Atlanta Jewish Community Archives

CPI Education Series

Register Below for CPI’s Education Series

jewishatl In Atlanta Jewish Community, Global News, Jewish Journeys

Second Round of Gap Year Scholarships are Sending Teens to Israel

JumpSpark’s Atlanta Israel Gap Year Scholarship is helping to build a bridge between Atlanta and Israel. Last year, thanks to the generosity of Federation’s community, 25 Atlanta teens were able to live abroad in Israel for a year. The second cohort is about to embark on this incredible expedition, and this year, there are 28 of them.

The young adults who embark on this journey are recent high school graduates. They each receive a $10,000 grant provided by JumpSpark and the Zalik Foundation Fund. Students who commit to working for a partner organization in the summer after they complete this program receive an additional $5,000 service subsidy.

Many students in this program will continue their studies in Israel—they may take classes at Hebrew University in Jerusalem or elsewhere. This is an incredible opportunity to learn and explore the world before college. The Atlanta Israel Gap Year Scholarships allow young adults to experience an entirely new way of life and have experiences they would never get at home.

Our year one cohort returned to Atlanta in May. Here’s what two of our participants had to say about their experience:

“I am forever indebted to my gap year experience. I did not realize how much a break before entering my college/adult life would be beneficial. I am so much more confident in what I want to study and in myself. My Jewish identity has never been stronger, and I don’t have a question on whether or not I will keep those practices in my life.”

“As a Jew, my gap year provided me all the resources needed to explore different levels of observance while educating me on Israel’s history. This combination gave me a basis to find how I will choose to live my life as a Jew in America and on a college campus.”

This grant is the first of its kind. We are thrilled that so far, we have been able to support 53 teens in this program, and our number of interested teens continue to grow each year.

If you want to learn more about the Atlanta Israel Gap Year Scholarship, contact Susie Mackler at smackler@jewishatlanta.org.

jewishatl In Atlanta Jewish Community

Meet your 2023 Community Campaign Chairs

The 2023 Community Campaign will begin very soon, on September 6, and we have new campaign leadership, Joel Arogeti and Seth Greenberg. Learn about the dedicated leaders who will be helming this year’s Campaign!

Joel S. Arogeti is the Chair of the 2023 Community Campaign. He has over 40 years of experience in business law and is an advisor and counselor to business owners and their companies. Joel served as President and CEO of Kitchens Kelley Gaynes, PC for over twenty years, where he now continues to practice law.

Joel’s community involvement includes participating in Leadership Atlanta’s Class of 2008. He served as a member of the Board of Directors of National Bank of Commerce and a charter member of Private Bank of Buckhead’s Board of Directors. He has also served as Chair of the Board of The Marcus Jewish Community Center of Atlanta, Hosea Helps (formerly Hosea Feeds the Hungry & Homeless), and on the Board of The Jewish Federation of Greater Atlanta. His not-for-profit service includes the President of Congregation Or VeShalom, The Epstein School Board, The Louis Kahn Group Home, the Atlanta Chapter of the American Jewish Committee, and Hillels of Georgia. Joel is married to Beth Weiller Arogeti, and they have four children and two grandchildren.

Seth Greenberg, Chief Executive Officer of ECI Group, is the Vice Chairman for the 2023 term. For more than 50 years, ECI Group has been one of the most highly regarded, privately owned real estate firms in the Southeast and Texas. The firm is fully integrated, with development, construction, investment and property management groups that have garnered national recognition for innovation and performance in the multifamily rental industry. Seth’s academic background includes a degree from Seton Hall School of Law, as well as a Bachelor of Arts in History from the University of Michigan.

Along with Seth’s commitment to the Jewish Federation of Greater Atlanta, he is a member of the Board of Governors of The Jewish Agency for Israel and Co-Chairman of the Immersive Experience Sub Committee. He is a member of the Tel Aviv Foundation Board of Directors, Treasurer of the United Israel Appeal and a member of AIPAC and B’nai Torah Synagogue. Seth is also an original board member of Ian’s Friends Foundation.

