SJL Deep South, Sept. 2013 by Southern Jewish Life

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Southern Jewish Life â&#x20AC;&#x153;A More Convenient Seasonâ&#x20AC;? 4 Little Girls and Rosh Hashanah 1963

September 2013 Volume 23 Issue 9

Southern Jewish Life P.O. Box 130052 Birmingham, AL 35213-0052 Above: Israeli Ambassador Danny Ayalon placed wreath at site of 16th Street Baptist Church 1963 bombing last November

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As the Torah reading ended at Shabbat morning services on Aug. 10, I leaned over to James Henry, our 6-year-old. I told him to remember what he just saw. It will be a few years until he really understands the significance, but then he will appreciate what the morning meant and why it was important for him to see it. On the surface, that morning wasn’t that unusual at Temple Beth-El in Birmingham. It was billed in advance as a celebration of Reva Hirsch’s 80th birthday, but a few other things were added during the Torah service. Ceil Herzel was also recognized with an aliyah for her 80th birthday. And when Reva Hirsch came up for her aliyah, her husband Aisic was recognized for his 83rd birthday, and their 63rd wedding anniversary was also mentioned. They were surrounded by their children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren. A nice, normal simcha. If you didn’t know, you wouldn’t have known… there was one element that remained unspoken during the entire morning, whether by accident or by design. And it is the one that my 6-year-old does not yet know about. To him, the Hirsches, Ceil and Max Herzel and “the sisters,” Ruth Siegler and Ilse Nathan, are just friends who they often see at services or around the community. The six of them are also Holocaust survivors. The morning was a quiet victory, a celebration of life. Really, the only allusion was Ceil Herzel commenting to nobody in particular as she went up to the Torah that she was “able to become an old woman.” Nearly 70 years after the end of World War II, we are losing so many of those who lived through the Holocaust. Recently, the state of Mississippi lost its last survivor. Information centers are developing three-dimensional holographic oral histories to try and hold onto some aspect of the human presence behind the stories. Our six friends aren’t slowing down, and we hope that they flourish for many, many years to come. Over the years I have covered many stories where Holocaust survivors, whether local or visiting from elsewhere, visit schools and tell their stories. Afterward, wide-eyed students approach the survivors as if they were rock stars, with awe and amazement. You can see on their faces what the chance to meet a survivor means to them, how moved they are. Hopefully once our boys learn about the Holocaust they will have the added dimension of being friends with survivors that they still see all the time, and absorb the lessons of resilience and resolve they embody. Hopefully 10 years from now, they will witness a similar morning centered around a 90th birthday celebration. Then in 20 years… But for now, he will simply enjoy the gift of friendship. The gift of knowledge will remain unspoken. For now. Larry Brook Editor/Publisher

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Front Porch Exposing 1950s anti-Semitism at Emory Dental School: In 1952, Perry Brickman received a letter following his first year of dental school at Emory University, informing him that he had flunked out — though nobody had ever said anything negative about his academic performance previously. Last October, he stood on stage at Emory as James Wagner, president of Emory, apologized to him and other Jewish students who were kicked out during a culture of anti-Semitism at the dental school. “As president of Emory University, I hereby express in the deepest, strongest terms Emory’s regret for the anti-Semitic practices of the dental school during those years,” Wagner said. “We at Emory also regret that it has taken this long for those events to be properly acknowledged. I am sorry; we are sorry.” Brickman will be in Birmingham to speak at Temple Beth-El on Oct. 6 at 7 p.m. His visit is presented by Beth-El, the Beth-El Men’s Club and the Levite Jewish Community Center, with support from the Birmingham Holocaust Education Center, Birmingham Jewish Foundation, Community Youth Group, Hadassah, Knesseth Israel, Temple Emanu-El Brotherhood and the Birmingham Chapter of the Emory Alumni Association He recently produced a documentary, “From Silence to Recognition: Confronting Discrimination in Emory’s Dental School History,”which will be screened at the program and followed by a discussion. Under Dean John Buhler, roughly 65 percent of Jewish students were flunked out or had to repeat courses, a much higher proportion than previously. There was also a quota of four Jewish students per class. In Brickman’s class, all four were gone within two years. Buhler was dean from 1948 to 1961. The affected students kept quiet and went on to other institutions. Brickman commented, “It was almost like being a rape victim. No

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September 2013

one believed us.” Then, Brickman attended an exhibition in 2006 that celebrated the 30th anniversary of the Jewish studies department — and was surprised to find a panel mentioning systematic anti-Semitism in the dental school in the 1950s. Two years later he heard from a classmate he hadn’t spoken to in 55 years, who told him that he still was pained over their treatment. Brickman decided it was time to document the story. Following the Oct. 10, 2012 screening, Wagner issued the apology. He also had a private meeting with over 30 of those who had been expelled half a century earlier. Buhler resigned from Emory after being accused of discrimination against Jewish students. In 1964 he was appointed dean of the Medical University of South Carolina College of Dental Medicine, sparking protests from the Jewish community there. At the time, the South Carolina board president said the Emory situation “was not as serious as it had been painted.” The then-president of Emory, S. Walter Martin, went even further, saying the charges were false and Buhler’s resignation was voluntary. Indiana University’s School of Dentistry named him alumnus of the year in 1965, and he resigned from Medical University of South Carolina in 1971 due to health reasons.

Southern Jewish Life

Beth Shalom, Auburn: Sept. 5, 1 p.m. (approx.) Chabad of Alabama: Sept. 5, 5:30 p.m. Temple Beth-El, Birmingham: Sept. 5, 4:30 p.m. at Railroad Park. Temple Emanu-El, Birmingham: Sept. 5, 5:30 p.m. at Jemison Park. Agudath Israel-Etz Ahayem, Montgomery: Following services on Sept. 5. Temple Beth Or, Montgomery: Sept. 5, 1 p.m. at Montgomery Museum pond Beth Shalom, Ft. Walton Beach: Sept. 5, 1:30 p.m. by the former Scully’s at the northwest end of the Cinco Bayou Bridge. Temple Beth El, Pensacola: Sept. 5, 1 p.m. at the Pensacola Welcome Center, Wayside Park. Gemiluth Chassodim, Alexandria: Sept. 8 at 9 a.m. at the Red River. Beth Shalom, Baton Rouge: Sept. 5, 2:30 p.m. Temple Shalom, Lafayette: Sept. 8, 11:30 a.m. at Rotary Point Beth Israel, Metairie: Sept. 5, 5 p.m. Temple Sinai, New Orleans: Apples and Honey reception and young family service. Audubon Park Lagoon. Sept. 5, 2 p.m. Touro Synagogue, New Orleans: Sept. 5, 3 p.m.. The Fly, Audubon Park. B’nai Zion, Shreveport: Sept. 5, 4:30 p.m. at The Glen on Flournoy Lucas Road. Beth Israel, Jackson: Tashlich and picnic, reservoir overlook on the Natchez Trace Parkway (mile 115), Sept. 8, 5 p.m.

Front Porch The Institute of Southern Jewish Life in Jackson was the victim of call spoofingin mid-August. Some outfit trying to get personal and credit card information from individuals for nefarious purposes “spoofed” their phone so the caller ID claims to be the Institute, making it seem like the Institute is calling random individuals. Appropriate authorities were alerted, but it did result in a headache from a large number of upset callers. It has been 25 years since women first attempted an organized Torah reading at the Western Wall on the new moon, drawing the ire of traditionalists. On Sept. 22, the Temple Emanu-El Sisterhood in Birmingham will screen “Praying In Her Own Voice,” a documentary about the 25-year struggle for Women of the Wall. There will be a breakfast at 9:30 a.m., followed by the screening at 10 a.m. and a discussion at 11 a.m., led by Rabbi Laila Haas. Admission is $10 with proceeds benefiting the Women of Reform Judaism’s youth, education and special projects. Caren Seligman, who has been outreach director of the Birmingham Jewish Federation for the last seven years, has been appointed membership sales director at the Levite Jewish Community Center. Seligman has been in charge of several initiatives at the Federation, such as You Belong in Birmingham, Babies and Bagels, the Literacy Project and Shalom Birmingham. According to the Federation, she will continue to be involved with those programs as a collaboration between the two agencies, benefiting both. Ring of Honor Professional Wrestling will have a match at Birmingham’s Boutwell Auditorium on Sept. 7 at 7:30 p.m., and a local Jewish wrestling legend will get things underway by singing the National Anthem. The Great Kaiser, also known as Sam Tenenbaum, came close to pursuing a career in opera, but decided to follow a path to professional wrestling and used his trained tenor voice as part of his persona. After retiring in 2003, he was inducted into the National Wrestling Alliance Hall of Fame in 2005.

Commander of the Israeli Air Force Major General Amir Eshel, a graduate of Auburn University at Montgomery, welcomed General Mark Welsh, chief of staff of the United States Air Force, on his first visit to Israel in that capacity. Welsh’s visit included meetings with high ranking military officials, tours of strategic air force bases, and a flight tour of Israel’s borders to better understand regional security issues. In statement to the press, Welsh commented, “I leave knowing that we have a strong partner in my friend Amir Eshel. Our cooperation will be a critical part of the future, together our future is bright.” Southern Jewish Life

September 2013

Front Porch Monty Pomm died on July 1 in Jacksonville at the age of 89. Most recently a resident of Lake Worth, Fla., in the 1970s he served as dual director of the Jewish Federation and Jewish Community Center of Nashville. He also spent time in Shreveport as director of the Jewish Federation of North Louisiana, and also led the Cincinnati and Wilkes Barre Federations. He was predeceased by his wife, Eileen Pomm, and is survived by children Raymond Pomm and Laureen Rabbe, four grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren. “Monty Pomm was passionate in his service to the Jewish people and in his love of Israel,” said Jerry Silverman, president and CEO of the Jewish Federations of North America. “May his memory be as a blessing for his family and community.” Rabbi Valerie Cohen of Beth Israel in Jackson begins her annual Introduction to Judaism class on Oct. 1. It will meet for 14 sessions on Tuesdays at 7 p.m., through Jan. 28. There is no charge for congregants and a suggested donation of $120 for non-members. Reservations can be made at the Beth Israel office. Deli in Baton Rouge: Ziggy Gruber of Kenny and Ziggy’s in Houston is bringing his deli to Baton Rouge for a fundraiser at B’nai Israel. The event has been announced for Feb. 8 and 9, 2014. The landmark deli has received numerous accolades and was featured on Guy Fieri’s “Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives.”

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September 2013

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Beth Shalom in Baton Rouge will celebrate Simchat Torah in style, with the Panorama Jazz Band and Cantor Feibush. The Sept. 26 celebration begins at 6 p.m. with a Men’s Club deli dinner. Consecration and the Simchat Torah service will begin at 7 p.m., with the congregation’s traditional candy hakafah.

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Columbus State University in Columbus, Ga., is presenting “Aliyah: The Rebirth of Israel,” consisting of 25 lithographs by Salvador Dali. The series traces key moments in Jewish history, and the exhibit is arranged by Ursula and David Blumenthal. The exhibit opened Aug. 29 at the W.C. Bradley Museum, 1017 Front Avenue.

