The Center Line A JOINT PUBLICATION OF THE AUGUSTA JEWISH COMMUNITY CENTER & AUGUSTA JEWISH FEDERATION

September-October 2013 ▪ Elul-Cheshvan 5773 ▪ Edition 11 Volume 5

Presents

EthanBortnick.com www.aug.edu/pat

Twelve year old Ethan Bortnick has moved audiences nationally and internationally as a pianist, composer, singer and entertainer. He made history as the youngest entertainer to headline a show in Las Vegas. This amazing youngster has shared the stage with such legends as Elton John, Beyonce and Barbra Streisand, and was a highlighted guest on both Oprah and the Tonight Show with Jay Leno. Ethan has become a sensation. His wit, charm and musical ability have sold out shows worldwide. To learn more about his story, go to EthanBortnick.com, then make plans to join us on October 19th at the Maxwell Performing Arts Theatre on the GRU Augusta Campus. To order tickets, please visit www.aug.edu/pat

Ethan Bortnick Concert Sponsors Concert Masters David & Meryl Alalof • Augusta Pain Management • Michael & Sandra Carraway Elliott Sons Funeral Homes • Steven Nathan • Taylor BMW • Washington Road Self Storage 1st Chairs Drs. Bill & Nettie Albrecht • Ron & Judy Altman • Asparagus Soap Company • Augusta Center for Psychological Services Augusta Jewish Federation • Dr. Bob & Lelia Botnick • Drs. Michael & Jackie Cohen • Drs. Murray & Sandra Freedman Doug & Vera Frohman • GE Foundation • Al & Lily Grinspun • Harvey & Alaine Handfinger • Dr. Gary & Debbie Katcoff Queensborough National Bank & Trust • Alan & Paula Schwartzman • Joel & Barbara Shapiro • Susan Steinberg

For your gift to the 2013 Campaign Together We Do Extraordinary Things!

$261,351

AJF 2013 Campaign - Together We Do Extraordinary Things!

Angel

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$10,000 and up

Brian Marks Milton & Margie Ruben

Founder

$7500 - $9999

Dr. Robert & Lelia Botnick

Guardian

$5000 - $7499

Ronald & Louise Aronow *Dr. Howard & Connie Bruckner *Jack & Tina Weinstein Dr. Morton & Boots Wittenberg

Redeemer

$2500 - $4999

David & Meryl Alalof *Drs. Michael & Jackie Cohen Gene & Lucille Fleischer Drs. Murray & Sandra Freedman Al & Lily Grinspun *Dr. Gary & Debbie Katcoff Arthur & Jackie Miller Mildred Peskin Charles & Leah Ronen Dr. Lou & Dot Scharff Abram & Cookie Serotta *Dr. Paul & Rae Wallach

Builder

$1000 - $2499

Dr. Henry & Annie Alperin James & Amy Bernstein Dr. Ziva Bruckner *Karel Copenhaver James & Cynthia Eiring Dr. Richard Epter Doug & Vera Frohman *Jack & Cathy Goldenberg *Harvey & Alaine Handfinger Dr. Ian & Claudine Heger *Sonny Levy Dr. Stuart & Susan Marks *Jay Pearlstein Dr. William & Marjorie Phillips Louis & Elaine Saul *Jack & Jackie Shapiro *Mary Steinberg Stephen & Joan Steinberg Susan Steinberg *Dr. Warren & Jean Umansky *Mark Weinberger *Dr. Manuel & Shirley Weisman Dr. Leonard & Frankie Wilensky

Sustainer $500 - $999 Anonymous *Drs. Bill & Nettie Albrecht Dr. Deborah Bashinski Dr. Morris & Lisa Cohen Dr. Ronald & Eileen Daitch *Stephen & Debby Davis Ann-Toni Estroff Dr. Jack Ginsburg Barbara Goldberg *Paul & Helene Graboff *Jules & Charlotte Joslow *Joey & Jill Korn Monroe & Cindy Levine

Mort & Hildegard Lindner *Steven Nathan *Alan & Paula Schwartzman Mike Shapiro Norman Shapiro Dr. Hy & Betty Sussman Gene & Elaine Weinberger Pam Weinberger

Patron

$100 - $499

Anonymous Ila Abramovitz Adath Yeshurun Synagogue, Aiken Robert & Sandy Alman *Ron & Judy Altman Jeff Annis Sam & Joan Arazie Mickey & Dr. Tracy Barefield Doris Baumgarten Jim & Jean Benedict Charles & Marion Blair *Dr. David & Alissa Bogorad Matthew Bronson Dr. Askiel Bruno & Susan Salisbury Hillarie Clein Joan Clein Hal Cohen Dorothy Daitch *Fred & Lisa Daitch Dr. Stevin Dubin Dr. Celia Dunn Harriet Ehrlich Dr. Stanley & Joanne Etersque Rabbi Zalman & Chani Fischer Steven & Cathy Fishman Eric Fleishner Sylvia Fogel Betty Frank Dr. Lee & Ena Getter Mark Ghingold Maurice & Shirley Ghingold *Dr. Steven & Marsha Goldberg Marc & Pamela Gottlieb Marlene Groman *Bruce Gulko Dr. Melvin Haas *Roland & Caroline Haskins Craig Jacobs *Peter Goldberg & Dr. Lynn Jaffe Judge Isaac & Myrna Jolles *Cantine Jones Ed Kahal Dr. Aman Kay & Loretta Levi Jack & Linda Korn Alan & Jennifer Kortick *Maurice Kortick Dr. Jonathan Krauss Nathaniel & Elaine Kruskol *Burt & June Kunkel Ernest Levinson Joseph & Marisa Levy Terry Liebowitz Dr. Rhea-Beth Markowitz Henrietta Marks Boris & Dr. Yulia Melenevsky Michael & Dr. Lisa Montarbo

