atlanta jewish times, no. 28, july 31, 2015

JULY 31, 2015 | 15 AV, 5775

Atlanta

VOL. XC NO. 28 WWW.ATLANTAJEWISHTIMES.COM

Calendar 2Candle Lighting 2Israel 9Opinion 10Business 13Arts 14

INSIDEEducation 15Simchas 28Obituaries 29Crossword 30Marketplace 31Sports 32

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Eizenstat Speaker Will Be BidenVice President Joe Biden will speak

at Ahavath Achim Synagogue on Sept. 3, in the 27th Fran Eizenstat

and Eizenstat Family Annual Lecture.The vice president’s topic will be

“Challenges Facing the U.S. and the World in the 21st Century” when he speaks at the free, public event.

The 72-year-old was first elected to the U.S. Senate from Delaware in 1972 when he was 29 and was re-elected six times before resigning to serve as vice president in 2009.

Biden, who first flirted with a run for president in 1988, has not ruled out a 2016 Democratic presidential campaign.

One previous Eizenstat Lecture speaker is in the 2016 race: Former Sec-retary of State Hillary Clinton. Other Eizenstat lecturers have included former U.S. presidents, Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton; former vice president, Al Gore; former Israeli prime ministers, Shimon Peres and Ehud Olmert; two other former secretaries of state, Henry Kissinger and Madeleine Albright; and Supreme Court justices, Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Ste-phen Breyer.

Last year’s speaker was New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman. ■

Tribe of Many ColorsPhoto by Logan C. Ritchie

Norvin Bey Israel, a Jewish resident of Atlanta’s Sweet Auburn neighborhood who has worked and studied with ModernTribe owner Jennie Rivlin Roberts since being drawn to her store by the sight of Hebrew, is one of the presenters at the free Twelve Tribes diversity event Sunday, Aug. 2, at the store. Story, Page 6

DIVERSE TECHThe head of Amdocs Naz-areth talks about bring-ing his fellow Israeli Arabs into the high-tech fold. 3

GET EDUCATEDOur back-to-school section features Davis tech, Epstein tzedakah, an AJA teacher’s travels, day school sports, the North Springs Jewish club, Scouts, youth groups, home-work tips and more. Pages 15-27

Reform Community Combines

All of the Atlanta-area Reform congregations, along with the Re-form movement’s Davis Academy

and Camp Coleman, are coming together July 31, for a communal celebration of Shabbat at Temple Sinai.

The service will include the commu-nity’s welcome for new Reform clergy in the Atlanta area:

• Rabbi Spike Anderson of Temple Emanu-El.

• Rabbi David Katz, the interim spiri-tual leader of Congregation Dor Tamid.

• Rabbi Alexandria Shuval-Weiner of Temple Beth Tikvah.

• Rabbi Ruth Abusch-Magder, who has been the rabbi in residence with Be’chol Lashon in San Francisco and brought her mission to town with hus-band, David, the new head of school at the Epstein School.

• Cantorial Chair Beth Schafer of Temple Sinai.

The full range of clergy from the area’s nine Reform congregations will participate in the service, and all of the synagogues other than Sinai will be dark for the night in what has become an an-nual event.

The cantors will use new and old tunes to highlight the spirit of the Re-form movement, and rabbis will take turns providing brief thoughts.

The evening will begin with a Kab-balat Panim (wine and cheese reception) at 5:30. The Shabbat service will start at 6:30 and will be followed by a festive oneg.

Temple Sinai is at 5645 Dupree Drive in Sandy Springs. ■

SHOAH INSIGHTOn Tisha B’Av, Emory professor Deborah Lip-stadt details America’s changing views on the Holocaust from 1945 to 1978. Page 3

FRONT-LINE FIGHTA Congregation Etz Chaim member explains what happened when a syna-gogue group arrived in Vienna to find the Iran deal near. Page 12

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CALENDAR

Send items for the calendar to [email protected].

CANDLE-LIGHTING TIMESParshah Va’etchanan

Friday, July 31, light candles at 8:21 p.m.Saturday, Aug. 1, Shabbat ends at 9:19 p.m.

Parshah EikevFriday, Aug. 7, light candles at 8:15 p.m.

Saturday, Aug. 8, Shabbat ends at 9:12 p.m.

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THURSDAY, JULY 30Time for love. Young Jewish Profes-sionals Midtown celebrates the Tu B’Av, the Jewish Valentine’s Day, with the White Party at the Trolley Barn, 963 Edgewood Ave., Atlanta, at 8 p.m. Tick-ets at the door are $40; www.yjpmid-townatlanta.com/events/whiteparty.

FRIDAY, JULY 31Reform community Shabbat. The Atlanta Reform congregations hold their annual joint Shabbat service at 6:30 p.m. at Temple Sinai, 5645 Dupree Drive, Sandy Springs.

SUNDAY, AUG. 2Jewish diversity celebration. Modern-Tribe, 171 Auburn Ave., Suite G, down-town Atlanta, hosts “Twelve Tribes: Celebrating Jews of All Colors” from 1 to 4 p.m. with food, art, music, and learning led by Norvin Bey Israel and Rabbi Efraim Davidson. Free; www.moderntribe.com or www.facebook.com/events/488908497945244.

MONDAY, AUG. 3Leo Frank lecture. Former Breman ar-chivist Sandy Berman talks about the Frank lynching a century later in the first of a two-part lecture series deliv-ered at Georgia State University and televised by Atlanta Interfaith Broad-casters at 9:30 a.m. Part 2 will be shown Monday, Aug. 10, at 9:30 a.m. For addi-tional showings, visit www.aibtv.com.

THURSDAY, AUG. 6A spoonful of sugar. The musical “Mary Poppins” opens at 8 p.m. at the Marcus Jewish Community Center’s Morris & Rae Frank Theatre, 5342 Tilly Mill Road, Dunwoody, and runs through Aug. 16 for seven performances. Tickets are $15 to $28; www.atlantajcc.org/box-office or 678-812-4002.

FIDF talk. George Birnbaum speaks to the Friends of the IDF Young Lead-ership group about the challenges of supporting Israel at 7 p.m. at Hudson Grille, 942 Peachtree St., Midtown. Ad-mission, including one drink and free parking, is $18. RSVP required; www.fidf.org/birnbaum806 or 678-250-9027.

FRIDAY, AUG. 7Dive into Shabbat. The Marcus Jewish Community Center invites the commu-nity to celebrate the approach of Shab-bat from 5 to 7 p.m. at the outdoor pool at 5342 Tilly Mill Road, Dunwoody. Free; www.atlantajcc.org/pldb-live/26037 or 678-812-4161.

SUNDAY, AUG. 9Back-to-shul cookout. Congregation Shearith Israel, 1180 University Drive, Morningside, welcomes interim Rabbi Melvin Sirner to Atlanta and helps kick off the school year with food, Israeli dancing and Atlanta Jewish Music Fes-tival music from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Free; RSVP by Aug. 3 to 404-873-1743.

THURSDAY, AUG. 13Love story. Author Jennifer Weiner dis-cusses her novel “Who Do You Love” with Holly Firfer at 7:30 p.m. at the Marcus Jewish Community Center, 5342 Tilly Mill Road, Dunwoody. Tick-ets are $24 for JCC members, $29 for nonmembers, and include a signed book and a glass of wine; www.atlanta-jcc.org or 678-812-4002.

Leo Frank discussion. Steve Oney, au-thor of “And the Dead Shall Rise,” and Georgia Historical Society senior histo-rian Stan Deaton discuss “The Ghosts of Leo Frank” at 8 p.m. at the Earl Smith Strand Theatre, 117 North Park Square, Marietta. Free; georgiahistory.com.

FRIDAY, AUG. 14Dive into Shabbat. The Marcus JCC, Congregations Shearith Israel and Bet Haverim, Jewish Kids Groups, and PJ Library invite the community to cel-ebrate Shabbat from 5 to 7 p.m. at the outdoor pool at the Emory Student Ac-tivity & Academic Center, 1946 Starvine Way, Atlanta. Free; www.atlantajcc.org/pldb-live/26038 or 678-812-4161.

Shabbat in the park. Congregation Etz Chaim holds its annual musical Shabbat service, starting with fun and games at 5:30 p.m. and a grilled meal at 6:15 in East Cobb Park. Admission is $5 per person or $20 per family; RSVP at www.etzchaim.net/SITP by Aug. 10.

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LOCAL NEWS

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By Benjamin Kweskin

For many Jews, June 11, 1967, rep-resented the real end of the Holo-caust, Deborah Lipstadt said. The

Israeli victory in the Six-Day War was a watershed not only for Israel, but also for Diaspora Jewry.

Many Jews had feared that Israel was politically and militarily weak and would cease to exist if the Arab armies won the war, but instead Israel claimed a quick victory and captured ex-tensive territory, includ-ing the remaining parts of Jerusalem.

Right before the mournful commemora-tion of Tisha B’Av came to a close Sunday, July 26, Young Israel of Toco Hills hosted the annual lecture given by Lipstadt, the well-known professor of modern Jewish and Holocaust studies at Emory University who will soon be portrayed by Hillary Swank in a movie based on her book “History on Trial: My Day in Court With a Holocaust De-nier.”

Titled “America After the Shoah 1945-1978: A Time for Talk or a Time for Silence?” Lipstadt’s hour-long pre-sentation to about 70 people made the case that the postwar discussion about the Holocaust was not black and white.

Lipstadt argued that the period of 1945 to 1965 was tenuous, given that the trauma and the social and po-litical ramifications of the Holocaust were still fresh. She said there were no Holocaust studies departments or museums, and the media did not cover what happened nearly as much as to-day. People did not even know what to call it: “Holocaust” was used sparingly, and “a holocaust” was used in place of the current “the Holocaust.” Even sur-vivors did not have a term to describe what had happened to them.

Popular media only tangentially touched on the Holocaust and anti-Semitism. “Gentlemen’s Agreement” in 1947 was one of the first Hollywood movies to even vaguely reference the Shoah, and several New York Times best sellers that year dealt with anti-Semitism and the Holocaust. In 1950 “The Diary of Anne Frank” became known to the world, and the Broadway play premiered a few years later.

Lipstadt said the diary and related

publications, TV shows and movies in-directly dealt with the Holocaust as a Jewish tragedy, and the messages were intended to reach a wider, non-Jewish audience with the hope of universaliz-ing the message and conveying the suf-fering while remaining aligned with contemporary American society.

“Exodus” was published in 1958, and the movie came out in 1960. That work clearly linked the Holocaust and

the state of Israel, a dan-gerous connection to fos-ter, Lipstadt said.

She cited several in-fluential movies, plays and books written by Jew-ish people in the 1950s and early 1960s that started to shift the conversation. Betty Friedan’s “The Femi-nist Mystique,” Sidney Lumet’s “Pawnbroker,” Sylvia Plath’s “Holocaust Poems,” Arthur Miller’s

“After the Fall” and Stanley Kubrick’s “Dr. Strangelove” used Jewish motifs, and within those iconic works were metaphors and analogies regarding the Holocaust and anti-Semitism.

Political and societal changes were happening in America during the 1960s and 1970s. Whereas 1950s America yielded to McCarthyism and a unified sense of Americanness, the next two decades were more culturally and eth-nically self-aware because of the civil rights movement, women’s liberation, Latino rights and so on.

The 1960s, Lipstadt said, embraced “ethnic America.” The baby boomers were proud to be different and de-manded an America more reflective and inclusive of differences and iden-tities. The Jewish community became stronger, louder, prouder and increas-ingly defiant of its detractors, especial-ly given that Soviet Jewry was suffering behind the Iron Curtain.

Lipstadt concluded that in many respects, the Holocaust has become a perennial symbol of human suffering and a way to elicit action on contempo-rary genocides and massacres.

Asked about the ramifications for Holocaust education and awareness, Lipstadt said it is much better to be aware of and educated about the Ho-locaust, but there is a real danger of overusing the term, as PETA and some pro-life advocates reference the Holo-caust for political ends, thus draining the Holocaust of its power. ■

Lipstadt Traces Changes In Holocaust Views

Deborah Lipstadt

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LOCAL NEWS

AtlantaHistoryCenter.com/Lectures

Film Screeningand Conversation with

Christian DelageMonday, August 24, 2015 J 7:00 pm

Admission is $5 for members; $10 for nonmembers. Reservations required, call 404.814.4150 or visit online.

An evening with director Christian Delage, historian, curator of Filming the Camps - John Ford, Samuel Fuller, George Stevens: From Hollywood to Nuremberg exhibition, and filmmaker whose earlier credits include the documentary Nuremberg, The Nazis Facing Their Crimes.

Atlanta History Center

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Remember When10 Years Ago July 29, 2005

■ Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue will make his first trip to Israel from Nov. 4 to 11. “We expect this mission will generate new economic activity in Georgia and enhance our state’s positions as one of Israel’s primary business centers in North America,” said Perdue, who will take business leaders and officials from the Department of Economic De-velopment with him. His venture will coincide with the Jewish Federation of Greater Atlanta’s mission.

