Atlanta Jewish Times, VOL. 99 NO. 9, May 15, 2024

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CONTRIBUTORS THIS ISSUE

BOB BAHR

CHANA SHAPIRO

DAVE SCHECHTER

DAVID OSTROWSKY

DEBBIE DIAMOND

LAURA K. SCHILLING

MARCIA CALLER JAFFE

MIKE WEINROTH

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Cover Photo: Estelle Karp Becomes a Centenarian.

Atlanta Gathers for Yom HaShoah Memorial

By Mike Weinroth

An estimated crowd of more than 500 participated in the 59th anniversary of the Yom HaShoah ceremony at the Memorial to the Six Million at Greenwood Cemetery.

The program began with the traditional Presentation of Colors by Junior Navy ROTC students from Peachtree Ridge High School and the singing of the “Star-Spangled Banner” by Stella Galanti, a junior at The Weber School.

This year’s Holocaust speaker was George Rishfeld, a child survivor from Poland, who was saved by a Catholic family that put their own lives at risk. Later in life, Rishfeld coordinated efforts to have this family recognized by Israel as “Righteous Among the Nations.” To this day, Rishfeld wears his St. Christopher’s medallion alongside his Star of David.

Rishfeld as a baby was wrapped in scraps of fur and thrown over a barbed wire fence into the waiting arms of a young woman, whose father was the foreman of Rishfeld’s parents’ fur com-

pany. This same family protected George from Nazi authorities until the end of the war. Unbeknownst to Rishfeld, both of his parents survived the war.

George’s natural parents had been

separated and neither his mother nor father knew that each other had survived until seeing each other at the train station awaiting the arrival of their son.

U.S. Senator Jon Ossoff brought

greetings from Congress and shared his family’s account of navigating the Holocaust with the loss of many relatives. Sen. Ossoff told the story of his cousin, Nathan, who survived the Holocaust

SERVING THE ATLANTA INTOWN JEWISH COMMUNITY

U.S. Senator Jon Ossoff joined metro Atlanta’s Jewish community at Greenwood Cemetery for the 59th annual community-wide Holocaust commemoration ceremony // YouTube screenshot

This year marked the 59th anniversary of the Yom HaShoah ceremony at the Memorial to the Six Million at Greenwood Cemetery // Photo Courtesy of Karen Lansky Edlin

AFTER 76 YEARS, WE’RE STILL FIGHTING FOR A JEWISH STATE.

and spoke to the importance of hearing from Holocaust survivors and keeping their stories alive for future generations.

“I share with you this story because I know that it echoes many of the stories in your own households in your own families, and I think what’s sometimes lost on the rest of the world is that the industrial scale slaughter of our people, the determined effort to exterminate us is not some ancient mythology — it’s not some lesson from deep in the history books — it’s an experience of our families and experience within whose living memory we were raised and within which we still live,” Sen. Ossoff said.

“I have a two-year-old baby daughter at home,” Sen. Ossoff continued, “and I was just reflecting, Karen, that when I hear at an event like this a Jewish baby or a Jewish child, I hear an act of defiance and evidence of the failure to destroy us. I close at this deeply painful and fraught and dangerous moment by assuring you that any who wish to destroy the Jewish people will be fought and will fail again, and in the United States Senate, you have a representative fully committed to ensure that we survive.”

This 59th anniversary was particularly meaningful as those that attended could see the freshly completed restoration of the Memorial on both the exterior and the interior. This structure was built and paid for by the survivor community in 1965. In 2008, it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Ben Hirsch (of Blessed Memory), who designed the Memorial to the Six Million, was an accomplished architect of churches and synagogues. He was a child when he arrived in Atlanta from Frankfort, Germany and did not speak English. He graduated from Georgia Tech’s School of Architecture.

Rabbi Joseph Prass, Director of the Weinberg Center for Holocaust Education at The Breman Museum, delivered

the D’var Torah and was followed by Robyn Winnick, Chair of the Yom HaShoah Planning Committee, Karen Lansky Edlin, from Eternal Life-Hemshech, and Mike Murphy, Board Chair of The Breman Museum.

All Holocaust survivors in attendance were recognized and given small yahrzeit candles to light and then escorted into the interior of the memorial.

A major part of the restoration of the memorial was the extensive cleaning of the 150 plaques which were taken down to be hand washed and rewaxed. The six large torches that hover over the memorial were refinished and required new gas lines to be installed as well as a redesign to accommodate a new electronic lighting system.

Another poignant part of the program was a reading by Helen Kasten in Yiddish with her daughter, Alana Sonenshine, of “Where Shall I Go?”, written by S. Korntayer, who died in the Warsaw Ghetto.

Rabbi Laurence Rosenthal recited El Maleh Rachamim and Robert Ratonyi, survivor from Hungary, led the Kaddish.

Ben Walker, a survivor from Romania, ended the program with the Partisan Hymn. He was joined by audience members.

At the conclusion of the program, everyone was invited to take a Stone of Remembrance and place it in the memorial. The yellow yahrzeit candles were provided by Congregation Etz Chaim’s Men’s Club to each person in attendance.

Stones of Remembrance were painted by Atlanta area school students to memorialize the 1.5 million children who perished in the Holocaust.

The memorial ceremony was jointly sponsored by Eternal Life-Hemshech, The Breman, the Lillian and A.J. Weinberg Center for Holocaust Education and the Jewish Federation of Greater Atlanta.  ì

In 1948, as Israel fought for its independence, the medics of Magen David Adom were there, treating wounded soldiers and civilians alike. Today, as Israel celebrates Yom HaAtzma’ut, MDA is still treating the injured — even under fire.

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The Stones of Remembrance were painted by Atlanta area school students to memorialize the 1.5 million children who perished in the Holocaust // Photo Courtesy of Karen Lansky Edlin

George Rishfeld, a child Holocaust survivor from Poland, was this year’s featured speaker // Photo Courtesy of Karen Lansky Edlin

‘Another Sunrise’ Honors Holocaust Remembrance Day

By Bob Bahr

As a prelude to this year’s observance of Yom HaShoah, Holocaust Remembrance Day, The Temple presented a production by the Atlanta Opera of “Another Sunrise.” The work, which has been described as a lyrical drama, was performed in the sanctuary of the Reform temple in Midtown. It featured the Romanian American soprano Esther Tonea as Sonia Landau, a Jewish survivor of the Auschwitz concentration camp.

The 27-minute work by composer Jake Heggie with a libretto by Gene Scheer is based on Landau’s life and work as the author of two memoirs, “I Survived Auschwitz,” which was published in 1946 just after World War II, and “Empty Water: A Memoir of the Warsaw Ghetto,” which was published 17 years later in 1963. She wrote both under the pen name, Krystyna Zywulska, a moniker she adopted when she was first arrested by the Gestapo in 1943.

As Zywulska, she assumed the identity of a non-Jewish member of the Polish resistance. The ruse helped her survive in the nightmarish Nazi death camp, but in the work that was performed at The Temple she is haunted by the memories of the days and nights she endured.

She worked in the Effectenkammer, the warehouse adjacent to the gas chambers, where she sorted through the possessions of Jews before they were murdered next door. It kept her alive but at a great cost to her psychological wellbeing, as she listened to the endless cries of those going to their death.

The trauma was so great that even after the war and the publication of her first book she made no mention of her Jewish ancestry. It is this tension between memory and identity that Gene Scheer, who wrote the lyrics for the work, sees as the heart of the work.

Scheer, who was part of a discussion at The Temple that followed the performance told WABE’s Lois Reitzes, who moderated the program, that she never fully came to terms with who she was. On her death in 1993, the tombstone was carved with the non-Jewish name she took on to survive to greet another day.

“She decided to take on this identity,” Scheer pointed out. “And this was the way she was going to make it through to see another sunrise. In the first line of Charles Dickens’ ‘David Copperfield,’ the main character says, whether I turn out to be the hero of my own life, these pages will tell. Everyone is writing the

story of their own life. And she’s writing the story of her own life that she can live with.”

In the short operatic work, Landau awakens in the middle of the night to commit to a tape recorder what she remembers of her tortured existence. But she is stymied by the collective weight of memory, and she struggles to find the words to express what is going through her mind.

In a startling moment, Nora Winsler, who staged the work for The Atlanta Opera, has the featured performer, Tonea, mount the second level of The Temple’s bimah, with its reading desk for the Torah scroll and a partially uncovered ark that holds the scroll.

It is an almost heart-stopping confrontation, as if to say that even with all this holy edifice represents, she is unable to fully come to terms with the burden of history.

The Artistic and Executive Director of the Atlanta Opera, Tomer Zvulun, was also part of the post-performance discussion. He pointed out that Landau’s difficulty acknowledging her past extends even to the name she has chosen.

“This woman chose to survive through denying her own identity. And there is a huge price that she paid for denying her identity, for sending her own people to the gas chambers. And her tragedy, the way I perceive it, is that she did survive to see another sunrise, and

her identity is always going to be staring her at the face. It doesn’t matter how much she will call herself, Krystyna Zywulska, a Polish woman … she will still be Sonia Landau from a Jewish household. She can’t escape that.”

Rabbi Peter Berg, The Temple’s senior spiritual leader, commented that the issue of identity is one that members of the community still struggle with, particularly in these challenging times.

“The lesson that we’ve learned over the years, I think, is to be proud of who we are,” Rabbi Berg said, “and that there are moments when it’s OK to stand up and be strong. And there are moments when our lives might be threatened, and we have to make a different choice.” ì

To survive in Auschwitz, Holocaust survivor Sonia Landau took on the identity of Krystyna Zywulska, a nonJew // Photo Credit: Atlanta Opera

The discussion after the performance featured (from left) Lois Reitzes, Gene Scheer, Rabbi Peter Berg and Tomer Zvulun // Photo Credit: Atlanta Opera

In the dramatic staging of “Another Sunrise,” Esther Tonea, as Holocaust survivor Sonia Landau, stands before The Temple’s Torah Ark.

Thousands Join March of the Living

The 36th annual March of the Living took place on Yom HaShoah - Holocaust Remembrance Day, traversing the Auschwitz-Birkenau death camp in memory of the Jews murdered in the Holocaust and in honor of those who survived. More than 8,000 people participated in the March, renewing the eternal call of “Never Again.”

This year’s March was led by 55 Holocaust survivors from around the world. They were joined by thousands of Jewish and non-Jewish students and adults, university presidents from campuses in the U.S. and Canada, a global delegation of top TikTok creators, and a Transnational Law Enforcement delegation.

Addressing the ceremony at Auschwitz-Birkenau, Nate Leipciger, who survived Auschwitz, said, “I stood here over 80 years ago. My family’s ashes are spread all over this site. They and all those killed here are testimony to the worst hatred humanity has ever seen. That is why I marched here today. And this is why I say to you today: We must stand up to antisemitism and fight hate and falsehood wherever we are. And that is what we will do. Am Yisrael Chai.”

Addressing the ceremony via video message, Israeli President Isaac Herzog said, “This year, the darkest tragedies of our past do not feel so distant. Although the Holocaust stands alone in the history of human crimes, we have been grieving deep tragedy over the past months. The sickness of blind hatred has been unleashed, once again, in our own world and time. May your March go forth proudly this year. May it carry the

history of everyone who has ever fought for justice and humanity in the face of hatred. And may it send a resounding call for freedom for every last hostage, for the values of justice, democracy, humanity and life across the world.”

Among the Holocaust survivors who marched were seven who were personally impacted by the Oct. 7 attack in Israel. They marched alongside several former hostages released from Hamas captivity, along with families of Israeli hostages, bereaved families, wounded survivors, and mayors from the south of Israel. The delegation was organized by the Menomadin Foundation under the leadership of Haim Taib, a third-generation Holocaust survivor from Tunisia.

Phyllis Greenberg Heideman, President of International March of the Living said, “This year’s March of the Living holds profound significance, as the horrors of the past intertwine with the present ongoing nightmare faced by the State of Israel. The recent incomprehensible massacre on Oct. 7 serves as a constant reminder of the persistent threat posed by antisemitic hatred. This year, more than ever, we understand why preserving the memory of the Holocaust is still essential. Fighting against the continuous and overwhelming wave of antisemitism makes the March of the Living’s mission to remember more important and more relevant than ever. We will strenuously continue to teach about the history of the Holocaust, and we will continue to stand together against antisemitism.” ì

Compiled by AJT Staff

A contingent of 55 Holocaust survivors led the procession during this year’s March of the Living // Photo Credit: March of the Living

JF&CS Tasting a Sweet Success

By Marcia Caller Jaffe

Seven hundred philanthropic and hungry patrons gathered in the spacious and tastefully decorated Stave Room on Armour Ottley Drive on May 2 for Jewish Family & Career Services’ annual Tasting fundraiser.

The event previously benefited only the Zimmerman Horowitz Independent Living Homes. However, this year, the re-imagined Tasting Experience also supported JF&CS’ IndependenceWorks Day Program and the Supported Employment Program. All told, the event raised more than $400,000 to support these programs.

According to Terri Bonoff, CEO of JF&CS, “The Tasting Experience event belongs to the community. I hear Tasting stories from wonderful friends in the community that go back 20 years. It builds on the legacy of supporters deeply committed to ensuring the quality-of-life experience for those with intellectual and developmental disabilities. It is a celebration of friendship, generosity, love, and inclusion. This year, the lay leadership -- chaired by Michelle Simon and Louise Samsky -- stood on the shoulders of all that had previously been created and celebrated in years gone by … of course, last year honoring the legacy and memory of Jerry Horowitz made this year even more important.”

Navigating the food and beverage vendor stations was amazingly simple with very little line waiting. The beverage setups were set in a rectangle in the center of the room while the food vendors lined the perimeter. Restaurant managers and caterers were gracious and chattily welcomed guests while explaining their concepts.

One local favorite, Tal Baum, “manned” the first table brimming with yummy humus served at her Rina concept, which recently expanded to Alpharetta in addition to the Old Fourth Ward location. Another humus was served by Zakia chef Ian Winslade, who stated that his secret was using SOOM tahini, lemon, and garlic, after a quick spin in the food processor.

Fifth Group’s VP of Operations and in this case, South City Kitchen, was headed by Stuart Fierman, who said, “This event is close to my heart as I grew up close to the Horowitz family. I actually shared a moment with Jerry Horowitz some 20 years ago about how we could really get big ‘lift’ for this event since I was already in the restaurant biz.”

A colorful new concept this year was Zest Catering’s Build Your Own Burrata Bar with toppings: tomatoes in vodka sauce, peach and jalapeño marmalade, chimichurri, fresh basil, sun dried tomatoes along with crunchy bread. Zest’s owners are Dana and Hannah Harris.

Another favorite vendor was C&S Sea-

food and their tuna tartar atop avocado. Fellow vendor, Les Retter, of High Roller Sushi, said, “We have supported this meaningful cause for many years. It’s a wonderful organization. I’m happy to contribute, and people really love our sushi.”

Retter sells sushi to schools, wed-

dings, caterers, movie wrap parties, and mitzvahs.

Among the first to volunteer for the Jewish community is David Abes, DASH Hospitality, who was on hand with Cyndi Sterne, operations specialist, serving Message in a Bottle’s cubed grouper ceviche in shot glasses.

(From left) David Poline, Elana Satisky, Sara Kogon, Viki Freeman, Amy Fingerhut, Mark Brown, Louise Samsky, Gary Simon, Kyle Simon, Michelle Simon, Dayna Royal, Samantha Paulen, Jonathan Halitsky, Michelle Sims, Vanessa Frank, Beth Friedman, Tracey Grant // All Photos by Steven R Dewberry, SRD Photography

Artwork from The Artist Collective featured in the silent auction

Inaugural Champion of Inclusion Larry Smith, with Jewish Family & Career Services CEO Terri Bonoff // Photo by Steven R Dewberry, SRD Photography

Several of the chefs from featured restaurants

Husband-and-wife team, Erin and Moshe Liss, who recently purchased Added Touch Catering from Sandra and Clive Bank, served a buffet of curried vegetables and rice. Erin stated, “Things are going well, and the transition is seamless.” After 15 years of working at The Added Touch and A Kosher Touch, the Liss’s were handpicked by Sandra and Clive to take over as the “next generation.”

Amanda La Kier, JF&CS chief philanthropy and marketing officer, while

Participating Vendors:

Added Touch Catering

Brewable

Chef Steve Creations

C&S Seafood & Oyster Bar

EB Catering

High Roller Sushi

La Grotta

Marietta Diner

Message in a Bottle

Mission + Market

Nothing Bundt Cakes

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chatting with host chair Elana Satisky, said that the highlight of the 2024 Tasting was when several of the members of Tasting Experience Choir, which is comprised primarily of adults with learning and developmental disabilities, performed inspirational tunes, including: “Don’t Stop Believing,” “Can You Feel the Love Tonight,” and more.

The community most definitely felt the love at this year’s Tasting and have not stopped believing! ì

The Tasting Experience benefit on May 2 raised more than $400,000.

The Tasting Experience Choir performed a medley of songs during The Tasting Experience.

Beth Tikvah Completes Writing of New Torah

By Debbie Diamond

On Sunday, May 5, Congregation Beth Tikvah completed the writing of its new Torah to commemorate the conclusion of its “double chai” year.

According to Deidre Kinoshita, president of Beth Tikvah, “This is a momentous occasion. Our congregation gets to make our own mark on a brand new Torah, emphasizing that this is a house of hope.”

Congregants gathered at the shul to take part in adding the final letters to a Torah whose life began the Sunday after the Oct. 7 tragedy in Israel. The timing is certainly not lost on Senior Rabbi Alexandria Shuval-Weiner, who has been Beth Tikvah’s rabbi for more than 10 years. She and Carol Schemo, the Torah project director, have been the driving forces behind the new Torah.

