Southern Jewish Life Aug./Sept. 2022 Volume 32 Issue 8 SouthernJewishLife P.O.Box 35213130052Birmingham,AL Photo by Steven Leonard/Auburn Athletics
Naturally, the church has jumped on the Israel as an apartheid state libel, with a reso lution claiming Israeli law gives preference to Jews and places Palestinians in “separate reserves and ghettoes.”
Another resolution refers to Jerusalem as “three faiths, two peoples, and one human family,” bemoaning a recent “heightened Zionist-Jewish identity” in the eternal capital of the Jewish people. It calls on Israel to respect the rights of Christians and Muslims to access and worship at their holy sites — which it does and they do, unlike when Jordan controlled the city and barred Jews completely, destroying synagogues and holy sites. And what about places in Palestinian controlled areas that have Jewish holy sites, which the Palestinians keep trying to destroy?
At their 225th General Assembly, held online from July 5 to 9 after a series of committee meetings in late June, the Protestant denomination continued its recent history of hostility to the world’s only Jewish state, with resolutions filled with inaccuracies, hyperbole, a lack of context and little regard for Israeli lives. Like many international bodies, the church is obsessed with Israel. This year, there were 19 resolutions under the category of International Engagement. Four were castigating Israel. No other country was singled out in more than one, except for two resolutions about seeking a peace treaty between the Koreas.
In fact, the only form of religious discrimination is on the Temple Mount, where Jews
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The Presbyterian Church (USA) has declared Israel’s cre ation to be a disaster, calls Israel an apartheid state, made an explicit comparison of Israel to Nazi Germany under the banner of “never again” and redefined antisemitism to en compass non-Jews. Why, then, is the organized Jewish community even talking with them any more?
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine warranted one resolution — which condemned the in vasion, but also is critical of the U.S. sanctions against Russia and how the U.S. and NATO “flooded Ukraine with lethal weapons” in a “hyper-militarization.”
The church also designated May 15 as “Pal estinian Naqba Remembrance Day” on the church calendar. May 15, 1948, of course, was the day that Israel was established, and the term “naqba” means “disaster.”
PC(USA) or PCA?
Furthermore, Christian Zionism is declared to be “one of the very threats to the Christian presence in Israel and Palestine.”Another resolution references the “siege of Gaza” and, in an effort to appear even-hand ed, the “collective punishment of innocent Palestinians and Israeli civilians.”
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. I felt honored to come to Birmingham for the first time and fell in love with not just the city but the people. You have taken Southern hospitality to a new level with your kind and caring approach to the JCC Maccabi Games.
Editor’s Note: This reaction to the events in Charlottesville, written by Jeremy Newman, Master of the Alpha Epsilon Pi Theta Colony at Auburn University, was shared by AEPi National, which called it “very eloquent” and praised “our brothers at AEPi Theta Colony at Auburn University and… the leadership they display on their campus.” White supremacy has been a cancer on our country since its beginning, threatening its hopes, its values, and its better angels. The events that took place in Charlottesville represented the worst of this nation. Those who marched onto the streets with tiki torches and swastikas did so to provoke violence and fear. Those who marched onto the streets did so to profess an ideology that harkens back to a bleaker, more wretched time in our history. A time when men and women of many creeds, races, and religions were far from equal and far from safe in our own borders. A time where Americans lived under a constant cloud of racism, anti-Semitism and pervasive hate. The events that took place in Charlottesville served as a reminder of how painfully relevant these issues are Auburn’stoday.Alpha
Charlottesville ASSOCIATE EDITOR Richard Friedman richard@sjlmag.com August 2022
Of course, the resolution also uses the “open-air prison” cliché about Gaza. The condemnation of Israeli “collective pun ishment” actions, citing the far-left anti-Israel group B’Tselem, encompasses 822 words in the resolution. The rather matter-of-fact state ment about the “rockets, with no guidance systems” (they forgot to mention the words “thousands of”) fired into Israel by Hamas and other Islamist groups received just 83 words.
The church has thus declared that Israel’s very existence is a disaster of historic propor tions, much like how the Jewish world would refer to the Holocaust or the destruction of the two Temples in Jerusalem. You know, those ancient Temples that an ti-Israel activists and Palestinian leaders deny everTheexisted.church is apparently oblivious as to how that argument takes a giant sledgeham mer to the Christian gospels, because much of the narrative happened in… the Second Temple.Butone can forget such things when show ing a zeal to portray Jesus not as a Jew, but as the first “Palestinian martyr,” as is currently popular among anti-Israel activists. Forget that the term “Palestine” did not exist at the time, it was inaugurated by the Romans a century later, well after the destruction of the Second Temple, in an attempt to erase Jewish ties to the land by renaming it after the Philistines, the already-extinct Biblical archen emies of the Israelites. Or that the term comes from the word for “invader.”
The Jerusalem resolution also refers to Christian Zionism, the support of Israel by Christians, as a doctrine that “tend(s) toward idolatry and heresy… portraying a wrathful and arbitrary God, dividing and ignoring parts of the Christian community, and making of the land an idol to be possessed, exclusive of moral conditions.”
One important note — there are two main Presbyterian groups. The Presbyterian Church (USA), with about 1.3 million mem bers, is the larger, more moderate group, while the Presbyterian Church in America is smaller and more fundamentalist. A local Presbyterian church is one or the other — differences include PC(USA)’s ordination of women, acceptance of same-sex marriag es, and of abortion as “a last resort.”
Led by the Sokol and Helds, your hard-working volunteers were wonderful. They partnered with your outstanding staff, led by Betzy Lynch, to make the 2017 JCC Maccabi games a huge hit. I want to take this opportunity as executive director of Maccabi USA to say thank you on behalf of everyone involved. I had just returned from the 20th World Maccabiah games in Israel with a U.S. delegation of over 1100, who joined 10,000 Jewish athletes from 80 countries. Back in July the eyes of the entire Jewish world were on Jerusalem and the Maccabiah. This past month with 1000 athletes and coaches from around the world being in Birmingham, you became the focal point. Everyone from the Jewish community and the community at large, including a wonderful police force, are to be commended. These games will go down in history as being a seminal moment for the Jewish community as we build to the future by providing such wonderful Jewish Jedmemories.MargolisExecutiveDirector, Maccabi USA
supremacists would like to see pushed back into a corner and made to feel lesser. We stand with and pray for the family of Heather Heyer, who was there standing up to the face of this hate.We recognize the essence of the American narrative as a two-century old struggle to rid ourselves of such corners, and allow those in them the seat at the table that they so deserve. It is the struggle to fulfill the promise of the Declaration of Independence, that “all men are created equal… endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights.” We know our work is far from finished, but we know we will not moveWhenbackwards.menand women, fully armed, take to the streets in droves with swastikas and other symbols of hate, it is a reminder of how relevant the issues of racism and anti-Semitism are today. It is a wake-up call to the work that needs to be done to ensure a better, more welcoming country. But it should not come without a reflection on how far we’ve come. America was born a slave nation. A century into our history we engaged in a war in part to ensure we would not continue as one. We found ourselves confronted by the issue of civil rights, and embarked on a mission to ensure the fair treatment of all peoples no matter their skin color. Although we’ve made great strides, it is a mission we’re still grappling with today. America was also born an immigrant country. As early as the pilgrims, many groups and families found in the country the opportunity to plant stakes, chase their future, and be themselves. Few were met with open
4 August 2022 • Southern Jewish Life commentary continued on page 39 PUBLISHER/EDITOR Lawrence M. Brook editor@sjlmag.com ASSOCI ATE PUBLISHER/ADVERTISING Lee J. Green lee@sjlmag.com V.P SALES/MARKETING, NE W ORLEANS Jeff PizzoCREATIVEjeff@sjlmag.comDIRECTOR Ginger Brook ginger@sjlmag.comSOCIAL/WEB Emily BaldweinPHOTOGRAPHER-connect@sjlmag.comAT-LARGE Rabbi Barr y C. AltmarkCONTRIBUTINGdeepsouthrabbi.comWRITERS 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. To that end, our commitment includes mailing to every Jewish household in the region (AL, LA, MS, NW FL), without a subscription fee Outside the area, subscriptions are $25/year, $40/two years. Subscribe via sjlmag.com, call 205/870.7889 or mail payment to the address above. Copyright 2022. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in whole or part without written permission from the publisher. Views expressed in SJL are those of the respective contributors and are not necessarily shared by the magazine or its staff. SJL makes no claims as to the Kashrut of its advertisers, and retains the right to refuse any advertisement. Documenting this community, a community we are members of and active within, is our passion. We love what we do, and who we do it for. Southern Jewish Life January 2021
Interestingly, the word “Egypt” isn’t in there, despite Gaza’s border with Egypt — a border the Egyptians control even more tightly than Israel does on its side. Why the omission?
On
MESSAGES
But when the resolution insists that the placement of metal detectors for security is a provocative act, what do you expect? The resolution also repudiates the U.S. em bassy move to Jerusalem, and urges visitors to utilize Palestinian service providers and to make sure they include encounters with Palestinians, being “mindful” of the “disputed status of Jerusalem.”
Epsilon Pi stands with the Jewish community of Charlottesville, and with the Jewish people around the country and around the world. We also stand with the minorities who are targeted by the hate that was on display in Charlottesville. We stand with the minorities of whom these white Maccabi USA leader praises Birmingham Games
While there is plenty of concern for the Pal estinian refugees, there’s no mention of the roughly 150,000 Jews who were kicked out of their homes and their villages razed when Jordan took over what became known as the West Bank, and Egypt occupied Gaza, and did real ethnic cleansing, making sure no Jews remained in the areas they controlled, while any Arab who had remained in what became Israel became an equal Israeli citizen. Not to mention — because they didn’t — the 1 mil lion Jews who were forced out of Arab nations where they had lived for two millennia or more.That’s because Israel absorbed those refu gees, while the Arab leaders forced theirs into a permanent refugee status unlike any other refugee population on the planet, treating
Which makes it further perplexing that the PC(USA) would be so hostile to the only place in the Middle East that is a de mocracy respecting LGBTQ rights (instead, they favor a leadership that throws such people off roofs), freedom of worship, and advancement of women. But nobody ever said that hatred of Israel is rational. are barred from certain areas altogether, and in the rest of the site, one making any hint of Jewish prayer is subject to arrest, for offend ing the sensitivities of the Muslims. That, of course, is not mentioned.
The blockade exists solely because the Gaza government seeks to use anything it can toward making war against Israel and attack ing Israeli civilians, not caring about their own Palestinian civilians. All that cement going into Gaza wasn’t used to build hospitals or schools, but tunnels under the border so they could sneak into Israel and attack civilians. But you wouldn’t know that from the resolution.
She also worked for the Genocide Prevention Program at the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region for the Uganda National Committee in Kampala, and then worked for two years remotely as a program associate for the GAPS Centre for Governance, Peace and Security in Kampala. She also worked with Catholic Social Services in Mobile, as a cultural orientation specialist for the refugee resettlement program, and volun teered with the Mobile-based Gulf Coast Center for Holocaust and Human Rights Education .
interesting bits & can’t miss events
The Alabama Holocaust Education Center in Birmingham announced that Susan Bra den-Aresco, currently the director of strategic partnerships at the Auschwitz Institute for the Prevention of Genocide and Mass Atrocities in New York City, will be the new AHEC executive director.Shearrives as the longtime agency changes its name from Birmingham to Alabama, and opens its new facility inside Temple Emanu-El. The agency has been led by interim directors over the past couple of years. An Alabama native, Braden-Aresco will “re turn home” to lead the center, effective Sept. 1.
August 2022 • Southern Jewish Life 5 agenda
“The AHEC’s mission to carry forward in
Susan Braden-Aresco
On Aug. 21, students and volunteers at B’nai Israel in Pensacola buried unusable old books and other ritual items.
For almost five years, she was managing edi tor of “Genocide Studies and Prevention,” which is produced by the International Association of Genocide Scholars.
delible lessons from the Holocaust is crucial in today’s world in which so many young people do not know this history,” Braden-Aresco said. “Serving as the organization’s executive director is a unique opportunity for me to both support this thriving center and give back to my home state of Alabama. I’m so pleased to be a part of it.” Her first major event will be the Sept. 18 L’Chaim, which will celebrate the name change, her arrival and the opening of the new center. The 3 p.m. event at Red Mountain Theatre will also pay tribute to those who spearheaded the Violins of Hope programs from April 2018.
Braden-Aresco named new director of Alabama Holocaust Education Center
“We are thrilled to have Susan at the AHEC,” said Board President Karen Allen. “We are look ing forward to the expertise, energy and leader ship she brings at such a vital time for Holocaust education in the state and around the world.” Braden-Aresco has a B.A. in International Relations from the University of Alabama and a Joint European M.A. in Human Rights and Genocide Studies from Kingston University in London and Universita degli Studi di Siena. She has directed strategic partnerships at the Auschwitz Institute since April 2019, before that she had been the strategic development manag er for a Beforeyear.that, she was program coordinator for the Cardozo Law Institute in Holocaust and Hu man Rights at the Benjamin Cardozo School of Law in New York for two years. In 2015, she was community engagement coordinator at the Martha O’Bryan Center in Nashville, where she had also been in 2011. After graduating from Alabama in 2009, she was an intern in the education department and the human rights program at the Carter Cen ter in Atlanta, where she focused on an African Union charter ratification project and coordi nated a learning exchange in Pretoria.
In New Orleans, the National World War II Museum and WYES will host the preview, Sept. 8 in the Solomon Victory Theater. There will be a reception at 5 p.m., with the screening at 6 p.m. and a panel discussion afterwards. The event is free, but registration is required, and it is expect ed to sell out early.
“The U.S. and the Holocaust” is a threepart, six hour series that tells the story of how the American people grappled with one of the greatest humanitarian crises of the 20th cen tury, and how this struggle tested the ideals of American democracy. The preview is about 45Byminutes.examining events leading up to and during the Holocaust with fresh eyes, this series dispels the competing myths that Americans either were ignorant of what was happening to Jews in Europe, or that they merely looked on with callous indifference.
The Mobile Area Jewish Federation, Gulf Coast Center for Holocaust and Human Rights Education and Alabama Public Television will cohost a preview on Sept. 7 at 7 p.m., at Bernheim Hall at Ben May Library.
Several communities are holding preview events for Ken Burns’ new documentary se ries, “The U.S. and the Holocaust.”
ISJL researching Jewish food and culture in Mississippi
6 August 2022 • Southern Jewish Life agenda SUPPORT QUALITY, INDEPENDENT, ORIGINAL SOUTHERN JEWISH JOURNALISM
Premiering on PBS on Sept. 18 to 20, “The U.S. and the Holocaust” is directed by Ken Burns, Lynn Novick and Sarah Botstein, written by Geoffrey C. Ward, story by Kevin Baker and produced by Burns, Novick, Botstein and Mike Welt.
A discussion with Alexandria Ruble, assistant professor of history at Springhill College, and a light dessert reception will immediately follow the preview. The event is free, but reservations are required by sending the names of all those planning to attend to majf.director@gmail.com.
McDonald teaches AP History and Holocaust studies at Shades Val ley High School. She is a United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Teacher Fellow and a Lerner Fellow with the Jewish Foundation for the Righteous. She is the author of “Determined to Survive: A Story of Sur vival and One Teacher’s Passion to Bring That Story to Life” and “Word Smugglers: A Story of Resistance in the Warsaw Ghetto.”
Over the next couple of months, they are collecting stories by remote vid eo, and want to interview those who are from Mississippi but are now else where, are currently in Mississippi, or have stories to share about great meals they had in Mississippi. They want to hear from all ages and backgrounds. There is an online form for those interested in participating, or one should contact Nora Katz, the director of heritage and interpretation.
The Goldring/Woldenberg Institute of Southern Jewish Life in Jackson is working on a project about Jewish food and culture in Mississippi, and wants to interview those who have anecdotes to tell about this essential part of the state’s Jewish story.
The Alabama Holocaust Education Center will host a Birmingham-ar ea preview on Sept. 14 at 6 p.m. at the O’Neal Library in Crestline. The event is free, but registration is required. After the preview, Dan Puckett and Amy McDonald will speak. Puck ett is a professor of history at Troy University and chairs the Alabama Holocaust Commission. He is the author of “In the Shadow of Hitler: Alabama’s Jews, the Second World War, and the Holocaust.”
Visit supportSJL.com to contribute Communities to preview Ken Burns’ PBS “Holocaust” series
MSJE goes west for film screening
— with
The film details the unique contribution of Jews in shaping the western United States. In the same way that many Jews immigrating to the United States left New York and found their way to small towns all over the South, many others headed west, and by 1912 an estimated 100,000 had made that journey.
