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Page 4 THE JEWISH GEORGIAN September-October 2012 It is time to think about those messages you send Life is a road upon which all of us travel. There are detours, bumps, pleasures, problems, opportunities, and challenges. It is a physical and mental endeavor that requires expenditure of effort and planning, and it is a venture that is influenced by our society, minds, education, and understanding. Traversing the course is not one continuous action, but, while it is a constant, it is one that requires a pacing of effort and understanding. It is one that demands of us a renewal of values, lest we focus on activities at the expense of morally correct achievements. The mind and body require some form of relief from the tedium of the daily routine with its mental and physical demands. Sleep provides such a relief, as do days off and vacations, but these are activities directed toward the renewal of physical strength and, hopefully, attitude. Mostly, these activities deal with the release of tensions, revitalizing energy, and just plain enjoyment. But what is it that reminds us to take time for personal introspection? What goads us to stop and consider our code of conduct- ––what it is and how we measure up to it in our actual activities? There does not have to be just one motivator, but human nature is such that we normally do not get off of the merry-go-round of life unless it is a calendar item. As Jews, however, we have a program in our DNA that THE Jewish Georgian The Jewish Georgian is published bimonthly by Eisenbot, Ltd. It is written for Atlantans and Georgians by Atlantans and Georgians. Publisher Marvin Botnick Co-Publisher Sam Appel Editor Marvin Botnick Managing Editor Marsha C. LaBeaume Assignment Editor Carolyn Gold Consulting Editor Gene Asher Associate Editor Barbara Schreiber Copy Editor Ray Tapley Assistant Copy Editor Arnold Friedman Makeup Editor Terri Christian Production Coordinator Terri Christian Designer David Gaudio Photographic Staff Allan Scher, Jonathan Paz Graphic Art Consultant Karen Paz Columnist Gene Asher, Jonathan Barach, Janice Rothschild Blumberg, Marvin Botnick, David Geffen, Carolyn Gold, Jonathan Goldstein, R.M. Grossblatt, Marice Katz, Balfoura Friend Levine, Marsha Liebowitz, Bubba Meisa, Erin O’Shinsky, Reg Regenstein, Susan Robinson, Stuart Rockoff, Roberta Scher, Jerry Schwartz, Leon Socol, Rabbi Reuven Stein, Cecile Waronker Special Assignments Lyons Joel Advertising Anne Bender Ruby Grossblatt Editorial Advisory Board Members Sam Appel Rabbi Alvin Sugarman Sam Massell Jane Axelrod Albert Maslia William Rothschild Gil Bachman Michael H. Mescon Marilyn Shubin Asher Benator Paul Muldawer Doug Teper 8495 Dunwoody Place, Suite 100 Atlanta, GA 30350 (404) 236-8911 • FAX (404) 236-8913 jewishga@bellsouth.net www.jewishgeorgian.com The Jewish Georgian ©2012 BY Marvin Botnick activates our messaging system at this time of the year. For it is during the Days of Awe that we are prodded into a reflective posture; a period when we remove ourselves from the chase for worldly success and seek meaning and understanding of ourselves and our actions. And, boy, do we need this. Being a Jew is much broader than reading prayers and attending services. It demands and commands us to live a righteous life devoted to justice, fairness, and understanding. We are to protect the innocent, advocate for the needy, strive for civility and equality, and do nothing, either intentionally or unintentionally, to malign others. In my mind, one of the most critical reviews that we need to make is how we deal with stories about others. Today, we are being faced with an explosion of mass communication, social networking, and radio and television talk shows with very little accountability for content. And too many of us are blithely acting as enablers and conduits in passing misinformation or misrepresentations to others. It is so easy to push a forward button and send hurtful statements about someone to our “friends,” and for what purpose? We may “Propaganda is neutrally defined as a systematic form of purposeful persuasion that attempts to influence the emotions, attitudes, opinions, and actions of specified target audiences for ideological, political or commercial purposes through the controlled transmission of one-sided messages (which may or may not be factual) via mass and direct media channels.” think that what we pass on is funny or innocent—-in some cases, but not in all cases, we have no intent to do any harm—-but it does do harm, and it is against our beliefs and morals. We need to remember that we are forbidden to use true speech for wrongful purposes, and that it is forbidden to make untrue remarks. Of all people, Jews should know the pain and suffering that has been endured by our people over the centuries by just such action. We have been isolated, murdered, imprisoned, tortured, expelled, and dehumanized by others employing many tactics, including polemics, to stigmatize us as a bad, immoral, and licentious people. Words, in and of themselves, are merely an assemblage of lines designated as letters to which we assign definitions for the purpose of communicating, and, as such, they do not Richard Alan Nelson have any intrinsic power. It is