SJL Deep South, February 2018

Southern Jewish Life

February 2018 Volume 28 Issue 2

Southern Jewish Life P.O. Box 130052 Birmingham, AL 35213 Judah Touro (aka Robert Applebaum) at the opening of the historical display at Touro Synagogue in New Orleans. Story, page 43.

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January was a very dramatic month.

It started with the improbable 2nd-and-26 in the college football national championship game, then continued with the playoff-ending Play That Shall Not Be Viewed Again against the Vikings.

Shifting venues, the drama soon moved to the New Orleans City Council, as we describe in detail in this issue.

Most people aren’t following Middle East politics particularly closely, so we feel the need, in our weekly emails, to refer to the “anti-Israel boycott” movement rather than rely on the acronym BDS, “boycott, divest and sanction.”

In New Orleans, a lot more people now know that acronym, thanks to the recent drama over a resolution that was written as a feel-good, “baseball, hot dogs apple pie and Chevrolet” piece, but was a Trojan Horse to let in the anti-Israel BDS movement.

Councilor Jason Williams, who had a large role in the resolution’s passage, and then subsequent withdrawal, expressed the desire that both sides of the debate could come together on the basic, positive sentiment of the resolution as written, keeping BDS out of it.

In the proponents’ about-face from the resolution being about BDS to it being universal, several despicable allegations were hurled at the Jewish community and other supporters of Israel, from Islamophobia to nefarious political control to outright murder.

Recently, many in the BDS movement have insisted one can’t be a feminist and a Zionist.

Similarly, the resolution’s proponents charged that the Jewish community is against human rights, especially for Palestinians, because of the resolution’s reversal.

Of course, the Jewish groups explicitly stated they want to work with all people, Palestinians included, but disagree with the idea that BDS will solve anything.

Unfortunately, this is a microcosm of Israel’s situation right now — trying to talk to someone who is more interested in grandstanding, political points and hurting Israel than making progress for the betterment of the long-suffering Palestinians.

shalom y’all shalom y’all y’all shalom

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February 2018 • Southern Jewish Life 3

opinion

MESSAGES

Maccabi USA leader praises Birmingham Games

MESSAGES

February 2018

Southern Jewish Life Southern Jewish Life

2018Israel I have had the honor of attending many Maccabi competitions around February the world. From PUBLISHER/EDITOR to Australia to South America, Europe and the JCC Maccabi games around the United States Lawrence M. Brook editor@sjlmag.com Report and Canada,from I haveJerusalem logged many miles seeing how sports can be a vehicle to help build Jewish identity, especially in our young.

ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER/ADVERTISING r of attending many Maccabi competitions around the world. From Israel I felt honored to come to Birmingham for the the United first time and fell in love with not just the city PUBLISHER/EDITOR Lee J. Green lee@sjlmag.com merica, Europe and the JCC Maccabi games around States Lawrence Brook editor@sjlmag.com but the people.

You sports have taken Southern to aJewish new level with your kind andM. caring ged many miles seeing how can be a vehiclehospitality to help build Even cinemas by Brenda to E. the Brasher ADVERTISING SPECIALIST approach JCC Maccabi Games. ur young.

Annetta Dolowitz annetta@sjlmag.com ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER/ADVERTISING have improved Led the Sokol and Helds, your hard-working volunteers Lee J. Green lee@sjlmag.com e to Birmingham for the time and fell in love with just the citywere enormously sincewonderful. They partnered In thebymiddle offirst October, I made aliyah fromnot CREATIVE DIRECTOR withOrleans. yourhospitality outstanding staff, led

by Betzy Lynch, toI and make the 2017the JCC Maccabi games a huge hit. e takenNew Southern a new level withhusband your kind firstcaring visited Shortly to after arriving, my Ginger Brook ginger@sjlmag.com ADVERTISING SPECIALIST I want to takeinto this his opportunity as executive director Maccabi accabi Games. cityofover two USA de- to say thank you on behalf and I moved two-bedroom apartment Annetta Dolowitz annetta@sjlmag.com of everyone involved. cades ago. thehard-working Arnona neighborhood Jerusalem.

SOCIAL/WEB Helds, in your volunteersofwere wonderful. They partnered Life in JerusaSince the first week of December, people Alexis Polack connect@sjlmag.com I had just returned from the 20th World Maccabiah games inhit.

Israel with a U.S. delegation ofCREATIVE DIRECTOR staff, led by Betzy Lynch, to make the 2017 JCC Maccabi games a huge is far from from theofU.S. andJewish elsewhere ginger@sjlmag.com over 1100,inwho joined 10,000 fromlem 80 countries.

Back in July the Ginger eyes of Brook the entire ortunitychecking as executive director Maccabi USAathletes to sayhavthank you on behalf PHOTOGRAPHER-AT-LARGE perfect.

Themonth city with 1000 athletes and en’t asked about the apartment, my health, local Jewish world were on Jerusalem and the Maccabiah. This past Rabbi Barry C. Altmark deepsouthrabbi.com SOCIAL/WEB has its food, or from even around about the Theyinmainly coaches theweather. world being Birmingham, you problems became the focal point.

Alexis Polack connect@sjlmag.com om the want 20th World Maccabiah games inJerusalem Israel withafter a U.S.both delegation of unlike other cities. like and Activities are to know how things are in CONTRIBUTING WRITERS community and attimes. large,The including a wonderful 10,000 Jewish athletesfrom fromthe 80Jewish countries.

Back inTrump July the community eyes of theatentire disrupted main highway entrance theEveryone announcement by President Donald Rivka Epstein, Zach Aaronson, PHOTOGRAPHER-AT-LARGE police force, are to be commended.

These games will go down in history as being a seminal erusalem and the Maccabiah. past month from Teland Aviv has been blocked repeatedly bydeepsouthrabbi.com recognizing JerusalemThis as the capital as with Israel.1000 athletes Tally Werthan, Alex Bloch, Rabbi Barry C. Altmark for the Jewish community as we build to the future by providing such wonderful Jewish he worldmoment being in Birmingham, you became the focal point.

To give a clear response to this question is not Charedi protesters demanding an exemption Belle Freitag, Ted Gelber, E. Walter Katz, army service. Several days this past week, amemories. simple matter.

Empirically, theatstatement mere- afrom CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Doug Brook brookwrite.com wish community and the community large, including wonderful and Epstein, garbage Zach Aaronson, lyJed reflects long-established reality.

Every as main Margolis ommended.

Theseagames will go down in history beingsanitation a seminal workers were on strikeRivka BIRMINGHAM OFFICE Tally Werthan, Alex Bloch, piled up. Systemic ethnic branch Israeli government located in Je- wonderful Executive Director, Maccabi community as of wethe build to the future USA by is providing such Jewish discrimination against P.O. Box 130052, Birmingham, AL 35213 Belle and Freitag, Ted Gelber, E. Walter Katz, is inadequaterusalem and has been for decades. Since housing and minority groups occurs, 14 Office Park Circle #104 Birmingham, AL 35223 Brook brookwrite.com addressed. High poverty makeDoug amassing a state’s core political components defines a city lysupremacists would like torates see pushed back 205/870.7889 On Charlottesville funds to run the city quite difficult. as a capital, Jerusalem is ipso facto the capital of the into a corner and made to feel lesser. We stand BIRMINGHAM OFFICE ccabi USA Still,and comparatively, Jerusalem isBox a safe place Israel. The American presidential statement did with NEW ORLEANS OFFICE pray for the family ofP.O. Heather Heyer, 130052, Birmingham, AL 35213 Editor’s Note: This reaction to they the events live.

When an act of violence occurs here, it not tell Jerusalemites anything didn’tin already to 3747 West Esplanade, 3rd Floor Metairie, LA 70002 Office Parkface Circle who was there standing14up to the of#104 this Birmingham, AL 35223 Charlottesville, Jeremy Newman, 985/807.1131 like to see can pushed back receive massive international media attenknow.

It did not written altersupremacists anybyfacts onwould the ground.

205/870.7889 hate. e Master of happening the Alphainto Epsilon Pi Theta Colony TOLL-FREE 866/446.5894 corner and madenothto feel tion, lesser.but Wethe stand rate of violence in the city is signifiA lot is in aJerusalem having NEW ORLEANS OFFICE FAX 866/392.7750 Welower recognize essence of much the American at Auburn University, was shared with and pray by forAEPi theCreative family ofcantly Heather Heyer, than the in the U.S., or of Europe. ing to doinwith an American statement. ion to the events 3747 West Esplanade, 3rd Floor Metairie, LA 70002 connect@sjlmag.com narrative as a two-century old struggle to rid National, which called it “very eloquent” and was there up to the face of this Jerusalem’s problems are rooted in its historical, Jewish spirituality who flourishes herestanding in amazing

by Jeremy Newman, 985/807.1131 ourselvessocial, of suchand corners, and allow those in praised “our brothers at AEPi Theta Colony at hate. political, budgetary disagreements, ways, as do world-class museums.

Intellectual ADVERTISING ilon Pi Theta Colony TOLL-FREE 866/446.5894 them the seat attothe table that they sodiscourse. deserve.

Auburn University and… theofleadership they in response American political life abounds, an outgrowth several Advertising inquiries to 205/870.7889 FAX 866/392.7750 We recognize theexcellent essence of not the American as shared by AEPi It In is the struggle to fulfill the promise of Jerusathe display on their campus. ” for Lee Green, lee@sjlmag.com or short, presidential statement or no, Jerusalem-based universities think-tanks. connect@sjlmag.com narrative asand a two-century old struggle to rid t “very eloquent” and Declaration ofasIndependence, that “allIt men are Annetta Dolowitz, annetta@sjlmag.com lem functions the capital of Israel. is a fasA plethora of great restaurants exists, with espeourselves of such corners, and allow those in endowed by their Creator with ADVERTISING AEPi Theta Colony at Media kit, rates available upon request created equal… cinating, safe, and friendly place to live as well cially exciting ones in andthe around shuk.

Live them seata cancer atthe the table that they so deserve. … the leadership they inquiries White supremacy has been on certain unalienable rights.” Advertising We know our work to 205/870.7889 as to visit. music, dance, and drama are readily available.

SUBSCRIPTIONS the strugglethreatening to fulfill the promise of thefinished, but we know .” forwe Lee Green, or our country since It itsisbeginning, is far from will not lee@sjlmag.com It has always been our goal to provide a Declaration of Independence, that “all men are Annetta Dolowitz, annetta@sjlmag.com its hopes, its values, and its better angels. move backwards. large-community quality publication Media kit, rates available upon request created endowed by their Creator with The events that took place equal… in Charlottesville to all communities of the South.

When men and women, fully armed, take as been arepresented cancer on the worst certain unalienable rights.” We know our work of this nation. Those SUBSCRIPTIONS To that end, our commitment includes Residential and Commercial Services to we thewill streets swastikas and eginning, threatening farstreets from finished, we know notin droves with who marched ontoisthe with tiki but torches It has always been our goal to provide a mailing to every Jewish household other symbols of hate, it is alarge-community reminder of how quality publication d its better move backwards. andangels. swastikas did so to provoke violence and in the region (AL, LA, MS, NW FL), the issues of racism and to anti-Semitism ace in Charlottesville all communities of the South. without a subscription fee. fear. Those who marched onto theand streets did fullyrelevant When men women, armed, take are today.

It is a wake-up call to the work that f this nation.

Those To that end, our commitment includes so to profess an ideology that harkens back to to the streets in droves with swastikas and Outside the area, subscriptions are $25/year, $40/two needs to be done to ensure a better, more streets with tiki torches mailing to every Jewish household a bleaker, more wretched time in our history. years. Subscribe via sjlmag.com, call 205/870.7889 or other symbols of hate, it is a reminder of how provokeAviolence andmen and women of many creeds, welcoming country. But it should in not the come region (AL, LA, MS, NW FL), time when mail payment to the address above. relevant the issues of racism and anti-Semitism without a subscription fee. a reflection on how far we’ve come. ed onto the streets races, and did religionsare were far from equal and call far towithout today.

It is a wake-up the work that y that harkens back the area, A subscriptions $40/two2018. All rights reserved. No part Copyright America slave nation. century are $25/year, from safe in to our own borders. timetowhere needs to be A done ensure a better, more was born aOutside ed time in our history. years. Subscribe call 205/870.7889 of this or publication may be reproduced in into our history we engaged in a warviainsjlmag.com, part Americans lived under a constant cloudBut of it should welcoming country. not come women of many creeds, mail payment to the address above. whole or part without written permission ensure we would not continue as one. We racism, anti-Semitism and pervasive hate.

The far to without a reflection on how we’ve come. from the publisher. Views expressed in SJL e far from equal and far by the2018. issueAllofrights civil reserved. No part events that took place in Charlottesville served found ourselves confronted Copyright are those of the respective contributors and born these a slave nation.

A and century orders. Aastime where of howAmerica rights, embarked on aofmission to ensuremay be reproduced a reminder painfullywas relevant this publication in are not necessarily shared by the magazine into our history we engaged in a war in part a constant cloud of the fair treatment of all peoples nopart matter theirwritten permission issues are today. whole or without or its staff.

SJL makes no claims as to the to ensure we would not continue as one. and pervasive hate. The skin color.We Although we’ve made great strides, from the publisher.

Views expressed in SJL of its advertisers, and retains the Kashrut Auburn’s Alpha Epsilon Pi standsconfronted with the by the found ourselves issue of civil n Charlottesville served it is a mission we’re stillare grappling withrespective today. contributors andright to refuse any advertisement. those of the Jewish community of Charlottesville, andon a mission rights, and embarked to ensure ainfully relevant these are not necessarily shared by the magazine America was also born an immigrant with the Jewish people around the country the fair treatment of all peoples no matter their or its staff. SJL makes no claims as to the Documenting this community, As early as the pilgrims, many and around the world.

We alsoAlthough stand with the madecountry. a community we are members of skin color. we’ve great strides, Kashrut of its advertisers, and retains the on Pi stands with the groups and families found in theright country the minorities who areittargeted by the hatestill thatgrappling is a mission we’re with today. to refuse any advertisement.and active within, is our passion. harlottesville, We love what we do, and who we do it for. opportunity to plant stakes, chase their future, was onand display in Charlottesville. We stand was also born an immigrant around the Documenting this community, and be themselves. Few were met with open withcountry the minorities ofAmerica whom these white country. As early as the pilgrims, many We also stand with the a community we are members of and active within, is our passion. groups and families found in the country the eted by the hate that We love what we do, and who we do it for. opportunity to plant stakes, chase their future, ottesville. standJewish Life 4 We Southern • February 2018 and be themselves. Few were met with open

So Trump made an announcement?

agenda interesting bits & can’t miss events

The weekend of Jan. 26, B’nai Israel in Monroe had its first Kallah, as part of the national Kallah Project. There were 41 members in attendance at the weekend retreat, which included songleading by Nick May and an activity with a Labyrinth provided by the Institute of Southern Jewish Life in Jackson. The Kallah project picks five congregations nationally each year and mentors them. Dothan’s Temple Emanu-El is another recipient this year and will hold its Kallah in late April. On Jan. 30, Kallah Project founder Rabbi Barbara Moskow — who had been at B’nai Israel’s retreat and was going to interview for Dothan’s rabbinic opening the weekend of Feb. 2 — died suddenly.

Pigs will fly again in Birmingham

Opening World Religion Day

Kosher BBQ contest returns, merging with LJCC Jewish Food Festival on April 22 After four years on hiatus, the When Pigs Fly Kosher Barbecue contest returns on April 22, as part of the Jewish Food and Culture Fest at Birmingham’s Levite Jewish Community Center, presented by the Friedman Family Foundation.

The event will also be a community celebration of Israel’s 70th birthday.

The kosher barbecue contest began at Temple Beth-El in 2010, and moved to the LJCC in 2014 when the next door parking lot, which BethEl had been using, became the site for a planned new apartment building.

Each year, about 20 teams competed for the grand champion title, competing in categories such as brisket, chicken, baked beans, booth name and décor. Some teams came from Georgia to compete.

