Atlanta Jewish Times, VOL. XCVIII NO. 24, December 31, 2022

Year in Review and Senior Living

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Elliott Levitas Funeral Held at AA Synagogue

By Dave Schechter

A funeral service was scheduled for Dec. 19 at Ahavath Achim Synagogue for former congressman and state legislator Elliott Harris Levitas, who died Dec. 16, 10 days shy of his 92nd birthday.

Levitas’ political career began in 1965, when the attorney was elected to the Georgia House of Representatives, where he demonstrated a commitment to racial justice. In his first vote, he dissented in the House’s refusal to seat African American civil rights activist and Vietnam War opponent Julian Bond. Levitas, one of only five white legislators to vote in support of Bond, received death threats.

In 1966, when no candidate received a majority of the votes in the gubernatorial contest, state law then required the General Assembly to decide the election. Levitas, a Democrat, cast his vote for Republican Bo Calloway, refusing to back Democrat Lester Maddox, a segregationist. In a July 2016 op-ed in the AJT, Levitas wrote: “I knew the right thing to do was to put the interests of our state above my party, so I worked to elect the Republican nominee, Bo Callaway, instead of supporting the racist candidate of my party.”

During his five terms in the legislature, Levitas also was a major proponent for development of MARTA, Atlanta’s mass transit system.

In 1974, Levitas was elected to the U.S. House from

Georgia’s 4th congressional district, the first Jew elected to Congress from Georgia. The Southern Israelite reported that, on the night of his election, Levitas told supporters, “I am 43 years old, and nothing has given me more faith in America than what has occurred in the Fourth District tonight.”

In a 1992 oral history interview, Levitas said: “It was in 1974. Obviously, the Watergate world had an impact on it, but ours was still a very conservative district…I was trying to cast myself, not as an ideological purist, but someone who knew how to deal with problems, who had principles, and would fight for them regardless of party labels, and things like that. I wanted to appeal to people who had voted Republican before…I recognized that during my first term in office it would be the bicentennial of the American Revolution. So, we adopted as our campaign slogan, ‘Vote for Elliott Levitas. It’s a declaration of independence.’”

With family members coming to Washington, D.C., for the swearing-in ceremony, Levitas was able to obtain extra tickets from New York Democratic Rep. Ed Koch, in exchange for Ida Levitas’ (his mother’s) famous chocolate mandel bread.

In the U.S. House, Levitas served on the Public Works and Transportation Committee and chaired the Subcommittee on Investigations and Oversight. The latter investigated the Reagan administration’s efforts to undermine the Environmental Protection Agency, a probe that led to

the firing of senior officials. He also championed the creation and funding of the 10,000-acre Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area as a national park.

“I was a very strong, outspoken, supporter of Israel,

Legislator Elliot Levitas died on Dec. 16.

both in my district and in Washington; and in my district, on the basis that Israel was a bastion of democracy in the Middle East. It was the only democracy. It was a very important, strategic ally for the United States, and we had both practical and moral reasons to support the state of Israel. I never made any bones about that,” Levitas said in the oral history, part of the Cuba Archives for Southern Jewish History at The Breman Museum.

Levitas was born in Atlanta on Dec. 26, 1930, to Ida and Louis Levitas, his mother a member of the Goldstein family, long active at Ahavath Achim, and his father an emigre from Dublin, Ireland. In the oral history, Elliott Levitas said of his parents: “They both, at that time, not only were they both Zionists, my mother was one of the founders of Hadassah here. They also came out of that liberal Jewish tradition--and I mean liberal in the political sense, not in the religious sense. They were active in social issues of the day, child labor and things of that sort.”

Levitas attended Boys High School and was in the first graduating class of Grady High School. He received his undergraduate and law degrees from Emory University. As a Rhodes scholar, he obtained a Master of Law Degree from Oxford University in England. He served two years in the U.S. Air Force as a member of the Judge Advocate General’s staff.

Prior to being elected to the state House, Levitas worked in private practice at the Atlanta firm Arnall, Golden & Gregory, where he was a protege of former Gov. Ellis Arnall.

Following his congressional service, he joined longtime friend Miles Alexander at the law firm Kilpatrick & Cody (now known as Kilpatrick Townsend), where he remained for 30 years. Among the cases in which Levitas played a leading role was a suit filed against the U.S. government by more than 300,000 native Americans, alleging breach of trust in connection with lands and trust funds held by the government since the 1880s. In the case Cobell v. Norton, federal courts determined that the Interior Department had breached its fiduciary duty and ordered settlement negotiations that resulted in a $3.4 billion award to plaintiffs, one of the largest class-action awards against the U.S. government.

In addition to Ahavath Achim, Levitas was involved in numerous Jewish organizations, dating back to his success in debate competitions in AZA, the B’nai Brith youth organization.

Levitas served on the Anti-Defamation League’s Southeast board. In a statement issued Dec. 19, ADL said: “We are saddened by the loss of Elliott Levitas and send our deepest condolences to his family. Elliott was a fearless trailblazer and champion for justice who lived by his values…His career in public service — both in the Georgia statehouse and the United States Congress — defined him as a statesman who worked to achieve consensus to move our country and our society forward…We are especially appreciative of his many years of leadership and service on the Board of ADL Southeast. We will continue to strive to live up to the example Elliott Levitas modeled during his incredible life and career.”

Levitas also served on the boards of the Environmental Law Institute, the Southern Environmental Law Center, and the Georgia Conservancy. Georgia’s legal community honored him in 2016 with a Lifetime Achievement Award, and the political science department at Emory University annually bestows the Elliott Levitas Award to an outstanding graduating senior.

In 2017, the AJT interviewed Levitas as part of a re-

port looking back at Jewish Atlanta during Israel’s 1967 six-day war. He said: “My recollection of that time is that, in the Jewish community, there was a combined feeing of relief, pride and optimism, similar to and second only to, the euphoria at the 1948 declaration of the establishment of the State of Israel itself. Heads were held higher. There was a feeling that a corner had been turned and the future security of Israel was assured even if it required the force of arms against hostile neighbors and others bent on the destruction of Israel. Israel could defend itself and prevail. Previous doubts were quelled. There was an upsurge of feelings of closeness to, and identification with, the people

of Israel.”

Levitas is survived by his wife and high school sweetheart, Barbara Hillman, whom he married in 1955. He also is survived by three children, Karin (Bob), Susan (Jake), and Kevin (Claudia), as well as grandchildren, Aria and Elaiya Een, Sydney, and Annie Schwartz, and Michael and Allison Levitas, as well as a brother-in-law, Stuart Hillman. He was predeceased by his older brother, Ted Levitas.

The family has asked that donations be made to the ADL Southeast, the Georgia Conservancy, the Southern Environmental Law Center, Ahavath Achim Synagogue, or a charity of the donor’s choice. ì

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Elliott Levitas is pictured at an Anti-Defamation League reception with Sandra Gordy Massell, Sam Massell and Bobby Goldstein.

FIDF Appreciation Event with Elite Special Forces

By Marcia Caller Jaffe

On Dec. 5, the Friends of the Israel Defense Forces presented its annual donor appreciation event at City Springs. Around 150 supporters were riveted by personal stories of heroism that included videos of never-before-seen footage into

their security activities required to keep Israel safe.

The theme was tied to Duvdevan: Israel’s Elite Special Forces, translated to “cherry of top,” as in the acme, or pinnacle, of those selected to serve and make it through the program.

FIDF chair of Georgia and the South-

east States, Karen Shulman, welcomed the crowd by sharing that the extra support provided by the FIDF reaches 110,000 soldiers. She spoke about her family’s upcoming trip to Israel and her personal pledge of support for a new program dedicated to treat post-traumatic stress disorder to those soldiers in need. Karen also

introduced Alex Gandler, Israel’s Deputy Consul General to the Southeast, and Rabbi Steven Weil, FIDF National CEO.

Seth Baron, VP of FIDF Eastern Region, welcomed the new faces, loyal supporters, those who came from abroad, and those currently serving in the IDF. He was amazed with the contrast that

Southeast States, Karen Shulman, shared

Israel

Photos

Delilah and Steven Cohen (far right) appreciated the details shared by Major Shai and Lt Ari.; Alex Gandler, Israel’s Deputy Consul General to the Southeast is pictured in center.

“10 years ago, our region raised $300,000 compared to $3.3 million in 2022 with 3.5 weeks left.” He compared the FIDF’s commitment to working 24/7 to that of soldiers who are on guard 24/7.

Garry Sobel, FIDF national board member and chairman emeritus FIDF Georgia and Southeast States, shared his recent five-day October trip to Israel where he lived as an IDF soldier on a base near Mikmash, along with 18- and 19-year-old soldiers. He showed a video of his face in camouflage and being held on the shoulders of the soldiers after completing the rugged program, doing pushups and eating the same food alongside the soldiers.

He said, “Of all my trips, this one was the most life changing…away from the comforts of home, walking on their turf. I was amazed by their maturity and commitment, even the small gestures like a ‘thumbs up’ and culminating in an emotional ceremony at the Kotel.”

After the program, the speakers took multiple questions from the audience.

One answer explained the PTSD program which, unlike the U.S. statistics with suicide outcomes, their afflicted soldiers might act out with violence and the inability to form relationships. The preferred method of treatment in Israel is to provide team support for building trust and a circle of empowerment, then tailor-made individual therapy with a professional.

When asked whom he considered “Enemy No. 1,” another answered, “Iran.”

Audience laughter came when someone asked if the series, “Fauda,” was accurately representational. Their response was, “Season one, yes. The third season was bulls---!”

In the pre-program hour, the AJT spoke with two IDF soldiers in uniform. Major Shai, an electrical engineer who is stationed near Warner Robbins Air Force Base with his wife and children who attend public schools. He serves as Israel’s emissary F15 IAF Liaison to the U.S. in this region with special attention to aircraft.

He said, “With the time difference, you can find me on the phone in the middle of the night coordinating and preventing mishaps and providing overall support.” He commented on the U.S.’s in-depth experience in flight hours and Israel’s combat readiness, or not, as life threatening to the nation. He has been here five months and hopes to finish out another two to three years.

Deputy Company Comm. Lt. Ari spoke of his unique missions in Jenin where Palestinian terrorism has resurfaced. Also trained as a medic, Lt. Ari has another six months to decide whether to go to college or pursue a military or other type of career.

Atlanta attorney Wayne Lazarus recalled that his FIDF mission to Israel was, “Fabulous. Quite an experience,” which he highly recommends.

The FIDF always closes with, “Their job is to look after Israel. Our job is to look after them.” ì

MJCCA Lights Up the Science of Chanukah

By Bob Bahr

Light, in all its many forms, was the theme of a special Chanukah program just before the start of the holiday at the Marcus Jewish Community Center of Atlanta in Dunwoody. The children’s program, called “Science of Light,” explored not just the light that is generated by the candles or oil of the Chunukah menorah, but neon, lasers, LEDs, incandescent bulbs and even the bioluminescence generated by living creatures.

The initiative was the second in a series of programs at the MJCCA in experiential learning created by Kelly Cohen, who has directed the program that began with a Sukkot celebration in October.

Participants were given boxes of Chanukah candles imprinted with the center’s Science of Light logo and enjoyed complimentary jelly- and custardfilled donut holes. Everyone also received a color booklet that mentioned the 10 forms of light that were highlighted in the event, as well as the blessing for the Chanukah candles.

Cohen envisioned the afternoon program as a way of broadening the understanding young persons have about the Jewish holiday of light.

“We wanted to give children a way of thinking about the holiday in a way that focused on what is essential about the holiday,” Cohen said. “Chanukah is a holiday about light, and we tried to think about how we can give people a hands-on experience with what is essential about the holiday.”

One of the participating organizations in the afternoon was Nurture, which was started by The Davis Academy, the Jewish day school in Dunwoody. It involves preschoolers and their parents on weekend learning opportunities. At the MJCCA, the director of the program, Amy Helman-Darley, helped youngsters create what are called “squishy circuits” with Play-Doh and battery-powered circuits that lit up when they were assembled. Children were also able to explore light in nature and the shadows that light creates as it moves across the sky each day.

The MJCCA event was also an opportunity to sign up parents for Nurture, which is open to the entire community. Last month, the organization hosted an author talk and book signing of “Good Inside: A Guide to Becoming the Parent You Want to Be,” an evening in partnership with the Book Festival of MJCCA. The program attracted more than 500

parents to hear about new approaches to parenting strategies.

For program director Helman-Darley, the Chanukah program was a way to help encourage what she describes as the innate curiosity that preschoolers have for the world around them.

“There’s a curiosity that comes at their age. They’re willing to explore and willing to make things that may not always work. Sometimes, the squishy circuits don’t work, but then, they keep trying. And then, finally, it lights up. There’s the excitement of trying and trying again until something works. And I think that’s the beauty of being young,” she said.

For older children, there was a hightech display from the Georgia Tech Research Institute of the many ways that light facilitates other technologies, such as the fiber optic labeling that enhances

the internet.

There were three cameras attached to a large video display that presented ultraviolet light images, thermal infrared light images and visible light images. A senior research scientist, Jack Wood, who works with the Institute’s technology outreach program, talked about how laser light is the key to the bar code technology used in retailing and supermarkets and how spectrum tubes filled with various gases can be analyzed by the kind of light they give off.

Wood’s work is patricianly funded by the state of Georgia STEM program that encourages students to learn about science, technology, engineering and mathematics. While the hope is that some students will choose a career in these areas of learning, the goal is broader.

“We’re really after creating critical

thinkers so that students can grow up and become adults who appreciate science and the things that the technology gives us. But also, to ask a good question and understand sources of information and whether they’re true or not,” Wood said.

The afternoon concluded with the lighting of the MJCCA’s menorah on the first night of Chanukah, which, as Cohen pointed out, is another example of experiential learning and the transmission of religious values in Judaism.

“Everything that we’re doing kind of gives the participants an opportunity to think about light in a different way and engage with light in a different way. This is a season of miracles. And I think, our afternoon about the Science of Light is a very cool way to think about this holiday.” ì

Amy Helman-Darley is the director of a new program called Nurture, aimed to help parents and preschoolers.

The MJCCA’s Science of Light program preceded the lighting of the first Chanukah candle.

Georgia Tech Research Institute STEM outreach leader Jack Wood demonstrates the many ways light facilitates other technologies.

Kelly Cohen is the director of the MJCCA’s experiential learning program.

Bagel S.O.S.

By Marcia Caller Jaffe

There is nothing stale about mom and Emory University graduate Erin Stieglitz, who had a career as an entertainment publicist for Turner Broadcasting before co-founding a communications business.

During the pandemic, she paused to focus on family. Now, she devotes 30-40 hours a week “rescuing” and delivering bagels to those in need. Stieglitz serves as a communication hub for collecting unused bagels from donors with an elaborate volunteer delivery service, all with perishable items.

She said, “Bagel Rescue helps organizations that feed people suffering from food insecurity, including shelters, food pantries, youth programs, senior centers, addiction recovery facilities, people living in extended-stay hotels, and street outreach efforts.” They also offer bagels to fire stations, hospital workers, and police officers when available.

Bagel Rescue’s growth is a win-win example with 28 bagel shop partners, 60-80 volunteers who touch the project every week, making more than 80 regular weekly deliveries, and another 20 on a monthly rotation. In two years, she has made more than 4,500 deliveries and rescued more than a half a million bagels from being tossed in dumpsters.

She added, “This is a complete team effort, and I’m so proud of what we have collectively accomplished.”

Stieglitz’s day consists of morning bagel deliveries with bagels rescued the day before. Then, she does three to four morning rescues to stock up for deliveries for later. She then organizes routes, communicates with volunteers, recruits new volunteers, plans for special events, social media, manages financials, and administrative tasks.

Volunteers pick up bagels from her house. Then, she heads back out in the afternoon for more rescues and deliveries. Then, there’s the important “giving end” with 28 bagel shop donors whose model is to sell freshly made bagels to customers each day. Without knowing exactly what will sell and offering many flavors, leftovers are common.

Stieglitz said, “My partners are making the responsible choice by donating

their bagels to Bagel Rescue so we can put them to good use feeding neighbors in need. Good food should not be wasted!” She works with multiple locations of Goldberg’s, Bagel Boys, Einstein Bros. Bagels, Soho Bagels, and 101 Bagel Cafe, and single shops like Bronx Bagels, Emerald City Bagels, Sunny’s Bagels & Deli, Brooklyn Bagel, and Bagelicious.

The idea was born when, during the holiday season of 2020, the Stieglitz family was looking for a service project. They typically went to shelters or served a meal or did a craft project with residents. However, because of COVID, they needed a different plan. Stieglitz thought of frontline workers and called Northside Hospital. The family gathered bulk

bagels, spreads, and orange juice.

She recalled when her son, Rhys, then nice, asked why we couldn’t get bagels from one of our favorite bagel shops, Goldberg’s. I relayed it wouldn’t be cost effective, and we couldn’t feed as many people. He suggested asking Goldberg’s if they would help. So, I said, ‘why don’t you call?’ And he did! The manager agreed to give us the bagels from the day before. We set up the date and had a plan.” And viola!

The bottom line: Bagel Rescue combines many worthy causes:

* The Environment – keeping bagels out of landfills

* Hunger Relief – filling bellies

* Social Justice – helping marginalized and unserved communities by bringing food dignity directly to them

* Community – connecting people who may not otherwise cross paths through partnerships like with Repair the World, The Davis Academy, Temple Sinai, Foundation for Jewish Camp, and even husband Graham’s law firm Burr &

Forman which does a monthly bagel bagging project. Companies and extended families can do a Bagel Rescue project rather than have a holiday party; and teens in Stieglitz’s neighborhood spend afternoons bagging bagels when called upon.

Stieglitz concluded, “I hope to continue to strengthen each aspect of these causes. To be sustainable, we need funding for operational costs and development. I hope that Bagel Rescue will grow into more food groups eventually, when we have the bandwidth to safely handle more than semi-perishable foods.”

The Stieglitz’s belong to Temple Kehillat Chaim in Roswell. Graham, children, Rhys and Declan, are used to Bagel Rescue being in their home headquarters. “The kids are often co-pilots on routes and deal with the smell and lingering crumbs of bagels in our car,” Erin related.

Visit BagelRescue.com or email BagelRescueTeam@gmail.com to donate or volunteer. ì

Erin Stieglitz started and grew Bagel Rescue with her winwin sustainability formula.

// Photo by Kelly Klein

Erin Stieglitz got these Davis Academy boys involved in bagging bagels on the Davis Academy’s Day of Service

Erin Steiglitz’s son delivered bagels to the Landmark Church.

The Stieglitz family marched in the Fourth of July Dunwoody Parade and gave out bagel coupons from their donors.

Bagel Rescue makes a space for communities and volunteers to work together.

Israel Diaspora Minister Senses Trouble for Liberal Judaism

By Bob Bahr

Israel’s outgoing cabinet minister of diaspora affairs believes that his country’s relationship with liberal Jews in America may face an uncertain future under Israel’s new government.

Nachman Shai has, for the past year and a half, been responsible for repairing the Israeli government’s relationship with Reform and Conservative Judaism. He said, in a mid-December interview, that he thought the new right-wing coalition formed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will undo much of what he feels he and the recent administration has accomplished.

“We have improved the relationship through a number of projects, initiatives and conversations with the various denominations and also with a number of American Jewish organizations. But I’m afraid it won’t last long, because if this government adopts the proposals and the policies which were recommended by their potential partners in the upcoming coalition, then we will see a repetition of the previous crises, if not bigger ones.”

As an example of better diaspora relations, in February, for the first time in six years an Israeli prime minister, Naftali Bennett, met with the heads of the Reform and Conservative movements. The meeting, ostensibly to talk about the implementation of an agreement to open worship at the Kotel, the Western Wall of The Temple, to liberal Jews, was seen as a positive step. It was particularly encouraging, at the time, for Rabbi Rick Jacobs, the president of the Union for Reform Judaism.

“Our movement expressed our un-

conditional support for the State of Israel and our expectation that the prime minister takes steps that prove his commitment that the State of Israel as the home of all Jews in Israel and around the world.”

But that burst of optimism was shattered in recent weeks as the new prime minister, Netanyahu, has worked to transform his right-wing coalition into a new government. In an interview with National Public Radio on Dec. 15, Netanyahu defended his decision to appoint Itamar BenGvir, head of the far-right Otzmar Yehudit party, as national security minister with an expanded portfolio.

Ben-Gvir has multiple convictions in Israel for incitement, racism, and terror-related charges. However, Netanyahu said Ben-Givr is a changed man.

“He’s modified a lot of his views since then,” Netanyahu told NPR. “And I have to say that with power comes responsibility.”

But the URJ leader Rick Jacobs has lost no time in condemning the appointment. He told Ynet News in Israel that the Ben-Gvir appointment was like appointing “David Duke, one of the heads of the Ku Klux Klan, as attorney general.”

“We are very concerned about Israel’s existence and its place in the world,” Jacobs was quoted as saying. He described Ben-Givr as “someone who has made a career out of hatred and encouraging violence.”