the use of the words that is critical. Sometimes it is difficult to perceive the difference between information and propaganda, but it is critical that we recognize and understand this dichotomy. According to Richard Alan Nelson, “Propaganda is neutrally defined as a systematic form of purposeful persuasion that attempts to influence the emotions, attitudes, opinions, and actions of specified target audiences for ideological, political or commercial purposes through the controlled transmission of one-sided messages (which may or may not be factual) via mass and direct media channels.” How dangerous is this? We all know of the horrific terror and inhuman actions of Nazi Germany. Through the implementation of such weapons as propaganda, this group of rabble was able to rise from an obscure contingent to a major world power. And it was Joseph Goebbles, Reich Minister of Propaganda in Nazi Germany, who orchestrated and implemented this program. Here is part of a speech he delivered on January 9, 1928: “Success is the important thing. Propaganda is not a matter for average minds, but rather a matter for practitioners. It is not supposed to be lovely or theoretically correct. I do not care if I give wonderful, aesthetically elegant speeches, or speak so that women cry. The point of a political speech is to persuade people of what we think right. I speak differently in the provinces than I do in Berlin, and when I speak in Bayreuth, I say different things than I say in the Pharus Hall. That is a matter of practice, not of theory. We do not want to be a movement of a few straw brains, but rather a movement that can conquer the broad masses. Propaganda should be popular, not intellectually pleasing. It is not the task of propaganda to discover intellectual truths.” Can you imagine what he could have done with e-mails and social media programs? At that time, the radio was the mechanism for mass communication. He was quoted as saying, “I consider radio to be the most modern and the most crucial instrument for influencing the masses.” So as we reevaluate our actions and seek to reinforce our belief in our duty and responsibility not to gossip or be a party to meanspirited, spurious actions, let us all make an effort to think about what we are transmitting to others. Do we know the truth in the information we are circulating, and to what good, positive purpose does such action on our part serve?
September-October 2012 THE JEWISH GEORGIAN Page 5 What’s HAPPENING HAPPY 100TH BIRTHDAY, DR. VELKOFF. Dr. Abe Velkoff’s kids threw a wonderful 100th birthday celebration for the centenarian at Park Place. Not too many of his peers were there, but the room was filled with loving family and friends, there to pay tribute to the legendary ob/gyn. His charming daughters, Debbie Gussoff and Ann Podber, did all the work, and Michael and his lovely wife, Sandra, flew in for the affair from Northern California’s Marin County, “land of redwoods and burned-out rock stars,” as he put it. Helen Alexander was there with her son, journalist and correspondent Art Harris, and his wife, Carol Martin. Art, along with Helen’s other kids, Alex Harris, Sophie Joel, and Jill Brown, were among the 5,000 or so babies delivered by Dr V. Indeed, at his 94th birthday party, which we were privileged to attend, it seemed that every time someone walked by him, he’d say, “I delivered her [or him].” Art gets the prize for the best birthday card, which congratulated “a legend that really delivers.” As Art quipped, “The operation was a success, but the patient cried.” As a surgeon in the Pacific Theater of World War II, Dr. V and his team saved the lives of hundreds, if not thousands, of GIs wounded in the brutal battles of New Guinea and the Philippines. Michael went to Westminster with us and used to get us in all kinds of trouble. One evening, as teenagers, we sneaked into the woods, next to the house of a neighbor who was having a party, and threw firecrackers into the crowd, creating a huge uproar. Michael has settled down somewhat since then but still retains that mischievous and independent spirit. He even showed us his official California medical marijuana card. We were shocked at first but then began to wonder if a visit to Michael in San Fran might help ease our chronic pain from an old bowling injury. We look forward to seeing everyone again at Dr. Abe’s 105th celebration. Dr. Abe with his son Michael, daughter-in-law Sandra, and Herb Cohen BY Reg Regenstein HAPPY 88TH BIRTHDAY TO DR. JERRY BERMAN. Dr. Jerome David Berman is a youngster compared to Dr. Abe, but he turns 88 in November, and we wish him all the best. During his three decades practicing in Sandy Springs, with four other nice Jewish doctors, the pediatrician cared for and nurtured thousands of children, many of them delivered by Dr. Abe. A Native Atlantan, Dr. Berman graduated from Emory Medical School, in 1948. Because of an inherited form of glaucoma, he suddenly went blind in 1982. But after a period of deep depression, Dr. Berman used his personal loss to help improve the lives of thousands of visually impaired kids. In 1985, he founded an amazingly successful project at Atlanta’s Center for the Visually Impaired, which has become the most acclaimed and outstanding comprehensive, early-intervention