raised so far! Arnold Newman Janet Newman Dr. Julian Nussbaum Gertie Parille Robert Podolsky Annabelle Pomerance Anne Pomper Elliot & Bonnie Price *Dr. Michael Prisant Troy Rader & Cynthia Stein Irene Rudnick David St. Martin & Gail Erlitz Sue Saul Mary Sawilowsky Michael & Robin Scharff Henry & Donna Scheer Bernice Schlifka Anne Schneider Dr. Paul Schwartz Marion Shapiro Sandy Shapiro *Carolyn Shoemaker Jonathan & Jennifer Shoenholz Randy Siegelson Myrna Silver *Rabbi David & Stacy Sirull Joel & Gerri Sobel Drs. Lionel & Diane Solursh Jack & Carol Steinberg Arlene Sukloff Stephen & Peppy Surasky Scott E. Walkowitz Richard & Phyllis Weinstein Lloyd & Judy Wepman Jeff & Vicki Wolf Harvey & Marilyn Yarmon

Friend

Under $100

Anonymous Ina K. Abramson Max & Jeanette Balotin Deborah Benenhaley Dr. Karyl Bental *Helen Bissell Martin Bogoslawsky Mary Bolgla Dr. Robin & Lelia Brigmon Bob & Audrey Chaplin Lois Cohen Michael & Judith Cohen George David Brian Estroff Eva Falk *Dr. Gregory Francisco Sheila Goodman Peaches Graves Marlene Groman Jon & Robin Guy Marian Harelik *Lori Harrell Eric & Sandra Helling Jan Hillman Drs. Bob & Bette Holzberg *Kevin Jay

Your Federation Dollars at Work! Jewish Agency brings 17 Yemenite Jews to Israel in covert mission

Friend Under $100 (Continued)

(Israel Hayom/Exclusive to JNS.org) As tensions run high and instability mounts in Yemen, the Jewish Agency for Israel on Wednesday orchestrated a complex covert mission, spanning two continents, to bring a group of 17 Yemenite Jews to Israel and unite several families that have been separated for the last two years. Five of the 17 Yemenite Jews landed on Wednesday, while the remaining 12, who had been smuggled to Argentina two years ago by Satmar Hassidim, were flown from there to Israel to reunite with their families. The Yemenite Jews were smuggled out of Argentina without notifying the Satmar group that had taken them in. The Jewish Agency, which coordinated the mission with several Israeli government agencies, reported that the complex operation had been prompted by concerns for the safety of Yemen’s tiny Jewish community, as extreme Muslim groups posed a constant threat. The Satmar community opposes Zionism and aims to combat immigration to Israel. In recent years, its members have smuggled Jews out of Yemen and absorbed them in various communities across the globe. The new immigrants will now be absorbed at one of the Jewish Agency absorption centers in southern Israel. Since 2009, when anti-Semitic threats began to mount in Yemen, Israel has absorbed a record 150 Yemenite Jews. In December 2008, Jewish teacher Moshe Ya’ish al-Nahari was murdered by a Muslim Yemenite activist who demanded that his victim convert to Islam. In May 2012, Jewish community leader Aharon Zindani was stabbed to death in Sanaa.

This list contains pledges received as of 8/21/2013. If you made a pledge and your name does not appear, please contact Ina Abramson at the Federation office at 706-228-3636.

An asterisk indicates an increase over 2012 pledge amount. Together these donors have increased our ability to help those less fortunate by adding a total of $6,790* to the campaign. (*Running total)

AJF Board Meetings No September Board Meeting Next Meeting: Monday, October 14, 2013 2013-2014 Federation Board President

Al Grinspun

Vice-President, Campaign Vice-President, Allocations

Jackie Cohen Debbie Katcoff

Treasurer Secretary Immediate Past President

Matthew Bronson Paul Graboff Louise Aronow

Board of Directors Louise Aronow Bob Botnick Matthew Bronson Ziva Bruckner Jackie Cohen Steve Dubin Paul Graboff Al Grinspun Claudine Heger Debbie Katcoff Louis Scharff III Joel Shapiro Susan Steinberg Jack Weinstein Ex-Officio Rabbi Zalman Fischer Rabbi Robert Klensin Rabbi David Sirull

Past Presidents/ Honorary Members David Alalof Sam Budenstein Michael Cohen Sumner Fishbein Joe Goldberg Al Grinspun Brian Marks Leon Meyer Michael Rivner Louis Scharff Ira Schneider Abram Serotta Norman Shapiro Jack Steinberg Stephen Steinberg Susan Steinberg Warren Umansky Boots Wittenberg Mort Wittenberg

Your Federation Dollars at Work! • AJF Soup Kitchen

Daniel Johnson Marvin & Harriet Kestin *Elyse Kronowksi Evelyn Lesser *Barbara Mintz Ron Molar David Neches *Joseph & Marilyn Paul Sid & Norma Prefer Jeff & Jessica Punshon *Kathy Rafoth Joel & Pat Sabel Twila Saitow Linda Schulte Shirley Seidenberg Lisa Shelton Dr. Stewart Shevitz David Silver Richard & Sheila Sorenson Terry Siegel Weaver Donna West Marc & Stacey Zuckerman

Posted on August 15, 2013 by JNS.org

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CCI High Holy Day Schedule 2013/5774 • Happy New Year!