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Fundraiser honors “Bam Bam” Fingerman’s memory: On July 13, the A.G. Gaston Boys and Girls Club in Birmingham hosted Bam Bam B’ham Jam youth basketball tournament as a benefit for the club, to help put in new bleachers. The Jam was in memory of Seth “Bam Bam” Fingerman, who was a member of Birmingham’s Jewish community. Battling a brain tumor, he died in December at the age of 25. His parents, Cathy and Irwin Fingerman, explained that basketball was his passion and “he always wanted to have a positive impact on young kids through basketball.” Siblings Shera Fingerman and Levi Fingerman also worked on the tournament. While a student at Jefferson Christian Academy, Seth Fingerman SJLad.indd helped the school win two state basketball championships and was most valuable player of the tournament his senior year. He was named all-state twice. He played basketball at Bevill State and wanted to be a coach, but health problems prevented that. The Fingermans chose the Gaston club for memorial donations, and the club suggested a tournament “as a tribute to Seth’s exceptional life and impact.” Established in 1966, the A.G. Gaston Boys and Girls Club, named for a business icon in Birmingham’s black community, has provided a safe environment for children in Birmingham’s West End and Bessemer. It is affiliated with the Boys and Girls Clubs of America. The day before, there was also an event featuring Christopher Eisenberg from America’s Got Talent.

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Tulane Jewish Studies House dedication: Tulane University’s Jewish Studies Department will dedicate its new home on Sept. 29 at 11 a.m. The facility, located at 7031 Freret, formerly housed the New Orleans Jazz Orchestra offices. Joseph Cohen, who established the Jewish Studies program at Tulane 30 years ago, will be honored at the dedication. In July 2012, the program was upgraded to a stand-alone department in the School of Liberal Arts. The department emphasizes the modern Jewish experience instead of religion, and about one-third of the students are not Jewish. According to a Reform Judaism Magazine study, Tulane ranks ninth nationally in percentage of Jewish students, with 32 percent of total enrollment, or approximately 2250 Jewish students. The dedication program will feature music, light snacks and tours of the house. It is open to the community. Southern Jewish Life

September 2013

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Anti-Semitic acts down nationally, rare in South: The Anti-Defamation League’s annual Audit of Anti-Semitic Incidents showed a 14 percent drop in 2012 from the year before, a trend mirrored in the Deep South, which historically has few reported incidents. Nationally, there were 927 incidents in 2012, down from 1080 the year before. The biggest decline was in threats and harassment, but vandalism was up 33 percent, from 330 incidents to 440. Most of those were on public property or individual homes, just 13 percent were against Jewish institutions. Physical assaults dropped slightly, to 17 in 2012 compared with 19 in 2011. Campus incidents rose to 61, compared with 22 in 2011. Last July, the Chabad at the University of Georgia was vandalized with the phrase “F--- Z*O*G” referring to the anti-Semitic conspiracy theory that the U.S. has a “Zionistoccupied government.” Florida tallied 88 incidents, down from 111 in 2011. By far, most of the incidents are in South Florida, but the report did mention that in January 2012, one of the Pensacola congregations received a “disturbing” antiSemitic email. Alabama had no reported incidents, down from two in 2011, and Mississippi had the same report of zero in 2012 and two in 2011. That will change when next year’s report comes out, as in May there was anti-Semitic graffiti on Beth Israel in Jackson. There were two reported incidents in Louisiana in 2012, both of which were vandalism. This was down from three in 2011. In Atlanta last November, students from a Jewish day school were in an airport bookstore when images of Operation Pillar of Defense came on the TV. The cashier then said to them, “Are you Jewish too? Get out you filthy, dirty Jews.” New York took the top spot with 248 incidents last year, up from 195 in 2011, swapping places with California, which saw its number of incidents decline from 235 to 185. New Jersey, Florida and Massachusetts rounded out the top five. Rosh Ha’Ayin-based Blue I, a developer of water quality monitoring systems, has several multinational corporate customers including BASF, Yoplait, and Atlanta-based The CocaCola Company which has had the Israeli system installed in 25 of their bottling plants worldwide. The software solution offers both security and safety features for customers. Rosh Ha’Ayin is the sister city of Birmingham and Partnership2Gether community for New Orleans.

September 2013

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New Orleans gets Maccabi gold The New Orleans girls soccer team brought home the gold medal at the Maccabi Games in Orange County, Calif., after a slow start in pool play, going 0-3-1. The Maccabi Games were held Aug. 4 to 9. Sponsored by the Jewish Community Centers Association, the games bring together Jewish teens from across the United States and several other countries each summer. There is also a Day of Service at each host city. The New Orleans 16U girls soccer squad, combined with athletes from Kansas City and San Jose, lost its opening game to Metro West, 9-2, then tied Cherry Hill, 1-1. The second day, they lost to Orange County West, 7-2, then Detroit, 4-3. In the tournament, they were seeded fifth. They ousted Stamford/ Denver, 6-4, then took out Orange County, 5-0. They captured the gold with a 4-0 win over San Francisco/Youngstown/St. Paul. Victorious team members were Carin Entrekin, Rebecca Kornman, Lauren Melchiode, Megan Rittenberg, Frances Sperling and Sydney Steiner. The boys 14U basketball team opened with a loss to Miami Beach, 55-37, then defeated Springfield, 58-27. The second day, they beat Denver, 42-38, then lost to South Jersey, 56-38. They wound up the No. 1 seed in the 14U blue bracket. In the first round, they beat Omaha, 50-25, then lost to Toronto, 51-42. They lost the bronze medal game, 48-45, to Philadelphia. Team members were Daniel Coman, Mark Fertel, Zachary Gertler, Gabriel Itkowitz, Leo Jaffe, Jacob Kohlman, Sam Moses and Sam Murray. In boys 16U soccer, New Orleans’ Ezra Remer and Raphael Walker were paired with San Jose and San Francisco. They opened by beating

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September 2013

Team Birmingham in Austin Greater Washington, 12-2, then lost to Philadelphia, 7-3. The second day, they lost to Suffolk, 4-3, then Baltimore/Houston, 6-5. In tournament play, they beat Springfield, 7-3, in the first round and then fell to Suffolk, 2-1. The two New Orleans 16U baseball players, Sam Laufer and Max Michaels, were paired with Hartford, San Diego, Las Vegas and San Jose. The first day, they lost to MetroWest/Youngstown/San Francisco, 8-6, and Charlotte/Denver/Chicago, 7-3. The second day was also winless, losing to Baltimore, 9-3, and Mid-Westchester, 13-3. Saint Louis knocked them out of the tournament in the first round, 7-5.

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Southern Jewish Life

Birmingham delegation in Austin Birmingham’s delegation went to the games in Austin, held July 28 to Aug. 1. Gabe Ivker and Ethan Elgavish were part of a joint 14U soccer team with Dallas. They defeated Atlanta in the opener, 5-2, then lost to Mexico Green, 5-1. The second day was winless for Dallas/Birmingham, losing to Philadelphia/Phoenix, 7-4, and Boca, 5-3. In the play-in game, ninth seed Atlanta got revenge on eighth-seeded Dallas/Birmingham, winning 5-0. Emily Nomberg was part of a 16U basketball team with Boston, Columbus, Los Angeles West and Phoenix. On the ﬁrst day, they lost to Ft. Lauderdale, 44-21, then beat Dallas, 25-21. The second day, they lost to Houston, 45-41 and beat a joint Austin, Tucson and Milwaukee team, 47-36. The Austin/Tucson/Milwaukee team then upset Birmingham’s joint team in the ﬁrst round of elimination play, 41-39. Seth Cohen was seeded seventh out of 13 in the 16U boys tennis tournament. He defeated 10th-seed Shai Saar of Columbus, 8-4, then lost to second seeded Alejandro Becker of Austin, 8-2.

Shreveport’s Sklar in Maccabiah Howard Sklar of Shreveport and Boulder, Col., represented the United States at the 2013 Maccabiah in Israel. He competed in the Masters level triathlon, ages 55 to 59, coming in 13th. His swim time was 52:28, which placed him 27th, but he kicked it higher on the bicycle with a time of 1:00:41, the second-fastest for that event. He then did the run in 56:30, which was 15th place. His combined time of 2:50:02.65 was 29 minutes behind the winner, David Divon of Israel, and 18:22 out of contending for a medal. There were 38 participants in the event. The Maccabiah Games are held every four years in Israel and are the third-largest Olympic-style event in the world. As reported last month, the U.S. men’s soccer team, led by Coach Preston Goldfarb of Birmingham, won gold for the ﬁrst time, and New Orleans teen Madeline Gordon placed ninth in a 12-person ﬁeld in Junior Girls golf.

Southern Jewish Life

September 2013

Spending some more time in the South Craig Taubman adds several stops in region to his concert schedule Singer Craig Taubman was scheduled to perform Sept. 20 at Temple Israel in Memphis when he had an idea. He contacted the Jacksonbased Goldring/Woldenberg Institute of Southern Jewish Life and asked about putting together a tour of some other Southern Jewish communities for the following week. Ann Zivitz Kimball, ISJL director of programming, said “Our communities are over the moon excited about this upcoming tour,” and because of how the Institute sets up these tours, expenses are shared, making it more aﬀordable for smaller communities. Taubman will perform in Chattanooga on Sept. 22, then at Temple Beth El in Knoxville on Sept. 23. A Sept. 25 performance in Augusta was still being ﬁnalized at press time. On Sept. 26, he will be at Agudath Israel-Etz Ahayem in Montgomery, then go to Springhill Avenue Temple in Mobile on Sept. 27 for the Shabbat Alive Holiday Celebration. In 2011, Taubman was the congregation’s Shabbat Alive scholar-in-residence. The tour concludes on Sept. 28 at Beth Israel in Jackson. In the early 1990s, Taubman was often seen performing on the Disney Channel, then gradually added more Jewish music to his repertoire, then branched out to adult music. In February he bought a former church in Los Angeles that had been a synagogue a century ago and announced plans to turn it into a multicultural and interfaith performing arts center. Born in Tennessee, Taubman grew up in the Los Angeles area and started in music at age 15 as a Camp Ramah song leader.

