Mental Health Awareness
May 8 (10 Iyar 5785) —
🫶🏼 May is Mental Health Awareness month. As the Blue Dove Foundation says on its website, the Jewish and interfaith communities are not immune to struggles with mental health and substance abuse.
Resources in Atlanta range from narcan training and workshops for teens, in-person meetings and virtual workshops, serious conversations and artistic expression.
🧠 May 13: “Shifting Perspectives: Understanding Neurodiversity” at 12 p.m. in Dunwoody with JF&CS, JAccess, and BeWellATL.
💝 May 13: “Beyond the Silence” at 7 p.m. in Sandy Springs with the Blue Dove Foundation.
🕯️ May 16: OneTable Shabbat dinner for Mental Health Awareness month.
💉 May 21: Narcan training at 12:30 p.m. on Zoom with Blue Dove Foundation and others.
Take good care of yourself.
Y’alla,
Logan
Brother’s keeper: A family’s fight to bring Evyatar home
BY KEITH PEPPER, PUBLISHER
🇮🇱 In late March, I traveled to Israel for the first time since the devastating terror attacks of Oct. 7, 2023. It was a complicated visit as I balanced the pain of visiting the Gaza envelope, including Kibbutz Nir Oz and the Nova Music Festival site, with sunset runs along Tel Aviv’s magical, still-bustling beachfront. When people asked me about my trip, I simply couldn’t find the right words to describe it.
☀️ While parts were very sad, I’ve always felt that a bad day in Israel was better than a good day anywhere else. But it seemed disingenuous to say that the trip was “great,” because Israel’s economy is still recovering (tourism has almost completely dried up), and the collective pain and trauma of a country at war is palpable.
Earlier this week, I met Ilay David, the brother of Evyatar David, who was taken hostage at the Nova Music Festival. After speaking with Ilay, I finally found the strength to write.
RELATED
🎗️ Ron Segev, a survivor of the attack on the Nova music festival, will speak at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, May 20 at Congregation Etz Chaim in Marietta.
Segev, a 39-year-old Tel Aviv resident, has delivered his testimony around the world, and he’s an ambassador for the Tribe of Nova festival. The event is free, but RSVPs are required.
Mythic creatures meet modern art!
SPONSORED BY FERNBANK MUSEUM
✨ Step into a world where mythology and art collide! “Spirit Guides: Fantastical Creatures from the Workshop of Jacobo and María Ángeles“ brings vibrant, hybrid animal sculptures to life in Fernbank’s WildWoods.
These whimsical sculptures blend Zapotec culture and contemporary art, each representing spirit guides tied to personality and destiny. Designed by renowned Oaxacan artists, this exhibit offers a soulful journey through indigenous culture, identity, and the natural world.
➡ Open now through August 3 with special after-hours viewings on select nights. Don’t miss this magical experience!
Jewish Heritage Day at the ballpark
⚾️ Celebrate Jewish Heritage Day with AJC Atlanta and the Gwinnett Stripers at Coolray Field on Sunday, May 18 for an afternoon of baseball, community spirit, and camaraderie. The Gwinnett Stripers face off against the Charlotte Knights at 1:05 p.m.
The first 100 fans to register will snag a unique Hebrew Stripers hat. Kids can play catch on the field before the first pitch, and experience the thrill of running the bases post-game.
A portion of your purchase supports the Hostages and Missing Families Forum to further their important work.
The Breman hosts Israeli artist
🎭 Jason Danino Holt, Israeli theatermaker and BAMAH artist in residence at The Breman, will present “Confessions. Observations. Conversions” at 7 p.m. on May 20. The two-hour event includes an insightful lecture followed by an audience-participatory experience, and a reception with the artist.
Holt is the artistic director of Habait Theatre in Tel Aviv and founder of UMAMI, a Tel Aviv-based indie creation group. Born and raised in Tel Aviv to a British father and a Moroccan-Canadian mother, Holt is a playwright, theater and documentary director, performer, translator, TV presenter and cultural entrepreneur.
He has been working in Atlanta through BAMAH, an Israeli nonprofit with a mission of “harnessing arts and culture from Israel to inspire and connect people of all backgrounds and identities.”
👉🏼 The event is free with registration.
White Rose Society
💮 Dr. Michael Youssef, founding rector and senior pastor of the Church of the Apostles in Atlanta, was given a White Rose for his unwavering support of Israel and the Jewish people.
During the ceremony, Consul General Sultan-Dadon thanked Youssef for his solidarity, and encouraged the church members in attendance to use their voices to stand for the truth during this difficult time. Rabbi Lydia Medwin of The Temple blessed Youssef with a special prayer.
Pictured from left: Rabbi Lydia Medwin, Julie Rau, executive director of the White Rose Society; Dr. Michael Youssef, founding rector and senior pastor of the Church of the Apostles in Atlanta; and Consul General Anat Sultan-Dadon.
Summer in Israel
📚 Alexander Muss High School summer programs are now registering.
Program tracks are tailored to student interests. Options include the flagship six-week summer semester, a full academic curriculum for high school credit combined with travel; Muss Explore, an experiential-learning travel and Israel education program without the stress of exams; and the entrepreneurship program, where students discover how Israel became the start-up capital of the world while building a pitch to viable start-ups.
Participants are also eligible to earn the NYU Bronfman Institute Certificate for Impact and Intrapreneurship.
“The Muss summer experiences are diverse in nature, but they all share a common thread—a journey that strengthens students’ Jewish identities and prepares them for future leadership,” said Muss President Susan Sacks.
“This program has changed my life,” said Sari Gross, who attended Muss Classic last year. “I have made lifelong friends and memories that I will never forget. I feel more connected to my Judaism.”
The secret Jewish history of Alcatraz
🚨 A reported White House plan, announced May 4, to reopen and expand Alcatraz, the former prison on an island off San Francisco that has been closed for over 60 years, has been dismissed by Izzy Gardon, spokesperson for the California governor.
Yet Alcatraz, for all its cruelty and bad karma, has been a recurrent theme in American Jewish history and culture.
➡️ Read the full story on the Forward.
Look & Listen
💻 Watch: David Portnoy shuts down an ABC reporter.
📰 Read: The Free Press digs into the Gaza famine myth.
🎧 Listen: Dan Senor, host of “Call Me Back” podcast, and Israeli columnist Nadav Eyal on the Houthis’ attack on Ben Gurion airport.
What’s doin’ around town
SPONSORED BY CONGREGATION OR HADASH
🍩 May 11: Donuts with dad and PJ Library.
🩺 May 13: Ask a pediatrician with JBaby in Chamblee.
🇮🇱 May 15: Join an Israeli Independence Day celebration.
📸 May 15: Humans of the Holocaust and Humans of Oct. 7 exhibit.
🧶 June 8: Ambassador Stuart Eizenstat will be honored at the NIF Atlanta Tzedek Awards.
✡️ The next Jewish holiday is Shavuot on June 1.
🕯️ Light Shabbat candles this week at 8:10 p.m.
🗓️ Experience the acclaimed work of Israeli photojournalist Erez Kaganovitz on May 15 as he shares the powerful personal stories behind Humans of the Holocaust and Humans of October 7th — honoring resilience and spotlighting the human spirit. 📷 Learn more and RSVP!
Mazel Tov
🙌🏼 Ella Hart Kashdan, a student at the Weber School, has been selected to represent Roswell, Ga., as a national youth correspondent at the 2025 Washington Journalism and Media Conference at George Mason University.
