Atlanta WWW.ATLANTAJEWISHTIMES.COM INSIDE VOL. XCI NO. 1 JANUARY 8, 2016 | 27 TEVET 5776 Calendar................................... 3 Candle Lighting ...................... 3 Israel ......................................... 4 Local News ............................... 5 Business ................................... 9 Opinion .................................. 10 Arts .......................................... 13 Obituaries .............................. 27 Crossword .............................. 30 New Moon Meditations ...... 30 Cartoon................................... 31 Marketplace .......................... 31 By Michael Jacobs mjacobs@atljewishtimes.com A year ago the Atlanta Jewish Film Festival approached the open- ing of public ticket sales as a newly independent nonprofit running the second-largest Jewish film festival in the world. Now it’s No. 1 and nearing the start of sales Sunday, Jan. 10, with more than a year of independence behind it. “We never in a conscious way were chasing the title of No. 1 Jewish film festi- val,” Executive Director Kenny Blank said. “We’re proud to have the bragging rights. That came about as a nice secondary ben- efit. We were just producing the best festi- val we could for our community.” Aside from one new venue, SCAD- show, and bigger theaters at some con- tinuing locations, audiences shouldn’t notice many changes during the 16th fes- tival, which runs from Jan. 26 to Feb. 17. Perhaps the biggest adjustment has come for donors. The festival overhauled a system of sponsorship levels and bene- fits that treated individual and corporate supporters the same. The change led to the opening-night gala being open only to festival spon- sors and patrons. The public still can buy tickets to see the opening-night film, “Remember,” but can’t get passes to the party. Blank said only 30 to 40 of those passes were sold last year. Overall, he said, about 5,000 more festival tickets are available this year, but Film Festival Builds Foundation to Grow that’s a response to demand, not an effort to pad last year’s total audience of more than 38,600 to remain No. 1. Instead of holding on to bragging rights, the festival organization has fo- cused during its first full year apart from the American Jewish Committee on cre- ating a strategic plan, charting sustain- able growth, developing a long-term business model, and staffing up with full- time communications and community engagement employees, Blank said. The festival experimented with year- round programming, such as holding September screenings of the documenta- ry “Rosenwald” and Germany’s nominee for this year’s Oscars, “Labyrinth of Lies.” But Blank intends for the programming to expand beyond a traditional night at the movies with speakers, workshops and other events that meet the mission of creating community dialogue and build- ing bridges of understanding. The festival’s independence has opened opportunities to apply for cultur- al grants and seek National Endowment for the Arts funding at a higher level, but many of those applications will have to wait until the festival has two or three years of independent financial data. “Beyond grant opportunities, I think for a lot of current funders, not advocates but true cultural entrepreneurs, it chang- es the optics,” he said, with independence making the festival a more appealing re- cipient of donations. ■ Real-life couple Bryan Greenberg and Jamie Chung star in “Already Tomorrow in Hong Kong,” the ACCESS Night film at the Atlanta Jewish Film Festival. See a review on Page 22, part of this week’s special festival preview on Pages 13 to 26. ENCHANTED David N. Weiss prepares to share his trek from “Shrek 2” to observant Judaism. Page 7 WALK ON Now under the ownership of the third generation of the Shemaria family, Bennie’s Shoes keeps strolling along as the place for shoe repair in Atlanta. Page 9 IN MEMORIAM Atlanta’s Jewish community lost many prominent mem- bers recently, including Gene Asher, the Jewish Georgian’s founder, and Phil Levetan, husband of former DeKalb CEO Liane Levetan. Page 27 Quake Rattles Jews A 6.7-magnitude earth- quake that struck In- dia early Monday, Jan. 4, caused extensive property damage to the country’s Bnei Menashe community. Nine people died and 90 others were hurt in the quake 18 miles from Imphal in the state of Manipur, near Myan- mar and Bangladesh, about 4:30 a.m. local time Monday. “Buildings shook violent- ly,” said Tzvi Khaute, one of the Bnei Menashe. “Thank G-d no one among the Bnei Me- nashe was injured or killed.” A 2005 ruling by Isra- el’s Chief Rabbinate found that the Bnei Menashe de- scend from the lost tribe of Manasseh and are eligible to make aliyah, as 3,000 have. About 700 of the 7,000 Bnei Menashe left in India await permission to make aliyah this year, said support organization Shavei Israel. ■ Bnei Menashe community member Nakhon Hoakip and his mother, Leah, who live in Imphal, examine damaged buildings Jan. 4.
A year ago the Atlanta Jewish Film Festival approached the open-ing of public ticket sales as a
newly independent nonprofit running the second-largest Jewish film festival in the world. Now it’s No. 1 and nearing the start of sales Sunday, Jan. 10, with more than a year of independence behind it.
“We never in a conscious way were chasing the title of No. 1 Jewish film festi-val,” Executive Director Kenny Blank said. “We’re proud to have the bragging rights. That came about as a nice secondary ben-efit. We were just producing the best festi-val we could for our community.”
Aside from one new venue, SCAD-show, and bigger theaters at some con-tinuing locations, audiences shouldn’t notice many changes during the 16th fes-tival, which runs from Jan. 26 to Feb. 17.
Perhaps the biggest adjustment has come for donors. The festival overhauled a system of sponsorship levels and bene-fits that treated individual and corporate supporters the same.
The change led to the opening-night gala being open only to festival spon-sors and patrons. The public still can buy tickets to see the opening-night film, “Remember,” but can’t get passes to the party. Blank said only 30 to 40 of those passes were sold last year.
Overall, he said, about 5,000 more festival tickets are available this year, but
Film Festival Builds Foundation to Grow
that’s a response to demand, not an effort to pad last year’s total audience of more than 38,600 to remain No. 1.
Instead of holding on to bragging rights, the festival organization has fo-cused during its first full year apart from the American Jewish Committee on cre-ating a strategic plan, charting sustain-able growth, developing a long-term business model, and staffing up with full-time communications and community engagement employees, Blank said.
The festival experimented with year-round programming, such as holding September screenings of the documenta-ry “Rosenwald” and Germany’s nominee for this year’s Oscars, “Labyrinth of Lies.” But Blank intends for the programming
to expand beyond a traditional night at the movies with speakers, workshops and other events that meet the mission of creating community dialogue and build-ing bridges of understanding.
The festival’s independence has opened opportunities to apply for cultur-al grants and seek National Endowment for the Arts funding at a higher level, but many of those applications will have to wait until the festival has two or three years of independent financial data.
“Beyond grant opportunities, I think for a lot of current funders, not advocates but true cultural entrepreneurs, it chang-es the optics,” he said, with independence making the festival a more appealing re-cipient of donations. ■
Real-life couple Bryan Greenberg and Jamie Chung star in “Already Tomorrow in Hong Kong,” the ACCESS Night film at the Atlanta Jewish Film Festival. See a review
on Page 22, part of this week’s special festival preview on Pages 13 to 26.
ENCHANTEDDavid N. Weiss prepares to share his trek from “Shrek 2” to observant Judaism. Page 7
WALK ONNow under the ownership of the third generation of the Shemaria family, Bennie’s Shoes keeps strolling along as the place for shoe repair in Atlanta. Page 9
IN MEMORIAMAtlanta’s Jewish community lost many prominent mem-bers recently, including Gene Asher, the Jewish Georgian’s founder, and Phil Levetan, husband of former DeKalb CEO Liane Levetan. Page 27
Quake Rattles JewsA 6.7-magnitude earth-
quake that struck In-dia early Monday, Jan.
4, caused extensive property damage to the country’s Bnei Menashe community.
Nine people died and 90 others were hurt in the quake 18 miles from Imphal in the state of Manipur, near Myan-mar and Bangladesh, about 4:30 a.m. local time Monday.
“Buildings shook violent-ly,” said Tzvi Khaute, one of
the Bnei Menashe. “Thank G-d no one among the Bnei Me-nashe was injured or killed.”
A 2005 ruling by Isra-el’s Chief Rabbinate found that the Bnei Menashe de-scend from the lost tribe of Manasseh and are eligible to make aliyah, as 3,000 have.
About 700 of the 7,000 Bnei Menashe left in India await permission to make aliyah this year, said support organization Shavei Israel. ■
Bnei Menashe community member Nakhon Hoakip and his mother, Leah, who live in Imphal, examine damaged buildings Jan. 4.
Find more events at atlantajewishtimes.com/events-calendar.
CALENDAR
CANDLE-LIGHTING TIMESParshah Vaera
Friday, Jan. 8, light candles at 5:27 p.m.Saturday, Jan. 9, Shabbat ends at 6:26 p.m.
Parshah BoFriday, Jan. 15, light candles at 5:33 p.m.
Saturday, Jan. 16, Shabbat ends at 6:32 p.m.
FRIDAY, JAN. 8Interfaith scholar weekend. Vander-bilt University’s Amy-Jill Levine opens a weekend of study and worship with Temple Sinai, 5645 Dupree Drive, and Holy Innocents’ Episcopal Church, 805 Mount Vernon Highway, both in Sandy Springs, with a reception at Si-nai at 5:45 p.m., followed by services. Levine also appears at 9 a.m. Saturday at Sinai and 9 and 10:10 a.m. Sunday at Holy Innocents’. Free except for din-ner after Friday services, which is $18; templesinaiatlanta.org.
SUNDAY, JAN. 10Genealogy project. My Family Story, a six-session project of Beit Hatfutsot, the Museum of the Jewish People, working with the Breman Museum and Congre-gation Shearith Israel, begins at 9:30 a.m. at Shearith Israel, 1180 University Drive, Morningside. The project, for children ages 11 to 15, continues Jan. 31, Feb. 28, March 13 and 27, and April 17. Free, but registration is limited to 30 children; thebreman.org.
Mahjong. Congregation Etz Chaim, 1190 Indian Hills Parkway, East Cobb, holds a mahjong tournament to benefit the synagogue’s preschool. Players sign in at 12:45 p.m.; play begins at 1. First, second and third places win cash priz-es. Registration is $30; etzchaim.net/mahjonggtournament.
Health program. The Greater Atlanta Hadassah Ketura Group and Jewish Family & Career Services sponsor Ketu-ra’s sixth annual L’Chaim program, “A Vibrant New You,” at 1:30 p.m. at JF&CS, 4549 Chamblee-Dunwoody Road, Dun-woody. Panelists are Belinda Ossip, a holistic health practitioner for the JF&CS Health Power Initiative; Carol Berg, a Yoga Alliance practitioner and instructor; and Debbi Dooley, a JF&CS case manager. Admission is $10; 770-442-2854 or [email protected].
Office warming. InterfaithFamily/ Atlanta hangs a mezuzah and holds a reception from 2 to 4 p.m. to show the public its new office space at Ponce City Market, 675 Ponce de Leon Ave., Midtown, on the eighth floor.
Free; www.facebook.com/events/ 443631345828307.
Teen expo. The Jewish Federation of Greater Atlanta and Marcus JCC hold an expo for Jewish summer experi-ences and offer free snacks and bowl-ing from 2 to 4 p.m. at Stars and Strikes, 8767 Roswell Road, Sandy Springs; www.jewishatlanta.org.
Jazz concert. The Andy Statman Trio performs at 7 p.m. at the Marcus JCC, 5342 Tilly Mill Road, Dunwoody. Tick-ets are $28 for JCC members, $35 for nonmembers; www.atlantajcc.org/ boxoffice or 678-812-4002.
MONDAY, JAN. 11Metulla Hadassah meeting. Itzhak Brook, a Georgetown pediatrics profes-sor and veteran of the Six-Day and Yom Kippur wars, speaks at the Hadassah chapter’s opening meeting at 1 p.m. at the Milton Branch of the Fulton Coun-ty Library, 855 Mayfield Road. Free; friends and associates are welcome.
TUESDAY, JAN. 12Educational inspiration. Chaya Mush-ka Children’s House, 5065 High Point Road, Sandy Springs, holds a special screening of “Beyond Measure,” a film about innovation in education, at 7:30 p.m. Admission is free; register at beyondmeasurefilm.com.
THURSDAY, JAN. 14Jewish perspectives on fertility. Rab-bis Elana Perry and Analia Bortz ad-dress Jewish spiritual approaches to fertility, Jewish legal issues and Jewish rituals during the monthly meeting of Wo/Men’s Infertility Support Havurah at 7 p.m. at Temple Sinai, 5645 Du-pree Drive, Sandy Springs. Free; www.wishatlanta.org.
Festival preview. The Atlanta Jewish Film Festival and Atlanta Jewish Music Festival provide looks at their lineups, offer special ticket deals and enjoy tunes from DJ Mike Zarin at a young-adult preview party at Aisle 5, 1123 Eu-clid Ave., Atlanta. Doors open at 6:30; music starts at 7. Admission is free; www.atlantajmf.org or ajff.org.
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ISRAEL NEWS www.atlantajewishtimes.com
Archaeology by the horns. The Israel Antiquities Authority on Christmas Eve unearthed a marble statue of a ram near a Christian church that dates to the Byzantine period in an excava-tion at Caesarea Harbor National Park.
Treatment for migraines. Petah Tikvah-based Teva Pharmaceutical is partnering with Japan’s Heptares to develop small-molecule calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) antago-nists discovered by Heptares for the treatment of migraines. Migraines affect 36 million people in the United States and 10 percent of people world-wide.
Brain link to diabetic foot ulcers. Researchers at Ben-Gurion Univer-sity have discovered that sufferers of diabetic foot ulcers frequently also have substantially impaired cognitive function. Systemic vascular changes affect the whole body, including the feet, heart and brain. The researchers propose new treatment strategies.
An app to lower your stress level. Tel Aviv-based startup Eco-Fusion has developed Serenita, an app that measures and can lower your stress
level. Cover your smartphone lens with a finger to measure heart rate, blood flow and respiration. Serenita’s five-minute personalized breathing exercise then visibly reduces stress.
Free hands-free smartphone. Israel’s Sesame Enable is giving away its spe-cially designed smartphone to those who have limited or no use of their hands. Co-sponsors of the initiative are Israel’s organization for the disabled, Beit Issie Shapiro, and Google.
Where Jews and Arabs work side by side. Close to 350 businesses and fac-tories operate in the Mishur Adumim Industrial Park near Maale Adumim. Some are Jewish-owned; some are Arab-owned. Most have Jews and Arabs working together.
Lifesaver at crossing from Gaza. A merchant from Gaza suffered a heart attack at the Erez Crossing into Israel. An Israeli customs officer who had paramedic training began resuscita-tion using a defibrillator. Magen David Adom paramedics transported the merchant to a hospital, where he un-derwent catheterization and regained consciousness.
Israel Pride: Good News From Our Jewish Home
Israel Photo of the WeekPhoto by Mark Neiman, Government Press Office
Class PresidentIsraeli President Reuven Rivlin reads “Aaron and the Purple Pencil” to children in the Hadas Kindergarten in central Tel Aviv on Sunday, Jan. 3. Rivlin’s visit aimed to offer the children reassurance two days after an Israeli Arab killed two Israelis and wounded at least eight others in a shooting on Dizengoff Street.
