SJL New Orleans, September 2016 by Southern Jewish Life

Pelicans sign Shawn Dawson, Israeli with strong Southern ties

Two Jewish New Yorkers wrote one of the SEC’s best-known fight songs

Southern Jewish Life THE SPORTS ISSUE

BATON ROUGE FLOODING RESPONSE UPTOWN JCC GETS MAJOR GIFT FOR UPCOMING EXPANSION

HOW ‘DUCK DYNASTY’ INDIRECTLY LED TO NASCAR’S 1ST ISRAELI DRIVER

NEW ORLEANS EDITION September 2016 Volume 26 Issue 8 September 2016 Volume 26 Issue 9

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shalom y’all shalom y’all shalom y’all The email came somewhat out of the blue. Over the years, I’ve crossed paths with Associated Press reporter Jay Reeves every so often. In mid-August, he contacted me about a story he is working on for the 15th anniversary of September 11, in particular an event that Alabama Governor Don Siegelman had at Oak Mountain Amphitheater near Birmingham three days after the attack. Reeves asked me about what I remember from the event, as I was one of the speakers, and my opinion of where things are now. September 11? That seems so hazy now. That time seems so surreal now, much like our first look at the Mississippi coast a couple of days after Katrina hit. I was the Jewish community representative at that event. Because it was a Friday, none of the rabbis were able to go, and it was also a couple of days before Rosh Hashanah, so they were all a bit busy anyway. Back then, everyone was still stunned. David Letterman hadn’t yet asked if it was okay to be funny again. The U.S. had been attacked. After years of hearing Israeli speakers warn that it was only a matter of time before radical Islamic groups hit inside the U.S., it happened, and the fight was brought to us. The country unified and vowed to fight this toxic ideology. But things have changed. Back then, the flag was a symbol of unity and first responders like the police were on a pedestal. Contrast that with today’s view of police, and controversies over the flag and the “Star Spangled Banner.” If another Sept. 11 were to occur in the near future, would there be the unity and resolve we saw in 2001? Given the polarization and politicizing of the last few years,

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a significant proportion of people in the U.S. would not rally around the flag, which more people are seeing as a symbol of the world’s gorilla unjustly throwing its weight around the globe. It’s a far cry from the view of the United States as the bastion of freedom, standing up and fighting for liberty throughout the world. In 2001, some voices asked “why do they hate us,” as if Sept. 11 was something we brought on ourselves. Today, there are many more voices who are certain they know why “they hate us,” place the blame squarely on us instead of a toxic ideology that has no room for Western liberties, and would have no problem saying that we basically had it coming. There is also a reluctance by many to judge any other ethnicity or ideology. It is stunning to see some groups give a pass to practices and philosophies in parts of the Muslim world that if, for example, a Christian in the United States espoused something even one-tenth that strong, it would elicit harsh condemnation.

We don’t want to be seen as anything-phobic. If we had the current political climate in 1942, would the U.S. have had the stomach to go into Europe and do what was right and necessary against a toxic ideology that was threatening all of civilization? And if a similar evil emerged today — and just recently there were reports of large mass graves in areas recently liberated from ISIS rule, so an argument can be made — can we see ourselves rising to the occasion, as the Greatest Generation did? One hopes we would. But looking back at 2001 and contrasting it with today, it is an open question. Do we continue what everyone said would be a long fight, or do we sit back and blame ourselves while evil takes advantage of our enlightened introspection?

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agenda interesting bits & can’t miss events

It seems that every year, the New Orleans Synagogue Softball League trophy moves next door on West Esplanade Avenue. For the third time in four years, Metairie neighbors Gates of Prayer and Beth Israel met in the championship game, with Gates of Prayer winning the title on Aug. 7. In 2015 and 2013, Beth Israel defeated Gates of Prayer for the championship; Gates of Prayer also won the championship in 2014, but that year they faced Touro Synagogue in the final. This year, Beth Israel defeated Shir Chadash in the semifinals, and Gates of Prayer defeated Touro.

JCC announces $2 million Goldring Woldenberg gift to capital campaign The New Orleans Jewish Community Center Capital Campaign received a major boost with the announcement of a $2 million commitment from the Goldring Family Foundation and the Woldenberg Foundation. The JCC is conducting an $8.5 million campaign to fund a major expansion and renovation of its Uptown facility. With this gift, the fitness area will be known as the Goldring Woldenberg Sports and Wellness Complex. The 14,000 square foot addition will significantly expand the current Goldring Fitness Center. With its separate entrance on Leontine Street, the sports and wellness complex will include a new indoor teaching/therapy pool on the first floor and expanded snack bar. The second floor will have a 2,500 square foot cardiovascular space and an enlarged personal and small group training studio. The new third floor will house a suite of fitness studios including indoor cycling, yoga, Pilates and group exercise. “We could not be more grateful to the Goldring family and the board members of the Gol-

dring Family Foundation and the Woldenberg Foundation for their support of this campaign and their ongoing commitment to the future of the New Orleans Jewish Community Center,” said JCC Executive Director Leslie Fischman. Groundbreaking for the expansion is expected in the next couple of months, with the conclusion of road work on Jefferson Avenue. This is the 50th anniversary of the current JCC building, which is on the site of the former Jewish Children’s Home. Last year, a $1.5 million gift from the Oscar

Tolmas Charitable Foundation was announced, and the new aquatics center will be named for Tolmas. The complex will have two outdoor pools — a 25-meter, 6-lane lap pool, and a family recreational pool with water features. There will be new men’s, women’s and family locker rooms. The overall project also includes two new preschool classrooms and a dedicated entrance for the school. The campaign currently stands at $7.5 million and is ongoing.

Charlie Cox named new NOLA youth director Charlie Cox was announced as the new Director of Youth Engagement for the New Orleans Reform Jewish community. He succeeds Ivy Cohen in that role. Among his responsibilities will be overseeing JewCCY, the combined Temple Youth Group for Reform congregations in New Orleans. Cox was active in TYG while attending Northshore Jewish Congregation in Mandeville, and he was a camper at Henry S. Jacobs Camp for four years and on staff for seven years, so many of the current teens

September 2016 • Southern Jewish Life 5

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agenda already know him through camp. “My growing up with camp and youth group involvement has given me a strong sense of Jewish identity, showing me how welcoming the Jewish community can be,” he said. “If I am able to give these teenagers and pre-teens even a fraction of the love for Judaism, self-confidence, and lifelong friendships that this community has given me, I will have been successful.” A year ago, he moved to New Orleans from Baton Rouge to be caregiver for a man with ALS.

Temple Sinai High Holy Day services on radio, online The Jewish Endowment Foundation of Louisiana announced that High Holy Days services at Temple Sinai in New Orleans will be accessible on the radio and internet for members of the Jewish community who are unable to attend services. The Ferber Family of Houma Foundation, a supporting foundation of JEF, has been underwriting radio broadcasts of Erev Rosh Hashanah and Kol Nidre services since 1998. Dora Ferber, who was a native of Houma, but had many friends in New Orleans and was a member of Temple Sinai, started funding the broadcasts during her lifetime. “Although Dora is no longer with us, the legacy she created continues to support this project,” said JEF Executive Director Sandy Levy. Services will also be live streamed at www. templesinai.org by Sandy Levy, her son Jonathan Levy, and daughter and son-in-law Lauren and Scott Neustadter through the Levy Family Donor Advised Fund at JEF. “When we realized that homebound community members could have the opportunity to not only listen to these services, but also be able to view them live on the internet, my family and I jumped at the chance to help make this happen,” said Sandy Levy. “We are grateful to the Ferber Family of Houma Foundation and to the Levy family for their generous underwriting of this project,” said EllenRae Shalett, Executive Director of Temple Sinai. Audio broadcasts will be on WRBH-FM (88.3) or wrbh.com on Oct. 2 at 7:30 p.m. for Rosh Hashanah and Oct. 11 at 7:30 p.m. for Kol Nidre. Live streaming at templesinaino.org will be on those dates, as well as the 10 a.m. service and 2 p.m. young family service on Oct. 3 for Rosh Hashanah. Yom Kippur live streaming on Oct. 12 will begin with the morning service at 10 a.m., young family service at 2 p.m., afternoon service at 3 p.m. and Yizkor/Neilah at 4 p.m.

agenda Experiences of a Jewish veteran in Iraq, Afghanistan Lieutenant Commander Laurie Lans to speak at Chabad There are Chanukah menorah lightings held all over the world — but in Saddam Hussein’s palace? That is but one of the many experiences that U.S. Navy Reserve Lieutenant Commander Laurie Lans had in recent years. This month, she will talk at the Chabad Jewish Center in Metairie about being a Jewish veteran of Iraq and Afghanistan and the wife of a rabbi who serves as an active duty chaplain. Lans was on active duty in Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2003, joined the ground forces in Iraq in 2005 and served in Afghanistan in 2010 and 2011. She and her husband were the only rabbi and wife to be sent to Afghanistan, where she arranged for a Megillah reading in the hills. On Sept. 23 there will be a Kabbalat Shabbat service at 7 p.m., followed by dinner and “Red, White and Blue Jew: A Shabbat of Inspiration, Humor and Jewish Pride.” A children’s program will take place during her talk. Dinner reservations are $25 for adults, $15 for ages 3 to 12 by Sept. 18, $36 and $20 after. Services will be at 9:30 a.m. on Sept. 24, followed by a Kiddush lunch at noon. The annual Oscar J. Tolmas Chanukah Gift Wrap-A-Thon for Jewish Children’s Regional Service will be on Sept. 22 at the Goldring-Woldenberg Jewish Community Center in Metairie, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Volunteers are needed to wrap thousands of Chanukah presents that will be sent to Jewish children in need across the JCRS seven-state region. All gifts and wrapping materials are supplied. There will be pizza and refreshments, Chanukah door prizes for each household, community service hours for students, and awards for the best wrappers. Jewish Community Day School in Metairie will have a Family Fun Day, Sept. 18 from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m. at Bart Field. There will be kosher sno balls, pizza from Waffles on Maple, bouncy houses, STEAM activities, music, friends and family. The event is free and for all ages. Tzedakah for Baton Rouge flood victims will be accepted. LimmudFest announced that the next LimmudFest New Orleans will be March 16 to 18, 2018. The all-volunteer weekend is held every two years and features about 90 speakers on a wide range of Jewish learning topics, from ancient texts to contemporary politics and culture. The next TRIBE Shabbat will be on Sept. 16 at Dryades Public Market in New Orleans. Aimed at the 20s and 30s community, the event will start at 7 p.m. on the second floor with drinks and appetizers, followed by a musical service at 7:30 p.m. On Sept. 24, there will be TRIBE Shabbatsana at City Park, starting at 11:30 a.m. Northshore Jewish Congregation in Mandeville will have an open house for current, new and prospective members on Sept. 11. The New Orleans Section of the National Council of Jewish Women will have its next Moving the Ball Forward event on Sept. 15 at 6:30 p.m., at Propeller. The Happy Hour panel will discuss this election and the Supreme Court, with a group of female experts recapping court decisions from this past year.

September 2016 • Southern Jewish Life 7

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Shir Chadash will have Jewish Community Day School Shabbat on Sept. 24 at the 10 a,m. service. In addition to the service, there will be a children’s program and lunch.

Mind Matters at the Uptown Jewish Community Center is enrolling for the fall. The group is designed specifically for those concerned about their memory. Participants will discover techniques to improve memory, participate in stimulating discussions and learn from others undergoing similar challenges. The program runs from Sept. 13 to Dec. 6, Tuesdays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. The Jewish Family Service-Jewish Community Center Older Adult Speaker Series will present Carole Cukell Neff on Sept. 21 at 7 p.m. “Why Everyone Needs Estate Planning” will discuss the benefits of planning ahead for people of all ages. The program will be at the Goldring-Woldenberg Jewish Community Campus in Metairie, is free to the community but reservations are recommended. Neff is a board-certified estate planning and administration specialist. JNOLA will kick off the Jewish New Year with its eighth annual Rosh Hashanah New Year’s Toast, Sept. 29 at 6:30 p.m. at NOLA Brewing Tap Room. The first drink is complimentary, and there will be apples, honey, challah and appetizers. There will also be a gift card drive for Baton Rouge flood relief, with Home Depot and Lowe’s cards especially needed. On Sept. 25, Gates of Prayer in Metairie is taking part in the Concert Across America to End Gun Violence, a national series of concerts brought together by social media. The 7 p.m. event at Gates of Prayer will include a non-denominational sing-a-long, with additional songs and readings. A “Taste of Melton,” the Florence Melton School of Adult Jewish Learning, will be at the Uptown JCC in New Orleans on Sept. 27 at 7 p.m. The Melton School is a two-year program in pluralistic, interactive Jewish adult learning with no homework, no tests and no prerequisite knowledge required. The courses, which meet weekly on Tuesdays at 7 p.m. starting in November, will be taught by Rabbi Gabe Greenberg and Rabbi Deborah Silver. They will both give an introduction at the Sept. 27 event, for those interested in learning more about the program. AIPAC Southwest Political Director Jerry Greenspan will speak on “Why Politics Matter: Making a Difference in Israel Advocacy,” Sept. 19 at noon at the Mautner Learning Center at Touro Synagogue. He will lead a discussion on how the November election will affect the U.S.-Israel alliance. Touro Synagogue will have its Elul Walks in the Park this month, Wednesdays at 8 a.m. through Sept. 28. Walkers will meet at the St. Charles entrance of Audubon Park for conversation and contemplation. Dogs and strollers are welcome. The annual Delta Jewish Golf Open will be held in Greenville the weekend of Nov. 19. The annual tournament is a benefit for the Henry S. Jacobs Camp and Hebrew Union Congregation, and a reunion for Jews from the Mississippi Delta area. There will be a steak dinner on Nov. 19, and the four-player scramble tournament will be on Nov. 20.

