Southern Jewish Life, New Orleans, July 2020

Camp Ramah Darom in Clayton, Ga.

Southern Jewish Life Southern Jewish Life 3747 Esplanade Ave., 3rd Floor P.O. BoxWest 130052 Metairie, LAAL 70002 Birmingham, 35213

Volume 30 Issue 7

July 2020

INSIDE:

NEW ORLEANS EDITION

Southern Jewish Life

2

July 2020 • Southern Jewish Life

shalom y’all As students exploring history learn, one does not legislate against something that does not exist. If there is a law about something, it’s because that sort of thing was happening in a society.

For example, in recent years, some have protested over including LGBTQ in hate crime or anti-discrimination bills.

Why include them? Well, maybe if they weren’t being discriminated against or attacked, there wouldn’t be a need to “single them out” in such bills.

Singling out groups has once again pervaded the news, with more people understanding why the phrase “black lives matter” exists.

Initially, there was some pushback to that phrase with the insistence that all lives matter. For many who consider themselves active in battling racism and bigotry, the phrase came across as an accusation — you still don’t really think black lives matter.

There is also a tendency to look to the Biblical teaching of Adam and Eve. From that narrative, we are taught that all people are created in the divine image, all people have inherent dignity and worth, and all have the divine spark within them.

But events of recent weeks have put on stark display what so many have been trying to say — there is a major problem in this country with the perception of different groups, often with fatal results.

Even when coming from people of goodwill, the expression of all lives matter was seen as ignoring the real problems faced by the Black community in America.

Why would people need to say Black Lives Matter if there wasn’t a problem? There’s a reason why the concept of “driving while Black” is well known. Forget the birds and the bees, many people are now aware that Black parents discuss when to have “the talk” with their kids about law enforcement, the wide disparity in being pulled over for minor infractions, or being closely watched in retail establishments.

What about jogging in areas where one “isn’t supposed to be?”

So yes, one can hold all lives matter as the ideal, but society needs to get there. As many have stated in the current atmosphere, all lives can’t matter until black lives matter. continued on page 47

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July 2020 • Southern Jewish Life

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commentary

MESSAGES

Maccabi USA leader praises Birmingham Games I have had the honor of attending many Maccabi competitions around the world. From Israel to Australia to South America, Europe and the JCC Maccabi games around the United States Brian Siegal and Canada, I have logged many miles seeing how sports can be a vehicle to help build Jewish identity, especially in our young.

Setting the Stage for Peaceful Progress

IOur felt society honoredistoundergoing come to Birmingham a re-ex- for the first time and fell in love with not just the city but the people.

You have taken Southern hospitality to a new level with your kind and caring amination of our attitudes and actions approach to the JCC Maccabi Games. related to race and discrimination following theSokol brutaland killing of George Led by the Helds, your hard-working volunteers were wonderful. They partnered Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer with your outstanding staff, led by Betzy Lynch, to make the 2017 JCC Maccabi games a huge hit.

May 25. Closing the wound of Ion want to take this opportunity as executive director of Maccabi USA to say thank you on behalf American will require more of everyoneracism involved. than reform of law enforcement proI had just returnedasfrom 20th is.

World Maccabiah games in Israel with a U.S. delegation of cedures, important thatthe surely over 1100, who joined 10,000 Jewish It will require letting down our guardathletes from 80 countries. Back in July the eyes of the entire Jewish world were onneighbors.

Jerusalem Itand the Maccabiah. This past month with 1000 athletes and and listening to our will coaches from around the world being require redressing stubborn inequi-in Birmingham, you became the focal point. from the Jewish tiesEveryone and indignities.

It willcommunity require and the community at large, including a wonderful police force, to areface to be commended.

TheseSharon games Malone will go down in history a seminal the courage hard truths in our and Don Siegalas atbeing the 2014 March on moment for the Jewish community as weWashington build to the Film futureFestival by providing such wonderful Jewish communities. memories.

At the same time, we, as a Jewish community, Jed Margolis must reassess our role as allies and of showing empathy and standing up for ourupstanders.

In doing this USA introspection and selves and others. The primary way that they Executive Director, Maccabi work, other seminal moments of history can be conveyed this to my sister and me was through stories about the civil rights movement and instructive. supremacists would to see pushed back their experiences at like the University of Alabama.

One event that was a similar turning point in On Charlottesville into a corner and made to feel lesser.

We their how America approached race and discrimina- I thought that I had heard every story instand with and pray of Heather Heyer,on repertoire, butforI the wasfamily particularly inspired tion occurred 57 years agoto when the University Editor’s Note: This reaction the events in was2013, thereatstanding up to the July 24, the screening of a face film of in this Washof Alabama underwent by two who Charlottesville, written by desegregation Jeremy Newman, hate. ington, as part of the “March on Washington” incredibly brave African American students — Master of the Alpha Epsilon Pi Theta Colony film Vivian Malone and James A. Hood.

Wefestival. recognize the essence of the American at Auburn University, was shared

by AEPi The film Behindold a Presidential Georgewhich Wallace hadit “very been eloquent” elected governor narrative as“Crisis: a two-century struggle to Comrid National, called and mitment” ofpresents the 24-hour period of Alabama 1962 under a segregationist plat- ourselves such corners, and allow those when in praised “our in brothers at AEPi Theta Colony at Governor Wallace stoodthat in they the so schoolhouse form. InUniversity his 1963 inaugural address, hethey prom- them the seat at the table deserve.

Auburn and… the leadership door to struggle block the of the of two ised hison white followers: “Segregation now! It is the to admittance fulfill the promise theblack display their campus. ” students to the all-white University of Alabama.

Segregation tomorrow! Segregation forever!” Declaration of Independence, that “all men are Shot candidly the White House, “Crisis” The U.S. Supreme Court, however, had declared created equal…within endowed by their Creator with White supremacy has beenina1954’s Brown cancer on v. certain capturesunalienable President rights.

John F. Kennedy as desegregation unconstitutional ” We know our he work our country since its beginning, threatening cides to commit the but power of the we presidency Board of Education. is far from finished, we know will not to its On hopes, its 10, values, andPresident its better angels. back racial equality.

June 1963, John F. Ken- move backwards.

The that took place inGuard Charlottesville My father was one of the four featured speaknedy events federalized National troops and men and discussion women, fully armed, take the represented the worst this nation.ofThose on the panel that followed deployed them to theofUniversity Alabama ersWhen to the streets in droves with swastikas and who marched onto the streets torches to force its desegregation.

Onwith thattiki fateful day, film. Moderated by Michele Norris-Johnson, symbols of hate,were it is a Kathleen reminder of how and swastikas did so to provoke violence the other panelists Kennedy Governor Wallace stood in the entry wayand of the other relevant the issues of racism and anti-Semitism fear.

Those who marched ontothe thetroops, streets ended did Townsend, daughter of Robert Kennedy; Helen enrollment office. But facing today. is a wake-up to the that so profess an ideology back to to are Shores LeeIt and Barbara call Shores Lee,work daughters histoblockade and allowedthat theharkens two students needs to be done to ensure a better, more aenroll. bleaker, more wretched time in our history. of a civil rights lawyer and leader. country.accounts But it should come the A time when men Siegal, and women of many creeds, welcoming The first-hand andnot behind My father, Don who died last Novemwithout a reflection on how far we’ve come. races, andareligions were far from equal and far ber after life of pursuing justice, taught me scenes anecdotes of that fateful day were mesAmericaMy wasfather born spoke a slaveabout nation. century from our ownepisode borders.ofAhistory time where theAeffort that aboutsafe thisinessential and his merizing. into we engaged a war in part Americans lived constant of had our beenhistory organized by the in then Dean of Sturole in it. He wasunder born aand raisedcloud in Tuscalooto ensure weBlackburn, would not continue as one.

Wethen racism, anti-Semitism and pervasive The dents, John to have my father, sa, and grew up steps away from the hate.

University confronted by the issue of civil events that took placestadium. in Charlottesville Studentourselves Government Secretary/Treasurer and of Alabama football Followingserved in the found and embarked a mission to ensure as a reminder how painfully relevant other student leaders,ongoing to campus orgafootsteps of hisofthree older brothers, hethese attend- rights, fair treatment of all peoples no matter their issues today. of Alabama, graduating in the nizations and fraternities to discuss and accept ed theare University skin color.

Although we’ve made great strides, desegregation.

In contrast to other universities 1964, and from its School of Law in 1967.

Auburn’s Alpha Epsilon Pi stands with the is a mission we’re still grappling with today. where riots had occurred upon desegregation, I wascommunity born and of raised in Birmingham.

Jewish Charlottesville, and My it the University of Alabama was peaceful, parents wanted to inculcate their Jewish values America was also born an immigrant and the with the Jewish people around the country students were given much of the many credit for this, country. As early as the pilgrims, and around the world. alsoSiegal stand iswith the Birmingham native We Brian regional even by President Kennedy. minorities whoAmerican are targeted by the hate that Mi- groups and families found in the country the director of the Jewish Committee’s My dad believed that everyone on campus was on display in Charlottesville.

We stand ami and Broward office. He is married to New opportunity to plant stakes, chase their future, and be themselves. Few were met with with thenative minorities whomSiegal. these white continued on open page 16 Orleans RabbiofJudith 4

July 2020 • Southern Jewish Life

July 2020 July 2020

Southern Jewish Life PUBLISHER/EDITOR Lawrence M. Brook editor@sjlmag.com ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER/ADVERTISING Lee J. Green lee@sjlmag.com V.P. SALES/MARKETING, NEW ORLEANS Jeff Pizzo jeff@sjlmag.com CREATIVE DIRECTOR Ginger Brook ginger@sjlmag.com SOCIAL/WEB Emily Baldwein connect@sjlmag.com PHOTOGRAPHER-AT-LARGE Rabbi Barry C. Altmark deepsouthrabbi.com CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Rivka Epstein, Louis Crawford, Tally Werthan, Stuart Derroff, Belle Freitag, Ted Gelber, E. Walter Katz, Doug Brook brookwrite.com BIRMINGHAM OFFICE P.O. Box 130052, Birmingham, AL 35213 2179 Highland Ave., Birmingham, AL 35205 205/870.7889 NEW ORLEANS OFFICE 3747 West Esplanade, 3rd Floor Metairie, LA 70002 504/249-6875 TOLL-FREE 888/613.YALL(9255) ADVERTISING Advertising inquiries to 205/870.7889 for Lee Green, lee@sjlmag.com Jeff Pizzo, jeff@sjlmag.com Media kit, rates available upon request SUBSCRIPTIONS It has always been our goal to provide a large-community quality publication to all communities of the South.

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

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

agenda interesting bits & can’t miss events It wasn’t with a room full of congregants… instead, the final Shabbat service for Cantorial Soloist Tory May at Gates of Prayer in Metairie was broadcast online on June 26 due to social distancing restrictions. May retired from Gates of Prayer after 33 years. A celebratory weekend planned for June 12 was postponed, and Rabbi David Gerber said there will be a community tribute when the community can gather in person once again.

Temple Sinai launches capital campaign for modernizing facility Loss of air conditioning in sanctuary necessitates immediate replacement Though the building is closed because of social distancing, the sanctuary at Temple Sinai in New Orleans is full — of scaffolding.

During its 150th anniversary year, the congregation has embarked on a capital campaign to take care of several issues around the building — the most pressing of which was the 50-year-old air conditioning and heating system in the sanctuary giving out.

The Goldring family made an immediate leadership gift so the system could go ahead and be replaced and ready for the High Holy Days, should in-person services occur.

In addition to the air system, the congregation is changing duct work and wiring, and installing insulation in the large attic.

The Tiffany chandeliers have been removed from the sanctuary so they can be refurbished with modern lighting and wiring, and the sanctuary ceiling lighting is being replaced with LED lights, also in an effort to reduce heat.

The seating in the chapel is being replaced, and there are security system upgrades and ADA compliance work taking place. The campaign will also provide for a maintenance endowment.

In July, it is Sinai’s turn to host the July Joint Reform Shabbat Services, which are being done via Zoom.

Cancelling In-Person Rosh Hashanah

New HVAC units are lifted onto the Temple Sinai roof

As the summer progresses and congregations start planning for the busy High Holy Day season, uncertainty abounds over whether Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur can proceed as normal, with lengthy services and large crowds.

Two congregations in the region have already announced that they will not be holding in-person services this year.

Beth Israel in Jackson was the first congregation in the region to definitively rule out in-person services. The June 24 announcement was made by the congregational board and Rabbi Joseph Rosen. “We will be sure to be diligent in seeing that our congregation will be well equipped to offer a quality spiritual opportunity,” Rosen said.

Birmingham’s Temple Emanu-El announced on July 3 that it will not have in-person High Holy Day, Sukkot or Simchat Torah services this year. Rabbi Adam Wright and Emanu-El President Robert Berman said July 2020 • Southern Jewish Life

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July 2020 • Southern Jewish Life

agenda the congregation will conduct focus groups and surveys to ensure that the worship experience will complement spiritualty and Jewish ethos.

“Our goal is not just to create another webcast,” they said, but to “fully capture the meaning, the majesty and the holiness of our High Holy Days.”

Emanu-El is the largest synagogue in Alabama.

B’nai Israel in Baton Rouge is also planning to hold High Holy Day services virtually. President Andy Blumberg said “we are not completely eliminating the possibility of gathering together physically with appropriate precautions,” but at the moment he is not convinced that can happen. Changes to High Holy Day services are not unprecedented. Because the holidays fall in the middle of hurricane season, there have been occasions when services have been called off because of the anticipated landfall of a hurricane.

Shear installed as Hadassah president With a national audience in virtual attendance, Briann Shear was installed as president of the New Orleans chapter of Hadassah on May 26. Marla Kameny, Southern region president, conducted the installation, which was held on Zoom.

“We had coast-to-coast attendance, including my sister in Baltimore, and my daughter and granddaughter in San Diego — all life members of Hadassah,” Shear said.

At the installation, Shear thanked the outgoing co-presidents, Betty Moore and Helen Stone, and the board members who served the past two years. She spoke about embracing the new and what we can learn in this challenging time.

“It’s different, not better or worse, but we can embrace what we can learn and what we can do,” Shear said. “We will explore the possibilities and use our ingenuity and creativity, and find the excitement in trying new things. And when we can return to some of the old familiar ways of doing things, we may still hang onto some of the new things we have learned.

Shear added, “With the support of an outstanding board and the guidance of our past presidents and mentors, I am looking forward to a fun and productive year with old and new friends, with programs to inspire and educate that appeal to women of different ages and interests, and underlying all we do, a dedication to Hadassah’s core values, using education, advocacy and support of medical care and research at Hadassah Medical organization to be a bridge to peace in Israel and around the world.”

A member of Hadassah for more than 40 years, Shear received the Woman of the Year award from the New Orleans chapter in 2019. The daughter of Jack and Dotsy Fisher, Shear and her three siblings worked in the family’s shoe store while growing up in New Orleans. After receiving a degree in philosophy from the University of New Orleans, Shear held jobs in art education, real estate and graphic design. She owned her own company, Shear Grafix, for 25 years.