Beer for Germany. Herzl Beer of Jeru-salem has been chosen to make a joint Israeli-German beer to commemorate the 500th anniversary of the Rein-heitsgebot — Germany’s, and perhaps the world’s, first beer purity law. The brew will be introduced at the Munich Jewish Museum in April.
Jerusalem is 11th best. Jerusalem scored 84.715 out of 100 to earn 11th place in Conde Nast Traveler’s “Best Cities of the World.” The cities were selected from 128,000 comments of Conde Nast readers.
Liberia thankful for Israel. Liberian Senate President Armah Zolu Jallah is making the first visit to Israel by any head of his country’s legislature. He thanked Israel for its help in wiping out the Ebola virus in Liberia. Israel sent mobile clinics and medical ex-perts who trained Liberian medics.
Monkeying around with tools. For the first time, a scientific study by Itai Roffman of the University of Haifa has observed bonobos making and using tools to search for food. One of the primates even fashioned a spear from the branches of a tree and used it to threaten Roffman.
Finding the lowest prices. The Israeli app Pricez is helping the hundreds of thousands of people who have down-loaded it to save money by directing them to the stores where the products they need are the cheapest. It uses
location data and the database that Israeli stores must by law update auto-matically from their cash registers.
Revolutionary mobility scooter. “Be like everyone else” is the motto of Israel’s Moving Life, the developer of the Atto, the world’s first trans-folding freedom scooter. The scooter folds into a trolley to wheel around or put into a car or plane.
Music in a Jerusalem cave. A spe-cial event took place at Zedekiah’s Cave (also known as King Solomon’s Quarry) in Jerusalem. Hundreds of Jerusalem residents and visitors were treated to Israeli pianist Gil Shohat and singer Nurit Galron as the melo-dies of Chopin reverberated from the stone walls.
Walking with vets. Stock in Yokneam-based ReWalk Robotics is soaring after the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs announced that is procuring thousands of the company’s $70,000 walking systems for wounded troops.
Surprising miss. She didn’t win Miss Universe, but Avigail Alfatov (Miss Israel) has won Israel’s Youth Fencing Championship seven times and hopes to compete at the 2020 Summer Olym-pics in Tokyo. She works in computer security with the Israeli air force.
Compiled courtesy of verygoodnewsis-rael.blogspot.com, Israel21c.org and other news sources.
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10 Years AgoJan. 6, 2006■ Israel Defense Forces Sgt. Jonathan Schulman, who made aliyah in 2004 after graduating from the University of Geor-gia, Dunwoody High School and Greenfield Hebrew Acad-emy, is visiting family and friends in Atlanta for a month and speaking in support of Friends of the IDF, which paid for his trip. “My message around here is that it’s a privilege for me to serve in the IDF, to be a Jew who is responsible for the protection of Jews around the world,” he said.
■ The bar mitzvah ceremony of Montgomery Goldman of Columbus, son of Michael and Carla Goldman, was held Saturday, Nov. 5, at Shearith Israel Synagogue in Columbus.
25 Years AgoJan. 4, 1991■ Chabad of Georgia has announced the opening of a Chabad of Cobb County branch, an outgrowth of programs Chabad has offered in the county the past few years, includ-
ing the Chabad Club at Life Chiropractic College, monthly Rap With the Rab sessions, and adult education classes at the Cobb Jewish Community Center. Rabbis Yossi New and Yossi Lerman will staff the branch until a full-time rabbi arrives immediately after Passover.
■ Terri and David Cohen of Atlanta announce the birth of a son, Austin Chad, on Dec. 1.
50 Years AgoJan. 7, 1966■ Gert Frobe, who played the title role in the James Bond movie “Goldfinger,” might be prosecuted as a former Nazi Party member under the Israeli law against Nazis and their aides if he goes to Israel, Ministry of Justice sources say. The Israeli government banned “Goldfinger” after Frobe admit-ted that he had been a member of the Nazi Party.
■ Mr. and Mrs. William J. Schankerman of Grand Rap-ids, Mich., announce the engagement of their daughter, Morene Lois Schankerman, to Arthur Evan Solomon, son of Mr. and Mrs. Philip H. Solomon of Atlanta. A Feb. 4 wed-ding is planned.
Remember When
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LOCAL NEWS www.atlantajewishtimes.com
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By Leah R. Harrison
There’s a young new rabbi in town at Atlanta’s oldest Orthodox syn-agogue. Rabbi Mayer Freedman,
his wife, Shani, and their four children arrived during the summer at the be-hest of the Atlanta Scholars Kollel to make inroads at Congregation Anshi S’fard in the Morningside/Virginia-Highland area.
The purpose, Rabbi Freedman said, is “to create Jewish programming and increase the Jewish presence” in the Va-Hi area.
That’s apparently not an easy task. Anshi has experienced a lot of transi-tion in spiritual leadership since the death of the highly regarded Rabbi Nathan Katz in 1998 after almost half a century of service to the congrega-tion and the intown community. The congregants still make frequent fond references to Rabbi Katz.
The Freedmans bring fresh ideas to the established post, such as An-shi S’fard’s new monthly Torah trivia game, “Good Shabbos, Atlanta!” The game show officially launched Dec. 5 and returns Saturday morning, Jan.
Anshi Rabbi Engages Jews Wherever They Are
9, at 10:45 at the synagogue at 1324 N. Highland Ave.
Originally from Baltimore, where Rabbi Freedman studied at Ner Israel Rabbinical College, the Freedmans lived in Jerusalem while he attended a program at the Jerusalem Kollel for training Orthodox rabbis and com-munal leaders in outreach to the entire Jewish community.
After his ordination and comple-tion of the three-year program, Rabbi
Freedman was placed in a synagogue in Phoenix, and the family traded one desert environment for another.
As an associate rabbi in Arizona, Rabbi Freedman also taught at a day school and conducted outreach, in ad-dition to directing the Greater Phoenix Vaad HaKashruth, a kosher supervi-sory agency.
When the opportunity arose to be the rabbi at Anshi S’fard, the Freed-mans brought their talents and their family to Georgia.
Rabbi Freedman said his personal goal is “to engage Jews wherever they are. Services? Great. Come to a social event? Great. Lunch? Great. Wherever Jews are in their journey, we’re trying to connect with them on that level.
“It’s not all or nothing. You don’t have to come to everything to be in-volved. Join us for whatever helps you feel connected.”
The congregation has a mehitzah, “but the synagogue is open,” Rabbi Freedman said. “Anshi is an Orthodox synagogue, but the goal is to make sure that all Jews are welcome and should feel comfortable.”
Shani, a registered dietitian and
teacher in Arizona, made the transi-tion here by continuing to teach the same course for Maricopa Community Colleges online. In addition to raising four children, she and a partner have a twice-weekly play group while she seeks a clinical dietitian opportunity in Atlanta.
While the climate here is colder than in Phoenix, the family is finding the community to be warm. Arriving intown just a few weeks after Rabbi Melvin and Lenore Sirner, the Freed-mans happen to live in the same com-plex as Congregation Shearith Israel’s rabbi and his wife.
Because Shabbat services begin at the same time at the neighboring con-gregations, the two rabbis often end up walking together on Saturday morn-ings to their respective synagogues. A little bit later, their wives often end up walking on the same schedule as well.
Asked how things are going, Rabbi Freedman said: “Very well. There’s a lot of Jewish stuff going on here. I see a very active and involved Jewish com-munity that’s looking for ways to con-nect to their Judaism. I appreciate and am very encouraged by that.” ■
Rabbi Mayer Freedman and his dietitian wife, Shani, have four children.
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By R.M. Grossblatt
Driving in my car, I was laughing out loud to a tape of screenwrit-er David N. Weiss speaking at a
Torah Day School of Atlanta scholarship brunch in De-cember 2005.
But the tape was in the middle, so I pushed the re-wind button and waited to hear the beginning. That didn’t happen because I re-wound the tape too far.
None of this may be rel-evant unless you also have a 15-year-old car. But because I wanted to hear more, I rewound the tape with my finger, pushed the shiny brown strip through and heard most of the speech. It was worth it.
Weiss, known for “All Dogs Go to Heaven,” “Jimmy Neutron,” “Rugrats’ Hanukah,” the two “Smurfs” movies and “Shrek 2,” tells a fascinating story, and he makes me laugh and sometimes cry. Now, along with everyone else in Atlanta, I have the chance to be in-spired by him again.
On Thursday, Jan. 14, Weiss is speaking at Chabad Intown about “A Shrek of a Trek,” his journey in life. The event, sponsored by Robert and Susan Freeman, begins with a dessert recep-tion at 7:30 p.m., and the talk will in-clude time for questions and answers.
In a telephone interview from his Los Angeles office, Weiss said he plans to share more than his tale of becom-ing a youth leader for a Presbyterian church and eventually returning to his roots as an observant Jew. He wants to share how his connection to Judaism has given him “incredible stability and confidence” in a Hollywood “filled with uncertainty.”
Weiss’ journey began in Ventura, Calif. As young as 10 years old, he was putting on shows. He knocked on doors to sell tickets, used a sheet for a cur-tain in a neighbor’s living room, and performed before a packed audience, donating his earnings to the Humane Society.
Even as a youngster, his heart was in the right place. But he was troubled by questions such as: “Why are we here?,” and “What happens after life?”
Although Weiss celebrated becom-ing a bar mitzvah in a Reform temple, he knew little about Judaism. “I find that a lot of Jews don’t know the Bible
Enchanted Journey‘Shrek 2’ screenwriter will trace his trek back to observant Judaism
well,” he said. As a sensitive teenager, without answers, that situation prob-ably made him an easy target for mis-sionaries.
In high school where he was one of only seven Jews (in a class of 600), Weiss had mostly non-Jewish friends. At 18 he worked in a bakery, and af-ter work one Christmas eve, while delivering leftover pies, he stopped at the home of his friend Howard.
That evening for several hours, Howard’s brother-in-law, a youth minister, spoke
to Weiss about G-d. “I didn’t know I was searching for G-d,” Weiss said. Only at the end of their conversation did the minister bring up the name Jesus and ask Weiss to say a prayer accepting Jesus as his savior and the Christian faith.
Weiss was willing to give Christi-anity a try.
The budding screenwriter became a youth worker and for many years used his interest in media and his sense of humor to warm up the crowd at Presbyterian youth group meetings. He attended Pepperdine University, a Christian college, where one of his pro-fessors encouraged him to apply to film school. Weiss said he was accepted into the University of Southern California’s film school, which sought students with a “strong point of view,” when he wrote that his desire was to use film to promote the most powerful message to him at the time, the Gospel.
How Weiss returned to his roots as an observant Jew is an amazing story. Equally amazing is that in the 10 years since I first heard him speak, his career has soared, including his current work on the sequel to Disney’s “Enchanted,” titled “Disenchanted.” That’s the ad-dition to his speech: sharing practical tips on how to connect to Jewish wis-dom to become more successful in per-sonal and professional life.
“It’s all about the audience,” he said. “I only want to help them find a path to enhance their journey.” ■
Who: David N. Weiss
Where: Intown Jewish Academy, 928 Ponce de Leon Ave., Midtown
When: 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 14
Tickets: $12 in advance, $18 at the door; intownjewishacademy.org or [email protected]
David N. Weiss
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LOCAL NEWS www.atlantajewishtimes.com
By Leah R. Harrison
Privacy is a broad topic, and many of the complexities that have arisen around the issue are only
now being decided by the courts. So how do we define “The Right to Privacy in an Age Where There Is No Privacy”?
On Dec. 9, addressing that ques-tion in the third segment of Congrega-tion Shearith Israel’s Scholars and Au-thors Series, lawyer Don Samuel noted that the term “privacy” doesn’t appear in the Constitution, but scores of Su-preme Court decisions, including some written by conservative Justices Anto-nin Scalia, Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas, rely on the right to privacy.
The roots of privacy have been de-rived over time, Samuel said, from:
• The Third Amendment’s right not to have soldiers quartered in your home.
• The Fourth Amendment’s right to insist that police have warrants before they conduct any search and seizure.
• The First Amendment’s rights of association and of practice of religion.
A right we consider to be basic and inalienable has evolved through
years of adjudication and interpreta-tion, Samuel said, but given the speed at which technology is developing, the courts have fallen far behind society.
Samuel said one concept of pri-vacy “is that there are certain things that we insist that we have, that we own ourselves and are not to be taken by other people” or the government or companies, such as the rights not to have other people acquire informa-tion about us, not to be physically sur-veilled, not to have our private infor-mation shared, not to have our phone
calls recorded or intercepted, and not to have our mail and email read, as well as the rights to be left alone, to associ-ate with people of our choosing, to use contraception and to get an abortion.
Secrecy and privacy are related, Samuel said. “The right to privacy can be considered in terms of information not being acquired from you (secrecy), and the second part of the right is not to have the information that you give or is acquired lawfully shared (privacy).”
Every day we give out information about ourselves with the expectation that it will not be shared. We file tax returns with the civil division of the Internal Revenue Service and have the right not to have those returns shared with the criminal division. We sign Health Insurance Portability and Ac-countability Act forms outlining our health privacy rights. Social Security information may not be shared. Grand jury investigations are private.
In light of all that is restricted, the courts are struggling to define what in-formation government or companies may take without our consent.
The Fourth Amendment raises the issue of defining reasonable searches and seizures and probable cause for warrants, and Samuel said court deci-sions ultimately are based on what the community expects and what society will tolerate.
Samuel described United States v. Jones, a case he had before the Su-preme Court. His client, a suspected drug dealer, was tailed by law enforce-ment without a warrant. When that surveillance yielded nothing, a GPS de-vice was mounted under his car.
The first court-decided question regarding Antoine Jones’ right to pri-vacy is that there is no expectation of privacy on public roads. Drivers can be seen by other people, by law enforce-ment and by surveillance cameras.
But Jones was surveilled 24/7 through the GPS device — new con-sumer technology in 2004 — resulting in over 2,000 pages of data across 28 days. Is that kind of search legal, or is it a search at all? Is it reasonable?
Pivotal was a case from the 1970s. In Smith v. Maryland it was deter-mined not to be an invasion of privacy for the government and law enforce-ment to track the phone numbers you call and the numbers that call you be-cause you give that information to the phone company. If you share informa-
tion, there is no expectation of privacy.Scalia applied that thinking to
Jones, saying, “If there is no invasion of privacy for one day, there’s no invasion of privacy for a hundred days.”
Justice Elena Kagan referenced surveillance cameras and said there is no expectation of privacy in public.
Chief Justice John Roberts, how-ever, took issue that the “search” was initiated without the permission of a judge and with no restrictions ever. The argument expanded to the slip-pery slope of allowing the monitoring of the public movement of any citizen, at any time, for any length of time. Technology makes that possible.
Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg asked what would happen to all the data col-lected on everyone.
The Supreme Court had to decide what to do when a proven drug dealer claimed the right to privacy, a right not expressed in the Constitution, in a case of new technology. Samuel said the ar-gument focused on Fourth Amendment rights and assurance “that the govern-ment makes limited use of whatever information they are acquiring.”
In the end, all nine justices ruled in favor of Jones’ right to privacy, say-ing that putting a GPS device on the drug dealer’s car was a violation.