Saluting a Baton Rouge aliyah

On Aug. 12, Nefesh B’Nefesh coordinated a “Soldier’s Flight” to Israel with 331 new immigrants from North America to Israel. Among them was Daniel Freedman, 21, from Baton Rouge. The flight was so named because of the relatively high number of young immigrants who will be joining the Israel Defense Forces — 125 of them. There were also 41 families with 88 children, and 92 who are moving to Israel’s periphery as part of the Nefesh B’Nefesh and Keren Kayemeth L’Israel Go North and Go South programs. The special Nefesh B’Nefesh flight, the group’s 50th since starting in 2002, was organized in cooperation with the Friends of the IDF, Ministry of Immigrant Absorption, The Jewish Agency for Israel, KKL and Tzofim Garin Tzabar. 14

September 2013

Southern Jewish Life

Dan Nichols’ “Road to Eden” premieres at Jacobs Camp Fall Fest Two years ago, Dan Nichols and his band E18hteen did a Sukkot tour of the South, visiting communities large and small, some of which have rarely if ever been able to put on a program with a big-name performer of Jewish music. In October, the documentary film from the “Road to Eden” tour will have its Deep South premiere as part of the Henry S. Jacobs Camp Fall Family Fest. From Oct. 11 to 13, families in the region can experience a campstyle weekend, or choose to attend only the Saturday night “Dinner and a Movie” premiere. Fall Family Fest includes a Shabbat experience, Havdalah and an opportunity to socialize with families from across the region. It is for those who already have ties to Jacobs Camp or first-timers interested in experiencing camp. There will be structured programming for children and adults, and family time on the camp’s climbing tower, in the lake, and opportunities for sports, art and more. Adults and young children will be housed in double-occupancy rooms. Children age 6 and older will stay in camper cabins with counselors. “Dinner and a Movie” will be on Oct. 12 at 6 p.m. It starts with a dinner that includes the camp’s famous fried chicken, then is followed by Havdalah, the film, a conversation with the movie’s director. The evening wraps up with an acoustic concert by Nichols. It was on Oct. 12, 2011 that Nichols and crew began a 2600-mile trek through the South over Sukkot, in the temporary dwelling of an RV. They went from community to community, building sukkot by where the RV was parked. Stops included Pensacola, Montgomery, Dothan, Jackson, Birmingham, New Orleans and Baton Rouge as part

Dan Nichols, here with Mark Niemieck and Ali Salcedo, performs in New Orleans of the 10-day trip. In Montgomery, he performed with the Tribe of Judah Gospel Choir at Temple Beth Or. The film will premiere in Scottsdale, Ariz., and St. Louis during Sukkot. There is also a tentative plan for a concert and screening in Dothan on Oct. 13. The film touches on a wide range of topics that came up during the tour, in the framework of the meaning of Sukkot. Immigration reform in Alabama, the importance of Jewish summer camp and civil rights struggles were viewed through that lens. The film’s message is to build “an ever-expanding Sukkah” to rebuild the world. Nichols said, “For me, camp saved my life,” and he concluded the tour at his original camp, Goldman Union in Indiana. Cost for the entire Jacobs Camp weekend is $150 per person, ages 3 and up. The charge for those attending only Dinner and a Movie is $36. Deadline for the weekend is Oct. 1 or earlier if the camp fills. Deadline for the Saturday night program is Oct. 4. Registration forms are available at the Jacobs Camp website, jacobs.urjcamps.org.

Southern Jewish Life

September 2013

For information on your local Hadassah chapter, contact Lee Kansas, Southern Region President, at lkansas@hadassah.org

September 2013

Southern Jewish Life

Keeping the Old Country Store going For over a century, the Cohn Bros. Old Country Store has stood as a landmark in Lorman, Miss. Its legacy continues in two distinct ways. Located on U.S. 61 12 miles south of Port Gibson — roughly 45 minutes from the Henry S. Jacobs Camp — the Old Country Store in Lorman is a monument to Southern Jewish history. Today, it is also the home of fried chicken that has won national accolades. Though the establishment is no longer known as Cohn Bros., some old signage from its days as a general store still stands on the building, frozen in time. A descendant of the original Cohn brothers is now keeping the name and history alive from Alexandria, La. The Cohn family came to Rodney from France in the late 1860s with the immigration of M. Heiman Cohn. He and brother L. Joseph Cohn put together ﬁnancing to establish a general store which opened in Clifton in 1875. Another brother, R. Lehmann Cohn, then joined the original two. M. Heiman Cohn went back to France in 1882 to marry, leaving the other two brothers to run the store. Upon his return in 1890 they es-

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tablished the new store in Lorman, where it remains today. After the first generation died off, M. Heiman Cohn’s sons, Dan, Henry and Sylvan, operated the store and a cotton gin across the street. The gin burned in the 1950s. In 1956, Heiman Cohn, grandson of M. Heiman Cohn, and long-time employee Ernest Breithaupt bought out the other Cohn family members and conA 1915 photo of the Cohn Brothers in front of the store tinued running the store. Breithaupt, who started working at the store in 1938, bought Heiman shelves and rolling ladders. He greets the Cohn’s shares in 1964 and continued to run guests, and mid-day often serenades them with a the store with his wife until his death in 1995. song about how his grandmother was “the cornAn odd sidebar occurred in 1969 when bread-cookin’ queen.” Henry Cohn, then living in Baton Rouge, ran He credits his grandmother with teaching an ad in New Orleans offering to sell the “en- him the secret of perfect fried chicken, which tire old fashioned country town near Natchez, is never made with frozen chicken. He often Mississippi.” The UPI arcomments that if Colonel ticle mentions that Cohn Sanders had his recipe, he owned “13 buildings, would have been a fiveincluding two plantation star general. mansions and a country The restaurant has been store.” featured in Southern LivBreithaupt is quoted ing and is a fixture on as saying Cohn’s offer to “best fried chicken” lists. sell the town for $75,000 Recently, Food Network’s was fine in terms of those Alton Brown visited as properties, but there part of “Feasting on Aswere 20 other homes phalt 2” and became a there that were not owned believer. Brown also used by him and were not for his visit to Lorman as a sale, nor were the electric fried chicken segment on and phone company buildings. Food Network’s “Best Thing I Cohn also stated that “of course” he was not Ever Ate,” declaring it the best fried chicken looking to sell land the family had donated to he’s “ever had in my life.” churches and other local organizations over Honoring the Cohn Bros. name the years. Two hours to the west, Mimi Kirzner keeps After Breithaupt died, his wife and children Cohn Bros. alive in a different way. An Alexsold the store and its contents at auction. The andria native, she says she was probably about building reopened as a restaurant in 1997. five years old when her grandfather died and Around that time, Floridian Arthur Davis her grandmother moved to Alexandria. “I was in Mississippi to go deer hunting. He don’t really remember the actual store,” she decided not to return to Florida, and started said. When the auction occurred, she was at Wingo’s Hot Wings to Go in Vicksburg and the University of Alabama pursuing a degree Jackson. A few years later, the Old Country in information systems management. She was Store was available, and he bought it, estaba software developer for eight years, but the lishing the buffet, which is open seven days a family legacy of retailing was in her blood. week. So was cooking. “I grew up surrounded by While fried chicken is the signature dish, family who loved to cook.” Her grandmother, there are other meats and a wide range of vegMiriam Cohn, published “The Country Gouretables, cornbread and watermelon. met” cookbook. Every so often, Davis ventures out into the She and her husband had lived in Atlanta and main room, which is still lined with the store Saint Louis before winding up in New Orleans.

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Sigma Delta Tau. . .

Arthur Davis sings to his customers at the buffet in the Old Country Store “Katrina happened, so we paddled home” to Alexandria. Software “wasn’t for me” so once her husband was settled into his job, she decided to open a kitchen store. “There were no Williams Sonoma-type shops in Alexandria,” she observed. The Kitchen Warehouse started taking oﬀ, so she added prepared foods. From there, she developed a gourmet grilled cheese bar, using a wide range of homemade jams and marmalades. People started asking to take the jams home, so she started putting them into containers. Finally in 2010, she decided to start selling them, and settled on two — a tomato jam and an onion marmalade. She tried to come up with a name for branding the items, but nothing resonated. “Nothing was exciting. Then one day it kind of hit” that she should name them Cohn Brothers in honor of the family heritage. That gave the product line “a story behind it.” Vintage photos of relatives adorn the jars, and the history is celebrated on the Cohn Brothers website. While she has thought of other products, because the store is her full-time pursuit and it takes a lot of eﬀort to establish a product line, she is sticking with just the two items for now. The jam and marmalade are made from allnatural ingredients and are gluten-free. Jars are available in the Alexandria store or online at cohnbrothers.com.

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September 2013

The New Orleans Holocaust memorial, by Yaacov Agam, was dedicated in 2003 and inspired the new memorial being constructed in Alexandria

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Plans for a Holocaust memorial in downtown Birmingham were recently announced, along with ongoing eﬀorts to build a memorial in Alexandria, La. At its Aug. 25 L’Chayim fundraiser, the Birmingham Holocaust Education Center planned to announce the Holocaust Memorial Garden, to be located on 19th Street North between 3rd and 4th Avenues. The location is in the entertainment hub, not far from the Alabama Theater and McWane Center. The city-owned property is an already-landscaped area between the sidewalk and street, on the southern half of the block. The northern half currently contains the Sept. 11 memorial. The proposed plans are for an artistic sculpture garden that will commemorate the Holocaust, teach the consequences of unchecked prejudice and discrimination, and inspire visitors young and old to create a more just, tolerant and humane world. The Birmingham garden will focus on educating young people about the attitudes and actions that escalated to the Holocaust, while leading them to consider how they personally can be agents of change in their own lives. The vehicle for teaching these lessons will be incidents from the personal stories of the Holocaust survivors who came to live in Alabama. For BHEC Development Coordinator Deborah Layman, it is important to announce the plans during the city-wide 50th anniversary commemorations of civil rights battles in Birmingham. “The prejudice, discrimination and violence against blacks which birthed the movement are examples of the behaviors in a progression which, when unchecked, can lead to the ultimate consequence of genocide, as we saw in the Holocaust,” she said. “We believe that visitors to the Holocaust Memorial Garden will take away important personal lessons that will help build a strong multi-cultural community.” Two markers for the Civil Rights Trail are on the block where the memorial will be. The memorial’s educational emphasis and application of universal lessons will work with

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Birmingham’s theme of being a place of “revolution and reconciliation.” The garden is currently being designed, and fundraising is expected to begin this fall. Organizers have met with Mayor William Bell, Councilor Johnathan Austin; and REV Birmingham CEO David Fleming to gain their support. In August, the local Holocaust survivors and second-generation family members were informed of the plans, and a week later there was an informational session for leaders in the community. The design is currently being revised, and the group will need to go before the city’s design review board and several other hurdles, including fundraising, before announcing a timeframe.

Alexandria obelisk

In Alexandria, plans are moving forward for a long-desired memorial that will feature an 18-foot granite obelisk, the height being symbolic of the numerical value of the Hebrew word for “life.” The idea began with a local attorney who is Baptist. Michael Tudor was jogging in New Orleans and passed the Holocaust memorial there, and wondered why there wasn’t a monument in Alexandria. When he returned home, he called Rabbi Arnold Task and asked that very question. Task recently retired from Gemiluth Chassodim. Tudor, Task and local philanthropist Ed Crump started working together to make a memorial happen. A site has been selected at the corner of Elliott and Fourth Streets, by the Rapides Regional Medical center and near St. Francis Xavier Cathedral and the Alexandria Riverfront Center. There will be memorial stones and a bench wall, and the obelisk will feature the “First They Came” quote from Pastor Martin Niemoller. As of July, almost $85,000 had been raised toward a $100,000 goal. The fundraising appeal begins by noting that General Dwight Eisenhower started preparing the liberation of Europe in Alexandria.

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September 2013

of the Americas. It was deYears later Eisenhower made sure to visit the concentration signed by Yaacov Agam and camps and make sure others was a project by the Jewish were witnesses to what hapand non-Jewish communities of the area. pened, and that the camps The memorial consists of would not be forgotten. nine panels that display 10 The memorial was recently images as the viewer walks featured in a JTA piece about around it. Holocaust memorials going In Clarksdale, Miss., there up in what might be unexis a memorial to the Holopected places. caust in the community’s A dedication ceremony is being planned for Nov. 10. Jewish cemetery, donated by the non-Jewish community. The New Orleans memo- Demopolis memorial Another memorial is in the rial, dedicated in June 2003, is located in Woldenberg Park by the Aquarium Demopolis, Ala., Jewish cemetery.