■ Howard Sharfstein and Mary Fran-cell-Sharfstein of Alpharetta celebrate the bat mitzvah ceremony of daughter Emily Sharfstein on May 28, 2005, at Temple Emanu-El.

25 Years Ago Aug. 3, 1990

■ A Clayton County firebombing gut-ted the NAACP office July 24. Officials want to create a human relations coun-cil that would include 15 to 21 mem-bers with various racial and religious backgrounds. No one was injured in the attack on the NAACP, but the event marked the 18th racial incident in Clay-

ton County over the past year. Congre-gation B’nai Israel, present in Clayton, expects to have a representative in-volved in the HRC and thinks it can be an important presence on the council.

■ Nancy and Gary Resman of Atlanta announce the birth of a son, Evan Jor-dan, on May 25, 1990.

50 Years Ago July 30, 1965

■ Two more synagogue fires broke out in London on Saturday, the 21st and 22nd fires in London synagogues since last fall. The first broke out at the Il-ford Synagogue, severely damaging the floor and woodwork; the synagogue also was vandalized with slogans such as “Heil Hitler!” A few hours later, a fire broke out in a synagogue on Lea Bridge Road, Clapton. Some synagogue rabbis have requested that Jewish young men form a self-defense corps.

■ Dr. and Mrs. Nathan Isaac Gershon of Atlanta announce the marriage of daughter Susan Gershon to Sidney Ralph Tourial, son of Mr. and Mrs. Ralph S. Tourial of Atlanta. The cer-emony took place July 11 at Ahavath Achim Synagogue.

5645 Dupree Drive, Sandy Springs, GA 30327www.templesinaiatlanta.org

Temple Sinai – a dynamic congregation affiliated with the Reform movement – will host a Prospective

Member Brunch on Sunday, August 9th. If you or someone that you know is looking for a synagogue home, this family-friendly

event is perfect for you!

Join us and learn how you can become involved in our lifelong Jewish learning opportunities, warm

community, and active participation in Jewish life. Our clergy, lay leaders and staff will be on hand to answer any questions you might have, give tours of the building and provide you with information

regarding membership.

Please RSVP to Simone Kallett, Member Services Manager at [email protected] as soon as possible. If you know anyone else who might be interested in attending, please call the

Temple Sinai office at 404.252.3073.

Prospective Member BrunchSunday, August 9

10:00 am - 12:00 pm, Temple Sinai

Our clergy & staff, not always dressed in character, look forward to meeting you at brunch!

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Atlanta

LOCAL NEWS

PUBLISHER

MICHAEL A. MORRIS [email protected]

BUSINESS OFFICE Business Manager

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Associate Editor

DAVID R. COHEN [email protected]

Contributors This Week

APRIL BASLERDAVID BENKOFDREW FRANK

JORDAN GORFINKELLEAH R. HARRISON

ZACH ITZKOVITZBENJAMIN KWESKIN

LEAH LEVYKEVIN MADIGAN

RUSSELL MOSKOWITZPAUL OBERMAN

SUSAN SCHRIBER ORLOFFARIEL PINSKY

LOGAN C. RITCHIEDAVE SCHECHTERMARK SCHWARTZCHANA SHAPIR OSOPHIE ZELONY

CREATIVE SERVICES Creative Design

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www.atlantajewishtimes.comLOCAL NEWS

By Logan C. [email protected]

In the shadows of Georgia State Uni-versity and the Connector, Auburn Avenue is a quiet street on a Tuesday

morning. As I walk into ModernTribe, a fluffy pup named Sammy greets me with shop owner Jennie Rivlin Roberts. Minutes later enters 50-year-old Nor-vin Bey Israel, advocate and student of Judaism, with a backpack full of books.

Israel’s face is soft and friendly. We make small talk about his job at the Marriott Marquis and the Sweet Au-burn neighborhood in which he lives. ModernTribe, a one-stop shop for all things hip and Jewish, is in the center of this historically black neighborhood.

Roberts’ online business experi-enced a boom during Thanksgivukkah in fall 2013. She could no longer house her staff and inventory in her Candler Park home, and ModernTribe had its first pop-up shop in Inman Park. After a short stint back home, Roberts set up the Sweet Auburn store a year ago.

The three of us settle in. Israel is wearing tzitzit, an Ethiopian Lion of Ju-dah pin on his black vest, a crisp white shirt and black pants. Some would call Israel black or African-American; he prefers “Moorish,” meaning that his people come from Africa and are de-scendants of the 12 Tribes of Israel.

Israel recalls first meeting Roberts.

He was eating at Mangos Caribbean Restaurant across the street from Mod-ernTribe. He and his friend recognized Hebrew on the sign. “I came into the store and told Jennie, ‘I’m Jewish!’ ”

“It turned out he knows more He-brew than I do,” Roberts said. “Norvin comes (at Judaism) from a different perspective. I don’t study gematria (Jewish numerology), but he is very passionate about it. I am learning a lot. He has motivated me to read about the diversity of Jewish people.”

Roberts hired Israel as a summer

intern. They debate, discuss and read together about lesser-known Jewish populations. This dialogue has led to an event Roberts describes as righteous.

Roberts said the idea was sparked by Israel’s dedication. “This is his pas-sion. We don’t always agree. Norvin says everybody’s Jewish, but I don’t believe that’s true. It can’t be that all people are Jewish.”

Such different perspectives could draw an eclectic audience to Modern-Tribe’s exploration of Judaism and race, “Twelve Tribes: Celebrating Jews of All Colors,” on Sunday, Aug. 2, from 1 to 4 p.m.

“There is a lot to Judaism that peo-ple don’t know,” Roberts said. “There are a lot of African-American, African and dark-skinned people that have Jew-ish roots and don’t know it. If you’re in-terested in Judaism and want to learn about your roots, come in. We encour-age studying; it is good for Jews.”

What makes Israel an expert on the 12 Tribes? His passion cannot be denied; that heavy backpack contains books on Rastafarians, Egyptology, Be’chol Lashon (in every tongue), race, ethnic diversity and how all of those subjects relate to Judaism.

Israel’s family tree spreads from the West Indies to Ethiopia to rural North Carolina to the boroughs of New York. His Ethiopian father and Moroc-can mother met on a shidduch, a date arranged by an Orthodox matchmak-er. His family kept kosher in Harlem. He attended Jewish study groups and synagogue on Saturday, then went to church on Sunday to fit in with the

neighborhood culture.“My mother always said two

things,” he said with a smile. “Always remember you’re Jewish. I don’t care what you do or study, but always re-member you’re Jewish. And, when you get in a bind, go back to your Jewish culture. Take refuge in it.”

Israel studied Malcolm X (“more so than Martin Luther King”), Bud-dhism, Islam, Confucianism and Hin-duism. In college he identified with the Jewish Student Union and Rastafarians but felt resistance from others.

Disbelievers told Israel, “You’re drunk on that stuff.” He was labeled troublesome and zealous. As a self-pro-claimed ambassador, Israel drowns out the noise. He wants to teach people to delve deeper into the past.

“What are the symbols of the 12 Tribes? What does it mean for your vocation? Why are you a Christian? Maybe you’re a Jew,” he said. “People talk about putting together pieces of a puzzle. It’s not like that. It’s like putting back together a broken glass — some tiny parts are going to be missing. That’s what we need to figure out.” ■

A Store of Diversity‘Moorish’ Jewish intern inspires ModernTribe event

A Colorful Celebration

Previous ModernTribe events centered on Israeli goods and food. Owner Jennie Rivlin Roberts has hosted events featuring chocolate matzah, caramel apples and pickling.

But “Twelve Tribes: Celebrating Jews of All Colors” will be something more.

The event runs from 1 to 4 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 2, at the shop at 171 Auburn Ave., Suite G. It is free to all, and no RSVP is required.

Roberts engaged the Jewish community and her Sweet Auburn neighbors to create the lineup. The event features:

• Paintings of the 12 Tribes by Sandy Springs artist Lynette Joel.

• Communal art making by the Interact Art Museum of Atlanta.

• Hip-hop music by Savannah’s Prodezra Beats (Reuben Formey).

• Talks by Norvin Bey Israel about the lore of the 12 Tribes and their ancient association with constellations, the Hebrew calendar and vocations and by Rabbi Efraim Davidson about the ties among Judaism, agriculture and the land.

• Food from neighboring Mangos Caribbean Restaurant.

Photo by Logan C. RitchieModernTribe owner Jennie Rivlin Roberts and summer intern and Sweet Auburn neighbor Norvin Bey Israel debate, discuss and read

about Judaism and lesser-known Jewish populations.

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LOCAL NEWS

100th Anniversary, Leo FrankExoneration Memorial Service

Sunday, August 16, 2 pm (Place TBA)Rabbi Steven Lebow

Founder and Chair

Rabbi Steven [email protected]

Face Book: Rabbi Lebow:“Leo Frank: Falsely Accused, Wrongly Convicted...”

Timothy and Joanne Cole Associate Chairs

Guests:Chief Justice, Georgia Supreme Court, Hugh S.Thompson (Retired) Chief Justice, Georgia Supreme Court, Norman Fletcher(Retired) Chief Justice, Georgia Supreme Court, Leah SearsSenior Assistant Attorney General of Georgia, Van PearlbergChief Judge, Cobb Superior Court, J. Stephen SchusterChair, Cobb Commission, Tim LeeState Representative, Michael SmithCounsel, Anti-Defamation League, Dale SchwartzAnd many, many others...

“In this ‘Newer South’, in Marietta, we are prepared to re-member a di� cult past in order to a� rm a better future...”

Rabbi Steven Lebow

By Michael [email protected]

Sara Nabagalaa and Shoshana Nambi aren’t your typical Camp Coleman counselors.

Nabagalaa, 24, is working with 10-year-olds in Coleman’s second ses-sion after having 8- and 9-year-olds in the first four weeks. She soon will gradu-ate from law school on her way to a career as a human rights lawyer after growing up on a family farm, where her father grew corn and beans and raised livestock.

Nambi, 26, who has been friends with Nabagalaa most of her life, worked with the 10-year-olds in the first session and has 11-year-olds this session. She was raised by her grand-parents on a coffee farm and works as an HIV counselor.

“They are doing a great job,” said their boss for the summer, Coleman Di-rector Bobby Harris.

Their ages and professions alone would set them apart from most camp counselors, but they also are providing campers and co-workers a glimpse into one of the world’s lesser-known Jewish groups: the Abayudaya community in Uganda.

The two women are among 1,500 to 2,000 Jews who live in rural villages and small towns. Their hometown is Mbale.

Unlike the Jewish community to the northeast in Ethiopia, the Abayu-daya (“People of Judah”) community knows it does not descend from one of the lost tribes of Israel. Instead, the Ugandan Jews’ story goes back a little more than 100 years.

A tribal leader, Semei Kakungulu, was working with the British colonial authorities and began reading the Bible. Nabagalaa said he didn’t have much use for the New Testament, but he found the Old Testament appealing and began to live according to its te-nets, including converting 3,000 men through circumcision.

Eventually, a Jewish merchant in-formed Kakungulu that he was practic-

ing Judaism. He embraced the religion, and a Jewish community was born.

Community members later went through the formal steps of conversion by a beit din (Jewish court), but Nabaga-laa said they saw that process as more of an affirmation than a conversion be-cause they were already Jewish.

The Aba-yudaya Jews went through tough times in the 1970s when Idi Amin was in power because he outlawed Judaism. Much like Jews living under Roman occupation cen-turies earlier, the Ugandan

Jews had to worship in caves and take other steps to hide their Judaism.

Today, Nabagalaa and Nambi said, their community is thriving while prac-ticing Conservative Judaism. A new synagogue is being built, and the two Jewish day schools are strong enough to draw non-Jewish families.

The two women have been to the United States before, including a USY convention in 2009, but they owe their summer in Georgia to the recommen-dation of a friend who worked at a camp in Connecticut last summer. Har-riet Bograd, the president of Kulanu, a nonprofit organization that supports scattered Jewish groups around the world, connected Nabagalaa and Nam-bi with Harris.

“I have been very happy being with the children,” said Nabagalaa. “They give you all the love and attention.”

Nambi agreed about the pleasure of working with children. “They ask me questions, and they always want to know. We’re very comfortable with each other.”

Coleman has been special for them in part because of the opportu-nity to see so many Jews of different backgrounds in one place, and that ex-ample of inclusion is important, Naba-galaa said.

“People don’t care whatever you are. They just include everybody. That is something I would like to take back,” she said, noting that women and LGBT people face discrimination in Uganda.