Seth and his wife, Lisa, have two adult children, Max and Dori and are dog parents to Charlie and Riley.

jewishatl In Atlanta Jewish Community, Philanthropy

Reflecting on a Year of Great Work

By Matt M. Bronfman
We are full speed ahead on our Community Campaign goals for 2023! While we are forward-focused, we must remind ourselves of our great work this past year.

Through Federation’s Community Campaign, the Atlanta Jewish Foundation and the ALEF Fund, we drove more than $43 million into the Jewish Atlanta community and more than $72 million to our global society. View our brochure.

In an unpredictable world, we are philanthropic first responders. We step in to tackle emergencies from Ukraine to Covid, to meet recurring needs for our partners from scrappy start-ups to legacy institutions, and to provide care to people in need, from patients suffering from Alzheimer’s to children with special needs.

I am so proud of our work and fortunate to have the opportunity to work with such incredible professionals and dedicated lay leaders. It is my honor to be part of this community.

jewishatl In Atlanta Jewish Community, Global News

Ana Sazanov is Leading Relief Efforts for Ukrainians

Ana Sazonov is the Executive Director of the Columbia Jewish Federation in South Carolina and one of the Southeast’s most prominent voices on the humanitarian crisis facing Ukrainians. This issue is deeply personal to her: Ana is Ukrainian herself.

As a young girl in Ukraine, Ana didn’t know that she had Jewish heritage—her father had kept his identity a secret in the oppressive USSR. Their family lived only 90 miles from the Chernobyl disaster site, and after the fall of the Soviet Union, Ana’s parents felt they were no longer safe. When they heard a radio ad from the Jewish Agency for Israel (JAFI) about making Aliyah to Israel, they knew they had to take the opportunity. At 6 years old, Ana left Ukraine to begin life as an openly Jewish girl in Israel.

Ana began her journey in the nonprofit Jewish world working for Emory Hillel. She went on to earn a master’s degree in Jewish Professional Leadership and a master’s in Nonprofit Management at the Hornstein Jewish Professional Leadership Program and The Heller School for Social Policy and Management at Brandeis University. In 2021, she became the Executive Director of the Columbia Jewish Federation. “I felt a call to lead, as a triple-outsider: a young, female, foreigner,” she says.

When the war in Ukraine began this spring, Ana’s resolve and leadership were immediately put to the test. She and her parents planned to meet in Israel in early April for Passover—a week before Russia invaded. Her parents had only brought small suitcases with them, but they found themselves stuck, unable to return home. It would have been easy to feel paralyzed, but Ana leaped into action instead.

She changed her travel plans, and instead of going to Israel, she traveled to the Ukraine/Poland border and spent two weeks volunteering with refugees. While there, she met many Jewish and non-Jewish people whose lives would never be the same. She remembered what it felt like to flee her home at 6 years old.

“I think my story is one of going from hiding to providing,” she says. But she is adamant that you don’t have to give much to give back. “You don’t need to be rich to make a difference; my family was changed forever because of a radio ad.” She thinks of that ad often, mainly because JAFI is one of Federation’s partner organizations.

“The money we allocate impacts people on so many different levels. I’m a living example of someone who benefitted from the Federation system and now can give back to it.”

Supporting Federation means supporting people in need worldwide, and Ana wants people to understand how meaningful their time and donations are to those who are struggling. “People need to keep Ukrainians in their hearts, their minds, and their actions. That’s how we make a difference.”

Ana Sazonov is the featured speaker at the Women’s Philanthropy Fall Event on October 26, 2022. To learn more about the event, click here.

To support Federation’s mission, please click here.

To give to Federation’s Ukrainian Relief Fund, click here.

jewishatl In Atlanta Jewish Community

August 2022 Legislative Update

Leslie Anderson, Executive Director, JCRC

America was founded on basic principles of democracy that encourage – require, really – active civic engagement to complete the social contract between government and citizens. The non-partisan Jewish Democracy Network was created to mobilize Jewish institutions and individuals across states, denominations, backgrounds, and political ideologies – through the people and organizations they trust – to ensure free, fair, safe, and accessible elections. It will take many people with different expertise and experiences working creatively, and compassionately together to be successful in supporting election administration. In that spirit, JCRC of Atlanta has joined the Jewish Democracy Network (https://www.jewishdemocracy.org) to recruit non-partisan poll workers in Metro Atlanta. We will kick off our campaign on Tuesday, Aug. 16, 2022, National Poll Worker Recruitment Day.