“It was a monumentally important decision when it comes to the right to privacy,” Samuel said.
The Supreme Court has not taken up a case on the collection of cellphone data, for which consumers have no expectation of privacy. But in 2011 law enforcement made 1.3 million requests for caller location, and every court approved the use of these cellphone records. The implications are huge be-cause the United States now has more cellphones than people, Samuel said.
He said cases typically take six or seven years to reach the Supreme Court, which then keeps writing deci-sions on old technology. The courts just can’t keep up and have yet to write vol-umes of privacy decisions.
Samuel said each person must de-cide how much personal information he or she is willing to share, but, by owning cellphones, we have abdicated many of our privacy rights. The ques-tion that remains is how much infor-mation we as a people are willing to let the government seize from service providers to conduct investigations of any sort. ■
Courts Lag Years Behind Tech’s Assault on Privacy
Photo by Leah R. HarrisonDon Samuel talks about the Supreme
Court’s pro-privacy-rights ruling in the case of the United States v. Jones.
*Visit atlantajcc.org/camps for full details.
FREE WEEK*
The free Congregation Shearith Israel Scholars and Authors Series continues Wednesday, Jan. 13, at 7:30 p.m. with Joshua Levs talking about his book on parental rights, “All In,” at the synagogue at 1180 University Drive, Morningside.
Bennie’s Shoes, snuggled into a busy Buckhead shopping center at Sidney Marcus Boulevard and
Piedmont Avenue, is known for leg-endary customer service. In fact, ho-tels and top-notch restaurants across Atlanta recommend Bennie’s for shoe repair, shoeshines and a spanking-new pair of leather-soled shoes.
Since 1909, Bennie’s has fit Atlanta men for shoes one foot at a time.
Two suburban outposts, in Mari-etta and Norcross, served customers for 33 years. In 2008, the stock market tanked and the economy changed, said cousin-owners Mark and Brian Shem-aria. The retail business changed, and Bennie’s took advantage of getting out of those suburban leases without pen-alty.
Bennie’s consolidated merchan-dise and machinery at the Buckhead store.
Customers continue to drive into Atlanta from Roswell, Marietta and Duluth to have shoes repaired.
“This store is an institution. Just like everyone knows The Varsity down-town, everyone knows we are in this Buckhead location. They want to come to the (original) store,” Brian said. (The store has moved a few times over more than a century but has stayed in At-lanta.)
Bennie’s biggest business chal-lenge today is the constant battle against manufacturers that sell their shoes in stores, in outlets and online. Years ago, Mark said, competition was limited to other shoe stores like Nord-strom.
For example, Bennie’s lists a pair of shoes on the Amazon.com market-place. If another retailer is selling the same product for a lower price, Ama-zon alerts Brian. He can choose wheth-er to drop the price.
Occasionally Brian receives a call from a manufacturer to remove a prod-uct from Amazon. “Mark and I have good relationships with manufactur-ers,” Brian said. “We worked for those relationships. If we are told to get of-fline, we do it.”
Relationships make this compa-ny. “Mark is my partner, first cousin, brother,” Brian said. “You cannot find any two partners in business together that care about each other like we do.”
Sole of Good ServiceBennie’s Shoes remains true to craft while adapting to a century of change
Shoemaker Bennie Shemaria, grandfather to Mark and Brian, arrived in the United States from the island of Rhodes in 1909. He helped start Sep-hardic Congregation Or VeShalom in Brookhaven and opened his shop, ini-tially focusing on shoe repairs.
The full-service shoe business was handed down to his sons, then to their sons.
Mark started working at the store in the 1970s before he could drive a car, and he joined in ownership with his fa-ther in 1986. Brian became his partner is 2009.
Stephanie Rosenberg, the office manager for more than 20 years, is Bri-an’s sister. One store manager, Golden “Goldie” Thornton, has been around for 37 years; the other, Matthew Green, is a cousin-in-law of the Shemarias and holds a 33-year record at Bennie’s. Sales guy “Rob From Cobb” Cali has been with Bennie’s for 20 years.
And don’t forget Gary Campbell, a 42-year employee who is the “best shine man in Atlanta,” according to Brian.
Shoe repair drives the business these days, helping Bennie’s attract politicians such as Gov. Nathan Deal and Congressman John Lewis, who is practically a member of the family.
Mark said: “Shoe repair is what we do best of any shop in Atlanta. It means everything to us.”
With the movie and television in-dustry booming in Atlanta, Bennie’s is reaping the rewards. Alterations, shoe repair, stretching and building (for actors short in stature) are among the recent jobs for such performers as Ben Stiller, Justin Timberlake, Michael Douglas, Tom Cruise, Russell Crowe and the cast of “The Walking Dead.”
As for advice for new entrepre-neurs, Brian and Mark agree: Custom-er relations is everything. Roll up your sleeves and give good service. ■
Photos by Logan C. RitchieThe staff at Bennie’s includes (from
left) store managers Matthew Green and Golden Thornton, co-
owners Mark Shemaria and Brian Shemaria, and salesman Rob Cali.
We have reached the anniversary of the ter-rorist attacks that briefly united France beneath a forest of “Je Suis Charlie” (I am
Charlie) and “Je Suis Juif” (I am a Jew) signs. On Jan. 7, 2015, two gunmen charged into the of-
fices of the satirical, anti-religion magazine Charlie Hebdo and slaughtered 11 people, then executed a po-lice officer during their getaway. By the time they and a third Islamist terrorist were stopped two days later, another police officer had been killed in Paris, and four Jews had been slain at a kosher supermarket.
As many as 4 million people marched in France on Jan. 11, as did thousands in Atlanta, against the vio-lence and hatred and in support of the French princi-ples of liberty, equality and fraternity. Prime Minister Manuel Valls typified French defiance, declaring that France would not be France without its Jews.
Alas, the past 12 months have proved that the beautiful moment of unity was fleeting.
If Valls was right, France is significantly less French today: More than 7,900 French Jews made ali-yah in 2015, according to the Jewish Agency for Israel.
It was the second consecutive year that France was the top source of immigrants to Israel, and while Israel was strengthened and served its essential func-tion as a haven, it was a sad commentary on the de-caying situation for Jews in France.
Still, the increase from 2014’s 7,200 olim (immi-grants) from France was far less dramatic than pre-dictions immediately after the January attacks of at least 10,000 making aliyah. If only all of French soci-ety showed as much backbone and constancy as those Jews who refused to be driven from their homes.
Instead, as the documentary “Je Suis Charlie” shows, French media and Christian leaders began turning on Charlie Hebdo within weeks, and the idea persists that the magazine was asking for it by lam-pooning Islamic extremism and depicting Muham-mad. (The AJT is sponsoring the Atlanta Jewish Film Festival’s “Je Suis Charlie” screenings Feb. 4 and 5.)
Sure enough, Charlie Hebdo is being criticized for its issue marking the anniversary of the slaugh-ter. The cover depicts a blood-spattered G-d with an AK-47 beneath a headline meaning “One year after, the killer is still on the run.”
It’s an offensive, outrageous statement blaming organized, warring religions for the violence. And it’s exactly the kind of thing Charlie Hebdo did before Jan. 7, 2015, and should keep doing to defy terrorists and those who think freedom of speech is secondary to an imagined freedom not to be offended.
Remember that in liberte, egalite, fraternite, liber-ty comes first, and nothing is more essential to liberty than the freedom of speech, the freedom of the press and the freedom of (or from) religion. Thus, we’re proud that Yonathan Arfi, the vice president of CRIF, the umbrella group for France’s Jewish communities, told The Wall Street Journal: “It’s natural that Charlie Hebdo decided to not retreat. If they had, the terror-ists would be seen as the winners.”
Intolerance and outrage about a harmless car-toon — G-d, after all, can defend Himself — are the hallmarks of al-Qaida and Islamic State. We who val-ue a free society must have thicker skins. ■
Our ViewJe Suis Charlie
This first issue of 2016 brings the AJT preview of the Atlanta Jewish Film Festival, back for its 16th year and its first since seizing the title of
the world’s largest Jewish film festival (even though San Francisco, the original Jewish film festival, keeps using the “world’s largest” claim in its PR).
Information starting on Page 13 should help you select films to see. This issue focuses on the special events: opening night; closing night; ACCESS Night, targeting the American Jewish Committee’s young professional group; and appearances by Israeli musician David Broza at the two screen-ings of his “East Jerusalem West Jerusalem” documentary. You’ll also find brief descriptions of all 77 festival films and a full festival schedule.
This is not a comprehensive guide to the 23-day festival, whose own program guide runs to more than 150 pages. It’s just a start to get you ready for the opening of ticket sales at noon Sunday, Jan. 10.
We’ll have more festival features before opening night Jan. 26, as well as coverage of festival high-lights in February. And we’ll have lots of movie re-views, some of which you can find online right now. We’re hoping that you, our readers and community members, will chip in with reviews and reactions at atlantajewishtimes.com as you see festival films.
Reviews by their nature are subjective, and no two people will respond the same way to a movie. So the point isn’t to tell you whether you’ll like a film, but to give you some idea of what the film attempts and how well it succeeds.
There’s no point in trying to place every film on some absolute scale running from, say, “Gigli” or “Plan 9 From Outer Space” to “Citizen Kane” or “Law-rence of Arabia.” It’s much more fun and valuable to judge a movie on two basic questions: How well did the film live up to its makers’ own pretensions? Was
I entertained (or educated or forced to think)?Take Stephen Spielberg as an example. He can deliver endlessly entertaining movies
such as “Raiders of the Lost Ark,” “Jaws” and “Close Encounters of the Third Kind” and moving films with deep messages such as “Saving Private Ryan” and “Schindler’s List.”
He also has produced some spectacular failures. “Empire of the Sun” and “A.I.: Artificial Intelligence” are technically excellent and beautiful to look at, but all the pretty pictures are wasted when the stories drown in insuffer-
able, heavy-handed efforts to convey big ideas. If you never listen to anything else I say, please don’t waste a minute of your life watching “A.I.,” which might be my least favorite film.
At the other end of the pretension spectrum are “1941” and “The Money Pit,” two comedies that aim to do nothing more than entertain.
Spielberg directed “1941,” and it’s considered one of his great flops. But there are far worse ways to waste two hours than watching John Belushi as Capt. Wild Bill Kelso; it’s good, dumb fun.
“The Money Pit,” which Spielberg executive-pro-duced, lacks any fun despite featuring Tom Hanks in his comedy days. More important, it’s a pathetic at-tempt to remake a wonderful Cary Grant-Myrna Loy comedy, “Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House,” and no one remaking a classic deserves mercy.
So when you read my reviews, keep in mind that I enjoy “1941,” hate “A.I.” with irrational pas-sion, always watch “The Last of the Mohicans” and “Watchmen” if I stumble upon them on cable, and would rather see anything from Billy Wilder, Stanley Kubrick or John Ford than any Spielberg film. ■
We may be the Jew in “Judeo-Christian,” but the more I consider that term, the less
certain I am what it means.The phrase seems particularly
popular with Christians, who must feel that Jewish values — about which Jews cannot agree — are in sync with Christian values — about which Chris-tians cannot agree. I rarely hear Jews use the phrase.
Politicians and pundits are fond of saying that this country was founded on Judeo-Christian values.
One presidential wan-nabe suggested (and later had second thoughts about) creating a federal agency to promote Judeo-Christian values to people in other countries who are neither Jewish nor Christian.
A few months ago, while research-ing an article on Jewish-Catholic rela-tions, I came across the World War II campaign that popularized the term.
In the early 1800s missionaries used the term in reference to Jews who had converted Christianity.
The term evolved to suggest a common heritage for Jews and Chris-tians, presumably in those places and in those periods when the latter were not persecuting the former.
Richard Rubenstein, an Ameri-can Jewish educator known for his writings on “Holocaust theology,” told German theologians in 1963 that “for almost 2,000 years an honest Judeo-Christian encounter was all but impossible in Europe. … Only in modern times has a beginning been made toward real communication. … A tolerated Judaism can never achieve real encounter with Christianity.”
In the years before World War II, Judeo-Christian became a slogan to unite Americans behind shared values.
At the center of this effort was the National Conference of Christians and Jews (known since the 1990s as the Na-tional Conference for Community and Justice), founded in 1927 with the goal of “bringing diverse people together to address interfaith divisions.”
Whatever divisions existed (such as Christian bigotry toward Jews and Protestant-Catholic animosity), Judeo-Christian was a banner to counter prejudice (including anti-Semitism) and promote interfaith harmony.
The NCCJ deployed trios of rabbis, priests and ministers at presentations.
“This association of individuals who had not previously been seen in public bore a clear message: the long-
Judeo-Christian Meaningstanding equation of Americanism with Protestantism was antiquated; all three religions were integral to the American landscape,” Professor Wendy L. Wall of the State University of New York at Binghamton wrote in an essay titled “Symbol of Unity, Sym-bol of Pluralism: The ‘Interfaith Idea’ in Wartime and Cold War America.”
(The NCCJ in 1934 created Nation-al Brotherhood Week, which lasted into the 1980s and was lampooned in the 1960s in a song by mathematician, songwriter and humorist Tom Lehrer.)
The NCCJ pamphlet titled “Why We Fight” described World War II as a “war of ideas between Totalitarian Dictatorship and the Essentials in our Judeo-Christian tradition.”
America had become a nation “nurtured by three ennobling tradi-tions (‘culture groups’): Protestantism, Catholicism and Judaism,” historian Jonathan Sarna wrote in his book “American Judaism: A History.”
The message was carried to the battlefields. By one estimate, military chaplains distributed more than 8 million pieces of NCCJ literature to American GIs during World War II.
Postwar, Judeo-Christian values were invoked in a good-vs.-evil Cold War against “godless communism.”
Today, Judeo-Christian is used (abused) by some politicians and pun-dits to define peoples or faiths outside this supposed American mainstream. The phrase has become exclusionary in a country created as inclusionary.
The best values of Judaism, as I know them, and the best values of Christianity, as I understand them, are not exclusionary. These values encour-age peoples of many faiths to engage and work together with the goal of improving the human condition.
As the presidential campaign moves southward, into a region where religion supposedly holds greater sway, we’ll hear more about Judeo-Christian values.
We who put the Jew into Judeo-Christian should seek the noblest aspects of that idea and be wary of its use to divide or exclude. ■
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More than a dozen Arab stu-dents at Al-Quds University in Jerusalem have been ar-
rested for planning suicide bombings and other attacks, Israel’s Shin Bet security service revealed at the end of December. The news came little more than a week before the open-ing of the conference of America’s largest organiza-tion of historians.
During its meeting in Atlanta, the American Historical Association will consider a resolution condemning the Israeli police for sup-posedly violating the rights of students at Al-Quds and other Arab universities by “invading” their campuses.
Shin Bet announced it had re-cently captured 25 Hamas terrorists, of whom the majority are students at Al-Quds in the predominantly Arab Jerusalem neighborhood of Abu Dis.
Elsewhere in the neighborhood, Israeli security forces uncovered what they called “a makeshift laboratory” that was being used “to create the explosives necessary for the attacks.”