Rau is considered one of the foremost experts on 18th- and 19th-cen tury European and American antiques and fine art. He has worked in the gallery full time since he was 21, having started part-time at the age of 14. An avid collector as well as an authority in his field, he has helped to place several items in museums around the world. He has written nu merous articles published in a wide variety of antique journals, lectured around the world at museums and events, and was the youngest senior member ever accepted to the American Society of Appraisers.
Even the first Western film, the silent 1903 “Great Train Robbery,” had a Jewish story. The iconic Broncho Billy Anderson is considered the first film celebrity cowboy — but his real name was Max Aronson.
“Jews of the Wild West” debuted at the Atlanta Jewish Film Festival earlier this year, and will be at the Nashville Jewish Film Festival in Oc tober. The MSJE screenings are $5 for members, $10 for non-members.
Hadassah chapters partnering for virtual visit to M.S. Rau Hadassah Birmingham and Hadassah New Orleans are joining forces for a special on line event with a New Orleans institution, exploring M.S. Rau. Bill Rau, CEO and third-gen eration owner of the largest fine art, and antiques gallery in New Orleans, will discuss and Jewels a Jewish Twist.” He will give a glimpse into the world of rare gemstones, as well as a brief history of Jews in the jewelry trade and the art world. The webinar is on Sept. 8 at 7 p.m. There is no charge, but donations to Ha dassah are welcomed. Registration information is available from the Hadas sah chapters and on the SJL website. There is a two-step process to register, with the second part arriving by email after the completion of the first step.
August 2022 • Southern Jewish Life 7 agenda New818www.msje.orgHowardAve.Orleans,LA70113504-384-2480 Shalom. Make yourself at home. VOLUNTEERS NEEDED! New medical research studies have opened at Tandem Clinical Research. Enrolling studies include: Study participants may receive compensation for time and travel. No medical insurance is required. Call or visit us online to find out if you qualify. • Alzheimer’s Disease • Asthma • Celiac Disease • Cirrhosis • Colitis • Crohn’s Disease • COVID • EosinophilicEsophagitis • Fatty Liver Disease • Gastroparesis • Hearing Loss • Heartburn • Hot Flashes • Low T • Memory Loss • Migraine • Rhinosinusitis • Tinnitus • UTI 504.217.7714 TandemClinicalResearch.com
The 40,000-square-foot gallery on Royal Street features carefully se lected works from a diverse array of artists and makers including Claude Monet, John Singer Sargent, Bouguereau, Tiffany & Co., Thomas Chip pendale, and René Lalique, as well as important jewelers such as Cartier, Van Cleef & Arpels and Oscar Heyman.
A new documentary, “Jews of the Wild West,” will be screened on Sept. 15 at 6 p.m. and Sept. 17 at 5:30 p.m. After the Sept. 15 screening, filmmaker Amanda Kinsey will speak about the making of the documentary.
The film talks about well-known Jewish figures, like Levi Strauss, the Guggenheims and Golda Meir, who spent formative years in Denver. It also talks about lesser-known but significant Jewish artists and leaders, and that by the end of the 19th century pretty much every notorious Wild West town had a Jewish mayor. What’s Jewish about the Fight at the OK Corral? Josephine Marcus Earp, Wyatt Earp’s wife, was Jewish, and her beauty is reported to have been the trigger for that notorious event.
The Museum of the Southern Jewish Experi ence is looking west in September.
“Art
jewelry
Yvette Hochberg announced that “The Sukkah,” the final part of her “Riding with the Rabbi” trilogy of short films produced in Montgom ery, will debut in October. The trilogy, which also includes “Oy to the
Large Selection of Books on Jewish Mysticism
Last year’s North Louisiana Jewish Federation trip to Israel was a ca sualty of Covid restrictions. Now, Rabbi Feivel Rubinstein and his orga nization, Freelance Judaism, is doing that trip from Feb. 6 to 16. The trip will be open to the public and have a maximum of 30 participants.
Agudath Israel-Etz Ahayem in Montgomery will have a Chinese dinner, from the Chai Peking kosher restaurant in Atlanta, on Sept. 9. Dinner will be at 5 p.m., and a Shabbat service featuring Cantor Neil Schwartz will be at 6 p.m.
Beth Israel in Jackson is planning a program on Sept. 18 with the American Friends of the Parents Circle, with details to be an nounced. The organization consists of over 600 Israeli and Palestinian families who have lost loved ones to the conflict, but have chosen the path of reconciliation and dialogue to foster peace.
Jackson’s Steakhouse in Pensacola and Chef Irv Miller will once again host a Rosh Hashanah dinner on Sept. 25, with seatings beginning at 5 p.m. In addition to the regular menu, there will be a Rosh Hashanah dinner with challah, apples and orange blossom honey, potato and squash latkes, pecan-wood smoked brisket, kugel, glazed carrots and roasted brussels sprout halves. The Rosh Hashanah dinner is $35 per person, and reservations are now available.
Birmingham’s Knesseth Israel, which recently moved out of its build ing and into the rabbi’s home, will have its Estate Sale on Labor Day weekend, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Sept. 2, and 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Sept. 4 andChabad5. of Panama City Beach will have a Shofar Factory on Sept. 18, at 11:30 a.m. Participants will learn how to clean, carve, saw, drill and sand a kosher shofar. Reservations are $10 per family and spaces areTherelimited.will be a free challah-baking workshop for the Mobile area Jewish community, Sept. 11 at 10 a.m. at Ahavas Chesed. Priscilla Gold-Darby and Barry Bukstein will lead the session. Reservations are required to the Ahavas Chesed office by Sept. 6, and only 20 slots will beBethavailable.Israel in Jackson is organizing an online rummage sale that will run throughout the year. Donations of new or gently-used house hold items will be accepted on Sept. 18 from 10 a.m. to noon. Items accepted include small furniture, home decor, kitchen items, art, rugs, purses. No books, clothing or electronics. Congregants can shop from 1 to 2 p.m. on Sept. 18. Items that do not sell after six months will be donated to local charities.
Hadassah Birmingham, PJ Library and the N.E. Miles Jewish Day School will host Bubbie’s STEM Kitchen, for ages 3 to 5 “and their special person,” Sept. 18 at 10 a.m. The program is about cooking and science through a Jewish lens, with stories and music. The theme is “Rosh Hashanah and the Science of Solids to Liquids.”
8 August 2022 • Southern Jewish Life continued on page 45 agenda A Magickal Place To Shop And Hold Space 2900 18th Street South, Suite 110 Homewood, Alabama (205) 388-8793 www.ritualshelter.comDreamTarot@ritualshelterReadingsInterpretationReikiSeminarsFreeCommunityEvents
Bais Ariel Chabad in Birmingham will have Falafel Sunday on Sept. 4 from noon to 2 p.m., with all-you-can-eat falafel, pita, Israeli salads and more. Cost is $12 per adult, $6 per child.
The next Nite on the Town for Beth Shalom in Fort Walton Beach will be at the Boathouse Landing in Valparaiso, Sept. 3 at 6 p.m.
Organizers of the Baton Rouge Jewish Film Festival announced that next year’s dates will be Jan. 11 to 15.
August 2022 • Southern Jewish Life 9 EXPERIENCE our learn about VISITNATCHEZour@ FOLLOW US “The temple, built in 1905, houses the oldest Jewish congregation in Mississippi. Its stained glass windows and ark of Italian marble make this synagogue one of the loveliest and most historic in the www.natcheztemple.comregion.” Culture History plan your TRIP TODAY visitnatchez.orgat BYWATER BREW PUB WITH FULL BAR & VIET-CAJUN MENU 3000 ROYAL STREET • Beers Brewed In-House • Trivia Mondays • Book Your Next Event Here! bywaterbrewpub.com • (504) 766-8118 • @bywaterbrewpub Monday 4pm-9pm Friday, Saturday and Sunday Noon-9pm Stop by for a L’Chaim with owner Nahum Laventhal! From the Plains to the Promised Land: Auburn basketball in Israel
The biggest challenge came in the final game, against Israel’s national team. The national team, which would represent Israel at the Olympics, Youth basketball clinic at the Jerusalem YMCA, with Tamir Goodman Photos by Steven Leonard/Auburn Athletics
The Auburn team played three games in Israel, defeating the U-20 na tional team in Jerusalem on Aug. 2, 117-56. Thirteen Tigers scored, led by freshman Yohan Traore with 20 points. The team had a whopping 32 assists on its 46 baskets.
Aside from the historic significance of being in Israel, Pearl said that teams often have a hard time finding quality competition on foreign trips. That isn’t the case in Israel, where basketball has a huge following and highly-developed infrastructure.
After Auburn made history as the first Power 5 basketball team to play in Israel, Coach Bruce Pearl is determined for a repeat next summer. That’s despite the fact that Auburn won’t be the team to play there next year, as NCAA rules state a team can do a foreign tour once every four years. Still, Pearl wants to see what he called the Birthright for College Basketball tour continue every year, with two or three top college basket ball teams competing in Israel.
On Aug. 7 in Tel Aviv, the match against Israel’s All-Star Select Team was tighter, but Auburn pulled away in the second half for a 107-71 win. Defense was the story as Auburn forced 30 turnovers, including 18 steals.
“We have a number of high-profile Power 5 college basketball pro grams that are very interested in going next year,” Pearl said. The issue will most likely be “which two or three get to go, then we are going to need to continue to raise money to offset some of the costs” as an Israel trip is a bit more expensive than other locales.
He said it should be seen as normal, not unusual or groundbreaking, that a Jewish basketball coach from Alabama would be having lunch with a Christian coach of a Palestinian team in Bethle hem.The team also participated in the Tamir Goodman Basketball Camp in Jerusalem, which brought together young players from the Jewish, Muslim, Christian and Druze communities at the YMCA. In addition to Goodman, known as the Jewish Jordan, Turkish Muslim NBA player Enes Kanter Freedom participated. Kanter Freedom has hosted basket ball camps in the U.S. for Jewish and Muslim children, and promoted a Holocaust education program at a Muslim school.
Mid-way through the trip, Israel struck at Palestinian Islamic Jihad
is comprised of professional players, led by Deni Avdija, the No. 9 overall pick in the 2020 NBA draft, and current Washington Wizards player. He led the game with 25 points. Former Boston Celtics draft pick Yam Madar is also on the team, and scored 24.
Part of the experience was matching up against a current NBA player.
The team did travel to Bethlehem, which is under Palestinian Author ity rule. They walked through the marketplace, which Pearl said doesn’t look much different than the Old City in Jerusalem, and the team visited the Church of the Nativity. They also were hosted for lunch at the home of the coach of the Palestinian national team. “I felt grateful and very welcomed,” Pearl said. “He and I could probably figure out how to continue to have that dialogue for peace.”
While many noted the interfaith aspect of the clinic, Pearl said “that stuff shouldn’t be any big deal” as Jerusalem is an international city, open to Anotherall. difference is the possibility of a flare-up with the neighbors.
Chris Moore said “We were playing against some grown men. It was a real battle on the boards, and we all competed well.”
It’s a nice dividend of the quality, nationally-honored journalism that we continue to offer and one more way that Southern Jewish Life benefits all of us.
Why is this trip not like any other trip…
Wendell Green Jr., who led Auburn with 19 points, said “We didn’t get the result we wanted, but we’ll take it and work in the fall leading up to November. It was a great experience for us.”
He asked, “Why is it okay for someone to ask me who I’m going to be talking to and where I’m going to be when I go to Israel?”
Taking a team to Israel is not the same as going to places like Italy, Germany or Mexico. Unlike many campuses, Auburn does not have active anti-Israel groups, but a few days before the team headed to Israel, the Council on American-Islamic Relations called on Auburn to either cancel the “pro paganda tour,” or at least ditch their Israeli “handlers” and meet with av eragePearlPalestinians.tookumbrage at the request. Since he was an assistant coach at Stanford for a trip to Japan in 1982, through many other foreign trips including Auburn’s trip to Italy in 2017, “nobody asked me who we were going to talk to, or where we were going to go.”
Pearl said playing Israel’s national team was “an honor and a challenge.”
Auburn Coach Bruce Pearl and the coach of the Palestinian National Team
10 August 2022 • Southern Jewish Life community Southern Jewish Life 4510www.AcropolisOnFreret.comFreretStreet•(504)309.0069 DINE IN or TAKE OUT! Tues-Sat, Lunch and Dinner Music and Mediterranean Every Thursday, 6-9pm Israeli Wines by the Glass or Bottle See Our Facebook Page for Daily Menus and Special Offerings! /AcropolisOnFreret Reservations Encouraged: Call 504.309.0069 COOLinary11am-2pmTues-SatLunch: COOLinaryTues-SatDinner:5-9pm World Games and More We say we are a regional magazine, but at times we are more than that. Though Southern Jewish Life mainly covers Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana and NW Florida, our journalistic reach of ten goes beyond that. Our coverage of the Israeli team’s activities and achievements during the World Games, held recently in Birmingham, was fea tured nationally by Jewish News Service. In addition, two of our recent stories appeared in the Wisconsin Jewish Chronicle. One was about UAB pediatrician Morissa Ladin sky’s fight against Alabama’s new restrictive transgender care law, and the other was on Jewish Federation of Greater New Orleans CEO Arnie Fielkow’s Ukrainian family. Both Ladinsky and Fielkow are from Wisconsin. Aside from feeling good about these achievements, this national coverage of Jewish life in the Deep South enhances interest in our region which sometimes leads to more Jews visiting, attending col lege here and even settling in our region.
If you would like to help our magazine grow, you can contribute to Southern Jewish Life by sending a check to SJL, P.O. Box 130052, Birmingham, AL 35213, or going to https://sjlmag.com/contribute/ (Donations to Southern Jewish Life are not tax-deductible.)
Still, Auburn held its own, leading 41-40 in the second quarter and cutting its deficit to one in the fourth quarter, before falling, 95-86.
“It was amazing… he guarded me most of the game. I think I got his respect. But it was just fun to match up against a pro, someone who is in the league which is a dream as I want to make the NBA one day.”
While cautioning that he was not minimizing the danger of rockets being launched at Israel, Pearl made an analogy for players and parents to living in the Southeastern United States, when there is a severe weather advisory. “You are advised to take shelter, and that’s what you have to do when you are under that kind of threat.”
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A cease-fire was declared right as Auburn started its Aug. 7 game in Tel Aviv. Beyond Expectations Pearl said the overall experience “exceeded my expectations, and my expectations were pretty high.” This was his fourth trip to Israel, includ ing the 2009 World Maccabiah where he coached the U.S. men’s basket ball team to its first-ever gold medal. Upon arrival, the team went to Jerusalem, where Pearl led prayers over challah and wine, and the traditional Shehecheyanu blessing of gratitude for special occasions, while overlooking the city.
R positions in Gaza as the terror group planned to launch a major terror attack in Israel. During the three-day operation, Israel took out the PIJ leadership, but the group responded by launching about 1,000 rockets from Gaza toward Israel. Many rockets fell short and fell in Gaza, killing many Palestinian civilians. Though rockets were aimed at the middle of Israel, Pearl said “we felt safe. Thank God for the Iron Dome,” which intercepted most of the rock ets that were headed toward populated areas. “We heard the sirens, we saw some of the pops in the air and you could see and hear… It was obvi ously very real, but thanks to Iron Dome we were safe.”
“Jerusalem is a place that can bring us all together, if we focus on the things we share in common,” Pearl said. The team walked from the Mount of Olives to the Garden of Gethsemane, and visited the Lion’s Gate and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.
He also reminded that at any given time, there are tens of thousands of Americans in Israel. Through Iron Dome, “Our taxpayer dollars were at work protecting not only the 9 million people of Israel, they were protecting the thousands of U.S. citizens, including the Auburn men’s basketball team.”
Several Auburn players were baptized in the Jordan
The next day included visits to the City of David, the Western Wall
Naturally, “some of the reporting back home scared some of our par ents, who had concerns about their sons,” Pearl said. “I spoke with a few by phone, made sure they understood we were safe.”
Pearl said one of the greatest joys about Israel is “bringing people who have never been here before, and having them just see it.”
Being in Israel also made an impression on the Auburn players. Of course, senior Lior Berman has family ties to Israel and had just been in Israel competing for the U.S. team in the World Maccabiah Games. He was unable to play in the Auburn games because of a mi nor calf injury. Also accompanying the team was Romi Levy, who was on the All-Freshman SEC wom en’s basketball team in 2021, then missed last season with an ACL tear. A Herzliya native, she is the first Israeli on Auburn’s women’s team.
Pearl said the trip was coordinated by Lea Miller-Tooley of Complete Sports Management, which also produces the Battle for Atlantis, along with Athletes for Israel. “It was first class,” he said.
Bringing it all home was the team from ESPN, which broadcast all three games on the SEC Network. Pearl also gave updates on the Paul Finebaum Show, and at halftime of each game there was a video segment about the team’s experiences.
Green, who was among those who took part, said it was “truly a bless ing” and he was “so thankful for everything.”