Both women hope to return to Coleman next summer. ■

Out of AfricaCounselors from Uganda enjoy experience, inclusion at Coleman

Photo by Michael JacobsSara Nabagalaa and Shoshana Nambi are enjoying their first summer in the North Georgia mountains.

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www.atlantajewishtimes.comLOCAL NEWS

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Summer SmilesPhotos by Jon Marks

Chabad of Cobb wrapped up four weeks of its Camp Gan Israel on Friday, July

24. The day camp drew 130 kids per week and a total of 470 kids over the four weekly sessions.

Booking TeamworkParticipants in the Jew-

ish Family & Career Ser-vices TeamWORKS program recently placed dedication labels into the 3,500 new Mishkan HaNefesh High Holi-day prayer books donated to Temple Sinai by the children and grandchildren of Eva and George Stern. ■

Top down: Ariana Williams is happy with Gan Israel.

Natanya Naturman (left) pro-vides guidance to Chana Wolf.

Yisroel Silverman, son of Chabad of Cobb Rabbi Ephraim Silverman, and Liam Shemesh strike a pose.

Campers have good, clean fun at a kiddie carwash.

Campers in one bunk take a break.

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www.atlantajewishtimes.comISRAEL

Israel Photo of the WeekIDF’s Young Friends

Photo by Oren Cohen

Dan Haskell (right), the national young leadership director of Friends of the Israel Defense Forces, meets with Col. Yair, the com-mander of the IDS’s 401st Armor Brigade, during the FIDF Young Leadership Mission to Israel from July 2 to 11. The FIDF leaders heard from Gaza Division infantry soldiers, toured the Ashdod naval base and visited historic sites.

New anti-inflammatory protein. Two researchers from Ben-Gurion Univer-sity of the Negev and one from the Uni-versity of Colorado have engineered an anti-inflammatory protein that acti-vates only when it finds inflammation. Current treatments suppress the im-mune system and risk infections.

Saving children in Tanzania. A delega-tion of 20 doctors, nurses and medical technicians from Israel’s Save a Child’s Heart has performed lifesaving heart surgery on more than 10 children in Tanzania and examined hundreds more with congenital heart defects.

Processing power of 150,000. Some 150,000 members of the IBM World Community Grid donated processing power to help researchers at Tel Aviv University figure out how water inter-acts with nanotubes. The results could help lower the cost of water purifica-tion and develop better ways of deliv-ering medicines into the bloodstream.

Ethiopian-born professor. Anbessa Teferra, an expert in Semitic linguistics at Tel Aviv University, is the first Ethio-pian Israeli to be appointed a senior lecturer at an Israeli university. Teferra immigrated to Israel in 1990 after com-pleting his master’s degree in Ethiopia.

Israel third in innovation. Israel ranked third on the World Economic Forum’s annual Global Competitive-ness Report, which evaluates 144 of the world’s economies on various mea-sures of innovation. The measures in-clude the quality of scientific research institutions and spending on research and development.

Keeping autistic kids safe. The Israeli tracker device AngelSense is attached to the clothing of children who are at risk of wandering and contains a GPS chip, cellular network connection, camera and microphone. Parents using the device can receive notifications on their smartphones telling them exactly where their children are at any time.

A better tractor. An Israeli team from the Technion won two categories of the International Quarter-Scale Trac-tor Student Design Competition, the world’s biggest engineering and design contest for farm vehicles. Said the judg-es of the Technion team: “Never has a team in its first appearance in the com-petition shown such professionalism and originality.”

New wastewater recycling system. MIGAL Galilee Research Institute and Israel Chemicals have completed a yearlong pilot of a method to help low-er wastewater pollution levels so that the water can be reused for irrigation.

Cannabis in Israeli pharmacies. Medi-cal marijuana will be prescribed and supervised like other medications clas-sified as narcotics, said Deputy Health Minister Yaakov Litzman, who an-nounced Monday, July 27, that pharma-cies will be stocked with medical mari-juana to ease the bureaucratic process.

Catching online thieves. LogDog is an Israeli-developed app that checks logins across several platforms and devices to catch hackers who try to log in to secure online accounts with sto-len user names and passwords. The Tel Aviv-based startup has raised $3.5 mil-lion to enhance its product.

Microsoft’s 10th. Microsoft is acquir-ing startup Adallom, based in Tel Aviv and Palo Alto, Calif., for about $320 million, Microsoft’s 10th and most ex-pensive Israeli purchase. Adallom will

become Microsoft’s cybersecurity de-velopment headquarters in Israel.

Booming trade. British trade with Is-rael reached a record £5.1 billion last year; the United Kingdom is Israel’s No. 2 trading partner, after the United States. The reasons for the growing

trade include innovative Israeli prod-ucts, British-Israeli partnerships, and the quality and year-round availability of Israeli produce.

Compiled courtesy of verygoodnewsis-rael.blogspot.com, israel21c.org and other news sources.

Israel Pride: Good News From Our Jewish Home

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www.atlantajewishtimes.comOPINION

The observance of Tisha B’Av, the day that marks the destruction of both Temples, brought new

reminders about how far Jerusalem is from peace.

Riots broke out on the Temple Mount on Sunday, July 26. Maybe they were sparked by an Israeli woman — one woman — being filmed three days earlier saying that the Prophet Mu-hammad was a pig. Maybe they were sparked by a visit by hundreds of Jews, including Agriculture Minister Uri Ari-el, to the Temple Mount — just visiting, not demonstrating or, horror of hor-rors, praying.

But most likely the Palestinian ri-oters were just looking for an excuse to disrupt a Jewish day of mourning by reasserting their claims to the holiest of grounds. After all, they had a stock-pile of Molotov cocktails, firecrackers and other makeshift weapons inside Al-Aqsa Mosque, and they were going to use them, either against the security forces that rushed to quell the violence or against the worshippers below at the foot of the Western Wall.

To add insult to injury, an Arab member of the Knesset, Masud Ga-naim, then went on Israeli radio to crit-icize the Jewish provocations and deny that any Jewish Temple ever existed on the mount, despite ample archaeologi-cal and documentary evidence.

It wasn’t the first time and won’t be the last time that an Arab leader who knows better has chosen to keep trouble simmering by denying the his-tory of the Temple Mount, a site Israel allows the Muslim Waqf to control. Muslims have free access to worship

as they please, while Jews who ascend to the top are barred by security forces from whispering the briefest prayer.

The Chief Rabbinate has ruled since 1921 that Jews should not walk atop the Temple Mount for fear of stepping into an area that requires unattainable ritual purity. Those who choose to ignore that ruling have the support of court decisions if they then decide to pray on the Temple Mount, but security forces have consistently stopped non-Muslim prayers to avoid Arab rioting.

As we saw yet again on Tisha B’Av, the slightest perceived provocation is

used as an excuse for such riots — the Second Intifada, for example, began when Ariel Sharon dared to visit the Temple Mount in September 2000 — with the result that Jews are treated as second-class citizens on our holiest site. (We’re not sure how this particular unequal treatment fits into the slander-ous claims of Israeli apartheid.)

Critics love to blame Israel for the lack of progress toward a peaceful settlement with the Palestinians, and many Israeli governments have made mistakes in the 67 years since gaining independence, 48 years since uniting Jerusalem, 36 years since making peace

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with Egypt and 22 years since signing the Oslo Accords with Yasser Arafat.

But the fundamental barrier to peace remains the widespread denial of reality among the Palestinian lead-ership — the reality that the Jewish people have continuously lived and worshipped in the land of Israel for more than 3,000 years and the reality that the nation of Israel exists today and is not going away.

A site universally seen as holy ought to be the easiest place to establish peaceful coexistence. That it remains a source of strife just adds to the sorrows for which we mourn each Tisha B’Av. ■

Atlantans Make Chicago List

Last year the AJT recognized 40 Under 40 in Jewish Atlanta. We didn’t repeat the list this summer, but we note with pride that two native At-lantans, 33-year-olds Avi Levine and David Perkel, have earned places on Chicago’s equivalent 36 Under 36 list, created by Oy!Chicago and the Jewish United Fund of Metropolitan Chicago.

Levine started and sold a plugin for email programs called PhilterIt and is the executive director of the Digital Professional Institute. Rabbi Perkel is a commercial real estate lawyer who also leads Orthodox dav-ening and teaches Torah at Congrega-tion Ezras Israel. Mazel tov. ■

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From Where I SitBy Dave [email protected]

My father davened every morning. He observed kashrut. He wore a tallis and

a kippah in synagogue. He took pride in being a Kohen.

“My Judaism envelops my entire life and is not something to be recalled only at isolated moments,” he wrote. In his view, Re-form Judaism offered the choice not of whether, but of how to observe mitzvot, and his observance grew over the years.

My father did this as a member and president of a Reform congre-gation. As a member of the Reform movement’s executive committee. As a progenitor of the Reform movement’s current prayer book. He was accept-ing of the varying approaches his five children took to Jewish life.

That many Diaspora Jews choose whether or how to observe apparently confounds Israeli Minister of Religious Services David Azoulai.

“A Reform Jew, from the moment he stops following Jewish law, I cannot

allow myself to say that he is a Jew,” Azoulai told Israel Army Radio. In Israeli terms, “Reform Jew” broadly means non-Orthodox.

He later modified his comment:

“These are Jews who have lost their way, and we must ensure that every Jew returns to the fold of Judaism and accept everyone with love and joy.”

Those of you who belong to Con-servative, Reform or Reconstructionist congregations: Do you feel that you have lost your way as a Jew?

I didn’t think so.“I have spoken with Minister

Azoulai to remind him that Israel is a home for all Jews and that as minister of religious affairs, he serves all of Israel’s citizens,” Prime Minister Ben-jamin Netanyahu said in a statement.

Have You Lost Your Way?That’s nice, but it was Netanyahu

who cut a deal with the ultra-Ortho-dox Shas party to form his govern-ment and put the Religious Services Ministry — responsible for matters of birth, death, marriage, conversion and other issues — in Azoulai’s hands.

Lost in Azoulai’s insults (and he is not alone in such utterances) is the concept of Klal Yisrael, with its focus on what unites rather than divides us.

It no longer astonishes that a Cabinet minister will demean non-Orthodox Jews or that the government will find it politically expedient to promulgate discriminatory policies and then turn to the non-Orthodox (particularly American) Diaspora for political and fundraising support.

If you are offended by Azoulai’s comments, consider supporting organizations that promote religious pluralism in Israel and seek to put all Jews on equal footing.

As a student of history, Netan-yahu understands that in slaughtering 6 million Jews, the Nazis did not dis-criminate based on the religiosity of their victims. Nor do those who today

bastardize Islam as a justification to threaten Jewish lives.

No, it is the self-righteous among us — in this case, a government min-ister — who declare (to borrow from George Orwell) that all Jews are cre-ated equal, but some are more equal than others.

My father lived with integrity as a Jew in the modern world (as a member of Reform and Conservative congrega-tions).

My brother the (Conservative) rabbi is likewise confident of his identity.

I am not bothered that Minister Azoulai would consider me one of those “lost” Jews.

I’ll soon travel to the wedding of a nephew to an impressive young woman. She is a Reform Jew — and a rabbinical student.

I find her pending ordination and my brother’s career and the passion with which my father engaged Juda-ism the perfect antidote to the likes of Minister Azoulai and the tolerance he receives from the prime minister who appointed him. ■


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Fatefully we arrived in Vienna on July 13, the last full day of the P5+1 Iran nuclear talks. Our

Congregation Etz Chaim group had spent the previous week in Warsaw and Krakow, Poland — the images after our visit to the death factories of Auschwitz and the ghettos of Warsaw and Krakow freshly etched in our memory. After Poland and just before Vienna, we spent the weekend in Bu-dapest, where we learned about the equally dismal plight of Hungarian Jews as the Nazis escalated their timeline to kill as many Jews as possible before their assured loss to the Allied powers during the war’s final days.

While we were in Budapest learn-ing about the Nazis’ Jewish genocide, Iranians were celebrating Quds Day. Quds Day is held the last Friday of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan as an international day of struggle against Israel and for the liberation of Jerusa-lem. Israeli and U.S. flags are burned as the Iranian crowds chant their all-too-familiar “Death to America, death to Israel.”

The Nazis’ systematic final solution to the Jewish question had resulted in two-thirds of Europe’s 8.8 million Jews being slaughtered. Even today, the worldwide Jewish popula-tion is not at the level it was before World War II. Never again!

Arriving in Vienna, I appreciated the significance of the Iran nuclear talks and thought about the Munich Conference of 1938. Hitler’s Germany was appeased. Neville Chamberlain proclaimed, “Peace for our time.” More recently, in 1994, I remember President Bill Clinton triumphantly hailing the

1994 nuclear deal with North Korea: “Today … we have completed an agree-ment that will make the United States, the Korean peninsula and the world safer. Under the agreement, North Korea has agreed to freeze its exist-ing nuclear program and to accept international inspection of all existing facilities.”

