Balfoura Friend Levine - The Jewish Georgian

Page 18 THE JEWISH GEORGIAN November-December 2006
A Jewish Georgian in Washington
The Jewish community lost a good
friend recently. Saul Viener died in Atlanta
on July 25, after 85 years filled with love for
his people and his country, expressing it
with devoted service literally until his final
moments.
I first met Saul decades ago when he
was president of the American Jewish
Historical Society, but later came to know
him and his delightful wife, Jackie, much
better in connection with the Southern
Jewish Historical Society. Saul was the
prime organizer and first president of SJHS,
now in its thirtieth year, a large measure of
its success having been brought about by
his steady guidance and ever-ready generosity
of time, effort, and material support.
Although Saul lived in Richmond until
the last few years, much of the Society’s
leadership came from Georgia, even at the
beginning. Historian Louis Schmier of
Valdosta and the late B. H. Levy of
Savannah were among its initial organizers.
Others who contributed early leadership
were Kay Kole of Savannah, Gus and
Marian Kaufman of Macon, and Dorothy
Hamburger of Atlanta, who chaired the
SJHS annual conference there in 1993.
The Political Climate In
Latin America Is Shifting...
As more countries elect left-leaning leaders, what will the
impact be for the Jews of Latin America?
Will repercussions be felt around the world?
Join Montevideo, Uruguay-based
Dr. Eduardo Kohn, B’nai B’rith International
Director of Latin American
Affairs, for an up close and personal
look at how the Jews in Latin America
are faring. Throughout his years with
BBI, Dr. Kohn has been involved in
analyzing and addressing the ripple
effect of Latin American politics on
Israel, the U.N., and the world.
BY
Janice Rothschild
Blumberg
EVENT DATE:
Thursday, December 7, 2006, 7:30p.m.
SPEAKER:
Dr. Eduardo Kohn, B’nai B’rith International
Director of Latin American Affairs
TOPIC:
The Rise of the Left in Latin America –
What Does it Mean for Jews?
LOCATION:
Temple Sinai, 5645 Dupree Drive NW
Atlanta, Georgia
The event is co-sponsored by
Achim/Gate City Lodge, Temple Sinai
and Congregation Or Hadash.
Reservations are requested. Please RSVP to mglick@bnaibrith.org or
800-394-8108. Light refreshments will be served. Free and open to the public.
Historian Mark K. Bauman of Atlanta is
now editor of the Society’s scholarly journal,
Southern Jewish History, and three of
its former presidents—Beryl Weiner, Bruce
Beeber, and I—claim Atlanta as our home.
All of us owe a great debt to Saul Viener
for his help and encouragement as we went
about our stewardship of SJHS. He was a
quiet man. Soft spoken. We never heard him
raise his voice, no matter how heated a discussion
became. The wisdom of his words
and the strength of his conviction gave his
argument all the force that was needed, and,
more often than not, his opinion prevailed.
Saul was a passionate promoter of
Jewish values—history, tzedakah, and
tikkun olam in whatever form, along whatever
route seemed best, and not for Jews
alone. His Jewish values transcended
Jewish causes, reached out to all humanity.
A successful businessman by profession, he
somehow found time to pursue his scholarly
interests as if he were fully employed in
academia, while at the same time providing
leadership to organizations national,
statewide, and in his longtime home city of
Richmond, Virginia. Among them were the
Virginia Historical Society, the Virginia
Museum of Fine Arts, Virginia
Commonwealth University, the Richmond
Jewish Community Council, and that city’s
historic Congregation Beth Ahabah, with its
celebrated museum and archives, which he
was largely responsible for establishing.
Little known, but of significant value to
Jewish communities throughout America,
was Saul Viener’s assistance in creating the
Joint Cultural Appeal, in which Jewish cultural
agencies were for the first time included
in allocations by Jewish federations. He
was also a major influence in establishing
the National Center for Jewish Film, which
restores and preserves Yiddish films, as well
as the America-Holy Land Project, a program
between the American Jewish
Historical Society and the Hebrew
University of Jerusalem devoted to gathering
and publicizing material documenting
relationships that existed between America
and pre-state Israel. He was truly a man for
all seasons.
In 2008, Atlanta is again scheduled to
host the annual conference of the Southern
Jewish Historical Society. With Emory
University as co-sponsor, it promises to be a
landmark event, a memorable experience
for all who attend. But those of us who have
attended previous conferences will be keenly
aware of one strong presence that is missing.
Saul Viener, whose failing health prevented
him from attending last year’s conference,
will not be present in person, but he
will always be there in spirit and in our
memory. He exemplified both the Southern
gentleman and the Jewish mensch in their
finest form.