Team registration is $360 before March 6, and includes all meat, the grill and utensils. Registration increases to $460 after March 6, and the deadline is March 27.

The N.E. Miles Jewish Day School’s team, “Jew Hungry Yet?” won the 2014 Grand Champion title.

The festival will also include musical entertainment and educational activities for all ages. As a community-wide event, proceeds will benefit the Birmingham Jewish Federation, LJCC, Beth-El, Temple Emanu-El, Chabad of Alabama and Knesseth Israel

Photo courtesy Stan Carpenter

Agudath Achim Cantor Neil Schwartz and B’nai Zion Rabbi Jana de Benedetti kick off the Shreveport-Bossier World Religion Day ceremony with a shofar blast, on Jan. 21 at the Highland Center.

February 2018 • Southern Jewish Life 5

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agenda Snow postpones part of Mobile film fest For the first time in its history, the Mobile Jewish Film Festival is taking a couple of snow days.

The winter storm that hit the state in mid-January caused the cancellation of two films as the venue, the University of South Alabama campus, was closed.

“Harmonia” will be screened at Springhill Avenue Temple on Feb. 25 at 3 p.m., with Rabbi Dana Kaplan introducing the film. The post-World War II film “1945” has been rescheduled for March 25 at 3 p.m., at Ahavas Chesed, with Roy Hoffman leading a discussion after the film.

Tickets are $8, $6 for seniors and students, and will be available at the door.

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Temple Beth Or in Montgomery will hold its annual Jewish Food Festival on Feb. 25 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. The festival features mostly handmade items, such as rugelach, strudel and mandel bread; hot plates of beef brisket or corned beef deli sandwich plates; matzah ball soup; potato latkes; and quajado.

There is also a bakery area with a wide variety of baked goods, and the quick-selling praline matzah.

Carnegie Deli cheesecakes are imported from New York, and are sold by the slice or by the cake. The congregation also holds a Treasure and Collectible Market in conjunction with the food festival.

Admission to the festival is free.

Hattiesburg chronicling Jewish history Temple B’nai Israel in Hattiesburg is putting together information to celebrate the congregation’s history.

The congregation has a pending application for the National Registry of Historic Places and anticipates being added in the coming months.

They have gathered historic documents for a decade-by-decade history display that will be in the social hall, and urge current and former congregants with pictures or memorabilia to submit them by Feb. 28.

For those who want the items returned, high-quality copies will be made for the display. Otherwise, items can go toward the special collection at the University of Southern Mississippi’s McCain Library.

B’nai Israel was organized in 1915, holding Reform and Orthodox services in its early years, and serving Jewish soldiers at Camp Shelby. The current building dates to 1946.

For information on how to contribute items, contact bnaiisrael901@ gmail.com.

Aviva Goldberg, a fifth grade student at the N.E. Miles Jewish Day School, won the Birmingham City District Spelling Bee on Jan. 18. She competed with the winners from 21 Birmingham city public and private schools.

Her winning word was “cabochon,” which means “a gem that is polished but not faceted.” This month, she will represent the district at the Jefferson County Spelling Bee.

6 Southern Jewish Life • February 2018

agenda

ARE YOU READY TO TRAIN SMARTER?

David Meola to speak in Pensacola The Pensacola Jewish Federation, in association with the University of West Florida’s Department of Arts, Social Sciences and Humanities, will present two lectures by David Meola.

Meola is the Fanny and Bert Meisler assistant professor of history and Jewish studies with the University of South Alabama.

“Mirror of Competing Claims: Exclusionary Violence and Jewish Equality in the German States” will discuss the multiplicity of meanings behind the Haber Affair of 1843; a pair of duels and series of public events that captivated the German press for the better part of an entire year. The lecture will be at the UWF Center for Fine and Performing Arts, Building 82, on Feb. 27. A reception will be held starting at 5:30 p.m. and the lecture will follow at 6 p.m. This event is free and open to the public.

On Feb. 28 at 11:30 a.m., there will be a lunch and learn session at Temple Beth-El, “Beyond the Holocaust — Recovering the Jewish Pastfor Our Present.” The luncheon will begin at 11:30 a.m., reservations are required due to limited seating. A suggested donation of $10 at the door is appreciated.

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There will be a NFTY-Southern 678 retreat the weekend of March 2, for middle school students across the Deep South. The weekend is an introduction into NFTY at the high school level, and will be held at the Henry S. Jacobs Camp in Utica. Registration is $145 by Feb. 21, and is open to any Jewish teen in grades 6 to 8.

The North Louisiana Jewish Federation, Agudath Achim Men’s Club and B’nai Zion in Shreveport are sponsoring a trip to the newly-opened Civil Rights Museum in Jackson, Feb. 18, leaving Shreveport at 8 a.m.

Two years after the Israeli Consulate in Atlanta dodged closure in a restructuring — but Alabama and Mississippi were reassigned from Atlanta to the Miami Consulate when Philadelphia closed — the Atlanta Consulate is facing closure next year in a Foreign Ministry cost-cutting move.

Springhill Avenue Temple in Mobile announced the retirement of Susan Herring, who has run the congregation’s office for 24 years, after the closure of the Mobile Jewish Community Center, where she had previously worked. She insisted on not having a party or receiving gifts, but those who want to pay tribute are asked to make donations to McKemie Place, which works with homeless women.

The Temple Traditions gift shop at Birmingham’s Temple Emanu-El is now online. Purchases can be made online and picked up at Emanu-El, as they are not currently set up to ship. The website is templetraditions.com.

The 51st annual Beth Israel Bazaar in Jackson will be on March 21.

The bazaar features traditional Jewish foods, freezable casseroles, a bakery area, a silent auction, white elephant sale and raffle.

Chabad of Southern Mississippi announced the first Jewish camp on the Mississippi Gulf Coast, Camp Gan Israel, which will hold its first session May 28 to June 1.

Dothan’s Temple Emanu-El will have Neighbor Night, inviting non-Jewish neighbors to learn about Jewish worship, on Feb. 16 at 7 p.m.

Birmingham’s N.E. Miles Jewish Day School will have a Grandparent and VIP Kabbalat Shabbat on Feb. 16 at 1:30 p.m.

Rabbi Douglas Kohn will lead “The Exciting Complexity of Life, Death and In-Between: Medical Ethics and Jewish Law,” a three-part Lunch and Learn series, at Temple Emanu-El in Birmingham on Feb. 14, 21 and 28 at noon. Kohn has written two books on the subject,

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February 2018 • Southern Jewish Life 7

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“Life, Faith and Cancer” and “Broken Fragments: Jewish Experience of Alzheimer’s Disease through Diagnosis, Adaptation and Moving On.” Reservations are requested, participants bring their own lunch and dessert will be provided.

B’nai Israel in Baton Rouge will have a Scout Shabbat and spaghetti dinner, Feb. 23 at 6 p.m., for boys and girls involved in scouting, their siblings and parents. The dinner will be free for all who make a reservation.

The next Cinema Israel in Montgomery will be the acclaimed film “The Women’s Balcony,” March 11 at 3:30 p.m., at Temple Beth Or. There will be a Henry S. Jacobs Camp program during the Feb. 18 religious school session at B’nai Israel in Hattiesburg.

B’nai Israel in Monroe will welcome Rabbi Andy Bachman for services the weekend of Feb. 16. He is senior rabbi of Beth Elohim, the largest Reform synagogue in Brooklyn, and heads Water Over Rocks, which is working to create an Underground Railroad Freedom Trail in New York, and restoration of Jewish cemeteries in Poland and Belarus.

The student-run library at Birmingham’s N.E. Miles Jewish Day School will have a used book sale, Feb. 15 from 7:30 to 8:30 a.m. and 3:30 to 6:30 p.m., after Hoops for Heart, and Feb. 16 from 7:30 to 8:30 a.m., and 2:30 to 3:30 p.m., after the Grandparents and VIP Kabbalat Shabbat. Proceeds benefit the library, which is run by the fifth grade.

Hadassah Emerald Coast in the Fort Walton Beach area will celebrate its 20th anniversary with its annual luncheon and social, Feb. 25 at 1 p.m., with the place to be announced.

Gemiluth Chassodim in Alexandria will have its first Salon Series wine tasting and discussion, “The Role of Wine in Judaism,” Feb. 17 at 6:30 p.m. at the Bindursky home.

Hadassah Huntsville is being reinvigorated, starting with a Feb. 25 “Are You Hungry for More Hadassah? Every Bite Counts” event at the home of Karen Hirsch. Eastern snacks will be provided and there will be news about plans for the chapter. The free event starts at 2:30 p.m.

Rabbi Deborah Zecher will present a musical program, “The Bible on Broadway,” Feb. 25 at 3 p.m. at Temple Emanu-El in Dothan.

The next Wine and Wisdom program with Rabbi Jordan Goldson of B’nai Israel in Baton Rouge will be on Feb. 20 at 7 p.m., at Blend Wine Bar. Topic will be the attitude of the Jewish community toward “messianics.”

The Parent Education Series at the N.E. Miles Jewish Day School in Birmingham continues on Feb. 11 at 10 a.m. with a discussion of developmental milestones and behaviors in children ages 0 to 6. Ilene Kosoff will lead the discussion.

Birmingham’s Temple Beth-El will have a Volunteer Appreciation and Awards Weekend on March 9 and 10, with three newly-created awards: Young Leadership, Jewish Inspiration and Heavy Lifter Volunteer. A Friday night Shabbat Ruach will be led by Rabbi Brian Glusman and Michael Levine, followed by a catered Shabbat dinner. In addition to the regular service on March 10, there will be a Kirtan meditation service at 9:30 a.m.

The Baton Rouge Federation of Temple Youth will have its Auction for Abraham and spaghetti dinner on March 10, where the teens auction their services for odd jobs in the community.

Pensacola’s Temple Beth-El is planning a Shabbat Experience on Feb. 24, with coffee and a nosh at 9:30 a.m., services at 10 a.m., several breakout sessions at 11 a.m. and lunch at 1 p.m.

Al Bloom from the Montgomery Area Food Bank will be the guest speaker at Temple Beth Or’s Men’s Club Shabbat, March 9 at 6 p.m. A wine and cheese reception will start at 5:15 p.m.

“Seamless transition” Michelle Schipper taking ISJL reins from founder Macy Hart This month, Michele Schipper will quietly move down the hall at the Jackson headquarters of the Goldring/Woldenberg Institute of Southern Jewish Life.

Having served as the Institute’s Chief Operating Officer since 2007, Schipper will become the Chief Executive Officer on Feb. 19, succeeding Macy Hart, who founded the organization in 2000.

Hart founded the ISJL as a way to deliver services to isolated and underserved Jewish communities in a 13-state region from Virginia to Texas. The ISJL developed a standardized curriculum for religious schools, provides rabbinic services with traveling rabbis, cultural and historical programs, promotes social action and historic preservation.

Schipper said her immediate goal is “to continue the growth that has taken place over the last several years,” increasing the reach of the main programs.

After a sabbatical over the next few months, Hart will take a new position “to be helpful where needed” and work on projects he did not have time for as CEO. Regarding the transition, Schipper said “To the outside person, it’s seamless — they’re not going to feel an immediate change in direction.”

Every department head in the ISJL’s six departments is continuing, and Schipper had a role in the hiring of each of them. “She’s got her team,” Hart said.

Schipper was selected by a search committee headed by Rayman Solomon, former board chair. Current Board Chair Rachel Reagler Schulman said “No one could ‘replace’ Macy; our founder, visionary, and first leader,” but “our conversations and interview process led us to the conclusion that Michele Schipper was truly the right choice.”

Aside from an initial informational interview at the start of the process, Hart did not play a role in the selection process.

Hart said Schipper innately understands the ISJL’s mission because she grew up in Jackson, and “her family was the center of the Jewish world for a lot of people” through the Old Tyme Deli.

Schipper spent many summers at the Henry S. Jacobs Camp, rising to unit head, and in colAfter sabbatical, lege headed Dream Street, a week-long camp held at Jacobs for children with physical disHart will work on abilities. Hart noted that Schipper’s daughter ISJL projects he directed Dream Street two years ago, “the first we’ve had.” didn’t previously multi-legacy Pursuing a career in Jewish non-profit management, Schipper left Mississippi for Califorhave time to nia, to work as assistant director of Wilshire Boulevard Temple Camps, whose director at accomplish the time was also from Mississippi. She spent 20 years out west, returning to Jackson in 2007 after four years as executive director of the Jewish Community Center of Greater Albuquerque. She had previously run two JCCs in southern California.

“I never really imagined once I left Jackson that there would be an opening for me to return,” she said. “I was a Jewish professional, what would I be able to do here?”

Hart said he kept in touch with Schipper, especially when she came home to visit family. In 2007, “I really was looking for some help” with the Institute. “Too much was not getting done when I was gone” because there was a missing puzzle piece in the organization, a “crucial staff member.”

“She really did put structure here,” Hart said, and “this is her organization as much as it is mine.”

What ISJL does Based in Jackson, the Goldring/Woldenberg Institute of Southern Jewish Life serves Southern Jewish communities in many ways.

Community Engagement: Partners with service-based organizations to address a range of social issues affecting everyone in the region, with pilot programs done in Jackson and then the model is made available regionally for congregations of community organizations to replicate. Programs include literacy initiatives, peer mediation in Mississippi schools, and Jewish social justice modules for congregations.

Education: The ISJL developed a standardized religious school curriculum that can be used in schools with hundreds of students or just one. The curriculum is currently used by 76 congregations in 72 schools, with over 4100 Sunday Schoolers “on the same page,” Hart said. Houston and Dallas each have about 1,000 students in multiple congregations using the curriculum. Congregations are required to attend an annual Education Conference in Jackson. Education Fellows spend two years paired with congregations, advising on a weekly basis and traveling to each congregation for a weekend at least three times a year.

History: Preserves the story of Southern Jewish communities, through oral histories, preservation efforts and the online Encyclopedia of Southern Jewish Communities.

Heritage and Interpretation: Promotes Southern Jewish heritage tours, including service learning and alternative spring breaks; has a traveling exhibit, “Bagels and Grits: Exploring Jewish Life in the Deep South”; a Traveling Trunk schools can borrow, filled with lesson plans and artifacts describing the Southern Jewish experience, with trunks available for Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, Texas and Virginia; and workcontinued on page 11 February 2018 • Southern Jewish Life 9

community He added, “Over a decade, she managed to enhance our efficiency, grow our staff, and work alongside the board and me to place the ISJL amongst the most impactful and innovative Jewish organizations.”

Schipper said when she was hired in 2007, “it was a wonderful homecoming,” and succeeding Hart “is an honor.”

She just finished her two-year term as president of Beth Israel in Jackson, and noted that this transition comes in ISJL’s 18th year of existence.

“Getting to continue this legacy and lead the organization into the future is truly exciting.”

In the first 18 years, “we’ve delivered on everything we said we were going to do, and even more that we didn’t think of ” at first, Schipper said.

The board and staff are all “committed to making sure the ISJL continues to succeed on all levels.”

Schipper noted that several staffers, such as past Education Fellows, have returned to ISJL in different capacities. “That says a lot,” she observed. “They are all ambassadors and we take pride” in them.

The Institute began as an outgrowth of Hart’s personal story. He grew up in the only Jewish family in Winona, Miss., schlepping 160 miles round trip every Sunday for religious school. He became active in the National Federation of Temple Youth, meeting Jewish peers from around the region, worked his way up the ranks and was elected as national president in 1967.

During the 1960s, there was a major push to establish a Jewish summer camp in Mississippi, and the Southern Federation of Temple Youth, the local region, was heavily involved in that effort.

As Hart was finishing college, he offered to work for NFTY in New York “for free.” Instead, he was told, the Henry S. Jacobs Camp was becoming a reality, and it was suggested that he work there instead.

In a NFTY alumni interview, Hart said Rabbi Sol Kaplan, regional director of the Southwest Council of the UAHC, was in charge of the camp because “no one would take the director’s job because of the fear perceived in Mississippi.”

