Tonight, legendary Louisiana State University baseball coach Skip Bertman will have the LSU baseball field named in his honor.
Skip Bertman Field will be the new name for the over-10,000 seat venue. The stadium itself will continue to be called Alex Box Stadium, in honor of an LSU baseball player who was killed in North Africa during World War II.
The 7 p.m. game against Ole Miss will also include a tribute to the 1993 national championship team, which he coached.
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Members of Beth Israel, Jackson’s only Jewish congregation and the largest in Mississippi, had an unwelcome surprise on the second morning of Shavuot.
Late Wednesday night or early Thursday morning someone broke three windows in the building and scratched the word “Jew” into the paint of one of the doors at the entrance facing Old Canton Road.
“We’re taking this very seriously,” said Rabbi Valerie Cohen, though she feels it was “an isolated incident.”
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Late Wednesday night or early Thursday morning someone broke three windows in the building and scratched the word “Jew” into the paint of one of the doors at the entrance facing Old Canton Road.
“We’re taking this very seriously,” said Rabbi Valerie Cohen, though she feels it was “an isolated incident.”
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New York magazine recently had an article, “Them vs. Them,” which is cringe-worthy for the Jewish community.
East Ramapo, N.Y., has a huge ultra-Orthodox population that generally wishes to be left alone by outsiders. Several years ago, they had difficulty obtaining services for their special-needs children, so to facilitate the process they began running members for the local school board. They ran as concerned taxpayers, since the overwhelming majority of their children attend private yeshivas — the district has 8,000 public school students and 19,000 enrolled in private school.
Because of the Orthodox voting strength, they quickly had a majority on the board. Once they held the majority, they started slashing school budgets.
The two members of the board who are not in the Orthodox bloc resigned in January, citing intimidation and a lack of information about financial matters.
According to the Journal News, any hint of taxes for the schools is crushed at the ballot box, while “public school staff, academic programs and extracurricular offerings have been slashed” by the board’s majority, but reimbursements are being approved for families enrolled in yeshivas that use public special education services. The plan, it seems, is to lower the tax burden on the majority that doesn't use the schools anyway, starving those schools in the process.
There was a proposal to eliminate Kindergarten as a cost-saving measure, but because state law requires Kindergarten, the program was reduced to the bare minimum half-day. Graduation ceremonies were also eyed as “superfluous,” along with most sports programs and extracurricular activities.
The New York article states that cuts in the high school are so severe, there aren’t enough classes for students to take so they can graduate on time.
Shortly after the New York article came out, school board president Daniel Schwartz resigned after less than a year in the position.
In the past, Schwartz spoke of a “crisis” of anti-Semitism in the school district, and said he and others in the Jewish community have every right to run for the board, and stated “You don’t like it? Find yourself another place to live, because this is the United States of America.”
Those who speak out against "the bloc" report being targets of "vitriol" and comparisons to the Nazis.
There are calls for a state takeover of the system, and investigations into the sale of two public school buildings to yeshivas at sweetheart rates. Meanwhile, the school board has become a clash of the ethnicities. The public schools are 56 percent black, 27 percent Hispanic -- with the vast majority of the board being ultra-Orthodox.
Also part of the backdrop is a report by the New York Jewish Week in February that many ultra-Orthodox schools in New York have received a total of $30 million in Federal funds for Internet technology, even though students do not have computer access and the communities try to suppress use of the Internet. One East Ramapo school was mentioned in the third part of the series.
You want to be left alone so you can preserve your insular version of Judaism? Fine, build your community. But in areas where you have to venture out into the larger world, there is still a responsibility to the stranger in your midst, and the charge to be a holy nation.
Whether some of the financial shenanigans with the schools are improper or merely have the appearance of impropriety should not matter -- a few thousand years ago, at a place called Mount Sinai, we were told to be better than that.
Questionable behavior like this hurts the entirety of Klal Yisrael by association and plays into the worst stereotypes -- it's doing the anti-Semites' job for them.
Yes, former president Schwartz. This is the United States, where we have the freedom to live a Jewish life, but with that freedom comes the responsibility toward the greater community (HaShem had something to say about that, a few gazillion times in case anyone was slow to get the concept). What the school board is doing is hurtful to the non-Jewish population in East Ramapo and harmful to the Jewish community worldwide.
