A House of David in the Land of Jesus, is a fascinating true story Robert Lewis Berman Staff Photo LEXINGTON, Mississippi (STPNS) -- Robert Bob Lewis Berman, a former resident of Lexington, has written a book consisting of true heart-warming stories about the lives of the entire Jewish community in the Mississippi town, their outreach, their accomplishments, their failures, their triumphs, and their tragedies?including their close and lasting relationships with the Christian community?both black and white. Bob Berman was born in Atlanta, Georgia in 1931 to Fay and Joe Berman, a member of the Atlanta City Council. At the age of five, he moved with his family to Lexington after his grandmother, Julia Lewis, was killed in an automobile accident. Julia was the wife of Morris Lewis, Sr. His family returned to Atlanta for a period of time, during WWII, when he was ten and afterwards returned to Lexington. He graduated from Lexington High School and then attended college at The University of Mississippi where he graduated with a BBA degree before entering the United States Army. Upon his honorable discharge, he was accepted at the Harvard Business School where he received his MBA. While in Boston, he met Sondra (Sondy) Shindell from New Haven, Connecticut who would become his wife. W. Charles Sallis, who lived in Lexington from 1949-1950, wrote a foreword to Bermans book A House of David in the Land of Jesus. Mr. Sallis wrote, ...Berman gives a personal comprehensive account of the lives of an entire Jewish community in the small southern town of Lexington, Mississippi. Through recollections, research and taped interviews with Jewish and non-Jewish black and white citizens and former citizens of Lexington, he has compiled a heart-warming account of Lexington Jews. An inspiring story of personal courage, faith and civic virtue, it is a rich history worth preserving for future generations. Mr. Sallis said, A recurring theme throughout the book is aptly expressed by Bob in these words: Ever since the first members of the Jewish faith settled in Lexington, Jews and Christians have respected and befriended one another and worked together for the betterment of their entire community. By all historical accounts, anti-Semitism did not exist and was never a problem in Lexington... Bob recounted an interview in which non-Jewish lawyer Don Barrett stated that there never has been a Jewish community in Lexington. [Barrett] continued that there has, instead, always been one community in Lexington?all working together in concert for the betterment of the entire community and society as a whole. Bob commented: That statement in itself summarizes nearly everything this book is about. Amazon gives the following account of Bermans book: University of Mississippi and Harvard educated author, Robert Lewis Berman, has researched and written a compelling history of what was once a relatively large Jewish community, located in one of the least expected places-Lexington, Mississippi, a small rural town in the heart of the Bible belt. Unlike some other places in the South and nation, it has been a comparatively peaceful area, with little, if any racial violence and no demonstrations of anti-Semitism since Jews came to that little town well over a century and a half ago. Lexington is one of the most ecumenical communities in America.
Posted on: Tue, 26 Aug 2014 00:24:54 +0000
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