Shear has long been involved with many organizations, including Hadassah, National Council of Jewish Women and Rotary International. Married to Mel Shear for 50 years, the Metairie couple has two adult children: Marci and Seth.

Joining Shear on the Hadassah board are Cindy Denn and Evette Ungar, education vice-presidents; Suzanne Stone, program vice-president; Marcela Boskis de Totah and Charisse Sands, fundraising vice-presidents; Fran Simon, marketing/communications vice-president; Teri Gross and Ilana Reisin, membership vice-presidents; Vickie Dahlman-Anger, ad-

agenda vocacy vice-president; Michelle Allen-Hart, recording secretary; Angela Gordon, corresponding secretary; and Arlene Hines, treasurer.

Hadassah, the Women’s Zionist Organization of America, is a volunteer organization that inspires a passion for and commitment to the land, the people and the future of Israel. Through education, advocacy, and youth development, and its support of medical care and research at Hadassah Medical Organization, Hadassah enhances the health and lives of people in Israel, the United States and worldwide. The organization’s vision is to strengthen a connection to Israel with Hadassah leading the way, bringing healing and justice to the world.

Follow Hadassah New Orleans at facebook.com/HadassahNola.

A commitment to care.

Vivian Cahn receives rare NCJW President’s Award The Greater New Orleans Section of the National Council of Jewish Women surprised Vivian Cahn with a rare President’s Award at a socially distanced Zoom board meeting on June 10.

Cahn joins a short list of 15 previous recipients who have received the award since it was established in 1981. It is presented to “an individual for going over and above the call of duty and being an invaluable asset to the organization.”

At her discretion, NCJW Section President Susan Hess presented Cahn the award for her long-standing membership in the organization and commended her for her history of volunteering for all kinds of jobs and appointed positions, including serving as a chair for numerous opening events, closing events, installations, fundraising events and general meetings, such as the coveted NCJW Hannah Solomon Award luncheon.

The award was presented to Cahn at the start of the NCJW meeting.

She had not been informed that she was going to receive it in advance and was thoroughly surprised with its presentation.

An interior designer, Cahn was noted by Hess as the designer for the New Orleans Family Justice Center’s playroom and safe space for children through NCJW’s partnership with this organization. Among other community events, she has served on a variety or boards and is a longtime board member of Prospect New Orleans, helping to establish in New Orleans the largest art triennial in the history of the country.

“This year Vivian is serving as Corresponding Secretary and writes such wonderful notes that she gets ‘thank you notes’ for the notes she writes on behalf of NCJW!” Hess said. Cahn has also undertaken the job as the editor, layout artist and printer liaison for the NCJW Bulletin.

In conjunction with the award, Cahn received a unique brooch, which was designed by former NCJW president Ina Davis. It bears a special inscription thanking her for her dedication to NCJW.

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Now on sjlmag.com: Jewish and Muslim activists in Missouri shine light on King Louis IX — calling for the removal of the St. Louis statue, and even renaming the city.

Dueling letters: Democrats, Republicans in Congress warn, applaud Israel on sovereignty issue.

The saga concludes: A year after the cancellation controversy. the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute finally presents antiIsrael activist Angela Davis with the Fred Shuttlesworth Award.

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July 2020 • Southern Jewish Life

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agenda Yeshivat Chovevei Torah will present a series on Changemakers, co-sponsored by Beth Israel in Metairie and a couple dozen other congregations around the country. The July 21 presentation has Southern echoes, as Susannah Heschel will discuss “Praying With Our Legs Yesterday and Today: The Impact of Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel,” who marched in Selma with Martin Luther King Jr. On July 7, Laura Shaw Frank will discuss “An Education for Every Jewish Girl: The Trials and Triumphs of Sarah Schneier, Founder of the Bais Yaakov Movement.” On July 14, Rabbi Dov Linzer will discuss “Who’s In and Who’s Out: Poskim and the Evolving Status of a Deaf Person in Halacha.” On July 28, Rabbi Avi Weiss will discuss his Torah of Activism and love for the Jewish people, detailing “The Struggle for Soviet Jewry and Beyond.” The sessions will be on Zoom and Facebook Live at 8 p.m.

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The Jewish War Veterans of the USA issued a statement that “strongly supports” renaming 10 military bases that commemorate Confederate generals. Noting that JWV was founded by Jewish Union veterans in 1896, National Commander Harvey Weiner said the bases should be renamed “for soldiers of diverse races and religions who received the Congressional Medal of Honor and who trained or were stationed at that particular base.”

The Goldring/Woldenberg Institute of Southern Jewish Life continues its Zoom series with Three Thursdays In July. Several communities throughout the region, including Shreveport and Jackson, co-sponsor the cultural programming events, which are held via Zoom on Thursdays at 7 p.m. The individual congregations or Federations post the Zoom links weekly. The series starts on July 9 with comedian Joel Chasnoff sharing favorite jokes and talking about the role of humor in Jewish history, in “Jokes I Can’t Tell in My Act.” On July 16, four actors from JWT of Los Angeles present “Inside Our Time: Stories from the Sheltering,” eight funny and moving pandemic stories. On July 23, The Ruach, a band based in North Carolina, is in concert.

Arnie Fielkow, CEO of the Jewish Federation of Greater New Orleans, will speak at the July 24 Kabbalat Shabbat Zoom gathering for Beth Israel in Metairie. The Zoom starts at 6:30 p.m.

Rabbi Ed Cohn, rabbi emeritus of Temple Sinai in New Orleans, has been named to the Xavier University of Louisiana Board of Trustees, for a three year term beginning on July 1. Cohn said the appointment is “exciting and a great honor for Temple Sinai in our 150th year, as well as this time of Black Lives Matter and national examination of our hearts and souls.”

Rabbi Todd Silverman has signed a three-year renewal at Touro Synagogue in New Orleans, and is being promoted from assistant rabbi to associate rabbi. There will be a Shabbat service honoring him on Oct. 2, in the middle of Sukkot, which will be in person or virtual, depending on what is happening at the time.

Moishe House in New Orleans will have a Virtual Shabbat gathering via Zoom on July 24 at 7 p.m.

The next program in the “Plague of Antisemitism” four-part online series hosted by the National Council of Jewish Women’s Greater New Orleans Section will be on July 26 at 3 p.m. “An Exploration of Blood Libels, Conspiracy Theories and Plagues” will have an emphasis on COVID-19 and how it is affecting lives today. Ricki Hollander, a senior analyst at the Boston-based Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting in America, will speak. Advance registration is required through NCJW, or at ncjwneworleans.org.

The Southern Jewish Historical Society is producing an on-line continued on page 45

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July 2020 • Southern Jewish Life

community Enhancing Jewish Community Security New Orleans plans to become part of national initiative, Birmingham also exploring After two years of a community-wide conversation on issues of security, the New Orleans Jewish community is poised to embark on a relatively new national program.

After promoting coordination and making advances in numerous areas, the security committee convened by the Jewish Federation of Greater New Orleans will “move into more of a 24/7 effort, led by someone in law enforcement,” through participation in the Regional Security Advisor Program of the Secure Community Network, said Federation CEO Arnie Fielkow.

The SCN is a national homeland security initiative of the Jewish Federations of North America and the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, and consults with Jewish communities across the country.

The RSA facilitates placement of a full-time security expert in communities, often working on a regional basis. Fielkow said this “would allow us in New Orleans to have a trained expert 24/7 working for our city, working for Baton Rouge, identifying threats, helping with training, coordinating with law enforcement at the federal, state and local levels.”

The individual would be selected by the local community, but is technically employed by SCN. The Birmingham Jewish community is also looking at the initiative.

Danny Cohn, CEO of the Birmingham Jewish Federation, said discussions are “in the planning stages,” with local agencies and other Federations in the region exploring “what the best solution for our area will be.”

The New Orleans security committee is chaired by Aaron Ahlquist of the Anti-Defamation League and Roselle Ungar of Jewish Family Service.

While the committee has accomplished a lot, Ahlquist said “a lay leadership driven committee, no matter how strong the committee members and participants are, is still a lay committee,” and it is important to have someone whose sole focus is security.

Fielkow said the person would focus “day in and day out” on security, and it is a “much needed” program.

New Orleans Ahlquist said the committee was formed to “build meaningful security conversations has convened throughout the New Orleans Jewish coma communitymunity,” involving the synagogues, agencies, institutions, Tulane Hillel and Chabad. wide security An executive committee has represencommittee for tation by category of institution, while the broader committee has representation from two years every congregation, institution, agency and group.

Ungar said there is no uniform answer, as different institutions have different vulnerabilities. Training sessions have been held on situational awareness, best practices, security staffing, active shooter situations and the availability of security grants.

There is a federal grant program for security needs, and as an example, in late June Anshe Sfard announced it had received a security grant from the Department of Homeland Security.

“A number of our local institutions have been able to get grant money to harden facilities and for other security needs,” Fielkow said.

This past year, there was a bill in the Louisiana Legislature to establish a state grants program, as exists in about 10 other states. While it passed committee, the bill ultimately died, but there are plans to reintroduce it next year.

Fielkow said there have also been anonymous “generous donors in the

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July 2020 • Southern Jewish Life

6/19/20 8:46 AM

community” who have provided funds for agency and synagogue needs, including having law enforcement present during services.

As an example, the community has worked closely with the Jefferson Parish Sheriff ’s Office, as a substantial part of the community’s infrastructure is along a corridor on West Esplanade Avenue.

Sheriff Joe Lopinto said the officers are very familiar with the Jewish institutions in the area.

As the largest Sheriff ’s office in the state and one of the 15 largest in the country, “we have a lot more resources” and a lot more training.

They have conducted active shooter trainings, as “time is of the essence” in such incidents, and “how do you make sure you are organized enough to end a threat and save lives.”

They also monitor intelligence to spot potential threats. Lopinto said that was especially important after the shooting at Chabad in Poway, Calif., as there were concerns of copycats. “We didn’t have any indication that this would be the case, but we were prepared for it,” he said.

But the main thing, he said, is to emphasize that there is far more good in the community that doesn’t make the news, and the Jewish community should not be afraid to go about its business.

Founded in 2004, SCN works with 146 Federations, 50 partner organizations and over 300 independent communities on issues of community security.

The RSA initiative started in December 2017, according to SCN Director Michael Masters.

The agency had a listening tour of 105 communities, law enforcement and homeland security representatives. “We had a lot of conversations about the threat picture,” he said.

There were 30 community security directors, mainly through Federations. While he said that isn’t unimpressive, with the number of Federations and independent communities, “over 80 percent of Federations didn’t have coverage,” and the community needs “a security shield.”

For Masters, what truly drove home the need is when he was on the ground in Charlottesville for the white supremacist rally in August 2017.

He stood on the steps of Beth Israel, which was at the nexus of the demonstrations. The congregation’s president said the community there “just felt so alone.”

Master’s reaction was “shame on us as a Jewish community” that a smaller Jewish community would feel alone in the face of such an incident.

In June 2018, Memphis became the pilot community for RSA, with the hiring of Stuart Frisch. The program is modeled after the U.S. Department of Homeland Security Protective Security Advisor program, and is the first adaptation for a faith-based community.

Masters said the program was designed for

community “communities that were underserved and unserved by security directors, and where there were concerning or significant threats.”

The program is now in nine communities, including some larger Federations. Atlanta joined earlier this year.

“In addition to providing the benefit of regional coverage, we have a lot of Federations that are recognizing through this program they are getting the benefit not only of a security director but a national network,” Masters said. The goal is to have a best practices standard of security throughout the Jewish world.

Fielkow said the program “is not inexpensive,” and funds will need to be raised to establish the local position. A major anonymous gift was received in late June that will be a “very substantial” part of the initial three-year effort, but additional donors will be needed.

“It’s a priority,” Fielkow added. “Antisemitism isn’t going anywhere.”

Ahlquist said that “it is important to remain vigilant even if societal attention is in other areas right now.”

While a lot of recent attention has gone to the racial protests in the aftermath of George Floyd’s death, Ahlquist said “we can’t forget that during Covid, there were multiple ways which antisemitism manifested itself,” from conspiracy theories that blamed Jews for the virus, to the use of Holocaust imagery and Nazi comparisons by those protesting restrictions during shutdowns.

There are also extremists “who are looking to benefit by sowing chaos and discord, and in some spaces trying to drive a wedge between black community voices and Jewish community voices,” he added.

Fielkow said community security remains “one of the top priorities right now, and certainly will be in 2021.”

Masters has been in New Orleans to facilitate discussions and praises the level of collaboration in the community. “It’s an honor to support them,” he said, and he feels a personal obligation to work with New Orleans, as his father was in the New Orleans FBI field office in the late 1960s and early 1970s.

In addition to physical security, SCN recently released a 33-page guide to nearly 2,000 Jewish organizations on how to safely reopen and resume operations during phased reopenings from the coronavirus pandemic.

“This isn’t about going back to the way things were. It’s about evolving to the way things will be,” said Masters. “It is our hope that communities, organizations and facilities will be able to use this guide to develop plans unique to their own situations and to provide confident and inclusive leadership, while strengthening their communities.”

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July 2020 • Southern Jewish Life

How to help make real progress Black leaders give Jewish community their perspectives on positive societal change While many New Orleans Black leaders were appreciative of the opportunity to speak with the New Orleans Jewish community about concrete steps that can be taken to combat systemic racism, it came with a desire to see things move past the talking stage, and an assertion that the Black community can’t solve this problem alone.

The Jewish Federation of Greater New Orleans convened “Shema: A Virtual Listening Session with Local Black Leadership” on June 29, co-hosted by the National Council of Jewish Women’s Greater New Orleans Section and the Anti-Defamation League’s South Central Region.

About 400 members of the community tuned into Zoom and Facebook Live for the 90-minute discussion that went far beyond its allotted time.

Moderated by Davida Finger, an advisory council member for the Federation’s new Goldring Family Foundation Center for Jewish-Multicultural Affairs, the speakers discussed many ways the Jewish community could help effect change.

Finger said the evening would show “a critical space for us to be in as allies,” and “the transformative power” of listening in moving forward.

The new Goldring Center will formally launch on Oct. 1. Federation CEO Arnie Fielkow said its creation, which has been in the works for over a year, “is certainly timely” and will enhance relations between the local African-American and Jewish communities.

New Orleans Mayor Latoya Cantrell said these topics aren’t new, and “it just doesn’t rest with Black people to come up with the action steps to address racism in this country,” as “it really takes building partnerships” to change things.

Cantrell said this is an opportunity in history to address race more honestly and openly than before, and challenged the community “to dig deeper, educating yourselves on racial issues and injustices that have plagued the Black community for a very long time.”

She said there is a “great need for education in responsible, effective activism, where energy needs to be focused and determine who can make the changes and make things right, and work with them to get things done.”

Cantrell said she wants to hear from the Jewish community, see constructive dialogue and “how we get there together.

“We have to use one another, and it doesn’t start in the Black community.”

