2021

Empty ark: Rabbi David Gerber checked on the Gates of Prayer building in Metairie, noting how odd it was to see an empty ark in the darkened sanctuary, as the Torahs had been moved to higher ground in advance of the hurricane. Reports continue to […]

Courtesy Google Maps The former Karnofsky Shop, a landmark in the history of New Orleans jazz, was demolished by Hurricane Ida on Aug. 29. The building at 427 South Rampart Street, which was vacant, was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2002. […]

By Richard Friedman  “Is it good for the Jews?” That’s a question Jewish people ask themselves when tumultuous events occur. There’s been nothing more tumultuous in college football — and maybe in all of sports — this summer than Texas and Oklahoma joining the Southeastern […]

Hoping there won’t be a repeat: Evacuating flooded Torahs from Beth Israel in New Orleans following Hurricane Katrina in 2005. Jewish communities in Louisiana are bracing for Hurricane Ida, which is slated to make landfall on Sunday morning, exactly 16 years after the notorious Hurricane […]

Members of Gates of Prayer in New Iberia weren’t expecting to spend the past year renovating their building, but mainly, they’re just happy it is still standing. The renovations were made necessary after a fire broke out in the 1903 building the morning of April […]

By Richard Friedman Though no longer here, having died last January two days after her 100th birthday, Phyllis Weinstein’s legacy still drives the success of the Birmingham Holocaust Education Center. This was evident not only in excerpts from a past video tribute shown at this […]

Beth Shalom and B’nai Israel in Baton Rouge (file photo) The weekend of Aug. 13, Beth Shalom in Baton Rouge held the last event in its Covid-extended 75th anniversary celebration. The following weekend, Beth Shalom members, along with members of B’nai Israel, the congregation it […]

By Richard Friedman Did you hear the one about the Jewish organization president who never held an in-person meeting? Yep, there was a day when that would have been unthinkable, but Hadassah New Orleans President Briann Shear is among those creative volunteer leaders who have […]

By Richard Friedman The challenge of bringing parties to the table was the theme of an Aug. 15 online program that kicked off the new Louisiana Jewish Coalition initiative, which has brought together the state’s three Jewish Federations and other organizations to work collectively for […]