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Not Just Black and White Civil Rights and the Jewish Community

A More Convenient Season Haberʼs new work commemorates 1963 bombing of 16th Street Baptist Church Inter nationally -renowned composer Yotam Haber has spent much of the last two years researching and learning about the Civil Rights movement in Birmingham. On Sept. 21, his work “A More Convenient Season” will have its world premiere at the Alys Stephens Center. The piece was commissioned by the center and philanthropist Tom Blount to memorialize the Sept. 15, 1963 bombing of 16th Street Baptist Church, a blast that killed four girls — Addie Mae Collins, Cynthia Wesley, Carole Robertson and Denise McNair — and brought the reality of the civil rights struggle to a new level. Born in Holland, Haber grew up in Israel, Nigeria and Milwaukee. A Guggenheim Fellow, Haber is the artistic director of MATA, the non-proﬁt organization founded by Philip Glass, that has, since 1996, been dedicated to commissioning and presenting new works by young composers from around the world. The music will be performed by the Alabama Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Michael Morgan, with electronic compositions by Philip White. For the performance, brothers David Harris of New York City and Quint Harris of Birmingham are preparing four of Birmingham’s most talented youth soloists and a female chorus, with accomThe entire piece is paniment by Karen Krekelberg. comprised of quotes The soloists are Margaret Marie from the Civil Rights Brewer of the University of Montevallo, Lillian Davis of the Alaera and from those bama School of Fine Arts, Eliza Warden of Samford University who lived through and Racquel Williams of Homethe struggle wood High School. The chorus will include members of approximately 40 choirs from the Birmingham area and beyond, including singers from historic Tuskegee University, the University of Alabama at Birmingham, the 16th Street Baptist Church Children’s Choir and various church choirs and choral groups. A short ﬁlm, directed and produced by Academy Award-nominated director David Petersen, will accompany the piece. Several years ago, Tom Blount brought Haber to Montgomery for the 25th anniversary of the Alabama Shakespeare Festival, and introduced him to Morris Dees, who gave them a private tour of the Southern Poverty Law Center. “I was deeply moved by it,” Haber said, and Blount suggested commissioning a piece from him. “I thought perhaps it would deal with the history of Alabama, civil rights and extremism,” with a string quartet. Blount put Haber in touch with the Alys Stephens Center and the project grew as plans formed for the community-wide commemoration Southern Jewish Life

September 2013

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September 2013

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of the 50th anniversary of Birmingham’s civil rights events. Haber started combing the archives at the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute, especially the oral history project. He knew from the beginning that he would not write any original lyrics — the entire piece would be made up of text from that time, or from those who lived through that era. He went through thousands of pages of transcripts, selecting around 200 phrases, “which is what you will hear the singers recite.” Many of the actual recordings will also be incorporated into the piece. He cautioned that even though a lot of research went into the piece, “I’m not a historian. This isn’t a history lesson, it’s the work of an artist, an outsider’s look at the community.” He also doesn’t want anyone to think he’s “coming here to tell Birmingham and Alabama their own story. They know it far better than I do. I’m creating a work of art through the filter of my own experiences of growing up in Europe and Israel and immigrating to America from Africa.” His said his challenge was to “find the balance between honoring and commemorating events and people, and creating something that goes beyond just this one single event.” The work’s title comes from a phrase in Martin Luther King’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” where he speaks of an individual “who paternalistically feels he can set the timetable for another man’s freedom; who lives by the myth of time and who constantly advises the Negro to wait until a ‘more convenient season.’ Shallow understanding from people of goodwill is more frustrating than absolute misunderstanding from people of ill will. Lukewarm acceptance is much more bewildering than outright rejection.” Haber was struck that the letter “is directed not against the virulent racists, but against the moderates (who) say let’s wait for a more convenient season.” That view is seen in every generation, Haber noted. “That really reverberated and resonated with me.” One of the moderates addressed in the letter was Rabbi Milton Grafman of Birmingham’s Temple Emanu-El, and Grafman would figure into the piece as it developed. For those attending the performance, even before the piece begins, there will be oral history recordings playing in the lobby. The work is divided into three movements without interruption. The first movement deals with the climate of fear that existed in Birmingham half a century ago. In speaking about that movement, Haber tells the story of a white 11-year-old named Pam who had written to Rev. Fred Shuttlesworth, one of the main leaders of the movement in Birmingham, and told him that she stood with him. He invited her to a meeting at 16th Street Baptist Church, which she attended as the only white person there. When she shared a can of Coke with a black teen, something unthinkable in the days of separate water fountains, she “felt flooded with the Holy Spirit.” It “speaks of a togetherness, a brotherhood,” he said. The second movement is entitled “Questions,” with the choir split into two. The movement juxtaposes questions from FBI polygraph tests administered to Klansmen with so-called literacy questions that were used to keep blacks from being eligible to vote. “Polygraph tests are the perfect dramatic vehicle,” Haber said. “They begin innocuously and ratchet up.” The poll questions, though used for malevolent purposes, “are very mysterious in their beauty — how many stars in the sky, how high is height... they have a real beauty to them that masks the deep hatred.” The movement also includes a setting of Psalm 133, better known in the Jewish world as “Hinei Ma Tov.” Haber said he heard the psalm

in the recording of a sermon Rabbi Grafman had given days after the bombing. He decided to come up with his own setting rather than trying to work the traditional melody into the piece. The third movement, “Negative Piece, Positive Piece,” comes largely from King’s letter. The evening “is not going to be the normal concert, classical music experience,” Haber said. Haber was “excited” when he heard Grafman’s sermon. “It really touches upon the same ideas — a call to action, a call to stand up when you see injustice. And he berates his congregation for standing idly by” (Full story, page 26). During a January visit to Birmingham, he was told that Grafman’s son, Stephen, would be speaking about his father’s civil rights legacy at Emanu-El that night, so Haber made sure to attend. For much of the last decade, Haber has been working on pieces detailing the Jewish history of Italy, especially Rome and Milan and the “special and insular musical tradition of Roman Jews, kept alive through the segregation of the Jews” in ghettoes.

Haber did not want to “write a work for Birmingham from the Jewish perspective. This event was not about the Jews.” He also did not want to limit its scope only to the church bombing. ArtPlay, the Stephens Center’s home for education and outreach, will present a composition master class with Haber and young composers at 4 p.m. on Sept. 16, in the Jemison Concert Hall. In early 2014, the Alys Stephens Center will hold a West Coast premiere in a performance featuring the CalArts 16th Street Baptist Church Orchestra at the Roy and Edna Disney/CalArts Theatre near Los Angeles. Bruno added, “I truly believe ‘A More ConTheresa Harper Bruno, chair of the Ste- venient Season’ will be a springboard for Yophens Center board, heard excerpts of all tam Haber to be one of the great composers three movements recently. “It was incredibly of our time.” uplifting and profoundly moving — like hear“A More Convenient Season” will have its ing a Beethoven symphony for the ﬁrst time. It one Birmingham performance on Sept. 21 at is music for the 21st century unlike anything I 8 p.m. at the Alys Stephens Center. Tickets are available, from $39.50 to $62.50. have ever heard before,” she said.

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Saying Kaddish for the Four Little Girls

When Rabbi Grafman went off-script on Rosh Hashanah after the 16th Street Church bombing On Sept. 19, 1963, Rabbi Milton Grafman warned his congregants at Birmingham’s Temple Emanu-El that on this Rosh Hashanah morning he was unsure what he would wind up saying. “For the ﬁrst time in all my years as a student and rabbi, I stand before a High Holiday congregation unprepared,” he said. Then he explained why, in a blistering message that was twice as long as what he referred to as the “respectable 20 minutes” for a sermon. Grafman had already been in the middle of Birmingham’s contentious civil rights battles all year. It started with an appeal by him and other moderate clergy to governmental leaders to respect court decisions mere hours after Governor George Wallace gave his “Segregation Forever” inaugural address. Birmingham then changed its form of government to what was hoped to be a more moderate leadership. Immediately, Rev. Martin Luther King decided to make Birmingham the cornerstone

of a strategy to confront segregation head-on with non-violence and force change, and the ministers again spoke out, urging King to give the new government time to change. He then had the headache of a delegation of 19 Conservative rabbis showing up in Birmingham unannounced to demonstrate, followed soon thereafter by the publication of King’s April Letter from Birmingham Jail. Jews from across the nation, not knowing the details of what was really happening in Birmingham, castigated Grafman for his presumed inaction. Then on Sept. 15, 1963, came the blast that shook Birmingham to its core and rocked the

world. A Klan bomb went oﬀ outside 16th Street Baptist Church, one of the main meeting places for the civil rights movement, just before Sunday morning services. Inside a downstairs dressing room, four girls were killed. “Anybody with a shred of humanity in him could not have been but horriﬁed by what happened,” Grafman said. Though dozens of churches and homes had been bombed over the years, this was seen as an unprecedented act of savagery at a sacred time of the week, and the result was unconscionable. The funeral for three of the girls was on the afternoon of Sept. 18, just before the begin-

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September 2013

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ning of Rosh Hashanah. A crowd of about 8,000 attended as King gave the eulogy. Grafman was among an estimated 800 members of the clergy who attended, and the service was called the largest interracial clergy gathering in the city’s history many times over. The next week, Grafman would be at the White House, discussing the situation in Birmingham with President John F. Kennedy. It was with that chaotic backdrop that Grafman began his remarks. He was sick about what had happened at the church, “not of the people who either by direction or indirection were responsible for the death of those children,” but of those “so-called nice people” who sit back and point fingers but don’t do anything to resolve issues. With an apology for using such a phrase from the pulpit, GrafGrafman said a step man told his congregants it was toward atonement time for them to “put up or shut up.” would be for the “Let’s stop being liberals in your white community to parlors and your offices. I know rebuild the bombed of only two men in our (Jewish) community… who have had the church guts to challenge Connor and Wallace and segregation and the whole problem of integration and everything else,” he said. “Those of you who keep talking about what ought to be done. What have you done?” He implored, “I’m not asking you to go out and lead a crusade. But in heaven’s sake, can’t you do at least what I have done and join with other Christians.” Then he reminded the congregation that the bombers were also rabidly anti-Semitic. “If they get away with this, nobody’s going to be safe, and the first ones that will not be safe will be the members of the Jewish community.” He was also critical of national organizations, including Jewish ones, looking to get the credit for change based on who shouts the loudest. “I want this problem to be worked out not on the basis of politics” or who gets the credit. Stinging from the criticism of those across the country who had assumptions of him based on King’s letter, he also criticized those who are “for the Negro” but were “whipping up hate against white people and those of us who are trying to do something.” He said law enforcement officials had warned him not to go to the funeral the day before, but he and his colleagues went anyway. “We didn’t want to make heroes of ourselves. Four children had been brutally killed. All we wanted to do was go there and express our grief and our sorrow, to show these Negro families that we felt the depth of their sorrow; that we shared it. All we wanted to do was to say to the Negro community that you are not alone. There are white people who care.” In the interracial ministers’ meeting before the funeral, Grafman implored “let it be the white community of Birmingham that makes the atonement” by rebuilding the church, instead of launching a national appeal. He challenged his congregants to all participate in the fundraising. “We want the white people to rebuild this church.” When it came time for the Mourner’s Kaddish, Grafman invoked the memory of the four girls and two young men who were killed later the same day, and the need for the city to repent for allowing such hatred to fester unchecked. In a slow, measured tone, he said “Let us bow our heads in silence. In memory of Denise McNair, Carole Robertson, Addie Mae Collins, Cynthia Wesley, James Robinson, Virgil Ware. Wantonly killed, insanely slain, brutally murdered, whose deaths we mourn, whose families we would comfort and the shame of whose murders we would and we must have our city atone.”