Bishop Tom Watson of Watson Ministries said he doesn’t want to see action yet. “First, I need you to see the pain, the possibilities of Black life, its virtues, its vices, its strengths, its weaknesses, its yesses and its noes.”

He urged workshops and curricula to help undo the learned behaviors of racism, even in households that believe themselves to not be racist.

In fighting “systemic and institutionalized racism,” he said, “Black people did not create this disorder so it is unfair to ask black people to solve something they did not create in the first place.”

community Whites need to acknowledge the problems are real, and Black people can help others understand.

He said the Jewish community can help in the development of a Black agenda, “where we create policies that promote and not punish vulnerable Black people,” in employment, education, housing equity and other issues. He urged an effort to “confront poverty with an agenda to reduce it and build the Black middle class.

Judy Reese Morse, CEO of the Urban League of Louisiana, said the Jewish community’s open letter of solidarity to the African-American community was “very much appreciated.”

To be an ally and an anti-racial organization, she asked if one is prepared to bring institutions in line with Take a moment equitable practices, and embrace the true meaning of economic justice for all. to look The Urban League is working on police reform and other avenues of advocacy. unflinchingly “We want you to work with us, we want you to better understand the issues,” she in the mirror said. This is a tremendous opportunity.

For as much pain as there is… you have issued the opportunity to listen and learn. This is a very important first step. The Urban League wants to take you up on that offer.”

Reynold Verret, president of Xavier University of Louisiana, said “we don’t tell the truth to our children,” and it is important to not teach only that American is a country that did just good things.

“Jews and Blacks, we are the descendants of slaves,” he said. “There is an understanding of society from the eyes of a slave.”

White students also need to be liberated through what Dr. King re-

ferred to as the opening of their eyes to injustice, Verret said. He quoted Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel, who said “we may not be guilty, but we all are responsible.”

Physician Cory Hebert, WDSU medical editor, was among those who noted that the Covid pandemic has helped exposed medical disparities among groups. “We’ve been shining the light on it for a long time, but it has been a dim candle.”

A lot of truths are ignored or obscured. While it is said that Covid affects the Black community more because of poorer health in general, nobody talks about where that comes from. Chalking things up to poor diet and smoking is a way of blaming the oppressed. “You can’t blame without the frame,” he said. “No Black person wants to live in the projects.

You can’t blame him for not eating good food when there is no good food around him” due to food deserts.

It boils down to “conditions of where you live, love, work and play,” and nobody talks about how that is shaped by the distribution of money, resources and power. One “can’t just say quit smoking if you are trying to escape from the vile places where you live, love, work and play.”

White women who are addicted to opioids get treatment and hospital sections are built to treat their newborns, he said. Twenty years ago, Black women on crack were put in jail and their children sent to foster care.

“Black people are tired and frustrated because we all know the truth.”

Why do so many American Blacks have hypertension, he asked. When a slave was bought in Ghana, there was a salt test. If a slave couldn’t taste salt, that meant they had elevated salt levels and could stay hydrated on the long ocean voyage. Otherwise, they would dehydrate, so the current prevalence of hypertension is genetic and not their “fault.”

Hebert said there is a fear among many whites about what would hap-

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July 2020 • Southern Jewish Life

13

Coming Soon…

Most Jewish publications publish some kind of annual Community Guidebook.

Southern Jewish Life’s Guide is different.

SJL’s Guide is more than a listing of organizations, institutions and congregations… it is a portal to the history of the Jewish communities of the Deep South, and a guide to the present. And it will be mailed to every known Jewish household in the region.

It will also be made available throughout the year at select stores and institutions, for those looking for information about the region, and especially for newcomers and those who are contemplating a move to the region.

SJL’s Guide gives a history of each institution, and finds the often-overlooked sites and fascinating stories in communities throughout Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana and the Florida panhandle.

This is a first-ever keepsake edition that will be widely read and referred to…

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Deep South Lee Green, (205) 870-7889 New Orleans Jeff Pizzo, (504) 432-2561 14

July 2020 • Southern Jewish Life

community pen to them if Blacks obtained power. “Black people as a group have never inflicted pain on white people,” he said. “We’re not in a rage all the time. We’re working hard to work with you, and we want you to work with us.”

Former State Senator JP Morrell said when whites ask whether they have done enough yet, the answer is clearly no. “African-Americans have been denied a seat at the table in a state where we make up one-third the population,” and racism “has just become more polite.”

He said Blacks have never really “penetrated beyond being a face… we see you, you don’t see us.”

The criminal justice system needs to be fixed “in a definitive and final way,” Morrell said.

In 2018, after a long battle, Louisiana got rid of the law that allowed jury decisions to not be unanimous, a quirk shared only with Oregon.

Morrell pointed out that the law was instituted “to put Black people in their place” as a last vestige of Jim Crow. But those fighting to repeal that law couldn’t talk about race because “White people’s eyes glaze over… they disengage. It’s a black thing, I don’t want to have to deal with it.”

They instead formed an “apple pie, America, Antonin Scalia and fairness” argument and “had to wait politely for white people to give us permission to talk about race.”

Morrell noted there was an antisemitic motive behind the Oregon law, which was struck down by the U.S. Supreme Court in April. After a Jewish hotelier failed to be convicted of murder in 1933, on an 11-1 vote, Oregon law was changed to allow for non-unanimous verdicts.

It also blunted the power of jurors from racial, ethnic and religious minorities.

New Orleans City Council President Jason Williams argued that the criminal justice system hasn’t gone awry, it is working exactly as designed, to benefit some but not others.

Racism is not about attitude, he said, but about power. Complaints about law enforcement are “not just about police brutality, it is about over-policing certain neighborhoods, about over-prosecution in certain neighborhoods, wasting money and time on things that are not making us any safer.”

There also has to be a way to prevent a police officer who gets caught for misconduct in Plaquemines Parish from just going to Wisconsin and getting a law enforcement job there.

Williams said it is time “to move beyond changing hearts and souls” and put “teeth behind changing the power structures that exist.”

Alanah Odoms, executive director of ACLU of Louisiana, said their Justice Lab will be policing the police, to put racist policing on trial and “hold officers who would inflict harm accountable.” The ACLU is also pushing to end mass incarceration and “helping people back to being productive citizens.”

Morrell said the Jewish community, like every other group in American society now, has to “take a moment to look unflinchingly in the mirror, and see how a lot of the systems that exist in the state are not just the fault of Anglo-Saxon white Protestants, but even Jewish people as well,” noting an ancestor who was on a Jewish-owned plantation near Donaldsonville.

Norris Henderson, founder of Voice of the Experienced, said the Jewish community has “the gravitas to hold people accountable.”

By putting together the forum, the Jewish community “identified who in this community is putting in work,” Henderson said.

“If we circle the wagons as a group,” he said, “we can accomplish anything we want to… we can bend this curve around criminal justice.”

Several speakers spoke of what Watson termed “racial justice battlefield fatigue,” where America reacts to events, holds discussions, and it doesn’t go much further. Watson noted he met with the Jewish community after Katrina for a similar listening session.

“We have to have actual solutions,” he said.

Henderson also said “we’ve had these listening sessions before. How do we move now? Protest should lead to policy.”

He said he appreciates the-building of personal relationships, not transactional ones, because “more than anything, if we listen to folks who are closest to the problem, most of the time we are closer to the solution.”

Quentin Messer, president of the New Orleans Business Alliance, noted that while there has been “accelerated progress” for many groups, such as the progress on LGBTQ rights in the past 50 years, Blacks “are dealing with the problem of the 20th century” and having to justify that feeling.

Yes, Obama was elected twice, and there is Oprah, but economic challenges persist. Messer said Blacks have higher levels of workplace attrition at every level, Black professionals are missing out on post-Covid employment gains, Black homeowners pay more than their share of property taxes; Black businesses lack capital and connections, and despite education levels there is still a racial wealth gap. As an example, net worth of Blacks with graduate degrees compare to whites with some college.

“In a state that is over one-third Black, it makes all of us poor,” he said. “We are acting against our own collective interest if we don’t face the facts.”

The speakers said it is past time to move toward systemic, lasting change.

Federation Chair Joshua Force closed out the evening by saying the Federation “recognizes there is a lot more to hear, a lot more to learn and a lot more to do, and we are committed to being part of that conversation.”

community Putting politics aside Alabama group continues to facilitate business ties between Palestinians, Israelis

by Richard Friedman As I write this, I am beaming.

I just got off an amazing webinar — a virtual Town Hall meeting where the Birmingham-based US Israel Education Association was one of the hosts.

Featured was a remarkable process that USIEA has helped to catalyze — growing economic cooperation and business integration between Israelis and Palestinians living in Judea and Samaria, the Biblical name for the disputed West Bank.

Putting politics aside, and with USIEA serving as a start-up funder and a catalyst, this process now involves 700 businesses in Judea and Samaria that provide venues for Israelis and Palestinians to come together for their mutual economic betterment.

USIEA, led by Birmingham’s Heather Johnston, is working with two partners in this endeavor — the Indianapolis-based Sagamore Institute and the Judea and Samaria Chamber of Commerce, co-founded by an Israeli and a Palestinian. USIEA and these partners have come together to form the Integrated Business Roundtable.

“The Integrated Business Roundtable was launched in January 2020 to advocate for the shared prosperity of Israelis and Palestinians through an integrated economy and faith-inspired impact investing in Judea and Samaria,” explained a news release about the meeting. “Roundtable’s partners are unified in the conviction that increased direct investment in high quality business is the sturdiest pathway to unlocking economic potential, sustainability, and eventual peace in the region.”

Having been involved in organizational work related to Israel for almost 40 years, mainly as executive Director of the Birmingham Jewish Federation, I have never seen a more powerful example of Israeli-Palestinian cooperation. Nor a program filled with such promise.

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Powerful Segment The highlight of the virtual Town Hall was a powerful segment featuring two female entrepreneurs, an Israeli and a Palestinian, who have come together to form a company which, through the Internet, is improving the health of Arabs throughout the Middle East. Watching these creative, determined businesswomen from different cultures interact as partners and friends was extraordinary.

Israeli Avi Zimmerman, known to many in the Southeast U.S. for his years of work on behalf of the city of Ariel, a West Bank municipality that is the capital of Samaria, moderated the program. Zimmerman is now president of the Judea and Samaria Chamber of Commerce, which he co-founded with West Bank Palestinian community leader Ashraf Jabari of Hebron.

Despite these growing business relationships between Israelis and Palestinians, opposition from the Palestinian Authority, the official entity overseeing Palestinian life in Judea and Samaria, often hovers like a dark cloud over the breakthroughs that are being achieved. For example, a video of the session involving the two businesswomen cannot be released publicly out of fear for the Palestinian woman’s well-being.

July 2020 • Southern Jewish Life

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community Wishing you well during these difficult times

What can be released is a two minute video made last year at the USIEA-sponsored inaugural forum in Jerusalem, that brought Palestinian and Israeli business leaders together for the first time formally to break down barriers and begin building economic bridges between these two groups, who are often portrayed as enemies.

One of those who has played a leadership role in this process is retired General Charles Krulak, a former Commandant of the Marine Corps and a USIEA board member.

“It is breath-taking to witness the new friendships and business partnerships that are taking hold and flourishing between West Bank Israelis and Palestinians,” the General explains.

“Regardless of one’s political views when it comes to Israel, USIEA’s Israeli-Palestinian economic initiative is something that I believe that Members of Congress and Americans from both sides of the political spectrum can support enthusiastically,” added Krulak. One of USIEA’s main purposes is to educate Congress regarding Israel.

Asked to offer a perspective on the uniqueness of this endeavor from his vantage point as president of the Judea and Samaria Chamber of Commerce, Zimmerman said “Ashraf and I, along with a large number of Israelis and Palestinians, live in a disputed, politically-charged region.

But what makes the integrated business process work is not only a mutual desire for a better life and prosperity, but a recognition that conflict does not define us. If we wait for political issues to be resolved before moving forward on the economic front, the opportunity to better our lives and the lives of our families will continue to remain on hold.”

Remember that Election Day will be on July 11

Richard Friedman is associate editor of Israel InSight and Director of Funding Initiatives for the US Israel Education Association.

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July 2020 • Southern Jewish Life

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continued from page 4

knew that he had been a proponent for integration. So, when he ran against the powerful “Machine,” a confederation of student organizations which had previously had a monopoly on the Student Government president, and won, he felt that it was partially a show of support for integration. More than anything else, he and my mother always spoke about the bravery of Vivian Malone and James Hood and the need to continue to stand up and combat racism and discrimination.

This passion for justice and confronting bigotry continued after their college days. To his very last day, my father was proud to be from Alabama and believed that the ongoing hard work of confronting systemic racism, just like confronting antisemitism and other forms of hatred, was the responsibility of every single one of us. Acting on these convictions and values, my dad and my mother, Bobbie Siegal, created an endowed scholarship at the university for Diversity and Inclusion in honor of Blackburn for his role in the peaceful integration of the University of Alabama in 1963. The scholarship provides opportunity to deserving and persevering students, and also honors Vivian Malone Jones and James Hood for their bravery, and former University of Alabama President Bob Witt for his leadership and foresight.

My mother also continued this commitment to addressing racial justice by serving on the board of the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute, chair of the National Conference for Community and Justice, and many others. She was recognized by Positive Maturity Birmingham as a 50 Over 50 leader for her work on civil rights and continues to work on these issues today.

Our country is again at a crossroads. Stories like this inspire me and others to acknowledge that we all have a role to play in confronting the scourge of racism. Only through looking to our past, envisioning a better future, and relentlessly working toward justice and equality will we come closer to the realization of America’s promise that “all men are created equal.” Not some men — and women — but all.

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July 2020 • Southern Jewish Life

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“The following are the things for which someone enjoys the fruits in this world, while the principal remains waiting in the World-to-Come: the honoring of one’s father and mother, the practice of loving kindness, and the making of peace between a person and their friend.

But the study of the Torah is equal to them all.”

Mishna Pe’ah 1:1 Jewish Community Day School is a place filled with righteous deeds big and small, with deep friendships, and, of course, with the study of Torah. For many of our good works, we might never see their effect on this world, our support of JCDS, however, bears fruit we get to see every day.