“At Rosh Hashana, we will dedicate the Torah at a celebration in what has been an incredibly challenging year. The world feels so dark right now. We are aware of the challenges and hardships

faced by many. This process has been so healing for our congregants, and they have gotten actively involved throughout

the process,” said Rabbi Shuval-Weiner.

The participation by members of the congregation was part of the plan from

the beginning. Rabbi Shuval-Weiner shared the story of her first year at the temple when members would point out

The Kalina family adds their letters to the Torah. “People are filled with anticipation and reverence,” said congregant and photographer Jessica Kalina.

President Deidre Kinoshita and her family under the ketubah after their letter writing. Carol Schemo and Rabbi Shuval-Weiner

the specific tiles in the sanctuary ceiling that they had personally painted. Remembering their pride and sense of ownership, she decided this undertaking also needed the congregation’s imprint.

And that’s when Sofer On Site, based out of Miami, entered the picture. Rabbi Yochanan Salazar, a Torah scribe with the organization, has been on-site at Beth Tikvah several times since the project began. Members are able to write a letter or word under his expert direction. Using a quill dipped into ink, each congregant adds their portion to the new Torah. They sit with him during each session and learn about the writing of the Torah, about the specific letter they are writing and the part of the Torah in which it falls. Afterwards, a professional photographer takes a photo to record each family’s participation, and a certificate is presented to each family or person to mark the occasion.

“The Torah is the glue of a congregation,” said Schemo, who has helped guide the creation of this Torah and overseen the work of more than 125 volunteers since the project began. “Since Oct.10, 2023, there have been at least 25 volunteers at every writing session. The response has been amazing,” she added.

At the Sunday, May 5, final writing session, congregants were ushered into the social hall after writing their portion of the Torah and invited to participate in 10 educational stations, all set up and

staffed by synagogue volunteers. Stations included a video on how a Torah is created; one where writers were able to make a blessing over wine or grape juice and recite the Shehecheyanu; an art station to create a decorative fabric ribbon to wrap the new Torah for the Rosh Hashana dedication; and a one-on-one chat session with Rabbi Shuval-Weiner.

“Each time we take out this Torah, I want our members to remember they had a hand in its creation. The mantle is being designed and stitched by congregants. The binder is also being made by members. And this year’s confirmation class will be dedicating the yad we will use during their ceremony. All this work and creation leads up to Rosh Hashana, when we will officially dedicate this special Torah,” said Rabbi Shuval-Weiner.

On the final writing session, a carnival took place in the temple’s parking lot, filled with slides, bounce house, Mexican food, desserts, and music from popular DJ Play It Again Sammy. The upbeat atmosphere reflected the congregation’s mood that day and their dream of hope, not only for their temple, but also for the Jewish community at large.

“Everyone who participated in this project connected to their Judaism. All of us are excited about this Torah being part of their family’s simchas and our future. We want this beautiful Torah to be a legacy and a source of continuing pride,” reiterated Schemo. ì

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DJ Frankie Acosta and Sammy Rosenberg of Play It Again Sammy keep the music going.

Janice Liederman and volunteer Stephanie Joseph prepare for the Shechiyanu prayer.

Rabbi Alexandria Shuval-Weiner adds her letters to the Torah with Rabbi Yochanan Salazar, sofer for Sofer On Site.

Volunteer Michael Bernstein helps Ashley and Everett Steele with handwashing and prayer at station No. 1 before they write their letters in Torah.

‘Fashionable’ Fundraiser Supports Israel Bonds

By Marcia Caller Jaffe

Atlanta Israel Bonds hosted a lady’s event, “Shop for a Cause” fashion luncheon, on May 7 at the Sandy Springs home of Ilene Grant, who served as event co-chair along with Sandy Bailey, Joni Barocas, Jody Kassel, and Susan Grossman. An Israeli style falafel, fruit skewers, salmon, and dessert lunch were prepared by Sampson Hector of Tropics Catering. Beautiful, mirrored boats of roses lined the tables.

Helen Jacoby, who along with her husband, Phil, co-chair of Atlanta Israel Bonds Advisory Council, welcomed the group with enthusiasm about a renewed women's arm of Israel Bonds locally with several events to come.

She said, “This is certainly the first fashion event in many years.”

Israel Bonds registered representative Jackie Miron gave an energetic charge about the power of sisterhood and community to change the world along with “sharing clothes and food.”

Based on her experience selling mu-

nicipal bonds in New York, Miron related that the majority of the stocks and bonds in the U.S. are actually owned by women. She stated, “Oftentimes back then,

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husbands were buying in their wife’s names, and the women were uninformed. I believe that women are actually smarter consumers, more careful, asking

questions, knowing what’s on sale -- even if at the grocery store. We can take control!”

She shared that buying Israeli bonds

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Jackie Miron poses with Ilene Grant, Joni Barocas, and Yael Edelist who flew in from New York City// Photo Credit: Bruce Miron

Betsy Rush and Beverly Brandman enjoyed on site shopping with Alembika designs.

was not a donation vs. an investment.

Israel Bonds Executive Director, Brad Young, injected that a whopping $3 billion in bonds had been raised since the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas, and the State of Georgia purchased $25 million.

Miron said, “With this current crisis, every dime helps and goes directly to the Minister of Finance in Israel. That equates to financing war efforts, businesses who are suffering to displaced Israelis living in hotels.”

Miron pointed out that a five-year Mazel Tov bond pays 6.27 percent if purchased online. More applications for bonds include buying for IRA, giving as a gift for mitzvahs which connects a child to Israel, or donating the bonds to a charity like the Jewish National Fund, which itself buys bonds.

She said, “These rates are terrific compared to banks, and it’s inevitable that interest rates are going to drop, but these are locked in [when you buy]. Until you buy, rates are adjusted every 15 days. Also, Christians and churches are buying bonds!”

She explained that because of antisemitism some entities, like corporations, are holding back their financial support A somewhat outside-the-box idea is to donate a bond to a university like Columbia, which has experienced an overwhelming wave of anti-Israel protest culture, so that they would have something from Israel in their portfolio.

Local boutique owner Joni Barocas, of Best Dressed, who carries Alembika fashions in her Roswell store, arranged for the guest speaker and fashion display, and introduced Yael Edelist, president of Alembika USA, who flew in from New York City for the event.

Barocas noted that the Alembika brand was “comfy, chic and machine washable.”

Sabra Edelist explained how now more than ever Jews are taking care of each other; and Israelis have come to recognize the importance of America. She said, “Israelis are waking up with this overwhelming support.”

She stated that she herself was proPalestinian, flushing out that although the fabrics are purchased in Turkey and Europe, their sewing is done in the West Bank. She said, “The Palestinians who sew for us are very cooperative, we bring them baklava and humus. We hug, we are conflicted and worried. I do not have the answer for peace.”

There are 16 Alembika stores in Israel that are suffering because of the war. She elaborated, “It’s amazing we [Alembika] still exist. I send all my profits to Israel.”

She noted that Alembika was founded by two Israeli women who met serving in the IDF.

Before the program, women mingled and related their connections to Israel -some were on the Bonds board, others’ husbands were past chairmen of Israel Bonds locally, some had cousins in Israel, some had relatives working on a kibbutz, others had children serving as lone soldiers.

Mindy Zisholtz noted that she has been buying Israel Bonds for the past 40 years and is motivated to help build Israel’s infrastructure and other projects all while getting competitive interest rates.

Miron cheered on the group by reporting that $300,000 had been raised in the past 30 minutes at the event. Susan Grossman closed the program. ì

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THE PIEDMONT

Helene Jacoby set the stage for the program.

The “Shop for a Cause” luncheon raised $300,000 to support Israel Bonds // Photo Credit: Bruce Miron

Weber Students Tour Nashville Music Scene

By Debbie Diamond

Students in The Weber School’s music program traveled to Nashville last month to make music with several of Music City’s leading artists.

Escorted by Weber Music Director Drew Cohen and Sound Engineering Director Michael Levine, the students participated in three expertly curated days of exhilarating experiences designed to expose them to music writing, performing, and recording in a variety of music genres, ranging from bluegrass and country to Judaic-inspired themes and pop tunes.

The group met with Dov Rosenblatt, an American singer, songwriter, producer, composer and teacher, on the first day of their trip. At Congregation Sherith Israel, one of the city’s historic synagogues, they participated in a workshop led by Rosenblatt and composed Jewish prayer-focused music, which they would record later during a session at Blackbird Studio, known for its state-of-theart production facilities and vintage and

modern recording equipment collection. Rosenblatt is credited with advancing Jewish rock in the early 2000s.

That evening, the students visited The Listening Room, one of Nashville’s leading music venues, to hear the Song Suffragettes, Nashville’s only all-female

ZooATL-Brew-2024-AJT-halfpage.pdf 1 4/17/2024 4:35:38 PM

acoustic showcase. To end the night, the Weber group was joined by Hayley Leiberman, a student at Belmont University and an alumnus of The Weber School, and singer-songwriter Jess McCoy, for a house concert and jam session at their Airbnb rental.

“Music is a team sport,” said Cohen. “We opted to rent a house for everyone to stay together, cook, invite musicians over and create music together. Everyone loved the jam session and got a lot out of it,” he added.

On day two, the group met with Jor-

Weber students at a songwriting workshop with Dov Rosenblatt

Students participate in MasterClass with Jordan Tice (far left), one of Nashville’s top bluegrass guitarists.

dan Tice, one of the country’s top bluegrass guitarists and Patrick M’Gonigle, a popular “fiddle player” who taught a MasterClass at the Weber group’s rental home. The day also included a tour of the National Museum of African American Music, led by the museum’s educational director, as well as a nighttime visit to the world-renowned Bluebird Café for a Writer’s Round with a small group of singer-songwriters performing their original music.

On the final day of the visit, the students, Cohen, and Levine headed to Blackbird Studio to record “Gam Zeh Ya’avor (This Too Shall Pass),” the song they had written earlier in the visit about the Oct. 7 tragedy and the difficult months that have followed, including the protests and antisemitism on college campuses. Levine and Rosenblatt produced the song. An expert at the soundboard, Levine mixed the music at the same studio where the likes of Bon Jovi, Taylor Swift, and Ed Sheeran have recorded. In fact, the group performed in the same room used by popular musical artist Kacey Musgraves.

“Our visit to Nashville was lots of fun and extremely interesting. We are much more knowledgeable about how diverse music is. Everything there revolved around music, and we got to meet so many experienced musicians who talked to us about recording and being on the road,” said Ethan Peck, a sophomore at Weber who has played drums for seven years.

The trip to Nashville was the program’s second visit to a southeastern city. The previous year, Cohen took the students to Asheville, N.C., to meet with singer-songwriters.

“We want to create smaller, customized experiences for students. That’s our goal for the music program,” Cohen said.

And the direction of the program under his guidance is taking the program to even greater heights. Currently, there are several Weber alumni enrolled in music programs at Berklee College of Music, Belmont University, and Middle Tennessee State University. Other Weber alumni perform in bands, including The Asymptomatics in Athens, and Blind Jive, based out of Kennesaw State University.

Cohen has served as the music director for the past nine years at Weber. Levine came on board this past year, and the two men have big plans for the program. Currently, classes are taught in piano, guitar, band, music theory, Jewish music composition, and sound engineering. There are also two ensembles – a rock band and a more traditional quartet – that have formed and perform with guidance from the two directors. Cohen hopes to add electronic music, history of rock ‘n roll, and songwriting courses to the curriculum in the near future.

On any given day, students pop into the booths in the music space at Weber to play, record or produce music. According to Jaren Wolff, who was playing guitar during his lunch hour in one of the booths, “I love music and would play guitar all day if I could.” Wolff also plays bass guitar and is in the rock band at Weber.

The comprehensive music education program also offers artists-in-residence gatherings, sessions with professional, touring musicians and opportunities to perform alongside musicians at venues around Atlanta. On May 21, the musicians at The Weber School will hold a spring concert of popular music and original student compositions from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. at the new Tzadik Performing Arts Center. Registration is required, and tickets may be requested at https://gofan.co/ event/1519752?schoolId=GA72963. ì

Getting ready to hear the Song Suffragettes at The Listening Room

Interfaith Hunger Seder Spotlights Food Insecurity

By Bob Bahr

Atlanta’s Jewish Community Relations Council presented its Interfaith Hunger Seder on April 28 at the Selig Center of the Jewish Federation of Greater Atlanta. The annual event, which is now in its 14th year, is said to be the longest continuing observance of Passover in America that focuses on the need to fight food insecurity.

It was led this year by Rabbi Jason Holtz of Temple Kehillat Chaim in Roswell with the participation of Venerable Carole Maddux, Archdeacon of the Episcopal Diocese of Atlanta and founder and executive director of the Georgia Interfaith Policy Center.

The featured speaker at the interfaith event was the Rev. Dr. Lisa Heilig, executive director of the Toco Hills Community Alliance. During the pandemic, the organization distributed nearly 900,000 pounds of fresh food to more than 63,000 community members.

The seder incorporates an adaptation of the Hunger Seder Haggadah of

Mazon, the national Jewish organization that works to end hunger in America. It is based on the message of taking a stand against hunger and emphasizes the reinterpretation of several key passages.

The four questions, which are traditionally recited by the youngest participant at the seder to initiate a discussion of the symbols of the holiday, focused instead on the issue of hunger. Those

Beyond the Upbeat Tone of Voice: Is Your Loved One Doing as

Based on her twice weekly phone conversations with her mother, Maya thought everything was fine with her mom’s health. However, when Maya came to visit for the holidays, it was a wakeup call to see the house in disarray and a stack of unpaid bills. She realized that her mother had been unwilling to speak up and ask for help, even though household tasks were becoming more difficult.

It’s not unusual for grown children to live substantial distances from their parents. Even children who live nearby may not see aging loved ones as often as they would like because of long work hours, other family members’ needs and life’s demands. It can be challenging for families to fully assess a loved one’s ability

to take good care of themselves while living alone.

At the same time, it’s difficult for older adults who are used to a high level of competence and independence to admit that they need help because they don’t want to be a burden to their loved ones. They may purposely keep details about their health private, be in denial about their problems or even fail to notice a decline in their own functioning.

Untreated Illness Can Lead to Poor Outcomes

Problems with physical and emotional health can take a toll on senior adults, particularly if they’re living alone. According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), social isolation significantly increases a person’s risk of premature death and is associated with a:

• 50% increase in risk of dementia.

• 29% increase in risk of heart disease.

• 32% increase in risk of stroke.

• Fourfold increase in risk of death from heart failure.

Signs that It’s Time to Get Help at Home

Getting older is often hard, and physical and emotional changes can be triggered by significant life events, such as bereavement over losing a spouse or family member, managing

same issues were also discussed in a program that preceded the event which was sponsored by Interfaith Atlanta Youth. Four students, representing the Catholic, Hindu, and Jewish communities wanted

Well as They Sound?

an illness or moving to an unfamiliar environment.

When a loved one starts to struggle with Activities of Daily Living (ADLs), like personal hygiene or grooming, dressing, toileting, walking or moving without assistance and eating, it's time to enlist help.

While there are warning signs of declining mental or physical health, recognizing them isn’t always straightforward because changes can occur gradually. By the time a loved one notices a decline in functioning, it may have progressed significantly. However, signs to watch for include:

• Decreased energy, irritability or an inability to experience pleasure

• Weight loss and changes in appetite

• Withdrawing from social activities or loss of engagement in normal interests

• Memory problems beyond normal forgetfulness

• Worsened pain

• Changes in balance and mobility or pain during movement may signal joint, muscle or neurological problems that can lead to falls and injuries.

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Having consistent caregivers and visitors who can notice behavioral changes and serve as the family’s “eyes and ears” allows for quicker interventions.

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This year’s Interfaith Hunger Seder was held at a time when food insecurity has sharply increased in America.

to know the answers to these dilemmas.

One asked, in a country of such abundance, why do we waste up to onethird of the food that is available, particularly when so many in this country are not getting the nutrition they need. Why is the wasting of food resources not given more attention?

Another asked how do we encourage the wealthy and those with so much to give to those less fortunate, particularly the children in this country.

In revisioning the plagues that are spoken of in our scriptures as afflicting the ancient Egyptians, the emphasis was on hunger today.

Among the 10 plagues of hunger now is the indifference to the problems that hunger poses. There is also the shame we place on those who are in need of food. The persistence of misinformation about the problem is another plague. However, the “hunger” Haggadah says that the greatest plague of all in today’s America is the apathy that has developed about doing something about the problem.

In the Dayenu, which pays tribute to our gratification for what we have achieved in our lives, there is mention of being grateful for those who take on the cause of hunger. Working alone our results are limited, the passage in the Haggadah reads, but together we are powerful advocates for change.

In a concluding quote from the prominent modern Jewish philosopher, Emmanuel Levinas, the miracle of having enough to eat is recalled as extraordinary and as miraculous as those Israelites in ancient times who were able to cross the Red Sea and escape Egyptian slavery.

The seder was preceded by an opportunity for the 14 organizations that participated in what was called The

Marketplace to talk about the ways they are fighting hunger in the community. Among those organization were the Atlanta Community Food Bank, Second Helpings Atlanta, and Meals on Wheels Atlanta. Another participant in the program, the Jewish Family & Career Services Food Pantry, has over the last few years, greatly expanded in its program to provide food for needy households.

A report last year by the U.S. Department of Agriculture found that more than 44 million people in America had difficulty getting enough food to eat in 2022, which is a jump of almost 25 percent in 2021. That figure includes 13 million children which was an increase of 45 percent as compared to 2021.

The report points up a reversal to the trend of a decline in hunger and food security that had been occurring in the previous decade. According to the Food Action and Research Center, which advocates for better nutrition in Washington, from 2021 to 2022, the Supplemental Poverty Measure increased by 60 percent overall and more than doubled among children. This significant increase in poverty is likely due to the end of pandemicera programs and is one of many indicators that hunger is also on the rise.