12 August 2022 • Southern Jewish Life Pictured from left to right: Alan Weintraub, Financial Advisor, First Vice President-Investments, Bari Bridges, CFP®, Financial Advisor, Steven Wetzel, Financial Consultant, Linda Hodges, Senior Registered Client Associate, Jonathan Schlackman, Branch Manager, Senior Vice President-Investments, Alan Brockhaus, CFP®, ChFC®, Assistant Vice President, Branch Liaison, Joshua Zamat, Financial Advisor, First Vice President-Investments Birmingham, AL Location 2501 20th Place South, Suite 350 Birmingham, AL 205-414-215135223www.SWZWMGROUP.com Investment and Insurance Products: NOT FDIC Insured / NO Bank Guarantee / MAY Lose Value Wells Fargo Advisors is a trade name used by Wells Fargo Clearing Services, LLC, Member SIPC, a registered broker-dealer and non-bank affiliate of Wells Fargo & Company CAR-0521-03268 New Orleans, LA Location 1250 Poydras Street, Suite 2400 New Orleans, LA 504-569-240370113 Boca Raton, FL Location 5355 Town Center Road, Suite 600 Boca Raton, FL 561-338-801533486 Whether it is selling your current home or finding a new one, let me help you make the right decision. Hilary Weiss Realtor (205) 876-3052 hillaryw@lahrealestate.comcell2850CahabaRoadMountainBrookAL,35223lahrealestate.com
Dylan Cardwell said it was “the closest I’ve ever been to God, physically, spiritually, emo tionally. I just thank him everyday that I can step foot in His Holy Land and the land that He created.” He said it was “insane seeing all of this come to life by touring Jerusalem.”
A personal highlight for Pearl came at the end of the game against the Israel National Team, as he made his way to the stands where there were a couple hundred high school and college students. “All I had to do is say ‘Am Yisrael Chai’ and they went nuts,” he said. He told the students that “God has blessed us,” but that comes with a responsibility. Just as the Auburn players represent Auburn and their families when they wear the jersey, those students represent “God’s Chil dren, the Jewish people, with how you act, with how you study, with how you love each other and what kind of neighbor you’re going to be.”
Pearl said Cardwell is the team’s spiritual leader, and if he does not make the NBA, “Israel would be an incredible place for him” to play pro fessionally.Cardwell posted a video to his social media, a dunk that he said is his new move — the Passover.
For college basketball teams, “Israel has never really been an option, and now it is a great option.” He added that he will be back in four years, when it is Auburn’s turn again.
community and Yad Vashem, Israel’s national Holocaust memorial. A highlight was the Dead Sea, where the big athletes who have trouble in swimming pools were able to float on the surface. The team also went to the Galilee, for a boat ride across the Sea of Gali lee, and several team members and support staff took the opportunity to be baptized in the Jordan River.
Traore said a highlight of the trip was “just visiting, getting closer to God and just having fun.”
Johni Broome thanked Israel and called it the “trip of a lifetime.”
The tuition award is available to all congregational members in good standing who achieve participation milestones during the calendar year. All sleepaway camps affiliated with the Union for Reform Judaism are eligible, other camps will be decided on a case by case basis. Campers from the New Orleans area generally attend the Henry S. Jacobs Camp in RabbiUtica.
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Gates of Prayer making $1 million investment in summer camp experiences
The Gates of Camp Initiative, called GO-Camp, will reduce the cost of sleepaway camp by 50 percent for all qualifying students in the 460-fam ily congregation’s J-FLEx program. The program begins with the summer of J-FLEX2023. is the congregation’s “camp style” experiential education pro gram for pre-Kindergarten through Confirmation.
David Gerber said the program came from the idea of treating summer camp like the Birthright Israel trips, so that “regardless of need, every kid who walks through our doors has the opportunity to go to Jew ish summer camp.”
August 2022 • Southern Jewish Life 13 community
Dignity
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Studies have shown that Jewish summer camp is a key indicator of fu ture involvement in the Jewish community. Gerber said they have “higher rates of engagement, understanding of their traditions and support for Israel.”Theinitiative is also structured in a way to encourage regular participa tion in congregational life by the entire family. “For a lot of our families, they are going to spend a lot of time with us, and that’s great.”
The award is earned by acquiring 100 GO-Camp Phil Shekels during the year, through an activities list developed by a parents committee. Ger ber said the requirement “is not meant to be a barrier,” and students who are engaged in Jewish life will earn the Phil Shekels — many of them could have the year’s allotment earned by November or December. Half of the shekels must be earned through attendance at J-FLEx on Sundays or the Shabbat programs and retreats. A Sunday class is four shekels, so with 27 class sessions, the award can be earned entirely through attendance, and as an example, 13 Sundays covers the minimum requirement.However,knowing that schedules can be tricky for some families, there is a long list of ways to earn shekels. Being a member of Gates of Prayer Gates of Prayer campers at Henry S. Jacobs Camp this summer
Gates of Prayer in Metairie announced a $1 million initiative to defray the cost of Jewish summer camp for its members.
Gerber said that the expense is a barrier for some people, even with numerous scholarship opportunities in the community.
The shekels are tracked by software normally used for customer loyal ty, with a bar code students have either on a card or on their phones in Google Pay or Apple Wallet. Families can already start earning shekels toward next summer.
Communities can register for the Zoom for $100 to provide access to the program for all community members, student groups can register for $50. Individuals can also register for $5, and some proceeds from the registration fees will go to MAZON.
Future programs include award-winning writer Rabbi Danya Rutten burg, known widely as “The Twitter Rabbi,” discussing her new book “On Repentance and Repair: Making Amends in a Unapologetic World,” on Nov.On3.Dec. 15, composer and musician Chava Mirel will lead a pre-Cha nukah musical celebration.
Temple Youth or attending conventions earn shekels. Attending a Shab bat service is two shekels — even attending services at a different congre gation earns a shekel, two if it is a life cycle event.
Naama Haviv is vice president of community engagement, and Joey Hentzler is program manager for the organization. They will discuss what hunger looks like in America and how it has shifted in the pandemic, along with ways the Southern Jewish community can make a difference.
Having a Bar or Bat Mitzvah adds 18 shekels, and shekels can be earned by visiting the Museum of the Southern Jewish Experience or the Nation al World War II Museum. High Holiday services are three shekels.
ISJL welcomes MAZON for program on food insecurity
Two speakers from MAZON: A Jewish Response to Hunger will be on the Sept. 8 program, which will be on Zoom at 7 p.m. Central.
Gerber said the goal is to “get as many kids to camp as we can.” And be tween having the students engaged at the synagogue during the year and experiencing summer camp, “we have a good chance of having highly engaged families and next generations of good Jews to come.”
As an example, a family with three children showed up for a Shabbat service in July, so each child received points for attendance, and each child also received points because both parents were in attendance.
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Gerber said it is entirely possible that a family would turn down the award and continue to pay for camp themselves. In that case, the award would remain in the fund and help it grow for future years, or can be designated to another fund in the congregation.
The congregation will have a GO-Camp introduction party in the park ing lot on Aug. 27 at 6 p.m., to explain the program. There will be games and inflatables, food and crafts, and the entire community is welcome.
Parents can also earn shekels through attendance or participation at services, participation in adult education, serving on a committee or membership in the Brotherhood or Sisterhood, but the program does not require parents to earn shekels.
The funds came from an anonymous donor, and will underwrite the program in perpetuity. The goal is that the fund will grow, especially in years where there are fewer campers, and also attract additional gifts. “I hope that one day we are paying 100 percent and it is truly a birthright,” Gerber said. Like Birthright, GO-Camp is not need-based. Families will still need to apply for other scholarships that they are eligible for, such as the schol arship that covers half the cost of Olim at Jacobs Camp for those in New Orleans. The GO-Camp funds would then cover half of the remaining cost. There is also a Campership award from the Sisterhood and Brother hood that one would still be able to use.
The Goldring/Woldenberg Institute of Southern Jewish Life’s Septem ber program will be about “Serving Tzedek: Food Insecurity in America.”
in 1994 • Member
Stephen Fleishmann, owner of Titan Construction, has more than 25 years of construction experience and more than 15 years of experience in legal consulting. He is a highly skilled expert witness in the area of value and causation of construction defects and deficiencies. which include
Nathan loved the practice of law, but equally loved teaching at the Tu lane Law School for more than 40 years. He was widely known for his attention to and care for others, whether young attorneys, clients, friends, or “Maxfamily.valued relationships above all else,” said Carole Neff, Nathan’s protégé, co-author, and partner at Sessions, Fishman and Nathan. “His drive to teach and mentor was also reflected in his philanthropic work and this gift, especially.”
“Max was a beloved and dedicat ed member of our community who was responsible for assisting in the founding of JEF and serving as one of its first board presidents,” said Bobby Garon, executive director of JEF. “He was also a brilliant attorney who took great pride in helping families through estate planning and successions. It is not surprising that Max would leave such a generous and intentional gift to JEF, enabling his fam ily to carry on his philanthropic legacy.”
replacement or reproduction cost estimates u Narrative presentations and reports with inspection findings and conclusions u Code Interpretation u Expert witness testimony for depositions, mediations and settlement conferences, and arbitrations and trials u Expert opinion on residential construction, design/construction defects, building envelope evaluation, and means and methods assessment u Pre-case evaluations u Site inspections u Litigation support u Case analysis Licensed in Alabama, Florida and Louisiana
The Jewish Endowment Foun dation of Louisiana announced the establishment of the Nathan Family Supporting Foundation, with a be quest of more than $3 million from the estate of Max Nathan, Jr. The gift from his IRA is also pro viding additional funding to the existing Dotty Gold Nathan Desig nated Fund, also held at JEF.
Will Lead Shabbat/Holiday Worship Services Throughout the Region Bar and Bat Mitzvah Training and Ceremonies Officiates All Life-Cycle Events, Including Weddings, Funerals, Brises/Baby Namings, Mezuzah Hanging Ceremonies, etc. Shofar BeginnersandConversionTrainingPrepCeremoniesHebrew Reading Cantorjroskin@bellsouth.net (205) 266-6549 Find me on Facebook at Cantor Jessica Roskin Need Clergy? Call Cantor Jessica Roskin! • Ordained
community August 2022 • Southern Jewish Life 15
Nathan Family Supporting Foundation opened at JEF with $3 million gift
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Descended from Jewish immigrants who lived through the Great Depression, Nathan was born and raised in Shreveport. He excelled in public speaking and debate and was the first in his family to go to college, earning a full scholarship to study at Northwestern. He continued his studies at Yale Law School, eventually transferring to Tulane University Law School in his final year to be able to practice in Louisiana and marry the love of his life. Nathan would become a found ing partner of Sessions, Fishman and Nathan, and one of the nation’s leading estate attorneys.
“Being able to carry out Max’s wishes the way he envisioned and to create a supporting foundation that will allow the family name to live on and impact the community he loved is such a special gift and reinforces why JEF exists,” added Garon. Today, the “rainy day” agency he helped start has grown into a state wide organization with over $100 million in assets under management for Jewish and secular fund holders. with a Masters of Sacred Music from the Hebrew Union CollegeJewish Institute of Religion in good standing of the American Conference of Cantors for 28 years on the executive from the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion
board for three years • Received honorary doctorate in 2019
In the eyes of Max’s four daughters, “Above any accomplishments, our father made it a life-long practice to be good to others and pass on what is known to the next generation. Through this supporting foundation, we may support the organizations and causes so close to both of our parents’ hearts, allowing us to continue his legacy of preserving the past while providing for the future.”
Nathan also served as president of Jewish Family Service and the An ti-Defamation League, and on the boards of various other Jewish orga nizations, including the Jewish Federation of Greater New Orleans and TempleNathan,Sinai.who passed away in 2021 at the age of 86, worked closely with a number of the nonprofits he and his wife, Dotty Gold Nathan, support ed during their lifetimes. Dotty died in 1988. Together, they instilled a strong sense of civic responsibility in their children — Nancy Nathan, Kathryn Nathan, Marcy Nathan, and Courtney Nathan.
The event will be at 6:45 p.m. at the Uptown Jewish Community Center, and reservations are requested to Michelle Neal at the Jewish Federation of Greater New Orleans. There will be a reception by invitation at 6 p.m.
Brian Katz, chair of the Federation board, said Fielkow “has truly been a bridge builder in the broadest sense. He has been able to increase the Federation’s impact throughout the communal, philanthropic, business andHereligious communities.”added,“wewillhave a chance to celebrate all of his accomplish ments with the Federation at our Annual Celebration on Dec. 7 at the Audubon Tea Room.” Fielkow came back to New Orleans in 2017 to lead the Federation af ter six years as the executive director of the National Basketball Retired Players Association in Chicago. Before that, he was on the New Orleans City Council, after parting ways with the New Orleans Saints in 2006, where he had been executive vice president since 2000.
Fielkow will step down at the end of the calendar year.
Professor Dan Ben-David founded and heads the Shoresh Institution for Socioeconomic Research and is a senior faculty member at Tel-Aviv Uni versity. Ben-David was named “Person of the Year” by the Calcalist news paper and was included three times, most recently in 2019, in Haaretz-The Marker newspaper’s list of the 100 most influential people in Israel.
Fielkow to step down as New Orleans Federation CEO at end of year
On Nov. 1, Israel will have its fifth national election in just over three years. One of Israel’s leading economists will be in New Orleans on Sept. 13 to give the big picture of the chasm in Israeli society that has led to this political stalemate.
The Jewish Federation of Greater New Orleans announced that CEO Arnie Fielkow will retire at the end of the year, and a search is underway for his successor.
In “Israel’s National Challenges Unpacked: What’s at stake as the na tional election approaches,” Ben-David will discuss challenges that are often obscured in the often-outdated discussion about Israel. Shiresh is the Hebrew word for root, and the independent socioeco nomic policy center uses evidence-based analysis to get at the root of Israel’s existential challenges.
16 August 2022 • Southern Jewish Life community
“I’m thankful for the great opportunity to lead this wonderful organi zation the past 5-plus years,” Fielkow said in a message to the community. “Thanks for bringing Susan, me, and our family back to the greatest city in the world, and thanks for allowing me the opportunity to re-connect with my Jewish roots in a very meaningful way.”
Nola Federation holding discussion about Israel’s upcoming fifth election
Fielkow has not announced his next chapter, but said “stay tuned as I still have much to give back to a community I love.”
“I have greatly enjoyed my Federation tenure and believe a very solid foundation has been laid for my successor’s future success,” Fielkow said.
The Federation also led the effort to rescind a New Orleans City Council resolution that anti-Israel groups touted as supporting the boycott-Israel movement, and two Israel celebrations in the Governor’s Mansion in Baton Rouge with Governor John Bel Edwards. The state also passed anti-BDS legislation and held a trade mission to Israel.
Despite hurricanes and Covid, in addition to a “significant health challenge” in 2018, a lot was accomplished over the past five years. There was an emphasis on building partnerships in the greater New Orleans community, and two new “centers of excellence” were launched — for multicultural affairs and for interfaith families. Outreach to LGBTQ+ members of the community was also made a priority. New revenue streams came from sponsorships and grants, and there were special efforts for hurricane relief, Covid and Ukrainian relief. After Hurricane Ida, the Louisiana Jewish Coalition was established, linking communities statewide.
A nationwide search has been launched for Fielkow’s successor, with DRG Talent Consulting Experts advising the search committee, Katz said. The search is being chaired by Melinda Mintz and Jonny Lake, with committee members Alan Franco, Josh Force, Rebecca Friedman, Kathy Shepard, Rabbi Bob Loewy and Sarah Schatzmann.
The Federation has also implemented a security program for the community, in cluding the hiring of a full-time community security director and formation of a com munity-wide alert system.
Rabbi Martin Hinchin, 103, was emeritus in Alexandria, served Dothan Rabbi Martin Hinchin, who served congregations throughout the South and was the rabbi emeritus at Gemiluth Chassodim in Alexandria, died on July 29 in Memphis at the age of 103. A Philadelphia native, Hinchin “fell in love with the people of the South.” Though he grew up Conservative, he studied at Hebrew Union College and became a Reform rabbi, taking student pulpits in Logan, W.Va.; Hamilton, Ohio; and Sioux City, Ia., where he met his wife, Blos som Kalin. In 1946, his first pulpit after ordination was Temple Emanu-El in Do than, where he also was director of the Southeast Region of the Union of American Hebrew Congregations. In 1948, he went to B’nai Israel in Albany, Ga., enlisted in the National Guard and rose to lieutenant com mander in the Naval Reserve. He served Gemiluth Chassodim from 1958 to 1988, and in 1984 wrote “Fourscore and Eleven,” a history of the Jewish community of Rapides Parish, for the congregation’s 125th anniversary. After retiring following the death of his wife, he was an “on-call” rabbi for Temple Israel in Mem phis.Hinchin was the first Jewish president of several interfaith organiza tions, served as the Grand Chaplain of the Louisiana Masonic Lodge and was a board member or leader to countless other organizations, including the Red Cross, Salvation Army, Central Conference of American Rabbis, Southern Federation of Temple Youth and the National Association of Retired Reform Rabbis. He was also called “Preacher” by former Gover nor Earl Long.