The leader of the terror cell was
a 24-year-old Al-Quds student named Ahmad Jamal Mousa Azzam. He’s a resident of Qalqilya, which is, by the way, under the control of the Palestin-ian Authority. Azzam is just one of the
numerous terrorists who operate with impunity in the PA-run territories.
After learning from his Hamas terror bosses “how to create explosive belts and vests, as well as improvised explosive devices,” Azzam set about recruiting fellow students, an effort that met with considerable success.
Apparently some of the students about whom the American Historical Association members are so worried have something on their minds other than exams and varsity soccer.
The students “assisted (Azzam) in every aspect of the plot, from renting apartments to use as laboratories to purchasing the chemicals and materi-
als necessary to create the explosives, as well as volunteering to act as sui-cide bombers in the planned attacks,” Shin Bet said.
Azzam was one busy fellow: The Israelis captured a second terror cell he had organized in between pop quiz-zes and frat parties. Based in Bethle-hem, “some of its members also came from Al-Quds University,” according to Shin Bet. Issa Nasser Issa Shoka, a 19-year-old Al-Quds student, “agreed to carry out a suicide bombing and also to help Azzam transfer money between the West Bank and Gaza.”
When the American Historical As-sociation convenes its annual meeting at the Hilton downtown Thursday, Jan. 7, its members will debate a resolution that condemns Israel for supposedly “impeding instruction at Palestinian institutions of higher learning.” The
resolution claims that Israel’s security forces “routinely invade campuses in Jerusalem and the West Bank.”
Life in Israel involves concerns that don’t affect Americans. We don’t have to worry about students at our universities strapping on suicide vests to carry out mass murder. But Israelis do have that worry.
My daughter, Alisa, a Brandeis junior visiting Israel, was a victim of a Palestinian suicide bomber. That is why the Israeli security forces some-times have to “invade” (that is, enter) Arab campuses. Because, as the recent news demonstrates, sometimes terror-ists hide amid the chalkboards. ■
Stephen M. Flatow, a lawyer in New Jersey, is the father of Alisa Flatow, who was murdered in an Iranian-sponsored Palestinian terrorist attack in 1995.
Message to Historians: Some Students Are Terrorists
Guest ColumnBy Stephen M. Flatow
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The growth of the Atlanta Jewish Film Festival the past 15 years to become Atlanta’s largest film
festival has helped improve the quality of films and thus increase the festival’s appeal.
It’s a positive spiral that hasn’t been hurt by the AJFF’s status since last year as the largest Jewish film festival in the world.
“I think probably because it’s the biggest in the world there are probably more filmmakers who will try” to get into the festival, said Judy Marx, who with Gabe Wardell heads the film eval-uation committee.
She said that because the festi-val takes more than 70 films — it has 51 features and 26 shorts this year — some filmmakers who are working outside the box will submit to Atlanta while not bothering with festivals that show a third as many movies.
“One of the benefits of having that title of world’s largest is that (filmmak-ers) start with us,” festival Executive Director Kenny Blank said. “It allows us to secure premieres of major titles,” whether those are world, North Ameri-can, U.S., Southeast or Atlanta pre-mieres.
Blank said the festival gets about 100 blind submissions a year and per-haps 500 that staffers have researched and recruited to apply to the festival.
“Most of these films we get, they’re not tagged as for a Jewish audience,” he said. The festival staff looks for a vari-ety of subjects and genres. “Finding the Jewish essence of some of these films is an art form.”
Marx said a film’s fit for the festi-val’s mission has supplanted quality as the first topic of conversation for the evaluation committee because plenty of submissions are good.
“If it didn’t feel like a fit, that was almost all it took to not include it,” she said. “A bunch that they submitted just didn’t meet the mission. It wasn’t Jew-ish or didn’t tell the story in a Jewish way.”
What makes a Jewish film is al-ways a tricky issue, said Max Leventhal, who became the festival chairman this year after serving on and chairing the film evaluation committee in recent years. Films made in or about Israel are easy. For others, sometimes a Jew-ish approach or topic of Jewish inter-est, such as genocide, is enough, while
sometimes a Jewish character outside a religious or cultural context is not.
Blank acknowledged that the pro-cess is subjective.
“I think if a film is good, it has wide cultural appeal beyond the Jew-ish lens,” Leventhal said. “I would hope a lot of our films transcend that. These are high-quality films people wouldn’t get to see otherwise.”
He said the mainstream focus on sequels and blockbusters has made it tougher for independent films to find screens. As a result, films the festival couldn’t have gotten 10 years ago now are available.
That’s an important if perhaps secondary role for the festival, Blank said: providing a place for challenging, unconventional, arthouse-type films in a city without many screens devoted to movies outside the mainstream.
He said he’s part of the audience for those films: people “looking for a different experience, who don’t want plots spoon-fed to them and ending tied up in a bow.”
He said “Tikkun” and “Mountain” from Israel, “Song of Songs” from Ukraine, and “Demon” from Poland are examples of the kinds of films that only the Atlanta Jewish Film Festival can show here.
In addition to the festival’s size, its place on the calendar is an asset, Blank said. Hollywood usually doesn’t make major releases in January and Febru-ary because the audience shrinks after the holidays, creating an opening in the entertainment schedule and avail-ability at the movie theaters that work with the festival.
Meanwhile, the Oscar season — beginning with nominations Jan. 14, 12 days before the festival, and ending with the awards show Feb. 28, 11 days after — creates an interest in prestige films, some of which, such as opening night’s “Remember,” come to Atlanta fresh off premieres at big international festivals, including Toronto.
Still, the key is the festival’s ability to curate the right mix of films and the audience experience, something Leven-thal said is a festival strength.
“A great film is easy. A lousy film is easy. But some films require cham-pions. You have to give voice to both sides, make sure both viewpoints are brought to the table and reported,” he said. “It fills me with great pride when a strong minority voice persuades a majority that a film should be in the festival.” ■
Festival Grows Into Starring Arthouse Role
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Israeli musician David Broza will ap-pear Saturday night, Jan. 30, for two Atlanta Jewish Film Festival screen-
ings of the documentary “East Jerusa-lem West Jerusalem,” about the making of his new album of the same name.
He chatted with the AJT about his music and his motivation for produc-ing a film about Israelis and Palestin-ians making peace through music.
AJT: What was your inspiration for this film?
Broza: I was making an album called “East Jerusalem West Jerusalem,” and when I got everybody together to make the album happen, I came up with the idea to film it. So I hired a produc-tion company, and we shot over eight days and eight nights in Jerusalem.
AJT: It’s been over a year since the film was released. Have you seen any change in Jerusalem since then?
Broza: So, the film is still not dis-tributed at large. We are on the festival circuit now through 2016, and wher-ever it has been, the reaction was phe-nomenal. It was way more than I ex-pected. As it turns out, though, recent events in the Middle East haven’t been very positive, and things have escalat-ed, so the film becomes all the more a ray of light.
AJT: Are you happy with the way Israelis were portrayed in this film?
Broza: If the film hadn’t shown what was going on outside the studio during the recording of the album, we
would have been fools, and I’m no fool. I work in the worst possible conditions, and I try to shed a positive light on the good side of humanity. To not show what was going on in real time, are you really that afraid to expose the actual fact that there are a lot of wrongdoings in Israel and in Palestine, which makes this life very difficult for those who seek peace? Why would you be afraid to show it? Why hide it under the rug? Let’s face it, and let’s fix it. If anything, this film puts Israelis and Israel in the finest light of all.
AJT: You are one of the only Israeli musicians reaching across and work-ing with Palestinian artists. Have you ever been worried that it would affect your popularity?
Broza: I don’t think it does because I don’t just work with Palestinians. I work with anyone who wants to play music. I don’t bring politics into my life, but my life as it is has a political as-pect to it. When it comes to me working with the Palestinian settlements, they live in a reality that they are very much aware of, and they need to be shown that they are part of Israeli society.
AJT: This film begins and ends with some shocking imagery of Israe-lis marching through the Arab quarter on Jerusalem Day. Do you think it was a fair representation of the situation?
Broza: First of all, I didn’t direct or edit this film, although I’m certainly the one who funded it. The director and editor were very right in show-ing the first minute and last minute as a troubled picture, and I think that
those people who are walking through the Muslim Quarter on Jerusalem Day, if they would just sit and talk about it, they would come to their senses. You don’t have to call death on the Arabs like they did. It’s unacceptable.
AJT: Let’s talk about the music. Did you really record the 14 tracks in only eight days?
Broza: Absolutely. The only reason I recorded it in eight days is because I told everyone a week, and they said I was crazy, so we added another day. Ev-erything that you hear on the album is all live and done in one take.
AJT: How did you get Steve Earle to produce this album?
Broza: Steve Earle and I met be-cause of my previous album based on Townes Van Zandt poetry. Steve was a close friend of Townes’, and we became friends. When I was about ready to do “East Jerusalem West Jerusalem,” my manager suggested I try to get Steve Earle. I said absolutely not because I
thought he was probably supporting the BDS (boycott, divestment and sanc-tions). But I called him anyway, and he immediately said yes. That was the most beautiful initial call I had, and that’s when everything fell into place.
AJT: Speaking of BDS, your album has cover songs of BDS supporters Rog-er Waters and Elvis Costello. What was behind the decision to include those songs?
Broza: First of all, I don’t think El-vis Costello is pro-BDS. When he can-celed his show, it was because his wife didn’t want him to perform in Israel. He’s never come out with any state-ments that are pro-BDS. Roger Waters, however, not only has, but he’s put lots of money and talk into it. I think he is mistaken, and I disagree with him. He’s completely wrong, but it doesn’t take away from the music. I’m not salut-ing Roger Waters. On the contrary, I’m singing it in a way that actually defies his boycott along with Palestinian mu-sicians. The BDS can’t stop us. ■
Broza: ‘Jerusalem’ Film Puts Israelis in ‘Finest Light’
David Broza performs with the Jerusalem YMCA choir in a scene from “East Jerusalem West Jerusalem.”
Wouldn’t it be great if Israe-lis and Palestinians could sort out all their differences
through music?That’s the prevailing thought be-
hind David Broza’s film project “East Jerusalem West Jerusalem,” which is showing twice Thursday night, Jan. 30, at the Atlanta Jewish Film Festival, with Broza performing after each screening. The film chronicles the famed Israeli musician’s attempt to record an album in a small studio in East Jerusalem over eight days with a diverse mix of Israeli and Palestinian musicians.
The most compelling part of the film has to be the collaboration of the artists who join to make music just steps from the conflict in the streets below. Broza employs an all-star cast of musicians, including American record-ing artist Steve Earle, who produced the album; Israeli Arab singer Mira Awad; Haitian-American recording artist Wyclef Jean, who co-wrote the al-bum’s title track with Broza; and Arab hip-hop duo G-Town from the Shuafat refugee camp in East Jerusalem.
Despite a feel-good premise and some amazing footage of an animated Earle working in the studio with Broza and company, “East Jerusalem West Je-rusalem” may be hard pressed to find a receptive audience for its message at the film festival.
It’s not that the message of peace through music isn’t a good one; it’s ter-rific.
The problem is how Broza and the film’s director, Erez Miller, present Is-rael and its people as the instigators in the Israeli-Arab conflict. Pro-Israel au-diences will undoubtedly have trouble watching Broza’s attempt to convert them to his point of view.
The trouble starts just two min-utes into the film when right-wing Israelis are shown gathering for Jeru-salem Day with flags proudly flying. Israeli soldiers and police in riot gear are shown overseeing the proceedings.
On the other side, Arabs with Pal-estinian flags are shown being watched by an overbearing police force. Conflict escalates, and Israeli police are shown running toward areas of possible trou-ble.
Broza and his Palestinian camera-man, Issa Freij, are then shown amid the chaos and escape to Freij’s rooftop in the Old City. With sirens blaring
Portrayal of Israelis Hits Sour NotesBroza’s film is strong in the studio but slips on the streets
in the distance, the two men ponder whether a group of Arab and Israeli musicians from different backgrounds can record an album in eight days and think only about the music.
What follows is a remarkable look into the eight-day recording of the al-bum, which features a mix of cover songs and originals written by Broza. An interesting side note is that Broza chose to include cover tracks on his al-bum from Roger Waters, an active ad-vocate for the boycott, divestment and sanctions movement against Israel, and Elvis Costello, who hasn’t been to Israel since canceling a concert amid BDS pressure in 2010.
Broza has publicly opposed the BDS movement.
All in all, Broza’s first film is an incredibly watchable testament to the power of music. Fans of Broza’s, Earle’s and Israeli music in general will enjoy the film.
Throughout “East Jerusalem West Jerusalem,” Broza maintains that he does not wish to get political and that the project is only about peace and mu-sic. That no doubt was his original mo-tivation for the film, but unfortunately Broza, who has been an outspoken advocate of peace throughout his 40-year career, lets his own political views cloud the film.
One of the film’s final shots shows a group of nationalistic Israelis in the Old City’s Muslim Quarter on Jerusa-lem Day, shouting, “Death to the Arabs,” as Broza and Freij look on in shock.
The solution to the Israeli-Arab conflict is a bit more complicated than just picking up musical instruments and jamming out, but Broza should be applauded for his musical efforts. ■
David Broza sits on Palestinian filmmaker Issa Freij’s rooftop in the Muslim
Quarter of Jerusalem in a scene from “East Jerusalem West Jerusalem.”
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www.atlantajewishtimes.comFILM FESTIVAL SCHEDULE
TUESDAY, JAN. 26Opening NightGala5 p.m., Cobb Energy CentreRemember7:30 p.m., Cobb Energy Centre
WEDNESDAY, JAN. 27Censored voices7:10 p.m., Merchants Walk
In Line for Anne Frank2 p.m., Lefont Sandy Springs
Demon2:05 p.m., UA Tara Cinemas
Surviving Skokie3:50 p.m., Lefont Sandy Springs
To Step Forward Myself and Our Boys4:05 p.m., Lefont Sandy Springs
Children of Giant4:30 p.m., UA Tara Cinemas
Persona Non Grata7:15 p.m., Lefont Sandy Springs
Mountain7:40 p.m., UA Tara Cinemas
Naked Among Wolves8 p.m., Lefont Sandy Springs
TUESDAY, FEB. 16The People vs. Fritz Bauer11:30 a.m., UA Tara Cinemas
Look at Us Now, Mother!11:55 a.m., Lefont Sandy Springs
Vita Activa: The Spirit of Hannah Arendt2:05 p.m., UA Tara Cinemas
Tikkun2:10 p.m., Lefont Sandy Springs
Closing NightIn Search of Israel Cuisine7 p.m., Woodruff Arts Center
WEDNESDAY, FEB. 17Day of encores; schedule TBA
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The Atlanta Jewish Film Festival is returning to familiar places this year, with one addition and a
few upgrades.The big addition to the venue line-
up is SCADshow, the former 14th Street Playhouse upgraded by the Savannah College of Art and Design. SCADshow (173 14th St., Midtown) got a tryout Sept. 19 with the festival’s special screening of “Labyrinth of Lies,” Germany’s entry for the foreign-language Oscar at next month’s Academy Awards.
