In a Small TownThe story of Fitzgerald’s Jewish com-munity is just one of many collected bythe Goldring/Woldenberg Institute ofSouthern Jewish Life.

Page 21

A Study in ContrastsTwo exhibitions at Oglethorpe explorethe horrors of the Dachau concentrationcamp and the peaceful beauty of theartists colony that preceded it.

Page 30

Confirmed TalentEight confirmation students from TheTemple displayed their musical abilitiesat a delightful spring concert.

By Leon SocolPage 37

Denying the DeniersThe Holocaust Denial on Trail websiteis now available in Arabic, Farsi,Russian, and Turkish.

Page 15

Checking Out the Tellus MuseumLittle Cartersville is home to a big-cityscience museum.

By Leon SocolPage 29

Home AgainOur former “Jewish Georgian inWashington” columnist has returned toher roots.

By Janice Rothschild BlumbergPage 16

What’s Inside

Jewish GeorgianTHE

By Celia Gilner and Sarah Katz

The City Wide Blood Drive atAhavath Achim Synagogue is a tra-dition going back about 35 years,

recalls Elliot Goldberg, its former chair-man. The most recent drive was held onMay 3.

The Red Cross used to hold blooddrives for the Jewish War Veterans (JWV)Post 112 at the Monroe Drive Red Crosslocation until Rabbi Harry Epstein suggest-ed that the AA Synagogue host it. Adding tothis long-standing tradition, Ruth Alhadeff,of Congregation Or VeShalom, and SarahGoldberg, of Ahavath Achim Synagogue,have served a kosher continental breakfastof bagels, cream cheese, jelly, fruit juice,

and cookies to thousands of blood donorsover the past 25 years. Apples and bananaswere recently added to the menu as ahealthy choice for those on the go.

Ruth and Sarah have been volunteeringever since their husbands became involvedwith the blood drive as Jewish War

Veterans. They regret that many donors oftheir generation can no longer give bloodbut feel good that they are able to help outin some way. Ruth stated simply, “Theyneed us, so we’re here.” They encourage

Volume 21, Number 4 Atlanta, Georgia MAY-JUNE 2009 FREE

The City WideBlood Drive, a tradition thatkeeps on giving

Ruth Alhadeff (from left), Gracie Benator, and Sarah Goldberg providethe traditional City Wide Blood Drive kosher continental breakfast.

The Autism Walk andthe Jewish community

This year’s Georgia Autism Walk, May3, marked the first time in the walk’sthree-year history that it was not on a

Saturday, thus allowing the Jewish commu-nity of Atlanta to publicly support it andparticipate.

The Amit Program took charge of thisendeavor, organizing the Atlanta Jewishcommunity to walk as Team Amit.

In the past, Jewish teams formed ontheir own to participate in the walk. Lastyear, the five top fundraising teams were notonly Jewish families, but Amit supportersand families as well.

Team Amit, which consisted of 18 indi-vidual teams, was the highest fundraisingteam, raising over $69,000 for AutismAwareness and Research with support fromTeam Awareness, in white T-shirts, organized by

Susan and Randy Newman team, for their son AsherSee AUTISM WALK, page 12

See BLOOD DRIVE, page 5

From the outset, we Jews have beenenjoined to instruct children in theways commanded by God: to impart

information and strive for the developmentof wisdom, not merely rote memorization.

In other ancient civilizations, educationwas directed towards the wealthy; this wasnot the case with the Hebrews. It was com-manded that all fathers were to instruct theirchildren, but communal responsibility wasalso acknowledged as early as 459 BCE,when it is reported that Ezra and his GreatAssembly provided a public school inJerusalem for the education of fatherlessboys sixteen years of age and older. In 64CE, the concept was expanded by Joshuaben Gamla to provide for schools to beopened throughout the land for all childrenabove six or seven years of age, the expensefor which was borne by the community.

It was also our ancestors who set a stu-dent-teacher ratio: twenty-five students forone teacher, an assistant to be added at alevel of forty students, and a second teacherwhen the size reached fifty.

The pursuit of education for all is stillrecognized as a characteristic of our people.While we have, in fact, continued to focuson this, certainly, this is not something thatis unique to members of the Jewish com-munity. Other than religious instruction thattakes place for part of the day in parochialschools, regardless of religious affiliation,

there are relatively few differences amongthe curricula used in schools throughoutthis country.

This development of formal instructionwas created to fulfill the biblical commandsto instruct the children. Obviously, therewas a need for parallel, practical vocationaltraining, which gave rise to guilds andapprenticeships. Within the Jewish commu-nity, this need for vocational training gaverise to World ORT, which was founded inSt. Petersburg in Tsarist Russia in 1880 toprovide employment skills for Russia’simpoverished Jewish people.

But there is a difference between edu-cation for the purpose of seeking knowl-edge (and developing wisdom) and trainingfor the purpose of learning a vocational skill(and making money). The two objectivescan be combined in the same course ofstudy and instruction, but what concerns meis that there seems to be a pervasive viewthat the objective of education is financialreward. Education is for the purpose ofgathering knowledge, from which to devel-

op wisdom. It is not just for the purpose ofacquiring a diploma.

I, like many of you, went to college andreceived my diploma. I felt that I receivedquality instruction and that I was a reason-ably knowledgeable person—that is, until Isaw the accompanying examination foradmission to Jersey City High School in1885. Take a minute and look this over.

—————

The following entrance examination forprospective high school students in JerseyCity, New Jersey, was reprinted in theUnion City, New Jersey, newspaper, TheHudson Dispatch, and later in The WallStreet Journal, June 9, 1992, Section A, p.16.

EXAMINATION FOR ADMISSIONJersey City High School, June, 1885

ALGEBRA

I. Define algebra, an algebraic expres-sion, a polynomial. Make a literal tri-nomial.

II. Write a homogeneous quadrinomial ofthe third degree. Express the cuberoot of 10ax in two ways.

III. Find the sum and difference of 3x-4ay+7cd-4xy+16, and 10ay-3x-

8xy+7cd-13.IV. Express the following in its simplest

form by removing the parenthesesand combining: 1-(1-a) + (1-a+a2)-(1-a+a2-a3).

V. Find the product of 3+4x+5x2-6x3 and4-5x-6x2.

VI. Expand each of the following expres-sions and give the theorem for each:[a+4] 2, [a2-10] 2, [a+4] [a-4].

VII. Divide 6a4+4a3x-9a2x2-3ax3+2x4 by2a2+2ax-x2.

VIII. Find the prime factors of x4-b4 andx3-l.

IX. Find the G.C.D. of 6a2+11ax+3x2 and6a2+7ax-3x2.

X. Divide (x2-2xy+y2)/ab by (x-y)/bc andgive the answer in its lowest terms.

ARITHMETIC

I. If a 60-days note of $840 is discountedat a bank at 4 1/2 %, what are theproceeds?

II. Find the sum of the square root of16.7281 and the square root of .721/4.

III. The interest of $50 from March 1st toJuly 1st is $2.50. What is the rate?

IV. What is the cost of 19 cwt. 83 lb. ofsugar at $98.50 a ton? What is dis-count? A number?

V. Divide the difference between 37 hun-dredths and 95 thousandths by 25hundred thousands and express theresult in words.

VI. The mason work on a building can befinished by 16 men in 24 days, work-ing 10 hours a day. How long will ittake 22 men working 8 hours a day?

VII. A merchant sold a quantity of goods for$18,775. He deducts 5% for cash andthen finds that he has made 10%.What did he pay for the goods?

VIII. A requires 10 days and B 15 days todo a certain piece of work. How longwill it take A and B working togeth-er to do the work?

IX. By selling goods at 12 1/2 % profit, aman clears $800. What was the costof the goods, and for what were theysold?

X. A merchant offered some goods for$1170.90 cash, or $1206 payable in30 days. Which was the better offerfor the customer, money being worth10%?

GEOGRAPHY

I. What is the axis of the earth? What isthe equator? What is the distancefrom the equator to either pole indegrees, in miles? Why is it warmerat the equator than near the poles?

II. Name four principal ranges of moun-tains in Asia, three in Europe, andthree in Africa.

III. Name the capitals of the following

Page 2 THE JEWISH GEORGIAN May-June 2009

MarvinBotnick

BY

The Jewish Georgian is published bimonthly by Eisenbot, Ltd. It iswritten for Atlantans and Georgians by Atlantans and Georgians.

Jewish GeorgianTHE

Publisher Marvin BotnickCo-Publisher Sam AppelEditor Marvin BotnickManaging Editor Marsha C. LaBeaumeAssignment Editor Carolyn GoldConsulting Editor Gene AsherAssociate Editor Barbara SchreiberCopy Editor Ray TapleyAssistant Copy Editor Arnold FriedmanMakeup Editor Terri ChristianProduction Coordinator Terri ChristianMedical Editor Morris E. Brown, M.D.Photographic Staff Allan Scher, Phil Slotin, Phil ShapiroGraphic Art Consultant Karen PazColumnist Andi Arnovitz (Israel),Gene Asher,

Jonathan Barach, Janice Rothschild Blumberg (Washington), Marvin Botnick, Shirley Friedman, Carolyn Gold, Jonathan Goldstein, George Jordan, Marice Katz, Balfoura Friend Levine,Marsha Liebowitz, Howard Margol,Bubba Meisa, Erin O’Shinsky, Lew Regenstein, Roberta Scher,Jerry Schwartz, Leon Socol, Rabbi Reuven Stein, Cecile Waronker, Evie Wolfe

Special Assignments Susan Kahn, Lyons Joel Advertising Michael Pelot-VP-OP

Marsha C. LaBeaumeBill Sonenshine

Editorial Advisory Board MembersSam Appel Rabbi Alvin Sugarman Sam MassellJane Axelrod Albert Maslia William RothschildGil Bachman Michael H. Mescon Marilyn ShubinAsher Benator Paul Muldawer Doug Teper

8495 Dunwoody Place, Building 9, Suite 100 Atlanta, GA 30350

(404) 236-8911 • FAX (404) 236-8913jewishga@bellsouth.net

www.jewishgeorgian.comThe Jewish Georgian ©2009

Have we forgotten the purpose of education?

See EDUCATION, page 7

May-June 2009 THE JEWISH GEORGIAN Page 3

Hi there, and welcome to our best col-umn yet! We’ve got some wonderful storiesfor you: the dinner honoring Cathy SeligKuranoff, the founding of the MotherNature Network, The Atlanta Girls’ School,great tales of the early Southern Jewishmerchant families by Janice Perlis Ellin andAsher Benator, Rita Moses’ granddaughterbecomes a star singer, comedian RobertKlein at the Punchline, some great classesfor seniors, and Martha Jo catches up withsome old friends. Enjoy!

MOTHER NATURE NETWORK.Legendary advertising exec Joel Babbit hasstarted what is quickly becoming theworld’s premier environmental website—you might say he’s the father of the MotherNature Network (www.MNN.com). Timemagazine calls it the “green CNN,” and itrecently won the Atlanta BusinessChronicle’s coveted Ennovation Award forits novel approach in covering the environ-ment and educating the public on ecologicalconcerns.

Called by one publication “the best ofbreed...the USA Today of sustainability,”MNN is a terrific resource for environmen-tal information, including breaking news,articles, blogs, how-to guides, and videos.MNN has even brought back CaptainPlanet, Ted Turner’s green cartoon hero,who battles the enemies of Mother Earth.MNN has been featured in stories in Time,Newsweek, The New York Times, USAToday, The Wall Street Journal, Fortune,The Associated Press, Bloomberg, CBS,CNBC, The Huffington Post, and othermedia.

Joel, a legendary 25-year veteran ofadvertising, marketing, and PR, was able toraise $10 million within 24 hours to fundthe launching of the network. His partner isinternational rock star Chuck Leavell of theRolling Stones.

Covering thedestruction of ourplanet is a greatgrowth industry,and we wish Joelthe best of luck inwaking people upto the numerousthreats we faceon the environ-mental front. ButMother knowsbest; April 22was Earth Day,and if we don’tstart cleaning upour act, we may

soon be celebrating “Remember the Earth”day.

OUR COMMITMENT TO THE PLANET.We try to do our part for the environment.We eat only green M&Ms, and, being con-servative, we support the death penalty forpolluters and favor a solar-powered electricchair, as well as advocating using recycledwater when waterboarding captured terror-ists.

CONGRATULATIONS TO CATHYSELIG KURANOFF. Cathy has just beenhonored at a splendid American JewishCommittee awards dinner for her manyyears of generous and valuable service tothe community. Five hundred friends, fami-ly, and admirers turned out to honor Cathy,among whose many accomplishmentsinclude having just completed the hugelysuccessful Ben Massell Capital Campaign(named after her renowned grandfather) andserving on the Jewish Federation of GreaterAtlanta board, as president of JFGA’sWomen’s Division, and as chair of its annu-al campaign. She has also served as vicepresident of the American JewishCommittee and on the boards of The DavisAcademy, Jewish Family & CareerServices, The Atlanta Ballet, The HighMuseum of Art, and The Temple. She is co-owner with her bro Steve of SeligEnterprises, being the 3rd generation of thefamily to run the business started by theirgrandfather Ben.

Cathy used to make us the very best hotchocolate everwhen we were akid visitingSteve—and, bythe way, whatev-er became ofhim? Anyway,what the programdoesn’t tell you isthat she is one ofthe nicest, best-liked, prettiest,most respectedpeople in thecommunity, theperfect choice

for this latest honor.Cathy has two great sons and two great

daughters-in-law—Bryan & Amy and Greg& Erica—and her four beautiful grandkidsall attend The Epstein school. Our greatestwish for them would be that they grow up to

be like Cathy.

THE ATLANTA GIRLS’ SCHOOL.Maureen and Mark Goldman have a daugh-ter at the Atlanta Girls’ School, and they aretwo of the school’s biggest fans.

The school, now in its 10th year, isdoing a great job educating young womenunder the direction of its dynamic head,Pinney Allen. Amazingly, all members of itsfive graduating classes were admitted tofour-year colleges, and 70% of the kids’applications were accepted at the collegeswhere they applied. And a few months ago,The Oprah Winfrey Foundation donated$175,000 to help meet an anonymousdonor’s million-dollar challenge.

Kids at the AGS get an extraordinaryeducation that prepares them for the modernworld they will be entering. Ninth-gradersget to take a trip to Ecuador to experienceglobal community service and environmen-tal stewardship, and 11th-graders travel tothe United Kingdom to learn about the ori-gins of American government, and our cul-tural, artistic, and literary traditions.

Maureen tells us of the “Jewish values”that led her and Mark to choose AGS fortheir daughter: “the emphasis on develop-ing leadership skills and confidence, a deepcommitment to teaching girls how to helpmembers of their community, and theschool’s pursuit of academic excellence in asupportive atmosphere. When a girl gradu-ates from AGS, she leaves prepared for alife that is much bigger than the classroom.She moves on with the knowledge, confi-dence, and skills needed to be a strong,effective leader, at work and throughout hercommunity.”

Maureen and Mark Goldman withEmma and Matt

FOLKFEST 2009. Mark your calendars;it’s almost time for Amy & Steve Slotin’s16th Annual FolkFest. The world’s greatestart show is August 14-16. It’s the largest,most diverse, most wonderful gathering ofSouthern and folk artists anywhere in theworld, the biggest and best selection of folkart ever assembled in one place, featuringsome 100 galleries and dealers offeringbeautiful paintings, sculpture, pottery, jew-elry, and antiques, at all price ranges.

One of Atlanta’s greatest treasures, it’sheld at the North Atlanta Trade Center inNorcross. Just take exit 101 off I-85 atIndian Trail Road, and follow the signs.Don’t miss the Meet-the-Artists openingnight on Friday, 5:00-10:00 p.m. Visitwww.slotinfolkart.com for details. See youthere!

JANA KOHL TAKES ON OBAMA. Ourfriend Jana Kohl has for years campaignedagainst puppy mills, which help create thehuge overpopulation of dogs, causing mil-lions of nice, friendly, healthy dogs to beeuthanized at shelters each year after theyare lost or abandoned by their owners. Mostdogs are bought as pets and not as showdogs, and having a pedigreed dog does not,in and of itself, mean that an animal from abreeder will be a better pet.

Animal lovers in general and Jana inparticular were pleased when then presi-dent-elect Barak Obama promised hisdaughters a dog when they went toWashington, especially when he added “ourpreference” was a pet from a shelter. Janaand a lot of Obama’s other animal-loversupporters were disappointed when it wasdecided to honor his promise to his daugh-ters with a pedigreed dog from a breeder.While this switch might seem inconsequen-tial to some people, those who are con-cerned with the euthanasia of dogs resultingfrom overpopulation feel that this con-demns millions of stray dogs and those inshelters to misery.

President Obama appeared in JanaKohl’s book, A Rare Breed of Love, holdingher three-legged, rescued, abused puppy-mill poodle, Baby, to demonstrate the point.So when the dog selected by the Obamasdid not come from the shelter, the gutsy andtenacious Jana was not afraid to offer someconstructive criticism to her longtimefriend, who is now president. She even sentout a news release observing that theObamas, “By failing to adopt dogs fromshelters or rescue groups, will be responsi-ble for fueling the dog-breeding industryand adding to the suffering of millions ofanimals—those imprisoned in puppy millsand the 4 million at shelters who are [euth-anized] each year.”

Jana’s heart is as big as some of herfamily’s department stores (Kohl’s), butshe’s also pretty tough and not to be trifledwith. She reminds us of that old Frenchproverb, “This animal is very vicious....When attacked, it defends itself.”

Author and animal lover Jana Kohl

ELINOR’S ANGELS. We always thoughtthat Elinor Breman was an Angel, but it

RegRegenstein

BY

What’sHAPPENING

See HAPPENING, page 4

Joel Babbit, Father ofMother Nature Network

AJC Honoree CathySelig Kuranoff

turns out she really is! That’s her maidenname. How very fitting. Anyway, TheWilliam Breman Jewish Heritage Museumhas formed a volunteer group and named it

Elinor’s Angelsin her honor.Each volunteerwas given a littlegold pin of a fly-ing angel, withthe text “Angel’son the move. “One of thegroup’s goals isto stimulateinterest and sup-port during theserough economictimes. So ifyou’re not yet a

member or volunteer for the Breman, whichis one of our city’s most wonderful andvaluable institutions, now would be a greattime to join up and/or send a donation.Contact the museum at 1440 Spring Street,Atlanta 30309, 678-222-3700, or visitwww.thebreman.org.

LIMMUD COMES TO OGLETHORPE.This year’s Limmud Atlanta event atOglethorpe University was the best yet, fea-turing wonderful speakers and seminars onnumerous topics. Truly, as the program putsit, “Limmud [Hebrew for learning] is blaz-

ing a fresh new path to make Jewish learn-ing informal, inspirational, and unforget-table.” Coordinators Elizabeth Waddey andNina Rubin, along with a group of hard-working volunteers, did a great job oforganizing the event.

Our favorite panel, “Minding theStore—Storiesof SouthernJ e w i s hRetailers,” wasmoderated byThe BremanJewish HeritageMuseum’s dedi-cated archivist,Sandy Berman,and featuredJanice PerlisEllin, AsherBenator, andyours truly, dis-cussing earlyJewish business-

es in Atlanta and around Georgia. Janice talked about her family’s eight

general stores in South Georgia, starting outin Cordele, where, as a young lady, she wasthe fourth generation to work in the familybusiness. The store’s telephone number was16, and, when Janice wanted to call thestore, she’d pick up the phone and tell theoperator, “I wanna talk to my daddy.” Thefamily ended up with additional stores inAlbany, Valdosta, Sylvester, Tifton,Bainbridge, and Dublin. They would openon Christmas morning for African-American lumberjacks who didn’t get off

work on Christmas Eve until after the storehad closed, and they even sold Ray Charleshis first pair of shoes.

Janice’s great grandfather Isaac Perliscame over from Bialystock, Poland, in1902, and, two years later, sent for his wifeand five kids, including Janice’s then-six-year-old grandfather-to-be, Isidore Perlis,who fathered her dad, Louis. Isidore com-pleted only the sixth grade, but raised oneof the South’s best-known and most suc-cessful merchant families.

Asher talked about the thrift shop andsuper market at Perry Homes he helped runalong with his cousin Ike Galanti and hisbrothers Max and Morris.

Asher, born and raised during theDepression, started out at age six sellingshopping bags for a nickel in front of theold downtown Davison-Paxon departmentstore. He went on to bigger things, likehome delivering The Atlanta Constitutionbefore school and The Atlanta Journal afterand, as a pre-teen, selling football ribbonsand badges at UGA and Tech footballgames. In 1949, at 18, Asher won the Stateand Southeastern Golden Gloves FlyweightChampionships; legendary sportswriterGene Asher calls him one of “the best fight-ers to come out of Georgia...He could haveturned pro....”

Asher Benator must have done a goodjob saving all those nickels and dimes,‘cause, as our columnist Gene Asher wrotein the last issue, Asher and his investors justbought part of that old Davison’s buildingfor $30 million.

Your next opportunity to attend aLimmud event is LimmudFest, a retreatover Labor Day weekend, running fromFriday afternoon, September 4, untilMonday afternoon, September 7, atTumbling Waters Retreat & ConferenceCenter at Ramah Darom, a gorgeous loca-tion two hours north of Atlanta.

Visit www.limmudse.org to read moreabout LimmudFest, and take advantage ofthe early-bird discount.

ROBERT KLEIN PLAYS THE PUNCH-LINE. Comedian Robert Klein, who hasperformed nine HBO Specials, entertainedat The Punchline in Sandy Springs recently,and his show is as funny as ever. After his

act, he sold outof his hilariousand very enter-taining autobi-ography ofgrowing up inThe Bronx, NewYork Times best-seller TheA m o r o u sBusboy ofD e c a t u rAvenue.We got to talkwith him beforehis show, and he

gave us the skinny on celebrities he hasknown and performed with, such as JohnnyCarson, Barbra Streisand, Seinfeld, Leno,and Letterman, and other greats whoseshows he has appeared on and/or guest-

hosted.We expected Klein to kill the audience,

but what surprised us was how funny theopening acts were: Punchline co-ownerJamie Bendel and former 99X Radio morn-ing host Jimmy Baron, whose performanceswere as good or better than anything we seeon HBO or Leno or Letterman.

It’s amazing the places our JG presspass will get us. But we always give goodreviews, even when it’s Jerry Farber tellinghis old corny jokes. But even though Jerry’sact may be ailing, his son Joshua hasbecome quite an athlete and, as left fielder,is helping lead his baseball team, theMarlins, to first place in the Mountain Parkleague. Jerry was also an athlete in school:his nickname in football was “The Judge,”‘cause he was always on the bench; as aboxer he was called “Leonardo,” ‘cause heusually ended up on the canvas.