This was less than three years after the Temples in Jackson and Meridian were bombed by the Klan, along with the home of Rabbi Perry Nussbaum in Jackson.

Kaplan hired Hart as an administrator for the camp’s first summer, grooming him to take over as director at the end of the summer. He would lead the camp for 30 years.

Jacobs Camp was established as a summer refuge for Jewish kids who came from the numerous small towns around the region, where they might be the only Jewish child or one of a handful in the town. As a place to strengthen Southern Jewish identity, when congregations in the region downsized or closed, they often gifted their ritual items to the camp.

A year after the camp opened, Vicksburg’s Anshe Chesed Temple, which had moved into a smaller building, asked Hart if he wanted the ark from the old building before the building was demolished. The collection grew from there, leading Hart to establish the Museum of the Southern Jewish Experience at the camp in 1986.

As the museum’s role expanded, including its first major public exhibit,

Students at an ISJL partner congregation

10 Southern Jewish Life • February 2018

community “From Alsace to America” in 1998, Hart decided to work on his “dream of trying to find a way to bring services to small and isolated Jewish communities.” That led to his establishing the Goldring/Woldenberg Institute of Southern Jewish Life in 2000, with a black-tie gala announcement at the Audubon Tea Room in New Orleans that September.

Just because he is stepping aside as CEO doesn’t mean Hart isn’t still dreaming big.

There are some goals Hart will work on because he did not get as far on them as he would have liked. Expanding the organization’s endowment is one of the biggest. “I would like for all the departments, Fellows, positions, to be named so the time can be spent on program delivery and not having to continue to raise all the dollars,” he said.

He also would like to take the education curriculum to the next level — year-round learning. When ISJL developed a standardized curriculum for religious schools, it was done with the idea of having a basic Jewish literacy available to communities of all sizes, a “secular-world approach to Jewish education.”

What about summer? “None of the movements have a mandated curriculum for summer camps,” he observed. Camp can be a “launch of the year ahead or culmination of the year behind,” and standardized plans can be developed for a camp setting.

He also would love to see a “Camp Birthright” effort to place as many Jewish 4th and 5th grade students in summer camp, “highly subsidized.”

Another component would be a savings plan for an Israel trip, which the Jewish teen movements offer. By 11th grade, Hart explained, the campers have developed deep friendships, and then they do six weeks in Israel with those friends, having a much deeper experience than 7 to 10 days in college. “They grow up together. They go to Israel together. It’s a hands-on field trip.”

He also reached back to a vision he expressed at the 2000 introduction — replicating ISJL in other regions, such as an Institute of Midwestern Jewish Life. He recalled that ISJL “had to do it one department at a time, selling theory.” But now, they have the structure and the model to replicate.

He also wants to be an ambassador for the organization in its 13 states, telling the ISJL story. “We’re well known on a national level in the Jewish organizational world,” including being perennially listed in the Slingshot Guide of most innovative Jewish non-profits, “but in the grassroots places where we are making an impact, they have no idea who we are.”

Schipper also wants to see a greater awareness of the Institute. She said she wants to get to where the reaction that ISJL gets shifts from “I had no idea” to “continue the good work.”

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Rabbinical Services: Rabbis on the Road provides rabbinic services to communities without Jewish professionals, including a multi-city Passover Road Trip. The Institute usually has a resident rabbi making these trips, along with visiting rabbis from around the country who do Southern tours.

What About the Museum? The Institute grew out of the Museum of Southern Jewish Life, which was housed at the Henry S. Jacobs Camp in Utica from 1986 to 2012. The museum was officially spun off into its own separate entity last year and will open anew in New Orleans in 2019.

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As proponents of R-18-5 press posters against the window, Arnie Fielkow addresses the New Orleans City Council during the Jan. 25 meeting.

Middle East Conflict

How a seemingly-innocuous human rights resolution thrust the New Orleans City Council into an international tumult On the face of it, Resolution R-18-5 was just another feel-good resolution that City Councils like New Orleans’ pass every so often.

The resolution, presented by Councilmembers Jared Brossett, James Gray, Stacy Head, Jason Williams and Mayor-elect LaToya Cantrell, was described in the Jan. 11 agenda as “Encouraging the creation of a process to review direct investments and contracts for inclusion on, or removal from, the City’s list of corporate securities and contracted partners, according to the values of the City as referenced in this Resolution.”

After the 5-0 vote to adopt the resolution, though, the Council quickly became embroiled in an international battle that it did not anticipate, as the resolution was characterized as its backers as being a major victory for the anti-Israel Boycott, Divest and Sanction movement.

After a contentious two weeks, culminating in a heated discussion at the Jan. 25 Council meeting, there was a unanimous vote to withdraw the resolution, with the resolution’s proponents making heated charges about the Council and the Jewish community, and denying their previously-stated intent to target Israel with the resolution.

The resolution, which does not explicitly mention Israel or the Middle East, notes that New Orleans was declared a “welcoming city” in 2015 “to create a more inclusive, receptive city environment for all local populations” and the city “commits itself to protect, respect, and fulfill the full range of inherent human rights for all, as set forth in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and numerous other international human rights instruments.”

It continues by stating New Orleans “has social and ethical obligations to take steps to avoid contracting with or investing in corporations whose practices consistently violate human rights, civil rights or labor rights, or corporations whose practices egregiously contradict 12 Southern Jewish Life • February 2018

efforts to create a prosperous, educated, healthy and equitable society.”

Therefore, the resolution, which is non-binding, said the Council “encourages the creation of a process to review direct investments and contracts for inclusion on, or removal from, the City’s list of corporate securities and contractual partners, according to the values of the City as references in this Resolution.”

Where did it come from?

The resolution was listed at the end of the published agenda for Jan. 11 as “under suspension,” but was addressed after a vote to suspend the rules, toward the end of a six-hour Council meeting.

Ironically, the Council meeting had started with a presentation by the Jewish Federation of Greater New Orleans, which was then honored by the Council with “a special proclamation for their tremendous philanthropic work and positive impact on the entire New Orleans community.”

The resolution’s history goes back to January 2017, when the New Orleans Palestinian Solidarity Committee worked with other social action groups in New Orleans, under the concept of “intersectionality” or shared struggle, to present a list of demands to the city after President Donald Trump’s immigration order.

On Dec. 12, NOPSC held a protest outside City Hall. Max Geller said after months of inaction by the council, the Palestinian group “has taken the step of writing our own resolution because we were sick and tired of waiting for the city council members to do their job.”

After a press conference, group members distributed their resolution to the council members, and Cantrell expressed interest in working with the group. The resolution that passed on Jan. 11 was a shorter version of the December resolution.

The December protest came just days after

community Trump declared that the United States would recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, so numerous speakers decried that decision.

Tabitha Mustafa, a NOPSC organizer, said Jerusalem “has always been the economic, political and cultural home of Palestinian livelihood.”

The resolution was important, she said because of the U.S. military aid that she said Israel uses to “militarize, humiliate and police Palestinians on their indigenous land every day, much the same way and the same companies that communities of color in Louisiana and throughout the country are routinely stopped, humiliated and killed because of the color of their skin and immigration status. New Orleans plays a part in that and funds many of these companies.”

For NOPSC, getting New Orleans to divest from Israel has been a primary goal. On its website, there is a petition to that effect, charging Israel with an “official system of segregation and repression,” and stating “New Orleans should no longer be party to contracts, licenses, or investments with the apartheid state of Israel.

Consumer goods contributing to the illegal Israeli occupation must also be banned.”

A few days before the vote, NOPSC promoted attendance on its Facebook page, urging supporters to “Join us Thursday for this historic city council vote! We need you to come out and speak in favor of our municipal BDS legislation.

Companies that profit from the Israeli occupation of Palestine and other human rights abuses have no place in New Orleans.”

On Jan. 11, a reminder was sent that “Today’s historic vote determines whether New Orleans will be the first city in the South to begin the process to DIVEST from Israel.”

At the meeting, four speakers from NOPSC spoke in favor of the resolution. Mustafa noted the proximity to Martin Luther King Day, and asserted that King was a supporter of the Palestinians, and this resolution upholds his legacy.

One speaker in support of the resolution compared the Palestinians to the New Orleans post-Katrina experience of losing homes, in charging that the Caterpillar Company’s equipment has bulldozed “35,000 Palestinian homes.”

Caterpillar is often a target of anti-Israel groups that see the company as supporting or enabling Israel’s “occupation.”

Geller also linked the bulldozing of Palestinian homes to post-Katrina displacement. In his remarks, he said there were Palestinian business owners in all five Council districts, and “it is very heartening to include this community in the political process.”

Williams moved for adoption of the resolution, with Brossett seconding, and the resolution passed, 5-0.

On their Facebook page immediately after the vote, NOPSC touted “We Won!” The vote

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community was immediately touted on social media in the Arab world and among the extreme anti-Israel websites like Mondoweiss as a breakthrough victory for BDS, with New Orleans becoming the first Southern city and one of the largest cities to support BDS. The Jewish community, meanwhile, had no idea the resolution was being discussed, let alone passed, when this publication called around asking for comment that afternoon.

The Jewish Federation of Greater New Orleans immediately contacted Council members, and late that night issued a statement , with the Anti-Defamation League, decrying the way this measure was taken up suddenly, outside the usual rules, guaranteeing NOPSC the entire floor in discussing the resolution. “These stealth tactics divide communities and do not provide for an equitable forum whereby all voices can be heard.”

Some Jewish groups, activists backed the resolution

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While there were many groups in the Jewish community who mobilized to battle Resolution R-18-5, opposition was by no means unanimous.

At the Jan. 25 meeting, two of the four speakers for keeping the resolution were Jewish.

The first speaker for the resolution was Rabbi Michael Davis, who flew in from Chicago for the meeting. A founding member of the Rabbinic Council of Jewish Voice for Peace, Davis leads Makom Shalom in Chicago and noted he had been rabbi in Baton Rouge.

Davis said “the New Orleans City Council is fulfilling the best of our Jewish teachings in acting on its ethical and social obligations… our prayer is that other city councils will join New Orleans in using their economic power to stand for all human rights.”

He criticized “some Jews” who spoke against the resolution, including local rabbis and the Federation. Davis said “pro-BDS is a loaded term, an incendiary term. It is code for anti-Semitic.

They are saying that to support human rights, including in Israel/Palestine, is to hate Jews.”

He concluded, “listen not to the raging tumult of the powerful. Listen not to the fury of the rich. Listen not to the thrattling drumbeats of anti-Semitism. Listen instead to that still small voice inside you, that voice of your conscience, that voice of truth.”

Chloe Sigal from the New Orleans Congress of Day Laborers said the resolution was the work of many local groups in response to Donald Trump’s election.

As a Jew, Sigal said she was “appalled” that “Jewish concepts like tikkun olam have been mentioned in today’s meeting to rescind this resolution. Hundreds of companies profited from the Holocaust. Hundreds of companies are profiting today from human rights abuses, from Palestine to the U.S./Mexico border.”

Members of Avodah Jewish Service Corps in New Orleans issued a statement commending the council for its original vote. “Every day we work in New Orleans to combat deep social and economic inequality; we work in healthcare, housing rights, education, and prison reform. We recognize that this work is contingent on the dismantling of inequality everywhere. The Human Rights Investment Screen helps make this ideal we share as a corps a reality.”

JVP also urged the council to reaffirm its orig-

inal vote. “The resolution was written by the New Orleans Palestinian Solidarity Committee, whose commitment to liberation for all people is reflected in the broad language of the resolution. We joined over 20 organizations across New Orleans in celebrating this resolution as a win for all freedom struggles,” their statement read.

Both groups took issue with the characterization of the resolution as anti-Semitic. The Avodah members’ statement, which did not reference the Middle East at all, said “This claim is a travesty and a deep betrayal of the historical Jewish commitment to social justice. We believe that divestment from institutions and corporations partaking in human rights abuse is legitimate, and that the passage of the Human Rights Investment Screen is an important tool to hold our city accountable to values of equity and human rights for all.”

The JVP statement expressed “outrage” that the Federation and ADL were “falsely claiming to speak for all Jews” and “smeared this historic resolution.” It also stated that “attempts to tie criticism of Israel’s human rights abuses to antisemitism are meant to deflect attention away from those abuses.”

In the controversy, Jewish Voice for Peace saw an anti-Palestinian bias, claiming that the ADL and Federation did not like that the resolution “was hailed by Palestinian rights activists” and asked the Council, “Had the ADL and Federation been the ones to present the exact same resolution, would you still be reconsidering it?”

The ADL considers JVP to be the “largest and most influential Jewish anti-Zionist group in the United States,” which “works to demonstrate Jewish opposition to the State of Israel and to steer public support away from the Jewish State.”

At its national conference last year, JVP hosted Rasmea Odeh, convicted of involvement in a terror attack in Jerusalem in 1969, and last summer launched “Deadly Exchange,” a campaign charging that Israeli counter-terrorism training of U.S. police forces lead to increased police brutality against minorities in the U.S. Additional statements of support for NOPSC came from First Grace Community Alliance, Amnesty International, the People’s Assembly of New Orleans, Take Em Down NOLA, the New Orleans International Human Rights Festival, European Dissent-New Orleans, Nola to Angola, and Congres: The Congress of Day Laborers.

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While the Federation “fully supports the values of human rights expressed in the resolution, we are deeply concerned about its unintended consequences relating to Israel and in bolstering the divisive BDS movement. The BDS movement, which has inherently anti-Semitic components, is designed to challenge Israel’s economic viability and very right to exist.”

While the pro-Palestinian group touted the bill among their supporters as targeting Israel and did not mention any other countries in pushing for the bill, over the next few days Council members stated they did not intend to single out Israel or any other country.

“The Council did not single out any particular companies, countries, nations, issues, conflicts or existing contractors,” said Cantrell. “The Resolution simply seeks to keep City contracts and investments in line with our commitment to upholding universal human rights.”

Williams said “My support of this measure was not, and is not, intended to in any way be reflective of either an anti-Israel or pro-BDS sentiment,” and any decisions will be made by a cross-section of New Orleanians. “This resolution is pro womankind and mankind. It is simply humanitarian,” he added.

Gray said the resolution “was an affirmation of our belief in the basic principles of American Society. No more, no less.”

Brossett added that the resolution “simply recognizes our support of human rights, labor rights, and New Orleans being an inclusive city.”

As Council members backed away from the notion that the resolution targeted Israel, so too did NOPSC — to a degree. The group began to emphasize the previously-unmentioned coalition of 20 groups and pointed to the broad wording of the resolution, not singling out any country. Instead, they charged the Jewish community organizations with bringing Israel into the discussion, claiming it’s because Israel’s supporters know Israel is guilty of abuses and want to carve out an exception for Israel in the resolution.

Since the push for passage focused on Israel, the NOPSC was asked

by Southern Jewish Life which country was second on their list. Their response was to disagree with the characterization that Israel was the primary target.

The ADL and Federation pushed for a withdrawal of the resolution, and with more unwanted international attention on New Orleans, Council members started to agree.

Williams said the “resulting flurry of debate and controversy has played out locally, national and internationally,” and the voice of this council has been represented as saying far more than was ever said in the four corners of the document” by linking it with the BDS movement.

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As the next Council meeting, scheduled for Jan. 25, drew near, it became more apparent that the Council would be revisiting the resolution.

Numerous activist groups in New Orleans and around the world issued statements supporting NOPSC and the resolution, and NOPSC put out a call for allied groups to attend the Jan. 25 meeting.

The meeting was in the Orleans Parish School Board office, as the Council chamber at City Hall, a much larger venue, is being renovated.

In an odd coincidence, the School Board office is in a section of New Orleans known as the West Bank.

While there were many members of the Jewish community there to speak against the rsolution, proponents of the resolution filled the rest of the seats and crowded the hallway outside the room. Four speakers from the local Jewish community opposed the resolution, while speakers in favor of the resolution took aim at the local Jewish community, claiming the community wants to deny Palestinians basic human rights, and framed it as a battle between justice and bowing to campaign contributors.