Considering that this despicable conduct comes from those who hold themselves up as pious and righteous, this type of behavior smells about as kosher as an Alabama sausage factory.
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East Ramapo, N.Y., has a huge ultra-Orthodox population that generally wishes to be left alone by outsiders. Several years ago, they had difficulty obtaining services for their special-needs children, so to facilitate the process they began running members for the local school board. They ran as concerned taxpayers, since the overwhelming majority of their children attend private yeshivas — the district has 8,000 public school students and 19,000 enrolled in private school.
Because of the Orthodox voting strength, they quickly had a majority on the board. Once they held the majority, they started slashing school budgets.
The two members of the board who are not in the Orthodox bloc resigned in January, citing intimidation and a lack of information about financial matters.
According to the Journal News, any hint of taxes for the schools is crushed at the ballot box, while “public school staff, academic programs and extracurricular offerings have been slashed” by the board’s majority, but reimbursements are being approved for families enrolled in yeshivas that use public special education services. The plan, it seems, is to lower the tax burden on the majority that doesn't use the schools anyway, starving those schools in the process.
There was a proposal to eliminate Kindergarten as a cost-saving measure, but because state law requires Kindergarten, the program was reduced to the bare minimum half-day. Graduation ceremonies were also eyed as “superfluous,” along with most sports programs and extracurricular activities.
The New York article states that cuts in the high school are so severe, there aren’t enough classes for students to take so they can graduate on time.
Shortly after the New York article came out, school board president Daniel Schwartz resigned after less than a year in the position.
In the past, Schwartz spoke of a “crisis” of anti-Semitism in the school district, and said he and others in the Jewish community have every right to run for the board, and stated “You don’t like it? Find yourself another place to live, because this is the United States of America.”
Those who speak out against "the bloc" report being targets of "vitriol" and comparisons to the Nazis.
There are calls for a state takeover of the system, and investigations into the sale of two public school buildings to yeshivas at sweetheart rates. Meanwhile, the school board has become a clash of the ethnicities. The public schools are 56 percent black, 27 percent Hispanic -- with the vast majority of the board being ultra-Orthodox.
Also part of the backdrop is a report by the New York Jewish Week in February that many ultra-Orthodox schools in New York have received a total of $30 million in Federal funds for Internet technology, even though students do not have computer access and the communities try to suppress use of the Internet. One East Ramapo school was mentioned in the third part of the series.
You want to be left alone so you can preserve your insular version of Judaism? Fine, build your community. But in areas where you have to venture out into the larger world, there is still a responsibility to the stranger in your midst, and the charge to be a holy nation.
Whether some of the financial shenanigans with the schools are improper or merely have the appearance of impropriety should not matter -- a few thousand years ago, at a place called Mount Sinai, we were told to be better than that.
Questionable behavior like this hurts the entirety of Klal Yisrael by association and plays into the worst stereotypes -- it's doing the anti-Semites' job for them.
Yes, former president Schwartz. This is the United States, where we have the freedom to live a Jewish life, but with that freedom comes the responsibility toward the greater community (HaShem had something to say about that, a few gazillion times in case anyone was slow to get the concept). What the school board is doing is hurtful to the non-Jewish population in East Ramapo and harmful to the Jewish community worldwide.
Considering that this despicable conduct comes from those who hold themselves up as pious and righteous, this type of behavior smells about as kosher as an Alabama sausage factory.
Read more
The women will take center stage as three congregations along the Jewish corridor in Metairie get together for Shavuot.
Orthodox Beth Israel, Conservative Shir Chadash and Reform Gates of Prayer will have a “joint Torah venture” on May 14, on “Authority and Leadership in the Jewish World.”
Four female scholars from the three streams represented by the congregations will be on hand to led discussions. Alexis Pinsky is a third year rabbinical student at Hebrew Union College – Jewish Institute of Religion, Sarit Horwitz is a third year student at the Jewish Theological Seminary, and Lila Kagedan and Victoria Sutton are students at Yeshivat Maharat.