Jerry Farber and son Joshua (photo:Judy Landey)

LUNCH ‘N LEARN CLASSES FORSENIORS. Tireless community volunteerRita Moses tells us exclusively that thissummer’s Lunch ‘N Learn Monday classeswill include six weeks of some of the bestlearning opportunities yet. Sponsored byPALS (Perimeter Adult Learning &Services) and held at Temple Sinai, 5645Dupree Drive, the classes will be held June22-July 27.

Rita will teach a creative writing class,encouraging her students to “Let your cre-ative spirit rush, flow, tumble, leak, spray,bubble, stream, and dribble out of you.[Sounds like our stylebook here at the JG.]Life only lasts a short while, but memoriescan last forever. Come write your own pageof history, your own personal life story,before you close the book.”

The highlight comes on July 27, whenVera Rollo, of the Maryland HistoricalPress, talks about being able to write wellenough to “leave something of yourself foryour relatives and friends and maybe eventhe public.”

Other topics offered include estateplanning and other finances, current events,

Page 4 THE JEWISH GEORGIAN May-June 2009

From page 3Happening

Breman MuseumAngel Elinor Breman

Breman Museumarchivist SandyBerman loves herwork

Comedian RobertKlein

See HAPPENING, page 6

others to give so that when disasters hap-pen, blood will be available, and hospitalswill have an adequate supply. On a person-al level, Ruth and Sarah also find comfort inthe fact that if a loved one needs blood, itwill be available because of the generousdonors at drives like the City Wide BloodDrive.

The City Wide Blood Drive is a tradi-tion many in our community hold dear.Ruth and Sarah observed that at each blooddrive, the same people show up. A shiningexample of this is Mr. Arthur Stoltz, a mem-ber of the JWV Post 112, who not only reg-istered thousands of donors, but also gave

15 gallons of blood and stopped donatingonly when he reached his young 80s.

Former City Wide Blood DriveChairman Elliot Goldberg remembers someinteresting incidents from the past. Onetime, the blood drive was held in the cityauditorium, and Isadore Hyman of theAtlanta Provision Company promised togive a chicken to every donor. Seven hun-

dred people showed up. The Red Cross wasscheduled to stop receiving donations at2:00 p.m., but people were still lined up todonate at 5:00 p.m. Each person received achicken for his or her mitzvah.

There were other, less “fowl,” ways ofencouraging donations. According to Mr.Goldberg, donors were at one time given ashot of whiskey afterwards. And at AA syn-agogue, Mrs. Miriam Belger used to bringin her Sunday school class to see thedonors. The children who saw their parentsgiving blood were very proud of them, andthose parents who hadn’t given were askedwhy they weren’t there. Elliot laughed, say-ing, “The next blood drive, those parentswere there.” A few times, an Atlanta motor-cycle club also came to donate and partici-pate. They set up a table in the parking lot,sold some items, and gave all the proceedsto the blood drive.

At the May 3 blood drive, 49 pintswere collected. Among the donors wasPhilip Levy, who has donated an amazing145 pints of blood.

This vital and life-saving tradition con-tinues on Sunday, August 16, 9:00 a.m.-2:00 p.m. People are encouraged to registerand make an appointment athttps://www.givelife.org/index.cfm?Sponsor=jwv; enter JWV as the sponsor code. Forquestions regarding eligibility, contact theAmerican Red Cross at 1-866-562-7156.

May-June 2009 THE JEWISH GEORGIAN Page 5

From page 1Blood Drive

Raymond Yarfitz gives RoslynKonter a prize from the drawing atthe May 3 City Wide Blood Drive.

Arthur Stoltz registers donors dur-ing the November 2008 City WideBlood Drive.

Richard Siegal (left) receives his 14-gallon pin from Asher Benator at theMay 3 City Wide Blood Drive.

Date and Time:Sunday, August 16, 9:00 a.m.-2:00 p.m.

Location:Ahavath Achim Synagogue, 600

Peachtree Battle Ave., N.W., Atlanta GA 30327

To donate gift items, contact Patsy Little at plittle@bmmcpa.com.

Use the subject line “Blood Drive Donation.”

Walk-ins are always welcome, but donorswith appointments are given priority. Tomake an appointment, visithttps://www.givelife.org/index.cfm?Sponsor=jwv,and enter JWV as the sponsor code.

Upcoming City Wide Blood Drive

Georgia Power will host theAmerican-Israel Chamber ofCommerce (AICC), Southeast

Region’s 8th annual Eagle Star AwardsGala, May 27, 6:00-9:00 p.m., at its head-quarters in Atlanta, 241 Ralph McGillBoulevard.

The Eagle Star Gala is AICC’s com-munity flagship event, honoring the peo-ple and companies who have contributedmost to the Southeast-Israel business rela-tionship.

In addition to awarding the IsraeliCompany of the Year and Deal of the Year,the chamber will also recognize Georgia

Insurance and Safety Fire CommissionerJohn Oxendine with the ChamberFounders Award and the American IsraelPublic Affairs Committee (AIPAC) withthe Community Partner Award.

Georgia Power President and CEOMichael D. Garrett will be the hostkeynote speaker; Shraga Brosh, presidentof the Manufacturers Association of Israel,will be Israeli keynote speaker; and HollyFirfer, co-host of WXIA-TV’s “Atlantaand Company,” will emcee the event.

For additional information, sponsor-ship opportunities, and tickets, visitwww.eaglestargala.com.

Eagle Star Awards Gala celebratesSoutheast-Israel business

Page 6 THE JEWISH GEORGIAN May-June 2009

mah jongg, all-day bridge, “how to remem-ber what you are starting to forget,” andeven an entire six weeks on such “Heroinesof the Hebrew Bible” as Esther, Miriam,Deborah, Ruth, Leah, and Tamara.

If you arrive early, you can even getyour blood pressure checked, something weJG writers could certainly use consideringthe pressure our editors are always puttingon us.

For more information, call PALS at770-698-0801, or visit www.palsonline.org.

SINGING SENSATION EMILY MOSES.Meanwhile, Rita’s granddaughter, MiamiUniversity sophomore Emily Moses, fromSt. Louis, was one of four students to takefirst place in a regional singing competitionamong 200 students at the NationalAssociation of Teachers of Singing VoiceCompetition. We can attest firsthand howlovely her voice is, and we are glad her tal-ents are being discovered and recognized.

MARTHA JO’S REUNION WITHCAMILLA FRIENDS. TheInterContinental Buckhead Atlanta’s leg-endary, lovely, and delightful Director ofSocial Events Martha Jo Katz and hercousin Brenda Harris Caghan recently gottogether with some high school friendsfrom their hometown of Ocilla, Georgia. AsMartha Jo tells us, “Some we haven’t seensince 1960. Brenda and I were, of course,the only two Jewish students in our class!There were 15 people total who met fordinner, and we got reacquainted, remi-nisced about Ocilla (the fire whistle blow-ing at 12:00 noon, the dong of theCourthouse clock, walking to school and totown, calling every lady “Miss,” MissCarrie walking her cow twice a day, thestores closing on Wednesday afternoon,etc)…and I took camellias from my yardthat brought back memories of all the beau-tiful Ocilla camellia bushes…. Growing upin a small town definitely had its rewards.“

And under the “it’s a small world” cat-egory, consider this: Janice Perlis Ellin’smother, Pauline Heller, used to baby-sitMartha Jo in Ocilla when they were both alittle bit younger than today.

PINKALICIOUS DAY AT TEMPLESINAI. Temple Sinai’s preschool class hasan exciting event called Mystery Day. On

this special day, someone knocks on thedoor, then the kids ask who is it and say,“Come on in.”

They got a real treat the other daywhen Martha Jo’s cousin, Raye Coplin,showed up with some treats for the class ofpreschoolers, including her twin grandchil-dren Morgan and Jake Miller. Raye read theclass Pinkalicious, a book about a little girlwho eats too many of her mother’s pinkcupcakes and turns pink!

Raye—all dressed up in, you guessedit, pink—brought along some pink cup-cakes for the occasion, which the kidsdevoured pinkoraciously, you might say. Agood time was had by all, and, at last report,there were no complaints from parentsabout any of their kids turning pink.

Pinkalicious Day at Temple Sinai:(front, from left) Morgan Miller andJack Friedmann; (back, from left)Teacher Amy Drilling, MysteryReader Raye Coplin (Morgan andJake’s grandmother), Jake Miller,and Teacher Ann Holtz

A GREAT ISRAELI CAFE. We had a fab-ulous lunch the other day at a neat kosherIsraeli cafe, Ou For U, in Sandy Springs,which specializes in healthy, authenticMiddle East dishes, such as falafel, hum-mus, bagels, lox, bourekas, salads, pasta,and many vegetarian dishes.

We had one of the best veggie burgers

From page 4Happening

Brenda Harris Caghan and MarthaJo Katz

Sandy Springs residents Dr. Harveyand Jacquie Sacks outside of theWashington Convention Center,before Israeli Prime MinisterBenjamin Netanyahu addressed the6,500+ crowd at this year’s annualAIPAC Policy Conference inWashington, D.C. (photo: DanRegenstein)

See HAPPENING, page 8

countries: Portugal, Greece, Egypt,Persia, Japan, China, Canada,Hindostan, Thibet, Cuba.

IV. Name the states on the west bank of theMississippi and the capital of each.

V. Bound New Jersey and name siximportant cities in the state.

VI. Tell the situation of the following:Detroit, Chicago, Portland, RioJaneiro, Callao, Venice, Bombay, St.Louis Halifax, Vera Cruz.

VII. Name 10 countries of South Americaand the capital of each.

VIII. Bound Russia and name its capitaland largest river.

IX. In what countries is coffee raised?What are the principal exports ofFrance? Of the West Indies?

X. New York is nearly 75 degrees west ofLondon. When it is noon at the for-mer, what time is it at the latter?

GRAMMAR

I. Analyze the following: Perseus groundhis teeth with rage, for he saw that hehad fallen into a trap.

II. Make a list of all the verbs in the sen-tence above, and give the principalparts of each of them.

III. Parse for, had fallen, that, saw.IV. Give two uses of the hyphen. Copy the

sentence below, and punctuate itproperly. “Will you please to tell meboys, for what the reindeer is use-ful.”?

V. Write a sentence containing a nounused as an attribute, a verb in the per-fect tense potential mood, and aproper adjective.

VI. Correct [a] It is only me. [b] Who didshe invite? [c] Whenever my hus-band or son take an umbrella downtown, they always leave it.

VII. Write the declension of [a] bird, [b]man, [c] fly, [d] fox, [e] it

VIII. Write four lines of poetry, givingparticular attention to the use of cap-itals, and to punctuation.

IX. Make three sentences, using the pluralof sheep [1] in the nominative case,[2] in the possessive, [3] in theobjective.

X. Write a declarative sentence; change toan imperative, to an interrogative, toan exclamatory, and punctuate.

U.S. HISTORY

I. What people settled Massachusetts?Where did they land, and what wastheir character?

II. Name four Spanish explorers and statewhat induced them to come toAmerica.

III. What event do you connect with 1565,1607, 1620, 1664, 1775?

IV. Name the thirteen colonies thatdeclared their independence in 1776.

V. Name three events of 1777. Which wasthe most important and why?

VI. What caused the war of 1812? Whowas president during that war? Whatwas the result of it?

VII. What form of government was estab-lished in 1789? Into what threebranches was the government divid-ed? What do the Senate and House ofRepresentatives constitute?

VIII. What caused the Mexican War?What was the result? What Americangeneral commanded at the capture ofthe City of Mexico?

IX. What was the remote and the immedi-ate cause of the great Civil War. Whocaptured Fort Donelson?

X. Name three commanders of the Armyof the Potomac. In what battle was“Stonewall” Jackson killed? How?

ANSWERS

ALGEBRA

I. Algebra is the general method of com-putation in which signs, symbols andcommonly the letters of the alphabetare made to represent numbers andquantities. It takes and unknownquantity sought, and as a means ofone or more quantities known pro-ceeds till the unknown quantity isdiscovered. Algebraic expression is acollection of variables and real num-bers in which we supply a finitenumber of operations of addition,subtraction, multiplication, divisionor the taking of roots or powers.Polynomial: Turned algebraicexpression. Terms are designated bythe use of plus or minus signs.Literate trinomial: x+y+z.

II. 2-x3-2x2+3x+5. Cube root of 10ax,(10ax)1/3

III. Sum: 6ay + 14cd - 12xy + 3Difference: 6x-14ay+4xy+29IV. a3+aV. 36x5-73x3-18x2+x+12VI. a2+8a-16; a4-20a2+100; a2-16.

Theorems: (a+b)2=a2+2ab+b2; (a-b)2=a2-2ab+b2; (a+b) (a-b) = a2-b2

VII. 3a2-ax-2x2VIII. (x2+b2): (x+b) (x-b): (x-1) (x2+x+l)IX. (2a+3x)X. c(x-y)/a

ARITHMETIC

I. Using a 360-day year, $833.70; using a365-day year, $833.79.

II. 4.94III. 15%IV. Using U.S. hundred weight of 100

pounds, $97.66. Percentage ratededucted from certain quantity.Concept of how many.

V. One thousand, one hundred.VI. 21 9/11VII. $16,214.77VIII. Six days.IX. If profit is based on cost, cost is $8,400

and selling price is $7,200. If basedon selling price, cost is $5,600 andselling price is $6,400.

X. $1,170.90

GEOGRAPHY

I. The real or imaginary line on which theearth rotates or is supposed to rotate.Imaginary circle around the earththat is everywhere equally distantfrom the two poles and divides theearth’s surface into the northern andsouthern hemispheres; 90 degrees,and 6,250 miles; solar radiation ismost concentrated at the equator forthe entire year.

II. Himalayas, Urals, Hindu Kush andKhangal; Alps, Carpathians andPyrenees. Atlas, Drakensberg andEthiopian Highlands.

III. Lisbon, Athens, Cairo, Tehran (the cap-ital of modern-day Iran), Tokyo,Peking (Beijing), Ottawa, Calcutta(the Capital of India is New Delhi),Lhasa, and Havana.

IV. Louisiana (Baton Rouge), Arkansas(Little Rock), Missouri (JeffersonCity), Iowa (Des Moines) andMinnesota (St. Paul).

V. If importance is population, they are,from largest to smallest: Newark,Jersey City, Paterson, Elizabeth,Trenton and Camden, according tothe 1980 census.

VI. Michigan, Illinois, Oregon or Maine,Brazil, Peru, Italy, India, Missouri,Nova Scotia, Mexico.

VII. Argentina (Buenos Aires), Bolivia (LaPaz), Brazil (Brasilia), Chile(Santiago), Columbia (Bogota),Ecuador (Quito). Paraguay(Asuncion), Peru (Lima), Uruguay(Montevideo), Venezuela (Caracas).

VIII. Moscow, VolgaIX. Tropical countries such as Brazil,

Columbia, Venezuela and Nicena.France: Machinery, agriculturalproducts, and transportation equip-ment. West Indies: Sugar, petroleum,chemicals, bananas and aluminum.

X. 5 p.m.

GRAMMAR

I. Unsure of what is meant by “analyze.”I have the feeling that this meantsomething very specific to a gram-marian in 1885, but we don’t knowwhat.

II. Ground: grind, ground, ground; saw:see, saw, seen; had fallen: fall, fell,fallen.

III. For: preposition introducing the prepo-sitional clause “for he saw,” which isused to explain Perseus’ rage. Hadfallen: past perfect tense of the verbfall; this tense is used to indicate thatthe action of falling took place at atime before the action of seeing.Saw: simple past tense of the verb“to see,” used here to indicate a)what caused Perseus’ rage, and b) thesequence of events in the sentence.

IV. To join two words used as a compoundnoun; to indicate division at the endof a line of type. Will you please totell me, boys, for what the reindeer isuseful?

V. My expertise tells me that I am going

to fail this English test, since I’mguessing a lot.

VI. a) It is only I. Predicate nominative. b)Whom did she invite? Object of verbinvite. c) Whenever my husband orson takes an umbrella downtown, healways leaves it. The “or” makes thesubject grammatically singular; therest of the sentence applies to eitherone or the other but not to both atonce (as would be the case if theword were “and”).

VII. a) bird, birds; b) man, men; c) fly, flies;d) fox, foxes; e) it, its.

VIII. Had we but world enough and timeThis coyness, lady, were no crimeWe would sit down and think which wayTo walk and spend our long love’s dayIX. The sheep are in the meadow. The

sheep’s wool was carded. Wesheared all the sheep.

X. John went to the store. John, go to thestore. John, will you go to the store?John finally went to the store!

U.S. HISTORY

I. The English Puritans; Plymouth Rock,Boston, MA; Providence, RI; Theywere God-fearing hard workers.

II. Ponce De Leon, Balboa, Coronado,Cortez, to conquer and Christianizethe inhabitants.

III. 1565 — Pedro Menendez founded St.Augustine, FL. 1607 — Jamestownsettled. 1620 — 103 Pilgrims landedat Plymouth Rock. 1664 — Britishseized New Netherlands from Dutch.1775 — Battles of Lexington andConcord.

IV. Georgia, North Carolina, SouthCarolina, Virginia, Delaware,Maryland, Pennsylvania, NewJersey, New York, Connecticut,Rhode Island, Massachusetts andNew Hampshire.

V. Battle of Saratoga, Battle ofGermantown, Battle of Brandywine.Saratoga was the most important,since Gen. Burgoyne was stopped inhis push southward.

VI. Freedom of seas, land-thirst, free trade.James Madison was president. USwon. (Historians dispute this.)

VII. Federal government; executive, leg-islative, judicial; the legislativebranch.

VIII. Manifest destiny, diplomatic blun-dering and instability of Americangovernment; California, NewMexico and Arizona became part ofUS and Texas border was establishedat Rio Grande River; Zachary Taylor.

IX. Remote cause was slavery and immedi-ate cause was secession; Ulysses S.Grant.

X. George Meade, Ulysses S. Grant andGeorge McClellan; Battle ofChancellorville, by his own men.

The Wall Street Journal, June 9,1992Network News & Views, July 1992,December 1996

May-June 2009 THE JEWISH GEORGIAN Page 7

From page 2Education

Page 8 THE JEWISH GEORGIAN May-June 2009

4455 Roswell RoadAtlanta, Georgia 30342

404-255-4312

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(made with healthy chickpeas instead ofartery-clogging dead cow meat) we haveever had and the very best split pea soupever—think thick and spicy.

We especially liked the terrific hotsauce, Pereg Gourmet’s Yemenite S’Chug,made from “a third generation old-familyrecipe,” using red peppers, garlic, corian-der, “and lots of love,” that you can buy andtake home. Ou For U is located at 1155Hammond Drive. Call 770-396-5533.

Georgia Tech alumni Orit Sklar andRuth Malhotra, the 2009 recipients ofthe prestigious CPAC RonaldReagan Award, just after VicePresident Joe Biden delivered hisaddress to the crowd at the AIPACPolicy Conference. Nearly half of theU.S. Congress attended the annualevent. (photo: Dan Regenstein)

From page 6Happening

Two women who grew up in myMargaret Mitchell neighborhood have writtena guidebook about a heretofore unexploredarea. The book’s purpose is to help womensuccessfully navigate the business of mid-lifedivorce.

Marilynn Rauzin Winston and SusanneGold Katz (no relation) recently launched A

Woman’sGuide toManaginga Mid-L i f eDivorce .This bookis notintendedf o ry o u n g e rw o m e n ,who usu-ally facethe prob-

lems of child custody and child support. Itreaches out to women whose children aregrown and who, seeing a long-term marriagedissolve, need help emotionally and financial-ly with division of assets acquired over theyears.

Marilynn is a Ph.D. in psychology with aprivate practice, and Susanne is a writer whohas personally experienced mid-life divorce. Iliked the book’s organization, its acknowl-edgement of the emotional turmoil in whicholder women can find themselves, and thehelpful, step-by-step advice on what to do.

The book includes six women’s true sto-ries that answer a succession of questions:How did the marriage start? What wentwrong? Were you prepared for the challengesof getting divorced? How are you now? Whatadvice would you give a woman getting adivorce?

The book also has commonly asked ques-tions, which are answered by forensicaccountant Barry J. Frankel; attorneys GeorgeS. Stern, David M. Green, and Amy L. Kaye;family lawyer Randie Siegel; and psychiatristHoward M. Maziar, MD.

When asked how the two authors came towrite this book, Susanne said, “We becamefriends while taking a class together during the

time I was in thethroes of mydivorce. Marilynnsuggested that Istart writing aj o u r n a l . ”Realizing thatthere were no rele-vant books on thesubject of mid-lifedivorce, Susanneand Marilynndecided they hadthe skills and

background to write one.They thank the generous women, each

with her own story, who participated. Thesewomen included “some we knew, some whowere recommended by professionals,” saysMarilynn. “Some were friends of friends.They wanted to help each other and wanted tohelp other women.”

The book is designed to be user-friendly.Among the chapters are “Benefits ofProfessional Advice,” “The Legal Process,”“Financial: The Biggest Battle of All,” and“Emotional Challenges.” Susanne andMarilynn say, “This is to help you get throughthe process the best you can—with dignity andoptions.” After all, they say, couples are in a“limited partnership.” “You must put youremotions in a box” and strive to end with theassets to which you are entitled.

The book goes into the “hows” and notthe “whys” of divorce. The authors have heardreports that the book also can be helpful tomen. Marilynn says, with great sensitivity,that she hopes the guidebook will be used as afriend, just as she and Susanne started theproject in friendship.

Their book can be obtained fromAmazon.com or www.katzandwinston.com.

Home-grown book helps mid-life divorcees

CarolynGold

BY

Marilynn Winston andSusanne Katz

May-June 2009 THE JEWISH GEORGIAN Page 9

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all of the Jewish agencies.The accompanying photos, plus arti-

cles from an Amit student and her mother,provide a glimpse into the devotion, tenac-ity, and warmth of the Amit community.

Perri’s Peeps, in green T-shirts,organized by Janel and JasonSchwartz for their daughter Perri;also pictured with the team areAutism Speaks Georgia ExecutiveDirector Samantha Williams (frontrow, far left) and Autism SpeaksNational President Mark Roithmayr(back row, far left)

Hallie’s Heroes, in pink T-shirts,organized by Jody Italiaander for herdaughter Hallie

Ari’s Amigos, in yellow T-shirts,organized by Jessica and DavidGoldberg for their son Ari

Page 12 THE JEWISH GEORGIAN May-June 2009

From page 1Autism Walk

Our daughter Yael was bornSeptember 20,1998. Like parents ofevery background and faith, we

celebrated herentry into theworld with joy,hope, and love. Wecounted her fingersand toes and await-ed the results of herAPGAR test. Aftershe was given aclean bill of health,we took her home.We were ecstatic tobring her into thehome we had pre-pared for her, andwe quickly settledinto being a family.

When weentered Yael intoour Jewishcovenant with herBrit Chaim (baby naming service), we gaveher the name Yael Channah. In addition tonaming her in memory of her paternalgrandfather, Jordan, we wanted to give hera name that embodied our hopes anddreams for her. Yael Channah means“ascend towards grace.” Little did we knowthat the mountains she would have to climbwould be so numerous, so hard, and sosteep.