Mustafa said those in the hallway were people of color, from the

February 2018 • Southern Jewish Life 15

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LGBTQ community, immigrants, Palestinians, Muslims, “those who stand for justice are all outside, and there are a few of us who made it into this room.”

She painted opponents of the resolution as opposing human rights, especially when it comes to Palestinians, and that the Jewish community was willing to sacrifice a blanket human rights resolution because of a “scorched earth” policy to deny rights to Palestinians.

Mustafa said, “It is completely unfair and ridiculous to think that a group of all-white Jews can say that every person out there, every person of color, every person from a marginalized community, doesn’t matter.

That is worth rescinding an entire human rights resolution in the name of everyone, in order to exceptionalize and protect a few people.”

Despite her characterization of the resolution’s universality, BDS was still the star of the show. When Cantrell noted that the resolution had been interpreted by outsiders as a statement that New Orleans was now one of the largest cities to support BDS, there was a massive cheer from the resolution’s proponents in the room. Cantrell continued by stating that characterization was an “undesired and damaging falsehood” and that “this is totally inaccurate, untruthful and does not reflect the values of New Orleans.”

Williams stated that each side would be given 15 minutes to comment, with those opposing the resolution going first because they had not been given an opportunity to speak on Jan. 11. Proponents of the resolution were then given the final 15 minutes. As some proponents interrupted and protested that they had many more people to speak in favor, Williams said “we’re not going to solve the Middle East crisis in the city of New Orleans today… but I want to make sure we have equitable time on both sides.”

As Williams and Cantrell spoke, activists in the hall chanted “Let Us Speak.” They continued to chant “our voice matters” and “human rights for all” louder as representatives of the Jewish community spoke in opposition to the resolution, then were silent during the proponents’ remarks.

Aaron Ahlquist, regional director of the Anti-Defamation League, spoke first, followed by Temple Sinai Rabbi Emeritus Ed Cohn, National Council of Jewish Women President Barbara Kaplinsky and Jewish Federation of Greater New Orleans Chief Executive Office Arnie Fielkow, himself a past president of the City Council.

Each spoke of their groups’ history of advocating for groups throughout the community, including speaking out against the anti-Muslim travel ban, for immigrant rights, LGBTQ rights and the removal of Confederate monuments. Ahlquist said the ADL “unequivocally supports civil and human rights” but “this resolution is not the way to do this.”

Cohn said the resolution was “cleverly masqueraded as a high-minded civic statement” that “sounded so good.” It took no time, however, to see the deception, he said, in the form of “the joyous and triumphant proclamation touting the historic first by the BDS movement in a U.S. Southern city,” a comment that also drew cheers from the resolution proponents.

Cohn, a founding member of the New Orleans Human Rights Commission noted the presence of Jewish Voice for Peace members who were dressed in identical green T-shirts that read “Jews for Human Rights: No Exceptions.” Cohn said there used to be a whole lot more Jews who were anti-Zionist like them, “but after 1933 and 1945, there were many fewer,” an observation that drew howls of protest from JVP. Fielkow said he has “great respect” for the groups behind the resolution. “On another day, and another topic, the Jewish community would be standing shoulder to shoulder with them as we have historically stood up for human and civil rights, equity, diversity and the core tenet of Jewish values, tikun olam, repairing the world.”

On the topic of BDS, “we must respectfully disagree with the resolution’s proponents,” Fielkow said. “It does not in any way advance what I hope is the common goal of everyone in this building… a peaceful resolution of a historic and complicated conflict so that all parties on both

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sides can live with peace, security and prosperity.”

“Being labeled a BDS city is not beneficial to New Orleans in any way,” he noted.

In concluding his remarks, he addressed everyone, including the resolution proponents, with “may all of us be strong and courageous enough to sit together and have dialogue on difficult topics” like the council does every two weeks.

As Fielkow spoke, those in the hall started to press handwritten posters against the glass above him, above where the glass was frosted. The

What is BDS? The BDS movement takes many forms. The acronym stands for Boycott, Divest and Sanction, in an effort to isolate Israel politically and economically.

For some, it is simply protesting the Israeli settlements in the territories by boycotting any goods produced by Israeli companies in those areas — now considered only the West Bank, since Gaza has been emptied of Jews and is under the control of Hamas.

BDS opponents argue these West Bank companies provide good jobs and high wages to Palestinian workers in an area desperately in need of economic activity, and the Palestinians in those areas aren’t supportive of the BDS movement.

Other strains of BDS target Israel in general, since the view of most Palestinian activist groups is that all of Israel, including the pre-1967 area, is occupied territory by what they call colonist outsiders, i.e., European Jews, though about half of Israel’s Jewish population has Middle Eastern origins.

BDS activists pressure musicians to refuse to hold concerts in Israel, as Lorde recently did. They also try to cut off any collaboration between Western universities and their Israeli counterparts, push for the cancellation of shows or exhibits involving Israeli groups, shut down Israeli speakers on campus — even those on the left. They also try to shut down American law enforcement efforts to learn anti-terrorism best practices from Israeli counterparts, or emergency and mass-casualty response — such as the New Orleans-Israel Partnership on Emergency Response and Medicine.

Efforts to improve the lives of Palestinians or establish dialogue are also condemned as “normalization” with Israel, and therefore forbidden under BDS. One of the founders of the BDS movement, Omar Barghouti, was born in Qatar, lives in Acre (which is in pre-1967 Israel), and has a degree from Tel Aviv University, where he is pursuing a doctorate while trying to get academic institutions worldwide to boycott Israeli universities.

Barghouti has said that “The real aim of BDS is to bring down the state of Israel… That should be stated as an unambiguous goal,” but referred to his Tel Aviv studies a “personal matter.” He also states that unlike Palestinians, Jews aren’t a nation and have no right of self-determination.

Pro-BDS groups charge that BDS opponents consider any criticism of Israel to be anti-Semitism.

There is a line drawn between legitimate criticism of Israel, which happens every day, and anti-Semitism. The latter is seen as the denial of the right of self-determination to Jews; using classic anti-Semitic imagery or canards, such as nefarious conspiratorial Jewish power or the “harvesting” of Palestinian organs by Israel; comparing Israeli defensive actions to Nazi genocide and the concentration camps; denying any historical connection between the Jewish people and the land of Israel; singling out the world’s only Jewish state as uniquely evil; or denying Israeli rights to self-defense that would be permitted to any other country.

Many major German cities reject BDS, saying it all too often uses language and imagery from the Nazi era, and almost half of U.S. states have anti-BDS laws.

Usually, BDS battles take place on college campuses. There, stealth is often employed, with BDS resolutions before student governments coming up unannounced, or having a vote scheduled for a meeting that takes place on Rosh Hashanah or the first day of Passover, times when it is certain that Jewish community opposition would be limited.

community posters had individual responses to the phrase “I support human rights because…”

There were also two Jewish speakers in favor of the resolution (see sidebar).

In her remarks, Mustafa asked “who opposes human rights? Terrorists. White supremacists.

The president. But it also seems that the Jewish Federation, the ADL, the mayor of New Orleans and now suddenly the city council have taken the side of opposing human rights.”

She said that even though Israel is not mentioned in the resolution, the Federation, ADL, Jewish Community Relations Council, Sen. Bill Cassidy and Mayor Mitch Landrieu, “the very same mayor that brought down the Confederation monuments,” and the Council, all oppose the resolution, asking when all of them have been on the same page. “Never,” she asserted.

Trying to figure it out, “It wasn’t shocking for me to find out that ironically the very same donors who contributed to the campaigns of Cassidy, Landrieu and multiple city council members are also opponents of the human rights resolution,” she said.

She added the only explanations for opposing the resolution are Islamophobia, since “the Palestinians are one of the groups that helped pass it,” and complicity, that the opponents “know that Israel has human rights violations.”

Mustafa asked “Is the Zionist lobby willing to continue to destroy and defame reputable social justice movements by using the scorched-earth policy in order to deem anything that is a critique as anti-Semitism, and not hear out valuable concerns of the oppressed?

“It is never the job of the oppressor to tell the oppressed how to defend our rights,” she said.

In a comment that stunned many in the community, Mustafa also charged, “Let’s think of the role that the ADL played in having Muslims and African-Americans here in the U.S. murdered during the apartheid South Africa era. Is that who you want to stand with?”

After the time for public remarks, Williams said he has been proud to stand with NOPSC against Trump’s travel ban, and “I have disagreed with NOPSC on other issues… sometimes we agree, sometimes we disagree.”

He said being an ally “is not ownership. It does not mean you own my voice on every vote.”

Williams continued, “We all need to realize there’s a difference between a friend you’re in disagreement with and a mortal enemy. There are not two sides to this issue. There are a number of sides.”

Williams said “the passage of that resolution was flawed” both by being done under suspension and by being erroneously portrayed.

“I’m certain folks on both sides agree with the black and white words in that resolution,” he said, but “how we are reflected nationally and internationally is up to the members of the city council. No one else is going to interpret a resolution that comes from this body.”

With that, he moved to withdraw the resolution, and the withdrawal passed without opposition.

The resolution’s proponents then broke into song in the chamber, staying in the room for another 20 minutes, causing the council to go into recess. After the room was cleared and the meeting continued, the song continued in the building’s lobby.

At the end of the Jan. 25 debate, Williams expressed hope that there would be dialogue between those in favor of the resolution and those opposed. Is there a possibility?

In a statement later that day, the Federation and ADL thanked the City Council for the reconsideration. “By withdrawing the resolution, it allows the opportunity for a clean slate to begin to engage in meaningful, transparent and inclusive dialogue on how this community advances issues of civil rights and human rights, and how we collectively build a better New Orleans reflective of our commitment to these values. The Federation, ADL, and the Jewish

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February 2018 • Southern Jewish Life 19

community Community Relations Council stand-by as willing partners and participants in this discussion.” The statement continued, “The withdrawal of the resolution in no way reflects a lack of commitment to human rights, from either Federation, ADL or the City Council. Rather, this important conversation can now happen in the light, with transparency and inclusivity.”

Conversely, on Jan. 27, the NOPSC said the reversal “was a loss for the entire City of New Orleans” and said ADL and Federation opposition was “because the resolution might include Palestinian rights.”

The group also said “By and large, the Council only took meetings with pro-Israel Jewish groups, excluded the voices of Jews for human rights, and refused to take meetings with the Palestinian community or our allies,” calling it “blatant bias” that “proves that when it comes to human rights, Palestinians are viewed as an exception.”

The statement also noted that Mayor Mitch Landrieu and Republican State Senator Conrad Appel, who both condemned the resolution, “have received thousands of dollars from the law firm Jones Walker LLC and the company Acadian Ambulance, both of whom were also underwriters for JFGNO,” echoing Mustafa’s claim before the Council.

To NOPSC, the whole episode demonstrated that “some groups are willing to discard the rights of everyone in order to exceptionalize a select few. Those who unconditionally support Israel have been exposed for its racism and disregard for human life.”

The Federation statement said “Federation and the ADL are opposed to BDS, and believe that it does not advance the discussion towards meaningful resolution and peace between Israelis and Palestinians, or a workable two state solution,” and it’s not an issue for the New Orleans City Council to decide.

Nevertheless, “ADL and Federation have each demonstrated their commitment to social justice and civil rights… we remain committed to advancing an open dialogue to build understanding, and creating meaningful change to improve the lives of all.”

Mississippi working on anti-BDS legislation Another bill would allow Israel Bonds purchases Mississippi is working on legislation that would prohibit state fund investments in and state or local contracts with companies that boycott Israel, and would allow the state to make investments in Israel Bonds.

House Bill 747 authorizes “a portion” of excess state funds to be invested in bonds “issued, assumed or guaranteed by the State of Israel” provided that they have a credit rating of AAA. The measure, introduced by Rep. Hank Zuber of Ocean Springs, passed 113-2 on Jan. 31. A similar bill, SB-2051, introduced by Joey Fillingane of Sumrall, is before the Senate.

Alabama and Louisiana are among states which permit investments in Israel Bonds, and each has several million dollars invested.

House Bill 837, introduced by Donnie Bell of Fulton and Greg Snowden of Meridian, bars participation in the BDS movement that seeks to isolate Israel economically. The bill, which passed out of committee on Jan. 31, required the Public Employees Retirement System and the treasurer’s office to identify companies that are involved in boycotts of Israel and prohibits “direct or indirect” holdings in those companies.

Tennessee, Alabama, Georgia, Florida and Texas are among the 24 states that have passed anti-BDS measures. When Obama signed the Trans-Pacific Partnership in 2015, there were anti-BDS provisions in it.

An anti-BDS measure shepherded by Rep. Valarie Hodges of Denham Springs passed the Louisiana House last June but was bottled up in the Senate.

Mississippi Governor Phil Bryant has led three trade missions to Israel in the last four years, and a Mississippi-Israel trade seminar was held in Jackson in 2015.

20 Southern Jewish Life • February 2018

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Forging Ahead Weekend reflects on civil rights legacy, remembers bombings One of the most famous tragedies of the civil rights era was the Klan bombing of Sixteenth Street Baptist Church in Birmingham on Sept. 15, 1963, killing four girls.

Far less well known was the 1958 attempted bombing at Birmingham’s Temple Beth-El. Both events were commemorated through “Forging Ahead: Civil Rights Stories and Song” during Martin Luther King Jr. weekend. The weekend was coordinated by Beth-El, Temple Emanu-El and the Birmingham Holocaust Education Center.

Over 500 attended the Jan. 13 program at Beth-El, which started with Havdalah and ended with a concert

by Neshama Carlebach, and was themed “From Seeds of Discord to Seeds of Change.”

Former Mayor Richard Arrington spoke from the perspective of seeing the growth of the city over the last 80 years.

The city’s first black mayor said “there has been an amazing transformation… and I think it is very important we all remember that and we appreciate that.”

He remembered the civil rights years, especially “the deafening silence of the good people of the community, and I know that today in many ways this is a different community,” with a “new and courageous” generation of leaders coming up.

After being elected mayor, Arrington recalled going to Israel for the first time in 1980, in a trip sponsored by the Jewish community. On that trip, he met Jerusalem Mayor Teddy Kollek. “He said to me, Mayor, I will pray for Birmingham, and you pray for Jerusalem. That’s the spirit we have here tonight.”

Joyce Spielberger, in introducing current Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin, said she once asked Ed Fields, his campaign manager, how old Woodfin is. “Without missing a beat, he said ‘double-chai’.”

Woodfin spoke of the “thin line” between hope and fear, and how elec-

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Temple Beth-El Executive Director Bob Greenberg, former Alabama Attorney General Bill Baxley, Joel Rotenstreich, UAB Professor Pamela Sterne King, Jacob Halpern, former Birmingham Mayor Richard Arrington, U.S. Senator Doug Jones, Joyce Spielberger, Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin, Ronald Levitt and Temple Emanu-El Rabbi Douglas Kohn tions can be won by appealing either way. “The city of Birmingham knows how to hone in on hope,” he said.

He also charged the community to “honor our civil rights history to make sure we fight for social justice in 2018 and beyond.”

The evening was, in many ways, a celebration of Doug Jones’ unlikely victory in the Dec. 12 Senate race against Roy Moore, with Arrington, Woodfin and Baxley praising the new senator.

Dec. 12 was the first night of Chanukah, and Jones commented that “as a Democrat from the state of Alabama, you are truly looking at a Chanukah miracle.”

The main part of the evening was a presentation that Jones and Baxley tag-team on across the country, detailing the 1963 bombing of the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church and the long, almost miraculous journey both men had in pursuing the bombers and finally getting convictions for the murders of the four girls who were killed that Sunday morning.

Jones described how Birmingham was “a powder keg” because of school desegregation.

When Baxley picked up the story, he mentioned that almost 50 years ago he was brought to Beth-El for the first time by Abe Berkowitz, who played key roles behind the scenes in pushing Birmingham forward in the early 1960s. “He brought me to a men’s club breakfast” to meet people as he started to run for attorney general, Baxley recalled.

He mentioned that when he started to work the cold case of Sixteenth Street, the first suspect was J.B. Stoner, “head of the National States Rights Party, and in my opinion he was the most anti-Jewish human being that’s ever lived in America. He did more to spread that awful hatred than anybody else I know of.”

