May 12, 2019

Federation retains top small group fundraising title at GiveNOLA Day

It was another successful GiveNOLA Day for Jewish agencies in the New Orleans area. The Jewish Federation of Greater New Orleans came in first in dollars raised among small organizations for the fifth year in a row, raising $109,571 from 225 donors, earning a $10,000 […]
May 10, 2019

Commissioners recommend censure of Tenn. judge who posted link to Holocaust denier’s article

Numerous groups in Tennessee are calling for the censure of a Memphis criminal court judge for a series of social media posts that “carry a dark message of hatred,” including reposting an article by a Holocaust denier that called on Jews to get over the […]
May 9, 2019

White Nationalists crash Remembrance March as Holocaust denial controversy rages at Arkansas Tech

(Editor’s note: Much of the background is repeated from our April 19 piece, but this has been updated throughout). About a dozen white nationalists crashed a Holocaust March of Remembrance in Russellville, Ark., on May 5, part of the ongoing fallout over a controversy where […]
May 9, 2019

Repairing the Planet: Teens unite to make fully-accessible playground a reality in Meridian

Jake Davidson, Jeannie Null and William Lamar The Hebrew term “tikkun olam,” which is used to describe social action in Judaism, can be translated as “repairing the planet.” With the inspiration and activism of 14-year-old Jeannie Null, Meridian teens and “close friends” William Lamar and […]
May 8, 2019

Editorial: Where are the interfaith vigils after church massacres?

After the shooting at Tree of Life in Pittsburgh, there were vigils around the country where people of all races and faiths showed solidarity. After 50 Muslims were murdered in New Zealand, interfaith events were held at mosques, and after the Poway shooting, synagogues around […]
May 5, 2019

Petition seeks to halt KI rezoning and sale, congregational leaders disagree

An online petition drive seeks to thwart the rezoning and sale of Birmingham’s Knesseth Israel building, while the congregation’s leadership says the independent drive does not represent the congregation’s position. There will be a Mountain Brook zoning commission meeting on June 3 at 5:30 p.m. […]
May 2, 2019

“Driving Miss Daisy” at Birmingham’s Theatre Downtown

“Driving Miss Daisy,” a Pulitzer Prize-winning play by Atlanta-native Jewish writer Alfred Uhry that inspired the award-winning movie starring Morgan Freeman and Jessica Tandy, blossoms at Birmingham’s Theatre Downtown May 2 to 18. The play originally premiered off-Broadway in 1987 and won the Pulitzer Prize […]
April 29, 2019

Metairie’s Beth Israel holds Scholars weekend in memory of Jackie Gothard

Judge Sol and Jackie Gothard (file photo) Beth Israel in Metairie will have a weekend in remembrance of Jackie Gothard, who served as the congregation’s president during the Katrina aftermath and is credited with willing the congregation to survival in those uncertain times when the […]
April 28, 2019

Southern communities react to Poway Chabad shooting

Chabad of Poway, Calif. (Facebook photo) Though California is on the other side of the country, the April 27 shooting at Chabad in Poway, Calif., is resonating through the Deep South. A 19-year-old gunman entered the synagogue after 11 a.m. and began shooting, killing one […]