SJL Deep South, November 2018

Southern Jewish Life

November 2018 Volume 28 Issue 10

Southern Jewish Life P.O. Box 130052 Birmingham, AL 35213 Outside B’nai Israel in Panama City after Hurricane Michael

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November 2018 • Southern Jewish Life

shalom y’all

shalom y’all

As this issue was wrapping up, congregations throughout the world had just read the portion Lech Lecha on Shabbat. The reading begins with God telling Abram to leave his home and go to a new land which God would show him.

God also told Abram that He would make from him a mighty nation and that God would bless those who blessed him and curse those who cursed him.

This past month, there have been several Christian solidarity events with Israel around our region, and those verses are always cited at these events.

During our interview with Mobile Mayor Sandy Stimpson about his recent trip to Israel (see page 12), he also referred to those verses.

It is fitting, then, that this is also when we announce a new publication from the team at Southern Jewish Life.

Israel InSight magazine will make its debut early next year, and the new publication is for Israel’s Christian friends. Over the last decade, the Jewish world has become much more aware of the large number of Christians who have a love for Israel and the Jewish people, a love which is unconditional and based both on the Bible and the geopolitical importance of Israel to the United States in a turbulent region.

Here in the South, we have been ahead of the curve as such expressions of support have been well-known for much longer. For example, in 1943 the Alabama Legislature became the first governmental body in the U.S. to call for the establishment of a Jewish homeland in the land of Israel. In the late 1940s the father of former Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour set up a pro-Israel group in the Yazoo City area.

The new magazine will educate about what is going on in Israel and explain controversial issues. It will also have stories on groups in America that are doing

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commentary

MESSAGES

Maccabi USA leader praises Birmingham Games I have had the honor of attending many Maccabi competitions around the world. From Israel great thingstoinSouth Israel,America, and the Europe amazing things We also have a Facebook page which will proto Australia and the JCC Maccabi games around the United States Israel is doing around the world, including vide regular updates and links to interesting and Canada, I have logged many miles seeing how sports can be a vehicle to help build Jewish sending a team to in work hurricane recovery pieces. identity, especially ouron young. in the Florida panhandle.

While the primary readership will be ChrisI feltwill honored to come to Birmingham for the first time andInSight fell in love the city We also have stories about interesting tian, Israel willwith alsonot bejust a publication but the people.

You have taken Southern hospitality to a new level with your kind and caring people and places in Israel, ways to support that a supporter of Israel from any faith, or approach the the JCCJewish Maccabi Games.

Israel andto how and Christian com- none at all, will feel comfortable picking up munities can work together. reading.

Led by the Sokol and Helds, your hard-workingand volunteers were wonderful. They partnered Israel will recognize and celebrate We are about this new venture, with yourInSight outstanding staff, led by Betzy Lynch, to make theexcited 2017 JCC Maccabi games a huge and hit. the support Israel gets fromas our Christian invite you to journey withthank us. you on behalf I want to take this opportunity executive director of Maccabi USA to say friends and involved. neighbors, and hopefully will be of everyone a bridge between two communities that need I had just returned from the 20th World Maccabiah games in Israel with a U.S. delegation of to understand each other better. over 1100, who joined 10,000 Jewish athletes from 80 countries. Back in July the eyes of the entire Our website, IsraelInSightMagazine.com, Jewish world were on Jerusalem and the Maccabiah. This past month with 1000 athletes and has links to our preview issue and a way to coaches from around the world being in Birmingham, you became theBrook, focal point.

Lawrence Publisher/Editor subscribe to the forthcoming print edition.

Everyone from the Jewish community and the community at large, including a wonderful police force, are to be commended. These games will go down in history as being a seminal moment for the Jewish community as we build to the future by providing such wonderful Jewish memories.

The Thanksgiving Day tradition continues Proceeds from the race benefit the Alabama

Montclair Run benefits childhood cancer research

Jed Margolis as the Levite Jewish Community Center’s Sam Executive Director, Maccabi USA Lapidus Montclair Run holds its 42nd annual event on Nov. 22, with the annual 10-kilometer race and a 5-kilometer run. Those races begin On Charlottesville at 8:30 a.m. and are followed by a 1-mile Fun Run at 10 a.m.

Editor’s reaction to the events in Over Note: 1,000This runners participate each year.

Charlottesville, written

by Jeremy Newman, The event was renamed in 2008 in memory Master the Alpha Epsilon Thetaand Colony of Sam of Lapidus, who loved Pi fitness working at Auburn University, was shared by AEPi out at the LJCC. He was diagnosed with Ewing’s National, which it “very sarcoma at age called 9 in 2003, buteloquent” refused and to let it praised brothers at AEPi Theta Colony alter his“our plans.

He died in November 2008,atjust Auburn University and…and the leadership they shy of his 15th birthday, Bruce Sokol urged display on their campus. ” the LJCC to name the event in his memory.

White supremacy has been a cancer on our country since its beginning, threatening its hopes, its values, and its better angels.

The events that took place in Charlottesville represented the worst of this nation. Those who marched onto the streets with tiki torches and swastikas did so to provoke violence and fear. Those who marched onto the streets did so to profess an ideology that harkens back to a bleaker, more wretched time in our history.

A time when men and women of many creeds, races, and religions were far from equal and far from safe in our own borders. A time where Americans lived under a constant cloud of racism, anti-Semitism and pervasive hate. The events that took place in Charlottesville served as a reminder of how painfully relevant these issues are today.

Auburn’s Alpha Epsilon Pi stands with the Jewish community of Charlottesville, and with the Jewish people around the country and around the world. We also stand with the minorities who are targeted by the hate that was on display in Charlottesville. We stand with the minorities of whom these white

4 November 2018 • Southern Jewish Life

Center for Childhood Cancer and Blood Disorders at Children’s of Alabama and the LJCC Fitness Program. The Center for Childhood Cancer donations in Alabama supremacists wouldhelp likechildren to see pushed back by enhancing services, building new programs, into a corner and made to feel lesser. We stand and newthe physicians researchers. withrecruiting and pray for family ofand Heather Heyer, Registration is alreadyup open online at the who was there standing to the faceand of this LJCC. hate. The registration fee is $36 for the longer races, $18 for the fun run.

We recognize the essence of theand American There will be RFID chip timing awards to narrative as a two-century old struggle to group rid the top three overall finishers and by age ourselves of such corners, and allow those inwill in male and female categories.

All entrants them the at the table theyissocertified deserve.by receive a seat T-shirt, and thethat course It is the struggle to fulfill the promise of the USATF. Declaration of Independence, that “all men are created equal… endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights.” We know our work is far from finished, but we know we will not move backwards.

When men and women, fully armed, take to the streets in droves with swastikas and other symbols of hate, it is a reminder of how relevant the issues of racism and anti-Semitism are today. It is a wake-up call to the work that needs to be done to ensure a better, more welcoming country. But it should not come without a reflection on how far we’ve come.

America was born a slave nation. A century into our history we engaged in a war in part to ensure we would not continue as one. We found ourselves confronted by the issue of civil rights, and embarked on a mission to ensure the fair treatment of all peoples no matter their skin color. Although we’ve made great strides, it is a mission we’re still grappling with today.

America was also born an immigrant country. As early as the pilgrims, many groups and families found in the country the opportunity to plant stakes, chase their future, and be themselves. Few were met with open

November 2018 January 2018

Southern Jewish Life PUBLISHER/EDITOR Lawrence M. Brook editor@sjlmag.com ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER/ADVERTISING Lee J. Green lee@sjlmag.com V.P. SALES/MARKETING, NEW ORLEANS Jeff Pizzo jeff@sjlmag.com ADVERTISING SPECIALIST Annetta Dolowitz annetta@sjlmag.com CREATIVE DIRECTOR Ginger Brook ginger@sjlmag.com SOCIAL/WEB Emily Baldwein connect@sjlmag.com PHOTOGRAPHER-AT-LARGE Rabbi Barry C. Altmark deepsouthrabbi.com CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Rivka Epstein, Louis Crawford, Tally Werthan, Stuart Derroff, Belle Freitag, Ted Gelber, E. Walter Katz, Doug Brook brookwrite.com BIRMINGHAM OFFICE P.O. Box 130052, Birmingham, AL 35213 14 Office Park Circle #104 Birmingham, AL 35223 205/870.7889 NEW ORLEANS OFFICE 3747 West Esplanade, 3rd Floor Metairie, LA 70002 504/432-2561 TOLL-FREE 866/446.5894 FAX 866/392.7750 ADVERTISING Advertising inquiries to 205/870.7889 for Lee Green, lee@sjlmag.com; Jeff Pizzo, jeff@sjlmag.com; or Annetta Dolowitz, annetta@sjlmag.com Media kit, rates available upon request SUBSCRIPTIONS It has always been our goal to provide a large-community quality publication to all communities of the South.

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

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Documenting this community, a community we are members of and active within, is our passion.

We love what we do, and who we do it for.

agenda interesting bits & can’t miss events Christians United for Israel had a Night to Honor Israel at Anointed Remnant International Ministries in Prattville, near Montgomery, on Oct. 23. Irving Roth, top center, was the guest speaker, and spoke about his experiences at Auschwitz and Buchenwald.

New Chabad opens in Pensacola, just in time for hurricane The growing presence of Chabad along the Gulf Coast now includes Pensacola, but the welcome that Rabbi Mendel and Nechama Danow received was quite unexpected.

The Danows arrived from New York on Oct. 7, and “we had no idea there was a storm coming,” said Danow. With Hurricane Michael rapidly forming in the Gulf, instead of setting up a Chabad House, they were learning about boarding up windows and stocking up on bottled water (see page 9).

“A lot of people told us it’s crazy, why are you staying in Pensacola, get out of there,” Danow said, but “we felt we came here to be in Pensacola, to be with the community, and we felt the correct thing to do would be to stay.”

They wound up hosting the Tenenboim family from Chabad Emerald Coast in Destin. “It was quite an experience,” he said. The hurricane hit on Oct. 10, making landfall about 120 miles to the east.

Before arriving this past month, he made two visits during the summer to establish contacts in the area.

He had also been in the area three times as part of the roving rabbi program, where yeshiva students go to different small communities

during the summer. “It’s a training for the long run,” he said. He worked under Tenenboim, who was hoping for a Chabad presence in Pensacola.

“Now the time is right for a permanent Chabad house to open up here,” he said.

But just because he had been in the area doesn’t mean he was on the fast track to be in Pensacola permanently.

He said there are so many young couples, and over 5,000 Chabad houses worldwide, so there aren’t that many more places. Many couples have to wait a while to be sent somewhere.

He was appointed by Rabbi Avrohom Korf, the Rebbe’s head Shliach to Florida. They were brought to Pensacola by Rabbi Schneur Zalman and Chanie Oirechman of Tallahassee.

Before he left New York, “A lot of people said, ‘Pensacola? That is such a non-Jewish place’.”

Danow was born in Sweden, where are his parents operated a Chabad house. He said it was a very small Jewish community, perhaps similar to Pensacola. He went to yeshiva in Israel, Michigan, England and New York.

Mrs. Danow is from Israel, where they were married this past March. They lived in New York for a couple of months and then came to Florida.

He said his mission is to “bring Jewish life, Jewish awareness and Jewish pride to Pensacola.

He is trying to meet as many people as possible and get to know the local Jewish community. He often finds that one person will refer to another person and “slowly but surely the number of continued on page 6 November 2018 • Southern Jewish Life

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agenda 81 Church Street Crestline Village

people we are in touch with his growing.”

He said there has not been an Orthodox presence in the area, and “it’s a big honor to be able to bring that here to Pensacola.”

He said there are a lot of unaffiliated people in the community who feel their Judaism doesn’t mean much to them. “We want to change that,” he said.

A main emphasis will be reaching out to Jewish students at the University of West Florida. Danow said there are “more and more Jewish students coming here every year, we have met a number of them.” There are also many Israelis in the area.

He plans to offer Shabbat meals, Torah classes, services to students, home visits and a large public Chanukah festival to “proclaim Judaism.”

“It’s a very big honor to be part of this great mission of bringing Jewish life to the whole world, and we are doing our part in Pensacola.”

Chanukah stamps should be available

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The 2018 Hanukkah stamp was issued on Oct. 16 and should now be available at post offices nationwide.