8 Southern Jewish Life • September 2016

Long road to recovery

Many Jewish families among the thousands flooded out in the Baton Rouge area Two weeks after floodwaters covered large swaths of central Louisiana, a musty, moldy wet-carpet smell still permeated the air in many neighborhoods. Streets were lined on both sides with mountains of home interior remnants, waterlogged furniture, ruined personal belongings. On many streets, the sheer quantity formed a levee of trash, with routine afternoon thunderstorms replenishing the damp. The national non-rush of stories about the historic flood in and around Baton Rouge gave way to a rush of stories on why the national media was so neglectful. But for thousands of families in the region, including at least 40 households in the Baton Rouge Jewish community, the initial shock has given way to a new normal of temporary quarters, disrupted routines and a lengthy — and costly — rebuilding process. Described by FEMA Administrator Chris Fugate as “a hurricane with no wind,” the storm dropped as much as three feet of rain on an already-saturated area in three days. The storm dropped three times the amount of rain that Hurricane Katrina had in 2005, and the 7.1 trillion gallons of water could fill Lake Pontchartrain four times. Parts of Louisiana and Mississippi started flooding on Aug. 12. By Aug. 14, there were over 10,000 staying in shelters, and at least 20,000 had been rescued from their homes, mostly by neighbors with boats. The “Cajun Navy” name was adopted by many of those who went up and down the flooded streets, looking for those in need of assistance. There were 13 deaths from the flooding, which peaked on Aug. 15. The Amite River is usually around 16 feet near Denham Springs, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. It topped the flood stage of 29 feet on Aug. 12 and did not recede below flood stage

until Aug. 17. It topped its 1983 record of 41 feet for over two days, peaking at 47 feet on Aug. 14. The Amite flooding caused backup flooding along tributaries that normally feed into the river. Many of the USGS streamgages were “overtopped” by floodwaters, with several destroyed. The Red Cross said this was the worst natural disaster since Hurricane Sandy hit the East Coast in 2012. An estimated 140,000 homes in Louisiana were damaged, along with thousands of businesses. In Livingston Parish, 75 percent of homes are seen as a “total loss.” FEMA has declared 20 parishes as disaster areas. The Baton Rouge Jewish community numbers around 1,500, with two synagogues and a Chabad presence, along with the Jewish Federation of Greater Baton Rouge. While the Jewish institutions were not damaged, many congregants suffered losses — homes, cars or businesses. Jessica Yellin, religious school director at B’nai Israel in Baton Rouge, said “Many have lost everything and didn’t have flood insurance. Even those with insurance are displaced and without transportation.” Both congregations and Chabad immediately set up their own funds to assist congregants and employees. At B’nai Israel, administrator Cathy Duplechin lives in Denham Springs, which was one of the worst-hit areas. Six staffers at the Rayner Learning Center at Beth Shalom in Baton Rouge lost their houses. The Beth Shalom fund was named the Tisha B’Av 2016 Flood Relief Fund, as the flood happened on Tisha B’Av weekend, the traditional anniversary of the worst calamities to befall the Jewish people. The synagogues, Baton Rouge and New Orleans Federations and Union for Reform Judaism representatives met on Aug. 19 to coordinate

relief efforts. Both Baton Rouge synagogues are Reform. At that meeting, it was agreed that the main fundraising effort would be encouraged through the Jewish Federations of North America national website. For many, the flooding came as a complete surprise, as many inundated areas were not in a flood plain and did not flood during any of the recent large hurricanes. Because this was termed a 1,000-year flood in

Marc and Ellen Sager in their Baton Rouge home September 2016 • Southern Jewish Life 9

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places that were not flood plains, most people did not have flood insurance. Marc Sager, whose wife, Ellen, is executive director of the Baton Rouge Federation, said “never in our wildest dreams did I think I’d be wading out in my driveway.” By the time they realized that their neighborhood was flooding — which had not happened before — it was too late to get out the conventional way, as all access roads to their neighborhood were flooded. That afternoon, they had seen the river level rise between four and eight inches an hour. In the middle of the night, the water went up the street, then up the driveway to the front door. “When it starts coming in, that’s when you have the feeling that you don’t have control any more,” he said. They had to flag down a passing boat after midnight. They were brought to a nearby church that was serving as an impromptu shelter, then they went to his brother’s house for two days. After that, they were able to return to their neighborhood and “found what we found.” They wound up with 22 inches of water in their home. Their home was flooded by the Amite River, which is half a mile away, and backflow into Jones Creek, which is behind the houses across the street. Teammates from their son’s soccer team helped start the process of cleaning out the house, and by Aug. 20 their home was gutted. A week later, the din of fans and dehumidifiers still roared through the house, as the remaining material in the house has to dry thoroughly before new walls can go up. Vicki Ferstel had told a friend who lived close to the river to come to her place if needed. Instead, a neighbor told her on the morning of Aug. 13 to leave immediately. She grabbed a couple of T-shirts, two pairs of jeans and a couple other items and left. It wasn’t until Tuesday that she was able to return and see the devastation. The first day, she said, family members helped start the cleanup process. Then, fellow members of Beth Shalom pitched in, and they were followed by volunteers with Minnesota-based NECHAMA Jewish Response to Disaster. Karen Carlson’s son and daughter were both flooded out. Her daughter was in Denham Springs, which was the hardest-hit area. In urging support for Baton Rouge, Hadassah National noted that Hadassah Baton Rouge President Marilyn Martell was among those displaced by the flooding. David Spivak and his twin 15-year-old sons had to be rescued by boat after five feet of water rushed into their house. Brian Seymour of Palm Beach, the JFNA Emergency Committee Chair, noted that Spivak was unable to save much of anything. “Outside his home now is a pile of refuse over six-feet-high that includes his furniture, drywall that volunteers have pulled out of his home, his stove, and virtually all of his possessions. His cars are destroyed. His sons cannot go back to their home. No one knows when they can return.” With both congregations spared, the Jewish community used those buildings as bases of operations to make meals for shelters and coordinate responses. While many in the Jewish community started to mobilize, the flood touched a nerve in New Orleans, as August was the 11th anniversary of the levee failure that flooded New Orleans and scattered the entire community. After Hurricane Katrina hit 11 years ago, Baton Rouge was a coordination point for the evacuated New Orleans Jewish community. When Hurricane Rita hit shortly after Katrina in 2005, Beth Shalom in Baton Rouge suffered roof damage that flooded the building. The New Orleans Federation made an allocation of $25,000 to the Baton Rouge relief effort, and the Jewish Endowment Foundation of Louisiana made a $10,000 grant from its general fund. JEF is also encouraging those with donor-advised funds to make allocations to the Federation relief fund.

Gene Jerman, B’nai Israel Rabbi Jordan Goldson, William Daroff, Brian Seymour, Dr. Rachel Hausmann, Deborah Sternberg, Anna Blumenfeld Herman, Lynn Weill, Donna Sternberg, Roselle M. Ungar of Jewish Family Services of Greater New Orleans and Hans Sternberg, at the presentation of the first relief check from the Jewish Federations of North America on Aug. 24 The New Orleans Federation collected gift cards for distribution by the Baton Rouge Federation to those who need them the most. The New Orleans Federation is also recruiting New Orleanians who navigated through the post-Katrina bureaucracy to lend emotional support and advice to those in Baton Rouge, especially in dealing with insurance companies, paperwork and reconstruction. New Orleans congregations also did fund drives, and Shir Chadash in Metairie put together an Emergency Response Team, spearheaded by Will Samuels, to make meals and deliver goods in places like Sorrento, French Settlement and other places. When representatives of NECHAMA first got to town on Aug. 17, they checked in at the synagogues, where they were given lists of community members they already knew needed assistance. Then, the group started getting information from databases as to where the needs are. Organizations pool information on homeowner needs so they can coordinate responses. Anna Blumenfeld Herman and Nadav Herman of the Henry S. Jacobs Camp in Utica arrived with a flatbed trailer filled with essentials for cleaning out flooded buildings and got to work with the other volunteers. Anna Herman stayed in Baton Rouge through early September, staffing the Federation office while Ellen Sager was focused on her situation. Additional staff has been loaned from the New Orleans Federation, and Jewish Family Service hired a social worker who is visiting with families in the Baton Rouge area. Anna Herman said “there is so much going on with the needs,” and Baton Rouge does not have a large Jewish community infrastructure, such as a Jewish Community Center. Jacobs Camp alumni also mobilized for their friends, and Anna Herman took some flooded prayerbooks from camp alumni back to Mississippi for burial. Rabbi Natan Trief, who just began as rabbi at Beth Shalom, said “Street after street resembled a war zone, as every house vomited out all of its possessions and building materials to the curb. We hauled out tons of clothing, water-logged mattresses, refrigerators, televisions, and countless, ruined photographs.” At several houses, they found “soaked prayer books and other pieces of Jewish literature that we brought to the synagogue for proper disposal.” Rabbi Peretz Kazen from Chabad of Baton Rouge also went out to check on families. His wife, Mushka, was a teen living in New Orleans when Katrina came in 2005. In the weeks that followed, her parents, Rabbi Zelig and Bluma Rivkin, played a large role in the recovery, and were recognized by President George Bush for their efforts. When the Kazens’ expected Shabbat guests for Aug. 12 started cancelling because of the weather, they decided to head to New Orleans for Shabbat and Tisha B’Av, then headed back to Baton Rouge to help after seeing the extent of the disaster. The first Shabbat after the flooding, Baton Rouge Chabad held a com-

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September 2016 • Southern Jewish Life 11

community munity Shabbat dinner, and Beth Shalom had a come-as-you-are musical Shabbat service “as we raise our voice in both praise and the healing power of prayer.” Representatives of the Jewish Federations of North America’s emergency committee visited Baton Rouge on Aug. 24, meeting with local Jewish community leaders and receiving a briefing from Rep. Garret Graves. Seymour was joined by William Daroff, JFNA Senior Vice President for Public Policy and director of the Washington Office. They visited the Sager home and three other homes, and worked on a fifth house. They also presented a check for $112,000, the first installment of the Federation’s national flood relief campaign. The campaign has raised over $200,000, but it is now estimated that needs in the Jewish community alone will top $1.2 million. Afterward, Seymour said “what I saw was devastation on a scale I’d never previously witnessed.” NECHAMA is well-versed in such devastation and is working to assist as many people as possible. Dorothy Maples, disaster response coordinator for NECHAMA, said they have three staffers on the ground in Louisiana. By the end of Au-

gust, NECHAMA was looking for an operations coordinator and a field team leader for Baton Rouge. NECHAMA has numerous “wonderful return volunteers who keep coming back to us,” and they are trained to be team leaders, able to deploy quickly and coordinate until staff can establish a presence, Maples said. They are currently planning to be in the Baton Rouge area through the end of September. Three variables contribute to how long they can remain in an area — whether there is work to do, a steady stream of volunteers, and adequate funding. NECHAMA has about 22 “residential volunteers” living at University Presbyterian Church, and daily volunteers. Maples said there have been 15 to 20 volunteers on weekdays, and as many as 80 on weekends. On the second weekend following the flood, NECAHAMA was working on five houses, mucking and gutting, removing debris and salvaging personal possessions where possible. “Just being in a neighborhood” generates project leads. On a typical day, two to four people “walk up to the truck asking for assistance,” Maples said. While the second weekend’s team included 25 volunteers from JNOLA, the Jewish young

