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Israeli schools benefit from the sale of holiday gift baskets in Atlanta. Page 15
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Our cocktail adviser offers three deceptively easy ways to toast Esther. Page 20
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VOL. XCIII NO. 8
WWW.ATLANTAJEWISHTIMES.COM
FEBRUARY 23, 2018 | 8 ADAR 5778
Teen Essay Targets Hate Icesha Sanders acknowledges that when she heard the news about the Parkland, Fla., high school shooting Wednesday, Feb. 14, she broke down in tears. Two days later, the Marietta Middle School eighth-grader was bringing tears to adults as she read an essay she wrote months earlier that decried the hatred and bigotry behind mass shootings. “Every day, I take a quick look at the news, and I hear about a mass shooting or a protest and how it was fueled by people who think that their race is better than others,” the 14-year-old wrote. Icesha, the daughter of Clevette and Miker Sanders, was honored as the winner of the Enlighten America essay contest, sponsored by B’nai B’rith. Icesha, Marietta City Schools’ student of the month, insisted she’s not a good writer, but the Rev. Coakley Pendergrass from Turner Chapel assured her she is: “Writers are people with ideas.” Art Link, who ran the contest, said Icesha is living up to the slogan on her school T-shirt, “Losing is not an option.” While the U.S. and Georgia flags outside the school flew at half-staff, Achim/ Gate City Lodge President Karen Kahn Weinberg said Icesha brought “such hope and light at a time when we need it.” • Read Icesha’s essay, Page 22.
Photo by Michael Jacobs
RuthE Levy, the owner of bookstore And Thou Shalt Read, presents Enlighten America essay contest winner Icesha Sanders with one civil rights book for her and one for Marietta Middle School as part of a prize package that also included awards from B’nai B’rith and from the Marietta Communities in Schools program. Art Link is behind them. The essay contest “is a program that I support with my heart and with my soul,” Levy said.
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INSIDE Candle Lighting �������������������������� 4 Israel News �����������������������������������6 Opinion �����������������������������������������8 Health & Wellness �������������������� 13 Food ���������������������������������������������21 Arts ���������������������������������������������� 26 Obituaries ���������������������������������� 28 Marketplace ������������������������������ 30 Crossword ����������������������������������� 31
AFTER PARKLAND
The shooting deaths of 17 high school students in Florida spark calls for actions beyond thoughts and prayers from Atlanta leaders, Rabbi David Geffen and the AJT. Pages 8-10