Food prices and housing costs have increased dramatically in recent years. In its report, the USDA noted that the increase in prices meant that that seven million families in 2022 had to skip meals because they were unable to afford food.

Poor nutrition, according to the report, can contribute to poor health overall. It notes that not getting enough to eat can have significant long-term effects on psychological and physical development and lead to high rates of hospitalization. ì

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The food pantry at Jewish Family & Career Services of Atlanta has seen demand sharply increase in recent years.

Atlanta Rabbinical Association Eyes the Future

By Marcia Caller Jaffe

On Tuesday, May 7, the Atlanta Rabbinical Association convened to learn the value of marketing, the future of sustainability, the importance of self-care, and most especially to share experiences and get to better know one another.

After a kickoff breakfast on site at a downtown corporate headquarters, the rabbis convened later in the afternoon on the Georgia Tech campus at the stateof-the-art Kendeda Building.

Hillels of Georgia Rabbi Larry Sernovitz stated, “Today was a wonderful opportunity to refresh and reenergize with colleagues and be ‘as one.’ We may all be going through similar things together, and here is a platform to support each other.”

The final session, from 4:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m., concluded with “My Rabbinate: So What and Why?” featuring Brigid Groggin and Rabbi Shira Koch Epstein, founding director of the Atra Field Academy Center for the Rabbinate, based in New York. Here the wheels of self-examination and potential change in self-care

began by honing resilience and wellness skills. Rabbis were challenged to examine their visions in terms of their own unique work situations, what it means to

be a rabbi today, and to encourage having the “agency” to fine tune or make changes.

Koch- Epstein advised, “Maybe you

have an ‘aha’ moment in this session. Only focus on one small thing, which can start the motivation and change the process.”

Rabbis Jason Holtz and Larry Sernovitz found the time to share their thoughts.

Rabbi Daniel Dorsch, President of the Atlanta Rabbinical Association, summarized the day’s success at the closing session.

Rabbi Mike Rothbaum of Congregation Bet Haverim and Rabbi Laurence Rosenthal of Ahavath Achim enjoyed the dinner from Fuego Mundo.

As an example, she talked about a rabbi in a hypothetical situation where a change in the synagogue’s board chair might be beneficial. “Read about it, look at the bylines as a start. Most importantly, how will you make yourself accountable to affect any change?”

Some suggestions were: call and involve a friend who is outside of the situation, set an alarm. “[Your job] may find you exhausted, pushed, as you care deeply, but not all things can be done on the same day.” She concluded with a blessing for all rabbis.

Prior to the dinner, which was catered by Fuego Mundo, Rabba Melissa Scholten-Gutierrez chatted with Rabbi Rachael Miller of Temple Kol Emeth and felt that the day allowed “an examination of how our own values align with our work.” Miller found it helpful to set aside the time to ponder the future of her rabbinate.

In reviewing the program, Dorsch commented, “With 46 rabbis, we had a jam-packed day which exceeded expectations in being exactly what the doctor ordered, coming out of COVID into some state of normalcy. It was inspiring to see the rabbis of different denominations come together in sincere fellowship. We love being together in this city!”

Congregation Beth Jacob’s Rabbi

Ilan Feldman also most enjoyed interacting with colleagues. Ohr HaTorah Rabbi Adam Starr spoke of the benefit of “stepping back and examining the shared work we do each day.”

Ahavath Achim’s Senior Rabbi, Laurence Rosenthal, was impressed with the morning’s visit to a local corporate headquarters. He said, “In the business sector, they were so able to put together their ‘purpose statements,’ and we reflected on how that is both different and similar to our ‘not for profits’ (houses of worship). The building itself helped create the workplace culture … things like slogans bolded as reminders of how we have to constantly work on our own staff, community, and culture.”

He admired that the other venue, Kendeda, was like a mini-Epcot Center in seeing the future with innovative sustainability, solar energy, composting, handling bio waste, using less water; and more. He later commented, “I thought the last session was meaningful … what we accomplished was hard work… so often we focus on the institution and less about our own rabbinate. Is our work in line with what we envisioned?”

Congregation Etz Chaim Senior Rabbi Daniel Dorsch serves as president of the ARA and is entering his last year of the two-year term. ì

Some of Atlanta’s female rabbis shared their “ruach” energy

Brigid Groggin (far left) and Rabbi Shira Koch Epstein, Founding Director of the Atra Field Academy Center for the Rabbinate, chat with Rabbi Michael Bernstein and Rabbi Brad Levenberg

Gallant Tours Rafah, Meets with IDF

Israel Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant recently visited an artillery battery that provides fire support to IDF troops operating in the Rafah area. Minister Gallant spoke with the forces and viewed their activities.

Today in Israeli History

May 15, 1941: The Haganah forms the Palmach as an elite division to protect Jews in Mandatory Palestine from any attack by the Axis powers or Arabs during World War II. After the war, the Palmach smuggles in refugees.

May 16, 1967: Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser effectively orders the United Nations to withdraw its peacekeeping force from the Sinai, removing a crucial obstacle to war between Egypt and Israel, which begins 20 days later.

ballot in the 1977

election, won by his Likud party.

May 17, 1977: The Likud coalition wins an upset in the Knesset election, positioning Menachem Begin to become prime minister and end three decades of leadership by Mapai (Labor’s predecessor) and its allies.

May 18, 1954: Selig Brodetsky, Judah Magnes’ successor as the president of the Hebrew University in 1949, dies two years after resigning for health reasons. He became deeply involved with Zionism while at Cambridge.

ISRAEL PRIDE

NEWS FROM OUR JEWISH HOME

“I toured [by] the Rafah area today and met the commanders and soldiers operating there. I want to remind everyone something crucial -- the murderers [Hamas terrorists] who went to [the Israeli communities of] Sufa, to Holit, and also targeted Yated, Yevul, Neveh, and other local communities, came from the Rafah area. We are targeting [the terrorists] who murdered our children.”

Gallant then detailed the directions he gave to the IDF command as they prepared the operation.

“Yesterday, I directed the IDF to enter the Rafah area, take the crossing, and carry out its missions. This operation will continue until we eliminate Hamas in the Rafah area and the entire Gaza Strip, or until the first hostage returns … We are willing to make compromises in order to bring back hostages, but if that option is removed, we will go on and ‘deepen’ the operation – this will happen all over the Strip – in the south, in the center, and in the north,” Gallant said.

Compiled by AJT Staff

May 19, 1950: Two planes carrying 175 Jews leave Iraq for Israel via Cyprus, the start of Operation Ezra and Nehemiah, also known as Operation Ali Baba. The operation brings nearly 120,000 Iraqi Jews to Israel by January 1952.

Days before his assassination in September 1948, Count Folke Bernadotte (center) arrives in Israel with M. Simon (left) and Ralph Bunche. // National Photo Collection of Israel, CC BY-SA 3.0

May 20, 1948: The U.N. Security Council appoints Count Folke Bernadotte, a Swedish diplomat, to serve as the mediator for Middle East peace. He negotiates a cease-fire in June but is assassinated in September.

May 21, 2017: Shulamit “Shula” CohenKishik, a native of Argentina who spied for the Mossad, dies at age 100 in Jerusalem. Code-named “The Pearl,” she gathered intelligence in Lebanon from 1948 until her arrest in 1961.

May 22, 1975: After President Gerald Ford suspends economic assistance and reduces arms shipments to Israel, 76 U.S. senators sign a letter in opposition to his shift, stressing Israel’s need for enough aid to deter attacks.

Robert Kraft’s Foundation to Combat Antisemitism is airing an advertisement during the NBA Playoffs that address antisemitism at college campus protests // Photo Credit: JTA

Kraft’s Foundation Addresses Campus Antisemitism

By Jacob Gurvis / JTA

(JTA) — An ad decrying antisemitism amid the recent wave of campus pro-Palestinian encampments aired during NBA playoff games, is the latest effort by a national Jewish organization to spotlight threats against Jews at the protests.

The 30-second spot, produced by Robert Kraft’s Foundation to Combat Antisemitism, features images from recent

May 23, 1969: Hanin Zoabi, a member of the Knesset from 2009 to 2019 and the first Arab woman elected from a predominantly Arab party, is born in Nazareth. She works as a teacher and a civil rights activist before politics.

May 24, 1948: Inexperienced troops, including many Holocaust survivors, fail to capture the Jordanian-held hilltop fortress at Latrun in an effort to relieve the siege of Jerusalem 10 miles to the east. Latrun doesn’t fall until 1967.

May 25, 2010: New York’s first Israeli Jazz Festival, a five-day celebration of the Israeli influence on the global jazz scene, begins. The festival features performers such as Omer Avital and Anat Cohen.

May 26, 1924: Congress passes the 1924 Immigration Act, which cuts off most immigration from Eastern and Southern Europe. Without the United States as an immigration destination, Jews increasingly go to Palestine.

demonstrations, including a torn Israeli flag and a sign showing a swastika superimposed on a Star of David. Those images are juxtaposed with more benign protest visuals: peace signs, megaphones and raised fists.

“When you protest, bring your passion,” the ad begins. “Your tenacity. Your anger. But don’t bring hate to the protest.”

The voiceover goes on to encourage protesters to “scream until you’re red in the face, but don’t scream at the Jewish kid walking to class,” and “threaten to change history, but don’t threaten your Jewish neighbor.” In its press release announcing the ad, FCAS said the commercial’s visuals “include examples of hate from recent protests.”

The ad features photos from at least two campuses that have seen unrest: One shot depicts two people wearing Israeli flags as capes opposite Columbia University’s library. Another appears to show a broken window at Hamilton Hall, the Columbia building occupied by protesters. Another shows street clashes near the City University of New York.

May 27, 1911: Teddy Kollek, Jerusalem’s mayor from 1965 to 1993, is born near Budapest. His parents name him after Theodor Herzl. He is mentored by David Ben-Gurion and runs for mayor at his behest.

May 28, 1999: A U.S.-Israeli team discovers the Israeli submarine Dakar, which disappeared in January 1968, broken in half between Crete and Cyprus almost 9,800 feet beneath the surface of the Mediterranean.

1959.

May 29, 1979: Foreign Minister Moshe Dayan speaks to the Knesset about the events that culminated in the Israeli-Egyptian peace treaty. He expresses optimism that normalization between the countries will succeed. May 30, 2009: Ephraim Katzir, Israel’s fourth president, dies at age 93 in Rehovot. Born in Kyiv, Katzir and his family made aliyah when he was 9. A prize-winning scientist, he was elected president in May 1973 and served one term.

Items are provided by the Center for Israel Education (israeled.org), where you can find more details.

Israel Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant (far left, dressed in black) met with IDF commanders and soldiers as they prepared to enter Rafah // Photo Credit: Ariel Hermoni (IMoD)

Menachem Begin casts his

Knesset

Hanin Zoabi made history as the first Arab woman elected to the Knesset as part of an Arab-majority party.

Moshe Dayan and his daughter, Yael, are seen in

US Groups Accused of Aiding Hamas Face Lawsuit

By Dave Schechter

A lawsuit filed in federal court alleges that two organizations — American Muslims for Palestine and National Students for Justice in Palestine — act as propaganda arms for Hamas and have coordinated anti-Israel protests on American university campuses.

“It is vitally important to expose who and what is behind the coordinated campaign that has led to and continues to foment and fund the current campus violence. That is a primary goal of this lawsuit,” Atlanta-based attorney David Schoen told the AJT.

The 49-page suit was filed May 1 in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia by the Schoen Law Firm; the National Jewish Advocacy Center, whose director, Mark Goldfeder, is a senior lecturer in the Emory University Law School and legal counsel for Hillels of Georgia; Greenberg Traurig, LLP, and the Holtzman Vogel law firm.

The suit seeks monetary damages on behalf of nine Americans and Israelis, stemming from the Oct. 7 Hamas-led attacks on kibbutzim, towns, and a music festival in a section of southern Israel, in which 1,200 people were killed and 240 taken hostage. The plaintiffs include six survivors of the attacks, the brother of a man murdered at the music festival, and two people displaced from their homes.

A statement issued by the plaintiffs said: «It is time that Hamas and all of its agents, like AMP and NSJP, be held responsible for their horrific actions. We want to go on record to expose these groups for the terrorists they are and make certain that they are stopped from operating in the United States and other countries they infiltrate.”

Hamas was designated a Foreign Terrorist Organization by the U.S. State Department in October 1997.

American Muslims for Palestine’s website calls the group “a national education and grassroots-based organization, dedicated to educating the American public about Palestine and its rich cultural, historical and religious heritage.” Also known as the AJP Educational Foundation, Inc., it received 501(c)(3) nonprofit status under the federal tax code in March 2010.

The lawsuit asserts that NSJP was founded by American Muslims for Palestine “to control of hundreds of Students for Justice in Palestine chapters across the country” and “uses propaganda to

“It is vitally important to expose who and what is behind the coordinated campaign that has led to and continues to foment and fund the current campus violence. That is a primary goal of this lawsuit,” said David Schoen // File photo

intimidate, convince, and recruit uninformed, misguided, and impressionable college students to serve as foot soldiers for Hamas on campus and beyond.”

In Georgia, anti-Israel protests of varying sizes have taken place at Emory University, Georgia Tech, University of Georgia, Kennesaw State University, and the Savannah College of Art and Design.

AMP and NSJP are accused of providing “material support” for Hamas, thus violating portions of the federal Anti-Terrorism Act. The U.S. code defines “material support” as: “any property, tangible or intangible, or service, including currency or monetary instruments or financial securities, financial services, lodging, training, expert advice or assistance, safe houses, false documentation or identification, communications equipment, facilities, weapons, lethal substances, explosives, personnel (one or more individuals who may be or include oneself), and transportation, except medicine or religious materials.”

The suit alleges that on Oct. 8, the day after the terror attacks, the groups distributed a manifesto that confirms “AMP and NSJP are not merely organizing to assist Hamas' ongoing terror campaign abroad — they are intentionally extending their aid to fomenting chaos, violence, and terror in the United States.”

Schoen said: “The complaint alleges that the defendants answered Hamas’s call to action immediately following the Oct. 7 atrocities, including its call for armed struggle, which is included in the ‘Toolkit’ distributed to university campuses around the country.”

According to the lawsuit, an entry in

Mark Goldfeder, director of National Jewish Advocacy Center and senior lecturer in the Emory University Law School, also serves as legal counsel for Hillels of Georgia // File photo

that “toolkit” declared: “Resistance comes in all forms — armed struggle, general strikes, and popular demonstrations. All of it is legitimate, and all of it is necessary.”

No court date has been set for hearings on the suit.

“We are not in any way, shape, or form challenging the right to speak or the right to advocate through the hate-filled, antisemitic, and anti-American message directed by the defendants and, in fact, that is such an important principle that we make that clear in the complaint,” Schoen said. “But when conduct crosses the line, as alleged in the complaint, and includes violence and threats of violence and murder, that’s not protected speech and the universities have an obligation to protect student safety.”

Goldfeder told the AJT: “This is important because when someone tells you

they are trying to provide material support to terrorists, it behooves everyone to listen. And this is not a Jewish problem. As we have been saying all along, Jews are the canary in the coal mine of intolerance. Already the masks are off and they are chanting ‘Death to America.’ We are confident that, God willing, we will prove everything we need to prove in court.”

Hatem Bazian, chairman of American Muslims for Palestine, told the Washington Post: “We will defend ourselves. The lawsuit is an Islamophobic text reeking in anti-Palestinian racism and resorts to defamation to deflect from the livestreamed genocide in Gaza.”

Christina Jump, an attorney for AMP, told the Washington Post: “AMP will gladly demonstrate in any jurisdiction that it operates fully within the laws of the United States.” ì

Weber Baseball Wraps Historic Season

David Ostrowsky

Apparently, they picked a good year to renovate The Weber School’s baseball field.

This spring, as the Rams took the field at their recently overhauled new ballpark, one now equipped with a robust drainage system, light poles, new foul poles, wind screens, and scoreboard, they made school history, going 16-8 in the regular season – the program has never amassed this many wins in a season – en route to their first-ever postseason appearance.

“I feel like it’s an amazing accomplishment to make history like this and something everyone is proud of,” said Weber baseball head coach Alan NeSmith, a former player at Fayette County High School and Sandy Creek High School who has been coaching baseball at Weber for nine years, the first seven of which as an assistant before he got promoted last season. “Our goal this year was to make the state tournament, with the ultimate goal to win a championship.”

While the ultimate goal didn’t materialize -- Weber got eliminated by Crawford County in the quarterfinals -- its remarkable turnaround from the past few seasons, during which they posted a 2532-1 record, to this signature season, the pinnacle of the program’s 17-year history, is nothing short of remarkable. And, as evidenced by the early rounds of the state tournament, Weber, which made the switch from the Georgia Independent School Association (GISA) to the Georgia High School Association (GHSA) in 2017, was worthy of a postseason berth.

In the first round three-game series against Darlington, Weber bounced back from a Game 1, 11-4, loss to take the final two games behind Josh Wolkin’s complete game shutout in Game 2 and freshman Jeremy Wolf’s 4.2 scoreless innings in Game 3. In the winner-take-all game, first baseman Isaac Brody knocked in the game-winning run to seal the 5-4 series-clinching victory.

Brody, named First Team All-Region as a pitcher this spring, has been saddled by nagging injuries and didn’t take the mound in Round 1. Against Jasper County in Round 2, he only pitched one inning, but the deep Rams’ roster was able

to compensate for their ace’s absence by timely pitching from Wolkin, Wolf, Elan Lieberman, and reliever Sam Rosenthal, who recently returned from UCL surgery last season, and closer Danya Naturman.