Ronald Scheiman, who chairs The Quest for Annual Hanukkah Stamps, said he has been to several post offices that do not have them, claiming a lack of demand. He has contacted the U.S. postal service and asks for those who have difficulty finding the stamps to email him at Hanukkah@att.net, with the city, state and zip code, as well as any reason given for not stocking the stamps.

For the first time in 30 years, Congregation Beth Israel in Meridian had a Sukkah, built by congregants Scott Strasser and Daniel Khakshooy. A special event was held for congregants on Sept. 29, followed by lunch and college football game watching.

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November 2018 • Southern Jewish Life

agenda Lieutenant Cary Rickoff, who was recently named to the famed Blue Angels and is believed to be the first Jewish pilot on the aerobatics team, will be the speaker at the annual Veterans Shabbat Dinner, Nov. 9 at B’nai Israel in Pensacola, following the 7 p.m. service.

A polished-casual American brasserie paying homage to regional cuisine, with historical Sloss Furnaces as the backdrop

The Birmingham Jewish War Veterans Post 608 plans to honor the service of military members in the community by placing American flags at the grave sites of Jewish service members at the local cemeteries, including Elmwood and the “old” Emanu-El and Beth-El/ KI cemeteries on the Northside. The flagging of veterans’ graves is tentatively scheduled for Veterans Day, Nov. 11. Those who want to make sure a veteran is included should submit the veteran’s name, branch of service and rank, cemetery and specific grave site location to Post Commander Robert P. Rutstein, bagel@uab.edu.

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The Sisterhood and Men’s Club at Birmingham’s Temple Beth-El will honor Jewish war veterans on Nov. 11 at 1 p.m. with a screening of “G.I. Jews: Jewish Americans in World War II.” Jewish War Veterans Post 111 will host a blood drive on Nov. 11 from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at Temple B’nai Sholom in Huntsville. On Nov. 12, the post will participate in the Huntsville Veterans Day Parade.

The next meeting of Jewish War Veterans Post 608 will be Nov. 18 at the Levite Jewish Community Center in Birmingham. Guest speaker will be Joseph Goodman, who is the lead sports columnist for the Birmingham News, the Huntsville Times, the Mobile Press-Register and al.com. He will speak on “Nick Saban’s Leadership Secrets.” The meeting is free and open to the community. There will be a light breakfast of bagels and coffee served.

The Jewish Federation of Central Louisiana is hosting a visit by Gilad Katz, Consulate General of Israel to the U.S. Southwest Region, on Nov. 13. The event will be at the Diamond Grill in Alexandria. Cocktails will begin at 6 p.m., with the program at 7 p.m. Dinner will be served and a cash bar will be available. Admission is $25, payable at the door.

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Beth Shalom in Baton Rouge will celebrate Americana Shabbat the weekend of Nov. 16, with Jewish Country/Americana musician Joe Buchanan and Institute for Southern Jewish Life Education Fellow Carly Abramson. Kabbalat Shabbat services on Nov. 16 will be at 6 p.m., with a dairy potluck following. On Nov. 17, there will be a 10 a.m. Shabbat service, Camp Shabbat at 4 p.m. and a concert starting at 6 p.m.

The joint Thanksgiving service in Montgomery will be held at First United Methodist Church on Nov. 18 at 4 p.m. Rector Candice Frazer of Church of the Ascension will speak. Temple Beth Or also participates in this annual event.

Temple Beth El in Pensacola is hosting the community interfaith Thanksgiving service, Nov. 18 at 5 p.m.

Chabad of Mobile will have a Melave Malka, the traditional meal following Shabbat, with a “mystical evening of story and song,” Nov. 10 at 7 p.m. Rabbi Yosef Goldwasser will tell stories and Yehuda Silverwolf will lead songs with the guitar.

Herb Keinon, diplomatic correspondent for the Jerusalem Post, will speak in Alabama this month. Keinon covers the prime minister and foreign minister, traveling with them throughout the world. He has written two books, “Lone Soldiers: Israel’s Defenders from Around the World” and “French Fries in Pita.” He will present “What’s Really Happening in Israel,” a non-sensationalist look at Israel’s current state of affairs, from Gaza to Netanyahu to Trump, Nov. 4 at 5 p.m. at Birmingham’s Levite Jewish Community Center, and Nov. 5 at 7 p.m. at a Jewish Federation of Huntsville and North Alabama program at Temple B’nai Sholom. The Birmingham program is co-sponsored by Knesseth Israel.

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agenda The next Together Tuesday in Shreveport is Nov. 6 at 6 p.m., under the Texas Street Bridge in front of the Bon Temps Coffee Bar. Chabad of Mobile will have Menorahs and Martinis, a Ladies’ Night Out, Nov. 19 at 6:30 p.m. at the Chabad house. The program will include creating granite menorahs. Reservations are required.

The Oxford Film Festival and the Jewish Federation of Oxford are screening Tamar Tal Anati’s 2016 film, “Shalom Italia,” a documentary where three Italian Jewish brothers with very different personalities have reunited to find the cave in which they hid as young boys to escape the Nazis. The Nov. 19 screening will be at 6:30 p.m. at the Burns Belfry Museum and Multicultural Center. Tickets are available at oxfordfilmfest.com.

Ahavas Chesed in Mobile is holding a fundraiser for Gan Shalom preschool, selling Carpe Diem coffee for the holidays. The Chanukah and Christmas blends are $15, in festive colored bags. Orders should be placed by Nov. 16 for the Dec. 1 pickup.

The Men’s Club at B’nai Israel in Monroe will have its Hot Dog Sale on Nov. 6 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., to benefit projects at B’nai Israel. Tickets are $5 and include a hot dog, chips and drink. Orders of 20 or more can be delivered.

Based on the Disney film and J.M. Barrie’s enchanting play, Disney’s “Peter Pan Jr.” is a modern version of the timeless tale about a boy who wouldn’t grow up. Theatre LJCC at Birmingham’s Levite Jewish Community Center will produce the show, Nov. 3 to 11, with Saturday curtain at 6:30 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m.

The Mobile Area Jewish Federation is coordinating volunteers for the Israel booth at the annual Mobile International Festival. “Celebrating Israel’s Super Stars” will showcase medical pioneers, science, technology, art, music and defense. Setup will be on Nov. 14, with school field trips on Nov. 15 and 16, and the festival is open to the public on Nov. 17. The festival is moving to the Mobile Fairgrounds this year.

The University of Mississippi Museum in Oxford will have an Artist Talk with sculptor George Tobolowsky, Nov. 8 at 6 p.m. Based in Dallas, Tobolowsky is known for his found-object steel sculptures, and the current exhibit includes a couple of Chanukah menorahs. The exhibit will be up through Dec. 8.

Pensacola’s Temple Beth El will have a workshop on ethical wills, led

by Rabbi Joel Fleekop, Nov. 7 and 14 at 6:30 p.m.

Rocket City BBYO in Huntsville will hold a chapter dinner at Pieology, 7 to 8 p.m. on Nov. 15.

Birmingham’s Levite Jewish Community Center will host its 11th annual Mah Jongg Tournament, Nov. 7 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. The tournament benefits the Roz Feigelson Circle of Life Knitting Society.

Hadassah Huntsville will have a Historical Huntsville Hadassah Trivia Night, Dec. 1 at 7 p.m. Details to be announced.

Shreveport’s B’nai Zion will honor Helaine Braunig for her 38 years of service to the congregation as director of education. The celebration will be Nov. 24 from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. The congregation also announced the establishment of the Helaine Braunig L’dor Vador (Generation to Generation) Fund.

Rabbi Brian Glusman, formerly of Temple Beth-El in Birmingham and Etz Chayim in Huntsville, is leading an adult trip to Israel, May 5 to 16.

Currently at the Marcus Jewish Community Center in Atlanta, Glusman said the trip is for first-timers and those who have been to Israel before, and will include Yom Ha’Atzmaut celebrations in Israel. Participants currently are from Atlanta, Columbus and Birmingham.

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November 2018 • Southern Jewish Life

community

Gifts that Last a Lifetime!

Hurricane Michael recovery begins for Florida panhandle communities Like their neighbors, Jewish communities along the Florida panhandle are assessing the widespread damage from Hurricane Michael, which came ashore just east of Panama City on Oct. 10 as one of the most powerful hurricanes to hit the United States.

Sustained winds of 155 miles per hour categorized the storm just below Category 5, the highest for hurricanes. By comparison, Hurricane Katrina was Category 3 when it hit in 2005.

Lisa Rahn of B’nai Israel in Panama City said “The devastation to the community at large is unfathomable.”

A few days later, Robert Goetz, a board member at B’nai Israel, said power and water had been restored in the area, but communication was still very limited, with outages continuing for Verizon and Sprint.

Because of the limited communication, there were still congregants that were unaccounted for.

Shortly after the hurricane passed, B’nai Israel congregant Adam Braun made his way to the small Reform congregation’s building, and found minor damage on the exterior. “She’s okay!” he reported. “There’s a tiny bit of outside damage and the Star of David above the door is gone, but other than that, she made it through the storm.”

Goetz said they were trying to assess whether they would be able to start holding services the weekend of Oct. 26.

The congregation started a GoFundMe page. Several members had “huge property losses, some of which are not covered by insurance,” while others were unsure when they would be able to go back to their jobs or businesses.

Achdut Israel, a small Israeli Orthodox congregation in Panama City Beach, also started a fundraising page for relief efforts. Cristina Mor, who started the page, said “our community didn’t sustain major damages, all the funds will go into providing all the needs to the people in need from all over the Panhandle that suffered tremendous loss.”

Experiencing his first hurricane was Rabbi Mendel Danow, who arrived in Pensacola on Oct. 7 with his wife to start the new Chabad of Pensacola.

They immediately went into hurricane preparation mode, boarding their doors and windows and purchasing supplies — while welcoming the Tenenboims, who had evacuated from Destin, where they run Emerald Coast Chabad. Destin is half-way between Pensacola and Panama City.

While Pensacola had wind and rain, being 120 miles west of landfall there was little damage.

After the storm, Rabbi Shaya Tenenboim said “Destin is fine, thank

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November 2018 • Southern Jewish Life

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“Minor damage” at B’nai Israel in Panama City G-d.” He, his wife and 12-year-old daughter then headed to Panama City on Oct. 11 to deliver kosher meals, water, ice and gas, then prepared Shabbat meals for those still without electricity. In the days following, they delivered portable generators that had been donated.

Tenenboim said most of the Jewish people they knew in Panama City evacuated. From those who stayed, he said, there wasn’t much damage to homes, but many stores owned by Israelis in the area were “heavily damaged.”

A woman who evacuated to Mississippi contacted Tenenboim as her 12-year-old daughter, a student at Emerald Coast Chabad’s religious school, had stayed behind with her father in the Panama City area, and she had not heard from them. Tenenboim contacted rescuers who “had to cut through six miles of broken trees and debris” to get to them and find them “unhurt but terrified.”

A Jewish doctor stayed at the Bay Medical Center with his wife and baby, and described “chaos and horror” as the hurricane heavily damaged the hospital. Tenenboim said they were evacuating the hospital after the storm, and “it’s an open miracle no one was hurt.”

In Tallahassee, where winds that were sustained at 70 miles per hour toppled trees and caused widespread damage and power outages, Chabad of the Panhandle grilled up chicken for anyone who came by, of any faith. Rabbi Shneur Zalman Oreichman said the Chabad House, which was being renovated, and his house had some damage, but they had been unable to assess how much due to power outages.

Tallahassee’s Temple Israel reported that the power was out at their building until Oct. 14, but the structure was fine aside from some debris outside. Shabbat services went on by candlelight and flashlight on Oct. 12 and 13, including what would be a very memorable Bar Mitzvah for Michael Rubin.

The bar mitzvah had originally been scheduled for the previous weekend, but that turned

community out to be homecoming weekend for Florida State. Bob Canter, who taught him in fifth grade at religious school, made a presentation during the service, telling him the morning was “made even more special in light of the fact that you stood up to a major hurricane and refused to let it deter you from what you had worked so hard to achieve… don’t let anything — not even a hurricane — stand in your way.”

The congregation organized relief supplies that were delivered to Panama City and Marianna, while the Jacksonville Jewish Center sent volunteers to do cleanup work in Quincy and Marianna.

