BRICK BY BRICK
A bar mitzvah is collecting Lego kits for Camp Kudzu and kids with diabetes. Page 14
VOL. XCIII NO. 1
CAMPS, PAGES 14-17 ISRAEL LINKS
A summer program at Yale seeks non-day-school students from Atlanta. Page 15
WWW.ATLANTAJEWISHTIMES.COM
WINTER SPARK
Looking ahead to summer, a Chanukah expo showcases camp programs. Page 17
JANUARY 5, 2018 | 18 TEVET 5778
Hate-Crimes Sammy Davis Jr. to Open Film Festival Bill Proposed Rep. Meagan Hanson (R-Brookhaven) plans to pre-file hate-crimes legislation for this year’s General Assembly session, which opens Monday, Jan. 8. She was scheduled to hold a Capitol press conference about the bill Wednesday morning, Jan. 3, with Anti-Defamation League Southeast Regional Director Allison Padilla-Goodman. ADL National Director Jonathan Greenblatt launched the organization’s 50 States Against Hate initiative to promote hate-crimes laws in Atlanta in August 2015 at an event marking the centennial of the lynching of Leo Frank. Georgia is one of five states without a hate-crimes law, a situation that has emerged as a priority for the Atlanta Initiative Against Anti-Semitism. Georgia enacted such a law in 2000 with strong support from the Jewish community, but the state Supreme Court threw it out in 2004 for being too vague in defining a hate crime. Subsequent efforts to pass a hatecrimes bill foundered over protections for LGBTQ people. Hanson told the Reporter Newspapers that her bill will include sexual orientation and gender identity. The Jan. 3 press conference unveiling the legislation was due to include law enforcement officials. ■
The Atlanta Jewish Film Festival will open Jan. 24 with Sammy Davis Jr. and close Feb. 15 with the story of an elderly Holocaust survivor searching for the person who saved his life, both at the Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre. The festival announced the films for its opening, closing and young professionals nights Dec. 28, raising to 11 the number of feature films revealed for the 18th annual festival. The full lineup of more than 50 features and more than 20 shorts will be announced Friday, Jan. 5. The festival will begin with the documentary “Sammy Davis Jr.: I’ve Gotta Be Me,” a tribute to the Jewish entertainer in all his complexities and contradictions. The film uses performance clips, photographs, and interviews with such celebrities as Billy Crystal, Whoopi Goldberg, Norman Lear and Jerry Lewis. Filmmaker Sam Pollard will participate in a discussion after the 7:30 p.m. screening Jan. 24. Admission to the screening, including parking, costs $36. The festival will close with “The Last Suit” at 7 p.m. Feb. 15. An 88-year-old tailor leaves his home in Argentina to visit Poland in the hope of finding the man who saved him during the Holocaust. The $36 ticket to closing night includes a discussion with writer-director Pablo Solarz and a dessert reception. Midway through the 23-day festival,
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Screen grab from the “Sammy Davis Jr.” trailer
Sammy Davis Jr. is remembered for his exploits as part of Frank Sinatra’s Rat Pack.
American Jewish Committee’s ACCESS presents young professionals night Feb. 3 at the Woodruff Arts Center with “The Boy Downstairs,” a romantic comedy in which a young woman unknowingly moves into an ex-boyfriend’s building in Brooklyn. The $36 ticket includes a 7 p.m. party before the 8:30 screening. Aside from the three special nights, tickets for the festival are $12 for matinees, $15 for general admission, and $13 for seniors, students and children. Tickets go on sale at ajff.org Wednesday, Jan. 17. The world’s second-largest Jewish film festival has announced eight of the other movies for the 2018 lineup: documentaries “Bombshell: The Hedy Lamarr
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Story,” “Dreaming of a Jewish Christmas,” “Heading Home: The Tale of Team Israel” and “Itzhak”; new features “The Cakemaker,” “Bye Bye Germany” and “Act of Defiance”; and a 25th anniversary presentation of “Schindler’s List.” “These are not your typical Hollywood films, where many times you have a predictable ending or know the director,” AJFF Executive Director Kenny Blank said. “Part of the delight of AJFF is the unexpected, the surprise elements, and buying into an experience and enduring this journey not knowing exactly where it will take you.” Visit atlantajewishtimes.com for details and the full lineup Jan. 5. ■
ISRAEL AT U.N.
The U.N. General Assembly condemns U.S. recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital a day before a special U.N. Security Council session highlights Israelis held by Hamas in Gaza. Page 8