5007 f’rovidence Road
Chariotte. NC 28226
Address Correction Requeeled
Non-Profit Organization
U.S. Postage Paid
Charlotte, NC
Pemriit No. 1208
The Charlotte
JEWISH
Vol. 20 No. 5
lyar - Si van, 5758
May, 1998
L’Chaim Charlotte Jewish
Festival set for Sunday, May 17
Second Annual Event Grows to Include Judaic Art, More Diverse Food
L’Chaim Charlotte, a festival
showcasing Jewish heritage, cul
ture and faith, has expanded this
year to include more educational
exhibits, Judaic artisans, a greater
variety of foods, and a special
exhibit commemorating the SOth
anniversary of the founding of
Israel.
The event will be held on
Sunday, May 17, from noon to
5 PM at Shalom Park, 5007
Providence Road. There will be no
admission charge, although a $1
donation per person is encour
aged.
The Jewish Community
Relations Committee (JCRC) of
the Jewish Federation of Greater
Charlotte presents the festival as
an educational outreach and com
munity building project “Our goal
was simply to bring Jews and non-
Jews together to celebrate and
learn more about Jewish culture
and heritage,” said Bobbi
Bernstein, honorary co-chair of
the event with Shelton Gorelick.
Changes in the fmrnat are in
response to feedback from the
inaugural L’Chaim festival, which
was held in the fall of 1996.
Despite only four months of lead
time for planning and a limited
budget, the first festival drew
more than 3,000 and was well
received and supported in the
community.
Organizers shifted the event to
the spring to avoid scheduling
conflicts in the fall and to take
advantage of the beautifully land
scaped backdrop of the ^ acre
Sh^om Park campus. In addition
to booths presented by local
Jewish institutions and agencies,
the festival for the first time will
feature artisans from throughout
the region, and a more diverse
selection of foods.
The festival will also anchor the
local Jewish community’s celebra
tion of the SOth anniversary of the
founding of the state of Israel. A
special exhibit will offer pho-
togr£^hs of Israeli sites taken by
local residents, as well as a model
of the Western Wall in Jerusalem,
one of the most sacred sites in all
of Judaism. Festival goers will be
able to leave written messages in
the wall, echoing the tradition fol
lowed by visitors at the original
site for thousands of years.
An entertainment stage will
offer Jewish music and folk danc
ing throughout the afternoon, as
well as two mock Jewish wedding
ceremonies. There will be tours of
Temple Beth El, Temple Israel and
the Jewish Community Center.
The JCC will also stage the first
L’Chaim Charlotte 5K run early
Sunday morning.
The lead corporate underwriters
for this year’s festival are WMF
Capital Corp. and Bank of
Mecklenburg. Other underwriters
include Remax Results, Beck
Imports of the Carolinas, Montag
Management, Party Reflections,
and Lions and Tigers and Bears
Children’s Boutique. Temple Beth
El, Temple Israel, the Federation,
the JCC and the Foundation also
provided financial support.
To volunteer or for more infor
mation, contact Cary Bernstein,
Federation Development Director
and project coordinator at 366-
5007, ext. 209. O
“Facing History and Ourselves” seeks to
eradicate intolerance, racism and
indifference among youth
Unique educational program uses lessons
from history to teach students the value of
community, responsibility and moral choice
By Fred Meyer
Did you read the front page fea
ture story on the local page of The
Charlotte Observer the morning of
February 16? If you did, you know
that soniething very exciting is hap
pening in the Charlotte-
Mccklenbuig School System. As a
lesult of the work done by Jackie
Fishman, English teacher at
Northwest School of the Arts and
daughter of Holocaust survivor Dr.
Susan Ceroyak-Spatz, plans are
underway to introduce the national
ly acclaimed “Facing History and
Ourselves” program into a number
of schools for the Fall 1998 semes
ter. How this was achieved is a
study in perseverance, timing, team
work and good
luck.
Facing History
and Ourselves is a
national nonprofit
organization dedi
cated to helping
educators facili
tate thoughtful
dialogue in their
classrooms about
issues of tolerance and social
responsibility. By providing profes
sional development and extensive
individual support to teachers, the
Facing History program helps
young people understand how
human behavior and individual
Teacher Jackie Fishman shares Holocaust
memorabilia with her Facing History students.
choice play a role in shaping history
and our own society. Through a
thought provoking, interdisciplinary
course of study. Facing History
examines the events that led to the
Holocaust and other examples of
(Continued on page 3)
’98 Community
Campaign nears
$1.7 million goal
Tzedakah, often inaccurately
translated as charity, means
justice with compassion.