They spent a year looking at Stoner. “He and his group had done a lot of bombings. He didn’t do that bombing.”

But Baxley added, “One that he did, he and his group did, he planted 60 years ago this Spring. He planted the bomb here at Temple Beth-El. There were two 20-foot fuses leading to the dynamite, and both burned out within five

feet” of the bomb.

Nobody has ever been charged in the attempted bombing of Beth-El, and it remains officially unsolved. That same weekend, there were bombs at Temples in Miami, Nashville, Jacksonville and Charlotte.

After the conviction of Robert Chambliss, Baxley left office and his successors as attorney general “didn’t touch it with a 20-foot pole,” and he regretted being unable to convict the others involved in the bombing. “If I’d known there

Senator Doug Jones, above, and former Alabama Attorney General Bill Baxley, below

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was a young law student in Birmingham, cutting class every day to sit in that balcony” as Baxley prosecuted Chambliss, he would have rested easier. That student was Jones.

“Doug Jones finished what I couldn’t finish,” he said, then Jones took the stage to describe the pursuit of Klansmen Bobby Frank Cherry and Thomas Blanton Jr. On Jan. 12, about 200 attended “The Context: Circa 1950s Civil Rights and the Jewish Community,” at Temple Emanu-El. Author T.K. Thorne told stories about the Jewish community from her forthcoming book, “Behind the Magic Curtain: Secrets, Spies and Unsung White Allies of Birmingham’s Civil Rights Days.” While some parts of the quiet activism behind the scenes by members of the Jewish community are well known, many others had not been preserved, and Thorne gave many anecdotes about a wide range of community members who were involved in various ways.

After her presentation, Ellen Cooper Erdreich and Sol Kimerling gave brief presentations about their recollections of the community atmosphere in the 1950s.

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The annual Birmingham Color4Friendship, to benefit the Friendship Circle of Alabama, will be held on March 18 at 1:30 p.m. at the Levite Jewish Community Center’s outdoor track.

Friendship Circle provides friendship and inclusion to special-needs children and their families in the community. Teenage volunteers are paired with special-needs children for regular visits to empower them and enrich their lives. A program of Chabad, there are around 80 locations worldwide.

With a one-mile event, all ages and abilities will be able to participate.

The event will not be timed, so people can choose to run, walk, push strollers or crawl.

Participants will be dressed in white to start the mile, and along the way there will be “color stations” where they will be doused with colored powder.

Though vibrant, the cornstarch-based color powder is engineered to wash out well.

After the run, there will be a family fair, with an On-The-Edge 2-Wheel Action Show, a high-energy bike show.

Registration is open at color4friendship.com. Runners receive a Team Friendship T-shirt, a pair of sunglasses, a personal color powder packet and a Friendship Circle sweatband. They also receive admission to the post-run fair. Children above age 6 must be registered to run.

community

Weekend of Learning Regionally-focused Limmud New Orleans includes 90 sessions in 10 subject tracks Registration is underway for Limmud New Orleans 2018, a regional weekend of multi-denominational Jewish learning.

Organizers have unveiled the slate of presenters, from laypeople in New Orleans and across the country, to most New Orleans rabbis. In all, the weekend will include about 90 presentations in what is being called a “weekend festival of Big Tent Jewish learning, arts, culture and spirituality.”

The festival opens at 4:30 p.m. on March 16 at Gates of Prayer, with a Shabbaton that evening and on March 17. There will be services at Gates of Prayer in Orthodox, Conservative and Reform styles, with every group coming together for meals. On Shabbat morning there will also be an alternative spiritual and meditation service.

Housing can be arranged for out-of-town participants who need to be within walking distance.

Havdalah on March 17 and the March 18 sessions will be at the newly-renovated Uptown Jewish Community Center. There may be as many as nine sessions simultaneously, and attendees may freely wander in and out of sessions.

An international movement, Limmud has conferences in 80 communities around the world. Limmud operates on the core value that everyone is a learner and everyone can be a teacher, and sessions are designed to be interactive. All presenters are volunteering their time, and the organizers are also volunteers.

Programming is available for all levels and experiences of Jewish learning. Young Limmud programming will be available for ages 4 to 12, and babysitting will be available for ages 1 to 3.

Registration, which includes kosher meals and snacks, can be done for the entire weekend, or from after Havdalah on March 17 through the end of the weekend. For the entire weekend, registration after Jan. 31 is $95 for over age 30, $55 for ages 18 to 30 and $20 for children. For after Havdalah and Sunday, registration is $70 for over age 30, $40 for ages 18 to 30 and $15 for children. There is no charge for ages 3 and under.

Registration rates will increase after March 4.

Several national speakers will be coming to New Orleans for the weekend.

Rabbi Danya Ruttenberg, one of the Forward’s 50 most influential women rabbis and rabbi-in-residence at Avodah, will speak on “I and Thou: Creating a 21st Century Jewish Sexual Ethic” and “Nurture The Wow: Parenting as a Spiritual Practice.” After her mother died of breast cancer, Ruttenberg wrote “Surprised by God: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Religion.”

Meredith Polsky, founder of Matan, will speak on creating a culture of inclusion in Jewish institutions and Jewish education. A 2017 Covenant Award recipient, Polsky co-authored “I Have a Question about Death: A Book for Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder or other Special Needs.”

Bill Dauster, former deputy chief of staff for Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and deputy director of the White House National Economic Council, will speak on “Ethics in Government: What Jewish Sources Tell Us” and “Government Power: Mixed Feelings on Kingship in the Hebrew Bible.”

Rabbi Michael Cook, Bronstein Professor of Judeo-Christian Studies at Hebrew Union College, will give two sessions. The only American rabbi with a full professorial chair in New Testament, Cook will speak on “Reformulating ‘Jesus and the Jews’ over the Centuries: Persistent Failures of the ‘Cafeteria’ Approach,” and “Rapture, Antichrist, 666, Armageddon:

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Limmud New Orleans 2016 Explaining Southern Evangelical Theology.”

Cook’s wife, Judy Chessin, will give a “Hebrew Bible Overview” version of “Game of Thrones: Biblical Style,” examining the intrigue around King David.

Zachary Schaffer, community strategy associate at the Jewish Federations of North America’s Israel Action Network, will lead a session on “Reclaiming and Reaffirming Zionism as a Progressive Cause” and “The Disarming Power of Narrative: How Storytelling Can Transform our Conversations about Israel.”

There are several other presenters from outside the New Orleans area.

John Cohen, athletic director and former baseball coach at Mississippi State University, will speak on “The Words We Use” and how to be a strong team member.

Rabbi Steven Jacobs, Aaron Aronov Endowed Chair of Judaic Studies at the University of Alabama, will speak on “The Holocaust 70 Plus Years On: What Have We Learned?”

Geochemist Paul Aharon will recount the story of the Holocaust Torah at Jacobs’ congregation in Tuscaloosa, in “Torah Scrolls Have A Life of Their Own.” The congregation received a scroll from Westminister Temple in London, repository for almost 2,000 Torahs rescued from the Holocaust, but that scroll was of unknown origin and age. Upon getting permission to carbon-date it, the congregation discovered it is one of the oldest complete Torah scrolls in existence.

Cantor Neil Schwartz of Agudath Achim in Shreveport will present “A World of EnCHANTment: Comparing Jewish, Muslim and Hindu Chants.”

Rabbi Judy Caplan Ginsburgh of Alexandria, who serves B’nai Israel in Monroe, will lead a Shabbat sing-a-long for children and a session on “Healing Ourselves through The Tree of Life: Comparing our Chakras to the Sefirot.”

Local presenters include Lawrence Powell and Holocaust survivor Anne Levy talking about “The Power of One in a World Made by (David) Duke: Why Confronting Hate is More Important Than Ever.”

Sandy Lassen, head of the New Orleans Chevra Kadisha, will talk about caring for the dead; Jewish Children’s Regional Service Director Ned Goldberg will speak about the Jewish Children’s Home as “The Institution that Put NOLA on the Jewish Map.” Rabbi Yossie Nemes will speak on “Our Forgotten Brothers and Sisters: Tales from Behind Bars,” his visits with Jewish inmates in Louisiana; Oklahoma-native Mark Rubin and Ben Schenck will speak on Klezmer as Jewish Jazz.

Hillary Rossman will share “Guns ‘n (Ha)Roses,” her experiences as a Jewish FBI agent for the past 21 years. She served in New Orleans from 1997 to 2007, then after seven years in Phoenix, returned to New Orleans as Chief Division Counsel. Dashka Roth will speak on “What is Jewish Art?” While the speaker list and topics have been announced, the exact schedule has not been finalized.

26 Southern Jewish Life • February 2018

community UAB hosting symposium on Nazi Germany and Jim Crow Event is part of Violins of Hope programming As part of the programming in advance of Birmingham’s Violins of Hope experience, the University of Alabama at Birmingham’s Institute for Human Rights is hosting a symposium this month on lessons that can be learned through the study of Nazi Germany and the Jim Crow South.

“Bystanders and Complicity in Nazi Germany and the Jim Crow South” is part of a series of programs, coordinated through the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, to explore lessons that can be learned through studying both periods of history. The first program was held at Miles College in September, followed by a similar panel at the University of South Alabama.

Jake Newsome, campus outreach program officer for the museum, said he hopes to also have programs in other parts of the region.

The Violins of Hope programs center around an effort by Amnon Weinstein, a violin maker in Israel, to restore violins that had been played in the Holocaust. He has restored more than 60 since 1996, and his intent is that they be played rather than just being displayed, as an ongoing voice for those who were silenced in the Holocaust.

The centerpiece of Birmingham programming will be a concert by the Alabama Symphony on April 14 at the Alys Stephens Center, with some of the violins as part of the orchestra.

The Feb. 22 and 23 symposium will be held at UAB’s Alumni House starting at 9 a.m. each day. Panels will explore the differences between the history of racism in Nazi Germany and the Jim Crow South, but also how some universal phenomena manifested in these distinct historic events.

Both events can trace part of their roots to the rise of a new “science” of eugenics, which became an international movement that was used to give legitimacy to racial policies.

Racism, including racial anti-Semitism, was the core element of Nazi ideology and driving force behind the Holocaust. Racism also legitimized the continued subjugation and persecution of African Americans long after the end of slavery.

Part of the perpetuation of those systems came from a minority of determined leaders with the support of an acquiescent general population, with a majority in each community witnessing persecution but actively or passively tolerating it, enabling the persecution to continue.

This symposium brings together scholars, students and community members to engage in meaningful dialogue on how, when, and why ordinary people supported, complied with, ignored, or resisted in two very different systems of targeted oppression and racial violence.

The symposium will start on Feb. 22 at 9 a.m. with remarks from Robert Palazzo, dean of the UAB College of Arts and Sciences; Tina Kempin Reuter, director of the Institute for Human Rights; Robert Ehrenreich, director of national academic programs at the USHMM; and Newsome.

The first panel will explore “Reexamining the Role of Bystanders” and “Children and Race Socialization in the American South.” The second panel will explore “History, Silence and (In)Justice.”

A luncheon for registered guests will include the keynote speaker, Beverly Eileen Mitchell, Professor of Historical Theology, Wesley Theological Seminary, speaking on “White Supremacy and Antisemitism: Sibling Threats.”

The afternoon session will include an education roundtable, “Teaching Nazi Germany and the Jim Crow South. Students will present their posters at 4 p.m., followed by a 6 p.m. program on “Keeping the Memory Alive: Personal Reflections on the Legacies of Racial Violence and Genocide.” Speakers will be Riva Hirsch, a Holocaust survivor in Birmingham’s Jewish community, and Josephine Bolling McCall, whose father was lynched in Alabama in 1947. They will give their thoughts on the personal impact of violent antisemitism and racism in two historical contexts.

The Feb. 23 sessions begin with a “Personal Agency and Resistance” panel, followed by presentations from students around the region, describing their work on the history and relevance of Nazi Germany and the Jim Crow South.

The lunch session will be “From Memory to Action: History and the Power of Human Rights, with panelists offering their thoughts on the contemporary relevance and power of history to inspire individuals to confront hatred and promote human dignity in their communities. Closing remarks will follow at 2 p.m.

Registration is free, and is available at ushmm.org.

February 2018 • Southern Jewish Life 27

For the 39th year, the B’nai B’rith Mardi Gras Mitzvah Makers brought a Second Line Mardi Gras Parade to patients and staff at the Touro Infirmary rehabilitation floors and neighboring Cura Health Hospital and Home Life in the Gardens on Aline Street, on Jan. 21. Costumed paraders brought much cheer and joy, along with beads, plush stuffed animals, king cakes and a lively jazz band of 17 musicians. Those wishing to participate next year should contact chairman Hilton Title.

Day School’s Holocaust documentary, “Names Not Numbers” to be screened in Homewood

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“Better Together Names, Not Numbers,” an oral history documentary with Holocaust survivors in Alabama being interviewed by students at Birmingham’s N.E. Miles Jewish Day School, will be screened on Feb. 27 at the Homewood Public Library.

The film made its debut at the library last May, to a standing-room-only crowd.

The interactive, multi-media intergenerational Holocaust project was created by educator Tova Fish Rosenberg, and supported by a prominent national foundation.

The 6th to 8th grade students interviewed local Holocaust survivors Max Herzel and Robert May, and two second-generation survivors, Sheryl Perlstein, the daughter of the late Aisic Hirsch; and Jessica Roskin, daughter of Ingrid Roskin.

Prior to the interviews, students had lessons on history, filmmaking and interviewing.

Birmingham Holocaust Education Center education coordinator Ann Mollengarden, and Michelle Forman, documentary filmmaker and director of UAB Media Studies Program, spent several sessions teaching the students about oral history and documentary films, and interviewing techniques.

As part of the students’ research, time was also spent reflecting on the Civil Rights history in Birmingham with visits to the Anne Frank Tree in Kelly Ingram Park, the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute and with meetings with individuals who were and are involved in the Civil Rights Movement.

Reverend Gwendolyn Webb, a leader in the Children’s March in Birmingham in 1963, and community member Joel Rotenstreich, who spearheaded the Anne Frank Tree effort, worked with the students during the project.

The 6:30 p.m. screening is open to the community.

Commemoration in Dothan

Ruth Remnant Ministry in Dothan held a commemoration of International Holocaust Remembrance Day on Jan. 27, featuring James Grymes, author of “Violins of Hope,” the story behind the violins that will be in Birmingham for a series of public events in April. Also at the commemoration were the Wiregrass Youth Symphony Orchestra and the Tri-State Community Orchestra. Pictured here are (clockwise from left) Danise Peters, James Grymes, Cathy Hinesley and Norma Williams.

community

Mending kids’hearts

Conexx to honor Birmingham Jewish Federation at Atlanta gala The Birmingham Jewish Federation will receive the U.S. Partner of the Year Award at the annual Conexx Gala in Atlanta on March 22.

With the Gala, Conexx, the America Israel Business Connector, will open the Atlanta area celebrations of Israel’s 70th anniversary.

The Conexx Gala is Conexx’s community flagship event, honoring the people and companies who have contributed most to the Southeast-Israel economic and business relationship. The annual event, formerly known as Eagle Star Awards, opportunity to connect with business influencers, boosting their business potential with investment and partnership opportunities.

Conexx Vice President Barry Swartz said the Birmingham Jewish Federation is the longest-standing current funder of Conexx, with a relationship going back to 1993. “Birmingham has been at the center of Conexx relationships with the Alabama Department of Commerce, Birmingham Business Alliance, Alabama Power, University of Alabama at Birmingham and interaction in the Healthcare, Automotive and Banking/Finance industry sectors,” Swartz said.

“Over the past 20-plus years, the Birmingham Jewish Federation has partnered on many educational programs,” he added, including hosting Aiman Saif, the ranking Israeli Arab civil servant, in 2016.