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adults group in New Orleans, others came on their own. Jonathan Green moved to New Orleans two months ago after being away from Louisiana for eight years. A member of Beth Shalom in Baton Rouge when he was growing up, he remembered Beth Shalom’s Hurricane Rita flood in 2005. Also among the volunteers were Lauren and Barry Cherny from Chicago. Their two sons are students at Tulane and they were in town to help them move in for the beginning of the semester. Their sons had volunteered earlier in the week with a student group, so they decided to “take the day off ” when their sons had other activities scheduled at Tulane, and came to Baton Rouge themselves. Brittany Rubin, who was in charge of that home for NECHAMA, said there had been about four feet of water inside that residence. The walls were being torn out all the way to the ceiling, which was already showing significant mold growth. Rubin is visiting from Virginia. A veteran of Americorps National Civilian Community Corps, she had previously volunteered with NECHAMA in St. Louis. When she heard about the need in Louisiana, “I contacted them and volunteered to come help.” On Aug. 25, an eight-member delegation was dispatched from IsraAID to help with the

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12 Southern Jewish Life • September 2016

community cleanup. “We’ve been following how the storm and flooding have been developing over the last few days.” IsraAid Global Programs Director Naama Gorodischer told Yedioth Achronoth. “With the help of our local partners, we’ve been able to get a good situation report on the extent of the damage, and the urgent need for assistance and rehabilitation.” IsraAID has been in Louisiana before, following Hurricane Katrina in 2005. Three weeks after the storm, when the New Orleans Federation held a community gathering in Baton Rouge, representatives of IsraAID spoke about their post-Katrina activities. At Shabbat evening services at Beth Shalom two weeks after the flood, numerous congregants checked in with Ferstel, seeing how she was doing and what else needed to be done. “The silver lining in this is bringing the small community together,” Ferstel commented just before the service began. Anna Herman said “everyone has come together regardless of Temple affiliation and regardless of whether they are affiliated” at all. Two weeks after the flood, they were contacted by a family that had previously been unaffiliated. The Sagers found that friends were coming in and just doing for them — getting clothes to see what could be laundered, what dishware could be saved, making calls to find alternate living space until their home is repaired. Marc Sager said when something like this happens, “you have no idea what you need. The best thing is when people didn’t ask, they just did.” Ellen Sager said “it’s heartwarming. It makes you realize what you have behind you” in terms of community. Carlson said she was proud of the Federation response in assisting those in need, and for her congregation’s response, “especially for the spiritual support.” Moving forward, everyone agrees the overwhelming need is manpower and funding. Even if someone had flood insurance — which most did not — “it doesn’t wrap everything in a neat bow,” Anna Herman said. In the Jewish community, Marc Sager said, “maybe five or six” of the Jewish families had flood insurance. With 40 households in a community of 500 flooded out, that’s a significant percentage, he noted. Both congregations have flood liaisons assigned to families, regardless of affiliation. Joanna Sternberg has been hired as flood relief manager at the Federation in Baton Rouge to help the community recover. “Baton Rouge still finds herself in dire straits and is in urgent need of monetary and labor support,” Trief said. “Along with this support, Baton Rouge’s unity, grit, and determination will ultimately enable the city to recover and to heal.” As Ellen Sager put it, “I want my old normal back.”

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community Area chapters sent groups to Hadassah national Close to 1,000 delegates attended the 98th annual Hadassah National Convention in Atlanta in late July with a focus on the “power of dreams.” At her opening night talk, Hadassah National President Ellen Hershkin touched on how the Power of Dreams is contagious, ending with a powerful charge toe go “from strength to strength” and “from dream to dream...for women everywhere.” “In understanding what Hadassah does, I feel that I should be the one honoring YOU all,” actress, advocate, and entrepreneur Gwyneth Paltrow said when honored ‪with Hadassah’s Power of Our Dreams Award. Paltrow talked about her family heritage, which includes more than 30 rabbis, and her own spiritual connection to Judaism. There were numerous panels on medical advances from Hadassah research, Jewish identity and feminism, views on Zionism and other topics. A panel about “Advocating for Gender Equity in Medicine” featured Phyllis Greenberger, Pamela Ouyang and Nanette Wenger. After the panel opened with a video about Hadassah advocacy, Hershkin honored Wenger, a Hadassah

Clockwise from above: Birmingham, Dothan, Baton Rouge and New Orleans delegations

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Life Member since 1962 and professor of medicine-cardiology, Emory University School of Medicine, and described her as “an innovator, a role model, and a friend and champion of women’s health and empowerment. “ Wenger is the mother of Birmingham’s Deborah Wiatrak. Henrietta Szold 2016 Awardee Malcolm Hoenlein, executive vice chairman of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, talked about his “relationship with Hadassah… a love affair that has spanned 40 years,” he said. “Thank you for all that you do, all the time.” A service project for the convention was co-organized by Lee Kansas of New Orleans. The committee reached out to Kids in Need, an Atlanta program that distributes hundreds of thousands of pounds of brand-new school supplies to teachers in low-income schools in the Atlanta area. The program manager said they could always use pencils, as a typical student goes through 75 during a school year. As pencils are lightweight and easy to pack for those who were flying, a drive was started to collect 10,000 pencils. The effort brought in 22,000.

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Dinner at Jackson’s in Pensacola becoming a Rosh Hashanah tradition

For the past seven years, Jackson’s in downtown Pensacola has been the place to be for Rosh Hashanah dinner. In addition to the regular menu, there is a $29 per person Rosh Hashanah menu that Chef Irv Miller prepares on the first night. The dinner starts with challah, red and golden delicious apples along with tupelo honey; then a first course of Yukon gold and arugula potato latkes with apple-artichoke jam and sour cream. The entrée is chermoula-rubbed and slow-cooked beef brisket with caramelized onions and aged-balsamic marmalade, Mom’s kugel and glazed carrots. Last year and this year, the first night has fallen on Sunday, when Jackson’s is usually closed, so it opens especially for the Rosh Hashanah meal. Seating for the Oct. 2 dinner starts at 5 p.m. and reservations are needed.

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JFNA honoring Anne Lowenburg The Jewish Endowment Foundation of Louisiana announced that Anne P. Lowenburg will be the recipient of the 2016 Jewish Federations of North America Endowment Achievement Award. This award is given in recognition of an individual who has demonstrated leadership, vision, and dedication to the Jewish community’s endowment program. Lowenburg has been a longtime supporter of JEF. She and her late husband, Richard, established the Lowenburg Family Donor Advised Fund at JEF in 1986. In 2000, she endowed three additional funds at JEF. She established a Lion of Judah Endowment to perpetuate her annual gift to Federation as well as two other funds to endow gifts to Temple Sinai in New Orleans and Springhill Avenue Temple in her hometown of Mobile. When she established these funds, Lowenburg said, “Richard and I thought that it was important and vital that we support JEF in order that our Jewish community remain a living force for future generations… we wanted to be a part of JEF.” JEF Executive Director Sandy Levy said “Anne has not only been generous, but it has always been her intention to promote JEF and our Jewish community. She is a modest, quiet philanthropist who leads by example.” The award will be presented at the Federation/JEF Annual Meeting on Sept. 22 at 6 p.m. at the Audubon Tea Room.

September 2016 • Southern Jewish Life 15

NOTES FROM THE DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL CONVENTION

Checking in with Southern Jewish delegates by Linda Verin Special to Southern Jewish Life

(Editor’s Note: Linda Verin of Birmingham caught up with Jewish delegates from the Deep South at the Democratic National Convention, held July 25 to 28 in Philadelphia.)

From the top: Felicia Kahn, Larisa Thomason (middle) and Michael Adelman at the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia

16 Southern Jewish Life • September 2016

Felicia Kahn grew up in New Orleans at a time when women were to marry and have children. If they ventured outside the home, it was for charity work. Kahn is a lifelong member of Temple Sinai, a ‘progressive’ congregation. Her grandfather served on the 1926 building committee, the year she was born, and her father was president of the Temple. For a long time, the rabbi did not wear a tallit or yarmulke. She remembers attending a 1949 lecture there by Ralph Bunche, the African-American diplomat who won the Nobel Peace Prize. It was one of the first events in New Orleans with an integrated audience. She learned in Sunday School that you always need to give back; she has found it a privilege to participate in her community. As a young married woman, Kahn did as expected, working with the League of Women Voters, the NCJW, Hadassah and the local thrift store. After reading Betty Friedan’s book, “The Feminine Mystique,” she realized women could be leaders too. She joined the Democratic Party, ran for the Legislature twice, held party leadership positions and has attended 10 national conventions. Now 90, at the convention she had breakfast with Senator Cory Booker, and New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu sent her a 90th birthday declaration. Kahn said she knows some have been disappointed with President Obama’s stance on Israel. Because Hillary Clinton has a long history with Israel, she believes more people will be happy with her position. Kahn said because of Hillary Clinton’s experience in government, there will be no learning curve. “A woman President will prioritize equal pay, child care and health care,” she said. “My main issue is women have to speak up and step up to leadership positions. At all levels we need to elect people who know something about public policy. Private enterprise has different goals than public entities.” Now that this convention has passed, she is preparing for the next one in four years. Michael Adelman moved to Hattiesburg from the Midwest to be a labor lawyer 50 years ago and

is still fighting the good fight. He has handled groundbreaking desegregation cases, equal facilities cases for black and white schools, securing a baseball field and Advanced Placement classes, and much more. He also successfully fought Mississippi Power, winning substantial refunds for consumers. His Judaism has him wired to give back, to fight injustice and social and economic inequality. He went to the convention as a strong Bernie Sanders supporter, but agreed with comedian Sarah Silverman, who chided the “Bernie or Bust” crowd as being “ridiculous” after Hillary Clinton secured the nomination. Adelman says he will vote for Clinton because “Trump is a monster,” and he prefers her to be in charge of Supreme Court appointments and Legal Aid services. Adelman said President Obama didn’t help with pro bono legal services. In Mississippi there are only 14 attorneys serving 83 counties. He said Hillary Clinton will be the best thing that ever happened to free legal services, “she is committed to the cause.” Larisa Thomason from the Huntsville area was a Bernie Sanders delegate. She fervently believes Jews are called to make the world a better place, and there are a number of ways she personally does this. She has taught religious school for over 10 years, served on synagogue boards, and is about to start her sixth year as co-principal of the community religious school in Huntsville. Politics has been her passion since she had an Albert Brewer for Governor sticker on her book bag in first grade. Rabbi Steven Jacobs was the person who showed her how politics and Judaism fit together. When he was rabbi at Temple B’nai Sholom in Huntsville, one of his favorite phrases was “to be a Jew is to be a big mouth!” Thomason says she’s never had any trouble with that, and thanks Jacobs for giving religious sanction to her rabble-rousing. A history of being a “pot stirrer” attracted her to Sanders’ insurgent candidacy. “It was his ideas and the clarity with which he outlined the problems we have in this country — not his Judaism — that earned my support. Even though he’s a pretty secular Jew, he’s also a ‘bigmouth,’ in that Jewish tradition,” she said. “Sanders is also a leader and a gracious loser,” Thomason noted. “I was so proud to cast my delegate vote for him, and I hope the younger people he inspired stay active and engaged.” Still, “I’ve been doing this since 1984, and I’m ready for a new generation to take over.”

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New Orleans, Birmingham delegations compete in St. Louis Maccabi Games Delegations from New Orleans and Birmingham competed in the annual Jewish Community Centers Association Maccabi Games in St. Louis last month. Roughly 6,000 Jewish teens from ages 13 to 16 participate each year in the Olympic-style sporting event. It is regarded as the second-largest organized sports program for Jewish teens in the world, and three communities host the games each year. For Birmingham, it was a chance to see the games in action before Birmingham is one of the host cities for next year’s games. The delegation brought home several souvenirs in the form of medals. Adison Berger of Birmingham was teamed with Molly Morris of Dallas, Lindsay Weingart of San Antonio and Shoshana Rosenthal of Greater Washington for swimming relays in the age 13-14 category. They took silver in the 200-yard medley and gold in the 400-yard free. In all, Berger earned three silvers and one gold. Birmingham’s Talia Fleisig and Hannah Halpern brought home numerous medals in the dance competition, winning gold for “Crazy in Love” in the Duo/Hip-Hop 13-14 year old category, silver and bronze for solo contemporary, and gold for solo ballet. Birmingham and New Orleans were paired with Chicago in flag football, but the trio went winless, losing to St. Louis, 39-14; Phoenix, 22-6; Denver, 39-22; and Phoenix again, 38-0. The New Orleans 14-under boys soccer players were paired with Los Angeles, but did not make it out of pool play, losing to Denver/Minnesota, 8-0; Chicago/Milwaukee, 7-1; Atlanta, 5-2; and Kansas City/Greater Washington, 8-3. In tennis, New Orleans participant Caroline Koppel went 1-2, with both losses to the eventual champion. Maddie Canter went 2-1 before losing in the bronze medal round. However, both were given Midot med-

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September 2016 • Southern Jewish Life 17

4th Annu

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Classic Jazz on the Mississippi River SEPTEMBER 23-25, 2016

STEAMBOAT NATCHEZ, NEW ORLEANS Friday, Sept 23: Opening evening Jazz concert at a historical local venue. Saturday, Sept 24: Three stages, multiple bands, performing under the stars on the Steamboat Natchez. Dinner included. Sunday, Sept 25: Sunday Jazz Brunch on the Steamboat Natchez. Tickets and more information available on the festival's website www.steamboatstompneworleans.com

community als for sportsmanship. On Aug. 1, the New Orleans/ Portland 16-under boys basketball team started strong, with a 58-25 win over Jacksonville and a 63-25 win over Omaha/Dallas. On Aug. 2, they edged Boca Raton, 72-70, but lost to San Antonio/San Diego, 56-47. On Aug. 3, they lost to Chicago, 77-51, and missed the semi-finals. Birmingham was paired with Dallas and Milwaukee for volleyball, but went winless against Denver/Hudson, Los Angeles Westside and Boca Raton. Team Birmingham consisted of Adison Berger in swimming, Talia Fleisig and Hannah Halpern in dance, Zach Hagedorn and Ruben Stein in flag football, and Clara Lapidus, Marlie Thompson and Lielle Berger in volleyball. The New Orleans team consisted of Maddie Canter and Caroline Koppel in tennis, Yehuda Potash in flag football, Eli Jaffe and Ethan Katz in soccer, and Alistar Cunningham, Reese Koppel, Samuel Murray, Douglas Schmidt and Michael Schmidt in basketball. The JCC Maccabi Games is co-sponsored by the JCC Association of North America, Maccabi World Union, Maccabi Canada, and Maccabi USA/Sport for Israel.

