AVODAH brunch honors Levy, Waltzer
AVODAH, the Jewish Service Corps, held its second annual Partners in Justice brunch at Shir Chadash Conservative Congregation on Sunday, recognizing Holocaust survivor Anne Skorecki Levy and civil rights attorney Bruce Waltzer for their outstanding commitment to seeking justice in the world.
The 2013 AVODAH Partners in Justice award. (Photo by Alan Smason)
A pickup jazz quartet, many with connections to AVODAH corps members or alumni themselves, entertained participants on the morning of June 2 as approximately 200 individuals entered the social hall to enjoy libations and brunch. The event also put focus on the invaluable resource AVODAH has become in the Greater New Orleans area, especially in the area of civic service, social justice and dedication to insuring a better quality of life for all its citizens.
Rabbi Ethan Linden spoke briefly, welcoming attendees to his synagogue and used the occasion to deliver a D’vor Torah on the week’s parsha (Torah portion) of Shelach.
In the five years AVODAH has established an office in New Orleans, its 48 corps members – all living in a bait, or house provided for them by the organization for one year – have worked for 24 local organizations dealing with fighting poverty, improving education, seeking justice for individuals and empowering businesses.
The nine members of the house at present – six women and three men – work for diverse community organizations such as the Greater New Orleans Fair Housing Action Center, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and the Southern Poverty Law Center.
The one year commitment AVODAH volunteers have undertaken in New Orleans has oftentimes translated into a desire to make the city their permanent residence. “New Orleans was the first Jewish community I felt a part of,” related AVODAH alumna Laura Taishoff, who has remained in New Orleans for the past three years to work in the field of education. “This community has loved back in way I could never dream of and for that I am grateful,” she said.
AVODAH alumna Rachel Glicksman, who was also a member of AVODAH from 2009-2010 with Taishoff, also spoke at the event. She acknowledged that she left New Orleans to take a position in Austin, TX, where she was “pretty miserable.” She has since returned to become program and development associate at the New Orleans AVODAH office. “I got swallowed up by a community that hasn’t let me go,” she confessed.
Anne Skorecki Levy, a 2013 AVODAH Partner in Justice award recipient. (Photo by Alan Smason)
As a survivor of the Shoah, Levy has been a constant lecturer at schools studying the Holocaust, working with both the Anti-Defamation League and the Southern Poverty Law Center. An outspoken opponent of prejudice and anti-Semitism, she was the subject of “Troubled Memory” penned by Tulane professor Lawrence Powell, which documented her opposition to Klansman David Duke throughout his controversial career as a political leader in Lousiana.
Levy was cited by AVODAH as “a catalyst and an inspiration” in Duke’s unsuccessful campaigns for governor and senator, which ultimately led to his leaving politics and fleeing the United States.
On accepting her award from AVODAH New Orleans director Dani Levine, Levy spoke in glowing terms about the organization and its impressive, dedicated corps members. “It is such a wonderful organization that I want to help you as much as I can,” she began. “You are the future Jewish leaders that are coming up. Thanks for taking a year out of your life to make a difference – a big difference – in New Orleans.”
Both Levy and Waltzer were presented with a framed watercolor painting that contained expressive calligraphy rendered by AVODAH alumna Jordan Aiken. The Hebrew letters from Amos24, flowing from right to left, bore the likeness of the Mississippi River and the unique bend in the river which circumscribes New Orleans. Just beneath the river was the English translation which read: “Let justice well up like waters, and righteousness like a mighty stream.”
Attorney Bruce Waltzer accepts his AVODAH Partners in Justice award. (Photo by Alan Smason)
Waltzer, a noted civil rights attorney who was arrested and accused of plotting to overthrow the state of Louisiana during the turbulent desegregation era, was selected to receive the AVODAH award for his lifelong commitment to defending free speech and promoting equality.
A Tulane Law School graduate and successful attorney for several local law firms throughout his career, Waltzer expressed his admiration for most of the citizens of New Orleans during the struggle for equality. He suggested that the “Colored Only” signs that were seen on restrooms, on streetcars and buses and designated movie theater areas were not in accordance with the majority view of the city’s residents. The major victories of the civil rights campaign, he claimed, were helped along in cities like New Orleans where change was accepted without violence.
Like Levy, Waltzer has been impressed by the dedication of AVODAH corps members.”I learned more from them in two hours than I probably learned in the last 15 years,” he proclaimed.
“This was the toughest group of young people I have ever met,” Waltzer mused. “They have a heart. They want to contribute to the community; they want to give back.”
The bespectacled attorney grew teary eyed when he recalled the time during the peak of the crisis when he and his wife, Judge Miriam Waltzer, were threatened with the loss of their adopted son. He pointed to his son and his son’s family at their table to note they were still a close-knit family and that the powers that be were unsuccessful in tearing them apart.
AVODAH New Orleans advisory chair Lynne Wasserman concluded the affair with several remarks aimed at emphasizing the lasting effect the year-long program has on its corps members and the community-at-large as well as its ability to connect them spiritually to the values inculcated in the practice of Judaism.
