Vol. 42, No. 3
Adar-Nisan 5780
March 2020
Celebrate Women’s Philanthropy with Founder of JewBelong,
Archie Gottesman
March 31, 7 PM, Sam Lerner Center
You might say that philanthro
py will be in the air as the Fed
eration’s Women’s Philanthropy
group warmly welcomes com
munity members to its “Spring
Philanthropy Night: Celebrating
the Power of Women,” Tues
day, March 31, 7 PM, Sam Le-
mer Center for Cultural Arts.
The program will feature Archie
Gottesman, Founder of JewBe
long, a website making Judaism
relevant in the 21st century. Ms.
Gottesman will highlight the im
portance of celebrating the joy of
being Jewish, especially with all
the challenges facing America’s
Jewish community. Through her
website, JewBelong, Ms. Gottes
man explains strategies to engage
with Judaism, starting at whatev
er comfort level available. Ms.
Gottesman stresses a non-judg-
mental approach to loving and
learning about Judaism in all
its multifaceted iterations.
The Spring Philanthropy’s
theme of celebrating the power of
women underscores a fundamen
tal principle that women’s philan
thropy is a force for change and
good in the community. Through
special programs and services,
women’s philanthropy helps cre
ate a meaningful Jewish life and
provides opportunities for lead
ership and learning for women
from all parts of the Greater Char
lotte region.
Women’s Philanthropy has
had a busy year full of events
focusing on different ideas such
as: Education, Donor Appreci
ation, Impact, and finally Cam
paign. Our Annual Campaign is
one fundraising component of
our work and we are glad to end
our season of events with this fun
way to celebrate the power of
women’s giving and celebrate the
impact we make on our commu
nity.
Spring Philanthropy Night will
be an important part of the Wom
en’s Philanthropy groups 2020
fundraising campaign, with Jill
Halverstam and Lisa Strause
Levinson serving as program co
chairs. A minimum giflof$180or
more to the Jewish Federation’s
Annual Campaign is required to
attend the event. Tickets are $36
before March 24 and $40 at the
door. Visit www.jewishcharlotte.
org to purchase your ticket today.
A special shout out to our
event hosting committee: Jessica
Abrams, Cary Bernstein, Eliza
Carney, Rochelle Carney, Amy
Fine, Jennifer Golynsky, Eden
Gobuty, Rachel Helton, Gale Os
borne, Karen Ransenberg, Heath
Archie Gottesman
er Rousso, Roberta Rodgers,
Sarah Rose, Karen Spiegler, and
Diana Warth.
Light refreshments and wine
will be served.^
To learn more about wom
en ’s philanthrophy, contact liana
Toch, Development Associate,
at 704-944-6784 or ilana.toch@
jewishcharlotte. org.
Tickets are
$36 before
March 24
and $40 at
the door.
*A minimum gift of
$180 or more to the
2020 Annual Cam
paign is required to
attend the event.
wp
/^WOMEN’sH
PHILANTHROPY
On the Same Page: Chapter II: The Girl From Berlin by
Ronald Balson
Thursday, April 2 at? PM in the Sam Lerner Center for Cultural Arts
The Center for Jewish Edu
cation (CJE) is proud to present
the second chapter of our annual
community wide read initiative:
On the Same Page. Chapter II
of our community read invites
everyone to read The Girl From
Berlin written by bestselling au
thor Ron Balson.
A powerful historical nov
el, The Girl From Berlin is also
has a riveting mystery of mur-
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der, deception, and greed, with
chapters alternating between the
1930s/1940s Nazi Germany and
2017 Tuscany. Balson masterful
ly intertwines the music, the rise
of the Nazi party to power during
its early years, its effect on Jewish
lives, and modem day Italy. It is
a story of courage, survival, and
hope.
Balson is a Chicago trial attor
ney, educator, and writer whose
previous books include The Trust,
Karolina’s Twins, Saving Sophie,
and the international bestseller
Once We Were Brothers. In an
ticipation of Balson’s visit, CJE
Program Director, Debby Block
spoke with the author.
Debby Block: As a profes
sional trial lawyer, what inspired
you to write a book?
Ron Balson: I have been in
volved with professional writing
all my life but I always want
ed to write fiction. Opportunity
knocked several years ago when
my law practice necessitated a
trip to Poland to do research for a
Jewish
Book
Council
case. Traveling around that coun
try, encountering the remnants
and scars of World War II, I was
inspired to write a book about an
ordinary family in wartime Po
land. I believe that sometimes to
begin writing fiction, you need
something to grab you and wrap
its arms around you.
DB: What were the challeng
es of moving from writing legal
briefs and appeals to writing fic
tion?
RB: Recently, I was on the
panel for the American Acad
emy of Appellate Lawyers and
Judges. Interestingly, the panel’s
topic was “Storytelling in Brief
Writing.” The panel drew many
parallels between appellate briefs
and fiction including: transmit
ting ideas, motives, and emotions
with which everyone can identify,
as well as eliminating extraneous
information.
DB: How tough was it to get
your first book published? Can
you tell me about that?
RB: After being inspired in
Jewish Federation
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Poland, I dove right into writing
my first book, without finding a
liferary agent or publisher. When
Once We Were Brothers was com
pleted, I couldn’t get a publisher
interested, so I self-published the
book. After a few months, I had
sold 125,000 books and then St.
Martin’s re-published the book. I
have been with St. Martin’s Pub
lishing Press ever since.
DB: Your novels document
and educate about history. Have
you always been interested in his
tory?
RB: Yes, I majored in Histo
ry in University. My next book
called Eli’s Promise is also his
torical fiction and is due to be
available in September 2020.
DB: Do you need to travel a
lot to do background research on
your books?
RB: Yes, I always travel to
the places I write about. For The
Girl from Berlin, I went to Berlin,
Rome, and Bologna.
DB: Congratulations on win
ning Jewish Book Council’s Best
Book Club Book last year. With
your immense success as an au
thor, do you still practice law?
RB: Yes, I do still practice law
in Chicago.
(Continued on page 4)