Tolmas Trust renews commitment to NCJW Way leadership program The Greater New Orleans Section of the National Council of Jewish Women announced that the Oscar J. Tolmas Charitable Trust will continue to sponsor the “NCJW WAY: Learning to Lead” program this year. The program was launched in 2013 to bring in women who are new to NCJW for an intensive year-long seminar that culminates in a trip to a national NCJW meeting. The primary goal of NCJW Way is to inspire and inform future leaders of NCJW and the local Jewish community using a multi-faceted approach highlighting education, service and leadership training. Participants commit to a two-year term on the NCJW board after the program. The 2016-17 NCJW Way participants are Victoria Coy, Alysse Fuchs, Emily Good, Heather Kahn, Alanna Rosenberg and Hannah Udell.

JFS holding annual Friends campaign Jewish Family Service of Greater New Orleans is working on this year’s Friends of JFS campaign. The social service agency reaches thousands in the New Orleans area, of all ages, races and faiths, through a wide range of programs. Offerings include Teen Life Counts, the teen suicide-prevention program; Bikur Chaverim, which offers companionship and friendship for the home-bound or partially home-bound; extensive counseling services for individuals, couples and families; Homemaker, weekly help for older and disabled adults; and Lifeline, the electronic personal emergency response system. All services are offered on a sliding fee scale based on ability to pay, so the agency depends on additional funding from friends to underwrite programs for the coming year. A mailer has gone out to the community, and contributions may also be made at the JFS website, jfsneworleans.org. 18 Southern Jewish Life • September 2016

New Orleans JCC: Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re Reaching New Heights! Announcing the Goldring Woldenberg Sports and Wellness Complex, made possible through the generosity of the Goldring Family Foundation and the Woldenberg Foundation. Also in this special section: events, movies, music and more, coming to the J in the New Year!

www.nojcc.org

September 2016 â&#x20AC;˘ Southern Jewish Life 19

Welcome! Join the JCC as We Make a Big Splash!

24 The Jewish Newsletter â&#x20AC;¢ September 2016

some folks, they’ve heard about it, are so excited about it and want to know more. And then when I talk to others, it’s a complete surprise. Whether they are members or nonmembers, fortunately they too want to know more. What a perfect opportunity we have to showcase in this issue of Southern Jewish Life the plans for what will be, a retooling of an iconic institution in New Orleans, the Uptown campus of the Jewish Community Center. Many of you have dropped your kids off at camp, attended camp, swam in the pool, worked out in the gym, taken a dance class, participated in a senior exercise class, played basketball in the gymnasium, played soccer on the field, or just walked the halls en route to a meeting. Many of you have done some of these recently and for others, well, it’s been far too long. But that’s OK… I’m here to tell you that we are not only building for now, but building for the next generation! And we hope you will join us in this very exciting phase of history. Please take the time to look through the next few pages. You’ll find wonderful renderings of the new Goldring Woldenberg Sports and Wellness Complex and the Oscar J Tolmas Aquatics Center. You’ll notice new classrooms, a yoga studio (yes, on a third floor!), additional group exercise rooms and a new entrance on Leontine Street that enables our fitness lovers to enter separately from the children attending camp or school. And for years we’ve heard our membership ask for indoor swimming so, yes, check out the new teaching/therapy pool that will be available year round!

NEW ORLE ANS JCC | 2016 -2017

It’s so interesting. When I talk about the J’s upcoming expansion plans to

Incredible donors have come forth to fund this project and we thank each and every one of you. But we haven’t raised all the capital needed to pay for this project and we need your help. Whether you use the facility now, are not a member but understand the value of its presence in the community, or just reflect back to happy memories at the J, please stand with us as we begin a new era. On behalf of the Board of Directors, I thank you for all your continued support and hope you enjoy reading and seeing what’s in store for the JCC.

Richard I. Buchsbaum Board President

With a splash pad, vortex slide, and separate heated lap pool, the Oscar J. Tolmas Aquatics Complex offers features for all ages.

September 2016 • Southern Jewish Life 21

New Orleans JCC: This Year Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re Seriously Getting in Shape! The Goldring Woldenberg Sports and Wellness Complex features new and expanded exercise spaces, offering separate cardio and strength areas, as well as a dedicated suite of fitness rooms for indoor cycling, yoga, Pilates and group exercise classes.

22 Southern Jewish Life â&#x20AC;˘ September 2016

NEW ORLE ANS JCC | 2016 -2017

Enjoy year-round aqua fitness classes and swim lessons in the heated indoor pool!

We have now raised $7.5 million towards our $8.5 million fundraising goal, thanks to the generosity of so many who have already pledged their support BUTâ&#x20AC;Śwe will need the support from the entire community to complete the project. Please partner with us. Your donation will help provide a state of the art Center that future generations can call their home.

To donate: Visit our website at www.nojcc.org/capitalj or call 504.897.0143 New Orleans Jewish Community Center 5342 St. Charles Avenue New Orleans LA 70115

September 2016 â&#x20AC;˘ Southern Jewish Life 23

New Orleans JCC: We’re Reaching New Heights!

Dedicated Nursery School entrance on Leontine Street

Dedicated Sports and Wellness Complex with an entrance on Leontine Street

Two new Nursery School classrooms with direct access to a new children’s garden

Renovation of the 50 year-old outdoor aquatics area: + New six lane lap pool + Family entertainment pool + Toddler splash pad + New deck, landscaping and shaded areas

14,000 square foot addition and renovations: + Indoor warm water teaching/therapy pool on the first floor with dedicated locker/changing rooms + 2,500 square-foot cardiovascular space on the second floor + Enlarged personal training studio—repurposing the existing racquetball court to accommodate the growing demand of private, semi-private, and small group training + New third floor to accommodate a suite of fitness classrooms including: indoor cycling, yoga, Pilates and group exercise + Multipurpose youth activity center on the second floor where the existing group exercise room is currently located; New windows will be created in this room on the Leontine Street side + Enlarged babysitting space + New snack bar

24 Southern Jewish Life • September 2016

Level Two

NEW 2016-2017 -2017 NEW ORLE ORLEANS ANS JCC JCC |2016

Level Three

Level One

September 2016 â&#x20AC;¢ Southern Jewish Life 25

Upcoming Events

at the New Orleans JCC

JCC Book Club Join our reading group and enjoy engaging, insightful discussions in a laid back environment. All are welcome. Typically meeting the third Tuesday of each month at 1:30 p.m., the JCC Book Club is free and open to the community. For more cinformation or to RSVP, please contact Judy Yaillen at 897-0143 or judy@nojcc.org. September 20, 2016 Seven Good Years: A Memoir by Etgar Keret Reviewer: Judy Steinberg November 15, 2016 Eve of a Hundred Midnights by Bill Lascher

Harriet W. Kugler Memorial Mah Jongg Tournament

Sunday, September 18, 2016 11:00 a.m. â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 3:30 p.m. New Orleans JCC Uptown

35 Basic Entry Fee, $50 Patron, $75 Mahj Maven

Enjoy a lovely catered lunch and an afternoon of mah jongg at our annual Harriet Wainer Kugler Memorial Mah Jongg tournament. Bring your table to this fun, three-round tournament, or we would be happy to set you up at a game.

Reviewer: Molly Travis, Associate Dean & Associate Professor, Tulane University December 20, 2016 Casting Lots: Creating a Family in a Beautiful, Broken World by Susan Silverman Reviewer: Rabbi Deborah Silver, Congregation Shir Chadash

levels of play. Registration forms are available at the front

January 17 , 2017 Mrs. Houdini by Victoria Kelly

reception desk, at nojcc.org, or by emailing judy@nojcc.org.

Reviewer: Judy Yaillen, New Orleans JCC

Prizes will be awarded! Open to beginner and experienced

February 21 , 2017 Harpo Speaks by Harpo Marx with Rowland Barber Reviewer: Rabbi Emeritus Ed Cohn, Congregation Temple Sinai March 21 , 2017 The Complete Stories by Clarice Lispector Reviewer: Rebecca Marks, Associate Professor of English, Tulane University May 16 , 2017 Among the Living by Jonathan Rabb Reviewer: Debbie Pesses 26 Southern Jewish Life â&#x20AC;˘ September 2016

NEW ORLE ANS JCC | 2016 -2017

Coats For Kids Benefit Concert

Wednesday, November 16, 2016 | 7:00 p.m. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. The JCC is pleased to host Dr. Jee-Yeoun Ko’s Coats For Kids, an annual benefit concert featuring jazz pianist Ellis Marsalis, Dirty Dozen Brass Band, pianist Michael Pellera, guitarist Javier Olondo, and students from NOCCA’s Classical Instrumental Program. Coats For Kids was organized by cellist Dr. Jee-Yeoun Ko, chair of the Classical Instrumental department at the New Orleans Center for Creative Arts (NOCCA) and founder of the Faubourg Quartet. The organization’s mission is to provide new winter coats to children in need. While the event is free and open to the community, attendees are asked to bring a new or gently used winter coat to donate. Children’s and adult sizes are both appreciated. Coats will be donated to Firstline Schools, which operates five open-enrollment public charter schools in New Orleans.

Florence Melton School of Adult Jewish Learning Providing “Learning for the Wondering Jew,” the Florence Melton School of Adult Jewish Learning offers pluralistic, interactive Jewish adult education program with no homework, no tests, and no prerequisite education required. You just need a desire to learn all about Judaism! YEAR 1 –Rhythms of Jewish Living –Purposes of Jewish Living

YEAR 2 –Ethics of Jewish Living –Crossroads of Jewish History Register online at: www.events.org/MeltonNewOrleans November 1, 2016– May 16, 2017 Tuesdays, 7:00 - 9:15 p.m. Instructors: Rabbi Gabe Greenberg & Rabbi Deborah Silver $ 540 - $560 members and non-members (includes materials) New Orleans JCC Uptown

Rabbi Gabe Greenberg, of Congregation Beth Israel, was ordained at Yeshivat Chovevei Torah in New York and is an alum of the Adamah Fellowship in CT, directed the Kayam Farm Kollel in Baltimore and served as Rabbi and Senior Jewish Educator of the Hillel of UC Berkeley. He has been teaching Melton for several years and looks forward to continuing his passion for adult education.

Rabbi Deborah Silver, who grew up in north London, is the new Rabbi at Shir Chadash Conservative Congregation. She is an award winning Melton teacher and received ordination from the Ziegler School of Rabbinic Studies in Los Angeles. She also served as an assistant law school professor in London before moving to the U.S. for rabbinical school.