The theater, which seats 375, was
a big hit, and it figures to be one of the stars of the festival’s opening week. Among other screenings, SCADshow will play host to the ACCESS Night par-ty and showing of “Already Tomorrow in Hong Kong” on Thursday, Jan. 28, and one of two showings of David Bro-za’s “East Jerusalem West Jerusalem” documentary with a post-film perfor-mance by Broza on Saturday, Jan. 30.
“SCAD has done a beautiful job of reinventing the space,” festival Execu-tive Director Kenny Blank said. “It’s a beautiful, sexy space.”
The main upgrade will come clos-ing night Feb. 16, when “In Search of Israeli Cuisine” will be shown at the
Woodruff Arts Center’s Symphony Hall (1280 Peachtree St., Midtown) instead of its Rich Auditorium, a change that Blank said will roughly double the au-dience capacity.
Blank said those new venues, com-bined with upgrades at other locations and clever operational engineering by Associate Director Brad Pilcher, will add about 5,000 seats to the total festi-val capacity this year.
Part of the expanded capacity comes from running at three venues at the same time, something the festival never attempted in its first 15 years.
As it has the past two years, the fes-tival will open Jan. 26 at the Cobb Ener-
gy Performing Arts Centre (2800 Cobb Galleria Parkway, Cumberland area), providing the capacity for more than 2,000 people to watch “Remember.”
The other venues, back from last year:
• Lefont Sandy Springs, 5920 Ro-swell Road.
• Georgia Theater Co.’s Merchants Walk Cinemas, 1301 Johnson Ferry Road, East Cobb.
• Regal Cinemas Atlantic Station 18, 261 19th St., Midtown.
• Regal Cinemas Avalon 12, 3950 First St., Alpharetta.
These are the 77 films showing at the 16th Atlanta Jewish Film Fes-tival. Visit atlantajewishtimes.
com to find reviews of many of these films and to add your own opinions.Feature Narratives
Already Tomorrow in Hong Kong — Two Americans in Hong Kong are drawn to each other despite being in-volved in serious relationships. USA
Atomic Falafel — A falafel truck, a nuclear inspector, an online friendship and Farsi hip-hop are all that stand in the way of a nuclear war between Is-rael and Iran in this farce. Israel
Demon — A foreigner moving into a Polish farmhouse to marry his fian-cée shows increasingly bizarre behav-ior as a dybbuk possesses him. Poland
Fire Birds — The investigation of a Holocaust survivor’s slaying in Tel Aviv reveals secrets about the victim, the culprit and the police detective in this dark comedy. Israel
The Front — A bookie (played by Woody Allen) serves as the front for writers who can’t work because of the 1950s Hollywood black list in this com-edy back for its 40th anniversary. USA
A Grain of Truth — Murders in a small Polish city raise the specter of the blood libel. Poland
The Grüninger File — A Swiss border policeman risks everything to smuggle in Jews from Austria in 1938 in the true story of Paul Grüninger. Aus-tria, Germany, Switzerland
His Wife’s Lover — This musical farce, marking its 85th anniversary, is a battle of the sexes straight from the Yiddish stage. USA
JeruZalem — Two American girls’ dream trip to Jerusalem turns into a nightmare when a gate to hell opens on Yom Kippur, unleashing a plague worse than zombies. Israel
The Kind Words — After their
mother dies, three siblings in Jerusa-lem set out on a quest through France to find their biological father. Israel
The Law — Holocaust survivor Simone Veil leads the charge to legalize abortion in France in the 1970s in this biopic. France
Marathon Man — Marking its 40th anniversary is this Dustin Hoff-man-Laurence Olivier classic about running, dentistry, hidden war crimi-nals and Nazi loot. USA
The Midnight Orchestra — A Jew-ish musician who fled Morocco in 1973 returns to learn about his late father and put the band back together. Mo-rocco
Mountain — A lonely Orthodox housewife living on the Mount of Ol-ives discovers that the cemetery next door becomes a center of prostitution at night, and she can’t stay away. Israel
Naked Among Wolves — The arriv-al of a child hidden in a suitcase shakes up plans for an uprising of Buchen-wald prisoners in March 1945. Germany
Natasha — The daughter of a Rus-sian mail-order bride seduces her new teenage cousin in Toronto’s Russian Jewish community. Canada
The People vs. Fritz Bauer — Fac-ing obstacles from his fellow West Ger-mans, a Jewish prosecutor slips crucial intelligence about Adolf Eichmann to Israel. Germany
Persona Non Grata — This biopic tells the story of Chiune Sugihara, a Japanese diplomat who saved thou-sands of Jews from the Nazis. Japan
The Pracht Inn — Holocaust survi-vors in Jerusalem in the 1960s share a hostel and a struggle against grief and loneliness while facing the strict rules of their innkeeper. Israel
Rabin, the Last Day — Amos Gitai does his best Oliver Stone impression in making this docudrama about the
assassination of Yitzhak Rabin. IsraelRemember — A recently widowed
Auschwitz survivor, suffering from de-mentia but following the instructions of a fellow survivor at a nursing home, sets out to find and kill the camp officer who killed their families. Canada
Singing in the Dark — Back for its 60th anniversary, one of the earli-est U.S. films about the Holocaust tells about a survivor who arrives in Ameri-ca with a great voice and no memory of what happened in Europe. USA
Song of Songs — After escaping his shtetl to become a doctor, a boy returns in the hope of winning the heart of his childhood sweetheart. Ukraine
Tikkun — The lives of a yeshiva student and his shochet father spiral out of control after extraordinary med-ical efforts save the son from a perhaps divinely decreed death. Israel
Time to Say Goodbye — A coming-of-age comedy involves an impending bar mitzvah celebration, a possible circumcision and crush on a teacher. Germany
To Life! — A Holocaust survivor who was a cabaret singer finds a rea-son to live in a new friendship with a young man battling his own demons in Berlin. Germany
Wedding Doll — A young woman with a disability seeks love and inde-pendence at a toilet paper factory in the Negev. Israel
Feature DocumentariesBreakfast at Ina’s — Chicago’s
“breakfast queen,” Ina Pinkney, reach-es the end of her restaurant career. USA
By Sidney Lumet — Based on an interview just before his death in 2011, this movie tells the story of the film-maker behind such classics as “12 An-gry Men,” “Dog Day Afternoon” and “Network.” USA
Carvalho’s Journey — Sephardic photographer Solomon Nunes Carv-alho travels 2,400 miles through the 19th-century Western frontier, surviv-ing with help from American Indians and Brigham Young. USA
Censored Voices — Kibbutzniks lis-ten to long-censored recordings made in 1967 by Amos Oz and others about their thoughts on serving in the Six-Day War. Israel
Children of Giant — The behind-the-scenes story of the making of the 1956 film “Giant” explores racial divi-sions, discrimination and the immi-grant experience. USA
East Jerusalem West Jerusalem — Israeli musician David Broza records his latest album with Palestinians in East Jerusalem to send a message of peace. Israel
East LA Interchange — A neigh-borhood that once had the largest Jew-ish population on the West Coast has transformed into a predominantly His-panic, largely immigrant area. USA
Every Face Has a Name — Holo-caust survivors view newsreel footage of their arrival at a refugee waystation in Malmo, Sweden, in 1945 in a film whose message is as much about the current refugee crisis as the problems of the past. Sweden
Flory’s Flame — Sarajevo-born Flory Jagoda, who came to America and escaped the Holocaust, is a domi-nant force in keeping traditional Sep-hardic music alive. Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia, Italy, Spain, USA
In Line for Anne Frank — Visitors from around the world at Anne Frank’s hiding place in Amsterdam talk about what her story means to them. Nether-lands
In Search of Israeli Cuisine — Chef Michael Solomonov takes a three-week journey into what makes Israeli food
The 2016 Films
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Je Suis Charlie — The slaughter at the Paris offices of Charlie Hebdo in January 2015 sparks this tribute and exploration of free speech. France
Look at Us Now, Mother! — A Jew-ish woman and her mother go through therapy together to work on their frayed relationship. USA
Morgenthau — Three generations of New York’s Morgenthau family fight genocide abroad and corruption and street crime at home. USA
The Muses of Isaac Bashevis Singer — Female translators skirt the line be-tween professional and romantic while helping the Yiddish author reach Eng-lish-language audiences. Israel
Rabin in His Own Words — Inter-views, home movies and documents enable Yitzhak Rabin to tell his life story 20 years after his assassination. Israel
Rock in the Red Zone — A young music scene thrives in Sderot, the town that has faced a decade of rocket fire from Gaza. Israel, USA
Sabena Hijacking: My Version — Interviews with participants, includ-ing Benjamin Netanyahu and Ehud Barak, and re-enactments bring to life a 1972 hijacking and rescue. Israel
Surviving Skokie — Filmmaker Eli Adler and his Holocaust survivor fa-ther, Jack Adler, reflect on the neo-Nazi march through Skokie, Ill., in 1977 and the family members lost in the death camps and ghettos. USA, Poland
That Daughter’s Crazy — Richard Pryor’s Jewish daughter, comedian Rain Pryor, discusses her search for her own identity. USA
The Three Hikers — Three Ameri-can backpackers reflect on their ordeal as suspected spies held by Iran for two years after accidentally crossing the border in 2009. USA
The Venice Ghetto, 500 Years of Life — Fictional characters and animation are used to recount the history of the Venice Ghetto, established in March 2016. France, Italy
Vita Activa: The Spirit of Hannah Arendt — The life and influence of the political theorist known for the phrase “the banality of evil” are explored. Can-ada, Israel
What Our Fathers Did: A Nazi Leg-acy — The sons of two Nazi war crimi-nals confront their family legacies in different ways. United Kingdom
ShortsDouble FeatureOur Boys — The abduction and
murder of three Israeli teens in June 2014 leads to war in Gaza and a surge in anti-Semitism in Europe. Israel, USA
To Step Forward Myself — Alex Singer, who made aliyah after college and was killed in fighting in Lebanon, is recalled through his letters and in-terviews with loved ones. Israel, USA
Program 1And Then, Violence — A law stu-
dent lives in constant fear amid rising anti-Semitism in Paris. France
Bacon & G-d’s Wrath — A 90-year-old woman tries bacon for the first time after losing her Jewish faith on the Internet. Canada
Curt Lowens: A Life of Changes — A man recounts his Holocaust survival. USA
Kapunka — An Israeli farmer tries to get around shmita laws by signing over his land to a Thai worker. Israel
The Little Dictator — A downtrod-den professor must address a gather-ing of in-laws after a facial-hair mis-hap. Israel
Wandering Rabbi — An Institute of Southern Jewish Life rabbi travels through Mississippi to help small Jew-ish communities survive. USA
Program 2800 Jews From Our Town — Polish
students uncover the history of what happened to the Jewish residents of their hometown during World War II. Poland
Etoile — Animation tells the story of a Jewish girl and her dog living in harmony with Muslim neighbors in Morocco until anti-Semitism surges. Israel
In Our Eyes — A student film ex-plores words related to tolerance. USA
Josef and Aimée — Two Jewish or-phans and a talking caterpillar try to stay connected while hiding from the Nazis in southern France. Canada
A Tale of Slander — Puppets play out a story of lashon hara while search-ing for a good kosher meal in Jewish Eastern Europe. Israel
Zone A — A boy in Tel Aviv finds that his home is a battlefield between his parents while it also serves as a shelter from Iraqi Scud attacks in 1991. Israel
Program 3The Divorce — A rabbi forces a
couple to hold a divorce party before approving their split. United Kingdom
In the Footsteps of Regina Jonas — American denominations’ first female rabbis travel to Germany to learn about the original female rabbi, ordained in Berlin on the eve of World War II. Czech Republic, Germany
Jerry-atric: One Comic’s 77-Year Climb to the Top of the Bottom — Jerry Farber and friends trace the Atlanta co-
median’s life and career. USANazi Boots — A Polish Holocaust
survivor recalls the loss of her family. United Kingdom
Si Minor — Music crosses the line dividing Arab residents of Nablus from an Israeli soldier standing watch. Israel
Within Thy Walls — Stop-action animation depicts the pre-Shabbat hubbub in Jerusalem. Israel
Program 4Blue Like Me: The Art of Siona Ben-
jamin — A woman from India’s Jewish community works in blue to create art about religion, mythology and pop cul-ture. India, USA
Dear G-d — A guard answers the written requests a woman leaves in the Western Wall. Israel
Holy City — An animated vigilan-te rabbi trying to rid Jerusalem of im-modesty gets his comeuppance. Israel
Showfolk — Show-business veter-ans recall their careers from their Hol-lywood retirement home. USA
The Train — Eli Wallach, in his last film, shares a story of Holocaust survival and its lessons about life and family. USA
Wiener Blut — The Strauss waltz provides the soundtrack for an ani-mated journey into Croatia’s fall into Nazism. Croatia ■
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FILM FESTIVAL
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By Tova Norman
The closing night at the Atlanta Jewish Film Festival will give the audience a chance to experience
Israel in a way unlike any other. “In Search of Israeli Cuisine” takes
viewers on a food tour of Israel with renowned chef Michael Solomonov, author of the cookbook “Zahav,” which shares the name of his flagship restau-rant in Philadelphia.
In the documentary, Solomonov is the food guide on a three-week tour of Israel. “The interesting thing is I think I know a good amount about Israel and a good amount about food in general,” said Solomonov, an Israeli chef who grew up in America but has traveled to Israel for most of his life. Still, “most of the places that we went were places that I’d never even heard of.”
Audience members visit some of the most renowned chefs, cooks and restaurants in Israel; shop at markets around the country; explore tomato farms, goat farms and wineries; and see cheese made in caves.
“It’s just really fascinating to me, the diversity,” Solomonov said.
Along their journey, the chef and his crew ended up in places they didn’t plan to go, such as a Druze village where they met four generations of people pressing olives into oil.
“It was just amazing, absolutely amazing,” Solomonov said.
Festival planners said this film will end the festival in a great way.
“For closing night, we always want to end on a high note, a celebratory tone,” said Kenny Blank, the executive director of the festival. He said the ter-rific documentary explores the many foods, ethnicities and cultures that define Israeli cuisine. “The food is not only fascinating, but it makes you want to rush out and taste it.”
That’s why, instead of the usual dessert reception, closing night fea-tures a sampling of Israeli cuisine and recipes from the film, prepared by the festival’s restaurant partners.
Judy Marx, co-chair of the festi-val’s film evaluation committee, agreed that festival planners always want to close on a celebratory note, and they thought “In Search of Israeli Cuisine,” along with the opportunity to meet Sol-omonov, would accomplish that goal.
She added that the film shows how far Israel has come.
The film is not just about food. It’s about the identity of the people and trying to answer the question of what makes something or someone Israeli.
A Tasty Closing Night
“I think that’s actually the premise of the film,” Solomonov said. “It’s about the people that make up Israel, told through food.”
As you explore with Solomonov, you can’t help but wonder how he translates this trip into his own version of Israeli cuisine at Zahav.
“There’s a mind-set that you have with such rich diversity, such varying gastronomies, that make up this cui-sine that you can sort of pull from,” he said. “And that’s the basis of what we do at the restaurant.”