Ha-Nasi $25,000 and up Gerald and Joan Berenson, z”l The Franco Family Fund Thomas Gigliotti | Parking Management Services Susan and Howard Green Lis and Hugo Kahn Tracey and Henry Smith Oscar J. Tolmas Charitable Trust Dor L’Dor $10,000-$24,999 Cahn Family Foundation Linda and Richard Friedman Lynne and Michael Wasserman Tzeddakah $5,000-$9,999 Heymann-Wolf Foundation Dashka Roth Lehmann and Larry Lehmann Carole and Richard Neff Lynn and Arthur Penn Madilyn and Alvin Samuels Esther Sinauer Scholarship Fund for Jewish Education Field of Interest Chesed $2,500-$4,999 Cathy and Morris Bart Sarah and Alexander Cohen Margie and Dov Glazer Amanda Glinky and Aaron Croy Susan and William Hess Fran and Jonathan Lake Rebecca and Adam Miller Tara Morse and Asfar Butt New Orleans Jewish Day School Scholarship Designated Fund Killian and Brad Philipson Alanna Rosenberg and Joe Kanter Anna Rosenblum and Michael Cohen Debbie and Jonathan Schlackman Melanie Sheen and David Tucker Karen and Leopold Sher Rose Sher and Jeremy Soso Anne and Philip Watson Ashley and Michael Zabalaoui Rachel Zoller and Jacob Lipsman Chai $1,800-$2,499 American Thrift and Finance Nancy and Danny Arana Halley and David Berins Anne Brener Bunny and Jerome Chapman Mark (and Helen, z”l) Cohan 18

July 2020 • Southern Jewish Life

Rochelle Adler Effron and Mark Effron Marnie and Rick Elsky Abby Gaunt and Gabe Feldman Lauren and Jean-Paul Gisclair Stephanie Green and Zeke Vanderhoek and Erika and Emory Nolan Eliza and Jaryd Kase Rene Lehmann, z”l Barbara and Peter Newhouse Nicole and Adam Newhouse Anne Gautier and Sanford Pailet Karen Weissbecker Remer Sessions, Fishman, Nathan & Israel, LLP Karen and Edward Soll Laurie and Paul Sterbcow Richard B. Stone Mensch $1,000-$1,799 Aleeza and Andy Adelman Anonymous Brittany and Matthew Braun Rachel Elstrott and Doron Klemer Ferber Family of Houma Foundation Alice Yelen Gitter and Kurt Gitter Gitter Vein Institute Kim and Reggie Glass Michele Allen Hart and Jody Hart Carole and Morton Katz Josefina Mendez-Rosa and Troy Perez Karen and Bill Pinsky Sharon Pollin Rebecca Waxman and Noah Cohen Menorah $360-$999 Carol and Harold Asher Philip Bach Karen and Ken Baker Jaymi and Mark Baum Angela and Mark Beerman Marc Behar Congregation Beth Israel Makala and Brett Blake Lee and Joe Blotner Elissa and Ed Bluth Bourgeois Bennett | Ellen S. Yellin Richard Buchsbaum and Johnny Dennis Vivian and Richard Cahn

Gail and Stuart Chalew Tiffany Cotlar and Tommy Furlow Susan and David Daube Catherine Hymel and Michael Davidson Margaret Deane and Barbara Rowell Terrence Dugas and Carl DeAbate Emily and Evan Dvorin Sylvia and Israel Finger Mara and Joshua Force Robert Force Cara and Benjamin Freedman Judy and David Fried Laura and George Fuhrman Deena Gerber Lauren and David Gerber Ana and Juan Gershanik Cathy and Charles Glaser Ann and Richard Goldfarb Blayne and Edward Gothard Linda and Michael Green Jack Gross Kit and Timothy Hollis Neil and Albert Hyman Hyman Scholarship Designated Fund Lee and Jacob Kansas Barbara and Mark Kaplinsky Lisa and Brian Katz Richard Katz Ellen and Stanley Kessler Susan Kierr Ashley and Michael Kirschman | FreeGULLIVER LLC Barbara and Victor Koock Robin Levy and Bobby Garon Phyllis and Richard Levy Renee and Charles Levy Judy and Glenn Lieberman Lynn and Robert Loewy Tracy and George Loss Linda Mauskopf and Robert Larsen Jan and Henry Miller Carol and Dale Newman Doris and William Norman Chelsea and Chandler Nutik Elena and Ethan Penn Josh Pernick Debbie and Leon Pesses Janet and Harold Pesses Carole and Lyle Philipson Laura and Stephen Philipson Gale and Randal Pick Rebecah and Isaac Pinhas Valerie and Alan Posner Joyce and Sidney Pulitzer Sandy and Elliot Raisen

Ginger Rogers and Alvin Cotlar Susan and Henry Rosenblat Jamin Rothschild Reda and Charles Scher Shirley and Ralph Seelig Robert Shepard Shir Chadash Conservative Congregation Lynn and Charles Smith Betty and Gregory Speyrer Jackie and Charles Stern Janice and Louis Stern Sherri and Matthew Tarr Lauren and Hal Ungar Patty and Randy Ungar Bernard Van Der Linden Ellie and Bruce Wainer Eileen Wallen Miriam and Bruce Waltzer Betty Ann and Jim Wylie

Chaverim $180-$359 Liz and Mark Amoss Kelley and Guy Brenner Sue Rae Brown and Ken Bishop Ina and Richard Davis Melanie and Kenneth Ehrlich Rachel and Jason Erbach Susan and Arnie Fielkow Leslie and Nathan Fischman Marcy and Mike Gertler Keren Gesund N’Ann and Jan Glade Wendy and Ned Goldberg Marcie and Myron Goldberg Sol Gothard Ann and Steve Harris Pat and Brad Harvey Sarah and Joshua Hess Morris Kahn Vicki and Jacob Karno Shelley Katz Betty and Harry Lazarus Alex Neff Libbie and David Reiss

Jennifer and Will Samuels Kara and Mark Samuels Jennifer and Neil Schneider Roselle and Stanley Ungar Heidi Vizelberg Julie Wise Oreck and Marshall Oreck Ellen and Marc Yellin B’reisheet up to $179 Scott Aertker Paula and Cornelius Apffel Veena and Gurdial Arora Jessica Bach Daniela and Bradley Bain Jennifer and Scott Balot Eva and Alex Barkoff Betsy and David Becker Mery Beit-Halachmi and Stephen Blitz Sara Bellick Jane Berins Radhakrishnamurthy Bhandaru Craig Bialy Jody and Gilbert Braunig Sarah Bromberg and Oji Alexander Barri Marsh Bronston Ronna Burger and Robert Berman Joy Callais Jessica and Victor Cerritos Lisa Conescu Alexa and Robert Craig Toby David Sara and Robert Dvorin Luksamee and Paul Dyer Deborah Eickenhorst Phyllis Feran Cat and Dan Forman Kathryn Frankola Carol Furlow Stuart Gaethe Carol and Gilbert Garcia Sandra and William Goldsmith Renee and Sandy Goldstein Chrissy Hardy Amy and John Haspel Lisa and Michael Herman

Grants and Distributions Children’s Choice Week

(to be applied to 2020/2021 school year)

Vivian and Richard Cahn Classroom Furniture Grant

Franco Family Fund

Private Unrestricted Grant Distribution Susan and Howard Green JEF Operating Fund

Monthly Core Allocations Refrigerator Grant Technology Grant Jewish Federation of Greater New Orleans Louisiana Philharmonic Field Trips Richard Katz

School Counselor Grant Jewish Endowment Foundation of Louisiana 2019 Constituent Agency Block Grant and the Babs and J.E. Isaacson Memorial Unrestricted Fund at the Jewish Endowment Foundation of Louisiana Head of School Grant Oscar J. Tolmas Charitable Trust Jewish Preschool Project Challenge Grant Legacy Heritage Fund Endowment Distribution Charles Zucker Donor Advised Fund at the Jewish Endowment Foundation of Louisiana

Wendy and Michael Herschman Hemda and Jeffrey Hochman Donna Holmes Janna Jackson Jewish Family Service Carrie and Nathan Kanter Dana Keren Patricia and Steven Klein Marilyn Kline Rise Kulick Laura and David Kulick Erin and Donald Latuso Avery Loss Maggie Madere and Ashley Nichols Carrie and Austin Marks Deborah and Max Marsh Leslie and Larry Miller Betty Moore Kathleen Grabert Brianne and Nate Oxenrider Terrance Perkins Lesley and Jon Philipson Jessica and David Posternock Lisa Pulitzer and Gary Zoller Sharon and Glenn Pullman Moriah Richie and Jay Taffet Wendy and David Rones Naomi Samuels Charisse and Mark Sands Lonnie Schaffer Sandra Schwarcz Kathryn and Oliver Senson Francine Siegel David Singleton Stacy Stein, Rachelle Stein, and Sandra and Ronald Price Eric Stillman Stephanie Stokes Mark Sulkes Hilton Title Lina and Idan Warshawski Abby Wetsman Lorraine Williams Rachel and Mark Wilson Margaret Winston David Wurtzel Renee Zack Lorenza Mercante and Maxwell Zwain In Kind Contributions Breaux Mart Dorignac’s Food Center Diane and Alan Franco Susan and Howard Green NOLA Mosaics Donna Holmes Face-to-Face Photography Donna Matherne Adam Newhouse Instar Farms Erika and Emory Nolan Karen Norfleet

July 2020 • Southern Jewish Life

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I N YO U R H O N O R

P erhaps the most meaningful way to honor someone is to show them that you care about what is important to them. At JCDS, we are lucky to have a wonderful community of supporters who make an inclusive Jewish day school experience possible in New Orleans. What’s more, the vocal advocacy for the school by these supporters has, in turn, inspired others who care about them to express their love and appreciation through tribute gifts to JCDS. Ann Goldfarb and Laurie Maas In Memory Of Gerald and Joan Berenson

80

Tribute Gifts in 2019/20 totaling $137,000

Early in his career, Parking Management founder Tom Gigliotti was faced with a business dilemma and went to the General Manager of Krauss Department Store, Hugo Kahn, desperate to make a deal. Hugo rejected the deal as too selfsacrificing for Tom in favor of terms that would be mutually beneficial, showing the young entrepreneur how helping others can be to the long-term benefit of all. Hugo became a mentor to Tom, who went on to build Parking Management Services into a $70 million a year business employing over 800 people across fifteen states.

Tom wanted to find a way to thank Hugo, and with the facilitation of fellow JCDS supporter Richard Cahn, he did. At a board dinner in December, accompanied

by Richard and Vivian Cahn, Tom Gigliotti and his fiancee Fawn Chen showed up to surprise their dear friends Hugo and Lis Kahn with a check made out to JCDS in Hugo’s honor in the amount of $25,000.

Both of our parents, Gerald and Joan Berenson, loved Jewish Community Day School. As they grew older they realized the importance of Jewish education in the New Orleans community.

They knew an educated, well-rounded child meant success for the future of Judaism. Our parents’ contribution of the Berenson Learning Lab is an example of trying to enhance all aspects of education. So we, as their children, felt it was important to continue the support of their legacy and passion.

$27,000

The Franco Family In Honor Of Dr. Mike Wasserman The Franco Family made a generous donation in honor of Dr. Mike Wasserman. This gift will provide new classroom furnishings for the upcoming school year.

$25,000

Linda and Richard Friedman In Honor Of Dashka Roth Lehmann and Larry Lehmann The Lehmanns are our dear friends.

Our history together goes back almost 48 years! We know they are passionate about the Day School and care deeply for Jewish education as did our dear friend, Rene Lehmann, z”l. Our gift was made in their honor.

$10,000

Tracey and Henry Smith In Honor Of Susan and Howard Green Our gift was made in honor of Susan and Howard Green. Their support of Jewish Community Day School and Green Preschool will make a difference for children for generations to come. We love and appreciate the Greens and are honored to celebrate them.

$36,000

Thank you to everyone who supported JCDS with a tribute gift!

I

WHY JCDS?

f the challenges of a pandemic have driven home a single lesson, it is that parents and schools are partners in education. At JCDS, that education goes well beyond traditional academic skills. We feel very lucky to get to work with such wonderful children and to watch them grow both as students and as people. It means the world to us that our parents appreciate the school as much as we appreciate them and their children.

10

%

Increase in Enrollment

Although the end of the 2019-2020 school year brought uncertainty and stress, we were so glad to be a part of the JCDS family. The teachers and staff supported students and parents alike, easing the transition to distance learning and making mental health as much a priority as education. We are grateful to the Jewish Community Day School for making our children feel safe and cared for, even in these unprecedented times.

Lauren and Rabbi David Gerber JCDS has provided our children with a place to grow up in which they are encouraged to be curious and creative, and they are valued and loved for who they are. The teachers and administration treat each student with so much care and individual attention. The curriculum at JCDS has allowed our children to thrive and learn at their individual paces and remain engaged learners and problem solvers. We have seen all three of our children’s academic, social, and leadership skills blossom at JCDS. The school has been a wonderfully safe place for our children to grow to love learning, become confident, inspired readers, writers, scientists, and mathematicians, and live each day guided by Jewish values. Our children come home every day excited to share stories and news about their classroom communities and school-wide happenings. They love school, and they love learning!

Emily and Dr. Evan Dvorin We have truly found a second home at JCDS and the Green Preschool. Everyone, from parents to faculty to staff, not only knows our children, but treats them as family. The nurturing environment is only matched by the excellent and well-rounded curriculum, both in the preschool and the day school. Our children are encouraged to explore areas of interest to them, while at the same time challenged to explore subjects that may be new or unfamiliar to them, all in a supportive environment that allows them to be true to themselves.

Rebecca and Adam Miller Our twins transformed from babies to toddlers while at Green Preschool. They learned to walk, became budding artists and bookworms, and developed an expertise in identifying their body parts. The teachers and staff treated them like little VIPs. Everyone knew their names and gushed about them frequently. We loved seeing their photos in the weekly newsletter thanks to Tiffany Cotlar. Their teachers were attentive to their needs (and ours!).

We also think the world of Brad Phillipson and Avery Loss. Both were always available to us. Thanks to Avery’s touch in creating the artwork and decorating the hallways and classrooms, the school truly felt like a magical place. Thank you, Green Preschool!

Rose Sher and Jeremy Soso The commitment of the exceptional teachers and staff of Green Preschool to helping our children develop their creativity and curiosity has been a gift to our entire family.

It is more than a preschool it’s a community with strong Jewish values that it lives and teaches every day, and we feel so lucky to be part of this community as it grows.

When my children are at JCDS, I am completely secure and confident that the environment is as warm and loving as it is at home. While providing the best education, the teachers and staff make every child feel like they are the most important, and they make me feel important, too.

Sarah and Sandy Cohen

Jamin Rothschild July 2020 • Southern Jewish Life

21

2019 -20: The Year of

Green Preschool Susan & Howard

at

Jewish Community Day School

At the outset of this school year, Jewish Community Day School was honored to receive a historic gift of one million dollars from Susan and Howard Green. Their gift will be administered through the Jewish Endowment Foundation of Louisiana and will be divided between permanent endowment and an operating fund to help incubate the Susan and Howard Green Preschool at JCDS. In recollecting the Greens’ first exposure to the school several years ago, Susan said, “I just knew that this education would lay the groundwork for their connection to Judaism for a lifetime. Howard and I want to make sure that the same high-quality Jewish education our grandchildren are receiving in New York is available for the children and families in the Greater New Orleans Area.”

Susan was already on deck to become the next JCDS Board President at the time of the gift, and the personal connections she and Howard have developed over a lifetime have drawn countless new supporters to the school.

Their gift has been an act of leadership which continues in the tradition of a similar gift from Alvin and Madilyn Samuels early in the school’s history. Both of these gifts set the bar for what it means to support Jewish education in our community. JCDS is eternally grateful for Susan and Howard’s generosity, advocacy, and support.

