Get out your calendar
Thursday, Aug. 13 (30 Av 5786) — Wow, there are so many events coming up in the Atlanta Jewish community. From the MJCCA Mahjong Tournament (Yes, you’re good enough to play!) to Jewish entertainers like Marc Maron and Joe Alterman, this fall is filling up quickly.
✏️ Do you feel passionately about issues happening in the Atlanta Jewish community? Submit a letter (up to 300 words) on a timely topic, and we’ll consider it for publication.
📩 Send this newsletter to a friend, your Bubbe, or your neighbor who is looking for more Jewish engagement.
Y’alla,
Logan
Letter to Holocaust survivors falsely promises rewards
😲 Letters have been distributed in the metro Atlanta area by an illegitimate group called the “Jewish Holocaust Claims Center” with an address listed as Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. A sample of the letter is pictured above.
The letter claims to be “following up regarding our previous correspondence concerning Holocaust Survivor Compensation Benefits” through programs “to provide restitution, compensation for forced and slave labor, recovery of looted assets, and payment of insurance policies to eligible victims and their descendants.”
🚨 Rough Draft is working to learn more. If you have received a letter like this, email Logan.
Balance Your Wellness
SPONSORED BY BALANCED BODIES WELLNESS CLINICS
👨⚕️ Kent Cohen, MD, FACEP, is an Emory-trained emergency physician, Gulf War Air Force veteran, and Sandy Springs native passionate about wellness, fitness, and longevity.
As co-founder of Balanced Bodies Wellness Clinics with Tim Carrega, FNP, he has expanded to multiple Metro Atlanta locations, offering personalized peptide therapy, hormone replacement, medical weight loss, vitamin therapy, and other life-enhancing treatments. With nearly a decade of functional wellness experience,
👉 Dr. Cohen invites you to visit Sajani Patel, FNP, in Sandy Springs for a complimentary consultation.
At the ballot box
➡️ It’s election season in the US and Israel. Here’s what’s happening near you.
Aug. 18: Join JCRC for a free event. “Israeli Elections 101: Understanding How Israel Votes” is being held at The Dupree. Hear from CIE President Ken Stein on long-term political issues and U.S. and Israeli involvement in each other’s elections. Register here.
Aug. 25: “Preserving Democracy” is a discussion on the future of our democracy — and the power each of us has to shape it. Hosted by NCJW in Dunwoody, the panel is moderated by Lindy Miller. Get tickets.
Aug. 26: A three-part series on Israel at a Crossroads: Understanding the 2026 Elections begins at The Dupree with Rabbi Natan Trief and Rabbi Yitz Tendler. The series continues on Oct. 14 and Nov. 4.
Sept. 9: NCJW is holding “Lunch and Learn: Stepping Up to Preserve Democracy.” BYO lunch.
Note: The Temple announced it will postpone the Gubernatorial Forum, which was set to bring together faith leaders and candidates.
⁉️ Did we miss a voter education event? Email Logan.
Prepping for Elul
Prepare for the High Holidays with family-friendly community events.
🍎 Aug 20: The Great Round Challah Bake in Virginia Highland. Make round challah while learning about the symbolism behind the cycle of the year, continuity, hope, and sweet new beginnings. Connect with other parents of small children, create something meaningful, and welcome the new year.
🍎 Aug. 23: Join PJ Library and Atlanta Jewish Xperience for a festive Rosh Hashanah celebration just for kids. Make apple tarts, enjoy PJ Library story time, and more – fun for the whole family in Chamblee. Register here.
🍎 Aug. 30: “L’Dor V’Dor: Sweet mitzvot for the new year” is an event in Dunwoody for grandparents, grandfriends, and grandchildren for children ages four to eight (and siblings). Spend quality time together with PJ Library stories, light snacks, and a mitzvah project to spread kindness in our community.
RELATED
📚 Children’s books bring the holidays to life, according to this article from JTA.
How a monument to a Jewish Confederate ended up in a storage unit, next to a vacuum cleaner
📦 Behind an orange roll-up door at a self-storage facility in New Orleans, sits a vacuum cleaner, some lighting gear and a cardboard box.
Inside the box is a Confederate monument, one of the strangest Jewish heirlooms in America.
🧽 It is granite, four-and-a half-feet tall, 1,600 pounds and shaped like a thick tombstone. It lies on its side on a crushed wooden pallet because it can no longer stand up. A third of it once sat underground, and when Charlotte, North Carolina, chipped it out of a sidewalk in the summer of 2020, the buried end came out ragged. It carries a few gouges where a protester swung a hammer. Until the city scrubbed it, it also carried three letters in black spray paint: BLM.
“There it sits to this day,” said Kenneth Hoffman, executive director of the Museum of the Southern Jewish Experience (pictured), half a mile away in New Orleans, “and possibly will sit forever.”
🗞️ Read the full story on the Forward.
What’s doin’ around town
SPONSORED BY CONGREGATION OR HADASH
🎤 Aug. 16:Gotta Sing Broadway sing-along.
🫱🏻🫲🏽 Aug. 20: Israeli parents of teens meet up.
🍽️ Aug. 21: Shabbat and potluck in Noble Park.
👋🏼 Aug. 21: Open house at Or Hadash.
🎺 Aug. 23: Sinatra, Swing, and Standards cabaret night.
🔈 Aug. 25: Electromatics in concert.
🧘🏾 Aug. 27: Drop-In Jewish meditation.
✨ What do you want to leave behind? Or Hadash invites you to create an ethical will—a lasting gift of your wisdom, values, and lessons for future generations. Three Thursdays, Aug. 20, 27 & Sept. 3, 7:30–9 p.m. $54. RSVP today.
We remember
🎗️ Dr. Mark Safra, a devoted husband, father, grandfather, and respected ophthalmologist, died at the age of 77 after a courageous fight against cancer. He and his wife, Clara, were married for 54 years. Safra was the father of Seth (Jana) of Bethesda, Maryland; Rabbi Michael (Sharon) of Rockville, Maryland; and Renee Kutner (Davi) of Atlanta. He had eight grandchildren.
🎗️ Sandra “Sandy” Isenberg Abrams, real estate professional and philanthropist died on Aug. 7 at the age of 89. She and her husband, Dave, celebrated their 65th anniversary in June. Abrams was the mother Alison Schneider (Jason) and Julie Rosenblum (Jeff). She had five grandchildren and one great-grandchild.
May their memories be for a blessing.