A 2011 James Beard Award win-ner as the best chef in the Mid-Atlantic, Solomonov has been credited by food critics with defining Israeli cuisine in America at a time when Israeli cuisine is a growing culinary trend. It’s not a credit he’s willing to accept.
“I’m not that person,” he said. “I’m just the person cooking that food.”
That was a sentiment expressed by many of the Israelis Solomonov in-terviewed on his journey. In a country with such a short history, is anyone ready to claim to be the person who de-fines Israeli cuisine?
“Everybody says what Israeli food isn’t, but they’re all doing it almost in unison,” Solomonov said.
But he said there is an Israeli cui-sine. “Israel is a country, and there is food cooked there.”
The cuisine is a conglomerate of the all of the cultures that make up the population of the tiny country.
“The food is a metaphor for the people,” he said. And maybe a place to find some common ground.
“In general, food is less about con-trast. It’s more about commonality,” he said. “Everybody agrees on good food. “
On Feb. 16, attendees of closing night — which has moved from the Woodruff Arts Center’s Rich Auditori-um to its Symphony Hall, roughly dou-bling capacity — will have the oppor-tunity to decide when they search for Israeli cuisine along with Solomonov.
“Food travels, and food never stays the same, ever,” he said. “The history of food is that it’s always moving.” ■
Michael Solomonov samples some Israeli spices in “In Search of Israeli Cuisine.”
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By Leah R. Harrison
“Documentary films have changed and are much more important in the
world today,” Bob Bahr said at the sec-ond of the two Atlanta Jewish Film Fes-tival Best Bets events Sunday, Jan. 3, at Temple Sinai.
His co-host, Emory film professor Matthew Bernstein, said: “Documen-taries have become a different type of business since Michael Moore showed you could make over $200 million from a documentary. He changed the per-ception of documentaries in America.”
Bernstein and Bahr detailed differ-ent documentary styles, such as clas-sic, which relies on simple production and a smart interviewer, as in the case of their first documentary pick, “What Our Fathers Did: A Nazi Legacy.”
Narrator Phillipe Sands, a human rights lawyer, interrogates the sons of two high-ranking Nazi officials, allow-ing them to reveal themselves and their vastly different attitudes about their lineage through their answers, facial expressions and reactions to his ques-tions. Bernstein said it is “a film that is very much about dealing with history, inherited history, and in these two dif-ferent men, the process of acceptance of a past that is very uncomfortable. And the persistence of denial.”
Bahr contrasted the classic style with the use of re-enactment in “The Three Hikers,” which re-creates events related to Iran’s 2009 capture and 26-month imprisonment of three so-cial advocacy workers along a blurry Kurdistan border, then lets the detain-ees retell events and interviews their families and human rights authorities.
Two best bets are about Yitzhak Rabin. Through a painstaking assem-blage of recordings, tapes, home mov-ies, letters and interviews, the assassi-nated prime minister tells his own life story in “Rabin in His Own Words.” It brings us through the events leading up to the 1993 Oslo Accords. That agree-ment included the highly contentious withdrawal of Israeli troops from parts of the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Amid chants from crowds that “Rabin is a traitor,” Rabin speaks of the need to re-alize that “peace is made with enemies … sometimes very cruel enemies.”
To complete the Rabin picture, Bahr and Bernstein recommend also seeing “Rabin, the Last Day.” This lengthy yet worthwhile film represents
an evolution in documentaries as well, as it paints an unsavory picture of characters and events just before the assassination in November 1995. This work falls into the more heavy-handed documentary category, in which direc-tor Amos Gitai takes and maintains a strong stance.
What is purportedly a campaign rally for Benjamin Netanyahu is in-stead shown as a violent protest, with Netanyahu preaching Zionism and speaking against a government that is leading the people astray. Some in the crowd call for “death to Rabin” while others set fire to his image. Regarding the portrayal of Netanyahu, Bahr said the film is “not so much a documentary as it is an indictment” for incitement to violence and complicity.
“Sabena Hijacking: My Version” re-enacts the terrifying and exhilarat-ing events of the 1972 hijacking of Sa-bena Flight 971 en route from Vienna to Tel Aviv and the subsequent rescue. The story is enhanced through passen-ger testimonies and newfound record-ings of the plane’s pilot, in addition to an interview with the sole surviving female hijacker from the Palestinian group Black September. According to Bernstein, “Sabena” is a crowd-pleas-ing, feel-good story,
“Censored Voices,” winner of the Israeli Academy Award for best docu-mentary, is a look at Israeli soldiers who fought in the Six-Day War. Men who were interviewed within three weeks of Israel’s victory over Arab forc-es listen and react to the recordings nearly half a century later, revealing startling and sobering insights into the price of war and raising the question of whether there ever is a decisive victor.
“By Sidney Lumet,” recapping the 50-year career of the filmmaker, who died in 2011, is the final documentary best bet. Film clips and interviews with Lumet are used to illustrate how he ex-posed his audience to the humanity of even the most distasteful of his charac-ters in iconic films including “Serpico,” “Dog Day Afternoon” and “Network.” ■
The Atlanta Jewish Film Festival takes on a real Hollywood feel opening night with “Remember,”
which stars two Academy Award win-ners under the direction of an Oscar nominee.
The film premiered in the fall at two of the world’s most prestigious film festivals, Toronto and Venice, and is scheduled for a U.S. theatrical release Feb. 12, 2½ weeks after the Jewish Film Festival gives the movie its local debut Jan. 26 at the Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre.
With Christopher Plummer (win-ner of a supporting actor Oscar in 2012 for “Beginners”) and Martin Landau (supporting actor Oscar in 1994 for “Ed Wood”) in front of the cameras and Atom Egoyan (nominated for direct-ing and screenwriting Oscars for 1997’s “The Sweet Hereafter”) behind them, “Remember” has the star power to take the big opening-night stage.
“We’re trying to find something that may not be the best film of the festival, but the film that will have the broadest appeal and set the right tone,”
festival Executive Director Kenny Blank said. “It will definitely have peo-ple talking at the end.”
It also establishes a few festival plot lines involving aging Holocaust survivors, hidden Nazis and the ways subsequent generations handle what their fathers did in World War II.
Plummer plays Zev Gutman, an Auschwitz survivor suffering from dementia so that each time he falls asleep, he loses his short-term memory, including the recent death of his wife. He doesn’t look like a candidate to go on a manhunt or commit a revenge killing, but that’s exactly the mission given to him by a fellow survivor and resident of a New York nursing home.
That Auschwitz survivor, Max Rosenbaum (Landau), writes a letter reminding Zev of his recent past and providing step-by-step instructions of how to seek out the four German im-migrants in Canada and the United States who could be the Nazi prison guard responsible for killing both of their families.
Zev is hardly the image of a great Nazi-hunter; he at times seems to be little more than a puppet whose strings are being pulled by his friend Max.
Love Hong Kong; Don’t Fret About ‘Tomorrow’By Michael [email protected]
You won’t see a more visually rewarding movie at the Atlanta Jewish Film Festival this year
than “Already Tomorrow in Hong Kong,” whose two scheduled screen-ings include ACCESS Night at the reno-vated SCADshow theater in Midtown.
The city of Hong Kong is the beau-tiful star and the one character sure to requite love in a tale of two beautiful people who might be perfect for each other and seem to be thrown together by fate twice — except for the sticky issue of the significant others in their lives.
Perhaps reflecting their real-life romance, stars Bryan Greenberg and Jamie Chung share a casual chemistry that makes you want them to push past the awkwardness of their chance meet-ings in the middle of Hong Kong, the city where their characters, Josh and Ruby, have chosen to live and work.
Writer-director Emily Ting has some fun playing against expecta-tions: It’s Josh, the New Yorker, who knows Hong Kong inside and out and can speak Cantonese after living in the city for a decade, while Ruby, a Califor-nia girl one generation removed from Hong Kong, doesn’t speak the lan-guage, know the food or music, or ever seem quite confident that she knows where she’s going.
Ting can’t resist some stereotypes — Josh is a Jewish banker, Ruby had dreams of being the next Vera Wang — but she has fun with them: Josh just wants to be a writer and responds to a few hours with Ruby by quitting the fi-nancial high life; Ruby, a toy designer, finds that cheap Chinese counterfeits are ripping off her product line.
As long as you don’t think about his girlfriend and her boyfriend, even though we’re constantly reminded about them, and as long as you don’t worry about any deep questions in-volving interfaith relationships, you can have fun with Josh and Ruby as they explore the city.
And if the ethics of their situation get to you, as they did to me, just enjoy the film as a first-class travelogue of a fantastic city. ■
But as you’d expect, Plummer plays the part perfectly, including the bewil-derment every time he wakes up in a strange place without his wife and the mix of fear and determination each time he confronts a candidate for the missing Nazi.
As he has done for decades, Lan-dau makes the most of limited screen time. It’s unfortunate he and Plummer don’t have more scenes together, but Plummer’s extended scene with the adult son (played by Dean Norris from “Breaking Bad”) of one of his suspects is a strong substitute.
Norris’ character admires his late father’s Nazi past but wants to learn more about his life. At the same time, while Zev searches for the Nazi guard after walking away from his nursing home, his son searches for Zev.
The quests converge at an isolated house in a scene reminiscent in place and suspense of the climax of another Landau film, “North by Northwest.”
“Remember” is not of the same caliber as that Alfred Hitchcock clas-sic, but it has enough twists to reward viewers who let the top-notch acting carry them away and don’t try to see the surprises coming. ■
Shoah Memories Never Die; Nazis Do
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Tickets to the 16th Atlanta Jewish Film Festival, which runs from Jan. 26 to Feb. 17, go on sale to the
general public at noon Sunday, Jan. 10. Festival sponsors and patrons may use their passes to reserve tickets for spe-cific screenings before that day and, to get their first choices, are advised to do so online at ajff.org/passes or through 678-701-6107.
If this year is like past incarna-tions of the world’s biggest Jewish film festival, more than half the tickets will be gone by Jan. 11, and screenings for the most popular movies will sell out within days.
Standby lists will be created onsite for sellouts. You must sign up for the list in person at the venue on the day of the screening, and if any seats are open at show time, the festival will fill them from the list.
Even if you miss a film because it sells out, all is not lost. The last day of the festival, Feb. 17, will be devoted to encore showings of some of the most popular movies.
Those screenings will be an-nounced during the festival.
The quickest, cheapest way to buy
Get Your Ticketstickets is online at ajff.org/films. You also can call 678-701-6104, but you’ll pay a fee of $2.50 per ticket order by phone.
The final option is to buy tickets at the box office at festival venues, where sales begin one hour before a lo-cale’s first festival screening of the day throughout the festival.
Tickets are $18 for four events: • Opening night Jan. 26 (for the
screening of “Remember” only; the pre-show gala is open only to festival spon-sors and patrons).
• The ACCESS Night screening Jan. 28 of “Already Tomorrow in Hong Kong,” which includes a pre-film party.
• The two screenings Jan. 30 of “East Jerusalem West Jerusalem,” which will be followed by performances by David Broza.
• Closing night Feb. 16, when a tast-ing will follow “In Search of Israeli Cui-sine.”
Tickets are $13 for other screen-ings after 4 p.m. on weekdays and all weekend shows; $11 for people 65 and older, children 12 and under, and stu-dents with valid IDs; and $9 for week-day matinees. ■
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Bob Bahr and Matthew Bernstein offered several dozen people a sneak peek at the top narrative
films in this year’s Atlanta Jewish Film Festival during their first Best Bets ses-sion Dec. 20 at Temple Sinai.
Over bags of popcorn, the two film experts listed seven must-see movies:
• “Wedding Doll,” starring Moran Rosenblatt, seen last year in “Apples From the Desert,” tells the story of a radiant young woman with a slight mental disability who dreams of love and independence from her divorced mother, who herself is torn between guilt and desire. “Films like this don’t usually get made,” Bahr said, calling it “a work of art.”
• “A Grain of Truth” is a Polish murder mystery set in a town with a historical obsession with the Jewish blood libel. Calling the story a Polish “Girl With the Dragon Tattoo,” Bern-stein said the film is “fantastic” and “to-tally absorbing.”
• Following the example of “Dr. Strangelove,” “Atomic Falafel” is a pure farce about Israel and Iran on
the brink of nuclear war while adults behave badly and teens try to save the day. “What Jews do best is laugh at themselves and others,” Bahr said.
• Similar to Oscar hopeful “Laby-rinth of Lies,” “The People vs. Fritz Bauer” tells the true story of a Ger-man prosecutor trying to find Nazi war criminals despite obstacles from his own government.
• The key to “Mountain,” which shows the interior journey of an un-happy Orthodox housewife living on the Mount of Olives, is not to leave be-fore the final five minutes, Bahr said.
• Like “A Grain of Truth,” “Fire Birds” is a murder mystery, although set amid the culture of Holocaust sur-vivors in Israel. Unlike “Grain,” it is un-expectedly funny, Bernstein said. “This one has a special place in my heart.”
• “Remember,” being shown open-ing night only, is the story of Auschwitz survivors (played by Christopher Plum-mer and Martin Landau) seeking re-venge before they die. “We see older people in a way we generally don’t see them,” as men of action, Bahr said. ■
7 Narrative Picks: Thrills, Tears and Laughs
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One of the key roles of the At-lanta Jewish Film Festival is to provide a window into Israeli
life and culture, so it’s no surprise that more than a third of the 77 films this year are from Israel or deal with the nation.
But what if you have a job, a fam-ily or other responsibilities that pre-vent you from devoting yourself to the cinema for three weeks in the middle of winter? How do you chart a logical course through your Israeli film op-tions?
Here are a few suggested ap-proaches:
• Go for laughs. Amid relentless terrorist attacks, the news out of Israel these days can be depressing, so why not grab every chance to smile? Start with the one outright farce in the festi-val, “Atomic Falafel,” because once you can laugh about nuclear armageddon between Israel and Iran, you can find humor anywhere. That includes pho-
ny Holocaust survivors and murder mysteries, so “Fire Birds” is the perfect next step. “The Kind Words” — France, North Africa and three siblings search-ing for Dad — complete the feature side of the comedy cycle, but don’t for-get the shorts. The first shorts program offers two comic gems: “Kapunka,” in which a farmer’s bid to skirt the shmita laws leads to the Middle East’s largest Buddhist temple popping up on his land overnight; and “The Little Dicta-tor,” in which a browbeaten professor of totalitarianism makes his grand-mother-in-law, a Holocaust survivor, happy with a surprising bit of facial hair.