The Crowns Of Your Good Names The JCDS Annual Gala took place on Sunday, December 8th, with Susan and Howard Green taking center stage as this year’s honorees. The gala sold out before invites even made it to mailboxes. Three hundred attendees joined together at the Hollywood-style Green Carpet Event to enjoy signature highballs sponsored by Sazerac Company, fine dining by Linda Waknin’s Dvash Catering, and music from Tulane’s Jewish a cappella group, NJ Beats.

Susan and Howard have worked hand in hand with JCDS to give birth to our incredible early childhood program.

The Greens recognize that Jewish preschools are conduits to Jewish life and a scaffolding that strengthens connection and joyful engagement to Judaism.

2019 Gala Honorees Susan and Howard Green

Lis and Hugo Kahn Event Co-Chairs

Fran and Jonny Lake

Oscar J. Tolmas Trustee Lisa Romano with husband DJ.

Barbara and Mark Kaplinsky

Dr. Sharon Pollin and Susan Green

“A Jewish Day School is not necessary only for the study of Torah. It makes us more Jewish, allows our Jewish institutions to prosper, and makes our local Jewish community stronger!”

-Howard Green

Ribbon cutting with Greens & Madilyn, Alvin, and Naomi Preschool Director Avery Loss Samuels

Tulane’s Jewish a cappella group NJ Beats

Toby David Gala Master of Ceremonies

Event co-chairs, Kahns and Effrons, present a Donna Holmes Mosaic.

Avery Loss | Storyteller, Artist, Creator, Nurturer, Teacher...and Green Preschool Division Head The year 2019-20 was transformational for Green Preschool!

More classrooms More teachers including a full afterschool staff Weekly enrichment classes An enclosed outdoor play space Classroom centers, which include fresh materials to enrich play Reggio-inspired classrooms, featuring natural decor, and filled with warm colors, soft lighting, and organic furnishings

We sat down with Ms. Loss to learn more about her philosophy and the evolution of the progam.

Our teachers, our teachers, our teachers! We are extremely fortunate to have a team of educators who are committed to our school’s image of the child as naturally competent and What sets capable individuals. Our philosophy is that children should be active participants in their Green Preschool classrooms and learning and that their creativity, confidence, intelligence, and energy should apart from other be celebrated, supported, and scaffolded. We care for the whole child and ensure that programs? each individual is seen, heard, nurtured, and loved for exactly who they are. This image of the child informs all of the work our teachers do with young children, from how we speak and listen to the children in our care, to how we set up the learning environments we inhabit.

Tell me about Classrooms are intentionally designed to draw the child in and encourage them to exercise the learning their right to play, explore and choose. Each room contains different “learning centers,” environments. How and children are able to move freely from one center to another throughout the day. does the set up These centers are carefully set up by our Green Preschool teachers each morning reflect your view of before children arrive. Additionally, the use of warm colors and natural materials create a the child? welcoming space that feels more like a home than a school.

We consider the outdoor environment a classroom of its very own! The outdoor classroom provides What access to many of the same centers children have in their indoor classrooms. Outside the children about outdoor love climbing up and sliding down the play structure, rolling and stacking the tires, pretending in spaces? the Madilyn Samuels playhouse, running on the field, digging in the rock box, and caring for the plants in our school garden.

“For a small child there is no division between playing and learning, between the things he or she does just for fun and things that are educational.

The child learns while living, and any part of living that is enjoyable is also play.”

-Penelope Leach July 2020 • Southern Jewish Life

23

CCaalleennddaarr HHi igghhlli igghhttss August Rabbis Gerber, Pernick, Posternock, and Silver helped us welcome children to their first day of the school year.

Our JCDS Family Pool Party made quite a splash, complete with kosher snowballs!

September With our friends at PJ Library, we celebrated our local firefighters on September 11th.

We loved supporting our Saints and showed our spirit with our first black and gold dress-up day of the season.

Fifth and sixth graders launched ADL’s No Place for Hate, a student-led anti-bias and anti-bullying program.

Toby David, Rabbi Michael Cohen, and Hemda Hochman prepared students for the upcoming High Holy Days. Abby Wetsman also prepared students with art projects like painted and collaged pomegranates and dipping bowls for honey.

First and second graders took a trip to the US District Courthouse as part of their social studies unit. They met a special guest, the Honorable Judge C. Zainey.

October Dr. Philipson was officially installed as the new Oscar J. Tolmas Head of School Chair.

We performed Tashlich on our annual field trip to Lis and Hugo Kahn’s home on the bayou.

We built and decorated our sukkah on Bart Field.

Kosher BBQ and the True Orleans Brass Band made our Sukkot Second Line Family BBQ an extra special welcome to the New Year.

David Kaplinsky spoke to children and played songs for Green Preschoolers during our Alumni Lunch Series.

Children, including Green Preschoolers, planted winter vegetables in our garden with the help of teacher, Carol Garcia.

November

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July 2020 • Southern Jewish Life

Parents joined students for our first B’Yachad.

Rabbi Michael Cohen discussed the Shema and mezuzas and the role they play in a Jewish home.

At the WWII Museum, fifth and sixth graders learned how the Nazis came to power.

The entire school joined our friends at Torah Academy for a field trip to the new Louisiana Children’s Museum, thanks to a grant from Vivian and Richard Cahn.

JCDS participated in collecting stuffed animals for Barran’s Bears, a Louisiana-based project in which first responders use snuggly, plush friends to comfort children experiencing traumatic events.

First and second graders visited Music Box Village where their studies of sound, vibrations, and instruments came to life.

Students from our sixth grade class joined middleschoolers from around the city on the Jewish Federation Youth Civil Rights Trip to Selma and Birmingham.

2019-2020 December Our December B’Yachad combined STEAM and Jewish studies to make paper circuit LED menorahs.

Our traditional Chanukah Extravaganza, held at Shir Chadash, was a smashing success.

Our record-breaking Annual Gala had more attendees and raised more money than ever before.

JCDS had two speakers from Israel courtesy of of the Jewish Federation partnership with Ameil BaKehila. Torah scribe Jamie Shear met with children, while Dr. Lisa Aiken spoke with parents on raising children to have high self-esteem.

Photo courtesy of David Grunfeld, The Times Picayune | The New Orleans Advocate

January The JCDS Parent Association planned our first Havdalah, Singing, & S’Mores, which took place at the Dvorin home.

Third and fourth graders took a field trip to Tulane Shakespeare Festival’s Hamlet performance.

Over 130 people attended the Family Fun Fest to enjoy bounce houses, slime-making stations, GaGa Ball, Casablanca hamburgers, and so much more.

JCDS participated in the official City of New Orleans Martin Luther King, Jr. Day parade on January 20 carrying handmade signs with messages of peace.

February Pre-K and Kindergarten students visited Sunrise Assisted Living to dance and sing for the residents.

Students enjoyed field trips to the Louisiana Philharmonic, through a generous grant from Richard Katz.

First and second grades visited the Rampart Street studios of WWL-TV to learn more about their weather unit from Chief Meteorologist Chris Franklin.

March We held our first Tu B’Shvat Seder.

Third and fourth grade did a special Purim-themed B’Yachad, making masks of characters from the Purim story.

Visitor Daniel Olson brought the Megillah to life for our students.

Our “world-famous” Talent Show was standing room only with acts that made us laugh and cry.

The show was followed with a costume parade around the neighborhood.

As part of the OTS Ameil BaKehila program, JCDS received a visit from famed Israeli puppeteer Avishai Shitrit.

For a description of the events of the rest of March, April, and May, please turn the page...

July 2020 • Southern Jewish Life

25

Covid-19 On Thursday, March 12th, every school administrator in the region was calling colleagues and experts, trying to find a way to escape the inevitable: the closing of campuses beginning the following Monday to slow the spread of COVID-19. After consulting with Board President Carole Neff, Head of School Brad Philipson announced to families that the next day, Friday, March 13th, would be our last in-person day prior to closing the campus. JCDS became the first school without any direct COVID-19 exposure to announce a shift to distance learning, drawing significant media attention until the state and other independent schools followed suit Friday afternoon. The teachers had been preparing all week for the possibility, and with time in class to test out some methodologies and send kids home with what they needed, the school was ready.

Distance learning began immediately the following Monday, and the endeavor resembled the wobbly legs of a newborn foal. Parents needed some help and some trial-and-error to learn how to best help their students successfully engage in distance learning, and our teachers needed feedback from a live environment to determine what worked and what didn’t.

With a constant stream of communication back-and-forth, though, the school fine-tuned as it went. Green Preschool and prekindergarten through second grade worked primarily through the Seesaw app, while third through sixth grades relied on the Google Classroom platform. Zoom became our communal gathering spot, with events that normally gathered large groups in person taking place online. Highlights included: • • • •

Encouraging Monday-Wednesday-Friday videos from Dr. Philipson; Jewish Studies Teacher Toby David offering innovative challenges to explore each week’s middah; Ms. Fried and Ms. Carol bringing PK/K’s traditions on Fruity Tuesday and Show and Tell to Zoom; Art Teacher Abby Wetsman’s weekly JCDS “Artists-in-Residence” program that included a weekly creative project for students; Green Preschool teachers posting story-readings and songs on the Seesaw app; Ms. Sara and Ms. Maggie working with the first and second graders to make sure they completed their Eureka Math, Wordly Wise, and Handwriting Without Tears curricula; Field Day/Lag B’Omer Marshmallow Games put together by Dr. Philipson and Rabbi Michael, and facilitated by the administrative team delivering kosher marshmallows to the doorsteps of every family’s home; Israel Week, an observance of Yom Hazikaron and Yom Ha’atzmaut spearheaded by Hebrew Teacher Hemda Hochman ,and supported by Toby David and Rabbi Michael; Ms. Liz discussing social isolation in The Diary of Anne Frank with her third and fourth graders; The sea of familiar faces for our communal Zoom gatherings, especially our weekly Kabbalat Shabbat led by Rabbi Michael and special guests from the community; Hamora Hemda’s Zoom classes and encouraging approach to learning Hebrew at home; Ms. Lauren’s growing catalogue of Seesaw music lessons and performances for all ages; Ms. Eliza’s shepherding of her beloved sixth graders through their final months at JCDS, making sure they felt special and appreciated; Custom craft project deliveries to our Green Preschool families; and Our meaningful, if unconventional, online graduation program.

• • • • • • • • • • •

Our community is deeply grateful to the teachers, staff, and parents who went above and beyond throughout this extraordinary period.

Green Preschool reopened on June 9th, and with the help of consultants from Ochsner, the elementary grades will return to campus on August 12th. The campus is once again coming to life, and we are forever grateful for our beloved, resilient community that is weathering this storm with grace, a collaborative spirit and determination.

26

July 2020 • Southern Jewish Life

By The Numbers 2019-2020 *

Total Revenue 1,487,739

Total Expenses 1,446,718 88% Curriculum and Faculty 3% Marketing & Development 3% Administration 6% Occupancy

44% Tuition 1% Endowment Distributions 1% Jewish Federation Allocations 10% Private Unrestricted Grant 17% Restricted and Unrestricted Grants 27% JCDS Annual Campaign

*Estimate as of 6/23/2020 Our fundraising year started out on an incredible high note with the generous leadership of the Susan and Howard Green gift, the continued support of Jewish Federation of Greater New Orleans and the Jewish Endowment Foundation, the generosity of the Legacy Heritage Fund, and incredible community participation in our biggest Gala ever. When pandemic struck, amidst our worries about family and friends, we also worried about the institutions for which we care so much and how nationwide economic adversity would impact nonprofits. Jewish Community Day School, however, is lucky to have a support system who cares deeply about the success of the school. The Oscar J. Tolmas Charitable Trust hastened its process to ensure the school received planned funds even while the city was on lockdown. The Franco Family Fund generously stepped up to furnish classrooms in a way that will enable social distance in the fall but also significantly improve education in the long term. The entire community, led by some of our generous board members, came together to top our best fundraising year in history. We cannot thank our community enough, and we are incredibly lucky to live in a community that cares so passionately about Jewish education.

21 New Donors

%

30

%

Unrestricted Revenue Increase over 2018/2019

213

%

Grant Funding Increase over 2018/2019

#

1

GiveNOLA

Highest Donations in Education Category, Jefferson Parish

With Deep Gratitude It is very fitting that at my first community event as the incoming Oscar J. Tolmas Head of School Chair I was a guest of the Oscar J. Tolmas Charitable Trust.

Trustee Lisa Romano was kind of enough to invite my wife Killian and me to join her and her husband DJ at the Trust’s table for the 2019 Jewish Children’s Regional Service’s annual Jewish Roots Gala. The Romanos were gracious and charming, and their welcome meant the world to us.

The work Lisa Romano and her fellow trustee Vincent Giardina have done is nothing short of astounding. Their support for our community has advanced the work of nonprofits citywide and of Jewish organizations in particular. Five years ago, the Trust made a commitment of $350,000 spread over five years to support the operations and growth of Jewish Community Day School.

This charitable act has been integral to the growth and development of the school both in terms of its immediate impact and in terms of the position we are now in for continued growth.

This year may have marked the final installment of this gift, but the impact will be felt for many, many years to come. Thank you, Lisa, Vincent, and the Oscar J. Tolmas Charitable Trust for what you have done and continue to do for our school and our community. I am honored and humbled to serve as the Oscar J. Tolmas Head of School Chair.