More information and sign-up details will be on the JCRC website at jcrcatlanta.wordpress.com/poll-workers or email jdn@jcrcatlanta.org.

jewishatl In Atlanta Jewish Community

Reflecting on the Challenges and Successes of Last Year

By Rich Walter

I hope that you had a restful and productive summer. Here, we spent the summer reflecting on the challenges and successes of our previous year and planning for the upcoming one. Our greatest success was the more than $72 million of impact we had on the community through the Atlanta Jewish Foundation, Federation’s fundraising, and the Alef Fund. Together we enhanced Jewish education, took care of the most vulnerable, and invested in new ideas and opportunities. Other highlights include:

We launched a major research project around Jewish Early Childhood Education as we plan for the best way to strengthen this important entry point for so many Jewish families. We are expecting the results shortly.
We continue to support the ecosystem from the ongoing effects of Covid-19 though grants for PPE and disruptions to service and through access to community health experts.
We launched JproATL (more below) to best serve the professionals working and supporting our Jewish community.
We sent the first ever Shinshin emissary from Atlanta to our partnership region Yokneam/Meggido in Israel as one of 25 teens who received a Jumpspark gap-year scholarship.

Our year was not without challenges, and we remain committed to positioning Federation as a community champion that is here to both convene our ecosystem around important issues and provide guidance and support when needed. One area that we are looking to do better is in convening the ecosystem and relevant sectors in a more intentional and meaningful way. Part of that will be achieved by our continued investment in JproATL, but we are also working on ways to expand into the broader network of our partners to enhance the lay leadership experience and connect this important sector more in our work.

One of the ways we aim to do this over the coming year is engage our partners in a series of consultations where we can learn from each other about successes and challenges in our work. This is part of a reimagined allocations and grant making structure in which, rather than only receiving reports from those who receive federation funding, we more intentionally engage in conversation with each other to identify the best ways to enhance collective impact in the community.

None of this impact can happen without the collective efforts of all our community partners and as we continue to expand our grantmaking opportunities beyond allocations, we aim to help steward the community into the future. This is only possible due to our ability to serve as the philanthropic champion for the Atlanta Jewish community. I invite you to please consider making a gift and encouraging your constituents to support these efforts as well.

jewishatl In Atlanta Jewish Community

Exploring Jewish Contributions to Art and Culture in “Side By Side” Series

The Breman Museum and Neranenah Concert and Culture Series are thrilled to announce a new live performance series called “Side by Side.” This week of live performances and conversations will explore Jewish contributions to American arts and culture.

The series features concerts, film screenings, interviews, comedy, and a musical shabbat and will take place across metro Atlanta. “Side By Side” showcases local and international talent, including Ben and Leo Sidran, Eric Krasno, The Hello, Goodbye, & Peace Ensemble, Jessica Kirson, and more. 

Neranenah was previously known as the Atlanta Jewish Music Festival but has rebranded with the Hebrew name Neranenah, which means “to come together and sing.” Neranenah resumed in-person concerts last July and is continually working to bring the Jewish world together in community.

Neranenah Executive Director Joe Alterman says, “This new series is really a love letter to showcase how Jewish contributions paved the way for much of what can be seen today in American arts and culture. When deciding on the right partner for this endeavor, The Breman Museum was a perfect choice because we are both non-profit organizations with a mission to stand side by side in promoting the arts and Jewish culture in our community.”

Leslie Gordon, Executive Director at The Breman, says, “By partnering with Neranenah on this performance series, The Breman reinforces its commitment to bring quality entertainment to Atlanta that highlights Jewish culture and the influence Jews have had in the arts.”

It is impossible to imagine what American music, movies, theatre, or comedy would be without the contribution of Jewish artists. This series celebrates creativity and is a love letter to the traditions that birthed our popular culture.