Thorne details “last chance” to convict the 16th Street bombers Just in time for the 50th anniversary commemorations of the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing, Birmingham author T.K. Thorne has a new book out, “Last Chance for Justice: How Investigators Uncovered New Evidence Convicting the Birmingham Church Bombers.” The Sept. 15, 1963 blast that killed four girls preparing for Sunday morning church services. Thorne picks up the story 37 years after the bombing, when the FBI reopens the case even though the one person who was convicted will not talk and key witnesses have died, making the chances of convicting the remaining two suspects slim. The investigation was handled by FBI Special Agent Bill Fleming and Birmingham Police Detective Ben Herren, who at first do not get along, but they begin to work together and unravel the case. A native of Montgomery’s Jewish community, Thorne is a retired Birmingham Police captain and now is executive director of CAP: City Action Partnership, which works with businesses, residents and the police and has reduced crime in the central city by almost two-thirds since 1995. She is said to be the first Jewish police officer in Birmingham. Her debut novel, “Noah’s Wife,” received an award as Book of the Year for Historical Fiction. A short film from her screenplay “Six Blocks Wide” was a finalist in a film festival in Italy and has shown at other juried festivals in the U.S. and Europe. She started thinking about this book in 2004 when she attended “The Gathering,” which brought together people affected by the 1963 bombing — victims’ families, civil rights activists, community members, investigators, attorneys. The two FBI investigators who had worked the last case spoke, and “I realized so many people had misconceptions about this case.” There were a total of three major investigations of the bombing, with the final one lasting five years and involving “some real heroes to bring the last two living suspects to justice,” she said. She started doing interviews in the summer of 2009 and after two years started organizing the book. She said there were two aspects of her background that helped her with the book. In Montgomery, her parents “strongly supported civil rights” and the Ku Klux Klan had burned a cross on her grandparents’ front yard for being involved in the Montgomery Bus Boycott. Her background in law enforcement brought an understanding of the process into her writing. After the bombing, President John Kennedy told the FBI to solve the case, but the case was closed in 1968. There were four strong suspects — Robert Chambliss, Thomas E. Blanton Jr, Herman Cash, and Bobby Frank Cherry. Chambliss, known as “Dynamite Bob,” was convicted simply of possessing dynamite without a permit and sentenced to six months, but no Federal charges were forthcoming. In 1971 Bill Baxley reopened the case when he took office as Alabama attorney general. Six years later, Chambliss was indicted for

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murder, convicted and sentenced to life in prison. He died there in 1985. The 1977 case was detailed in Frank Sikora’s book, “Until Justice Rolls Down.” The case was reopened in 1996, and the book opens with Herren’s trip to Texas, to interview Cherry. Cash had died in 1994, but in 2001 Blanton was tried and convicted, and in 2002 Cherry was also convicted. He died in 2004. Former U.S. Attorney Doug Jones led the prosecution team that ultimately scored the convictions. This year, the U.S. Senate awarded the Congressional Gold Medal to the four girls. There will be a book launch at 16th Street Baptist Church on Sept. 3 from 5 to 7 p.m. She will also speak as this year’s “Community Conversation” at Birmingham’s Temple BethEl during the break on Yom Kippur, at 3:45 p.m. on Sept. 14.

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Baton Rouge unveils Jewish Film Fest lineup

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Ready for the Baton Rouge Jewish film festival? Even though it won’t be until January, there is a preview film on Sept. 22, which will also be a public announcement of the coming year’s lineup. “Fill The Void” will be at the Manship Theatre on Sept. 22 at 2 p.m. It recently had a week-long run at the Capri Theatre in Montgomery. The film, in Hebrew with English sub-titles, has won numerous awards including seven Israeli Academy Awards. It is “from the inside” in the Chassidic community by a female filmmaker who is part of that community. The story is of a devout 18-year-old Israeli who is pressured to marry the husband of her late sister, who died in childbirth. Declaring her independence is not an option in Tel Aviv’s ultra-Orthodox Hasidic community, where religious law, tradition and the rabbi’s word are absolute. Admission is $8.50.

2014 Lineup

The festival will open on Jan. 15 with “The Other Son,” about two 18-year-olds, one Palestinian and one Israeli, who ﬁnd out they were switched at birth. On Jan. 16, “In The Shadow” is a whodunit set in 1950s Czechoslovakia. “Broadway Musicals: A Jewish Legacy” is the Jan. 18 documentary feature. A twin-bill on Jan. 19 opens with “Six Million and One” about “second generation” Holocaust survivors. It is followed by “Cast A Giant Shadow,” with Kirk Douglas playing Mickey Marcus during the establishment of Israel. Festival tickets go on sale Oct. 15.

Automotive Increasing luxury, fuel economy in GMC, Buick By Lee J. Green What’s in a name? When it comes to Birmingham’s Courtesy Buick/ GMC it’s a way of doing business that puts customer service above all, according to co-owner Tim Gargus. “We’re a family-owned business and we’re big into service,” said Gargus of the dealership that opened near Trussville in 1998. “Many of our sales and service professionals have been here a long time.” “We’re straightforward with customers. If you provide consistent great service and great vehicles, you’ll get a lot of repeat customers as we’ve had over the years,” he said. While that commitment to service hasn’t changed, today’s vehicles oﬀer so much more in the way of technology and entertainment, safety and fuel economy than the Buick/GMCs did back in 1998. “These are GM’s two premium brands. These vehicles have all the most advanced technology features and prove that you can have luxury and interior space with fuel economy,” said Gargus. “Today’s SUVs, trucks and luxury sedans from Buick/GMC get surprisingly good gas mileage.” Courtesy General Manager Todd Holtet said the new 2014 GMC Sierra Truck gets 23 miles per gallon on the highway. It is redesigned for

2014 with a new engine, suspension and increased towing capacity. “Plus it comes standard with two years or 24,000 miles worth of no charge for maintenance,” said Holtet. He said the trucks they sell today are offering increasingly more luxurious interiors. With technology becoming more reasonable on things such as navigation systems and Bluetooth, more Buicks/GMC either come standard with the equipment or the add-on packages are less expensive than they were a few years ago. “There are some consumers that just love trucks but they want the comfort, luxury interiors and technologies you expect to find on a luxury sedan,” said Holtet. He said the new Sierras are out this month. Later in 2014, the Yukon and Yukon Denali will be introduced with new features and a redesign for coming year. As far as 2013 sales, the Sierra, Yukon and crossover Acadia seem to be leading the way. Holtet added that leasing is becoming an even more popular option. “Leasing has made a comeback. We have what’s called an Experience Buick lease that offers two years of OnStar, XM Radio and maintenance for free,” he said. “Buicks and GMCs really hold their values, making this an even-more-attractive option.”

New Year New Memories

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Automotive Mercedes-Benz brings luxury to a new level By Lee J. Green

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September 2013

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The new 2014 Mercedes S-class luxury vehicles can come equipped with all of the comforts of home – a comfortable recliner, refrigerator, tray tables, Wi-Fi for entertainment and even air conditioners that can blow pleasing fragrances. But luxury also comes in smaller packages with Mercedes-Benz’ new 2014 CLA, a luxury sedan with the best fuel economy of any Mercedes vehicle and at a base price of just less than $30,000. “Our sales have been up (15 percent for new vehicles) this year and it’s because Mercedes puts out a wide option of excellent vehicles to please all types… plus the company’s commitment to the community we serve here at Mercedes-Benz of New Orleans,” said MBONO General Sales Manager Christopher Stuben. Mercedes-Benz is the namesponsor for the Superdome and a proud sponsor of the New Orleans Saints as well as the recently renamed New Orleans Pelicans NBA team. Stuben said thus far in 2013, Mercedes-Benz of New Orleans has sold more GLK 350 vehicles than any other. This smaller SUV with some of the best fuel economy in its class was redesigned for 2013, inside and out. It also now comes with a diesel engine option. Not far behind was the also-redesigned-in-2013, larger GL 450 SUV, which includes many standard amenities and a fold-down second-row of seating for easier access to the third row. For 2014, all E-class Mercedes-Benz vehicles will feature redesigns including headlights, taillights, grill enhancements and dashboards that include new, elegant clocks. The CLA is a totally new vehicle, available for the first time at Mercedes-Benz of New Orleans starting this month. It includes a fourcylinder turbo option and has been labeled as both “sporty and luxurious” at Mercedes-Benz’ lowest price points. Stuben said that all of the 2014 Mercedes-Benz vehicles will come standard with an “Eco Button. When the vehicle is in that mode, any time it is stopped at a light, the engine shuts off and it goes to electric power. Once someone accelerates from a stop, the engine turns back on. So the vehicles use a lot less fuel, which saves money and the environment,” he said. Mercedes-Benz continues to be on the forefront with implementation of new technology for both convenience and safety. On the safety side, the vehicles have an option of blind-spot assist and collision prevention. With collision prevention, cameras and radar on the Mercedes vehicles can detect if someone is behind the car and automatically stop the vehicle. It will also stop the vehicle from moving forward if it senses a vehicle is going in a perpendicular direction across an intersection. Most Mercedes-Benz vehicles come standard with all Bluetooth technologies, including music streaming. As part of an amenities package, all S-Class vehicles in 2014 can come equipped with the aforementioned “home conveniences” package. “You can get the mini fridge, recliner seats with footrests, tray tables, Wi-Fi and fragrances for the AC,” said Stuben. “It offers everything a limo can in a higher-performance, better-fuel-economy vehicle.” He said many Mercedes-Benz of New Orleans customers come to them educated on what is available, and most know what they want. “A lot of them communicate with us on the Internet before they even come in. It makes our job easier. They know what they want and we get it for them.”

By Lee J. Green

Road safety and saving money go together

Family-owned-and-operated Crestline Shell service station in Mountain Brook wants to make sure one’s automobiles also enjoy a healthy, happy new year. The Crestline Village full-service auto repair shop and gasoline ﬁlling station has been helping customers with auto care needs since 1997. Jack King, Jr., and his sister Linda King currently own Crestline Shell. “We pride ourselves on friendly customer service and being honest with our customers,” said Linda King. “We can diagnose any problem and we work with our customers’ busy schedules to get them back on the road as quickly as possible. They know they can trust us to care for their cars.” Advancements continue to add to the technology available on today’s vehicles, and diagnostic equipment has also become more sophisticated. “We have an advanced diagnostic system that we can hook up to a vehicle and detect any problems it might have. Our mechanics are expertly trained on how to ﬁx any problem,” she said. Crestline Shell recommends at least a couple of check-ups a year for oil changes and to see if new brake pads or tires are needed. Even though winter temperatures in Deep South usually don’t stay as chilly as in some other regions, they recommend a tune-up before the temperatures dip. “We can put more antifreeze in there if needed. And it is important to check the tires. When the weather gets colder, the tire pressure lessens and tires can lose some air. When the temperatures warm up a bit later in the day, the tire pressure may increase some, but it’s a good idea to make sure the tires have the ideal pressure throughout the colder temperature times,” said King.