Today, our now 10-year-old daughterwill proudly introduce herself to you thisway: “My name is Yael Greene, and I haveautism.”

As her parents, we derive a great senseof pride from these words and the positivespirit in which they are spoken. But, asmany of you know, it wasn’t always likethat.

The process of diagnosing Yael at agethree was a great struggle—emotionally,spiritually, and even financially. Back then,we were filled with an overwhelming senseof fear, uncertainty, and sadness. Whatwould her future hold?

But after finding her the greatest oftools along the way, surrounding her with adedicated team of educators and therapists,spending countless hours and dollars foroccupational therapy, social skills groups,and more, we have seen Yael’s remarkablegrowth. Yes, she struggles with academicsand social skills, and nothing comes easilyto her, but she has a quiet kind of courageand perseverance that helps her to continueclimbing every mountain that stands infront of her.

Yael feels that her autism makes her

special. It is a part of who she is. She doesnot wish to be cured. Yet, she also knowsshe is fortunate. She has high-functioningautism. She knows that for other kids withautism, the mountains may seem insur-mountable: they live in a world withoutwords, without friends or the chance to goto school, as she does. For those kids andtheir families, Yael wants to find a cure forautism.

Yael is also very proud of beingJewish. She findsgreat comfort inher faith and isdevoted to learn-ing about the cus-toms, traditions,and history of herpeople.

Beginning in4th grade, just thispast September,Yael became apart of theGar’inim pro-gram of Amit,which is housedat The DavisAcademy. Thep a r t n e r s h i pbetween Amit andDavis enables

Yael and her peers to have an exceptionalJewish education, while also receiving atop-quality special education.

In this wonderfully supportive envi-ronment, Yael has gained more confidence,she has made friends, and she is growingacademically, socially, and emotionally—and she has done all of this while strength-ening her own identity not only as a Jewishgirl, but as a Jewish girl with autism.

This is why, this year, we once againparticipated in the Georgia Walk forAutism, which took place May 3 and bene-fited the Marcus Institute and AutismSpeaks. This year, our individual team wasnamed the YaYas, since YaYa has beenYael’s nickname since birth. Our team, likeso many others, walked proudly under thebanner of Team Amit.

Amit gives so many Atlanta-areaJewish children access to vital services thathelp to ensure that all children, regardlessof ability, can maximize their potential andparticipate in all aspects of Jewish educa-tion. That is a gift beyond measure. As par-ents who have watched their child benefitfrom such services, we find there truly arenot enough ways to say “thank you.” Oursteps, walked side by side with our fellowAmit families and other families livingwith and loving someone with autism, areour “thank you.” They are our hopes,prayers, and dreams for all of the chil-dren—like Yael.

Deborah Greene, of Roswell, is the proudmother of Yael and her two beautiful sisters,Leora, and Noa.

Why we walk

Deborah Greene

BY

The Greene Family: (from left) Yael; momDeborah; sisters Noa and Leora; anddad, Rabbi Fred Greene of Temple BethTikvah. In front is Ezra the yellow lab.

By Erin O’Shinskey

HOORAY FOR HABIMA. Dina Shadwell,assistant director of Arts & Culture at theMarcus Jewish Community Center of Atlantaand director of Jerry’s Habima Theatre, andAmy Rosenberg, stage manager of Jerry’sHabima Theatre, received the Vital ServiceAward at the All About DevelopmentalDisabilities (AADD) annual Heart of GoldAwards Event. This award recognizes indi-viduals whose efforts teach essential skillsand instill a sense of life’s possibilities inpeople living with developmental disabili-ties. Also recognized was Marc Wollam, aJerry’s Habima Theatre actor, who receivedthe Individual Achievement Award.

Dina Shadwell and Amy Rosenberg

On May 12, the officers of The Templewere installed at the 142nd AnnualMeeting. Pictured (from left): BillyBauman, treasurer; Harry Winograd,vice president; Linda Selig, secretary;Belinda Morris, executive vice presi-dent; Jim Grien, president; JonAmsler, vice president; and Jeff Levy,immediate past president.

Ronnie van Gelder is honored at TheT e m p l e ’ s1 4 2 n dA n n u a lMeeting forher twentyyears as pro-gram direc-tor. Sheholds ahand-crafted

Miriam’s cup.

HONORS FOR AMIT. Suzi DiPietro, lowerschool principal of the Amit Program,received the All About Developmental

MISH MASH

See MISHMASH, page 41

Over 500 people attended Sunday isFunday, the Amit program’s 8thAnnual Community Event, and

showed their support for Amit programsand services.

Fun was had by all. Grandparents, par-ents, and children were treated to a barbe-cue-style buffet dinner and carnival activi-ties generously donated by AmusementMasters, Button It Up, and magician andjuggler by GotMagic. EventScapes provid-ed the décor. A children’s performance byAmit students began the night.

The following deserving individualswere honored: • Margie and George Stern received theDulcy and Jerry Rosenberg ShorashimAward for their longstanding support ofand involvement in every aspect of Amit,which has allowed the program to thriveand grow. • Jan and Warren Epstein received the SamP. Alterman Family Foundation Etz Chaim

Award for all of their advocacy work andsupport of those in our community withspecial needs. • Miriam Pass Botnick received the AmitVolunteer of the Year Award for her tireless

work and dedication over the past eightyears on numerous Amit committees andprograms.

Over $200,000 was raised for Amitprograms and services, and supporters

bought four interactive SMART Boards forAmit classrooms. Live auction itemsincluded a VIP Georgia Bulldogs packagewith tickets and a catered dinner for 12 bySandra Banks Added Touch Catering.

For information on the Amit program,visit www.amitatlanta.org.

Autism means that my brain worksdifferently.

I was three years old when my momand dad found out that I had autism.That means that sometimes I get an ideaor a worry stuck in my head, and itkeeps coming over and over again. It ishard for me to get that idea or worry outof my head.

Sometimes, I will turn my head to

the left and to the right, over and overagain. That is called “stemming.”

My autism makes my hearing verysensitive. I don’t like loud noises, andwhen a noise is too loud, I put my handsover my ears. Some of the sounds that Idon’t like are toilets flushing, fire drillalarms, lawn mowers, and balloons pop-ping. Sometimes, if we go to a restau-rant that is too crowded and noisy, mymom or dad will take me outside as soonas I finish eating so I don’t have to stayinside and listen to the noise.

In school, I need more help with mylearning. I also go to speech and tutor-ing. After school, I go to occupationaltherapy and to my “friendship group.”Sometimes, I need help rememberingwhat appropriate behavior is. My par-

ents and teachers help me by giving mereminders and using signals.

Even though I have autism, I amjust like everybody else. I like to sing,play with my friends, learn new things,watch Disney Channel, and have fun.

When I grow up, I want to be a fash-ion designer. Sometimes, people maynot understand my autism. They maythink I’m just acting “weird.” I hope myfriends and other people I meet willunderstand me and be patient and kind.

On April 12, I walked in my firstAutism Walk. My family and I raised$4,000 for the walk. The money willhelp us to learn more about autism andhelp people who have autism.

Some people want to find a cure forautism. I don’t want to be “cured”

because I love my autism, and without itI would just be an “ordinary kid.” And Ilike being me, just the way I am.

All about my autism

YaelGreene

BY

Yael Greene

\àËá `ç ctÜàç? \ÇvAYâÄÄ fxÜä|vx XäxÇà cÄtÇÇ|Çz

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Sunday is Funday honors Amit supporters, raises funds

Jenna Weil, Eden Kerker, andConnor Samsky with a juggler(all photos courtesy of DuaneStork Photography—dstork.com)

Emcee Robyn Spizman during thelive auction

Students perform to the song“Be My Friend” by Ginger EmasSchlanger and Jon Schlanger.Ginger Sausmer choreographedand Ellie McGraw organized theperformance.

Botnick, Paz, and Rosenbergcousins share stories of Amit’ssuccess over the past eightyears

Visit www.amitatlanta.org

May-June 2009 THE JEWISH GEORGIAN Page 13

Page 14 THE JEWISH GEORGIAN May-June 2009

It was 7:00 a.m. Someone was shakingmy leg, and someone else was franti-cally screaming, “Wake up, wake up,

wake up…Mr. G…Mr. G…Mr. G….What’s wrong?”

A ghost-like image was frozen next tothe bed. What was happening? Was I hav-ing a nightmare? Did I have a stroke? WasI actually dead and reliving the lastmoments of my life? What was happening?

This is what was happening: a fire-fighter was violently shaking my leg, anEMT had inserted an intravenous solutionof glucose (pure sugar) and water, my wife,Lainy, was pouring a large glass of orangejuice down my throat, and, between swal-lows, Pauline, our housekeeper, was stuff-ing an enormous peanut butter and jellysandwich in my mouth.

I was temporarily unable to move orspeak. After the OJ and PBJ kicked in, Imumbled, “Did I have a stroke?”

The firefighter said simply, “No, sir.Your blood sugar was very low. That’s anIV in your arm with half glucose/half

saline. You should be just fine in a fewminutes.”

I asked how low it was, and he said, “Itwas really low, under 12. [Note: a normalblood sugar reading is between 80-100.]We don’t know how low it actually was,because our equipment doesn’t read any-thing lower than that. You were very luckythat your wife was awake and alert enoughto call 911.”

I felt a little better when he told me itwas already up to 139. I immediately dou-ble-checked this on my own meter, whichregistered 196. Boldly, I programmed myinsulin pump to give me a sufficient doseto bring it down to a normal level.

It turned out that Lainy woke up to mythrashing and incoherent moaning. Shecalled 911, and, within five minutes, thefire and police departments were at ourhome and, with the EMTs, started therecovery procedure. They saved my life!

As I became coherent and realized thatI had been close to slipping into a poten-tially fatal diabetic coma, paranoia and fearbegan to overwhelm me. Our son, Marc,died under similar circumstances fouryears ago. Was this going to be my fate,too?

While my circumstances were not thesame at Marc’s, they were potentially justas deadly. In medical terms, Marc was inketoacidosis, the result of extremely high

blood sugar. I was suffering from extreme-ly low blood sugar, which threw me intonocturnal hypoglycemia.

How was this scenario possible? Howcould I have let this happen? My friendstell me that I am an anomaly and controlmy diabetes better than anyone else—that Iam a model for those who want to under-stand more clearly how to live a “normal”life with and in spite of diabetes. Peoplecall me to talk about their blood sugar con-trol and diet issues. I conduct seminars. Iwrite articles. I talk to support groups. Igive speeches. I counsel those who arenewly diagnosed with diabetes, bothinsulin-dependent and diet-controlled,which has reached epidemic proportions inchildren and teens. I am always on call atthe Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation(JDRF) and American DiabetesAssociation (ADA) to help in any way pos-sible.

Understanding how this happenedillustrates how seemingly insignificant cir-cumstances can result in a disaster.

What happened? The motor in myinsulin pump was corrupted by over-expo-sure to radiation during a routine MRI,which I had earlier that afternoon. Thisresulted in an extraordinary overdose ofinsulin, lowering my blood sugar dramati-cally.

Many precautions can be taken to

reduce the possibility of this type of inci-dent; however, these must come from yourphysician. I am not qualified to give med-ical advice but am sharing this very per-sonal, revealing, and potentially tragicstory as a public service for any personwho has or who knows anyone withinsulin-dependent diabetes (formerlycalled juvenile diabetes).

Since losing our son, Marc, to compli-cations from out-of-control diabetes threeyears ago, I have committed myself todoing everything possible to increaseawareness and help people understand andmanage this insidious and potentially dead-ly disease.

I personally believe it is imperativethat a diabetic always wear and carry easi-ly recognizable medical identification and,although it might be very impractical,never sleep alone. I realize that the latter isespecially difficult for children, anyonewho travels unaccompanied, people whoare unmarried or without a significantother, or those who are just “unlucky.”

Remember, this is an insidious, poten-tially deadly, disease. I’ve told this story toillustrate how people with this condition,regardless of their diligence, are suscepti-ble to similar complications, which canlead to coma and death.

Please share this story with your lovedones and friends. Thank you.

RobertGoldstein

BY

Was I dying—or already dead?

May-June 2009 THE JEWISH GEORGIAN Page 15

Holocaust Denial on Trial (HDOT.org), awebsite founded by Emory Universityprofessor Deborah Lipstadt to teach

about the dangers of Holocaust denial anddemonstrate how deniers distort historical evi-dence of the Holocaust, is re-launching in fournew languages: Arabic, Farsi, Russian, andTurkish. These translations are designed tospread the original site’s messages to areaswhere Holocaust denial goes the most unchal-lenged.

HDOT.org was founded following thewell-known David Irving v. Penguin UK andDeborah Lipstadt libel trial. Holocaust denierIrving sued Lipstadt and her publisher for call-ing him a denier who knowingly twists and dis-torts the truth of the Holocaust. A British judgefound Irving to be an active Holocaust denierwhose writings on the topic included both anti-Semitic and racist elements.

Despite the success of the Irving trial,online Holocaust denial has increased signifi-cantly in the past few years, says Lipstadt.“Deniers are attacking the entire history of theHolocaust, piece by piece,” she says. “Our siteputs basic, easily accessible information intothe hands of people encountering sophisticatedcontent designed to confuse them.”

At each of the new sites, visitors will begreeted by a complete parallel home page, sitenavigation, and content in their language ofchoice. They will be able to search the site’sdatabase in the new languages as well.

The new sites are available at arabic.hdot.org, farsi.hdot.org,russian.hdot.org, and turkish.hdot.org or viawww.hdot.org.

“This project significantly expands thereach of HDOT.org in regions of the worldwhere a significant amount of Holocaust denial

is happening,” says Lipstadt. In addition, HDOT.org has added signifi-

cantly to its offering of more than 30Myth/Fact sheets, available in all five lan-guages. These Myth/Fact sheets addressHolocaust denial head-on by listing variousclaims made about the Holocaust by deniersand providing the historical evidence thatshows them to be false. Over the past twoyears, the Myth/Fact sheets have beenHDOT.org’s most popular destination.

In conjunction with this launch, HDOTannounced the creation of a new podcast series,available through Emory’s iTunes University athttp://www.hdot.org/en/learning/itunes.

The series includes podcasts featuringsuch figures as Lipstadt, renowned Holocausthistorian Saul Friedlander, and professor KenWaltzer, who uncovered fraud in a recent andhighly publicized Holocaust memoir. Theseries also includes interviews with MichaelShermer, a professional skeptic and author ofDenying History, and Father JohnPawlikowski, a veteran of Catholic-Jewishinterfaith dialogue, speaking about recentevents.

“As so much of the strategy that deniersemploy involves spreading their falsehoods onthe internet, we worked with Professor Lipstadtto have scholarly, authoritative resources avail-able in podcasts. Some of the most respectedexperts on denial on the internet are inter-viewed,” says Alan Cattier, Emory’s director ofAcademic Technology Services.

The podcasts will form the core of severalnew lesson plans being produced for advancedhigh school and college courses that will helpeducators and the public approach the complexof social, historical, political, and ideologicalissues that emerge in the study of Holocaustdenial.

Holocaust website now availablein non-English versions

On my return in late January from aseven-day cruise (yes, I finally suc-cumbed to a longer vacation than

usual, and, yes, it was wonderful) I was sittingin the Fort Lauderdale airport, waiting for myzone to be called so I could board. I was inZone 9! When I finally heard my zoneannounced, I proceeded forward. At the sametime, a Catholic priest walked up and said tome that it looked as if we were the last two.That was true, and I laughed.

When I found my seat, I started thinkingthat it would be interesting to talk with thisgentleman and how nice it would be if he sat inthe empty seat next to mine. Unbelievably, thatis exactly what happened.

We started talking, and he had a terrificsense of humor. I asked him what led him to gointo the priesthood, and he told me he couldnot get a date.

He next asked me my favorite type ofvacation, and I told him it was swimming inthe ocean and relaxing on a beach. He said,“Well, have you ever been to Israel?” I admit-ted I had not. He told me what a wonderfulexperience it would be for me—that there wasa wonderful beach in Tel Aviv, and it was notfar from Jerusalem, where I would meet peo-ple at the synagogue. That sounded veryappealing, since I am not big on just sightsee-ing.

He then began needlepointing. Yes,indeed. A beautiful piece of work, it was forhis brother’s birthday. Of course, I know thatmacho men aplenty needlepoint, but I hadnever met one.

We talked about a number of other things,and, next thing I knew, we were landing. I wassorry my nice experience with a new friendwas coming to an end. But, actually, I did talkwith him once since then, and he told me heaccidentally left the needlepoint on the plane,and nobody turned it in. What a shame.

So, don’t you think it was amazing that ittook a Catholic priest to inspire me to go toIsrael?

A pleasant encounter makes for an enjoyable flight

MariceKatz

BY

Thomas Wolfe wasn’t speaking forme when he wrote You Can’t GoHome Again. I’ve just done

that—moved back after thirty-fouryears—and I’ve never been happier.

Some might argue that I never real-ly left Atlanta. That’s true, to the extentthat I’ve visited frequently enough notto be surprised by the city’s growth andnot to be dismayed by the increase intraffic. On the other hand, just visitingdidn’t prepare me for the magnificentflowering of public spaces or the spec-tacular after-dark sparkle of the highrises in Midtown. I had heard about theunusual restaurants with their interna-tional flavors, but hadn’t really sampledmany of them until I came to stay.Above all, I rejoiced in the awarenessthat Jewish culture had exploded in alldirections since I left, but only now do Ihave the opportunity to partake of it.

Another big plus is knowing the ter-rain. Sure, the roads have changed, old

landmarks disappeared, new one-waysigns placed where I don’t expect themto be, but I still have a sense of wherethe side roads lead. This advantage cameto light the other day when I got caughtin what appeared to be a mile-long line-up for a light on Paces Ferry. I turnedright at the first intersection and woundthrough the lovely residential area,relaxed in the knowledge that I wouldreach my destination on time. Confidentof not getting lost, I realized that I couldnever have done this in Potomac orArlington. Even after all of those years,I avoided side roads outside the Districtof Columbia whenever possible.

One of the greatest joys of beingback home is the ability to wax nostalgicwith people who share similar memo-ries. Reminiscences are no fun if theyare one-sided and downright boring tothose who try to listen. So I found itespecially warm and fuzzy the otherevening when new acquaintances (butnot newcomers to Atlanta) recalleddelightful evenings of long ago, enjoy-ing entertainment by Phil and NancyErikson and the Merry Mutes. Were theyat the Ansley or the Henry Grady? Andremember the song “They’re Tearing UpPeachtree Again”? Where else could you

connect with people who knew aboutripping the trolley tracks off Peachtree?

I don’t mean to imply that I’vefound this entire procedure nothing butfun and games. Moving anywhere—even back to one’s roots—involves aninevitable amount of sturm und drang,and I must admit to enduring my shareof it. Beyond the universal problems ofsettling in, for those of us returning toour home town after many decades,there is the question of recognizing peo-ple whom we haven’t seen in all thattime. Faces do look familiar, but thenames escape us. They’ve changed withthe years, not infrequently changingnames as well as appearance. That goesfor me as well, so I can’t complain. Infact, I find it hugely comforting to hearan old acquaintance admit that he or shehad the same difficulty recognizing me.

The sad side of coming home, ofcourse, is missing the friends who havedied and sharing the heartaches of thosewho themselves are suffering disabili-ties or decline. Growing old does haveits advantages, but issues of health aredecidedly not among them. That, in fact,is the one and only area in which com-ing back home has not been pure joy forme. I am extremely fortunate to have noknown medical problems at present, forit is a formidable challenge to find a pri-mary care physician who accepts newpatients over 65 years of age. The factthat I carry excellent private insurance

was of no use in getting me an appoint-ment with any of the highly recommend-ed internists whom I called. Few of themaccepted new patients. None acceptednew patients on Medicare.

This situation is not unique toAtlanta, of course. My internist inWashington told me to expect it wherev-er I went. She herself is unusual in thatshe specializes in geriatrics, but thedemand is such that she had to limit herpractice, taking no new patients for thepast several years. When I pleaded onbehalf of a very ill friend, I was told, “Ifwe took her, we wouldn’t be able to giveyou the very care that you so appreci-ate.”

I had no answer for that nor do Ihave one now when I am the one reject-ed. Hopefully, the young physician withwhom I finally obtained an appointmentwill be fully competent, and, in a year orso, I can boast that I was among the firstAtlantans to benefit from her care. I amnot one to yearn for what we imagine tohave been the “good” old ways, and Icertainly applaud giving young profes-sionals a chance to succeed. I am awarethat everyone needs affordable healthcare; I believe that decency demands it,and I understand that it comes at a pricefor everyone. Perhaps this experiencehas been a first installment on payingmy bill.

Easy to say. Not so easy to acceptwhen it affects us personally.

Page 16 THE JEWISH GEORGIAN May-June 2009

The Blumberg Report

Janice RothschildBlumberg

BY

Eve Silver contributed manycolumns to The Jewish Georgian,including book reviews, which was

a field she most enjoyed. We were sad-dened to learn of her passing on March30, 2009, during her 87th year of life.

Eve lived a part of our Jewish historythat saw both the horrors of theHolocaust and the indomitablespirit that has allowed us torise from such inhumanitiesto once again function in aless hostile world. Born inHrubieszow, Poland, shewas a student at theUniversity of Warsaw at thetime of the German invasion ofPoland. She managed toelude capture by the Naziwar machine and was aparticipant in the PolishResistance Movement.

In 1946, Eve wasawarded a scholarshipby the Hillel RefugeeStudent Service, with which she was ableto attend Agnes Scott College in Decatur,Georgia. While at Agnes Scott, she metand married Max Silver, who preceded

her in death. Together they had three chil-dren: Leslye Abrutyn, of Philadelphia,Pennsylvania; David (Anne) Silver ofMurphy, North Carolina; and Herb(Sally) Silver of Atlanta, Georgia.

Eve later returned to school atGeorgia State University, from which shegraduated with a degree in journalism.

She used her training as a journalist tofocus on issues dealing with theHolocaust, and it was on this sub-ject that she wrote for The JewishGeorgian.

We were fortunate tohave Eve contribute some of her

writings on the Holocaust to ourpaper. She did her part in try-

ing to prevent suchatrocities by exposingwhat happened to thedaylight of publicknowledge. We knowthat her recollections,while often painful, didmuch to highlight the

need for vigilance against the evils thatcan arise unless good people activelyspeak out and confront the perpetrators ofhate and bigotry.

Remembering Eve Finklestein Silver

Eve Silver

May-June 2009 THE JEWISH GEORGIAN Page 17

The creator of the Jewish Theatre of theSouth, Mira Hirsch, is starting her newnon-profit theater company, Genesis

Stage, with an important production. Hirschand Genesis Stage have been invited to pres-ent Israeli playwright Motti Lerner’s HardLove at the Festival of Jewish Theatre andIdeas this June in New York City. Producedby New York’s Untitled Theater Company#61, with the cooperation of the Associationfor Jewish Theatre, the festival will take placeat Theatre Three, a 99-seat Off-Broadwayhouse.