Then, there’s the imposing lineup which was cranking throughout the second round against Jasper. During Game 1’s, 18-14, slugfest victory, five different players, including seniors Joshua Greenspon and Rosenthal, slugged homers. On the flip side, throughout the Jasper series, which concluded with a Game 2, 8-6, Weber win – and really the entire postseason – the Rams flashed some serious leather around the diamond, highlighted by Brody’s web gem of an unassisted double play at first base.

Maybe the best part of Round 2 was that Weber was the series host, so the school’s community was able to come out in full force to catch a glimpse of the burgeoning program.

“That was by far the biggest crowd in my nine years at Weber,” said NeSmith. “We had fans lined up and down the first and third base lines and people sitting on the wall behind the bleachers. Even though it was Passover break, students came out and were also an amazing support for the team. For the first round, we had family members travel to Darlington to cheer for us, but through all of the playoffs, our coaches and players have gotten messages and calls from people giving their support.”

Meanwhile, NeSmith believes the

support he and his coaching staff, which includes his son, have received from their upperclassmen has been instrumental in piloting the Rams during this banner year. In particular, the quartet of captains – Greenspon, who plays catcher, Wolkin (he plays all over the diamond, not just pitcher), second baseman/pitcher Rosenthal, and center fielder/pitcher Ethan Goodhart – has been an extension of the coaching staff over the past few months.

“My captains have been amazing,” Weber’s head coach raved. “They’ve all played huge roles in our success this year and are leaders on and off the field. This group of captains has really made our jobs easier as coaches because we can always rely on them.

“The biggest reason is the kids buying into the culture change that no one player is greater than the team. That has helped us move to the ‘We Are One’ mentality. The team really understands that we have to work together to be successful and that means working hard during the season and the offseason. It takes that type of commitment to make the playoffs and compete for a state title.”

One of the great things about the Rams’ run is that their string of sparkling performances has coincided with Atlanta Braves’ ace Max Fried rebounding in dominant fashion from an uncharacteristically bumpy start. It is, in fact, impossible to overstate just how much of a monumental impact Fried has

had on young local Jewish ballplayers such as Weber’s.

“Max Fried has made a huge impact in my life because he has shown me that as a Jewish athlete, I can be anything I want to be,” said Naturman.

Added Brody, “The way Max Fried is able to dominate at the highest level of baseball as a Jew is so inspiring for me and many other young Jewish athletes. The way his confidence and game are never shaken by other people’s words and actions is truly so cool to watch. I aspire to be in his position one day.”

Lieberman wholeheartedly concurred by explaining that “Max Fried is not only an ace, but an inspiration and hero to any Jewish baseball player who has aspirations of playing at the next level.”

Hours after his Game 2 masterpiece against Darlington, Wolkin joined his teammates for a seder to honor the second night of Passover before settling in to watch Fried hurl his own complete game shutout against the Miami Marlins. It was a baseball -- and cultural -- experience he will never forget for the rest of his life.

“Seeing Max do this on the same day as me gives me hope -- as Jews and especially Israel are under constant pressure in today’s media -- to be able to show out on the baseball diamond and represent our people especially on a holy day like the second seder of Passover,” said Wolkin. ì

This spring, the Weber Rams varsity baseball team made school history by punching their first-ever ticket to the Georgia state tournament // Photo Credit: Weber School Athletic Department

MLB Mourns Passing of Ken Holtzman

By David Ostrowsky

Last month, the Jewish sports community lost one of its legacy members when two-time All-Star left-handed pitcher Ken Holtzman – who had more career wins than Sandy Koufax and a lower ERA than Tom Glavine – passed away at the age of 78.

MLB’s all-time winningest Jewish pitcher and the author of two no-hitters (one of which came against Atlanta without a single strikeout), Holzman was a mainstay of the Oakland A’s pitching rotation when the “Swingin’ A’s” won three consecutive World Series from 1972-74 following his solid seven-year run with the Chicago Cubs.

Shortly after Holtzman died on April 14, it was reported by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch (his hometown’s paper of record) that he had been hospitalized for three weeks with cardiac issues.

One of the most celebrated Jewish athletes of the 20th century, Holtzman broke into the big leagues as a 19-year-old for the Cubs in 1965. Indeed, he was still an undergrad at the University of Illinois when he got his first taste of big-league action while playing with future Hall of Famers Ernie Banks, Billy Williams, and Ron Santo against Willie Mays and the San Francisco Giants. Even more impressively, several years later in 1969, Holtzman was serving in the military, yet returned to the Cubs to pitch weekend games. Whereas many pitchers would find the disruption of their routine insurmountable, Holtzman reeled off 17 wins in ’69.

Following his career with the dynastic A’s, Holtzman was dealt to Baltimore along with Reggie Jackson in April 1976, and traded again that season to the New York Yankees. He won another World Series with the Yanks in 1977, though he did not appear in the postseason, and was traded back to Chicago where he would play the final two seasons of his career, one in which he went 174-150 with a tidy 3.49 ERA.

Statistically, Holtzman’s best season was during Oakland’s first championship campaign in 1972, when he finished with a 2.51 ERA. It was also a season in which he was reunited with a longtime friend, Art Shamsky, coincidentally a fellow Jewish ballplayer who also grew up in St. Louis and attended the same high school, University City Senior High, albeit at different times. Shamsky, who stayed close with Holtzman through the years and always made it a point to get together

when he was back home, spoke to the AJT about the decades-long friendship.

“Kenny was a wonderful guy,” shared Shamsky, perhaps most wellknown for being a member of the “Miracle Mets” in 1969. “My relationship with him was great. I have great memories of my friendship with Kenny.

“Whenever I could get him to come meet me, we really enjoyed reminiscing and talking about our youth and our mutual friends, our careers, and our little bit of time together. Our relationship even as rivals was great. [The Cubs and Mets battled for National League supremacy in the late 1960s.] It made for us to be good friends. I’ve always respected his thought process.”

Holtzman was a very thoughtful guy, so much so that he garnered the moniker “The Thinker” from baseball writers of the day and channeled his cerebral nature toward serving as a player representative during the 1970s when Marvin Miller (a fellow towering Jewish baseball figure) and the MLB Players Association secured the right of free agency for players whose contracts had expired. Shamsky recalls Holtzman being a bulldog when it came to advocating for the players’ union.

“I would venture to say that Kenny in some ways was a hard-liner,” Shamsky pointed out. “He knew all the aspects of the negotiations. He knew all about it and was right on top of it. To his credit, he was very adamant about players’ rights and the players association.”

Even long after he retired, Holtzman never felt shy about articulating his true feelings about anything baseball related. In 2007, Holtzman, along with fellow Jewish former big-leaguers Shamsky and Ron Blomberg, moved to Israel to coach in the first (and only) season of the Israel Baseball League. After about six weeks, Holtzman decided he had had enough and returned to the States.

“One of the things that I think affected him in Israel was the fact that the conditions were really not good,” recalled Shamsky. “We all went over there with apprehensions about starting this league in 2007. Baseball was not a major sport in Israel. It was really starting from the ground up. I think he found a lot of problems with the way it went over there. He just did not enjoy it for whatever reason.”

Nevertheless, Holtzman’s abbreviated stay in the Israel Baseball League didn’t diminish his golden legacy on the diamond. He was very good in the regular season and even better come October

as his postseason resume included a 6-4 mark and 2.30 ERA. For good measure, Holtzman also belted a homer in Game 4 of the 1974 World Series, an impressive feat for an American League pitcher at the time as they were no longer hitting in the regular season with the introduction of the designated hitter.

Holtzman’s most memorable pitching performance wasn’t during a World Series for Oakland, but rather on the afternoon of Sept. 25, 1966, when he and the Cubs were going up against Koufax and the Dodgers. In his penultimate start of his sophomore season, Holtzman took a no-hitter into the ninth and ended up

edging Koufax, 2-1. It was a brilliant outing (two hits allowed and eight strikeouts) against a living legend that was a sign of greater things to come.

“I knew when he [Holtzman] signed with the Cubs that he was going to be a really good pitcher,” added Shamsky. “He had great stuff. It was just a matter of time until he got to the big leagues.

“In an era that had great pitching, Kenny was right up there in that era of the late sixties and seventies. Particularly in the National League, they had so many great pitchers back then. He was just a great left-handed pitcher. I had the utmost respect for him as a player.” ì

Ken Holtzman, the all-time winningest Jewish pitcher who the Chicago Cubs refer to as one of their greatest lefties ever, passed away last month at the age of 78 //

Photo Credit: National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum Social Media

Where was Jewish Community on Yom HaZikaron?

Dave Schechter

From Where I Sit

Each year that I attend the annual Yom HaZikaron ceremony, I have the same question. Why do relatively few from outside the local Israeli community attend?

On Yom HaZikaron, Israelis mourned their nation’s 25,050 fallen military and security personnel since 1948, as well as 5,100 victims of terrorism. The next day, on Yom HaAtzmaut, Israelis marked the founding of the modern state of Israel on May 14, 1948.

I remain mystified as to why Atlanta’s Jewish community turns out in significant numbers for “pro-Israel” rallies, but much less so for the Yom HaZikaron ceremony, an event with profound importance for the local Israeli population.

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Such was the case again the evening of May 12, when 1,600 people, most wearing white as a sign of mourning, turned out at the Ahavath Achim Synagogue.

“This year is not like any other year,” Rabbi Joshua Heller of Congregation B’nai Torah said in his role presenting the Yom HaZikaron program. “This year we are all bereaved.”

Yom HaZikaron was particularly painful because of the Hamas-led terror attacks Oct. 7 on kibbutzim, towns, and a music festival in an area of southern Israel known as the “Gaza envelope,” in which 1,200 people (two-thirds of them civilians) were killed and 240 kidnapped.

For all of the outrage displayed in the days and weeks following that horror, seven months later the larger Jewish community conveyed a no doubt unintended, but still unfortunate, indifference to the communal pain of an estimated 12,000 to 15,000 Israelis living in metro Atlanta.

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in a country the size of Israel, the likelihood of knowing the family of a soldier killed in war or the family of a victim of terrorism is far greater.

As I have in the past, I stationed myself at the back of the sanctuary and listened to the voices of people entering and exiting. The congregation again was comprised primarily of Hebrew speakers. To be fair, this year I heard a touch more English, most of it coming from clergy and leaders of various local Jewish organizations and people with familial connections to the Israeli community.

I have checked my annual observation with American friends who also hold Israeli citizenship and are attuned to the sensitivity of this issue.

One of them told that over the years she has heard members of the Israeli community voice upset at the relatively small number of non-Israelis who attend the Yom HaZikaron observance.

The disconnect between Atlanta’s larger Jewish community and the Israelis is never more evident than at the Yom HaZikaron observance.

On Oct. 11, four days after the terror attacks, a rally in Sandy Springs drew an estimated 3,500 to 4,000 people, packing the City Springs Theatre and the lawn outside.

On Oct. 30, some 1,300 people came to Ahavath Achim for a rally in support of the hostages kidnapped three weeks earlier.

On both occasions, there was a noticeable turnout of Israelis, joining with the general Jewish community.

“American Jewish organizations

have not done the best job in making sure that their constituencies are aware of Yom HaZikaron. As you saw over the past seven months, Jewish organizations reached out to all of their constituents for Oct. 7 events. The community needs to take the same approach to Yom HaZikaron, ensuring that there is greater awareness of this important commemoration,” a dual national who has organized such events said.

Those attending the Yom HaZikaron ceremony were confronted with reminders of the Oct. 7 tragedy before entering the sanctuary.

Planted in a courtyard outside were individual photographs of the remaining 132 hostages, of whom nearly 40 are believed to be dead.

In an inside social hall were displayed 29 boards with pictures of nearly all of those murdered on Oct. 7. Nine other boards carried pictures of Israel Defense Forces casualties since the beginning of the ground war in Gaza Oct. 27.

The Yom HaZikaron program ended with a parade by Israeli Scouts carrying the Israeli flag and the singing of “Hatikvah,” the national anthem.

Among the somber faces as the congregation departed were several either crying or wiping away tears. And the language heard as people filed out was overwhelmingly Hebrew.

Looking to next year, those in the larger Jewish community who profess to support Israel can recognize the importance of the Yom HaZikaron ceremony for the local Israeli community by turning out in greater numbers. ì

Pailey Nooromid & Eydie Koonin

Letters to the Editor

The AJT welcomes your letters. If you would like your letter to be published, please write 200 words or less, include your name, phone number and email, and send it to kaylene@atljewishtimes.com.

Letter to the editor,

Disclamer to our readers:

This section of the newspaper is a forum for our community to share thoughts, concerns and opinions as open letters to the community or directly to the newspaper. As a letter to the editor, we proof for spelling and grammatical errors only. We do not edit nor vet the information the letter contains. The individual signing the letter is accountable for what they share.

Starting Sunday, the US, Israel, and Jewish communities around the world will mark Holocaust Remembrance Day.

There will be week-long ceremonies with speeches pointing to the disaster that was and warning that could still be. President Biden will make a speech at a Holocaust memorial ceremony at the U.S. Capitol, an event sponsored by the US Holocaust Museum in Washington, D.C., and attended by other top political leaders.

But left out of remembrances of the Holocaust are many of those who lived it. They will be spending the day in an all too familiar way—with inadequate care, food or shelter with penury and insecurity their constant companions.

Greg Schneider, executive vice president of the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany told Axios that 30% of Holocaust survivors in the US live in poverty. Think of it—almost one third.

I know what that means firsthand. My dearest friend, a 94-year-old survivor, a distinguished journalist who had run out of money before running out of life, passed away a few months ago. And it must have been a relief. He received a small pension from the Claims conference and had another small pension plus Social Security but that wasn’t nearly enough to provide him with the round-the-clock care that he needed or allow him to go to assisted living (minimum $8K a month in DC) or a nursing home ($16K and up). Without proper supervision, he kept falling, going to the hospital, coming home and falling again. In vain, I reached out to every Jewish organization that I could identify, trying to get enough funds for home care. One came up with 16 hours of covered care per week, another pitched in for a one-time authorization of 20 hours. But that was all. The answer was always the same: not enough funds. A Jewish rehab place outside of DC wouldn’t even return my calls. Some of my friend’s former colleagues and friends joined to raise enough to put him in assisted living for 6 months. By that time, assisted living wasn’t enough—the constant falls had taken their toll.  Jewish agencies could have kept him safe but didn’t.

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How is that possible? We certainly aren’t a poor community so why are we treating our Holocaust survivors so poorly?

It was like talking to the wind.

Maybe someone reading this letter will initiate such a program.

Dina Fox, Washington, D.C.

May13,2024

Office 214 Atlanta,

Dear StateCapitol Atlanta,Georgia30334

I suggested to whatever Jewish agency I was speaking to at the time, to try and have wealthy Jews sponsor individual survivors. How long would that commitment be? Instead of giving money for yet another building in their name, the donors could be making a real contribution to their own people and honoring their heritage.

Maybe instead of speeches, there will be action. Then we can mark Holocaust Remembrance Day with clear consciences.

Georgia General Assembly

State Capitol Atlanta, Georgia 30334 May 13,2024

Office of Georgia Secretary of State

214 State Capitol Atlanta, GA 30334

Dear Secretary, Raffensperger,

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StateCapitol Atlanta,Georgia30334

May13,2024

Small businesses and those they employ are the backbone of our state’s economy and the pillars of our communities. They voluntarily sponsor the local teams and clubs and support the adult literacy initiatives, shelters, churches and countless other civic pursuits. They generate millions in local revenue through income, property, occupancy and inventory taxes paid.

OfficeofGeorgiaSecretaryofState 214StateCapitol Atlanta,GA30334

Small communities. shelters, income, The doors Through licenses, State's results The messages The businesses resolve toothin.

The current tough economy presents enough barriers on these critical businesses’ ability to keep their doors open - we will not allow licensing to be another onerous impediment that increases undue burden.

Through countless constituent cries for help we have identified difficulties obtaining and renewing licenses, certifications and other services statutorily mandated and regulated by the Georgia Secretary of State’s Professional Licensing Boards Division (the Division). Website issues hinder the ability to load test results required for certifications and licenses and the application process to obtain and renew licenses. The Division is dismissive at best, literally failing to respond, leaving untold phone calls, emails and messages unanswered. When they do respond it is merely to say they are working on it.

DearSecretaryRaffensperger,

The Division’s abstention of accountability effectively places unnecessary hurdles that are prohibiting new businesses from opening and shuttering existing businesses. Therefore, we are determined to step in and resolve these frustrating inefficiencies they are causing our invaluable workforce that is already stretched too thin.

Aspresiding Committee input causes solutions conclusive From Chairman Leader Chairman Chairman

Sincerely,

Smallbusinessesandthosetheyemployarethebackboneofourstate'seconomyandthepillarsofour communities.Theyvoluntarilysponsorthelocalteamsandclubsandsupporttheadultliteracyinitiatives, shelters,churchesandcountlessothercivicpursuits.Theygeneratemillionsinlocalrevenuethrough income,property,occupancyandinventorytaxespaid.

As presiding officers of the General Assembly, we are leading this effort by appointing a joint Blue-Ribbon Committee to investigate licensing issues within the Division. This committee is charged with soliciting input from the customers the Division is meant to serve, probing the Secretary and staff on the underlying causes leading to these difficulties, and any other fact finding necessary for the development of potential solutions and recommendations. We are requesting they complete their incredibly important work with a conclusive report to be presented no later than December 31, 2024.

From the House:

Chairman Hatchett, co-chair

Thecurrenttougheconomypresentsenoughbarriersonthesecriticalbusinesses'abilitytokeeptheir doorsopen-wewillnotallowlicensingtobeanotheronerousimpedimentthatincreasesundueburden.