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From the Staff of the Augusta Jewish Federation and the Augusta Jewish Community Center Congregation Children of Israel High Holy Day Schedule 2013 ROSH HASHANAH 2013

Wednesday Evening — September 4, 8:00 PM Thursday, September 5 Morning Service — 10:00 AM Children’s Service — 3:00 PM

High Holy Day Tot Shabbat

Saturday, September 7 — 10:00 AM

YOM KIPPUR 2013

Friday Evening, September 13 — Kol Nidre — 8:00 PM Saturday, September 14 Morning Service — 10:00 AM Torah Study — 1:15 PM Children’s Service — 2:00 PM Afternoon Service — 3:45 PM Yizkor (Memorial) Service — 5:45 PM* Neilah (Concluding) Service — 6:45 PM* Light Break Fast before going home to dinner –7:45 PM* *Approximate times

AYS High Holy Day Schedule 2013/5774

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Chabad of Augusta High Holy Day Schedule 2013/5774

JELF awards interest-free, need-based, last-dollar loans for higher education to full time students enrolled in undergraduate, graduate and vocational programs. JELF, in partnership with the Augusta Jewish Federation, will accept applications in September from students attending school Spring Semester 2014. Just learned about JELF? Academic program starting in the spring? Arrived at school in the fall and now realize you can’t quite make ends meet? It’s not too late! Visit the JELF website, www.jelf.org, September 1 – 30 to apply for a loan for Spring (and/or Summer) 2014.

Questions? Contact Leah Ronen at [email protected] or 706-228-3636.

Michael & Emily Israel

Jewish Journal food blogger Michael Israel stepped up to the Chopped block on Sunday, August 18 to compete in a food truck edition of the Food Network show "Chopped.” Four chefs with connections to the booming truck-food business motored into the Chopped Kitchen. The first basket with two assertively-flavored meats made for a challenging appetizer round. In the second round, the competitors made dishes that included a sugary fruit powder and a leafy vegetable. Then guanabana went into the ice cream machine in the dessert round! Chef Israel’s delectable cuisine led to his being crowned the “Chopped” champion and earning him a prize of $10,000 which he said was going to fund a vacation he and his wife would take to Israel. Michael's blog at jewishjournal.com, Kosher Bacon, reinterprets and reimagines the encyclopedia of Jewish foods and ingredients with a modern sensibility. He and his wife Emily have done the same in the L.A. area food truck, MOE Eggrolls, which rolls around town serving up kosher Montreal style egg rolls. And -- because they have sooo much time on their hands -- they also hold a weekly pop up at the Wine House, Fress. Michael continued the "Chopped" winning streak established by another Jewish Journal contributor and LA kosher chef, Katsuji Tanabe (pictured right), who also took home the $10,000 “Chopped” prize in a recent episode.

Growing Families • JELF Loans • CCI Youth Group Car Wash

COMING SOON JELF Loan Application for Spring Semester 2014

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Across Forbidden Border, Doctors in Israel Quietly Tend to Syria’s Wounded