For his part, Shai was particularly proud of the attempt he made last July to establish a branch of his ministry that supports progressive Judaism. He announced the funding of what he called a “Jewish renewal administration” that would fund educational activities of progressive communities in Israel. It would also help to increase cooperation with diaspora com-

munities to fight antisemitism. Israel, he said, needs to fight antisemitism around the world more effectively.

“I would like to see Israel taking the lead. And I made it clear to the prime minister (Bennett) that I’ve been working with what I hope it will be done in the future. I proposed that we will set up a state authority to combat antisemitism in the world.

As a government, we do not work collectively, we don’t work together to fight antisemitism.”

But such an effort in the diaspora, as urgent as it might seem to Shai, is likely to be put on hold as the new Netanyahu government addresses the concerns of its partners at home, in Israel.

Earlier this month, the Israeli religious party, United Torah Judaism, publicly announced its goals as part of the governing coalition. It proposed tougher laws to enforce Sabbath observance, more segregation of men and women on public beaches, and an end to government support for any form of liberal Judaism.

While the Israeli diaspora minister concedes that Israel is a thriving democracy, he is not certain that the values of some parties in the new government are congruent with those of a majority of American Jews.

“When I look at the American Jewish community, the values there like democracy, the rule of law, human rights and so on were common to both Israel and the diaspora. Some of those values are not that deep in Israel. It will be hard for American Jews to identify with Otzma Yehudit and other extremists. And, of course, you have the values of the ultra-Orthodox parties. All of them are members of the Netanyahu’s upcoming government and they will have senior positions.”

For years, liberal Jews have campaigned for the right to worship as they please at the Kotel, the Temple’s Western Wall.

Nachman Shai has been Diaspora Affair Minister since June 2021.

(Right) Rabbi Rick Jacobs, president of the Union for Reform Judaism, has criticized the policies of Itamar Ben Gvir.

A female locust can stretch up to two or three times its original length when laying her eggs in the ground.

Researchers Find Female Locust has Superhero-Like Abilities

A new Tel Aviv University study has discovered that the female locust has superpowers. The findings of the study reveal that the female locust’s central nervous system has elastic properties, allowing her to stretch up to two or three times her original length when laying her eggs in the ground, without causing any irreparable damage.

“We are not aware of a similar ability in almost any living creature,” say the researchers. “Nerves in the human nervous system, for example, can stretch only up to 30 percent without tearing or being permanently damaged. In the future, these findings may

Today in Israeli History

Dec. 31, 1973: Israelis elect the eighth Knesset. The Alignment wins 39.6%, keeping Prime Minister Golda Meir in power. The election was postponed by the Yom Kippur War, whose backlash forces Meir to resign in April 1974.

Jan. 1, 1995: The 1,500-page Agranat Report, the government’s official assessment of the IDF’s performance in the October 1973 war, is released except for 48 classified pages almost 21 years after the preliminary report was issued.

Jan. 2, 1927: Ahad Ha’am, the pen name of Asher Zvi Hirsch Ginsberg, leader of the movement for cultural Zionism, dies in Palestine at 70. He argued that Zionism should put Jewish renewal ahead of political goals.

ISRAEL PRIDE

contribute to new developments in the field of regenerative medicine, as a basis for nerve restoration and the development of synthetic tissues.”

The study was conducted by a team of Tel Aviv University researchers led by Dr. BatEl Pinchasik of the School of Mechanical Engineering in the Fleischman Faculty of Engineering and Prof. Amir Ayali of the School of Zoology in the Wise Faculty of Life Sciences. The research was published in iScience.

Dr. Pinchasik explains: “When the female locust is ready to lay her eggs, she digs a hole in the ground that will offer them protection and optimal conditions for hatching. For this purpose, she is equipped with a unique digging apparatus, consisting of two pairs of digging valves which are located at the tip of the abdomen, on either side of the ovipositor (a tube-like organ used for laying eggs). As she digs, the female extends her body, until sensors located along its length signal that she has reached a suitable point for depositing her eggs. Thus, an adult female, whose body length is about four to five centimeters, may, for the purpose of laying her eggs, stretch her body to a length of 10-15 centimeters, then quickly return to her normal length, and then extend again for the next egg-laying.”

Israel Innovation Authority to Encourage Arab Entrepreneurship

The Israel Innovation Authority and the Authority for the Economic Development of Minority Sectors have announced the successful proposals in the tender process to encourage entrepreneurship and tech careers in the Arab sector. As part of the selection process, three groups were chosen from among 24 candidates to run innovation centers focused on this core mission, two groups

Jan. 8, 1978: Rose Luria Halprin, a twotime national president of Hadassah who played a key role in the construction of the Mount Scopus hospital and held top positions in the Jewish Agency, dies at age 83.

Jan. 9, 1952: The Knesset ends three days of debate by voting 61-50 to accept more than $800 million in Holocaust reparations from the West German government over 14 years. The decision sparks protests and rioting.

to run tech accelerators and one group to run an angel investors’ club for the Arab sector in Israel.

The successful applicants to run the innovation centers will receive an operating grant of up to 2 million ILS per annum (for each of the five years of the franchise), the accelerators will receive funding of up to 1 million ILS per annum and the angel investors’ club will receive funding of up to 900,000 ILS per annum (for each of the three years of the franchise).

Welcoming the announcement, Dror Bin, CEO of the Israel Innovation Authority said: “Even though the percentage is below the national average, in recent years we are seeing a positive trend of increased integration of the Arab sector in the tech industry. Among tech entrepreneurs however, the number of Arab-led startups remains very low compared to the general population, despite the significant potential. The reasons for this are many and varied, including an absence of networking opportunities, physical distance from tech hubs, a lower threshold for risk-taking, a lack of access to mentors and investors, and to sum all of this up – the lack of a supportive local innovation ecosystem.

Compiled by AJT Staff

Jan. 12, 1989: In the first competition for Israeli athletes in the Soviet Union since the Six-Day War, the Maccabi Tel Aviv basketball team beats CSKA Red Army in Moscow, 9792. Soviet Jews make up much of the crowd.

Jan. 3, 1919:

mann

ation

Jan. 4, 1935: A pipeline spanning 590 miles from Kirkuk, Iraq, to Haifa begins carrying oil from the Mosul fields to the Mediterranean Sea. Crude oil takes about 10 days to travel through the 12-inch-diameter pipe.

Jan. 5, 1930: Two leftist political movements, David Ben-Gurion’s Ahdut Ha’avodah (Labor Unity) and Joseph Sprinzak’s Hapoel Hatzair (Young Worker Party), merge into Mapai, which dominates early Israeli politics.

Jan. 6, 1942: Rabbi Jacob Moshe Toledano, a native of Tiberias who is the chief rabbi of Alexandria, Egypt, returns to the Land of Israel to assume the post of the Sephardi chief rabbi of Tel Aviv and Jaffa.

Jan. 7, 1858: Eliezer Ben-Yehuda, often credited as the father of the modern Hebrew language, is born in Lithuania. He and his wife move in 1881 to Jerusalem, where he undertakes the revival of Hebrew as an everyday language.

Jan. 10, 1996: Jordan’s King Hussein makes his first public visit to Israel after signing a peace treaty in 1994. He co-pilots a helicopter to Sde Dov, then visits two Jordanian soldiers being treated at Ichilov Hospital.

Jan. 11, 1961: The Egoz, a ship leased by the Mossad to secretly transport Moroccan Jews to Israel, sinks a few hours after leaving Al Hoceima on its 12th immigration trip. Forty-four would-be immigrants drown.

Nahum Sokolow, shown in 1929, met with President Warren Harding for almost an hour Jan. 13, 1922, and received assurances of U.S. government support for Zionism.

Jan. 13, 1922: Nahum Sokolow, the president of the World

Congress’ Executive Committee,

with U.S. President Warren Harding for nearly an hour during a U.S. tour to raise money for Jewish settlement.

Jan. 14, 1925: Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach, one of modern Judaism’s most influential composers but the subject of abuse allegations, is born in Berlin. He starts a moshav near Tel Aviv when he settles in Israel in 1977.

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

Dror Bin, CEO of the Israel Innovation Authority

Zionist leader Chaim Weiz-

and Emir Faisal, son of Sharif Husayn of Mecca, pledge mutual respect and cooper-

between Arabs and Jews in the Middle East. The mandate system blocks their accord.

Chaim Weizmann (left) and Emir Faisal meet in Aqaba in April 1918.

The western terminus of the Mosul-Haifa pipeline is seen at Haifa’s harbor in 1938.

Jordan’s King Hussein visits a Jordanian soldier being treated at Tel Aviv’s Ichilov Hospital on Jan. 10, 1996. // By Moshe Milner, Israeli Government Press Office

Zionist

meets

Israeli

By Jan Jaben-Eilon

Whether it is because of Israel’s upcoming 75th birthday, in late April this year, or pent-up demand loosened by less restrictive COVID testing, regulations, and fears, 2023 is shaping up to be a phenomenal year for tourism to Israel.

“The projections show that 2023 will exceed the levels of tourism in 2019,” which was the year before the pandemic struck most of the world, said Cheri Scheff Levitan, CEO of Israelbased Kenes Tours.

Expected to Explode in 2023

Galilee was just nominated one of the best 23 regions to visit in 2023 by Conde Nast traveler and, with Israel celebrating 75, we’re expecting a new record of faithbased travelers between April and June, and great numbers beyond that as well.”

According to Wendy Yaniv, founder of 5 Senses Tour, the tourism optimism goes beyond this coming year. “Requests for tours in 2023 are very robust and I am even planning curated private tours for 2024,” she said.

“For the last two years, Kenes Tours has worked with Jewish Federations of North America on their April ’23 General Assembly in Israel. Numerous federations are running community missions around the GA. In addition, many other Jewish organizations (like Jewish National Fund, World Union for Progressive Judaism, March of the Living, etc.) are using the 75th as the perfect excuse to visit Israel again. Many haven’t traveled for two to three years.”

Director

said “Atlanta has been a growing market for us in the past five years and with Florida and Texas, Georgia is becoming a leading source of travel to Israel from a variety of travel segments, including multi-generational, luxury, Christian and Jewish” markets.

There may be another factor that is increasing the enthusiasm for U.S. travel to Israel, especially from the southeast. Delta Air Lines restarts its direct, nonstop service between Atlanta and Israel in mid-March. “The new Delta nonstop flight between Atlanta and Tel Aviv will serve passengers traveling from different cities throughout southern USA but will also see connecting passengers from the west and mid-country,” said Golan. “It will increase existing interest and create demand from unserved markets.”

segments, including multi-generational, luxury, Christian and Jewish” markets.

Not everyone, however, believes the increase in tourism this year can be attributed to the new Delta flights. “The flight days and times are not ideal, so it will be interesting to see if the route will succeed and/or expand,” said Levitan. Delta had nonstop service between Atlanta and Tel Aviv before but was stopped in August 2011.

ry-up-and-wait situation” as incoming Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu cobbles together his new government.

“I think people who want to go to Israel don’t really look at the government,” Yaniv asserts, “but rather, they want to experience the country, the history, and the culture. My tours are not ‘religious,’ but they are interfaith, so we explore all of the people and the cultures.”

The Director for the Southern Region USA of the Israel Ministry of Tourism, Yael Golan, couldn’t agree more. Golan told the AJT, “2023 is looking to be a great year for travel to Israel. The

She added that “Atlanta has been a growing market for us in the past five years and with Florida and Texas, Georgia is becoming a leading source of travel to Israel from a variety of travel

One thing seems to be clear: The anticipation of Israel’s most right-wing government that will be sworn in possibly by the end of the year “has had no impact on tourism thus far,” according to Golan.

Yaniv agrees. “Is the new government having an impact? I have not seen an impact at this point, but it is a hur-

Yaniv added that, “as of now, Israel is quite high on the list of countries for people to explore. The culinary and wine scene along with winning awards for the most beautiful hotel in the world, Israel has a lot to be proud of.  Let's hope nothing changes on the tourism front and all remains calm.” ì

for the Southern Region USA of the Israel Ministry of Tourism, Yael Golan,

Chanukah Night at State Farm Arena

On Dec. 19, the 17,809 fans who filed into State Farm Arena to watch the Atlanta Hawks take on the Orlando Magic didn’t just lay eyes on Trae Young nailing floaters in the lane or Dejounte Murray swishing baseline jumpers or Orlando’s 20-year-old rookie sensation Paolo Banchero showcasing his limitless potential. In addition to said excitement—and a resounding 126-125 win for the Hawks—the masses were treated to a beautiful halftime ceremony glorifying Chanukah, an event held for the eighth consecutive winter by the Hawks in conjunction with Chabad of Georgia.

Given the current social climate, this year’s event, one largely organized by Emily Hanover, Manager of Group Experiences and Junior Hawks Programs, and featuring Rabbi Isser New, associate director of Chabad of Georgia, Hawks principal owner Jami Gertz, and Anat Sultan-Dadon, Consulate General of Israel in Atlanta, naturally took on a special meaning.

“A public menorah lighting is something that is of great importance to us, especially at this time,” Sultan-Dadon told the Atlanta Jewish Times shortly after the ceremony, which marked her first time being on the State Farm Arena court lighting a menorah. “We are proud as Israelis, and we are proud as Jews to be able to celebrate in public. I think it’s beautiful that the Hawks see the value in that.

“I think we are currently at a time where we are seeing a very concerning rise in the expressions of antisemitism, globally and here in the United States. It is an atmosphere in which many feel unsafe, and I think to have a public display of a Jewish holiday, to have the lighting of the menorah, to have all of the stadium lit with ‘Happy Chanukah,’ I think it creates a space where Jews can celebrate in public. I think that especially now where some may be apprehensive about being proudly Jewish in public, I think it is important to send that message to the Atlanta community and beyond. It’s moving to be able to celebrate this here.”

Even amidst the deeper underlying meanings of such an event glorifying Judaism, the halftime celebration itself was, at times, both hip (there was a neat

Chanukah-style rendition of Taio Cruz’s “Dynamite” song) and lighthearted (Rabbi New at one point good-naturedly referred to the Hawks winning a championship as a miracle, a la one befitting Chanukah). Also of note was the fact that the stands were uncharacteristically full of fans at the half, a stark contrast to the typical scene of patrons filing into the concourses, which, on this night, offered an array of kosher food options.

Meanwhile, the nearly 10-minute long Chanukah celebration was sandwiched between two entertaining halves of basketball, which culminated in arguably the Hawks’ most scintillating win of the young season, one played in front of a jazzed up sold-out crowd (somewhat of a rarity for a Monday night against a middling opponent) that was well represented by members of the greater Atlanta

Jewish community.

“We always play off the energy of our crowd,” said Hawks head coach Nate McMillan, following his team’s one-point win that was sealed in the final seconds after Murray sank a pair of free throws to put Atlanta back on top after Orlando staged an improbable comeback in the waning minutes of regulation. “I’ve always said we have to give our crowd something to cheer about. I thought we did a good job in the second quarter where we were getting stops and you could feel the energy in the building. Our fanbase is going to be there to support us. Certainly, when you don’t give them energy, you can also get tight.”

No one is more responsible for igniting the fanbase than Young, who poured in 37 points while dishing out 13 assists in a game that, at the time, put the Hawks

back above .500 with a 16-15 record to kick off their three-game homestand.

“Besides the fact that we won, I don’t think we finished the game as well as we should have,” Young admitted post-game.

As Young and the Hawks look to maintain a winning record for the balance of the season, there promises to be more special evenings such as Chanukah Night. Indeed, the Hawks, who have forged a close bond with Chabad of Georgia over the years, will continue to pay homage to Judaic culture later this season when their G League affiliate, the College Park Skyhawks, will host a Jewish Heritage Celebration at Gateway Arena on Sunday, Jan. 29, when Ryan Turell and the Motor City Cruise are in town, followed by another edition of Israeli Heritage Night when Deni Avdija and the Washington Wizards visit this spring. ì

David Ostrowsky

At halftime of the Hawks’ game on Dec. 19, Rabbi Isser New served as the master of ceremonies for the annual menorah lighting celebration.

Anat Sultan-Dodan, Consulate General of Israel in Atlanta, was on hand at State Farm Arena on Dec. 19 to help light the menorah for the team’s Chanukah celebration. // Photos by Atlanta Hawks

Overtime Elite Complex Attracting Fans, Scouts

By David Ostrowsky

Unbeknownst to some hoops fans, there are many nights when the Atlanta Hawks aren’t the only local professional basketball team in action.

Just over three miles due north of State Farm Arena stands Overtime Elite, a 103,000 square-foot state-of-the-art facility, headquartered at Atlantic Station, that plays host to competition involving some of the country’s most talented teenage basketball players. The league, otherwise known as OTE, was the brainchild of Dan Porter and Zachary Weiner, who co-founded the New York-based social media company Overtime in 2016, when they were colleagues working on digital content for the William Morris Agency.

What began as a social media hub for extremely gifted high school ballplayers intent on gaining social media exposure has mushroomed into a fullfledged league (effective 2021) consisting of teams stacked with six-figure-earning players who, while forgoing their college eligibility, have serious aspirations of one day joining an NBA roster.

Ironically, the only enrollee not getting paid is the program’s marquee player—Naasir Cunningham, the highest-rated basketball prospect in the class of 2024, who joined OTE last April but declined a salary in order to maintain his college eligibility. Currently, the NBA mandates that any player entering the NBA Draft be at least 19 years old during the calendar year the draft is held and at least one NBA season removed from his high school graduation, or what would have been his graduation if he hasn"t graduated. As such, elite 16-to-18-year-old prospects may compete in OTE during the latter half of their high school years as well as during the aforementioned gap year prior to the NBA Draft.

The OTE league runs from October to March, includes coaches with NBA and college experience, and is overseen by former University of Connecticut men’s basketball coach Kevin Ollie, who now serves as head of coaching and basketball development for OTE.

With its snazzy infrastructure and vast financial resources, OTE looms as a disruptive force in the world of college basketball recruiting. For starters, the massive facility in the heart of midtown Atlanta boasts a world-class weight room and sparkling new arena-style courts. The institution also has secured tens of millions of dollars in seed funding and, more recently, the financial backing of rather prominent investors including the

likes of Jeff Bezos, Drake, Trae Young, and Kevin Durant.

Meanwhile, mega-sized corporations such as Gatorade, Meta, State Farm, and Topps have forged partnerships with the upstart league. Resultantly, the teenage prodigies are now able to earn well over $100,000 each year while accessing pro-style training facilities and nutritional and fitness programs and receiving educational courses on business and social justice issues, among other topics. The coursework takes place in the morning and afternoon hours before practices and games. As OTE gains further traction, it could very well serve as a viable alternative to college hoops for more high school upperclassmen basketball players weighing their options.

As ESPN college basketball analyst Jay Bilas remarked about OTE in a Los Angeles Times profile story last May, “I wouldn’t call them any sort of existential threat to the  NCAA system because they’re not going to be taking  all of the players,” Bilas said. “But they’ll be taking some of the top players, and that is certainly going to impact the college game.”

Although, as Bilas and others have been quick to point out, the NCAA may be able to compete on a monetary basis with the OTE due to the NIL (name, image, and likeness) deals that collegiate players can broker.

Behind the efforts of Porter and Weiner, the latter of whom is a University of Pennsylvania grad and member of Forbes “30 Under 30” list, OTE has been able to resonate with the younger generation of sports fans by tapping into the all-important world of social media.

While the showcase court can comfortably seat 1,200 fans—there are two additional ones with lower capacity seating arrangements—the on-court product is most prominently visible through the digital prism. An arena that has been unofficially dubbed a “basketball version of the TikTok mansion” was designed with the express purpose of leveraging social media outlets to its advantage. With live streaming of games only accessible to players’ families on a closed circuit, game action is spliced into action-packed highlights disseminated on social media platforms by the cadre of full-time social media employees who operate in a room known as “The Kitchen,” adjacent to the production center. To further appeal to a certain fan demographic, the highlights are narrated by a collection of YouTube celebs who reference pop culture perhaps even more than the game action itself.

If early returns are any indication, it appears that the strategy has worked. Over the course of its inaugural season, OTE’s online audience has grown exponentially, and, to date, Overtime has more than 65 million social media fol-

lowers and produces videos that average more than two billion views each month.

But, of course, fans itching for live in-person basketball when the Hawks are out of town need look no further than the gymnasium in Atlantic Station. ì

Empower

HOD Lodge Shimshon Supports Backpack Buddies

Hebrew Order of David is a Jewish fraternal organization that has a long, rich history of giving back to its community through volunteering and financial support. Earlier this year, Ron Robbins, founder of Backpack Buddies was a guest speaker at the Hebrew Order of David Lodge Shimshon of North Fulton. He discussed Backpack Buddies’ mission of helping food-insecure youth by providing nutritious weekend meals. Lodge Shimshon’s brothers agreed that this was the exact type of local impact on the community that the lodge was about.

HOD Lodge Shimshon, led by President Scott Scher and Vice President Jeff Budd, decided that it wanted to support Backpack Buddies through volunteering and financial support. The lodge started volunteering monthly, packing more than 200 meals on Sunday mornings followed by hearty social time over breakfast. The lodge enjoys giving back in this way while having some great camaraderie with lodge brothers.

