ALL FOR ONE
Three rabbis walk into a classroom, and the learning has just begun. Page 13
VOL. XCIII NO. 3
EDUCATION, PAGES 13-22 KIRUV GIFT EAGLE’S NEST A Catholic teacher at AJA brings Chanukah back to a Holocaust survivor. Page 14
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Scout Matt Bartel makes his mark by building a pavilion at Dunwoody High. Page 18
JANUARY 19, 2018 | 4 SHEVAT 5778
Atlanta Could Lose Consulate
Photos by Michael Jacobs
Taking the Lead on King Day Ellie Gold and Atlanta Rescue Dog Cafe founder and CEO Aaron Fisher pull hard to tighten a knot and complete a dog leash made out of repurposed climbing rope in one of eight service projects conducted simultaneously at Congregation B’nai Torah on Monday, Jan. 15, during the first Community Mitzvah Day to commemorate Martin Luther King Jr. Day. About 350 people were expected at B’nai Torah and almost 800 overall at project sites around the metro area. See more photos, Page 9.
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The Israeli Consulate in Atlanta is threatened with closure for the second time in Ambassador Judith Varnai Shorer’s 2½ years as consul general. The Midtown office, which represents Israel in seven states, is on a list of seven diplomatic missions scheduled to close by 2022 under a budget the Israeli government approved Friday, Jan. 12. The current plan is to shutter the Atlanta office, a consulate in India, and embassies in Ireland, Belarus, Eritrea, the Dominican Republic, and either Latvia or Lithuania, Yedioth Aharonoth reported. A Foreign Affairs Ministry statement, however, said the seven missions being closed haven’t been picked, The Times of Israel reported. A committee is supposed to make recommendations by Friday, Jan. 19. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, also the foreign minister, is due to decide by the end of the month. The proposed closings come as Israel faces increasing diplomatic pressure to make concessions to the Palestinians and as the boycott, divestment and sanctions movement becomes more aggressive. The news also comes just before dozens of leaders from Jewish organizations in Atlanta embark on a mission to Israel and as Shorer is trying to finalize plans for the Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra to tour her region in celebration of Israel’s 70th birthday (see Page 8). The Atlanta consulate survived a round of closings in 2016 that led to the shutdown of its Philadelphia counterpart. Still, the territory of the consulate to the Southeast shifted, with Mississippi and Alabama becoming the responsibility of Miami and Atlanta adding Kentucky, Missouri and West Virginia to Georgia, Tennessee and the Carolinas. ■