By ISABEL KERSHNER Published: August 5, 2013

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NAHARIYA, Israel — The 3-year-old girl cried “Mama, Mama” over and over as a stranger rocked her and tried to comfort her. She had been brought from Syria to the government hospital in this northern Israeli town five days earlier, her face blackened by what doctors said was probably a firebomb or a homemade bomb. In the next bed, a girl, 12, lay in a deep sleep. She had arrived at the pediatric intensive care unit with a severe stomach wound that had already been operated on in Syria, and a hole in her back. Another girl, 13, has been here more than a month recovering from injuries that required complex surgery to her face, arm and leg. She and her brother, 9, had gone to the supermarket in their village when a shell struck. Her brother was killed in the attack. As fighting between Syrian government forces and rebels has raged in recent months in areas close to the Israeli-held Golan Heights, scores of An Israeli girl, left, and a Syrian girl, wounded in her country’s civil war, Syrian casualties have been discreetly spirited across the hostile frontier meeting at the Western Galilee Hospital in Nahariya, Israel, where scores for what is often lifesaving treatment in Israel, an enemy country. of Syrians have been taken for treatment. Most are men in their 20s or 30s, many of them with gunshot wounds who presumably were involved in the fighting. But in recent weeks there have been more civilians with blast wounds, among them women and children who have arrived alone and traumatized. Israel has repeatedly declared a policy of nonintervention in the Syrian civil war, other than its readiness to strike at stocks of advanced weapons it considers a threat to its security. Officials have also made clear that Israel would not open its increasingly fortified border to an influx of refugees, as Turkey and Jordan have, given that Israel and Syria officially remain in a state of war. But the Israeli authorities have sanctioned this small, low-profile humanitarian response to the tragedy taking place in Syria, balancing decades of hostility with the demands of proximity and neighborliness. “Most come here unconscious with head injuries,” said Dr. Masad Barhoum, the director general of the Western Galilee Hospital here in Nahariya, on the Mediterranean coast six miles south of the Lebanese border. “They wake up after a few days or whenever and hear a strange language and see strange people,” he said. “If they can talk, the first question is, ‘Where am !?’” He added, “I am sure there is an initial shock when they hear they are in Israel.” The identity of the patients is closely guarded so they will not be in danger when they return to Syria. Soldiers sit outside the wards where the adults are to protect them from possible threats and prying journalists. But doctors granted access to the children in the closed intensive care wing, on the condition that no details that could compromise their safety were published. Like many Israeli hospitals, this one serves a mixed population of Jews and Arabs; its staff includes Arabic-speaking doctors, nurses and social workers. In the lobby, a glass display case contains the remnants of a Katyusha rocket that was fired from Lebanon and hit the hospital’s eye department during the 2006 war between Israel and Hezbollah. The rocket penetrated four floors but nobody was injured because all the north-facing wards had been moved underground. With more than 100,000 people estimated to have died in the Syrian civil war, Dr. Barhoum, an Arab Christian citizen of Israel, acknowledged that the Israeli medical assistance was “a drop in the ocean.” But he said he was proud of the level of treatment his teams could provide and proud to be a citizen of a country that allowed him to treat every person equally. He said the cost of the treatment so far had amounted to hundreds of thousands of dollars and would be paid for by the Israeli government. Since late March, almost 100 Syrians have arrived at two hospitals in Galilee. Forty-one severely wounded Syrians have been treated here at the Western Galilee Hospital, which has a new neurosurgical unit as well as pediatric intensive care facilities. Two of them have died, 28 have recovered and been transferred back to Syria, and 11 remain here. An additional 52 Syrians have been taken to the Rebecca Sieff Hospital in the Galilee town of Safed. The latest, a 21-year-old man with gunshot and shrapnel wounds, arrived there on Saturday. A woman, 50, arrived Friday with a piece of shrapnel lodged in her heart and was sent to the Rambam hospital in the northern port city of Haifa for surgery. Little has been revealed about how they get here, other than that the Israeli military runs the technical side of the operation. The doctors say all they know is that Syrian patients arrive by military ambulance and that the hospital calls the army to come pick them up when they are ready to go back to Syria. The Israeli military, which also operates a field hospital and mobile medical teams along the Syrian frontier, has been reluctant to advertise these facilities, partly for fear of being inundated by more wounded Syrians than they could cope with. Lt. Col. Peter Lerner, a military spokesman, said that “a number of Syrians have come to the fence along the border in the Golan Heights with various levels of injuries.” He added that the military has, “on a purely humanitarian basis, facilitated immediate medical assistance on the ground and in some cases has evacuated them for further treatment in Israeli hospitals.” Now, efforts are under way to bring over relatives to help calm the unaccompanied children. When the 13-year-old arrived, she was in a state of fear and high anxiety, according to Dr. Zeev Zonis, the head of the pediatric intensive care unit here. “A large part of our treatment was to try to embrace her in a kind of virtual hug,” he said. Days later, the girl’s aunt arrived from Syria. She began to care for the Syrian children here, living and sleeping with them in the intensive care unit. The staff and volunteers donated clothes and gifts. The aunt, her face framed by a tight hijab, said a shell had struck the supermarket in their village suddenly, after a week of quiet. A few days later, she said, an Arab man she did not know came to the village. “He told us they had the girl,” she said. “They took me and on the way told me that she was in Israel. We got to the border. I saw soldiers. I was a little afraid.” But she added that the hospital care had been good and that “the fear has passed totally.” She was reluctant to speak about the war back home, saying only, “I pray for peace and quiet.” Sitting up in bed in a pink Pooh Bear T-shirt, the niece, who was smiling, said she missed home. She and her aunt were expected to return to Syria later this week. Asked what she will say when she goes back home, the aunt replied: “I won’t say that I was in Israel. It is forbidden to be here, and I am afraid of the reactions.” A version of this article appeared in print on August 6, 2013, on page A6 of the New York edition of The New York Times with the headline: Across Forbidden Border, Doctors in Israel Quietly Tend to Syria’s Wounded.

Which Will It Be…

or

Israel?

When Will it Be?

If you are interested in visiting the Jewish community in Cuba and/or visiting Israel in the near future, please fill out and return the form below or email Leah Ronen at [email protected] Prices are subject to change according to the number of participants. However, a ballpark figure for each trip would be $2500-$3500 per person - plus, for Cuba, airfare to Miami and for Israel, airfare to Israel. (Charter flight from Miami to Cuba is included in per person cost.)

Name Please check which dates are most convenient for you:  Cuba:

 February 2014 (dates to be determined)  February 2015 (dates to be determined) (The Cuba 10-day trip includes Havana, Guantanamo and Santiago)

 Israel:

 April 1-April 10, 2014  May 21-May 30, 2014  April 2–April 11, 2015 – Passover in Israel  May 19-May 28, 2015 – Shavuot in Israel (Length of trips may be shortened to reduce costs)

Please return this form to: Leah Ronen, AJF Executive Director, 898 Weinberger Way, Evans, GA 30809

Visit Cuba and/or Israel in 2014 and/or 2015

Cuba?

