These circumstances made a Jewish employer a more fitting scapegoat for disgruntled whites than the other leading suspect in the case, a black worker. The history of the Jews in Atlanta began in the early years of the city's settlement, and the Jewish community continues to grow today. [1] Leo and his wife Lucille were members of The Temple and its community, and Lucille, to the shock of many, remained in Atlanta the rest of her life. From Atlanta to Palestine focus solely on Israel, creating problems where there are none. Synagogue members also more heartily supported Rabbi Rothschilds actions and sermons on civil rights issues afterwards, and the first sermon he gave following the bombing was called And None Shall Make Them Afraid. Starting as peddlers or in partnerships with relatives and friends, they obtained dry goods on credit from northern wholesalers (especially those in Baltimore, Maryland, and New York City). Who We Are | Jewish Federation of Greater Atlanta A critical meeting chaired by Coca-Cola Company attorney Harold Hirsch in 1936 resulted in another reorganization of Atlantas Jewish social service agencies. Additionally, David Mayer helped found the Georgia Board of Education and served on it for a decade until his death in 1890. Immigration & the establishment of congregations, History of the Jews in the Byzantine Empire, Hebrew Benevolent Congregation Temple bombing, William Breman Jewish Heritage & Holocaust Museum, "Oakland Tours in Focus: The Jewish Grounds of Oakland", "Struggling With Leo Frank's Lynching a Century Later", "The ADL and KKK, born of the same murder, 100 years ago", "Counterblast: How the Atlanta Temple Bombing Strengthened the Civil Rights Cause", "Catalyst for change: Visionary leader Sam Massell ushered in new eras in Atlanta politics and commerce", "Conflicting Views of 1967 War Mark Anniversary", "Family of slain Israeli athletes reflect with Jews of Atlanta", "Israelis Divided From Rest of Jewish Atlanta", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=History_of_the_Jews_in_Atlanta&oldid=1147131015, All Wikipedia articles written in American English, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, This page was last edited on 29 March 2023, at 01:21. All rights reserved. [2], In the decades following The Temple bombing, the Jewish community also became active in politics again. in the Greater Atlanta Jewish community each week. [2], Between the turn of the century and the late 1920s the main three synagogues came under steady leadership, and each of their rabbis went on to stay in the position for decades. Amazon donates to Ohr HaTorahwhen you shop atsmile.amazon.com. [2] The focus then largely shifted onto progressive and popular Georgia Governor John Slaton, then in his last days in office, to commute the death sentence. Torah study, love and support for Israel, and celebrating and learning from each others differences make up our core values. } Besides the differences, the newcomers were also concerned with the possibility of an anti-Semitic backlash that could undercut their acceptance. Nonetheless, the eastern Europeans, refused acceptance into the Standard Club, organized the Progressive Club (1913). var google_conversion_id = 861830943; Yet Reconstruction affected Jews differently than most southerners. z-index:11111111; Mark K. Bauman, Centripetal and Centrifugal Forces Facing the People of Many Communities: Atlanta Jewry from the Frank Case to the Great Depression, Atlanta Historical Journal 23 (fall 1979). Our mission is expansive to lead and engage all Jews and their loved ones. font-size: 14px; While the existing Atlanta Jewish community was largely assimilated, generally wealthy, and of liberal German Jewish backgrounds, the new immigrants were of a different background. Religious services were held intermittently, and women offered religious classes for children. The free, in-person session Sunday afternoon, March 26, will break through the silos of school, denomination and viewpoint. Adolph Ochs, publisher of The New York Times took up Frank's cause and launched what has been called a "journalistic crusade" in the paper. OHT offers a full range of services, classes, and programs, with something for everyone, including Daily and weekly prayer services,Torah study and educational We are committed to providing a rigorous dual curriculum for the pursuit of excellence in General and Judaic studies. [2] The community was also very present in politics two Jews from the Atlanta area were elected to the state legislature in the late 1860s and early 1870s, and in 1875 Aaron Haas was the city's mayor pro tem. The New Georgia Encyclopedia is supported by funding from A More Perfect Union, a special initiative of the National Endowment for the Humanities. Through his trial and appeals Frank was caricatured as the northern businessman and Jew out to exploityoung women from the rural South. We are Atlanta Jewish Academy, a welcoming Jewish day school guided by modern orthodox values. } Instead they made their livelihoods through small-business enterprises. Beth Jacob Atlanta 75th year video. We offer 200 spacious one and two-bedroom apartments in a high-rise community on the same campus as The William Breman Jewish Home. Susan Block Abrams, 91, of Atlanta, Ga., passed away on Jan. 19, 2023. [2] Rabbi Marx also lead the congregation's shift into classical Reform Judaism after years of internal ideological squabbles in the congregation which had eventually resulted in his hiring in 1895. color: #000 !important; David Marx was a longtime rabbi at "the Temple" in Atlanta. The mission