Lodge Shimshon also wanted to support Backpack Buddies financially, and the lodge leadership started a fundraising campaign. Jody Pollack, CEO of the Atlanta Kosher BBQ Festival, partnered with the lodge and generously donated on behalf of the festival. Overall, the lodge raised $4,000 for Backpack Buddies, which is expected to feed more than 400 youth for a weekend.

On Sunday, Dec. 11, Lodge Shimshon

presented Ron Robbins with a check after the lodge volunteered packing meals. Budd reflected on the lodge’s support, “It has been an honor to work with Ron and support Backpack Buddies. The lodge loves that we can contribute to the organization’s success and have a great time by volunteering hands-on. We look forward to supporting Backpack Buddies for a long time.”

Scher further reflected on the lodge’s engagement with Backpack Buddies “As president of the lodge, I was looking to identify an organization that we could support locally. When I was introduced to Backpack Buddies and learned about their mission of providing meals for children in need on the weekends, I knew that this would be a great match for our lodge and our members to raise funds and volunteer for this great organization.”

Lodge Shimshon in Johns Creek was consecrated in 2014 and has members throughout the Sandy Springs, Alpharetta, and the North Fulton area. Lodge Shimshon supports the North Fulton community in many ways including through its Yellow Candle Project, Matzo Ball Mitzvah program, and the Atlanta Kosher BBQ Festival, and has regular social programming for its membership.

To find out more about Hebrew Order of David and Lodge Shimshon, email Membership Chairman at Shimshonlodge@ gmail.com

(From left) Lodge Shimshon Vice President Jeff Budd, Atlanta BBQ Festival CEO Jody Pollack and Lodge President Scott Scher presenting Backpack Buddies Founder Ron Robbins with the fundraising check.

Volunteers from Lodge Shimshon at the Backpack Buddies Warehouse in Dunwoody. // Photos Courtesy of Dr. David Adler

Lodge Shimshon packing up meals for more than 200 children at the Backpack Buddies warehouse.

Regional Tourism Awards Winners Announced Jewish War Veterans Host Pair of Speakers

The Shining Example Awards Program, a tourism industry fixture since 1985, highlights some of the best work in travel and tourism in the Southeast and is presented by the Southeast Tourism Society. Southeast Tourism Society is comprised of 14 regions including Alabama, Arkansas, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia.

Cumming, Ga. Mayor Troy Brumbalow was recognized as First Runner-Up for the Governmental Tourism Leadership Award. Brumbalow was a stand-out in this category for his development of the Cumming City Center, which will serve as a tourism asset to those visiting the community; his oversight of revisions and additions to City ordinances, creating community partnerships, and his work bringing in several new com-

munity events and celebrations. He has also been a supporter of the Discover Forsyth County tourism development initiative. Brumbalow participated in a panel discussion in support of local tourism for National Travel and Tourism Week and encouraged the community to follow suit in supporting Discover FoCo’s tourism efforts.

Halcyon was recognized as First Runner-Up for the Escape to the Southeast - Travel Attraction of the Year. Halcyon has had a positive impact on Forsyth County’s tourism industry with its chefdriven restaurants, curated shops, creative events, craft beverage experiences, and “Instagram-able” appeal which averages over 11,000 visitors on event days. In spring 2023, Halcyon will also be home to the new Embassy Suites Hotel which will bring an additional 160 hotel rooms and over 8,500 square feet of meeting space to the county’s tourism arsenal.

Members of the Jewish War Veterans of the U.S.A. and guests in attendance were treated to two awesome speakers talking about winners of the Medal of Honor during the organization’s most recent meeting.

Maj. Gen. Larry Taylor (ret.)  gave an account of Lt. Col. Ray Davis’ heroics in leading his battalion to relieve a beleaguered rifle company and seize, hold, and defend a vital mountain pass against very adverse conditions in the Korean conflict.

Professor Seymour Goodman gave another incredible account of Tibor Rubin, a Hungarian Jew who survived the Nazi labor camps and later enlisted in the

U S Army. His amazing actions by himself as a private in active combat situations and as a prisoner of war in North Korean and Chinese camps were documented and why he was awarded the medal of honor 50 years later. A remarkable tale about an individual who would not give up in the most austere conditions.

The group was also excited to host Hilbert Margol, the 98-year-old Jewish veteran of the U.S. Army’s 42nd Infantry Rainbow Division living in Atlanta. His story is remarkable, too. In 1945, he and his twin brother earned the title “liberators” during the Holocaust when his unit entered Dachau, one of many German concentration camps.

Sunrise at Huntcliff Summit Hosts Chanukah Party

(Back row, from left) Post 112 Commander Charles Lutin, Post Historian CWO Michael Werner (ret.), Vice-Commander Capt. Henry Levine, SC, USNR (ret.); (front row, from left) Maj. Gen. Larry Taylor USMCR (ret.), Regents Prof. Seymour E. Goodman, Georgia Institute of Technology, World War II veteran and liberator Hilbert Margol, Commander, Department of the Southeast Robert Max, Post 112 Board Member Helen Scherrer-Diamond, Post 112 Board Member Sandy Shulman.

The Shining Example Awards Program honors the most impactful individuals and organizations helping to improve tourism and travel in the southeast.

The Jewish residents of Sunrise at Huntcliff Summit, an independent living community for seniors in Sandy Springs, celebrated the first night of Chanukah with a party and traditional refreshments on Sunday, Dec. 18.

Compiled by AJT Staff

Executive director Lisa Schilling, of Sunrise of Huntcliff Summit, serves residents helped by Huntcliff’s Fatiha Lechem, second from right.

Ed Wexler, president of the Jewish resident’s association of Sunrise at Huntcliff Summit, lights the Chanukah menorah on the first night of the holiday.

OPINION

Signs of the Season

Darkness falls at too early an hour this time of year.

I often join a late afternoon video chat with my mother and a sister in Chicago and sometimes another sister in Boston. Boston and Atlanta are both in the Eastern time zone but currently the sun sets there at about a quarter-past 4 p.m. while here around half-past 5 p.m. I try to avoid griping about the weather because the family up north has little sympathy for complaints about conditions down south.

Dave Schechter

Based on the comments I receive, the columns of a personal nature strike more of a chord with readers than the others.

Maybe it’s just me, but I find myself ready to call it a night earlier during daylight standard time. Gone for now are those soft summer nights when the sun sets closer to 9 p.m. and you can linger outdoors.

The earlier dark, colder temperatures, and rain have been less than conducive for outdoor work. The yard is blanketed with fallen leaves and the garden box is soggy. The neighbors generally keep their lawns free of leaves, but about the time our kids stopped jumping into piles of leaves I stopped raking. The lawnmower is put away in a corner of the carport, surrounded by tomato cages, waiting for spring.

This was the strangest growing season I can recall. I was picking peppers and tomatoes in late November when, most years, I already would have pulled their roots from the ground. The blackberry canes, raspberry bushes and blueberry bushes sit dormant and in need of pruning. The plum tree behind the house has shed nearly all its leaves, as have the fig and persimmon in front. The monstrosity of a kiwi plant dropped its fruit several weeks ago and has exchanged its summer green for winter brown.

The dogs show little desire to spend time in the cold and damp, but in sunshine they’ll rest on the deck. Otherwise, they camp out in the living room, either on the couch, on a chair in need of reupholstering, or on dog beds in front of the windows. I either sequester in my office or occupy “my” chair in the living room.

I’ve written two dozen “From Where I Sit” columns this year. Some have been distinctly Jewish in their subject matter, others have touched on current events, and a fair number have been personal.

These columns run in the range of 725 to 750 words, which requires me to pare down my thoughts and carefully choose my words. If I’m lucky, the words flow from my mind to my fingers unimpeded. Much of the time, though, writing this column resembles a wrestling match. It’s harder to edit out words than to write them in. Along the way, a lot of “little darlings,” as favored phrases are known, hit the cutting floor.

There is another noteworthy sign of the season.

Several days before the start of Chanukah, I made a “test batch” of 43 latkes — using six potatoes and three onions — for my wife’s office holiday party. By the time you read this, I will have made dozens more and the smell of potato and onion pancakes fried in peanut oil will have permeated the kitchen and adjacent rooms. And, as I do with charoset at Passover, I’ll ask, why don’t we eat these things the rest of the year. Then I’ll clean up the kitchen and remember why.

The pages of my 2023 calendar are being filled in. After many years, I have changed from one of those large desk-size calendars to a notebook style model. I’ve penciled in appointments and potential trips, along with concerts, theater, films, and the Atlanta United schedule.

Meanwhile, here are a handful of personal resolutions as a new year begins. This list for 2023 closely resembles that of 2022: Get that book published, travel, write on subjects of interest, eat healthier, and exercise more.

Let’s hope that the next three months bring no repeat of the March 1993 “storm of the century” blizzard or the January 2014 “Snowmaggedon” that paralyzed Atlanta and made the city the butt of jokes. I’ll try to avoid grousing about the weather on that afternoon video chat. When the wind howls, temperatures plummet to single digits and below, and snowfalls are measured in feet, the family up north will have little sympathy for whatever we endure. ì

Letters to the Editor

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

Letter to the editor,

If the Biden Administration is sincerely interested in investigating antisemitism, it simply has to look in the mirror...or to quote Atlanta’s favorite son, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.,”When people criticize Zionists, they mean Jews; you’re talking antisemitism.”

Samantha Power, Biden’s Administrator of USAID, said, “The United States should stop investing billions of dollars in servicing Israel’s military.” She also claims that while the Palestinian Authority is paying millions of dollars each year in the Pay for Slay program to murder Jews, as an entity it was “pressing for calm.”

Colin Kahl, Under Secretary of Defense, attempted unsuccessfully to omit from the 2012 Democratic platform that Jerusalem was the capital of Israel.

Uzra Zeya, Under Secretary of State for Civilian Security, Democracy and Human Rights, compiled “research” for a book claiming that “the Israel lobby,” had established a secret network of PACs to “subvert the American political process to take control of U.S.Middle East policy.”

Wendy Sherman, Deputy Secretary of State, declared all Palestinian Arab suicide bombers, including the Passover Seder Park Hotel bomber in Netanya, to be “nagging disruptions.”

Reema Dodin, Deputy Director of the White House Office of Legislative Affairs, described the 9/11 attacks in which 3,000 innocent people were murdered, as an understandable Islamic response to U.S. support for Israel. Calls all Islamic suicide bombing “the last resort of a desperate people.”

Maher Bitar, Senior Director for Intelligence Programs at the National Security Council, moderated a Palestine Solidarity Conference that taught attendees how to demonize Israel.

Hady Amr, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Israel and Palestinian Affairs, declared “I was inspired by the Palestinian intifada,” in which thousands of Jews were murdered at Passover seders, restaurants, pizza parlors, discos, department stores, bus stations and on busses.

All the Biden administration must do is look in the mirror. Dr. King would understand.

Richard Sherman, Margate, Fla.

Letter to the editor,

Let’s face facts. Holding a discussion on antisemitism, even if it was attended by White House advisors and the Vice President’s husband (who happens to be Jewish) can be no more than a first step toward addressing the growing problem of antisemitism in America. And, it seems to me, that excluding the press from all but the opening remarks was a mistake. News reports that label Israel as an apartheid state and accuse Israel of genocide against the Palestinians (who experienced increased life expectancy and decreased infant mortality after Israel liberated Gaza and the “West Bank” from Egyptian and Jordanian occupation) have contributed to the rise of antisemitism worldwide.

And, truth be told, the Biden administration has been late in even recognizing that the problem exists. In April 2021, President Biden addressed a joint session of Congress, in which he discussed systemic racism and white supremacy; attacks upon Blacks, Native Americans, and women; and hate crimes against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders. But he said not a word about the fact that American Jews, less than 3 percent of the American population, are the targets of nearly 60 percent of religious bias crimes in the US.

Nor did the roundtable discussions touch on the issue of anti-Zionism, the latest incarnation of Jew hatred; many people who call themselves “pro-Palestinian” aren’t objecting to what Israel does; they are objecting to what Israel is (the nation-state of the Jews in the Jews’ ancestral homeland). Here, too, the Biden administration does not have a good record. Biden appointed Samantha Power to run USAID. When she was America’s ambassador to the UN, under the Obama administration, she supported a resolution which classified many of Judaism’s holiest sites to be “occupied Arab land.”

Biden’s choice for Senior Director of Intelligence on the National Security Council worked with Students for Justice in Palestine, UNRWA, and BADIL, all of which support the Palestinian Victimhood Narrative, that blames Israel, not corrupt Palestinian leaders, for the very real suffering of the Palestinian people.

Toby F. Block, Atlanta

Disclamer to our readers:

This section of the newspaper is a forum for our community to share thoughts, concerns and opinions as open letters to the community or directly to the newspaper.

As a letter to the editor, we proof for spelling and grammatical errors only. We do not edit nor vet the information the letter contains. The individual signing the letter is accountable for what they share.

Letter to the editor,

Hats off to Paul Root Wolpe for establishing a center for peace at Emory. As Wolpe stated, peace is in dire need, particularly in the Middle East.

Wolpe states that if Israel wants to participate, it must grant full equality to its Arab population and justice for the Palestinians. Wolpe does not impose any conditions on the Palestinians like changing their school curriculum that teaches Palestinian children to yearn for a martyr’s death while killing Israelis or dismantling the Palestinian Authority Martyrs Fund, aka “Pay for Slay” program, that financially rewards Palestinians for attacking Israelis.

Wolpe’s Emory Center for Peace should start at home with the Emory chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine who, if polled, I would predict would unanimously reject peace, wanting instead to work for Israel’s destruction.

If pro-Palestinian students reject peace and this is typical of Palestinian sentiment, there is nothing Israel can do, no concession it can make that will bring peace any closer.

Larry Shapiro, Calgary, Alberta, Canada

Letter to the editor,

It is curious that Nachman Shai expressed fear for the relationship between his country and the American Jewish community in the wake of Israel’s recent election. This is not what he should be concerned about.

He might more helpfully grapple with the question of how, after decades of refusal to negotiate peace and thousands of terror attacks aimed at civilians, it can possibly be Israel’s responsibility to find “…the framework in which they will live their lives and we live ours with security”?

Does he need to be reminded that “From the river to the sea…” indicates Palestinians want eradication of Israel, not separation from Israel? Even the U.S. Office of Palestinian Affairs has condemned the recent “…terrorist attacks on public locations in Jerusalem…Terrorism is a dead end that accomplishes absolutely nothing.”

American Jews must let Israelis work out the implications of their elections unburdened by the wisdom of Jews who do not actually live in Israel. If American Jews really fail to see the seriousness of implacable Palestinian intransigence, then their relationship with Israel is in serious trouble indeed.

Julia Lutch, Davis, Calif.

Looking Back on Ukraine as I Prepare for 2023

As I look back on the year, one thing stands out to me more than anything else, Putin’s war against Ukraine, the annihilation of its people, infrastructure, and culture. People he once called brothers, people he claims to be saving from genocide, are people he is killing every day. Could there be anything more ridiculous than this insane man’s justification for murder? Putin is nothing more than a tyrant, lying and making asinine statements to justify the killing of innocent people and the taking of their property. As this has played out over the year, the only thing that is crystal clear is that this maniacal dictator could care less about how many people he kills in his country or the country he is waging war against. His image and legacy far outweigh thousands, if not hundreds of thousands of lives. The list of atrocities against humankind is staggering. Targeting schools, hospitals, civilian apartments and homes, museums, grocery stores. Leveling entire cities. Displacing millions of women and children. Looting, rape, torture and then, attempting to set up war tribunals to prosecute these victims of crimes he committed against them. Creating elections at gunpoint hours

Michael A. Morris Publisher's Note

after tanks roll in as if this is a sign of democracy or free will. How are our world leaders not doing more is beyond my comprehension. I am not advocating for World War III, but when the only allies for this rabid dog have been China, North Korea, Iran, and Venezuela, doesn’t that speak volumes?

Let’s recall some of the statements that this heinous demented individual has uttered. “Modern Ukraine was entirely created by Russia. Ukraine never had a tradition of statehood” (writer’s note; look up Trypillian);

“Enjoy Living”

“From the very first steps, they (Ukraine) began to build their statehood on the denial of everything that unites us. There is only one goal (of Ukraine) to restrain the development of Russia. (I, Putin) ordered the attack to get people out of their misery, out of this genocide”; “There is no greater love than if someone gives his soul for his friends. Retaliation will be on the conscience of the rulers of Ukraine” (ostensibly, if Russia attacks, any retaliation will be Ukraine’s fault).

One cannot look at what is happening without compassion; it was necessary to stop this nightmare. His rantings are literally absurd, have no factual grounding and are totally meaningless. One cannot even respond because they make no sense – it’s a totally fake conversation and world leaders are responding as if he is coherent. It is like trying to make reason of a two-year-old’s gibberish and forging a debate. The difference is that this idiot is killing his own people and Ukrainians every single day and he can launch nuclear ICBM’s at almost his own whim.

Putin is comparing himself to Peter the Great. He is murdering innocent civilians every day. He has no plans to stop. He claims to be saving the people of Ukraine from neo-Nazi persecution. Why is no world leader or organization taking a real leadership role? What in G-d’s name are we waiting for? How can the UN claim to be a functioning organization and have no direct response? If the UN is unwilling to take a stand given these absurd circumstances, I cannot see a relevant purpose to it, ever. Clearly, the world has not learned what happens when deranged leaders like Putin have control and begin murderous rampages. History is repeating itself and have no doubt, China and Iran are watching very closely.

If you are unwilling to consider that history is repeating itself, ponder on this thought. It is quite possible that Putin has killed more Ukrainians than COVID. If he hasn’t, that day is not too far off. In addition, thus far, Putin has sent to death an estimated 100,000 Russians, about one-third of the total Russian COVID deaths, but he is working hard to eclipse that number. Why are COVID deaths more important internationally than systematic murder?

Enjoy the holidays and new year. Stay warm. Spend time with family. And remember, our friends in Ukraine will do none of this. Chag Sameach! ì

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January

Was Elvis, King of Rock and Roll, Jewish?

By Bob Bahr

This year, 45 years after his death in an upstairs bathroom of his home, Graceland in Memphis, Tenn., Elvis Presley remains a legendary and fascinating performer for millions of his fans. The Atlanta Jewish Times’ article this year about Elvis’s Jewish roots was read by more visitors to our website than any other story that was published.

Baz Luhrman’s two-hour biography, “Elvis,” that premiered at the Cannes Film Festival this summer, went on to rack up a worldwide box office of $282 million. That made it No. 13 on the list of the most successful films of 2022. If you missed it in the theaters, you could stream it from any one of more than a dozen sites.

The show business icon, whose great-great grandmother, Nancy Burdine, was an immigrant Jew from Lithuania who married into the Presley family, still attracts 700,000 visitors to visit the

singer’s Memphis mansion.

Tens of thousands are expected in January for four days of celebration marking the singer’s 88th birthday. The highlight of the celebration is the 50th anniversary showing of “Elvis: Aloha from Hawaii,” the televised concert that was an early beneficiary of satellite TV technology. It is said that the concert reached more than a billion viewers worldwide.

You can get an early start on sightseeing with a free visit to Graceland’s Meditation Garden, where Presley and his parents are buried. His mother’s grave is marked with a headstone that carries both a cross and a star of David, Elvis’s tribute to his mother when she died in 1958. On the program this year is a talk by the Graceland archivist, Angie Marchese, who rediscovered it.

Or you can visit the Alabama Street neighborhood downtown where Elvis and his parents lived in an apartment downstairs from Rabbi Alfred Fructer

and his wife, Jeannette. He was the rabbi at Beth El Emeth Congregation and Elvis used the rabbi’s phonograph to listen to the first inexpensive recording he made for his mother in 1954. His mother was a good friend of the Fructers, although his father was said to not be particularly fond of Jews.

You can also visit the Lansky Brothers clothing store, once on Beale Street and now located in the Peabody Hotel. The store is still owned by the Jewish family that provided Elvis with his blue suede shoes and many of his fancy duds. Both the gold chai and the star of David he wore around his neck were said to be from the Iraqi-born Jewish “King of Bling,” Mordechai Yerushalmi, in Las Vegas.

Or just stroll around the many attractions that surround the Graceland mansion, a 200,000 square-foot entertainment and exhibition complex, the new 50,000 square-foot Graceland Exhi-

Sabbatical Year Ended at Rosh Hashanah

By Jan Jaben-Eilon

Since Rosh Hashanah, at the end of September 2022, the Jewish year is now 5783. That means that the sabbatical year, or shmita, has ended. The next sabbatical year won’t begin until Sept. 20, 2028, or the Jewish year, 5789.

Just as Jewish law states that Jews can work for six days but must rest on the seventh, the law also declares that the land can be worked for six years but must be allowed to rest in the seventh year. After seven cycles of seven, the 50th year is the Jubilee year.

First mentioned in the Book of Exodus in the Torah, in Hebrew, shnat shmita literally means “a year let go,” or a year in which the Land of Israel is left to fallow.

According to the Torah, the land may not be worked, nor the produce bought and sold. While the “land” in question applies only to agriculture in Israel, there are implications of shnat shmita for Jews in the Diaspora.

