Southern Jewish Life

PUBLISHER/EDITOR

Lawrence M. Brook editor@sjlmag.com

ASSOCI ATE PUBLISHER/ADVERTISING

Lee J. Green lee@sjlmag.com

It would be nice to do the new edition in print, but the industry has changed. For years, our model has been to send the print edition to our entire coverage area, relying on advertisers and, more recently, supporters in the community to keep the presses rolling. Things have changed in the last 20 years and that model has become less feasible for expanding into new areas.

Even if you want to keep receiving the print version, if you are not already on the list for the weekly e-news, please sign up for it. We have a lot of content each week, from breaking stories to things that developed after the print version went to press, to all manner of events around the region.

Led by the Sokol and Helds, your hard-working volunteers were wonderful. They partnered with your outstanding staff, led by Betzy Lynch, to make the 2017 JCC Maccabi games a huge hit. I want to take this opportunity as executive director of Maccabi USA to say thank you on behalf of everyone involved.

Also, you will want to be on our email list if we shift some of our coverage online.

Richard Friedman richard@sjlmag.com

V.P SALES/MARKETING, NE W ORLEANS

Jeff Pizzo jeff@sjlmag.com

At our recent American Jewish Press Association convention in New Orleans, one topic was online versus print, as those of us in print look to see what is sustainable. Print is still highly valued, but one has to be smarter with how to do it.

After the new Regional edition launches, we will use the same model to launch our long-anticipated new magazine, Israel InSight, aimed primarily at the pro-Israel Christian community but accessible to all. It will also be online, by subscription.

I had just returned from the 20th World Maccabiah games in Israel with a U.S. delegation of over 1100, who joined 10,000 Jewish athletes from 80 countries. Back in July the eyes of the entire Jewish world were on Jerusalem and the Maccabiah. This past month with 1000 athletes and coaches from around the world being in Birmingham, you became the focal point. Everyone from the Jewish community and the community at large, including a wonderful police force, are to be commended. These games will go down in history as being a seminal moment for the Jewish community as we build to the future by providing such wonderful Jewish memories.

CREATIVE DIRECTOR Ginger Brook ginger@sjlmag.com

SOCIAL/WEB Emily Baldwein connect@sjlmag.com

JOURNALISM INT ERN Kiara Dunlap

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS

Jed Margolis Executive Director, Maccabi USA

As with many industries, higher costs are certainly fueling the discussion. In the past three years, printing and postage have gone up around 30 percent, while advertising was greatly affected by the pandemic.

We are currently looking at how to best serve the areas where we are in print. One option that has been available for years is to receive the Deep South or New Orleans edition online. When a new issue is posted online, we have it linked in our weekly e-news.

Editor’s Note: This reaction to the events in Charlottesville, written by Jeremy Newman, Master of the Alpha Epsilon Pi Theta Colony at Auburn University, was shared by AEPi National, which called it “very eloquent” and praised “our brothers at AEPi Theta Colony at Auburn University and… the leadership they display on their campus.”

If you prefer to read the magazine online and not receive a print copy, email us at subscribe@sjlmag.com. We will also make sure that you are subscribed to our weekly e-news, so you know when a new issue is up. Best of

We also have a few more exciting projects that we are working on and will announce shortly. Also, as we introduce the magazine to several new states, I am making myself available as a speaker for one-time events or weekend programs, details are at larrybrook.com.

Rivka Epstein, Louis Crawford, Tally Werthan, Stuart Derroff, Belle Freitag, Ted Gelber, E. Walter Katz, Doug Brook brookwrite.com

BIRMINGHAM OFFICE supremacists would like to see pushed back into a corner and made to feel lesser. We stand with and pray for the family of Heather Heyer, who was there standing up to the face of this hate.

On page 47, you will find ways to sign up for the (free) weekly e-news, request online-only for the magazine, and subscribe to the new Regional edition.

We thank you for your continued support of high-quality independent Jewish journalism in the South, where we tell our community’s stories.

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

Lawrence Brook, Publisher/Editor

Antisemitism has been around for millennia, but often can still be quite puzzling, especially to those outside the Jewish community.

On Aug. 25, several Jewish agencies in Birmingham will host “Together Against Antisemitism,” an educational development opportunity for the general community. Many companies will be offering credits to their employees for participating, and Continuing Education Units will be available for educators.

White supremacy has been a cancer on our country since its beginning, threatening its hopes, its values, and its better angels. The events that took place in Charlottesville represented the worst of this nation. Those who marched onto the streets with tiki torches and swastikas did so to provoke violence and fear. Those who marched onto the streets did so to profess an ideology that harkens back to a bleaker, more wretched time in our history. A time when men and women of many creeds, races, and religions were far from equal and far from safe in our own borders. A time where Americans lived under a constant cloud of racism, anti-Semitism and pervasive hate. The events that took place in Charlottesville served as a reminder of how painfully relevant these issues are today.

The program will be at the Levite Jewish Community Center. Doors will open at 12:30 p.m. for light refreshments, and the session will be from 1 to 3 p.m. Part of the proceedings will include a conversation between Sheri Falk, news anchor at WVTM-TV, and Dov Wilker, Southeast Regional Director for the American Jewish Committee.

We recognize the essence of the American narrative as a two-century old struggle to rid ourselves of such corners, and allow those in them the seat at the table that they so deserve. It is the struggle to fulfill the promise of the Declaration of Independence, that “all men are created equal… endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights.” We know our work is far from finished, but we know we will not move backwards.

in engaging in the fight against what is considered ‘the world’s oldest hatred’,” said Joyce Shevin, director of the Birmingham Jewish Federation’s Jewish Community Relations Council. The seminar will detail how to recognize manifestations of antisemitism in society, whether in the workplace, political arena, schools or social media.

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

The tools that can be used to address antisemitism can often be used in confronting other types of hate and discrimination, Shevin noted.

Media kit, rates available upon request

SUBSCRIPTIONS

It has always been our goal to provide a large-community quality publication to all communities of the South. To that end, our commitment includes mailing to every Jewish household in the region (AL, LA, MS, NW FL), without a subscription fee

Outside the area, subscriptions are $25/year, $40/two years. Subscribe via sjlmag.com, call 205/870.7889 or mail payment to the address above.

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

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

“This program is a powerful opportunity not only to recognize and confront antisemitism, but also to lend support to our neighbors in their fight against intolerance,” said Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin. “Birmingham’s legacy is built on tolerance, acceptance and justice for all people, and it’s up to all of us to continue to uphold the values that define us.”

Copyright 2023. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in whole or part without written permission from the publisher. Views expressed in SJL are those of the respective contributors and are not necessarily shared by the magazine or its staff. SJL makes no claims as to the Kashrut of its advertisers, and retains the right to refuse any advertisement.

The organizers are looking to reach CEOs, human resources personnel, civic groups, politicians, educators, superintendents, faith leaders and anyone else interested in learning.

“Understanding antisemitism is the first step

The program is free, but all who are planning to attend must register through the LJCC website, bhamjcc.org. The program is funded by the Federation, with support from the JCRC and the Alabama Holocaust Education Center.

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

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.