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A Most Benevolent Generosity By Jim Garvey The lobby of the Maxwell Theatre is ringing with talk and laughter. It’s 10 minutes to curtain for Pirates of Penzance. A crush of ticket holders crowds the entrance to the auditorium; others peer through the plate glass walls waiting for friends. Hardly noticed, a little man and woman, bent with age, enter the lobby. She, staring from behind thick glasses, navigates her walker slowly, deliberately across the room. “I don’t need help!” she tells a man offering assistance. She may move slowly, but don’t mistake her for an invalid. She can take care of herself, thank you. Her husband leads the way, gently attentive, finding a path through the theater-goers towering over him. The crowd flows around and past them as the couple inches along to aisle seats at ground level where there are no steps to negotiate. The long journey over, they sink into their seats and wait with everyone else for the music to begin. If you’ve ever been to an Augusta music performance of the opera, symphony, ballet or Harry Jacobs Chamber Music Society, you probably saw them there. They are as faithful as his 92 years and her 88 will allow. And if you’re a program reader, you have seen their names: Eugene and Lucille Fleischer. You have them to thank for helping pay for your tickets. As patrons of the arts in Augusta, they have underwritten the cost of many productions and kept your tickets affordable. Without people like them, the arts here would shrivel and die. When Gene and Lucy talk, you know right away they’re not from here, their gritty vowels and consonants still sounding of the Bronx. They grew up there in the 1920s and ’30s. He was the son of a watchmaker. She was a smart but lonely kid living in a miserable apartment with her widowed mother. Her escape was the library. “On Saturdays,” she remembers, “they had a room where they played the Metropolitan Opera and they gave you the libretto. And that’s how I began to love opera.” Gene was her brother’s best friend. He played the violin. She loved opera. The two became friends. “He took me to the first opera I ever saw, Norma. I think the seats cost a quarter.” “Fifty cents, kid!” he replies indignantly. “So we’re sitting in the last row of the balcony of the old Met,” she continues, “and I’m watching, and all I got out of it is they were all overweight and they all screamed and they all died.” A bit of a disappointment for the 14-year-old girl.

A Most Benevolent Generosity

Gene was a good musician, playing viola with the Liederkranz Club orchestra. But back at school, basketball games were no place for the viola, so he played tuba in the band.

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“It was the damndest thing,” he says. “The band sat downstairs, with a balcony over it, and guys up there would throw stuff into the tuba. I would have a hot dog, nickels and dimes, and be blasting away. You can play a tuba with a hot dog in it, but not very well.” Lucille was very smart. At 15 she graduated from high school and started night school at Hunter College. During the day she worked a series of low-paying clerical jobs—all there was for a girl in 1940. Gene apprenticed in his father’s watchmaker’s shop at 6th Avenue and 42nd Street learning the family trade; at night he took classes at the City College of New York. “In the meantime he kept coming from the Bronx to visit me and I figured it would just save us a lot of carfare if we got married. So don’t ask me what the man said, but supposedly we got married.” That was in 1942. The marriage she dismisses so playfully has held together for 72 years. The newlyweds rented a basement apartment for $28 a month where, within a couple of months, Gene received his “Greetings” letter from Uncle Sam. As a last fling before his Army basic training, they took a bus to the Flagler Hotel in the “Borscht Belt” of the Catskills and spent a week there.

“He was so skinny, he weighed 123 pounds. In the dining room they gave you a choice of the entrees for dinner. He ate them all. So one morning we went down and there was an extra seat there. I asked the waiter why and he said, ‘For his tapeworm.’” The Army took Gene from New Jersey to frigid Wisconsin to the San Francisco area (“protecting the Golden Gate Bridge from the Japanese”) to Texas. Lucille followed him to each posting. Gene was named battalion artist after creating a sign for the latrine: “We aim to please. You aim too, please.” His year-and-a-half in San Francisco did allow him and his young wife to attend operas and ballets. But he hated the Army, its waste of time and money and lives. He suspected that in the end he wasn’t so much needed for his skill at repairing ordnance as he was for being cannon fodder in Japan or on Okinawa. The atom bomb saved him and thousands of others from that fate. With the war ended, Gene and Lucille wanted to finish college. They decided on the University of Miami. He graduated in 1950; she continued and earned a law degree. They had a daughter and a son. They built a house. Gene watched the builders, fascinated by their work. He got a contractor’s license. All around them, Dade County was booming. Gene jumped in, forming an investment corporation, buying land and developing it. He built condos, apartments, shopping centers, hospitals. In every structure his company built, his policy was to dedicate at least one percent of the construction cost to art in the building. When she was about 10 or 11, daughter Phyllis asked her parents for riding lessons. Now that they could afford such things, they provided her with not only the lessons, but a horse as well. Phyllis was to become an accomplished horsewoman and Lucille turned out to have an extraordinary eye for horses. Soon she was buying, raising and showing hunter/jumpers. Over the next 50