September 2016 • Southern Jewish Life 27

Cathy & Morris Bart Jewish Cultural Arts Series A Celebration of Jewish Authors, Cinema, and Music AUTHOR

Etgar Keret

Monday, September 19, 2016 | 7:00 p.m. Our annual cultural arts series kicks off with a talk by Etgar Keret, one of Israel’s leading authors and storytellers. Considered “the voice of a generation,” Keret will present his best-selling, bittersweet memoir The Seven Good Years, which chronicles with humor and wisdom the seven years between the birth of his son and death of his father. FIL M

In Search of Israeli Cuisine

Wednesday, October 19, 2016 | 7:00 p.m. Screening at Shir Chadash Conservative Congregation (not at the JCC) A portrait of the Israeli people told through food this feature length documentary puts a face on the culture of Israel, profiling chefs, home cooks, vintners, and cheese-makers drawn from the more than one hundred cultures that make up Israel today – Jewish, Arab, Muslim, Christian, Druze. A rich and human story of the people emerges. Not only can a good meal soothe a grumbling stomach, it might well change the world. AUTHOR

Jonathan Rabb

Wednesday, November 2, 2016 | 7:00 p.m. Jonathan Rabb presents Among the Living, his moving novel about a Czech Holocaust survivor’s unconventional journey to a new normal in 1940s Savannah, Georgia. Set during the last gasp of the Jim Crow era in America’s postwar south, the novel deals with questions of identity and belonging, revealing commonalities in the experiences of black and Jewish lives. AUTHOR

Bill Lascher

Wednesday, November 30, 2016 | 7:00 p.m. Bill Lascher, author of Eve of a Hundred Midnights, recalls the story of a newlywed couple who witnessed history. The true-life romance between two American reporters, Melville Jacoby and Annalee Whitmore, who fell in love in Asia during WWII and whose escape from Manila was, until now, untold. Lascher has a unique personal connection to this story. He was given an antique typewriter from his grandmother and discovered that it had belonged to her cousin, Melville Jacoby. This led him on an adventure to retrace Jacoby’s footsteps. This is a tale of an unquenchable thirst for adventure, of daring reportage at great personal risk and the power of love.

36 Southern Jewish Life • September 2016

Rabin: In His Own Words

Twenty years after the assassination that plunged Israel and the peace process into turmoil, Rabin in His Own Words is a moving firsthand account of the late prime minister and statesmen’s dramatic life story. Through a combination of rare recordings and documents, Yitzhak Rabin himself narrates his biography, from his childhood in Tel Aviv as the son of a labor leader before the founding of the State of Israel, to farm worker, then through his IDF military service and his later diplomatic and political career. An important historical document, the film reveals the complexity and contradictions of a legendary leader, while rekindling the debate about opportunities lost and taken for peace. Winner of the Best Documentary prize at the Haifa International Film Festival.

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band – while using nothing but their voices. Six13 has made appearances around the world to rave reviews and standing ovations. They have been featured on Fox, ABC, CBS, in the Huffington Post, Jewish Week, and NY Daily News. AUTHOR

Victoria Kelly

Thursday, January 12, 2017 | 12:00 p.m. Author of Mrs. Houdini, Victoria Kelly tells the story of a vow Harry Houdini made to his beloved wife Bess before he died. He promised he would find a way to speak to her beyond the grave, using a coded message known only to the two of them. When she begins seeing this code in seemingly impossible places, it becomes evident to that he has an urgent message to convey. This is a thrilling tale that goes to the heart of one of history’s greatest love stories from the dawn of the 20th century into the roaring 20s. FIL M

Moos

Wednesday, February 8, 2017 | 7:00 p.m. Moos’ life is all about taking care of her father. When her childhood friend Sam comes along, he encourages her to start a life of her own and chase her dreams. A romantic comedy from the Netherlands, MOOS is an inspiring story of a young girl’s search to find her voice and, in the process, herself.

September 2016 • Southern Jewish Life 37

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6 7 7 pm Center Celebration featuring music by the New Orleans Klezmer All-Stars pm Patron Party featuring the Preservation Hall Allstars featuring the Preservation Hall Allstars pm Center Celebration

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Pop the cork! Pop the cork! 30 Southern Jewish Life â&#x20AC;˘ September 2016

sports a SJL Special Section

A capacity crowd fills the stands of Jordan-Hare Stadium to cheer on the Auburn Tigers

Allen & Stillman’s “War Eagle”

How the two Jewish New Yorkers behind “Home for the Holidays” scored big for Auburn How is it that the Jewish authors of the Christmas standard “Home for the Holidays” also wrote “War Eagle,” one of Auburn University’s most beloved songs? That’s an easy answer for Patty Allen, as she described her late husband, Robert Allen, as a true “renaissance man.” And she’s accustomed to getting calls about the Auburn fight song from ESPN and others, as she’s the copyright holder after the Auburn Alumni Association somehow neglected to renew it in 1983. Undoubtedly, the lives of the Jewish composer and lyricist pair of Allen and Al Stillman changed forever after they were given a one-day deadline in 1954 to write what would become one of the world’s most treaured Christmas songs. It was around the same time Allen and Stillman were working on that Perry Como hit that wealthy Auburn booster Roy B. Sewell decided Auburn needed a new fight song, and calling professionals in New York was the way to go about it. The existing song, “Auburn Victory March,” included lines like “We’re the drilling, shrilling, thrilling, willing Auburn boys” and “We are game, all the same, Are we down hearted boys? Well I should say “No!” After giving the fans and students a try at coming up with something more contemporary, Sewell gave up and called New York, to commission two of the most respected, successful songwriters, “to express the spirit which has sparked the Tigers’ amazing football comeback.” Allen and Stillman already did have an amazing reputation. Stillman had collaborated with a number of notable composers, including George Gershwin, was a staff writer for Radio City Music Hall, co-wrote “I Believe” for Jane Froman’s show, which became the first hit song ever introduced on TV. He also co-wrote “Jukebox Saturday Night,” a hit for Glenn Miller. He did the scores for “Virginia” and a number of other stage ice spectaculars that were so popular in the late ‘30s and through the ‘40s. Allen started writing for television shows, composing for “The Colgate Comedy Hour,” and is credited with the closing song for “Perry Como’s Kraft Music Hall” and “Sing Along” for Mitch Miller’s “Sing Along with Mitch.” Still, he attained his greatest success through his collaboration with Stillman. Como’s “To Know You (Is To Love You)” reached No. 19 on the Billboard charts. Their greatest initial project, “Home for the Holidays” was no theological issue for Allen, it was just a job. His wife Patty explained that Allen had an

Photo courtesy AU Photographic Services

unfortunate experience with a bigoted neighbor when he was age five, and he remained strong in who he was. Decades later, Allen collaborated with black artists in Detroit and saw first-hand how they were discriminated against when hoteliers wouldn’t let them stay in the same establishment. He didn’t put up with it. In the late 1950s Allen went on to have huge hits with Johnny Mathis, including “Chances Are,” “It’s Not for Me to Say” and “Teacher, Teacher.” The Shirelles took “Everybody Loves a Lover” to No. 19 on the charts in 1962. Billie Holiday recorded her take on “It’s Not for Me to Say” in 1959, and it’s since been covered dozens of times, from Paul Anka to Barry Manilow, to She & Him just two years ago. A long career in music followed, with soundtracks, more album compositions, and the score and production of a 1963 benefit album for the United Nations which included Judy Garland, Sammy Davis Jr., Bing Crosby and Carol Burnett. His work was included in the soundtracks of “Tin Men,” “Close Encounters of the Third Kind,” “Chances Are” and “Goodfellas,” among others. Today, the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers presents the annual Robert Allen Award to aspiring songwriters in the pop or jazz genres. Allen was a recipient of its Lifetime Achievement Award in pop music. Without a doubt, Sewell knew, after gaining permission from officials at Auburn (then called Alabama Polytechnic Institute), that calling the man Newsweek magazine had proclaimed “the most popular songwriter in America” would result in a hit, even if it wasn’t meant to appear on any Billboard chart. He was footing the bill, after all. And sure Photo courtesy Robert Allen estate enough, when Allen and Stillman delivered Robert Allen “War Eagle,” Sewell declared it “a peach of a song.” While Sewell heartily approved, legendary coach Shug Jordan’s reception of it was reportedly a little more tepid — and the Montgomery Advertiser deemed it “anemic” and better suited “for the Ladies’ Aid Society, not Auburn.” Hubert Liverman, who was then the head of Auburn’s music department, agreed with Sewell about its merit. His opinion was that it was “very, very good — extremely good — and that we ought to use it.” Though “War Eagle” made its first major debut at the AuburnChattanooga game on Sept. 24, 1955, it was performed by the Jordan

September 2016 • Southern Jewish Life 31

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32 Southern Jewish Life • September 2016

Vocational High School band of Columbus, Ga., as classes at API did not begin until Sept. 26 that year. John H. “Pete” Mosley, class of 1958, wrote to Auburn Magazine in 2012 that he was there when then-director Burton Leidner passed out the music to “War Eagle” for the first time. Mosley and his classmates had been loyal to the old Auburn Victory March and were reluctant to try the new tune. He said it was Program from the September 24, 1955 “none too exemplary for a peppy Auburn-Chattanooga game, where and winsome tune. In fact, the “War Eagle” was first performed words had the expression, “give ‘em hell, give ‘em hell, stand up and yell.” But as they played it over and over, faster and louder, “it began to take on new life... it was apparent that we had found an Auburn treasure that would resonate around the world.” Even today, the arrangement the band plays is faster and more staccato than the original. After each score (and countless other times during each game), the Auburn University Marching Band performs its official fight song, “War Eagle,” and the Photo courtesy AU Photographic Services Samford Hall carillon on Heisman Trophy winner Cam Newton jumps campus rings it each day into the stands after a home victory, as fans at noon. But today, few cheer and sing the fight song. among the thousands who sing “War Eagle, win for Auburn, Power of Dixieland!” on any given fall Saturday would imagine that those words came from a couple of northerners who were best known for writing pop music standards.

NOLA native Jeremy Bleich named to Israel’s World Baseball team New Orleans native Jeremy Bleich, currently a reliever with the Somerset, N.J., Patriots, has been invited to join Team Israel at the World Baseball Classic qualifying tournament, which will be held in Brooklyn from Sept. 22 to 25. The Israel team will start against Great Britain on Sept. 22 at 6 p.m. (Central). Pakistan and Brazil are the other teams looking to gain the last spot in the 2017 tournament, which will begin in March. Bleich had to certify that could to play for Team Israel by being eligible for Israeli citizenship. He told MyCentralJersey that being on Team Israel would also be a tribute to his grandparents, who were Holocaust survivors. An alumnus of the Isidore Newman School, Bleich attended Stanford and was drafted in the first round by the New York Yankees in 2008. He has played with the Yankees, Philadelphia Phillies and Pittsburgh Pirates organizations, including the last three seasons at the Triple-A level. He is the son of Caron and the late Stan Bleich.

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For the first time, an Israeli driver was behind the wheel at a NASCAR Xfinity Series race, and a Florida attorney hopes it will be inspiring for the Jewish community. With a boost from Sarasota’s David Levin — and indirect assistance from Duck Dynasty — Alon Day was behind the wheel of the MBM Motorsports No. 40 Dodge on Aug. 13 at the Mid-Ohio Sports Course. He finished 13th, leading to media buzz over his “impressive” debut. Before the race, Day said with his equipment he figured to finish between 15th and 20th in the 40-car race, starting from the 22nd position. Rainy conditions on the road course played to his strengths, as he said he had extensive experience in rainy conditions in European racing. An environmental and waterfront property attorney, Levin is a “huge football fan,” as is his wife. She has also been a long-time NASCAR fan, and about 12 years ago when he was looking for something to follow after football season ended, she suggested he try NASCAR. He noticed an “absence of Jewish participation behind the wheel” and was looking for a way to rectify that in a sport with a fan base that is seen as overwhelmingly Christian. In early April, he was watching the broadcast of a race at the Texas Motor Speedway, and saw Duck Dynasty’s Phil Robertson give the invocation, which included a prayer “that we put a Jesus man in the White House.” Levin said that prayer “was a kick in the butt.” Many who give invocations understand the audience is diverse and do non-denominational prayers, he said. “Those that don’t, you just accept that. I thought that one was a little over the top.” At Talladega on April 30, he sponsored a car in the Xfinity series, which is one step lower than the Sprint Cup series. The Florida Waterfront Law car was driven by Johnny Jackson. The Xfinity series is a mixture of newcomers and experienced drivers trying to make the Cup series, but some Cup drivers also choose to compete there. While there, Levin reached out to the team owner, “that if he would find a qualified Jewish driver I was certain there would be plenty of corporate support for him.” It would also attract interest from the Jewish community. “Even my mom would tune in to watch that,” he said. Shortly after that discussion, NASCAR named its NASCAR NEXT participants, with Alon Day as one of the 11 selected drivers. The program identifies and develops up-and-coming drivers. A few weeks later, Levin met and interviewed Day in Charlotte. “He was such an impressive personality,” he said. A native of Ashdod, Day began as a Go Kart racer as a teenager, finishing second in the Israel Karting Championship. He then set off for Europe, competing in the Asian Formula Renault Challenge and the German Formula Three Championship, where he placed in the top 10 in