In September 2005, the Federation sponsored an Alabama Governor’s Trade Mission, coordinated by Conexx. While Governor Bob Riley had to withdraw because of Hurricane Katrina, over 20 government, business, technology and academic leaders from the state went to Israel, meeting with high-level Israeli officials and business leaders.

Steven Brickman, who chaired the Federation’s Israel World Jewry Bureau and participated in the mission, said the mission “stimulated commerce between Israel and the state of Alabama, recognizing that both this state and Israel have much to offer the other economically, academically and technologically.”

Governor Fob James also led a trade mission to Israel in 1997.

The Federation also worked with Conexx on a Buy Buy Israel initiative in 2015, to counter those who seek economic boycotts of the Jewish state.

BJF President Hilary Gewant, who will accept the award for the Federation, said the BJF “is proud of the relationship it has had with Conexx over the years, as this important agency has built substantial economic ties between Israeli companies and firms in the Southeast, including Alabama…

We stand with Israel every day in Birmingham and part of that is standing with Conexx as this great organization continues its important work.”

Other awards to be presented at the gala include the Tom Glaser Leadership Award, Israeli Company of the Year, U.S. Company of the Year, Deal of the Year and Innovative Academic Partnership, all of which will be announced soon.

A new award is for Israeli Partner of the Year. The Federation of Israeli Chambers of Commerce will be the honoree, with president Uriel Lynn and CEO Dan Carmeli.

This year’s Gala chair, Tally Korman, will be the first Israeli-born person and woman to chair the event. Relatively new to the Atlanta area, she is a Tourism Development expert with extensive academic and consulting experience working with Haifa University, several European universities, and various policy-making institutions.

Conexx works with Israeli companies seeking entry to the U.S. market, and companies in the Southeastern U.S. who want access to Israeli companies or markets.

The gala will be at the Atlanta History Center on March 22, starting at 6 p.m. Tickets are $155, reserved tables for 10 are $1800, and there is a raffle for a trip for two to Israel, including a week in a private Jerusalem apartment, for $50 per ticket.

Gala information is available at conexxgala.com.

Mending kids’ hearts.

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February 2018 • Southern Jewish Life 29

community Jewish Women’s Leadership Institute starting in Birmingham

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A new Women’s Leadership Institute is coming to the Birmingham Jewish community, with a familiar coordinator in charge.

Rabbi Elana Kanter, who was in Birmingham in the 1990s but since moving to Arizona has continued to come back for women’s learning retreats, founded the Women’s Jewish Learning Center in Phoenix, Ariz., in 2010.

Ordained in 1989, Kanter was in the first class of women to be ordained as rabbis at the Jewish Theological Seminary. In 1998, she won the national Covenant Award for Jewish Educators for her innovations in adult Jewish learning.

The Institute, now in its third year in Phoenix, is a year-long course to involve young Jewish women in the community in a dynamic leadership process that enhances their lives and enriches the community.

“There was some under-representation of women in the leadership of some communal agencies and so this was our response to remedy the situation,” Kanter said. “The outcomes have far exceeded any expectations that we had.”

The program consists of 10 mentees between the ages of 25 and 45, and 10 mentors aged 46 to 70. Community leaders such as rabbis and agency directors will be asked to nominate and recommend program participants. A panel will select mentees through an application and interview process.

Each mentee commits to attending an initial overnight retreat, a mid-program day-long retreat, all group sessions, and meetings with her mentor once a month. Each mentee will also design and implement a community service project.

Each mentor commits to attending a day-long mentor training program, the initial overnight retreat, a mid-program day-long retreat, all group sessions, and monthly meetings with her mentee. Additionally, the mentor will support her mentee throughout the service project.

Susan Greene, who is coordinating the Institute in Birmingham, said it is “designed to play a significant role in creating the next generation of leaders in the Birmingham Jewish community.” Lisa Goldstein Graham will be the facilitator.

Kanter said the mentees in Phoenix have done projects for the community that have had broad and deep impacts: a Passover Seder for Jews with special needs, a PJ Library family camp, a Jewish breast cancer support group, a B’nai Mitzvah projects booklet for distribution to synagogues, and many more.

She recently received funding to expand the program. Birmingham is the second community, followed by St. Louis in 2019.

“Other cities mentioned to us over the years that they were lacking in this type of leadership training for women,” Kanter said. “When we decided to pilot it in other places, Birmingham was a natural possibility because of the ongoing connection with the community, as was St. Louis because we had done other work with them.”

The Birmingham program’s community partner is the Birmingham Jewish Foundation, and the Abroms Institute for Life Time Learning at the N.E. Miles Jewish Day School will house the program.

The Institute will begin in August. For more information, contact Greene at sgreene@nemjds.org.

senior life an annual SJL special section

Eliminating Gaps in Healthcare No matter the stage of illness, innovative and comprehensive healthcare can provide a seamless continuity of care to ensure maximum independence and quality of life. Gaps in healthcare services can set seniors back on rehabilitative and comfort goals and can result in re-hospitalization and the deterioration of overall health and quality of life.

For many seniors, the importance of having access to a healthcare provider who can see them through all levels of rehabilitation and illness can mean a major difference in how they face their “golden years.”

Continuity of care may include home visits by a healthcare provider; rehabilitative care of traditional home health; palliative home health; and hospice care.

There is a unique niche in the evolving trend to shift medical care from hospitals to the community. The objective — decrease admissions and emergency room visits, decrease time and frustration consumers experience due to mobility issues and protect those who are frail and most vulnerable to infection. The “old fashioned house call” is coming back, offering patients the convenience of having a medical professional see them in the comfort and security of their home.

Traditional home care may include skilled nursing, physical/occupational/speech therapy, social services and nursing assistants. The main goal is to support the patient on a short-term basis in their own home or assisted living facility, allowing them the opportunity to remain living independently. This is achieved through education and support of disease management processes, while fostering independence in that environment either with or without caregiver assistance.

Palliative home health differs in that it allows patients with advanced diseases assistance managing their needs as they continue to seek curative treatment for life-limiting illnesses. This program can provide pain management and social services support for those on dialysis, chemotherapy or radiation treatment, while ensuring the patient and their family receives the emotional, physical and spiritual care they need during this stressful time.

Hospice providers work with physicians to formulate a plan of care for those facing life-limiting illness who no longer wish to seek curative measures. Patients can be offered medical and support care, social services, physician visits, education, psychosocial and bereavement care. The team embraces the physical, emotional and spiritual needs of not only the patient, but the patient’s family and caregivers as well.

Innovative healthcare providers, like those under the umbrella of The Carpenter Healthcare Network, including STAT Home Health, AIM Palliative Home Health, St. Joseph Hospice and Homedica HouseCalls, provide continuity of care to seniors. They offer a bridge for all stages of care so seniors receive healthcare and support services tailored to their individual needs, and they have constant access to a medical team focused on their goals, all in the comfort of their own home. The patient’s healthcare can continue to be overseen by their regular physicians, in addition to having the added expertise of medical directors and board-certified Hospice and Palliative Care physicians who are available for consults, 24/7.

February 2018 • Southern Jewish Life 31

seniors

Retirement at a “cruise ship on land” at Cahaba Ridge

More Southern

Life online at www.sjlmag.com

Do you have peace of mind?

Though not a vessel on the Cahaba River in Birmingham, Cahaba Ridge Retirement Community is a “cruise ship on land” for seniors.

At Cahaba Ridge Retirement Resort, residents come home to a warm, friendly community that’s luxurious, safe and comfortable. Maintenance and housekeeping is included, and every meal of the day is expertly prepared and pleasing to the palate. With all the work done, there is time for family, friends and the important things in life.

Designed for comfort, the community features studios to 3-bedroom apartments with a variety of floor plans and smart details. Each apartment features window coverings, climate-controlled thermostat, ceiling fans, and ample closet space. And, apartment kitchens are fully equipped with a dishwasher, range, microwave, refrigerator and a garbage disposal. Washer/dryer hook-ups are located in a separate laundry closet within the apartment.

Cahaba Ridge’s stunning main dining room is the perfect setting to savor meals prepared fresh daily by the Executive Chef in the state-of-the-art commercial kitchen. The signature Freedom Dining program includes flexible dining hours throughout the day. Dining experience options that are all included are fine dining, casual buffet, Chef ’s Pantry on-the-go snacks, and room service.

Residents can access on-site banking, a salon, general store, and pharmacy services. Through 24/7 concierge services, everything residents need is available at the touch of a button, even scheduled transportation on the community’s shuttle.

One may relax by a fireplace or enjoy a night of movies or live entertainment in the 150-seat theater. At Cahaba Ridge, there is no shortage of social activities. The Lifestyle Director consistently schedules unique activities designed to meet resident’s requests. Ultimately, companionship and interaction with others are powerful tools to enjoy retirement and with so many entertaining options and the caring community staff on hand, Cahaba Ridge certainly brings residents together.

Greenbrier residents celebrate every day Lisa Finn, an Estate Planning Attorney in Southeastern Louisiana since 2004, and member of the New Orleans Jewish community, helps families daily with estate planning techniques which take into account all the important life and death decisions, including: asset protection, incapacity planning, tax consequences, near death considerations, and postmortem financial planning.

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by Lee J. Green Residents at the Greenbrier senior living community on Highland Avenue in Birmingham might be found playing cards or going to a play at nearby Theatre Downtown.

“We celebrate every holiday and every day,” said Greenbrier Activities Director Robert Cooper. “Our residents love to socialize and have fun. They live life to its fullest.”

Almost 100 people attended the big Greenbrier Chanukah party. Kids from Temple Beth-El came over to sing songs and to celebrate the holiday.

Cooper even cooked some sweet potato latkes.

Next up are big Purim parties and Passover. “We have some wonderful Jewish residents and other residents that want to learn more about the holidays,” said Cooper. “We’re grateful for the support we have gotten from the Jewish community and the Temples over here,” with Beth-El and Emanu-El just a few blocks away.

Cooper said they have monthly “Honor Your Grandparents” Shabbat services and give much credit to Collat Jewish Family Services.

The community includes more than 270 residents. Activity options as well as amenities are abundant.

In February, Greenbrier will also host a Mardi Gras party and Valentine’s dinner on Feb. 13 and 14.

He said they also organize trips including shopping, dining and shows.

“Our residents love going out to eat and supporting the arts,” said Cooper.

seniors Keeping seniors happy, healthy at home Pahos said they invest in their CAREGivers by continually training them to meet changing market needs. All Home Instead CAREGivers are W-2 Technology can help to match people with their soul mate, and also employees, bonded and insured.

“The goal of Home Instead and our CAREGivers is to not only be there match caregivers with seniors who need care as well as a friend.

Home Instead Senior Care’s Birmingham area franchise employs sophis- for whatever non-medical care seniors need in their homes, but also to help ticated company software that helps pair the ideal caregiver with those who them to regain their independence as much as possible,” he said. need some in-home care.

“We invest a lot of time in finding the most qualified CAREGivers and to be able to have options that meet the needs of those who need in-home The Town Village Vestavia Hills community thrives on having senior care,” said Birmingham Home Instead Senior Care Owner Dan Pahos. residents who lead an active retirement, and even some not quite ready to “We assess each client’s needs, and develop an individualized plan of care, retire. then we leverage our software program to help our scheduling department The community offers studio, one and two-bedroom apartments with best match the CAREGiver attributes outlined in the plan of care for each fully equipped kitchens and full maintenance and housekeeping services. client” said Pahos, who started Home Instead Senior Care Birmingham Town Village offers much for community residents to enjoy, including allin 1997. Since then, they have provided more than four million hours of day, restaurant-style dining, regularly scheduled activities and wellness pronon-medical in-home services to seniors in the Birmingham metro area. grams, a wellness center, heated indoor pool, beauty salon, game room, library, He said technology has also helped adult children become more informed theatre for entertainment events, landscaped courtyards and lounge areas. with the care options for their parents, allowing them to be more proactive Plus, the community’s transportation team can take seniors for errands, than in years past. doctor’s appointments and everything else they need. They also coordinate “Fifteen years ago, it was usually three or four days from when we got a call regular fun outings to local theatres, symphony and art galleries. to when our CAREGiver started,” said Pahos. “Today families call at 9 a.m.

Town Village celebrates the Jewish holidays, especially Chanukah, Passand need a CAREGiver to start at 4 p.m. that same day. It is about preparing over and the High Holy Days. One of their active Jewish residents is Evelyn as much as possible to meet their needs and staying ahead of the curve.”

Gross-Brien.

People are living longer today, often into their 90s, so CAREGivers are She said she has been at the community for several years and “loves to also trained to work with seniors who may have multiple medical issues, have fun times with my friends here.” Gross-Brien said she would be happy such as diabetes, dementia and congestive heart failure. That requires a bet- to meet with any prospective Jewish residents, who can come by Town Vilter-trained and prepared CAREGiver than in years past. lage for a tour and free meal anytime.

by Lee J. Green

Town Village seniors keep active in retirement

‘Close to Everything’ can still mean

a world away.

Nestled in the woods of the impressive Riverchase area, this is truly a place where prestige doesn’t mean pretense. And we’re just minutes from all the amenities of Birmingham.

Call (205) 650-3218 today to attend our Gift of Life Care workshop at 11 a.m. Thursday, February 15.

A Life Care* Community 3850 Galleria Woods | Birmingham, Alabama 35244 brookdalelifecare.com *Life Care plan/guarantee is subject to the terms of the Residency Contract.

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©2018 Brookdale Senior Living Inc. All rights reserved.

BROOKDALE SENIOR LIVING and BRINGING NEW LIFE TO SENIOR LIVING are the registered trademarks of Brookdale Senior Living Inc.

Bringing New Life to Senior Living®

February 2018 • Southern Jewish Life 33

seniors Focusing on Woldenberg Village’s Jewish roots

by Lee J. Green In 1962, Woldenberg Village, originally named WillowWood, was founded by the Jewish Federation of Greater New Orleans. Today, the continuum-of-care senior living community continues to reach out to the area Jewish community to strengthen ties and boost new resident numbers.

The community, which covers 17 acres on the West Bank and was acquired by Touro Infirmary in 1998, includes 60 independent garden apartments, 60 assisted-living apartments, a 120-bed skilled nursing care facility, and an outpatient rehabilitation center that specializes in physical as well as occupational therapy.

Woldenberg Village Executive Director Joe Townsend said that approximately 12 percent of their residents are Jewish. It was 7 percent when he came on board in September 2011.

“Growing our Jewish resident numbers and making this the most ideal home environment for our current Jewish residents has been a focal point for me,” said Townsend. “This was one of my main goals when I got here.”

The community celebrates all the Jewish holidays and many Jewish and non-Jewish residents attended the recent Chanukah party.

Rachel Palmer, a licensed social worker and involved member of the New Orleans Jewish community, has been at Woldenberg Village for

four years. Last October, she was promoted to Director of Independent Living.

“We want to make everything in independent living more welcoming and exciting,” said Palmer. “Of course with me being Jewish it is important to reach out to the New Orleans area Jewish community and to bring in new Jewish residents here.”

One focus is to enhance the quality of and options for dining in the Woldenberg Village independent living area. She said they could do kosher options and have a licensed dietitian. “The dining areas are social opportunities for people to congregate, have some good food and get to know each other better,” said Palmer.

She said the residents at Woldenberg “love dressing up for socials and celebrations” — everything from Mardi Gras to birthdays to fancy dinners.

Palmer said independent living residents can get regular transportation options and enjoy day trips to the World War II Museum, the Audubon Zoo, shopping and dining. “Transportation is there for everything from errands and trips to the doctor to sight-seeing,” she said.

Having a background in social work, Palmer knows that an active, social environment promotes longevity. “An active senior is a happy, healthy senior,” she said. “We look at the total wellness picture.”

Goldstein helps navigate the world of Medicare supplement plans

by Lee J. Green

Southern Jewish Life

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

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

34 Southern Jewish Life • February 2018

Navigating the changing world of Medicare and Medicare supplement insurance can be difficult, unless you have Milton Goldstein piloting the way.

“I have been doing this for a long time and have done a lot of research on the many options that are out there,” said Goldstein, an involved member of the Birmingham area Jewish community. “I have saved people hundreds of dollars on premiums for the same coverage by finding just the right Medicare supplement plan and insurance company for them.”

