More than 500 people tuned in on Giving Tuesday, December 3, 2024, for our annual Community of Giving: A Virtual Gathering (CoG). We highlighted the difficulties our community has faced over the past year since the October 7th attacks on Israel – and spotlighted some of the extraordinary work we’ve done to combat the destructive impact of antisemitism.

“The assault on October 7th happened in Israel, yet it scars us with searing pain here in Atlanta as we pay witness to the continuing atrocities, the lack of global outrage, hostages that remain in captivity, and the rising worldwide antisemitism,” said Terri Bonoff, CEO of JF&CS. “It’s hard to express the depth of my own grief and anger surrounding all of this.”

Anat Sultan-Dadon, Consul General of Israel to the Southeast US, joined voices with our leadership of Terri and Jon Amsler, Board Chair; and our event co-chairs, Anat & Brian Granath and Sara & Ross Kogon; in expressing the importance of the work we are doing to soothe the wounds and ease the fears from the backlash of Jew bigotry in our community.

“Jewish Family & Career Services is a shining example of an organization that has stepped up to address the growing needs in the community in this new and challenging reality, providing much needed assistance, strength and hope for so many,” said the Consul General.

During the powerful 1-hour presentation, viewers witnessed emotional stories from clients, volunteers, and staff. All shared their heart-breaking experiences of how the surge of antisemitism this past year has dramatically affected them emotionally, psychologically, and physically – and how JF&CS has helped!

We heard from a therapist who works directly with Jewish college students through the partnership between JF&CS and Hillels of Georgia called Be Well with Hillel, along with two courageous local Jewish college students; a member of our Holocaust support team who cares for our Holocaust survivors, along with a Holocaust survivor; and David Lubin, the bereaved father of Rose Lubin z"l – a Dunwoody resident who lost her life in a terrorist attack while bravely serving Israel as a member of the Israeli Defense Force.

As Jews we live in a new reality where we do not always know where to find a safe space. Sharing the importance of having a Jewish human service agency to go to for support can help others find what they need. JF&CS has provided a safe space for so many over the past 14 months and we will continue to be there for the community.

Our featured speaker was Jonah Platt, actor, artist, and advocate; in conversation with esteemed TV personality, speaker and author, Nadia Bilchik. We listened to Jonah and Nadia have a conversation about the advocacy work he's doing through his podcast – Being Jewish – wherein he has conversations with others to explore and normalize what it means to be Jewish in today's world. He has brought the modern conversation on Jewish identity, culture, and current events to a wider audience, influencing the broader culture for good. He’s also at the forefront of changing the vernacular of “antisemitism” to what it truly is.

“I had an inkling that the word ‘antisemitism’ ... was too opaque for people,” explained Jonah. “When you’re engaging in anti-Jewish bigotry or anti-Jewish racism or anti-Jew hate, you need to know that that’s what you’re doing. And having some sort of polite political historical term to sugarcoat that for you and make it feel less impactful is the opposite of what we need right now.”

This event was bolstered by two co-chair couples who are heavily involved in our work.

“Now more than ever, the Jewish community is experiencing so much discrimination and hate,” said event co-chair Sara Kogan. “It’s important to share stories and methods to combat this prejudice. Jonah’s work in this area was highlighted throughout the CoG program and resonated with all who attended.”

In addition to being a part of our virtual event, Jonah joined us in-person on Giving Tuesday for media and community visits, as well as a VIP event for event sponsors.

He started his day as a guest of Rick Folbaum on Atlanta News First in an early morning live segment to talk about his podcast and his participation with CoG. During the VIP event, Jonah had a one-on-one conversation with David Lubin.

They noted how both of their lives changed after October 7th and advocacy and awareness became a part of their everyday lives. They each expressed the importance of Jewish pride and encouraged attendees to be outwardly, proudly Jewish.

“The future that I hope to see,” David expressed during the CoG presentation, “is where I can go to Israel and not be scared to get on an airplane or be able to go to my daughter’s grave and not have to worry about terrorist attacks. I look forward to that day when as Jews we’re not stressed about this, when we have more security… of being able to be who we are.”

“And if we’re unified, we’re stronger,” David concluded. “Stay unified, stay proud of who you are, stay proud to be a Jew!”

To summarize the stance he recommends we take, Jonah quoted the musical Wicked, which was his breakout Broadway role.

“We (the Jewish people) don’t need to be afraid of the bigots with no information who are shouting untrue things,” he explained. “There’s a line from Wicked when Elphaba realizes the Wizard is a sham, and she says to him, ‘you have no real power.’ That’s what I feel like Jews need to wake up to, to realize these people (who are criticizing Jewish people and Israel) have no real power. Just because they’re abrasive doesn’t mean that they deserve to be heard more than we do, or that we should be afraid of them when they have such a lack of information and hateful ideas.”

If you missed this impactful Community of Giving presentation, you can still watch it with your $36 donation to JF&CS. Follow the link below to purchase your ticket and receive a personal link to the recording.