205 907 7622
Everything was planned out — speakers lined up, venues reserved and community Shabbat services planned for the biennial LimmudFest New Orleans in March 2020.
The weekend, which draws participants from around the region, usual ly has 90 or more presenters on a wide range of topics, including academ ic, theological, artistic, musical, cultural and historical programs. There are also hands-on workshops and children’s programming. The community’s congregations combine for Shabbat services at Gates of Prayer in Metairie, holding different service formats under one roof and then coming together for communal meals. Sessions then continue on Sunday at the Uptown Jewish Community Center. Registration and keynote speaker information will be announced later this year.
Ashley Fierman Lewis /Associate Broker Smith Group soldbyashley@gmail.com
Since 2004
August 2022 • Southern Jewish Life 17 community
Helping Buyers & Sellers
Then, 11 days before the weekend of Jewish learning was to begin, it was “postponed” because of this new virus called Covid-19 “out of an abundance of caution,” though at that point there were no reported cases in LimmudFestLouisiana. organizers announced that the festival will return in 2023, the weekend of March 17. It will be the first in-person LimmudFest since“Though2018. we had a thought-provoking virtual LimmudFest in 2021, Zoom just could not replicate the feeling of community created by an in-person experience,” said Gail Chalew. Limmud is a grassroots program that relies entirely on volunteers — including the speakers. A steering team is being organized “that reflects the diversity of the New Orleans Jewish community in terms of interests, Jewish background, affiliation, and age.”
REALTOR
The Fred
LimmudFest Nola returning in 2023
Last year, New Orleans was one of the earlier communities to hire a community-wide professional, and many more communities are cur rently in the hiring process.
18 August 2022 • Southern Jewish Life community Securing the Jewish Community
JimmyBrownStewart415-7536
When Jeff Brown approached Israel’s Western Wall a while back, to de posit a prayer note into its ancient crevices, this Lutheran Midwesterner never could have imagined that one day he would wind up working for the Jewish community. Yet that’s exactly what came to pass for this former college linebacker who four months ago became the regional security advisor for the Birmingham Jewish community.
For an appointment, call (205)
Jeff
Heightened Awareness
As the leader of an international FBI count er-terrorism team, Brown and his colleagues journeyed to Israel to meet with members of the security services. Though retired now from the Bureau, he won’t elaborate, other than to say that those visits were productive and col laborative.Sittingin his office at the Birmingham Jewish Federation, the broad-shouldered Brown, re laxed and outgoing, reflected on both the irony of him now working for the Jewish community and how it has imbued him with a new sense of mission, exactly what he was looking for when he decided to retire from theHisFBI. final stint for the Bureau, after numerous overseas deployments and assignments, was as the Assistant Special Agent in Charge of the Bir mingham Field Office. Not wanting to leave Birmingham, this new career opportunity seemed ideal. Brown was offered, and happily accepted, a newly-created position as the Birmingham Jewish community’s regional securityBrownadvisor.ispart of a growing network of such regional security advisors and directors throughout the country. They are employed in partnership with Secure Community Network, a national organization that provides safety and security for Jewish communities across North America, and are co-located within local communities; their positions are typically an chored at and funded by local Jewish Federations.
Brown, who made several trips to Israel during his FBI career, had something else on his mind as he quietly placed his note in the Wall. “I prayed that my team and I would re turn home safely — and we did.”
By Richard Friedman
As Brown emphasized, based on statistics and accumulated knowledge gained from his diverse FBI career, threats and actions against U.S. Jewish communities have grown significantly over the past decade. Though Jews make up just 2 percent of the U.S. population, the Jewish community
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Brown, who exudes a warm and engaging presence, has stated that a top priority has been to get to know members of the local Jewish com munity and develop a working knowledge of all of Birmingham’s Jewish Institutions. By doing this he has been deeply touched at how well he’s been received. He believes the reception he’s gotten reflects a heightened awareness among many community members about the importance of having good preventative security measures in place, along with effective and collec tively understood response protocols in case there is trouble. These are not just theoretical strategies.
The safety of the Jewish community already has been enhanced through Brown’s efforts, said Danny Cohn, CEO of the Birmingham Jewish Federation. “SinceJeff started, we have rolled out a robust training program for our Jewish institutions and community. Aside from the training, we have been able to offer security assessments to all our Jewish agencies and institutions, as well as audit current security practices to ensure best practices for our entire community.” Cohn believes that “because of the additional security measures put into place our communi ty has a peace of mind that did not exist before — which is Federationsinvaluable.”havealong history of being the “central address” for local Jewish communities, and taking the lead in meeting unmet needs.
Help
In a recent strategic planning study done by the Birmingham Jewish Federation, the Jewish community identified increased security as a top need.
Keeping New Orleans Safe Three hundred and fifty miles to the South west, Brown’s New Orleans counterpart, Jimmy Stewart, reflects on his just-completed first full year as community security director, and how gratifying it has been. Stewart, who is Catholic, has developed a burning interest in Judaism and Jewish life because of his new position. A Scranton, Pa., native and former FBI agent with a long and diverse career in law enforce ment, Stewart came to the job not totally unfa community “Southern Jewish Life is a vital community asset” Support Independent, Quality, Original Southern Jewish Journalism!
The note that Brown placed in the Western Wall on one of his FBI trips to Israel reflected his purpose then, as the leader of an FBI count er-terrorism team, and his mission now when it comes to protecting the Jewish community. “My note prayed for the safety and security of my team, and my goal now is to provide that same safety and security for our Jewish community.”
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August 2022 • Southern Jewish Life 19 is the target of 60 percent of all religious-based hate crimes, Brown is quick to note. He remains deeply concerned about both overseas and do mestic threats to the Jewish community.
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A Federation-sponsored training session he and other SCN officials conducted for the com munity on June 29 emphasized both prongs of his mission — to ensure good systems are in place along with collectively understood, rapid response mechanisms in case an incident oc curs.“My job is geared toward establishing a secu rity baseline in our Jewish community here in Birmingham and to understand each Jewish fa cility. How each views and approaches security is a little bit different,” said Brown, whose goal is “to establish a security culture throughout our community to collectively improve upon our security posture.”
“It’s been a lot of fun,” he said of the officiating. But which is harder — satisfying football coaches or tracking down bad guys?
“That’s a good question,” he answered with a laugh. “I’m not sure.”
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One of those most enthusiastic about Stewart coming on board is Ar nie Fielkow, CEO of the Jewish Federation of Greater New Orleans.
“Jimmy has spent his first year getting acquainted with all of our local Jewish institutions and he has been very active in hosting security train ing sessions, making recommendations to our synagogues and agencies on hardening their facilities, and helping lead our community security committee. Jimmy brings a wealth of law enforcement experience to his position.”
Stewart is enjoying the learning process. “I am constantly reading web sites and articles about Judaism and Israel. I am learning things I never thought I would learn. I am learning about a new faith, it is great. I am enjoying expanding my knowledge.” He has not been to Israel but would like to go. He said SCN is planning a trip to Israel for Jewish community security directors.
Not Just Big City Stewart is not just a big city guy. He is drawing on his experience as a small-town police chief in Hammond when it comes to getting out of the office and mingling with the community. Visibility, accessibility and availability are essential — whether it’s being a police chief or community security director, said Stewart.
Though he and Birmingham’s Brown are anchored in the largest cities in their states, they also serve as resources for the regional Jewish com munity. For example, as summer was approaching, Stewart did a training session for counselors and other staff at Henry S. Jacobs Camp in Utica. Brown will be doing it next summer for the camp. When it comes to security, Stewart believes the biggest challenge fac ing the New Orleans Jewish community is sustaining and increasing both government and community funding to maintain and enhance this new initiative. “We need more federal and state money to continually main tain and strengthen our security hardware and provide continued train ing to the community. We never want to sacrifice security preparedness for lack of funding.”
20 August 2022 • Southern Jewish Life
Stewart and Brown have been working with their community’s religious institutions to review and enhance security for this year’s High HolyStewart,Days.however, is not all lawman. Like his Birmingham colleague, he has football in his background — not as a player, but as a referee. He got his start officiating high school games and expanded to the college ranks. In 2014 he officiated in the Division II national championship game.
community miliar with Jews and Judaism, stemming in large part from law enforce ment stints he did in New York City, Florida and New Orleans. However, now that he works for the Jewish community, he has embarked on ex panding his knowledge.
Like Brown, Stewart’s antenna is up constantly when it comes to grow ing antisemitism and increasing attacks against Jews and Jewish institu tions.“It’s a growing threat. Even when I was at the FBI, it was a growing threat. It only takes one or two guys to pull an active stunt. And the in creasing vandalism we see can lead to violence. If they have the nerve to spray-paint swastikas, what is going to hold them back from attacking members of the Jewish community when they are on their way to syna gogue?”Both
“I am honored to work for the Jewish community, though it has been a learning curve,” Stewart said. “I’ve had to learn more about Judaism, Shabbat, the High Holidays, etc. But I am not alone. There are a number of non-Jews now working for Secure Community Network.” In response, SCN has produced the manual, “Judaism for Law Enforcement.”
KI’s Rube takes pulpit in New Zealand
Rabbi Shlomo Litvin and his father, Rabbi Avrohom Litvin, of Chabad of Ken tucky, drove to small towns in eastern Kentucky in early August to help families affect ed by major flooding. They provided portable mattresses, bottled water, cleaning items, gift cards and more. Many of the goods that Chabad of Kentucky provides come through its social-ser vice arm, Project Friendship. That division provides clothing, shoes and household goods to people in need. Some of the goods that they delivered to eastern Kentucky also came from the Consul General of Israel to the Southeastern United States.
In the first round, over $100,000 worth of new mattresses and human itarian supplies were shipped to Kentucky and distributed directly to residents. The Consulate General is in conversations with Beshear’s office and is monitoring the developing situations to identify where more relief or humanitarian effort might be needed. According to Shlomo Litvin, this has been the first time some of the people in eastern Kentucky have ever seen a Jew. “We are the first Jews they’ve ever met.”
Consul General Anat Sultan-Dadon said “When we were last in Ken tucky following the devastating tornadoes, we were greatly impressed by the strength of spirit, resilience and resolve of the people to help their fellow Kentuckians. At this difficult time, Israel stands with the people of Ken tucky, and our Consulate is grateful to be able to join Chabad of Kentucky to provide some assistance to those currently experiencing difficulties.”
This Shabbat will be the final one in Bir mingham for Knesseth Israel Rabbi Moshe Rube.Inan open letter released on Aug. 22, he said that he has accepted the position of se nior rabbi at Auckland Hebrew Congregation in Auckland, New Zealand, and he plans to finish at KI on Sept. 1.
Israeli Consulate, Chabad bring relief to flood victims in Kentucky
Rube arrived in Birmingham in the summer of 2017 after being or dained at Yeshiva University. When he arrived, plans were already under way for the congregation to vacate its building and move into the rabbi’s house — but the sale of the building fell through a couple of times, and the congregation remained in the building until last month.
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“I know that KI, secure in its new home, will find new ways to expe rience their Judaism and contribute to the community as the Modern Orthodox congregation here in Birmingham,” Rube said. “I have always admired the dedication and love all of KI’s members show to Knesseth Israel and its mission. It is the people that will always inspire me and gives me confidence in Knesseth Israel and in the Jewish community of Birmingham as a whole.”
“It has been one of the honors of my life to serve as the rabbi of Knesseth Israel in Ala bama for the past five years,” he said. “Throughout my time here I have met and worked with so many amazing people, made all kinds of new friends, and grown personally and professionally.”
The Maccabiah is sometimes referred to as the “Jewish Olympics,” taking place every four years in Israel and drawing thousands of Jewish athletes from around the world. The 2021 Games were delayed a year due to TheCovid.U.S. team defeated France, 81-70, to win the gold medal at Malha Arena. Berman recorded 11 points, four rebounds and three steals versus France. It marked his second gold medal after being a member of the 2017 Maccabi USA U16 squad before his junior year at Mountain Brook HighThisSchool.wasthe fourth-straight gold for Team USA since the 2009 Mac cabi USA Open Men’s Basketball squad, which was coached by Auburn Head Coach Bruce Pearl, then at Tennessee. His son Steven Pearl, an assistant coach at Auburn, was also a member of that team during his collegiate career at Tennessee.
In the gold medal game on July 24, Berman had 11 points and four rebounds, with three steals.
Israel’s “Sports Rabbi,” Joshua Halickman, said Berman was the U.S. team’s “most consistent player throughout the competition.”
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The Auburn basketball team may be returning to the state with a lot of great memories from their time in Israel, but only rising senior guard Lior Berman of Birmingham is coming home with a different souvenir — a gold Bermanmedal.waspart of the Maccabi USA Open Men’s Basketball team that won the basketball competition at the 2022 World Maccabiah Games in Israel, held in July. The final game was a week before the rest of the Au burn team arrived for their tour.
Berman said he was hesitant to go to the Maccabiah, because he would miss off-season workouts at Auburn, but Pearl told him to go. He did suffer a calf injury during the Maccabiah and was unable to play in Auburn’s three games in Israel.
In the opener on July 15, a 93-49 win over Argentina, Berman had 13 points, including two three-pointers. He had four rebounds. In the July 17 round-robin win over France, 90-77, Berman led the team with 21 points, recording six rebounds and one steal. Against Australia on July 18, he again led the team with 13 points, with three three-pointers. He also had four rebounds and one steal in the 7742 win. In the 92-71 victory over Israel, he scored 16, with two rebounds and two steals. The final round-robin game, a 106-70 win over Canada on July 21, saw Berman score two points and add one rebound.
community Auburn’s Berman helps lead Team USA to Maccabiah gold medal
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A community sneak peek was to be held on Aug. 25. At the marker dedication, Norman said “it seemed a natural starting place for our project to have the first physical piece of the civil rights experience marking this important moment in our own congregation’s history.”
Ron Levitt, who would become the former president of Beth-El an hour later at the con gregational meeting, said the project spun off from a joint January 2018 weekend with Temple Emanu-El, “Forging Ahead: Civil Rights Stories andAtSong.”theBeth-El event in 2018, Senator Doug Jones and former Attorney General Bill Baxley, who had prosecuted those responsible for the 1963 Sixteenth Street Baptist Church bombing, Viewing the marker at the July 17 dedication
The marker, which was dedicated on July 17, details the attempted bombing of Beth-El by a Ku Klux Klan cell in April 1958. The fuse mal functioned on the satchel of 54 sticks of dyna mite, enough to level a city block. The bomb had been placed below street level in a window well outside the social hall, a spot that was filled in about 15 years ago. The marker is placed in front of that spot.
Marker dedication kicks off Beth-El Civil Rights Experience
The dedication of a historical marker at Bir mingham’s Temple Beth-El as part of its new Civil Rights Experience “is not the end but the beginning,” said Margaret Norman, director of programming and engagement at Beth-El. “It is a very fitting beginning… there is much to learn from looking at this portion of our past.”
The committee organizing the Civil Rights Experience envisions it as a stop for groups do ing civil rights tours through the state, especial ly Jewish groups from around the country.
They have launched an audio tour that in cludes the story of the attempted bombing “as well as 10 others at the intersection of Birming ham’s Jewish and civil rights histories.” A team of docents is being trained to give tours of his torical displays at Beth-El, and at least 10 groups are expected to visit by the end of the summer.
Registration is now open for a Pink Mega Challah Bake for the Baton Rouge community.
The event, held in coordination with breast cancer awareness month, is co-hosted by the Chabad of Baton Rouge Jewish Women’s Circle, Hadassah Baton Rouge and the Unified Jewish Congregation of Baton Rouge Sisterhood. It will be on Oct. 23 at 4:30 p.m. at the BREC Jefferson Highway Park Ballroom.
She also notes the marker’s mention of white sympathy toward Beth-El, which was not evi dent after attacks on Black churches.
The evening of unity will include challah making, creating a unique artwork of “overflow ing blessings” that will be donated to a cancer wing, a talk from a breast cancer survivor, and a smorgasbord with a challah and dip bar.
Bearman closed by reciting part of a prayer written by two Ohio rabbis, a Jewish prayer for Juneteenth.Normanthen read the text of the marker, be fore everyone went outside to see it.
Though she mentioned things she did, “I’ve come to realize, with the help of my grandchil dren, just how much more I could and should have done. We can all do more. We can all grow.” And that, she said, is one of the lessons of the attempted bombing.
Over two years of exploration, she saw the wide range of reactions to the attempted bomb ing and to the civil rights demonstrations.