Leader Efstration

Chairman Wiedower

Chairman Prince

From the Senate:

Chairman Tillery, co-chair

Leader Gooch

Chairman Walker

Senator Mallow

Throughcountlessconstituentcriesforhelpwehaveidentifieddifficultiesobtainingandrenewing licenses,certificationsandotherservicesstatutorilymandatedandregulatedbytheGeorgiaSecretaryof State'sProfessionalLicensingBoardsDivision(theDivision).Websiteissueshindertheabilitytoloadtest resultsrequiredforcertificationsandlicensesandtheapplicationprocesstoobtainandrenewlicenses. TheDivisionisdismissiveatbest,literallyfailingtorespond,leavinguntoldphonecalls,emailsand messagesunanswered.Whentheydoresponditismerelytosaytheyareworkingonit.

TheDivision'sabstentionofaccountabilityeffectivelyplacesunnecessaryhurdlesthatareprohibitingnew businessesfromopeningandshutteringexistingbusinesses.Therefore,wearedeterminedtostepinand resolvethesefrustratinginefficienciestheyarecausingourinvaluableworkforcethatisalreadystretched toothin.

Aspresiding

officersoftheGeneralAssembly,weareleadingthiseffortbyappointinga

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When Our Children Become Terrorist Sympathizers

Michael A. Morris Publisher's Note

What is happening to our children on college campuses? As opposed to learning have they gotten ignorant?

I am going to begin by saying that I feel for the Palestinian people in Gaza; however, I have zero remorse or tolerance for Hamas. I have as much empathy for members of Hamas as I do for Vladimir Putin, both of whom are killing thousands of innocent people because in their warped brains, they think it’s the right thing to do. I cannot even imagine what planet they live on. But our children on university campuses, what moral code are they exhibiting?

First, it astounds me that they would chant genocidal words about stopping what they perceive, or have been told, is genocide. The hypocrisy is beyond comprehension. Do college students really stand for the genocide of Israel - thousands of students are chanting it. Do our college students understand that Hamas stands for the genocide of Israel and all Jews, is that what they stand for. Do our college students recognize that in Gaza, Hamas demands the death penalty for anyone gay, lesbian or LGTBQ, is this who they want to support? Do our college students realize that under Hamas leadership, women are property, is this the world they want to live in? How can our college students think that supporting a terrorist organization that has been targeting and killing innocent civilians for two decades, wants to commit genocide on all Jews and LGTBQ individuals, and treats women as property is the appropriate thing to do?

Second, why are our college students not concerned about what Vladimir Putin is doing to Ukrainian civilians. Putin is directly targeting civilians (Israel is not). Putin is not providing any safe haven nor any relief (Israel is). Putin has killed 10 times as many civilians as Israel. Putin has kidnapped 10 times as many Ukrainians, mostly children. Are the perceived atrocities by Israel, which are 10 times less than what Putin is inflicting on Ukraine, totally irrelevant to their lives? Is directly targeting and killing 10 times as many civilians OK as long

as you are not Israel? What about Boko Haram? Boko Haram has kidnapped 10,000 children this year alone in Nigeria and has been doing this for over a decade. Where is the moral outrage, where is the concern? Our college students either lack moral clarity or have become terrorist sympathizers.

Third, do our college students not see that the leaders of this movement are not other students but paid adult actors that have come to their campus to do one thing, incite them to violence with twisted lies about a situation that has been going on for two decades? Do they not see that these college riots are being sponsored by the terrorists and murderers they are being asked to support? How does all this just go unnoticed by our children?

What I can understand is that without research, our children might not know that Hamas stands behind Gazan civilians, Hamas uses their own people as shields and even kills them outright if they don’t do what is asked of them. Hamas hides its weapons and command centers in hospitals and schools. Hamas has stolen 90 percent of the aid it has received over the past 20 years so that it could stockpile weapons and build hundreds of miles of reinforced tunnels underground to support war and terror and pays its own fighters handsomely at the expense of the people they are supposed to protect.

Our students also may not realize that Israel does not target civilians, ever (unlike Putin, today and last night, as well as the Myanmar Junta, today and last night, as well as the ruling gangs in Haiti, again, today and last night). Israel is the only country (and possibly the only country in the history of war) that notifies its enemies prior to bombing so civilians can potentially leave. What does Hamas do, makes its civilians stay at gun point or kill them. I am wondering if our students recognize that civilian casualties occur in every war ever fought in human history. There is a big HOWEVER to all this. Over the past six months, college students did not need to do research, all they needed to do was read or listen to the news to learn. Sad to think that reading the news is something our college students do not feel the need to do in today’s day and age. It is my hope that these young and immature children do not really understand what they are saying and doing and that one day, when they have kids of their own, they will wake up and say, “Oh my goodness, what did I do?” ì

Paid for by friends of Justice Andrew Pinson

SCAD Names Bob Weis Executive in Residence Health Awareness from One Mother to Another

The Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD) is pleased to announce that Bob Weis, global entertainment lead for Gensler and former president of Walt Disney Imagineering, has been named the university’s latest Executive in Residence.

“Bob Weis is a luminary who transcends his career in themed experiences and the built environment,” said SCAD Chief Academic Officer Jason Fox. “We are honored to bring Bob to SCAD to engage in futureproofing our academic programs and to prepare students for their creative professions. Bob has been a friend of SCAD for many years, and this new chapter amplifies SCAD’s commitment to preparing the next generation of dreamers and makers.”

Weis brings more than 30 years of leadership in creating, designing, and developing some of Disney’s most iconic projects around the globe. He was responsible for all creative and design aspects of the Shanghai Disney Resort project and has led over 200 major creative projects, including Disney’s Hollywood Studios in Florida.  As global entertainment lead at Gensler, Weis collaborates with the firm’s global leaders to envision and bring to life unique experiences for clients spanning the company’s 33 practice areas, including entertainment, lifestyle, hospitality, retail, sports, mixed use, cultural institutions, wellness, and workplace.

In his new advisory role, Weis will

and former president of Walt Disney Imagineering, has been named SCAD’s latest Executive in Resi

travel to all three SCAD locations in Atlanta, Savannah, and Lacoste, France, where he will visit classes and presentations, critique student work, deliver workshops and lectures, review portfolios, and mentor students. Weis will also provide vision and direction to the SCAD schools of Animation and Motion, Creative Technology, Building Arts, and Design to further their recognition as the preeminent source of knowledge and talent in the disciplines of animation, immersive reality, interactive design and game development, service design, themed entertainment design, interior design, and architecture, among others.

Compiled by AJT Staff

JScreen, a national non-profit public health initiative dedicated to preventing genetic diseases and hereditary cancer, stands committed to saving lives through genetic screening and education. As May marks Women’s Health Awareness Month and Mother’s Day, it serves as a pivotal time for prospective mothers to gain insights into their genetic reproductive risks, empowering them to plan ahead for the health of their future children. It provides an opportunity for women to explore their own hereditary cancer risks and proactive measures they can adopt to safeguard their own wellbeing.

JScreen provides education and easy access to comprehensive genetic testing for family planning and hereditary cancer risk. People can access JScreen’s ReproGEN and CancerGEN tests from home, and results are provided via the program’s telehealth genetic counseling services.

In a poignant testament to the power of genetic screening, a mother-daughter duo from Atlanta, Karen Shmerling and Michelle, recount how their lives were impacted by JScreen. Karen shared how Michelle tested positive for a mutation in the BRCA2 gene, significantly increasing her risk for breast, ovarian and other cancers. Karen then underwent testing, revealing that she also carries a BRCA2 mutation. She opted for a double mastectomy in 2020, greatly minimizing her

Schechter Wins ATL Press Club Award

Atlanta Jewish Times freelance writer and columnist Dave Schechter received a 2024 Award of Excellence from the Atlanta Press Club for his investigative feature, “The Jews of Stop Cop City,” published in March of last year.

The judge’s comments included, “A well reported and moving piece highlighting the many facets of a highly charged community issue. Good job!”

Protesters had set up camp in the South River Forest, opposing the city of Atlanta’s planned construction of an 85acre, $900 million police and fire training center.

While protesting over several months, the contingent of Jews within the decentralized “Stop Cop City” movement celebrated Shabbat and Havdalah, held High Holiday services, built and

risk of developing breast cancer.

Karen emphasized the importance of proactive health management: “Genetic testing offers a lifeline for making informed decisions about our health, empowering us to seize control of our futures.” She acknowledges that while she elected to have surgery, other people may choose vigilant monitoring coupled with tailored preventive strategies to mitigate risks. “By proactively managing our health, we can confront potential health challenges head-on and lead fulfilling lives.”

occupied a sukkah during Sukkot, lit a menorah for Chanukah, planted trees on Tu B’shvat, and gathered for a Megillah reading on Purim.

Schechter captured a Friday night Shabbat service on March 10 led by Rabbi Mike Rothbaum of Congregation Bet Haverim in which approximately 100 of the protesters, both Jewish and nonJewish, gathered to recite prayers in both Hebrew and English.

The Atlanta Press Club’s Awards of Excellence celebrate the best of journalism from the previous year. Awards are given within print, broadcast, and digital categories. Entries were judged by volunteers from the Los Angeles Press Club on quality of content, demonstrated reportorial skill, and the impact of the work.

Compiled by AJT Staff

Bob Weis, global entertainment lead for Gensler

Compiled by AJT Staff

Michelle and Karen Shmerling

A banner strung between the trees near the planned site of Atlanta’s police training facility.

AJT freelance writer Dave Schechter won a 2024 Award of Excellence from the Atlanta Press Club for his article from March 2023, “The Jews of Stop Cop City” // File photo

RootOne Announces Program Expansion

Jillian Gerson Joins AJT Newsroom

RootOne, an initiative of The Jewish Education Project, announced an expansion of its Summer Experience offerings. Now, through partnerships with Mosaic United, BBYO, Young Judea and Alexander Muss High School in Israel (AMHSI), RootOne will support five new, innovative trips for Summer 2024 as it continues to expand the variety of trips it makes available to teens in ways that meet the moment of a post-October 7th environment.

“Our ambition is for every Jewish teen to arrive on their college campus with a deep connection to the Jewish community and to Israel,” said Bernie Marcus, Chairman of The Marcus Foundation, RootOne’s primary funder. “We are building RootOne to be the engine of innovation that will get us there. This expansion initiative will be the first of many.”

Creation of a robust and diverse set of experiences is a cornerstone of RootOne’s strategic vision and the postOctober 7th landscape has accelerated the pace of innovation. “Going dark is not an option,” said Simon Amiel, Executive Director at RootOne. “Our team and our partners have come together in remarkable and creative ways to make sure that this summer, North American Jewish teens will have the opportunity to build

transformative connections with Israel and Israelis. While the summer of 2024 will undoubtedly look different, our support and commitment to our mission remain steadfast.”

In 2020, RootOne launched with a voucher model that significantly reduced the cost of immersive Israel programs for teens. The programs are most often threeweek experiences that take place in the summer and are coupled with preand post-trip educational content. This summer, however, RootOne is expanding its menu of experiences. In partnership with Mosaic United and Young Judaea, RootOne will bring Israeli teens to the US for the first time to experience the Hadracha and Merkaz programs at Camp Tel Yehudah alongside their American peers. The Hadracha program, which focuses on leadership and activism, includes a four-day trip to Washington, DC to meet with elected officials.  Participants also take on leadership roles at the camp in Barryville, NY throughout the summer and are deeply immersed in Israeli culture and Hebrew language. The Merkaz program, which also takes place at Tel Yehudah, focuses on Jewish identity, Israeli history and culture.

Compiled by AJT Staff

Jillian Gerson has joined the Atlanta Jewish Times staff to serve as the paper’s online content coordinator. In her role, Gerson will manage the AJT’s website and social media, and will assist with general editorial assignments.

Gerson graduated from the University of West Georgia in Carrollton in December of 2023 with an Interdisciplinary degree that covered film and television production and lens-based media. Along with her degree from West Georgia, Gerson also earned certification from The Georgia Film Academy.

She was raised in Dunwoody and had her bat mitzvah at Congregation Beth Shalom. For numerous years, was a part of the Marcus Jewish Community Center of Atlanta’s performing arts program.

Gerson has overseen the develop-

ment of social media platforms, podcast networks/shows, along with production for film and television. Her previous titles include producer, content creation, public relations officer, technical director, and production assistant. She has always held herself up with a creative backbone and when she’s not working, she can be found cheering on her favorite team, the Atlanta Braves, and participating in charity and volunteer events with the Georgia 501st Legion.

“Growing up I always remember seeing The Atlanta Jewish Times on our living room coffee table and every few weeks I’d recall seeing a new edition appear. To have the opportunity to join the AJT team is one that I’m very excited to dive into.”

Compiled by AJT Staff

RootOne, an initiative of The Jewish Education Project, recently announced an expansion of its Summer Experience offerings.

Jillian Gerson has joined the AJT staff as an online content coordinator.

Tresh Wins Hawks Hoops Contest

By Robbie Garber

When Jack Tresh stepped onto the court, during the Atlanta Hawks game against the Boston Celtics on March 28, he was ready for his half-court shot.

“I took away the notion of make or miss from my head and was just focused on the mechanics,” said Tresh, looking back on the moment. The 23-year-old Georgia State student had taken a long road to take to get there.

Tresh first got into basketball as a sophomore at Weber, joining a BBYO team. His experience with the sport soon evolved into his primary passion, to the point of going to school for sports media, and even starting a YouTube channel/ podcast called “Hawksology” about his favorite team.

“I’ll still to this day say that Mikey is better at shooting the half-court shot than me,” said Jack Tresh, pictured here making the shot. “I guess I’m just made for the moment.”

But to get a chance at that midgame, half-court shot, Tresh would first have to compete against approximately 100 other Hawks season ticket members. In preparation for this, he and a friend spent hours at the Marcus Jewish Community Center of Atlanta gym practicing the shot.

“For the first 45 minutes of that practice the day before, I couldn’t get it there,” Tresh said. “Meanwhile my friend, Mikey, is hitting rim, center every time.”

However, at the actual competition, Tresh was one of the only competitors to

In darkness and in light, we stand together.

make the shot.

On March 28, the day of the game, he took the shot again. The ball grazed the front rim, then bounced off the back rim and into the net. His rather cool reaction failed to portray the rush of emotions of making the shot and winning $10,000

and a trip to Harrah’s Cherokee Casino and Resort. Eventually, he sat back down, and watched the Hawks narrowly beat the Celtics.

But that wasn’t the end of the surprises left in store for Tresh. The day after the game, he was getting ready to play pickup basketball.

“I’m doing my mobility and stretch routine before I play,” said Tresh, “and all of the sudden my phone is buzzing more than it was after I had hit the shot last night.”

Dejounte Murray, who’d hit the game-winning shot the night before, had quote-tweeted the video of Tresh’s shot, and wrote, “I Need This Guy INFO. I Got Another $10k For Him!!!!”

The two got in contact, and Tresh was suddenly faced with the decision of what to do with $20,000. When asked, he noted that while he’s thinking about investing some of it, and perhaps spending a little on himself, he also wants to donate a large chunk of it to charity.

“Dejounte paid it forward to me,” Tresh said, “I want to continue that.”

Hadassah Hosts 33rd Annual Chesed Student Awards

The 33rd annual Hadassah Greater Atlanta Chesed (loving kindness) Student Awards took place on May 5 at Congregation Or Hadash in Sandy Springs. HGA partnered with JumpSpark to honor 24 of the best and brightest young leaders representing synagogues, Jewish day schools, and organizations in the Greater Atlanta community.

Eighth through twelfth graders are eligible for the award. Each organization chooses its own recipient based on criteria that are paramount to Hadassah and its members: concern for Jews, Jewish culture and heritage; concern for Israel; concern for fellow human beings in manner and deed (menschlichkeit); and good academic standing.

The winner of the 2024 Leadership Award sponsored by Phyllis M. Cohen went to Grace Engel, nominated by Temple Beth Tikvah. As editor of her school’s yearbook, Engel led her team to find ways to ensure that the Jewish Club in her school that had been restricted this year would still be represented as usual in the yearbook. She confronted further antisemitism by seeing

that hand-made Palestinian flags tacked on the hall bulletin board were removed. Her concluding sentence stated: “I will remain confident in my Judaism and stand up for myself and others.”

The 2024 winner of the Community Service Award sponsored by Linda and Michael Weinroth went to Ava Satisky, nominated by Creating Connected Communities. As part of a JumpSpark panel for parents with children entering high school next fall, she gave helpful advice to cope with and handle antisemitic remarks in school. She stood in solidarity with her community at the Sandy Springs rally in support of Israel and the fight against antisemitism. She also engaged her three most active social media platforms to share facts that are informative and beneficial to a broader audience than at school. Satisky believes that like in math, which she loves, there is always an answer to a problem, and even if the answer eludes us, that doesn’t mean we should give up and assume there is no answer.

Compiled by AJT Staff

2024 Hadassah Chesed Student Award Recipients shown with Hadassah and JumpSpark representatives -- (from left, front row): Ava Satisky, Sari D’Agostino, Jordan Perlman, Hannah Levy, Ella Jeffres, Gavrielle Diamant, Alex Bradley, Ellie Widis; (from left, second row): Linda Weinroth, Avishai Fox, Ian Hirsch, Nate Aronstein, Ethan Sherris, Avram Eli Rosenthal, Sophia Rose, Ethan Droze, Sophia Molinari, Abigail Streger, Leora Frank, Isabella Malobe, Grace Engel, Josh Whitehead, Felton Pruitt, Phyllis M. Cohen, Jake Summerfield, Jessie Schwartzman. (Not pictured: Sari Grant) // Photo Credit: Glenn Prince Photography

SENIOR LIVING

Estelle Karp Becomes a Centenarian

By Chana Shapiro

Eighty years ago, while traveling with her mother, young Estelle Mallon was vocalizing in a train rest room when she was overheard by the wife of movie star, guitarist and Mariachi band leader, Tito Guizar. Guizar had been searching for a female vocalist to sing with his band, at the effusive recommendation by his wife, and with the consent of her mother, Estelle was hired to travel with the band throughout the United States as Guizar’s featured singer.