Anyone who turns 65 years old can qualify for Medicare. There are some potential co-pays and deductibles not covered by basic Medicare, hence the need for a supplemental insurance policy to fill in the gaps.

“A lot of people think that there are only certain open enrollment periods with Medicare supplement insurance,” said Goldstein. “If qualified, you can change your plan and insurance company any time of the year — even if you have had a plan for years.”

Goldstein advises that “you contact a Medicare specialist several months before you turn 65 or otherwise become eligible for Medicare coverage, or are considering changing your existing plan or insurance company.”

He advises working with a trained Medicare and supplemental insurance specialist who can be trusted. Goldstein also said there are many plans to choose from and he can help you decide which is best for you.

“There is an option that is right for everyone.” he said. “I tell my clients not to be focused on one insurance company. Medicare Supplements are accepted the same way by your doctor or facility regardless of which insurance company you use.”

If qualified, you can change your plan or company any time of the year

seniors

Cahaba Ridge Retirement Community It’s the little things.

Throughout the years, we’ve learned the most important things in life are often the little things.

Small details matter.

Here at Cahaba Ridge, we take great pride in recognizing what brings a smile to your face every day in our all-inclusive community. That means our managers live on site to help with anything you need. It means we believe in making every meal a world-class, how-you-like-it experience, and it means we hire top-quality staff who provide top-quality service.

Please call with any questions:

205-259-2695

3090 Healthy Way 

Vestavia Hills, AL 35243  CahabaRidgeRetirement.com

February 2018 • Southern Jewish Life 35

seniors

Galleria Woods lets residents decide on the fun

by Lee J. Green

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Officially, the Galleria Woods senior living/ care community near the Riverchase Galleria in Hoover south of Birmingham has an experienced, loved activities director named Saralyn Milwee.

But unofficially, all of its more than 200 residents are activity planners. “Saralyn keeps a resident profile sheet on everyone and each month builds an activities calendar that focuses on as many of their interests as possible,” said Galleria Woods Sales and Marketing Director Josh Hullett.

“We ask our residents to select some of the programs and even lead them if they want to,” he said. “We want this to be their community and for it to be a joy to be here always.”

Hullett and Milwee said many of the residents are very into the arts. Galleria Woods coordinates trips to the Lyric and Alabama theatres in downtown Birmingham, the Alabama Symphony Orchestra concerts at Samford as well as other day trips to enjoy shopping, restaurants and other entertainment.

Popular in-house activities include senior fitness classes, dance classes, games, speakers and hosting performers who play music from the era they grew up in.

Hullett said they have many fun events coming up at Galleria Woods, including the Masquerade Ball on Feb. 14, featuring a special dinner, then dancing to a six-piece band.

“Every year we also have our Senior Olympics,”

he said. “That is something that stimulates competition, talent and teamwork.” The winners get medals.

Galleria Woods has a few Jewish residents, and they make sure to celebrate all of the Jewish holidays. They hope to work with groups in the local Jewish community to bring in volunteers to help Jewish residents with their spiritual and celebratory needs.

Hullett said residents at Galleria Woods enjoy some excellent cuisine. They have the option for bistro casual, a main dining room, take-out and even room service.

Galleria Woods’ parent company Brookdale Senior Living has its own in-house culinary institute and has developed new seasonings for the communities to replace those with high sodium content.

“We can work with residents’ special dietary needs to do kosher-style, vegetarian, gluten-free, no-spice, whatever they want,” said Hullett.

Hullett said an “innovative program” at Galleria Woods called BrainFit is really having a positive effect on residents’ health and well-being.

BrainFit is a “comprehensive, holistic approach to brain health that guides residents to make and carry out a brain health plan that provides opportunities to keep the brain sharp.”

The course uses the six dimensions of Galleria Wood’s Optimum Life program — physical, emotional, purposeful, social, spiritual and intellectual — as a framework for brain health.

Colonial Oaks celebrating year-long renovation

by Lee J. Green Spring is a time of renewal, and in April the Colonial Oaks Living Center skilled nursing facility located behind East Jefferson Hospital in the heart of Metairie, is planning to celebrate the completion of an extensive year-long internal and external renovation of its 50-year-old facility.

“This is a whole facility renovation,” said Michele Varon, community liaison for Colonial Oaks Living Center and sister community Belle Vie Living Center, located next to Ochsner West Bank, as well as an involved member of the New Orleans area Jewish community. “We’re making everything new again with new flooring, lighting, painting at Colonial Oaks, plus every room has been newly renovated. We wanted to make the facility even more warm and inviting.”

Colonial Oaks holds a capacity of 95 beds and Belle Vie holds a capacity of 89 beds. Twenty of the rooms at Colonial and 15 of the rooms at Belle Vie are designated for short-term rehabilitation in the S.T.A.R. Unit, Short-Term Accelerated Rehab.

“The STAR unit fills that gap for those who leave the hospital but are not quite ready to go home,” said Varon. “We have a team of inhouse trained therapists who do Physical, Oc-

cupational and Speech therapies. On average, a patient’s stay in the STAR unit is 30 days or less.

We also have very low re-admission rate back to the hospitals. We make their environment as close to their homes as possible.”

The co-owners of both facilities are Jewish and Varon said Jewish and non-Jewish families both enjoy celebrating and learning more about most of the Jewish holidays at the facilities. They have a registered dietician at both facilities and can do special Shabbat meals upon request.

Of course, the facilities are currently planning to celebrate Mardi Gras with a Mardi Gras ball and a naming of both a Mardi Gras King and Queen this month.

seniors

Know the signs: Heart disease still the leading killer of women More women than men die each year from cardiovascular disease. Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death in women, killing more women per year than all cancers combined. Although heart disease death rates among men have declined steadily over the last 25 years, rates among women have fallen at a slower rate. In fact, the only group in which cardiovascular disease is still growing is women less than 45 years of age.

Ischemic heart disease is the number one cause of cardiovascular death in women. Ischemic heart disease is the term given to heart problems caused by narrowed heart arteries. When arteries are narrowed, less blood and oxygen reaches the heart muscle. This is also called coronary artery disease and coronary heart disease. This can ultimately lead to heart attack.

A heart attack occurs when the blood flow that brings oxygen to the heart muscle is severely reduced or cut off completely. This happens because the arteries that supply the heart with blood can slowly narrow from a buildup of fat, cholesterol and other substances (plaque).

Younger women are twice as likely to die of a heart attack as younger men. Women present with symptoms that are different from men, have differHeart Attack Signs ent responses to risk factors than men, in Women: are less likely to be diagnosed than men and are less likely to be treated for heart • Pain in one or both arms, the back, neck, jaw or stomach disease than men.

Women often do not recognize • Pressure or pain in the center of the chest the signs of a heart attack. For many • Shortness of breath women, the symptoms of a heart attack appear to be less life-threatening condi- • Nausea, vomiting, heartburn tions like acid reflux, the flu or normal • Cold sweats aging. Symptoms are more likely to be • Lightheadedness, extreme fatigue triggered by emotional stress and are more likely to occur when resting or • Palpitations or fast heart beats sleeping in women. Women often wait longer than one day to seek care and report that healthcare professionals do not think symptoms were related to the heart.

Women typically put caring for others ahead of their own health. It is important for all women to monitor their heart health and be aware of the signs of a heart attack. If you or a woman you love presents these signs, contact 9-1-1 and go to the hospital immediately.

To make an appointment with a cardiovascular physician with the Tulane University Heart and Vascular Institute, visit: www.tulaneheart.com.

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At TrainSmarter in Birmingham, the name says the philosophy — the greatest benefits come not from training harder, but training smarter.

In a non-intimidating atmosphere, the TrainSmarter staff works with everyone from novices to experienced athletes, and also assist those with orthopedic and other concerns.

Recently, Meda White earned her certification as a Functional Aging Specialist, and on March 3 at 10 a.m. will lead a workshop on “Golden Aging.”

White said she always admired mature adults who “never slow down and never grow old.” With the right approach, “it’s possible to put off physical decline indefinitely” and even restore what years of inactivity have taken away.

“The ‘Golden Years’ should be golden, something to aspire to and look forward to, not filled with aches and pains and doctors’ appointments,” she said. “Frailty is not inevitable.”

Located between Crestline and the Eastwood area of Birmingham, TrainSmarter offers personal training, group fitness, corrective exercise and “Madison’s Mommas,” a maternal fitness group with pre- and post-natal classes.

I work with a lot of different companies and have many years of experience to provide you with the best, customized plan.

If qualified, you can buy or change your Medicare Supplement any month of the year.

Also specializing in Long-Term Care Insurance

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Cell: (205) 907-0670

E-mail: miltgold@bellsouth.net Licensed in 11 States

•

• February 2018 • Southern Jewish Life 37

community OFFICE OF INCLUSION AND DIVERSITY

THIS IS AUBURN. “This wonderful country of ours allows us to gather together, to be Jewish and be free… I’m grateful I can be Jewish and a basketball coach in the SEC.”

— Auburn Head Basketball Coach Bruce Pearl, at the 2017 JCC Maccabi Games Opening Ceremony

WE ARE COMMUNITY. Hillel, Auburn University’s Jewish student organization, was the recipient of the 2015 AU Student Involvement Award for Overcoming Adversity. diversity@auburn.edu www.auburn.edu/diversity

JCRS saw record year in 2017 The New Orleans-based Jewish Children’s Regional Service ended 2017, with record numbers of Jewish young people served in over a half dozen programs.

Over 1700 unduplicated Jewish youth in the agency’s seven-state region received camp and undergraduate college scholarships, special needs subsidies, PJ Library subscriptions, Chanukah gifts, case management services, disaster relief, and outreach contacts and gifts for lifecycle events and Jewish holidays.

In New Orleans, over 600 youth were served and funded through agency programs, giving JCRS more Jewish youth registered in its programs than other local Jewish organization or agency.

All of the services, except for PJ Library book subscriptions, are based on a documented financial needs basis. The PJ Library provides monthly Judaic books for any Jewish youth ages 0 to 8, with PJ Our Way for older students, and JCRS administers the program in communities that do not have their own PJ Library structure. Over 1000 received PJ Library books on a monthly basis through JCRS. Historically, the biggest programs for JCRS have been overnight camp scholarships and college scholarship aid, both of which are need-based.

During 2017, 336 Jewish youth received camp aid, 117 received college aid, and 70 youth were registered in the special needs/case management program.

A total of 336 individuals received large Chanukah bags filled with wrapped gifts and gift cards, and 125 of these recipients were victims of Hurricane Harvey flooding in Greater Houston.

The services of JCRS are available to Jewish youth across seven states of the Mid-South: Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Oklahoma, Tennessee and Texas.

The 2018 application deadline for overnight camp scholarships is Feb. 15 and the college aid deadline for the 2018/2019 college academic year is May 31. Applications are accepted after the published deadlines dates, but award amount priority goes to those who email their applications by the deadline date. Special needs subsidy applications are accepted on a year-round basis.

The annual JCRS budget is approximately $1.6 million, and well over 90 percent of its annual income is derived from contributions from individuals, families, bequests, family funds and foundations.

To apply for service or to support the only regional Jewish children’s agency in the United States, call (800) 729-5277 or visit www.jcrs.org.

The JCRS Chanukah Gift Program saw much higher enrollment this year, due to the effects of Hurricane Harvey on Houston’s Jewish community. In early December, JCRS staff drove a truck with over 100 boxes of gifts for 50 families that included 123 children and youth.

Pictured are JCRS Houston case manager Melanie Musser, JCRS Executive Director Ned Goldberg, and Congregation Beth Yeshurun Executive Director Lu Dorfman, a past JCRS board member and former resident of Gulfport.

38 Southern Jewish Life • February 2018

purim

Be Happy It’s Adar Purim Events in the Region Purim is on the evening of Feb. 28 and the day of March 1 this year.

Etz Chayim in Huntsville will Here are Purim events in the region that were announced as of press have a hot dog dinner and Putime: rim spiel on Feb. 28.

A Mobile-area communiAlabama The joint Temple Beth-El and Emanu-El Purim in Birmingham will ty-wide Purim festival will be be at Emanu-El this year, Feb. 28 at 6 p.m. Cantor Jessica Roskin and held at Ahavas Chesed, with Sarah Metzger will lead Beatles musical interludes during the megil- details to follow.

The Montgomery joint Pulah reading. There will be dinner and a costume contest. The religious rim service will be at Agudath schools will also have a joint carnival on March 4.

Chabad of Alabama will have a Mini Hamantash Bake for ages 0 to Israel-Etz Ahayem on Feb. 28 at 5, coordinated with PJ Library, on Feb. 25 at 10 a.m. Reserve to flori- 6 p.m., with a Hamilton theme.

There will be a spaghetti dinnan@bjf.org by Feb. 18. ner, costume parade and conThere will be a community women’s megillah reading, coordi- test. Reservations are $10 for nated by Ilene Kosoff, at Birmingham’s N.E. Miles Jewish Day School, adults, $7 for ages 7 to 13 and March 1 at 3 p.m. All women and girls are welcome, no men or boys free for 6 and under, and are Purim last year at Beth Israel in older than age 3.

Jackson needed by Feb. 21.

Chabad of Alabama will have a Hip Hop Purim on March 1, with a megillah reading at 4:30 p.m. and hip hop Purim party at 5 p.m. There Florida Panhandle B’nai Israel in Panama City will have a Purim costume party and hawill be a festive dinner, DJ, children’s activities including a Mad Science magician, an open bar for adults and an airbrush artist. Reservations mantaschen on Feb. 25 at 9:30 a.m. are $18 for adults, $10 for children, maximum of $60 per family.

Temple Beth-El in Pensacola will have a Purim service and shpiel, Dothan’s Temple Emanu-El will have a Beatles Purim and potluck on “Esther and the Man Who Shall Not Be Named,” Feb. 25 at 11 a.m. Rabbi Joel Fleekop will lead “Haman, Hamantashen and Hefeweizen” for ages Feb. 23 at 6 p.m.

21 and up, Feb. 28 at 6:30 p.m.

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purim The Pensacola community-wide Purim carnival will be at Creative Learning Academy on Feb. 25, starting at 12:15 p.m., sponsored by the Pensacola Jewish Federation and PJ Library.

Louisiana Gemiluth Chassodim in Alexandria will have its Purim celebration with a costume parade and dinner, Feb. 28 at 6 p.m.

B’nai Israel in Baton Rouge will have a Purim celebration and Middle Eastern dinner on Feb. 28 at 6 p.m. Dinner reservations are $10.

Beth Shalom in Baton Rouge will have a Purim party on Feb. 28 at 5:30 p.m., with a dairy potluck, parade, crafts, photo booth and more.

The Uptown Jewish Community Center in New Orleans will have its 29th annual community-wide Adloyadah, Feb. 25 from 11:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. It is free and open to the community. An all-day children’s play pass is $12.

JNOLA will have a Purim Pub Crawl, Feb. 25 starting at 3 p.m. Those in costume can get a free drink at each of the three spots. The crawl starts at Madigan’s Bar, then Ale on Oak and Little Tokyo. There will be karaoke and a vote for best costume.

A Purim Carol? Rabbi Robert Loewy of Gates of Prayer in Metairie is expressing “Bah, Humbug!” in advance of his final Purim before retirement, but at the Purim event on Feb. 28, he will be visited by the Ghost of Purim Past, the Ghost of Purim Present and a cameo by the Ghost of Purim Future. A light dinner at 6 p.m. will be followed by the Purim shpiel at 6:30 p.m.

Beth Israel in Metairie will have a Hogwarts Purim adventure, starting with the megillah reading on Feb. 28 at 7 p.m., followed by the annual Breakfast for Dinner and a performance by Tulane’s a capella group NJBeats. Another megillah reading will be on March 1 at 8 a.m.