Shomrei Torah, the Conservative congregation in Tallahassee, reported that their building was intact and the Torahs, which had been removed for safekeeping, were back in the ark. A volunteer with a chainsaw cleared fallen oak limbs from the driveway, and a water oak fell and damaged the Herzl’s cypress on the property.

On Oct 7, when warnings about the storm began, the Men’s Club took down the congregation’s sukkah in about 25 minutes, and commented on it as a “reminder of the impermanence of temporary structures.”

Power was out at Temple Emanu-El in Dothan, and there were “lots of trees and limbs down” according to Stephanie Butler, executive director of Jewish Community Services of Dothan. Otherwise, she said, everything was fine.

In Fort Walton, just west of Destin, Beth Shalom reported that “everyone is fine and so is the temple,” which is a couple of miles inland. “We really dodged a bullet this time, could have been much worse,” said Stephanie Geleta, administrative assistant at the city’s sole Jewish congregation.

NECHAMA Jewish Response to Disaster was already working in the Carolinas in the aftermath of Hurricane Florence. They reported “the NECHAMA Team in Horry County, S.C. felt the effects of Hurricane Michael yesterday with high winds and rain. They are back up and running today, continuing to help homeowners impacted by Hurricane Florence.”

Noting that Michael was still a hurricane over 200 miles inland in Georgia, NECHAMA deployed to southern Georgia, starting with debris removal in Decatur county, around Bainbridge.

On Oct. 12, IsraAID announced it was deploying to Florida and recruiting volunteers to help in the recovery effort. The emergency response team is partnering with Team Rubicon, an international response organization founded by U.S. military veterans.

“Our thoughts turn again towards the southeastern United States, as towns and cities in northwest Florida have suffered large-scale, catastrophic damage at the hands of Hurricane Michael,” IsraAID Co-CEOs Yotam Polizer and Navonel Glick said. “Our team will remain in the area to help people affected by this devastating storm for as long as we are needed.”

The group has a team in North Carolina working on Hurricane Florence response, and was in Florida last year following Hurricane Irma.

The Jewish Federations of North America was already fundraising for Hurricane Florence relief, and added Hurricane Michael to the appeal, to “make sure that the urgent needs of the most severely impacted are met.”

The Jewish Endowment Foundation of Louisiana made a $10,000 emergency relief grant for Hurricanes Florence and Michael, and the Jewish Federation of Greater New Orleans made a $7,000 allocation. JEF is also encouraging those with Donor Advised Funds to make distributions from their funds.

Goetz said they knew a hurricane would eventually hit, so the B’nai Israel had a disaster plan that they practice annually. “We highly recommend it” for every group.

A plan includes how to account for members, and what to do regarding facilities, equipment and assets. The Torahs at B’nai Israel were wrapped airtight in thick construction trash bags to keep them safe, then they were moved from the building afterward because of humidity concerns.

While the hurricane “devastated a large part of the county,” Goetz said, the real horror story will come from economic hardship and the inability of some to rebuild.

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Mobile Mayor Sandy Stimpson, right, accepts key to Ariel from Ariel Mayor Eli Shaviro on Oct. 16

Alabama ties to historic day in Ariel Mobile mayor, U.S. ambassador make first visits as Israeli, Palestinian entrepreneurs meet

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November 2018 • Southern Jewish Life

Oct. 16 was a historic day in Ariel, and Birmingham-based JH Israel was in the middle of it.

David Friedman, the United States ambassador to Israel, made an official visit to Ariel, breaking a longstanding taboo on official visits to areas in the territories, beyond the pre-1967 Green Line. He attended a regional business forum at the Ariel Pioneers Museum, held to promote joint economic initiatives for Arab and Jewish communities. The forum was organized by the Judea Samaria Chamber of Commerce and Industry, which promotes commercial partnerships between Israelis and Palestinians in the territories.

That same day, Mobile Mayor Sandy Stimpson made his first visit to Ariel. Ariel is Mobile’s sister city in Israel.

Stimpson’s visit began with a breakfast meeting with Ariel department heads, followed by a visit to Ariel University to discuss potential academic partnerships.

Stimpson said Ariel University is about the same size as the University of South Alabama, and like USA, is a relatively new institution.

Stimpson said he will reach out to USA to see if the two institutions can connect and collaborate.

“There is a lot we can learn from what they are doing, and we hope there are things they can learn from what we are doing,” Stimpson said.

He then attended Friedman’s address at the Ariel National Center for Leadership Development. The international audience included American business leaders on tour with JH Israel and the US-Israel Education Association.

Stimpson said that those in attendance could feel that it was an historic event.

Shaviro commented that it was a historic day for three reasons — Friedman’s visit, Stimpson becoming the first Mobile mayor to visit Ariel, and earlier that morning, Shaviro’s second granddaughter was born.

Avi Zimmerman, co-founder and president of the chamber, said the chamber thanks Friedman “for the unambiguous encouragement that he’s given our Palestinian and Israeli business partners to continue to pursue the economic path to progress, prosperity and dignity.”

He said Friedman’s visit encouraged more businesses to join the group.

Heather Johnston, who heads JH Israel and UIEA, said Friedman’s visit “marks a significant breakthrough in U.S. policy to openly support joint business with Palestinians and Israelis.”

She added, “We believe these partnerships are critical for fostering an atmosphere of peace in an otherwise turbulent part of the world. We are working tirelessly to see that these efforts continue.”

Zimmerman stressed that the chamber views the area geographically,

community and tries to shy away from politics.

After the meeting, Friedman tweeted that the business leaders he met with were “ready, willing and able to advance joint opportunity and peaceful coexistence. People want peace and we are ready to help! Is the Palestinian leadership listening?”

The Palestinian Authority regards business partnerships with Israelis as illegal, and the chamber is careful not to publicize involvement of many of the 70 Palestinian businesses that take part.

The meeting took place against the backdrop of an Oct. 7 terror attack in the nearby Barkan Industrial Park, where a Palestinian killed two Israeli co-workers. ”Tens of thousands of Palestinians work with tens of thousands of Israelis day in and day out across Judea and Samaria,” Zimmerman said. “Last week’s horrific terror attack in Barkan is the exception to the rule.”

After Friedman’s address, there was a luncheon where Stimpson was presented a key to Ariel, and he presented Shaviro with a clock engraved with the words “it’s time.”

For Mobile’s mayor, this was the first time visiting Israel. For him and his wife, “it has been on our list for a long time. I’m grateful to have had the opportunity to go.”

Stimpson was part of the 70-member UIEA delegation. “They have done a very good job of educating our congressmen and senators. That’s going to be very beneficial going forward with the relationship between Israel and Alabama,” he said.

He said JH Israel and UIEA are “doing a great service” bringing groups to better understand the situation in Israel, and tying many of Israel’s actions to the fulfillment of Biblical prophecy.

On the trip, one of Stimpson’s favorite places was Shiloh, where the Ark of the Covenant had been kept.

The group also visited the Western Wall. “Being able to pray there and leave some papers in the wall was very meaningful.”

Other highlights included visiting the Tomb of the Patriarchs in Hebron, and Tel Elah, where David killed Goliath. Their tour guide, Arie Ben-David, dramatized it with a slingshot. “He was incredible,” Stimpson said. “He made you feel like you were there” in Biblical times.

Another highlight was spending Shabbat dinner with a family in Jerusalem, hearing the father talk about his journey from South Africa to Israel.

After “being there, walking it, seeing it, feeling it and getting an understanding of it,” Simpson said while he “believed it before,” it is even stronger now. He strongly recommends visiting Israel and said he’d love to talk with anyone who wants to hear about the trip. “Seeing the places you’ve heard about all your life puts it in a different perspective.”

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U.S. Ambassador David Friedman speaks in Ariel November 2018 • Southern Jewish Life

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Next Gen proposal charts road map for Jewish Birmingham’s future Greater collaboration, unified education, community CEO among recommendations Four years of discussions that began with Reimagine Jewish Birmingham culminated with the presentation of a “Road Map: Toward a Vibrant and Sustainable Jewish Birmingham” on Oct. 15.

The proposal was developed by a 14-member “Next Gen” group of under-40 board members from local Jewish agencies. The group, which was organized in January, met every other week with facilitation by community planning professional Lakey Boyd.

The group started with identifying the purpose of the plan, which is “to serve, grow and sustain a cohesive Birmingham Jewish community.”

The report calls on greater cooperation and collaboration among agencies and congregations, streamlining and sharing duplicated resources, and hiring a CEO to head “Jewish Birmingham United,” the current working title for a structure that would unify local agencies. Greater community-wide interaction was also a priority, including unifying religious education offerings for all ages, and specifically for children in different segments of the community to get to know each other.

Representatives of the six local Jewish agencies and four synagogues, including current rabbinic and cantorial leadership for all four, attended the presentation at the N.E. Miles Jewish Day School. Over the next few weeks, the group has asked to speak to each of the 10 boards and invite them to be part of the process. Those meetings began the morning of Oct. 16 with the Birmingham Jewish Foundation board.

Each organization is being asked to appoint two lay representatives and one professional to a joint committee of organizations, to coordinate the next steps, including the specifics for hiring a community CEO. The joint committee will be headed by Donald Hess and Jesse Unkenholz. Unkenholz was co-chair of the Next Gen board, along with Robin Bromberg.

That CEO search is envisioned for early 2019, with implementation of JBU in coordination with the joint committee and participating organizations, led by the new CEO, starting next summer. The united group would then be formalized by the end of 2019.

The concept of a CEO overseeing the effort is part of the desire to eliminate “siloed” and “duplicative” efforts in the community, updating the organizational structure to serve the needs of today, in a time of limited resources and donor fatigue.

The CEO is seen as being a “dynamic, engaging leader” to unify the

Next Gen members await presentation of the report 14

November 2018 • Southern Jewish Life

November 2018 • Southern Jewish Life

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• November 2018 • Southern Jewish Life

community and “be a champion for Jewish Birmingham United,” Boyd said.

The United office would have directors of communication, marketing and talent; directors for community service areas, and shared back office operations for all agencies. The synagogues would be able to choose whether to participate, and the shared back office is seen as reducing overall community staffing costs.

Service delivery areas are listed as facilities, programming, fundraising and allocation, family services and education.

In all, Boyd said, there are 380 full-time and part-time employees at the 10 organizations, and a little over 170 board seats.

Each agency would retain its own identity under the United plan. The goal is to free directors of each organization to focus on their respective organization’s core mission, while the United office handles general operations.

In early 2016, a survey was done to determine the size of Birmingham’s Jewish community. While the official figure had hovered around 5,200 for many years, the study came back with an estimate of 6,300 in 2,600 households.

A year ago, a survey was sent to those in the Jewish community who are age 45 or younger, to get a better sense of desires and priorities. About 200 responses were received. The study showed low synagogue attendance, but a desire for “a cohesive community” socializing beyond denominational lines and synagogue membership, and greater social justice opportunities. Among those responding to the survey, 93 percent contribute to at least one of the 10 local organizations.

Boyd said this year’s report used a lot of information from that study.

A financial analysis of the organizations was conducted during the summer, which stated that in the short term, the community is operating in the red, with nearly all organizations operating at a loss or just breaking even. That position is “unsustainable in the long term.”

Conversely, the long-term position is seen as positive, with “substantial assets” in the community, including approximately $50 million in endowments, $30 million in additional planned bequests, and real estate assets between $20 million and $40 million.

Among the assets is the Levite Jewish Community Center site, which is being recommended as the Jewish community campus, unifying all six agencies. Four of the six agencies are already housed there — the JCC, Birmingham Jewish Federation, Birmingham Jewish Foundation and Day School. Collat Jewish Family Services is located nearby, and the Birmingham Holocaust Education Center is on Arlington Avenue.

While in 1993 there was an effort to move the LJCC over the mountain, this report recommends maintaining the current site as centrally located, with plenty of land for development, and neighborhood revitalization of areas to the east and toward downtown.

The report recommends “significant facility improvements” to the LJCC, to make it market competitive, and coming up with creative uses for additional revenue streams.

While there is no anticipation that any of the four congregations would relocate to the campus, the report recommends opportunities for the congregations to have a presence on the campus for some of their programs and events.

A major emphasis in the report is keeping Judaism at the core and center of every organization, to bolster Jewish life and to be an educational resource for the community at large.

To foster a welcoming community, there are several areas of empha-

“There has to be action. We can not keep talking about this.”

community sis — hospitality outreach to newcomers and transplants, reaching out to include those who are not members of any particular organization in programming, serving the needs of interfaith families, engaging in more hands-on social justice programs in the greater community, professional networking to build connections and recruit newcomers, and create ways for multiple generations to work together.