Among many memorable events during the tour, a standout is Estelle’s performance with Guizar’s band, in Mariachi garb, at Carnegie Hall in New York. After graduating from college, Estelle had been accepted to Juilliard; however, her life changed with an exciting life as a performer, then marrying Herbert Karp, who fell in love with her when, as a new recruit in World War II, he heard her performing at a USO show.

Herbert and Estelle were kindred spirits who shared a love of music, gourmet cooking, and a cultured curiosity about the world. They loved to travel. During their travels, they became serious collectors of Asian art, with an emphasis on Japanese Sumida Gawa pottery. Connoisseur Herbert published an important book about the genre, which includes lavish illustrative photography (Herb was the talented photographer.) Their home artistically displayed their

vast collection, much of which is now in a Japanese museum. Estelle’s apartment at the Piedmont in Buckhead is a mini museum of treasures from their travels.

In Atlanta, Estelle’s singing was widely admired. It was often claimed, “If you were married in Atlanta, Estelle Karp probably sang at your wedding.” Estelle’s beautiful voice enlivened celebrations— Jewish and non-Jewish—in Atlanta and surrounding communities. People today still recall her evocative solos as part of the Ahavath Achim Synagogue High Holiday choir.

Today, Estelle is a binding, loving presence for family and “adopted” fam-

ily. Four generations of people who adore her joined in Atlanta to celebrate the 100th birthday of their beloved matriarch and treasured friend.

Estelle remarks, “Love kept pouring in!” For a week, parties and continuous surprises enlivened the days leading up to a sit-down dinner for 40 relatives and special friends “whom I love just like relatives,” Estelle says. Daughter, Lauri, who lives in Atlanta, and daughter, Sharon, who lives in California, each did her part to ensure that every day together was memorable.

The carefully orchestrated events began with a family dinner at the res-

taurant Haven, where a special birthday menu was served. The always-elegant, gracious, and refined celebrant, her daughters, sons-in-law, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren joined together on Estelle’s actual birthdate of March 26. It seems just right that Lauri’s husband, Steve, and Estelle share a special bond: the same birth date. For years at shared birthday parties, letters on Steve’s cake have read “It’s my birthday, too.”

During the week, relatives from Boston, Los Angeles, and Detroit enjoyed visiting Estelle in her apartment. The joyful re-connections and reminiscences were amplified by a surprise on March 28,

Our vibrant Cobb community has so much unrealized connectedness. I’ll be a leader who actively listens and creates opportunities to come together as we build a future we can all be proud of.

Estelle at the Haven birthday party with her cake.

Daughters, Sharon and Lauri, with Estelle at a surprise house visit.

Estelle Karp joined her family and friends for her 100th birthday party at Haven.

when daughters, Lauri and Sharon, took their mother on a mystery car ride. After driving for what seemed to Estelle like hours they pulled into a familiar driveway. Arrangements had been made to visit the house where the Karp’s lived for decades before the girls moved away and Estelle’s husband, Herb died, after which Estelle moved. The house’s present owners invited the threesome to tour the house, capping the visit with a surprise birthday party (cake and crown included) and lots of meaningful catching up, including visits from Estelle’s former beloved neighbors. One set of neighbors brought a bottle of Tanqueray, remembering that it was the Karps’s favorite drink!

The pinnacle event on March 30, was held at Estelle’s favorite restaurant, Ray’s on the River, where 60 family and “like-family” guests dined, toasted, and delivered more surprises.

Displayed on the wall were two of Estelle’s performance dresses from her Tito Guizar touring days, one which she wore at the Carnegie Hall band performance. Clever, poignant centerpieces that were handcrafted by daughter, Lauri, decorated each table: 100 candles were wrapped in a wide band of photographs reflecting Estelle’s long, eventful life. Myriad bouquets, tributes and toasts expressing love and admiration for Estelle’s exciting life and joie de vivre poured forth from the guests. Significant surprise highlights included congratulatory messages, arranged by daughter, Sharon, from Governor Brian Kemp and Mayor Andre Dickens, and a moving expression of affection from 13-year-old great-grandson, Garrett, delighted everyone.

One of the special guests was 99-year-old sister-in law, Betty Karp. Estelle’s connection to her extended family is powerful. Third cousin, Isabella Karp, who had expressed great sadness at not being able to attend the party, made an unexpected visit.

An exceptional gift from close friends (“they’re like my own children”) Genee and Len Jacobs, was clearly a la bor of love; it is a bespoke hardbound book, entitled, “Fabulous Estelle.” Len had always been fascinated by Estelle’s unique life, and his extensive research resulted in the biographical compilation, on which he worked for a year in order to present it to her on her 100th birthday.

Tito Guizar wasn’t the only musicdriven fortuitous happening. Estelle and husband, Herb, had season orchestra seats at the Atlanta Opera in Cobb Coun ty, and they soon became dear friends with Annie and Ron Prescott, a couple whose seats were next to theirs. Estelle calls them her “opera family.” The Karp’s and Prescott’s became such close com panions over the years that the two cou ples had a standing date to dine together at Ray’s on the River (Estelle’s favorite restaurant) before each opera, then at tend the opera together.

Daughter, Lauri, speaks for her fam ily, “To me, this party was an opportunity most people don’t get. To make it to 100 years is an accomplishment, but to be alive and have all present around you professing and showing their love is a gift. As my mother presented me with the opportunity, I wanted to give her that gift. It was just what I wanted it to be.”

Estelle Karp is now preparing to move into a large, renovated space in her daughter and son’s Atlanta home. She looks forward to living with her children, and at the same time she will have her own space, too.

Estelle, reminiscing about her life, had this to say, “I’ve had a wonderful, eventful life, yet I consider most im portant to be the love I shared with my sweetheart, Herbert.”

Estelle’s love of life and optimism have affected so many over the years. It seems appropriate to wish her the classic Hebrew blessing, Ahd mae’ah v’esrim … “to a hundred and twenty!” ì

Genee and Len Jacobs present their “Fabulous Estelle” book to the birthday girl.

Estelle spots handmade centerpiece at her birthday party at Ray’s on the River.

One-Act Play Dances Around Death

By Marcia Caller Jaffe

The Alliance for Jewish Theatre allows creative juices “aflowing” among playwrights, actors, directors and the like, to net-weave and produce meaningful art.

On March 26, director Pam Gold, writer Hank Kimmel, and four actors brought to life, “May God Bless Her,” which dances around death, and the decisions we might have to make about it. The play was presented as a “reading” without benefit of staging and grand motions, but not without the emotions that align with decisions about if and when “to pull the plug” of life support. However, the story does have a lighter side as well, as “Jewish” pastry rugelach runs throughout as a symbol -- who offers it, who eats it, who pledges to consume it in the future.

Given the power of attorney, 20-year-old Hannah (Faina Khibkin) must decide whether to keep her ailing mother alive, as her distraught father (veteran actor Brian Kurlander) along with a rookie hospital chaplain (Carrie McNeal) and young Sephardic Jewish physician (Adir Lev Mann) pull her in different ways.

As background, Kimmel and Gold co-led the Temple Connect theatre group that reads and discusses plays with Jewish themes and plans outings to see live performances.

Gold said, “During the height of COVID, Hank and I worked together with other Temple artists to present a virtual reading of short plays for the High Holy Days.

As members of the Acting Ensemble for Working Title Playwrights, we worked together on the development of some of his other plays.”

Beyond Your Expectations...

combining technology and artistry to

Between an initial two-hour read-through of “May God Bless Her” over Zoom, and two additional in-person rehearsals, the group had rehearsed a total of seven hours.

For the March performance, Gold noted the challenges for staged readings with limitations on blocking, which plays a pivotal part in visual storytelling since actors are somewhat stagnant at music stands in fixed positions.

Gold explained, “As this play speaks to themes of faith, love, loss, grief, and the longing for connection, it was important to physicalize even small gestures like holding hands, a hug, or savoring a taste of imaginary rugelach can speak volumes.”

For Kimmel, his play is personal, as his mother died when he was 18. His father also became fatally ill when he was 20 but didn’t pass away for another 22 years. These events profoundly influenced the content of the play, being a part of a trilogy that Kimmel began in 1986 with, “The Chosen People.” This most recent work is the third and final part.

He stated, “Crafting a play, even a short one, takes me a considerable amount of time, which is why I intend to live a long and healthy life!”

Also an attorney, Kimmel conducts probate mediation and understands the importance of addressing end-of-life matters—legally, morally, and empathetically. While the play comes from his personal space, he observed from the audience’s response that these issues have broad appeal.

And what about the rugelach, be it rhubarb or chocolate? Kimmel uses it as a dramatic bridge. “Whenever I write a play, I consider incorporating a ‘charged’ object -- something tangible that holds significance and impact for each character. Because rugelach is central in the first part of the trilogy (“Closing Time At The Bakery”) … I’d like to think that dramatic action can be traced

Dr. David Mastro

Actor Lev Mann, and Director Pam Gold pose with writer Hank Kimmel

Kimmel, also an attorney, knows the importance of openly discussing matters of end-of-life planning.

through responses to the rugelach, as a cultural touchstone.”

Serving real rugelach at the play created a connection with the audience.

In terms of casting, three out of four actors are members of the Atlanta Jewish Artists Group. Gold said, “Atlanta has a close-knit theatre community, and artists are very supportive of each other and excited to bring new work to life.”

Portraying the young doctor, Mann said, “This piece delved into the theme of grief, which resonated deeply with me, having experienced the loss of my grandfather in childhood. Reflecting on the passage of time and the importance

of cherishing moments with loved ones, the portrayal of a Sephardic character and the connection with Hannah underscored the beauty of our culture. Through my acting, particularly in ‘Prayer for the French Republic,’ I’ve had the privilege to represent my Israeli American Sephardic background, fostering awareness of the diversity within Judaism.”

The dénouement: Kimmel is contemplating writing another play about the relationship between the young doctor and Hannah and another between the 62-year-old father and Dr. Aucoin (an unseen character who treats the mother). Rugelach anyone? ì

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Gold worked around the limitations of a “reading” since actors basically stand in place.

The “social worker,” the “father,” and “the daughter” hash out deep emotions.

Expert Shares Estate Planning Tips

By Laura K. Schilling

A Last Will and Testament (also known as a Will) is one of the most important documents a person should have, yet so many people procrastinate about signing the documents. People believe they do not have enough assets, or they are too young (18 and older) and do not need a document. This is a mistake.

A Will enables a person to pass assets to their desired beneficiary. When someone passes without a Last Will and Testament then this may cause additional issues for their loved ones. If an asset is held in the deceased individual’s name that asset will pass through probate (proving of the Will) and then to the beneficiaries in the estate documents. Any assets held in joint name, in a trust name, or name a beneficiary will bypass the probate process and go straight to the beneficiary with a death certificate.

Every state has different laws. If you move to a new state, you should consult an attorney and update your estate documents. Some states make probate more

difficult than others and probate is more expensive in certain states. Georgia is typically a simple probate and not expensive. Therefore, you may not need to avoid probate in Georgia. Without a Last Will and Testament probate becomes a more cumbersome process for your loved

ones, adding time and expenses. There are many types of trusts. Testamentary trusts are ones that do not exist until a person passes. They are usually found inside a Will. Irrevocable Trusts are set up now and typically cannot be changed. This type of trust is commonly used to remove the value of life insurance in your estate for estate tax purposes. Your estate is valued at assets minus liabilities plus life insurance. If the Irrevocable Trust owns the life insurance the value is removed from your estate. This trust avoids probate for the assets owned by the trust.

You may wish to add a Revocable (also known as a Living) Trust as another document. If you add this document and all of your assets are joint or name a beneficiary or this Trust acts as the owner of the asset, then no probate may be necessary. The Revocable trust turns Irrevocable upon the Trustor’s incompetence or death (whichever is first). The Trustor is the person who makes the trust. A Revocable Trust may use the Trustor’s Social Security number and include these assets on the Trustor’s income tax return. The Trustor also has access and control over the assets. Upon your incompetence or passing, the trust becomes irrevocable and receives a new federal identification number, files its own income tax return and whoever Trustor names as successor Trustee then has the control and access to the assets.

Wherever you own real estate you are subject to probate. To avoid probate in a second state, the Revocable Trust may be named as the owner of the real estate. If you own an LLC with real estate outside of Georgia, then the Revocable

Trust may act as the Member of the LLC to avoid probate in another state. There are a lot of types of trusts and reasons to have one or not have one. You should consult an attorney if you have questions. You should update your estate documents when there is a death of anyone you named in your documents or if your circumstances change, including moving to a new state. This is general information, and you should consult an estate-planning attorney regarding your specific situation.

Two very important documents are the Advance Directive for Health Care and a Durable Power of Attorney (aka Financial Power of Attorney). These documents are relevant while you are alive and every person 18 and older should have them in place. Most attorneys will include these in your estate planning package.

A good starting point is to complete a questionnaire and submit it to an attorney. One example is located at: https:// www.estateinnovations.biz/new-clientdocuments. When interviewing attorneys look at their credentials at the state bar. The website, https://www.gabar.org/ membership/membersearch.cfm, is also a good tool. ì

This story was written by Laura K. Schilling, Esq, CPA, CSA founder of Estate Innovations. Laura has been practicing estate planning over 25 years. Laura also is the owner and founder of Financial Innovations a wealth management and financial planning firm, www.financialinnovations. biz. This is general information, and you should consult your attorney prior to making any decisions.

There are many issues to consider with estate planning, including preparing a Last Will and Testament.

Catering Mogul Turns to Artsy Retirement

By Marcia Caller Jaffe

What does Clive Bank have in common with Sylvester Stallone, Tony Bennett, and George W. Bush? During and after a stellar career, they all turned to the canvas, paint, and palette to express themselves through art.

In the case of Bank, he most recently divested (and officially retired) from the top-tier catering company, Added Touch and A Kosher Touch. Now, in addition to his golf games, he is studying and painting with world famous artist Zheyna Gershman, an art historian, educator, and artist born in Eastern Europe. Being Jewish, she practices tikkun olam -- most recently in her tribute to those caught in the throes of the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

Around two years ago, Bank joined his sister-in-law, Karin Mervis, featured in the Atlanta Jewish Times Chai Style Art column (November 2018) as an artist and art instructor in her own right. She convinced him to take Zoom lessons with her teacher, Gershman.

Bank said, “Karin spoke very highly of Gershman. Every artist in our group is

encouraged to develop their own style. We are basically studying important artists, ranging from Vermeer and Rem-

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brandt to Degas and Picasso and many others, with an emphasis on Impressionism.”

Every Wednesday night for 2½ hours, Bank joins his group of between six to nine students who range from beginners to professionals. Gershman selects the piece that they study and re-create. Via Zoom teleconferencing, students are encouraged to use charcoal, pastels, gouache, and inks. Bank prefers charcoal on tinted paper and usually completes a piece in two weeks.

He said, “I draw for relaxation and because I enjoy creating art. Every piece evokes different emotions. My studio is in our dining room. I have done about 100 studies with Zheyna, and I’m proud of them all. I’ve documented them and miss the ones I no longer have.”

Mervis commented, “I have had art teachers my entire life, learning multiple mediums, across multiple states and countries … for me, discovering Zhenya has been life- changing for my personal art journey. Zhenya’s exceptional ability to teach on Zoom, not only enhanced growth in my art process … each class was fun, social, and rewarding. Including learning intriguing techniques of the most talented artists. I found much value in re-creating old masters.”

Gershman resides and works out of both her Los Angeles and New York studios. She is most well known for her stunning, captivating large portraits and is in private collections of machers like Donald Simon and Richard Weissman. In the

public sphere, she has participated in Art Aspen, Art Miami, and Art Chicago. She appears in the book, “Picasso to Pop,” and in the J. Paul Getty Research Institute. She was selected by the GRAMMY Musician Grace Foundation to create iconic portraits of mega stars Bruce Springsteen and Bob Dylan. Her portrait of Sting hangs in a museum in Santiago, Chile.  She was featured on “Entertainment Tonight” and in the New York Post. Gershman started an art movement, “Brushes over Bottles,” and her painting, “First Face of War: Intimate Portrait of a Ukrainian Teacher,” sold for six figures with all the proceeds benefiting humanitarian efforts in that war. As an art historian, educator, and activist, she stated, “It is not the eyes that are windows to the soul, rather art itself is an opportunity for the soul to be the window to our eyes.”

Just recently Bank flew to meet with Gershman and said, “I finally met her this March in New York where I visited her amazing Manhattan studio and accompanied her on a private guided tour of the Metropolitan Museum. It was unbelievable because of her incredible knowledge and understanding of the art.”

Bank concluded, “In my retirement I will continue with classes because I can never reach an end goal. Each piece is like starting over again. And right where we had our seder -- mounted on along the wall, hangs many of my pieces.”

Gershman, who charges $100 per session, is not currently accepting new students. ì

Clive Bank poses in front of two of Gershman’s huge paintings.

Clive met artist and teacher Zheyna Gershman in New York where they toured the Metropolitan Museum.

Bunny Maron Looks Back Through Her Poetry

By Bob Bahr

Bunny Maron’s life changed forever nearly 2 ½ years ago when her husband, Mell, died in January of 2022. The 91-yearold Maron, who lives at Sunrise at Huntcliff Summit, a senior community in Sandy Springs, was married for 70 years to the love of her life. Even though he was 90 when he died of congestive heart failure, his passing came on suddenly.