According to Chabad, produce that is imported from Israel must have rabbinical certification and is subject to some laws and restrictions due to their sanctity. Also, the aspect of shmita, that applies to debt absolution, affects Jews around the world. The Torah states that all private debts are forgiven, while public debts are exempt during shmita.

Some former Atlantans, now living in Israel, like David Arnovitz, told the AJT how his family is impacted by shmita. His family observes shmita in their own

garden, doing only maintenance and improvement during the year.

“We buy produce at the grocery store that holds according to one of the shmita policies: either imported, heter mechira

bition Center, and the 450-room resort hotel across the street from the home. They were once owned by Robert F.X. Sillerman. He was a wealthy Jewish media entrepreneur who controlled Elvis Presley Enterprises shortly before his death in 2019.

(most stores, restaurants and food manufacturers do this, but it is not deemed strict enough by stricter people), or otzar beit din (more strict people do this).”

Another former Atlantan, Rabbi Adam Frank, told the AJT that “unless a person directly engages in the growing or selling of produce, practically speaking the shmita year will not be an imposition or mean any change of behavior for Israelis. Like the greater Jewish population, people’s private practices vary, and there are both Orthodox and non-Orthodox Jews who are less stringent on matters of avoiding planting on personal property. Without a doubt, the level of fervency that one expresses for Jewish ritual during the rest of the year is also expressed in the observance of shmita.”

Baz Lehrman’s “Elvis” was a big box office success this year.

David and Andi Arnovitz’s Jerusalem garden.

The NBA’s Next Jewish Jordan?

By David Ostrowsky

A year ago, Ryan Turell and the Yeshiva University Maccabees were one of the most inspirational stories in men’s college basketball. The Division III school in Washington Heights, N.Y., boasted the longest winning streak in NCAA men’s hoops and its marquee player, Turell, the curly-haired, kippah-wearing 6-foot7 small forward, was widely considered to be the modern-day “Jewish Jordan,” a moniker previously affixed to Tamir Goodman at the turn of the century. With the NBA Draft looming, there was serious talk of Turell becoming the first Orthodox Jew to crack an NBA roster.

Alas, no such development panned out. Not yet anyway.

Following the 2021-22 season, Turell was named the National Association of Basketball Coaches’ Division III player of the year after leading the country in scoring (all three divisions) but shortly thereafter suffered a minor injury in a May workout, depriving NBA teams from further observing him compete against NBA-caliber talent, and, ultimately, dis-

suading them from selecting him in the draft.

But Turell remained steadfast in his determination to play in the NBA—similar to his refusal to forego Sabbath observances, even for the sake of broadening his NBA appeal—and was ultimately chosen No. 27 overall in October’s NBA G League Draft by the Motor City Cruise, the Detroit Pistons’ minor league affiliate. And when Turell, 23, made his G League debut for the Cruise during the team’s home opener at Wayne State University Fieldhouse against the Windy City Bulls on Nov. 7, he became the firstever Orthodox Jew to play for the affiliate of an NBA organization.

While Turell has seen limited playing time thus far for the Cruise, his mere presence has ignited rabid interest among members of the metro Detroit Jewish community. Indeed, a common sight at the Wayne State University Fieldhouse this fall has been the 3,000seat facility filling up with dozens, if not hundreds, of Orthodox Jewish fans thunderously cheering on Turell every time he checks in. The enthusiasm has been

contagious across the organization as the team’s parent club, the Pistons, held a Jewish Heritage Night earlier this month involving Chanukah gelt and menorah giveaways; there are also plans for Jewish day school students to stand alongside Pistons players during the National Anthem at an upcoming game.

As Turell told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency after a mid-November home game, “Jews love basketball. They really do. The Jewish community is incredible, them coming out and cheering me on. It really means the world to me. And it’s special because it’s bigger than basketball.”

After a marvelous four-year career at Yeshiva University, Los Angeles native Ryan Turell has his sights set on having a significant impact on the Detroit Pistons’ G League affiliate, Motor City Cruise.

Jewish Players No Longer Exception on NHL Rosters

By David Ostrowsky

Last January, the Atlanta Jewish Times ran a story entitled “Jewish Players No Longer Exception on NHL Rosters.” Undoubtedly, in the 2021-22 season, Jewish skaters no longer represented a distinct minority in the NHL as many teams’ rosters included members of the Jewish community, none more prominently than that of the Pittsburgh Penguins, who had two such players: left-winger Jason Zucker and defenseman Mark Friedman. Pittsburgh’s situation was virtually unprecedented in league history, and it was emblematic of the fact that, in all likelihood, there had never been a stronger Jewish representation than last year’s league-wide makeup of rosters.

While over the past 12 months there has been inevitable roster turnover— Friedman is currently playing for Pittsburgh’s minor league affiliate, the WilkesBarre/Scranton Penguins—the Jewish influence remains strong in the hockey world, particularly in the Tri-State area where two prominent players, Adam Fox of the New York Rangers (profiled in the AJT last May), and Jack Hughes of the New Jersey Devils, are anchoring their re-

After playing intermittently for the Philadelphia Flyers for a couple seasons, Mark Friedman joined Jason Zucker in Pittsburgh last February and now hopes to become a consistent contributor for a team eyeing a Stanley Cup championship.

spective Stanley Cup-contending teams.

Fox is one of the league’s elite de-

fensemen, as evidenced by his capturing the 2021 Norris Trophy and annually be-

‘Coming out to Dad’ is Old News

By Marcia Caller Jaffe

“Coming Out to Dad” had an extra twist with “dad,” in this case, being two local Conservative rabbis. In both cases, readers were fascinated with the openness and open arms that welcomed the younger generation’s coming out, or declaration of being in the LGBTQ+ group.

In Rabbi Joshua Heller’s case, son Caleb; in Rabbi Hillel Norry’s case, daughter Natanya, below referred to by Norry as the “they” pronoun.

Rabbi Heller reported that after the initial fuss with his sermon and Facebook post about Caleb, things settled down. Caleb is in college, happy and focused on his future career in film. Rabbi Heller said, “He’s getting good grades; and the news story is that it’s not a news story. It just ‘is.’ Welcome the day when the love between a father and son is not a news story.”

Rabbi Norry lent this update, “Natanya continues to enjoy college, and is getting a lot of experience performing, writing, and collaborating musically. They and I were both proud of how the story showed our relationship, and we

both received a lot of supportive responses. Publicly sharing our positive story has itself been a positive experience. Natanya continues to be an inspiring model for me, Jewishly and creatively, expressing themselves and sharing their curious and

philosophical mind. It’s not uncommon for me to get a deep theological question texted to me late at night.

“I know that, as they grow and further explore the world, they will not find everyone open and receptive to who they

ing one of the league leaders in assists. Across the George Washington Bridge, the upstart Devils have been one of the league’s biggest surprises this winter and no one is more responsible for the club’s fantastic start than Hughes, who, after being limited to 49 games last season with a dislocated shoulder and MCL injury, paces the team in goals and assists.

But it’s not just Fox and Hughes, the latter of whom has two standout brothers, Quinn, currently playing for the Vancouver Canucks, and Luke, a defenseman for the University of Michigan Wolverines, who was drafted by New Jersey fourth overall in the 2021 NHL Draft. On opening night, in addition to the Penguins, Devils, Rangers, and Canucks, a passel of other franchises including the Arizona Coyotes, San Jose Sharks, and Edmonton Oilers rolled out lineups featuring Jewish players.

Meanwhile, the future also looks rather promising as a couple of the big names in college hockey, Northeastern goalie Devon Levi, and University of Denver defenseman Shai Buium, both have strong Jewish roots…and affiliation with NHL franchises, the Buffalo Sabres and Detroit Red Wings, respectively.

are. But I’m sure they will always remember that their family loves and supports them. Just this morning, they came home, and we went to vote together, a moment of serious ‘naches.’ Just a rabbi, and his queer kid trying to change the world.”

Caleb Heller’s coming out was eased by his father’s LGBTQ+ advocacy in Conservative Judaism. // Credit: Caleb Heller

Lynching Memorial Toppled, Then Repaired

By Dave Schechter

On the morning of Feb. 10, Jordan Strong, of Waleska, Ga., discovered that a memorial to lynching victims, adjacent to the Leo Frank memorial in Marietta, had been toppled.

Strong had come to the site, on Roswell Road near Interstate 75, the day after his 13-year-old son came home from school with questions about what his class had learned about Frank. As Strong walked from his car to the memorial, he saw the black granite slab lying on the ground, apparently removed forcibly from the pedestal to which it was attached by steel pins. “I was on the phone with my wife. I said, you’ve got to be freaking kidding me. Somebody has managed to tip this thing over,” he said.

Photographs shared with the AJT show no visible clue as to how the monument was dislodged. No other vandalism or defacement was apparent at the site. When informed of the damage, the Anti-Defamation League contacted law enforcement.

The lynching memorial landed face up, allowing Strong to read the inscription:

In respectful memory of the thousands across America, denied justice by lynching: Victims of hatred, prejudice and ignorance. Between 1880–1946, ~570 Georgians were lynched.

ADL

Jewish American Society for Historic Preservation

Rabbi Steven Lebow, Temple Kol Emeth

The memorial — 36 inches tall, 14 inches wide at its base and six inches in depth — was installed in December 2018, three months after the rededication of the Leo Frank memorial. The Frank marker had been removed four years earlier by the Georgia Department of Trans-

A memorial to lynching victims in Marietta, adjacent to the Leo Frank memorial, has been repaired and reinstalled.

portation because of road construction.

Frank, a Jewish factory superintendent, was lynched on Aug. 17, 1915, in a long since built-over wooded area, along what now is Freys Gin Road. Frank was convicted in 1913 of murder in the death of 13-year-old Mary Phagan, who worked at the Atlanta pencil factory where he was the manager. Cobb County residents, angered by Gov. John Slaton’s commutation of the death sentence, kidnapped Frank from the state prison in Milledgeville and drove him to the woods where he was hanged.

Frank’s is the only known lynching of a Jew in the United States.

By some estimates, as many as 95 percent of those lynched in Georgia were African Americans. The memorial uses the “~” figure because the documented number of lynchings may be incomplete.

By May, the memorial was upright again. The benefactor of the repairs, Jerry Klinger, a retired financial services executive from Rockville, Md. — and founder of the Jewish American Society for Historic Preservation — also funded the memorial’s creation and installation. JASHP has placed historical markers at more than 110 locations in the United States alone and others in a half dozen countries.

Jewish Legislators’ Comings and Goings

By Dave Schechter

Jewish state legislators and those seeking to serve were on the move in 2022.

Democratic Rep. Mike Wilensky announced Jan. 31 that he would not seek a third term in the House. Wilensky represented Dunwoody-based District 79 for two terms. In a statement to the AJT, Wilensky said: “In four years, I accomplished many of the goals I set out to perform. These goals included the passing of the hate crimes bill, working on the Judiciary and Regulated Industries committees and having two bills pass the House, one of which was signed into law by the governor. While I have enjoyed my time serving in the legislature, I am looking forward to spending more time with my children.”

Former Republican Rep. Mitchell Kaye returned to the House. He won a May 3 special election runoff to serve District 45 for the eight months remaining in the term of Republican Matt Dollar, who resigned in February to become deputy commissioner of the Technical College System of Georgia. Kaye won 56.7 percent of the runoff vote to defeat Dustin McCormick and told the AJT that he was “humbled and overwhelmed by the magnitude of the victory.” Kaye opted not to seek a full two-year term. He represented District 37 from 1993-2003. Kaye is believed to have been the first Jewish Republican elected to the Georgia legislature.

House district 51 saw a Jewish Republican and a Jewish Democrat square off. Attorney Esther Panitch defeated Erendira Brumley in the Democratic primary on May 24, while Republican Peter Korman faced no primary opposition. Panitch and Korman sparred frequently on Twitter during the early months of the campaign. In the Nov. 8 general election, Panitch received 55.8 percent of the vote to defeat Korman. District 51 takes in most of Roswell, northeast Sandy Springs, and a section of Johns Creek.

Betsy Kramer, a long-time member of the Republican Jewish Coalition and the for-

mer first vice chair of the Fulton County Republican Party, made a bid in District 50, but lost in the May 24 Republican primary.

Democrat Jeff Auerbach was unsuccessful in his bid to represent House district 121 in the Athens/Oconee area. A visiting assistant professor of political science at Emory University-Oxford, Auerbach received 39 percent of the general election vote and was defeated by Republican Rep. Marcus Wiedower, who represented district 119 before the redistricting that followed the 2020 Census.

Republican Rep. Todd Jones won a fifth term in House district 25, receiving 62 percent of the general election vote against Democrat Todd Meyer. The district is comprised of southeast Forsyth County and a piece of northern Fulton County. In an interview with the AJT in June, Jones explained that while his mother is Jewish and his late father was Protestant, “I don’t want to be judged by one hour of every week, where I sit. I want to be judged on seven days a week, 24 hours a day, so I work as hard as I can with the ethos that both sets of grandparents gave me…I think they raised me to really just do the right thing, whether Christian or Jewish, just do the right thing.”

There are 236 seats in the General Assembly, 180 in the House and 56 in the Senate. An estimated 130,000-plus Jews make up about 1.2 percent of the population of Georgia but hold an even smaller percentage of legislative seats.

Esther Panitch

Bourla Honored and Criticized for COVID

By Bob Bahr

Pfizer CEO Dr. Albert Bourla, whose parents survived the Holocaust on the Greek island of Rhodes, began 2022 on a high note. He received the prestigious $1 million Genesis prize in January for his work in developing Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine.

The Genesis award, which is sometimes described as the Jewish Nobel Prize, is an annual honor given to someone who is committed to Jewish values and has made a significant contribution to humanity. Bourla received the highest number of votes in a public campaign that included 200,000 people in 71 countries.

The award carried the commendation that Bourla had provided the “leadership and determination” to develop the vaccine by “his willingness to assume

great risks.” Pfizer took on the task of developing the vaccine in partnership with the German drug development firm, BioNTech, early in the pandemic. It was the first vaccine authorized in Europe and by the FDA in the United States.

Bourla said he planned to donate the money that came with the prize to projects that help to preserve the memory of Holocaust victims, especially in Greece. Bourla’s parents were among the less than 5 percent of the Jews in the Greek city of Thessaloniki who survived the German occupation of Rhodes, which had a long and rich tradition of Jewish life.

In a statement that the Genesis Foundation released, Bourla said he was accepting the award “humbly and on behalf of all my Pfizer colleagues who answered the urgent call of history.”

Pfizer’s reputation took a strong hit

Vaccine Work

a scathing letter to Bourla. It strongly criticized the company’s plan to raise the prize of its COVID vaccine by 400 percent next year when it is released into the commercial market. In October, Pfizer announced it would be selling the vaccine for between $110 and $130 a dose. It is said to be a 10,0000 percent markup from the manufacturing cost. The government has been paying Pfizer about $30 a dose and initial pricing was expected to be around $50.

on Dec. 14 when Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren and Senator-elect Peter Welch, a Democrat from Vermont, sent

Warren and Welch called the Pfizer plan “pure and deadly greed” and accused the pharmaceutical manufacturer of “unseemly profiteering.” They pointed out that Pfizer had benefited from foundational research conducted at the National Institutes of Health and received a $1.95 billion advance-purchase agreement via the government’s Operation Warp Speed.

Cobb Schools Experienced Antisemitic Incidents

By Jan Jaben-Eilon

The 2021-22 school year in Cobb County was rocked by several incidents of antisemitism. What made these worse, according to parents of students in those schools, was the inadequate response from the Cobb County School District.

In February 2022, a Jewish student reported that classmates at East Cobb Middle School on Terrell Mill Road were photographed wearing an armband with a swastika and demonstrated the Nazi salute. The photographs were posted on social media.

During the previous Jewish High Holy Days, graffiti including swastikas and “Hail Hitler” were scrawled above urinals in school bathrooms in Pope and Lassiter High Schools. The Cobb school district was strongly criticized for not addressing the antisemitic aspect of the graffiti, only calling it “hate speech.”

In a statement after the East Cobb Middle School incident, the school board said, “Several students, after school, made a very poor decision to display hateful and antisemitic imagery while recording themselves on social media. The students will be disciplined according to district policies, and we encourage parents to talk to their students about using social media responsibly.”

In a comment posted on Twitter, the Southern Division of the Anti-Defama-

tion League stated, “Antisemitic messages at Cobb County public schools persist with no clear path forward. We have a responsibility to targeted Jewish families and are still open to work with the schools. An anti-hate resolution without action is not enough to effect change.”

Several families of East Cobb Middle School attend Chabad of Cobb synagogue. Rabbi Ephraim Silverman released a statement, acknowledging that “this is obviously extremely hurtful and painful for the Jewish community and really for all decent people living in our community. We have Holocaust survivors and the children of survivors in our community so you can imagine the emotions that these images evoke. There is no place for this kind of behavior in our society.”

He added, however, that “we do need to give the school the opportunity to address this and to take appropriate action.

I am hoping that lessons from recent events at some of the other schools will help guide the schools’ handling of this.

I also feel that it is important that we do not allow these isolated acts of stupidity and hate to change the way we see our community and society. I have personally been working in many of the local schools for 20 years providing support for the schools’ Jewish clubs. And I will tell you that 99 percent are kind, tolerant and respectful. Let’s not allow a few juve-

nile idiots [to] change the way we view our neighbors.”

Congregation Kol Emeth Rabbi Larry Sernovitz, also in Cobb County, who reacted to the earlier antisemitic acts in the Cobb County schools, called the latest incident “just another example of the

schools not doing enough to educate our kids about history.” He called the school board more “reactive rather than proactive,” and said that they need to change their curriculum and programming “so this kind of stuff wouldn’t happen. Otherwise, we just have to get used to it.”

Albert Bourla, right, receives the Genesis Prize in January 2022.

One of several students that portrayed neo-Nazi arm band and salute at East Cobb Middle School.

Camps Require COVID Vaccination

By Dave Schechter

Heading into the summer of 2022, COVID-19 had been a thorn in the sandals of Jewish camp directors.

The original SARS-CoV-2 virus wiped out the 2020 overnight camp season and delayed day camp openings. The Delta variant was identified in the United States weeks before a limited 2021 season. So, in 2022, even as the Omicron variant appeared to be waning, camps took no chances.

The directors of five popular Jewish overnight camps decided that campers and staff would be required to present evidence of vaccination in line with recommendations for their age by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The five were Camp Barney Medintz, Camp Coleman, and Camp Ramah Darom, in Georgia, and Camp Judaea and the 6 Points Sports Academy, in North Carolina.

Wordle Still on Top

By Marcia Caller Jaffe

In February, the AJT reported on Wordle, the New York Times’ five-letter word game that had Jewish Atlantans’ tongues wagging, forming connections and competitions with family, friends, and strangers. No flash in the pan, Wordle has continued to be part of our daily lives.

This week, the Washington Post reported that Wordle was the most Googled word and term search of the year. That translates to more than Queen Elizabeth, Ukraine, Mega Millions and Power Ball results, World Cup, or even election results. Many of the latter had large spikes, but Wordle remained constant as a shared obsession, both in the U.S. and globally.

The game became a viral hit in 2021 after players began sharing cryptic emoji squares on social media. Who doesn’t know what the black, yellow, and hopefully green boxes mean? Some can’t decide if playing causes more stress or is a stress reliever, as something that has to or should be done every day.

As the months progress, the seasoned players still strive to find the most perfect “start word.” It can be monotonous to use the same one every day. One must strategize how to cram in the most common letters. Crate? Slant? Trace? Opera?

This past summer, Microsoft founder Bill Gates revealed his start word was “audio,” but alas, ‘No!” Massachusetts Institute of Technology researchers found that “salet,” a 15th century helmet, is statistically the optimal start up word. Remember,

it’s not just discovering a letter, it’s about where the letter falls within the word, and considering that a letter might be repeated. “Knock” was in mid-December and almost drove many folks to wall climbing.

Also once in 2022, there was a scandal where different players got esoteric message wordles like “fetus,” where others on the same day got common household words. Some thought it was a New York Times prank commensurate with abortion rhetoric.

Atlantans pledge in 2023 to keep playing and posting boxes on Facebook, eschewing any clues or comments. Someone once posted, “Is this still a word? I thought it was Biblical,” and received very nasty comments for alerting others (the word was “smote.”)

Let us all enjoy this distraction away from politics and the like. Just recall, according to the Washington Post revelation on “the most Googled searches,” Jeffrey Dahmer was also in the Top Ten.

The overnight camps made their vaccination policy decisions independently but arrived at the same conclusion. A search online found most Jewish overnight and day camps across the United States requiring COVID vaccinations.

Lori Zeligman, director of Camp Judaea, in Hendersonville, N.C., said, “Since

all of us do have the same stance, it definitely makes it a lot easier,” in terms of a consistent message to parents.

“In speaking with our medical advisory team, their recommendation to us was that we respect everyone’s right to do what they think is right for their kids, but in our opinion, to enjoy camp and have the safest possible community at camp this summer, we have to require that everyone is vaccinated,” said Michael Drucker, director of Camp Barney Medintz, the MJCCA overnight camp northwest of Cleveland, Ga.