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34 Southern Jewish Life • September 2016

both of his seasons. He came to America to race briefly in Indy Lights, then returned to Europe and started racing in the FIA GT series in 2013. In 2015 he started racing stock cars in the Whelen Euro Series. Despite having to learn about stock cars, he finished second in the series and won the Junior “Jerome Sarran” Trophy as rookie of the year. Over the last two seasons, he won five races in the European series. Levin identified seven Xfinity races as a plan for the fall. The first two are road tracks — Day’s debut in Ohio, and Aug. 27 at Road America in Wisconsin. After the first two, NASCAR will assess his results and determine if he can go on to other races. “After his successful fall debut, our plan is to have him run a full season in 2017,” Levin said. By limiting him to seven races this year, he would still be regarded as a rookie next year. But the first, biggest hurdle is financing. Levin pulled $60,000 from his retirement account to guarantee Day’s first two races and has been looking for sponsors to ensure the other five. Unlike basketball or football, where the team pays the athlete, in racing, the driver secures a spot behind the wheel by paying the team through the sponsorships they get on their own. And fielding a competitive car “is incredibly expensive.” Levin said it has been a “hugely uphill battle” convincing the many Jewish-owned companies he has contacted to sponsor something they have “never seen on their marketing radar.” He said there is a perception that NASCAR is “solely a Southern, Christian redneck sport,” and aren’t aware of the fans’ demographics. Studies have shown that NASCAR fans are the most fiercely loyal to sponsors, much more than football, basketball or other sports. He is promoting the “unique” opportunity to capitalize on what would undoubtedly be a human interest story. “There will be a lot of attention focused on Alon.” And there isn’t a lack of Jewish fans for NASCAR. A Jewish law professor who is a NASCAR fan recently called Levin to thank him for his efforts. Levin hopes publicity about Day’s first races will help lead to sponsorships, or “his racing career will be very short-lived.” Day was mentioned frequently during the Aug. 13 broadcast on USA Network . The car featured Levin’s website, flwaterfront.com, and had the U.S. and Israeli flags on the hood. Other logos on the car included the AntiDefamation League and the Jewish Federations. In the Aug. 13 race, Day was in the top 10 most of the time, peaking at third. He was bumped in the last lap when he was running ninth, making it difficult to drive the car. He had to settle for 13th, but said the race was “an amazing feeling.” Day can become a sports role model for Jewish children, Levin added, and the Jewish community needs to step up and support Day. He has also set up a GoFundMe page. Another angle for gaining support is through evangelical Christians who are NASCAR fans and passionate about Israel. Levin said he is just starting to learn about that. While many national journalists covering NASCAR are Jewish, Birmingham’s Rabbi Barry Altmark was a photojournalist covering NASCAR for five years and Birmingham’s Eli Gold was the long-time voice of NASCAR before parting ways with the Motor Racing Network this spring, there have been very few Jews on the track. In 2007, Jon Denning started 20 races in NASCAR’s entry-level Whelen American Series, finishing first four times. Unable to find sponsors, he mostly left racing. Denning reportedly had to deal with crew members who insulted Jews and minorities, and others who tried to convert him to Christianity. In 2012, he was inducted into the National Jewish Sports Hall of Fame as the only member of the Auto Racing category.

sports

Israeli basketball player signs with with Pelicans to pursue NBA dream by Lee J. Green By making the New Orleans Pelicans’ 12-man roster to start the 201617 NBA season on Oct. 26, Israeli basketball all-star Shawn Dawson would fulfill a lifelong dream of his and his Tuscaloosa-native, Israel-basketball-legend father, Joe. Dawson, who had led Maccabi Rishon Lezion to an historic Israel professional basketball league championship earlier this year, signed a contract with the Pelicans and begins training camp with the team this month with the aim of becoming Israel’s third-ever NBA player. After playing for the Washington Wizards’ summer league team in Las Vegas, he hopes his stay with the Pelicans is not brief. “Ever since I was a kid it has been a dream of mine to play in the NBA,” said Dawson, 22, who said his idol growing up was Philadelphia 76ers’ guard Allen Iverson. “It’s almost hard to grasp that I am this close. I plan to work as hard as I can to make the Pelicans and make New Orleans my new home.” He was to arrive in New Orleans on Aug. 27, having signed a non-guaranteed training camp contract. Training camp opens on Sept. 24. Both of the other Israeli NBA players also have a Pelicans connection. In 2009, Omri Casspi became the first Israeli player in the NBA when the Sacramento Kings picked him in the first round of the draft. In July 2014 Casspi wound up with the Pelicans as part of a three-team trade, was waived and returned to Sacramento, where he continues to play. In 2013, Gal Mekel from Ramat HaSharon signed with the Dallas Mavericks. On Nov. 1 of that year, the first NBA game featuring Israelis on opposing teams occurred, as Casspi was with the Houston Rockets at the time. After a mid-season injury and time in the Developmental League, Mekel was waived by Dallas. The Pelicans signed Mekel in December 2014, but he was waived after playing in four games. He has since played for teams in Russia and Serbia. As Dawson embarks on his new chapter, he said “I feel like I have all of Israel behind me. My coaches, teammates, family and friends have all been very supportive. I am playing for all of them and me.” His father, Joe Dawson, was born in Tuscaloosa and became a legend at the University of Southern Mississippi, which named him to the M-Club Hall of Fame in 2011. After a tryout with the former Kansas City Kings he played in the Continental Basketball Association for four years, followed by five years in Europe and South America. In 1991, he signed with an Israeli team and played there for 16 years. While in Israel, Joe met an Israeli woman, got married and had two kids, the elder of whom is the 6-foot-6 Shawn.

September 2016 • Southern Jewish Life 35

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“My dad has been my biggest teacher my whole life,” he said. “The best advice my dad ever gave me was that no matter who I play with or against to just be myself and play my game. He has helped me with the mental aspects of the game.” Growing up in Israel the son of a Jewish Israeli mother and an African-American Christian father from Alabama, Shawn Dawson said he “had the best of both worlds celebrating all the holidays together with both sides of the family.” His agent, Daniel Hazan, is a Yeshiva University graduate and says Dawson keeps his Judaism “very close to his heart.” Dawson said he is “so proud to represent my family and my country when I put that NBA logo on my chest.” Though 22, Dawson is in his fifth year of professional basketball. At age 18 he signed with Maccabi Rishon Lezion, becoming a starter and the league’s Most Improved Player in his second season. In 2014-15 he was named a starter to the AllStar Game and won the Rising Star Award. He got some notice in advance of the 2015 NBA draft but was not selected. That summer he played for Israel in the Eurobasket tournament. This past season, Rishon struggled early but made a run leading into the playoffs. Dawson helped lead the team to its first-ever league championship, with 21 points in the decisive fifth game in the championship series against defending champion Hapoel Jerusalem. “After making the national all-stars teams the past couple of years I started getting calls from the NBA. That’s when I knew that this was real and I had a chance to make it in the greatest basketball league in the world,” he said. “I have some good experience as a professional in Israel

but it’s a different game in the NBA. I plan to work very hard and do whatever the Pelicans’ coaches ask of me.” While he played for the Wizards this summer, basketball reporter David Pick explained in the New York Jewish Week why Dawson could not continue with them. The Wizards have filled their 12 guaranteed spots, and Dawson’s Israeli contract states he can not go to the NBA’s Development League. If he does not make an NBA roster this year, he would return to Israel as the franchise player for Rishon. The Pelicans also currently have 15 players

on guaranteed contracts for 2016-17, so making the roster will be a challenge. On Oct. 4, Dawson and the team will travel to China for 10 days, including a couple of games against the Houston Rockets. Dawson has been to the United States a few times before, especially to visit family still in Tuscaloosa, but the last time he was in New Orleans was when he was 8 years old. “I am looking forward to getting to know the city and the fans,” he said. “The New Orleans Pelicans get great support and I can’t wait to hit the courts.”

Miss. State’s Cohen gets coach of the year honor It was 1989 all over again in May as the Mississippi State baseball team won the Southeastern Conference regular season championship and Coach John Cohen was named the conference’s Coach of the Year. The last baseball championship and Coach of the Year recognition for Mississippi State was in 1989 — when Cohen was a player under legendary Coach Ron Polk. Cohen received the award on May 23, two days after his team completed an unprecedented feat in winning the title after finishing last the previous season. The team set a school record for SEC wins with 23 and had series wins in nine of 10 series, including all five on the road. After sweeping the NCAA Starkville regional, Mississippi State made the Super Regional for the second time in three years.

Cohen also became one of only two coaches in SEC history to win Coach of the Year at more than one SEC school, having won it at Kentucky in 2006. A Tuscaloosa native, Cohen’s first head coaching job was at Northwestern State University in Natchitoches, La. On July 29, the university announced that Cohen had signed a four-year contract extension through 2020, also becoming associate athletic director. He has been at Mississippi State since 2008. A former player for Mississippi State, he is one of eight coaches to lead his alma mater to the NCAA College World Series as both a player and a coach. “I am grateful for every opportunity here at Mississippi State,” Cohen said. “It’s been a tremendous journey so far, and I am excited about our future as we strive for more championships.”

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“CB” celebrates 25 years broadcasting the Barons by Lee J. Green Birmingham Barons Broadcaster Curt Bloom wasn’t in the Olympic Games last month, but he was nevertheless awarded silver. The Double A Southern League team honored their long-time radioman with a special ceremony earlier this summer and thanked him for 25 years of service. “It was a new thing for me getting the recognition, not giving it. It was an incredible, humbling experience. It’s a great feeling to get recognized for doing a good job at something you love,” said Bloom, who is affectionately known as CB and is also an involved member of the Birmingham area Jewish community. “It seems like 25 minutes, not 25 years. That means I have really enjoyed my stay with the team, and I look forward to many more great years,” added CB. He said in those 25 years there have been many special moments he has been a part of, with Southern League championships being at the top of the list. “It’s extra special when you consider that no one in any other sport has a grind like those in

baseball. We play 140 games in 150 days. We average two days off a month. So when the Barons have won it all, that makes all the hard work worthwhile,” he said. In those 25 years, Bloom has missed only a handful of games and in each case had a good reason — graduations of daughters Chloe and Brittany, passing a kidney stone, Yom Kippur. “There has not been one day that I called in sick or said I just did not want to work,” said Bloom. “I was talking about this with two other Jewish longtime broadcast journalists, Paul Finebaum and Eli Gold. They feel the same way. I can’t remember the last day they just took a day off when they were needed at work. It’s a passion and a dedication.” When baseball season is over, Bloom will go back to being the play-by-play voice of Samford football for his second season and women’s basketball for his fourth season. “I had done some Super 6 high school football radio announcing but I was a neophyte with football before starting last season with Samford,” he said. “It was a challenge. You feel that extra pressure since football is almost like a religion in the South.”

“But as I got to know the players I got more comfortable, and this season I know the returning starters. I work with former Samford Bulldogs’ quarterback Ben Neil. He is the analyst. I feel that it is my job to steer the ship to make Ben the star,” added Bloom. During the baseball season he is busy working and also on the road a great deal. But in the off-season, even with his football and basketball duties, Bloom plans to be more involved in Temple Emanu-El, community and family activities. Last month his wife returned to teaching at the University of Montevallo. Daughter Chloe is a physical therapist in Birmingham and Alexis works for a hotel. “Any chance we have to spend together, we take advantage of it. It’s all about having a balance and loving life,” said Bloom.

“I was amazed at how beautiful the campus is here at The University of Alabama. I knew it was the right fit for me. There is a great Jewish population, and I have met so many friends through Bama Hillel. It’s a great place to go on Friday nights, to meet others and socialize, as well as have dinner and celebrate Shabbat.”

