ATLANTA SYNAGOGUE GUIDE PAGES 16-29 A SECRET DONOR SENDS YOUNG ISRAEL A SURPRISE. Page 16
BETH SHALOM RESTORES A HOLOCAUST TORAH. Page 17
CHECK OUT OUR METRO AREA SYNAGOGUE DIRECTORY. Pages 20-22
INTERIM RABBIS JOIN SHEARITH ISRAEL AND DOR TAMID. Pages 26-27
Atlanta VOL. XC NO. 31
WWW.ATLANTAJEWISHTIMES.COM
AUGUST 21, 2015 | 6 ELUL, 5775
Israel Aims To Close Consulate
T
They Are the Champions The Atlanta boys 14-and-under Maccabi basketball team celebrates winning the gold medal Aug. 6 in Dallas. The team consists of (front row, from left) Sam Bronfman, Josh Edelman, Simon Ben-Moshe, Eric Malever and David Perchik and (back row, from left) Cody Kaplan, Phil Malever, Leo Sachs, Billy Snyder, head coach Brian Seitz and assistant coach Jacob Gluck. Also on the team is Chase Engelhard, who missed the tournament because of an injury. More Maccabi results, Pages 34-35
NO ON IRAN DEAL
The Jewish Federation of Greater Atlanta announces its position that the United States should try again in nuclear negotiations with Iran. Page 7
ASIA IN ATLANTA
Marilyn and Sam Eckstein have filled their home with jade, ivory and other treasures collected during their many trips to the Far East. Page 32-33
INSIDE
Calendar 2 Simchas 30 Candle Lighting
3 Home 32
Local News
5 Sports 34
Israel 8 Obituaries 35 Opinion 10 Crossword 38 Leo Frank
12 Marketplace 39
he Israeli Consulate in Atlanta is targeted for closure under the budget Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Cabinet approved Aug. 6. The Consulate General to the Southeast joins the consulates in Philadelphia and San Francisco and at least four embassies on the chopping block in an effort to cut 55 million shekels ($14.3 million) a year from the Foreign Ministry’s budget, according to The Jerusalem Post. Ambassador Judith Varnai Shorer, who took over as consul general this month, thus faces her first challenge. Israel has floated the idea before, but not since dozens of Israeli businesses have found homes in the Southeast and the consulate has scored such state legislative successes as purchases of Israel Bonds and boycotts of Iran. The consulate serves the Carolinas, Tennessee, Georgia, Alabama and Mississippi. If it closed, the nearest Israeli diplomats would be in Miami and Houston. Conexx CEO Guy Tessler credited the consulate with putting those six states on the map for U.S.-Israel business ties and noted recent business-generating missions to Israel from Georgia, Mississippi and South Carolina. Shorer is joining Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam on a trip to Israel at the end of August. “This level of activity can only come when there is a strong focus on this region,” Tessler said. The budget faces several Knesset votes before final approval, due by midNovember. Letters of support can be mailed to the consulate at 1100 Spring St., Suite 440, Atlanta, GA 30309, or sent to pr@atlanta.mfa.gov.il. ■