-Dr. Brad Philipson July 2020 • Southern Jewish Life 27

2019 - 2020

Photo courtesy of David Grunfeld, The Times Picayune | The New Orleans Advocate

Moments

Meet our Team FACULTY AND STAFF

BOARD OF TRUSTEES

Liz Amoss

Hemda Hochman

Carole Cukell Neff

Paul Apffel

Janna Jackson

Susan Green

Sara Bellick

Philip Jones “Coach PJ”

Dr. Brad Philipson

Rabbi Michael Cohen

Eliza Kase

Jody Hart

Tiffany Cotlar

Maggie Madere

Carol Newman

Dr. Brad Philipson

Barbara Kaplinsky

Jewish Studies

Oscar J. Tolmas Head of School Chair

Judy Fried

Rabbi David Posternock

Jessica Bach Rochelle Adler Effron

3rd and 4th Grade Teacher STEAM Teacher

Hebrew Teacher

Business Manager

1st and 2nd Grade Teacher School Rabbi

Director of Institutional Advancement

Toby David Pre.K and Kindergarten Teacher

Physical Education

5th and 6th Grade Teacher 1st and 2nd Grade Teacher

Torah Teacher

Carol Garcia

Abby Wetsman

Lauren Gisclair

Margaret Winston, LPC

Pre.K and Kindergarten Asst. Teacher Music Teacher and Admin. Support

Art Teacher

JFS School Counselor

Chrissy Hardy

Director of Admission

GREEN PRESCHOOL STAFF Avery Loss

Green Preschool Division Head

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July 2020 • Southern Jewish Life

Teachers

Leylah Cagle Alyse Downey Anna Fesmire Molly Garcia Maddy Kirgo Kei’yaira Patterson Chelsea Robertson Amanda Ruhlman Sydney Steib Anastasia Thompson Ashley Wood

Board President Vice President

Oscar J. Tolmas Head of School Chair Treasurer Secretary

Recruitment and Retention

Members at Large

Dr. Michael Wasserman Immediate Past President

MEMBERS Emily Dvorin Laura Fuhrman Dashka Roth Lehmann William Norman Valerie Posner Karen Weissbecker Remer Madilyn Samuels Naomi Samuels Debbie Schlackman Jennifer Schneider Jeremy Soso Eileen Wallen Max Zwain PAST PRESIDENTS Dr. George Fuhrman Edward Gothard Hugo Kahn Lis Kahn Marilyn Kullman Dashka Roth Lehmann Rabbi Bob Loewy Karen Weissbecker Remer Charles Stern

Board Transition 2020

Board President 2018-2020

Serving as President of the JCDS Board during these 2 years of transition has been both challenging and rewarding. I had the pleasure to work with the amazing Sharon Pollin as she guided us through the last of her six years as Head of School, while we conducted what resulted in a very successful search for her successor, Dr. Bradley Philipson. Working with Brad as he grew into the role as our new Head of School was a relief and a delight as I saw him gain the confidence that he deserves and clearly earned, especially as he showed us his strong leadership abilities as he guided us through one of life’s greatest difficulties with COVID-19. As I hand the reins over to the very capable Susan Green, I can say that I truly loved having the opportunity to watch JCDS thrive, and I am proud to say that we have had our most successful fundraising periods in our history.

-Carole Neff

I cannot overstate how grateful I am to have worked with Carole Neff in my first year as a head of school. Very quickly, she became someone in whom I have absolute trust, someone who has given me the confidence to follow my convictions when she thinks I’m right, who has been unafraid to tell me when she has thought otherwise, and who has helped me find solutions when neither of us has known the answer. She has become a dear friend, and I thank you, Carole, for your wisdom, patience, and humor, as well as for handing over the reins to a successor as capable as Susan Green. I look forward to the many more years of collaboration and friendship to come.

-Dr. Brad Philipson

Incoming Board President 2020-2022

One of the highlights of getting involved with JCDS has been getting to spend time with the amazing Carole Neff. While I knew her prior to our work together on the board as this brilliant estate attorney everyone admired, in these past few years I have seen her warmth, her kindness, and her humor, all on display through her tireless dedication to the school. Her leadership as Board President has set a high bar, and that includes the way she has prepared me for the role I’ll be taking on. I am honored to accept the gavel from Carole Neff, my friend and my hero, and I will work diligently to keep up the wonderful momentum of the “Neff years.”

-Susan Green

Welcome!

Dan Forman

Howard Green

New Board Members

Ann Harris

Josh Hess

Lisa Katz

Adam Miller

Rabbi Josh Pernick

New Admissions Director Taking on the Admissions Director role in 2020-2021 will be Serena Deutch. A Florida native, Serena grew up attending and then working for Camp Ramah Darom in Georgia. She also served as a Vanderbilt University student tour guide while attending the university’s Peabody College of Education and Human Development.

When she graduated, she was awarded a Venture for America entrepreneurial fellowship that placed her with a New Orleans start-up firm. Serena is active in the young Jewish community through her residency at Moishe House, and she looks forward to expanding that activism through her new role at JCDS. July 2020 • Southern Jewish Life

31

With Very Special Thanks Larry Brook, Editor at Southern Jewish Life Magazine Vivian and Richard Cahn Franco Family Fund Gala Chairs and Gala Committee Susan and Howard Green JCC Metairie and JCC Uptown The Entire JCDS Board and Faculty Team Emily Dvorin and the entire JCDS Parent Association Bobby Garon and everyone at Jewish Endowment Foundation of Louisiana Jewish Federation of Greater New Orleans Lis and Hugo Kahn Rene Lehmann, z”l Legacy Heritage Fund Carole and Richard Neff PJ Library Madilyn and Alvin Samuels Debbie Schlackman The Oscar J. Tolmas Charitable Trust All of our Volunteers Linda Waknin, D’Vash Catering Lynne and Michael Wasserman

JCDS Mission Statement The mission of Jewish Community Day School (JCDS) is to instill a love of learning invigorated by empowering academics. JCDS is rooted in Jewish tradition, fostering spirituality (emunah), dedication to repair our world (tikkun olam) and commitment to the entire Jewish people (k’lal Yisrael). JCDS is a nurturing school where families of all backgrounds are welcomed and children are prepared for their futures. At JCDS we ensure that: • • • • • •

32

Students become inquiring, capable youth who are passionate lifelong learners.

Teachers are dedicated to best educational practices.

Families are engaged in their children’s academic achievement and holistic development.

Ethics and morals of our students are actualized through commitment to Jewish values.

Positive connections to the language, land, culture and people of the State of Israel are created.

Children are primed for full participation in our global society.

Jewish Community Day School | 3747 West Esplanade Avenue Louisiana 70002 | 504.887.4091 | jcdsnola.org

July 2020 • Southern Jewish Life Metairie,

Locally Owned and Operated Since 1991 We Specialize In…

health/wellness an annual SJL special section

Hadassah updates progress on dealing with Covid pandemic As frightening numbers of new COVID-19 cases plague Israel, Prof.

Allon Moses, international infectious disease expert and immediate past director of the Hadassah Medical Organization’s Department of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases, explained, “This is not a second wave. It is the result of lifting the lockdown.”

Moses shared his sobering perspective as part of a June 30 Hadassah International virtual colloquium, where he was joined by two Mexico City colleagues, Francisco Moreno Sánchez, director of the Department of Infectious Diseases at ABC Medical Center, and Arturo Galindo Fraga, deputy director and researcher at the National Institute of Medical Sciences and Nutrition, to discuss COVID-19 diagnosis, treatment, and research.

Moses described how Israel’s strict lockdown resulted in “a fantastic drop in the number of cases.” For a few weeks, Israel saw no more than 10 new cases daily. But, as lapses in social distancing began to accelerate and more Israelis returned to their workplaces, Israel witnessed an increase to about 400 new cases a day.

Sánchez reported that Mexico, a much larger country than Israel, is number 11 in the world by number of cases, and COVID-19 has not yet peaked there. He noted one problem he and his colleagues faced was that at ABC Medical Center patients came in with severe pneumonia and yet they tested negative for COVID-19. This made CT scans of the lungs extremely important, he said. Complicating the situation was that patients came to the hospital much too late. As he explained, patients don’t notice a significant drop in their oxygen levels because often it happens gradually. As a result, they don’t realize they need to come to the hospital for help earlier.

Fraga said that the number of COVID-19 patients in his hospital is decreasing but that his patients tend to be younger — an average age of 40 — than at the ABC Medical Center. He noted, though, that all of the patients have underlying problems, particularly obesity and/or diabetes.

All three presenters acknowledged that while some medications appear to help some patients, such as early use of the steroid dexamethasone and, for more severely ill patients, the anti-viral drug remdesivir, there is as yet no real evidence of efficacy with any treatment. There is also no clarity as to how much protection antibodies provide, Sánchez said. Moses is optimistic that recovered COVID-19 patients who have antibodies will be safe from reinfection, at least in the short term.

“What is important now,” Moses emphasized, “is widespread testing and contact tracing.” While noting that Israel is doing well in expanding its testing, he also pointed out that Israel needs to decrease the amount of time it’s taking to get results. The goal, he said, must be to have results within 12 hours.

“The solution to this pandemic,” Prof. Moses explained, “will come

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from a vaccine, and we will be able to go back to a mostly normal life once there is one.” However, he said, developing a vaccine is a long process, and, in the meantime, we need to protect those who are vulnerable to severe illness. Israel is experiencing fewer patients with severe illness, he reported, because the elderly and other vulnerable populations are staying home.

The presenters also discussed the reliability of testing and the challenge of false negatives. Moses noted, however, that sampling error is often the culprit. For example, he said, sometimes the person swabbing the patient does not insert the swab deeply enough into the nostril. Other times, a patient may not excrete enough virus. When the sample is good, the PCR lab test is 95 percent accurate.

Looking to the future, Fraga said that he is considering how he will convert his fully COVID-19 patient hospital to a hybrid hospital that can safely treat patients with COVID-19 and those who don’t have the virus. Hadassah, too, is planning renovations that will better accommodate both types of patients.

Moses cautions, however, that, as scientists, he and his colleagues must stay alert to the arrival of new viral threats

Judy Butler

A Testimonial That Came at the Right Time “Hey Judy, it’s Valerie from years past. I got to thinking about you and how absolutely grateful I recall you being after your son’s passing. You guys have always been very special to me and I wanted to take time to not only let you know that, but to thank you. I want to thank you and your staff/facility for your unbelievable part in me being able to celebrate 2 years sobriety in November I think of you guys often and know I wish you personally nothing but the best. Thank you again.”

Running a small business can be stressful any time, and with the coronavirus going on it’s even tougher. Someone told me that it would probably be a boost for the rehab business and based on the increased number of calls I receive, it must be true.

The juggling to vet those who want to go to Bayshore Retreat and dealing with the financial side of it can be challenging. One thing I must remind people when they call is “compare everything.”

We only have six clients at a time, and this means they get the individual attention they need. Unlike most rehabs, we have about 30 hours of counseling weekly, not 12-step meetings. This is comprised of individual counseling at least twice a week, group counseling with professionals — not volunteers from AA — every day except Saturdays, and finally Life Skills, which covers issues such as irrational thinking, relationships, self-awareness and discovery along with five other topics.

It’s also about physical health; starting with extensive blood tests followed by exercise, dry sauna therapy, deep tissue massage therapy, freshly chef prepared meals and vitamins.

The transformation of clients is amazing in just two weeks of being there. Located in Destin, Bayshore itself is a healing environment. People walk into my foyer, not a lobby with a receptionist sitting behind a glass barrier. We have a pool and a beautiful bay view from every room. Sunsets are amazing. We have a boat and kayaks. On the weekend we take clients fishing, to play golf and other activities. It’s not just about beating addiction; it’s about embracing life without substance.

Finally, we are Joint Commission accredited. This huge when it comes to selecting a rehab center. It basically means that not only do we pass the various inspections and requirement to receive our license, but we meet the highest standards in the industry.

Before you or someone you love goes to one of the “big box” rehabs, compare everything. Look for the Gold seal of approval. I know you will find that Bayshore Retreat will be the best option. Call me any time.

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July 2020 • Southern Jewish Life

health/wellness

YO UR UNR E LE NTIN G TrustCare provides urgent, primary care Mississippi group opens first Alabama locations The Mississippi-based TrustCare, which opened its first Alabama clinic in early May a couple miles east of Birmingham’s Levite Jewish Community Center, is the company’s first uniting urgent care and primary care.

“We’re here to provide patients a full range of wellness services,” said Dr. David Hardin, the director of the Birmingham TrustCare and its primary care physician. “We do walk-in urgent care to keep people out of the emergency rooms” for non-life-threatening injuries or illnesses. “We can provide regular primary care to patients and provide telehealth services for those who need them.”

Hardin’s background is primarily in sports medicine, and TrustCare discussed the opportunity of leading the Birmingham clinic with him in the summer of 2019. The Jackson-based company has seven clinics in Mississippi and plans to open a Vestavia Hills location in November.

TrustCare offers medical services ranging from treating sprains and simple fractures to wellness physicals to laboratory services to allergy testing and treatment. They also have on-site digital x-ray machines.

Hardin said they also conduct COVID-19 testing and can get results to patients in 48 hours or less.

“The most common symptoms are fever and dry cough, but those who have tested positive have also reported losing their sense of smell and taste, nausea and some gastrointestinal tract (GI) issues,” said Hardin.

“It’s best to get tested if you have any of those persisting symptoms or think you were exposed to someone who tested positive for it.”

He said they’ve also seen patients who haven’t exercised in a while due to COVID quarantines and tried to “hit it too hard their first time out.”

Others have had some neck tension and lower back issues from being “cooped up” at home.

“If you are going on a run, for example, it’s important to stretch and jog for a bit before running full speed. You need to build up to it,” said Hardin. “Our bodies are not like race cars — we need to do slow acceleration.”

TrustCare believes in the future of medicine as it pertains to its full range of telehealth services, as well as the past, as it pertains to in-house visits.

Hardin has a background in computer science and set up the clinic’s telehealth portal. He and his nurses have also made some house calls to see elderly patients who need some tests done, as well as other medical services that do not require in-office visitation.

“We’re happy to work with patients and their home health providers,” he said. “The best option is to keep them well in their homes.”

TrustCare’s Birmingham location is open Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., until 6 p.m. for telehealth. By late summer, they will expand their staff and hours to 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., as well as some weekend hours to be determined.

For more information about TrustCare, go to www.trustcarehealth. com.

Pregnant pause? Not at New LIFE

Despite the uncertainty and anxiety surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic, pregnancy successes seen at New Leaders In Fertility and Endocrinology (NewLIFE) were much higher in the late spring than historical averages.

“In April through early June, pregnancies occurred approximately 50 percent higher,” said Barry Ripps, fertility specialist and founder of NewLIFE, which has offices in Pensacola, Panama City, Biloxi, Dothan, Tallahassee and Mobile.

Ripps reported that when offers to postpone treatments started, none of the patients cancelled their treatment cycles due to COVID-19. “We’ve gone to great lengths to take extra precautions here and we have modified our schedules to limit exposure,” he added. “That may have reduced some

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For more information, call 205.879.3438 or visit https://cjfsbham.org/ jewish-mental-health-initiative-.htm July 2020 • Southern Jewish Life

35

health/wellness

patients’ concerns.”

According to domestic data and studies, pregnant woman may not be at a higher risk for severe coronavirus infection. The virus may not pose a greater risk for miscarriage, complications or birth defects. He said they work with patients to let them know the healthy lifestyle choices they can make to increase their chances of conception and pregnancy success.

The expansion of telemedicine has allowed NewLIFE to limit the number of in-person visits needed during treatment. “Not everything can be done digitally, but the number of visits can be reduced,” said Ripps. “A lot of what we do in this specialty involves consultation, education and counseling. These can be completed effectively with videoconferencing.

“We’re here to help our patients every step in the process,” said Ripps.

Facial rejuvenation using patients’ own tissue Technique developed by Birmingham’s Rousso A facial rejuvenation procedure called SculptLift, developed and trademarked by Birmingham’s Daniel Rousso, has patients looking and feeling years younger.

“SculptLift is similar to a facelift, with an added innovation. We use a patient’s own tissue to restore volume to lips and smooth away lines for a natural look that provides long-lasting results,” said Rousso, who started Rousso Facial Plastic Surgery and Aesthetic Medical Spa more than 20 years ago.