–Jared

September 2016 • Southern Jewish Life 37

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Garfinkle anticipates up-tempo season at Birmingham-Southern by Lee J. Green

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Birmingham-Southern College Head Football Coach Eddie Garfinkle knows the Division III school doesn’t have athletic scholarships to dole out, only academic scholarships. So when recruiting, he looks for high-character, intelligent players with a passion to continue their playing careers on the collegiate level. “Our number one criterion is a good student making good grades. Then we look at him as a football player and how he might meet our needs on the team. It’s a different approach than the Division I schools have,” said Garfinkle, who enters his ninth season leading the Panthers. “We tell our guys all the time that they are gifted and talented. Not everyone has that gift.” Garfinkle said that with recruiting and camps in the spring and fall, “there is never an off-season.” He also added that in some ways, Birmingham-Southern has to compete with the University of Alabama and Auburn University to get recruits. “When they ask me who our biggest competitors in recruiting are I say Alabama and Auburn. We go after some talented high school players who were not offered scholarships at Division I schools but they might have such a passion for those universities that they go to school there and give up football,” he said. Garfinkle closed the 2015 season by earning his 40th career win at home by beating Berry College out of Rome, Ga., 14-7. He said he is excited by the 2016 team’s prospects. “Out of all of the teams I have coached here, this one has the most speed of any one we have ever had. We will continue to go no-huddle and do whatever we can to control the pace of the games,” he said. Garfinkle grew up the son of a high school coach and teacher. His dad was at a high school in Miami for many years, and they were members of Temple Israel in downtown Miami. Coming out of high school, Garfinkle was not offered any major college football program scholarships but wanted to walk on somewhere and earn a spot at a small college program. He wrote to several programs and East Carolina University was the only one to write back. It was 1976, and their coach at the time was Pat Dye, who went on to have many successful years at Auburn. Dye said they would pay one year of Garfinkle’s tuition, but then he was on his own. “We could not afford it after that year so I went home and worked but still had the dream of going to and playing at a small college in the South,” he said. Some of his friends were at Jacksonville State University in Alabama, and Garfinkle was offered a tryout. He played linebacker for three years at JSU, then was hired as an assistant coach for the Gamecocks after earning a BS in education and while working on his masters degree in education. During his tenure as JSU defensive coordinator, the Gamecocks made it to the Division II finals three times and a few times his teams led Division II in total defense. He would then go on to coach defense at Georgia Southern and Spain Park High School in Hoover before arriving at Birmingham-Southern in 2007. Garfinkle served as defensive coordinator that year, the Panthers’ first year of playing football since 1939. He was named BSC head football coach in February 2008, succeeding Joey Jones. Garfinkle and his wife Jan are members of Temple Emanu-El. Garfinkle has spoken at some synagogue and Jewish community events. He

sports

also assists in helping grow the Jewish student enrollment on Birmingham-Southern’s campus. “I want them to know that I am not just here for our football players but for anyone that I can help in any way,” he said. “At Birmingham-Southern College, we’re all about molding young men and women so that they can become successes in the workforce and in life.”

Jewish starting center hopes to lead Georgia Bulldogs to the SEC East title by Lee J. Green

Celebrating Our 34th Year Family Owned and Operated!!

Georgia Bulldogs’ starting center Brandon Kublanow is a smart student and he hopes that new head coach Kirby Smart can bring championships to Georgia similar to those that Smart won under head coach Nick Saban while serving as defensive coordinator for the Alabama Crimson Tide. “Coach Smart has been amazing. He recruited me when he was at Alabama,” said the senior from Marietta, Ga. “There is a sense of renewed excitement in the program and Coach Smart believes a very strong work ethic is the biggest key to success.” That is what Kublanow lives by. He earned the award in spring practice for his work ethic, given to one Bulldog every year. He started all 13 games last year, anchoring the Bulldogs’ offensive line and being named to the AP’s All-SEC second team. Kublanow’s mother is from Israel and came to the United States when she was 17 years old. She met his dad in New York City and together they ran a shop there for many years. Before Kublanow was born they moved to the Atlanta area. “My brother and I were always very involved in Maccabi sports and I went to Camp Barney Medintz for several years. I have always loved to be active and play sports,” he said. He began playing football at age seven and started on his high school teams in Marietta. He was one of the nation’s highest-ranked center/offensive lineman recruits coming out of high school. Kublanow said he is very focused on doing anything it takes to help to lead the Georgia Bulldogs to an SEC and national title. He also balances athletics with academics well and has a high GPA with a major in real estate. “My mom has been a successful real estate agent for more than 25 years and I had a real estate internship over the summer. It’s something that I for sure want to pursue for a career,” he said. Unless, of course, the NFL comes calling first.

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SEC Football 2016 predictions The Alabama Crimson Tide won its 16th national championship and fourth title in the past seven years in the 2015 season. At SEC Media Days in Hoover this past July, the media predicted that the Tide would win the 2016 SEC Championship. Here are the predicted standings for the conference. SEC West SEC East 1 – Alabama Crimson Tide 1 – Tennessee Volunteers 2 – LSU Tigers 2 – Florida Gators 3 – Ole Miss Rebels 3 – Georgia Bulldogs 4 – Texas A&M Aggies 4 – Kentucky Wildcats 5 – Arkansas Razorbacks 5 – Vanderbilt Commodores 6 – Auburn Tigers 6 – Missouri Tigers 7 – South Carolina Gamecocks 7 – Mississippi State Bulldogs

September 2016 • Southern Jewish Life 39

sports

Skip Bertman statue in the works at Louisiana State University

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In late May, two honors were announced for legendary Louisiana State University baseball coach Skip Bertman — a statue on campus and an endowed scholarship fund in his name. The Skip Bertman Endowed Scholarship Fund was announced by the Tiger Athletic Foundation, as part of the Foundation of Champions Scholarship Endowment Program, which began in 1999. It provides a perpetual source of financial support for athletic scholarships, with earnings from the fund offsetting the cost of scholarships for athletes. There is also an academic scholarship in Bertman’s name, through the LSU Foundation, that is awarded to undergraduates who exhibit leadership in high school. Skip Bertman at the dedication “Coach Bertman always stressed of Skip Bertman Field at LSU in to his players that the ultimate goal 2013 was to be a winner in the game of life,” said TAF President and CEO Rick Perry. “The two scholarships represent his belief in the vital role education plays in achieving that goal and his dedication to Louisiana State University and Tiger athletics. We thank all the donors who funded these scholarships honoring Coach Bertman and whose generosity will impact LSU students for generations to come.” Plans for the statue were announced by the LSU Athletic Hall of Fame Committee, with details forthcoming. The field at Alex Box Stadium was named for him on May 17, 2013. When Bertman arrived at LSU as coach in 1983, average attendance was around 500 per game. The team now regularly leads the NCAA in average attendance, with more than 10,000 per game. Bertman is one of only three coaches in NCAA history to win five national championships. His teams won seven SEC championships, six SEC tournament titles and had 11 College World Series berths. His overall career record from 1984 to 2001 was 870-330-3, the highest winning percentage all-time among SEC coaches. Thirty-one of his players made it to the Major Leagues, and he was National Coach of the Year six times. He served as assistant coach on several U.S. national teams and the 1988 U.S. Olympic gold medal team, and was head coach of the 1996 U.S. Olympics Team in Atlanta that won the bronze medal. In 2001 he became athletics director at LSU, overseeing a time of tremendous growth in LSU sports. It was during that time that Alex Box Stadium was built. “I can think of no LSU athletic figure more deserving of a statue than Skip Bertman,” said LSU Vice Chancellor and Director of Athletics Joe Alleva. “He is arguably the greatest coach in college baseball history with an amazing portfolio of championships and honors. However, what distinguishes Skip the most from other coaches is the impact he made upon the sport on a nationwide level. He had a clear vision of how to make college baseball both popular and profitable, and today the game enjoys unprecedented recognition.”

culture art • books • apps • music • television • film • theatre

Hannah Chalew, Between, 2010. ballpoint pen and ink on paper with thread and pins

EXHIBIT

HANNAH CHALEW’S ‘BETWEEN’ in the Ogden’s /’pāpәr/ exhibit Through Nov. 6, the Ogden Museum of Southern Art in New Orleans has on display its /’pāpәr/ exhibit, showcasing the collection’s range, manipulated by cutting, painting, collage, printmaking, book arts and the like. Works by artists including Robert Rauschenberg, Benny Andrews, Dusti Bongé, Walter Anderson and William Dunlap are displayed, and featured prominently at the entrance to the gallery is “Between” by New Orleans’ Hannah Chalew. Chalew explains that her freshman orientation fell on the weekend Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans, and when she returned to living in the city after college, she explored those changes by drawing. “My work explores the zones of our urban spaces that exist as thresholds of control in between cultivated and wild, order and entropy, what was before and what will come after, known and unknown. These landscapes are necessarily in flux, subject to the cycles of time that dictate the change of seasons and our own mortality. It seems only fitting to choose a substrate for these works that is subject to the same forces.” Hannah recently graduated with an MFA from Cranbrook in Detroit and is engaged to marry Sam Langberg in New Orleans this fall. They hope to move to New Orleans permanently next summer.

EVENTS

NOMA’S LOVE IN THE GARDEN The New Orleans Museum of Art’s annual LOVE in the Garden event will be held on Sept. 23 at 7 p.m. in the Sydney and Walda Besthoff Sculpture Garden. Storyville Stompers Brass Band, Mojeaux, and DJ Nikki Pennie will entertain while 10 of the city’s most talented bartenders take part in the LOVE Cocktail Challenge. Tickets may be purchased from the noma.org site. Patron Party cuisine includes delicacies from 60 different restaurants, including Antoine’s, Arnaud’s, Elizabeth’s, Maurice French Pastries, and Mandina’s. Late-night goes a little more casual, with Crêpes á la Cart, Diva Dawg, Morning Call and Nola Snow among those bringing the treats.

his large-scale installation, “Remember the Upstairs Lounge” that first appeared at Prospect.1 in 2008, and hosted his first solo museum show in 2009, “Youth Manifesto,” for which over 1000 people attended opening night. This summer, Defend New Orleans hosted his “Rock, Skate, Trash” show of posters and shirts, and he was active in helping open the city’s first official skateboard park, The Parisite. Gene Koss, professor at Tulane, started the glass program there. His works, some of which are terrifically large-scale weighing up to eight tons, appear in many prominent collections, including the Corning Museum of Glass in New York. Arthur Roger Gallery presented his “From a Distance” mixed-media exhibit earlier this year. Many see his work regularly at Touro Synagogue, where he was commissioned to make the sculptural rondels for their stained glass windows.

Alexa Pulitzer, who relocated with her husband to Birmingham for Elenora Rukiya Brown, Skylar Fein, Gene Koss, Ashley Longshore, some time after being displaced by Hurricane Katrina, lost 90 percent of Alexa Pulitzer, and Josephine Sacabo will be the six artists honored at her inventory in a flooded warehouse. Since returning home, her custom the event. stationery designs have become even more highly sought after, and her Skylar Fein, who moved to New Orleans in 2005, first made his mark company has private label collections for Bergdorf Goodman, Tory in the city with his work as half of the “League of Jewish Carpenters,” Burch, Mignot Faget, NOMA, Anthropologie and others. Finer retailers making art by repurposing items trashed by the levee failures, and others around the world carry her stationery items. Pulitzer was most recently made to look as though they had been from debris. NOMA acquired asked to design a logo for New Orleans’ 300th anniversary in 2018.

September 2016 • Southern Jewish Life 41

Helen Frankenthaler, Mount Sinai, 1956. oil on canvas. 30 1/8 x 30 in. (76.5 x 76.2 cm). Collection Neuberger Museum of Art, Purchase College, State University of New York, Gift of Roy R. Neuberger, 1969.01.13. © 2016 Helen Frankenthaler Foundation, Inc. / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York. Photo: Jim Frank. Courtesy American Federation of Arts.

EXHIBIT

“WHEN MODERN WAS CONTEMPORARY” at the Mississippi Museum of Art Roy R. Neuberger lived to 107, and was described by the New York Times as a stock trader who “built up one of Wall Street’s most venerable partnerships and one of the country’s largest private collections of 20thcentury masterpieces.” It’s part of that very collection that the “When Modern Was Contemporary: Selections from the Roy R. Neuberger Collection” traveling exhibition of 52 works comes from, and Jackson’s Mississippi Museum of Art was chosen for as the first venue. Neuberger collected copious amounts of art beginning in the 1930s with the idea that he would only purchase what he truly enjoyed. He kept his acquisition details in a notebook, and one of the more interesting objects in the exhibit is the journal that has the ledger account of Neuberger’s relating to the Jackson Pollock “Number 8” that’s also included in this show. Careful with the details, he dutifully specified medium, dimension, date, position of signature, gallery, cost and insurance valuation for his acquisitions. The specifics of his purchase of Jackson Pollock’s “Number 8,” in 1949 included the price of $800. In 2013, Pollock’s “Number 19” was sold at a Christie’s auction for over $58 million. In 1965 an anonymous offer of $5 million, later discovered to be from Nelson A. Rockefeller, was made to purchase Neuberger’s collection, but was rejected as Neuberger believed in keeping art available for public access. Rockefeller later offered to have New York build a museum, and the first 108 pieces became the Neuberger Museum of Art at Purchase College State University of New York, now home to a permanent collection of more than 6000 pieces. The museum opened in 1974, and the exhibit at MMA comes from that original gift. Neuberger gifted works he acquired to more than 70 institutions. The pieces now on display at the MMA through Oct. 30 include important artists such as Alexander Calder, Willem de Kooning, Georgia O’Keefe, with at least 17 pieces by Jewish artists, including Rothko, Lee Krasner, and Max Weber. Bonus: admission ($12 adults, $10 seniors, $6 students) includes entry to “Reflections: Works by Modern Masters from the Collection” with pieces by Ben Shahn, Hale Woodruff, Rauschenberg, and Warhol. 42 Southern Jewish Life • September 2016