“We have a real sense of collegiality and a true team,” said Anna Serviansky, director of Camp Ramah Darom, located outside of Clayton, Ga. “What people don’t understand, unless they are in the business, is that you have a lot of responsibility to take care of upwards of 750 people at a time, to make sure they are healthy and safe, and having a good time. We all care about Jewish camp, and we all want each other to be successful and have as many kids go to Jewish camp as possible. This is what we believe in.”

March

What’s Jewish About the Titanic Update

By Robyn Spizman Gerson

Following the story, “What’s Jewish About the Titanic?” the Titanic Museum Attraction in Pigeon Forge, Tenn., opened the first ever tribute exhibit called, “The Titanic Jewish Experience.”

A huge success, the media, community and Titanic followers attended as David H. Kurzman, great, great grandson of Isidor and Ida Straus, and Joan Adler, executive director of the Straus Historical Society, traveled to Tennessee and handdelivered the gold locket found on Isidor Straus’ body when it was recovered. This was the first time the locket has been on display since 1912. David’s father, Paul A. Kurzman, had never lent it for exhibition, until this year as the exhibit honored all of the Jewish passengers and crew who were lost when the Titanic sank.

The Titanic Museum Attraction, in Pigeon Forge and Branson, Mo., are venues where the great ship has been recreated in three-quarter scale. Several of the historical society’s artifacts are on loan to TMA including Isidor’s wedding band along with Isidor and Ida’s recreated first-class sitting room. The watch fob is one of the Titanic’s  most important and emotionally charged artifacts ever recovered. It remained in the possession of Straus family descendants until being on loan to this exhibit.

In a conversation with Adler, the

SHS’s executive director, she said, “There was a very moving event at the opening of the event. David’s father, Paul, inherited the locket when Isidor’s body was recovered. It was given to his oldest daughter, Sarah, who gave it to her daughter, Eleanor, and then she gave it to her son, Paul, who cherishes it.”

Adler added, “Isidor’s wedding band has also been on loan to the Titanic Museum Attraction. Since they were doing a Jewish exhibit for the first time, we hand delivered the locket and attended the opening. It was so moving as we entered a replica of Isidor and Ida’s sitting room. David presented the locket to Paul Burns, the vice president of programing,

who handed it to the 90-year-old Captain Smith, an actor who portrayed the ship’s captain. He said a prayer and they placed it in the display case.”

Adler said, “Not many people knew Titanic had a kosher kitchen and a menu, including separate china and silverware with Hebrew lettering, keeping milk and meat dishes separate. We realize that people have a morbid fascination with the Titanic. We’re grateful that all the individuals lost on the ship are being recognized and the story continues to be told. I have this wonderful job to share the legacy of this family, as they are mindful of what they’ve inherited. This legacy of morality, kindness, public service, and

philanthropy is important to the Straus family, their descendants. They are dedicated to preserving their ancestor’s story, which is a reminder that there are good people in this world.”

Paul R. Burns, vice president and curator of The Titanic Museum Attraction, replied, “The tribute to Jewish passengers and crew on display at Titanic Museum Attractions in Branson and Pigeon Forge began with a question: Did you know there was a kosher kitchen onboard Titanic? The tribute displays have enjoyed a successful run and included passenger stories linked by fate to the Holocaust.

“It was originally set for a six-month display period but was so well received by our guests we extended it,” Burns continued. “Many of our crewmembers received praise from our museum guests for telling the Jewish story of those onboard and, in many cases, the message to us was simply ‘thank you.’ We have even been approached by several Jewish and Holocaust museums inquiring about the possibility of a temporary display of our Jewish tribute at their respective venues. We are currently exploring the feasibility of such a venture for the near future. It turned out to be quite an honor for the company and our entire crew to tell this story; with many elements of this tribute set to remain for permanent display moving forward.”

Straus’s locket. (©National Geographic)

Passport Springs Set to Open in 2023

By Sasha Heller

It’s about to get much more luxurious in Forsyth County as the new, 10-acre oasis, Passport Springs & Spa, is nearing completion and preparing to open to the public in the fall of 2023.

The lush spa and resort, designed by veteran architects Voelker Gray, will feature themed pavilions representing Costa Rica, Italy, Israel, and Japan. Recently updated digital renderings show the spa’s plan to operate 25 thermal mineral pools, a centralized and glass-encased ocean pool that links each of the themed hot springs together, and the Grotto, an underground cave network featuring snow, sauna, and salt rooms. The various spa rooms will offer massages, facials, and other rejuvenating treatments.

Slade Gulledge, vice president of economic development for Forsyth Chamber of Commerce, in April, called Passport Springs a “very innovative, ambitious and exciting project.”

“We are thrilled Forsyth County has been chosen for their flagship location and look forward to continuing our work with their development team,” Gulledge said.

Read on to learn about each of the themed pavilions.

Japan

Inspired by Beppu Onsen, a famous group of hot springs located in the city of Beppu in Japan, the Japan-themed pavilion at Passport Springs will feature rocky shorelines, dramatic water chutes, wooden post and lintel construction and sliding tatami screen walls. The landscape will also feature a multi-story pagoda with arcing blue tile roofs and glistening finials that towers above a serene garden collection of bonsai, cherry blossoms, maple, and bamboo.

While inside the pagoda, guests can enjoy sushi and sake while enjoying the sights and ambience. Also, a highlight of the Japanese pavilion is the volcanic sunbathing experience, while VIP guests

can soak in a private hot spring pool, courtyard and house.

Israel

According to press materials, the Israel Dead Sea experience will be the largest flotation pool in North America, and largest in the world, second to only the Dead Sea itself. During the day, guests can experience the novelty of floating in the water; however, at night, the pavilion transforms into a dimly-lit, atmospheric Middle Eastern bathhouse featuring flickering, handcrafted chandeliers. Adjacent to the floating pool is a luxurious expanse of authentic Dead Sea mud, where patrons can lather themselves and friends in soothing clay.

Costa Rica

The pools in the Costa Rica-themed pavilion are influenced by minerals in the volcanically warmed hot springs. The pavilion also features a vibrant greenhouse with living rainforest walls and

an infinity pool overlooking a 50-foot cliffside. Of note, the Costa Rica pool will glow in the evenings due to its bioluminescence, making it the world’s first of its kind.

Italy

Guests will enter the Italy pavilion via a courtyard and loggia, harking back to the days of Roman patrician states, that leads to a pantheon that is lined with cypress trees and mounted with a monumental pediment relief. The pantheon houses pools of varying temperatures and mineral content underneath a coffered, domed roof containing a sky-light oculus. The area is inspired by the iconic hot springs of Bath, England, created by the Romans during occupation.

Patrons can also journey through the Grotto, a subterranean cave network featuring a sequence of sauna, steam, snow, and salt rooms. Fine wine, personal brick oven pizzas, and gelato dessert will tempt guests’ taste buds as they soak in

The Italian-themed pavilion will feature a pantheon, a grotto and Tuscan-inspired scenery // Photo Courtesy of Passport Springs & Spa

the idyllic Tuscan-inspired scenery.

Passport Pool

Finally, Passport Pool will connect the network of international pavilions in a centralized, glass-enclosed hub. The Passport Pool, inspired by the Gellert Bath in Budapest, Hungary, features a 100-foot-long retractable glass roof and wall. When not soaking in the pool, guests can recline in seats affixed to the Baja bench pool or wade in the river current. Guests can also enjoy the Passport Bistro, Bar, and Café, with delectable selections of meals and drinks prepared by world-renowned chefs and mixologists.

Situated in Forsyth County at the intersection of Georgia Highway 400, State Route 141 and Ronald Reagan Boulevard, Passport Springs is easily accessible to the Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Alpharetta metropolitan area.

Daniel Elkind contributed to this article.

The Japanese-inspired pavilion will feature hot springs, rocky shorelines, dramatic water chutes and sliding tatami screen walls // Photo Courtesy of Passport Springs & Spa

The Israel-themed pavilion will recreate the Dead Sea experience and will allow guests to float in the largest flotation pool in North America // Photo Courtesy of Passport Springs & Spa

The pools in the Costa Rica-themed pavilion are influenced by minerals in the volcanically warmed hot springs // Photo Courtesy of Passport Springs & Spa

Congregation Bet Haverim Welcomes New Rabbi

light, both physically and spiritually into the world.

“The most powerful thing we can do is to be public and to shine bright and say we’re here and we are not going anywhere. And we stand for hope, for justice, for freedom, for every spirit and for the spirit of G-d that keeps us, that sustains us in every generation. We’re not giving up on that no matter how hard some may try to silence us.”

Since coming here, Rothbaum has worked particularly hard to engage the synagogue in becoming more actively involved in working for social justice. He is particularly interested, he says, both as someone who is in a same sex marriage and the leader of a congregation that was founded for the LGBTQ+ community, to have the synagogue celebrate the full spectrum of gender identity.

By Bob Bahr

Rabbi Mike Rothbaum, the new spiritual leader at Congregation Bet Haverim in Toco Hills, ended 2022 with a full program of Chanukah activities. They began with what was called a “magical night of story-

It was a busy week for the Reconstructionist congregation, but that was just fine for Rabbi Rothbaum, who came to the synagogue from an independent and unaffiliated community in Acton, Mass. this summer. He sees the holiday as an important time for each of us, as Jews to bring

“I said this on our High Holidays, the job of a rabbi is to teach Torah, build community, and to make justice or help make justice. And so, these goals include deepening our Torah learning and our implementation of our Torah values as we grow to understand and integrate those values as

Members of Congregation Bet Haverim march in protest for social justice.

Former Atlanta Rabbi Arrested on Sex Charge

By Dave Schechter

The arrest in suburban Cleveland of a former assistant rabbi at Ahavath Achim Synagogue for allegedly soliciting sex from a minor shocked those who knew him in Atlanta.

Rabbi Stephen Weiss, who served as an assistant rabbi at the AA synagogue from July 1990 to June 1997, had been the senior rabbi at Congregation B’nai Jeshurun, in Pepper Pike, Ohio, since 2001.

Weiss, 60, was arrested April 18 by the Ohio Internet Crimes Against Children task force. He allegedly communicated on a social networking app with an undercover investigator posing as a 15-year-old boy and then traveled to a location in Newburgh Heights, Ohio, to meet what he thought was a teenager.

Weiss was charged with one count of attempted unlawful sexual conduct with a minor, one count of importuning and one count of possessing criminal tools. The Cleveland Jewish News reported: “According to the prosecutor’s office, the vehicle he was driving was searched and law enforcement officers found a box of condoms and two bottles of lubricant.”

He was released April 19 after posting $50,000 bond and was required to wear a GPS location monitoring device. If convicted, the maximum sentence would be 3.5 years in prison.

B’nai Jeshurun suspended Weiss immediately following his arrest. He was suspended April 25 by the Rabbinical Assembly, the international Conservative/ Masorti movement’s rabbinic body.

Weiss was indicted June 16 by a Cuyahoga County grand jury on one count of attempted unlawful sexual conduct with a minor, one count of importuning, and one count of possessing criminal tools. He pleaded non-guilty at his arraignment in July.

In October, the Cuyahoga County Prosecutor’s Office offered Weiss a plea agreement. He was given a Dec. 23 deadline to accept or reject the offer. The plea agreement would dismiss the importuning charge if he pleads guilty or no contest to the other two charges, according to the prosecutor’s office. Should the case not be resolved, a trial is scheduled for Jan. 18, 2023.

Several people connected to Weiss during his time at Ahavath Achim declined to comment. “I was on the AA board and he was an admired rabbi. There were no concerns about him personally that I was aware of,” said Sherry Frank. “This is a sad story.”

Times Square of the South Coming to Atlanta

“a

By Sasha Heller

Easily one of the AJT’s most read stories in 2022, this story garnered a great deal of attention, both from the local community and abroad.

The Atlanta Jewish Times, in late April, published a preview of the expansion of Centennial Yards, and readers flocked to learn more about the project. Plans call for transforming the Gulch area, which is nearly 40 acres of undeveloped land, into 35 usable acres of desirable attractions.

The project, dubbed “Times Square of the South,” will feature construction of between 12-15 new city blocks located in the heart of downtown Atlanta. The site will provide direct pedestrian access between State Farm Arena, MercedesBenz Stadium, the Georgia World Congress Center, CNN Center, Centennial Olympic Park, and the Castleberry Hill neighborhood.

In the AJT’s article in April, Steve Koonin, CEO of the Atlanta Hawks, said, “Bernie Marcus started the renaissance of turning the downtown area around when he built the Georgia Aquarium. (That) created huge opportunities for downtown restaurants, hotels, and other attractions to blossom in downtown.

Now, Centennial Yards is emerging in the center of downtown Atlanta. It will add a live, work, and play destination that the city has been lacking. The Atlanta Hawks are proud to play a part,” Koonin said.

Brandon Sutton, vice president of marketing and communication for CIM Group, the entity developing the site, detailed some of the enhancements included in the project:

* Six buildings under design currently, representing approximately 1,200 apartments and 600 square feet of commercial office space

* 232-unit residential building on Mitchell Street, designed by Cooper Carry (ready in 2024)

* 54-unit residential building on Elliott Street, designed by Praxis 3 and JW Robinson (groundbreaking in late 2022)

* Wild Leap Brew Co. planned opening in the Canyon (late summer 2022)

* 290-key hotel (planned groundbreaking early 2023)

* Subsurface sewer line infrastructure construction (end of 2022)

* Nelson Street bridge construction (early 2023).

Kaylene Ladinsky contributed to this article.

Rabbi Stephen Weiss, who served as an assistant rabbi at Ahavath Achim Synagogue from July 1990 to June 1997. // Credit Stephen Weiss(Cuyahoga County Jail)

Rendering – New pedestrianized routes, shared surfaces, and landscaped plazas as

vibrant public realm that can accommodate a broad range of experiences and opportunities, while providing outdoor gathering spaces for all Atlantans.”

I Have Been Attacked and Defamed for Visiting Israel

By Sasha Heller

Samantha Strelzer, student body president at the Rollins School of Public Health at Emory University, penned an editorial for the Atlanta Jewish Times in July after experiencing antisemitism upon returning from a visit to Israel. The editorial was one of the most read stories on the AJT website this past year, as it was shared by countless readers on various social media, directing other readers to visit the site and read Samantha’s story.

In the story, Strelzer identified her chief attacker as a fellow board member at the Rollins School at Emory. Strelzer wrote, “I recently went on a Taglit-Birthright trip to Israel, and since that time, I have been the victim of a harassment and defamation campaign both online and offline. I know that this is sadly an all-too-common occurrence, and that across the country, students who dare to express a pro-Israel point of view or visit the Holy Land are ostracized on campus. But I have decided to fight back…”

Strelzer then provided a detailed account of the attacks she suffered, including her aggressor falsely accusing the state of Israel of apartheid and genocide. Her aggressor then claimed that Strelzer herself directly contributed to the alleged apartheid and killing of indigenous people. Strelzer’s aggressor also accused Strelzer of promoting war and genocide, and supporting colonial murderers, and then called for Strelzer to step down from her elected position.

Strelzer decided enough was enough and she went public with her story, sharing it with the Atlanta Jewish Times and the extended Atlanta Jewish community.

Several AJT readers voiced their support for Strelzer in the form of letters to the editor, as they sided with Strelzer and expressed their compassion and empathy.

Samantha Strelzer, student body president at the Rollins School of Public Health at Emory University, contributed to this article.

East Side Elementary Logo No Longer Used

“looks similar to another well-known image. I think (& hope) this was an honest oversight.”

Congregation Etz Chaim Rabbi Daniel Dorsch, whose synagogue is just across the street from East Side Elementary School, said, “As of now, I have not received any updates from the school of the matter. I have checked in with some parents…who have also not heard anything new.”

He added that “it is my understanding that they are no longer using the offensive logo.”

Clark then released a statement saying, “We recently introduced a new set of logos for the school. The school is aware of concerns about these logos, and therefore, we have paused to consider that feedback. We will be immediately reviewing the logos to determine needed changes.”

By Jan Jaben-Eilon

Outrage from the Jewish community, and especially parents of elementary school students in Cobb County, appears to have had its intended results. The new logo introduced by East Side Elementary

School on July 15 is no longer being used by the school.

The winged-eagle logo, which reminded many of the Nazi eagle emblem, caught the immediate attention of parents who went on social media to complain. As one noted, the emblem

After the introduction of the logo caused an uproar in his congregation, Dorsch received a call from the school’s principal, Marcia Clark, who “apologized and was completely mortified. We have a wonderful relationship with the school. It’s literally next door. Both past and present teachers there have been congregants. We use their parking lot on the High Holidays. I believe it was 100 percent accidental.”

And a Cobb School district spokesperson stated that the “roll-out of this logo has been halted, and we are immediately reviewing needed changes. We understand and strongly agree that similarities to Nazi symbolism are unacceptable. Although this design was based on the U.S. Army colonel’s eagle wings, stakeholder input has been, and continues to be, important to our schools. We appreciate those who took time to share their thoughts and will make sure all input is reviewed as changes are considered.”

East Side Elementary is the largest elementary school in Cobb County with about 1,240 students. The student body’s demographics indicate that it is 59 percent white, 26 percent Asian, five percent African American, seven percent Hispanic, and three percent multi-racial. It is unknown how many students are Jewish.

Emory University

The proposed East Side Elementary school logo next to the Nazi Eagle symbol.

August

Success of Former Atlanta LGBTQ+ Couple May be Last

By Jan Jaben-Eilon

If the statements made by an incoming member of the next Israeli government coalition translate into either new legislation or judicial reform, members of the LGBTQ+ community in the country may not see successes like they have in the past year.

The head of the one-man Noam faction that was part of the far-right Religious Zionism voting slate, Avi Maoz, has stated his plan to cancel the annual Jerusalem Pride Parade. Although incoming Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu contended that the parade would continue, it’s unclear how much influence Maoz will have in other areas impacting the gay and lesbian community.

Just this last June, former members of Atlanta’s Congregation Bet Haverim, Neta Cohen and Meital Gutman, scored a victory in an Israeli court that ruled both women could be recognized as the parents of their two children, rather than

just Gutman who had given birth to the children in the U.S. via sperm donation.

Initially, when the couple moved to Israel, the government refused to recognize both of them as the boys’ parents, despite both women’s names being on the children’s birth certificates, which is all that is required for straight couples.

Cohen and Gutman were the first LGBTQ+ family in Israel to be recognized as parents solely on the basis of a birth certificate.

That ruling was followed by an Israeli Supreme Court decision that a nonbiological parent, who had been granted parenthood status by court order, could

not be deprived of that status if the couple separates.

Although both rulings were considered positive signals for the future in the LGBTQ+ community, that was tempered after the results of the last Israeli elections on Nov. 1. Outgoing Prime Minister Yair Lapid had vowed to pass a civil marriage law and give legal status to singlesex families. But his government will now be replaced by a new right-wing and ultra-religious coalition government headed by Netanyahu.

Even before his new government is sworn in, the LGBTQ+ community is protesting what 200 school principals are calling Maoz’s “racist, homophobic, dark and extreme views.” And the organization that runs the Jerusalem Pride Parade is fundraising against those views, while spoofing Maoz. The group created a charity in his name and noted that Maoz would receive a personal thank-you note for every donation made in his “honor.”

Atlanta’s Kosher Chinese Restaurant’s New Ownership

By Sasha Heller

In March, new management took over Chai Peking, Atlanta’s only kosher Chinese restaurant, conveniently located inside the Kroger in Toco Hills. A longtime employee, Mordechai Snyder, and his wife, Kimberly, purchased the restaurant from founder Reuven Michoel Robinson, who opened Chai Peking more than 25 years ago.

In an interview this past summer, Robinson said of the transition in ownership, “I think it was a perfect shidduch. I think it was a perfect marriage. Mordechai is very capable, very talented and, please G-d, they’ll do very well.”

The couple, and their children, who assist the new owners with various tasks, are committed to maintaining the same values established by Robinson over a quarter-century ago.

“When we purchased the restaurant,

we did so with the intention of not making overt, dramatic changes,” Snyder

said, adding that the staff and recipes will largely remain the same. The few tweaks the Snyder’s have made to the Chai Peking menu involve serving more traditional Chinese offerings.

The Synders 10-year-old triplets, Yoel, Joshua, and Shaina, can frequently be seen helping with prep work and cleaning up around the establishment. Truly a family-run enterprise, the Snyders and Chai Peking are keeping it kosher with a Chinese twist.

“We’re grateful for our Atlanta following, and we’re humbled by our out-oftown following and the support we have from people,” Snyder said. “People come in from Israel and say, ‘I have to have Chai Peking.’ It’s humbling, every single time.”

Robert Garber contributed to this article.

Mordechai and Kimberly Snyder dressed as lo mein takeout for Purim. Their kids, Shaina, Joshua and Yoel went as soy sauce packets.

Former Congregation Beit Haverim members Neta Cohen and Meital Gutman won an important LGBTQ legal case in Israel. // Photo credit: Olly Bowman

Marilyn Monroe Film Explores Star’s Nightmare Years

By Bob Bahr

“Blonde,” the highly touted film, loosely based on the Joyce Carol Oates novel of a character modeled on the life of Marilyn Monroe, began streaming in September on Netflix.