• Stick with the shorts. Each of the four shorts programs features six films and runs less than an hour and a half, so they’re a good way to get a nice slice of Israeli cinematic life. In addi-tion to “Kapunka” and “The Little Dic-tator,” Shorts Program 2 offers “Zone A,” about a boy facing the dual crises of his parents’ marital breakup and Scuds flying from Iraq in 1991; “Etoile,” which presents Israel as a little Moroccan Jew-
ish girl’s refuge from anti-Semitism in the early 1960s; and “A Tale of Slander,” which is Israeli-made but takes place in the lost world of East European shtetls and has a funny, salty finale. Program 3 brings “Within Thy Walls,” a weird, wild, cheerful glimpse at the rush to prepare for Shabbat in Jerusalem, and “Si Minor,” a more serious look at the potential for music to cross the Israeli-Palestinian divide in Nablus. Program 4’s contributions are “Dear G-d,” in which a guard at the Western Wall at-tempts to fulfill a woman’s requests to a higher power, and “Holy City,” which has a wicked take on Jerusalem’s re-sponse to a rabbi’s vigilante efforts to enforce modesty standards.
• Listen to the music. “Si Minor,” the longest part of Shorts Program 3, shows an Israeli soldier drawn to Pal-estinian musicians, and David Broza’s “East Jerusalem West Jerusalem” plays a similarly hopeful note about the power of music to open eyes to the po-tential for peace. The short “Dear G-d” includes the woman’s sad realization that no one has ever dedicated a song to her and the guard’s epic effort to correct that oversight. “Atomic Falafel” solves that pesky threat of nuclear war in part through Farsi hip-hop, per-formed by a German actress playing an Iranian teen. “Rock in the Red Zone” reveals the powerful music scene that has developed under rocket fire in the town of Sderot near the Gaza border.
• Explore Orthodoxy in unortho-dox ways. Israeli society has struggled in recent years with how to integrate the Haredim fully into the responsibili-ties of citizenship, from military or na-tional service to employment. Several films explore the uncertainty about the ultra-Orthodox, including “Mountain,” in which a wife isolated with her chil-dren in a house alongside a cemetery on the Mount of Olives dives into an unexpected nightlife; “Tikkun,” in which saving a life accelerates a cycle of self-doubt for a kosher butcher and his son, a yeshiva boy; and “Holy City.”
• Go to the toilet. “Tikkun” is about Haredi life in Jerusalem; “Wedding Doll” addresses secular life in the Ne-gev. They could be different worlds, but both of those worlds include time sitting on the porcelain throne. In “Tik-kun,” the father who fears he thwarted G-d’s will by saving his son has dramat-ic, horrific hallucinations while on the toilet. In “Wedding Doll,” those solitary moments are crucial for the central factory, which produces rolls of toilet
paper, and an important scene occurs when the factory owner’s son is stuck in a stall without a roll.
• Observe the anniversary. Two films, one a documentary and the other an Oliver Stone-style, conspira-cy-minded docudrama, address the as-sassination of Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin 20 years ago last November. It’s best to start with “Rabin in His Own Words” to see what all the fuss was about regarding the Israeli leader who signed the Oslo Accords, then move on to Amos Gitai’s “Rabin, the Last Day.”
• Face the elephant in the room. The Israeli-Arab conflict isn’t a domi-nant theme in this year’s Israeli offer-ings, but it’s unavoidable. In addition to the Rabin films, you shouldn’t miss “Censored Voices,” which features in-terviews of kibbutzniks right after they fought in the Six-Day War, and “Sabena Hijacking: My Version,” which brings more political leaders into the discus-sion about a 1972 act of terrorism. “East Jerusalem West Jerusalem” and “Si Mi-nor” provide musical glimpses across the Green Line, while “Rock in the Red Zone” offers the Israeli perspective of life under attack. “Our Boys” recalls the abduction and killing of three Israeli teens hitchhiking home, leading soon after to war in Gaza in 2014. “To Step Forward Myself” is one American’s story of making aliyah and serving and dying with the army.
• Look nervously eastward. If Iran is Israel’s biggest threat, two films can feed the fear. One is “Atomic Falafel.” The other is “Three Hikers,” a docu-mentary about American backpackers, one of whom was Jewish with Israeli ties, who strayed across the border into Iran in 2009 and wound up being held as spies for 26 months.
• Follow Mali Levi. The Israeli ac-tress stars in “Atomic Falafel” and has a major supporting role in “Fire Birds.”
• And now for something com-pletely different. Three of the most interesting Israeli films don’t fit natu-rally with anything else, so why not weave them together? “Wedding Doll” is a warm look at a young woman with a mental disability who strives for love and independence amid the stark, beautiful backdrop of the Negev. The key to “JeruZalem” is the “z” and the belief that one of three doors to hell opens in the holy city. And after every-thing else, a nice nosh and “In Search of Israeli Cuisine” seem like a good way to close the exploration of Israeli film as well as the festival itself. ■
From the Negev to Jerusalem and BeyondPick your path through the festival’s Israeli options
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Eugene Asher87, Atlanta
Former sportswriter, life insurance agent, author and state boxing champion Eugene S. “Gene” Asher, 87, died Monday, Dec. 28, 2015.
He was an Atlanta Constitution sportswriter in the 1950s and Atlanta Journal sports prep editor in the 1960s. A frequent guest on radio and TV talk shows, Asher shared information and opinions about teams and play-ers.
After the birth of his third child, David Baron Asher, who died in 2010, Asher wanted to earn more money to provide for his family. He said he’d do anything except sell insurance. Yet life insurance became his next career. Within his first year he made the Million Dollar Round Table, and over time he became a Lifetime Member of
the MDRT.However, his love for writing never died. Upon retiring in 1990, he founded
the Jewish Georgian newspaper and single-handedly sold the ads and called upon friends to help him write articles. In the late ’90s he began writing a monthly column for Georgia Trend magazine on former local sports figures and Atlantans of notoriety. In 2005, a compilation of many of those articles was published in his book, “Legends: Georgians Who Lived Impossible Dreams.”
A retired colonel in the U.S. Marine Corps Reserves, Asher served as a rifle platoon leader in the Korean War and was honored with two Purple Hearts. As well as fighting for his country, he fought in the boxing ring. He was a four-time city of Atlanta boxing champion and became the 1949 Georgia state lightweight Golden Gloves champion.
Years later, Asher taught boxing at the Atlanta Jewish Community Center and founded the Fathers and Daughters Club of Atlanta.
Asher was born May 5, 1928, to Baron Hirsch Asher and Erna Fromme Asher. He is survived by daughters Laurie Lynn Asher and Susan Kay Asher; their moth-er, Dell Spector Asher; cousins Jeffrey C. Asher and JoAnn Asher Rubin; nieces Karen Everett Sukloff and Marybeth Asher-Lawson; and nephews Barry Benator, Gene Benator and Ron Asher.
She was born in New York, N.Y., to Jessie and Irving Lefer, both of blessed memory. Gail worked for Jewish Family & Career Services for nine years before working for DeKalb County Work Force Development another nine years. She was an active participant with the Suwanee Good Timers and a member of Con-gregation Dor Tamid. Gail was preceded in death by her husband of 30 years, Richard. She is survived by her niece, Renee; two nephews, Jayson and Glenn; and
www.atlantajewishtimes.comOBITUARIESher dear friend and neighbor, Carol Guillory.
Sign the online guestbook at www.edressler.com. Graveside services were held Wednesday, Dec. 30, at Arlington Memorial Park in Sandy Springs with Rabbi Judith Beiner officiating. Arrangements by Dressler’s Jewish Funeral Care, Atlanta, 770-451-4999.
Phyllis Freedman87, Atlanta
Phyllis Blonder Freedman, “Grandma Phyllis,” age 87, of Atlanta passed away Wednesday, Dec. 30, 2015.
Survivors include her loving husband of 69 years, Jack I. Freedman; son and daughter-in-law Doug and Genie Freed-man of Atlanta; daughter and son-in-law Dr. Ed and Robyn Spizman Gerson of Atlanta; grandchildren Jaime and Justin Spizman, Ali and Marc Garfinkel, Michelle and Jeff Gerson, Dr. Lee and Alicia Gerson, and Randi Gerson; great-grand-children Dani and Bella Spizman, Jack Gerson, and Scott Gerson; her devoted sister-in-law, Lois Blonder; and many beloved cousins, nieces and nephews.
She was preceded in death by her parents, Pauline and Irving Blonder, and a brother, Gerald “Jerry” Blonder, of blessed memory.
A beloved and tireless community volunteer and well-known leader for causes throughout Atlanta, Phyllis Freedman was a remarkable woman filled with determination and dedication. She left a loving legacy with her devotion to making a difference, her love of her family, and her good-natured, kind ways. Her motto was “She tried,” yet her family emphatically concludes she succeeded on every front possible.
Her leadership was far-reaching as she mentored and touched everyone who knew her. She was chair of the Women’s Division of Federation, president of the Atlanta Chapter of the Brandeis University National Women’s Committee, and National Women’s Division chairwoman of the Council of Jewish Federations. She was president of Jewish Family & Career Services and co-chair of Israel Expo and was honored by B’nai B’rith when, as a couple, Phyllis and Jack received the Distinguished Service Award of B’nai B’rith and were honorees for Israel Bonds. That was the short list.
Her love of reading and Atlanta led her to become a tour gal and then work for Esther Levine’s Book Atlanta company, escorting well-known authors visiting Atlanta. Phyllis’ former Yankee spirit and her gracious Southern hospitality pro-moted Atlanta as the finest city on Earth.
Phyllis moved to Atlanta after she was fixed up with Jack (her Honey) on a blind date in 1946 orchestrated by Frieda Cohen (Jack’s sister) and her Aunt Flor-ence Rachelson. She and her Honey married a year later. It was an orchestrated marriage like a symphony of two hearts and minds from the beginning as they tirelessly worked to impact the Atlanta Jewish community and endless causes from Atlanta to Israel.
Over the past three years, Phyllis has been a familiar face visiting her hus-band at the Jewish Home, hardly ever missing a day. Phyllis Freedman was an icon and a woman of valor and honor. She will be deeply and dearly missed. The family is grateful to her devoted caregiver, Rose Howell, and to Bettye Storne for
In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to the William Breman Jewish Home, Weinstein Hospice, the Marcus Jewish Community Center’s Blond-er Family Department for Special Needs, or JF&CS.
Funeral services were held at Ahavath Achim Synagogue on Sunday, Jan. 3, with interment at Arlington Memorial Park. Arrangements by Dressler’s Jewish Funeral Care, Atlanta, 770-451-4999.
Lala Greene73, Atlanta
Lala Myers Greene passed away early Saturday morning, Dec. 26, 2015, in Atlanta in her home with her loving husband of 53 years by her side. She was 73 years old.
Lala was born in Atlanta on Oct. 12, 1942, to Frank and Elizabeth Myers. She spent her early years growing up in the same home as her maternal grandparents, Bert and Honey Lilienthal; an aunt and uncle, Lala and Frank Lesser; a cousin, Lainy Goldstein; and a sister, Nancy Woodruff. She graduated Northside High School in 1960 and headed off to Ohio State University to begin her college career, but fate had other plans. The summer after her freshman year, still only 18 years old, she met Jack Greene in Atlanta. Jack had recently moved to Atlanta after be-ing deployed by the Army to Fort Gordon in Augusta from his home in Spring Valley, N.Y. It was love at first sight, and within eight months they were engaged and married.
Together they built a life and a family. Lala worked side by side with Jack as they built many successful businesses together, but her true calling was her role as a mother to her two children, David and Ann, and later their spouses, Kerry and Michael, whom she loved as her own. She then used this same innate capacity for love and nurturance as a grandmother, or “Saffi,” to her seven grandchildren: Benjamin, Avi, Rose, Aaron, Elie, Dov and Yoni. Lala loved being with her family most of all, and they with her. The family especially enjoyed their many summers together in Maine.
Lala had the rare gift of being able to see the good in every person and cher-ish each day. Although Lala was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in February 2011, she never allowed the disease to define her life or tarnish her outlook. She continued to be the most compassionate, kind, grateful, optimistic, humble and strong person in the lives of her family, friends and even strangers whom she had just met. Although she was the one battling the disease, she remained everyone else’s beacon of light and hope.
Lala is survived by her husband, Jack Greene; her father, Frank Myers (Eliza-beth z”l); her sister, Nancy Woodruff (Scott); her children, David and Kerry Greene and Ann and Michael Karlin; and her grandchildren, Benjamin, Rose and Dov Karlin and Avi, Aaron, Elie and Yoni Greene.
Sign the online guestbook at www.edressler.com. The funeral was held Sun-day, Dec. 27, at Temple Sinai, 5645 Dupree Drive, Sandy Springs. In lieu of flow-ers, please remember Lala with donations to Weinstein Hospice or the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network. Arrangements by Dressler’s Jewish Funeral Care, Atlan-ta, 770-451-4999.
William Kaplan84, Atlanta
William (Bill) Kaplan, 84, of Atlanta passed away Sunday, Jan. 3, 2016. Mr. Kaplan was a longtime member of Congregation Shearith Israel. Survi-
vors include his nieces, Terry (Randy) Nordin of Dunwoody, Susan (Rick) Link-wald of Johns Creek and Sandra Levin of Atlanta; nephews Steven (Sue) Kaplan and Lee Kaplan of Texas; brother Cecil (Ester) Kornreich of the Bronx, N.Y.; sister Judy (Richard) Abraham of Canton, Conn.; brother Ivan (Bernice) Kornreich of New York; sister-in-law Adele Kaplan of Napa, Calif.; great-niece Rebecca (Mi-chael) Landis of Dunwoody; great-niece Erica Linkwald of Australia; and great-nephew Bill (Rachel) Linkwald of Atlanta.
Sign the online guestbook at www.edressler.com. Contributions may be made to Congregation Shearith Israel or the Susan G. Komen Foundation for Breast Cancer. Graveside services were held at Crest Lawn Memorial Park with Rabbi Melvin Sirner officiating on Wednesday, Jan. 6. Arrangements by Dressler’s Jewish Funeral Care, Atlanta, 770-451-4999.
Simon Phillip Levetan91, Atlanta
Simon Phillip (Phil) Levetan, age 91, died Sunday, Jan. 3, 2016, surrounded by his family.
He was a native Atlantan, born April 12, 1924, to Joseph and Rebecca Boss Levetan at Georgia Baptist Hospital. He was co-owner of his family’s scrap metal business, Dixie Iron and Metal Co. When the business was sold to a recycling com-pany, he remained with the new owners for many years.
Mr. Levetan graduated from Boys’ High School and received a B.A. and an M.A. from Atlanta Law School. He served in the Army Air Corps during World War II, where he maintained the electrical and mechanical systems of B-29 air-planes in Saipan.
He was a lifetime member of Ahavath Achim Synagogue and member of Con-gregation Beth Jacob. His greatest pleasure was coordinating the weekly lunch-and-learn sessions for Chabad with Rabbi Yossi New for more than 25 years. In addition, he was a member of the Jewish War Veterans and a life member of the Elks 78 organization.
Mr. Levetan was the silent partner and driving force behind the many accom-plishments of his wife, Liane, throughout their 61-year marriage. He worked out at the gym several times a week with his brother and best friend, Robert (Bob), up until the last few weeks of his life.
He is survived by his wife, Liane Levetan; his two daughters, Claresa Levetan, M.D., and Penny Levetan Reiff of Philadelphia; four grandchildren, Alison and Ju-lie Reiff and Nathan and Rachel Hochberger, all of Philadelphia; a brother, Robert (Bob) Levetan; a sister-in-law, Gail Raab; and numerous loving nieces and neph-ews.