years she raised more than 150 horses, mostly thoroughbreds. She had a photographic memory for bloodlines and show results. If you wanted to know who got first or second place for fences in, say, May 1976, you called Lucille. Their son, Arthur, an award-winning science student in high school in Florida, went on to Emory University and then to MCG in Augusta for his M.D. Lucille had never liked Florida (“I gave her over 20 years to get used to it,” says Gene) and, liking what they saw in Augusta, the Fleischers moved here. They bought 20 acres on then-rural Alexander Drive, built a horse barn there and raised horses. Gene met Harry Jacobs, the founder and director of the Augusta Symphony, and Nate Bindler, sculptor and violist, and soon was playing viola in the Augusta Orchestra. “It was a community symphony and it was a lot of fun,” Gene says. “Not terribly good, but a great way to keep a bunch of delinquent guys out of bars.” He played with the symphony for about 10 years. “They really improved once they were lucky enough for me to leave.” Meanwhile, Lucille opened The Augusta Chronicle one day and saw a picture of the woman who had just become president of the Augusta Opera. Something in that face carried her back to her childhood in the Bronx. “I looked at it and I said to Gene, ‘I went to high school with this lady!’” Improbable as it seemed, that woman, Elaine Feldman, was an old schoolmate. That renewed acquaintance fired Lucille’s long-dormant passion for opera again. The Fleischers have been major supporters of the Augusta Opera ever since. In 1984, the Fleischers sold their horse farm on Alexander Drive and moved to Lake Forest Drive. But what about the horses? A friend told them, “Get in your car, drive 17 miles and you’ll be in the center of the horse world.” They drove to Aiken and saw it was true. They bought 300 acres in Aiken’s horse country. It was perfect land for a horse show ground, so they built stalls for 200 horses, laid out courses and Lucille ran hunter-jumper horse shows there, eight a year. She was good at it. The shows were nationally recognized and drew riders from all up and down the East Coast. The Fleischers shared the profits from the shows with arts organizations in Aiken and Augusta. Throughout these years both Lucille and Gene became students again, auditing courses at Augusta State University: history, literature, political science, education, sociology, music...they loved it all. At last count they had taken more than 800 hours— that’s something like 266 courses, an unofficial record at ASU. They’d be taking them still if it weren’t so difficult for Lucille to get around now. “They are very generous to Augusta State,” says Helen Hendee, now retired after years as head of ASU’s Development and Alumni Relations office. “They say, ‘Whatever you need for music and the arts, just tell us.’ Every year they give to the opera program. They were avid supporters of the Cullum series. To celebrate their 55th anniversary, Gene endowed the Lucille Fleischer scholarship fund for the department of music.” Over the years they have donated something like $140,000 to ASU.

They learned that a great voice does not always ensure a great performance. Years ago, as opening night of The Mikado approached, it became obvious that one of the leads was completely unprepared, reading notes off the cuff of his gown. Bradberry fired him. The Fleischers sprang into rescue mode. They drove to Orangeburg where George Darden, an accompanist for the Met, was living at the time, and brought him back to Augusta to rehearse the new lead. The Fleischers’ financial support was crucial to the Augusta Opera and when the company was left with substantial debt, they shouldered much of it. The company’s recent decision to cease operations saddens them. Ah, but perhaps the fat lady hasn’t sung yet. Having experienced the ridiculous convolutions of many an opera plot, Lucille knows that there’s always the possibility of an unexpected turn. And even at 88, she has an idea for a doozy. “I’ve been talking to some people about forming an Augusta American Opera Company and they think it’s a good idea. It’s a company that would do just American operas. Most of the old European operas have ridiculous story lines. But American operas are mostly taken from reality, not fantasy. “It would be a new company. It wouldn’t be associated with the old Augusta Opera. I think if we tie it in with the music department at Augusta State, it would have a good chance at success. And I’m willing to put some money in it.” Gene smiles and nods. He likes the idea. He likes building things.

This article appears in the August 2013 issue of Augusta Magazine.

Gene & Lucille Fleischer

But their first love was the Augusta Opera. “I learned everything I know about opera here in Augusta,” Lucille says. Through their friendships with Elaine Feldman, artistic director Ed Bradberry and conductor Mark Flint, they learned to appreciate not only the repertoire, artistry and vocal challenges of opera, but also the behind-the-scenes nitty-gritty of staging one of these $100,000 behemoths. They travelled to New York with Bradberry once on one of his auditioning visits. They learned how to listen and what to listen for. (On this trip they also learned that their hometown could be a dangerous place: One morning Bradberry was beaten and mugged, his wallet and plane ticket stolen. The Fleischers took care of him for a couple of days and bought him a ticket home.)

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Tributes AJCC Membership Perk To the Andy Estroff Fund in memory of Marvin Estroff by Harry Butler Jr. & Family To the Adam Dunn Fund in memory of Marvin Estroff by Celia & Lisa Dunn To the Andy Estroff Fund in memory of Marvin Estroff by Lou & Elaine Saul

Jewish Humor • Tributes • Evans Fitness

To the Andy Estroff Fund in memory of Marvin Estroff by Mary Steinberg

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The Evans Fitness Club is offering AJCC members a $10/month discount for individuals and a $10/month discount for family memberships, including both parents and all kids.

To the Andy Estroff Fund in memory of Marvin Estroff by Sarabel & Ross Stemer To the Andy Estroff Fund in memory of Marvin Estroff by Vickie Walters To the Alberta Goldberg Fund in memory of James Davis, father of Stephen Davis, by Bill & Nettie Albrecht To the Adam Dunn Fund in memory of James Davis, father of Stephen Davis, by Ron & Judy Altman In memory of James Davis, father of Stephen Davis, by Gary & Debbie Katcoff

YIDDISH KOPS (JEWISH HEADS) Jews have survived for millennia with a little help from our Yiddish kops: our sachel (smarts), our creative reasoning, our unique perspective on just about everything, and of course, our humor: Oy Say, Can You See Harry and Bernie were walking their dogs to the synagogue one Friday evening. Bernie said, “They’ll never let us in with the dogs.” “Just follow my lead,” said Harry. At the door, the shammes told Harry, “No dogs allowed.” “But it’s a seeing-eye dog.” The shames said, “Sorry, I didn’t know. Okay, you can go in.” Bernie followed. Again the shames said, “No dogs allowed.” Bernie said, “But it’s my seeing-eye dog.” The shames retorted, “A seeing-eye dog? A Chihuahua?!” Bernie looked startled and said, “Oy! Is that what they gave me?”