At 7 p.m., Gates of Prayer will have its Confirmation service. At the same time, Beth Israel will have the afternoon service and study with Sutton. At 8 p.m., Shir Chadash will hold a minyan at Gates of Prayer, while Beth Israel has its evening service.
A community dairy dinner will follow at Beth Israel at 8:30 p.m. The dinner will be followed by a panel of the visiting scholars on “Wrestling with Authority: Texts we struggle with as future female spiritual leaders.” A cheesecake buffet will follow.
At 10 p.m. there will be breakout sessions with the scholars, followed by an 11 p.m. inter-denominational rabbinic panel consisting of Beth Israel Rabbi Uri Topolosky, Shir Chadash Rabbi Ethan Linden and Gates of Prayer Rabbi Robert Loewy. A gumbo buffet will follow.
At 12:30 a.m., Linden and Topolosky will lead a session on “our favorite texts,” followed by Kagedan speaking on Jewish bioethics at 1:30 a..m. Sutton will lead a session on “Do you believe in magic” at 2:30 a.m., followed by a 3:30 a.m. session with Topolosky on “Sleeping with the Enemy: Laws of the Mossad,” over whether it is ethical for female Mossad agents to use their charms on targets in the field.
Rabbi David Posternock will lead Torah Yoga at 4:30 a.m., followed by a 5:30 a.m. minyan. There will be no 9 a.m. minyan.
Reservations for dinner and the opening session are $15, $25 per couple or $30 per family by May 10.
Elsewhere in town, there will be all-night learning on May 14 at Chabad Uptown and Chabad Metairie. The Shavuot service on May 15 starts at 10 a.m., followed by an ice cream party and luncheon.
Touro Synagogue in New Orleans will have a potluck dairy dinner in the garden pavilion at 7 p.m. on May 14, followed by Torah study in the chapel until 9 p.m., and then a “Sacred Moment of Torah” in the sanctuary at 9 p.m.
In Gulfport
Beth Israel in Gulfport will celebrate Shavuot with its annual cheesecake competition. The dinner and service will be May 15 at 7 p.m.
Those attending are asked to bring a dairy dish to share, and a cheesecake for the competition. Prizes will be awarded in best tasting, prettiest, low calorie, youth and judge’s choice.
Rededication/Conversion Panel
The Book of Ruth is read on Shavuot. As she converted to Judaism, that theme is often mentioned during the holiday. At Temple Beth Or in Montgomery, there will be a panel discussion on conversion and reaffirmation, with Kelly Capouya, Norman Dorosin and Merce Kennedy. One was born and reared in Judaism but followed a different path for many years; one rediscovered a Jewish family connection from past generations, and one converted to Judaism years ago.
The program, service and light dairy meal will be at 7 p.m. on May 14.
Across town, Montgomery's Israel Shaliach, Ori Tal, will help lead study sessions at Agudath Israel-Etz Ahayem on May 14 starting at 7:30 p.m.
Read more
Orthodox Beth Israel, Conservative Shir Chadash and Reform Gates of Prayer will have a “joint Torah venture” on May 14, on “Authority and Leadership in the Jewish World.”
Four female scholars from the three streams represented by the congregations will be on hand to led discussions. Alexis Pinsky is a third year rabbinical student at Hebrew Union College – Jewish Institute of Religion, Sarit Horwitz is a third year student at the Jewish Theological Seminary, and Lila Kagedan and Victoria Sutton are students at Yeshivat Maharat.
At 7 p.m., Gates of Prayer will have its Confirmation service. At the same time, Beth Israel will have the afternoon service and study with Sutton. At 8 p.m., Shir Chadash will hold a minyan at Gates of Prayer, while Beth Israel has its evening service.
A community dairy dinner will follow at Beth Israel at 8:30 p.m. The dinner will be followed by a panel of the visiting scholars on “Wrestling with Authority: Texts we struggle with as future female spiritual leaders.” A cheesecake buffet will follow.
At 10 p.m. there will be breakout sessions with the scholars, followed by an 11 p.m. inter-denominational rabbinic panel consisting of Beth Israel Rabbi Uri Topolosky, Shir Chadash Rabbi Ethan Linden and Gates of Prayer Rabbi Robert Loewy. A gumbo buffet will follow.