of Your Jewish Bridge is to meet you where you are, as you want to be served, with a rich set of Jewish resources to meet your specific needs. In one such instance, the local Jewish paper remarked, "we want to make good American citizens out of our Russian brothers" and called the Yiddish speaking immigrants "ignorant." The creation of Orthodox Congregation Beth Jacob, soon under the leadership of Emanuel Feldman (1952), served as a harbinger of the ceremonial/religious revival of the last half of the twentieth century. Max Gettinger oversaw the reorganization of the Federation of Jewish Charities in 1967. Directory | Atlanta Jewish Connector Yet Jews and African Americans have been linked ambiguously in the South since the mid-nineteenth century, and the eras of the greatest racism coincide with the rising specter of anti-Semitism. Mendel, part of a wave of Jewish immigrants from eastern Europe who arrived in Atlanta in the 1880s, became the city's biggest dry-goods wholesaler. The arrival of the new immigrants, coupled with the declining needs of the earlier immigrants, contributed to the transformation of Jewish social services and club life. Jewish Community of Atlanta - New Georgia Encyclopedia A population study (locating 9,630 Jews) was undertaken, experts were consulted, and a community calendar was established. It is with deep sadness that we announce the passing of our beloved Allan Irwin Scher Eliyahu ben Avraham Wolf, 80, who left this world surrounded by his Helen Moses Regenstein passed away peacefully at her home on 20 April, at the age of 104. Ben Massell, for one, became one of Atlantas premier builders and developers during the mid-twentieth century. As board chair of the Atlanta History Center, Hunter guided the organization through the twin challenges of the pandemic and social unrest following George Floyd's murder in May 2020. Club Kef is our amazing after school program for students who are walking age through 8th Grade! /* ]]> */ In 1913 Frank, a Jew raised in New York, was accused of murdering Mary Phagan, an employee of the Atlanta pencil factory he managed. 11 Iyyar 5783. Davening: 1985 Lavista Rd NE, Atlanta, GA 30329. Michlelet An extraordinary program for teenage girls looking to spend their summer in a productive way by learning Torah and touring Israel. span.meta-category a { Jewish Federation of Greater Atlanta The Hebrew Benevolent Congregation, which first organized in 1860 as the Hebrew Benevolent Society, began construction in 1875 on a synagogue in Atlanta. In 1887, Congregation Ahavath Achim was founded to fit this new portion of the community, and in 1901 their synagogue was built in the middle of the south side area where most Yiddish-speaking Jews lived. In 1969, he was elected the first Jewish mayor the city, after winning the vast majority of the African American vote and losing the vast majority of the white vote. B'nai B'rith International - Achim/Gate City Lodge (Atlanta). Most of Atlantas Jews were immigrants, having lived in other areas of America before migrating to the city. Determination is based on student individual needs. [2] That changed in 1860s, after the founding of the Hebrew Benevolent Society, started as a burial society, which led to the creation of the Hebrew Benevolent Congregation in 1867. width: 50%; Explore what it means to be Jewish from an Israeli point of view, understand the complex politics of the Middle East with real-world insights, and practice Jewish values through hands-on volunteering and Shabbat experiences. As its population has risen, it has also become the Southern location of many national Jewish organizations, and today there are a multitude of Jewish institutions. [12], Leo Frank's lynching had a massive impact on the Atlanta Jewish community, and in many ways still does today. Congregation Ohr HaTorahis aModern Orthodox congregation, built upon the following core values: Torat Yisrael- We lead our lives guided by strong commitment to Torah and Halacha. Today there are 38 synagogues in the area 33 founded after 1968, of which 24 were started between 1984 and 2006. The Hebrew Benevolent Society, which was started in 1860 and provided insurance, aid, and burial benefits, served as the first formal Jewish religious organization and the forerunner of things to come. Weve grown to serve the city we love! Yet the, shattered the sense of security felt by Atlantas Jews, who were routinely excluded from the citys elite social clubs. Mendel became the city's biggest dry-goods wholesaler by the turn of the twentieth century. The editor of the Atlanta Constitution newspaper, Ralph McGill, wrote a powerful editorial in the paper denouncing the bombing and any tolerance for hatred in the city, for which he won a Pulitzer Prize. Rabbi Tobias Geffen was born in Lithuania, received his ordination there, and started his family there before immigrating to the U.S. JScreen collecting testimonials for 10th anniversary. Anna Streetman shares about her relationship with her mother, Toby Gutterman Streetman. Their numbers also dramatically increased with the arrival of numerous immigrants who had previously resided elsewhere in the South or North. ga('create', 'UA-10497136-1', ga_cookie_domain); Information about your use of this site is shared with Google. The story is told through photographs, documents, personal memorabilia, family pictures, and in the voices of those who survived and made new lives in Atlanta. They were tolerated but also singled out as different. Religious services were held intermittently, and women offered religious classes for children. Bauman, Mark.