program for preschoolers in the Southeast. Known as BEGIN (Babies Early Growth Intervention Network), it has worked with and helped over 1,500 infants and toddlers under the guidance of Dr. Berman. Dr. Berman was the first blind individual to receive a master’s degree from Emory University’s School of Public Health. He was twice named honorary president of the Georgia Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics. As if to demonstrate his leadership and skills, in 1996, Dr. Berman carried the Olympic torch on the day before the start of the Olympic Games in Atlanta. This past April, Dr. Berman was honored with two prestigious awards. The alumni association of Atlanta’s old Boys High School (from which he graduated in 1942) gave him a special award of merit. A few days later, the Emory University School of Medicine Alumni Foundation recognized his 30+ years of service to the community. Dr. Berman has been an inspirational speaker for 28 years, having given some 750 speeches to hundreds of local businesses, civic groups, and organizations on behalf of United Way and the Center for the Visually Impaired, raising millions of dollars for greater Atlanta service organizations. Dr. Berman has the distinction of being the United Way’s longest-serving vol- unteer speaker. “I give the same speech,” he says, “but it raises the money.” He and his late wife, Betty, produced three brilliant and successful daughters: Sally Berman is a professional violinist in Los Angeles; Dr. Karen Berman Accettura is a professor at Georgia College & State University, in Milledgeville, where she is chair of the Department of Theater and Drama; and Ellen Berman Fix is a writer. Dr. Berman is also blessed, he says, somehow to have “the world’s two greatest grandkids, Shayna and Raphael Fix, who are students at UGA.” STEVE’S LIVE MUSIC. Music maven Steve Grossman has just opened a new music venue in Sandy Springs, Steve’s Live Music, with great performances, delicious food, and a wonderful, intimate, friendly, welcoming atmosphere. It’s the perfect place to enjoy serious music. Steve’s features fabulous international and American folk music, including jazz, blues, bluegrass, Dixieland, Klezmer, Irish, Celtic, polka, and lots of other great styles. One recent performance featured AA Rabbi Laurence Rosenthal and his blues group. Steve, a New Orleans native, moved here 24 years ago to be education director at Ahavath Achim Synagogue, but his true love has always been music, especially folk music. Now he is pursuing his dream, while providing great entertainment for our community. Steve’s is located at 234 Hilderbrand, near the west corner of Roswell Road, behind Rumi’s Kitchen. Check it out at www.Steveslivemusic.com and on Facebook (www.facebook.com/StevesLiveMusic). Or call 404-418-6667 for reservations and performance schedules. Steve Grossman (from left), his wife, Heleen, and son Rami SALLY KELLERMAN WOWS ATLANTA AUDIENCES. Sally Kellerman’s weekend July performances at Jerry Farber’s Side Door, next to Buckhead’s Landmark Diner, were a huge success. Friday and Saturday night’s shows, starring “Hot Lips Houlihan,” of M*A*S*H*, were sellouts, as were the Sunday film and readings events. All this success was the result of the hard work of Atlanta attorney and impresario extraordinaire Howard Osofsky, who arranged Kellerman’s trip, the publicity, a room donated by the wonderful Four Seasons Hotel, and cars lent by Jim Ellis automobile dealerships. Howard’s next project is an even bigger challenge—to try to get Jerry’s house out of foreclosure. Sally Kellerman, Jerry Farber, Howard Osofsky SOUTH GEORGIA GAL MAKING THE BIG TIME. One of our favorite regular comics at Jerry’s club is Chesta Drake, a charming and delightful small-town gal from Pearson, in S o u t h Georgia. Chesta attributes her success to Jerry, whom she calls “a one-man Chesta Drake J e w i s h department of peace; he offers opportunities to charities and individuals of all faiths and backgrounds.” Chesta loves animals and spends much of her time volunteering for animal welfare and rescue projects. In fact, she says, “attending a meeting for animal welfare is how I met Jerry Farber. This was at a benefit for Debra Berger’s wonderful group, The Georgia Center for Humane Education. He had offered his club as a meeting place, and he had offered his stage to any of us who wanted to perform music or comedy. Nervously, I accepted his offer. He liked me and invited me back for the weekend, and he hasn’t been able to get rid of me since.” You can catch Chesta’s act most nights at Jerry’s club. YOU AIN’T NOTHIN BUT A POUND DOG. As a huge fan of The King, we really got a kick out of Debra Berger’s invitation to a fabulous joint fundraiser for her group, the Georgia Center for Humane Education (GCHE), and for the GA SPCA’s 3rd annual “You Ain’t nothing but a Pound Dog” event. It is part of the animal welfare and rescue group’s statewide “Love Me Tender/Don’t Be Cruel” Elvis Presley Campaign. It was a really fun event, featuring a great Elvis impersonator, as well as celebrity guest host Holly Firfer, a star of CNN, HLN, and CNN Airport Network, covering news headlines, travel features, medical See HAPPENING, page 6
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