To the Jay Weinberger Capital Improvements Fund in memory of James Davis, father of Stephen Davis, by Susan Steinberg In memory of James Davis, father of Stephen Davis, by Tina & Jack Weinstein To the Adam Dunn Fund in memory of Amos Timna by Celia & Lisa Dunn

Delivery Schedule to Augusta October 13 November 17 December 29

The 40th Anniversary of the Yom Kippur War Itzhak Brook MD The 40th anniversary of the Yom Kippur War occurs this year. The war was launched in 1973 in a surprise attack by Syria and Egypt on the holiest day of the Jewish calendar. Even though the signs of an imminent attack were noted by the Israeli intelligence, the Israeli government decided to ignore them for political and strategic reasons. Consequently, the country’s borders were very sparsely defended, creating a dangerous void on the front. The invading armies outnumbered the Israelis at a ratio of more than a hundred to one in manpower and ten to one in armor and artillery. Because the bulk of the Israel army is comprised of reservists, it took two days to mobilize and deploy the forces. During these critical days it was up to the vastly outnumbered soldiers on the front and Israeli pilots in the sky to hold the line and stall the attackers. It was the heroism and determination of these men that saved the country. Their devotion and sacrifice compensated for the woeful lack of sufficient equipment and supplies. The strategic depth of the Sinai desert and Golan Heights also provided the country the time needed to mobilize the reservists.

Assistance from the United States was instrumental in Israel’s victory. Ammunition, spare parts, armor and fighter jets reached the country at a critical moment, replenishing heavy losses and enabling Israel not only to repel the attackers but to go on the offensive, ending the war 65 miles from Cairo and 25 miles from Damascus. Moreover, the political and military commitments from the United States countered the Soviet Union which had threatened to intervene in the crisis on behalf of their Arab allies. I was a battalion physician during the Yom Kippur War. Like thousands of Israelis, I joined my battalion which had been assigned to supply the armored corps with ammunition, fuel, water and food. These soldiers risked their lives, replenishing tanks with fuel and ammunition under enemy fire. I watched them overcome countless difficulties and perform their mission, despite constant danger, many of them paying the ultimate price. It was a daily struggle for survival, requiring resourcefulness and performance despite the constant presence of fear and anxiety. This war articulated my personal definition of courage: the performance of one’s duty despite one’s fear. For Jews who lived through the Yom Kippur War, the holiest of the High Holy days will never be the same. For us, it stands not only as a day of atonement but as day of gratitude to God for the miracle of survival. It is also a time for remembering those who paid the ultimate price for preserving and protecting Israel, and will always commemorate a renewed commitment to preventing Israel from ever experiencing such a peril in the future.

Dr. Itzhak Brook is a Professor of Pediatrics in Georgetown University and the author of the book: “In the Sands of Sinai - A Physician’s Account of the Yom Kippur War.”

40th Anniversary of the Yom Kippur War

This war posed the most serious threat to the existence of Israel in modern history. Even though Israel was eventually able to achieve a military victory, the country paid a steep price, both in lives lost and in the citizenry’s confidence in their leaders and themselves. Almost three thousand soldiers gave their lives -- a ratio of one death per one thousand Israelis, a painful price for a nation of three million. Over ten thousand individuals were wounded in the 17 days of fighting. Almost every household and neighborhood was affected. The pain and sorrow felt at the time continues to this day among affected families and the broader Israeli society. Deep within the psyche of the nation, this conflict shattered the conventional wisdom of Israel’s invincibility. It also illustrated the importance of having secure and defensible borders, while highlighting the urgent need for a lasting peace between Israel and its neighbors. An important outcome of the Yom Kippur War was the creation of the 1979 peace agreement between Israel and Egypt, ending more than thirty years of conflict between the two nations.

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Adam Dunn Fund

A fund established in memory of Adam Scott Dunn to serve the youth of the AJCC. The programs supported by this fund are for educational, as well as recreational purposes.

Alberta Goldberg Fund

A fund established in memory of Alberta Goldberg for general programming needs, to help with the establishment of new programs of any kind.

family in memory of their parents to assist Augusta families participating in AJCC activities and to assist Augusta Jewish students to further their education.

Frances & Murray Schulman Playground Fund

The purpose of this fund is to establish, refurbish and repair the AJCC playground equipment.

Holocaust Memorial Fund

Established with the proceeds from a special showing of the film “Schindler’s List”. This fund provides educational programs on the Holocaust.

Jay Weinberger Capital Improvements Fund

Andy Estroff Fund

In loving memory of Andrew Roger Estroff, the Estroff family and friends generously donated to construct the Andy Estroff building at the Sibley Road Center. Today this fund is used to provide programs for teens and youths.

Biblical Garden Fund

This fund was established for the purpose of creating a biblical garden on the grounds of the AJCC.

Center Building Fund

This fund was created as an Endowment Fund for the AJCC.

Charles & Rae Silbert Fund

This fund was created by Charles and Rae Silbert, born out of their life-long love of Judaism and of young people. The income earned by this fund provides the Jewish teens of Augusta with programs, speakers and activities that serve to strengthen their love and commitment to Judaism.

This fund was created to provide funds for capital improvements to the AJCC.

Maxine Saul Goldberg Endowment

This fund was created in loving memory of former Center Director, Maxine Saul Goldberg. The income from this fund is to provide for a lecture or series of lectures by an author, educator or speaker on a subject of Jewish interest.

Myer & Mary Edelstein Athletic Award Fund

This fund was created to honor outstanding local Jewish athletes by awarding plaques or trophies and sports equipment to the Center.

Senior Activity Fund

Created by the Silbert family in appreciation of Ila Abramovitz’s work on behalf of Jewish Seniors, this fund provides transportation and program subsidies to seniors.