“Side By Side” begins Sunday, August 21, and concludes Sunday, August 28. For a full schedule and to reserve your tickets, click here. 

jewishatl In Atlanta Jewish Community, Caring

Community Love Stories

We asked our readers to submit their tales of romance, and you delivered! Read these sweet stories from our Federation family.

“My husband and I met in Etz Chaim preschool when we were four. We had a little crush on each other even back then, and there’s a photo of him with his arm around me at that time, and a few others of us playing together. He tried to flirt with me in middle school, but I thought boys were gross then, so, of course, I ignored him. 

My mom ran into him at Publix about 10 years ago and asked if he remembered me. He said yes. After she told me she had run into him, I looked him up on Facebook after all these years. And I thought he was cute! But I was too shy to ask him out, until about five years ago. I asked him to dinner, and we had a horrible first date. I decided I didn’t want to see him again, but he was persistent and really wanted another chance to win me over. So, I relented. We had an incredible second date and have been together ever since. We got married in August of 2020 with 11 people in attendance.”

– Anna Streetman and Harrison Levy

“We met on a Federation mission in 1986 and married later that same year. We remember very fondly that we had nearly 200 chaperones on our “first date.” There were five busloads of us. After all these years, I am finally comfortable admitting that I made certain that Robert and I were on the same bus.

Robert and I have been married for nearly 36 years. We have three kids: Janine Franco and her husband Alan Pinstein, Dena Franco and her husband Jonny Newburgh, and Eli Franco and his wife Shira Berman.”

– Sara Franco and Robert Franco

“‘We met over a plate of kiddush tuna.'” This long-standing quip from Nachum isn’t so far from the truth. 

In 2007 we were both new to Denver, seeking community, and found ourselves in the same synagogue with a small but growing young adult community. We began spending Shabbat afternoons together and quickly became close friends. Over time that friendship grew to more, and within a few months, we knew we’d found our match. 

We got engaged a year later, on Melissa’s 25th birthday, and the community surprised us with a lovely fancy dinner (because the kosher options were so limited!) and then an impromptu party. We were married that summer in the same synagogue where we met by the rabbi at whose home we’d spent many of our Shabbat afternoons while dating. We have now lived in seven residences in four cities spanning three states/two countries and added two kids to the family.”

-Rabba Melissa Scholten-Gutierrez and Rabbi Nachum Gutierrez

“Where do you look for love when you’ve lived in Atlanta your whole life and worked in the Jewish Community most of your career…on JDate! After 10 years of being divorced, I was finally an empty nester and decided to try online dating. 

In early December 2015, I got an online message from Roy: “JDate says that we are a 95% match, do you agree?” After reviewing his profile, I learned he was originally from Savannah. Knowing that my friend and colleague at Federation, Susan Moray, had previously worked in the Savannah Jewish community, I walked down the hall to ask if she knew him. I was thrilled to hear, “not only do I know him, but we were next-door neighbors, and he is a great guy!”

On Monday, December 7, 2015, which happened to be the second night of Hanukkah, we arranged to meet for dinner. There was an immediate connection, and our conversation continued after dinner at a quaint coffee house. We discovered that he had previously worked in the same office building as my father, who published The Jewish Georgian.

At the end of our first date, he asked me what I was doing the next day. I flirtatiously shared that I was having a mammogram. The following evening, I received a thoughtful text asking how my appointment had gone. His care and concern touched me. At the end of the text, he cleverly gauged my interest by asking if I’d like to get together again and said, “is this Friday too soon or not soon enough?!” 

We talked throughout the week and had a great second date, followed by a third date where he offered to cook Shabbat dinner. He asked what I was doing on Christmas Eve, and I shared that I had plans to go to Steve’s Live Music in Sandy Springs to hear Tony Levitas, Mark Michelson, and Hannah Zale. He was also planning to go, so we were excited for our friends to meet.

The night was filled with more coincidental connections. It ended up that the last performer of the night was his niece, Hannah Zale. Roy didn’t know that his niece’s older sister, Tali Benjamin, had been a work colleague of mine at Federation. At lunch on my second day, Tali and I realized that Hannah was the same age as my son Jonathan, also a musician, and they had common friends. As a result, Hannah and Jonathan eventually met and performed together at a music festival.

