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international center for business and culture, it also produced one of the country’s most dynamic and flourishing Jewish communities. Today, Atlanta boasts nearly one hundred thousand Jews and more than thirty synagogues, covering a broad range of worship practices.
L’Chaim—A History of Jews in Atlanta was
There are at least four schools, kosher delis and
commissioned in honor of the centennial
supermarkets, a Jewish museum, a Jewish home
celebration of the Jewish Federation of Greater
for the aged, and heavily Jewish neighborhoods.
Atlanta, an organization founded in 1906 as the
L’Chaim—A History of Jews in Atlanta, through
Federation of Jewish Charities. But the fascinating
images and voices, tells these stories and more.
story of Jews in Atlanta actually traces its roots to 1845, when two German Jewish immigrants first settled in what was then a small railroading town. In the 161 years since that modest beginning, metro Atlanta’s Jewish community has continued to thrive, sometimes in the face of opposing social and political pressures, but never without hope. This volume brings together period photographs and oral history interviews to document the rich history of the Gate City’s Jews. An accompanying text weaves together the experiences of Central
Photo by Erik Lesser
European, Eastern European, and Sephardic Jewish immigrants, explaining how the Atlanta Jewish community interacted with its southern environment, weathered episodes of anti-Semitism like the Leo Frank case and The Temple bombing, and became an integral part of the city’s economic, political, and cultural life. Eric L. Goldstein is an assistant professor of History and Jewish Studies at Emory University.
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JEWISH FEDERATION OF GREATER ATLANTA THE SELIG CENTER 1440 SPRING STREET NW ATLANTA, GEORGIA 30309 404-873-1661
As Atlanta became a regional hub and grew during the twentieth century into a major Continued on back flap