SculptLift restores the lower two-thirds of the face with a Superficial Muscular Aponeurotic System technique. With a typical facelift, a small portion of tissue is removed from in front of the ear structure and is traditionally discarded. Rousso has developed a process in which the strip of natural tissue is saved and placed in areas to restore volume, such as laugh lines, lips, or marionette lines. This custom tissue transfer technique takes a facelift to the next level.

The procedure comes with no risk for rejection and patients fully recover in two to four weeks. “Fillers and Botox work well, but those results might last six months to a year,” said Rousso. “With SculptLift, the positive results are much more long-term.”

Rousso has more than 33 years of experience in exclusively facial plastic surgery and skin aesthetics. He is internationally renowned for his contributions to the field of facial plastic surgery and routinely performs facial rejuvenation procedures to include facelifts, eyelid surgery, nasal surgery, cheek/chin augmentation surgeries, lip enhancement procedures, facial implants, dermabrasion, chemical peeling, laser resurfacing surgery, MOHS repairs, and hair replacement.

“We are continuously learning new techniques, technologies and products to stay ahead of the curve,” said Rousso.

Some of those newer products include a couple fillers that work well on the lips. Restylane Kysse provides plumping of the lips to create a natural pillowy look. Volbella works on wrinkles above the lips without plumping.

Rousso said that they have gone to great lengths with COVID-19 precautions to keep everyone as safe as possible at Rousso Facial Plastic Surgery and Aesthetic Medical Spa. They ask patients to stay in their cars until a room becomes available in order to limit patient-to-patient interaction. Temperatures are taken upon arrival, and masks are required.

“We’re testing all patients before surgery and testing our staff on a routine basis,” he said. “We wear masks and face shields all the time and have added some HEPA filter units as well as Plexiglas shields. Everyone’s safety has always been of the utmost importance to us.”

Special Section articles by Lee J. Green 36

July 2020 • Southern Jewish Life

health/wellness

NCJW hails Supreme Court ruling on Louisiana abortion restrictions The National Council of Jewish Women celebrated the United States Supreme Court June 29 ruling that struck down as unconstitutional a Louisiana law that was aimed at further restricting abortion in the state.

In a 5-4 ruling, the court ruled that the law was virtually identical to a Texas law that the court had rejected in 2016. The law required doctors who perform abortions to have admitting privileges in a nearby hospital. Backers of the law say it provides a layer of safety for women, while critics of the law note that there is no medical rationale for such a restriction, and hospitals are reluctant to grant such privileges because of the controversy it would bring.

Implementing the law would likely have led to the closing of two of the three Louisiana clinics that still perform abortions.

In initially striking down the law, a District Judge had found that implementation would lead to only one doctor being available to perform abortions in the entire state, and the judge also monitored 18 months of unsuccessful “good faith” efforts by doctors to gain admitting privileges. Roughly 10,000 women seek abortions in Louisiana each year.

Susan Hess, president of the New Orleans Section of NCJW, and NCJW National CEO Sheila Katz issued a joint statement saying that while the organization is glad the Supreme Court struck down the law, “this fight is far from over as anti-abortion lawmakers across the country continue their sustained and coordinated attacks on our reproductive freedom,” and this law is one of over 450 state laws since 2011 aimed at restricting abortion access.

They also cited persistent “structural barriers to care resulting from long-standing social and economic inequities” since the Hyde Amendment denies abortion coverage to those in federal health programs.

“As people of faith, we refuse to remain idle while moral autonomy, health, and lives are at stake,” they said. “Every single day, we advocate for abortion rights and access for all because of Jewish values, not in spite of them.”

cal issue, making it clear that they will welcome and support those who have or may in the future choose to terminate a pregnancy.”

Clergy who sign the pledge will be invited to participate in training online and will receive tools and resources to become public allies for reproductive freedom.

“Reproductive freedom is a Jewish issue,” said Rabbi Danya Ruttenberg, who worked with NCJW to create the Rabbis for Repro campaign.

“Our religion commands us to not stand idly by while barriers to healthcare place any individual’s health, well-being, autonomy, or economic

security at risk.”

The heads of the Reform, Conservative and Reconstructionist movements have signed on, along with prominent Orthodox and Renewal rabbis.

Among the initial signers are Rabbi Alexis Erdheim of Gates of Prayer in Metairie, Shana Mackler of The Temple in Nashville, Joshua Kullock of West End Synagogue in Nashville, Raina Siroty of Gemiluth Chassodim in Alexandria, Barry Block of B’nai Israel in Little Rock, and New Orleans native Judith Siegal of Temple Judea in Coral Gables, Fla.

Rabbis for Repro

On June 30, NCJW announced the formation of Rabbis for Repro, encouraging “Jewish clergy to pledge that they will teach about the issue and create an open system of support for reproductive health care access in their communities.”

Katz noted that “our tradition views abortion as essential healthcare, not only permitted but in some cases commanded when a life is at risk… we’re asking Rabbis, Cantors, and Jewish educators to commit to teaching their communities about the Jewish perspective on this critiJuly 2020 • Southern Jewish Life

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community Director sought for new Interfaith Families initiative

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July 2020 • Southern Jewish Life

The Jewish Federation of Greater New Orleans is looking for a creative leader to be its first executive director of the Sherry and Alan Leventhal Family Foundation Center for Interfaith Families.

Working in collaboration with area synagogues and Jewish organizations, the Center’s goal is to create nurturing and inclusive opportunities for people to explore and connect to Jewish values, traditions, experiences, texts and spirituality in a self-selected manner.

The new center is one of two Centers of Excellence that the Federation announced earlier this year. The other center, the Goldring Family Foundation Center for Jewish-Multicultural Affairs, is already conducting programs in advance of its Oct. 1 official launch.

The four goals of the Sherry and Alan Leventhal Family Foundation Center for Interfaith Families are: Ensuring that individuals, families, and children feel a connection to Judaism; enriching and enhancing the Jewish community through non-judgmental acceptance; increasing the Federation’s visibility in the Jewish and non-Jewish communities; and strengthening relationships with Jewish and non-Jewish community partners.

According to the Federation’s description, the new director must be a creative visionary and a detail oriented, self-motivated administrator.

They must be able to skillfully communicate with members of the Jewish and interfaith communities, and have the capacity to build constituencies between Jewish and non-Jewish communities. They will work collaboratively with a small advisory committee and have the opportunity to vision, initiate, and pursue program goals.

The executive director will be expected to create and maintain an outreach database of interfaith families and couples, develop creative interfaith programming events, provide grants to local organizations that offer interfaith programing, and design vibrant web pages that offer referral and educational information. Opportunities exist to design and implement new approaches that address the needs of interfaith community members, as well as making modifications to existing programs.

There will also be considerable freedom to initiate and pursue program goals, while being a part of and contributing to a larger framework that provides services and support to the local Jewish community.

Applications are due to the Federation by July 30. A full description is available at jewishnola.com.

Bubba, surely there is nothing to the story that Hitler’s alligator has a Southern connection…

A:

lection of Hitler, and not in the Berlin Zoo. However, even if, purely theoretically, he There is indeed a connection, but the story is kind of convoluted. belonged to someone — animals are Now, most people (who don’t keep kosher) prefer their gators to not involved in war and politics, it is be fried… or at least, battered, bruised and defeated on a particular absurd to blame them for human sins.”

Saturday in the fall. But did the head of the Nazi machine really have The zoo said “We tried to take care of the venerable allian alligator as his preferred not-so-cuddly companion? gator with the utmost care and attention. He was choosy in food and Well, turns out much of that story is a croc. But there is a Southern perfectly remembered trusted keepers,” loved being massaged with a connection in the urban legend that surrounded the real-life predator. brush, and if upset could break steel feeding tongs or concrete decoThe alligator, not Hitler. rations with his teeth.

On May 22, the Moscow Zoo announced that one of its most pop“Saturn is a whole era for us,” the zoo said, marking the 75 years ular residents, Saturn, the alligator attributed to Hitler, had died at since victory in World War II. “It is a great happiness that each of us the age of 84, “an extremely respectable age,” given that the typical life could look into his eyes, just quietly be near. He saw many of us as expectancy in the wild is 30 to 50 years. children. We hope that we did not disappoint him.”

Wrong, appetizer breath… and don’t call me Shirley.

Soon after being hatched in the United States — and reports persist Saturn will continue to be an attraction — stuffed and displayed at that it was somewhere in Mississippi — the alligator was gifted to the the State Darwin Museum in Moscow.

Berlin Zoo in 1936.

Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks Alligator Program Coordinator Ricky Flynt told the Clarion Ledger in Jackson that he could not confirm that the alligator came from Mississippi, as there were no records because the Game and Fish department was not organized until 1938, and there were no regulations in 1936 regarding alligators.

Wouldn’t it be interesting if the alligator had come from Synagogue (a real place in Mississippi) or Jews Creek (ditto)?

The alligator was a popular attraction at the zoo, and as Hitler was a frequent visitor, it is likely they crossed paths, but the alligator was never part of his personal collection.

The Berlin Zoo sustained heavy damage during the war. The aquarium building was bombed on Nov. 23, 1943, killing most of the animals inside. The alligator was one of the few who survived, and started wandering the streets, looking for food. “How the alligator spent the next three years is a mystery,” the Moscow Zoo said.

In 1946, British soldiers found the alligator, then took So yes, Saturn is another Mississippian who went on to become him to Leipzig in the Soviet zone. In July, 1946, he was brought to the quite notable — though he probably would prefer a nickname other Moscow Zoo, where he was the only alligator.

Because he came from Germany, people referred to him as Hitler, than “Hitler’s Alligator.” but the museum quickly gave him the name Saturn.

Do you have a question that has been nagging at you? Let Bubba In its statement reporting Saturn’s death, the Moscow Zoo said “al- Meyer put your mind at ease… email it to editor@sjlmag.com and we most immediately, the myth was born that he was allegedly in the col- will send it to his secret quarantine location.

July 2020 • Southern Jewish Life

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and will likely strike a timely SushiPlayers” “The Violin ays, 10am-7pm; ursd s-Ththe day Mon n chord with readers around region.

Ope m-3pm 10aromance The young adult and Sundaysteen ayscontemporary Frid novel — written in 1998 by Eileen Sherman and released on audiobook last month —Ship examines Your Order To You! Outside the New Orleans Area? We Will bullying and bigotry in high school.

A savvy, Jewish, 15-year-old New Yorker, Melissa Jensen finds herself in a strange new place when her father accepts a temporary teaching assignment in a small Midwestern college town.

Her arrival in Henryville starts out promising. Melissa’s drama teacher is a former Broadway actor; the school’s orchestra is perhaps even better than hers was in New York and she meets Daniel Goodman, who shares her passion for playing the violin. Plus the other kids treat her like a celebrity for simply having grown up in the Big Apple.

Everything seems too good to be true, until Melissa experiences something she has never personally experienced before — anti-Semitism. No one suspects that she is Jewish, but when Daniel, the only known Jewish student in the school, is harassed by a bully, Melissa must confront the realities of bigotry.

“The Violin Players” was Sherman’s third novel and first young adult contemporary romance novel. Her own daughter, now a mother herself, convinced her a couple of years ago to revive the book. It will be re-released in paperback in December.

“After the book came out, I spoke at schools, libraries and to various organizations around the country. I even penned a stage adaption for a couple of teen theatre groups,” said Sherman. ”But I never considered recording an audiobook. With the rise of violent antisemitic acts worldwide, my daughter suggested I dust off the pages of ‘The Violin Players’ and personally tell Melissa Jensen’s story to a new generation,” she added.

Sherman said that she and her daughter both had experienced “some small incidents” of anti-Semitism growing up. She remembers country clubs calling themselves “exclusive” when they meant no Jews or blacks.

In college, she was with an African-American classmate when someone else exclaimed “there go the Jew and the chocolate!”

She, too, experienced bigotry when moving to the Midwest, being told she would not be welcome in what she had thought was a charming area.

Sherman’s son and daughter both graduated from a Jewish Day School, but her daughter wanted to go on to graduate from a public high school in New York City. Sherman and her husband now live in Hudson, a couple of hours outside of the city.

When her daughter encountered slurs and racial jokes in high school, she decided to write the novel. “I thought it was important to not just write a book about the existence of anti-Semitism and racism, but how to respond to it,” she said. “This book will not eradicate bigotry, but it will be cause for discussing it and serve as a reminder to speak out against it.”

She added, “In some ways I wanted to tell the story of assimilation, Jewish tradition and perception but through the eyes of a teenager. I think the audiobook will resonate not just with young adults but their parents as well.”

The University of Nebraska Press, under its imprint The Jewish Publication Society, will publish the paperback. For more information, go to www.ebsoriginals.com.

community NOLA native Josh Levin explores David Duke’s rise and fall on Slate podcast A native of the New Orleans Jewish community, Josh Levin is bringing a formative experience of his childhood to the national stage through Slate magazine’s “Slow Burn” podcast series — several episodes on the rise and fall of David Duke.

Now the national editor of Slate, Levin was a kid growing up in New Orleans in the 1980s and 1990s, when David Duke was on the rise, “and it made a big impression on me.”

The experience of having a Nazi sympathizer in the halls of power in Louisiana “really did stick with me and kind of shook me out of complacency about politics” and how people’s lives could be affected.

Duke was elected to the Louisiana Legislature in 1989, when Levin was eight years old. His victory reinforced a sense in Louisiana’s Jewish community of being different, which intensified when Duke ran unsuccessfully for U.S. Senate in 1990 and for governor in 1991. “It felt like he could win,” Levin said, which alarmed the Jewish community.

In 1988, Duke had run for president under the Populist Party banner.

The party was the brainchild of conspiracy theorist Willis Carto, founder of the antisemitic Liberty Lobby and the Holocaust-denial Institute for Historical Review.

“Ever since I’ve been a journalist, I’ve wanted to look into that period of time and understand it in a way I didn’t understand it as a kid,” he said.

Doing it as a podcast series gives him the time to do a proper, comprehensive take.

The episodes focus mainly on “that specific period of between 1989 and 1991,” reflecting on where Duke came from, his affiliation with the Klan and Nazis. Initially, Duke tried to absorb some of the notoriety of

the Ku Klux Klan while “arguing he was creating something new,” Levin said.

Duke would “alternate between trying to appeal to a white populace by using these old Klan symbols and slurs, but would at other times be on television in a suit and try to make his white supremacism appear more moderate than it actually was.”

Duke ultimately left the Klan, deciding “the Klan’s baggage was a little too heavy, given his goal to be a political leader.”

He tailored his message to his audience, speaking to white supremacist groups as a brother, but speaking to broader audiences in terms of pride in white heritage, security, taxation and maintaining a separate identity.

Duke’s message found fertile ground in Jefferson Parish in the era of Sheriff Harry Lee, who was criticized for racial profiling and portraying the area as a safe haven from New Orleans.

“There are lessons to be learned from looking at Duke’s rise and how he got to be so popular, how the media treated him, how political parties talked about him, what his voters said about him,” Levin said, While many people want to connect the story of Duke to today, Levin said “I really want listeners to live in those moments and not be particularly explicit to any connection to what is happening now.” He added, “people are going to make connections they want to without me saying anything.”