“On New Year’s Eve, we were sitting in the corner table at Huntcliff Summit, and we danced, and he kissed me, and we went to bed. And then the next morning, he couldn’t get out of bed,” Maron said.

She sat by his bedside for the next 13 days, as he slipped away, praying from a small book that her rabbi had given her and holding his hand. They had such a full and happy life together, but even after all these years, she was still looking to the future.

“My only regret is that that we didn’t have a longer life together because I felt vital. And I thought he was vital, and I just never. I never really thought he

would die.”

These days, she busies herself with projects that she describes as creative. She paints, does needle point, and performs in a small theater group that performs at her

independent living community along Roswell Road not far from the Chattahoochee. She had a bat mitzvah this summer in Huntcliff’s large activities room and spoke in her speech to the many guests who filled the room, that it was something she had wanted to do all her life.

She’s a great-grandmother and a few months ago there was a brief news item about how she and the three generations of her family had gone to a matinee of “Annie,” the Broadway hit of years past that’s a favorite of her five-year-old greatgranddaughter. And she’s taken up writing about her life now.

When she can’t get back to sleep in the middle of the night, she finds a sudden inspiration to sit at her computer and write reflectively about her life now as a greatgrandmother.

“The outer shell of a Great is cracked,” she wrote in one poem about her life with the youngest members of her family.

“We cannot get down on the floor to play (because we can’t get up). Our fingers are numb, our legs are stiff, and our memories are faded.

“I have 4 Greats. But now the Grands are treating you as a child. Use your walker, use your cane. Take your pill and don’t fall. Don’t fall! Don’t fall!”

She raised three children. They are all successful and happy in life. One son is in the entertainment business and produces movies and television series in London. Another son is an oral surgeon in Atlanta. Her daughter is a physical therapist who helps her clients recover from the effects of facial palsy.

Her husband had been a Hollywood movie executive. He had started out as an

office boy at MGM and had worked his way up to running what were called the “road shows” at MGM. He brought back “Gone With The Wind” when it was rereleased in a 70MM widescreen format with six track stereo sound.

There was an overture at the beginning an intermission in the middle and you made a reservation to see it, just like a Broadway show. He did the same for such classics as Stanley Kubrick’s, “2001: A Space Odyssey,” and “Doctor Zhivago.” Later, he helped introduce martial arts actor, Bruce Lee, to audiences here. He was instrumental in popularizing the Japanese-made “Godzilla” series of films to America. He helped make them so successful that so far, the series has produced 38 films, with the last one, “Godzilla Minus One,” earning an Academy Award for Best Visual Effects this year. She says her husband would have felt proud of the Oscar if he was still around. As it was, he was still trying to promote a friend’s movie just before he fell ill.

Today, she looks back on all that they did together. The travel, the premieres, their life in spotlight on the red carpet and looks, as she did recently, in the mirror at herself, without him, and asks, “Who is the fairest one of all?”

“The old lady in the mirror never answers me back, until one day as I turned away - she said, ‘I cannot answer that question because I cannot see what is inside - if you are kind and loving, forgiving and generous, you are beautiful.’

“I smile at the old lady in the mirror and said, ‘Mirror, mirror on the wall - I feel beautiful after all!’” ì

Bunny Maron (center) and the three generations of her family attended “Annie" at the Fox Theater earlier this year.

In May, Bunny Maron became a bat mitzvah at Sunrise At Huntcliff Summit in Sandy Springs.

Singing Senior Also a Fencing Master

By Robbie Garber

The first thing Ira Levy will show you when you step into his apartment at Huntcliff Summit is his music room, where he keeps a stand with printed music and a keyboard — which he moves aside to get to the closet. Inside, there are over half a dozen blades, mostly epees and foils, which are still in good condition despite being obviously well-used. Levy shows them, as well as several of his medals, trophies, and other fencing memorabilia, as he describes how he got started at the sport.

When he was around 15, and injured from a high jumping accident, he got to witness a cousin of his fencing in the street near his home. He decided the moment he saw it that as soon as he was feeling better, he wanted to fence.

He started fencing foil both in New York’s Public School Athletic League (PSAL), and under the tutelage of Maestro Giorgio Santelli, at his New York club. Because of this level of commitment, he excelled at the PSAL, meeting every week-

end at Washington Irving High school.

“I don’t think I lost a bout,” he chuckled.

He attended NYU after high school, where he fenced for their foil squad under coach Julio M. Costello — but his fencing career was briefly interrupted when World War II broke out and he volunteered for the Army. Between tak-

ing part in a number of vital battles in the war — including storming the beach at Normandy — and performing during R&R — including venues such as Verdun Opera House — Levy found he had very little time to practice bladework.

“That’s a blur!” he joked, eager to discuss fencing again.

When he returned from the war, he met his future wife, Arlene. The two, who have now been married 75 years, settled down to start a family — but this didn’t slow Ira Levy’s fencing in the slightest.

What could have been the peak of Ira Levy’s career came in 1952, when Santelli invited him to come train for the Olympic team.

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“If I went, I’d have to go for a month. My boss said to me — my uncle — ‘Enjoy it, but you won’t have your job when you come back.’”

As he was married with two kids, and this being before the time that Olympic athletes were actually paid for their performance, the choice was simple. But Ira Levy had the last laugh.

“When all these guys [Olympians] came back there was a three-weapon championship,” Ira Levy said, “I beat every one of them. Every one. I didn’t lose a bout.”

Ira tried to share his passion with the rest of his family, with little luck. Arlene Levy had tried fencing briefly in college, and decided it wasn’t for her. The Levy’s son tried fencing at around 14 years old but stopped shortly after.

“One guy said to Howard, ‘Boy, you’re just like your father,’” said Ira Levy, “and that was the kiss of death.”

He was, however, able to impart his love of music to his son; two-time Grammy-award-winning pianist/harmonica player Howard Levy still finds time to join a few of his father’s bi-monthly sing-

ing performances at Huntcliff.

Ira Levy continued fencing foil into his 70s, when the Levy’s were involved in a terrible accident.

“A drunken kid driving on the Marine Parkway bridge crossed lanes, smashed into the front, landed on the top, and crushed the car with us in it,” Arlene Levy recounted.

Afterwards, Ira couldn’t lift his right arm high enough to fence. Undeterred, he trained to fence left-handed, utilizing entirely different stances/techniques than he had spent most of his career learning. It took him close to three months, but it meant he could keep fencing. And keep fencing he did, even after moving to Florida, and switching to primarily fencing epee — a different blade, with different rules, than he had tended to use for the last 60 years of his fencing career. The oldest veteran’s league at the time was 70-plus, and Ira Levy continued to beat fencers who were soon 10 or 20 years his junior, well into his 90s.

Now 101 years old, although his left hand can still easily hold and use a blade, mobility issues have made it too difficult for Ira Levy to move up and down the piste. But just because he’s no longer fencing himself, doesn’t mean he’s no longer involved. In February, he visited Dunwoody Fencing Club, immersing himself in the world of fencing again, and taking the chance to offer younger fencers a healthy dose of inspiration and advice.

“You got to have that mentality that goes with your fencing. It’s a lot of work. And you will improve as your opponents improve,” said Ira Levy, speaking from experience. “You should always fence against a better opponent — what you consider a better opponent. You learn from that.” ì

Ira Levy, suited up in epee fencing gear.

Ira (right) and his wife, Arlene Levy.

Atlanta is chock full of interesting “movers and shakers” - some bent on creativity, activism and/or just plain having fun and living the good life. Lean in to hear some of the “off the cuff” remarks as to what makes Susan and Steve Sadow tick.

Steve is a nationally recognized criminal defense attorney. His 44-plus year career includes numerous high-profile clients including 45th President Donald J. Trump, rappers/entertainers TI, Rick Ross, Gunna, and Usher, Howard K. Stern (Anna Nicole Smith’s boyfriend/attorney), and Steve Kaplan (Gold Club owner). In 2020-2024, Steve was selected by Atlanta Magazine as one of the Top 500 most powerful, influential leaders in Atlanta.

Susan is a workers’ compensation claimants attorney. She began practicing in 1981 and started her own firm in 1992, which is now named Sadow & Froy. Susan has been recognized as a Georgia Super Lawyer since 2006 and by Best Lawyers in America since 2003, including being selected 2024 Lawyer of the Year. Her spe cialty is catastrophic injuries. She is also a certified mediator.

The Lowdown I Bet You

Didn’t Know …

Susan & Steve Sadow

Steve was raised in Trotwood, Ohio, and Susan in Englewood, N.J. Steve moved to Atlanta in 1976 and Susan in 1978. They met at Emory Law School and married in 1980. “Papi” and “Grammy” have two sons, Rob and Jon, and five grandchildren. Both sons attended The Epstein School and Woodward Academy, and graduated college out-of-state. The Sadow’s are members of Congregation B’nai Torah.

Learn what these two barristers have in common … or not.

Who’s more argumentative?

Steve: Susan is.

Susan: Steve is.

Who was the better student at Emory Law School?

Susan: I attended all my classes and was the better student. Steve went to no classes except those related to criminal law. Steve didn’t even take the Bar review course. I worked hard; Steve had too much fun.

How did you meet and who asked whom out first?

Susan: Steve was two years ahead of me. He went to my first-year orientation social to scope out the women. He was smitten and asked me out the next day.

Steve: Guilty as charged.

So how do you two relate at home?

Susan and Steve: Like a couple that has been married for 43-plus years. Compromise and respect.

Do you talk about law at home?

Steve: Yes, but our practices are completely different. I understand what she does but know nothing about the medical aspect of her workers’ compensation practice.

Susan: He tells me about his clients’ cases, and then we disagree on what the outcome should be. I would not be Steve’s ideal juror.

What do you two for fun?

Susan: We both love to travel and dine at fine restaurants. I enjoy skiing, hiking, yoga, and Pilates. And spending time with our five grandchildren.

Steve: I’m a pretty competitive pickleball player and a much less competitive golfer. We both love hanging out with friends and family at our place in Aspen.

Who’s reading/streaming what?

Susan: I’m reading “Annie Bot” by Sierra Greer. I stream nonaction shows – currently “A Gentleman in Moscow.”

Steve: I read legal fiction. I stream any action adventure where someone is killed in the first five minutes. As you can imagine, we rarely watch anything together because we can’t agree on what to watch.

One silly thing no one knows about us is …

Susan: He is a frustrated hairdresser.

Steve: Susan’s idol is Julia Child. She thinks she is an expert at guessing the value of items on “Antique Roadshow.”

Do you two align politically?

Susan and Steve: Most of the time.

Steve: But she tends to remind me that I represent the 45th President in his case in Fulton County.

The most important thing we agreed on is …

Susan and Steve: Raising our sons to be independent, self-reliant, and proud of their Jewish heritage.

ARTS & CULTURE

Widespread Welcome Locally for ‘Irena’s Vow’

By Bob Bahr

Atlanta audiences across the metropolitan area had an opportunity last month to watch “Irena’s Vow,” the inspiring Holocaust drama that opened this year’s Atlanta Jewish Film Festival.

The film, which describes how a teenage Polish nurse saved the lives of a dozen Jews by hiding them under the noses of the Nazis, came with a high ticket price at the festival opening. Tickets cost $180 each, but a screening the next afternoon was regular price.

Last month, Fathom Events, one of the top distributors of special programming to movie theatres in North America and more than 35 other countries, promoted two days of screenings - including five in local Atlanta-area AMC theaters. Some of the venues, like AMC Avenue Forsyth and the AMC Barret Commons, far from the Atlanta city center, don’t often screen Holocaust films.

The CEO of Fathom Events, Ray Nutt, described the film as “a powerful and moving story.”

“We are not only proud of our partnership to show this film,” Nutt said, “but also the ability to give audiences the added video pieces with Irena’s daughter, the

star, the director, and more. It gives the film a deeper perspective and audiences will definitely find value.”

been as bad as it was. The conversation with the Holocaust denier changed her life.

The national distribution the film has received from its North American sales rep, Quiver Distribution, is unusual for a Holocaust film, particularly one that is a Polish and Canadian co-production.

The distributors even went so far as to carve out publicity budgets aimed at faith-based venues like churches and church supported education institutions. There are even marketing plans specifically aimed at Catholic institutions. A media campaign aimed specifically at each audience has been developed by public relations firms that specialize in each of these religious markets.

The co-presidents of Quiver Distribution, Jeff Sackman and Berry Meyerowitz, have made a determined effort to get the film in front of as many filmgoers as possible.

“From the moment we read the script over seven years ago, we were determined to find a way to make ‘Irena’s Vow’ a reality. Little did we know how much more important Irena’s story would be amid the massive increase in Jewish hatred and bigotry around the world.”

Helping to get the word out about the film is Irena’s daughter, Jeannie Opdyke Smith, who was born after her mother married an American and came to the United States after the war. She said her mother never mentioned her Holocaust experiences until she received a phone call from a student who was authoring a paper, denying that the Holocaust had

“She was so shocked that someone who wasn’t even alive during that time had been brainwashed,” her daughter said. “I remember her standing there holding the phone receiver and just kind of looking at my dad and in a daze saying, 'all these years that I’ve kept silent, I’ve allowed evil, and I’ve allowed the enemy to win. And, you know, it was there that she said, from now on, I’m not going to be silent.'”

She began speaking about her experiences during the Nazi occupation of Poland and how she determined early on to do whatever she could to save the lives of Jews. She wrote a memoir, “In My Hands: Memoirs Of A Holocaust Rescuer.” The book became the basis for a Broadway play that starred Tovah Feldshuh and that play has become the basis for the film. Her story, by the playwright Dan Godon, has been republished with a new cover promoting the movie.

Long before Irena died in 2003 she was awarded Israel’s highest tribute to a civilian hero, its Medal of Honor, which was presented to her in a ceremony at Jerusalem’s Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial.

She’s also been honored as a Righteous Among The Nations by Israel’s Holocaust Commission and been posthumously awarded the Courage To Care citation of the Anti-Defamation League and the Commanders Cross - the Medal of Honor, Poland’s Medal of Honor. The film has been well received criti-

The real woman, Irene Gut Opdyke, always believed that what she did was part of a divinely inspired plan.

“Irena’s Vow” is an extraordinary story of personal heroism.

cally. It boasts an 86 percent rating on the Rotten Tomatoes review site and won the audience award at the Vancouver International Film Festival. Plans for its debut on streaming services platforms have not yet been announced.

Irena’s daughter says she was surprised by all the attention she received.

Her mother believed that what happened and how it happened was all it was meant to be. Her religious faith, her daughter says is what kept her going.

“She believed that everything that came to her. Everything that happened was how it was supposed to be. And it was her path in life.” ì

“Irena’s Vow” tells the story of how a young Polish Catholic woman selflessly saved a dozen Jews in the Holocaust.

CALENDAR

May 15 - June 10

Reading a Rainbow of Values - Counting the Omer is a Jewish tradition spanning from Passover to Shavuot, emphasizing personal growth through exploring values such as Kindness and Humility. Reading a Rainbow of Values is an MJCCA family program that enhances this tradition by suggesting a different children’s book to read together every day during this time between the holidays. Each book reflects one or more values, to foster growth and meaningful conversations. Find out more at https://bit.ly/4cWDHoM.

WEDNESDAY, MAY 15

Rosh Chodesh Monthly Women’s Society - 10:30 a.m. Rosh Chodesh Monthly Women’s Society at Chabad of North Fulton. Led by Devora Leah Minkowicz. Learn more at https://bit. ly/49ZjhbG.

Hadassah Greater Atlanta Game Day - 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Put together your own table of players or join a table with new friends. Remember to bring your own tiles, racks, shufflers, cards, and scrabble board. Play, Eat, Shop & Enter the Drawing for Fabulous Gift Baskets! Register at https://bit.ly/49U6M1n.

NCJW/ATL Spring General Meeting and Installation Brunch - 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Please join us for our Spring General Meeting and Installation of New Board officers for 2024-2025. The brunch will be at a private home. Visit https://bit.ly/4bjZ1mb for more details.

ACT Session - 12 to 2 p.m. Gathering for JWFA’s 5th cohort of the Agents of Change Training (ACT) program. Learn more at https://bit.ly/45RyhYE.

Counting the Omer - Books in Bloom - 4:30 to 5:30 p.m. Read Leo the Late Bloomer Reading. Participate in Paper Flower Making. Get more information at https://bit.ly/49zeA8j.

THURSDAY, MAY 16

Brain Health Bootcamp – 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Join a Fun, Social Class to Strengthen Your Mind and Body to Stay Sharp! With age serving as the greatest risk factor for cognitive impairment or memory loss, JF&CS is taking action with the Brain Health Bootcamp. The first of its kind in Atlanta, it is designed to provide memory enhancement techniques through cognitive stimulation, physical exercise, education, and socialization. Join by visiting https://bit.ly/3tPwMs3.

SUNDAY, MAY 19

Hadassah Greater Atlanta Health Professionals Food Safety - 1 to 2:15 p.m. Better to be safe than sorry, what you don’t know, but should know. Learn valuable information from Guest Speaker, Ellen Steinberg PhD, RD a Food Safety and Security Specialist. Get the Zoom Link by registering at https://bit.ly/3xZ6usI.

Israel Independence Day Party - 1:30 to 4:30 p.m. NextGen by the Jewish Federation of Greater Atlanta is hosting a Yom Ha’atzmaut Celebration for young adults. We will celebrate Israel Independence Day at Sweetwater Brewery where you can enjoy beer/seltzers/ kosher wine, Israeli bites, great music, and even better company! Join young adults (aged 22-40) from around Atlanta to celebrate our special home- Israel! Register at https://bit.ly/3UmO8cB.

JIFLA Lawn Games with Merrie - 6 to 8 p.m. Celebrate with us as we show our appreciation to Merrie Edelston for her 10 years of outstanding leadership as head of the JIFLA Loan Committee and her dedicated service as a Board member. RSVP at https://bit. ly/3JCjo2q.