The biggest surprise was yet to come. I woke up on December 31, making last-minute preparations to entertain friends, excited to ring in 2016 with Roy. I had to run some errands and a scheduled MRI because of some strange symptoms I had been having. Roy offered to come with me, but I told him not to worry, that I was sure it was nothing and that I would call him as soon as I was done.

Around 1 PM, I called to let him know they were sending me to the emergency room because something didn’t look right on the scan. I called my family, all of whom live in Atlanta. Imagine Roy meeting my entire family for the first time in the hospital as we received the unimaginable news that I had a brain tumor. 

We were all in shock from the diagnosis, but then something amazing happened. Roy held my hand, reassuring my family that he was not going anywhere. He explained that in the short time we had known each other, he already knew that we had something special and that sticking around was a “no-brainer.”

Despite my diagnosis, I did not shed a tear because my heart was filled with love. Could it be true that this amazing man was willing to be vulnerable enough to fall in love, faced with so much uncertainty about a future together? On January 7, 2016, four weeks after our first date, I had brain surgery, followed by a year of chemo. The last thing I remember before they took me back to the operating room was him whispering in my ear, “I love you.”

Over the past six and a half years, my brain tumor has remained stable, no doubt in part because of the happiness and love Roy has added to my world. On June 14, 2020, just three months into COVID, Rabbi Berg married us in the gazebo in the backyard of our new home, surrounded by our blended family.

I marvel at the timing of our meeting and all the connections. I have come to believe that, as Albert Einstein is quoted, “coincidences are G-d’s way of remaining anonymous.” In Judaism, we have the perfect word for this type of divine intervention, which is simply defined as ‘Beshert.'”

-Karen Paz and Roy Cranman

jewishatl In Atlanta Jewish Community, Federation Innovation

Wisdom in a Pairing 

By Erica Greenblatt and Matthew Borenstein 

It wasn’t a typical first date, and certainly not a typical first-date conversation. But technically, it wasn’t even a first date. Jewish Federation of Greater Atlanta’s Wisdom Pairings—a professional networking event put on by Federation’s Innovation team—served as our first meeting. A year and a half later, we got married, and Federation continued to play a big role in our wedding weekend. 

What a first meeting it was at Wisdom Pairings. After hearing from the evening’s speaker, we were paired together in a breakout room, as our initial pairings both no-showed (thanks, y’all, and thanks to Erica’s manager for suggesting she attend). We talked QAnon conspiracies, living in space, kayaking, and a whole selection of random topics. 

There was a connection. 

When the time was up, Matthew meant to send Erica a Zoom direct message about an upcoming kayak trip. It went to the entire group. But it’s a good thing Erica realized it was for her and knew how to respond with a proper DM. That message led to a Linkedin conversation (Wisdom Pairing is intended for professional networking, right?) which led to a first date at Eventide Brewing. 

A year-and-a-half later, we began the weekend of celebration with a Shabbat dinner at the Selig Center; we met through Federation, after all, and are both involved in the Jewish community in our own ways: Erica, the Director of Philanthropic Outreach for the ADL’s Southern Division, and Matthew, who serves on the Federation Innovation Committee. We continued with a Saturday morning service and Kiddush luncheon at the Selig Center before our Sunday wedding at Zoo Atlanta. 

It turns out, Wisdom Pairings wasn’t our first conversation (although neither of us said anything on the initial Zoom). We were first set up, or at least the first attempt at a setup, just after Erica moved to Atlanta from New York for a promotion with the ADL. Matthew’s aunt and uncle are best friends with Erica’s sister’s in-laws. But there was no meeting, then, just a couple of texts. Life got in the way for the next couple of years—until Federation brought us together for good.  

Wisdom Pairings might have been our first Federation event together, but it won’t be our last—we are excited to continue our involvement. 

Erica Greenblatt and Matthew Borenstein were married on June 19 at Savanna Hall, Zoo Atlanta. The couple resides in Brookhaven, Ga. 

Wisdom Pairings is a series of events that aims to create person-to-person connections. The next event is for professionals who work at Jewish organizations, and is August 22 at 5 PM. Click here to register