Sadly, neither of these agreements resulted in their intended objective — at least for the negotiating party I was aligned with.

During the contentious, extended Iran nuclear negotiations, we read reports indicating that the United States had capitulated on many of its original core positions. Some sug-gested that President Barack Obama and Secretary of State John Kerry were determined to get a deal done, even if it meant going against stated principles, for the sake of their legacy. They should be reminded that Neville Chamberlain also has a legacy.

Our synagogue group, 34 of us in all, was small in number but loud in voice. We felt compelled to let our feel-ings about the nuclear talks be known. We gathered outside the Palais Coburg, the venue of the final meetings, and chanted, “No deal, no deal.” The pro-digious media assembly approached us. We shared our concerns, and an Iranian blogger tweeted about our protest. Not surprisingly, his tweet was answered with anti-Semitic comments

about us. The next day, the

deal was finalized, and the text of the agree-ment was made public. Many of the terms were even worse than what we had anticipat-ed. Iranians celebrated the agreement as supreme leader Ali Khamenei vowed to defy American policies in a speech punctuated by chants of “Death to America” and “Death to Israel.”

Kerry said the speech was “very disturbing … very troubling,” seemingly surprised at the rheto-ric. I’m not surprised. History has a way of teaching us — if we let it.

As our trip wound down, we were grief-stricken after visit-ing so many relics of Nazi evil and destruction. We were dismayed that American leadership believes that the Iranian deal will stop the spread of nuclear weapons in the region and make the world safer. We wanted to believe.

It was Saturday night, July 18, the last night of our two-week sojourn. We were in Prague. After a group dinner, we gathered outside the restaurant at a busy intersection. Our rabbi led us in Havdalah — the Jewish ceremony that marks the symbolic end of Shab-bat and ushers in a new week. The Havdalah candle was lighted, and we joined one another, arm in arm,

forming a ring, and sang the Havdalah prayers.

We felt safe. There were no anti-Semitic rants. The rounding up of Jews on these streets only a few generations ago seemed incomprehensible.

Toward the end of Havdalah, two young women from Germany, walk-ing by, stopped and joined our ring, concluding the service with us. The irony that they were German was not lost on me.

We finished our prayers, brought in the new week and met our new friends. We wanted to believe.

For now, anyway, there is hope. ■

A Journey Into History

Guest ColumnBy Mark A. Schwartz

Photos by Mark A. SchwartzRabbi Shalom Lewis and Congregation Etz

Chaim members demonstrate their opposition to the Iran nuclear deal in Vienna.

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www.atlantajewishtimes.comBUSINESS

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Arab citizens make up 21 percent of Israelis but contribute just 8 percent to the GDP. The Arab mi-

nority has a poverty rate nearly three times that of the Jewish population. It’s estimated that the Israeli economy an-nually loses 31 billion shekels ($8.1 bil-lion) from not realizing the potential of the 1.7 million Israeli Arabs.

In 2013, Israeli-founded technolo-gy company Amdocs, which has a large office in Alpharetta, opened a branch in Nazareth, Israel’s largest Arab city. Now Amdocs Nazareth is at the fore-front of an Israeli revolution to bring Arab citizens into the high-tech fold.

Ihab Atalla, who heads Amdocs Nazareth, visited Atlanta on Thursday, July 23, to speak about his mission to integrate the Israeli high-tech sector. The event was organized by the Inter-Agency Task Force on Israeli Arab Is-sues and Conexx: America Israel Busi-ness Connector.

He sat down with the AJT after his presentation to talk about Amdocs’ workplace in Nazareth.

AJT: Can you tell me about your pre-sentation today and how you came to be in Atlanta? Atalla: First, I am vacationing [laughs]. I used to live in the States for about 10 years and moved back to Israel four years ago. It was important for me to come here and talk about the story of our office in Nazareth and also to ex-pose people to the idea of having more Arabs working in the software arena.

AJT: Why is it so important to get Arabs involved in the tech sector?Atalla: Because I do believe that it can help Israel as a state and improve the economy. I also believe in coexistence, and programs like this can definitely help. The model can work.

AJT: You have Muslims, Jews and Chris-tians all working together at your Nazareth office. Was that something you were prepared for when the office opened? Atalla: Diversity is an outcome; it’s something we found ourselves having. We found that good diversity is actually a strength. We wanted to have an office that would provide 24/7 support and operations support. To be open 24/7, you need to be open all days, includ-ing the weekend. On Saturday, which is

very religious for Jewish people, Mus-lims or Christians can work. Sunday is a holy day for Christians, but Jews can work. Diversity is very important to us.

AJT: So what’s the biggest thing you want to get across to people here?Atalla: OK, so two things. First, as a business you can see that the diversity is working. We have had very strong results. Second, the opportunities for Arab Israelis are now there, but they need to grow more outside of Amdocs.

AJT: What is the Israeli government doing to promote Arab inclusion in the workforce?

Atalla: There are a few programs out there right now. The president of Israel, Reuven Rivlin, is trying to bring more opportunities because he believes in it. It’s something that really everyone benefits from. The government is pleased with the ex-ample Amdocs is setting since ad-vanced employment for Arabs is a major goal for them. More activities and opportunities will definitely es-tablish a stronger foundation. Now we can see that more Arabs are talking about careers, international experiences and learning all the lan-guages. You can see that the engine is turned on already. ■

Strength in DiversityIhab Atalla helps integrate Israeli Arabs into Startup Nation

Photo by David R. CohenIhab Atalla (center) stands with Conexx

Vice President Barry Swartz and Liron Shoham of the Inter-Agency Task Force on Israeli Arab Issues.

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ESTATENeeds

By Ariel Pinsky

Fishing out a stimulating yet sub-stantive summer novel from the sea of fluff out there can be dif-

ficult. “Midnight in Europe,” the latest installment in Alan Furst’s series of World War II espionage thrillers, will narrow your search for a quality sum-mer read while offering an alluring

look into the ominous, glamorous, pre-war Parisian society.

A master of historical spy fiction, Furst delivers another fast-paced and intriguing set of intertwined stories taking place from 1937 to 1938 across Europe, including Paris, Madrid, Is-tanbul, Munich and Odessa. Furst fo-cuses on Christian Ferrar, a brilliant and respected lawyer working for the

‘Midnight’ in a Europe of EvilPre-war spy thriller conquers continent

Midnight in Europe

By Alan Furst

Random House, 272 pages, $16

Etgar Keret’s “The Seven Good Years” resembles most of his work in that it is offered in small

pieces — seven chapters, or “years,” each with four to seven brief memories.

The memoir reads like a collection of fictional short stories because of Keret’s ability to cherry-pick memories and mold them into a thematically con-sistent whole.

As a lecturer at Ben-Gurion Uni-versity, Keret understands that it’s not always what you say, but what you don’t say that holds the most weight. “The Seven Good Years” is a series of teases — stories charged with brevity.

The title refers to the seven years between the birth of Keret’s son, Lev, and the death of his father, Ephraim. It may also refer to the seven years sepa-rating Keret from his older brother, de-scribed in a story titled “Idol Worship.”

The stories are complemented by Keret’s sly wit. His signature style pro-duces hybrids that are at once philo-sophical and colloquial, laugh-out-loud funny and disturbing.

It would be apparent to anyone who reads “The Seven Good Years” that Keret could write a dramatic and pro-found masterpiece about drying paint, filing taxes or the silence of loneliness. His keen eye to metaphor, sensory im-age and what’s relatable is likely the result of excessive empathy and intro-spection on Keret’s part.

The book’s cover is bright yellow with an illustration of a slingshot load-ed with a dove bearing an olive branch. This paradox is amusing, even kind of funny, in its absurdity.

It does, however, hide the book’s inherent cover art: simply a pair of shoes etched white in a black back-ground. It reflects the content of a story titled “In My Father’s Footsteps” in the book’s final chapter. I know only because I read it.

But to folks opening the book for the first time, the shoes are merely shoes; they could mean anything.

This ambiguity between the sym-bolic and literal is the engine on which “The Seven Good Years” runs and may be Keret’s most natural source of writ-ing. I hope his heart-warming paradox-es continue to see the light of day. ■

Seven Good StoriesBy Zach Itzkovitz

The Seven Good Years

By Etgar Keret

Riverhead Books, 192 pages, $26.95

Courdet Inter-national Law Firm in Paris as a Spanish émigré.

As civil war rages in Spain be-tween Fran-co’s Fascist forces and the Army of the Republic, Fer-rar is summoned by the Spanish Em-bassy in Paris to join the mission of the Oficina Tecnica in helping to supply crucial weapons and ammunitions to the weakening republic.

As Ferrar and partner Max de Lyon, a Jewish gangster, are faced with constant challenges on their quest for illegal weapons, the reader is thrust into multiple exotic environments and situations, all with one common ele-ment: an inescapable pre-war tension so thick you can feel it on the page.

For a moment Furst makes you forget that Spain will fall to Fascist Franco, France will be overrun by the Nazis, and Jewish Europeans like Max de Lyon will fight to stay out of the camps and ghettos.

As the darkness creeps through all corners of Europe, Furst instills fear and anxiety in the reader, making us question, just for a moment, “What will be of Europe?” But, alas, history ensures you are brutally reminded.

Some problems lie in the book’s outrageous supply of details. Because Furst does not provide clues as to which are significant to the story, the reader must decide which names, ho-tels, roads, restaurants and facts to re-member. And the influx of characters and places becomes dizzying as new ones are introduced nearly every page.

However, the array of distinct and colorful people and places also helps Furst paint his complex and vibrant picture of pre-World War II Europe. He humanizes a world war by giving a story to each character, each road, each hotel and each town.

Though a particularly captivating read for history buffs and fans of the classic spy novel, “Midnight in Europe” will appeal to any reader’s sense of ro-mance, danger and mystery. ■

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EDUCATION

By Sophie Zelony

The Epstein School is hosting a day of service open to the entire community Sunday, Nov. 1.

Service, an integral part of Epstein values, has brought families together in the past, but Yom Tzedakah this year will be the first time that Epstein has opened the event to everyone to expand the impact and showcase the Conservative day school’s dedica-tion to service to the community.

Epstein is hoping for 550 to 600 participants.

Epstein has arranged 25 proj-ects and is work-ing on adding a few more. There are projects for people of all ages, skills and abili-ties. The options range from mak-ing cards for Chil-dren’s Healthcare of Atlanta and planting trees for Trees Atlanta to packing shelves for the Atlanta Community Food Bank and visiting seniors at Insignia of Sandy Springs.

Each project corresponds to vari-ous Jewish values, and a Jewish frame-work discussion about each site will kick off the day.

Each grade at Epstein has a theme of Jewish values that the students learn about. Yom Tzedakah reflects those themes and gives students and other participants another dimension of learning.

“I think it is meant to teach every-body,” volunteer coordinator Laura Blaskett said. “It is not just about Ep-stein kids, but it teaches everybody the values of giving themselves to a project. … It is opening eyes to areas and oppor-tunities and events in the community that perhaps they don’t normally see.”

Outreach coordinator Robyn Fain-tich said: “A big point of clarification is the teacher in fifth grade is not tak-ing the fifth-grade class to a site. We are really committed to the roles that volunteers can play as families, so we really want people to register as family

units.” The hope is that exposing whole

families to service projects will lead the families to incorporate service into their ongoing activities rather than just spend one day a year doing service.

Epstein’s new head of school, Da-vid Abusch-Magder, has been involved with the program planning and is ex-cited to showcase Epstein’s commit-ment to volunteering and to Jewish

values. “I am happy

to be a part of a community that values character education and giving back to the greater com-munity … and am excited to participate in a wonderful volun-teer program like Yom Tzedakah,” he said. “Com-munity volunteer programs are an important part of helping our students develop good character and a giving spir-it. Modeling that behavior for our students is a key to successfully

raising children to become engaged and caring adults who recognize their responsibility to make the world a bet-ter place,” the value of tikkun olam.

Epstein’s leadership team is look-ing for volunteers to be site captains. Site captains relay information be-tween the staff at a project site and the Yom Tzedakah volunteers. They take photos at the sites and submit evalua-tions of how the projects went.

Anyone in the community may be a site captain.

The online registration portal for volunteering will be open to the public in September. The registration form allows you to submit first, second and third choices of projects. Some loca-tions have age minimums or capacity limits, but the goal is for each registrant to get one of those top three choices.

To register your interest before the registration page goes live, to keep up with the event or to learn more about the projects, go to www.facebook.com/events/460793990752849. ■

Epstein Set to Connect Community to Service

Photos by Coleen LouEpstein School students show their

commitment to service by participating in a Tu B’Shevat project in which a Kesher Garden was planted at the

Sandy Springs school and in Israel.

lease join us as we show our appreciation to our veterans through the work of photographer Thomas Sanders. This new exhibit, opening as we approach the 70th anniversary of the end of WWII, is a tribute to Belmont Village’s resident veterans and all who have served.

