LATEST NEWS
A New Chapter for Southern Jewish Life
Change is afoot at Southern Jewish Life… Subscribe to our new Substack site! With the current issue, we are rebooting the print edition, as part of an overall reworking of SJL. We are changing our print distribution, adding a new venue for even more stories, […]
University of North Texas being investigated for allegations of campus antisemitism
The Hurley administration building on the campus of the University of North Texas in Denton, Texas. Credit: Michael Barera via Wikimedia Commons. (JNS) — The U.S. Department of Education is formally investigating the University of North Texas for allegations of antisemitism on its Denton campus, […]
Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s Legacy of Justice and His Support for Israel
From the documentary film “Spiritual Audacity: The Abraham Joshua Heschel Story,” Rabbi Heschel (second from right) is seen marching with Martin Luther King Jr. and other black civil-rights leaders in Selma, Ala., on March 7, 1965. Source: Screenshot. By Jonathan Feldstein This week, we commemorate […]
Jewish Republican, Muslim Democrat in unexpectedly close race for Congress in north Florida
Donald Trump and Randy Fine in 2024. Courtesy of Randy Fine via The Forward By Jacob Kornbluh (The Forward) — In the first major test for the Republican Party just two months after Donald Trump took office, a race for a solidly red seat in […]
Rawl steps down at Nola JCC, Rebecca Friedman named interim CEO
New Orleans JCC Uptown. SJL file. The New Orleans Jewish Community Center announced that CEO Michael Rawl has resigned for personal reasons. Rebecca Friedman, who became the JCC board president on Feb. 2, will become the interim CEO and has agreed to a one year […]
Israel’s president praises Auburn’s Pearl for highlighting plight of hostages in Gaza
Adi and Roy Alexander attended the Auburn-Michigan Sweet 16 matchup after Pearl called for the release of Israeli-American hostage Edan Alexander, who has been held captive by Hamas since Oct. 7, 2023, at the post-game press conference following Auburn’s Round of 32 win against Creighton […]
Kefiyyah-wearing Kentucky students get schooled on hate
The Kentucky state capitol. Credit: Wikimedia Commons. By Rabbi Shlomo Litvin (JNS) — The Kentucky State House Committee for Postsecondary Education recently met to discuss Senate Joint Resolution 55, aimed at combating the horrific rise of antisemitism on college campuses in Kentucky. I was among […]
Washington-Rosenwald HBCU scholarship contest explores Black-Jewish historic relationship
The Combat Antisemitism Movement and the African American Mayors Association launched the Washington-Rosenwald HBCU Scholarship Program, awarding $25,000 in scholarships, $5,000 each to five students who explore the historic relationship between the African American and Jewish communities through essays, artwork, poetry, or video submissions. The […]
New MSJE exhibit explores history of regional Jewish Orphans’ Home in New Orleans
Photo of young residents of the Home, appx. 1915. Written on the back is “Our babies.” Courtesy of Marlene Trestman and the Crosby Family Collection, Museum of the Southern Jewish Experience For decades, the Jewish Orphans’ Home was a unique place in New Orleans, and […]
“Children of Willesden Lane” show about Kindertransport coming to Birmingham
Concert pianist and Grammy nominee Mona Golabek will return to Alabama to present “The Children of Willesden Lane,” a musical view into her mother’s escape from Nazi Germany. The performance is based on her book “The Children of Willesden Lane,” the story of her mother, […]
FEATURED ARTICLES
June 19, 2024
Ten Commandments monument outside Gates of Prayer in Metairie. SJL file. Editor’s Note: A version of this editorial originally appeared in our publication in September 2001, during the Judge Roy Moore monument dispute at the Alabama Supreme Court building. It was updated slightly to refer […]
June 23, 2023
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Southern Jewish Life magazine, which has covered the Jewish communities of the Deep South for over three decades, announced that it will be expanding with a new online edition covering the rest of the South. Starting with August 2023, Southern Jewish Life […]
November 11, 2020
Self-described “local” paper has almost no local reporting, wild circulation numbers — but plenty of ads from politicians and others thinking they are reaching the local Jewish community Editor’s Note: This piece won the national Boris Smolar Award for Excellence in Enterprise or Investigative Reporting, […]
Editorial: Jewish community needs to tell antisemitic Presbyterian Church (USA) goodbye