Shir Chadash in Metairie will have Purim, Panorama and Pizza, Feb. 28 at 6 p.m. A kids’ costume parade will start at 6 p.m., with a theatrical megillah reading by Daniel Olson. A surprise introduction will start a Second Line with the Panorama Jazz Band, followed by dancing and pizza from Pizza Nola.

Touro Synagogue in New Orleans will have an adult Purim Happy Hour on Feb. 28, from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. in the Grant Meyer Garden Pavilion.

Temple Sinai in New Orleans will have JEWmanji: Welcome to Shushan, Feb. 28 at 5:30 p.m., followed by dinner at 6 p.m.

Chabad is holding a Purim story hour on Feb. 20 at 5 p.m. at the Jefferson Parish Library in Metairie.

The community Purim carnival in Shreveport will be at B’nai Zion on Feb. 25 from 10:30 a.m. to 1 p.m., with a Mediterranean feast, bounce houses, interactive games for all ages, prizes, musical cake walk, snacks and the famous BZ hamantashen.

Agudath Achim in Shreveport will have its Purim covered dish dinner on Feb. 28 at 6:15 p.m., followed by Cantor Neil Schwartz’s play about Esther and the megillah reading at 7 p.m.

Mississippi Chabad of Southern Mississippi is hosting Purim in China, with a megillah reading and slideshow, interactive children’s program, kosher Chinese buffet and Jewish humor fortune cookies, March 1 at 5 p.m.

Beth Israel in Gulfport will have its Purim carnival on Feb. 25 at 10:30 a.m.

Beth Israel in Jackson will have its megillah reading on Feb. 28 at 6 p.m.

40 Southern Jewish Life • February 2018

community Visiting each state’s oldest Temple As a child, Julian Preisler was fascinated by a large painting at Temple Israel in Columbus, Ohio, depicting their “old” building. An architecture and history buff at the age of 10, he also had religious school classes at Agudas Achim, which was closer to where Temple Israel had previously been located, so “after school I would pester my parents to drive around and look for it after we bought bagels and had lunch.”

After being unable to find it, he asked one of the rabbis, who told him the old building had been torn down. “In my young mind,” he said, “I could not understand why such a beautiful building was no longer the temple and why it was torn down.”

That helped spark his interest in historical preservation, and his latest work is the just-published “America’s Pioneer Jewish Congregations.” In it, he details the history and houses of worship for the oldest still-functioning synagogue in each of the 50 states, along with Washington D.C., Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

The book demonstrates a wide range of architectural styles and eras, from massive cathedral-like structures to thoroughly modern interpretations. Preisler said he wanted to produce an easy-to-read book of mostly photography to document “the diversity of America’s oldest congregations,” and doing it state-by-state provided that type of range.

His previous books were about synagogues in Philadelphia, central and western Pennsylvania and West Virginia.

His interest in history also stems from his parents and all four grandparents being Holocaust survivors. “I grew up with an early knowledge of the years 1933 to 1945 and was always fascinated with the lives of my family members prior to the war,” he said.

A professional genealogist, he has also chronicled numerous Jewish cemeteries around the country, including in Demopolis, Biloxi, Laurel and Meridian.

Preisler said “life is full of changes, some good, some bad, but we have a responsibility to document our past both with regard to our family history, our built environment and our culture.”

Alabama’s Springhill Avenue Temple in Mobile, formed in 1844, is described with the current structure and the since-demolished historic Government Street and Jackson Street Temples.

Florida’s oldest congregation is not in the Miami area, but Pensacola, where Temple Beth-El began in 1876. Mississippi’s Temple B’nai Israel in Natchez is also profiled. In Tennessee, it’s Temple Israel, formed in 1853.

In Arkansas, he writes about B’nai Israel in Little Rock with the recently-closed Anshe Emeth in Pine Bluff, which were chartered five days apart in 1867.

Both Touro Synagogues are profiled — in Newport, R.I. and New Orleans, though Louisiana’s oldest congregation and the oldest synagogue outside the original 13 colonies has just one image in the book, from a 1913 postcard.

Of course, the famous Kahal Kadosh Beth Elohim in Charleston, S.C., formed in 1791, and Mickve Israel in Savannah, Ga., formed in 1740 and one of only six remaining congregations from the Colonial period, are profiled.

He said Beth-El in Pensacola and Springhill Avenue Temple in Mobile were particularly helpful in his research, and he hopes to do another book concentrating on Southern synagogues. Signed copies are available through jpreisler.com.

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OPEN

Monday-Friday 11am-9pm Saturday 4:30-9pm

An effort to designate Feb. 12 to 16 as Jewish American Heritage Week is underway in Florida. The resolution recognizes “the invaluable contributions of Jewish Americans to our way of life,” and notes that Florida is home to 654,860 of the country’s Jewish Americans.

The House bill was introduced on Jan. 9 by Emily Slosberg of Delray Beach, Randy Fine of Palm Bay, Joe Geller of Aventura and Bill Hager of Boca Raton, and adopted on Jan. 11. The Senate bill was filed on Dec. 4

by Daphne Campbell.

Campbell, of Miami Beach, said she is “proud to sponsor the first ever resolution in the Florida Senate declaring Jewish Heritage Week” because her district has “over 20 percent of Jewish Floridians.”

The Jewish Legislative Caucus is hosting a Jewish Heritage Breakfast on Feb. 13 at 8 a.m. in the Knott Building in Tallahassee.

Nationally, Jewish American History Month has been celebrated in May, and the resolution references the month without stating that it is in May. The national celebration was established after an effort by the Jewish Museum of Florida and the South Florida Jewish community. In 2005, Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz of Florida and Senator Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania introduced the resolutions urging President George W. Bush to make that designation, which he did in April 2006.

Backers originally wanted the month to be January, because in October 2003, Governor Jeb Bush signed a bill designating January as Florida Jewish History Month, but the national event was moved to May because President Jimmy Carter had declared a Jewish Heritage Week for May in 1980.

Just in Washington, the Library of Congress, National Archives and Records Administration, National Endowment for the Humanities, National Gallery of Art, National Park Service, Smithsonian Institution, and United States Holocaust Memorial Museum have done programs commemorating the month.

The Jewish Federations of North America convened the JAHM Coalition with the Jacob Rader Marcus Center of the American Jewish Archives and the American Jewish Historical Society, and a number of museums around the nation, including the Jewish Museum of Florida.

Last year, the National Museum of American Jewish History took over coordination of the month, as JAHM had no paid employees and a budget of $10,000.

This year’s national theme is Jewish Contributions to American Music.

Magical Mitzvah Day in Baton Rouge B’nai Israel in Baton Rouge will have its 19th annual Magical Mitzvah Day on March 11 from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

There are six areas where volunteers are needed. One group will do Operation Shoebox, knitting or crocheting caps for members of the military. L’Dor V’Dor and More is baking and assembling Passover baskets for the elderly.

Magical Mensch Mania will put together packages of toiletries for the Battered Women’s Shelter, snack bags for the St. Vincent DePaul homeless shelter, cards and treats for soldiers, and more.

Canines and Commandments will act against cruelty to animals, making chew ropes, blankets and other items needed by dog rescue groups affected by the floods.

B’nai Buddies will do maintenance, cleaning and repairs around B’nai Israel, and the Neshama Noshers will prepare lunch for the mitzvah teams.

community

IN BIRMINGHAM’S THEATRE DISTRICT

Touro Synagogue dedicates historical display On Jan. 19, Judah Touro was on hand for the dedication of a new Touro Synagogue historical display on the New Orleans congregation’s 190th anniversary, and help the congregation observe his 164th yahrzeit.

Robert Applebaum, dressed in an early-1800s outfit, started his address with “my name is Judah Touro,” and described Touro’s life in a first person narrative, including his role in supporting the congregation, for which it was named in his memory following a merger in 1881.

Rabbi Alexis Berk said many years ago, Applebaum “became very intrigued with the man… he researched and became very familiar with who this man was.”

Touro’s address was part of the celebration for what Berk referred to as the “long dreamed of ” display, with dozens of the congregation’s historical artifacts in two display cases. Berk said the evening was “to celebrate the history of this magnificent place in word, in photograph, in story and in song.”

Touro Synagogue is the sixth-oldest chartered Jewish congregation in the United States, and the first one outside the original 13 colonies.

One case focuses on Judah Touro’s life, while the other focuses on congregational memorabilia, from Touro and its predecessor congregations, Gates of Mercy and Dispersed of Judah. Among the items is a cover from the 1828 congregational constitution and bylaws, incorporation documents written in French, the first ledger, dating back to 1833, a record of marriages from 1871, a letter from Rabbi Isaac Mayer Wise, founder of the Reform movement, regarding the reinternment of burials from the first Gates of Mercy Cemetery, and a 1907 terra cotta tile from the dome.

Congregational Historian Adrien Genet said “many people worked over several decades to bring this to fruition.”

In 1993, after many years on the board and as an officer, she suggested that the congregation needed a historian, and was immediately appointed.

She referenced several little-known historical facts about the building, which was completed in 1909. She pointed out gas jets in the back of the sanctuary, put there because in 1909 some members of the building committee weren’t convinced that electricity would become popular.

One artifact in the cases is the pre-1984 silver eternal light that used to be in the sanctuary.

When it was taken down during the renovation, Genet said, it was realized that the eternal light for all those years had been an electrified gravy boat.

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February 2018 • Southern Jewish Life 43

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Ingredients: Shishito peppers (about 6 per person for a light snack) 1 Tsp coarse Kosher salt 1 lemon 1 lime Canola oil Instructions: Zest the lemon and lime and mix with salt. Juice the lemon and lime and mix with salt until it has the consistency of wet sand.

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44 Southern Jewish Life • February 2018

by Lee J. Green Jason Templin’s grandmother worked for years at Loveman’s and Ideal Furniture, Jewish-owned businesses in downtown Birmingham.

While seeking a location for The Shu Shop, Birmingham’s first fresh ramen restaurant, Templin wanted to honor his grandmother and be in the downtown theatre district on Third Avenue North, down the street from the Lyric Theatre and across the street from the Alabama Theatre.

The move has been well-received and a perfect fit, he says. Call it a case of “if the Shu fits, then wear it.”

“We’ve been really pleased with the response we have gotten since we opened” in July, he said. “We came up with the concept a few years ago and had a Shu Shop pop-up store that won the Audience Choice for the REV Birmingham Big Pitch Competition. That increased our visibility and we kept updating the status if what would become our permanent location.”

Years ago Templin and co-owner Adeeba Khan worked at Sakura in Five Points. They had ramen on the menu but it was not craft ramen with all the varieties The Shu Shop offers.

When Sakura closed, they would both go on to other jobs but remained good friends and both found themselves seeking a new opportunity more continued on page 45

Continued from page 46

Up your brunch game.

And lunch.

Annnnd supper.

Jews began referring to it as the Omerde.

What if Feb. 2 is on Shabbat? Rabbi Telfon says that seeing one’s shadow is not exactly an effort. However, Rabbi Telgraf contends that after sleeping all winter it’s more effort than Rabbi Telfon thinks. Rabbi Selfon asks, “what’s a February?”

Other debates include whether separate dishes are required for the extra six weeks of winter, and whether the celebration of Purim is altered in any way if it falls during the six weeks. In short, the Talmud considers impacts on the heaviness of costumes and the amount of alcohol consumed.

Rabbi Telfon concludes with his underlying point about mammalian weather prognostication: Deriving religious significance from any kind of hog isn’t kosher. “Besides,” says Tarfon, “we live in a desert.”

And don’t forget parties (we cater too).

Doug Brook is asking “how about a hand for the hog?” as he’s directing Big River, the Huckleberry Finn musical, next winter. To read past columns, visit http://brookwrite.com/. For exclusive online content, like facebook. com/rearpewmirror.

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Hadassah Birmingham installed the 2018 officers on Jan. 28 at the home of Eva Wilensky. Ami Abel Epstein and Bridget Sikora were installed as co-presidents, succeeding Mindy Cohen. Guest speaker Michele Forman detailed the Sidewalk Film Festival’s move to the Pizitz Building, as well as the possibility of a Jewish Film Festival.

> > Shu Shop than three years ago. They did some research on some successful ramen/ authentic Japanese restaurants in places such as Atlanta and Nashville.

Then they gauged the need for a craft ramen place in Birmingham and found it was something people were clamoring for. “Birmingham is a very sophisticated foodie city. The palates are adventurous and people here want foods in their city that they could not get here before,” said Templin. His wife, Janet, and Khan’s husband, David, are also co-owners.

In addition to several varieties of fresh ramen dishes, The Shu Shop menu includes kosher-style small plates with snapper, yellowtail, fried tofu, Japanese pickles, vegan dumplings, eggs, rice and much more.

“We do as much local sourcing as possible and everything is made fresh daily,” he said. “We also look at bringing in some unique items when they are available and come in season, such as pecan truffles.”

The Shu Shop also offers spirits, including a large selection of local craft beer, Japanese sake and whiskey. The restaurant/bar is open evenings into the late night except Sundays, and seats 65, including 20 in a special upstairs loft area.

“We want to do something that fits well with the surrounding neighborhood and is a place people just want to hang out at,” said Templin.

February 2018 • Southern Jewish Life 45

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Groundhog Vay In the depths of the Talmud, it is asked, “how much ground could a groundhog hog, if a groundhog could hog ground?”

Today, people tired of wrestling with their winter coats ask, “who is that punk Satawney Phil, anyway?” Over 1500 years ago, people tired of wrestling with the Talmud asked, “what’s a groundhog?”

After all, groundhogs are indigenous to North America, which is generally believed to be several miles from Jerusalem or Babylonia, where the Talmud (both versions) was assembled. Nonetheless, this prescient topic is brought to modern Judaism by the long-lost, recently discovered Mishnah tractate Bava Gump.

The tractate that rocked the rabbinic world by asserting how shrimp can be kosher, rolls on with a great debate about this particularly seasonal holiday.

Tradition as upheld today says that the groundhog seeing his shadow means six more weeks of winter, whereas not seeing his shadow means winter is over. Rabbi Telfon, the Great Communicator, insists this is backward. A groundhog seeing his shadow means the sun is out, and the sun makes warmer weather.

Rabbi Telfon insists that avoiding six more weeks of winter should instead require the groundhog to see three of his shadow. “Shabbat ends with the sighting of three stars in the sky. Similarly, shouldn’t winter end only when the groundhog sees three of his shadow on the ground?”

Rabbi Telgraf, a predecessor of Rabbi Telfon’s, asks, “doesn’t that mean the groundhog should see three of his shadow in the sky?”

Rabbi Selfon, a later rabbi, recounts why Judaism would place so much stock in seeing a shadow: Biblical precedent. According to Rabbi Selfon, when Moses saw the burning bush, and the bush was not consumed by the fire, the light from the fire also cast no shadow. Since this was a sign of hope for the future, not seeing one’s shadow is taken to mean that better things are coming.

Rabbi Telgraf disputes this midrash.

IS IT KOSHER Rabbi Selfon responds by asking the elder rabbi, “were you there?” Rabbi TO GET YOUR Telfon expresses his disdain, saying, “two words: vampires.”

WEATHER Judaism has a centuries-old tradition FORECAST FROM that for every two rabbis there are three When a Sanhedrin would sit A GROUNDHOG? opinions. in judgment of legal cases, it had 71 rabbis on the hope that, between their combined 106-and-a-half opinions, two would match.

Why, then, is the meteorological fate of 42 days each year left to a single groundhog? As alluded before, in the Middle East it was prohibitive to find any groundhogs, let alone 71. Nearly as difficult as finding a minyan today anywhere else. (In many North American cities it’s easier to find a minyan of groundhogs.) Also, Phil has a pretty good agent.

Is there a name for the six extra weeks of winter? Jewish tradition calls the seven weeks between Passover and Shavuot the Omer. The three weeks between the 17th of Tammuz and Tisha B’Av are called Bein haMetzarim by both people who don’t have to look it up. The 10 days between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur are the Aseret Y’mai Teshuvah, literally, “10 days anywhere but temple.”

The Talmud doesn’t specify a name for the extra six weeks of winter the groundhog can forecast. However, early in the Diasporic Era, French continued on the previous page

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