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Exhibit opening and receptionsBelmont Village Johns Creek4315 Johns Creek Parkway Tuesday, August 4, 2015 4:00 PM: appetizers and seated dinner6:00 PM: special champagne exhibit openingRSVP to Leslie Sowders at (770) 813-9505

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www.atlantajewishtimes.comEDUCATION

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By Benjamin Kweskin

Varda Cheskis Sauer resisted forming a Jewish-oriented club at North Springs Charter High

School when students approached her about the idea nearly a decade ago.

She didn’t know many of the stu-dents and was unsure how to bring sensitive religious issues into a secular public school. Then as now, she said, many of the interested students came from Jewish day schools such as Davis Academy and had a “thirst for Jewish continuity” that they were missing in their new, nonsectarian surroundings.

Sauer recognized a genuine need to bring quality Jewish programming to the school and eventually relented to found and advise North Springs’ Jewish Culture Club, which has become one of the most successful student clubs in the Atlanta area. As the club organizer, she was recently listed as one of 25 At-lanta Jewish nonprofit innovators.

The only sponsor/adviser, Sauer works with six student officers to make sure programs run smoothly. Unlike

some student groups, the Jewish Cul-ture Club does not meet just for snacks and social time: All programs are aca-demic in nature and provide substan-tial educational content.

Now that the club is in its ninth year, Sauer said she knows what works and what doesn’t. She is vigilant about keeping religious observance out of the public school. There are no prayers be-fore or after students eat, and G-d is not discussed as a topic.

Sauer vets speakers and makes sure they address what was agreed to — she has been burned in the past.

Recently, a pro-Israel group asked to speak about a subject, and she de-cided against it as too controversial. The organization, which she declined to identify, ended up speaking about a different topic.

Speakers are required to be engag-ing, clear, concise and “not boring.” They are not allowed to sell anything because “it’s a club for students, not a business opportunity.”

Presenters do discuss holidays and Jewish cultural traditions. Frequent

North Springs Club Provides Jewish ContinuityAdviser/founder Sauer sets dedicated example for students

discussions include the similarities and differences within Jewish traditions (Orthodox, Conservative, Reform), poli-tics, and Israel. Students must stay for the full program and are encouraged to engage with the guest speaker.

A frequent presenter is Rabbi Da-vid Silverman of the Atlanta Scholars Kol-lel, who has been in-volved with the club since the beginning.

Like many high-schoolers, North Springs students are ove r p r o g r a m m e d and overcommitted to studies and extra-curricular activities. As a result, many do not have time for Jewish activities af-ter school or even on the weekends. So the club meets during the rotating 30-min-ute lunch periods, allowing students to participate without missing out on classes or other activities.

Though the club is roughly split between students who attended day school and other Jewish students, many from largely unaffiliated fami-lies, a dozen or so of the 150 club mem-bers are not Jewish but are curious because they have many friends in the club. Each member pays an annual fee of $20, which keeps other costs low and keeps the pizza coming.

Sauer said all club members regu-larly participate in what may be the most popular club at North Springs. Parents are often as enthusiastic about the club as their children but are un-able to attend programs and events.

In learning about the Jewish Cul-ture Club and speaking to Sauer and two student officers, Nicole Webb and Max Winter, three words kept coming up: “empowered,” “comfortable” and “safe.”

The club enables students to let their guard down and share the com-fort of not having to explain certain traditions, experiences and cultural norms. While the Jewish feel safe at the Sandy Springs school, they may feel even safer in the Jewish Culture Club.

Webb, an effusive incoming co-president and senior, said she felt cul-ture shock at entering a diverse, non-Jewish public school after attending Davis.

“We feel comfortable to talk about issues; we speak about our concerns. The club has helped my Jewish aware-ness and self-confidence. My family is not so religious, so the club makes me feel connected,” she said. “In college I’ll be able to bring these experiences

with me. I love this club and wouldn’t be able to dedicate my time to others.”

Winter, a 2015-16 junior who also is a Davis alum, spoke about the im-portance of the club. “It is successful because students are always engaged. It has strengthened my Jewish identity and awareness, and I am always with my friends — people who share the same beliefs — and we have open dis-cussions about issues and topics. I am very excited for the upcoming year.”

Sauer worries what will happen to the club when she eventually retires (it is her 24th year at North Springs). She will need to mentor someone who understands the dedication required to maintain the club’s success and mo-mentum because in addition to lead-ing the internship program at North Springs, she devotes dozens of hours a week outside school hours to the club.

Other schools have attempted to start similar clubs, she said, but “they are nowhere near as successful and not nearly as organized.”

Sauer and her officers maintain an ever-changing email distribution list and put on gatherings such as pool parties that engage parents as well as students. Such events ease transitions and familiarize incoming freshmen and other students who are new to the club.

Sauer said, “If students or parents need me for anything outside of the club, I am there for them.” ■

Varda Cheskis Sauer and the 2014-15 North Springs Jewish Culture Club pose for an official photo in March.

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EDUCATION

Guest ColumnBy Susan N. Schriber Orloff

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are uploaded. The book bag is purchased. The contents are

new and in good order. The clothes are crisp. The after-school activities are signed up and paid for. The carpools are organized.

Life is good. So what is the source of the tension at home? Homework!

It gets in the way of chilling. It is cumbersome. It seems unending. It is an infringement on personal space and time. And it is scary — very, very scary.

Inside the book bag the parent sees science, math and spelling; the child sees a disorganized jumble of expectations and a confrontation with personal shortcomings and potential failure.

Why would any intelligent person want to open up that Target-pur-chased, ego-busting monster?

The issue, from a parent’s and an occupational therapist’s viewpoint, is not how to get your child to do home-work, but what are the obstacles to approaching the task in the first place.

Are our children that different from us in avoiding situations that are uncomfortable? If we are answering honestly, the response is often no.

After years of helping my own and other children with the homework crisis, I know that the most common denominator in this drama is organi-zation. With the tasks properly orga-nized, the question is no longer “How much should I help my child with his/her homework?” but “How can I sup-port my child through this inescapable and sometimes painful process?”

The first step is to open that carefully selected, color-coordinated health hazard you constantly trip over as you enter your home: the book bag.

I have presented the following suggestions at Learning Disabilities Association meetings, PTA events and occupational therapy seminars and in my book “Learning RE-Enabled”:

• Get two nice-size boxes (liquor stores, office supply stores, etc.). They do not need lids.

• Select with your child two con-tact paper rolls.

• Ask your child to cover each box, using one contact paper design per box in a public room in your house (not a bedroom).

• Go “shopping” around the house. Fill one box with No. 2 pencils, a pencil sharpener, pens, markers, colored pen-cils, Wite-Out, tape, glue sticks, plain

paper, graph paper, notebook paper, a dictionary and a thesaurus, rulers, pa-per clips, a stapler, and file and pocket folders (two or three of each).

• Put the first box aside and leave the second box empty.

• Get the book bag and empty the entire contents into Box 2.

• Set out the items in Box 1 in a

public place away from the TV but not far from family life. If you eat in the kitchen, set up in the dining room.

• Make the items easily accessible for your child.

• Put Box 2 on one side of your child’s chair and the book bag on the other.

• Have your child select one item that needs to get done from Box 2 and put it into the book bag as it is com-pleted. Continue until Box 2 is empty.

• Put all the stuff from Box 1 back into the box.

• Store both boxes near the se-lected work area until the next day.

The benefits of this plan are straightforward. The child is not isolated and can easily ask for help. Parents can peek to see whether help is needed and can monitor breaks.

Homework should be done at the same time every night if possible. Your child gets a rhythm and a ritual to ful-fill obligations, solve problems, control frustration and manage time.

Siblings can support each other if homework snags arise and encour-age each other because they are in the same boat. For an only child, doing homework while you answer the mail, do bills or read can be equally support-ive. (Do not talk on the phone while sitting in the homework area or have your child work in front of the TV.)

Most of all, remember that it is your child’s homework, not yours. Your child is practicing skills that, if properly learned, will support them throughout their lives. ■

Occupational therapist Susan N. Schriber Orloff is the CEO/executive di-rector of Children’s Special Services. She can be reached through www.childrens-services.com or at [email protected].

Organize for Homework

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EDUCATION

Not long ago, I participated in my first acting class at the Alliance Theatre. As I entered

the classroom environment, I was reminded of all that it means to be a new student: the excitement, the nerves, the eagerness to learn, and the concern about how I will stack up compared with my class-mates.

I also had a couple of other things on my mind that were somewhat unusu-al to my situation.

Because I had my kippah on, I wondered whether everyone would assume that I represented all obser-vant Jews.

Because I am recovering from toe surgery, I worried that my movement and participation would be hampered and/or painful.

Finally, because this class is for working adults, it is fairly late in the evening, which I know is not my best time in terms of concentration.

The truth is that I signed up for this class for two primary reasons:

• Because I am passionate about the theater and performing.

• Because it’s important that, as a key leader at Atlanta Jewish Academy, I know firsthand what it’s like to be a student.

It’s especially relevant to be a student in an area where I do not al-ready excel, as this is the situation our children find themselves in with some regularity.

As Wendy Mogel explains in “The Blessing of a Skinned Knee,” high school is really the last time we expect expertise in every area.

Even though we would not ask our accountant questions about cell division or our doctor questions about integration by parts, we expect our children to excel across the board. Sometimes it’s just not that simple, as I was reminded again at my acting class.

Every student brings his or her own baggage (“My toe hurts. It’s late at night, and I am tired. Are my class-mates professional actors? Boy, am I nervous!”) and sometimes questions his or her own abilities.

It’s too easy to sit back and say of our students, “He could do better if he only would.”

In fact, as Ross Greene of Harvard Medical School reminds us, it’s usually the other way around: “He would do

better if he only could” (Carol Ann Tomlinson, “Rising to the Challenge of Challenging Behavior,” Educational Leadership, October 2012).

As Mel Levine also reminds us in his book with the self-explanatory title “The Myth of Laziness,” students want to please and do their best, and stu-

dents have a natural curiosity about things, so it’s too easy to simply say “s/he is lazy.”

All of which brings me back to my acting class.

I was by no means the best, not even close. But the teacher singled me out briefly for kind words, and that made a difference.

For that moment, it felt as if the teacher understood that I was trying, that it didn’t necessarily come natural-ly, but that I was doing it. It reminded me yet again that “People don’t care what you know until they know that you care” (Theodore Roosevelt and oth-ers; italics mine).

I also got some nice feedback from classmates and was able to recip-rocate as we worked together to learn something new.

By the time the school year starts, I will be able to reflect back on this class and the lessons I have learned anew about being a student. And don’t worry: I already have plans for my next class. I’m enrolled in a class on stand-up comedy and will be coming soon to an open mic near you. ■

Paul Oberman is the associate head of the Atlanta Jewish Academy Upper School. He came to Yeshiva Atlanta in 2010 as principal, became the head of school in 2011, and continued in his posi-tion after the merger of Yeshiva Atlanta and Greenfield Hebrew Academy into AJA. He has been a teacher and adminis-trator at many schools, including Choate Rosemary Hall in Connecticut, Paideia School in Atlanta (where he was assistant junior high coordinator) and Pace Academy in Atlanta (where he was head of middle school). He believes in student ownership of education and is thrilled to be working with the wonderful educators at AJA.

I’m a New Student, Too

Guest ColumnBy Dr. Paul Oberman

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By April [email protected]

The school year is about to begin, and that means Atlanta’s youth movements are ready to get

back into full swing. Leaving behind summer programs, trips to Israel and camps, teens and adult youth leaders are eager to start the school year by working together in the spirit of Febru-ary’s Coalition of Jewish Teens.

Adam Griff, co-adviser for NFTY’s HOTTY chapter at Temple Beth Tikvah, said he and David Hoffman, the BBYO director at the Marcus Jewish Commu-nity Center, are planning to include a NFTY team in BBYO’s AZA winter bas-ketball league for boys. The league will play nine regular-season games plus playoffs from Dec. 6 to March 27.

Griff is excited for the basketball league partnership but said HOTTY has no other collaboration planned.

“We don’t do much in terms of planning during the summer. Most of it takes place during our board retreat, which would be in August,” Griff said.

“I think there’s definitely an appetite for that and an interest in doing more, but there’s nothing planned yet.”

Many local NFTY chapters have not had the chance to meet yet about programming because several Reform synagogues have new youth directors.

Griff is hopeful for more collabo-ration among the youth movements this school year and would like to see more joint leadership opportunities.

“I look forward to there hopefully being more conversations and more partnerships in the future,” he said. “I still think that there’s relatively little of that happening in Atlanta.”

Atlanta Council BBYO has plans to collaborate with NFTY and USY this school year with communitywide events.

Stacie Graff, the BBYO operations director at the Marcus JCC, said the youth movements have kept in contact this summer.