In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to the charity of your choice. Sign the online guestbook at www.edressler.com. A graveside service was held Monday, Jan. 4, at Crest Lawn Memorial Park. Arrangements by Dressler’s Jewish Funeral Care, Atlanta, 770-451-4999.
Bert Lewyn92, Atlanta
Bert Lewyn, 92, died Sunday, Jan. 3, 2016, at his Buckhead home, surrounded by his loving family and caregivers.
Born Dagobert Lewin to Leopold and Johanna Wolff Lewin in Berlin on April 2, 1923, Bert’s early years presaged a life of perseverance and achievement in the face of daunting odds. The Gestapo deported his parents and enslaved Bert in a Berlin weapons factory on March 27, 1942, when Bert was 18. In 1943, when the Nazis deported all Jewish factory work-ers, Bert managed to avoid capture, and he began a 2½-year
journey of survival described in “On the Run in Nazi Berlin,” a book he would co-author many years later with his daughter-in-law Beverly Saltzman Lewyn. “On the Run” has since sold over 10,000 copies and has been published in a Ger-man translation. Bert’s story has also been chronicled in numerous publications, including The Jerusalem Post, several German publications, and “Hitler Youth: Growing Up in Hitler’s Shadow” by Susan Campbell Bartoletti.
At the war’s end, having learned that nearly all his family had been murdered by the Nazis, Bert lived in a displaced persons camp in Feldafing, Germany, for four years. The highlight of his time in the camp was his travel to Sweden as a metalworking instructor for ORT at the invitation of the king of Sweden. Bert was finally able to begin his postwar life when Rabbi Tobias and Mrs. Geffen of Atlanta, his great-aunt and -uncle, sponsored his immigration to Atlanta in 1949. Bert moved in with Rabbi and Mrs. Geffen and found both a wife and a job with the Geffens’ help.
Bert married Esther Sloan of Atlanta on Dec. 23, 1951, and took a job with a local metalworking company while attending English classes at Commercial High at night. Seven months later, he enrolled at Georgia Tech. Subsequently, Bert started his own woodworking machinery business with no office, no contacts, no money, no parents, no mentors or other role models, and barely any English skills. He called on potential customers all across the South, leaving Esther on Sunday evenings and returning on Fridays. He drove 200,000 miles a year, determined to provide his wife and family a secure future. His company, Lewyn Machinery, finally made a tiny profit just about the time the first of his five children, Andrea,
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was born in 1955. His Herculean efforts building Lewyn Machinery Co. began to pay off as his company and his family grew over the next decade. The company emerged as one of the largest woodworking machinery importers in the United States. During this time Bert and Esther welcomed four more children: Lawrence, Marc, Cindy and Michael.
Bert’s determination to build a business was matched only by his quick wit and relationship-building skills. He persuaded machinery manufacturers from England, Italy, Japan, Taiwan and even Germany to hire him to represent them in the United States and similarly counted as customers some of the larg-est American furniture makers. His most lasting business achievement was as a co-founder of the Woodworking Machinery Importers Association of America (WMIA), which established the largest international woodworking trade show in the Western Hemisphere, held every two years at the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta.
Bert will be most remembered for the love he had for Esther, his children and his grandchildren, the admiration and love of his friends, the respect his business colleagues had for him, his dry wit, and his fierce love and defense of the Jewish people and of Israel. Bert was predeceased by his parents, Johanna and Leopold Lewin, and is survived by his loving wife, Esther Sloan Lewyn; daughters Andrea Lewyn Krakovsky and Cindy Lewyn; sons Lawrence, Marc and Michael Lewyn; son-in-law Ed Krakovsky; daughter-in-law Beverly Saltzman Lewyn; and grand-children Jake and Sloan Krakovsky and Alexandra, Rachel, Sarah and Rebecca Lewyn.
A memorial service for Bert was held at The Temple on Tuesday, Jan. 5, with Rabbi Peter Berg and Rabbi Ilan Feldman officiating. Interment followed at Ar-lington Memorial Park. Contributions may be made to the Georgia Commission on the Holocaust or to a charity of one’s choice.
Irwin Weiner84, Marietta
Irwin Weiner, Oct. 6, 1931, to Dec. 30, 2015. There will never be another Ir-win Weiner. He lived a full life and was loved by many. He deeply loved his wife, Lynne, who spent over 47 years by his side, running his home, raising his chil-dren, and making sure that he and the family always had what they needed. Irwin adored his daughters, Julie Weiner and Mindi Biscoglia, and was very proud of everything they have accomplished. He loved and was grateful for his son-in-law, Benjie Biscoglia, and his beautiful grandchildren, Joey and Alex, who were the rays of sunshine in Irwin’s elder years. Irwin is also survived by his sister, Sher-ry Forman, as well as other relatives and longtime friends whom he considered family. He truly will be missed, but his memory will always be alive and provide smiles to all who knew him.
Sign the online guestbook at www.edressler.com. Graveside services were held Sunday, Jan. 3, at Greenwood Cemetery with Rabbi Laurence Rosenthal of-ficiating. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that you honor Irwin’s memory by making a donation to WellStar Community Hospice-Tranquility at Kennesaw Mountain or another charitable organization. Arrangements by Dressler’s Jewish Funeral Care, Atlanta, 770-451-4999.
Ruth ZeidmanAtlanta
Ruth Mendelson Zeidman of Atlanta, formerly of Philadelphia, died Sunday, Jan. 3, 2016.
Ruth was born in Philadelphia and came to Atlanta in 1990. She was very active at Temple Beth Tikvah, where she founded the gift shop and the senior lunch and learn. She was a docent at the William Breman Jewish Heritage Mu-seum and a recipient of the Woman of the Year award from the Jewish Federation of Greater Atlanta.
She was preceded in death by loving husband Joe Zeidman and son Harris Mitchell Simons. She is survived by her sons and daughters-in-law, Robert (Adele) Toltzis and David (Christy) Toltzis, all of Sandy Springs; sister Frances Fagen, Tarzana, Calif.; grandchildren Haley Toltzis Rattray (Rajiv), Andrew Toltzis and Mike Toltzis; great-grandchild Marley Rattray; niece and nephews Dr. Neil (Frani) Fagen, Tarzana, Calif., Paul (Artis) Fagen, Hollywood, Calif., and Sheila (Arnie) Greenfield, Chicago; and many extended family around the country.
Sign the online guestbook at www.edressler.com. Graveside services were
held Tuesday, Jan. 5, at Arlington Memorial Park. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to Temple Beth Tikvah, Roswell, and Weinstein Hospice, Atlanta. Arrangements by Dressler’s Jewish Funeral Care, Atlanta, 770-451-4999.
Death NoticesWilliam Alperin of St. Petersburg, Fla., father of Michael Bray and Charlene Full-er, on Dec. 21.Oscar Alter of Canton on Dec. 17. Lorraine Arnold, 70, of Atlanta, Congregation Or Hadash member, partner of Robert Isenberg, mother of David Arnold and Jaime Arnold Goldberg, stepmother of Jason Isenberg, and sister of Lewis Moss, on Dec. 28.Buddy Baras of Chattanooga, Tenn., father of Temple Sinai member Randy Baras, Jeff Baras and Lisa Stark, on Dec. 25.Erwin Becker of Atlanta on Dec. 18.Janet Breiner, 93, of Canton, mother of Joel Breiner and Wendy Barnes, on Dec. 26.Steven Cohen, 63, of Atlanta, husband of Smadar Moosaei and father of Benson Cohen and Andrew Cohen, on Dec. 23.Mendel Gerzon of Atlanta on Dec. 24.Robert Greenberg of Marietta, brother of Richard Greene, on Dec. 19.Lea Katz, 96, of Stroudsburg, Pa., mother of Temple Kol Emeth member Caron Manley, on Dec. 24.Jordan Krebs, 85, of Conyers, father of Brian Krebs and Randi Russell, on Dec. 17.Frederick Levy, 79, of Woodstock, Congregation Beth Shalom member and father of Jill Levy and Jay Levy, on Jan. 4.Herbert Mendel of Atlanta, father of Lance Mendel, Steve Mendel and Brian Mendel, on Dec. 31.Marilyn Myerson, 92, of Atlanta, mother of Temple Sinai member Lorie Lewis, on Dec. 26.Irina Pedan of Norcross on Dec. 24.Sarabelle Rudick, 96, of Atlanta, mother of Arthur Rudick, on Jan. 4.Suzanne Weens of Atlanta on Dec. 27.
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www.atlantajewishtimes.comOBITUARIES – MAY THEIR MEMORIES BE A BLESSINGCLOSING THOUGHTS
ACROSS1. Brother of Gad6. Rodriguez in Steven Levitan’s “Modern Family”10. Make like a mohel14. Decided on schnitzel over cholent, e.g.15. Doubled month16. Foreign currency often exchanged in Israel17. Hanging hand18. Like the Negev19. Ruler in “Fiddler on the Roof”20. Minister of defense during the 1982 Lebanon War23. Insect for Paul Rudd24. Many a gap-year student in Israel25. Need a refuah26. “Joan of ___,” 1999 Leelee Sobieski role28. Gefilte fish alternative to carp30. Like Abrams’ “Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens”34. What strong security can do37. Slapper Seinfeld might cause39. Walk through the Jordan40. “Go, Maccabi!”41. Sister to those in this puzzle?44. Some kosher caviar45. “___ the Light,” Mandy Moore song in “Tangled”47. Like a hand-me-down pair of tefillin48. What some Jews hope to do over the green line50. Bamba ingredient52. What Garfield and Goldlum do53. Classic alt-rock band whose only show in Israel was in 199554. Sara, to Bibi56. Sound that epitomizes treif60. Arm of Israel62. Great 20th century lion Rav and author?66. What can be visible in the distance from the Pico-
Robertson area68. Berra elected to the Hall of Fame the same year as Koufax69. City that seems overrun with Jews in late January70. Kind of law71. Dershowitz of note72. What IDF soldiers are trained not to do in tense situations73. Balak of Chukas-Balak, e.g.74. Like bread on Passover, e.g.75. Like some Lewis Black comments
DOWN1. 12. Perform hachnasat orchim, essentially3. Chabibi, in the U.S.4. The Torah, to Judaism5. Unlike many a Chagall in people’s homes6. Great rabbinic vintner7. Like the Olympic performance of Sarah Hughes8. Quarterback Derek on Mark Davis’ team9. Cookie that has an OU-D but isn’t technically dairy10. Prepare a Shabbat table11. Style of prayer started by 36-Down12. Hezbollah funder13. Haifa has one21. Like “Eicha”22. Be a nudnik27. Like new IDF soldiers29. Moshav southwest of Jerusalem30. Vulcan mind ___31. Slippery swimmer32. Baal, e.g.33. Started a drive, like Corey Pavin34. IV item from Magen David Adom
35. “___ on Down the Road” (song in Lumet’s “The Wiz”)36. Mystical 16th century rabbi37. Paul Stanley’s band38. Golda Meir ___ Mabovitch42. In a ___ (working the same job six days a week)43. Airer of the anti-Israel show “Quantico”46. Sderot to Beit Shemesh dir.49. Society in the days of King Solomon, perhaps51. She played Ulla in 2005’s “The Producers”52. Make like a child at a seder54. Shia’s “Transformers” co-star55. Kind of charger? (for short)57. Comic Glazer of “Broad City”58. Former Tel Aviv Mayor Mordechai59. Amar’e Stoudamire was one, once60. “Oy, we’re in trouble”61. Avodah ___63. Title character in a Spielberg film64. “The motto,” according to a 2011 song by Drake65. Equipment for 37-Down67. 2003 Jon Favreau directed family film
Rosh Chodesh Shevat begins at sundown Sunday, Jan. 10. Each month on the Hebrew calendar
offers us guidance for how to live our lives, according to the Sefir Yetzirah (Book of Formation).
Shevat’s Zodiac sign is Aquarius, Hebrew letter tzadi, ruling planet Saturn, tribe Asher, sense taste, and controlling organ stomach. Our task this month is to move away from self-serving desires and use our divine abilities as a bridge between the higher spiritual realms and the lower material domain.
Tu B’Shevat, the 15th day of Shevat, marks the full moon and is the new year of the trees.
We are similar to these trees, with some parts hidden and some revealed. We have roots at our foundation, be-neath the surface, as well as spiritual souls, like a Tree of Life, that are not observable.
Like tree trunks, our physical bod-ies are visible, and we reach upward and outward with our branches. As we mature, we bear fruit. Rather than just hoard our bounty, we learn to share with others to help feed the hungers of the world.
Aquarius is an air sign, represent-ed by the water carrier. The constella-tion in the sky suggests the figure of man on the right and on the left, the vessel from which he spills overflow-ing water.
The month of Aquarius is associ-ated with abundance and bliss. We’re intended to hone our unique gifts and pour them over the universe in an act of sharing.
The positive traits of Aquarians include being quick-witted, deep think-ers who enjoy the company of like-minded people. They are bequeathed with natural intelligence, are frequent-ly at the helm of causes, and are loved by many. They are innovative, creative intellectuals who are unconventional in their approach to life.
Humphrey Bogart and Oprah Winfrey are famous Aquarians.
The negative aspects of this sign include that Aquarians seem to be in love with love itself. Often, they are emotionally disconnected from others and can appear aloof. Many are lonely and fearful of giving up their free-dom. They seem to travel their own path and can exhibit a dark nature or humor.
We must look within ourselves to balance these energies.
Vessel of AbundanceThe letter is tzadi, related to tzadik
(righteous one). The qualities represent those for whom justice is valued.
Saturn is the ruling planet. If Aquarius is the funnel in which spirituality is drawn down from the heavens to the earth, Saturn offers the structure that expands the knowledge into spiritual teachings that become the actions of those realizing the soul’s
purpose.The tribe is Asher, to which
Joshua gave the fertile land of Galilee. With abundant rainfall and a cooler climate, the tribe prospered, primarily from the olive oil that came from that region. This speaks to using the gifts we have to create abundance.
Taste is the featured sense. It is customary to try a new fruit this month or eat from the Seven Species, abundant in Israel during biblical times. These foods are wheat, barley, grapes, figs, pomegranates, olives and dates (honey).
We are not allowed to eat the first fruit on trees for three years. The fourth year’s fruit is for G-d, then we may eat from them during the fifth year. How much sweeter the taste when we have exercised self-control and discipline.
The stomach, the controlling organ, digests the food that has been consumed. In Chinese medicine, the stomach is not a single organ. It is paired with the spleen and is part of a five-organ system that digests, eliminates and regulates important functions in the body and affects emo-tional states. This process mirrors the importance of using each of our skills and combining them with others for a desired positive effect.
Meditation focus: Awaken from wintry slumber in the darkness and imagine the light of our ancestors shining down upon you. The water carrier collects the sustenance of the Jewish people and tips it over. See yourself as a vessel, waiting to be filled with that light and wisdom of the ages. Receive it. Taste the sweetness of life, digest its meaning, excrete the waste that doesn’t serve a purpose, and pay attention to the holiness that is pres-ent with us all of the time. ■
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