Honoring history
Jan. 15 (26 Tevet 5786)
🚒 Let’s jump right in. Jewish communities around the U.S. are focused on the burning of historic Beth Israel Congregation in Jackson, Miss. Read about the Atlanta-Jackson connection below.
⚾ Baseball player Max Fishbein, an Atlanta native, has been selected as an ambassador for Tribe NIL, the first initiative of its kind dedicated exclusively to supporting Jewish NCAA student-athletes.
👩🏼⚖️ The Georgia legislature is back in session, with its final meeting day (Sine Die) scheduled for the second night of Passover.
📽️ The Atlanta Jewish Film Festival has announced the lineup for its 26th annual event, which will run at theaters across Atlanta from Feb. 18-March 3.
👏🏽 Lastly, Jewish Women’s Connection of Atlanta (JWC) is now operating as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit.
🎯 We are focused on delivering original reporting about the Jewish community. Got a tip or something we should look into? Email us.
Y’alla,
Logan
🎼 Be immersed in old-world elegance with Prague Philharmonia, led by Emmanuel Villaume, Fri., Jan. 23 at Sandy Springs PAC. Hear an early Mozart violin concerto, Mendelssohn’s Piano Concerto No. 1, Beethoven’s Coriolan Overture and Dvořák’s bright, lyrical Symphony No. 8. Get tickets. SPONSOR MESSAGE
Atlanta’s take on Jackson synagogue
📜 Beth Israel Congregation in Jackson, Miss. isn’t just home to a sanctuary, library, and Hebrew school. The building – which was destroyed by arson on Jan. 10 – was the hub for communal Jewish life in central Mississippi that included a small Holocaust museum.
Barbara and the late Rabbi Alvin Sugarman were married at Beth Israel in May 1965. Barbara spent her youth at Beth Israel; her great grandparents were founders of the congregation in 1860 when 15 families bought a plot of land and built a modest, wooden schoolhouse and worship space. It was the first synagogue in Mississippi.
On Sept. 18, 1967, Beth Israel was bombed by local Ku Klux Klan members. Two months later, the same group bombed Rabbi Perry Nussbaum’s home. Alvin grew up at The Temple in Atlanta, which was famously bombed in 1958 during the height of the Civil Rights Era.
💥 Barbara told Rough Draft that she and Alvin may be the only rabbinic couple to have both survived their synagogues and rabbi’s homes being bombed.
“I think – and I don’t know if it’s still true today – that my husband and I are the only rabbinic couple whose synagogues were bombed and rabbis’ houses was bombed. It’s just been gut wrenching, really,” Barbara said. “I’ve been so distressed, and yet I’ve had wonderful outpouring of love from people. From people I went to high school with that I haven’t seen in 50 years, and people [in Atlanta], as well lovely notes from people who know that I grew up there.”
🫶🏼 Donate to the rebuilding of Beth Israel.
Rebuilding a stronger Israel
SPONSORED BY JEWISH NATIONAL FUND-USA
🤝 Join Jewish National Fund-USA as we celebrate our extraordinary work rebuilding and reimagining a stronger Israel. We are dedicated to transforming lives and uplifting individuals, families, communities, and entire regions across Israel’s underserved North and South.
We will introduce you to one aspect of our work with the Galilee Culinary Institute, Rosenfeld School of Culinary Arts—a primary driver of job creation and tourism in Israel’s North. Chef Lior Lev Sercarz will introduce you to a bold and diverse culinary tradition, creating the new food hub of the Middle East.
➞ RSVP at jnf.org/hirsch.
Multi-gen Jewish conversations
🗣️ Join a multi-generational discussion about the importance of being Jewish from the perspective of a parent and grandparent at one of these events.
Wednesday, Jan 28: Alex Harris from Unpacked for Educators will talk to parents and teens about Jewish empowerment. Free.
Wednesday, Feb. 4: Thought leader Zack Bodner explores “Why do Jewish?” Adult Jewish engagement is the biggest influence on the next generation, Bodner says. $25.
Thursday, Feb. 5: Historian Gil Troy helps to navigate conversations about Israel with adult children and grandchildren. $25 (includes a copy of Troy’s book).
Sunday, Feb. 22: Parents are invited to a forum on managing children’s tech use and online antisemitism with JF&CS Director Sherri Cauthen. Free.
👩🏽💻 See our calendar listings below for more events.
Interfaith couples welcome
👋🏻 The Jewish Federation of Greater Atlanta is reaffirming its commitment to interfaith programming with the hiring of Interfaith Connector Sarah Freeman. Born and raised in Atlanta, Freeman is hosting a casual event on Sunday, Jan. 18 in Ansley Park.
The group is planning to attend the film festival in February and will hold a wine and hamantaschen pairing event in March.
“Interfaith relationships require a little more intention and communication,” Freeman said. “We don’t want to lose people just because they don’t have the same Jewish foundation. Everyone deserves a place where they belong, especially now.”
🪬 Connect with Freeman via email.
Deborah Lipstadt has second thoughts about tying Jackson synagogue arsonist to ‘Globalize the Intifada’
📢 As news broke over the weekend of an arson attack that heavily damaged the only synagogue in Jackson, Mississippi, a few prominent individuals connected the culprit to pro-Palestinian activism.
“This is a major tragedy. But it’s more than that,” Deborah Lipstadt, formerly the State Department’s special envoy to combat antisemitism, wrote on the social network X. “It’s an arson attack and another step in the globalization of the intifada.”
She later walked back her comments, but Lipstadt’s initial comments about the arsonist’s motives reflect a larger sense of disorientation among diaspora Jews as they face increased levels of antisemitism from across the spectrum of left-wing, right-wing and Islamist extremism.
➡ Read the full story on the Forward here.
🎼 Be immersed in old-world elegance with Prague Philharmonia, led by Emmanuel Villaume, Fri., Jan. 23 at Sandy Springs PAC. Hear an early Mozart violin concerto, Mendelssohn’s Piano Concerto No. 1, Beethoven’s Coriolan Overture, and Dvořák’s bright, lyrical Symphony No. 8. Get tickets. SPONSOR MESSAGE
Look & Listen
📍 Jonah Platt will be at City Springs on Jan. 17. Here’s a podcast with Platt and Atlanta’s own Joe Alterman.
💌 Everyone’s talking about the hockey romance “Heated Rivalry.” Find out why.
What’s doin’ around town
SPONSORED BY CONGREGATION OR HADASH
🍷 Jan. 18: Divorce Uncorked with Justin Milrad.
☮️ Jan. 21:Oy Vey AA meeting in Sandy Springs.
👽 Jan. 24: SciFi book club with a Jewish theme.
💙 Jan. 25:Bearing Witness with the children of a Holocaust liberator and survivor.
✡️ The next Jewish holiday is Tu B’Shevat on Feb. 1.
🕯️ Light Shabbat candles this week at 5:35 p.m.
🎶 Need a little grounding? A reset or refresh? Join Or Hadash on Saturday, Jan. 17 for a Havdalah Song Circle. Listen, hum, drum, or sing—no experience needed. RSVP here, come as you are, or bring a friend!
Before you go
🏆 Linda Selig has been awarded the Jewish Federation of Greater Atlanta’s Lifetime Achievement award in recognition of her exceptional leadership, enduring commitment, and transformative impact on the Atlanta Jewish community.
👏🏼 After years of volunteerism, Selig founded The White Rose Society, an initiative that expresses gratitude to non-Jewish individuals who courageously use their voices to support the Jewish people, Israeli communities, and the State of Israel. She also co-founded Better Together, a women-led initiative that brings Jewish and non-Jewish women together for dialogue, learning, and relationship-building.