Those attending the dedication left the sanc tuary through the front doors, going to the side of the building to view the marker. Each partic ipant poured a cup of water into a watering can, with the combined waters used on the flowers around the marker, “as a moment of coming to gether and growth.”
Baton Rouge groups combine for Mega Challah Bake Lisa McNair
Early bird registration is $20, after Sept. 15 it is $25. A “tree of life” dedication is $118 and in cludes one admission, a tribute in the program book and a display at the event. No one will be turned away for a lack of funds, sponsored tick ets are available through Chabad. Registration is available at megachallahbake br.com.
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“Some reactions were incredibly admirable, and others were not so admirable,” but she found the committee to be willing to talk openly about all of the Lisahistory.McNair, sister of Denise McNair, one of the four girls killed in the 1963 church bomb ing, said that for many years, she did not know about the attempted bombing of Beth-El. That is “another testament to how we need to work hard to make sure the whole history of our his tory in Birmingham is shared and told.”
spoke about that long-delayed effort. Baxley also said that it was J.B. Stoner’s group that was behind the Beth-El bombing, but not the church bombing. Before that, there had never been a public declaration of who was responsible for the Beth-El attempt, and the case was never officially solved, let alone prosecuted. Levitt said the enormity of the weekend showed that it would not be a one-off program, leading a team of volunteers to develop the Civil Rights Experience, bringing Norman on as the professional leader. He said it is a “transformative program for Temple Beth-El and our community”RabbiSteven Henkin, who had just arrived in Birmingham to take the pulpit at Beth-El, welcomed the crowd. Referencing the current wave of antisemitic acts, he said “Our work is not done, as long as hatred of any sort exists in thisMelissaworld.”Young, project historian, said she was excited to explore the overlap of the Jewish com munity and the civil rights struggle in Birming ham, but was cognizant “that history was compli cated and messy, and involved real people, rather than heroes or villains to celebrate or condemn.”
“The marker reminds us to be grateful that the bomb did not go off… it reminds us that our history was not always made up of the good old days, an there is more work ahead of us to make this community better for everyone.”
Reflecting on the loss of her sister, she said “We don’t want to have that pain any more.… we don’t want to have such horrible things, to have children’s lives taken from us. We have to be a party of one, each of us” in the fight against hate.
Committee member Suzanne Bearman, a Beth-El member, spoke about being in Bir mingham during that time. She arrived in Bir mingham in 1960, two years after the attempted bombing, but when “segregation was still in full bloom.” She was “horrified” by seg regation and wanted to be an agent of change, but did not have the power to do much more than volunteer at var ious organizations. She re called being on a sequestered jury in 1970 where the judge ordered extra hotel rooms so Black jurors would not be in the same rooms as white jurors, and she protest ed about it to the bailiff, who agreed but could not go against the judge.
Stern grew up in Opelika and became a beloved member of the east Alabama community, known by many as “Mr. Opelika.”
Making a new life in Alabama
The Savannah production was originally slated for this past January, until a Covid spike caused another postponement. Harris said the idea came from a Barter Theatre initiative, Shaping of America, looking for musicals that examined how America developed. A history buff, “I wanted to do a show based on World War II,” Harris said. Stern was a family friend, and “I knew him before I knew the backstory, and when I heard the backstory I was amazed” — and figured it could make a good musical. He asked Stern for permission to tell his story, and the show is “in spired by” the events in his life. In 1935, Stern’s great uncle and aunt, Julius and Amelia Hagedorn, journeyed from Opelika to visit their relatives in Westheim, Germany. Alarmed at the increasing persecution of Jews and sensing that there was trouble ahead, they tried to convince the Sterns to move to Opelika.
“They didn’t think they needed to leave, they considered themselves Germans,” Harris said. An uncle had died fighting for Germany in World War I, and they thought that legacy would protect them. Hagedorn “had an amazingly clear view of what was happening,” and “We’ll Meet Again” at the Savannah Theatre Henry Stern
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The show debuted at the Historic Savannah Theatre on Aug. 19, for a run lasting to Aug. 28. Then, the cast and crew will pack up and do one performance in Opelika, at Opelika Center for the Performing Arts on Aug. 30. The show was supposed to debut at the his toric Barter Theatre in Virginia in September 2020. “Of course, the entire run was canceled by the doggone pandemic,” playwright Jim Harris said.Artistic Director Richard Rose was to direct the show before he retired. He felt so strongly about the show that he agreed to direct it in Savannah. Harris approached the theater in Savan nah as they had produced his 2013 show, “Civil War Voices.”
New musical based on experiences of Henry Stern, who escaped Nazi Germany in 1937 Henry Stern was born in Germany just before World War II, but the playwright of a new musical, “We’ll Meet Again,” says Stern’s life is “a uniquely American story.”
The Sterns were finally convinced, but the move was not immediate — with restrictions on what Jews could take with them, Stern’s father spent the next two years converting property and valuables to cash. The family left Germany in June 1937 on the last ship that was permitted to take Jewish refugees out of Germany. At the time, he was six years old. When they arrived in Opelika, it was to a he ro’s welcome. The mayor issued a proclamation welcoming them to the city, and beloved kin dergarten teacher Louise Tollison had studied German before they arrived, so she could better teach English to the Stern children.
But to find out what that is, Harris laughed, you need to buy a ticket and see the show.
A youth production of “The Velveteen Rab bit” will launch the revival of the theater pro gram at Birmingham’s Levite Jewish Communi ty UnderCenter.the direction of Jennifer Spiegelman, auditions will be held on Sept. 10, and public production dates will be Nov. 10 and 12.
The Jewish War Veterans Post 608 in Birmingham recently had former University of Alabama at Birmingham and Israeli professional basketball player Jordan Swing talk to its veterans and supporters. His presentation not only included his experiences playing in the Israeli Premier League, but also his everyday living experiences in Israel.
benefit by moving to Alabama, Opelika also benefited as he “became one of the town’s most beloved and leading citizens.”
LJCC reviving its theater program
Many of Stern’s family members have seen the show, including his two children at the Savanah premiere.Theyhope to “get the show up on its feet” beyond this initial run. It contains music from the World War II era, arranged by noted concert pianist and composer Mark Hayes.
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Counseling Harris says he has an old news clipping of a speech Hagedorn gave to the Rotary Club about the dangers of Nazi Germany. “I don’t think it is fair to say he predicted the Holocaust… but he knew things were going to get terrible.”
She has been education director at Virgin ia Samford Theatre for seven years, working extensively with young children and teens. “I know that there’s already this beautiful amazing community that is so interested in keeping the arts alive,” she said. “This community is ripe for a new theater program.”
The Center Players debuted in 1959 under the direction of Irving Stern. Over the next three decades, the Center Players produced numer ous major shows to packed houses, with a who’s who of local talent, including television and ra dio stars. For example, a production of “Police Story” featured Police Chief Artie Deutsch and sports journalist Paul Finebaum. After Stern retired, the group eventually transformed into Theatre LJCC. A 2020 pro duction of “Charlotte’s Web” was cancelled due to the pandemic. A grant from the Daniel Foun dation resulted in the recent renovation of the auditorium.
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After high school, Stern went to Auburn Uni versity, served in the U.S. Navy and returned to Opelika, working in retail and real estate devel opment. He was director of the Opelika Cham ber of Commerce for 11 years, was a passionate historian of Opelika and received numerous civicHeawards.alsospoke extensively about the Holo caust, especially to student groups. Stern died in Harris,2014. who traveled to Stern’s hometown while doing research for the project, said Stern was “an original,” and not only did his family
“There’s a lot of tough moments, a lot of mo ments that are hard to deal with,” Harris said, “but on the other hand, this is ultimately a cele bration of life.”
Spiegelman has a long history at the LJCC, starting with “hanging out with friends” after school, and her first theater memories are in the LJCC auditorium.
Playing in Israel
The show also reveals “an amazing discovery Henry made about his family late in life,” some thing that “provides a bookend to his story.”
“We feel so fortunate to finally have this show premiere, and to see the way audiences respond to it,” Harris said, noting that the audience has included all ages, and “we’ve had good reports from high school students who have seen it,” as well as a “passionate response” in general.
The second Summer Olympics for Madeline Manning-Mims was turning out to be less of a dream and more of a nightmare.
At the Olympics, there were numerous logistical snafus, some of which involved U.S. athletes missing their events after athletes were not notified of schedule changes. There were judging challenges and a scandal involving the end of the basketball competition, and injuries among her track and field teammates. Then in her event, there was the race official who told them the wrong place for the finish line — several meters too early. As she slowed after passing what she thought was the finish line, by the time she happened to get to the real finish line, she had missed qualifying for the finals by twoNotcentimeters.thewayshe anticipated defending her title and gold medal in the 800-meters from the previous Olympics, the first American woman to win that event, and it wasn’t until 2021 that another American woman would win gold in that event. Then she tore a ligament in her leg while practicing for the 4x400 relay. But if that were not enough, the next morning she woke up in the ath letes’ village to find herself with a front-row seat to an international hor ror show, one which would forever stain those 1972 Games in Munich.
Madeline Manning-Mims
At that point, Mims was in the back, and “all I could think was they’re making too much noise.” She figured “he’s going to get mad, and he’s al ready crazy,” and “what’s going to stop him from stopping us from mak
Fifty years later, U.S. Olympic track star recalls attack on Israeli team in Munich Mims was from same hometown as David Berger, Tulane alumnus who was killed by terrorists
After a moment of stunned silence, one of the Americans “said what we were thinking,” that the guy could just mow them down if he wanted to.
“When the girls realized that we could be in danger, they turned and ran for the door,” she said. “They started screaming and hollering.”
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What the track star refers to as her “hell year” included a traumatic divorce, and when she found out her two-year-old son would not be allowed to ac company her to the Olympics, she decided to withdraw, even though she was team captain. “I wasn’t ready to leave him yet” and didn’t feel she had someone who could watch him, she said, but her mother unexpectedly said she would be able to take care of him.
Just across the way, maybe 50 meters from the dorm the American women were in, was another dormitory, where the Israeli team was housed. Early in the morning, javelin thrower Kate Smith was in the hall way “screaming obscenities,” Mims wrote in her book. Smith told her that there were men in black suits everywhere, and talk about the Israeli athletes being taken hostage. They went out onto the balcony with their teammates, and on the street below there were people in suits talking to each other. It looked like there were several snipers on rooftops. Then on the balcony directly across from them, a man dressed in black came out and started talking to the people below. Mims, who was in front, said “At first we did not see the gun, which was on his shoulder, but then he turned and we saw it, and we panicked.”
While watching the coverage as the helicop ters made their way to the base, Mims got up and looked out the window, and “I had this fear ful emotional feeling, I began to tremble and sweat.” Toussaint told her that it was probably just all the stress catching up with her. Moments later, shots were fired on the tar mac. A cameraman filming on the tarmac dropped to the ground and continued to roll. “News people were screaming, everything just broke loose.” The Germans had planned an am bush of the terrorists, but thought there were
Those five met with three others in the village and used stolen keys to try and break in to the Israeli dorm. A 300-lb. wrestling referee, Yossef Gutfreund, heard them try to enter, slammed his weight against the door and yelled for others to Wrestlingescape.
With the shot-put athlete using her arm strength to push, everyone made it back inside without incident. Inside, they wondered if other athletes were in danger. Mims wrote, “our athlet ic utopia had been savagely invaded and raped.”
coach Moshe Weinberg and weightlifter Yossef Romano attacked the in truders and were killed, and nine hostages were taken.The Palestinians demanded the release of 200 Arab prisoners in Israel, and safe passage out of Germany. Israel wanted to send in a special team to rescue the hostages, but Germany in sisted on taking the lead.
The athlete’s village was on lockdown — not only could one not enter or leave, but commu nication was cut off. The men’s basketball team had been at a workout when the lockdown oc curred, so their dorm was empty — but Mims knew they had a big-screen television there, so she and her roommate, Cheryl Toussaint, went there to watch what was happening.
“They had their hands tied and legs tied, and they were blindfolded,” Mims said. “They were shuffling toward the bus and we had been told to get out of the dormitory, so we were outside.”
After several hours, there was an agreement to take everyone to a NATO air base where the terrorists and hostages would be flown to Cairo. A bus arrived at the village to transport them to the helicopters that would go to the base.
They found a television in the recreation hall and watched the events unfold from a place of safety.They soon learned that early in the morning, five Palestinian terrorists, members of Black September, wore track suits and climbed the fence surrounding the athletes’ village. It was not unusual for athletes to climb the fence, and their weapons were hidden in athletic bags.
Though they were told to stay back, “of course nobody stays back, we rushed to see what was going on. That was another scary period.”
28 August 2022 • Southern Jewish Life community ing all that noise?”
September has since been revealed to be a front name for a faction of the Palestinian Lib eration Organization, though at the time they were claimed to be independent of the PLO. Abu Daoud was the mastermind of the oper ation, and in his autobiography he credits three senior officials of Fatah with assisting him. One of them is Mahmoud Abbas, the current chair man of the Palestinian Authority.
The Games Continue A memorial service was held the next day amid debates on whether to continue with the Games, but the declaration was made that the Games would go on. “I still had to run,” she said. “After all this.” Not everyone stayed, though. She said they got Mark Spitz “out of there quick, and I think they looked for any other Jewish athletes to get out, they flew them out just in case.” While many people were profoundly affected, she was surprised at how some people were not fazed at all, and she wonders if it is because they came from war zones and were used to it, “or just did not care.” She related, “There were young girls laying out on top of the building sunbathing when all this was going on. Are they crazy?” Re-focusing on her next event, “it was hard to go on, but it was something I knew I needed to put behind me if I was going to continue,” she said. The day after her 800-meter disappointment, Memorial in Israel’s Ben Shemen forest
On Aug. 16, while in Germany meeting with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Abbas was asked about an apology for the 1972 attack. He sidestepped the question by charging Israel with committing “50 massacres, 50 Holocausts” against the Palestinians.
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just five instead of eight. Mims said a terrorist with a floppy hat told another that it was a trick and “kill them all.” One terrorist threw a grenade into one of the helicopters, killing the Israelis inside. “You could see their bodies on fire,” Mims said. An other terrorist shot the hostages in the other helicopter.“Itwasthe most horrible thing I could ever have imagined,” Mims said. “Even when I talk about it now, it is still very painful because I can seeBlackit.”
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At age 3, she was diagnosed with spinal meningitis and not expected to live. She recovered but was frequently sick, yet decided not to let anyone know.She won her first national running title in high school, and set an Olympic record in winning the gold medal in Mexico City in 1968. She also was in the 1976 Olympics and had qualified for the 1980 Olympics that the U.S. boycotted due to the Soviet Union’s invasion of Afghanistan.
The International Olympics Committee requires host countries to have volunteers in religious services, she said. “I’ve been the only Olympian who has worked in that area. That’s why I am trying to get more Olympians to be chaplains. Who better than someone who has walked in those shoes?” She has also served as chaplain for the Tulsa Shock of the WNBA. She
Mims has been inducted into numerous Halls of Fame, and at the 2000 Olympics was honored as an Olympic Legend.
Though Mims grew up in Cleveland, her father, Cecil Manning Sr., was a native of Adamsville, near Birmingham. Before moving to Ohio for his job, he played baseball in the Negro Leagues. A first baseman, he broke his finger on a ball that was thrown to him, and soon was cut from the team.
An ordained minister, she started the United States Council for Sports Chaplaincy, which trains Olympians and Paralympians on how to be come chaplains and pastoral caregivers, and go back after their days of competition are over, to serve the athletes in their sports.
Cancer_Ad-HOPE-Adrian-JewishLife-7.75x5-PROD.indd 1 8/19/22 12:01 PM
she had started practice for the 4x400 relay. During the practice, she felt a pop in her leg, which turned out to be a torn ligament. She was hoping to recover enough in the next couple of days so she could compete. She had treatments on her leg and “my teammates really encouraged me,” but she did not want to hurt the team’s chances. When Mims figured she was at 80 percent, her alternate told her that her 100 percent was not better than Mims at 80 percent. During the relay she pushed through the pain, unable to stretch to her full stride. Coming off the final curve, “I could hear the Australian girl coming up on me, I was trying to figure out how to hold on for my team. She prayed — and “I don’t know what happened from that point to me passing off the baton to Cheryl.” Years later she watched the tape and saw how she had been limping somewhat, but after that curve her stride extended, though she has no memory of it. She figures God said “this is when I picked you up and carried you.”
Being the Eyewitness Returning home to Cleveland, she attended a community memorial service for the athletes, with a special focus on David Berger, who was from Cleveland, and was the only one of the Israeli athletes not buried in Israel. Mims said that before that event, she knew very little about the Jewish community in Cleveland. “I was there to represent the Olympic community and connect with the Berger family,” she said. “That was a very special, very sad time.”