Before the festival, there will be six spe-cial dress rehearsals in Atlanta. Instead ofindividual ticket sales, tickets will be given inblocks to contributors to support the NewYork production. Hard Love, staring MiraHirsch and David Silverman, is a rivetingdrama about a man, a woman, love, and faith.

The special rehearsals will take place atLovett School’s Woodward Theatre, May 27-31. Performances are Wednesday andThursday, 7:30 p.m.; Friday and Saturday,8:00 p.m., and Sunday, 2:00 p.m. and 7:00p.m.

To make a contribution and receive ab lock o f t i cke t s , e -ma i lgenesisstage@gmail.com.

Hard Love is sponsored in part by theConsulate General of Israel to the Southeast.

Genesis Stage offers special performancesbefore heading to New York

Mira Hirsch and David Silverman

There was no parking problem when Ifirst went to the University of Georgia.There were several reasons for this:

freshmen and sophomores weren’t allowed tohave cars on campus, and no new automobileswere being manufactured—the plants wereturning out Jeeps and tanks and trucks andbombers just as fast as they could. Even if youhappened to be an upper classman and owned acar, gasoline was rationed and saved for emer-gencies—a very small sacrifice for civilians tomake.

So when the June for my class’ graduationfinally followed the May of cramming andfinals and concerts and formals, it was notunusual that our parents came to Athens by busor train. That’s what Mama did. Daddy hadused all of the ration stamps earlier when heand Mama and my brother and sister, who werestill at home, came to my senior recital and theoperetta. Mama came by herself to the gradua-tion. Daddy probably needed to stay home andtake care of everything there, but to tell thetruth, even back in his horse-and-buggy days,he liked to have his hand on the reins. I thinkthe bus driver was lucky that Daddy didn’t taketo group traveling.

Mama stayed at the sorority house with allof us who were graduating and some of theother mothers. There was plenty of roombecause the lower classmen had gone homeafter exams.

There were two double-decker beds in our

room, and the rails at the foot served as the lad-der up. When Mama asked where she was tosleep, we jokingly pointed to a top bunk. Sinceshe didn’t see any little steps to climb, she said,“How do you get up there?” Still joking, wesaid, “You have to go to the other side of thebathroom, get a running start, and jump upthere.”

Bless her. She didn’t know we were kid-ding, and she surely wasn’t gonna be outdone.So, before we could stop her, she took off likea thoroughbred, ran the full distance of tworooms, leaped and grabbed the top mattress,and was hanging in mid-air, her feet still inmotion.

Last year, when I saw one of my room-mates at a sorority reunion, she said, “Do youremember when we told your mother she hadto run and jump on the top bunk?” Of course Idid. It was Mama’s racehorse determinationand Daddy’s show-horse style that got us allthrough college.

On Sunday afternoon before graduationday, all of the girls and our housemother werein the dining room having an early supper.Mama said she really wasn’t hungry and wouldlike to lie down for a little while (on the lowerbunk!). When I came back upstairs to see abouther, she said, “Shirley, I was just lying here lis-tening to the wonderful light-hearted laughterof you girls. It sounded like music. I hope youwill always remember it. There will never beanother time exactly like this.”

She was right. Very few boys’ names werecalled that next morning; most of them hadbeen called into service midway through theireducation. And the rest of us were apprehen-sive about what was waiting for us out there.I’ve laughed a great deal since that day, butsomehow it’s in a different key—and when Ithink of it, I cry.

An ending, a beginning

ShirleyFriedman

BY

Page 18 THE JEWISH GEORGIAN May-June 2009

Just last week, I found a“penny postcard,” yel-lowed with age, amongst

my stuff—a real treasure thatstarted the ball rolling to mybecoming an American citizen.

As they say in comput-erese, let’s “scroll back” intime....

I’m in my junior year atthe University of Georgia,when Harry S. Truman’s con-gress passes the DisplacedPersons Act of 1948, whichsays, briefly, that anyone in theU.S. unable to return to his orher country of origin for fearof persecution or death canapply for citizenship and stayin the U.S.

Well, bless PresidentTruman, that’s exactly what I,with a Stateless-Russian stu-dent visa, need to hear.

At the local immigration

office on Peachtree Street, my applica-tion is processed, and I am genuinelysurprised when the officer in chargeshows me a snapshot of theCosmopolitan Club picnic at the uni-versity, including me and all the other

foreign students.(It’s good that thegovernment iskeeping track ofus “furriners,” butwhat happenedyears later to theforeign students“studying” atFlorida flightschools, whoweren’t vigilantlytracked—all theway to 9/11? Withgoodniks like me,our governmentknew where I wasall the time, butthose ___s werelost in the shuf-fle. Go figure!)

I don’t recallgetting a greencard, but I dorecall the happyday in 1953,when my hus-band, Hans

M a y e r ,drove meto Augusta,G e o r g i a(the loca-tion of thei m m i g r a -tion officeclosest toour homein Savannah), where I was sworn in asa for-real American citizen. What aproud day for me.

It’s a wonderful feeling to finallybelong to this wonderful country—nolonger a foreigner. My grandparentswere all “foreigners” (Jews born andliving in Russia, Poland, andLithuania); so were my parents there.Then, we were “foreigners” in China,even though I was born there. In 1947,I came as a foreign student to theUniversity of Georgia.

Finally, wonder of wonders, I aman American citizen and a Southernerand Georgian by choice. My children

and grandchildren,all born and raisedin Georgia, haveno idea how fortu-nate they are to beborn in America,and, to boot, in

beautiful Georgia. I get all teary-eyedwith a lump in my throat every time Isalute our flag or hear the “Star-Spangled Banner.”

Did I ever mention that while atUGA, I wanted to join the U.S. ArmyOfficer Candidate School? However,not being an American citizen at gradu-ation time in 1950, I could only enlistas a buck private. Good thing, too—I’mscared of loud noises, and my first rifleshoot would have booted me right outof the service. America would not havebeen a safer place with me on the firingrange or fighting the enemy some-where. That’s for sure.

God Bless America.

Finding that place called home

Balfoura FriendLevine

BY

Postcard from the U.S.Department of Justice,Immigration andNaturalization Service, toBalfoura Friend, acknowl-edging her application foradjustment of status as adisplaced person residing

in the UnitedStates, October28, 1948

Receipt from St. John’sUniversity, Shanghai, forpayment of deferred feesfor Balfoura Levine’s fresh-man year. She later trans-ferred to the University ofGeorgia.

May-June 2009 THE JEWISH GEORGIAN Page 19

Page 20 THE JEWISH GEORGIAN May-June 2009

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When most folks talk aboutAmerican Jewish history, iconicstorylines come to mind: the immi-

grant bustle of New York’s Lower East Side,the dreamers of early Hollywood, the mer-cantile visionaries who transformed thenation’s commerce.

Dr. Stuart Rockoff, of theGoldring/Woldenberg Institute of SouthernJewish Life in Jackson, Mississippi, drawsattention to a less conspicuous but no lesssignificant storyline, the saga of SouthernJewry. Through his web-based DigitalArchive project, Dr. Rockoff is in theprocess of gathering and sharing the histo-ry of every southern Jewish community,extant or extinct. With the states ofMississippi, Louisiana, Tennessee, andArkansas already completed, Dr. Rockoffexpects to “go live” with the histories forevery Georgia Jewish community this sum-mer.

The following are excerpts from theupcoming Digital Archive entry forFitzgerald, Georgia.

Touted as the “City where AmericaReunited,” Fitzgerald was founded in 1896

as a colony for Civil War veterans of bothsides by Philander Fitzgerald, a newspapereditor from Indianapolis. Along with streetsnamed for heroes of both sides of the war,Fitzgerald was also home to regular unityparades, in which both Union andConfederate veterans would march together

through downtown. If Fitzgerald helped tounite North and South, its Jewish communi-ty and congregation tied together a Jewishpopulation spread throughout the smalltowns of South Central Georgia.

Jews came to the area relatively late, inthe early years of the 20th century. One of

the first was Isadore Goldenberg, who cameto the United States from Romania in 1888.By 1900, he was living in Fitzgerald withhis new bride, Bessie, and owned a drygoods store.

Ike Perlis came over from Russia withhis family and opened a dry goods store inCordele, Georgia. His son Isadore eventual-ly took over the business. Isadore and hissons built a chain of clothing stores aroundthe area, including the Big Store in Tifton,run by Marvin and Lynette Perlis. Today,Marvin and Lynette’s son, Philip Perlis, andhis wife, Susan, run the store in Tifton,marking the fourth generation of SouthGeorgia retail merchants in the Perlis fami-ly.

Other Jews owned stores in such SouthGeorgia towns as Nashville, Dublin,Hawkinsville, Alamo, and Eastman.

Facing a credit crunch during the earlyyears of the Great Depression, these Jewishstores banded together in 1929 to form theHebrew Commercial Alliance. Using thecombined financial leverage of its mem-bers, the Alliance secured capital from local

Each year on a Sunday in April, DavisAcademy 4th-grade students invitesome very special guests to a very

special event. The visitors are children, 5-18 years of age, with disabilities or specialneeds, who play on Buddy Baseball (for-merly called Challenger) league teams inthe Atlanta area.

The 3rd annual Davis Buddy Ball Daytook place on Sunday, April 26, a beautiful,warm spring day. Davis 4th-graders greeted25 guests from the Alpharetta Angels andSandy Springs Braves Buddy Baseballteams. It was the biggest turnout yet for aDavis Buddy Ball event, both in the numberof players and number of families cheeringfor the athletes. The two visiting teamsplayed against each other at The DavisAcademy Lower School field, with theDavis students there to cheer, assist, andensure the safety of their guests.

Davis Buddy Ball Day is the culmina-tion of a yearlong 4th-grade mitzvah projectthat focuses on helping and supporting oth-ers who live with diseases and disabilities.According to teacher Sara Measroch, stud-

ies include lessons from the Torah and exer-cises in dealing with situations in an empa-thetic and compassionate manner.

Said Measroch, “Once our much-awaited Buddy Ball Day finally arrived, ourchildren, despite their young ages, wereindeed able to relate to our guests and theirneeds.”

Sheryn Cohen, a Davis parent, beganthe Alpharetta team nine years ago andstarted Buddy Ball Day at Davis when Josh,her youngest son, was in 4th grade. ThoughJosh (who still enjoys volunteering with theevent) is now in Middle School, Sheryncontinues to take the lead in organizing theevent. She also brings in a speaker, whotells the 4th-graders about some of the chal-lenges and disabilities their guests live with.

“I started the team not only to providean environment for disabled children toplay baseball and to give them the opportu-nity to be a part of a team, but to also helpevery child involved gain empathy andrespect for others no matter what obstaclesthey may face,” said Sheryn.

Davis students were excited about wel-

coming their guests and making them feel athome during their visit. In preparation forthe event, they assembled goody bags withtreats and small gifts for their new friendsand made welcome signs. On the day of theevent, 790 The Zone came out to providemusic, and former major league player Jim

May-June 2009 THE JEWISH GEORGIAN Page 21

GeorgianTHEJewish Georgian

See ARCHIVESpage 23

Digital archives now documenting history of Georgia’s Jewish communities

Buddy Ball brings out the best at Davis

Davis 4th-grade students cheer their spe-cial guests onto the field. Here, JasonTempleton comes through the line.

The Big Store in Tifton (Photo: Phil Perlis)

Julia Rosenthal enjoys a momentwith Alpharetta Angels player RossHicks.

See BUDDY BALL page 24

Page 22 THE JEWISH GEORGIAN May-June 2009

Passover 2009 is behind us, but localshoppers are still talking about thesignificantly higher prices they paid

for Passover items. The season was finan-cially challenging for most Atlanta shop-pers this year. Prices at the local supermar-kets were 20-50% higher than in past years;some items cost 50% more than they did inother cities.

Due to numerous consumer complaintsand buying resistance, our supermarkets arenow keenly aware of the pricing problem.With only one distributor of kosher foods,Atlanta suffers from a lack of competition;historically, prices here have been higherthan in other metro areas. In the past, due toa small kosher-buying population, the high-er pricing was passively accepted.However, now that Atlanta is home to the11th largest Jewish population (120,000+)in the U.S., the higher prices and narrowselection can no longer be rationalized ortolerated. Shoppers have put the supermar-kets on notice that they will seek online and

other sources for Passover if these issues ofprice and selection are not properlyaddressed.

Below are some startling price compar-isons:

Chocolate chips: $2.99-3.29/local,$2.19/Silver Spring, Maryland

Tuna: $3.29/local, $1.97/online,$1.99/Silver Spring

Manischewitz Matzo: $13.99 percase/local, $7.99/Costco; $4.99-$7.99/New York and New Jersey

Margarine: $6.99/local (later reducedto $4.99), $3.99/Silver Spring

Jam: $4.99/local, $3.49/Silver Spring

EXCITING LOCAL NEWS. The WholeFoods Market at Briarcliff and Lavistaroads has announced plans for severaldepartments to be under AKC kosher certi-fication including gelato, fresh fish, somenew cheeses, and bulk bins. The store willalso sell Wise organic kosher chicken. Thestore plans to complete the process by earlyJune. Contact the Atlanta KashruthCommission for details. In addition, theBriarcliff Whole Foods Market is donating5% of its sales on Tuesday, June 16, to ben-

efit The Torah Day School of Atlanta’s newcommunity garden/outdoor learning center.Groundbreaking for the garden is scheduledfor fall 2009.

THE AMAZING KEURIG. No, Keurig isnot a magician or an illusionist but an easy-to-use, single-portion coffee system. Theamazing, sleek Keurig machine sits “hiber-nating” on a countertop and is ready to

brew in two min-utes or less.Simply inserta “K-cup”(single-serv-ing portionpack), wait 30seconds, andenjoy an indi-vidual servingof brewed cof-fee, tea, or hotchocolate. Ihaven’t tried thetea or hotchocolate yetbut have

enjoyed the large selection of gourmet cof-fees. Most of the coffees are kosher, as aresome of the other brews. I tested theKeurig Special Edition, Model B60, pricedat about $100. Although the cost per serv-ing is slightly more than with a traditionalcoffee maker, it is a fraction of the cost of acup of gourmet coffee from a retail coffeeshop—and there is certainly less waste. The

company offers an international selection ofover 150 varieties of coffee from mild toextra bold (my favorite). The K-cups areavailable at supermarkets, Macy’s, andhome stores. I found the best price at BedBath & Beyond—currently $9.99 for 18,with an additional 20% off if you have acoupon. For more information, or to orderfrom the full line, visit greenmountain.com.

CHEESE WIZ! What if you could enjoycheese produced from the raw milk ofgrass-fed Holstein cows, free of pesticidesand hormones—in an environment wherethe cows are milked at 4:00 a.m. and thecheese is made at 9:00 a.m., then aged for60 days? Well, Atlanta, yes, you can!

5 Spoke Creamery cheese

5 Spoke Creamery cheeses, which aresold at fine restaurants and upscale marketsaround the country, are finally here, avail-able at Simone’s Bakery. They are sold by

RobertaScher

BY

Kosher Affairs

The amazing Keurigcoffee system

See KOSHER AFFAIRS page 24

banks and lent the money to Jewish busi-nesses that did not have the cash on hand topay their suppliers.

Starting with just 18 members and$7,500, the Fitzgerald-based alliance had 75members from fifteen different southGeorgia counties by 1932. By 1953, thealliance was loaning out almost $1 million ayear to its members. The organization con-tinued into the 1960s, although it eventuallydisbanded, since so many Jewish-ownedstores had gone out of business.

While the Hebrew Commercial Alliancefocused on retail stores, Jews in and aroundFitzgerald played a leading role in the area’sindustrial growth. South Georgia became aregional center for the garment industry asNorthern companies headed to the South insearch of cheaper labor costs.

H.R. “Dick” Kaminsky came to Georgiafrom Brooklyn, opening the Perfect PantsManufacturing Company in Ashburn in1934. Two years later, he moved the businessto Fitzgerald, and eventually changed itsname to H.R. Kaminsky & Sons, Inc., whichmade pants for men and boys. Over theyears, Kaminsky’s business grew from onlya few employees to almost 650 when theydoubled the size of their plant in 1963. Overthe years, the business has shrunk somewhat,but still had 255 employees and three facto-ries as late as 1988.

Jews around the area started meetingtogether informally for prayer in the early20th century. By the 1920s, many of themwould travel to Macon for the HighHolidays. Later in the decade, there was aneffort to organize the area’s Jews into a con-gregation of some sort. The group first metin Eastman after they sent out over 100 post-cards to Jews in the area inviting them toattend. During the High Holidays in 1930,the group, which included Jews from a 75-mile radius, met at the Masonic Temple inEastman for services led by a visiting rabbifrom Atlanta. In 1933, over 100 familiesattended the High Holiday services at theMasonic Temple.

By 1941, Jews in the area, led by AbeKruger, finally decided to acquire a perma-nent home for the congregation. The groupbecame known as the Fitzgerald HebrewCongregation. They bought an old MethodistChurch in Fitzgerald and remodeled it into asynagogue, officially dedicating the buildingin 1942 in a ceremony that drew over 500people, including Fitzgerald’s mayor andseveral Christian ministers.

Fitzgerald Hebrew Congregation(Photo: Stuart Rockoff)

Fitzgerald Hebrew Congregation inte-rior (Photo: Stuart Rockoff)

In 1947, the Fitzgerald HebrewCongregation hired its first full-time rabbi,Nathan Kohen. Kohen was very involved inthe larger community and often spoke togroups like the Rotary and the Kiwanis Clubin area towns. His wife, Bea, ran the congre-gation’s religious school and would stageelaborate annual Hannukah programs, withsongs and dramatic scenes acted out by thechildren. Rabbi Kohen served the FitzgeraldHebrew Congregation for 28 years, until hisdeath in 1975. He remains the only full-timerabbi ever to serve the congregation.

The Fitzgerald synagogue was the cen-ter of a truly regional congregation. In 1968,the congregation’s 14 board members camefrom 10 different towns. In the early 1950s,they held auxiliary, lay-led services onFriday nights in Dublin, which was 75 milesaway. By 1956, they had opened a branch ofthe religious school in Tifton with twelvestudents.

The congregation’s newsletter in the1950s and 1960s was like a small-townnewspaper. Congregants could learn whowas traveling where and who was sick, as

well as the various accomplishments of themembers and their children. The long socialnews column, put together by Rebbitzen BeaKohen, helped to bind together this dispersedgroup into one community.

In 1937, about 250 Jews lived in thesmall towns in and around Fitzgerald. By the1960s, these small Jewish communities wereshrinking as the retail business changed andyoung people moved to larger cities in searchof greater opportunity. Jewish-owned stores,which once lined Grant and Pine streets indowntown Fitzgerald, began to close. TheBig Store in Tifton, now run by Philip andSusan Perlis, remains one of the last vestigesof the Jewish-owned stores that were onceomnipresent in the small towns of SouthGeorgia.

Despite this decline, the FitzgeraldHebrew Congregation remains active.Currently, the congregation numbers ninefamilies and holds services once a month, ledby a student rabbi from the JewishTheological Seminary.

If you have any additional informationon Georgia Jewish communities, contactISJL Historian Dr. Stuart Rockoff atRockoff@isjl.org.

The complete history of Fitzgerald andevery other Georgia Jewish community willbe live on the ISJL Digital Archive in thesummer of 2009. The website iswww.isjl.org/history/archive.

May-June 2009 THE JEWISH GEORGIAN Page 23

From page 21Archives

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the wedge and are available in luscious, richflavors including Herbal Jack, WelshCheddar, Tumbleweed, and RedmondCheddar. For recipes and product informa-tion or to read about the benefits of cheesemade from raw milk, visit 5spokecream-ery.com—then head to Simone’s to buysome! Grab a bottle of chilled Goose BayPinot Gris and a package of crackers, andenjoy a summer picnic.

BOOKS FOR COOKS (ANDCRAFTERS). I highly recommendCrafting Jewish by Rivky Koenig(Artscroll/Shaar Press/MesorahPublications). The book describes and illus-trates 120 Jewish holiday and everydayprojects. Most are easy and inexpensive,fun, creative, and family oriented.Following the book’s simple instructions,my grandchildren (ages 3-11) painted theirown unique Passover tiles. The ceramicpaints cost less than $6 at Michael’s (useyour coupon) and the tiles were 48 centseach at Home Depot. We had a great timepainting outside, and everyone took home apersonalized decorated tile to use as a Sedertrivet or decoration. Koenig also includesseveral kid-friendly recipes. I plan to invitemy grandchildren for pre-Shavuos prepara-tions to try the Crafting Jewish recipe forfrozen cheesecake.

Samuel Kalnitz (Roberta’s grandson)paints a Passover tile, a fun projectfrom Crafting Jewish.

It’s back to the garden for bothMichelle Obama and me. I now have a newraised-bed garden, installed and constructedby Farmer D and filled with organic soiland compost. In addition, my talented andhandy husband, Allan, constructed a saladtable, where I am growing lettuces, beets,bok choy, and spinach. (Find completeinstructions at www.growit.umd.edu.) Inmy quest for organic edibles and in the spir-it of getting “back to the earth,” I am cur-rently reading the book Living the CountryLifestyle All-In-One for Dummies (WileyPublications) and finding it intriguing. The640-page guidebook offers helpful instruc-tions on basic skills such as gardening,farming, candle-making, knitting, preserv-ing, canning, drying herbs, fishing—evenstargazing. Although I don’t have an imme-diate need for many of the tips (i.e., the

ones on beekeeping), I am certainly readyto learn more about traditional countryskills, such as preserving summer fruits andvegetables, selecting and growing medici-nal herbs, and outdoor cooking.

Our salad table ready for lettuces,beets, bok choy, and spinach

And on that note, one more gardenbook—well, sort of. Rustic Fruit Dessertsby Cory Schreiber and Julie Richardson(Ten Speed Press) is a sweet cookbookfocusing on using fresh seasonal fruits tomake simple classics such as cobblers,cakes, crisps, and crumbles. These award-winning chefs also share recipes for lesserknown “heritage” desserts such as theslump, fool, betty, and even the traditionalapple pandowdy.

TWEETS AND TREATS. Twitter is a funand global place to find new recipes. I havebegun following twitterer Maureen Evans,who currently lives in Belfast, Ireland, andwas recently featured in The New YorkTimes. She provides “tiny recipes con-densed...from all over the world” inTwitter’s allowed maximum of 140 charac-ters at twitter.com/cookbook. Many of therecipes have been tested with excellentresults. At the very least, interpreting thecondensed recipes for actual cooking is afun mind challenge. If you need help with

translation, go to cookbookglossary.pbwi-ki.com.

Here are two of Maureen’s tweets:

New Eggplant Parmesan: cvr3tom/s+p/3Twine@low7m; puree. Slice/oil2eggplant;15m@400F/205C. Dip w egg/crumb&s+p.Broil+c parm. Srv on puree.