By being in the historical moment, it is possible to “inhabit” them “as periods of time that could have gone a different way.”

Indeed, in early episodes, he notes how there were several opportunities to stop Duke before he became a phenomenon. For instance, none of his opponents for the State Legislature took him seriously enough to

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community challenge his residency in the district.

There were “different points along the way where decisions were made that gave him a boost.” In some cases, political leaders tried to ignore him, thinking if they spoke against him, it would give him “more oxygen.”

Even all these years later, Levin said, “it’s hard to know what the right approach is.”

One approach that changed the narrative came as a spur of the moment incident. Anne Levy, a Holocaust survivor living in New Orleans, went to Baton Rouge in June 1989 for a ceremony at the State Capitol, where the Simon Wiesenthal Center’s Holocaust exhibit, “The Courage to Remember,” was being displayed — partly as a response to the presence of Holocaust-denying Duke.

Shocked to see Duke there, Levy went up to him and demanded to know where he got the chutzpah to show his face there. Flustered, Duke left as quickly as he could, but the confrontation was caught by the assembled media, and others were emboldened to go after Duke. Levy, who had been reluctant to talk of her experiences before then, became a fixture in the anti-Duke movement.

Levy’s actions “inspired the broader anti-Duke movement to move into a more direct confrontational mode,” including pointing out that he was still selling Nazi books from his state office, Levin said. “The media took notice that he had kind of run away from her.”

As of late June, four episodes had been aired, and there is a bonus episode featuring Levy for subscribers. In the most recent one, Levin describes the dilemma of whether or not to try and interview Duke for the series.

Levin went to Brown University where he did some writing on the side while studying computer science, but decided “ultimately that was not for me,” and he pursued writing.

He started as an intern at Washington City Paper after graduating in 2002, which he said was a “really good experience, to get to learn how to report and write at a place with a lot of good mentors.”

The next year, he went to Slate, where he is now the national editor and co-host of the sports podcast “Hang Up and Listen.” This year, he became the host of the fourth season of “Slow Burn.”

In 2005, he did a series of reports from New Orleans after the levees broke. “I felt privileged to go down there and document it,” he said. Much of the reporting was about his family’s experiences.

In 2019, he released the book ‘The Queen: The Forgotten Life Behind an American Myth,” the story of Linda Taylor, “America’s original ‘welfare queen’.” Levin said Taylor’s story “says a huge amount of how our country works and our politics work.”

Cited by candidate Ronald Reagan as the prototype welfare cheat, Taylor is a much more complex individual. “It is rare to have a narrative like that where you can tell such a huge, sweeping story with the focus being on a single person,” he said.

Levin said he likes to “tell these personal stories that make larger points about the way the world works.”

Though he wants his pieces to be viewed and understood in their own times, he acknowledged “the reason it feels so important and appropriate right now is because of this national reckoning we’ve been having about racism… I’m glad it feels like part of the conversation we need to be having right now.”

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elections

ROSE SPECIAL! Brian Henly, Mandeville mayor Brian Henly thinks Mandeville is a “great community already, but we can still do better,” especially when it comes to communication, working together and making government more accessible for the community.

A disability advocate, Henly is a Mandeville native making his first run at public office. In talking with his son, he said that “if you lead, you lead by example, and we live somewhere that if you don’t like something you can do something.”

Henly’s first job was with the Mandeville Public Works Department at age 16. He graduated from Southeastern Louisiana University and started off teaching exercises at a chiropractic office when he decided to apply to law school, because he enjoys helping people. In his legal practice, he helps people who are disabled apply for Social Security disability, and works with them on requests for reconsideration in the case of a denial.

As mayor, he can “continue helping people.”

One of the biggest areas where Mandeville can improve is opening the lines of communication and building public trust, he said. He wants to ensure livestreamed council meetings and town hall meetings. Currently, “It’s hard to get involved” when meetings for the commuter town are every other Thursday at 6 p.m. “A lot of people would like to be involved” but the scheduling makes it impossible for most people.

He also wants to post an interactive budget that can be read and understood. “If you haven’t read a budget before,” he said, Mandeville’s 155-pager “isn’t one you want to start with.”

He also wants to see Mandeville get past pervasive infighting between the mayor and council.

Henly is also treasurer of Safe Harbor, as another way of helping the community.

The son of a Jewish mother and Catholic father, he remembers attending services at Temple Sinai in New Orleans with his grandfather, Albert Levin, who worked in electrical supplies, forming Al Levin and Associates.

He faces four others in the July 11 election, which he said “shows a lot of people care about our community.”

He urges everyone to “really do their homework, get there and vote.”

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Judge Beth Wolfe, First Circuit Appeals In running for an open position on Louisiana’s First Circuit Court of Appeals Third District, Judge Beth Wolfe is citing not only the length of her experience on the bench, but the wide range of legal experience she had before being elected to the bench 15 years ago.

The winner of this race will finish the term of Will Crain, who was elected to the Louisiana Supreme Court in 2019. The district includes East Feliciana, Livingston, St. Helena, St. Tammany, Tangipahoa, Washington and West Feliciana Parishes.

Wolfe first became the Division F judge on the 21st Judicial Circuit in 2005, and was reelected in 2014. She had previously practiced law for 18 years, including criminal, civil, juvenile and family law. During that time, for 14 years she was a prosecutor in the 21st Circuit District Attorney’s office.

Originally from Hammond, Wolfe graduated from Southeastern Louisiana University as a history major, and was “very interested in the way our state works,” and historical issues. “One of my friends was going to take the LSAT” for admittance to law school, “and she asked me why I wasn’t going to take it.” Wolfe decided to do it on a whim and did “really July 2020 • Southern Jewish Life 43

community well” while her friend did not pass. She went to Louisiana State University School of Law. “I found the study of law fascinating,” she said, applying laws to the facts of cases at a crucial point in people’s lives.

Her time as a criminal defense lawyer showed her “not everyone is guilty,” while her time as a prosecutor found her “especially amenable to the victims, how things impacted them.”

She noted that as a defense lawyer, she also saw the consequences for the families of the accused.

When an opening developed on the 21st Circuit, she “had been thinking and praying abut a different area of law,” and “was very thankful” to win election.

She clerked for Louisiana Supreme Court Justice Luther Cole just after graduating, doing “the study of law, the research, we read hundreds of pages every day, wrote very important opinions… I really liked that,” she said.

That is similar to what she would be doing on the First Circuit, “make good, reasoned opinions and work together with my colleagues.”

Campaigning during shelter at home has been different, she said. “It was full steam ahead for several months,” with two or three events every evening, “getting out and meeting a lot of people.” But when coronavirus hit, everything “screeched to a halt.”

With publicity about election delays, she said that made a greater awareness that the election was taking place.

Jonathan Holloway, City Court, Division C With over 20 years of legal experience, Jonathan Holloway is running for the Baton Rouge City Court, Division C. Experienced in a wide range of legal areas, Holloway is an active member of the Baton Rouge Bar Association, and says his range of experiences will suit him well to the bench, as he will be familiar with all areas that would come up.

Holloway was appointed by former Louisiana Governor Kathleen Babineaux Blanco to serve on the Louisiana State Licensing Board for Contractors, and as general counsel for the Louisiana State Licensing Board for Private Investigators. He has also served as a special assistant attorney general; appointed by former Louisiana Attorney General Charles Foti.

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July 2020 • Southern Jewish Life

community >> Rear Pew Mirror

continued from page 46 istent, as nearly nobody will find familiar since they’re typically not there.

Disputes about who sits where aren’t gone but are more commonly intra-family in online services. Like in most sanctuaries, the front row is still reserved for the righteous and pure of heart — it’s as empty online as in synagogues, as nobody sits too close to the screen except for the occasional feline facilitator.

Numerous congregants try to ensure they’re facing east, going so far as to google how to read a compass. Most synagogues don’t emphasize this because more congregants might realize how few synagogues actually have their arks positioned eastwardly in the first place.

Finally, there’s camera positioning. Cameras focused on standing congregants go over their heads when seated, while cameras focused on seated congregants provide unfortunate angles when they’re standing. Top rabbis are working on it.

Doug Brook didn’t like the song Zum Gali Gali as a child. To read past columns, visit http:// brookwrite.com/. For exclusive online content, follow facebook.com/rearpewmirror.

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continued from page 8 speaker series this summer, in co-sponsorship with the Breman Museum in Atlanta, the Savannah Jewish Federation and the Savannah Jewish Educational Alliance. Events are at 9 a.m. Central and are free, but registration is required. On July 10, Marni Davis will speak about Jewish neighborhoods in Atlanta, and on July 24, Ann Woolner will trace the lives and events of the first Jews to settle in Savannah.

Touro Synagogue is collecting non-perishable food items at the synagogue for distribution at the Broadmoor Food Pantry. Donations can be dropped off in the collection bin located outside in the courtyard, weekdays from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

There will be a free performance of “Lot in Life,” a play by Southern Jewish Life columnist Doug Brook, Aug. 2 at 1 p.m. Silicon Valley Shakespeare, of which he is executive director, will perform the 70-minute Biblical comedy, which incorporates every part of the story of Lot and his family (including that part), as told from the perspective of his wife. Brook also wrote the “Gonzo Megillah” Muppet take on Purim that was used at Gates of Prayer in Metairie this year. A post-show conversation hosted by Congregation Beth David in Saratoga, Calif., will follow. Register at svshakespeare.org/tickets for links to both events.

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July 2020 • Southern Jewish Life

45

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Zoom Golly Golly The classic Hebrew folk song “Zum Gali Gali” originated around the founding of the state of Israel. It’s a song about pioneers working which, ironically, was often heard in the fields sung by working pioneers.

Here in 2020, which is Aramaic for “the next 10 plagues,” a new type of pioneer has emerged, exploring a new realm that is itself quite pivotal in keeping the Jewish people living long and prospering. Since many sheltered people have too much time on their hands, it’s time to zoom in on these intrepid Israelites to see what they’re pioneering and how it’s working.

The Talmud teaches, “the one thing worse than ‘guilt by association’ is ‘kill by association’.” Therefore, many synagogues are opting to temporarily close their physical doors and keep dues paying members more alive by conducting services online via Zoom and other high-tech products who won’t be named because even Zoom didn’t pay for either of their product placements in this sentence.

Of course, even for those who get past the obvious potential concerns of doing Shabbat services online — such as, doing Shabbat anything online — there are additional hurdles to leap.

One of the most common observations about Zoom services is, “honey, you left it unmuted again!” Nearly as common is that, due to the mild time lag, it’s impossible for people in online services to sing in sync with each other. This results in a cacophony of jumbled sound so indecipherable and atonal that its closest comparison is how congregants have always sounded in the sanctuary. The only difference is that now they can pretend to blame technology.

Torah readings are often not done in online services. Aside from various halachic reasons, there are a few practical challenges. First, in doing the processional of carrying around the Torah throughout the congregation, it can take many hours to get to everyone’s houses. And that assumes a big enough eruv is in place, in the first place.

Restricting the processional to the rabbi walking circles in his or her hobby room saves a lot of time but presents its own challenges. CongreThe pioneers gants reaching out to kiss the Torah as continue to work it goes by is the second most common cause of major screen damage, next to their screens… watching a White House press briefing.

Torah readings are impractical online also because it’s nearly impossible in Grid View to consistently, correctly orient the Torah reader, gabbais, current and previous Aliyah honorees where they’re supposed to be relative to each other.

Sermons are still possible and now carry greater importance. Without actual Torah readings, the primary means of communicating the contents or substance of the biblical readings during an online service is the sermon. Its closest comparison is that the sermon has long been how most congregants have actually understood what’s in the Torah reading in the sanctuary.

A sermonic innovation in Zoom services reflective of its increased importance is that, thanks to Zoom highlighting the video of whoever is speaking, it’s easier to identify anyone unmuted who is snoring during the sermon.

To help ensure online services feel similar to in-person services, despite the commute often being shorter for online services than traveling to synagogue, attendance at the start of services remains nearly non-excontinued on previous page

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July 2020 • Southern Jewish Life

community >> Editor’s Note

continued from page 3

That said, there is a difference between subscribing to the philosophy of Black Lives Matter and backing the organizational structure of Black Lives Matter.

While the Jewish community considers itself a natural ally in the fight to effect change, there are a couple elephants in the room.

One is that on a national level, in 2016 the Black Lives Matter movement adopted a virulent anti-Israel plank written by Rachel Gilmer, a biracial Jew who has rejected her Jewish identity and is chief of strategy for the radical Florida group Dream Defenders.

The platform, written with input from the mis-named Jewish Voice for Peace and fellow travelers IfNotNow, accuses Israel of genocide.

While there is debate as to whether the national movement still subscribes to this platform, and a revised platform will be discussed in August, Palestinian activists have jumped into BLM and tried to link their cause.

Black Lives Matter UK came under fire and has lost endorsements because of a series of harsh anti-Israel social media posts in late June.

There is also the JVP-led blood libel being spread in many quarters that Israel trains U.S. police in methods of suppressing people of color, a notion that has been debunked but persists.

And as we were going to press, a BLM march in Washington included chants accusing Israel of murdering children.

Some in the Jewish community say that proves why there has to be more mainstream Jewish involvement in BLM, to counterbalance the self-destructive Jewish-in-name radicals.

Another elephant is how, though one is to acknowledge the problems leading to declarations of Black lives matter and not protest that all lives matter, this courtesy is not afforded to every persecuted group, as witnessed last year when Congress debated a bill condemning antisemitism.

After Rep. Ilhan Omar made dual-loyalty accusations about Jews and Israel, with a measure of the trope of Jewish power over Congress added, there was a push to condemn her antisemitic remarks.

That common-sense response, though, soon met a buzzsaw of opposition, and the House Democratic leadership produced a resolution that wound up being against “anti-Semitism, Islamophobia, racism, and other forms of bigotry.”

In other words, when we insisted antisemitism matters, we were told that all bigotry matters.

In fact, the original target of the resolution, Rep. Omar, voted for it and hailed it as an historic moment, as the first time the U.S. has voted to condemn anti-Muslim bigotry.

It isn’t that antisemitism is a particular problem in this country. According to FBI hate crime data, Jews are 2.7 times more likely per capita to be the victim of a hate crime than are blacks, and Jews are over twice as likely as Muslims to be victims.

And that’s the data from 2018, before the well-publicized increase in antisemitism since then.

But that doesn’t seem to matter. In progressive circles, Jews are often not seen as a threatened minority, but are increasingly accused of being part of the racist white majority.

The Jewish community will still be at the forefront of standing with the Black community, as the deeply-ingrained concept of Tikkun Olam kicks in once again, and this is most definitely a part of the world that needs major repairs.

But we must remain aware and vigilant in realizing there are some who are connected to the movement that are spreading antisemitism and hatred of Israel, and as partners in progress, we can’t forget to stand up for ourselves when efforts to erase racism include a side of anLawrence Brook, Publisher/Editor ti-Jewish bigotry.

July 2020 • Southern Jewish Life

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