“Back then if you’re a black man, they didn’t fix anything, they just threw you out and got the next one,” she said. That finger stayed bent, and when Mims was a child, she would em ulate how his finger looked. Her uncle finally told her why her father’s finger was bent, and they regarded it as a child’s tribute to him. She did, however, start stretching her finger back out.
A weightlifter, Berger was a 1966 graduate of Tulane University, and made Aliyah in 1969 after competing in the Maccabiah Games.
community 30 August 2022 • Southern Jewish Life Hope lives
The U.S. team won silver in the relay, setting a new American record as the East Germans shattered the world record by five seconds.
She met some Israeli high school students in Texas, and when she heard they were about to do their military service, prayed for them. She has yet to visit Israel, but that is definitely on her list. A contemporary gospel recording artist, she wants to sing in Israel. She continues to mentor U.S. runners, especially in middle distanc es, and women of color, who continue to be underrepresented in those events.Afew years ago, a 13-year-old called her and said she wanted to be like her. Mims had no idea that “I was talking to the second woman who would win the gold medal for the U.S., 53 years after me.” Athing Mu won the gold at the 2021 Games in Tokyo. They finally met in person this past June, and “just fell into each others’ arms and cried.”
On Oct. 29, she will receive the Jesse Owens Lifetime Achievement Award in Cleveland, and in early November will visit Birmingham. On the itinerary is a trip to the Negro Southern League Museum. Mims was thrilled to learn that they have corroboration of her father’s playing days.
Registration is now open for Festival Jew Orleans, a three-day festival by JNOLA, the NextGen group at the Jewish Federation of Greater New Orleans, for their counterparts from around the Southeast. JNOLA is the local group for ages 21 to 39, and similar groups in com munities such as Austin, Birmingham and Charleston are being invited to participate in the event, which will be Oct. 21 to 23 and is presented by the Oscar J. Tolmas Charitable Trust.
The weekend begins with a lunch on the rooftop of the Higgins Hotel. Afternoon activity choices are a street mural tour or kayaking through the Besthoff Sculpture Garden at City Park. A There will be a tour of the Museum of the Southern Jewish Experience, along with Reform-style Shabbat services and Shabbat dinner at the New Orleans Culinary and Hospitality Institute.
On Oct. 23, there will be a visit to the National World War II Museum for a self-guided tour that can be done before or after the farewell brunch.
There are two hotel block options available for those from out of town, at the Holiday Inn Express St. Charles, and the Royal Frenchman. All meals except breakfasts are included, and are kosher-style. Kosher meals can beRegistrationrequested. is at festivaljeworleans.eventbrite.com.
On Oct. 22, there will be a Tikkun Olam project with a local non-profit in the morning, with lunch included. Afternoon options include a Jewish history tour or a visit to the Studio BE arts collective. In the evening, after a visit to the Holocaust memorial at the Riverfront, there will be a walk to Barcadia, where there will be Havdalah followed by the Krewe of Boo celebration and the JNOLA annual gala, and dressing for the parade is encouraged. After the parade, there will be time to explore the French Quarter and downtown.
Amanda Beyer Loflin, director of NextGen and Mentorship at the Fed eration, said “This three-day festival highlights the rich Jewish culture found in New Orleans.”
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Festival Jew Orleans invites Jewish young adults from around the region
There will also be a spiritual yoga session available, and an opportunity to join the community’s Chanukah gift wrapping for low-income families, coordinated by Jewish Children’s Regional Service.
Registration is $75 until Sept. 1 and $100 after, and space is limited.
noted that when serving as chaplain, “You have to be prepared to care for not only those who are Christian, but Christians.” Mims has served as a chaplain at every Olympics since 1988. Many times, she winds up meeting with Israeli delegations, once they hear that she was at the 1972 Games. Israelis want to hear “the rest of the story, what was it like to be there, to see certain things happen.”
those who are not
He said he was nervous on his first major league baseball game broad cast, but he felt confident. “I was a rookie, but it’s the same game on an other level,” said Bloom. “I’m a New York kid who has been in the South for many years. I thought about the great (Alabama coach Paul) Bear Bryant and what he told his players — ‘when you get in the end zone, act like you have been there before’.”
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community Barons’ Bloom gets The Call
Bloom returned to the Birmingham Barons a couple of days after the game. “I treasured the opportunity and look forward to what happens next. The Birmingham area has been my home for many years and we’re happy to be a part of the community here.”
By Lee J. Green
“I usually do play-by-play, but I told their play-by-play guy Len Kasper that I would do anything he wanted me to do,” said Bloom. “He said he would do two innings then I would do two innings and so forth. Then he let me do the final out in the ninth (of a White Sox win). I was just so grateful for the experience.”
In his 35 years of broadcasting in the minor leagues, the last 31 of which have been with the Birmingham Barons, Curt Bloom has called many games. But his biggest call came last month when he got his call-up to the Chicago White Sox.
Bloom said a few times after joining the organization in 1992, he would drive to Chicago on his own dime after the Barons season ended and get a press pass to sit in the radio booth and observe.
Monday-Friday 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. Breakfast 6 to 11 a.m. Saturday-Sunday 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.
“It is something that I have dreamed about ever since I was a kid,” said Bloom, who worked the radio booth for the White Sox’ game against the Cleveland Guardians on July 24. “I’ve worked hard to prepare for the moment, but getting the call was a big surprise.”
They asked if he was doing anything July 24. When Bloom said he was free, they told him they wanted him to take the place of color commenta tor Darrin Jackson while Jackson was on vacation.
NOWOPEN!
His wife is a professor at the University of Montevallo. They have two adult children, four dogs and two cats in their Pelham home. After the Barons’ season ends, Bloom calls Samford Bulldogs’ football and basketball games, as well as a few games with the University of Ala bama at Birmingham men’s basketball, including the Bartow Classic. “It’s not a job when you do what you love every day,” said Bloom. “It’s a blessing.”
He said a couple of weeks prior he was asked to participate in an or ganization-wide broadcasters Zoom. When he got on the call, it was just Bloom and White Sox’ Director of Broadcasting Chris Quintana.
32 August 2022 • Southern Jewish Life Photos by Donna Matherne https://order.online/business/karams-restaurant-1053354/en-USPopularAmericanandMediterraneanCuisine
The AJC study defined Millennials as those between the ages of 25-40. Key findings suggest that significant majori ties of American Jewish millennials say it is im portant that the American Jewish community and Israel maintain close ties, with 72 percent in agreement, and 48 percent saying it is very important.Seventypercent of millennial American Jews think a strong State of Israel is necessary for the survival of the Jewish people, and 81 percent think a strong Jewish community outside of Is rael is Reflectingnecessary.on the study, AJC’s Atlanta-based regional director for the Southeast, Dov Wilk er, said, “First and most important to me is that Millennial Jews both in America and Israel think that a strong state of Israel is important for the survival of the Jewish people.” The study also surveyed Israeli Millennials.
By Richard Friedman
Having watched the new film “Image of Vic tory,” the true story of one of the most gripping battles of Israel’s 1948 War of Independence, I can’t get the movie out of my mind as I reflect on a recent American Jewish Committee study on the attachment today’s American Jewish Mil lennials have to Israel. In the film, most of the young Jewish defend ers featured so powerfully are the same age of those whom we today call Millennials. They were from an array of backgrounds and expe riences who, just as their adult lives were be ginning, were called upon to make the ultimate sacrifice on behalf of Israel’s rebirth as a modern Jewish state.
Wilker also noted that more than half of the young Americans surveyed — about 54 percent — “believe that Israel is important to their Jew ish identity.” AJC’s findings, he said, “counter the anti-Israel narrative that younger Jews are falling away from Israel. In my opinion, the
August 2022 • Southern Jewish Life 33
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For me, what links the Millennials of today with their age-counterparts from that era are questions many have asked about the depth of ties they have to Israel. And beyond that, what are the implications — especially as political at tacks against the Jewish state mount and Iran, the terror groups it supports and other hostile countries still dream of destroying the world’s only majority-Jewish country.
Keeping MillennialsJewishConnected
The AJC study provides some answers, as do conversations with staff at the Jewish Federation of Greater New Orleans and the Birmingham Jewish Federation who are involved in their Federations’ outreach to and engagement of Jewish Millennials.
AmandaNewcombLoflin
Necessary for Jews
Newcomb also believes that connecting with Israel, especially at times of Jewish un certainty, provides comfort, and creates a broader collective that can strengthen each Jew psychologically. “Connecting with Israel reminds us that ‘we are all in this together.’ When your religion is attacked you seek com fort within your group.” Through her work and on a personal lev el, as a younger member of the Birmingham Jewish community, Newcomb still would like Florina
Florina Newcomb is the Birmingham Jewish Federation’s Senior Di rector of Engagement. Through her work and social relationships, New comb, 38, constantly engages with Jewish Millennials, many of whom are her“Ipeers.personally agree with a lot of the findings,” Newcomb said. “I think the state of Israel is necessary for the Jewish people. I agree personally with all the majority viewpoints. Professionally, I like what this study is saying — that a significant number of Millennial Jews feel an attachment to Israel. There have been other reports over the past few years that have painted a different picture, so I am glad that the attachment among a sizable portion of Millennials is strong.”
Newcomb thinks that the well-document ed increase in antisemitism that has taken hold recently is also playing a role in awaken ing and reawakening interest in Israel among Millennials, many of whom went to Israel on Birthright trips when they were younger.
community overall majority of young Jews believe in the state of Israel as a Jewish state.”This, he believes, “reflects the effort that the organized Jewish commu nity has put on creating connections with Israel, a direct reflection of the success of Birthright and the importance of the U.S.-Israel relationship.”
Wilker also suggested the survey results reflect the emergence of Israel as a world leader in areas such as high tech and social issues, things that appeal to Millennials.
“Given the parallel time frame between heightened interest in Israel among Millenni als and the growth in antisemitism, which is something that is now real in our lives, I as sume there is a connection. Suddenly you are singled out and begin to realize more deeply the importance of having a strong Israel to which Jews can move to if need be.”
34 August 2022 • Southern Jewish Life
Newcomb has worked for the BJF for seven years. Before that, she worked for the Memphis Jewish Federation. Born in Moldova, she and her family immigrated to Birmingham in the early 1990s with assistance from the BJF and agencies it funds. Lately, she has seen a significant uptick in young families becoming interested in taking family trips to Israel. “While what goes on in Israel is not something we discuss day to day, it is telling that I am seeing more families wanting to go to Israel and experi ence it together. Also I think there is a desire to learn more about the country.”
Different Ways When asked what the Jewish community should do with the study’s findings, Wilker said “We continue to de velop initiatives and programs that engage young Amer ican Jews. We need to build on what has been successful; to consider the different ways we can be successful.”
However, based on the AJC study, as well as her own work, she believes such Jews are in the minority. Yet it frustrates Loflin nonetheless. The backbone of her job is outreach and, as she noted, in smaller Southern communities, such as New Orleans and Birmingham, every Jew is im portant.“Idefinitely think that the programs the Federation puts on and na tional programs such as Birthright are important. These programs generate excitement and people who have been on trips to Israel tend to have different and better informed views than those who haven’t been.”
For today’s Millennials, the young heroes who defend ed Israel in 1948, such as those portrayed in the film, “Image of Victory,” were part of their grandparents’ and great-grandparents’ era. Their heroism and sacrifices live on, though as the decades unfold those daunting times may become less remembered.Nonetheless, it is they who bequeathed Israel to today’s Millennials -— and to the Jewish people in general. Protecting that legacy and sustaining those bonds is serious and sacred work, and the AJC study not only pro vides insight, but it also illuminates opportunities.
attacked‘wereminds“ConnectingwithIsraelusthatareallinthistogether.’Whenyourreligionisyouseekcomfortwithinyourgroup.”
August 2022 • Southern Jewish Life 35 to see more offerings that connect people to Israel. “I want to make sure that peers my age and their families continue to stay connected to Juda ism which I think will help them stay connected to Israel — I feel that Judaism and Israel are intertwined.” She speculates there may be one other factor influencing the study’s re sults, something she can especially appreciate given her family’s decision to leave Moldova in the early 1990s. “We are living at a time of great political instability and tension, at home and abroad. Anyone who knows Jewish history knows that in the past such times have resulted in problems for Jews. All of this is in the back of my mind personally and I am sure others are thinking the same way.”
Generating Excitement
At the Jewish Federation of Greater New Orleans, 34-year-old Amanda Loflin serves as the director of Next Gen and Mentorship, engaging Jewish young adults. She’s been in her job just five months and moved to New Orle ans only two months ago. She is passionate about the importance of Israel in Jewish life, though frustrated at times because she has en countered Jewish peers, both in New Orleans and elsewhere, who have distanced themselves from the Jewish state. She thinks the way the media portrays the Israeli-Palestinian conflict has deterred more people from becoming involved, she said — “partic ularly those younger Jews see the Israeli-Palestinian issue as a human rights issue in a way that disadvantages Israel.” community
36 August 2022 • Southern Jewish Life community 6 0 5 M E T A I R I E R D M E T A I R I E , L A 7 0 0 0 5 5 0 4 3 0 9 8 7 7 8 | @ H E M L I N E M E T A I R I E
Eytan Davidson’s professional life has been about building healthy communi ties. He will be taking that experience with him in his new position as Southeast regional director for the Anti-Defamation League, based out of Atlanta. The grandson of Holocaust survivors and Jewish refugees from Eastern Europe, Davidson had been working in the gen eral community, but said the Tree of Life shooting in Pittsburgh “really galvanized me” to focus on fighting antisemitism and hate. He increased his volunteer in volvement in the Jewish community, and “when I saw this position was available, it made all the sense in the world that this is where I need to be spending my time, and I feel very honored to do so.”
“I am thrilled to bring Eytan to our team and to entrust this region’s important work to his great leadership,” Padilla-Goodman said. “Eytan is a strong, community-rooted leader who will lead the Southeast in fight ing hatred and bigotry in a crucial time.”
Davidson new head of ADL’s Atlanta office Eytan Davidson
Even ADL’s mainstream decades-old No Place for Hate anti-bias curriculum for schools has been receiving increased scrutiny by those alarmed about some teachings connected to Critical Race Theory, and because of that are suspicious of any anti-bias training.
“The work of ADL is more vital and relevant than it has ever been in my lifetime and it is an honor to join the team,” Davidson said. He acknowledged that it is a challenging time, with the recent rise in antisemitism and controversies involving the ADL, such as last year’s controversy over ADL instruction in the Mountain Brook school system, which was painted as extremist by opponents.
Davidson served as the first vice president of the Jewish Communi ty Relations Council of Atlanta and was a Frank Fellow with the Jewish Council for Public Affairs from 2019 to 2020. He previously served on the boards of Jewish Kids Groups, the Atlanta Jewish Music Festival, and Limmud Atlanta + Southeast. He also participated in the ADL’s Glass Leadership Institute in 2013 to 2014.
The Southeast region consists of Georgia, Alabama, South Carolina andOriginallyTennessee.from New York, Davidson was most recently vice president for communications and policy at Purpose Built Communities, counsel ing outstanding leaders in dozens of neighborhoods across the country focused on breaking the cycle of intergenerational urban poverty. He also worked as communications director for Atlanta Beltline, and started his career as a campaign staffer for Michael Bloomberg, and then worked in his mayoral administration for five years.
He succeeds longtime Regional Director Allison Padilla-Goodman, who is now the vice president of the ADL’s Southern division, which manages five regional offices across the South.
“We have been in a very difficult atmosphere for quite a few years,” he said. “It will continue to be hard for some time to come,” but that means “we have to double down on our work, on educating and fighting antisemitism and hate where we see it, and creating that environment of mutual respect and dialogue, listening to people and looking out for people.”Thekey is to continue building relationships. “We have to keep at it, we have to keep showing up, we have to keep the relationship going and we have to get past these difficult moments,” Davidson said. “The controver sy of the day will change over time, what you can do consistently is show
community Swin Cash Will Snowden
The South Central office covers Louisiana, Mississippi and Arkansas.
Padilla-Goodman added, “We have important work to do to ensure the future of Democracy, the rooting out of hatred and extremism, and the building of communities of allies and advocates moving forward — and Eytan is a key leader in helping us get there.”
Snowden is the Louisiana director of the Vera Institute of Justice. Based in Brooklyn, the institute brings researchers, organizers and government officials together to find evidence-based solutions to end mass incarcera tion, and takes successful initiatives nationwide. Snowden works on part nerships in the region to improve criminal justice systems in the South. Before joining Vera, he was a public defender for five years, and launched The Juror Project, to improve the diversity of jury panels and change people’s perspective of jury duty. Snowden leads workshops around the nation, showing how implicit bias, racial anxiety and stereotypes influence outcomes in the legal system.
