This month, the White Rose Society has recognized two authors as friends of the Atlanta Jewish community.
A callback to the Weiße Rose, a non-Jewish resistance group founded by students at the University of Munich in 1942, the White Rose Society was founded by representatives of Jewish congregations, foundations, and nonprofit organizations soon after the Hamas terrorist attack on Oct. 7, 2023.
The group aims to spotlight non-Jewish individuals who have supported the Jewish community.
Emily Giffin, Atlanta-based author of 12 novels including “The Summer Pact,” and Emmanuel Acho, former NFL player, sportscaster, podcaster and author of the series “Uncomfortable Conversations,” were acknowledged by Linda Selig of the White Rose Society.
Giffin was overwhelmed and surprised at her home on Aug. 26 when Selig and others knocked on her door to present her with a White Rose.
Julie Rau said the women were eager to honor Giffin for her allyship and continued support of her Jewish friends worldwide.
“Emily’s actions did not start with Oct. 7. Since I have known her, she has been an incredible ally and very vocal. However, after Oct. 7 when many were so silent, she was loud. She posted about the hostages, she checked on her Jewish friends, she condemned Hamas,” said Ellen Kaplan. “Many of her followers were angered by her posts, or at least wanted more of an even balance from her. She would respectively debate with them and happily lose followers if necessary.”
Nigerian-American Acho held a speaking engagement on Aug. 18 at The Temple in midtown Atlanta with Rabbi Peter S. Berg and Ebenezer Church’s Rev. Dr. John H. Vaughn to discuss the creation of his book, “Uncomfortable Conversation with a Jew,” which he co-authored with Israeli activist Noa Tishby.
Acho told the crowd of more than 800 people that he and Tishby became friends before writing the book in early 2023. The response to Oct. 7 “opened an aperture in my mind,” he recalled.
“When George Floyd happened, no one checked on me. I wanted someone to do for Noa what no one did for me,” Acho said.
The pair added a chapter to the book titled “Oct. 8” to dive into the world’s response to the day the largest number of Jewish people were killed since the Holocaust.
Other recipients of the White Rose include Gov. Brian Kemp, Sandy Springs Mayor Rusty Paul, Marist School teacher Brendan Murphy, and many others.
According to its website, “The legacy of the Weiße Rose reminds us to break the silence and boldly stand up for freedom and against evil and prejudice anywhere.”