Spinach Spaghetti: boil10oz/300g pasta aldente. Brwn t garlic/4T olvoil; +5c spinach3m; +pasta/s+p. Toss+T olvoil/3T parme-san; top w parm.

Come follow me. If you would like toknow more about new kosher products orshare your finds with other tweeters, go totwitter.com/koshereye. Building a koshernetwork, tweet by tweet!

—————

Have a peachy summer in the PeachState. Go to gapeaches.org, where you canaccess information on Georgia’s peachfarms and find peach recipes. Even better,go visit an orchard, and pick your ownpeaches!

What’s cooking?

This column is meant to provide the readerwith current trends and developments in thekosher marketplace and lifestyle. Sincestandards of kashruth certification vary,check with the AKC or your local kashruthauthority to confirm reliability. If you aresearching for a hard-to-find kosher ingredi-ent, need help with a kosher substitution, orhave a kosher food question, please contactus, and we will do our best to find theanswer. Also, we ask that you share yourdiscoveries with us and look forward tohearing from you. E-mailkosheraffairs@gmail.com.

Page 24 THE JEWISH GEORGIAN May-June 2009

Poole of the Cleveland Indians pitched tothe children and graciously signed balls andautographs.

“I really liked meeting the kids,” saidDavis 4th-grade student Sophie Zelony,“and I was happy that we got to have funwith them playing baseball.”

From page 21Buddy Ball

Sandy Spring Braves player IsaiahPalmer on the field with Davis 4th-grade student Dawson Vainer

Alpharetta Angels player JacksonOrdahl shows off his medal as DavisAcademy Lower School PrincipalDrew Frank (left) and Davis 4th-grade students Jessica Zeewy andCaroline Perlis look on.

From page 22Kosher Affairs

See KOSHER AFFAIRS RECIPES page 25

Beginning June 7, The Breman willfill the Schwartz Special ExhibitionsGallery with a freewheeling collec-

tion of never before displayed objects, pho-tographs, and documents from the IdaPearle & Joseph Cuba CommunityArchives. The exhibition, “The Good, theBad, and the Ugly: Untold GeorgiaStories,” brings past events to life and helpsaudiences understand many current social,political, and economic issues.

This exhibition will take visitors on anexploration of some of the rarest and mostsurprising collections housed in TheBreman’s archives, including Civil Warartifacts, World War I and II memorabilia,documentation of the Civil Rights move-ment, and more.

Museum visitors may find that some of

these curiosities will trigger memories orconnect them to events they have experi-enced, seen, or heard about. Younger visi-tors will have an opportunity to becomeacquainted with “ancient times,” whenface-to-face contact was how one did socialnetworking, and Facebook was not part ofthe lexicon.

Does the name “Blue Horse” bringback memories of writing tablets, of a timewhen penmanship was actually a requiredcourse at school?

In 1879, fourteen-year-old SigmundMontag, an immigrant from Germany, land-ed in Galveston, Texas. Traveling across theSouth as a salesman, Sigmund earnedenough money to bring his parents, fourbrothers, and two sisters to the UnitedStates. Settling in Atlanta, Sigmund and his

brothers started a papergoods and druggist sun-dries business calledMontag Bros. Thesmall enterprise was tobecome one of the largest stationerymanufacturers in the country.

The Blue Horse became as suc-cessful a brand as the Nikeswoosh, and it soon became aleader in the field of school writ-ing tablets. Contests were runwith coveted prizes, whichincluded beanies and, in the firstyear, actual ponies. The ponies were quitean advertising gimmick, but not appreciatedby Depression-era parents, who now had tofeed their new family pet. The next year, thecompany replaced ponies with bicycles asthe grand prize.

The company had a mechanical, coin-operated blue horse that was often riddenby children visiting on field trips; it wasalso used by Montag salesmen to promote

the company’s products. Recently, the bluehorse was offered for sale to The Breman.Thanks to the generosity of Breman BoardTrustee Jarvin Levison, the horse is nowpart of the museum’s permanent collection.It falls into the “good” category in this exhi-bition.

For more information on this exhibi-tion and other Breman programs, visitwww.thebreman.org.

No-Bake Frozen Cheesecake

Adapted from Crafting Jewishby Rivky Koenig

1 9” graham cracker crust (ready-made ormake your own)

8 ounces whipped cream cheese

1/2 cup farmer cheese

1/2 cup vanilla yogurt

1/2 cup sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla sugar

1 pint strawberries or other fruit of yourchoice

Place cheeses, yogurt, sugar, and vanil-la sugar in a mixing bowl. Beat at lowspeed to combine, then increase speed tohigh until mixture is smooth and fluffy.Pourmixture into pie shell. Cover with foil, andfreeze until firm.Before serving, thaw forone hour. Wash, slice, and drain fruit.Arrange on top of cheesecake.

—————

Peppermint Infused Tea

Adapted from Living the Country LifestyleAll-In-One for Dummies

Peppermint is a favorite remedy forrelaxing the intestinal tract or relieving coldsymptoms. Make peppermint tea by steep-ing a small handful of fresh herbs or 1tablespoon of dried herbs in a cup of hotwater. Drink 2-3 times daily.

Stone Fruit Tea Cake

Adapted from Rustic Fruit Desserts byCory Schreiber and Julie Richardson

2 1/4 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon fine sea salt

1 cup sugar

3/4 cup unsalted butter, room temperature,plus 1 tablespoon for baking pan

3 eggs

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

2 1/2 cups coarsely chopped, mixed stonefruit, fresh or frozen (peaches, nectarines,plums)*

1 tablespoon turbinado (raw) sugar

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Prepare a10” round baking pan by rubbing with 1tablespoon unsalted butter at room temper-ature.

Whisk together flour, baking powder,and salt. Set aside.

Cream sugar and butter until light andfluffy; add eggs, one at a time; add vanilla.Add flour mixture until smooth doughforms.

Divide dough into 2 equal portions. Patone portion into prepared pan.

Spread fruit over the dough.

Break remaining dough portion intotablespoon-size pieces and distribute atopthe fruit. Sprinkle top of cake with turbina-do sugar. (If not using immediately, wrapand freeze whole, unbaked, assembled cakefor future baking.)

Bake 30-40 minutes, until golden.Cool 30 minutes before serving.

*To peel peaches: Submerge in boilingwater for 30 seconds.

Recipes

Treasures from The Breman archivesare featured in a new exhibition

May-June 2009 THE JEWISH GEORGIAN Page 25

Kosher Affairs

By Rabbi Reuven Stein

WHAT’S NEW IN KOSHER ATLANTA?

GOODFRIEND’S GRILL (5342 TillyMill Road, 678-812-3994), anew meat restaurant, is open-ing at the Marcus JewishCommunity Center of Atlanta.It is taking the place of CaféOfi. Proprietor EnochGoodfriend is the owner of TheGlatt Smokehouse (678-222-3719), located at the Jewish Federation ofGreater Atlanta/Selig Center.

KROGER TOCO HILL has a brand-newkosher department, including an all-kosherparve in-store bakery. All items baked onthe premises are kosher, parve, and pasYisroel. The department also has dairyitems that are brought in. The new deli hasa full-time chef and K.F.C. (Kosher FriedChicken).

Steve Gilmer’s THE KOSHERGOURMET (404-636-1114) is now openand has a wide variety of take-out foods,including chicken and sausage jambalaya,curried chickpeas, and more. It also offers

prepared meals, fine wines, and full cater-ing.

GRILLER’S PRIDE (770-454-8108) nowhas glatt kosher biltong, authentic SouthAfrican beef jerky.

SIMONE’S BAKERY (404-321-5108) now has a large selection ofspecialty candies and cheeses.

BAGEL WORLD (190 RegencyParkway, Suite 306, Norcross,404-662-8522) is a new whole-

sale bagel shop, selling parve bagels,muffins, and Danish. The minimum orderis 10 dozen; delivery is available.

CHOCOLEY (866-528-5252, 404-418-8910, chocoley.com) is a newly AKC-cer-tified, online company that suppliesequipment and ingredients for gourmetchocolate fountains and fondues.

SCHAKOLAD CHOCOLATE FACTO-RY (770-730-9770) is a chocolate retailstore that is fully certified for all its prod-ucts, except chocolate-covered strawber-ries (since strawberries require checkingby a supervisor).

Kosher Korner AKCApproved

See KOSHER KORNER page 40

Isigned up for the 40+ half-court leaguestarting in April and realized this was my43rd consecutive year of playing basketball

at the AJCC as a member of either the 18+ full-court, 30+ cross-court, or 40+ half-courtleague.

A large percentage of guys playing inthese leagues now weren’t even born when Istarted playing in 1966 at the JCC on PeachtreeStreet. That means that a lot of guys never gotto play by those crazy no-fastbreak rules: takeone dribble after you rebound a missed shot,and you can’t have the ball taken away fromyou. And if you were designated the best play-er on the team, you had to sit out four consec-utive minutes each half. You actually werepenalized for being good.

They also missed out on seeing RalphKahn, Jerry Finkelstein, and Bill Samuels’two-hand set shot. They were never guardedtenaciously by Lenny Levey, Jon Miller, JayAnasov, Adam Skorecki, or Steve Weiner.

They missed seeing Howie Frushtick,Mike Nemeroff, or Bruce Finkelstein hookshots. They missed out on getting a perfectbounce pass from Moose Miller on a back-doorcut or watching Hal Krafchick sink two foulshots with the game on the line. They didn’t seeDonnie Diamond driving to the basket withthose long strikes or trying to guard JimGodfrey as he continuously moved around the

court with the cap on his head turned back-ward. I guess he was ahead of his time. Theynever saw Scott Eisenberg go behind his backas he drove to the basket or experienced run-ning into a screen set by Mort Gilner, or heardAlan Carp’s primal scream after he scored.

They weren’t there when LennyWeinglass would arrive to play an early-morn-ing league game in his bell-bottoms and pro-ceed to score 30 points. They didn’t hear SamAppel, Lenny Schechter, Jeff Schechter, JoeArgentine, or Randy Feinberg getting on theofficials. It was ironic that Randy later officiat-ed in the league. They never saw MiltonFinkelstein and George Lipton expertly offici-ate a game or hear Barry Berman whistle athree-second violation in the closing secondsof a game.

They were never on Stan Sobel’s team. Hewas an expert in selecting players and couldcome up with a strategy to kill time while hisbest player sat out his four consecutive min-utes. They didn’t sit in on the captain’s meet-ings with Steve Gruenhut, Stan Sobel, and HalKrafchick, during which the team you draftedcould be changed after the first exhibitiongame.

They missed watching Joel Felner’s pic-ture-perfect jump shot or Stu Heller’s fadeaway or Mark Hoffman and Bobby Hyman’sdeadly shot from the corner or the energy andintensity Seth Kirshenbaum, Tom Fox, andBob Feldberg brought to every game. Theydidn’t hear Howard Hoffman’s running com-mentary as the game was played. They didn’ttry to guard Ray Taratoot as he dribbled out theclock during the last minute of a game. Theynever saw Marty Berger or Vic Romano trying

to guard Howie Frushtick. They never playedon teams with names like Salamis, Blintzes,Kugels, Kvetchers, or Latkes.

They missed seeing Randy Tracy’s bankshot, Ronnie Winston’s fallaway, JimmyBurdine’s left-hand jumper, Mark Jacobsen hit-ting from the top of the key, or Pete Rosen andGlen Feeley’s shot from way back behind theirheads. They didn’t see the all-around good playof Phil Medintz, Michael Weiner, and MarshallDinerman or the athletic ability of Kenny Kleinand David Plummer.

I am aware that there are still a number ofguys who played years ago and are playingtoday. There is Jeff Kess, the perennial captainand past commissioner, who can still expertlyhandle the ball and shoot the three. Jay Empeland Larry Leibross can still score in the 40+League. Howard Wertheimer has a great gameand can shoot a bank shot that Sam Jones andTim Duncan would be proud of. Jerry Bendaand Jim Schwartz can play with the youngguys in the 18+ league and Mike Davis is stillsetting picks and getting rebounds. Vic Sonsinohas a three-point shot that gets better over time.Robin Sherman still needs a haircut and playsall bandaged up. And, of course, George Wiseand Ray Blaze may never quit. So, there are afew “old timers” still playing, and I’m glad I’mone of them.

IN REMEMBRANCE. One of the toughthings about getting old is learning about thedeaths of men you’ve played ball with over theyears. In recent months, Morris Benveniste andJerry Sobelson passed away. Morris was a pastpresident of the AJCC and played basketball inthe Men’s League back in the ‘60s and ‘70s. Hewas a team captain for many years and an all-around nice guy.

I played softball with Jerry Sobelson inthe ‘60s and ‘70s. I always remember him

pitching a doubleheader every Sunday in thesummer sun with his shirt off. He was a goodpitcher, and his curve ball always broke overthe plate at the last second.

THE CHANGING TIMES. Since this columnhas featured the past, I thought it would be funto recall how JCC basketball has changed overthe years.

Remember those basketball shorts weused to wear that came to about mid-thigh?Now, if they don’t hang below your knees,you’re out of style. And how about the shoes?They used to be Converse Chuck Taylor All-Stars, but now there are dozens of brands tochoose from and a variety of styles within eachbrand. I dare you to find two guys wearing thesame brand and style of shoes during the game.I still haven’t found a pair that helps me jumpany higher.

And how about the way you congratulatea guy after a nice play? It went from a hand-shake, to a high five, to a hand slap, to a fingersnap, to a fist bump, to who knows what will benext. When I try to high five, I usually miss theother guy’s hand.

We wear knee braces, arm pads, mouthguards, and wristbands to prevent injuries. Butthere are still no guarantees you won’t get hurt.

And last but not least is the inclusion ofthe three-point shot. When I was a kid, if youshot from that distance, you were benched.Now, if you don’t take the three and settle forthe two, something’s wrong.

In spite of all this, the basketball goal isstill 10 feet from the floor, the foul line is still15 feet from the goal, and the team who scoresthe most points wins. And that’s what reallycounts.

Hope you enjoyed this column. Until thenext time, drive for the bucket and score.

Page 26 THE JEWISH GEORGIAN May-June 2009

JerrySchwartz

BY

Schwartz on Sports

The first time I saw Larry Frank playfootball, it was in Sanford Stadium, home ofthe University of Georgia Bulldogs. It wasearly October, 1955.

My dad, may his soul rest in peace, and Iwere on our way to New York to see theYankees battle the old Brooklyn Dodgers. Wesaw Carl Erskine set a new World Seriesstrikeout record, and he and Johnny Podresshut down the Yankees to win their first WorldSeries.

But this is not about the Dodgers; thisis about what we saw in Sanford Stadium.Larry Frank put on an unbelievable show. Henot only backed up the middle of theVanderbilt line, but he made tackles all overthe field.

The announcer kept saying “tackled byFrank.... tackled by Frank.... tackled byFrank.” Frank kept running down Bulldogs allafternoon. And the announcer kept saying,“Harper the ball carrier, tackled by Frank....

Davis the ball carrier, tackled by Frank....Harper’s pass, intended for Orr, broken up byFrank.”

And so it was with Mr. Frank, a suredefender who enjoyed hitting the oppositionwith full force.

Today, Frank is retired after building atremendously successful chemical and manu-facturing business, NiagaraNational. He built his businessas he did his football career,giving 100% effort, 100% ofthe time. In football, you don’tplay hard some of the time;you play hard on every play,and that is what Frank did—first at Atlanta’s Grady HighSchool and then at VanderbiltUniversity.

He earned the respect andadmiration of his teammates,so much so that he was elect-ed co-captain of the GradyKnights and co-captain of theVanderbilt Commodores.

The late Charlie Roberts, dean of Atlantaprep sports writers, wrote this about Frank’splay in the Grady High-Smith High footballgame: “Larry Frank, a lad with the heart of alion, strength of an ox, and tenacity of a bull-

dog, breathed fire into the dying embers ofGrady offense and lighted the victory torchthat singed the Smithies, 12-6.”

Playing both ways, Frank was a terror ondefense and a stellar runner on offense, carry-ing the ball 23 times for 164 yards, better thanseven yards per carry.

Frank could have had his pick of mostany college in the Southeast.He wanted to chooseGeorgia, but his dad hadother schools on his mind.Vandy was one of them.

At Vandy, Frank was noless a star than he was atGrady, earning All-Southeastern Conferencehonors. He was named to theSouth All-Star team for theannual college North-Southgame but had to decline,since his Vandy team wasplaying in the Gator Bowl,which coincided with theAll-Star game. He played 55

of the 60 minutes in the Gator Bowl andhelped lead his team to a 25-13 victory.

Today, at age 75, Frank works with hisson Isaac in the real estate business. He soldNiagara National three years ago. Joshua is 42

years old. Larry and his wife, Lois, have twoother children; Adam, age 30, is a rabbi wholives in Israel, and Aaron, age 38, teaches lawat the University of San Francisco. The boyshave inherited some of Frank’s athleticprowess. Adam lettered in basketball and foot-ball at Riverwood High, making the GreaterAtlanta All-Star team as a running back infootball. At Emory, he was captain of the bas-ketball team. Aaron earned a berth on theArizona State University wrestling team.

Larry and the boys do not have all thefamily honors. His wife, Lois, has been in theforefront of the Atlanta Jewish community foryears. She serves on the board of MAZONand is a national vice president of AmericanJewish Committee. She has also served as anational chair of the Jewish Council for PublicAffairs and the Jewish Coalition for Literacy,served on the Georgia Juvenile JusticeCommission, and was president of Women’sPhilanthropies of the Jewish Federation ofGreater Atlanta. She has received the NationalConference for Community and Justice Award(Conference of Christians and Jews) in 2002and the Selig Distinguished Service Awardfrom the Atlanta American Jewish Committeein 1999.

Larry Frank, a success on the gridiron and in life

GeneAsher

BY

Larry Frank,a Vandy superstar

May-June 2009 THE JEWISH GEORGIAN Page 27

Paul Root Wolpe, Ph.D., director ofthe Emory Center for Ethics, hasbeen appointed to the Raymond F.

Schinazi Distinguished Research Chair inJ e w i s hBioethics. Theappointment, inthe Departmentof Pediatrics ofE m o r yU n i v e r s i t ySchool ofMedicine, wase f f e c t i v eFebruary 1.

The RaymondF. SchinaziDistinguishedResearch Chair

in Jewish Bioethics honors Raymond F.Schinazi, Ph.D., D.Sc., professor of pedi-atrics at Emory and the Frances WinshipWalters Chair in Pediatrics. The Chairreflects Schinazi’s longtime support of theDepartment of Pediatrics and his interest inJewish studies. Schinazi, who graciouslyagreed to fund this new chair, is a co-inven-tor of several of the world’s most success-ful drugs used to fight HIV/AIDS infec-tion.

Wolpe received his doctorate in med-

ical sociology from Yale University in1986. He was on the faculty at theUniversity of Pennsylvania until hisrecruitment to Emory in 2008. In additionto his new appointment, Wolpe also is theAsa Griggs Candler Professor of Bioethics,professor of medicine in the EmoryUniversity School of Medicine, professorin Emory’s Graduate Department ofReligion, and adjunct professor in theEmory College Department of Sociology.

A past president of the AmericanSociety for Bioethics and Humanities, thenational professional organization forscholars in bioethics and the medicalhumanities, Wolpe also is a co-editor of theAmerican Journal of Bioethics, the premierscholarly journal in bioethics. He alsoserves on the editorial boards of more thana dozen professional journals in medicineand ethics. He is the bioethics consultant tothe National Aeronautics and SpaceAdministration (NASA), where he servedas the agency’s first chief of bioethics from2001 to 2007. Wolpe is one of the few non-physicians to be elected a fellow of theCollege of Physicians of Philadelphia, thecountry’s oldest medical society, and is thefirst national bioethics advisor to thePlanned Parenthood Association ofAmerica.

Emory names Paul Root Wolpe to newSchinazi Chair in Jewish Bioethics

Paul Root Wolpe

Many years ago, Rabbi ArnoldGoodman, then of AhavathAchim Synagogue, gave a sermon

loosely titled “People in the Field”—refer-ring to those non-family, non-teacher indi-viduals who could change your life, if onlyyou had a mindset to welcome their influ-ence.

Arnall Golden Gregory, one ofAtlanta’s large law firms, developed itsIsrael Business Team in no small part due toShelly Rabinovitch, an exceptional Israeliattorney who showed up at our offices fouryears ago. Shelly was hired for her legalability, yet her passion and resolve movedour attorneys to start a team focused on in-bound, Israeli-oriented business—realestate, corporate, litigation, intellectualproperty, and immigration.

Whether measured on a scale of friend-ships or deal flow, we are very pleased withour progress. While we do not think thatDelta started its non-stop service to TelAviv to accommodate Shelly, the existenceof that service has been influential in teach-ing Israelis about Atlanta and the Southeast.

This has been exceedingly useful to every-one who has been interested in growingthese beneficial relationships.

Focusing on real estate and our foodindustry practice, three of our attorneys willbe in Israel in June: myself; Phil Skinner, areal estate partner at Arnall Golden Gregoryand a member of the real estate committeeof the International Bar Association; andAlan Minsk, a partner in our food industrypractice group. We have made over a dozentrips to Israel in the last four years, in addi-tion to Shelly’s multiple trips and the trav-els of Bob Rothman, partner, and ShermanCohen, partner.

Sherman’s trip was with GeorgiaGovernor Perdue; Bob, who made his tripduring his tenure as chair of the AmericanBar Association’s Litigation Section, spokewith the Tel Aviv Bar Association, to BarIlan University, and to a half dozen lawfirms. We have truly been heartened by ourreception, as well as by the warmth shownus by the Israeli attorneys we have encoun-tered.

We all know that many Atlantans areconsummate volunteers. We, in formulatingthese trips, have been very fortunate to beassisted by a number of Atlanta groups, theAmerican-Israel Chamber of Commerceand Jewish National Fund to name but two.Similarly, we have been able to obtain sig-nificant information from the State ofGeorgia.

On each trip, we work with Israeliattorneys, investors, lenders, and insurers—an exceedingly creative group of people.Our Israeli friends have a mentality differ-ent from ours, seeing the entire world astheir market. They do not solely invest inany one market; rather, they invest in mar-kets that provide predictable results, balanc-ing risk and reward. Today, many of theseinvestors equate our reduced real estateprices and improved currency exchangeswith new opportunities in the United States.

In January of 2008, Arnall GoldenGregory was one of five sponsors of a realestate equity conference in Tel Aviv. Theconference, hosted by our friends atProfimex, a large Israeli real estate firm,attracted over 1,000 people, sophisticatedinvestors, many of whom were investingglobally. In today’s market, many of theseinvestors feel even more positive about realestate investment in the United States, hard-ly a surprise given the analysis that unfold-ed.