Concert Against Hate honors two New Orleans leaders
August 2022 • Southern Jewish Life 37 Michele Karno Varon & Jeff Varon, Owners Mobility City of Greater New Orleans 3501 Severn Ave., Suite 3B/C, Metairie, LA 70002 (504) 584-8780 www.neworleansla.mobilitycity.com We help people maintain their independence and improve their quality of life. HospitalLiftWalkersRollatorsPowerMobilityWheelchairsWeRepair?NeedComeToYou!ScootersChairs&OutReclinersBeds We Repair, Rent & Sell:up and maintain relationships.” He said sometimes “it can feel like pushing Jello up a hill,” but per sistence and consistency “is the only way we are going to make progress.”
The South Central region of the Anti-Defamation League is holding its second “annual” In Concert Against Hate, Sept. 29 at the New Orleans Jazz Market. After the first concert, there was a two-year hiatus due to Covid.The event will recognize Swin Cash and Will Snowden as community leaders in the fight against hate, extremism and intoler ance.Cash is vice president of basketball oper ations and team development for the New Orleans Pelicans. After playing for two national champion ship teams at the University of Connecticut, and being named most outstanding player at the 2002 Final Four, Cash was drafted second overall by the Detroit Shock. She played over 500 games in the WNBA over 15 years, winning three championships and being named an All-Star four times. She also was on two gold medal winning teams in the Olympics, and was named one of the WNBA’s 20 best and most influential players.She was inducted into the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame in 2021, and in September she will be inducted into the Na ismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. Cash is the founder of Cash Building Blocks, an urban development company that renovates and offers affordable homes for low income families; the Cash for Kids Charity, whose mission is to motivate, ed ucate and elevate kids through physical fitness, nutrition, education, cultural trips, and sports camps. She has also worked extensively with the NBA as a global ambassador for social responsibility and NBA Cares.
Tickets are $100 in advance, $125 at the door. Sponsor levels start at $300 and go to $25,000. A VIP reception for those at the $2500 level and above will begin at 6:15 p.m., and doors for general admission open at 7 p.m.
The 2022-23 season kicks off from Dec. 1 to 31 with “It’s a Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play.” This is a whimsical take on the classic holiday story. “It’s being done as a live 1940s radio broadcast with our ensemble brining a few dozen characters to the stage. We’re transforming a classic into a live radio play,” said Dildine. Then the inspiring story of the Fisk Jubilee Singers hits the stage Jan 5 to 29 with “Jubilee.” Playwright and director Tazewell Thompson brings an innovative and heart-stirring score to life with this a cappella tribute in spired by real life. The world-renowned Fisk Jubilee Singers shattered racial barriers in the U.S. and abroad, entertaining kings, queens and dignitaries.
Through a partnership with Alabama Congresswoman Terri Sewell, former Senator Doug Jones and the late, great John Lewis, they per formed “Four Little Girls: Birmingham 1963.” The ASF-produced pro duction centers on the four girls who were victims in the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing.
Dildine came to the ASF from St. Louis, where he served as an artistic director of the Shakespeare Festival there. He said his main goals were to diversify the theatre; expand educational partnerships and extending the geographic reach of the theatre.
By Lee J. Green With a focus on “transformative theatre,” the Alabama Shakespeare Festival announced its 51st season, including the classic “Cabaret,” the Tony-nominated “Clyde’s” and the Memphis-based musical “Million Dollar“ThereQuartet.”iscertainly something for everyone in our 2022-23 season,” said ASF Artistic Director Rick Dildine. “All of our shows fit our focus of transformative theatre. Everyone has the capacity for transformation, and each of these stories speaks to an aspect of change.”
Then “Million Dollar Quartet” rocks the ASF April 13 to May 7. On Dec. 4, 1956, a twist of fate brought Johnny Cash, Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis and Carl Perkins to Sun Records in Memphis. “Million Dollar Quartet” is a celebration of the thrilling sound and excitement that came from this once-in-a-lifetime event.
“The Southern Writer’s Festival developed ‘Gee’s Bend’ and ‘Alabama Sto ry’,” he said. “Today both of these productions are playing around the world.” community
The ASF closes the season with the classic “Cabaret.” Winner of eight Tony Awards in 1967, “Cabaret” takes viewers back to 1929 Berlin during the twilight of the Jazz Age as the Nazis are ascending to power.
“The Tempest,” from Feb. 23 to March 9, was William Shakespeare’s final play. It is a story of adventure, music, magic and forgiveness. Prospero has been exiled on an island with his daughter for more than a decade when he conjures a storm that crashes his enemies on the island in a violent ship wreck. Dildine directs and ASF alumnus Greta Lambert stars as Prospero.
Creating the perfect sandwich is the shared quest of the formerly incar cerated kitchen staff of “Clyde’s,” a truck stop café. This play from two-time Pulitzer Prize-winner Lynn Nottage, through heart and humor, shows that sometimes a hero is more than a sandwich. The Tony-nominated Broad way hit will be produced in partnership with the Equal Justice Initiative.
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Alabama Shakespeare Festival announces 2022-23 season
Dildine said they have also begun the first major renovation of its Montgomery campus since 1985, including refreshed surfaces, a new gift shop, lounge and HVAC system.
Dildine said they will soon announce schedules for the Southern Writ er’s Festival, which has served to help more than 100 new works to get published since its inception in 1991.
“Our production will be a very immersive experience,” said Dildine. “We’re putting (Kit Kat Klub) café tables in the audience and this is the first time we have done this classic. It goes with our focus to present new shows and classic shows in a way that is very much our own.”
38 August 2022 • Southern Jewish Life
commentary >> Presbyterian continued from page 4
them as pawns in the conflict and keeping them stateless so they can be an embittered weapon to use in their fight to destroy Israel. Even better, when they resort to violence, they can claim it is justified and moral because of what Israel “did” to them. And they get cheered on by the likes of the Presbyterian Church (USA).Tobe fair, the ethnic cleansing of Jews is alluded to, but not in the way a responsible organization would be expected to do. In its claim that Israel keeps taking Palestinian property, they note that in 1967, the population of eastern Jerusalem was almost entirely Palestinian, and now there are “approximately 190,000 Jewish settlers” in Jerusa lem’s Old City and surrounding neighborhoods. How terrible. Well, about that lack of Jews in 1967… Jerusalem was majority Jewish going back to the 19th century, and in 1948 Jerusalem was two-thirds Jewish. But when Jordan captured “eastern Jerusalem,” a designation that had never existed before, and its Jewish holy sites, all the Jews were kicked out. So of course in 1967, when Israel re-captured it, it was “almost entirely Palestinian” — because of ethnic cleansing. But that doesn’t seem to bother the church, when it comes to cleansing Jews.
Never Again The cherry on top of this rancid cake is in the resolution “On Recog nition That Israel’s Laws, Policies, and Practices Constitute Apartheid Against the Palestinian People,” which passed 266-116. The resolution invokes how after the Holocaust, “Jews around the world said ‘never again’.”
Traditions
The church then takes that lesson from the attempted elimina tion of the Jewish people and turns it against the Jews. The church is speaking out against Israel because Christians “vowed that never again would they be silent if a government passed laws establishing and maintaining the domination by one ethnic group over another ethnic group through systematic separation, oppression, and denial of basic human rights. Silence in the face of evil was wrong then, and it is wrong now.”
The chutzpah and gaslighting are breathtaking. The lies and hyperbolic statements in the text are numerous. They rely entirely on extreme anti-Israel groups for their misinfor mation, and reference the debunked recent reports on “Israeli apart heid” by groups with a long one-sided track record of being hostile to Israel, thus giving them an undeserved legitimacy. They use Richard Falk’s definition of apartheid — Falk is one of the more extreme anti-Is rael voices out there, who twisted the definition to fit what he claims Israel is doing. They even use the long-debunked “Palestinian loss of land” series of maps from 1946 to 2000, which purport to show how “Palestine” has been gradually taken away from the Palestinians by Israel, starting with the completely false notion that the Palestinians owned about 97 percent of the land in 1946. Invoking the Holocaust to criticize Israel is no accident. They know full well that the best way to inflict the deepest psychological dam age on the Jewish community is to compare it to Nazi Germany. It is a deliberate, provocative act designed to insult, while desecrating and
ENDURE www.galatoires.com Scott504.837.5444printinfo@
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Some kind of friend you turned out to be.
Similar resolutions have come up at every biennial since then, lead ing to 2022, where despite the engagement over the last two decades, the resolutions have become more extreme and the pushback within the denomination almost nonexistent — and most members in the pews have little or no awareness that this is going on.
The default setting for the Jewish community is dialogue. Having so many groups who have hated us through the centuries, and eager to keep lines of communication open, it now takes a lot before we think that a relationship has become impossible, that a group is too far gone — such as the Klan, neo-Nazis, Louis Farrakhan’s Nation of Islam. It is abundantly clear that when it comes to the Presbyterian Church (USA), that ship has also sailed, and the Jewish community needs to disengage completely.
The church is slapping the Jewish community in the face, then de manding that we turn the other cheek so they can slap it, too.
The same individual, after the July vote, said the denomination is committed to continuing dialogue with interfaith partners and com bating antisemitism, and “we are convinced that there is a funda mental difference between antisemitism and the right to critique the policies of Israel deemed illegal under international law.” This comes at the end of a statement justifying the resolutions by citing a litany exclusively of far-left anti-Israel voices and repeating numerous lies about Israel and Israeli policy.
Presbyterians for Middle East Peace is fighting the good fight. The Philos Action League, Pathways for Peace, Combat Antisemitism Movement and the Anti-Defamation League demonstrated outside the PC(USA) headquarters in Louisville as the committee vote was tak en in late June.
40 August 2022 • Southern Jewish Life
On the local level, there are longstanding ties between synagogues and PC(USA) churches, and many of the churches would be appalled at what is being said in their name.
But hey, after the lengthy anti-Israel litany, to appear even-handed, there’s an obligatory statement that “The PC(USA) strongly supports Israel’s right to exist as a sovereign nation within secure and interna tionally recognized borders” (oh, sure), a brief acknowledgement that terrorism and Hamas rockets are bad, and a repudiation of “all forms of anti-Semitism and Islamophobia.” So we’re good, right? Well, no. Define antisemitism. The church is more than happy to help — their Racial Equity Advocacy Committee recommended re placing the term antisemitism with “anti-Jewish” because antisemitism “encompasses other people groups in addition to our Jewish siblings.”
It’s the old “Palestinians can’t be antisemitic because they are Semites too” argument that ignores the term’s history — and the particularity of InJew-hatred.anotherexample
They have sent a clear message that they are not and do not wish to be our friends. It is high time that we listen to them, take their message seriously and treat the Presbyterian Church (USA) accordingly. We are a proud people. We are a confident people. We are a people who fight for what is moral and just. We know truth is on our side. We do not need to demean ourselves and grovel for a meaningless sign of acceptance that they are not willing to give. It is time to admit that, unless there is a huge change from within, the Presbyterian Church (USA) on a national level has become a hostile entity and has gone full-blown antisemitic, and it is time for us to walk away.
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But on the national level, what do we expect when the Stated Clerk of the church gives a speech on Martin Luther King Day equating Isra el’s treatment of the Palestinians to slavery, and telling the American Jewish community to use its influence over the U.S. government to change that, a clear antisemitic trope?
commentary minimizing the memory of the six million. It also falls under the inter national working definition of antisemitism.
The church leadership has made it clear that while it claims to have an open door, it really has no interest in honest dialogue about Israel. There is legitimate criticism of Israel, and then there is what the Presby terian Church (USA) does. It goes out of its way to insult and denigrate the Jewish community, while paying lip service to opposing antisem itism (or whatever they are calling it) and while bearing false witness against Israel.
of blatant hypocrisy, the church, which has voted in the past to support the Boycott, Divest and Sanction move ment that seeks to isolate Israel and destroy it economically, passed a resolution against international sanctions — saying they are not only ineffective, they mainly harm innocent civilians. Of course, the examples they bemoan are sanctions against the upstanding regimes of Iran, Venezuela, Afghanistan and North Korea (and to add racism to the mix, they mention that it’s the white United States imposing sanctions mainly on nations of color). The resolution does not mention sanctions against Israel. But they have an out — the resolution calls on the church to “deter mine that said sanctions do not cause undue harm to civilian popula tions, and to withdraw support from any sanctions regime that does not meet this standard.” So either they consider sanctions against Is rael to not be harming civilians, or they don’t care whether sanctions cause harm against Israelis — even though BDS actions usually cause much more harm to the Palestinian workers that they supposedly are concerned about. Moving forward?
It isn’t as if the Jewish world hasn’t tried to dialogue. The 2006 PC(U SA) biennial, held in Birmingham and which I attended, was regarded as a major battleground over a series of anti-Israel resolutions, with months of arguing beforehand. That debate took a huge proportion of the convention’s schedule. Through extensive outreach and dialogue, and with the effort of some more mainstream Presbyteries, especially from Mississippi and Alabama, the more extreme elements were taken out. The finished product was by no means supportive of Israel, but it was somewhat more evenhanded.
The special exhibition is presented in New Or leans by Taube Philanthropies, with additional support from George Marcus and the Isermann Foundation.
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August 2022 • Southern Jewish Life 41 community
“In Real Times: is curated by Frances co Spagnolo of the Magnes Collection of Jewish Art and Life at the University of California, Berkeley. The acquisition of the Taube Family Arthur Szyk Collection in 2017 and research for this exhibition were made possible by a gift from Taube Philan thropies.Theexhibit will showcase more than 50 of his original works from the collection’s 450 pieces, focusing on humanitarian is sues that were being dealt with at the time and still resonate today.
The exhibit will be on display in the Joe W. and Dorothy D. Brown Foundation Special Ex hibit Gallery in Louisiana Memorial Pavilion.
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The National World War II Museum in New Orleans is hosting an exhibit by illustrator and political cartoonist Arthur Szyk, “In Real Times. Arthur Szyk: Art and Human Rights,” from Sept. 1 to May 7. An opening reception will be held on Sept. 1, in person and virtually. There will be a reception at 5:30 p.m. and a program at 6:30 p.m. Reserva tions are encouraged but not required.
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Born into a middle-class Jewish family in turn-of-the-century Poland, Szyk led a life shaped by two world wars and dominated by the collapse of democracies and rise of totalitarian ism in Europe. Szyk was a refugee who settled in the United States in 1940. As an artist, he became renowned for his caricatures and political cartoons, throughout which he displayed a broad concern for human rights. The artist fearlessly ridiculed dictators, exposed Nazi genocide, supported the Polish resistance, and criticized the Ku Klux Klan and civil rights violations in America. Many of his works appeared on the covers of America’s most popular magazines during World War II. Throughout his artwork, he paired his com mentary on human rights issues with motifs drawn from religion, history, politics, and culture.
The exhibit will be organized into six sections by theme: “Human Rights and Their Collapse,” “The Rights of Global Ref ugees,” “The Right to Resist,” “The Rights of Nationhood,” “The Right to Expose: Executioners at Work,” and “The Right to America.”Visitors will be able to see the entire Szyk collection digitally, and have the op portunity to use an interactive work station to repurpose elements of his pieces and create new cartoons, which will then be published online.
Township, N.J., where he was a United Syna gogue Youth leader and regional president. He volunteered in Israel in the days following the 1967 Six Day War, an experience he has written about in Moment magazine. In his latest book, he mentions attending synagogue in South Da kota as his research journey takes him there, and to Colorado and Wyoming.
Time-Tested Compass So, what’s Jewish about all this? Pinsky, who now lives in Durham, N.C., grew up in a strong Jewish home in Pennsauken
The journalist/author sees his Judaism as be ing integral to his true-crime writing. He wrote about this linkage for Religion News Service, saying “my tangled tales of murders, madness and suicide have usually served the spirit behind the verse from Deuteronomy that fronts my lat est book: ‘Justice, justice you shall pursue’.”
Pinsky, now 75, speaks from his Durham home with obvious pride in what he’s achieved. Yet there is a hunger for the next big story, and a healthy restlessness about life that is uniquely Jewish. These ingredients keep him going while, in his words, he “keeps one eye on the clock.”
Pinsky’s latest book, “Drifting Into Dark ness: Murder, Madness, Suicide and a Death ‘Under Suspicious Circumstances’,” is anchored in Montgomery. The focus is the brutal 2004 murders of Montgomery socialites Charlotte and Brent Springford, Sr. by their troubled son, Brent Jr. Even though you know who did it from the outset, Pinsky, with his penchant for probing and his narrative talents, turns it more into a “whodunnit.” He delves into a dark and unre solved theory of the case: That the younger Springford was manipulated into murdering his parents by a mysterious older woman who controlled his ac tions and mind.
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By Richard Friedman Mark Pinsky is a guy who’s chosen a path rarelyHe’staken. merged his fascination with brutal crimes with his considerable investigative jour nalism skills, infusing it all with a lifelong love for Judaism and Israel as he’s lived a life of ad venture and achievement.