At 12:30 a.m., Linden and Topolosky will lead a session on “our favorite texts,” followed by Kagedan speaking on Jewish bioethics at 1:30 a..m. Sutton will lead a session on “Do you believe in magic” at 2:30 a.m., followed by a 3:30 a.m. session with Topolosky on “Sleeping with the Enemy: Laws of the Mossad,” over whether it is ethical for female Mossad agents to use their charms on targets in the field.
Rabbi David Posternock will lead Torah Yoga at 4:30 a.m., followed by a 5:30 a.m. minyan. There will be no 9 a.m. minyan.
Reservations for dinner and the opening session are $15, $25 per couple or $30 per family by May 10.
Elsewhere in town, there will be all-night learning on May 14 at Chabad Uptown and Chabad Metairie. The Shavuot service on May 15 starts at 10 a.m., followed by an ice cream party and luncheon.
Touro Synagogue in New Orleans will have a potluck dairy dinner in the garden pavilion at 7 p.m. on May 14, followed by Torah study in the chapel until 9 p.m., and then a “Sacred Moment of Torah” in the sanctuary at 9 p.m.
In Gulfport
Beth Israel in Gulfport will celebrate Shavuot with its annual cheesecake competition. The dinner and service will be May 15 at 7 p.m.
Those attending are asked to bring a dairy dish to share, and a cheesecake for the competition. Prizes will be awarded in best tasting, prettiest, low calorie, youth and judge’s choice.
Rededication/Conversion Panel
The Book of Ruth is read on Shavuot. As she converted to Judaism, that theme is often mentioned during the holiday. At Temple Beth Or in Montgomery, there will be a panel discussion on conversion and reaffirmation, with Kelly Capouya, Norman Dorosin and Merce Kennedy. One was born and reared in Judaism but followed a different path for many years; one rediscovered a Jewish family connection from past generations, and one converted to Judaism years ago.
The program, service and light dairy meal will be at 7 p.m. on May 14.
Across town, Montgomery's Israel Shaliach, Ori Tal, will help lead study sessions at Agudath Israel-Etz Ahayem on May 14 starting at 7:30 p.m.
Read more
Lillian Hellman, author of “The Little Foxes” and many other well-known works, is perhaps the best-known Hollywood figure with roots in the Jewish community of Demopolis. But she isn’t the only one, as a presentation this month will demonstrate.
Arthur Mayer “carried the Mayer name to new heights” through an extensive career in the film industry. The Southern Literary Trail will hold “Arthur Mayer, His Story from Demopolis to Hollywood” on May 17 at 6 p.m. with a free screening of the 1975 Oscar-nominated “Arthur and Lillie.” There will also be a presentation by Stuart Rockoff, director of history at the Goldring/Woldenberg Institute of Southern Jewish Life.
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New Orleans and Nashville are reportedly in line for Al Jazeera America news bureaus.
Though most bureau locations have not been announced, Politico reported that the network is initially planning 12 bureaus in the United States, many in places that other media outlets ignore or have just a cursory presence. According to Politico’s Dylan Byers, the list of cities was provided to Politico on background.
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Though most bureau locations have not been announced, Politico reported that the network is initially planning 12 bureaus in the United States, many in places that other media outlets ignore or have just a cursory presence. According to Politico’s Dylan Byers, the list of cities was provided to Politico on background.
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Abe Mitchell
On Friday, heavy rain forced the 50th anniversary celebration at the University of South Alabama indoors, but that could not dampen a major announcement.
The anniversary celebration included Abe Mitchell’s announcement of a $50 million gift to the university, bringing the support by the family of local Jewish philanthropists to $93 million in total giving.
Half of the gift will support the Mitchell College of Business, while the other $25 million will endow an academic scholarship program for students in all fields of study.
The $25 million for scholarships is a challenge gift. It will match contributions by other donors on a dollar-for-dollar basis. Donors who make gifts of at least $10,000 will be able to name their scholarships. Should the entire challenge be met, this would mean $50 million to endow scholarships.
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