Lisa Engel said the presentation is a “starting point and recommendations.”

David Sher, who Engel called “the first Reimagine Jewish Birmingham visionary” started the conversation four years ago with what became Reimagine Jewish Birmingham. Sher also produces The Comeback Town, which pushes for more cooperation among the municipalities in Birmingham and visioning to improve the metropolitan area.

“Never have I been more proud of our Jewish community than I am at this moment,” Sher said, for getting together across all community lines “to figure out what the future of our community looks like.”

He said it was particularly rewarding to see the under-40 generation take the lead in this process. “We have great young leadership,” he said.

Bromberg, who grew up at Temple Beth Or in Montgomery, said when she saw Sher at a Federation board meeting, “I knew this was something I wanted to be involved with.”

At age 70, Hess said, “I’ve seen this community ebb and flow. I’ve seen this community raise unbelievable amounts of money and I’ve seen giants of leaders.” Turning toward the Next Gen board, he added, “tonight, I see giants of leaders coming down the road.”

Hess said the group that produced the proposal “has no authority” to implement it. That rests with the congregations and agencies.

He likened the proposal to a bus heading down the road. “We’re going

to ask you to join us on the bus” and stay on the bus, “as difficult as the ride might be.”

There were no questions fielded at the Oct. 15 meeting. Hess explained that “you have more questions than we have answers right now,” but the board presentations would be the forum for questions and concerns. “We will be good listeners, we will be honest brokers,” he said.

Boyd said the proposal “is aggressive, and this is on purpose,” to “set expectations high.” She said there is a sense that community members will be patient as the process unfolds as long as they feel progress is being made.

Several of the Next Gen members spoke about their views of the proposal, and the need to strengthen the community that their children will grow up in.

Brooke Kaplan said “we’re all in,” and related the process to the recent acquisition of her family business, Schaeffer Eye Center by MyEyeDr. Maintaining the local identity of Schaeffer was very important to her, and similarly, “the agencies will not lose their identities” through the United effort. “Everyone can focus on what they do best.”

Other members related how much those institutions have meant to them. Alyssa Blair said her grandfather started biddy basketball at the LJCC, and with her kids as fourth-generation JCC members, “the JCC is my family’s Jewish home.”

Carlie Stein spoke in similar terms of the Day School, the LJCC and how “each and every Temple and agency has played an important role in my life.”

Boyd said “there is still a lot that has to be sorted through,” but there is an overwhelming sense that there has been a lot of talk, and now “there has to be action. We can not keep talking about this.”

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community NOLA Federation organizes Alabama civil rights tour As part of the Jewish Federation of Greater New Orleans’ continuing focus on expanding relationships throughout the wider New Orleans community, an annual day-long educational field trip is being launched for Jewish and African-American middle school students to various sites in Alabama that are significant to the civil rights movement.

This year’s trip will be held over the public schools’ Thanksgiving break, on Nov. 20.

Students will be visiting the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma; the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, where four girls were killed in a 1963 Klan bombing; the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute; and the Anne Frank Tree in Birmingham, a horse chestnut tree similar to the one Anne Frank saw outside the window of the Secret Annex..

The group will depart New Orleans very early in the morning and return that night.

Transportation, meals, and admission fees are covered, through contributions from Jones Walker LLP, Emily Schoenbaum and other members of the New Orleans Jewish community.

Recruitment is underway for sixth to eighth graders who want to participate. They should contact michelle@jewishnola.com or call (504) 780-5604.

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November 2018 • Southern Jewish Life

The Jacob Rader Marcus Center of the American Jewish Archives in Cincinnati announced a “Travels in American Jewish History” tour of Memphis for next May. The “journey of Jewish identity and discovery” will be May 1 to 5, exploring the historical, religious, political and cultural aspects of the American Jewish experience in Memphis. In 2015, a similar trip explored Jewish history in New Orleans.

The Memphis program will include discussions led by Jonathan Sarna, the Joseph H. and Belle R. Braun Professor of American Jewish History, and Director at the Schusterman Center for Israel Studies at Brandeis University; Rabbi Micah Greenstein, who has served Memphis’ Temple Israel for 26 years, 16 as senior rabbi; and Gary Zola, executive director of the archives.

Tour highlights will include the National Civil Rights Museum at the Lorraine Motel, Temple Israel and the Belz Museum of Asian and Judaic Art. The tour cost is $885 for the tours, programs and meals, except for one free night. Hotel and travel to Memphis are extra.

community World War II Museum gets major grant to expand Holocaust education The National World War II Museum in New Orleans announced a $2 million grant from the San Francisco-based Taube Philanthropies to expand Holocaust education programs at the museum.

The Taube Family Holocaust Education Program will include lectures, symposia, film screenings, local and national partnerships, programs highlighting recent research and personal accounts of the Holocaust.

The program will also support free public programming presented annually on Jan. 27, International Holocaust Remembrance Day, as well as distance learning programs that will allow students nationwide to explore individual and collective responsibility in the Holocaust.

“Many initiatives of Taube Philanthropies focus on World War II, the deep and powerful effects of which continue to influence world events,” said Tad Taube, founder-chairman of Taube Philanthropies. “The new Holocaust Education Program is critical as Americans are remembering less and less about the war and the lessons of the Holocaust.”

The Museum’s WWII Media and Education Center offers Holocaust education to middle and high school students across the country, including through two distance learning programs – “The Holocaust: One Teen’s Story of Persecution and Survival” and “When They Came for Me: The Holocaust.” Taube Philanthropies’ gift will allow the Museum to expand its current program content, update technology needed to support online education and provide additional staffing resources.

The program will kick off with this week’s symposium and screening of “Who Will Write Our History.”

The symposium, “What Do We Do When The Witnesses Are Gone,”

starts at 10 a.m. with a keynote address from Samuel Kassow of Trinity College. He wrote the 2007 book, “Who Will Write Our History? Rediscovering a Hidden Archive from the Warsaw Ghetto.”

A 1:30 p.m. panel on contemporary issues in Holocaust studies will be moderated by Daniel Greene of Northwestern University. Panelists will include Sarah Cramsey of Tulane University, and Barbara Kirshenblatt-Gimblett of New York University.

The film, executive produced by Nancy Spielberg, is about the resistance organized by a band of journalists, scholars and community leaders after 450,000 Jews were sealed into the Warsaw Ghetto in November 1940. Led by historian Emanuel Ringelblum and known by the code name Oyneg Shabes, this clandestine group vowed to defeat Nazi lies and propaganda not with guns or fists but with pen and paper.

The group gathered thousands of testimonies about the fate of Polish Jews, sealing them in metal boxes and milk cans buried underneath the ghetto. The 35,000 pages are housed at the Jewish Historical Institute in Warsaw, and are available digitally at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum’s archives.

“The Emanuel Ringelblum story underscores that people can resist not just with guns, but with pens and paper” Kassow said. “The Germans wanted to obliterate the Jews and destroy the memory of who they were.

Had this archive not happened or been found after the war, we would know nothing about the Jews as individuals; we would see them only from the German point of view as faceless victims, people without names.”

The documentary is the first time the story has been told in film. It

November 2018 • Southern Jewish Life

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community mixes writings from the archive with rarely-seen footage, new interviews and dramatizations to show what the reality was in the ghetto. The film recently won the audience award for best documentary feature at the San Francisco Jewish Film Festival.

The free screening will be at 6 p.m., with a 5 p.m. reception. Grossman will speak as part of the program, and seats are very limited. Registration for the symposium and film is at the museum’s website.

Kassow serves on the advisory committee for the new initiative. “A few decades ago, most studies of World War II focused on military and diplomatic history,” he said. “Now there is growing recognition that genocide and ethnic cleansing were major aspects of that war as well. The new educational program centered at this museum underscores how that war became the catalyst for crimes against civilian populations and targeted groups.”

“As the World War II generation passes away, The National WWII Museum has been entrusted to continue telling their stories to future generations — especially the important story of the Holocaust,” said Stephen J. Watson, president and CEO at The National WWII Museum. “The gift from Taube Philanthropies makes it possible for the Museum to expand its teachings about the atrocities of the Holocaust and why we should all stand together against genocide.”

“As The National World War II Museum focuses on American military, political and societal involvements in the second world war, it has a unique opportunity to explore the connections between the Holocaust and the American experience,” Taube said, “including such themes as American soldiers’ experiences liberating the death camps and encountering the survivors, the evolution of U.S. immigration policies toward welcoming Holocaust survivors, the history of life in the United States for newly resettled Holocaust survivors, the stories of American Jews alive today whose relatives suffered in the Holocaust, and finally, how we continue to preserve the memory of Holocaust atrocities, as survivors are no longer with us.”

The program’s advisory committee is comprised of renowned Holocaust experts, including Daniel Greene, historian and adjunct professor, Northwestern University; Wendy Lower, John K. Roth Professor of History, Claremont McKenna College; Samuel Kassow, Charles H. Northam Professor of History, Trinity College; Robert Citino, Samuel Zemurray Stone Senior Historian, The National WWII Museum; and Shana Penn, executive director, Taube Philanthropies.

Area film festivals announce schedules Baton Rouge lineup released The Baton Rouge Jewish Film Festival announced its 2019 lineup, featuring four films from Jan. 16 to 20.

The festival opens on Jan. 16 at 7 p.m. with “Big Sonia,” a woman who runs a tailor shop as the only thriving business in a moribund Kansas City mall. She is also the only Holocaust survivor in the area who speaks about her experiences.

“The Mossad: Imperfect Spies” on Jan. 17 at 7 p.m. features interviews with 24 former operatives, giving a first-person perspective on the challenges and moral dilemmas they faced in Israel’s celebrated spy agency.

“Itzhak,” a biography of Itzhak Perlman, will be on Jan. 19 at 7:30 p.m.

The festival concludes on Jan. 20 at 3 p.m. with “Driver,” about a driver in B’nei Brak who teaches clients how to con people, while he tries to raise his daughter by himself in a world that has beaten him down.

Screenings are at the Manship Theatre, tickets are $8.50.

Jewish Cinema Mississippi in Jackson has tentatively set its schedule for five screenings between Jan. 23 and 31. Mobile’s Jewish Film Festival will run from Jan. 13 to 27.

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November 2018 • Southern Jewish Life

community Small Town Feel… with Big Town Connections Coming to terms with a difficult past Retired German diplomat visits Birmingham for forum at Civil Rights Institute A retired German diplomat, who today has become an explainer, healer and bridge-builder, spoke in Birmingham on Oct. 18, offering reflections on how his country has come to grips with its difficult past.

Stefan Schlüter’s topic was “How Germany Has Come To Terms With Its Past,” including how the educational system in Germany has addressed the Holocaust. His Birmingham visit was part of an 11-city U.S. tour where Schluter spoke to “Jewish communities in smaller U.S. cities” to open a dialogue.

His tour was coordinated by the American Council on Germany and the American Jewish Committee.

“In Germany, right after the war, there was no interest to dig into the past,” Schlüter told the group. “Nobody talked about the Holocaust, but then things began changing slowly.”

That change began in the 1960s, he said, when the trial of Nazi higher-up Adolf Eichmann in Jerusalem and the Auschwitz trials in Frankfurt, Germany led to a growing willingness by Germany to acknowledge and investigate what happened at the notorious Auschwitz death camp.

Another factor, he said, was the then-revolutionary TV miniseries “Holocaust” which aired in the 1970s. “It put a face on the Holocaust,” he said, comparing it to another groundbreaking series of that TV era, “Roots,” which humanized the African-American saga of slavery.

Holocaust monuments also began appearing in Germany around that time and students began visiting Nazi death camps, two more developments that had a profound effect on Germany’s growing willingness to embrace its past.

Today, the former German diplomat said, Germany is focusing on training teachers to teach about anti-Semitism and the Holocaust. “Our goal in teaching about the past is led by our belief that collective shame has to be transformed into collective responsibility.”

Over the decades, Schlüter, who is in his 60s, has built close relationships with Jewish communities and also spent time living in Israel.

In a story on Schlüter in June of 2017, The Jewish News of Northern California noted that Schlüter, who had been Germany’s consul general in San Francisco for the previous three years and who was retiring, had spent much of his time in synagogues or speaking to Jewish organizations.

