. 23 at 2 p.m.

The Levite JCC will have “Ready, Set, Launch” on Aug. 17, a socially-distanced open house-style event with group fitness classes in the parking lot. One-on-one tours will also be available. Classes will be Body Pump at 5:30 p.m., CX Worx at 6 p.m. and yoga at 6:30 p.m.

Classes will be limited to 45 participants.

Jewish Young Professionals in Baton Rouge will have a social justice panel and happy hour, Aug. 27 at 6:30 p.m. via Zoom. The event is co-hosted by Beth Shalom and B’nai Israel in Baton Rouge, and Gates of Prayer TRIBE in Metairie.

“Southern Jewish Life is a vital community asset”

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The Ten Coronamandments Some believe that the revered, ancient Jewish texts aren’t relevant for contemporary issues. However, one needs to simply look closer at these texts to find great guidance for the pre-apocalyptic inferno that’s commonly referred to as 2020.

For example, a scrutinous look at the Ten Commandments reveals the most important safety tip since Egon Spengler said “don’t cross the streams.”

I am the Lord your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage, so wear a mask.

You shall have no other gods before me, though you shall put a mask between us. You shall not make for yourself any graven image, or manner of likeness, of anything in heaven above or in the earth below, or in the water underneath. And if you don’t wear a mask, there is another place under the earth below that you just do not want to risk going to.

Do not bow down to them or serve them, and always wear a mask when you’re serving others. For I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquities of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation if they do not wear a mask.

You shall not take the Lord’s name in vain. And wear a mask. For the Lord will not hold guiltless anyone that takes his name in vain, or who doesn’t wear a mask.

Remember the Sabbath and wear a mask to keep it holy. (But do not put holes in the mask.) For six days you work, wearing a mask while doing all your work. But the seventh day is a Sabbath unto the Lord your God. In it, you shall not do any manner of work; you, nor your son, your daughter, your man-servant, your maid-servant, your cattle, or the stranger in your gates. But you still need a mask. For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day, and the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy. And he did not do all just so you could ruin it by not Wear the mask. that wearing a mask.

It’s a mitzvah.

Many mitzvot.

Honor your father and your mother by wearing a mask, so that their days may be not cut short on the land which the Lord gave them.

You shall not kill. How? Wear a mask.

You shall not commit adultery. Wearing a mask should make it too difficult anyway.

You shall not steal someone else’s opportunity to not die. Wear a mask.

You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor, especially if you’re not wearing a mask yourself.

You shall not COVID your neighbor’s house, nor his wife, his man-servant, his maid-servant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor his donkey, nor anything that is your neighbor’s. How? Wear a mask!

One can find similar guidance even earlier in the Torah: In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was formless and empty, and darkness was over the surface of the deep.

And the spirit of God hovered over the waters. And God said, “let there continued on previous page 30

August 2020 • Southern Jewish Life

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August 2020 • Southern Jewish Life