“We have a listserv that we com-municate with them. We talk with our colleagues in NFTY and USY on a regu-lar basis, and currently our plans are

not solidified yet,” Graff said.She said BBYO is in the midst

of planning a fall Shabbat for all the youth movements but has not decided on a date.

BBYO is also planning Atlanta’s J-Serve day, which will be a large com-munitywide event. The International Day of Jewish Youth Service will take place March 6.

“We feel that it’s really important for the teens to work together even though they might be part of different youth movements,” Graff said. “We’re all working towards developing the teens and helping them become the next generation of strong Jewish lead-ers.”

That attitude motivated the gath-ering of the Coalition of Jewish Teens before BBYO’s International Conven-tion and the NFTY Convention in mid-February. The coalition brought to-gether leaders from BBYO, NFTY, USY, NCSY and Young Judaea.

“On a national level, USY, BBYO and NFTY are looking at ways to part-ner together in the immediate future,”

said Lisa Alter Krule, USY’s director of regional engagement and director of the International Convention. “USY’s International Convention is being held in Baltimore this December, and BBYO’s IC will be held in Baltimore in February. We have been discussing ways to keep the momentum going and to complement each other’s work, specifically in the area of community service. The professional staff com-municates often, and we are working with our teen leadership to further our efforts/collaboration.”

NFTY’s convention is biennial; this is an off-year for the Reform youth movement.

Regardless of which movement teens or adult youth leaders identify with, they have a common goal in At-lanta to work together.

“Every youth movement has so much they can offer each other,” Graff said, “so we’re really excited about partnerships that we can build this year for us as staff and then also for our teens to build community part-nerships.” ■

Back to School Means Back to CollaborationYouth movements look for ways to expand cooperation

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EDUCATION

By Leah [email protected]

Atlanta Jewish Academy Up-per School humanities teacher Sally Stanhope has had a busy

summer.She took off to Fort Wayne, Ind.,

on June 21 for a little more than a week to attend a Passport to Innovative Edu-cation Summit. She col-laborated with experts in character education and teachers from around the country to develop lessons that infuse character edu-cation into the curriculum.

On June 30, she was off again to the World His-tory Association’s annual conference in Savannah, where she gave a presenta-tion on “The Intersection of Identity Politics of the Past and Present.” Stanhope was one of two teachers who received the 2015 William H. McNeill Scholarship for the conference.

With one day between programs for the second time this summer, she left for three weeks at the University of Denver. Stanhope was chosen as a Na-tional Endowment for the Humanities summer scholar and participated in a Summer Institute for Teachers course titled “Teaching Connected Histories of the Mediterranean.”

“The truth is, I didn’t realize how busy I was until now,” she said during the Denver course.

The first program she attended, the Passport to Innovative Education Summit, addressed a topic that has long been important to Stanhope and a big part of AJA’s educational vision. “I became interested in character educa-tion in a graduate school history class, and I’m particularly interested in how to teach students grit, a word I would use to describe how to recover from failure.”

Stanhope has been a member of the WHA since 2009, but this summer was only her second time attending the annual conference.

“My presentation addresses the topic of how teachers can use the past to encourage students to discuss issues of white privilege and institutional rac-ism without bringing up feelings of defensive guilt, frustration and silent anger,” Stanhope said.

She uses art from a different cul-ture to help students separate them-selves from the situation. “The iden-tity politics of 18th-century New Spain that lurk beneath the casta paintings of that time touch upon many of the issues that present-day debates over race and privilege raise yet are safely entrenched in the past,” she said. Such a lesson “exemplifies how social stud-

ies can prepare students to read texts critically.”

As for her final sum-mer stop, the seminar on Mediterranean history, Stanhope said: “Because we’re a Jewish school and Israel is so close to my stu-dents’ hearts, I am delight-ed to learn more about the region without the filter of media bias.”

“Sally takes profes-sional development very

seriously,” said Joel Rojek, the general studies principal at AJA Upper School. “Every summer she has attended at least one national summer conference or similar opportunity to learn about trends in history and to meet other ed-ucators from across the country. … Ku-dos to Sally for seeking these out and pursuing them.”

This school year Stanhope is teaching three levels of world history (college prep, honors and Advanced Placement), college-prep U.S. history, and a new class she developed called “History of the Human Body: Perspec-tives of the Body in the Nineteenth and Early Twentieth Centuries.”

That new course will highlight the social values placed on different bodies and how closer global interrelation-ships led to an idealization of certain attributes. Topics include politics be-hind the dress code in Manchu China and fitness in American culture.

Stanhope developed the class af-ter polling AJA Upper School students about which of five possible classes they would most like to take.

Rojek said Stanhope is much more than an innovative teacher. She is the grade dean for this year’s sophomores and the sponsor of the National Honor Society and No Place for Hate club.

“Students enjoy her energetic and upbeat demeanor, and they respect her work ethic,” Rojek said. “They can tell she cares about them not only as stu-dents, but as individuals.” ■

AJA’s Stanhope Enjoys No Summer Slowdown

Sally Stanhope

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Twenty-first-century learning, technology integration, blended learning, virtual classrooms, dis-

tance learning and mobile classrooms have been buzzwords in education for a decade. All of these terms recognize the growing roles of technology and connectedness in the world today’s stu-dents are growing in, as well as in the world of their future.

Schools must harness the opportunities technol-ogy can provide when such tools open doors to deeper learning, enable avenues for creativity and content cre-ation, and connect students with the global network of learners and teachers. It is equally im-portant that the technology not be the goal of the learning but rather the tool that enhances and magnifies it.

This learning-focused integration is the basis for the educational ap-proach at the Davis Academy, which is empowering students to become active learners, problem solvers and contrib-utors to a global knowledge base.

Convertible tablets and laptops, iPads, Hummingbirds, Lego EV3s, Lego NXTs and Spheros are among the tools Davis is investing in while working to enhance learning. The use of social media to connect our classrooms with primary source learning and our par-ticipation with a global audience have become integrated into the curriculum and culture of the school.

Davis is the largest Reform Jewish day school in the country.

Whether our kindergartners are engaged in math problem-solving chal-lenges with students in New Zealand, our third-graders are sharing in daily grammar learning with a class in Man-itoba, our fifth-grade entrepreneurs are connecting with industry lead-ers as research for their own business plans, or our eighth-graders are live-streaming a re-enactment of the 1775 Continental Congress with six classes across America and Britain, this ap-proach creates heightened levels of engagement, enhances retention, and affords opportunities for future con-nections and exploration.

Davis thus unleashes imagina-tions and facilitates collaborative and self-directed learning regardless of technological trends. Students love it.

Last year, Davis Academy 21st-century learning coordinator Stacy Brown started a monthly event called #MakerMonday in which Lower School students drop by the Idea Lab

to experiment with programming and invention using tools such as Lego Ro-botics, Sphero Balls and laptops.

Although #MakerMonday is of-fered during recess, many students opt to participate because it allows them to pursue their creative passions while guiding their learning with the help of the latest educational technology.

Brown reports that students are so excited by all the possibilities of pro-gramming and invention. Some come up with complex robotic projects.

The Davis Academy also provides students with innovative learning spaces. The Lower and Middle School Idea Labs, for example, are equipped with green-screen walls for video and broadcasting projects and erasable sur-faces for writing and brainstorming.

Other environments, such as the

new Nature Sanctuary, are not high tech at all. The sanctuary is a garden and amphitheater that promotes a qui-eter imaginative process, spirituality and appreciation of the natural world.

Davis teachers are continually immersed in continuing education. Professional development includes not only traditional curriculum topics, but also best practices from one another and other experts around the world. Teachers build personal learning net-works through Twitter, RSS feeds and professional conferences. In the past

Davis Delves Into Education for the Future

Top left: Davis Academy Lower School students shoot video against the green screen in the Idea Lab.

Top right: Rising fifth-graders Jack Anderson and Carson Wolf took home first place for their robotics project at the North Atlanta Jewish Technology Fair in January.

year, 15 percent of Davis faculty pre-sented at local and national conferenc-es on topics such as storytelling, feed-back, and visualizing and verbalizing.

Ultimately, the Davis Academy’s vision is guided by our goal for our stu-dents: to enable them to become con-fident individuals who have a strong sense of identity and community, are excited about learning and discovery, and aren’t afraid to think differently. ■

Drew Frank is the Davis Academy’s associate head of school and principal.

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Guest ColumnBy Drew Frank

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Inspiring students from 1 8 months

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EDUCATION

By Benjamin Kweskin

In response to real and perceived ris-ing levels of intolerance in public and private schools, the Anti-Defa-

mation League initiated the No Place for Hate program nationally.

Community-driven and frequent-ly student-led, the campaign seeks to strengthen students’ resolve and pro-vides tools and language to combat intolerance while providing school administrators, counselors, principals, teachers and parents the means to han-dle all aspects of intolerance.

According to the ADL, many schools are ill equipped to deal with certain situations. As such, No Place for Hate-affiliated programs can affect positive results for a safer learning en-vironment and empower students.

Among its programs, the cam-paign focuses on cyber bullying for parents, general bullying, and differ-ent types of prejudice and stereotyping and reaches students from kindergar-ten through high school.

The ADL says the rate of bullying has steadily declined in the five years of the program.

Erin Beacham, the education proj-ect director for the ADL’s Southeast Region, said No Place for Hate assists communities in general and is not lim-ited to affecting school campuses.

The Southeast Region — Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee and South Caro-lina — has 300 schools in No Place for Hate; over half have completed all steps to be certified as designated No Place for Hate schools. Among the main steps toward certification, schools must fill out an assessment and coalition form that includes every student’s affirma-tion of participation from that school. Students must then sign a “resolution of respect” and pledge to uphold stan-dards of tolerance.

When bullying occurs, No Place for Hate schools use the terms “target,” “aggressor,” “bystander” and “ally,” Beacham said. In response to such inci-dents, counselors and other school liai-sons provide additional resources and training. Beacham said students and counselors tell aggressors that “this is a No Place for Hate school and that lan-guage or action is unacceptable here.”

Among changes for the new school year are plans to make online resources more user-friendly, to send out month-ly newsletters, and to expand outreach to specific districts in the Southeast.

Word of mouth has been the main way for schools and administrators to learn about the campaign, but the ADL does limited outreach to communities and interested schools. More informa-tion is at atlanta.adl.org/npfh_/npfh.

All resources and materials come through the ADL, and everyone associ-ated with a school may participate.

The student-parent-administra-tion-community coalition makes plans to implement at least three activities during the school year. These activities must affect the majority of students. In a few elementary schools, students have linked arms with one another, parents and community members in an act of solidarity. In a high school, students put on a poetry slam that en-couraged tolerance and respect. Other activities have included assemblies, videos and plays.

The campaign encourages stu-dents to be involved. All efforts are co-ordinated through administrators with younger students getting direction from counselors and parents. ■

Southeast Embraces ADL’s No Place for Hate

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23AJT8105 Roberts Drive, Atlanta, GA 30350 | 770-671-0085 | davisacademy.org

A proud member of:

The moment students walk through the doors

of The Davis Academy, they begin a unique

experience—one that’s tailored to the individual

child. An experience that’s not just about academics

but about how a child develops, grows and learns.

About becoming the best they can be.

But don’t take our word for it. Come for a visit and see for yourself!

RSVP for our upcoming Parent Information

Session by calling 678-527-3300 or register

online at davisacademy.org/visit.

Be Amazed.From Hello.

www.atlantajewishtimes.com

The Weber School educates and empowers students from all Jewish backgrounds. Our innovative program and advanced academic o�erings include:▶ 20 AP courses available for 9th-12 grades

▶ Jewish and General Studies interdisciplinary courses

▶ Pre-professional Fine and Performing Arts program with Fall and Spring theatre productions

▶ 13 Athletic Teams plus Co-ed Intramural Sports and Fitness program

▶ Opportunities for Student Enrichment and Support built into the daily schedule

Schedule a visit withMs. Rise Arkin,

Director of Admissions, at 404-917-2500 x101 or email

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VISIT US ONLINE ATWWW.WEBERSCHOOL.ORG

Make Your Own Shofar With JCraftsBy Michael [email protected]

Coming soon to a synagogue, reli-gious school or day school near you for the High Holidays: an all-

new Shofar Factory from JCrafts, the Chabad-backed organization whose holiday highlights also include an olive press for oil at Chanukah and a mat-zah-making factory at Passover.

Rabbi Levi Mentz, who heads JCrafts in Georgia, said that compared with last year’s version, the new Shofar Factory includes better costumes and the addition of music. “This is much better,” he said. “You gotta keep things fresh and innovative.”

The Shofar Factory demonstrates the entire process that turns a ram’s horn into a shofar. It includes a brief history of the shofar and an explora-tion of which horns can and can’t be used.