emailed H’ville Museum of Art about Superhero exhibit 8/29

community

NCJW to honor Gershaniks with Hannah Solomon Award In 1966, the New Orleans Section of the National Council of Jewish Women started presenting the Hannah G. Solomon Award each year to “a community leader who exemplifies the qualities of Hannah G. Solomon, founder of NCJW.” That was the same year that this year’s honorees, Ana and Juan Gershanik, left Argentina to make a new life in the United States. The awards lunch will be on Sept. 26 at the Westin New Orleans Canal Place, with a cash bar opening at 11:30 a.m. and lunch at noon. The Gershaniks arrived in Miami as newlyweds in June 1966, prepared to spend a year there so Juan could do an internship in pediatrics. Two weeks later, a military coup ousted Arturo Illia, “the most honest president that Argentina ever had… and things started going down the hill,” Ana said. Friends and colleagues urged them to stay in the U.S., so after the year in Miami they moved to Lexington, Ky., to do a two-year residency and specialize in neonatology. Ana revalidated a teaching degree and taught at a Catholic school near Miami, then in Lexington. In 1969 they moved to Charleston, S.C. so he could do a two-year fellowship in neonatology, and she became the first female teacher at a prestigious private high school for boys and enrolled at The Citadel to pursue a Master’s in education. In 1971, Juan was hired as a professor at Louisiana State University Medical School in Shreveport, where he developed the first Neonatal Intensive Care Unit in the state. In 1979, he was recruited by Southern Baptist Hospital in New Orleans to develop a similar unit there. While in Shreveport, Ana started volunteering with the Shreveport Symphony and as a piano teacher, doing music education for Caddo Parish schools. She also joined NCJW at that time “and gained better skills as a volunteer through this wonderful organization where I was able to develop more knowledge and awareness in various areas of social justice.” Shortly after moving to New Orleans, Juan became involved with the Hispanic programs of the Council on Alcohol and Drug Abuse. “I realized the importance of the prevention efforts specially at the high school level, as well

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504.895.6657 as the need for services to the growing Latino community,” he said. Ana noted that when she was teaching in Charleston, it was during a time of desegregation “when there was much differential treatment of black children.” In Shreveport she also saw discrimination against Asians and Latinos, and “a lot needed to be done.” She continued her volunteer work in New Orleans through NCJW and the Symphony. “The activities that I found most rewarding were the resettlement of Russian Jews and the resettlement of Marielitos, as well as starting new programs of music enrichment in the public schools of New Orleans and Jefferson Parish,” she said. More recently, she has found it “equally rewarding to help the Latino students in the schools to succeed in their studies and to lead healthy lives staying away from dangers like drugs, smoking and peer pressure.” Juan also finds it rewarding in “teaching underprivileged children about the great opportunities that they have in this country, building their self- esteem, and their desire to succeed in life and ‘be happy’.”

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You’re Invited! Southern S o Jewish Historical Society Conference Natchez, Mississippi November 4th-6th 2016 F ffull For ll program, online registration, travel and lodging information visit: www.isjl.org/sjhs-natchez-program.html Registration closes October 1st 2016. R

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community Noted Israeli writer Etgar Keret kicks off Bart culture series at Uptown JCC Leading Israeli writer and filmmaker Etgar Keret will be the first speaker in this year’s Cathy and Morris Bart Jewish Cultural Arts Series at the Uptown Jewish Community Center in New Orleans. Considered “the voice of young Israel,” Keret will speak about his best-selling book, “The Seven Good Years,” on Sept. 19 at 7 p.m. The event is free and open to the community. His books include “The Bus Driver Who Wanted to Be God,” “Missing Kissinger,” “The Nimrod flipout,” “The Girl on the Fridge” and “Suddenly a Knock on the Door,” which became an instant No. 1 bestseller in Israel. In the memoir “The Seven Good Years,” he contemplates moments of his life against a backdrop of constant conflict, casting an absurd light on both the monumental and mundane. The seven-year time-frame begins with the birth of his son, while the doctors at the hospital are preoccupied taking care of the wounded from a terror attack, and ends with the death of his father from cancer. Salman Rushdie called Keret “a brilliant writer… completely unlike any writer I know,” and the New York Times called him “a genius.” Keret has received the Book Publishers Association`s Platinum Prize several times, the Chevalier medallion of France’s Order of Arts and Letters, and has been awarded the Prime Minister`s Prize and the Ministry of Culture`s Cinema Prize. Keret’s stories even inspired Polish architect Jakub Szczesny to build in Warsaw the narrowest house in the world, at 38 inches wide. The house was named after Keret, who will be using the house for several years.

Sept. 22 Fete de Federation celebrates campaign achievement The Jewish Federation of Greater New Orleans and the Jewish Endowment Foundation of Louisiana will hold their 103rd annual meeting, “Fete de Federation,” on Sept. 22 at the Audubon Tea Room at 6 p.m. The Federation will celebrate the 2016 Annual Campaign, co-chaired by Lisa Heller and Dr. Juan Gershanik, and hold its annual election. JEF will present their slate, and bestow the 2016 JFNA Endowment Achievement Award on Anne Pake Lowenburg (article, page 15). Michele Gelman will receive the Herbert J. and Margot Garon Young Leadership Award. Steve Usdin and Cathy Bart will receive the Anne Goldsmith Hanaw and J. Jerome Hanaw Tikkun Olam Award for Campaign Excellence. Lis Kahn will be presented with the Roger Bissinger Memorial Award, and Michael Finkelstein will receive the Cohen-Jacobs Emerging Leader Award. The kosher dinner event will include dancing and music by Matt Lemmler’s New Orleans Jazz Revival Band. The event is open to all who have made a gift at any level to the 2016 Annual Campaign. Tickets are $50, $36 for those ages 21 to 35. Because the true cost for the event is more than the ticket price, those attending are asked to consider being an Angel at $150. The dinner is sponsored by Cox Communications, LCMC, Postlethwaite & Netterville, Ray Brandt Automotive Group, Sher Garner Cahill Richter Klein & Hilbert, LLC and Whitney Bank.

Continued from page 46

Will you need to rinse your eyes with Listerine Forget with a bottle of wine? If I get moved up onto page three Would you look for more? Will you still need me, will you still read me When I’m sixty-four? You’ll be older too And if you read my words They will stay with you It has been handy, tending the muse When all light has gone You can read about it by the fireside Sunday mornings minyan at nine Back to the Garden, or Sea of Reeds All to re-explore Will you still need me, will you still read me When I’m sixty-four?

Titillate with things that no one else would say Your last brain cells, wasting away Giving no answers, lacking in form Now or evermore Will you still need me, will you still read me When I’m sixty-four? ***** In conclusion, A Day in Southern Jewish Life I wrote the news today, oy yoy; It was a funny man with modest grades And though the jokes were rather sad Well, you just had to laugh I wrote by telegraph

I’d love to learn you one… Woke up, under my bed Dragged a kippah on my head Fell my way downstairs and re-woke up And looking up, for minyan I was late Wrote a joke and that was that Then I thought if it fell flat Found my way using mirrors and smoke In case you might’ve thought it’s not what it might seem I wrote the news today, oy yoy; Four thousand holes in this week’s sermon here And though the holes were not so small They didn’t count at all Still don’t know how many holes it takes to fill the Western Wall

He wrote his mind and went too far; He didn’t notice that the times had changed A crowd of readers stopped and stared I’d love to learn you one… Every column comes out of a journey to the Isle They’d seen his jokes before Nobody was really sure if he was from the of Write Doug Brook is a writer in Silicon Valley who House of Lord… When things get unclear premiered this column in The Southern Shofar in Kosher shrimp’s okay? I saw a film today, oy yoy; September 1996. He would like to say thank you With kings who number three The day no army had to go to war on behalf of the banned, and hopes he passed the Sol’mon, Saul, and Dave. A crowd of people turned astray audition. To read these or any other past columns, But I just had to look I’ll still be a card, in every line visit http://brookwrite.com/. For exclusive online Back to Habakkuk Skewing points of view content, like facebook.com/the.beholders.eye.

September 2016 • Southern Jewish Life 45

rear pew mirror • doug brook Hazzan Pepper’s Lonely Column Banned

We are open while rebuilding for you.

It was 20 years ago today Southern Shofar let this column play It’s been going on without no style And no guarantee to raise a smile So, may I impose on to you The hack you’ve read for all these years… Hazzan Pepper’s Lonely Column Banned! We’re Hazzan Pepper’s Lonely Column Banned We hope you will enjoy the prose Hazzan Pepper’s Lonely Column Banned Sit back and let your good taste go. It’s wonderful to write here, It’s certainly no quill, You’re such a lovely readership, We’d love to take you home with us, We’d take you both right home… I don’t really want to stop the flow But the editor thought you should know The writer’s gonna write more wrong And he wants you all to read along… *****

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What would you think if I write like a loon, Would you turn the page away from me? Lend me your eyes and I’ll lead you along And I’ll try not to strike the wrong key. I get by with a little help from Hashem I just write with a little help from Hashem You survive with a little help from Hashem. What do you do when my column’s astray? (Does it worry you to read alone?) How do you feel when you put it away? (Are you glad ‘cause so much was unknown?) No, I get by with a little help from Hashem I just write with a little help from Hashem You survive with a little help from Hashem. (Do you read anybody?) I read this column enough (Could it be anybody?) I want this column enough (Would you still read if I wrote it at night?) Yes I’m certain that I’d read it all the time (What do you read when you turn out the light?) I can’t read then, ‘cause I would go blind Oh, I get by with a little help from Hashem I just write with a little help from Hashem You survive with a little help from Hashem. ***** Looking ahead to the end of the next 20 years… With my jokes older, greying your hair, Many years from now continued on previous page

46 Southern Jewish Life • September 2016

community Lake Charles teacher participates in ADL Israel trip for Catholic educators A Catholic school educator from Lake Charles joined colleagues from across the country for an educational expedition to Israel in July. Middle and high school educators from 12 states participated in the Anti-Defamation League’s nationally acclaimed Bearing Witness Advanced program, which aims to provide an advance course of study on anti-Semitism, the Holocaust and Catholic-Jewish relations. The participants toured the country, visited Jewish and Christian holy sites, heard firsthand accounts and information from Arab-Israelis, Israeli journalists, Jewish community leaders, a survivor of a suicide bomb bus attack, residents of kibbutz on the Gaza border, interfaith experts and scholars including representatives of the Israeli government, The Jerusalem Center for Jewish-Christian Relations, the Aramaic Christian Association, and the Interfaith Association. Diane Oden, who teaches at Our Lady Queen of Heaven School in Lake Charles, represented ADL’s South Central region. She said the trip was “the best learning opportunity of my life… The wide variety of speakers, the places we visited in every part of Israel, the rich culture is a gift I treasure and will share with my students.” Her most memorable experience was meeting and listening to Holocaust survivor Hannah Pick while visiting Yad Vashem. Pick spoke of her childhood friendship with Anne Frank from Kindergarten to sixth grade, and their experiences as they both wound up at Bergen-Belsen. Since its inception in 1996, ADL Bearing Witness: Anti-Semitism, the Holocaust and Contemporary Issues has trained more than 2,000 Catholic school educators across the U.S. about the historical relationship between the Jewish and Catholic communities and the impact of that relationship on Catholic teaching, catechesis and liturgy. In 2005, the ADL initiated Bearing Witness Advanced — endorsed by the National Catholic Educational Association and the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops — to allow Bearing Witness graduates to extend their learning and travel to Israel. “This is a truly once-in-a-lifetime experience for Catholic educators to directly experience the breadth and diversity of today’s Israel,” said Lindsay Baach Friedmann, ADL South Central Director of Education. “Our goal is that these remarkable Catholic teachers will take their memorable experiences on the ground in Israel back into their classrooms, ultimately having a positive impact on their students. The Catholic and Jewish communities have reached an important crossroad, with Pope Francis elevating and placing a significant emphasis on relations between our two communities. Such a mission is extremely timely.”

Diane Oden in Israel

Incentive grants for first-time campers For those considering sending a child to a Jewish sleepaway camp for the first time in 2017, resources are available to help in that decision. The Goldring Jewish Summer Camp Experience Incentive Grant Program, administered by the Jewish Endowment Foundation of Louisiana, offers a one-time grant of up to $1,000 per child for first-time campers. Grants are not based on financial need. Both parents need not be Jewish. Neither Temple nor synagogue affiliation is required. Experts agree that one of the most effective ways to 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. To be eligible, the child must be a first-time camper at a not-for-profit Jewish sleepaway camp; in grades 1 through 9 in the 2016-17 school year; and a resident of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama or the Florida Panhandle. For more information or to request an application, contact Ellen Abrams at JEF at (504) 524-4559 or ellen@jefno.org.

September 2016 • Southern Jewish Life 47