But even though time moves forward, the ticking of the clock never changes. Much like Mark Pinsky himself — a passionate Jew and prolific journalist, who remains a very interest ing guy. Mon-Fri 10am-6pm, Sat 10am-4pm W. Esplanade Ave
While “Drifting into Darkness” is Pinsky’s lat est book, it is not his first about an unresolved Southern murder. “Met Her on the Mountain: The Murder of Nancy Morgan,” released in 2013 and recently reissued in an updated paper back by the University Press of Kentucky, tells the story of a young VISTA worker in western North Carolina, who was brutally murdered in 1970 while Pinsky was a student journalist at DukePinskyUniversity.takesyou deep into North Carolina mountain culture as he recounts and further investigates the events surrounding the young woman’s death.
42 August 2022 •
Southern Jewish Life community
It’s a book worth reading. Not only is it gripping, Pinsky tells the story through exhaustive research, a page-turning cadence and a free-of-fluff style. “Drifting into Dark ness” will likely stay in your mind for weeks after finishing it, especially because so much of the story takes place in Montgomery. The book was published by Montgom ery-based NewSouth Books. The publishing company, featured recently in Southern Jewish Life because of its Jewish offerings, was recently acquired by the University of Georgia Press.
In short, he’s a very interesting guy.
“Also, with the best true-crime reporting, one key faith com ponent is rachmones, a Yiddish term for compassion,” he added. For him, his Jewish faith re mains a time-tested compass as he goes about his work. “On the road, as I research a murder, of ten alone, my Judaism grounds me — no matter how horrific the mayhem. When these reporting trips stretch over weekends, I try to find synagogues to attend Shabbat services, often in small congregations from Montgomery to Rapid City, S.D.”Pinsky’s journalism career has been diverse. He has written for the New York Times, Wall Street Journal and USA Today, and was a crime reporter for the Los Angeles Times and reli gion writer for the Orlando Sentinel. His stint in Orlando led him to write another book, “A Jew Among the Evangelicals: A Guide for the Perplexed.” Promoting the book in 2006, the publishing company wrote it “takes the curious reader on a tour of the fascinating world of Sun Belt evangel icalism. Pinsky, religion reporter for the Orlando Sentinel, uses his unique position as a Jew cov ering evangelical Christianity to help non-evan gelicals understand the hopes, fears, and moti vations of this growing subculture and breaks down some of the stereotypes of evangelicalism.”
In a 2018 series celebrating New Orleans’ 300th anniversary, the Times-Picayune declared him one of the 300 people “who have made New Orleans, New Orleans.”
Proceeds from the rain-or-shine event support the museum’s mission “to unite, inspire, and engage diverse communities through the arts.”
Established in 1992, The Bucktown All-Stars are a brass-driven New Orleans party band specializing in 1960s classic R&B and soul, ’70s funk and New Orleans jams. They are a multi-year winner of Gambit’s Readers Poll in “Best Band That Doesn’t Fit Any Of These Categories” and 10time winner of the prestigious Offbeat Magazine Best of the Beat Awards.
“With Walda, Sydney’s goal was to create a new way for NOMA to ex pand and broaden its audience, while creating ways for New Orleanians to experience art in a relaxed and informal setting. It is a demonstration of this desire to share their passion that they wanted the Garden to be free and open to the people of the city of New Orleans,” Taylor said in a tribute to Besthoff last February. She noted that on Feb. 11, two weeks before he died, he supervised the installation of another new sculpture in the garden. Besthoff was founder of the Contemporary Arts Center in 1976. The center’s Besthoff Building was the former headquarters of the K&B drug store chain. When he relocated the headquarters, he invited artists into the building, to break creative boundaries. In 1980, he was the first recipient of the City of New Orleans Arts Award, and was recognized with a Louisiana Humanities Lifetime Achievement Award in 1997. In 2004, Sydney received NOMA’s Isaac Delgado Award, and the museum also established the Sydney Besthoff Legacy Award in 2017, honoring “outstanding contributions and distin guished philanthropy in the arts.”
Besthoff first became a NOMA board member in 1992, then started talking about the idea that became the sculpture garden.
The Sydney and Walda Besthoff Sculpture Garden was recently named the best sculpture park in the country by USA Today’s 10Best. Besthoff died in February at the age of 94, and “We are honored to dedicate this year’s LOVE in the Garden to the memory of Sydney Besthoff, who creat ed this incredible space with his beloved wife Walda,” Taylor said. The sculpture garden, with over 90 works of 20th and 21st century out door art, opened in November 2003, and underwent a 6.5 acre expansion in 2019. The garden is free and open seven days a week.
The event will feature cuisine from 20 local restaurants, including Ar naud’s Restaurant, Aunt Sally’s Pralines, The Blue Crab Restaurant and Oyster Bar, Blue Oak BBQ, Café Degas, Café NOMA and Ralph Brennan Catering at NOMA, Chef Bryon Peck, Elizabeth’s Restaurant, Crescent City Brewhouse, Fogo de Chão Brazilian Steakhouse, Highly Seasoned Catering, LLC, Larder Gourmet Market + Eatery, Lula Restaurant Dis tillery, Mandina’s, Nothing Bundt Cakes — Metairie, Silk Road, Southern Candymakers, The Station Coffee Shop and Bakery, St. James Cheese Company, Swiss Confectionery, and The Vintage.
Patron party tickets are $125 for members, $150 for non-members. Garden party tickets are $75 for members, $100 for non-members. Spon sor levels range from $175 to $10,000.
Yes, I want to help keep our communities connected through Southern Jewish Life Online: www.supportSJL.com or call 888.613.YALL (9255) Please Indicate Your Support Level r $10000 SuperMensch r $5000 Publisher r $1800 Editorial Circle r $1000 Reporters r $500 Columnists r $360 Headliners r I want this to be anonymous As you want to be acknowledged in our alphabetical supporter listings r I am interested in partnering with Southern Jewish Life to develop marketing strategies to grow my business! r Check Enclosed r Credit Card: We can process Mastercard, Visa, Amex and Discover Card ExpiresNumber CVV (4 digit for Amex) Card Billing Zip Feel free to call us or use supportSJL.com for card payments r Monthly Supporter: Please Charge My Card $________ Monthly r $180 Correspondents r $100 Typesetters r $54 Friend of SJL r $25 Voluntary Subscriber r $ Other Well-informed communities are stronger communities Help Strengthen Our Southern Jewish Communities — By Supporting Award-WinningIndependent,OriginalJewishJournalism! Southern Jewish Life tells our story, keeping our communities connected and informed! Celebrating 32 Years of Covering and Connecting Our Communities CityAddressName/s State Zip EmailPhoneAddress (for our weekly e-newsletter): Thank You for Supporting Southern Jewish Life Mail to: P.O. Box 130052 • Birmingham, AL 35213 August 2022 • Southern Jewish Life 43 community New Orleans Museum showing the Love in memory of Sydney Besthoff
There will be a patron party at 7 p.m., with entertainment by the NOC CA Trio. The Garden Party will be from 8 to 11 p.m., with entertainment by the Bucktown All-Stars.
Susan Taylor, the director of the New Orleans Museum of Art, said benefactor Sydney Besthoff III envisioned the museum’s sculpture gar den as “a joyful place.” That will certainly be the case on Sept. 23, as the museum holds its LOVE in the Garden event in his memory.
• Are most of my interactions with my loved one negative? Do they often result in a power struggle?
Author Roy Hoffman will discuss “Literary Inspiration: Where Stories Come From” at the Uptown Jewish Community Center in New Orleans on Sept. 12 at 11:45 a.m., as part of the Morris Bart Sr. Lecture Series. He will discuss the origin of his new novel, “The Promise of the Peli can,” and how to be open to inspiration in one’s own creative life. Lunch is available with a reservation by Sept. 8. There is no charge for members, non-members are $10.
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By asking yourself the questions below, you may be able to see your situation more clearly:
a monthly feature from Collat Jewish Family Services
44 August 2022 • Southern Jewish Life This Week In Southern Jewish Life The South’s Most Comprehensive Weekly Jewish News Email To Subscribe, send an email to subscribe@sjlmag.com counselor’s corner
The decision to move a family member into a long-term care facility can be Familydifficult.caregivers often feel guilty when they begin considering such a move. They may feel it is their responsibility to care for their loved one at home. They may be concerned that a facility will not be able to care for their loved one prop erly and that the move will diminish their family member’s happiness and quality of life.
• Have I exhausted all resources that are available to me such as sup port from family members, home health, hospice, hired caregivers, or respite care options? If the answer is “yes,” then it may be time to seek a long-term care facility for your loved one. This is not a decision you have to make alone. A caregiver support group, a therapist or a case manager who specializes in senior care can guide and support you through this process. These resources can help you navigate any emotional and financial issues related to this decision. They can also help you find the long-term facility that can properly meet your loved one’s needs.
Pam Leonard, LBSW, CDP, is program director for CJFS CARES, an ac claimed 4-hour respite program that provides cognitive, social and physical engagement for adults affected by memory and movement disorders. She also facilitates two free weekly caregiver support groups that are offered vir tually. To learn more, contact her at pam@cjfsbham.org or (205) 960-3411. 70005 Kenny Thone, Co-Owner/Vice President
By Pam Leonard
When is it Time to Consider Long-Term Care for a Loved One?
As a caregiver, you should also consider the emotional toll that care giving has taken on you or other members of your household. When caregiving becomes too stressful, quality of life diminishes for everyone, including the person being cared for.
However, if you’re a caregiver, it’s important that you pay attention to the signs that it is time for a move of this type. You might be physically unable to provide care for your loved one due to your own health limitations. You may not be able to meet the financial demands of caring for your loved one at home. You may realize that your loved one’s behavior has evolved past the point that you can keep them safe, or that your loved one needs rehabilitation or specialized care that can only be provided in a medical setting.
• Am I feeling emotionally drained and perpetually exhausted?
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The Chabad Center in Pensacola will hold a blood drive on Sept. 4 from noon to 5 p.m. The Jewish Education Project of New York City announced the launch of the second cohort of The GENERATE Fellowship, a yearlong professional development program, open to early career teen engagement professionals from across the country who work in youth movements, synagogues, camps, JCCs, and any other educational settings. Fellows will learn about challenges teens are facing, explore tensions that arise in their roles as educators, while building a robust network of peers from across the country. GENERATE fellows will re ceive ongoing mentorship from an experienced mentor and learn with leading thinkers in the field of teen education and engagement. Applications are due by Sept. 16. For more information, and to apply, please contact The Jewish Education Project’s Jodie Goldberg, Direc tor of the GENERATE Fellowship, at jgoldberg@JewishEdProject.org.
August 2022 • Southern Jewish Life 45 continued from page 46>> Rear Pew community Finally, the five daughters of Tzelafchad came to Moses because their father died with no sons and they wanted to claim inheritance instead of it divesting to others. They got it, on condition that they ultimately marry within their tribe (Menasheh) so their portion didn’t go to another tribe. The silver lining is that this was a rare biblical assertion of women’s rights; the touch of grey is that it’s an early instance of marrying for money.
Proud to work with the Birmingham Jewish Federation World,” will screen at The Capri Theater in Montgomery on Oct. 30 at 2 p.m. Half of the proceeds will go to the Rabbi Elliot Stevens Kol Ami Religious School, a joint venture of the two Montgomery synagogues.
>> Agenda continued from page 8
LJCC starting oral history series
Birmingham’s Levite Jewish Community Center will host the Magic City Pickleball Open, Sept. 23 to 25. The event is sanctioned by USA Pickleball, and membership in USA Pickleball is required to register.
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Doug Brook doesn’t go to meet women at local watering holes, because he might get disbarred. For nearly several more laughs, listen to the fivestar rated Rear Pew Mirror podcast at anchor.fm/rearpewmirror or on any major podcast platform. For exclusive online content, follow facebook.com/ rearpewmirror. For past columns, visit http://rearpewmirror.com/. Lakeshore Park Plaza 2204 Lakeshore Drive, Suite 300 Birmingham, AL www.dentmoses.com35209
Phil Ensler, executive director of the Jewish Federation of Central Alabama, will be the speaker at the L’Chaim League lunch at Temple Beth Or in Montgomery, Sept. 14 at noon.
Birmingham’s Levite Jewish Community Center will begin a monthly series of oral history events, Southern Jewish Voices, on Sept. 22. The pro gram will be in interview form in front of a live audience, made possible by a grant from the Alabama Humanities Alliance.
“Oral stories can help us understand through first-person experiences how and why communities develop as they do,” said Elizabeth Patton, LJCC program director. “Southern Jewish Voices will share and celebrate stories of being Jewish in Birmingham with a wide audience.” All sessions will be Margaretrecorded.Norman, director of programming and engagement at Tem ple Beth-El, where she has been developing the Civil Rights Experience, will host and be the interviewer.
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Themes will include contrasting and comparing Birmingham with oth er Jewish communities, civil rights, Southern Jewish food experiences, and bigotry. “We hope for SJV to build bridges,” said Patton, “bridges within our pluralistic Jewish community, with the broader non-Jewish community, and across generations.”
Given the recent passing (not demise) of Tu B’Av — known by some because of its newer, secular variant on Feb. 14 – it’s apt to look at how our forecestors (including our threefathers and foremothers) first hooked up. What do those nascent moments say about what to do after giving Jdate a credit card number?
Joseph was driven away by his family. Once he become a macher down in Egypt, Pharaoh “gave” him the daughter of Potiphar to marry. Yes, the Potiphar whose wife tried to seduce Joseph about 25 minutes into the musical, thus landing him in jail. (See the aforementioned question about quality of your religious school education.)
46 August 2022 • Southern Jewish Life rear pew mirror • doug brook
on previous page
Without JDate, how did ancestorsourmeet? continued Torah Tells: Modern Dating
Jacob left home around age 20, as one does, and met a girl at a well. To day, one similarly goes to college and meets someone at the local watering hole. Happens all the time. But then it got interesting.Isshethe one he married? No. It wasn’t a typical case of being unable to tell her from her sister, but that’s still an import ant lesson — especially if you’re dating twins. And he did marry her next. Putting obvious lessons on polygamy aside, Jacob worked seven years each before getting to marry them. That’s devotion, though no matter how romantic that perseverance seems, this kind of thing comes to fruition a lot more on screen or in print than in real life. And don’t date someone and then her sister — they don’t like that.
Is there a modern application of the mother wanting someone, and him marrying her daughter? Yes, but you probably need to be 17 or older to see the film about it without parental supervision. Also, contrary to what you might think, this is not the first — or last — instance where a forecestor married someone not born Jewish. (See also Adam, Abraham, Moses… Actually, almost all of them, if you think about it.)
Adam and Eve didn’t have many options nearby. In recent pandemic lockdowns, many were in a similar plight. Perhaps the only other person they’d see is a roommate or neighbor on their floor. Or, in Eve giving Adam the apple, the Torah gives precedent to falling for the DoorDash deliveryAbrahamperson.married Sarah. That’s all the Torah says, giving precedent to not telling anyone (including your mother) about your dating life, and to holding a private ceremony.
Speaking of Moses, early in his story he went on the lam after killing an Egyptian who’d been beating an Israelite. While hanging out in Midian, he married the Midianite woman Tziporah. Sometimes when you travel to a foreign land, you meet that special someone.
People in the Bible were… people. They put their shoes on one sandal at a time. They ate, drank, and didn’t like getting stung by bees, just like people today. A primary purpose of reading from the Torah every week is to find new things it can tell us about our lives, our world, and our quality of education at religious school.
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Isaac was a man of few words. At least, not many words loud enough for the Torah’s stenographer to hear. Abraham sent a servant to find his soft-spoken son a wife. He brought back Rebecca, which ended well enough. Today, it’s okay for someone to help with your online dating pro file. But sending someone else to actually meet the women for you is a bad idea on several levels.
August 2022 • Southern Jewish Life 47 LO VE IN THE GA RDEN 2022 LO VE IN THE GA RDEN 2022 NEW ORLEANS MUSEUM of AR T FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 23, 2022 SYDNEY AND WALDA BESTHOFF SCULPTURE GARDEN NEW ORLEANS MUSEUM of ART PATRON PARTY | 7 – 8 PM ENTERTAINMENT BY The NOCCA Trio in the Pine Grove GARDEN PARTY | 8 – 11 PM ENTERTAINMENT BY The Bucktown All-Stars in the Oak Grove LOVE COCKTAIL CHALLENGE presented by Presenting Sponsor Gold Sponsor Walda Besthoff Silver Sponsors J. Edgar Monroe Foundation Preservation Hall and The Jaffe Family Permele and Garner Robinson Jane and Rodney Steiner Bronze Sponsors Eileen and Joseph Devall Katherine and Tony Gelderman Katie and Gray Stream Lele and Brent Wood noma.org/love | 504.658.4121 DRESSY JACKETSCASUALDISCOURAGED 24-0822 LOVE Southern Jewish Life Half-Page Ad.indd 1 8/22/22 3:11 PM
