Shake it up
Thursday, June 18 (3 Tamuz 5786) — International soccer fans have landed in Atlanta. Downtown is buzzing with influencers, activities and spontaneity. If you haven’t engaged in the tumel, hop on MARTA and go for a walkabout.
⚽ There is only one Jewish soccer player in the 2026 FIFA World Cup: Matt Turner (USA), but Cabo Verdean player Gilson Benchimol alleges some ties to Moroccan Jews according to this article.
🇮🇱 Did you know? Israel’s national team qualified for the tournament only once – the 1970 World Cup in Mexico.
🎤 This week, I spoke with Leslie Gordon, executive director of The Breman, who is changing her role after seven years of wild success.
✌🏼As always, thanks for reading!
Y’alla,
Logan
❤️ Therapy that helps you feel seen, supported, and understood – while building practical skills to navigate life with confidence at Intown Psychology. SPONSOR MESSAGE
Outgoing Breman director leaves behind a thriving cultural center
👋🏼 As The Breman celebrates its 30th anniversary this summer, Executive Director Leslie Gordon is stepping down. But she’s not going far – after seven years of engaging, creating, innovating, and connecting, Gordon will become a part-time consultant for the cultural center.
“This is a positive thing,” Gordon said. “We’re in a strong place.”
Brought on to expand programming, strengthen financials, and raise The Breman’s profile regionally, nationally, and internationally, Gordon feels she has accomplished what she set out to do.
➡ Read Logan C. Ritchie’s article here.
Buckhead estate built to entertain
SPONSORED BY ATLANTA FINE HOMES
🏡 Priced at $4.7 million, this seven-bedroom Buckhead estate sits on more than 3.8± private acres.
Resort-style amenities include a heated pool and spa, a tennis court, a bocce ball court, a cabana and an expansive lawn. Inside, soaring ceilings, a wine cellar and dramatic entertaining spaces complement a Spanish-inspired design built for memorable gatherings. The property offers parking for up to 12 vehicles.
Atlanta Fine Homes Sotheby’s International Realty is Metro Atlanta’s No. 1 residential real estate company and No. 1 in luxury home sales above $1 million.
👉🏼 Explore our current listings.
JFF awards surrogacy grants to same-sex couples
👩🏼🤝👩🏻 The Jewish Fertility Foundation has announced that most of the recipients of its first-ever Surrogacy Pilot Grant program are same-sex couples.
The Surrogacy Pilot Grant provides four grants of $20,000 each to Jewish individuals and couples pursuing surrogacy. Two grants went to families in Atlanta, two went to families in South Florida, and three of the four recipients were same-sex couples.
👓 Read the rest of the story by Katie Burkholder.
Georgia’s Jewish senator called his newly minted GOP opponent an antisemite. Why?
🗳️ After Rep. Mike Collins won a hard-fought Republican runoff election in Georgia Tuesday for the party’s Senate nomination in November, his opponent wasted no time going on the offensive.
“Donald Trump’s handpicked candidate Mike Collins is a notorious bigot, antisemite, and extremist,” Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff posted on social media on Tuesday night.
Ossoff did not elaborate on the antisemitism allegation. But Collins and some of his senior staff members have faced well-documented past allegations of antisemitism in a state that’s home to an estimated 100,000-plus Jewish adults.
➡ Read the full story on The Forward.
🎷 Celebrate Black Music Month at The Jazz Xchange at 8 p.m. on Thurs., June 25, featuring acclaimed trumpeter Tiffany Goode & The Goode Stuff Experience. Guests can expect an electrifying evening of jazz fusion, with a surprise guest. Get tickets here. SPONSOR MESSAGE
What’s doin’ around town
SPONSORED BY CONGREGATION OR HADASH
🥽 June 19:Dive into Shabbat at the MJCCA.
🎻 June 24: Zimira Festivale Atlanta at AA.
🛝 June 26: Shabbat at Sidney Marcus Park.
🏳️🌈 June 26: Trans Pride Shabbat with SOJOURN.
🇺🇸 July 3: Star-Spangled Shabbat and BBQ.
✡️ The next Jewish holiday is Tisha B’Av on July 22.
🕯️ Light Shabbat candles this week at 8:33 p.m.
🗓️ Looking for a Jewish community to call home? Come experience Or Hadash. Whether you’re seeking spiritual connection, personal meaning, or a place to make lasting Jewish memories, join us for Shabbat Hadasha or Tot Shabbat and find your spark.
Before you go
🦞 Aviva Berman of Atlanta snapped this photo at the Maine Jewish Museum in Portland.
✈️ What have you seen lately? Send Jewish travel photos with your name and hometown to Logan@RoughDraftAtlanta.com.
