Oh, Okefenokee
June 26 (30 Sivan 5785)
🌍 Adamah, the largest Jewish environmental organization in North America, is celebrating a small victory after the announcement that Twin Pines Minerals, the company trying to mine near the Okefenokee Swamp, has agreed to sell its land in south Georgia to The Conservation Fund for $60 million.
Adamah ATL Advisory Board Member Josh Marks has been instrumental in mobilizing Jewish Georgians to protect the swampland. As the president of Georgians for the Okefenokee, Marks collaborated with local students, rabbis, and families to campaign for this water protection win.
🐊 Marks said the fight is not over.
“There are still more than 20,000 acres of land along the swamp’s edge that are vulnerable to mining and which need to be protected. The best way to accomplish that is for the legislature to finally pass the Okefenokee Protection Act, which would prohibit the issuance of mining permits along the entirety of the swamp’s eastern boundary. Citizens should contact their state legislators and urge them to support the OPA during the next session,” he said.
Adamah’s Clara Camber added: “Jewish texts tell us how important it is to protect the natural world and prevent needless destruction and waste (bal tashchit).”
👉🏼 Read more about the deal on The Current.
As always, thanks for reading.
Y’alla!
Logan
✨ Help provide life-changing mental health support to kids and families across metro Atlanta by attending CHRIS 180’s 25th anniversary CHRIStal Ball on Aug. 16! Get tickets here. SPONSOR MESSAGE
Coupla Jewish film guys
🎥 Candler Park visual artist and experimental filmmaker Joel Silverman is linking up with Emory film professor, film critic, and curator Greg Zinman this summer for a short film fest on the Atlanta Beltline.
Off The Wall is the largest movie screen in the Southeast, an Atlanta incubator, and presenter of experimental films.
Silverman’s film “Ponce de Leon Time Portal” takes viewers back to a time when Ponce City Market was a forest in the city.
🗓️ “Ponce de Leon Time Portal” is showing at 8:30 p.m. on Friday, Aug. 15 and Saturday, Aug. 16 at 725 Ponce de Leon Ave in Atlanta.
“Anyone who grew up in Atlanta remembers hearing stories of Ponce de Leon Avenue as the wild frontier of the city — an untamed corridor of danger and neglect that led to some of Atlanta’s most shocking stories about Atlanta’s greatest characters,” Silverman said, remembering tales of Murder Kroger, Baton Bob, and police raids on The Eagle bar.
The short film presents two 80-foot tall narrators in silhouette both played by him, one fact-minded and the other prone to grandiose mythogeography, weaving together tall tales and urban legends about Atlanta’s most storied street.
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!
Emergency preparedness
‼️ Retired pediatrician Dr. David Brottman has launched a new project to teach people how to respond effectively in emergencies before professional help arrives. Civilian Medic is an initiative based on Brottman’s observation that his own patients, friends, and family members lack the basic skills to handle life-threatening situations such as bleeding, opioid overdose, stroke, choking, and allergic reactions.
It can take an average of seven minutes or longer for an emergency responder to arrive after calling 911, and longer in remote or rural areas.
Thousands of people die from preventable bleeding each year, often because bystanders didn’t know what to do while waiting for EMS.
“My job isn’t to be a drill sergeant or scare people,” Brottman said. “It’s to educate and inform people about what supplies to have and what basic skills to know in case of an emergency.”
🏥 Click here to learn more about the Civilian Medic program.
Brooklyn Nets selects two Israelis in first round
🏀 Israel-born basketball player Ben Saraf (pictured) and Israeli-American hoopster Danny Wolf were selected in back-to-back picks by the Brooklyn Nets in the first round of the NBA draft Wednesday night, potentially making them the first Israeli duo on a National Basketball Association court.
Trump is trying to get US tech companies to cut off service for Israel’s critics
👨🏽💻 Most of the world’s major tech giants — companies like Google, Microsoft, Meta and Amazon — are based in the United States.
But no matter how global they may be, these U.S. companies have to navigate American laws and regulations. And now that Donald Trump is president, those rules can come in the form of capricious executive orders to deny service to political opponents.
According to a report, Microsoft has blocked internal emails containing words such as Gaza or Palestine; Israel does not trigger the block. Microsoft confirmed the block on political emails within the company.
➡ Read the full story on the Forward.
✨ Help provide life-changing mental health support to kids and families across metro Atlanta by attending CHRIS 180’s 25th anniversary CHRIStal Ball on Aug. 16! Get tickets here. SPONSOR MESSAGE
Look & Listen
🐕 Podcaster Glenn Zweig interviews Kwane Stewart, founder of Project Street Vet.
🤣 Catch Rhea Pearlman in Lena Dunham’s new show, “Too Much,” premiering on Netflix in July.
🧺 When it cools down, try a Shabbat picnic.
What’s doin’ around town
SPONSORED BY CONGREGATION OR HADASH
🧘🏼♀️June 26: Jewish mindfulness meditation with Rabbi Lauren.
🍸 June 26: Young Jewish singles at Ladybird.
💧 June 27: Dive into Shabbat at MJCCA.
🍩 June 29: PJ Library’s Donuts with Daddy.
🀄️ June 30:Make it aMahjong Monday.
🍗 July 4: Kabbalat Shabbat and BBQ in Sandy Springs.
✡️ The next Jewish holiday is Tisha B’Av on Aug. 2.
🕯️ Light Shabbat candles this week at 8:34 p.m.
🗓️Looking for a joyful, nurturing religious school your K–7th grader will want to attend? Machon Hadash at Or Hadash is an experiential Saturday morning program that brings Jewish values to life through hands-on learning. Community, connection, and meaning await—everyone welcome.
Before you go
👏🏼 Mazel tov to Stella Mackler, a graduate of Midtown High School and current Davidson College student. Mackler won a Rockower award for her article, “How one man keeps Jewish traditions alive in Moldova,” which appeared in the Forward in July 2024.
Mackler is pictured with Roman Soibelis at his home in Moldova.