The streaming giant had high hopes for the film and gave it a big publicity push, unveiling it during the prestigious Venice Film Festival, where it received a 14-minute standing ovation early in September.

The film starred Cuban-born actress Ana De Armas, who was said to have received more than nine months of dialogue coaching trying to tame her accent and master the unique Monroe purr. She was praised for her transformation into the star, who died in 1962. Monroe converted to Judaism before her marriage to playwright Arthur Miller, six years before.

There have been numerous accounts of Monroe’s death. Some have claimed she was murdered, and that her death was linked to the president at the time,

John F. Kennedy and his brother, Robert, who was attorney general then. There were allegations that the two men had affairs with the actress and had arranged her murder. A slickly produced documentary about her last days was also produced by Netflix and began streaming in April. It was based on a series of 650 taped interviews that Anthony Summers

had done for his 1985 book about the screen legend.

But if the documentary was at least anchored in some version of what was offered as reality, “Blonde” was more loosely tethered. It received a rare NC-17 rating, which meant that no one under 18 could buy a ticket for it. There was considerable nudity in the film that claimed

to be an exploration of Monroe’s long history of sexual abuse.

Many reviewers complained that the film exploited her life. Others said that sitting after through the nearly three-hour film, they felt like they needed a shower.

The critical reception of the film was a major disappointment for director Andrew Dominik, who had devoted more than a decade to the film’s development.

He claimed, in remarks reported earlier this month that American audiences “hated the movie” because it presented Monroe as someone who was exploited all her life.

“We’re living in a time where it’s important to present women as empowered, and they want to reinvent Marilyn Monroe as an empowered woman. That’s what they want to see,” Dominik told the Hollywood Reporter.

“And if you’re not showing them that, it upsets them.”

And although no box office numbers were reported and Netflix did not release its viewing numbers, Dominik said that tens of millions had watched the film.

Top Ten Anti-Jewish Campuses: An Update

By Debbie Diamond

In the Aug. 11, 2022, issue, an article about antisemitism on college campuses was featured, listing the 10 worst offenders named by Stopjewhatred.org. The colleges and universities cited were Florida State University, Arizona State University, the University of Michigan, University of Chicago, Boston University, San Francisco State University, Rutgers University, University of California at Los Angeles, the University of Houston, and the University of Minnesota.

According to Sara Dogan, national campus director at Stopjewhatred.com, sponsored by the David Horowitz Freedom Center, antisemitism continues to be an urgent issue on American college campuses. Dogan pointed to a recent report from the Amcha Initiative, an organization dedicated to documenting and fighting antisemitism in higher education, which indicated, “Incidents involving the suppression, denigration or challenges to the definition of Jewish identity were found on nearly 60 percent of the campuses most popular with Jewish students.”

Several campuses, including three that made the Freedom Center’s “Top Ten list of Jew-hating Campuses,” Univer-

sity of Chicago, Rutgers, and UCLA, were home to 10 or more such incidents during the 2021-22 school year.

In the months since the report was released, all of the campuses highlighted have been struck by additional inci-

dents of “Jew hatred,” the term used by the organization. At Rutgers, the Jewish fraternity Alpha Epsilon Pi was targeted by egg-throwing vandals during Rosh Hashanah. Last month, at UCLA, graffiti written in chalk stated, “It’s not cool to shill for Israel” and “Ye was Right,” in reference to the rapper’s comments and Holocaust denial.

At University of Chicago, Students for Justice in Palestine told fellow students to “Boycott Sh***y Zionist Classes” stating that, “By attending these classes, you are perpetuating a propaganda campaign that creates complicity in the continuation of Israel’s occupation and colonization of Palestine.” At the University of Michigan, the anti-Israel group, Students Allied for Freedom and Equality, constructed a mock apartheid wall on campus, featuring the message, “Power to our Freedom Fighters, Glory to Our Martyrs,” and was accompanied by an image of convicted Palestinian terrorist Leila Khaled with a gun.

While the report’s intent is not to steer students away from any specific college or university, Dogan recommends students and parents should carefully investigate potential schools before applying or attending.

Researchers dug through accounts and campus incidents across the country, using resources like the Canary Mission and the Amcha Initiative to identify the worst patterns of antisemitism // Photo Credit: Stop Campus Jew Hatred

“Blonde” has been given an NC-17 rating because of its mature content.

Swastika Mars Atlanta’s Rainbow Intersection

By Dave Schechter

One of Atlanta’s most recognizable intersections was vandalized on Aug. 17 with a spray-painted swastika.

Within hours of the swastika being discovered on the rainbow-colored crosswalk at Piedmont Avenue and 10th Street, a City of Atlanta crew worked through a rainstorm to power-wash away the symbol.

A photograph provided to the AJT showed the swastika before its removal. The crosswalk’s color scheme reflects the LGBTQ+ flag: stripes of red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and violet.

Two days later, the intersection was vandalized again. Atlanta police took into custody a 30-year-old man suspected of previously defacing the intersection, as well as a nearby church. He was charged

with three counts of second-degree criminal damage to property, criminal trespass, and interference with government property.

A statement by the Southeast regional office of the Anti-Defamation League read: “We have been seeing the normalization of hatred and antisemitism seeping into everyday life over the past several years. We are disturbed by this horrible incident which is an unfortunate reminder that we all need to work together to fight hate. Incidents like this serve only to intimidate and harass marginalized communities. We are pleased to see the City of Atlanta take quick action to remove this symbol of hate on the Pride crosswalk at 10th and Piedmont. There is no place for hateful symbols like this in our community.”

The multi-colored crosswalks were

New Trial Date for Alleged Murderer Not Confirmed

By Jan Jaben-Eilon

In August 2022, the family of murdered Sandy Springs resident Marlene D. Colon was told that the trial for her alleged murderer would be rescheduled for Feb. 6, 2023. Now they are hearing that a new trial date “has not yet been confirmed,” according to son, Jonathan Colon. “We can only hope that justice will prevail sooner [rather] than later.”

A popular fitness instructor, Colon, 73, was murdered in her Sandy Springs house on Fawndale Way, April 5, 2021. Awaiting trial in Superior Court of Fulton County is Chelci Chisholm, also known as Malka Padalon, an Israeli who apparently had been living in Colon’s house for a few weeks, according to Sandy Springs police. Police reported that Colon was hit with a blunt object. Chisholm has been charged with murder, felony murder, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and obstruction of a law enforcement officer. Her Israeli driver’s license, provided by the police, indicated that Chisholm was born in 1962.

Sandy Springs police found the body of Colon, and Chisholm, at the house after receiving a 911 call. Chisholm has been in police custody since she was arrested. Her first court appearance was on April 7 when she was denied bond. She pled not guilty in front of Judge Ural Glanville in a brief arraignment Jan. 31, 2022.

“The court process is everchanging and everlasting,” said Colon, who has followed the proceedings closely. In August, he told the AJT that he understood that the trial could get pushed into the summer of 2023. “We want justice for our mom so she can rest in peace, and we can move on with our lives.”

In addition to Jonathan, Marlene Colon had another son, Loren, grandchildren, Matthew, and Julianne, and more than a dozen first cousins, some of whom live in Atlanta.

Her family is trying to be patient with the justice system and wait for the justice they seek. “We know it is still a long road ahead with the legal system,” said Jonathan Colon.

Colon was a popular aqua aerobics and Zumba instructor at the Marcus Jewish Community Center of Atlanta and the Breman Jewish Home. Her license plate read ZUMBA4U. She particularly enjoyed working with the elderly and children with disabilities.

installed for the Atlanta Gay Pride Festival in October 2015.

Then-Mayor Kasim Reed announced in 2017 — one year after the mass killing

of patrons at a gay nightclub in Orlando — that the rainbow crosswalks would remain, in recognition of Atlanta’s LGBTQ+ community.

Earlier in 2022, metal plates were installed at the intersection after street racers spun their vehicles there, leaving “donuts” of rubber tread.

The swastika — a symbol used independently, and benignly, by many cultures, according to the ADL — was adopted as an emblem by the German Nazi Party in 1920. “Gay men, in particular, were subject to harassment, arrest, incarceration and even castration. In Nazi eyes, gay men were weak and unfit to be soldiers, as well as unlikely to have children and thereby contribute to the racial struggle for Aryan dominance,” according to the website of the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum.

Protesters Join Waters Fans at State Farm Arena

By Sasha Heller

It wouldn’t be a proper Atlanta Jewish Times year in review without at least one story involving antisemitism, now would it? That’s just a sad fact of Jewish life in America and, in particular, life in Atlanta today.

On Aug. 20, Roger Waters, formerly with the rock band Pink Floyd, performed at Atlanta’s State Farm Arena, where the End Jew Hatred grassroots civil rights movement, and its partners with the Atlanta Israel Coalition, gathered outside the venue in solidarity to protest Jew hatred and bigotry.

“It was eye opening to see how many people were unaware of Waters’ public antisemitic stance,” said Cheryl Dorchin-

sky, founder of AJC. “Our presence made a difference.”

She added that the group’s efforts helped enlighten many of Waters’ fans to the truth of the celebrity’s hatred toward Jews. Dorchinsky stated that she approached two men wearing kippot and shared the flyer, and they responded that this was their second time attending a Waters concert but with this new information it will be their last.

Since this story was published, Dorchinsky resigned from her position of director of community engagement for End Jew Hatred to focus on Atlanta Israel Coalition and her family.

Kaylene Ladinsky contributed to this article.

Marlene D. Colon was a popular aqua aerobics and Zumba instructor.

A swastika spray-painted on the “rainbow” crosswalks at the intersection at Piedmont and 10th Street in Atlanta was power-washed away by a city crew within hours of its discovery. // Photo courtesy of Adam Van Wickel

Roger Waters is a co-founder and former lead singer of the Pink Floyd band.

November December

Meet Atlanta’s Jewish 40 Under 40

Kanye West Named 2022 Antisemite of the Year

By Sasha Heller

Once every three years, the Atlanta Jewish Times spotlights the most influential Jewish Atlantans under the age of 40. The feature is easily one of the most read stories every time it publishes, and this year was no exception, as the December publication helped the AJT’s website set record traffic numbers.

This year, members of the Jewish community submitted 104 nominations. Of those nominations, 20 women and 20 men were selected.

The AJT’s Jewish Atlanta 40 Under 40 featured the following individuals: Marni Bekerman; Zach Bernath; Sarah Bernstein; Heather Blake; Cary Daniel Blumenfeld; Rabbi Sam Blustin; Benjamin Bornstein; Adam Cohen; Avital K.

Cohen; Rabbi Daniel Dorsch; Alex Estroff; Ethan Fialkow; Danielle Kerker Goldstein; Rebecca L. Good; Craig Habif; Ben Halpern; Jennifer (Jenn) Handel; Kayla Heering; Rabbi David Helfand; Alexandra (Alex) Joseph; Quinton Katler; Jessica Katz; Jared Kaye; Lisa Lebovitz Schnaubelt; Benjamin Lefkove; Rebecca Leslie; Nir Levy; Melissa McGrath; Chava Neiditch; Rabbi Isser New; Matthew Oppenheimer; Arielle Orlansky; Jacob Ross; Jessie Schwartzman; Joshua Spielman; Samanth (Sami) Tanenbaum; Michael S. Wilensky; Josh Wulz; Hannah Zale; Lori Zeligman

Congratulations to this year’s Atlanta’s Jewish 40 Under 40. And make sure to submit your nominations in a couple years for the next crop of featured influential Jewish Atlantans.

By Debbie Diamond

Rapper and fashion mogul, Ye, formerly known as Kanye West, has been busy since the last article in the Atlanta Jewish Times that covered the reaction of many of Atlanta’s Jewish and Black leaders to his antisemitic words and antics.

Most recently, Ye has been crowned the 2022 “Antisemite of the Year” by watchdog group StopAntisemitism for his ongoing remarks about the Jewish people.

Ten thousand votes were cast with Ye receiving the dishonorable title, Jon Minadeo II of the Goyim Defense League taking second place, and Mohammed Hadid voted into third place.

In Twitter posts on Oct. 9, Ye vowed to “go death con 3 ON JEWISH PEOPLE,” and said, “You guys have toyed with me and tried to black ball anyone whoever opposes your agenda” in reference to Jews. Since that time, Ye has cozied up to Nick Fuentes, one of the leaders of the Goyim Defense League; announced his presidential run for 2024; and appeared on conspiracy theorist Alex Jones’ podcast where he stated “They (Nazis) did

good things, too. We got to stop dissing the Nazis all the time” and “I like Hitler.” Even Jones seemed to disassociate himself from Ye after the podcast.

In announcing the selection of Ye for this dubious honor, Liora Rez, executive director of StopAntisemitism, said, “Kanye earned the title as 2022 Antisemite of the Year as a result of his dangerous antisemitic rhetoric and his exponential reach. Kanye uses his celebrity platform to push dangerous antisemitic tropes about Jews and power and he refuses to stop. His continuous onslaught of bigoted statements has resulted in horrific antisemitic acts perpetrated by white supremacists, Black Hebrew Israelites, and other fringe groups looking to cause Jews harm. Jew hatred is already out of control in the United States and the last thing we need is a celebrity like Kanye to add fuel to that fire.”

StopAntisemitism was founded to expose and hold antisemites accountable by creating consequences for their actions. The group exposes what it calls “Jew hatred” through social media, blog posts and other digital channels.

Kanye West also known as "Ye."

Headshots of this year's 40 Under 40 winners found in listing below.

Whether you are looking to rejuvenate physically, mentally or kick-start a healthier lifestyle, the city offers a variety of ways to put wellness first in the New Year. Treat self-care like healthcare with an array of spas and wellness centers to relax and rejuvenate. Stimulate your senses and heal your mind with experiential art activities like pottery and painting or enjoy art up close with an exhibit or walking tour in downtown. For the outdoor-centric therapy, find all the gear you need from sports and fitness focussed retailers, then fuel your body at over 200 dining options to get you back to your optimum self. Don’t forget to restore your body with a good night sleep at one of our 30 modern hotels.

Ginsberg Moves Seniors Smoothly

Few things, alongside divorce and getting fired, are as stressful as moving. Combine that with the emotions of a senior moving out of a sprawling family home with decades of collecting, into an 800-square-foot unit. Having experience with her own mother’s move and studying “graying” demographics, Kaye Ginsberg sought to make the entire process smoother.

She said, “I first learned about senior move managers when my mother moved from her home of 30-plus years to a senior community. While sitting with the marketing director of the community, feeling completely overwhelmed about the entire process, she referred me to a senior move management company. They helped with the entire process, and

I was so impressed that I decided to learn more.”

She then completed training with National Association of Senior & Specialty Move Managers and took the plunge. Her original thought was that she would execute with a few friends, but demand grew as the number of senior communities in Atlanta also grew. Peace of Mind

Transitions was hatched and grew to five full-time employees and 20 part-timers.

Peace of Mind begins with a complementary home consultation to determine the scope of work. Services include interior design, floor planning, sorting and downsizing prior to the move, packing, managing the moving company, unpacking, organizing and completing setting

up the new home, and managing estate disbursement of items that are left. They also do staging, overseeing maintenance or repair of the current home, and going above and beyond by doing things like taking care of pets, and shipping items to out-of-state family.

Ginsberg added, “Every move is different. Some are in the works for several

Kaye Ginsberg’s Peace of Mind Transitions group now includes five full-time employees and 20 part-timers.

Marcia Caller Jaffe

weeks or even months as a new home is being built, some take just a few days, and others are completed in one day. We average about 20-25 jobs per month.” Most of their jobs are local, but, as members of NASMM, they partner with others to help clients who are moving out of or into Atlanta. They have also driven to other locations like Savannah and Highlands, N.C..

Kaye, who has a calm and concerned manner, and understands the nuances, stated, “Moving is a stressful situation for anyone, but, as we age, it becomes even more so. That is because it is often predicated by another stressful situation, such as a change in health or death of a spouse. It can be very emotional. One of the most important things people can do when encouraging someone to downsize or move is to make sure they listen and acknowledge the other person’s feelings. A lot of moving-related anxiety comes down to loss of control; so giving people choices and making sure they are heard is important.”

Starting with a floor plan helps when downsizing to decide what furniture is moving. Kaye recommends thinking outside the box, a favorite chest that was in an entry way can now be used in the bedroom so the client is surrounded by the things they cherish and recognize.

Ginsberg added, “We do work with the Jewish population, we have eight Jew-

ish employees in addition to me. We do our best to have at least one of them on a job with Jewish clients as they understand things like mezuzahs and handling two sets of dishes.”

Some marketing observations from Peace of Mind specialists include: the average age of moving to independent living is 87; Peace of Mind has worked with many clients, especially women, who are in their 90s and just moving to independent living; Peace of Mind are working with more baby boomers who are downsizing to townhomes, condos or apartments; and there are now more people in the U.S. taking care of aging parents than taking care of children.

As background, Ginsberg learned early on about the travails of moving, as her father was in the Air Force, and moved the family every three to four years. After graduating the University of Kansas, she headed to New York City, where she ultimately served as marketing director of Conde Nast “Traveler” magazine. In 1992, she moved with her husband to Atlanta and lived in Johns Creek for 25 years. They since downsized to a townhome in Brookhaven, where they are members of The Temple.

Ginsberg concluded, “We are truly a mission-driven company with strong core values of compassion and service.” ì

For more information, reach Kaye at 404-862-4271.

Kaye Ginsberg handles it all from planning to the “wow” moment of seeing the new furnishings in

Kaye Ginsberg was inspired to form Peace of Mind Transitions when her own mother had to downsize.

Bob’s Broadway Chorus Brings Music and Joy

For 17 years, Bob’s Broadway Chorus has been delighting residents at retirement communities throughout Atlanta. Drawn together by their love of music, specifically Broadway show tunes, the Atlanta-based chorus is comprised of 40 volunteers, with 20 to 28 vocalists performing at each show.

Over the years, the residents have come to know the singers, many of whom have been with the chorus since its beginning, and eagerly anticipate their semiannual visits. During this past fall season, Bob’s Broadway Chorus performed at 11 communities, including the Jewish Tower, Berman Commons, Sunrise of Huntcliff Summit and The Piedmont at Buckhead. The look on the residents’ faces during each show conveys their deep appreciation for the chorus members and their music.

Led by director Barry Levin, and Richard Siegel, the musical director and accompanist, the chorus is as committed to building relationships with the residents as they are to delivering a fine-tuned performance. According to Levin, “Over the years, we have gotten to know many of the residents at the communities who return to our performances season after season.”

Ellen Frisch, the lifestyle director at Somerby Sandy Springs, where the chorus rehearses each week, agrees. “So many of our residents look forward to sitting in on their rehearsals. They are a wonderful group to have here. They remember our residents and have gotten to know many of them,” she said.

Begun at the Marcus Jewish Community Center of Atlanta, the group was renamed Bob’s Broadway Chorus in 2018 to honor their beloved director of many years, Dr. Bob Schultz, a pediatric endocrinologist who had passed away earlier that year. Many of the original chorus members, in fact, were drawn from the popular musicals performed onstage at the MJCCA. According to Michelle Fox, a longtime chorus member, Dr. Schultz knew just about every Broadway song and was not only an excellent chorus director, but also an accomplished singer and actor in his own right.

Today, the group carries on his legacy, performing more than 25 well-known Broadway show tunes, with a few pop songs added in, during each performance. Bob’s Broadway Chorus continues to per-

form completely free of charge at all of the senior communities, whose activity directors are quick to rebook before each new season even begins. The chorus rehearses nine weeks in advance of each fall and spring season, logging 18 hours of practice at Somerby Sandy Springs. During this past fall, there were 11 performances at retirement communities all around Atlanta and Sandy Springs.

And while there is plenty of fun and laughter at rehearsals and performances, the group is serious about turning out stellar performances.

“Bob’s Broadway Chorus takes pride in sounding unified. I stress to new members that we are not a singalong group. We want to sound strong and cohesive, and we work hard to reach that goal,” said Levin.

Siegel echoed that sentiment, saying, “We are here to pull it all together and do business.

Barry runs a tight ship and, as our group has grown, he has introduced more discipline regarding how we operate – from our musical arrangements to the harmonies.”

Before each season, Levin and Siegel are hard at work, often with Fox and Sandy Ferko, two other group leads, to select the specific songs and keys, add in new songs, set the arrangements, and send regular updates to all the chorus members. The longtime bond between the singers is evident at any rehearsal or performance, and most have become good friends through the years. According to Ferko, the administrator for the group, “During COVID, we were not able to perform, and we genuinely missed each other. We could not wait to see each other again once it was safe.”

Several songs from the group’s repertoire are taken from popular Broadway shows dating back decades and beloved by

audience members. This past season, the group reprised such favorites as “Somewhere” from Westside Story; “I Got Rhythm” from Crazy for You; and “Impossible Dream” from Man from LaMancha, among many others. In addition, new songs were introduced, including a three-song Carpenters’ medley and “Seasons of Love” from Rent.

“We have introduced pop songs that will bring back happy memories for the residents. We believe many will remember driving carpools with their children as they listened to this music on the radio. We hope they enjoy these additions,” said Fox.