“Schlüter, who went to Israel to work on a kibbutz before joining the foreign service and then was spokesman for the German Embassy in Tel Aviv from 1986 to 1990, said German diplomats have an obligation to reach out to Jewish communities due to the legacy of the Holocaust,” the article added.

The story also quoted him as saying “We were the perpetrators of this unheard-of crime. Generations [of Germans] who were born after the war are not guilty for what happened at that time, but we should definitely — with our history — have a special responsibility to see to it that things like that don’t happen again. This is part of tikkun olam,” a Hebrew phrase that means repairing the world.

Today, Schlüter serves as program director for the training of international diplomats in Germany’s Federal Foreign Office.

The Oct. 18 program, held at the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute, was co-sponsored by the Civil Rights Institute, Birmingham Holocaust

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community Education Center and the University of Alabama at Birmingham’s Institute of Human Rights. About 125 people attended and the lecture hall was packed.

Following Schlüter’s remarks, a panel discussion moderated by Tina Kempin Reuter, director of UAB’s Institute of Human Rights, focused, among other things, on how the U.S. has addressed its own difficult issues, such as America’s racial struggle.

Panel members included Gregory Wilson, history professor at Lawson State Community College; Laura Anderson, director of operations, Alabama Humanities Foundation; and Kiara Boone, deputy program manager, Equal Justice Initiative.

They all agreed that ongoing education, vigilance and being proactive help prevent the recurrence of widespread bigotry and oppression.

“How do we talk about the past? Who owns the past?” Kempin Reuter had asked in her opening remarks. Those two questions framed the evening as the speaker, panelists and audience members came together to search for answers.

Artist Kassan visiting UAB for Holocaust portrait project

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Artist David Kassan, who has a project that paints and documents survivors of the Holocaust, will be in residence at the University of Alabama at Birmingham from Nov. 12 to 16, when he will make a portrait of a Holocaust survivor, work with students and give a lecture.

Kassan’s visit is part of the biennial print atelier program of the College of Arts and Sciences’ Department of Art and Art History, which has partnered with the Birmingham Holocaust Education Center and Temple Beth-El for programming.

Kassan will work on the print of local Holocaust survivor Robert May Elsa Ross, Hidden Child through the week and give a lecture at Temple Beth-El at 6:30 p.m. on Nov. 15. His lecture will focus on the “EDUT” project and his work while artist-in-residence. A coffee and dessert reception will follow.

Edut is Hebrew for living witnesses, and the project, which the Little Rock native began in 2014, is a way of connecting with his grandfather’s traumatic history escaping ethnic cleansing on the Romania/Ukraine border to come to America in 1917.

The “EDUT” project’s mission is to meet with as many living survivors of the Shoah as possible and to document them in filmed video portraits and in paintings and drawings.

While many survivors have already told their stories on video or in memoirs, Kassan believes painting offers viewers a different kind of connection to the survivors.

Kassan is an internationally recognized contemporary American painter best known for his life-size representational paintings, which combine figurative subjects with symbolic textured abstract backgrounds. Kassan’s work is best classified as social documentary painting due to the importance and relevance of the subjects he chooses to represent.

The lecture will also coincide with remembrance of the 80th anniversary of Kristallnacht, when Nazis in Germany torched synagogues, vandalized Jewish homes, schools and businesses, and killed close to 100 Jewish people.

The lecture is funded in support by the UAB DAAH, the Jemison Visiting Professorship in the Humanities, BHEC and Temple Beth-El.

November 2018 • Southern Jewish Life

23

community The South’s Most Comprehensive Weekly Jewish E-Newsletter Stay Informed Between Print Editions

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November 2018 • Southern Jewish Life

Joseph Siegelman looks to make attorney general’s office non-political While he may have one of the most famous names in Alabama politics, Joseph Siegelman wants the voters of Alabama to “get to know Joe.” The 30-year-old Siegelman is the Democrat nominee in this month’s attorney general race, though while growing up in Montgomery he envisioned distancing himself from the political world.

His father, Don Siegelman, was secretary of state, attorney general, lieutenant governor and governor. “As I grew older, I gained an appreciation for what my dad chose to do with his life and what he accomplished for the people of Alabama,” he said.

He views the attorney general’s office as “an office that should be different. It should be a non-political, nonpartisan office administering justice, protecting the people of the state, applying the law impartially.”

He believes “to do the job right, it’s can’t matter what letter is by your name.” Because of that, “it’s not inconsistent with my previous views of not wanting anything to do with politics.”

Siegelman grew up in Montgomery, attending Agudath Israel-Etz Ahayem. When his father was convicted on charges related to an appointment on a board overseeing health care in the state, a case his supporters considered a Republican hit job, Siegelman developed an interest in the legal profession, attending the University of Alabama as an undergraduate and then the University of Alabama School of Law. He is currently a managing partner in The Cochran Firm’s Birmingham office.

His campaign “has gained a lot of traction,” he said. “We have an opportunity to move in a different, more positive direction.”

His task has been “getting in front of as many people as possible, look them in the eyes, shake their hand, let them know I’m genuine, I care about what is going on in their lives.”

Among the top issues is dealing with the opioid epidemic “that seems to be getting worse rather than better,” with four counties at risk of HIV outbreaks directly attributed to the epidemic.

He also spoke of overcrowded prisons “warehousing people with drug addictions and mental illness” and taking up spaces that should go to violent criminals. “We have an opportunity to not only be tough on crime, but smart on crime.”

He also said human trafficking is “a bigger problem in this state than people realize.” He also wants to bring the attorney general’s office into the 21st-century with the fight against fraud

in an age of cyber crime.

A common theme he continues to hear is voters questioning “whether the government Is working for them” or on a personal or political agenda.

He said he is “overwhelmed by the support I’ve received,” including from first responders, law enforcement and the FOP Lodge in Birmingham.”

He noted that the current attorney general has involved Alabama in a number of out-ofstate lawsuits, adding that many of these suits have nothing to do with Alabama.

He also states that his opponent received $735,000 from out-of-state special interests in a manner he states is illegal. But when it comes to prosecuting violations of campaign law, the attorney general is the one that usually handles it.

Siegelman said the faith of Alabamians is already shaken, with the highest officeholders in each branch of Alabama’s government being removed for misconduct within the last three years. If an attorney general is removed from office, he noted, the governor would then be able to appoint whoever he or she wants, without the voters having a voice.

He wishes this controversy was not part of the campaign, but said the issue was pointed out by a former Republican attorney general.

By running for attorney general, Siegelman said “I want to restore people’s faith and confidence in that office.

In statewide races, Alabama has been a very difficult state for Democrats to break through and win. But he is not deterred. “The majority of Alabamians care more about the person then choosing the letter besides someone’s name.”

community Jennifer Zimmerman seeks to unseat incumbent Gaetz in Fla. panhandle A Catholic with a Jewish family, she asks how Gaetz can be hanging out with Holocaust denier

by Jerry Gordon As the mid-term elections approach, Jennifer Zimmerman is working at her medical pediatric clinic in a rural area of Florida’s panhandle while campaigning against the Republican incumbent in the First Congressional District, U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz.

She noted the response to Hurricane Michael as just the latest example of how Gaetz is tonedeaf to the concerns of the district. A Twitter storm erupted as Gaetz flew from Orlando to Washington just before the hurricane hit, while Zimmerman said it was not “in her nature to leave” in the face of a disaster, and reached out to those in need in the second Congressional district, further down the panhandle where the damage was catastrophic.

Florida Politics noted “A pediatrician by trade, she held donation drives at her former Jerry Gordon is a registered Republican voter in Florida’s 1st Congressional District and co-host of the weekly Israel News Talk Radio-Beyond the Matrix program aired from Jerusalem.

Kidscare Pediatrics office in Pace to help storm survivors while Gaetz headed to Washington for an interview many dismiss as politically motivated.”

Gaetz stated he could do more to help by coordinating the response in Washington, adding that his flight from Orlando to Washington was in coach.

For Jews and supporters of Israel, Zimmerman is perplexed about Gaetz’s two meetings with acknowledged holocaust denier Chuck Johnson at both the January 2018 State of the Union address and at a fundraising appearance on a yacht of a California co-founder of the Republican Jewish Coalition in mid-July. She also noted Gaetz avoided a Congressional candidates debate in Pensacola that weekend with Zimmerman and Republican contenders.

She also points out Gaetz’s lone “no” vote against an overwhelmingly bi-partisan bill against human trafficking, followed by another “no” vote on a bi-partisan sex trafficking online bill. Gaetz has gone on record of being in favor of abolishing the Environment Protec-

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tion Agency, while lauding his House bill to authorize the expansion of medical marijuana research permits. Meanwhile, Zimmerman is contending daily with discussions by parents of her patients about abuse of opiod and medical marijuana prescriptions.

In a news release in mid-September, Zimmerman contrasted Gaetz’s insensitivities with her own background as a successful Filipino immigrant doctor married to a Jew originally from the Bronx, raising Jewish children.

Zimmerman stated, “It is completely unacceptable that Gaetz continues to embarrass his district by associating with openly anti-Semitic instigators and then lying about his whereabouts. Gaetz’s actions disrespect not only his constituents, but also those who bravely fought the Nazis in hopes of ending the very atrocities Mr. Johnson denies, including my own father, James Mijares, as well as my father-in-law Solomon Brooks.

“Furthermore,” she added, “Gaetz is obligated to fairly represent all constituents in Florida District One, including my Jewish husband and

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November 2018 • Southern Jewish Life

our Jewish children. I find it inconceivable that Gaetz feels entitled to skip candidate forums in his district in favor of fraternizing with Holocaust deniers. The people of Northwest Florida deserve better.”

Zimmerman overwhelmingly won the Democrat primary with over 60 percent of registered voters. She is an American Filipino immigrant and prominent pediatrician who has practiced for more than two decades in Escambia and Santa Rosa counties in the northwestern Florida Panhandle . She is a practicing Catholic married to a Jewish man she met while serving her residency at Long Island Jewish Hospital in New York, and three of their children have chosen to be raised Jewish.

Her victory reflected support from a wide range of registered Democrat voters concerned about the Trump Administration policies on priority issues like affordable comprehensive health care, immigration reform, protection of the environment, economic inequality and recognition of diversity as strength for America’s future.

She is an unwavering supporter of Israel, citing with pride the critical vote by then Philippine U.N. Representative Carlos P. Romulo, an aide to World War II U.S. commander in the Pacific, General Douglas McArthur, who made the deciding vote in U.N. Res. 181 on Nov. 29, 1947, enabling the May 1948 birth of the state of Israel.

Zimmerman is fond of pointing out that largest foreign caregiver community in Israel currently are Filipinos, also acknowledged by Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu, who cited the nurse who took of his late father.

Zimmerman is also proud of the Philippines for providing sanctuary to Jews escaping from Hitler’s regime prior to the Japanese invasion. Her father was exemplary of the courage and sacrifices of Filipinos who resisted the Japanese occupation. He became a Philippine Scout who was captured, tortured and imprisoned before he was liberated.

Zimmerman’s own pathway of immigration to the US was arduous. Her parents rose out of poverty through prayer and hard work. She obtained a full academic scholarship so she could go through pre-med, majoring in zoology. She then went on to medical school in the Philippines.

Having obtained high scores, she was able to pass the International Medical Graduate exam and was invited to become a resident at Long Island Jewish Medical Center in New York. She came here on a J-1 Visa, under the Exchange Visitor Program. Those visas are given to foreign medical school graduates, as most hospitals in the U.S. have difficulties finding Americans as residents, especially in a health care specialty like pediatrics. This medical specialty is among the lowest paid with the highest amount of hours required.

She did not become an American citizen simply because she married an American. Zimmerman went through a long process that took 11 years and about 25,000 hours to convert her J-1 visa to an H-1, then converting the H-1 to a green card, ultimately receiving her American citizenship.

She believes that the current immigration system is badly in need of reform to prioritize the fast-tracking of qualified persons with skills that this country needs, especially in health care and the technology sectors.

Because of her pediatric care practice, she is acutely aware of the fractured health care system in the U.S. Zimmerman argues that the Affordable Care Act was enacted because there were a lot of Americans — about 23 million — who could not obtain any kind of insurance because of pre-existing conditions.

