Women’s Empowerment Conference Addresses Antisemitism & Alzheimer’s

On Sunday, April 12, Hadassah Greater Atlanta held its first Women’s Empowerment Conference at the Marcus Jewish Community Center of Atlanta. Event Co-Chairs were Michele Weiner-Merbaum and Linda Hakerem, Hadassah National Assembly members. The attendees enjoyed an interactive experience that was both informative and enlightening.

The first panel, “Conversations We Need to Have with Our Children of All Ages” was moderated by State Rep. Esther Panitch, a Hadassah Life member and the only Jewish member of the Georgia House of Representatives. It included Nicole Murray Robinson, M.Ed., PhD, program director, Anti-Defamation League (ADL), and Jackie Nix, campus director, Hillel Georgia Tech. Panitch shared that she co-sponsored Bill HB 30, a definition of antisemitism as developed by the IHRA (International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance), and strongly supported by Hadassah. On Jan. 31, 2024, Gov. Brian Kemp signed Bill HB 30 into law. It will be used by law enforcement to determine if a crime is a hate crime that would fall under the definition. Nix shared that antisemitic incidents are trending downward on U.S. campuses in states that have adopted the IHRA definition.

ADL’s Campus Antisemitism Report Card assesses how colleges and universities are responding to antisemitism and supporting Jewish life. According to the latest assessment, Georgia Tech, University of Georgia, and Emory are among those with positive scores. Robinson shared that there is an escalating rate of antisemitism in the U.S., generally, and in K-12 schools, specifically, including bullying and the appearance of swastikas. Some steps citizens can do to stem the tide of antisemitism are: attend school board meetings, establish a positive relationship with school officials, provide positive age-appropriate education about antisemitism, and report antisemitic instances to the appropriate authorities.

The second panel, “Current & Future Direction of Research in Alzheimer’s Disease and Healthy Lifestyle Suggestions,” was moderated by Weiner-Merbaum and included Allan Levey, MD, PhD, neurologist and director of Emory Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center at Brain Health; and Kim Franklin, senior program manager at the Alzheimer’s Association Program, Georgia Chapter. The first question to the panel was “What is the difference between Alzheimer’s and dementia?” Dr. Levey explained, “Alzheimer’s disease is the most common cause of dementia. Dementia itself is not a disease, but a term used to describe symptoms such as loss of memory, loss of judgment and other intellectual functions.” He said that there are clinical trials underway to determine signs of early Alzheimer’s so that it can be treated earlier. Although Alzheimer’s disease can be inherited, 45 percent may be prevented by adopting healthy lifestyle habits.

From Hadassah on Alzheimer’s research – “Thanks to sophisticated new diagnostic tools, developed at Hadassah’s Computational Neuropsychiatry Laboratory, doctors will be able to diagnose Alzheimer’s disease much earlier and, consequently, improve the prognosis for millions of people.” Hadassah encourages support of the Alzheimer’s Screening and Prevention (ASAP) Act (H.R. 6130 I S. 3267), now before Congress. Show your support via the following link: https://hadassah.quorum.us/campaign/standwithisrael%20%C2%A0/

Terry Nordin, Hadassah Greater Atlanta president, shared that “the topics covered by the conference are integral to the Hadassah mission – fighting antisemitism, education, and advocacy.”

Weiner-Merbaum added, “Hadassah takes tikkun olam (repairing the world) very seriously, whether it’s through our advocacy work or our fighting for medical gender equity. Knowledge is power and presenting such timely topics with experts speaking to those topics at our conferences empowers us to not only care for the world but advocate for ourselves. It was indeed a most empowering day.”

To learn more about these topics, go to www.hadassah.org, www.adl.org, www.alz.org.