The exuberant culture of the local Jewish community is the subject of
a new documentary, JEWISH NEW ORLEANS , premiering on WYES-TV
Thursday, August 9, 2007 at 7:00 p.m. and 10:30 p.m.

Jewish immigration has been a part of local history since Sephardic traders plied their wares in colonial Louisiana . Although Jews never represented more than about two percent of New Orleans ' population, they have been a major force in the city – dominating Canal Street commerce and shaping the city's social and artistic institutions.

Through interviews with historians Bobbie Malone, Catherine Kahn, Irwin Lachoff and others, JEWISH NEW ORLEANS explores the waves of Jews who populated the city. The program examines the different worlds of the French and German speaking Jews who established several Uptown Reform congregations in the 1800's and the Eastern Europeans Orthodox Jews who settled the Dryades Street area some fifty years later.

The program weaves the voices of members of the Jewish community who help explore the themes of social exclusion, philanthropy and political activism that are key to the history of Judaism in New Orleans . Among those interviewed for the program were Rabbi Robert Loewy, Gates of Prayer; Rabbi Edward Cohn, Temple Sinai; Rabbi David Goldstein, Touro Synagogue; Jackie Gothard, president of Beth Israel; Lonnie Schaffer, president Anshe Sfard; Arlene Barron, Jewish Community Center; Sandy Levy, Jewish Endowment; and William Hess, grandson of local philanthropists Edgar and Edith Stern.

JEWISH NEW ORLEANS takes a lively look at the unique cultural expressions of Jewish life in the Crescent City, which includes Jazz Fest Shabbat, a one-of-a-kind worship service at Touro Synagogue, and the Krewe du Mishigas, a Jewish carnival organization that pokes fun at ethnic stereotypes.

The documentary also joins the Jewish community for its holiday celebrations - from Taslich on the shores of Lake Pontchartrain with Gates of Prayer members, to Chanukah at the Riverwalk hosted by Chabad-Lubavich of Louisiana , to Passover with the descendents of a Dryades Street clan.

The final chapter of JEWISH NEW ORLEANS focuses on the unique challenges of this historic group to rebuild and reunite following Hurricane Katrina. The program visits Beth Israel, an Orthodox synagogue that was completely devastated when muddy lake water poured into the synagogue from the breach in the 17th Street canal. Down, but not out, congregation members recently paraded down West Esplanade Avenue in celebration of the gift of a replacement Torah.

Although the Jewish community lost nearly 30 percent of its approximately 10,000 pre-Katrina members, the executive director of the Jewish Federation of New Orleans Michael Weil, believes the news is not all bad. “We're a smaller community, but I think we're much stronger than we were before,” he explains on JEWISH NEW ORLEANS .

The Story That Almost Wasn't Told...
The unprecedented storm in August of 2005 almost prevented the making of JEWISH NEW ORLEANS . A significant portion of the hour-long program had been shot earlier that year, but all of the field tapes were destroyed when the ground floor offices of WYES-TV's facility also flooded.

Somewhat reluctantly, producer Terri Landry revitalized the project at the prompting of the LEH funding agency. “I knew the story would be a different one than I had originally envisioned,” she said. “Plus, I was concerned that many of the people I had arranged to interview might have left the community for good.”

Fortunately, with only a few exceptions, all of Landry's contacts were back in town and eager to participate in the project by the time shooting resumed in the fall of 2006.

But according to Landry, documentary production has also been impacted by the disaster. “Sadly, people lost old family photographs they had planned to share with us. On many levels this program has been more of a challenge than its predecessors.”

Series of Ethnic Cultural Documentaries...
JEWISH NEW ORLEANS is the fourth installment in a series of programs, written and produced by Landry, exploring the ethnicity of the city. IRISH NEW ORLEANS received an award in 2000 from the American Association for State and Local History. Two years later ITALIAN NEW ORLEANS won Best Documentary at the New Orleans Press Club Awards.

The Crew...
Joining Landry on JEWISH NEW ORLEANS is longtime colleague and associate producer Dawn Smith. The production crew also included Walter Bardell, principal videographer; Larry Roussarie, editor; and John Beyer, IV, graphic designer. Theme music for JEWISH NEW ORLEANS was composed by Jep Epstein, a local singer-songwriter whose work “Our Home,
Louisiana ,” has become the unofficial anthem of post-Katrina Louisiana . Lee Zurik, WWL-TV Anchor/Reporter, narrates JEWISH NEW ORLEANS .

Program Contributors...
JEWISH NEW ORLEANS is funded under a grant from the Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities. Once a simple granting agency distributing federal funds for educational projects, the LEH has grown and adapted to meet the increasing needs of a changing world. A nonprofit, state affiliate of the National Endowment of the Humanities, the LEH garners half of its funding from local sources. Through generous grants and technical assistance to scholars and ordinary folk across the state, as well as reading and discussion seminars at public libraries, the LEH celebrates the culture of Louisiana by helping people tell their story every day.

Additional funding for JEWISH NEW ORLEANS was provided by the WYES Producers Circle , a group of generous contributors dedicated to the support of local productions.

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For additional press information, please contact: Aislinn Hinyup, Promotion Manager, WYES-TV, ahinyup@wyes.org , (504) 838-0364.

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