Being safe on the roads means saving money. Going green means keeping more green in the wallet. E-Policy & E-Billing are a simple way to save 5 percent of your auto premium and also reduce the use of paper. Those go for customers of Eyal Ron, a Birmingham Allstate Insurance agent and involved member of the area Jewish community. “There is a lot of incentive to being as safe as possible on the road,” said Ron. “Allstate has several ways that it rewards its customers for safe driving.” Its Safe Driver Bonus reduces the premium every six months of accident-free driving by five percent. Staying accident-free for 12 months saves you $100 off your deductible for up to $500 over time. If someone does get into an accident, Ron said Allstate’s Accident Forgiveness policy makes sure the rates don’t go up, no discounts are dropped and no surcharges are added. “We also now have a Claim Satisfaction Guarantee. If a repair shop or claims adjustor did not do a satisfactory job as laid out in the guidelines, Allstate pays a customer back his or her premium for six months,” he said. Ron said Allstate also offers New Car Replacement. If a vehicle is totaled within the first two years of purchase, Allstate will offer a brand new replacement vehicle and not just a paper check. “When a car drives off a lot it probably loses at least 10 percent of its value already, so this is a very good deal,” he said. Soon Allstate will begin a program that monitors safe driving and

Your car needs a healthy New Year also

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September 2013

Automotive

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can oﬀer immediate rewards. Policyholders can put a device in their car that monitors levels of acceleration and braking. “It measures a safe driver as someone who more gradually brakes and accelerates. Those who are considered safe drivers get a 25 percent discount,” said Ron. Even though mandatory insurance has been a law for several years in the state of Alabama, starting Jan. 1 of this year the state began enforcing it with every driver. Before it was enough to have just a proof of insurance card. But now on every check, law enforcement will conﬁrm electronic records. “There were people that had insurance but let it lapse before their renewal or in some cases had fake proof-of-insurance cards. Now starting this year they are really cracking down,” said Ron.

Acura releases new MDX and RLX for 2014 By Lee J. Green

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September 2013

Southern Jewish Life

Birmingham’s King Acura is steering people back to SUVs with its new MDX and RDX vehicles that offer luxury, plenty of interior space and excellent fuel economy. The redesigned, seven-passenger front-wheel drive MDX SUV for 2014 gets 28 miles per gallon on the highway. It is already available at King Acura near the Riverchase Galleria. “The fuel economy is so much better today. The vehicle has everything someone wants in an SUV with the cargo space, smooth ride, amenities and now great gas mileage,” said King Acura GM Reed Lyles. The MDX comes standard with leather seats, a moon roof, power seats, a back-up camera, push button start and remote start on advanced models. “We’re selling every one we can get our hands on but we’ll continue to get in more as demand continues to rise,” said Lyles. Acura also offers the popular RDX SUV, which is a five-passenger vehicle that also offers luxury with fuel economy. It was redesigned in 2013 and will be similar in 2014. Also new for 2014 is Acura’s flagship luxury sedan, the RLX. It gets 31 miles to the gallon on the highway with a 301-horsepower engine and more backseat legroom than the BMW 7 series, he said. Some of its amenities include touch-screen operation for navigation, audio controls, voice-activated Bluetooth control and consolidated buttons for easier operation as well as nicer aesthetics. But the list goes on. The RLX can come equipped with a hard drive that stores 3,600 songs. In the way of safety, the RLX has “radar cruise control” that can slow the vehicle down or come to a stop automatically if it recognizes traffic. “It also has Lane-Keeping Assistance. There is a camera in the windshield and the vehicle will steer someone back into a lane if they are veering out of it,” said Lyles. He said the RLX also offers a blind-spot indicator. In the past 12 months, the MDX and the RDX have been the top sellers at King Acura. “Acura offers luxury, performance, safety and fuel economy. Yes, you can have it all,” he said.

SAVE THE DATE Long-Lewis offers tradition, new tech, award-winning customer service By Lee J. Green Birmingham area Ford and Lincoln dealership Long-Lewis has come a long way from Mr. Long’s old hardware store, which sold its first “horseless carriage” on a whim in 1911. Today, Long-Lewis is one of the nation’s highest-ranked Ford and Lincoln dealers in several categories while Ford pushes forward in the 21st century with top ratings for fuel economy and customer satisfaction. Long-Lewis was a hardware store in Bessemer dating back to the late 19th century. In 1915, Ford decided to sell its vehicles out of what were called “franchises” instead of direct from the company. Only a small number of vehicles were sold during the early years. In 1965, Long-Lewis became a dealership that sold only automotive vehicles and in 1999 moved to its current location on Highway 150 in Hoover. “We pride ourselves on a long-lasting tradition of selling customers some trusted vehicles, and always pleasing the customer,” said New Car Sales Manager Gary Mason. “We understand the automotive buying customer is much more educated today, especially considering the Internet. What sets us apart is that we ‘change the buying process’ people had come to expect with dealerships. People know what cars and trucks cost. That’s why we don’t negotiate. Customers know what they want. We spend our time getting the customer what he or she wants, versus negotiating price.” Mason has been with Long-Lewis Ford for more than 17 years and one of his vehicles is a 1992 Ford F-150 truck with more than 300,000 miles on it. “The F-150 was the first vehicle I sold and for the past 37 years it has been the top-seller here at Long-Lewis,” he said. While that may remain constant for years to come, many things are changing at Ford as well as the public’s perception of Ford. “Ford is on the cutting edge of new technology. When people used to think about Fords, they thought about them being reliable, strong (towing capability of trucks), holding good resale value, safe and American-made. While those things are all still true today, Ford is gaining quite a reputation for producing some of the most fuel-efficient vehicles in several different classes along with offering some of the latest technological conveniences,” added Mason. He said eco-boost technology and as-durable-but-lighter-weight vehicles today are “changing the face of Ford.” The Ford Focus, last year’s best-selling vehicle in the world, gets 40 miles per gallon on the highway, almost as much as some hybrid vehicles. Ford’s Fusion hybrid mid-sized sedan can get 47 miles per gallon — in town. “There is a trick to keeping it at or under a certain speed so the vehicle can remain mostly in electric power and not have to switch over to fuel. Also, the heat and energy from the brakes can recharge the battery,” said Mason. He added that 2014 marks the 50th anniversary of the Ford Mustang. Known as powerful cars but lacking in fuel economy previously, the 2014 mustang has a 500-horsepower engine. The eco-boost technology allows it to average 33 miles per gallon. Some of the newer technology features customers can get on the Ford vehicles include voice control on all of their electronic devices, Bluetooth technology and a car that can parallel park itself thanks to the use of sonar.

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“Today’s vehicle does everything for you so you can focus on the most important aspect — driving,” he said. Four years ago, Long-Lewis Ford added Lincoln to its family and is the only Lincoln dealership in a 50-mile radius. Lincoln continues to focus on luxury with its vehicles, but Mason said today’s Lincolns are now more price-competitive with other luxury vehicles in its category, in addition to getting better fuel economy than in the past.

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The redesigned-for-2014 Mazda 3 and Mazda 6 already have earned a 4.0 GPA, leading their respective sport and luxury sedan classes in fuel economy. “Mazda knows how to design cars that can please everyone by offering luxury, performance, fuel economy and interior space in a fun-to-drive vehicle at a very fair price,” said Bobby Bloomston, a sales leader at Med Center Mazda in Pelham and a long-time involved member of the Birmingham area Jewish community. He said both the 3 and the 6 boast redesigns as well as some new features standard for 2014 when they roll in to the dealership this month. The new Mazda 6 offers more interior room and even better fuel economy than before thanks to Mazda’s Skyactiv engine technology. The Mazda 3 now features a 2.5-liter engine, which gives it more horsepower and torque than previous Mazda 3s, but it still gets 40 miles per gallon on the highway. “That is just a few miles per gallon below most hybrids and there are no worries about batteries or higher vehicle cost. Plus the Mazda 3 has more horsepower than the hybrids,” said Bloomston. In 2013, Mazda’s smaller crossover SUV vehicle — the CX5 — was redesigned. It offers plenty of cargo space and at 33 miles per gallon on the highway, offers the best fuel economy of any SUV. Mazda’s larger SUV, the CX9, offers more room but slightly lower fuel economy. “This year the 3, the 6 and the CX5 have been our top-sellers since they offer so much value,” said Bloomston. Coming standard on some Mazda vehicles, and available as packages on others, are technologies aimed at safety, convenience and entertainment. The 6 comes standard with radar-controlled cruise control. If a car is within 300 to 500 feet in front of a driver on cruise control, the vehicle automatically slows itself down and then goes back into cruise control once there is enough safe spacing. When a car is in an adjacent line behind a car in or near its blind spot, a light glows in the exterior rear-view mirror and the signal stays on until it is safe for a driver to merge. Most Mazda vehicles offer hands-free Bluetooth control for music and cell phone calls. Bloomston said 85 percent of Mazda buyers do some research on the Internet before coming in to the dealership. “Most know exactly what they want before they come in. They have read about it and they want to experience it, then take it home,” he said.

L’Shanah Tovah!

Brannon Honda leads with innovative vehicles, customer service By Lee J. Green For many years, Honda has been leading the way with performance, fuel-economy, safety and luxury. Now add to that list “cleanest interior.” The 2014 Honda Odyssey mini-van will be the first vehicle to have a built-in vacuum cleaner in it. “Honda surveys its customers, looks at industry needs and its engineers think about what they seek in a vehicle when coming up with new innovations” as well as redesigns, said Patrick Brannon, who owns Birmingham’s Brannon Honda with his brother, Ben. The award-winning Honda dealership started as Roebuck Honda in 1993 then the name was changed to Brannon in 2006. “We wanted to let everyone know it was a family-run business and that we want to go the extra mile with our friendly customer service,” he said. He said over the years, technology has been the biggest change in the automotive industry. “The first car I sold had a cassette player only. Now everything is Bluetooth with advanced electronics and communications capabilities along with a strong focus toward vehicles that are among the most fuel-efficient and environmentally friendly on the market,” said Brannon. The vehicles years ago mainly had just one air bag. Now the Odyssey offers eight air bags as standard equipment. On the 2013 and 2014 Honda Accord, there is a camera on the grill that shows drivers on a dashboard display their complete “blind spot” view when the right turn signal is turned on. Some Honda vehicles also come with a sonar collision-warning system that notifies drivers when they get too close to other vehicles. “There was a time when only higher-end vehicles had the most advanced safety features or they came in packages as extras,” said Brannon. “Honda doesn’t believe safety should be tied in just to luxury. Honda is big into advanced safety features on every vehicle. It’s part of Honda’s ‘Safety for Everyone’ motto.” The 2014 models come out in September and Brannon said they are having some excellent close-out specials on the 2013 models. The Civic was redesigned in 2013 and additional features were added. Brannon said the vehicle was wellreceived and will be similar for 2014. Honda’s hybrids include the Civic, Insight and CRZ. The Accord joins the group in 2014 and there will be a fully electric Fit for 2014. The battery technology has improved to where vehicles can go more than 250 miles on one charge. And with hybrids, drivers can balance use of gasoline and battery power. “There is a screen that shows a driver how much gas and electric charge they are using, plus how to get the most out of their hybrid,” said Brannon. Brannon Honda also offers trained salespeople as well as mechanics on the hybrids/electric cars. He also added that the dealership believes in a friendly, no-hassle or haggle approach to sales. “According to surveys, 97 percent of new car customers research online before coming in. We have any information ready that they might need and let them tell us what they want,” he said.

