THE
Jewish
OBSERVER www.jewishobservernashville.org
Vol. 90 No. 7
JULY 2025 5 Tamuz - 6 Av 5785
Israel Special Report PHOTO CREDIT: CANTOR JOSH GOLDBERG
Judy Alperin is the new CEO of the Jewish Federation of Greater Nashville
Jewish Federation Welcomes New CEO By BARBARA DAB
T
he Jewish Federation of Greater Nashville is pleased to welcome Judy Alperin as the new CEO. She recently completed a role as chief development officer of Hadassah where she led philanthropy efforts including principal and major gifts, annual giving and emergency fundraising to support the work of the Hadassah Medical Organization and Hadassah’s youth aliyah villages. No stranger to Federation, she previously was CEO of the Jewish Federation, Foundation and JCC of Greater New Haven where she completed the integration of the Federation and New Haven’s JCC into a single $10 million operation. She held multiple leadership roles with the Jewish Federation of Lehigh Valley in Allentown, Pennsylvania. Aron Karabel, president of the Jewish Federation says it is Alperin’s experience that makes her the right fit for Nashville. “She has a proven track record of engaging donors and volunteers, and driving organizational success.” Alperin says her family has a Continued on page 22 A Publication of the
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PHOTO CREDIT: CANTOR JOSH GOLDBERG
Dancing in the Shelter By ZIV SHEMESH, COMMUNITY SHLICHA
“I
sraeli resilience is so impressive,” one of the participants told me. I smiled and replied, “It truly is. But it’s you, dancing with us in the shelters— your resilience is just as powerful.” We came to Israel as a group of volunteers—strangers. Different cities, different stories, different reasons for joining. But something happens when people share intensity, when the days are filled with purpose and the nights with raw emotion. We became a community. We became, in a way, Israelis. What we experienced wasn’t curated—it was real. Unfiltered. It was Israel, in all its heartbreak and beauty, fear and laughter, fragility and strength. On the night between Thursday and Friday, everything changed. We were jolted awake by a blaring alert, the same sound of an Amber or tornado warning. Groggy and confused, I thought for a second my phone was still on the location of Nashville. Was there a tornado back home? But within seconds, the truth hit us. This wasn’t a weather alert. This was history in the making. I opened my phone to a flood of breaking news: Antisemitism and Jew Hatred Stoke Fear in Jewish Community, page 4
“Israel was launching a strike on Iran.” Adrenaline surged. I jumped out of bed and said: “We’re witnessing history unfold!” Viktor Frankl once said: “Those who have a ‘why’ to live can bear almost any ‘how’.” And in that surreal, electric moment—we understood our why. We understood that the next unknown days will not be quiet, but we will bear it. Waking up in the night a couple of times due to sirens from hundreds of ballistic missiles launched across all of Israel and hearing the booms of the interceptions. Opening the news and hearing about a missile that landed and caused casualties and damage. But that didn’t stop us. We didn’t let the fear take over. When we went to the shelter, we went with our guitar and our joy to sing and dance in the shelter—not to ignore the fear, but to rise above it. And the very next morning, we were on the Tel Aviv boardwalk, enjoying the sun with cold beer in one hand and warm shawarma in the other. This is Israel. Where pain and joy coexist. Where fear is met with faith. Where war does not eclipse life—it intensifies it. Continued on page 20 Heart of the Matter, page 7
Local Jewish Community Members’ Reflections from the Ground in Israel By BARBARA DAB
J
ust as Israeli strikes on Iran’s military and nuclear sites killed several top military officials and nuclear scientists on June 13th, members of Nashville’s Jewish community were on the ground in Israel. Almost two dozen people were participating on a national Birthright Onward trip, and some were just visiting friends and family. Nightly bombings sent people running to shelters. During the day, exhausted travelers tried to carry on a normal routine. With flights cancelled and the airspace closed, the only routes out of the country were by land or by sea. Some in the community left on cruise ships to Cyprus, followed by long airplane trips back home. Some are still in Israel, trying to cope and waiting for flights to begin again, or for the next ship. Below are some reflections from these members of our community. Note that some people answered specific questions.
Wedding to War
By SHARON AND MOISES PAZ
Our cousin, who served in the IDF and his fiancé, also Israeli, invited us to their wedding in Israel on June 10th. We had not been back to Israel in 10 years. Continued on page 18 Back To School Special Section, page 25