Performing deeds of justice is
perhaps the most important
obligation Judaism imposes on a
Jew.
Over 1,500 Jews in the
Charlotte community have ful
filled their commitment to this
basic tenet of Jewish life and
have made a gift to the ’98 com
munity campaign. As of April 1,
the campaign total was $1.58
million. The goal for 1998 is
$1.7 million.
“We are working to finish up
the campaign and close as many
gifts as possible so that we can
reach our $1.7 million goal,”
said Jill Newman, ’98 campaign
co-chair.
“We need every dollar to meet
the needs of the community here
in Charlotte and around the
world.”
“This money is used to fund
Jewish education for preschool
ers as well as to provide home
care for older Jewish adults.
Each dollar that we raise helps
to make these activities possi
ble,” continued Mrs. Newman.
Thus far, Men’s Division has
raised $1.2 million of the total.
“$925,000 was given by the
Federation’s major donors. “We
are very fortunate to have a
group of committed, communi
ty-minded donors who give gen
erously each year in support of
the community campaign,” said
Don Bernstein, who co-chairs
this year’s effort along with
Mrs. Newman.
He continued, “Each year we
know that we can count on these
leaders to help to achieve our
goal. This group is an integral
part of our success for this
year’s drive.”
Women’s Division raised
22% of the campaign total
which is very much in line with
what other women’s divisions
raise on a national level.
“We are very pleased with this
year’s effort,” said Stacy
Gorelick, who chairs the
Women’s Campaign along with
Meg Goldstein.
“This year we have been able
to raise more money than ever
and are so pleased that many of
the women in the community
support the campaign with indi
vidual gifts.”
Marvin Goldberg, Executive
Director of the Federation, says
that “the hardest part of every
fundraising drive is making con
tact with each of the donors. We
try through a variety of vehicles
— face-to-face solicitations,
telepledges and direct mail cor
respondence — to reach out to
make personal contact with each
contributor. Every contributor is
important to us and we want to
reach out to as many people as
possible.”
If for some reason you have
not already been contacted,
please call Cary Bernstein at the
Federation to fulfill your com
mitment to tzedakah - perform
ing a deed of justice with com
passion. 0
“On Jews and Christians:” A
weekend of Christian-Jewish
Dialogue
Dr Michael J. CotA
Inside this special “Israel at 50” issue...
Commentary and opinion on the SOth annfver;ary
of Israel’s independence P^tges 12-13
An exploratimi of Israeli poetry page 16
Professor Jay Jacoby discovers Israel's soid through poetry
Qiarleston*s Rccolo Spoleto Festirai celebrates
50 years of Israel ..... page 21
Memorial Day weekend festivities wd! highiigkt Je^‘ish cuUure
New multimedia web site celebrates^ Israel at 50 page 25
Visa AtPACs web soe to relive some Israeli history
Also inside. ..
Jewish Family Services
... page
7
Temple Beth El
page
8
Temple Israel
.... page
9
Lubavitch of North Carolina . .
.... page
10
Speizman Library
page
16
CAJE
pagc
P
Jewish Community Center
.... pa^
2-10
The Jewish Traveler .
Dirung Out .. . ...
. .. page
Temple Beth El and Myers
Park Baptist Church host
Scholar-in-Residence Dr.
Michael J. Cooky who will
discuss how the relationship
between Christianity and
Judaism is expressed
through arty scripture, and
ancient rabbinic texts
Temple Beth El and the Myers
Park Baptist Church have a rich
history of friendship and coopera
tion, and are excited to announce a
special cooperative weekend of
learning and fellowship. The
weekend of May 8-10 will feature
Profes^r Michael Cook of the
Hebrew l-nion Colkgc - Jewish
Institute of Rebgion in Cmcinnali.
Ohio. &5 Sthnlar-jn-Rc?idcnce.
Dr. C»*ok. a Refrtrm and
teochcr ot .i well known as
fitpcri iTi hr-, iVW. will
an
rfier an cxcirin« iii uv of learning
JVogranis arr :i - ♦. ' 1. i* s
iConnr>^ii 2i