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September 2013

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Every year, Peoples Health recognizes 10 individuals as Peoples Health Champions — one at each New Orleans Saints pre-season and regular season home game. This year, the first Champion was Judge Sol Gothard. In accepting the award on the field during the first time-out at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome on Aug. 9, Gothard was following in the footsteps of his wife, Jackie. She was honored in 2007 for her efforts in leading Beth Israel back from the devastation of Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath as the only local synagogue whose building became unusable. In the 11 years that Peoples Health has named Champions, the Gothards are the second husband-and-wife team to be honored. The program recognizes the “unique capability of seniors to accomplish things now that they would not have been able to accomplish in their youth” and those who embody the idea that “we become better as we age.” Recipients are from the New Orleans, Baton Rouge and Mississippi Gulf Coast. Sol Gothard said “As I stood on the field of the Superdome to receive my award, 6 years later, it was surreal as I almost expected them to call up Jackie again.” But he was also there to be recognized for helping rescue “a Jewish institution that was in trouble. And each of us did it with a lot of help from others; both individuals and agencies.” The local Jules Lazard Post of Jewish War Veterans of America had gone from 85 members before the storm to just 17 afterward. Recognizing the value of veterans’ groups to a community, Gothard started working on rebuilding the chapter. By August 2009, the national JWV was holding a national conference in New Orleans and recognized him for his accomplishments. By then, New Orleans had the fastest growing JWV post in the country, with Gothard leading the charge to a membership of 120 plus 55 patrons. The post still has a wide range of programs and activities in the community, spread around the local institutions and congregations. After the ceremony, Gothard said his greatest satisfaction was that he and his wife, two Jewish Americans, were recognized by the community at large for what they did on behalf of two Jewish institutions. He commented, “What a country! What a city!”

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

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New Orleans’ Moore named Jacobs counselor of year Garrett Moore of New Orleans was named Counselor of the Year at the Henry S. Jacobs Camp in Utica this summer. Each year, the staff votes on which individual “did truly outstanding work over the course of the summer.” Camp Director Jonathan Cohen noted that 16 staffers received votes, “a testament to the overall high quality of our camp staff this summer.” Cohen said he was proud of Moore’s great work during the summer. “He made a real difference in the lives of his campers – and that’s what it’s all about.” Moore is the son of Harriet and Mark Moore of New Orleans. He grew up attending Temple Sinai and spent multiple prior summers as a Jacobs camper and staff member. He is an entering senior at the University of New Orleans. Every staff member who cast their ballot for Garrett spoke of his energy, his attitude, and that he always had a smile on his face. One counselor noted that “Garrett puts the needs of his campers before his own needs. Not only was he with and for his campers, he was also able to be with and for the entire unit – and his fellow staff.” Another noted that “He is always energetic, and always has a positive attitude. He always has a smile for everyone. And watching him interact with campers brings a smile to my face.” Dov Morris, who served as Maskilim Unit Head this summer, and was Moore’s supervisor all summer, stated that “without Garrett, my job would have been so much harder. Garrett was an asset to our unit team in so many ways; it has been such a pleasure to have worked so closely with him all summer.” Garrett was pleased to be recognized, “It is such an honor to receive such a coveted award, and I truly enjoyed all my experiences at camp. It was a joy to give the campers the Jacobs experience my counselors were able to give to me when I was a camper.”

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Berkowitz new UAH graduate dean David Berkowitz was named the dean of graduate studies at the University of Alabama in Huntsville. He assumed his new role on June 1. “David will lead growth of the School of Graduate Studies through strengthening of current programs, developing new, innovative, and inter-disciplinary programs, for students from the Huntsville region as well as those from throughout the U.S. and beyond,” said Dr. Robert A. Altenkirch, UAH president. Berkowitz previously served as professor of Marketing and Management in the UAH College of Business Administration. “I’m excited about an opportunity to move our graduate programs forward. The university was founded on the basis of providing graduate education to the professionals in our community and I look forward to expanding that tradition of excellence to future scholars in the region and in the world,” said Berkowitz. Berkowitz also served as associate dean and chair of the Department of Management and Marketing, director of the Center for the Management of Science and Technology, and director of the Integrated Enterprise Laboratory, all in the College of Business Administration.

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September 2013

He has experience as a product developer, small business owner and academician. His research has focused on the intersection between product development and supply chain for complex long lifecycle products and has appeared in leading academic journals in the ﬁeld. Berkowitz was a founding board member of Alabama Launchpad, and has obtained over $5 million in funded research.

Sklar co-chairing taxation group Attorney Bradley J. Sklar of Sirote & Permutt in Birmingham has been elected to serve as co-chair of the American Institute on Federal Taxation. He and fellow co-chair Janet Moore of JamisonMoneyFarmer are ﬁlling the position that Robert C. Walthall of Bradley Arant Boult Cummings had occupied since 1996. Sklar and Moore oﬃcially assumed their new positions at the 37th annual AIFT, held June 19 to 21 in Birmingham. In addition to his co-chair position, Sklar also sits on the Board of Trustees for AIFT and is a long-time supporter of the organization and its mission to advance the knowledge of federal taxation through programs of study for tax professionals.

Southern Hadassah members take national positions

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Front row: Lee Kansas, New Orleans; Roselle Ungar, New Orleans; Bettye Berlin, Memphis. Back row: Sherrie Grunfeld, Birmingham; Sue Moye, Atlanta; Dana Waxler Chattanooga. The Southern region of Hadassah was well represented at a national business meeting in Baltimore on July 30 and 31. The meeting was marked by the National Nurses Initiative’s introduction of the new health program “Every Beat Counts,” and the new Chai Society annual gift group of $180 or $360, patterned after the Keepers of the Gate annual givers who have a $1000 minimum. Susan Moye of Atlanta, formerly of Montgomery, has been reelected to the national board and to serve as a national vice-president. Immediate past president of the region, Dana Waxler of Chattanooga, was also elected to the national board. Roselle Ungar of New Orleans, also a national board member, is co-chair of the 2014 Hadassah Convention to be held in Las Vegas, July 20 to 23, 2014. Sherrie Grunfeld, chapter president of Birmingham Hadassah, attended the meeting as a delegate and represented Southern Region at the Nurses Council Meeting. She is seeking all Jewish nurses in the Southern Region to join her in the Southern Region Nurses Council, which will actively lead the heart health initiative.

Two New Yorkers brought “Jersey Boys” to stage

Building a new house? Adding on a room?

By Lee J. Green The two New Yorkers who co-wrote the smash-hit musical “Jersey Boys,” which is coming to the Birmingham-Jefferson Convention Complex Sept. 10 to 15, said their first musical wildly exceeded their expectations and they are so proud to have seen it go from pen to stage. “Jersey Boys” tells the story of Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons: Valli, Bob Gaudio, Tommy DeVito and Nick Massi. This group of blue-coller boys from the wrong side of the tracks became one of the biggest American pop music sensations of all time. They wrote their own songs, invented their own sound and sold 175 million records worldwide — all before they were 30 years old. Co-writer Rick Elice was born in Manhattan and grew up in Queens. His family lived a block from the Conservative synagogue Elice went to and he went to Hebrew school much of his young life. “I love to sing and had a spiritual bond with Judaism so for a little while I thought about becoming a cantor,” he said. But after earning a scholarship from Cornell University, Elice felt the lure of theatre. He would go on to earn a masters degree from the Yale University School of Drama. “I was cast in a Broadway show the day I got my masters degree. I have always loved the theatre,” he said. In 1981 someone who owned an ad agency gave Elice an opportunity to do some freelance copywriting to help pay the bills. “They paid me to write funny headlines. I had no training in copywriting. I had just written postcards. That was about all I could compare it to. But I guess I had a knack since it turned into a full-time job for a long time.” From 1982 to 1999, as creative director at Serino Coyne Inc., he produced ad campaigns for some 300 Broadway shows including “A Chorus Line” and “The Lion King.” Then in 1999 an executive with Disney made him a very special offer. “Disney told me to make up a dream job. I faxed to them what that would be and they said yes. I’ve been very fortunate and blessed,” said Elice. While still with Disney in 2001, a former client of the ad firm contacted him and said he had acquired the Four Seasons’ catalog of songs with the intent of making a musical. He wanted Elice to write the show. “I had never written a play before. I called up my good friend and I feel a personal mentor, Marshall Brickman, to see if he would be interested in co-writing the show,” said Elice. Brickman didn’t know much about Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons or about their music, but he was intrigued with the idea of collaborating with Elice as well as writing his first musical. The two met with the members of the group and others involved with the project to get as much information as they could. They would learn much more than the Four Seasons’ music catalog. DeVito went to prison for a while because of Mafia-involved wrongdoing. All members of the group grew up as Roman Catholics on the tough streets of New Jersey. “When they told us about their lives I was just amazed. There are some great stories in there that no one knew. They never talked about their periled past in interviews or biographies, especially since their publicists wanted to keep their image of squeaky-clean pop stars singing about love and good times,” he said. Neither Elice nor Brickman were sure at first if the play would hit

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He got his first non-music job as a writer for the stage. But “Jersey Boys” got its first break, premiering at a small theatre in La Jolla, Calif. “Candid Camera” in 1966. Brickman shared “The producers had scheduled some previews an office with Birmingham’s Fannie Flagg and and we had great audiences. It was very well then a rising Jewish comedienne named Joan received and then there was such an unex- Rivers. “I guess you could call that the first repected groundswell,” said Elice. ality show,” he said. Broadway took notice and “Jersey Boys” That led to him becoming head writer for premiered in the Big Apple on Sept. 6, 2005. the “The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson” “It was on Shabbat and I will never forget the then later “The Dick Cavett Show.” wonderful reaction we got from the opening One weekend he was playing a gig with The night crowd. It was explosive, jubilant,” he Tarriers in New York City and the opening act added. was a young comedian named Woody Allen. One year later, the “Jersey Boys” national “Woody said the most hilarious and brilliant tour launched in San Francisco and in the past things to a dead house. His stuff was so new few years has been across the U.S., Canada, and audacious,” said Brickman. England, Australia and New Zealand. The Tarriers and Allen shared a manager. “Jersey Boys is so much more than a story Brickman and Allen agreed to collaborate first about an American band, and the Four Sea- on some stand-up comedy writing for Allen, sons didn’t just have appeal to Americans. then later on some movie projects. They co-wrote “Sleeper” They were loved around the and then in 1976 achieved an world and people could idenincredible pinnacle — wintify with them. It tells the stoOn “Candid ry of band but it’s more about Camera,” Brickman ning the Oscar for best screenplay (as well as best director the external issues of finding shared an office home, being respected, dealfor Allen and best film) with ing with hardships and makwith Birmingham’s the classic “Annie Hall.” “That was just such an incredible ing it in life,” said Elice. Fannie Flagg experience. To get that kind Soon the show will preof validation for your creative miere in Brazil, which is where Brickman was born. His father was in work is very special,” said Brickman. He and Allen also co-wrote a couple of other the Polish diaspora and to get residency in the movies together. Speaking of movies, BrickU.S., had to move his family to Brazil first. The Brickman family then moved to Brook- man throws out an interesting bit of trivia. He lyn when Marshall was 3 years old. He said was playing one of the “dueling banjos” in that his family was a proud Jewish family, who be- famous scene from the movie “Deliverance.” For many years, Brickman continued to lieved in the arts very strongly as well as leftwrite for magazines, television shows and wing political causes. “When I was young, my parents would movies. When Elice contacted him in 2001 leave musical instruments around to see if I about “Jersey Boys,” he thought it would be a became interested. They exposed me to folk fun challenge to try his hand at playwriting. “I knew nothing about The Four Seasons music because back then it was very counter-culture and was tied to left-wing causes,” so I listened to their music and immediately said Brickman. “I became fascinated with the loved it. It was deceptively simple, elegant. violin played as a fiddle, the banjo and the They used some weird instruments and it was mandolin. By the time I was 12, I was playing eclectic. I even detected a little bit of folk in hootenannies in Washington Square. Here there,” said Brickman. He too was surprised by how popular the was this Jewish kid from Brooklyn playing banjo and fiddle, singing about picking cotton show was when it premiered in California and on Broadway. “Shows about the Beatles, in the South.” Brickman played many folk music concerts Beach Boys and Elvis had crashed and burned while in high school and at the University of on Broadway. But there was something special Wisconsin. After graduating, an old college about this that really resonated with people, friend helped him become a member of a ris- not just with fans of Frankie Valli and the Four ing folk group called The Tarriers (they would Seasons,” said Brickman. “This really has been later have a hit with the song “Banana Boat”). a life-changing and incredibly rewarding exLater he would meet pre-Mamas and Papas perience.” John and Michelle Phillips. They would form “Jersey Boys” will be at the Birmingham-Jefthe New Journeymen. Brickman currently is ferson Convention Complex concert hall Sept. writing a screenplay about the Mamas and the 10 to 15. Tickets available on ticketmaster.com Papas. or the BJCC Central Ticket Office.

