
ajc.com > MetroJewish numbers show big jump Community doesn't fit any single mold By MARCIA LANGHENRYThe Atlanta Journal-ConstitutionPublished on: 06/26/06
Atlanta now has the 11th-largest Jewish population in America, up from 17th place a decade ago.
A study commissioned by the Jewish Federation of Greater Atlanta said 119,800 Atlantans identify themselves as Jewish, up 60 percent from the last study in 1995.
The growth matches metro Atlanta's overall population increase, according to Jacob Ukeles, president of Ukeles Associates of New York, which conducted the study.
"It's growing like gangbusters," said Steven Rakitt, Jewish Federation CEO.
Meanwhile, some cities are losing Jewish residents, including Philadelphia, which lost about 50,000 in the last 20 years, Ukeles said.
The study highlights differences between Atlanta's Jewish population and those in other metropolitan cities.
Atlanta's Jewish population is considered a "hybrid community," about equally split between residents who have lived here 20 years or more and those who are newcomers. It also has a high rate of interfaith marriages and a high number of young children, he said.
Of even greater interest to the federation, though, are the different needs of Atlanta's Jewish population as pertains to their geographic location.
"You really have tremendous diversity from community to community," he said.
For example, in the Dunwoody/Sandy Springs area, 90 percent of married Jewish couples are both Jewish and only 10 percent are interfaith. In contrast, in Gwinnett, 80 percent of Jewish marriages are interfaith.
In addition, Atlanta's Jewish population is less transient. Only 3 percent of those asked said they planned to move out of the area within three years.
"I don't plan to move for a long time," said Betsy Kramer of Alpharetta. "Greater Atlanta in general, as well as Alpharetta, is a Jewish destination," she said.
That's the kind of information the federation will use to target programs and services tailor-made for Jewish people who are putting down roots in Atlanta and helping build new communities.
"When you come here, you are looking to be part of a community. We are preparing to do that in a better way," Rakitt said.
The Jewish Federation most recently has focused its attentions on the north metro area, particularly Alpharetta, where it opened a campus in April housing several Jewish agencies and organizations and offering a variety of programs and services.
"It makes me feel like it's not just [about] inside-the-perimeter people. We are part of the Jewish community," said Kramer, who helped plan for the center.
"I think people realize they create what they want. It's not your grandparents'; it's a new community. You make it what it is."
Marty Kogon, new president of the federation, said that when he came to Atlanta in 1958, there were three synagogues. Today there are 36, with half inside and half outside the perimeter. Nearly all of those outside are on the northside. The same holds true for the number and location of agencies and affiliates.
One new northside congregation has grown 50 percent in the last year to 360 families, although it doesn't even have a building. Services are held at various sites in Alpharetta, Duluth and Norcross.
Congregation Dor Tamid president Mark Kopkin said that while funds are being raised to build the synagogue on Parsons Road in north Fulton, the attendance at Sunday School is already the third largest in metro Atlanta with 450 children.
The need is tremendous for children's programming and social services for the young families, he said. Once that is addressed, he projects an increase in need for seniors' services when grandparents move to the area. (so the programs that have been set up for everyone else is not good enough for them, right? by BeeBee)
Find this article at: http://www.ajc.com/metro/content/metro/stories/0626metjewish.html
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