MONDAY,

MAY 20

The Jerry Siegel Legacy Golf Tournament *With Pickleball - The Jerry Siegel Legacy Golf Tournament is named in memory of and to honor former President of the Board Jerry Siegel, z”l. A life trustee for Atlanta Jewish Academy (then GHA), Jerry continued to lead at the school even after his term of service was over. It is a testament to his legacy that the first honorees of the golf tournament named for him were his sons, Andy and Michael Siegel. Learn more at https://bit.ly/3y0jePR.

TUESDAY, MAY 21

AJC Atlanta’s 80th Annual Meeting - 12 to 1:30 p.m. In today’s troubled world, it is crucial we speak with a powerful voice to educate the world about the dangers of antisemitism, protect Israel, and safeguard the rights and freedoms of all people. As a valued AJC leader, you will play a pivotal role in helping to advance our mission and defend our values. Our board meetings are an opportunity to gather with one another, learn from experts and guest speakers, and take action. If you know your schedule in advance and are able to register for all five meetings, we encourage you to do so. A virtual option will be available. We strongly encourage you to attend each meeting in person to get as much as possible out of the experience. Register at https://bit. ly/3UnBGZZ.

WEDNESDAY, MAY 22

Jewish Women’s Torah and Tea - 7:45 to 8:45 p.m. Join the Jewish Women’s Circle of Decatur for a weekly discussion on the Parsha and contemporary Jewish issues. Find out more at https:// bit.ly/3T8oR4B.

THURSDAY, MAY 23

Knit and Crochet Group - 1 to 3 p.m. Join Dor Tamid and crochet and knit beanies for premature babies from home. Learn more at https://bit. ly/3VY3R1j.

FRIDAY, MAY 24

Tot Shabbat - 5:30 to 7 p.m. Tot Shabbat at Congregation Dor Tamid is a Shabbat Program geared for children to laugh, meet new children, make new friends, and explore the wonders of Judaism in an exciting fun way! The service is filled with songs, prayers, blessings, stories, snacks, and a place where a kid can be a kid when they pray to God. RSVP at https://bit.ly/3rBmduN.

CANDLE-LIGHTING TIMES

Torah Reading: Emor

Friday, May 17 Light Candles at: 8:16 PM

Saturday, May 18 Shabbat Ends: 9:16 PM

Torah Reading: Behar

Friday, May 24 Light Candles at: 8:21 PM

Saturday, May 25 Shabbat Ends: 9:22 PM

Torah Reading: Bechukotai

Friday, May 31 Light Candles at: 8:25 PM

Saturday, June 1 Shabbat Ends: 9:27 PM

SUNDAY, MAY 26

Kabbalah and Coffee - 10 to 11 a.m. NEW SERIES: Exploring the Mysteries of Kabbalah and Life. A Weekly Study Series with Rabbi Eliyahu Schusterman IN PERSON ONLY and Broadcast on YouTube. Learn more at https://bit. ly/4aXgHVd.

The World of Kabbalah - 10 to 11:30 a.m. What is Kabbalah? What are its core concepts? How do they apply in real life? Many Jews searching for spirituality are intrigued by Kabbalah. They wonder if the centuries-old esoteric study can illuminate some of their ontological questions or contemplative thoughts. Explore the course at https://bit.ly/4aXPKk5.

Kabbalah Café - 10:15 to 11:30 a.m. Fuel up your week with the transformative teachings of Kabbalah as you enjoy a gourmet hot breakfast and coffee bar. You’ll study text-based spiritual wisdom that gives you practical guidance to living a healthy and empowered life. Find out more at https://bit. ly/4b888GK.

MONDAY, MAY 27

Jeff’s Place Cafe - 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. Need a place to host your Monday-morning business meeting? Looking to meet a friend for breakfast and coffee? Craving some bagels and lox before heading into the office? Join Jeff’s Place by learning more at https://bit.ly/3IRgve6.

TUESDAY, MAY 28

Brain Health Bootcamp – 11 a.m.to 1 p.m. Join a fun, social class to strengthen your mind and body to stay sharp! With age serving as the greatest risk factor for cognitive impairment or memory loss, JF&CS is taking action with the Brain Health Bootcamp. The first of its kind in Atlanta, it is designed to provide memory enhancement techniques through cognitive stimulation, physical exercise, education, and socialization. Join by visiting https://bit. ly/451GNDC.

WEDNESDAY, MAY 29

Torah Class - 8 to 9 p.m. A weekly Torah class for men and women. Snacks for the body and soul with the Mitzvah House. Register at https://bit. ly/4bhIL5f.

THURSDAY, MAY 30

MACoM Annual Meeting - Celebrating Partnerships - 7 to 8:30 p.m. Join MACoM in celebrating our community partnerships as we conclude a tremendously successful year. Dessert and drinks will be served. Learn more at https://bit.ly/3QoS0c0.

FRIDAY, MAY 31

Dive Into Shabbat - 5 to 7 p.m. All are invited to celebrate Shabbat at the MJCCA outdoor pool and splash pad! The open swim begins at 5:00 followed by Shabbat songs and blessings with Rabbi G at 6:00 pm followed by grape juice, challah, and ice pops! Bring your own dinner and purchase drinks/ treats at the snack bar. Find out more at https://bit.ly/49YThgH.

KEEPING IT KOSHER

Butternut Squash Kugel

This kugel is so delightful; I know you’ll make it again and again! It appeals to all ages with its creamy texture and heavenly crunchy topping. It freezes well, too. Check out our complete collection of Rosh Hashanah recipes for mains, sides, soups, desserts, and more inspiration for the holiday.

Ingredients

Kugel

2 medium butternut squash, peeled and cubed

1/2 cup soy milk

1 cup Glicks Flour

1 cup sugar

3 eggs

1/2 cup oil

Topping

1/3 cup brown sugar

1/8 cup Gefen Ground Walnuts

1/8 cup ground pecans

1/4 cup Glicks Flour

2 tablespoons margarine

Directions

Prepare the Kugel

1. Steam butternut squash in a little water until soft, approximately 45 minutes. Cool, drain, and puree.

2. Transfer butternut squash puree to a mixing bowl and add the soy milk, flour, sugar, eggs, and oil. Blend together with a blender stick.

3. Pour into a 7×11-inch baking pan lined with Gefen Parchment Paper or greased flower-shaped ramekins, as pictured here.

4. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit (180 degrees Celsius).

5. Combine topping ingredients in a small bowl and crumble over kugel. Bake for 45 minutes.

Notes:

Coconut milk can be substituted for the soy milk.

Source: Kosher.com

Recipe by Brynie Greisman

Photography: Daniel Lailah.

Food Styling: Amit Farber.

The Poison

Saul goes to see his rabbi, and says, “Rabbi, I think my wife is poisoning me. No, I know she’s poisoning me.”

The rabbi says, “Calm down.”

Saul replies, “No, I know! But I don’t know what to do. I need your advice.”

The rabbi says, “Well, give me a chance to talk to her and then I’ll get back to you.”

Three days later, the rabbi calls Saul, and says, “I had a long talk with your wife. We talked for several hours.”

Saul says, “Yes … and what’s your advice?”

The rabbi says, “Take the poison.”

YIDDISH WORD

Ivy-fardeiget

n. Anxiety over pressure to get into an Ivy League college.

“Morty has such a case of ivy-fardeiget that he thinks he is already on the brink of failure at the age of 15.”

Fardeiget is Yiddish for “angst.”

Note: Due to the rise of antisemitism on several Ivy League campuses, this joke may have worn out its usefulness.

What Flows in Israel

By: Yoni Glatt, koshercrosswords@gmail.com

ACROSS

1. B’way box office buys

5. Rabbi Shneur Zalman’s land

10. Medicine dose, perhaps 14. Mother of Yair and Avner 15. Air spray targets

16. Its lowest point is the Dead Sea 17. Israel’s pleasant smelling drinking chocolate?

19. Flight attendants, captain, etc.

20. You might ask her about sports scores or the weather

21. Comaneci of gymnastics

23. “CSI” forensic scientist Gris-

som

24. Israel’s best mud?

29. Grocery line contents

31. “Eureka!” relatives

32. Danish physicist Bohr

33. Late great Jewish singer born Oded David Graucher

34. Be’eri to Ofakim dir.

35. Take off a tie, perhaps

36. Israel’s queen of suds?

39. Office of the wicked Pius V

42. NFL blockers and catchers

43. Angers, but good

47. Cow in Israel

48. 1970 and 1972 Conn Smythe

Trophy winner Bobby

49. Chatting on Insta

50. Israel’s strongest condiment?

53. %, for short

54. Actors James and Scott

55. Bull-riding event

57. Sharon, to some

59. Conclusions of difficult situations...or another title for this puzzle

63. Nachshon or Netanel, e.g.

64. Having no clue

65. Get together

66. Part of a flower

67. West Yorkshire city

68. Chances

DOWN

1. Org. people line up for?

2. Literal Jew, of a sort

3. Bullied online

4. Equal

5. From around here

6. Uncommon words at a Jewish wedding

7. Notable anti-Israel member of the US gov.

8. Unmanned planes

9. Both of his parents were prophets

10. 2013 Guillermo del Toro sci-fi film

11. Poe poem that sounds “zionistic”

12. Not be on the up and up

13. Court field

18. Sacks or cans

22. “Death Be Not Proud” poet

John 23. Hanasheh preceder (kosher term)

25. “All ___ of You” (“Phantom...” song)

26. “Phantom...” locale, in England

27. Goliath killed his sons (midrash)

28. If you have this, you already knew this answer

30. 2005 Idan Reichel Project hit

34. Cunning

35. Ramaz ‘hood

37. Big name in halva

38. Jewish last name suffix

39. HMO alternative

40. Batteries for remotes, perhaps 41. Dead-on

44. Got red, maybe

45. Like some spy messages

46. Abbr. in a Beatles album

48. Like some training

49. Yikra of song

51. King David alternative

52. Places

56. You might be shown one before a purchase

57. “Jeopardy!” monitor display: Abbr.

58. Disney’s Remy, for one 60. “The Waste Land” poet initials 61. Often inspiring talk

62. Most letters of the alphabet, in DC

OBITUARIES

Estelle Wexler

102, Atlanta

Estelle Wexler of Atlanta, Ga., and San Rafael, Calif., passed away on April 29, 2024. The daughter of David and Florence Weiss, Estelle was born May 18, 1921, on a family farm in Sharon, Penn., where she lived with her parents and five brothers and sisters. She later moved to Erie, Penn., where she had the good fortune to meet and marry the love of her life, Sidney Wexler. They had four children and had many wonderful years in the Erie until they retired to Oldsmar, Fla.

Sidney passed away in 2008 and subsequently Estelle moved to Atlanta and lived at the Hammond Glen Retirement Community. Estelle was a homemaker, a brilliant bridge player and an avid golfer. She was also an active member of the B’rith Shalom synagogue in Erie and a strong supporter of the Gertrude Barber Institute and Hadassah. Estelle inspired her family and community with her kindness and was happiest when surrounded by her children, six grandchildren and five great-grandchildren … and she loved to dance.

She is survived by her children, Carol Ross, Donald Wexler (Miriam) and Howard Wexler (Sharon); grandchildren Amy, Dana, (Jeff), Julie (Andy), Emily (Philip), Rachel and Brian; great-grandchildren Noah, Isabelle, Savannah. Aubrey and Benjamin; and many nieces, nephews, and cousins. Daughter, Laurie Wexler, predeceased her in 2020. Funeral services were held at Curlew Hills Memory Gardens in Palm Harbor, Fla. on Friday, May 3 at 1 p.m. In lieu of flowers donations may be made to Hadassah, Alzheimer’s Association or the Gertrude Barber National Institute

Obituaries in the AJT are written and paid for by the families; contact Editor and Managing Publisher Kaylene Ladinsky at kaylene@atljewishtimes.com or 404-883-2130, ext. 100, for details about submission, rates and payments. Death notices, which provide basic details, are free and run as space is available; send submissions to editor@atljewishtimes.com.

William Herschel Wisebram 94,

Cartersville

William Herschel Wisebram, age 94, Cartersville, Ga. died May 11, 2024.

Born in Thomaston, Ga., Herschel graduated from the University of Alabama in 1953 after a pause for Army service. In his youth, his family moved around the South, until they took root in Piedmont, Ala. But he found his home in the city of Cartersville when he came to work at WBHF, the radio station he managed and later purchased. Under his leadership and vision, this small broadcast station won unprecedented statewide accolades for quality programming and civic engagement.

By the time he retired in 1999, Herschel’s voice was easily recognized and loved by generations of Cartersville Purple Hurricanes fans. But Herschel’s engagement with the community was much broader. He was a civic leader, serving as a long-time programming chair for the Cartersville Rotary Club; President of the Cartersville-Bartow Chamber of Commerce; and dedicated philanthropist for the Etowah Education Foundation, Inc. and other local arts, culture, and historical institutions.

He also taught his family many important life lessons such as: It never rains on the golf course (thanks to three terms as President of the Cartersville Country Club); Everything tastes better when grilled on a boat in a Lake Allatoona cove; Alabama football is always Number One; and any best day includes a scoop of chocolate ice cream.

He will be remembered most for his sense of gratitude, a value he always expressed enthusiastically, without reservation, to his family, friends and caregivers.

Above all, Herschel was a deeply devoted family man. Survivors include his loving wife of 55 years, Ruth Stein Wisebram; son, Barry Wisebram; daughter and son-in-law, Alisa and Ted Kesten; son and daughter-in-law, Neal and Debi Harris; daughter, Ellen Harris and son-in-law, David Zinn; grandchildren: Evan (Amanda) Kesten, Dov (Anna) Kesten, Abbey (Ariel) Rom, Dustin Harris, Bailey Harris, Charlotte Harris, Jaren Zinn, Amalie Zinn and Sophie Zinn; great grandchildren: Lila, Millie, Charles, Harry, Kira and Ruby, nephew Ralph (Tenagne) Daniels and niece Robyn Daniels. In lieu of flowers memorial donations may be made to Etowah Education Foundation, Inc. https://www. etowah.org/ Sign online guest book at www.jewishfuneralcare.com. A graveside service was held on Monday, May 13, 2024, at 11:00 a.m. at Greenwood Cemetery. Arrangements by Dressler’s Jewish Funeral Care, Atlanta (770) 451-4999.

CLOSING THOUGHTS

What’s in a Number? Really!

Shaindle

Schmuckler

Shaindle’s Shpiel

Various experts in their fields have given all of us these new and sometimes outrageous expectations. Have you heard? And in case you are living under a rock and have not heard the news … 80 is the new 70, and 70 is the new 60, and 60 is the new 50 and so on and so and forth.

We read about and even know folks who are living way past one hundred, yes 100! We can no longer say you should live Biz Ah Hundert Un Tvahntsick (you should live to 120). Of course, simply saying this to someone is no guarantee. Consider there are many folks who do not have the desire

or patience to live Biz Ah Hundert Un Tvahntsick . Living to be 100 might be just perfect.

I myself live in the 50-something world. (If you believe this, I have the exclusive listing to a beautiful bridge in Paris I can sell you.) Given I allow myself to live in a state of deluded numbers, you are free to validate this “truth” by simply asking any one of my four girls, I can claim any number I feel like on any given day, and believe me I do, believe me I do! And miracle of all miracles, this proclamation also takes years off my girls’ ages. If I am not careful, I will soon be changing diapers again (Oy).

In a world where the proliferation of senior adult living communities, assisted living and memory care facilities are popping up all over the country like popcorn, our decisions and choices of how we choose to live our alleged “golden” years, or some refer to this time in our lives as the third act, can be overwhelming. However, these options cer -

tainly bear out the fact we are all in for a long, sometimes bumpy road.

If you follow medical breakthroughs and, of course, the most reliable of sources for anything of real importance TikTok, (I am not referring to the sound of a clock), you will have heard the extraordinary news that there are new ways of injecting poisons into our face or body parts. I will only mention one of these, as the others are beyond my meager comprehension or vivid imagination.

This new method involves mining the eggs of salmon, yes salmon, the kind that swim upstream, the kind you find in a can at your local grocery market, or even the lox we all shmear with cream cheese on our bagels. Of course, should you choose the salmon route, there is no proof, as of this moment in time, your swim prowess will in any way become more elegant or that your swim strokes will suddenly seem stronger, and I won’t even bother mention -

ing your diving techniques.

A few facts about salmon before you call your dermatologist: Adult salmon spawn in freshwater, where female salmon lay thousands of eggs that are fertilized by male salmon. Spawning can occur in spring, summer, fall, or winter and depends on the salmon species. After spawning, adult salmon die and their bodies provide nutrients for the freshwater ecosystem. Still considering the salmon shots as beauty enhancement?

Age is just a number after all, isn’t it? Aging is a natural part of life. I’ve heard there are many, less fishy ways of staying young.

My girls must be having belly laughs reading this mishigas (craziness). So, allow this youngster to share my wish for all my dear friends, my dear readers whom I consider friends, all of whom wonder about my own mishigas , you should be well and happy.

Biz Ah Hundert Un Tvahntsick. ì

ENGLISH/GERMAN TRANSLATOR

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Upscale Living

Is Downright Fun

If you are craving an independent, maintenance-free lifestyle, then join us at Heartis Buckhead. Our luxurious and modern amenity spaces and apartments, our many outdoor patios, and the downtown walkability of our location allow you to spend quality time with your neighbors, friends and family as you decide which of the various activities on our monthly calendar you would like to explore together or individually.

You have the freedom to design your day around your preferences. Call us at (678) 870-4908 to learn more about how our seniors live well, or to RSVP for our Garden Party on Wednesday, June 12.