Tree, Park Bench or Other Gift

For the AJCC please contact Mark Weinberger, 706-868-9494.

Cumins Fund

(Jerome & Phyllis Cumins Educational and Special Needs Fund) This fund was created by the Cumins

Tribute Forms

Tributes to the AJCC may be made to the funds listed above. Cut & mail to AJCC ~ 898 Weinberger Way ~ Evans, GA 30809

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Please accept my enclosed donation in the amount of $________for the indicated fund ($10 minimum gift) Make checks payable to AJCC. You may call 706-228-3636, mail or bring to the AJCC office. Circle your choice. (In Honor of) (In Memory of) (Continued Good Health) (Mazel Tov) (In Loving Memory of) (A Speedy Recovery) _______________________________________ Recipient’s name _______________________________________ Recipient’s address _______________________________________ City/State/Zip

X

Check the fund for your donation below:

            

Adam Dunn Fund Alberta Goldberg Fund Andy Estroff Youth Fund Biblical Garden Fund Center Building Fund Charles & Rae Silbert Fund Cumins Fund Frances & Murray Shulman Playground Fund Holocaust Memorial Fund Jay Weinberger Capital Improvements Fund Maxine Saul Goldberg Endowment Myer & Mary Edelstein Athletic Award Fund Senior Activity Fund

AJCC Staff Leah Ronen, Executive Director [email protected] Jackie Crute, Office Manager Lynda Jaremski, Community Program Director [email protected] Joe Zuchowski, Facility Specialist AJF Staff Leah Ronen, Executive Director [email protected] Ina Abramson, Administrative Assistant [email protected] Ila Abramovitz, Jewish Family Services Coordinator Cell: 706-831-3184 AJCC Office Hours Monday-Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday

9:00 AM - 5:00 PM 9:00 AM - 3:00 PM Closed Closed

Best Buy Representatives from the Geek Squad will drop by to discuss

Note: Holiday hours may vary.

at the

LEARNERS WELCOME Join us on Thursdays at 12:30 PM $1/Members • $3/Guests Call June Kunkel for more information 706-855-7279

Sunday Morning Tennis is one of the longestrunning, successful AJCC programs. An enthusiastic group meets Sunday mornings at 9:00 for roundrobin Doubles.

COME OUT & JOIN US! TUESDAYS & THURSDAYS 1:00 - 2:00 PM CALL FOR MORE INFORMATION COME IN TO SIGN UP TODAY

706-228-3636

We welcome new players who are looking for fun, exercise and a little competition. FREE to AJCC members. All you need is a tennis racket and some tennis balls!

AJCC Activities

CALLING ALL TENNIS PLAYERS

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NONPROFIT ORGANIZATION U. S. POSTAGE PAID AUGUSTA, GA PERMIT NO. 34

Augusta Jewish Community Center Augusta Jewish Federation At Marks Park 898 Weinberger Way Evans, GA 30809 Phone: 706-228-3636 Fax: 706-868-1660 AJCC Email: [email protected] AJF Email: [email protected] Web: augustajcc.org

ADDRESS SERVICE REQUESTED

(09-10/2013) The AJCC contributes to Jewish life within the CSRA by fostering creative cooperation within our diverse community and by promoting Jewish values to enhance and improve our community and the CSRA. Thank you for supporting our mission.

AJCC Board Meetings Tuesday, September 24, 2013 Tuesday, October 15, 2013 AJCC Officers 2013-2014 President Vice President (Personnel) Vice President (Planning) Secretary Treasurer

Nettie Albrecht Barbara Mintz Lewis Baylor Mariana D’Amico Steve Nathan

Nathan Jolles James Sawilowsky Izzy Shapiro Maxwell Estroff Charles Blank Sydney Carter Ike Shapiro Mort Wittenberg Morris Marks Ira Goldberg

AJCC Past Presidents (Beginning 1934) M.K. Steinberg Malcolm Estroff Louis Scharff David Alalof Gerlad M. Daniel David Zacks Neil Melcher Haskell Toporek Ron Altman Bruce Alpert

Our AJCC Folding & Stuffing Team

AJCC Board Ila Abramovitz Alan Schwartzman Ed Kahal Susan Steinberg Rhea Markowitz Jennifer Wood Boris Melenevsky Marc Zuckerman Meredith Ray Sarabeth Budenstein Student Rep

Jackie Cohen Barry Goldstein Gary Katcoff Ann-Toni Estroff Morris Cohen Nettie Albrecht Celia Dunn Alan Schwartzman Stephen Davis Peter Goldberg

has really grown and we appreciate everyone’s eager assistance. In June the July/August Center Line was folded and stuffed by Waunice Aldridge, Judy Altman, Debby Davis,

Harvey Handfinger, Claudine Heger, Charlotte & Jules Joslow, Meredith Ray and Paula Schwartzman. We truly appreciate all you do! If you are interested in helping the AJCC Folding & Stuffing Team, please call 706-228-3636.

PLEASE NOTE THESE UPCOMING AJCC & AJF EVENTS September - NO Growing Families Program September 15 - AJF Soup Kitchen September 16 - Ethan Bortnick Concert Committee Meeting September 18 - Soup’s On at AJCC September 24 - AJCC Board Meeting October 13 - AJF Soup Kitchen October 13 - Growing Families at AJCC October 14 - AJF Board Meeting October 15 - AJCC Board Meeting October 16 - Soup’s On at AJCC October 19 - Ethan Bortnick Concert at Maxwell Theatre