John Abel, a certified music therapist at A.G. Rhodes, a skilled nursing facility, understands the power of music and the value it brings to the lives of senior citizens. “Music is vital to older people. And live music is even better than recorded music because listeners are more engaged in the performance, making it more impactful.” In his work with older people, Abel sees a significant change in a person’s demeanor when listening to music that brings them back to happy memories from their past.

At the beginning of each performance, Levin says to the audience, “We have four goals. We have fun. You have fun. We get invited back. And no one in the chorus replies to ‘All’ in our group emails.” And then the show begins.

Each performance is divided into three segments, with Levin as the funny, highenergy emcee of the evening. During the first part, Bob’s Broadway Chorus sings an eclectic mix of songs drawn primarily from popular Broadway shows. Throughout the performance, Levin injects his signature humor and background information about

many of the songs into the mix. For the second part, the chorus members disperse into the audience with sheets of lyrics to share as the audience members sing along. The group wraps up with a patriotic medley curated and arranged by Siegel.

At this time, any veterans or service providers such as nurses, EMT workers and firemen and women are recognized. During a showstopping version of “God Bless America,” everyone in the room is on their feet, loudly singing in unison, many with hands over their hearts.

The Mansions at Sandy Springs was a new venue for the chorus this season. The recreation room was packed with residents as they waited for the fall performance to begin. The excitement throughout the audience was palpable. Bob’s Broadway Chorus sang for a more than an hour. Transposed to a different time and place, the residents clapped to the upbeat songs and swayed to the ballads. Many closed their eyes, perhaps recalling memories from years past. More than a few wiped their eyes as they listened to fan favorites, “Moon River” and “Where is Love.”

Aimee Minton, the community’s activity director spoke about the group in glowing terms following their performance. “I cannot say enough about Bob’s Broadway Chorus. Our residents told me that they are the best chorus they have ever heard. The excellent harmonies and song selection, as well as their engagement with our residents, made the evening wonderful. We can’t wait to bring them back next season,” she said.

And so, with a promise to “see you next season,” Bob’s Broadway Chorus closed out their fall schedule, captivating audiences with the same magic that they have brought to senior communities year after year, season after season, and song after song. ì

To book Bob’s Broadway Chorus at a senior living community or to audition for the chorus, please contact Sandy Ferko at sandyzferko@gmail.com.

Debbie Diamond

Michelle Fox and other chorus members sing with residents at Mount Vernon Towers.

(From left) Musical director Richard Siegel and director Barry Levin

Bob’s Broadway Chorus at Canterbury Court Senior Living in Buckhead.

Amatos are on the Hunt

By Marcia Caller Jaffe

A noble sport dating back to the 16th century is more than just legend for Nancy and Michael Amato, who can be found in foxhunting season spiffily outfitted in their black Melton and scarlet jackets.

Nancy Amato, who has a lifelong love of foxhunting, beginning as a child growing up in Indiana, enticed Michael to give it at try in his late 40s. He said, “I was hesitant initially, then found the people very welcoming, and I liked it immediately.”

Nancy Amato found an Atlanta Constitution article with front page pictures including her uncle, an early foxhunter dating back to the 1950s, at Shakerag Hounds, which is the oldest recognized hunt in Georgia. It was established in 1943, when a group of enthusiasts started the Atlanta Hunt Club at Chastain Park.

Nancy Amato dreamed of foxhunting but had no opportunity. With no formal riding instruction, she jumped logs, ran barrels, and chased cows, until she was given proper “hunt-seat” instruction at Laughing Place Stables in Michigan.

She elaborated, “Fast forward to my wonderful husband, Michael, who thoughtfully sought to console me after my mother’s death in 1992. Little did he know, it would lead to horses for both of us. Learning that Shakerag was still in existence, we joined in 1993. Michael learned to ride (English) and jump. The rest is history. He even was able to wear my uncle’s scarlet tails to our Annual Hunt Ball!”

Now they “cub” (train young hounds) in September and begin the Formal Hunt Season from October through March. Hunting can be twice a week, plus Thanksgiving and New Year’s Day.

She explained. “Following that is mating and birthing season for the game, and we want the young foxes to grow strong and flourish.”

The Amato’s’ thrill to the “chase,” tradition and camaraderie alongside a little booze. Michael Amato said “We enjoy the passing of saddle flasks at Checks, each with one’s own concoction, typically port. Listening to the hounds’ voices and watching them work the cover, followed by a run, generally ends up with a treed or run to ground fox. Then we call off hounds and move to another area. Perhaps we will get up a coyote or bobcat to chase, coyotes being the most common.”

Nancy extols the thrill of petting and kissing horses’ muzzles or pats on the neck after a good ride. “I rather enjoy kissing the noses of our 30-plus hounds prior to the hunt when opportunity presents,” she said.

Nancy enjoys a “foxhunting corner” in her home. Here is her whip, Michael’s flask, and a sandwich bag once owned by a British tack store proprietor.

In terms of outfitting, members don gray and gold piped jacket collars, pinks/ scarlet jackets for men, and black jackets for women, buff breeches, black boots with brown tops for gentlemen and black boots with black pattern tops for ladies. Nancy Amato added, “Always with a white stock tie secured with gold pin. On non-formal days, “ratcatcher” attire is a tweed or solid Earth-toned jacket, beige breeches, and brown boots for the men with a patterned four-fold tie. Our hunt typically starts at 9 a.m. and lasts three hours.”

Hunt breakfasts are hosted by rotating members with specialty cocktails, beer, wine, and Bloody Mary’s with an array of foods, non-related to breakfast on formal days. There are many social events like riding, non-riding and a formal Hunt Ball.

Nancy Amato concluded, “We have come a long way from the old days when foxes raided hen houses. These days, we mainly give chase. We hunt at the gra-

Nancy

ciousness of landowners who grant permission. Our territory is called a ‘fixture,’ and seven are in a radius of two hours from our clubhouse/kennels. This rotation allows for breaks for landowners and game.”

The great reveal. Do Jews hunt? Michael Amato said, “Indeed, we have met, hunted with, and befriended many Jewish members over the years. Dating back to the 1950s, there were Jewish members riding two hounds. One of our current master’s is a Jewish gentleman. We have Jews who are elected and serve on our Hunt Committee, Board of Directors. Nancy was the club secretary for seven years and now Honorary “Whipper In,” a.k.a. Motor Whip, following the hunt in her vehicle.”

Although the Amatos continue their membership with Shakerag activities, due to their senior ages, they no longer own horses. And Michael still proudly wears Nancy’s uncle’s tails to the annual ball! ì

and Michael had this painting commissioned to commemorate their anniversary.

Nancy and Michael Amato enjoy the chase, adventure and social components that come with foxhunting. Nancy and Michael Amato position for a “check.” Note only men dress in scarlet.

Empels Veterinary Legacy

By Marcia Caller Jaffe

Jay Empel grew up in Montgomery, Ala., where he taught Sunday school and delivered newspapers. Among the events that shaped his character was the loss of his father at 13, as the town’s Jewish men saw that he was “taken care of and driven to minyon.”

He said, “They made sure I had jobs, laying carpet to making mattresses…seeing that I had an income.” Then Empel witnessed his dog struck by a car, rushing to the veterinarian, experiencing the ultimate heartbreak of it not surviving.

Fast forward through the University of Georgia, then Auburn University College of Veterinary Medicine, to build one of Atlanta’s most successful practices. The icing on the cake, or the “gravy on the bone,” two adult children of Jay and wife, Elise, Dr. Andy Empel, and Dr. Ivy Empel Frank, followed along in his paw prints. The third sibling, Ashley Empel Potts, is a registered nurse at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta.

In his decades-long practice, Jay Empel saw “just about any animal that walked through the door,” including ocelots, rats, gerbils, potbellied pigs, goats, turtles, raccoons, skunks, rabbits, and tropical fish. He laughed, “When something exotic came in, I got out the textbook. Really 99 percent of our practice was dogs and cats.” One of Empel’s most bizarre patients was the famous cougar seen in TV commercials on the hood of the car.

Backing up to the early days, Jay Empel nabbed a practice in 1973 in North Fulton that was for sale in a magazine. In 2002, Jay and Andy purchased North Springs Animal Clinic, and in 2010, they took over Lenox Pet Hospital, outgrew that, and built Brookhaven Animal Hospital. Andy Empel continues to manage all three locations, but primarily works at Vernon Woods.

Reflecting the current state of veterinary medicine, Jay Empel said, “Today, there are more specialties, oncology, neurology, dermatology etc. Instead of handling all situations, we can refer to board certified vets. The bottom line is people care for their pets as family members if they can afford it. If not, insurance is an option.”

After semi-retiring from day-to-day practice in 2019, Jay Empel still taps his wisdom by consulting, golfing, walking, visiting grandchildren, and entertaining his golden doodle.

Transitioning to daughter, Ivy, Jay Empel recalls that his vet class had four females out of 100. Ivy Empel Frank de-

tailed, “Most of dad’s class was composed of men. Over time, veterinary medicine has become largely woman dominated. When Dad was building his practice, it was a 24/7, 365-day career, which is what it took to be successful. There has been an attempt to shift to better work/ life balances, so many of us younger vets work part-time…although dad poured himself into his practice, he was still present for games, plays, horse shows, etc.”

In terms of selecting her career, Ivy Empel Frank stated, “I can’t say I ever considered another choice. I loved horses and wanted to ultimately do a mixed animal practice. I wanted to also live near a city with a Jewish population and have a Jewish family, and there aren’t too many horses in the city!”

She recalled all surviving some sticky situations, “Dad had his thumb bitten off by a mean sharpie, and it was eventually sewn back on. Andy was bitten in the ear.”

“Dad’s mentoring was invaluable,” Ivy Empel Frank continued. “My first Saturday working alone in Houston, I had a dog present in lateral recumbency. He was very ill, and I thought he was going to die with this new graduate, me, who was still learning to ‘practice.’ I got dad on speaker phone and made him stay all morning while I worked on that dog. Once we got him on the correct treatment, he lived another decade! There have been many times where I have put him on Facetime for a mid-surgery or mid-procedure consult. It helps to have

Semi-retired Dr. Jay Empel consults in the local practice with son Dr. Andy Empel, and occasional long-distance mentoring with daughter, Dr. Ivy Empel Frank, in Houston.

his 50 years of experience plus Andrew’s 22 plus my 20.”

Andy Empel chose this profession to follow in Jay’s footsteps building relationships with clients and pets. He stated, “I wanted to have a mix of surgery and general practice which I could not do in human medicine.”

Andy also shared some of his sticky situations. “At Auburn vet school, we were reviving a lion by placing an IV catheter two feet from the lion’s mouth. As hard as we tried, I’m not sure how safe we would have been if we were successful. I also performed radical surgery on a two-year-old cat with saddle thrombus, which left it paralyzed from the pelvis back. We amputated both back legs and tail. The cat lived

Back home in Alabama, Dr. Jay Empel, a track star, had many part-time jobs to cover expenses since the tragic loss of his father.

a good long life…able to run, jump, and use the restroom normally.”

Akin to the trend in human medicine, vets are being bought out by big companies. Andy Empel elaborated, “The trend for small animal owners merging with corporate partners is positive as long as you choose the right partner. Corporations allow employees to receive better benefits, and the practice owners are allowed to focus on practicing medicine while their corporate partner runs the business. More than half of veterinary practices will have corporate partners in the next 10 years.”

Last word from Andy Empel, “Dad is in ‘rare air’ to have two of his children practice veterinary medicine.” ì

Serving families and friends since 1988

With each referral and transaction, I will donate 1,000 meals IN YOUR HONOR to the children and elderly of Atlanta.

Steven Tinter 404.542.8940

ItsGoodToBeHome.biz@gmail.com www.PiedmontParkHomes.com

(From left) Father, Jay Empel, beams at Ivy Empel Frank’s vet school graduation. Fellow vet, and son and brother, Andy Empel, looks on.

Nobu Hotel Opens With a Drum Roll

By Marcia Caller Jaffe

I have eaten, or should I say “dined” at both Nobu in Aspen and the original in New York City. Both were “experiences.”

At Nobu New York, we were seated adjacent to Billy Crystal, who wanted no part of being recognized, but nonetheless, so freaked out by it, couldn’t concentrate on the food. In Nobu Aspen/Matsuhisa, I was worried about entertaining guests vis a vis the astounding bill for small portions. Again, it was all about the “experience,” ergo, people “who can’t afford it,” should be prepared.

Buckhead Atlanta scores both the restaurant and the Nobu Hotel making us all the more privileged. On Nov. 30, I attended the grand opening at Nobu Hospitality as local dignitaries and community leaders cut the ribbon on the back side of Phipps Plaza, near Saks Fifth Avenue. The property serves as Nobu’s 15th location overall and first in Georgia, making its debut in Buckhead at the modern, re-imagined, mixed-use Phipps Plaza.

Designed by Rockwell Group, the hotel features 152 guest rooms and suites, including a rooftop pool with surrounding event space, corporate conference rooms and a state-of-the-art fitness center with Technogym equipment. Nobu Atlanta Restaurant, celebrated for its signature new-style Japanese cuisine, now welcomes diners to the new 10,000 square-foot space, serving iconic Nobu dishes, alongside specialties featuring local, homegrown ingredients.

“It’s an honor to launch the Nobu brand in Atlanta’s vibrant Buckhead community at Phipps Plaza,” said Nobu Hospitality Group CEO Trevor Horwell. “Our approach to hospitality, embracing sophisticated accommodations and outstanding cuisine, will offer guests the ultimate luxury lifestyle experience in the heart of Atlanta.”

As malls, like Cumberland and North Point, search to redefine themselves, edging away from the straight retail sector, Phipps Plaza is also striving for more “work, play and shop” options. In early December, Life Time and Life Time Work will open its 90,000 square-foot luxury athletic country club and 30,000 squarefoot premium co-working destination. This is an addition to the now open One Phipps Plaza, a 365,000 square-foot, LEED certified, 13-story, Class A office tower. Early next year, Citizens Culinary Market, a 24,000 square-foot upscale lifestyle food concept, is scheduled to open, injecting new culinary concepts into

Phipps’ unique lineup. Remember Atlanta favorite Alon’s Bakery & Market is on the Peachtree Street side.

Simon Property Group Senior Vice President, Development and Asset Intensification, Patrick Peterman said, “We’re excited to celebrate the opening of Nobu Hotel & Restaurant Atlanta as our vision of Phipps Plaza becomes a reality for guests to enjoy, from the Southeast and beyond. Nobu’s unique allure and high-end reputation reinforces Phipps Plaza as a worldclass destination for hospitality, shopping, dining, work, and entertainment.”

Thinking about booking a wedding, b’nai mitzvah or conference? Group and event sales manager Samantha Hertzig noted, “One of the exciting events we have booked for the summer of 2023 is a large Indian wedding. We also have slated a few events with National Sales Network in 2023. Recently, we have hosted Caesars Entertainment, Assent Inc, Cartessa, Edwards Lifesciences, WestRock, Baker Donelson and Associated Luxury Hotels International.”

Nobu Atlanta also has private dining options. The Private Room can accommo-

date up to 24 guests while the Sake Room accommodates up to 12 guests. In-room dining is also available for guests looking to dine in privacy. Guests can expect to find signature Nobu menu items as well as dishes reflecting local culture and cui-

Examples:

Toro tuna with caviar $42

Sashima salad with Matsuhisa dressing $35

Black cod with miso $42

Unami sea bass $46

sine. Reservations are only available 30 days in advance. Visit noburestaurants. com/atlanta/reservations.

The menu is divided into the following categories: snacks, cold dishes, hot dishes, tacos, vegetables, sushi, and desserts. ì

Roasted Chilean sea bass and cauliflower with jalapeño dressing $49 (Without the sea bass $19)

Salmon tacos $9

Shitake salad with spicy lemon dressing $18

Warm mushroom salad $25

Japanese red snapper sushi $8.50

Cut Toro and scallion sushi $20

Bento box Valrhona dark chocolate fondant, imperial matcha gelato $17

Banana soy toban $16

Sobacha brownie $17

Relax with a Lynchee martini at the Nobu Bar.

The yellow tail jalapeño composes a geometric circle in 6 pieces. The black cod/miso is beautifully plated at $42.

Restaurant reservations are made 30 days in advance.

The Nobu Hotel & Restaurant’s grand opening on Nov. 30 featured a traditional Japanese drum show prior to the ribbon cutting.

Chai Style Home

City Family Adds Idyllic Lake House

they combined their analytical minds to construct a family lake house from an old fishing shack.

Marcia Caller Jaffe

Amy and Michael Hayes used their Morningside home as a think tank to envision a luxurious and streamlined family lake house with the help of designer Stephanie Jacobs. The sensible duo let their imaginations flourish with soaring blue hues that spark joy and reflect the adjacent Lake Jackson water, only an hour away.

Amy Hayes (Gershenoff), industrial and organizational psychologist, works with boards and CEOs on succession planning and executive development, as a partner at Russell Reynolds & Associates. Michael Hayes is vice president, head of engineering at ESE Carbon Company, a manufacturer of carbon fiber composite wheels for automobiles and trucks. Amy grew up near Princeton, N.J. Michael hails from Knoxville, Tenn. The two met in graduate school at Virginia Tech, before moving to Atlanta. Now, with two kids and a pandemic puppy,

Enter Jacobs. “I found Stephanie on the Jewish Moms of Atlanta Facebook page. We conveyed that we wanted to take some risks, combining mid-century modern style with kid-friendly and lake compatibility. She started with a clean slate and designed all the interior furnishings and finishes. She even specified the paint colors. Stephanie made an overwhelming pandemic project possible,” said Amy Hayes.

Come visit both Hayes’ dream sites.

Marcia: Describe your city home.

Michael: We’ve lived in our Morningside home for 10 years. The contemporary finishes blend with the exterior Southern columned style, which incorporates window grills and heavy crown molding and more traditional trims and doors. The art is a mix of paintings and sculptures from our travels. One special touch are the Vistosi Giogali (Treviso, Italy) chandeliers in the dining room and study.

Marcia: Whose idea was it to build a lake house?

Amy: Michael dreamed of having close-in lake property. We spent a week at a friends’ house on Jackson Lake and loved the only one-hour drive. Michael kept a watch on real estate listings. Although we were looking for “move-in ready,” we toyed with building. A listing popped up that was an old fishing shack on an amazing “point” lot with over 400 feet of lake frontage and 180 degrees of water view. We got it under contract with the thought of renovating. It was proclaimed a “tear down.” With the vision of having a gathering place for family and friends, we went for it! From purchase to “taking the keys” was 20 months using Wade Homes Builders and Rawlings Design Architect for the custom design.

Marcia: What are some special lake house touches?

Amy: The large floor-to-ceiling windows are the most dramatic feature. The lake side of the house faces north, so we wanted to maximize diffuse light bringing in the sky and large pine tree tops at water’s edge.

We incorporated sliders off the great room onto the deck, between the great room and screened porch, and between

the screened porch and main hallway to bring the outside in during cooler weather. We’re very pleased with the cypress ceilings, stacked stone fireplace and accent walls which bring the outdoors “in,” for a cozy feel. The stone color is a nod to the traditional “Hokie Stone” that adorns campus buildings at our alma mater, Virginia Tech. One fun feature is the loft space over our daughter’s bedroom as a reading nook and bunk space.

Marcia: What are the kitchen features?

Amy: We’re not big cooks, so we tried to control the kitchen budget while still making it functional. We opted for exposed shelves on the cooktop wall and mid-range appliances. For simplification, the house is all-electric with an induction cooktop. So far, it has proven to be a great solution.

Marcia: Is the lake house “artsy?”

Amy: We purchased two beautiful pieces by Charlotte Morgan for the great room. We love their splashes of bright colors. We have incorporated nostalgic and sentimental pieces with playful pieces that reflect our favorite things, like ice cream pops in the kitchen!

Amy and Michael Hayes enjoy their Morningside home under Vistosi Giogali chandeliers and paintings by Virginia Jones. Cavapoo Sir Archibald Wigglebottom is a pandemic pup // Photo by Howard Mendel

Amy and Michael built the house on Lake Jackson to get the kids outside more and build lifetime memories all within an hour’s drive // Photo by Kate Kolouris

Marcia: What lake activities excite the kids?

Michael: Before the house was completed, we built a large dock for a boat, water toys and seating on the swim platform and under the roof. We purchased a comfortable Tritoon boat with plenty of seating and an upgraded motor with enough power to pull tubers, skiers, and wake boarders.

We also have a fire pit, a hit for S’Mores gatherings. We’re considering installing stonework and Adirondack chairs. We’ve identified some great trees for swings and hammocks. Kids can spend hours on the floating foam lily pad.

Marcia: Stephanie, weigh in on your role.