The Israeli investor very much under-stands distressed real estate issues, thepotential risks and rewards of distresseddebt. In fact, we have been able to introducemany of our Israeli clients and friends toour similar contacts in the United States.Given that English is hardly a problem andthat the seven-hour time difference rarelyhampers the discussion, these introductionshave been meaningful, both in terms of dealflow and relationship building. Many of ourAmerican contacts have, in fact, had con-crete business meetings when visitingIsrael.

Today’s credit crisis is hardly over. Asmore loans mature, new sources of financ-ing will be required. Fortunately, the recentboom in the Israeli economy has left many

investors in a cash-positive position, moneythat will look even more aggressively forinvestment opportunities in the UnitedStates. As our economy has slowed, thepace of our introductions has increased.Recently, we introduced Israeli equity toone of our existing clients. While a chupawas not used, a deal was consummated, andI am confident that there will be many moresimilar deals in the future.

At the inception of this project, Shellyclearly explained to us that Israelis expectdependability and reliability and that thissimply could not be obtained in one or twomeetings. How right she has been. We arenow met with the question, “When will webe back?”, and we always have the answer.While the Israeli investor may, in fact, be abit more impatient than typical U.S.investors, all other characteristics remainvery similar. One needs to be professional,responsive, and dependable. Our upcomingJune trip will be followed by a trip inJanuary.

In sum, with Shelly’s continued help,we at Arnall Golden Gregory seem to bewell ahead of the curve, focusing on inter-national work, both inbound and outbound,attracting new equity for our clients, intro-ducing us to a bevy of exceedingly brightand creative people and companies. This isentirely compatible with our firm’s cross-border practice, one that incorporates ourreal estate practice group with the otherstrong disciplines of the firm.

Rabbi Goodman was right; Shelly isthat person “in the field” as relates to ArnallGolden Gregory. The pace of our progresshas been remarkable, and, despite theuneven economy, we are confident that thisprogress will continue.

Page 28 THE JEWISH GEORGIAN May-June 2009

Abe Schear

BY

A law firm’s focus on Israel-oriented business is a satisfying experience

Bruce Jackson, partner, Arnall Golden Gregory; Reda Mansour, consul gen-eral of Israel to the Southeast; Juval Aviv, president, Interfor; Stacy Hyken,associate, Arnall Golden Gregory; Shelly Rabinovitch, associate, ArnallGolden Gregory; and Abe Schear, partner, Arnall Golden Gregory

On April 23, the CongregationShearith Israel seniors groupembarked on another of its educa-

tional tours, visiting the Tellus NorthwestGeorgia Science Museum. This beautifulmuseum is located in Cartersville, Georgia,which is also the home of the famous BoothWestern Art Museum. It’s hard to believethat a community the size of Cartersvillecould boast two wonderful museums, butyou have to visit them to fully appreciatewhat they offer.

Tellus is a world-class, 120,000-square-foot museum featuring four maingalleries: the Weinman Mineral Gallery, theFossil Gallery, Science in Motion, and theCollins Family My Big Backyard. There isalso a 120-seat digital planetarium that cur-rently has a presentation on the beginningsof our planet earth. All these attractions arehoused on one floor in the main building.

There is also an adjacent observatoryhousing a state-of-the-art 20-inch telescope.Museum guests can view the heavens inreal time while sitting in the planetarium, asit is electronically connected to the obser-vatory.

The layout of the Tellus allows easyaccess to each of the galleries. Some of theexhibitions have interactive and hands-ondisplays, along with video presentations.Upon arrival, museum-goers can view amovie that previews what they will see asthey tour and explains how the Tellus cameinto being.

The seniors group was met at the muse-um’s entrance by Mr. Herschel Wisebramand his wife, Ruth, long-time Cartersvilleresidents who are ardent supporters of boththe Booth and Tellus museums.

Herschel Wisebram greets arrivingShearith Israel seniors at the TellusMuseum entrance.

Mr. Wisebram, a retired Cartersvilleradio station owner, helped raise the fundsto build both facilities. He briefed the groupbefore the tour and explained that docentswould be glad to answer questions and seeto the comfort of the visitors. He pointedout the beautiful setting of the Tellus, a

landscape of trees, shrubs, and flowers thatwere in all their spring splendor that day.He said that the Tellus was a green facilityand pointed out the solar panels that sup-plied all the electrical energy needed toheat, light, and cool the building, as well aspower the observatory. Although the Tellusis a new facility, there will be an addition byyear’s end.

The Tellus explores the past, present,and future. There’s something of interest forfolks of all ages. Young schoolchildren takeclasses to learn about the beginnings of lifeon earth and marvel at over 40 full-sizedinosaurs and deep-sea monsters that werecapable of devouring killer whales.

The Tellus’s director, Jose Santamaria,said he was constantly amazed at the abilityof school children to absorb all the subjectmatter available at the museum. At the rearof the exhibits are classrooms for lecturesand projects. Budding scientists can gethands-on experience through interactivescience experiments. The S.I. group wasespecially impressed with the large groupsof school children in the galleries. Theyoungsters were well behaved and spell-bound by what they saw.

Being an aviation buff, I was impressedwith the Science in Motion gallery. Uponentering the gallery, I was taken with a full-scale replica of the Wright Brothers’ firstairplane. There was also a real Bell helicop-ter, as well as exhibitions about the spaceage, including the actual Apollo capsulethat three astronauts perished in while onthe test ramp.

Full-size Wright Brothers airplanereplica in the Science in Motiongallery

Since the mining of minerals and semi-precious stones played a significant role inthe growth Cartersville, it is natural that theTellus has a Mineral Gallery that featuressparkling gems and minerals from all overthe world.

The Tellus also boasts a beautiful giftshop that features items related to the fourgalleries and a dining room offering mealsand snacks.

As our group prepared to board our busback to Atlanta, several people asked howthe museum got its name. We learned thatthe staff had a naming contest, and Telluswas chosen because it was the name of theancient Roman goddess of the earth. Later,it was noted that the name is also a play on

words. We agreed that it was appropriate,because we had certainly been told andshown wonders of the earth through the gal-leries of the Tellus Museum.

Cartersville isn’t stopping with its twomuseums; a history museum will open bythe end of the year. If you haven’t been toCartersville to visit its museums, you willcertainly find a trip there a great experiencefor all ages.

The Tellus Fossil dig gives visitorsthe opportunity to uncover thebones of an ancient dinosaur andfind a fossil to take home.

Two young visitors look at the peri-odic table in the Weinman MineralGallery. The table is filled with exam-ples of the uses of all the elements,making it a great learning tool.

The Tellus Great Hall features thisApatosaurus, one of the largestdinosaurs to walk the Earth.

May-June 2009 THE JEWISH GEORGIAN Page 29

Tellus told us and showed us

LeonSocol

BY

Since the Second World War, the cityof Dachau has been known for thetragedies that occurred under the

Third Reich. But prior to the atrocities ofthe late 1930s and early 1940s, it was hometo a burgeoning artist colony judged to bethe equivalent of the one at Barbizon,France.

Two groundbreaking exhibitions, ondisplay at the Oglethorpe UniversityMuseum of Art (OUMA) through August30, contrast these profoundly differentaspects of Dachau.

OUMA Director Lloyd Nick spent sixyears putting together “Dachau BeforeDachau: European Artist Colony 1860-1914.” The first U.S. exhibition of workfrom this colony, it is a rare collection ofworks from various artists who shaped thisinspiring and often-overlooked period.Forty-five artists, from several countries,created the over 50 paintings exhibited.Dachau, once an agricultural, rural site,inspired the artists to paint its natural beau-ty. As a result, the majority of paintings in“Dachau Before Dachau” are landscapes.

Guests at the opening reception areentranced by the beautiful paintingsin the “Dachau Before Dachau” exhi-bition

Simultaneously, the museum is exhibit-ing “Dachau Concentration Camp: Years ofDestruction 1933-1945.” This exhibitionconsists of 15 panels describing the devel-opment of the concentration camp and thecruelty that occurred at Dachau. It empha-sizes the fragility of art when faced withinhumanity.

During the planning of “Dachau BeforeDachau,” Dachau Mayor Peter Bürgel wasconcerned that the exhibition might be per-ceived as an attempt to whitewash the morerecent history of the city. It was this con-cern, in part, that led to the creation of thesecond exhibition.

“As a site of remembrance, Dachauactively confronts its history.... Yet Dachauwas and is also a city of culture, “ writesMayor Bürgel in the exhibition catalogue.“In the coming years, by means of a travel-ing exhibition in English, Dachau wouldlike to introduce itself internationally as aplace of commemoration and culture. In theprocess, it will decidedly not use culture asa means of distracting from the city’s histo-ry. On the contrary: the city of Dachauwants to show how important the interplayof commemoration and culture is for apeaceful and open world.”

Although Nick had hoped to include

other venues in the project, it was ultimate-ly decided that Oglethorpe would be the siteof both exhibitions. “It really works outbeautifully, showing the two extremes,”said Nick. He likened it to “a macrocosm ofourselves: the best and the worst that wecan be. “

Dachau Mayor Peter Bürgel (left)talking with Museum Director LloydNick at the Oglethorpe UniversityMuseum of Art

The idea for the “Dachau BeforeDachau” exhibition had its beginnings in2005, when OUMA mounted“Masterpieces from European ArtistsColonies, 1830-1930,” which includedthree works from the Dachau colony.

In 2007, Nick went to Dachau to selectthe paintings for the exhibition. He firstlooked at holdings catalogues that con-tained 1,000 images. “From that, I nar-rowed the group down to about 100,” saidNick. “Then, the 100 were pulled out ofstorage, and I narrowed the group down to50.” His goal was to come up with a repre-sentative sampling of work, while maintain-ing the highest standards for quality.

Henri Gogaten (1850-1911),Untergehende Sonne in winterlichermooslandschaft (Sunset on theWinter’s Marsh), 1894, oil on canvas,20” x 26”

OUMA has a relatively small budget,but was able to pull off this ambitious proj-ect due to the generosity of others.Lufthansa Cargo shipped the 16 crates ofartwork, and European grants supported theproduction of two catalogues, one for each

exhibition, which were designed and pub-lished in-house.

—————To prepare Oglethorpe students for the

exhibitions, faculty endeavored to weave asmuch relevant information into their classesas possible. In October, Rose Cunningham,organizer of Oglethorpe University’s non-credit evening foreign-language program,spoke to students about her experiences as ayoung Jewish girl who found herself in sim-ilar circumstances to those of Anne Frankand her family. Cunningham, a French citi-zen, escaped the concentration camps byfleeing to Cuba.

In November, students traveled toWashington, D.C., to visit the HolocaustMuseum. And, after reading and discussingThe Diary of Anne Frank in the classroom,they attended a performance of the play atthe Renaissance Project, a theater in SouthDeKalb.

“Art can speak to us across borders eth-nic, religious, and linguistic; art can tran-scend, and art can heal,” writes ChlöeEdwards, acting president of the OglethorpeUniversity Jewish Student Union, in the

school newspaper, The Stormy Petrel. I, forone, would like to use the art of Dachau torecall a Germany not synonymous withhatred, a Germany scented with oils and tur-pentine instead of Zyklon B, and I would liketo use that recollection to look forward to theGermany of today, where every generationmust come to terms with the actions of itsancestors. They will be the insurance againsta second Holocaust, and to bury them alivebeneath the guilt of the first will sow thesame seeds that Hitler brought to fruition.”

—————“Because of the impact of the camp,

there has been very little to no research doneon the Dachau artist colony of the 19th cen-tury,” said Nick. “Historians in Europe thatI’ve contacted say that Dachau’s artistcolony rivals Barbizon’s in quality of art-work. So, this exhibition is a real find for19th-century specialists.... Everyone whohas come to seem them believe that these aremajor art and historical exhibitions forAtlanta.”

Page 30 THE JEWISH GEORGIAN May-June 2009

Two exhibitions at Oglethorpe present a complex picture of Dachau

The following essay is from the catalogueDachau Before Dachau: European ArtistColony 1860-1914.

This exhibition had its beginnings inAhrenshoop, Germany, a picturesque for-mer artists’ colony on the shores of theBaltic Sea. In the fall of 2003 at the annu-al EuroArt meeting, I was asked toaddress the 150 attending delegates anddiscuss Atlanta’s plans for a first-time-ever major EuroArt exhibition in the U.S.At the end of the assembly, DachauMayor Peter Bürgel and Director of theCity Museum of Dachau Elisabeth Boserintroduced themselves and handed me alarge book with over 1,000 images ofpaintings, tracing the history of theDachau Artist Colony. Their plea was toinclude their colony in the blockbusterEuroArt exhibition, “Masterpieces fromEuropean Artist Colonies, 1830–1930from Public & Private European ArtCollections,” which OglethorpeUniversity Museum of Art (OUMA) inAtlanta premiered in the spring of 2005.

That evening, I reviewed the volumeof the artwork created during the period1860–1914. The events of World War Ihad unfortunately ended this decidedlyinspired colony where artists from vari-

ous countries came to live and paint. Thenext day, I told the two honored represen-tatives that in addition to includingDachau’s artists’ colony in this groupexhibition, we should plan to have anexhibition solely focused on this mostlyunknown colony. The construction of thenow infamous concentration camp builtin the vicinity of Dachau in the 1930s hadcompletely overshadowed the artists’colony recognized to be Barbizon’sequivalent in Germany. At the time,Barbizon was a day trip from Paris, andDachau was about the same distance fromMunich.

The idea of the 19th-century artists’colonies was to allow artists the freedomto create outside of large, bustlingEuropean cities and away from the stressof urban life. The communion with thebeauty of the countryside became anelixir and foundation of 20th-centurymodern art in the West. The artists camelong distances to the meditative pastoralenvironment to learn from an awe-inspir-ing teacher—nature.

This exhibition also introducesanother underlying theme—destructionand war can easily inundate and almostsweep away the fragility of creativity.“Almost” is used because the artworkfrom this once-cherished area is finallyexhibited at OUMA in the exhibition,“Dachau Before Dachau: European ArtistColony, 1860–1914.”

Lloyd Nick is director of the OglethorpeUniversity Museum of Art.

About “Dachau Before Dachau”

LloydNick

BY

See DACHAU page 34

May-June 2009 THE JEWISH GEORGIAN Page 31

Page 32 THE JEWISH GEORGIAN May-June 2009

May-June 2009 THE JEWISH GEORGIAN Page 33

In the waning hours of the 2009 GeneralAssembly, some funding for Georgia’sNaturally Occurring Retirement

Communities program was reinstated in thestate budget. Previously in the session, 60%of NORC funding (totaling $575,000) wascut from Georgia’s budget.

While substantially less than in yearspast, this funding for both fiscal years 2009and 2010 marks a major victory for sup-porters of the Jewish Federation of GreaterAtlanta’s program.

“The fact that a total of $87,500 forNORC stayed in the budget will help usthrough the next 15 months and put us in agood position to get more funding in thefuture,” Federation President Steve Rakittsaid.

In August 2008, Federation officialslearned that the entire line item for theGeorgia NORC initiative was to bedecreased because of statewide budget cuts.Responding to the potential crisis,Federation enlisted community-wide sup-

port to convince legislators of the impor-tance of the program.

“We felt very good about the budgetitems and thankful that legislators recog-nized the value of this particular program.This is a wonderful vote of confidence fromthe General Assembly,” said Rusty Paul,lobbyist for Federation.

Legislators added $12,500 back to the2009 fiscal year budget and added $75,000to the 2010 budget to support NORC. Thisoccurred at a time that the state budget hadto be cut by almost $4 billion.

The goal of the Georgia Naturally

Occurring Retirement Communities(NORC) initiative is to help support olderadults in the community so they can remainin their homes for as long as possible andavoid premature institutionalization. Theproject is based on community-level inter-vention designed to reduce service frag-mentation and create healthy, integratedcommunities.

Naturally Occurring RetirementCommunity is a demographic term used todescribe a community not originally builtfor seniors, but that now counts seniors as asignificant proportion of its residents.

Left to right: Oglethorpe PresidentLawrence Schall, Deputy GermanConsul Sönke Lorenz, Israeli ConsulGeneral Reda Mansour, MuseumDirector Lloyd Nick, and DachauMayor Peter Bürgel commemoratethe opening of the historic exhibit.

OUMA is located on the campus of

Oglethorpe University, 4484 PeachtreeRoad N. E. Hours are 12:00 noon-5:00p.m., Tuesday-Sunday; the museum willbe closed July 3-6. Admission is $5. Foradditional information, visit http://muse-um.oglethorpe.edu or call 404-364-8555.

Page 34 THE JEWISH GEORGIAN May-June 2009

From page 30Dachau

Atlanta area Jewish teens were hon-ored on Sunday, April 26, at GreaterAtlanta Hadassah’s 18th Annual

Hadassah Chesed Student Awards Program.The Chesed Awards have been given annu-ally since 1992 to teens who exemplifymany of the values and ideals that are ofparamount importance to the Hadassahorganization and its members.

The ceremony was held atCongregation Or Hadash at the WeberSchool in Atlanta. Rabbi Mario Karpuj wasthe guest speaker. Chesed Award recipientsreceived a Hadassah paperweight and cer-tificate.

This year’s recepients are: Joshua

Cohen, Congregation Etz Chaim; AidelCohen, Torah Day School; Sophie Dezen,Congregation Shearith Israel; AllisonFisher, Congregation Beth Shalom; JamieGottlieb, Temple Sinai; Allen Grau,Greenfield Hebrew Academy; DanielGreene, Temple Kehillat Chaim; EthanGuthman, Temple Kol Emeth; RebeccaKahn, Ahavath Achim Synagogue; MarkLindemann, Temple Emanu-El; ElanaMarks, The Weber School; AdamRosenfeld, Congregation Or Hadash;Jeremy Segal, Temple Beth Tikvah; JakeShulman, Congregation Dor Tamid; EvaSteinberg, The Epstein School; BenjaminSteinheimer, The Temple; Ruchoma

Tendler, Temima High School for Girls; andHannah Young, Temple Beth David.

Chesed is a Hebrew word meaning anact of kindness. Students in grades 7-12 areeligible to receive the Chesed Award; onestudent per year from each Atlanta areaJewish day school and synagogue religiousschool is honored.

Selection criteria for the Chesed Awardinclude love for Israel, concern for Jewsand Jewish culture and heritage, concern forfellow human beings as exemplifiedthrough manner and deed, and acceptableacademic standing.

Greater Atlanta Hadassah honors Jewish teens at Annual Chesed Student Awards Program

Funding for Naturally Occurring Retirement Communities stays in state budget

While substantially less than in years past, thisfunding for both fiscal years 2009 and 2010 marks

a major victory for supporters of the JewishFederation of Greater Atlanta’s program.

May-June 2009 THE JEWISH GEORGIAN Page 35

JEWISH YOUTH IMPROVING THEWORLD. More than 400 Jewish youth inAtlanta participated in J-Serve, a nationalday of community service and improve-ment projects on April 26, 1:00-6:00 pm.

Cory Maran (12th grade, The GallowaySchool); Tammy Bronstein (10th grade,Riverwood High School); Nick Myers(10th grade, Centennial High School); andZoe Beiner (11th grade, The WeberSchool), coordinated J-Serve Atlanta 2009.

J-Serve Chairs (from left) CoryMaran, Tammy Bronstein, NickMyers, and Zoe Beiner (Photo:MJCCA)

This year’s theme was the “home,”encompassing everything and everyone init. From working at Chastain Park topreparing meals in area homeless shelters,teens saw first-hand how their actions havea direct impact on our city’s future.

The Marcus Jewish Community Centerof Atlanta (MJCCA) partnered with B’naiB’rith Youth Organization (BBYO), theJewish Student Union, Congregation B’naiTorah, North American Federation ofTemple Youth (NFTY), and Maccabi Team

Atlanta in an unprecedented effort to reachout to metro Atlanta teens. The Jewish idealof Tikun Olam—repairing the world—wasan underlying theme of this project.

Atlanta J-Serve 2009 projects includedworking with such organizations as theChastain Park Conservancy and ProjectOpen Hand, cooking for the Open DoorCommunity, and more.

After the service projects were com-pleted, participants from all of the varioussites came together at Zaban Park for a clos-ing ceremony to reflect on the day’s physi-cal and spiritual components and how theytied together. Community service certifi-cates were given out, and an appreciationcelebration and barbecue concluded theday.

NEW HOLOCAUST MEMORIAL GAR-DEN. Since his days as a prisoner in Naziconcentration camps, Holocaust survivorAbe Besser dreamed of creating a memori-al so that the Holocaust would never be for-gotten. On March 15, Mr. Besser’s dreamcame one step closer to reality as he and hiswife, Marlene Gelernter Besser, along withfamily, friends, and MJCCA officials, brokeground on what will be the Abe BesserHolocaust Memorial Garden. Located onthe MJCCA Zaban Park campus, the gardenis slated for completion in early November2009.

Following the blessing by RabbiHillel A. Norry (far right) ofCongregation Shearith Israel,Marlene Gelernter Besser (left), AbeBesser, and MJCCA President SherieB. Gumer prepare to break groundon the Abe Besser HolocaustMemorial Garden. (Photo: HeidiMorton)

The Abe Besser Holocaust MemorialGarden will feature nine sculptures byrenowned sculptor Dee Clements, in addi-tion to a nir tamid (eternal flame). Thesculptures will depict different aspects ofJewish life before, during, and after theHolocaust. Throughout the garden, seatingwill allow people the opportunity to sharemeals and meditate. Mr. Besser’s gift to thecommunity includes an endowment thatwill ensure the Memorial Garden’s futureupkeep.

MJCCA CEO/Executive DirectorMichael D. Wise (left) views the newHolocaust Memorial signage withMarlene Gelernter Besser and AbeBesser. (Photo: Heidi Morton)

Mr. Besser said he created the garden“so that the present generation of childrenand all future generations of children willbe educated on the horrors of theHolocaust.”

The architect of the Abe Besser

Holocaust Memorial Garden is StanleyDaniels of Jova/Daniels/Busby. The build-ing committee is co-chaired by Joseph A.Rubin and Douglas Kuniansky and includesmembers Robert Arogeti, Abe Besser, andMJCCA Governance Board Co-chairsHarry Maziar and Jack Halpern.

Jova/Daniels/Busby’s rendering ofthe Abe Besser Holocaust MemorialGarden

MJCCA NEWS

Cory Maran helps clean up thebanks of the Chattahoochee River.(Photo: MJCCA)

Page 36 THE JEWISH GEORGIAN May-June 2009

PROGRESSIVE NEW PARTNERSHIP.Jewish Family & Career Services(JF&CS) has embarked on a different kindof partnership that will broaden its servic-es to the local music industry. MusiCares,a national organization established by TheRecording Academy, best known for theGrammy Awards, has chosen JF&CS’ BenMassell Dental Clinic to serve uninsuredmusic professionals. On April 21, qualify-ing applicants in the industry receiveddental screenings, teeth cleaning, andcomplete X-rays free of charge.