She believes there should have been Medicaid expansion in Florida because there are a lot of working families who fell into the cracks. They make enough money so they can’t qualify for Medicaid, but they don’t have enough income so that they can afford the premiums for any healthcare insurance, or their jobs do not offer them that choice. The Democrat candidate for governor, Andrew Gillum, proposes expansion of Medicaid that she argues would help fix some of the problems with those young workers who would benefit from Medicaid expansion. Eventually, she contends the country should consider Medicare expansion to equalize

community

Bobby Garon to succeed Sandy Levy at Jewish Endowment Foundation Andrea Lestelle, president of the Jewish Endowment Foundation of Louisiana, announced that R. Justin (Bobby) Garon will become JEF’s next executive director, effective Jan. 1, 2019.

He will succeed Sandy Levy, who has headed the agency for 27 years, growing the overall assets of the Foundation from $10 million to around $60 million. Levy will remain with JEF for a transition period to enable a smooth, effective turnover.

Garon will be retiring from his legal practice at the end of this year after 33 years in the profession. He said he is excited to begin this next chapter in his life. For the last few months, he has been taking courses to earn the

>> Zimmerman

continued from page 26

the accessibility of healthcare to all Americans.

While Gaetz calls for abolishing the EPA, Zimmerman contends that would worsen exposure of children in her pediatric practice to environmentally-linked diseases. The BP oil spill included a lot of seepage into the waterway system. Toxic chemicals released in the air leads to an increase in respiratory inhalation of carbons, with greater prevalence of asthma and skin diseases.

Mold is another issue in an area with tropical storms or hurricanes.

Water seepage through walls increases the amount of mold, and mold inhaled by children causes a lot more respiratory illnesses.

Zimmerman has developed a following not only among Democrats, but increasingly among Independents. Even among Registered Republican voters who encounter her, there is respect for her views, many saying they wished she had run as a Republican in the primary against Gaetz.

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designation of Chartered Advisor in Philanthropy, enhancing his resume of professional and non-profit experiences.

During his legal career, he has been very active with many organizations in the New Orleans Jewish community, serving as a board member or officer of the Jewish Federation of Greater New Orleans, Jewish Community Center, Jewish Family Service, Anti-Defamation League, Jewish Outreach Institute, Jewish Federation of North America, and Shir Chadash Photo by Michael Palumbo Congregation.

Garon currently chairs the group that is developing the Louisiana Community Mikveh. Additionally, he has served the broader community in significant roles on the NORD Foundation, NORD Commission, Trust for Public Land, New Orleans Citizen Advisory Panel Commission, and the Southern Institute for Education and Research.

Lestelle said the search committee, which was co-chaired by Jill Israel, was looking for a “visionary, experienced, successful leader with powerful interpersonal skills who will continue to grow this important community organization, serving as an ambassador and trusted partner with donors, potential donors, and Jewish organizations.

“In Bobby, we found someone who exceeds all we hoped for,” she said.

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Election Day • November 6th

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November 2018 • Southern Jewish Life

Posting of the Ten Commandments, long a political hot-button issue in Alabama, will be among four state constitutional amendments on the Nov. 6 ballot.

Mississippi does not have any initiatives on this year’s ballot, while a constitutional amendment in Louisiana to require unanimous juries has been drawing a lot of attention.

In Alabama, Amendment 1 calls for displaying the Ten Commandments at schools and on state and local government property, as long as the displays meet constitutional requirements, such as being with other historical or educational items. The amendment also states no public funds can be used to defend the law if challenged in court.

Public display of the Ten Commandments has been controversial since the mid-1990s, when then-Etowah County Circuit Judge Roy Moore refused to take down a Ten Commandments plaque in the courthouse, and refused to stop having Christian prayers offered at the beginning of jury sessions.

Amendment 2 sets official Alabama policy as recognizing the rights of the unborn, including the right to life. The amendment would state that Alabama’s constitution does not provide for a right to abortion or public funding for abortion, but the amendment’s passage would not outlaw abortion because the U.S. Supreme Court supersedes the state position.

Amendment 3 says if the state loses a Congressional seat in 2020, the current geographical arrangement on the University of Alabama Board of Trustees would remain the same.

Amendment 4 says if a vacancy occurs in the Alabama Legislature within a year of the end of a term, a special election is not required and the seat can remain vacant until the next regularly scheduled election.

Louisiana has six amendments on the ballot. Amendment 1 would change the practice where someone convicted of a felony can run for office once their sentence is complete. The amendment would impose a five-year ban after the completion of a sentence.

Amendment 2 would strike down a late 19th century law that disenfranchised African-Americans when they were finally allowed to serve on juries. Instead of a unanimous verdict, Louisiana is one of only two states allowing a non-unanimous decision for felony cases, in this case, 10 of 12. A unanimous verdict is already required for death penalty cases. This amendment would require a unanimous jury.

Several Jewish groups have held public events to educate voters about this amendment.

community

Governors Edwards of Louisiana, Bryant of Mississippi visiting Israel on trade missions Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards is leading a 24-person delegation on an economic development mission to Israel in late October.

The trip was announced on Oct. 11.

Mississippi Governor Phil Bryant will also be heading to Israel, leading his fourth mission in five years, starting Nov. 20.

This is Edwards’ first official visit to Israel, and it comes just months after an Israel 70th birthday celebration at the Governor’s Mansion, where he signed an executive order barring the state from doing business with companies that participate in boycotts of Israel.

Israel Consul General Gilad Katz attended the ceremony, which was the first-ever fully kosher meal at the mansion, and invited Edwards to Israel.

“Louisiana and Israel share excellent relations and mutual interests in the areas of cyber security, energy, and water,” Katz said. “This visit is not only a representation of those excellent relations, but we hope will also be the springboard to new partnerships and collaborations that will have a lasting impact on both Louisiana and Israel.”

Edwards currently serves as co-chairman of the National Governors Association’s Resource Center for State Cybersecurity with Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder. The NGA’s national cybersecurity conference will be held in Shreve-

Israel Consul General Lior Haiat presents Mississippi Governor Phil Bryant with an Israeli football helmet during a mid-October visit to coordinate Bryant’s upcoming Israel trip. Haiat also attended a football game at East Mississippi Community College. He was presented with an Israel 70 jersey and along with Sen. Roger Wicker was named honorary captain, leading the captains out onto the field for the coin toss.

port-Bossier City in May 2019.

The conference will bring together leaders in the cybersecurity community; educators and students; and gubernatorial administrations from all 50 states to discuss the nation’s cybersecurity efforts. Jeff McLeod, director of the NGA’s Homeland Security and Public Safety Division, were scheduled to be on the Israel trip.

“Louisiana is positioning itself as a leader in cybersecurity and we’re excited to bring the rest of the states to Shreveport to identify ways to strengthen their cyber posture,” McLeod said.

“Having the prime minister’s office and Israeli-based companies involved brings an important international aspect to the work, and we’re eager to find new opportunities for states to work more closely with Israel in addressing the growing cyber threat.”

The mission, in partnership with the National Governors Association, includes Louisiana officials, business leaders and researchers. They were heading to Israel on Oct. 26, and a meeting between Edwards and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and other government leaders, was scheduled for Oct. 28 in Jerusalem.

Also on the schedule is a memorial ceremony at Yad Vashem, Israel’s Holocaust memorial, with Edwards and First Lady Donna Edwards participating. The Louisiana group will also scheduled to visit Tel Aviv for more discussions on building business development opportunities for Louisiana companies.

The 24-person delegation includes industry leaders in varied fields, including water management, logistics, higher education, and cybersecurity. In addition to meeting with companies that have existing projects in Louisiana, Gov. Edwards and the delegation are meeting with government and industry leaders to discuss opportunities for Louisiana and Israel to partner in these and other sectors.

“It’s a great opportunity for Louisiana when we get such a high-level invitation to visit a key ally and meet with national officials and corporate executives to explore trade and partnership prospects,” Edwards said. “I am looking forward to building a framework for Louisiana to connect with Israel in oil and gas exploration and cybersecurity, as well as other fields, and I want to make it possible for Louisiana companies and organizations to follow up on the inroads we make with this trade mission.”

Edwards added, “We are looking to establish relationships with the Israeli government and its private sector, and we will build on those relationships as we expand the markets for the goods and services that our Louisiana compa-

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community nies provide to the world.”

“International commerce is a cornerstone of our economic development efforts,” Louisiana Economic Development Secretary Don Pierson said. “We excel at attracting foreign direct investment to Louisiana, and we seek to develop relationships that can provide opportunities for our homegrown industry leaders to export their expertise to other markets.”

Pierson said Israel has not been a major trading partner for Louisiana, “but we are looking forward to exploring how we can expand our markets there in strategic and significant ways.”

The group returns to Louisiana on Nov. 2.

Bryant is a frequent traveler to Israel, having spoken at international security and business conferences in his previous trade missions. In 2015, he also coordinated a trade mission from Israel to Mississippi, bringing in many Israeli business executives.

He also organized a homeland security conference in Biloxi earlier this year, an event which was dominated by Israeli companies.

Bryant has also signed legislation allowing the state to purchase Israel Bonds, and this summer Stark Aerospace near Columbus delivered its first canister for Israel’s Arrow-3 missile defense system.

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November 2018 • Southern Jewish Life

The Jewish Endowment Foundation of Louisiana announced that applications are now available for first-time overnight summer campers to receive the Goldring Jewish Summer Camp Experience Incentive Grant.

The Goldring Jewish Summer Camp Experience is administered by JEF. This program, which helps families provide their children with a first-time camping experience at a Jewish sleepaway camp, was established by JEF in 1999 and has been funded by the Goldring Family Foundation since 2001. Since its inception, close to 1,400 children have received grants to attend Jewish summer camp.

Experts agree that one of the most effective ways to create positive Jewish identity and develop children’s commitment to living Jewish lives is to expose them to a camp experience where they will meet other Jewish boys and girls and savor the precious heritage of Jewish traditions while enjoying wholesome summer fun and sports activities.

The Goldring Family Foundation makes this camp program available to every Jewish child in Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and the Florida Panhandle by giving a one-time-only grant of up to $1,500 per child to attend a nonprofit Jewish summer camp. Programs costing less than $1,500 will be funded up to the amount of camp tuition.

“We are grateful to the Goldring Family Foundation for their continuing generosity and their commitment to making a Jewish camping experience available to so many children,” states JEF President Andi Lestelle.

“This program benefits not only the individual campers, but our entire community.”

To meet the criteria for funding, children must be first-time campers at a nonprofit Jewish sleepaway camp, currently in grades 1 through 9, and residents of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama or the Florida Panhandle.

Grants are not based on financial need. Both parents need not be Jewish. Synagogue affiliation is not required.

The deadline for applications is March 31 and early application is strongly suggested. Award notification will be made by May 31.

For more information and an application form, contact Ellen Abrams at JEF at (504) 524-4559 or ellen@jefno.org. The application can also be downloaded at www.jefno.org.

Need-based scholarships for overnight non-profit summer camps are available through Jewish Children’s Regional Service, with a priority deadline of Feb. 15. Information is available at jcrs.org.

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ARE TRADITIONAL FOR CHANUKAH The Rocket Center has another new addition set to debut in February, the exhibit “When We Went to the Moon,” which will be supplement its ex- this holiday.

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November 2018 • Southern Jewish Life

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the length of the National Historic Landmark Saturn V moon rocket and standing underneath the full-stack Pathfinder shuttle exhibit.

Open to museum members, Space Camp trainees and guests alike, the Rocket Center campus is a place to visit again and again to be amazed by America’s accomplishments in space and to set the trajectory of tomorrow’s explorers.

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Springhill Avenue Temple 1769 Springhill Ave. Mobile Alabama’s oldest Jewish congregation is celebrating its 175th anniversary in February, but the celebration starts with a 175th anniversary wearable fundraiser.

Short-sleeve T-shirts are being sold for $15, with the congregation’s name on the front left, and the anniversary logo, pictured here, on the back.

Port Authority silk touch Polo shirts, $25, have the logo embroidered on the left front. Sizes are Youth XS to Adult XXL. 20-oz. insulated stainless steel tumblers with the logo are also available for $15.

Deadline for orders is Nov. 14, items will be available about two weeks later. Proceeds go toward the upcoming anniversary celebration.