It’s hands-on education: Each child gets a raw shofar and uses machinery to extract the cartilage, drill a hole and create a mouthpiece. The shofars-to-be then ride a conveyor belt into a ma-chine that strips off the coarse outer layers of the horns and prepares them for shellacking.

Participants finish painting their shofars, then learn to blow them before taking them home.

“The kids love it,” Rabbi Mentz said. “The dads love it possibly more than the kids.”

The workshop lasts about an hour and is free for participants. Although JCrafts offers the demonstration to preschoolers, children who are going to use the machinery should be at least 9, the rabbi said.

The Shofar Factory will pop up at five Home Depot stores outside the Atlanta area in cities such as Macon and Columbus, Rabbi Mentz said. But unlike JCrafts’ Passover presentation, which included the Home Depot in Buckhead, the High Holiday learning experience within the metro area will appear only at Jewish institutions. ■

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EDUCATION

Come meet our new rabbi and become part of our warm, vibrant community.

Join us at one of our prospective member eventsProspective Member Shabbat ServicesAugust 14 & 21 | 7:30 pm

Dunwoody/Sandy Springs Prospective Member Wine and Cheese

August 25 | 7:30 pm

Alpharetta Prospective Member Wine and Cheese

August 26 | 7:30 pm

For more information and to RSVP for events, call us at 770-395-1340 and visit us at templeemanuelatlanta.org

Exciting Things Are Happening At Temple Emanu-El!

Rabbi Spike Anderson

By David R. [email protected]

Student athletes at Davis Acad-emy, Atlanta

Jewish Academy, the Weber School and the Epstein School are anticipating the opportunity to get out on the field, court and track for the 2015 fall season. Below are some highlights of what to watch for at some of Atlanta’s Jew-ish day schools.

Davis AcademyThe boys and

girls tennis teams at Davis won the Metro Atlanta Athletic Con-ference championships last year and look to re-peat in 2015-16. The 2015 Davis athletes of the year were Jake Rubin (soccer, basketball, track) and Abby Goldberg (cross country, basketball, soccer).

The boys track team hopes to build off last year’s second-place finish in the MAAC. Rubin won the pole vault with a jump of 10 feet 8 inches, the second-highest in conference history, which ranked him in the top 30 nationally for middle school boys. Teammate Sam Mahle placed second in the shotput with a throw of 33 feet 10 inches and took third place in the mile.

The girls team was led by Katy Sul-livan, who won the high jump at 5 feet even and the 300-meter hurdles in 55.24 seconds. Sullivan also placed second in the 400 meters and joined Olivia Sid-man, Hailey Rubin and Emma Tessler to finish third on the 4-by-400-meter relay team.

Atlanta Jewish AcademyAJA approaches the fall volleyball

season having lost six seniors from last year’s Upper School squad, but the Lady Jaguars look to field a competi-tive team under the direction of Coach Lesley Thompson and returning ath-letes Abby Stein, Danielle Sokol and Brooke Ratner. The season starts Aug. 11 against Elite Scholars Academy.

The AJA Middle School volleyball team also has high hopes for the sea-son. Coach Penny Eisenstein said the player turnout at tryouts has been so

high that she is excited to see what the A and B squads can do.

Under Eisenstein, the AJA Middle School volleyball team has an overall record of 264-51, and the A team finished second in its divi-sion last season.

The AJA Middle School soccer and basket-ball teams both look to re-peat last year’s first-place division finishes.

Epstein SchoolThe fall sports season

at Epstein starts Aug. 10 and continues through October. Competing in the MAAC, Epstein will field boys soccer A and B teams, a girls fast-pitch softball team, girls volley-ball A and B team, boys

and girls cross country teams, and, new this year,

ultimate Frisbee. Last fall the boys soccer team fin-

ished second in the MAAC to Ridgeview Charter School.

Weber SchoolRising Weber junior Becky Arbiv

has captured top finishes in national and state track and field events all summer. On June 13, she finished first in the Southeast Regional Pole Vault Championships at Emory with a jump of 13 feet 1.5 inches (4 meters). On July 18, Arbiv made her highest leap to date at the Georgia Games at 13 feet 3.5 inch-es (4.08 meters). She heads to nationals July 29 to 31 as the No. 1 seed.

Becky’s sister, incoming Weber freshman Ariel Arbiv, has cleared 9 feet 2 inches in the pole vault and is also seeded in the top 10.

Varsity volleyball at Weber is gear-ing up for a big season as the defending 1-AAA region champions.

The cross country team is antici-pating a strong fall season — Coach Kristan Moses expects another top four finish and a trip to the Georgia Independent School Association state meet. The team will be led by Zoe Bagel and Kyle Rabinowitz, who aim to finish in the top 15 in the state. The first meet will be Aug. 27 at Garrard Landing Park in Roswell.

Weber is fielding its first girls fast-pitch softball team this fall under Coach Scott Seagraves. ■

Day Schools Ready To Kick Off Fall Sport

Weber junior Becky Arbiv will be the No. 1 seeded pole-

vaulter at nationals July 29-31.

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Education Briefs

Hadassah Preschool Program Begins Aug. 30

Hadassah invites children ages 3 to 5 and their parents to participate in the opening session of its Training Wheels/Al Galgalim Jewish family edu-cation program at no charge.

The Rosh Hashanah-themed pro-gram Aug. 30 from 10 a.m. to noon is the first of nine Sunday morning sessions scheduled around Jewish holidays throughout the school year. Trained Hadassah volunteers lead the sessions.

Activities include songs, stories, crafts, games and holiday foods so that parents and preschoolers can share the pleasures of celebrating Shabbat, Suk-kot, Chanukah, Tu B’Shevat, Purim, Passover Yom HaAtzmaut and Shavuot in addition to Rosh Hashanah.

After the first session, the program carries a few.

Reservations are required for the Aug. 30 session. Visit www.hadassah.org/atlanta, or contact the Greater At-lanta Hadassah office at 678-443-2961 or [email protected].

YEA! Seeks Atlanta StartRiley Benner, 16, of Rochester, N.Y.,

employs refugees to hand-sew revers-ible, high-end, silk ties for his business, Phoenix Haberdashery. Rachel Zietz, 15, of Boca Raton, Fla., the CEO of Gladi-ator Lacrosse, is on track to make her first million this year. Brandon Boyn-ton, 18, of Pendleton, Ind., is saving hundreds of students nationwide from bullying with his app, The Bully Box, an anonymous reporting tool for school districts.

All of them are alumni of the nonprofit Young Entrepreneurs Acad-emy. YEA! transforms middle and high school students into entrepreneurs through a 30-week, hands-on program. YEA! teaches students how to gener-ate business ideas, conduct market re-search, write business plans, pitch to a

panel of investors and launch real companies.

The program is offered in more than 100 communities as either an after-school enrichment program that meets weekly be-tween November and May or as an in-school elective.

“We are very interested in bringing the program to Atlanta because it is already a hub of in-novation and economic growth,” said Gayle Jagel, the founder and CEO of YEA!

Startup funds are available from Sam’s Club through the U.S.

Chamber of Commerce Foundation for communities interested in launching YEA! Applications are being accepted at www.uschamberfoundation.org/yea

through Aug. 31.

C2 Tutoring Essay ContestThe new C2 Education center in

Dunwoody is celebrating its opening with a contest to win 30 hours of tutor-ing services.

The center will name two winners in each of three age groups: first to fifth grade; sixth to eighth grade; and ninth to 12th grade.

An elementary school student en-tering the contest should draw a pic-ture of his or her hero and explain why that person is the hero.

Students entering the middle school level should write an essay of at least 150 words on one of these two topics:

• Why and how is education im-

portant to you?• Think back to a favorite class or

educator (teacher/coach/director/prin-cipal). How did this person make a posi-tive impact in your life?

High-schoolers should write at least 200 words on one of these two topics:

• Why and how is education im-portant to you?

• Sometimes people do things over and over again before they are success-ful. Write about how you succeeded be-cause you kept trying.

Entries are due Sept. 4 at 6 p.m. and may be submitted by email to [email protected] or delivered to the center at 1400 Dunwoody Village Parkway, Suite 1402B, Dunwoody.

Avi likes blue best for his Havdalah spice box.

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A single mother of two boys found a good way for her family to fit in and make friends after mov-

ing to Atlanta from Melbourne, Fla. Janet Simmerman signed up Aus-

tin, now 9, and Matthew, 11, to become Cub Scouts with Pack 1818, one of two Jewish Boy and Cub Scout troops in the Atlanta area. She then promptly be-came committee chair for the organi-zation and made herself indispensable.

“I do all the behind-the-scenes or-ganizing and facilitating, the calendar and scheduling for our events, sup-porting the cub master, doing popcorn sales, and making camping arrange-ments,” she said.

“I just can’t explain how my sons have grown. To be in the great outdoors, to have different experiences, be with other people, with the philosophies of being respectful, of being responsible, being courteous,” Simmerman said. “Pack 1818 was a godsend to us.”

Atlanta’s other Jewish Boy and Cub Scout troop is at Torah Day School, Simmerman said, and is more religious than 1818. “We have Jewish themes. We say a small prayer at the top after hiking. We have a Chanukah party as opposed to a Christmas party. When we’re camping, we do a short Shabbat service. So it’s not over the top.”

Pack 1818 is recruiting boys to join the group and is holding a special event Aug. 16 at Garrard Landing Park in Al-pharetta to attract new Scouts.

“We want to concentrate on the boys that are first grade to fifth grade but hope to attract some older ones also to fortify the troop,” Simmerman said. The pack and the troop — for sixth-graders and up — each have about 16

members. “We don’t want to be humongous, but we cer-tainly want to bring more people into the fold.”

Paul Carling is the Boy Scout troop leader and used to lead the Cub Scout pack.

“What I get out of it first and foremost is playing time with my son, Ronnie, who is 13,” Carling said. “We do things we’d never get to experience unless we were in Boy Scouts, such as going on an overnight campout, sleeping in a cave, rappelling down a cliff or whitewater rafting. Unless it’s organized and put into a group, you’re never going to have the opportunity with your son.”

Seeing Ronnie and the others become responsible young men who can take care of themselves is another bonus for Carling. “Learning skills makes them mature, helps them grow up, become more thoughtful,” he said. “There’s an actual agenda they must follow in order to advance, especially if they want to become an Eagle Scout.”

Pack/Troop 1818 falls under the auspices of the Marcus Jewish Commu-nity Center; similar groups are usually organized by a church or school.

Troop 1818 and Pack 1818 “are spe-cial because they decided to focus on Judaism and Scouting and how they go together. That’s an interesting twist,” said Tony Rosenberg, Jewish represen-tative for the Boy Scouts’ Atlanta Area Council Religious Relations Commit-tee. “The charter organization looks out for the unit, from an administra-tive standpoint. JCC is a charter organi-zation on behalf of 1818. That’s unique.”

He added: “These boys don’t all go to church or school together, so I think

they are more in tune with what Scouting is all about. They are fo-cusing more on the Scouting itself, on brotherhood and what it means to be Jewish.”

Carling summed up the benefits of becoming a Boy Scout: “It’s just a cool thing. It’s organized, it’s safe, it’s well thought out, and it’s fun.” ■

Scouting With a Jewish TwistMore boys wanted for Pack and Troop 1818

Who: Jewish Boy and Cub Scout Troop 1818

What: Recruitment and opening day

Where: Garrard Landing Park, 8000 Holcomb Bridge Road, Alpharetta

When: 3 to 6 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 16

Top left: Cub Scouts in Pack 1818 tend to the American flag during

a camping trip.

Top right: Members of Pack 1818 learn about the

space shuttle program.

Bottom left: A Pack 1818 Scout practices on a rock-climbing wall.

Bottom right: Scouting activities include model boat races.

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SIMCHAS

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AnniversaryKen and Glenda Alexander

Ken and Glenda Alexander of Atlan-ta celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary in Israel this spring.

The couple married at the Progress Club on Techwood Drive in April 1965. They are the parents of Leon and Scott Alexander and the grandparents of Brandon, Meghan, Caleb and Owen Alexan-der.■

EngagementGoldberg-Gabriel

Cydney and Martin Goldberg of Marietta an-nounce the engagement

of their daughter, Summer Long Goldberg, to John David Gabriel, son of Carolyn and David Ga-briel of Charleston, S.C.

Summer is the grand-daughter of A. Ervin Goldberg of Atlanta and the late Esther Goldberg. Summer gradu-ated from Washington and Lee University with a double major in business administration and Spanish and earned a juris doc-tor degree from the Charleston School of Law. She is a trust administrator for The Private Bank in Chicago.

John graduated from Clem-son University with a degree in business management (supply chain and logistics) and a minor in Spanish. He is an account manager for Kap-stone Container Corp. in Chicago.

An October wedding is planned in Charleston at the Lowndes Grove Planta-tion.■

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OBITUARIES

Dave Ben Zion Grossman87, Sandy Springs

Dave Ben Zion Grossman, 87, of Sandy Springs passed away peacefully Friday, May 29, 2015.

