Coalitions and challah
Thursday, Nov. 12 (2 Kislev 5787) — Welcome back to Y’alla. If you have a friend who may enjoy getting this email, please send them this link.
🗳️ JTA reports that Jewish support for Democrats weakend slightly in last week’s midterm elections, according to a survey. Results also show Jewish people across the political spectrum believe both the Democratic and Republican parties have become too accepting of antisemitism.
👩🏻💻 The Center for Israel Education is relaunching its “Israel in Context” webinar series with a discussion on Nov. 18 of what the recent elections in Israel and the United States can tell us about the relationship between the countries.
🧶 “Friends” alum David Schwimmer stars in a new ad for Quince, which is prompting calls to boycott the clothing and home goods retailer, claiming the Jewish actor is a Zionist.
🎄 Your family’s holiday fun starts here! Make memories at Light Up Dunwoody with Santa photos, dance and musical performances, crafts, and the spectacular tree and menorah lighting. Don’t miss this beloved tradition on Nov. 15 at Donaldson-Bannister Farm. SPONSOR MESSAGE
Holla for ChallahFest
🥖 The star of the Shabbat table will be the headliner when ChallahFest comes to town Nov. 20-21 at Ponce City Market.
FOODISH, the culinary initiative of ANU – Museum of the Jewish People in Tel Aviv, organizes the festival and is taking it international for the first time.
“From one world city, Atlanta, to another, Tel Aviv, ChallahFest demonstrates how tradition can bring different communities together,” said Lorin Maugery, consul director for the Israel Ministry of Tourism’s U.S. Southern Region.
Festivities on Friday include a community dinner at The Atrium and a Kabbalat Shabbat gathering. A ChallahFest pop-up takes place on Saturday.
🎟️ Learn more and get your tickets here.
Drinks, music, and science at Fernbank Museum
SPONSORED BY THE FERNBANK MUSEUM
👀 Calling all adults 21+, Fernbank After Dark is a unique Museum Nights experience on the 2nd Friday of every month at Fernbank Museum!
➞ This ticket includes museum exhibits, live music, full bars, themed science experiments, and more. Get yours today.
Who’s the Maccabee in your life?
🕎 Know a Jewish woman who shows up for her community? Jewish Interest-Free Loan of Atlanta (JIFLA) wants to hear about her.
Now in its seventh year, JIFLA’s She’s a Maccabee campaign celebrates women who lead with strength, compassion and a commitment to helping others. Nominees must be 18 or older.
✍️ The form takes about five minutes, and a few sentences are enough. Nominations close Nov. 20. Four winners will be honored around the community during Chanukah.
➡ Nominate your Maccabee here.
🎄 Your family’s holiday fun starts here! Make memories at Light Up Dunwoody with Santa photos, dance and musical performances, crafts, and the spectacular tree and menorah lighting. Don’t miss this beloved tradition on Nov. 15 at Donaldson-Bannister Farm. SPONSOR MESSAGE
Israel’s President Herzog tasks Gadi Eisenkot with forming Israel’s next government
🇮🇱 Israeli President Isaac Herzog on Sunday asked Gadi Eisenkot to form the country’s next government. The move came nearly two weeks after the Oct. 27 election.
Eisenkot, a former IDF chief of staff who leads the Yashar Party, won the backing of 67 Knesset members. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu got 46. Eisenkot now has up to six weeks to build a coalition of at least 61 seats.
🤝 He wants a “national emergency government” made up of the four Zionist parties in the change bloc: Yashar, B’Yachad led by Naftali Bennett and Yair Lapid, Avigdor Liberman’s Yisrael Beitenu and Yair Golan’s Democrats. Netanyahu has urged him to join Likud in a unity government instead.
Any party that accepts his four principles can join, Eisenkot said. The first is recognizing Israel as a Jewish and democratic state.
➡ Read the full story on the Forward here.
Look & Listen
🎬 Actor Mark Feuerstein talks about returning to Israel after 40 years to play a CIA agent on “Still Life in Israel,” the Times of Israel’s new arts podcast.
🗳️ The Times of Israel’s “Daily Briefing” explains why Muslim and Druze voters in the north cast very different ballots.
📚 Scholar Ruth Wisse talks about grievance, gratitude and passing down Jewish confidence on “The Tikvah Podcast.”
🎤 Singer and actress Eleanor Reissa, the queen of Yiddish cabaret, sits down for a video interview shared by the Forverts.
What’s doin’ around town
SPONSORED BY CONGREGATION OR HADASH
🎷 Nov. 14:Harry Connick Jr. at the MJCCA Book Festival.
🍳 Nov. 15: Teens learn Jewish adulting skills at Or Hadash.
📜 Nov. 17: Historian Simon Sebag Montefiore presents “The Cauldron.”
🎁 Nov. 18: Teens and parents pack Chanukah gifts for Holocaust survivors.
📖 Nov. 22: Author Dara Horn at the MJCCA Book Festival.
🛍️ Nov. 29: A Chanukah bazaar and gift market at Chabad Intown.
🀄 Dec. 2:Mahj & Menorahs, a Chanukah mahjong night.
✡️ The next Jewish holiday is Chanukah, which begins at sundown on Dec. 4.
🕯️ Light Shabbat candles this week at 5:17 p.m.
Before you go
🕎 Award-winning children’s book author Barbara Kimmel is hosting Hanukkah Hippity-Hop storytimes for children around the metro area this holiday season.