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November 2018 • Southern Jewish Life

November 2018 • Southern Jewish Life

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November 2018 • Southern Jewish Life

Earthborn Pottery

7575 Parkway Drive Leeds, Ala 205/702.7055 earthbornpottery.net From the finest restaurants to your home… Earthborn pottery is restaurant sturdy, dishwasher, oven and microwave safe.

It’s artisan work that is passed to down to generations. And Earthborn “buttons” can be made into any logo or mark… the Star of David, a Menorah, or your favorite image — custom dinnerware that’s beautiful and functional!

Right, Round Serving Bowls, all different sizes, ranging from $20 to $270 Above, A Three-Piece Place Setting. Personalize your very own high-fire stoneware dinner set.

Earthborn offers different plating styles and has 27 different glazes to choose from!

chanukah gifts

Applause Dance Wear

1629 Oxmoor Road Birmingham 205/781-7837 applausedancewear.net

Applause Dancewear welcomes their new line of KATYDID jackets.

They are available in four colors, just in time for cold weather.

Applause also has BLOCH mini pointe shoe keychains and Bloch mini warm-up bootie keychains. These keychains make the perfect accessory to a dancer’s bag or backpack. And their all-time dancer favorite is the full size BLOCH warm-up booties that are now coming in the new prints pictured here, as well as the classic colors all dancers love.

Israel InSight Magazine israelinsightmagazine.com

Looking for a gift for a Christian friend who loves Israel? Get a gift subscription for Israel InSight, the new magazine for Israel’s Christian friends. Published by the team at Southern Jewish Life, this magazine will debut in early 2019. Charter subscriptions are available at israelinsightmagazine.com for $18/year or $32 for two years. Of course, readers and subscribers of all faiths are welcome!

Vulcan Park and Museum

1701 Valley View Drive Birmingham 205/933-1409 visitvulcan.com Those who love Birmingham’s famous Iron Man and gifts featuring Alabama and from local artists can find everything they want at The Anvil — the gift shop at Vulcan Park and Museum.

Vulcan’s statue replicas are meticulously detailed to show every feature of the real Iron Man and make great souvenirs or a perfect addition to a personal collection. Bobblehead Vulcan ($18.50) is 8” tall and features a bobbling head — and yes, the famous “moon over Homewood” also bobbles! Enclosed in a ready-to-gift box.

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Art • Jewelry • Books Jewelry designed by New Orleans Artist Marla Jean Clinesmith November 2018 • Southern Jewish Life

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chanukah gifts

Hebrew Word Pics hebrewwordpics.com

Right: Ahav pendant Below: Chanukah print

Holidays at McWane FEATURING THE MAGIC OF MODEL TRAINS

New Orleans artist Marla Jan Clinesmith is the artist behind Hebrew Word Pics, which “shares the mysteries of Ancient Hebrew to enhance the study and understanding of God’s word.”

Clinesmith takes the ancient Hebrew alphabet, different from the current alphabet, and uses the letters and their connotations to develop layers of meaning in her works. She has prints of numerous Hebrew terms, using “God colors” in her work, and the forms of the pictographs to explore the concepts behind them.

She also has a line of jewelry based on the ancient Hebrew letters.

Eleven Eleven Clothiers

2411 Montevallo Rd. Birmingham 205/423.5071 elevenelevenclothiers.com

HOLIDAY SEASON PRESENTED BY

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November 2018 • Southern Jewish Life

Mountain Brook’s Eleven Eleven Clothiers owner Meredith Fuller’s ultimate goal “is to make women feel amazing about themselves at the gym and in their everyday lives.”

She opened the store earlier this year on Montevallo Road in Mountain Brook Village. Eleven Eleven sells a mix of casual and active wear.

“I really try to keep in mind several uses for a garment when I decide to bring it into the store,” said Fuller.

They carry active-lifestyle tops, pants, shorts, sports bras and accessories. Some of the lines at Eleven Eleven include Beyond Yoga, Body Language, Kate Spade and the newly added Alo Yoga, pictured here.

The name Eleven Eleven came from an inside joke between Meredith and her husband, Jon. They met when she was living in New York City and he was in Alabama. They would both look at the clock everyday and see 11:11. They would think of each other.

“As the business began to become a possibility, Jon had the idea of naming the business after something so meaningful to us both,” she said.

“Since then we have had so many people that have connected with the idea of Eleven Eleven and its connotations of good luck.”

Fuller said she has been very pleased with the response they have received. “The community has been so amazing and so supportive,” she said. “We enjoy making people happy every day.”

chanukah gifts

Chateau Drugs and Gifts

She said she was inspired by the old Crown Drugs in Lakeview when it was owned by the Singermans. “I used to go there Chateau Drugs and Gifts promotes wellness with its pharmacy as well all the time when I was in high as through “retail therapy.” school and that was always in Co-owner Diane Milano said first-time visitors to the store have been the back of my mind when we surprised by the extensive gift selection they offer. opened Chateau.”

“We’ve been in the pharmacy business since 1977 and we have been selling gifts for 15 years,” said Milano. “It’s a lot of fun. We love what we’re doing. People coming in thinking that we’re just a drug store do a double-take when they see how much we have on the gifts side.”

MaryMac’s Doggie Retreat Chateau’s diverse selection of gifts includes art and handmade pottery, 504/812.6923 clothes (mostly sweaters, robes, pajamas), lamps, purses, small luggage, marymacsdoggieretreat.com kids’ costumes, New Orleans-themed gifts from Jax Frey as well as Purple Pumpkin, Beatrice Ball, toys, bath and body products, wine charms, as MaryMac’s Doggie Retreat is New Orleans’ first Dog Daycare and well as much more.

Chateau’s Judaica gifts include menorahs and mezuzahs from Michael Boarding company that specializes Aram, “Jewish History of New Orleans” books from Images of America, in reducing stress, anxiety and along with a nice selection of greeting cards for Chanukah and other hol- depression in your dog while idays and B’nai Mitzvah celebrations, along with a few options for wrap- you’re away.

But you don’t have to board your ping paper and gift bags.

Milano does most of the buying, except for clothes and jewelry, which furry friend or be in New Orleans is handled by Lisa Desalvo. Her husband, Kenny, runs the pharmacy. The to benefit from their expertise.

Online, they offer organic calming couple and their daughter, Kimberly, are all pharmacists as well.

“We started with some purses and mirrors,” said Diane Milano. “We’ve treats, which come in many flavors and make a great gift for the expanded the gifts selection a great deal over the years. Today we sell holidays. They have only organic ingredients and are baked to order.

The most popular flavors are peanut butter and pumpkin. more than three times what we did back then on the gifts side.”

3544 West Esplanade Avenue Metairie 504/889.2300 chateaudrugsrx.com

November 2018 • Southern Jewish Life

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chanukah

Get ready for Chanukah A few events have already been announced Bais Ariel Chabad in Birmingham announced that its Grand Menorah Lighting at The Summit will be on Dec. 9.

Springhill Avenue Temple in Mobile will host a joint Chanukah celebration with Ahavas Chesed, Dec. 2 at 5 p.m. Reservations are $5 in advance by Nov. 26, $15 at the door. There will be a dinner of potato latkes, Israeli latke pizzas and sufganiyot.

The Jewish Federation of Oxford will hold its second Bubbe’s Table Chanukah meal, Dec. 7 at 6 p.m. at the Farmstead at Woodson Ridge.

Dress is farm party casual, and the first drink is included with the $40 ticket. Cocktails are sponsored by Cathead Vodka, and Bar by Best-ofOxford top bartender Joe Stinchcomb.

Three chefs will do their spin on latkes. Karen Carrier started as an artist and glassworker, until she was attracted to a culinary career in the 1980s. In 2002 she opened her flagship restaurant The Beauty Shop, then Mollie Fontaine Lounge (formerly Cielo) and Bar DKDC (formerly do Sushi + Noodles).

Elizabeth Heiskell is a Mississippi Delta native who sells homegrown gourmet pickles, jellies, jams, salsas and a popular Bloody Mary mix under the Debutante Farmer label. She became lead culinary instructor at the Viking Cooking School in Greenwood, and now runs Woodson Ridge Farm. She has appeared on numerous television shows, including as a food contributor for NBC’s “Today.”

Growing up, Shay Widmer split time between fishing and eating crawfish in Lafayette, and working in her grandmother’s North Dakota restaurant. She is now the chef de cuisine at The Beauty Shop.

Tickets are available online.

The 13th annual Community Chanukah Celebration at the Uptown Jewish Community Center in New Orleans will feature a live concert by bluegrass band Nefesh Mountain. The event, part of the Cathy and Morris Bart Jewish Cultural Arts Series, is free and open to the community.

The celebration starts at 4 p.m. on Dec. 9, with a menorah lighting and a latke dinner.

Jewish Children’s Regional Service in New Orleans will have its fifth annual Latkes with a Twist, Dec. 6 at 7 p.m. at Press Street Station, at NOCCA. The event features Adam Biderman, chef and owner of The Company Burger. There will be an open bar with vodka latke punch and a bourbon Chanukah hi-ball. There will also be a latke bar, music by the Joe Geleni Trio, and a silent auction.

Biderman said “The only thing I like more than a great burger is a great latke! I’m really looking forward to this event.”

The Washington Post listed Latkes with a Twist as one of the 10 top Chanukah parties in the nation.

Tickets are $30 in advance and $35 at the door.

In Birmingham, the Chanukah House will once again be featured on the Wacky Tacky Christmas Lights Tour. Located in Forest Park, the Chanukah House is one of the few homes in the nation where holiday light displays have a Chanukah twist, including a seven-foot spinning dreidel and a 20-foot by 15-foot menorah, among other whimsical items in the 10,000-light setup.

The bus tours will be Dec. 11 to 13, leaving Avondale Brewery every 10 minutes. Tickets are available through freshairfamily.org.

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November 2018 • Southern Jewish Life

financial an annual SJL special section

The Three C’s of Credit: Are You Creditworthy?

by Maury Shevin What is a good loan and what are good loan terms? The answers depend on the purpose for the loan and on the three “C’s” of credit. So, let’s talk about a “consumer” loan — one for personal, family or household purposes — and the three “C’s of credit.” Real estate mortgage loans are beyond the scope of this article.

In the world of banking and consumer finance, the lender looks for three traits in determining loan terms — character, capacity and collateral. Each of us likes to think that we are “creditworthy” by these three traits. But, in reality we are not all so fortunate.

First, the lender must trust that we are of the character that we will repay the loan. Absent meeting this test, we will not have the opportunity to receive good loan terms; and will certainly have to pay a higher interest rate commensurate with our credit standing.

Similarly, we must have the capacity to repay the loan. The lender looks for sources of income — whether earned or unearned income — that are sufficient to repay based on the length of time of the loan that we are seeking.

Finally, as a safety precaution, lenders look for collateral by which they may secure repayment of the loan if we fail to do so.

Assuming that we pass the test of the three traits above, there is every likelihood that a lender will offer a loan for our needs. Only then do we get to focus on what is a good loan and good loan terms.

A loan that allows a borrower to use the entire principal amount for the entire term is better than one that requires monthly repayment. If the borrower has the use of the entire principal sum for the term, then the borrower is using the lender’s money to accomplish his or her purposes.

The drawback, of course, is that when the term is over and the principal and accrued interest is due, the borrower must come up with the full amount in one lump sum. If one has the discipline to recognize and plan

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Maury Shevin is a shareholder of Sirote & Permutt P.C. in Birmingham.

He serves as counsel for trade associations, financial institutions and business clients, advising them with respect to business and industry concerns.

He advises numerous local, regional and national real estate, finance and consumer credit clients with respect to federal and state consumer credit protection laws, rules and regulations. His practice also includes assisting clients in legislative analysis and drafting, financing, and the purchase and sale of businesses and business assets. Shevin is a regular contributor to the Consumer Finance Report at Sirote.com.

November 2018 • Southern Jewish Life

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Want a smile like Cathy’s?

Donate your old car to Collat Jewish Family Services

You’ll be happy knowing you’re providing care and support for older adults, and you can donate from any state, whatever the condition of your car!

To learn more, contact elaine@cjfsbham.org or call 205.879.3438

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for this obligation, then this approach is sound.

However, if the borrower needs some forced discipline, then an installment loan makes sense. In this type of loan, the principal is advanced to the borrower, but the borrower immediately begins to repay the principal together with accrued interest usually in equal, consecutive installments. Then, by the end of the term, the loan is fully repaid.