Southern Jewish Life

Historical conference to emphasize civil rights era With Birmingham’s commemorations of the 50th anniversary of major civil rights era events all year, the Southern Jewish Historical Society is holding its annual conference in Birmingham, Nov. 1 to 3. Noted scholar and civil rights activist Julian Bond will be the conference’s keynote speaker, giving his address at Shabbat evening services at Temple Emanu-El. Earlier that afternoon, he will also lead a tour of civil rights sites in the area and take part in a roundtable discussion at 16th Street Baptist Church. Dan Puckett will lead the discussion of Birmingham’s Jewish community during the civil rights era. As a student at Morehouse College, Bond co-founded the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee. He later served in the Georgia legislature for 20 years and was the ﬁrst president of the Southern Poverty Law Center. Currently, Bond teaches at American University in Washington and the University of Virginia. To honor Rabbi Allen Krause, a noted scholar and board member of the SJHS who passed away last year, Mark Bauman, the editor of Southern Jewish History, will present “Listening to the Quiet Voices,” about Krause’s interviews with Southern rabbis during the Civil Rights Movement. The conference will begin with a tour of Jewish Birmingham, led by community leaders. On Nov. 2, there will be a panel about Alabama’s Jewish communities, with Robert Adler speaking about the Muscle Shoals community, Susan Thomas discussing the legacy of Leon Schwarz in turn-of-thecentury Mobile, and Kaye Nail discussing Birmingham Jewish women and social reform from 1880 to 1980. Additional panels include Classical Reform Judaism in the South, and Jews in civil rights, particularly in Dade County, Fla., and Dallas. Dina Weinstein will also present the story of Melvin Meyer’s experiences as a student journalist at the University of Alabama in that era. There will be a reception at the Birmingham Public Library and an optional tour of the Samuel Ullman Museum. On Nov. 3, there will be a panel on “The Charleston Diaspora,” including “Cincinnati Meets Charleston: The Moses and Jonas Families in Alabama.” A Meet-The-Authors session will conclude the conference, with Barbara Bonﬁeld and “Knesseth Israel: Over 123 Years of Orthodoxy,” Dan Puckett’s new book “In The Shadow of Hitler: Alabama’s Jews, the Second World War and the Holocaust,” and Nicholas Kotz’s “The Harness Maker’s Dream: Nathan Kallison and the Rise of South Texas.” The conference will be at the Doubletree Hotel near Five Points South. Registration for the entire weekend is $125, or one may register for individual events. Registration is due by Oct. 16, and more information can be found at jewishsouth.org.

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Honoring Catherine Kahn

At the conference, Catherine Kahn will receive the Saul Viener Outstanding Career Service Award. She is archivist emeritus at Touro Inﬁrmary, the oldest private hospital in New Orleans. Before starting to set up Touro’s archives in 1990, she was registrar and curator at the Historic New Orleans Collection. She is co-author of “The Jewish Community of New Orleans” with Irwin Lachoﬀ, and “Legacy,” the history of New Orleans Community Chest and the Greater New Orleans Foundation. A past president of Greater New Orleans Archivists, she was project chair of “Jews of New Orleans: An Archival Guide.” Kahn is a past recipient of the Helen Mervis Jewish Community Professional Award from the Jewish Endowment Foundation of Louisiana. Southern Jewish Life

September 2013

Kosher-Style Recipe: Max’s Deli By Lee J. Green

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Soon Max’s Deli can lay claim to being the only restaurant in Birmingham to serve Jewish food staples such as chopped liver, brisket and Reubens side-by-side with a take-home spaghetti dinner for four, fried chicken and even Vietnamese spring rolls. That’s the plan for new 3431 Colonnade Pkwy • Birmingham owner Tuan Huynh, who 205.968.7600 • maxsdelionline.com bought Max’s Deli earlier this year. “We plan to keep the favorites that everyone has loved here,” said Huynh, referring to the menu. “But we will be simplifying the menu and adding some things so we can please everyone.” Huynh moved to the U.S. and Birmingham with his family from Vietnam after the war, when he was 10 years old. He graduated with an engineering degree from the University of Alabama at Birmingham. That was his career for 17 years, but it involved a lot of travel. Seeking a business opportunity that would keep him in Birmingham all the time to be with his family, Huynh opened four Spin Cleaners dry cleaning locations. He ran those for five years and sold them last year. A few months later he found out about the opportunity to acquire Max’s Deli. “My brother (who now is also with Max’s Deli) had owned and managed some restaurants. I thought it would be something we all would really enjoy so we came to Max’s Deli several times to get a good idea about the food and the people. We were impressed with the product and the community support,” he said. Huynh said he has enjoyed meeting Max’s Deli customers and welcomes feedback (pun intended) about what people like as well as what they would want the restaurant to add. “We’re for sure going to offer some more family meals 1 cup butter for carry out and lunch ca1 cup sugar tering to offices. We will also 2 3/4 cups of flour have some lunch and dinner 3 eggs specials regularly,” he said. 1 cup of sour cream “We are looking at varying 1 teaspoon of baking soda portion options for some 1 1/2 teaspoon of baking powder items. But for the most part, 1 teaspoon of real vanilla we’re keeping everything that has been successful and Cream the butter, add sugar, eggs, popular.” flour, baking soda, baking powder, Huynh soon wants to add vanilla and sour cream mix in to the menu some of his fablender for 5 minutes. vorite dishes from his native Lightly spray a round pan with food country such as Vietnamese spray. Put 1/2 of the mix in the pan spring rolls, noodles and and add 1/4 cup of sugar and special flavors. 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon. Add He welcomes the chance the rest of the mix and 1/4 cup of to meet with Jewish comsugar along with 1/2 teaspoon of munity leaders as well as all cinnamon. customers to let them know about what’s new and to Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes thank them for their patronor until done. age.

Coffee Cake

September 2013

Southern Jewish Life

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slashing is allowed at a Kol Nidre service? Conveniently, the recently-discovered Mishnah tractate Bava Gump includes an incisive discussion on this very topic. Slasher villains face several questions when preying on a Jewish service. Foremost, they must leave at least 10 people alive through the end of the service. Not only does this free the villain from being responsible for jeopardizing a minyan, and leave plenty of survivors for multiple sequels — it also preserves a minyan at which the slasher can atone for his (or her) sins. Such sins include, but are not limited to, slashing, disturbing others by disrupting the service, and — the most heinous of all — being a fan of the New York Y*nkees. However, does that not also mean that there must be at least 10 victims, so they can preserve their own minyan in The World to Come? While this is logical, it does mean that after killing one victim the slasher is required to kill nine more, in rapid succession. This did not sit well with several Talmudic rabbis, one of whom additionally pointed out that the slasher shouldn’t be allowed to kill anyone in the ﬁrst place. He then went for a drink, said, “I’ll be right back,” and, naturally, was never seen again. The remaining rabbis quickly agreed to not go outside looking for him, and moved on to the next subject. In line with this Talmudic teaching, the Twentieth-Century commentator, Rabbi Norman of Congregation Beis Hotel, in his 1967 Kol Nidre sermon, drew this conclusion: At least Yom Kippur can never fall on Halloween.

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Learned? We are the People of the Book…

The 1938 Works Progress Administration book about Mississippi said that in the town of Monticello, some cemetery inscriptions are written in Hebrew and Greek to “show the learning of some of Monticello’s early citizens.” Or maybe there’s a simpler explanation — the three Hebrew markers in the middle of the town’s historic cemetery are for Jews — Elias Hyman (1849), Hyman Kottwitz (1854, above) and Isaac Klotz (1855).

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Kol Nidre the 13th, Part 13 The last time Kol Nidre fell on Friday the 13th was October, 1967. The next time will be October, 2062. 2013 is the ﬁrst Kol Nidre on Friday the 13th in September since 1861 — which doesn’t happen again for at least another thousand years, if ever.

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Since the founding of the United States, and for at least the next millennium, Kol Nidre on Friday the 13th has never, and will never, occur during a “13” year… Except now… It began as a Yom Kippur like any other Yom Kippur. Jews everywhere were almost done deciding which indiscretions they’d admit to by atoning for them. They then made themselves feel better by counting the ones for which they thought other people should atone. But on this dark and stormy Friday night, one group of Jews gathered Kol Nidre on for Kol Nidre at Camp Kippur Lake — but they forgot about one particuFriday the 13th? lar prohibition. How can one be inOh, the horror… scribed in the Book of Life if writing is prohibited on Shabbat? Of course, writing is prohibited on Yom Kippur, as well, but there are still a few Jews in the world so Somebody must have decided to let that one slide. But compounding the writing prohibition for Yom Kippur with Shabbat’s? Camp Kippur Lake’s reclusive, masked Messenger of Judgment, Jason Viduis, thought it too much to ignore. So he set out to do his own inscribing, but it wasn’t in the Book of Life. And what he used for a pen, was mightier than any sword. Not since Rebbe Kruger doled out his own brand of judgment via his Nightmare on Chelm Street have the fruits of indiscretion slashed through a community so. But Jason Viduis, a prospective moyel until his tools of choice were deemed too cutting-edge, oﬀered even less concession to each person’s confession. It was the second time through the Kol Nidre prayer, when one seemingly plainspoken mensch standing in the back heard a whisper, “I know what you did last Sukkot.” And then he never again heard anything at all. During the third time through the Kol Nidre prayer, an exceptionally terrestrial blonde coed heard a whisper, “What’s your favorite scary vidui?” But all anyone else heard was her blood-curdling Schrei. Then Schrei 2. Then Schrei 3. And then — needlessly, according to most critics — Schrei 4. Her mortal mistake? Answering her phone… during services. By now, everyone at Camp Kippur Lake wished that Yom Kippur did not require people to wear white. The body count was rising to a level not seen at a Jewish ritual gathering since the mass Passover culinary catastrophe, the Texas Chrain Slaw Massacre. At this point, the question on everyone’s minds — the only way to save their lives — was, what does the Talmud say about how much

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September 2013

Southern Jewish Life

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