Stephanie: The Hayes’ wanted a mid-century modern design with a “lake house feel.” Other than the existing walls, I was given a blank canvas. It was very exciting to be able to use my creativity to design this gorgeous space, while Amy asked for hidden design surprises, which

Above: The Hayes’ opted for a large seating for family bonding. Jacobs selected this oversized blue sectional with “Bouquet of Colour” art by Charlotte Morgan

// Photo by Kate Kolouris

Left: Jacobs decorated the primary bedroom with custom retro divers wallpaper from Spoonflower

// Photo by Kate Kolouris

Below: The rec room pool table sits under a clever handmade canoe chandelier

// Photo by Kate Kolouris

Right: The Hayes’ son’s room theme was carried through with hand painted oars // Photo by Kate Kolouris

CHAI STYLE

contributed the house’s character.

We used Sherwin Williams paint “Snowbound” throughout as a backdrop for beautiful views and to show off the pops of color. Mid-century modern elements were established with furniture, art in the rec room and wallpapered ceiling. To create a lake house sensation, we used flat front modern kitchen cabinets with exposed wood grain. We brought a large “canoe light” over the pool table, hand printed canoe paddles on the kids’ bedroom wall, and used the historic midcentury photography (by Slim Aaron printed on wood). Our goal was to create a lake house vibe, without the usual lake house “chotchkies” everywhere.” ì

Above: The lake house kitchen has wood grain flat cabinets, floating shelves, and is all electric with an induction cooktop // Photo by Kate Kolouris

Below: Designer Stephanie Jacobs relaxes in the rec room where “mid-century modern meets lake house,” with works by iconic photographer Slim Aarons // Photo by Kate Kolouris

Above: The lake house dining room, with Jonathan Adler rug, has breathtaking views from every angle // Photo by Kate Kolouris

Below: The Hayes’ lake house was designed by architect Eric Rawlings, Rawlings Design Inc. Every room has a view of the lake // Photo by Joe Federico, Premiere Media Productions, LLC

CALENDAR

JANUARY 3 - JANUARY 14

Significant Others of Addicts Support Group – 1 to 2 p.m. Join Sally Anderson, MS, LPC from JCFS for a weekly free support group for spouses, partners and/or significant others of those struggling with addiction. Learn more at https://bit.ly/3hqghQs.

TUESDAY, JANUARY 3

Brain Health Bootcamp - 1 to 3 p.m. Virtual Brain Health Bootcamp every Tuesday will combine gentle physical exercise, including yoga and exercises to help reduce stress and anxiety, along with a full hour of brain exercises done in a non-stress and engaging way of learning. For more information visit https://bit.ly/3sr94RP.

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 4

Torah Study – 11 a.m. to 12 p.m. Join Rabbi Jordan either on Zoom or inperson at Congregation Dor Tamid and continue an in-depth look at the Book Leviticus. Get more information at https://bit.ly/3WfabkL.

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

THURSDAY, JANUARY 5

Jewish Spirituality and Mysticism – 8 p.m. Chabad North Fulton’s Weekly class on Jewish Spirituality, mysticism and how to apply it to your personal growth in a meaningful way. Taught by Rabbi Hirshy. Register at https://bit. ly/3HDusfN.

CANDLE-LIGHTING TIMES

Torah Reading: Vayigash

Friday, December 30, (Tevet 6, 5783) Light candles at 5:20 p.m.

Saturday, December 31, (Tevet 7, 5783) Shabbat ends at 6:20 p.m.

Torah Reading: Vayechi

Friday, January 6, (Tevet 13, 5783) Light candles at 5:25 p.m.

Saturday, January 7, (Tevet 14, 5783) Shabbat ends at 6:25 p.m.

Torah Reading: Shemot

Friday, January 13, (Tevet 20, 5783) Light candles at 5:32 p.m. Saturday, January 14, (Tevet 21, 5783) Shabbat ends at 6:31 p.m.

Sisterhood Book Club – 8 p.m. Carrie Hearshen from Congregation Or Ve Shalom will lead the discussion on Zoom. Get the Zoom link by visiting https://bit.ly/3UWPgC5.

SATURDAY, JANUARY 7

Etz Chaim Team Shabbat- 10:30 to 11:45 a.m. Kids Programs, Join one of our Team Shabbat Leagues. Find out more at https://bit.ly/3dKsbD9.

FRIDAY, JANUARY 6

Family PJ Shabbat Dinner! – 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Join MJCCA for a Shabbat Dinner in your comfiest pajamas to reunite with your MJCCA Day Camp friends and celebrate with Shabbat-friendly activities, Shabbat dinner, Shabbat songs and lots of camp fun! Register at https://bit.ly/3PxOxpN.

Tot Shabbat and Kiddush Lunch - 11 a.m. Join Congregation Beth Shalom for an interactive Tot Shabbat and sing, play and engage in fun activities, followed by a wonderful Shabbat Kiddush lunch together. Find out more at http://bit.ly/3PMct7u.

Calendar sponsored by the Atlanta Jewish Connector, an initiative of the AJT. In order to be considered for the print edition, please submit events three to four weeks in advance. Contact Diana Cole for more information at Diana@atljewishtimes.com.

SUNDAY, JANUARY 8

Jacobson Leadership Institute - 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. The Jacobson Leadership Institute (JLI) has been a think tank and training ground for adaptive leadership and good governance within Atlanta’s synagogues, Jewish day schools, and Jewish agencies. Register with the Jewish Federation of Greater Atlanta at https://bit.ly/3fp2ZD7.

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 11

Panel Discussion - Anxiety & Depression in Children, Adolescents and Young Adults – 7 to 8:30 p.m. Join us for a panel discussion with a psychologist, psychiatrist and pediatricians. The discussion will include how to identify anxiety and depression in children and adolescents and what to do next.  Register at https://bit. ly/3hq4XnC.

THURSDAY, JANUARY 12

AJC’s Leaders for Tomorrow High School Program - 5 to 8 p.m. LFT enables young Jewish leaders to develop skills to advocate on behalf of the Jewish people, Israel, and human rights, and to serve as positive change agents for their peers and community. Register at https://bit.ly/3UIjOsl.

MONDAY, JANUARY 9

Family Estrangement Support Group –4 to 5 p.m. Being estranged from loved ones brings mixed and complicated emotions. This JFCS virtual group is intended for those experiencing longstanding estrangements from family members. Group meetings will focus on processing and supporting one another. Register at https://bit. ly/3iVNdRj.

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

Jewish Spirituality and Mysticism – 8 p.m. Chabad North Fulton’s Weekly class on Jewish Spirituality, mysticism and how to apply it to your personal growth in a meaningful way. Taught by Rabbi Hirshy. Register at https://bit. ly/3HDusfN.

Tailgate at CDT. Grilling at Halftime SEC – 6 to 9 p.m. Congregation Dor Tamid will Fire up the Grill, Tap the Keg and watch Games on the Big Screen. RSVP at https://bit.ly/3j63VNO.

TUESDAY, JANUARY 10

The Glorious Legacies of Sunsetting Congregations – 7 p.m. In small towns throughout the United States, where Jewish populations have dwindled significantly, congregant Noah Levine is helping synagogues face the reality of their situations. Learn more at https:// bit.ly/3UWMGMI.

FRIDAY, JANUARY 13

Acoustic Shabbat at Crema Espresso Gourmet (Dunwoody) - 5 to 6 p.m. Join Rabbi Glusman from MJCCA and local musicians for an evening of soulful music and Shabbat tunes. People of all faiths and backgrounds will enjoy this engaging live acoustic evening of blessings and song in celebration of Shabbat. Celebration includes Mi Sh’bayrach (prayers for healing) and Mourner’s Kaddish. Food available for purchase. Arrive early to reserve your table! Learn more at http://bit. ly/3AgZg1z.

SATURDAY, JANUARY 14

Tot Shabbat and Kiddush Lunch - 11 a.m. Join Congregation Beth Shalom for an interactive Tot Shabbat and sing, play and engage in fun activities, followed by a wonderful Shabbat Kiddush lunch together. https://bit. ly/3rBWd03. ì

Very Basic, Quick and Simple Potato Latke

Look

Ingredients (8)

4 medium potatoes, peeled

1 large onion, peeled

2 eggs

2 teaspoons Haddar Kosher Salt

1 teaspoon black pepper

1 teaspoon Haddar Baking Powder

3 tablespoons flour oil, for frying

Start Cooking Prepare the Batter

In a large bowl combine eggs, salt, pepper, and baking powder. Set aside.

In a food processor fitted with the “kugel” blade, add onion and potatoes. Process. Use your hands to scoop out potato mixture and over the sink or a bowl press your hands together to try and squeeze out as much “juice” as possible.

Add “dryer” potato mixture to the egg bowl.

Repeat until all the potatoes and onion have been added. Mix until combined. Add flour and stir until fully incorporated.

Tip: After grating the onion and first three potatoes with the kugel blade I like to switch to the fine “stringy” grater (C blade) and do the last potato like that. This gives the latkes just the right amount of fluffiness with all the goodness of the crispy strings!

Also, instead of using my hands to squeeze out the potatoes, I like to use a large fine mesh strainer. I press down with the back of a large spoon to push all the liquid out of the potato. I then transfer my grated potato and onions to a bowl to mix with all the other ingredients and then return the completed latke mixture to the strainer so that any more liquid that accumulates can just drip right through to a bowl. This will keep the last latke you fry just as crispy as the first one!

Fry

Heat a large pan over medium-high heat. Add enough oil to fill the pan one inch high.

When oil is hot, use a ladle to drop in large scoops of potato mixture, making sure not to over crowd the pan. (This may take a few batches but the more room each latke has to fry, the crispier the result will be!)

Allow each latke to fry for two minutes on the first side, then flip and fry one more minute. Remove to a cooling rack or paper towel to drain (To Paper Towel or Not To Paper Towel) and repeat with remaining batter.

Serve hot and enjoy!

Source: Kosher.com

Recipe By Danielle Renov

The Hearing Aid

Maurice was showing off. He said to his friend, Sam, “I bought a hearing aid yesterday. It cost me $2,000.”

Sam said, “That’s expensive, isn’t it?”

Maurice replied, “Yes, but it’s state-of-the-art.”

Sam asked, “What kind is it?”

“A quarter to 12,” said Maurice.

YIDDISH WORD

Ivy-fardeiget

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

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

Fardeiget is Yiddish for “angst.”

NFL passing stat

“Burnt” Crayola color

Words with “about”

Anagram of 27-Down that’s a female name

Common name for Jewish men

Common name for Jewish men

The, in Quebec

“ER” actor La Salle

Arad to Ein Gedi dir.

Riding in an ark, e.g.

Family name in English literature

Some put them in chulent

Headgear for some Muslims

Sharp, as intelligence

Super kind of mensch

Like Three Stooges shtick

Roald who said “There is a trait in the Jewish character that does provoke animosity.”

One piggy’s portion

Another way to spell Safed

Saddiq of the NBA

OBITUARIES

Cookie Arnovitz Frank

82, Atlanta

On Dec. 16, 2022, Cookie Arnovitz Frank passed away at age 82. Born to Jean and Sam Arnovitz, Cookie was an Atlanta native. She attended Grady High School and went to the University of Alabama where she met Milton “Butch” Frank, III.

Cookie and Butch started their marriage in Nashville, Tenn., where Cookie earned her teacher degree from Peabody College. After several moves and three children later, Cookie and Butch returned to Atlanta where they spent the remaining 61 years of marriage.

Cookie had a rare appreciation for the arts and antiques and enjoyed collecting coins, stamps, and Madame Alexander dolls. When she was not busy with her children, she dedicated her time to The Temple gift shop, the Atlanta Antique Exchange, and Bargainata. She enjoyed mahjong and Stock Club and always had a great joke to share. Cookie treasured her family, and she always made an effort to cherish those moments when they were all around her.

She became a young grandmother (Mama Cookie) and enjoyed taking her grandchildren to various museums and performances around town. She loved spending time in Hilton Head with her sister and brother-in-law. She enjoyed the cool mountain air in Big Canoe after Butch retired and they spent as much time in the Georgia mountains as they could.

Cookie is survived by her husband, Milton “Butch” Frank III; her children, Amy Sue and Neal Maziar, Milton “Buddy” Frank, IV and Elizabeth Mattis Namgyel, and Steven and Ivy Frank; her grandchildren, Megan and Adam Kaye, Jake Maziar and Stephanie Carliquist, and Hailey Jane, Madelyn, Lila, and Charlee Frank; and her siblings, Hershene and Alan Goldman, and Richard and Laura Arnovitz. In lieu of flowers, please make donations to The MD Anderson Cancer Center, The Temple, or the Humane Society. Her memorial service was held at The Temple on Sunday, Dec. 18 at 1 p.m.

Janice Gordon Sasine

73, Palm Coast, Fla.

Janice Gordon Sasine, age 73, formerly of Atlanta, passed away on Saturday, Nov. 26, 2022. She was born on July 29, 1949, in Atlanta, Ga., the daughter of Charlotte and the late Harry Gordon of Atlanta. Janice had resided in Palm Coast since 2019.

She was a devoted wife, mother, grandmother, daughter, sister and friend, whose world revolved around her love for the time she spent with her husband, children and grandchildren. She was an exceptional cook, especially known for her homemade New York-style cheesecake, and loved to play mahjong.

Surviving Janice are her husband of 52 years, Jeffery; two sons, Joshua and Gregory; daughter, Victoria; 10 grandchildren, Ezra, Matt, Ellie, Meri, David, Ben, Noah, Alyssa, Jacob, and Issac; her mother, Charlotte Gordon; and her sisters, Cathy Bouffier, and Marsha Gordon. Graveside services were held on Dec. 2 at Flagler Memorial Gardens, Flagler Beach, Fla.

Dale Shields

82, Atlanta

Dale Shields, age 82, passed on Dec. 18, 2022. Dale was born on March 24, 1940, in Atlanta where she spent her childhood attending the Ahavath Achim synagogue and adult years as a member of The Temple.

After attending the University of Alabama, she moved to New York City where she worked for Grey Advertising. In the mid-1960s, she returned to her hometown of Atlanta and began working at WAGA-TV 5, where she met her husband, Paul Shields. They were married in 1970 and resided in Sandy Springs. Dale stayed home raising their two children while also working in fashion merchandising for Evan Picone and Betmar at The Atlanta Apparel Mart. After raising her children, Dale went to work for the American Jewish Committee where she spent more than 20 years helping promote religious and civil rights for Jews internationally.

During her retirement, Dale met the second love of her life, Malcolm Lindy. She enjoyed being a grandmother to her four grandchildren, spending time with her family and friends, traveling all over the world with Malcolm, and volunteering her time to provide support to homeless couples and families at the Zaban Paradies Center (formerly the Zaban night shelter).

Dale was preceded in death by her loving husband of 33 years, Paul Shields, and her long-time partner, Malcom Lindy. She is survived by her son, William (Susan) Shields, daughter, Rachel (Adam) Printz, grandchildren Margot and Brody Shields and Connor and Hayden Printz, sister, Marcia Rosenberg (Allan Rosenberg of blessed memory), brother Steven (Barbara) Jacobs and many nieces, nephews, and great-nieces and greatnephews.

Dale put her loved ones first and was generous with her time and affection. She will be dearly missed by her many friends, family and her loyal cat, Schwartz. Graveside services were held Wednesday, Dec. 21, 2022 at 2:00 p.m. at Crest Lawn Memorial Park. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made in her memory to the charity of your choice. Arrangements by Dressler’s Jewish Funeral Care, 770-451-4999.

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

Cumming

Marcia Diamond Tobin, 90, formerly of Spartanburg, S.C., died Saturday, Dec. 10, 2022, at Northside Hospital, Cumming, Ga. She was born Jan. 17, 1932, to the late Ida Shager and Albert Diamond in Elyria, Ohio, where she lived until she was five. The family then moved to Philadelphia, Penn., where she met her late husband, Jack Tobin. They were happily married for 63 years.

She instilled values of kindness and generosity in everything she did. She was a wonderful and loving wife, mother, grandmother, and greatgrandmother and will be dearly missed by all who knew her. Marcia was an accomplished artist, excelling in embroidery, wood sculpting, and weaving. She also created tapestries and prayer shawls for her children and grandchildren. She engaged in artwork up until the last weeks of her life, painting many days of the week.

Additionally, she was an avid reader, reading as many as five books a week.

Throughout her life, she also applied her creativity in baking and cooking for her temple community and for her family. Her specialties included mandel bread, challah, and blintzes.

Marcia was a member of Temple B’Nai Israel, Spartanburg, for over 50 years, where she was a member of Hadassah and Sisterhood.

Those left to cherish her memory include six children, Steven Tobin (Abbe) of Roswell, Ga., Ian Tobin (Pat) of Atlanta, Ga., Jessica Moody of Nashville, Tenn., Jamie Tobin of Greenville, S.C., Carol Rose (Marc) of Alpharetta, Ga., and Martin Tobin (late Carole Ann) of Springfield, Va.; grandchildren, Aaron Moody of Clarksville, Tenn., Adrienne George (Chris) of Woodstock, Ga., Danielle Mitz (Evan) of High Point, N.C., Emily TobinLaVoy (Charlie) of Marquette, Mich., Luka Tobin of Brooklyn, N.Y., Brianna Pogal-Tobin Ciolek (Dan) of Fort Lupton, Colo., Michael Rose (Callie) of Marietta, Ga., and Dena Rose of Austin, Texas; great-grandchildren, Hannah Madelyn West and Jacob Gregory West of Woodstock, Ga., Lily Jane Mitz of High Point, N.C., Aidan Jonah Rose of Marietta, Ga., Oliver Bear Tobin-LaVoy of Marquette, Mich., and Mackenzie Kay and Mikko Ryder Ciolek of Fort Lupton, Colo.

Graveside service was at 2:30 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 13, 2022, in Greenlawn Memorial Gardens, 1300 Fernwood-Glendale Road, Spartanburg, SC 29307, conducted by Rabbi Yossi Liebowitz.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Temple B’Nai Israel, 146 Heywood Ave., Spartanburg, SC 29302. An online guest register is available at www.floydmortuary.com. ì

CLOSING THOUGHTS

One Mitzvah Leads to Another Mitzvah

I am writing a book called “101 Inspiring Stories.” Here are two of them. I welcome your story. Send it to lipis@aol.com.

Story No. 1: My granddaughter, Bari Beilinson, lives in a Moishe House in Atlanta. These Moishe houses are established around the world to bring young people, ages 22-40, together to keep them in touch with Judaism. For several years, she was invited to a Moishe camp in the Washington, D.C. area that attracted several hundred young Jews from the northeast. The objective of these get-away camps is to continue to allow Jews, generally out of college and beyond, to stay in touch with Judaism without having a specific connection to a formal synagogue or aspect of Judaism.

Bari spent considerable time developing several artistic events for the campers. One of those creative offerings that she de-

veloped was a wood burning event. She had the camp order dozens of wooden mezuzahs that could be used for wood burning. The campers had to sign up for the event, and there was great interest in burning something Jewish on the outside of the mezuzah. Bari brought several different designs for the campers to use, like a Jewish star, the Jewish letter “shin,” which signifies G-d, or a copy of the Western Wall in Jerusalem.

Many of the campers were not very observant Jews, and indeed, two of them were people who had very little Jewish identity. When these two guys did the wood burning on their mezuzah, they said that they had never put up a mezuzah in their home, but because they had actually created one now, they would install it on their home. It would be their first time ever to put up their own mezuzah. One never knows where a change in your life can occur.

Story No. 2: Bob (the name was changed out of respect) had Parkinson’s disease. It developed gradually over four years, and Bob was nearing the end. His wife decided that the only place for Bob was at home with a hospital bed and a complete

nursing staff to handle any medical issues. She hired a fulltime nursing crew, and the main staff member was named Paul. The nursing staff took care of Bob extremely well.

Several days before Bob died, nurse Paul had an appointment that was going to take him away from Bob’s home for about 15 minutes. He was reluctant to leave his patient for even that short period of time, but Bob’s wife encouraged him to keep his appointment because her husband was in the hospital bed at home sleeping quietly. She did not think there was going to be any problem for that short period of time.

Shortly after nurse Paul left for his appointment, Bob defecated in his bed and his wife did not know what to do. She thought that Paul would clean up the mess as soon as he got back to the house, but she wasn’t sure when that would be, so she called Paul. Once he heard that there was a problem, he told her that he was turning around, regardless of his appointment and would come back to the house immediately to clean up his patient. He told her that staying in bed with a bowel movement could create a major skin rash and he wasn’t go-

ing to let that happen.

Paul rushed to Bob’s home and cleaned up Bob’s mess, and then left again to make his appointment, but the person he was going to meet did not wait and left. Paul missed his appointment, which was not a serious matter, so he stopped at a gas station to buy some food for himself. Paul only had a $20 bill and the clerk at the gas station told him that he didn’t accept cash anymore since he could not give Paul change. Only credit cards were accepted for security purposes, so Paul could not buy any food for himself.

Since Paul had played the lottery in the past, he decided to take a chance on another lottery ticket and bought one with his $20. Lo and behold, he was a winner with that ticket for the sum of $500.

This is the case where Bob’s wife was doing a mitzvah for nurse Paul to make his appointment, and Paul did a mitzvah to give up his appointment to take care of his patient, and because the appointment was missed Paul stopped at a gas station and won $500, another mitzvah.

Both stories are clearly the case where one mitzvah leads to another mitzvah. ì

Allen H. Lipis The Bottom Line