A hybrid approach to these two types of loans, is the loan where the borrower pays accrued interest from time to time — monthly, semi-annually, or annually — but does not repay the principal until the end of the term. This hybrid approach allows the borrower the full use of the loan proceeds for the full term, but reduces the sticker shock of the loan repayment obligation at the end of the term because the accrued interest has been paid as the term progresses.

There are variations on these three types of consumer loans. But, for most middle income borrowers, a traditional installment loan, with equal, consecutive monthly payments, that are affordable to the borrower, seems to work best.

The interest rate offered will vary for several rea-

sons. The three “C’s” discussed above will play a role. Also, economic conditions, including the cost of funds to the lender, will determine the rate of interest offered.

If possible, stay away from securing your loan with the title to your vehicle (if a short-term title loan) or pawning jewelry or other personal property (if a short-term pawn). Both of these types of “hard money” loans are expensive and habit-forming. Also, carefully evaluate your need for any ancillary products that you are offered, like credit insurance.

Importantly, borrowers should comparison-shop for credit just as consumers shop for other products and services. The federal government mandates the use of the “Annual Percentage Rate” in consumer lending. This APR is uniform in the lending industry, assuring meaningful comparison shopping by borrowers. So, once the borrower determines the APR offered by the lender, and considers the type of loan repayment that he or she needs and can best handle, the determination of what is a good loan and what are good loan terms will become apparent.

ADL protests foster family discrimination in S.C. The Anti-Defamation League urged the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to reject a waiver requested by the State of South Carolina that would allow federally-funded foster agencies to deny applications of Jewish and other foster parents on the basis of religion.

The waiver request was based on a local faithbased foster care agency, Miracle Hill Ministries, prospectively losing its federal funding because of the agency’s religious requirements for foster parents, which prohibit foster placement with non-Christian families. Miracle Hill reportedly rejected one local Jewish woman as a voluntary mentor for children, in a state where 4,600 children are already in foster care and an additional 1,500 children are seeking foster homes.

“It is immoral and grossly unjust for the federal government, South Carolina and taxpayers to support discrimination,” said Jonathan A. Greenblatt, ADL CEO. “We are deeply concerned that if South Carolina’s request for a

waiver is approved, it will give other federally funded foster care agencies a green light to discriminate. No child should be denied a loving foster or adoptive home simply because a prospective parent is Jewish, Muslim, of another faith or LGBTQ.” In a letter to Roger Severino, director of the Office for Civil Rights at the Department of Health and Human Services, ADL warned that the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, on which the waiver is based, “should not be interpreted to sanction discrimination,” pointing to the U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Burrell v.

Hobby Lobby, which rejected the use of RFRA as a vehicle to discriminate. The letter noted that taxpayer-funded discrimination could also violate federal anti-discrimination laws, as well as the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment, “by unconstitutionally advancing or endorsing the religious missions of faith-based foster care agencies.”

Women’s, Winter Break retreats at Ramah Darom Camp Ramah Darom, the Conservative movement’s summer camp and year-round retreat center in north Georgia, has two large retreats in the coming weeks.

The Jewish Women’s Getaway will be Nov. 11 to 14. This year’s theme is “Be the Bridge: Building on Each Other’s Dreams.”

There will be intergenerational connectedness through meals and craft cocktails; Jewish spirituality through song, prayer and reflection; 40

November 2018 • Southern Jewish Life

creativity through works of art; massages, yoga and ropes course challenges, and more.

Rabbis Danielle Upbin and Susan Tendler will be the rabbis in residence.

The Winter Break Family Camp will be Dec. 27 to Jan. 1, with activities for families with children of all ages.

More information is available at ramahdarom.org.

ed Ele to ven in E tro le du ven ce is Al o Yo ga ea s

pl

Active and Casual Wear for Women Great for Chanukah Gifts www.elevenelevenclothiers.com 2411 Montevallo Rd. Mountain Brook, AL 35223

Celebrate 160

On Sept. 30, B’nai Israel in Baton Rouge kicked off its 160th anniversary celebration with “A Taste of Southern Jewish Hospitality with Chef Alon Shaya.” The NJ Beats a capella group from Tulane University also entertained. On Oct. 21, “Bubbe’s Kitchen and Zayde’s Bar: A Jewish Food Festival”was held (below), and on Dec. 7 there will be a 160th anniversary celebration as part of Shabbat services.

Sanders Painting Residential Repaint Specialist • Interior/Exterior Painting • Wood, Plaster, & Sheet Rock Repair Family Owned and Operated

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November 2018 • Southern Jewish Life

It’s a Wrap

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On Oct. 7, volunteers wrapped presents for the New Orleans-based Jewish Children’s Regional Service Chanukah Gift Program, which provides Chanukah gifts to Jewish kids in need in a seven-state region.

November 2018 • Southern Jewish Life

43

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4 6-oz. portions of trimmed veal liver 2 cups softened sweet onions 3 oz. Dry Sack sherry 4 oz. chicken stock flour for dredging salt & pepper to taste Season veal cutlets with salt and pepper to taste, then dredge in flour, pat down to remove excess flour. Pre heat sauté pan and cook in sauté pan for 2-3 minutes until golden brown on both sides and cooked throughout. Remove from pan and set aside.

Deglaze pan with Dry Sack sherry and reduce. Add sweet onions and chicken stock and reduce for about 1 minute.

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November 2018 • Southern Jewish Life

Put creamy grits on your plate, place veal liver on top and pour the onions and sauce evenly on top of all 4 plates to finish.

Blueprint on 3rd

by Lee J. Green The designs on success for the new Blueprint on 3rd involve a recipe of many years of restaurant-world experience, combined with a desire to fit a niche at Birmingham’s Pepper Place.

“We know this area well and we wanted to do something that no one else was doing,” said Dean Robb, who owns the restaurant with his wife, Jenny. It opened up late spring in the Blueprint Building. “It was about filling a need in the culinary scene and coming up with a place that serves foods we like.”

Robb describes Blueprint on 3rd as “an American-style brasserie with Southern, Cajun/Creole and Low Country influences.” But the eclectic, diverse menu includes Hangtown Fry derived in Chicago, Wayco Chesire Ham from North Carolina and Flat-Iron Steaks.

“We seek out different things from different locales,” said Robb. “It’s mostly about when a product speaks to you, you just want to share it with everyone.”

Blueprint on 3rd features a daily fresh grilled fish special and daily features Monday through Thursday. The Tuesday special is veal liver and onions. continued on page 45

continued from page 46

>> Rear Pew Mirror conclusion of their quest to come in time for an imminent Passover.

Of course, people are familiar with gefilte fish in general. They have it at Passover seder and occasionally at other times of the year. What, then, is in the gefilte fish consumed at Passover seder and even occasionally during he rest of the year?

Fishman dismisses these modern mixtures as wholly inadequate in capturing the true essence of gefilte. He says, “Making gefilte fish has something in common with casting a play or making sausages. You don’t want to know what goes into any of them.”

Asking for a description of the difference in taste between the wellknown contemporary concoctions and real gefilte, netted a cagey answer from Pike.

“I hope to someday,” says Pike. “Hopefully next year, in Jerusalem.”

Doug Brook finds gefilte fish from a jar far less jarring than when it’s homemade. To read past columns, visit http://brookwrite.com/. For exclusive online content, like facebook.com/rearpewmirror.

>> Blueprint

continued from page 44

Robb said that dish is based on one from Harry’s Bar in Venice.

The menu contains several other kosher-style items including duck and gnocchi dumplings, tortellini carbonara, Blueprint salad with creamy buttermilk dressing, carrots, pecans and farm egg, as well as cast-ironskillet pimento cheese with pumpernickel toast points.

Blueprint on 3rd’s menu continuously evolves, with changes common once every week or so. They also make some seasonal changes, with the fall menu featuring fresh staples such as fennel, sweet potatoes and other autumn vegetables.

“We are lucky to have the Pepper Place Farmer’s Market here and we work with local/Alabama farmers as much as possible,” said Robb, adding that most everything is made fresh daily.

Blueprint’s wine list contains around 60 selections and they feature a wide selection of local craft beers that also change seasonally. They also offer a few custom libations.

Robb grew up in a small Illinois farm town. Surrounded by cornfields and soybean fields, he developed an appreciation for fresh ingredients.

He came down to Birmingham to partner with Frank Stitt, serving 17 years as managing partner of Bottega Restaurant and Bottega Café. Robb went on to open a couple restaurants in Nashville before returning to Birmingham to open DoDiYo’s.

In five years with Taziki’s as vice president of operations, he helped take the company from 11 locations to 72 locations. When Taziki’s CEO Jim Keet left his position, he and Robb soon partnered to create Blueprint on 3rd.

Among their investors is longtime Jewish community leader Charles Collat.

Robb’s wife, Jenny Walls Robb, grew up in Birmingham and was influenced by traditional Southern hospitality. Their son, Brandon, works as a manager at Blueprint on 3rd.

The restaurant seats 94 plus the bar and a private back room that holds 34 people. Unlike many other of the city’s nicer restaurants, Blueprint on 3rd is open on Mondays. “We also take reservations and have valet service,” he said. “Our customers tell us what they like and those are three things they really like.

“We want to give them high-quality dining at better prices,” said Robb.

“It’s not just about the food, it’s about the experience.”

Makarios Kabob & Grill 940 20th St South Birmingham Tel: (205) 731-7414 Fax: (205) 731-7416

Makarios Kabob & Grill at The Ranch House 2931 Columbiana Rd Vestavia Hills Tel: (205) 979-6495 Fax: (205) 979-6425

November 2018 • Southern Jewish Life

45

rear pew mirror • doug brook

The Big Fish Story The plight and struggles of career fishermen have been told ever since the first lure was cast into the first waters. After all, animals of the sea were created on the fifth day and people on the sixth day, so fishermen have been playing catch up from day one. (Actually, from day six.)

Billy Joel even sang about the Long Island fishing industry’s challenges in “The Downeaster Alexa.” Until now, however, nobody has talked about the uniquely Jewish subset of this vital yet struggling populace: the gefilte fishermen.

The dwindling gefilte fishing industry suffers from all the challenges of the fishing industry in general: rising expenses, climate change, piracy, people who don’t believe in climate change or piracy, and there not being enough soap on the planet that can make them smell unfishy when they get home each night.

But gefilte fishermen have additional challenges unique to this traditional Ashkenazic appetizer. A primary problem is that nobody can find them. Not the fishermen, though it’s not exactly easy to find a gefilte fisherman in a phone book. Or to find a phone book.

“We just don’t know where they swim these days,” says Lavan Fishman, a fourth-generation gefilte fisherman. “And by ‘these days’ I mean a lot longer than days.”

Fishman and his ancestors have scoured the waters throughout the northeastern United States for over a hundred years to find the elusive gefilte waters of yore.

“It’s almost like they were never here at all,” laments west coast fisherman Dagwood Pike whose great-great-grandfather came west during the 1849 Gold Rush hoping to corner the gefilte market. He believes he’s honoring the efforts of his four forebears by dedicating his life to someday validating their aspiration.

“It’s my enterprise,” says Captain Pike. “A five-generation mission to seek out not tripe and not cod-spawned locations.

“But to boldly go where no gefilt’ was found before.”

When asked how long it’s been since they last caught an actual gefilte fish, both had similar replies. Fishman bristled, “I’m tired of people carping about that.”

Both men are convinced that the In search of the search for gefilte should be approached ever-elusive from both ends. That is, finding them today could be aided by exploring their gefilte fish… origins. The difficulty is that they can barely afford their own livelihoods, let alone excavations for long-lost bodies of water in the Sinai Desert on the Israelites’ path from ancient Egypt. They can’t even afford to travel to Eastern Europe to search those streams and inlets.

However, both are convinced there’s a history to reclaim, which could trace the gefilte’s migration pattern to where they spawn today. They’ve recovered historical fragments, such as how authentic gefilte fish were a delicacy to the naugas before they were hunted to extinction during the mid-20th Century craze for naugahyde.

One thing is certain: This is not a situation of two isolated crackpots sitting on a perch. For example, in the late 1990s, people throughout the United States would see various types of fish symbols on the backs of cars in support of various causes and beliefs. Among these so-called bumperfish, was one with the outline of a fish containing the word Gefilte, an obvious expression of support for these struggling sailors and the successful continued on previous page 46

November 2018 • Southern Jewish Life

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November 2018 • Southern Jewish Life