He was born in Jacksonville, Fla., to Dora and Harry Grossman, both of blessed memory. Dave was preceded in death by his wife of 55 years, Sylvia, and his grandson Jay Richer. He is survived by his daugh-ters, Karen Richer (Ronald) and Barbara Lauter; a son, Paul (Harriet); grandchildren Rachel Saraga, Dara Richer, Steven and Emily Lauter, and Melissa Hill; great-grandchildren Kylee Saraga and Adelaide Hill; sister Eileen Servos; and brother Sheldon (Gail).

Sign the online guestbook at www.edressler.com. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to the charity of your choice. Graveside services were held Sunday, May 31, at Arlington Memorial Park in Sandy Springs with Rabbi Joshua Heller officiating. Arrangements by Dressler’s Jewish Funeral Care, 770-451-4999.

Jack W. Shemaria93, Atlanta

Jack W. Shemaria, age 93, of Atlanta died peacefully on Saturday, July 25, 2015.

He is survived by his wife of 63 years, whom he loved dearly, Rachel Ben-benisty Shemaria; son Merrill Shemaria; sons and daughters-in-law Barry and Nancy Shemaria and Mark and Gwen Shemaria; brothers and sisters-in-law Hy-mie and Sukey Shemaria and Louie and Iris Shemaria; sister-in-law Emily Amato; brother-in-law Dr. Milton Krainin; and grandchildren Brooke, Justin, Margo, Nat-alie and Jacqueline. He was preceded in death by his parents, Bennie and Matilda Shemaria.

Jack was born in Atlanta and grew up on Pryor Street. He was a graduate of Commercial High School and enlisted in the Army seven months before Pearl Harbor. He obtained the rank of sergeant, served in the Machine Records Unit, where he worked with early IBM punch card machines, and was stationed in England leading up to D-Day. After that he served in the Pacific. After his service he opened Jack’s shoe repair on Peachtree and 10th streets and later moved to Edgewood Avenue. In 1970 he joined his brothers at Bennie’s Shoes at Broadview Plaza. Jack was a gentle, caring soul who loved everyone, and everyone loved him.

The family would like to thank all of his full-time caregivers during the past three years, especially Sadiq Parker and George Mphande, for all of their com-passionate work. Sign the online guestbook at www.edressler.com. Graveside services were held Monday, July 27, at Greenwood Cemetery with Rabbi Hayyim Kassorla officiating. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to the Bennie and Matilda Shemaria Fund at Congregation Or VeShalom or Jewish National Fund. Arrangements by Dressler’s Jewish Funeral Care, 770-451-4999.

Death NoticesHarriet Littman Cohen, 66, of Buffalo Grove, Ill., mother of Temple Kol Emeth member Amy Merlin, on June 30.Edwin Ehrenhalt, 90, of Alpharetta, Temple Kol Emeth member and father of Lou Ehrenhalt and Evan Ehrenhalt, on July 25. Rosalyn Hosenball of Sandy Springs on July 2.Harold Kaplan of LaGrange on July 21.Jesse Rolnick, 102, of Atlanta, father of Temple Sinai member Alan Rolnick, on July 22.Rosalin Samet of Roswell on July 24.Miriam Schein of Sandy Springs on July 23.James Sturrock Sr., 70, of Espanola, N.M., father of James Sturrock Jr., Genevieve Lancaster and Lochlin Sturrock, on July 24. Herbert Weinstein, 89, of Delray Beach, Fla., father of Congregation Beth Shalom member Laurie Besmertnik, on July 8.

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www.atlantajewishtimes.comOBITUARIES – MAY THEIR MEMORIES BE A BLESSINGCLOSING THOUGHTS

CROSSWORDBy David Steinberg Editor: [email protected] Difficulty Level: Moderate

“Misdirection”

LAST WEEK’S SOLUTION

Chana’s CornerBy Chana Shapiro

[email protected]

My husband, Zvi, and I were having dinner, discussing (as usual) the tribulations of the

Jewish people, so I decided to lighten the mood. It seemed the perfect time to broach the subject of my evolving lifestyle.

I announced that I’m ready for the next Big Thing.

I am a former high school teacher, with 12 years’ experience in class-rooms of young adults; however, to do something new, significant and ex-tremely challenging, I am about to help out in a local elementary school.

Let me repeat: elementary school.My husband usually supports

my decisions. I once bought a fuzzy orange rug that did nothing but clash and shed. I prepaid a worker to paint our kitchen. He left town, supposedly to help his grandmother move into a trailer, and never came back.

Of those and countless other er-rors of judgment, Zvi was wonderfully understanding, but my desire to work with schoolchildren met with disap-proval.

“Chana, you know how unpleas-ant you are when you get sick,” he stated. “Do you want to put yourself in the breeding ground of contamina-tion? You’ll be sick all the time.”

I decided to disregard his use of the word “unpleasant” and stay focused.

It’s true that, thanks to our children and grandchildren, I have suffered and kvetched through strep throat, the flu, conjunctivitis and head lice, all presumably contracted by them at school.

The first was so unpleasant that, to this day, a grandchild’s momentary hoarseness causes my own throat to sizzle. The last was so unbearable that I still check my hair thrice daily. (It’s harder than you think. If you had my hair, you’d understand. See the photo above.)

In the past, men and women my age were considered fortunate, no lon-ger obsessing about office rivalries or rising at dawn to rinse out one’s only intact pair of pantyhose.

There was a time when retirees took up bonsai, watched “The Doctors” or slept late.

Retirees took long, leisurely walks in the middle of the week and stopped without guilt for ice cream and dough-nuts.

Retirees went to an 11 a.m. movie and caught a second film that same afternoon.

That’s how it used to be, but not anymore.

Now it’s not only unhealthy to sit in a chair, reading thrillers while drinking bucketfuls of coffee, but it’s absolutely shameful. The right kind

of people over 65 are the ones who “do something.”

The latest issue of the AARP magazine featured golden-agers who rope broncos and climb mountains. I just heard about a 92-year-old who wrestles with his grandson’s team. This fellow’s wife cross-trains with him.

The modern senior citizen can’t stand downtime.

Deep in my heart, I knew that only working at an elementary school would put me in the category of mean-ingfully engaged old person. It would take every ounce of energy, creativity, patience and moxie I possess, and, moreover, I would have to amp up my immunizations.

Fortunately, I like children, and I’m willing to engage the assistance of experts when I need them.

With a bit of prodding, I received the following advice from a sampling of fourth- and fifth-graders:

Watch out for kids who are sneaky or mean (how will I know until it’s too late?). Find out where all the bathrooms are. Don’t joke around be-cause either kids won’t get it or they’ll think you’re a loser who’s trying too hard.

Wear “normal” clothes; however, crazy socks are OK.

If a kid speaks Spanish, don’t em-barrass yourself by speaking Spanish back. If a kid does something stupid, leave him alone, pretend you didn’t see it, and don’t try to make him feel better. If a good kid asks to borrow money, you can lend it, but only once, and not more than a dollar.

Now I’m good to go! It’s back-to-school time, and I wish for all of us, students, teachers and parents, a year of great learning and, of course, no pink eye or nits! ■

Going Back to School

ACROSS1 “Feh, pick one boyfriend!”8 Impose a plague on12 What tensions in the Middle East will ideally do16 1913’s “Cohen Saves the Flag,” for one17 Third 31-Across book19 Fourth 31-Across book20 Preparing to dispose of, as a chocolate gelt wrapper21 Temple membership charge22 Golden Globe winner Dinah24 Made dough at a bagel shop?25 Former ambassador Moshe26 Course for Israeli immigrants to the U.S.: Abbr.27 Landed via El Al31 It’s written from right-to-left, like each Across entry in this puzzle34 Jewish religion et al.36 31-Across form, often38 Have the effect of matzo ball soup on the soul40 Nat ___ (“Shadow Soldiers: Israel” network, informally)42 Israel’s third-largest trading partner43 Israel began sending one to the Olympics in 195244 Present time?48 Noshes on49 Fifth 31-Across book52 Menorah mishap residue55 Only method for producing kosher meat56 ___ Yar60 Jerusalem Biblical Zoo heavyweight62 Tree mentioned in Isaiah63 She can’t remarry65 Second 36-Across book67 Job for Ginsburg70 Main 31-Across character71 Israel’s is around $228 billion72 Abbr. once seen in kosher markets74 Goldman Sachs closes them76 Its eruption caused a tsunami that submerged Atlit Yam78 Plotz sounds79 Challah ingredient82 Boxer and Franken, at times86 First 31-Across book88 31-Across locale, sometimes

89 Shylock quality90 Encyclopaedia Judaica, e.g.91 Technion hurdle92 Einstein’s collectionDOWN1 “Give me children, or ___ I die”: Rachel2 Nearly bubkes3 Red Sea formation4 Peeper, to Emma Lazarus5 Souvenir, as from a Birth-right trip6 Harden, Job-style7 President’s Medal and others8 JDate exchange, for short9 Compete in the Jerusalem Marathon10 Post-Pesach digestion aids11 Jewish campus group12 Churchill who supported the Zionist movement13 Hebrew form of Abe14 2013 Spike Jonze film15 Bubbe’s specialty18 Baer vs. Schmeling out-come, 193323 Japheth’s brother25 Full of schmutz26 One needing real gelt to pay off a mortgage28 Flowery Hebrew name29 Lech-___30 “The Nazarene” author31 Ralph Lauren line?32 “Found the afikoman!”33 Ayalon Highway, for instance: Abbr.35 Jerusalem Post informants37 Spike, as grape juice39 Used an Uzi41 Philistine city45 ___ zemirot, Shabbat prayer46 Theologian Kaufmann47 Service admo-nition50 “On the Jewish Question” essay-ist Karl51 Enjoyed kugel52 Barbara

Walters is one53 Display chutzpah54 Knesset assistant57 Vehicle that doesn’t oper-ate during Shabbat in Tel Aviv58 In biblical days59 Sound of klutzes colliding61 Lower Galilee boarding school64 Sanitary state, as at the Ichilov Hospital66 Gradually drives meshuga68 Pharaonic symbol69 Where rabbinical robes hang73 Brandeis bigwigs75 Walker known for anti-Semitism77 Emulate a concerned Jew-ish mother78 Part of William S. Paley’s CBS, briefly79 The Talmud considers it an example of the weak who cast terror on the strong80 Jezreel Valley kibbutz81 Old-style “Oy vey!”82 Take in, as light83 Drink that’s Hebrew for “be exalted”84 Goliath’s was big85 Body part equivalent to itself, biblically87 Sandy Koufax stat

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Week 8 Softball Standings*Clinched Division

A Division W L TB’nai Torah* 8 0 1Or VeShalom 6 3Sinai 1 5 4Temple 1 4 5Dor Tamid 1 4 5Beth Tefillah 3 4 1Ahavath Achim 3 6Chabad 1 7B Division W L TAriel* 8 2Young Israel 8 2Beth Tikvah 1 6 4Emanu-El 6 4Gesher L’Torah 5 5Etz Chaim 3 7Dor Tamid 2 2 8Beth Shalom 2 8C Division W L TKol Emeth* 7 3Or Hadash 7 3Beth Jacob 6 3 1Beth Tikvah 2 5 4 1Sinai 2 4 6Temple 2 3 7Bet Haverim 2 8

Israel’s Path to Russia ’18 Runs Through Spain, Italy

Even as Israeli soccer’s hopes to qualify for the 2016 European Champi-onship have faded with three consecu-tive losses, a FIFA draw has created a monumental challenge to reach the 2018 World Cup in Russia.

Israel was drawn into European Group G with 2010 champion Spain, four-time champion Italy, Albania, Macedonia and Liechtenstein. Qualifi-ers will be played from September 2016 to November 2017.

Only the group winner automati-cally qualifies for the World Cup. It would be a huge surprise if Israel fin-ished higher than third.

Meanwhile, Israel sits in a tie for third in Group B of European Champi-onship qualifying with four games left. Israel’s next game is Sept. 3 at home against Andorra.

OBITUARIES – MAY THEIR MEMORIES BE A BLESSINGSPORTS

Softball Winners SetSunday, July 26, wrapped up the

regular season for the B and C divi-sions of the Atlanta Men’s Synagogue Softball League. Temple Kol Emeth, which went 2-0 on the day, clinched the C division over Congregation Or Hadash in an 8-6 game. Kol Emeth and B winner Congregation Ariel, which clinched July 19, have the No. 1 seeds for their divisions’ double-elimination tournaments, starting Sunday, Aug. 2.

In the A division, Congregation B’nai Torah clinched first place with wins over Temple 1 and Congregation Or VeShalom. Five regular-season A games are left to be played Aug. 2.

atlanta jewish times, no. 28, july 31, 2015

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