Established in 1989, MusiCares pro-vides a safety net for music people intimes of need. The Ben Massell DentalClinic (BMDC) in Midtown Atlanta pro-vides free comprehensive dental care tomore than 6,000 indigent individuals inthe metro area each year.

“This is a new kind of relationship forBen Massell,” said Gary Miller, chiefexecutive officer of JF&CS. “It’s the firsttime we have the honor of engaging in acontractual arrangement that includes afinancial component. This will allow us tooffer significant resources to a communityin need.”

MusiCares has similar partnershipswith dental clinics in other cities.

Those wishing to take advantage of

the BMDC service must be able to docu-ment their work in the music industry forat least five years or have credited contri-butions to six commercially releasedrecordings or videos. MusiCares is opento not only musicians, but anyone who hasworked in the industry—engineers, pro-ducers, songwriters, record label employ-ees, publishers, and others. The organiza-tion accepts a variety of documentationand works with individuals to help themobtain needed documents. “We err on theside of generosity and want to be able tohelp where we are needed,” said DebbieCarroll, executive director of MusiCares.

To participate in future clinics, appli-cants should contact MusiCares at 615-327-0050 or toll free at 1-877-626-2748.

HELPING THE HOMELESS. JF&CS andthe 24/7 Gateway Homeless ServicesCenter have embarked on a collaborationthat exemplifies a new communitymomentum encouraged by United Way ofMetropolitan Atlanta. Project Connect, a20-year program of JF&CS, which pro-vides case management, counseling, andsupportive services to homeless clients inmetro Atlanta, will transition its opera-tions to the Gateway Center.

By July 1, Project Connect will move

from its current location in the UnitedWay building on Edgewood Avenue to theGateway Center, 275 Pryor Street, whereit will continue to provide intensive case-management services.

“We see this as a win-win for bothorganizations and their clients,” says GaryMiller, chief executive officer for JF&CS,“because the clients will have greateraccess to critical services, all of which arenecessary to address the escalating needsand numbers of homeless individuals.”

Vince Smith, executive director forthe Gateway Center, said, “ProjectConnect enjoys great respect in the com-munity and the common emphasis on casemanagement makes the combination anatural for Gateway. We also believe wewill benefit from JF&CS’ sophisticateddata management system and operationalexpertise.”

JF&CS, a nonsectarian, nonprofit,human services agency founded in 1890,provides more than 40 programs rangingfrom adoption to older adult services tothe metropolitan Atlanta community. The24/7 Gateway Homeless Services Centeris the centerpiece of the United WayRegional Commission on Homelessness’efforts to end chronic homelessness by2013. The Gateway Center is the point ofentry—the gateway—to the community’scontinuum of care created to help home-less individuals move toward self-suffi-ciency.

The Tasting Co-Chairs Caren andMichael Merlin, Lara and MichaelBalser, and Allison and Dan Fellnertoast the evening. The Tasting,which took place April 2, raised arecord $230,000 for JF&CS’Zimmerman-Horowitz IndependentLiving Program. (Photo: Eric Bern)

Gene Davidson, 2009 Zimmerman-Horowitz Independent LivingProgram season sponsors LindaDavidson and Carol Lazerson, andPearlann Horowitz enjoying a glassof wine. (Photo: Eric Bern)

JF&CS NEWS

See JF&CS page 40

1589 Peachtree Street, NE Atlanta, GA 30309

404-873-1731 www.the-temple.org

Join Our

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SSSSyyyynnnnaaaapppplllleeeexxxx LLLLiiiitttteeeeAtlanta’s Oldest Synagogue – and Newest

Saturday, July 4, 2009 @ The TempleBring a Friend...All Are Welcome

Casual Dress — Wear Red, White & Blue

Doug Cotler—Back by Popular Demand!Doug Cotler is a Grammy Award-winning com-poser and an accomplished singer, songwriter,and musician. No one fuses traditional Jewishmelodies with the power and rhythm of modernpopular music like he does. From young chil-dren to adults, Doug’s music appeals to a widecross-section of music lovers.

➣➣➣ 6:30PM–7:00PM—Unwind with Wine & Beer

➣➣➣ 7:00PM—Fried Chicken DinnerCatered by Mrs. Winners. Veggie option upon request.Members: Adults $10, Children ages 12 & under: $5. Non-members: Adults $15, children ages 12 & under $5. To makeyour reservation by credit card, please call The Temple office(404) 873-1731. No dinner reservations will be accepted afterMonday, June 29th. Tickets will be necessary to enter andcan be picked up at the registration table before dinner.

➣➣➣ 7:30PM—Kid’s Project—2nd-6th gradersChildren will be making spice boxes which will be used duringour Havdalah Service.

➣➣➣ 8:00PM—Americana Song Fest with Doug CotlerConcert on the lawn.

➣➣➣ 9:00PM—Havdalah Service

➣➣➣ 9:00PM—Ice Cream Cart & View Lenox

Fireworks from our Parking DeckPlease bring blankets/lawn chairs. A limited number ofchairs will be set up.

Babysitting for children up to age 5, reservations required.

The weather was unsettled in mid-April, and many were tired of itbeing warm one day and cold the

next. But on April 17, Atlanta enjoyed atrue spring evening, perfect weather for TheTemple’s Teen Concert of Celebration.

Eight Temple confirmation studentsperformed instrumental and vocal selec-tions that included classics, show tunes, andold favorites.

Jody Becker served as the concertchair, and Judith Cole was the pianist.Cantor Deborah Numark acted as mistressof ceremonies, providing introductions forsome of the most talented young musiciansin our city.

Leading off the program was DylanGrien, who played Led Zeppelin’s “Overthe Hills and Far Away” on his electric gui-tar. Dylan began guitar lessons at the age of5. He loves rock & roll and metal; LedZeppelin is one of his favorite bands. Heplayed a solo at his bar mitzvah and has justformed a band with friends that will play acharity concert at The Westminster Schools,where he is a student. Besides being a musi-cian, Dylan is an avid junior golfer; he playson his junior high team and at junior golftournaments throughout the state.

Moe Winograd, a sophomore atCentennial High School, performed“Grave” by Evaristo F. dall’ Abaco,Concerto in E Major (Adagio) by KarlDittersdorf, and Sonata No. 1 (Largo) byAntonio Vivaldi, on the string bass. Moe isthe principal bassist in the CentennialOrchestra; he has performed with theorchestra in Vienna, Prague, and Budapest.Moe is first-chair bass for the 2009 GeorgiaAll State Orchestra. Last year, he performedin concert with fifteen professional bassplayers from around the world in Victoria,British Columbia, Canada. Moe brings anartistry to the bass that is reminiscent of Yo-Yo Ma on the cello.

The concert continued with LaurelMiller, a harpist, who played “Nocturne” byMikhail Glinka and “Guitare” by AlfonseHasselmans. Laurel, who has played theharp since the third grade, is currently a sen-ior at Ben Franklin Academy. Laurel alsoplayed French horn in her middle schoolband and received the “best brass instru-mentalist” award three years in a row.Currently, Laurel is a member of the AtlantaHarp Ensemble and is considering numer-ous scholarships offers to fulfill her plansfor a dual degree in music education andbusiness. Laurel’s lilting renditions on theharp had the audience caught up in themagic of the night.

Taylor Amsler, who has performed inThe Temple’s sanctuary, was happy to giveout with a rousing rendition of Billy Joel’s

“Piano Man.” He has studied piano for thepast eight years and really enjoys playingjazz and blues. He is also a trained singerand has been a member of Paideia School’sMadrigal Chorus for the last five years.Next year, he plans to join the school’s jazzensemble and play piano with other instru-mentalists.

Soprano Catherine Patterson enrichedthe concert with smooth, emotional rendi-tions of “On My Own” from Les Misérables(Alain Boublil/Herbert Kretzmer/Claude-Michel Shoenberg) and “Georgia On MyMind” by Hoagy Carmichael and StuartGorrell. She began singing when shelearned to talk; as a junior at RiverwoodHigh School she continues to do so as amember of the auditioned RiverwoodSingers. She sang with the group at theGeorgia Music Educators Association con-ference last year and this year will travelwith the group to sing at Carnegie Hall.Catherine and her younger sister, Caroline,first sang in public at The Temple, leadingthe Bikat haMazon at the conclusion ofShabbat dinners.

Ben Dean, who has been studying clas-sical guitar since he was nine years old, per-formed an appealing interpretation ofErnesto Lecuona’s “Malaguena.” Ben’sinterests range far beyond playing the guitarand include computer programming andmathematics. An avid reader, he can oftenbe found with a book in his hand when he’snot strumming his guitar.

Logan Kageorge is a sophomore atLakeside High School and is involved inmany award-winning music ensembles,including band, jazz ensemble, marchingband, winter drumline, and District HonorBand. Logan, who is mostly self-taught onpiano, wowed the audience with threeselections—”Strange Meadowlark” and“Everybody’s Jumpin’” by Dave Brubeckand “So What” by Miles Davis—thatshowed his versatility and keyboard agility.He is equally talented on clarinet anddrums. At this year’s confirmation, he plansto perform on the piano and clarinet, as wellas sing and chant Torah.

Katherine Price, the second soprano toperform at the concert, sang “GimmeGimme” from Thoroughly Modern Millie(Elmer Bernstein) and “Astonishing” fromLittle Women (Jason Howland/MindiDickstein). Though short in height,Katherine has a powerful musical stagevoice that rivals the likes of the late, greatEthel Merman. She’s currently a junior atThe Westminster Schools and has studiedvoice for eight years. She participates inthree different school choirs: chorus, an acappella group, and a small select ensem-ble. Last year, she was chosen to participatein a charity talent show hosted by JeffFoxworthy, and this year she played the titlerole in Westminster’s production ofThoroughly Modern Millie. This summer,Katherine plans to attend Stagedoor Manor,a theatrical training camp in upstate NewYork. She has been very active in the lead-ership of her school, serving as a class offi-

cer three times. She rounds out her busyschedule by serving as a madricha (teachingassistant) at The Temple.

The Temple concert performers wererewarded with loud and long applause inappreciation of their musical talents. Anenthusiastic member of the audience was

Mrs. Sig (Billie) Guthman. She and her latehusband donated the beautiful Boston grandpiano that the musicians used in the concert.Sig was a musician in his own right and anart patron. A reception followed in TheTemple’s foyer, where the audience con-gratulated the young musicians.

May-June 2009 THE JEWISH GEORGIAN Page 37

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Young musicians bring added beauty to a spring evening

LeonSocol

BY

The Temple’s talented teen musicians pose after their April Concert ofCelebration. Pictured: (from left) Logan Kageorge, Judy Cole (Templeaccompanist), Ben Dean, Moe Winograd, Cantor Deborah Numark,Catherine Patterson, Katherine Price, Taylor Amsler, and Laurel Miller. Notpictured: Dylan Grien.

By Belle Klavonsky

THE OLYMPIC SPIRIT. GreenfieldHebrew Academy 5th-graders ended theirstudy of ancient Greece with a mockOlympic event at the end of March.Students dressed in togas and transformedthemselves into singers, emperors, poets,runners, and trainers. After several racesand the awards ceremony, everyoneenjoyed a feast of delicious kosher Greekfood. Pictured: (back row, from left)Carmela Horwitz, Meira Zibitt, JakeChesler, and Brett Feldman; (middle row,from left) Abby Berger, Erin Cohen, andMallory Goldenberg; (front row, from left)Alex Moses, Ethan Robinson, and DaurenParker

PUBLISHING PARTY. Authors abound atGHA! Second-graders in classes 2G and 2Hheld their annual Publishing Parties. Eachstudent chose a “small moment” to reviseand illustrate. The students then designedcovers, and the books were bound. The stu-dents celebrated their hard work by invitingparents to the class. The children proudlyread their stories, and the parents thorough-ly enjoyed listening. Pictured: Jo Jo Rinzlerreads her book to the class.

DON’T FORGET TO WRITE. GHA stu-dents in 2nd grade hosted their pen pals

from Charlotte Jewish Day School. The stu-dents from Charlotte hopped on a bus fortheir road trip to Atlanta and stopped byGHA to spend time with their pen pals.Everyone ate lunch, then collaborated on anart project. Later in the afternoon, all thestudents hung out during recess. Photo:GHA students Brad Flory (2nd from left)and Zachary Reismen (3rd from left),flanked by their Charlotte pen pals

A MAGICAL AFTERNOON. Dr. Neil“The Wiz” Baum, father of GHA teacherAlisa Baum, came to Atlanta from NewOrleans for the school’s yearly 3rd-GradeMagic Show. Some students worked asassistants for The Wiz. Everyone loved theshow—especially the trick involving “thehomework pill.” Photo: Liana Slomka andJake Busch assist The Wiz with a magictrick.

COASTER CARS. As part of their new“Vehicles In Motion” unit, GHA 8th-

graders were challenged by teacher DebraTenenbaum to design and test a vehicle thatcould withstand Antarctica’s challengingterrain and weather. The unit focused onfriction and gravity as forces; relationshipsof force, mass, and acceleration; magnitudeand direction of forces; balanced, unbal-anced, and net forces; acceleration; speed;and Newton’s First, Second, and ThirdLaws of Motion. After the students had afinal run of their hand-made cars, EliotSchnabl and Noah Frankel were declaredthe 2009 Coaster Car Winners. Pictured:Eliot Schnabl (left) and Noah Frankel

SPECIAL SEDER. GHA 7th-and 8th-graders hosted a school-wide Seder as theculmination of their Holocaust study. Eachstudent represented someone from theShoah. Students were given numbers ontheir forearms, wore prison garb, and sat incircles, conducting the Seder as if they wereprisoners in the camps. Stories of survivaland keeping the mitzvot of Pesach were toldin the circle. Candles were lit and then car-ried upstairs to the Freedom Seder—repre-senting that the flame of the Jewish peoplewill never be extinguished. Pictured (fromleft) Rachel Topper, Noa Allen, andJonathan Jacobs

ALL ABOUT ISRAEL. Celebrating Israel’s61st year of independence, Davis Academystudents enjoyed a full day of activities onYom Ha’Atzmaut, including Israeli food,music, and dancing. Pictured: Third-graderMia Schwartz shows her new passport in anactivity in which students experienced whatit was like to immigrate to Israel.

A CULTURAL EXPERIENCE. Davis 1st-graders Amaris Frenchman and Ansley

Sherman bow in kimonos during a visitfrom the Konnichwa Club, a Japanese cul-tural organization. Students also madeorigami frogs, learned how to write wordsin Japanese, and on another day, sampledsushi.

A SPECIAL TEACHER. Award-winningteacher Brad Cohen (pictured) inspiredDavis Academy students during a recentvisit to the Middle School. He told studentshis personal story about achieving hisdream of becoming the teacher he neverhad, despite the challenges of Tourette’ssyndrome. He encouraged students to over-come their own challenges to reach theirgoals.

CHAMPS. Davis Lions sports teams had agreat spring. The Boys Tennis team finished2nd at the Metro Atlanta AthleticConference (MAAC) TennisChampionships. In addition, DavisAcademy’s A-Girls Soccer team finished aperfect undefeated season, winning theMAAC Girls Soccer Championship bydefeating The Galloway School. DavisGirls Track and Field team also won theMAAC Conference Championship; BoysTrack & Field came in 2nd. Pictured: Boys

Page 38 THE JEWISH GEORGIAN May-June 2009

May-June 2009 THE JEWISH GEORGIAN Page 39

Tennis team members (back row, from left)David Bernstein, Matthew Palay, JonathanShuster, and Coach Justina Rodriguez;(front row, from left) Josh Bircoll, GabeCohen, David Martos, Brendan Rosenberg,and Jake Weiser.

PATRIOTIC JOURNEY. Davis 7th-gradestudents Nicole Berne and Lilli Brownstand in front of the Washington Monumentduring their 4-day class trip to the nation’scapital. The 79 students visited museumsand historic sites in Washington as well asMonticello, Thomas Jefferson’s home inCharlottesville, Virginia, during the lastweek of March.

PIONEER RABBI VISITS. The DavisAcademy was honored by a visit fromMaya Leibovich, the first woman rabbiordained in Israel by the Hebrew UnionCollege, who spoke to faculty and MiddleSchool students in April. Rabbi Leibovichis a pioneer in Israel for liberal Judaism.

LEARNING TO SAVE LIVES. At the invi-tation of The Epstein School’s nurse, JoyceTritt, R.N., Sandy Springs Fire RescueDepartment Captains Donald Wilbanks,Shannon Cichosz, and Jason Taylor visitedthe school to provide valuable CPR andAED training to fifty-two 6th-grade stu-dents. CPR kits were provided by the Cityof Sandy Springs in conjunction with theAmerican Heart Association. The Epstein

School was designated a Heart-Safe School.Pictured: (back row, from left) CaptainsShannon Cichosz, Donald Wilbanks, andJason Taylor; (front row, from left) NoahBrooker, Eden Axler, Arden Frank, HallieOppenheimer, and Sarah Shavin

CERTIFIED WILDLIFE HABITAT. TheNational Wildlife Federation has designatedThe Epstein School’s sustainable educa-tional garden, teaching pond, and waterfalla Certified Wildlife Habitat. To become cer-tified, a garden must provide the essentialelements to support wildlife, including nat-ural composting and mulching areas; watersources, such as the pond; dense shrubs,vegetation, and nesting places to raiseyoung; places for shelter/cover, such asbirdhouses; food sources, such as nativeplants, seeds, fruits, nuts, berries, and nec-tar; and chemical-free fertilizers. Epstein’shabitat includes Leah’s Pond, dedicated inloving memory of Epstein graduate LauraRae Rosenthal (z”l). Pictured:Kindergarteners visit the garden.

THAT’S TALENT! All 25 Epstein School7th-graders (pictured) who participated inthe 2009 Duke Talent IdentificationProgram (TIP) received State Level recog-nition and can participate in TIP summerprograms. The students are: DanielAbravanel, Louis Berch, Jonah Blumenthal,Steven Burgess, Samuel Durham, DanielaFriedman, Rebecca Friedman, SamuelGaillard, Tal Greber, Max Greenberg,Mallory Harris, Molly Hirsh, SarahJacobson, Samuel Kirsh, Zachary Leitz,Joshua Levine, Ariana Lewis, Sydney

Perloe, Elena Rothenberg, Olivia Sachs,Elliot Salzburg, Rachel Schwartz, JamieShatz, Mara Siegel, Aaron Simon, andDavid Zarge. Mallory Harris, Ariana Lewis,Rachel Schwartz, and David Zargeachieved Grand Level, and will be honoredat a ceremony at Duke University.

TECH SAVVY. Eleven Epstein studentsplaced in the top 3 at the 2009 StateTechnology Fair. First-place winners wereRebecca Cohen, MultimediaApplications—4th Grade; Talia Katz, 3DModeling—5th-6th Grade; and Peter Danisand Alex Duner, MultimediaApplications—8th Grade. Second-placewinners were Jack Schneider, Digital VideoEditing—5th-6th Grade; and Asher Bermanand Samantha Weinberg, MultimediaApplications—6th Grade. Third-place win-ners were Jake Bardack, Animated GraphicDesign—3th-4th Grade; Asher Berman,Technology Literacy Challenge—5th-6thGrade; and Jamie Albert & RachelSchwartz, Multimedia Applications—7thGrade. Pictured: (back row, from left) AlexDuner, Peter Danis, and Jamie Albert; (mid-dle row, from left) Rachel Schwartz, JackSchneider, and Talia Katz; (front row, fromleft) Rebecca Cohen, Asher Berman,Samantha Weinberg and Jake Bardack

ON THE JOB. As a result of her parents’successful auction bid at the Epstein 2009Celebration, 2nd-grader Gabrielle Lewisspent a day in the shoes of Head of SchoolStan Beiner and Front-Desk Receptionist JoHodge. As head of school, Gabrielle visitedthe Goldstein Media Center to inquire whensummer reading lists would be out; askedmiddle school students to tuck in theirshirts, and told staff to “keep up the goodwork.” Gabrielle also helped Jo Hodge withsuch tasks as answering phones, operatingsecurity gates, and updating attendancerecords. Pictured: Stan Beiner takes notesfrom Gabrielle Lewis

GETTING TEENS TO READ. Ilana Ander,a 6th-grade student in Mrs. Terri Jacobson’sLanguage Arts class at The Epstein School,was one of five nationwide winners in

Scholastic’s “The Perfect Teen Book ClubContest.” Ilana provided useful and insight-ful feedback to Scholastic for ways toimprove its current Book Club and draw innew readers. In addition to national recog-nition for her essay, she won a new I-PodNano. Pictured: Ilana Ander and Mrs. TerriJacobson

OFF TO COLLEGE. Weber seniors havebeen accepted at Brandeis, Northwestern,Emory, and Wesleyan universities; universi-ties of Pennsylvania, Georgia, Chicago, andMichigan; Georgia Tech, Oberlin College,and other notable schools. To date, the classof 2009 has been offered (in addition to theHOPE scholarship) $3,000,000 in scholar-ships. Of special note is Gideon Palte, whohas been offered Vanderbilt University’sLanier Scholarship, which is given to onlytwo Atlanta-area students and covers fulltuition and a summer research/advancedstudy stipend. Gideon was also acceptedinto Washington University in St. Louis’Danforth Scholars Program, which includesa full-tuition, four-year scholarship.

FRESHMAN STRENGTH. The WeberSchool’s incoming freshman class—theClass of 2013—is 20% larger than lastyear’s class during the same time period.This is the 2nd-largest 9th-grade enrollmentin the school’s history. There are, at present,more than 50 entering freshman, a numberthat is expected to keep growing. Currently,16 Greenfield families, 13 Epstein families,and 19 Davis families are represented in theClass of 2013.

KNOWING THE LAW. The Weber Schooltook 1st place in the National Moot BeitDin [Rabbinic Court] Competition, Denver,Colorado, April 23-26. Participating for thefirst time, Weber competed along with 15other schools from around the U.S. andCanada, under the auspices of RAVSAK,the Jewish Community Day SchoolNetwork. The schools worked on a caseproblem involving bioethics. Weber’s teamconsisted of Elana Marks, Rosa Ilyayeva,Ariella Axler, and Akiva Blaut (pictured,from left), with the additional participation

See CLASSNOTES page 40

KOSHER DAY AT TURNER FIELD isMay 24, 1:35 p.m. See the Braves vs.Toronto Blue Jays. This event features anexpanded kosher menu, a raffle for valuablebaseball paraphernalia, and a march aroundthe stadium. For more information on thisand other kosher events and news, sign upfor the AKC e-mail at

akc@kosheratlanta.org, or call the AKCoffice at 404-634-4063. AKC thanks its part-ners, Publix Super Markets Charities, TorahAtlanta, Jewish Federation of GreaterAtlanta, the Marcus Foundation, and theConsulate General of Israel to the Southeast,for making this year’s event possible.

The All New KOSHER KARD is comingout in June, with special discounts in neigh-borhood stores. There is no charge for par-ticipating merchants; to participate, call 404-634-4063.

On May 1, JF&CS kicked off its 2009 cam-paign with the 3rd annual Community ofCaring “friend-raiser” at the Grand HyattBuckhead. Guest speaker Clark Howardgave advice on saving, spending, investing,and donating to the nearly 750 guests. Theevent raised more than $100,000.

Gary Miller and his wife, Sheila;Susan and Danny Raskin;Community of Caring Luncheonguest speaker Clark Howard; andJF&CS President Stacy G. Fialkow

Community of Caring chairs LauraShir, Owen Halpern, and BilliGreenberg

The JF&CS Texas Hold ‘Em event,April 26, raised $5,000 to support theZimmerman-Horowitz IndependentLiving Program, which serves adultswith developmental disabilities.Pictured: (from left) Co-Chairs StacyCohen, Stephanie Seltzer, andAllison Howard

Gayle Hyman with her son Scott, aparticipant in the Zimmerman-Horowitz Independent LivingProgram. Gayle and Scott spoke tothe crowd at the Texas Hold ‘Emevent about Z-H ILP and how it hasmade Scott independent.

Page 40 THE JEWISH GEORGIAN May-June 2009

From page 36JF&CS

From page 25Kosher Korner

Apastoral care workshop at JewishFamily & Career Services. A meet-ing and tour of the Atlanta

Community Food Bank. A study day withthree Jewish studies scholars at EmoryUniversity and a study kallah with Israelischolar and Hartman Institute teacher NoamZion. Briefings with Mazon President EricSchockman, Consul General of Israel to theSoutheast Ambassador Reda Mansour, andAIPAC Synagogue Initiative Director MarkWaldman. Frequent meetings with JewishFederation of Greater Atlanta PresidentSteve Rakitt and Marcus Jewish CommunityCenter of Atlanta CEO Mike Wise.

Throughout the 2008-2009 year, theAtlanta Rabbinical Association has expand-ed its agenda to provide both enhanced studyopportunities for area rabbis and help themrespond to the economic crisis facing ourcommunity, understand significant mentalhealth and counseling issues, and show sup-port for Israel and the world Jewish commu-

nity. According to ARA President and

Congregation Etz Chaim Rabbi Paul Kerbel,“The ARA is committed to playing a greaterrole in community issues and supporting theprofessional and personal growth needs ofthe rabbinic community, so that our rabbisare better positioned to respond to theirrespective congregations and institutions andhave a voice in helping our Jewish commu-nity grow and prosper.”

Rabbi Kerbel is joined by Rabbi JulieSchwartz of Temple Emanu-El and RabbiNeil Sandler of Ahavath Achim Synagogueas officers and supported by committeechairs Rabbi Vicki Armour-Hileman ofEmory University, Rabbi Ron Segal ofTemple Sinai, Rabbi Elana Perry of TempleSinai, Rabbi Fred Greene of Temple BethTikvah, Rabbi Ellen Nemhauser of TempleEmanu-El, and Rabbi Mario Karpuj andRabbi Analia Bortz of Congregation OrHadash.

Atlanta Rabbinical Associationexpands its agenda

of Judah Kerbel in the written opinion.Teacher Marc Leventhal was the team advi-sor.

IN THE NEWS. Weber student JessicaSenft was recently featured in TheNorthside Neighbor as Female Athlete ofWeek. Jessica, a sophomore, has a 4.0 GPAand plays goalie for Weber’s girls’ soccerteam.

SPRING SPORTS SUCCESS STORIES.In recent Georgia Independent SchoolAssociation (GISA) Region 1-AAA com-petition, Weber has been very successful.The Rams baseball team finished tied for4th place in Region 1-AAA with YoungAmericans Christian School and PinecrestAcademy. The golf team came in 2nd in theregion. Senior Adam Kaye finished as thelow-score medalist and the region champ;other team members are freshmen FrankSpiro, sophomores Ethan Levy and AdamSchneider, junior Jason Unger, and seniorMitchell Smith. At the region track meet,sophomore high jumper Robert Seiboldfinished 4th. Pictured: (from left) J.B. Lee,Simon Italiaander, Ari Feldstein, and EliOppenheimer

WINNERS. Atlanta students did well in the2009 Jewish Heritage Essay Contest. Thisnational contest was for students in grades6-8, who could submit 500-1,000 wordessays in several categories. Local winnerswere: Jared Meline, Davis Academy,“Grandpa’s Talit,” Family Story category,2nd place; Rebecca Galanti, DavisAcademy, “Once a Jew, Always A Jew,”Holocaust category, honorable mention;Mia Weinstein, Davis Academy, “Julia’sStory,” Holocaust category, honorablemention (teacher for all Davis students: Mr.Adee Weismark); and Rivky Warga, TorahDay School of Atlanta, Water Usage in

Israel,” Israel category, honorable mention(teacher: Mrs. Rhoda Gleicher).

STUDENT ACHIEVERS. Weber SeniorMaxwell Hellmann took 2nd place in theAnimal Sciences category at the GeorgiaState Science Fair with his project “SpatialOrientation Effects on the Electric OrganDischarge of the Weakly Electric Fish,Gnatonemus Petersii.” Freshman CarolineLee will compete in the SoutheasternRegional Ballet Association 2009 Festivalwith the Tolbert Yilmaz School of Dance.Josh Mangel (pictured, right) and Avi Zolty(center) won college scholarship money atthe Technology Association of GeorgiaEducational Collaborative’s WebChallenge 2008. Josh and Avi won 3rdplace in Most Effective Implementation—Open Source Tools with their applicationActivity Splash.

LEADERS OF TOMORROW. BeccaStein, a junior at Yeshiva Atlanta, has beenselected for the prestigious BronfmanSummer Fellowship in Israel. Each year, 26elite Jewish high school leaders are chosenfrom a large pool of stellar applicants forthe fellowship, an all-expense-paid, inten-sive summer program of study and leader-ship development with some of Israel’sleading institutions and personalities.

From page 39Classnotes

May-June 2009 THE JEWISH GEORGIAN Page 41

By Erin O’Shinskey

THE POWER OF POWERS. Jared Powers,director of Marcus Jewish Community Centerof Atlanta (MJCCA) day camps and ShirleyBlumenthal Park, has been named the recipi-ent of Jewish Federation of Greater Atlanta’s(JFGA) 2009 Marilyn Shubin Professional

Staff DevelopmentAward. As thisyear’s award recipi-ent, Powers willreceive reimburse-ment for up to$3,500 for profes-sional development,supplemented by anadditional $1,500from the MJCCA foragency-wide stafftraining. Powers willparticipate in theJCC Association’sM i d d l e

Management Training Program. This year-long program provides specialized training toJCC department heads, program directors,and assistant executive directors.

RABBI BUCKMAN AT GHA. Rabbi LeeBuckman has been named Greenfield HebrewAcademy’s head of school. He will also serveas Judaics principal. Rabbi Buckman foundedthe Frankel Jewish Academy of MetroDetroit, a Jewish day high school in WestBloomfield, Michigan, and was head ofschool from 1999-2008. He has Orthodox

smicha from Rabbi Zalman NechemiaGoldberg in Israel, a master’s degree from theUniversity of Minnesota, and a bachelor’sdegree from the University of Michigan. Hiswife, Rachel, currently teaches Judaics inWest Bloomfield; they have four sons: Ilan(20), Yoni (18), and Noam and Avi (15).

FRANK PROMOTED AT DAVIS. TheDavis Academy has promoted Drew Frank tothe position of Lower School principal. Frank

has served in variouspositions at TheDavis Academyover the last nineyears, includingteacher, LowerSchool assistantprincipal, and, mostrecently, as directorof Academics andEnrichment. He suc-ceeds RebeccaHunt, who recentlyresigned to take on a

consulting role with Davis and to pursue thenext path in her own career.

WENGER HONORED. The AmericanCollege of Cardiology has awarded the desig-nation of Master, its highest honor, to NanetteK. Wenger, M.D., professor of medicine, car-diology division, Emory University School ofMedicine, and chief of cardiology, GradyMemorial Hospital. Thanks to Dr. Wenger’spioneering efforts, it is now known that car-diovascular disease, once considered a “man’sdisease,” is the number one killer of women in

the United States. Agraduate of HunterCollege andHarvard MedicalSchool, Wengerreceived her med-ical and cardiologytraining at MountSinai Hospitalbefore coming toEmory and Gradyin 1958.

ENDOWED CHAIR. Piedmont Hospital hasestablished the Mark Silverman EndowedChair in Cardiology and Education to honorthe beloved physician, who died November12, 2008. The first distinguished chair atPiedmont, it traces it beginnings to 1993,

when Dr. Silvermanestablished theMedical ScholarsFund, to which he,his wife, and otherscontributed. In2007, lookingtoward retirement,Dr. Silvermanactively workedwith PiedmontHeart Institute,Fuqua Heart Center,and PiedmontHospital leadership

to make the fund of continuing relevance toPiedmont. Until his death, Dr. Silvermanworked to ensure that the chair would havegreat significance.

RESEARCH LEADER. Paul W. Spearman,M.D., has been appointed chief research offi-cer for Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta andvice chair of research in the Department of

Pediatrics, Emory School of Medicine. He hasbeen division director of Pediatric InfectiousDiseases at Emory since November 2005.Spearman received his M.D. degree fromUniversity of Texas Southwestern MedicalSchool and completed specialty training atOhio State University and ColumbusChildren’s Hospital. He was an infectious dis-eases fellow and instructor in medicine atWashington University in St. Louis beforebeing appointed assistant professor atVanderbilt University in the PediatricInfectious Diseases Division.

CARING FOR KIDS. Dr. Kevin Rodbell hasestablished Toco Hills Pediatrics, a children’sand adolescent medical practice. A father offive, Rodbell learned the importance of beingable to access medical care quickly. He alsosupports parents taking an active role in mak-ing medical decisions about their children. Dr.Rodbell has special expertise in allergies,asthma, ADHD, and other significant child-hood illnesses. His interest in behavioral anddevelopmental disorders runs from thumb-sucking and bedwetting to autism. Toco HillsPediatrics is located at 2910 North Druid HillsRoad, Suite D. Call 404-321-3771.

WOMEN’S WEALTH. Emily Sanders,founder and CEO of Norcross-based SandersFinancial Management, has been named oneof the “Top 50 Women in WealthManagement” in the U.S. by Wealth Managermagazine. Sanders is dedicated to sharing herfinancial expertise with emerging affluentwomen. She graduated magna cum laudefrom the University of Pennsylvania with aBA in international economics and from NewYork University with an MBA in accounting.She is a certified public accountant (CPA) anda certified cash manager (CCM).

BUSINESS BITS

Jared Powers(photo courtesy ofthe MJCCA) Drew Frank

Mark E.Silverman, M.D.

Dr. Nanette Wenger

Disabilities annual Educator of the YearAward at the 2009 Heart of Gold AwardsEvent, April 29. She has been with Amit forfour years. Robyn Berger, a past Amit hon-oree and member of Amit’s founding board,received the Heart of Gold award.

HUMANITARIAN AWARD. Michael A.Morris received the 2009 GeorgiaCommission on the Holocaust (GCH)Humanitarian Award, presented April 24 inthe Chamber of the House of Representativesof the State of Georgia. In honor of Mr.Morris and his commitment to the remem-brance and teaching of the Holocaust, GCH isrecommending a donation of $50 or more toits new Michael A. Morris Holocaust TeacherTraining Institutes. Tax-deductible contribu-tions can be made to “Georgia Commissionon the Holocaust/Michael A. MorrisHolocaust Institutes” and sent to The GeorgiaCommission on the Holocaust, 101 EastCourt Square, Decatur GA 30030.

NEWS-WORTHY. The Jewish Family &Career Services e-newsletter, Your eTools forLiving News, has received the Association ofJewish Family and Children’s Agencies’2008 Kovod Award for Excellence inElectronic Newsletters.

HONORING LEADERS. Six members ofGreater Atlanta Hadassah have received the23nd Annual Hadassah National LeadershipAward. The award pays tribute to memberswhose leadership accomplishments withinHadassah and civic, educational and culturalorganizations reflect Hadassah’s dedicationto the principles of the volunteer ethic. Thesix recipients are: Diane Fisher, representingthe Greater Atlanta Hadassah chapter; EdyeSummerfield, representing the chapter’s NesHarim group; Susan Linkwald, representingthe chapter’s Metulla group; Fran Redisch,representing the chapter’s Ketura group;Andrea Feldman, representing the chapter’sEtz Aviv group; and Edith (Edie) Barr, repre-senting the chapter’s Mount Scopus group.

BREAKING GROUND. On March 20,board members and staff of Visiting Nurse |Hospice Atlanta gathered at the Andrew and

Eula Carlos Hospice Atlanta Center inBuckhead to break ground on a new garden.The garden is donated, in part, by RobertThiebaut, whose father, Frank, died at thecenter in 2005. Pictured: (from left) SheldonCohen, Board Member Dorothy “Dot”Cohen, CEO Mark Oshnock, Board MemberDeborah Liss, and Board of AdvisorsMember Elizabeth J. Levine

Eleven-year-old Asher Newman (left)threw out the first pitch at a recentGwinnett Braves game in honor ofAutism Awareness, on behalf ofAutism Speaks and the Amit Program.Asher, son of Susan and Dr. RandyNewman of Atlanta, is a student at TheDavis Academy.

This year’s Jewish National FundTribute Breakfast, April 29, honoredHolocaust survivors. Pictured: (fromleft) Gregg Cohen, JNF general cam-paign chair; Ronnie Porat, JNF IsraelEmissary to Atlanta, and Steve Sutton

At the Jewish National Fund TributeBreakfast, Ronnie Porat (right), JNFIsrael Emissary to Atlanta, presentsthe Lifetime Achievement Award hon-oring Mr. Ben Hirsch. Adina Hirschreceived the award on behalf of herfather.

From page 12MishMash

Page 42 THE JEWISH GEORGIAN May-June 2009

By Jonathan Barach

KEEP ISRAEL FROM RUNNING DRY. Afterfour straight years of drought and with privatewater consumption increasing, Israel’s usablewater supply is at an all-time low. Through theend of May, the Jewish National Fund is con-ducting 31 Days in May, a campaign to allevi-ate Israel’s water crisis by raising funds to build40 new reservoirs, research and implement newagricultural techniques, and develop innovativewetlands technology. To join the campaign,visit www.jnf.org.

CELEBRATING SOUTHEAST-ISRAELBUSINESS. The Eagle Star Awards Gala isMay 27, 6:00-9:00 p.m., at Georgia Powerheadquarters, 241 Ralph McGill Boulevard.The Eagle Star Gala is the American IsraelChamber of Commerce’s community flagshipevent. In addition to recognizing the IsraeliCompany of the Year and Deal of the Year,AICC will also present Georgia Insurance andSafety Fire Commissioner John Oxendine withthe Chamber Founders Award and the AmericanIsrael Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) withthe Community Partner Award. For additionalinformation, sponsorship opportunities, andtickets, visit www.eaglestargala.com.

GENESIS STAGE. The new, non-profit theatercompany Genesis Stage has been invited topresent Israeli playwright Motti Lerner’s HardLove at the Festival of Jewish Theatre andIdeas, New York. Before the festival, there will

be six special dress rehearsals in Atlanta, May27-31, at the Lovett School. Instead of individ-ual ticket sales, tickets will be given in blocks tocontributors to support the New York produc-tion. To make a contribution and receive a blockof tickets, e-mail genesisstage@gmail.com.

SMALL STEPS, BIG RESULTS. On May 30,More than 1,000 Georgians will participate inTake Steps for Crohn’s & Colitis, the nation’slargest event dedicated to finding cures fordigestive diseases. The Georgia Walk benefitsCamp Oasis, education programs, and supportgroups. Check-in begins at 4:00 p.m. at the“Burger Bowl” at Georgia Tech. Registration isfree. Register at www.cctakesteps.org, or con-tact Amy Suiter at 404-982-0616 orasuiter@ccfa.org. Corporate sponsorship/teamopportunities are also available.

BALALAIKA CONCERT. The AtlantaBalalaika Society Orchestra will present a con-cert of folk, classical, and traditional tunes fromold Russian communities and other EasternEuropean countries, May 31, 3:00 p.m., at theMarcus Jewish Community Center of Atlanta’sMorris & Rae Frank Theatre. The orchestra,whose members come from the United States,Russia, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Moldova, Latvia,and Sweden, perform on domras, balalaikas,and percussion instruments, most of which havebeen hand-carried from Russia. Tickets are$20/general public and $15/MJCCA members,with discounts for seniors and students.Purchase tickets at 678-812-4002, or visit

www.atlantajcc.org.

AN EVENING WITH LARRY KING. A Pagefrom the Book Festival of the MJCCA presentsan evening with Larry King, May 31, at 7:00p.m. King will discuss and sign his latest mem-oir, My Remarkable Journey. Seating is limited;reservations are recommended. Tickets are$25/MJCCA members, $35/non-members,$65/premiere seating, and $300/VIP package.All orders are subject to a $3 handling fee.Tickets purchased the day of the event (if avail-able) will be subject to a $5 per ticket surcharge.Purchase at atlantajcc.org, 678-812-4005, or theMJCCA Box Office.

GET CONNECTED. SeniorNet at the MJCCAis offering summer computer literacy classes formature adults ages 50+. Beginner classesinclude Beginning Mouse, Computer Skills,Internet and E-Mail, and Buying & Selling oneBay; intermediate classes include Internet andE-Mail, Microsoft Excel, Photoshop ElementsBasics, and Photoshop Elements: Tips, Tricks,and Techniques. For dates, times, fees, andother information, visit atlantajcc.org, or callMature Adults Program Director Kristen Felixat 678-812-4093.

ABOUT DACHAU. Oglethorpe UniversityMuseum of Art is presenting “Dachau BeforeDachau: European Artist Colony 1860-1914”and “Dachau Concentration Camp: Years ofDestruction 1933-1945,” through August 30.The museum is located at 4484 Peachtree RoadN. E. Hours are 12:00 noon to 5:00 p.m.,Tuesdays through Sundays. Admission is $5.For additional information, visit http://muse-um.oglethorpe.edu, or call 404-364-8555.

GETTING THAT JOB. Jewish Family &Career Services is offering a series of employment workshops. Sessions are: JobSearch Skills, June 3; Resume Development,June 10; and Interviewing Skills, June 17. Allworkshops meet from 9:30-11:30 a.m., at TheTemple. Workshops are free of charge, butreservations are required. Call 770-677-9434,or e-mail rsimon@jfcs-atlanta.org.

FOOD FOR THOUGHT. The MJCCA offersfree weekly Lunch ‘n Learn discussions everyThursday, 12:00 noon, at Shirley BlumenthalPark, 2509 Post Oak Tritt Road, Marietta. OnJune 4 and 18, Rabbi Silverman from Chabadof Cobb will lead the discussion. Coffee and teawill be available; attendees may bring theirlunch. Contact Lynne Dyckman, 678-812-3729or lynne.dyckman@atlantajcc.org, for informa-tion.

HAVE FUN, HELP OUT. On June 7, 7:30 p.m.,join Congregation B’nai Torah for a night oflaughter and frivolity with Jerry Farber and SaulSloman. Tickets are $18, with proceeds benefit-ing the JF&CS Emergency Crisis Fund. Thisevent is sponsored by The Hebrew Order ofDavid. RSVP by June 5 to Saul Sloman atsaulsloman@comcast.net or 404-307-5059.

EMPOWERING RELATIONSHIPS. TheJewish Marriage Initiative will present “HappyRelationships…The Foundation of Life,” atCongregation B’nai Torah, June 9. Registrationbegins at 7:00 p.m.; the forum is at 7:30 p.m.This community-wide forum features a dynam-ic panel discussion with Georgia State SupremeCourt Chief Justice Leah Ward Sears, GeorgiaState Senate Minority Whip David Adelman,

and other Atlantans, plus motivational work-shops where guests will acquire valuable toolsfor relationships. For more information, fees,and registration, visit jewishmarriageinitia-tive.org, call 678-244-6658, or e-mailmain@jewishmarriageinitiative.org.

CAMP FOR EVERYONE. The Amit Programwill offer a unique camping experience for chil-dren ages 3-5 with social, language, sensory,and physical special needs. Campers will enjoya week filled with activities and opportunities tobuild new friendships and develop new skills,all within an inclusive environment. Each one-week camp session will be staffed by speechand occupational therapists. The cost is$250/session. Session 1 is June 15-19, 9:00a.m.-12:00 noon, at the Epstein School; Session2 is June 29-July 3, 10:00 a.m.-1:00 p.m., atCongregation Beth Shalom. Contact DebbieBerman, 404-961-9966 or dberman@amitat-lanta.org.

GRAND RAFFLE FUNDRAISER. Enter towin $10,000 and help support the vital work ofthe Chabad Jewish Center. Second prize is aniPod Touch. The drawing will take place July 5.Tickets are $36 each, $99/5 tickets, $180/10tickets, and $360/20 tickets. For more informa-tion and to purchase tickets, visitwww.JewishWestCobb.com/Raffle.

ROLL UP YOUR SLEEVE. The next CityWide Blood Drive, sponsored by Jewish WarVeterans Atlanta Post #112, is August 2, 9:00a.m.-2:00 p.m., at Ahavath Achim Synagogue,600 Peachtree Battle Avenue N.W.Appointments can be made athttps://www.givelife.org/index.cfm?Sponsor=jwv; use code JWV. Walk–ins are always wel-come, but donors with appointments are givenpriority. Bring a picture ID. For questions abouteligibility, contact the American Red Cross at 1-866-562-7156.

RELAX, REFLECT, CELEBRATE.LimmudFest is Labor Day Weekend,September 4-7, at Tumbling Waters Retreat &Conference Center at Ramah Darom, Clayton,Georgia. At LimmudFest, Jews of all ages cantake a step in their personal Jewish journeys,explore their connections to Jewish ideas andtradition, and meet people who share theirenthusiasm and curiosity. This family-friendlyweekend will include children’s programs andchildcare. Register before June 1 for the early-bird discount. Accommodations and costs startat $239/adults and $149/children. For registra-tion and addition information, visit www.lim-mudse.org.

ORT SOLIDARITY MISSION. ORT Americais organizing a groundbreaking national Jewishsolidarity mission to Argentina and Uruguay,November 9-15. The mission offers an insider’sview of the Jewish communities of Montevideoand Buenos Aires, featuring one-of-a-kindbriefings, visits to awe-inspiring landmarks andfamous beaches, an unforgettable Shabbatexperience, and even an opportunity to learntango at its birthplace. Participants will meetwith educators, students, and community mem-bers who are successfully grappling withtoday’s challenges with assistance from ORT.There is an optional extension to Santiago,Chile. To learn more, visitwww.ortamerica.org/missions, or call 800-519-2678, ext. 360.

Thought You’d Like to Know

May-June 2009 THE JEWISH GEORGIAN Page 43

Page 44 THE JEWISH GEORGIAN May-June 2009