Joining the fight

New Orleans City Council passes resolution emphasizing the need to battle antisemitism

On June 22, the New Orleans City Council unanimously passed a resolution celebrating the diversity of the New Orleans community, with a special emphasis on fighting antisemitism.

Composed by Council President J.P. Morrell after the Biden-Harris administration released the first U.S. national strategy to counter antisemitism, the resolution references the “historic levels of antisemitism” in the U.S., and how the Jewsh community is the target of 63 percent of reported religiously-motivated hate crimes despite being 2.4 percent of the population.

The resolution also references the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance working definition of antisemitism, which has been adopted by over 30 countries, many states and other public bodies, to have guidelines for what could be considered antisemitic motivation when a crime occurs.

“New Orleans strives to be a welcoming city to all who want to be welcomed,” the resolution stated, acknowledging that despite that, antisemitic flyers were distributed in some neighborhoods earlier this year.

The resolution adds that those who peddle in antisemitism also fuel hatred toward other groups.

“The city of New Orleans celebrates the diversity of its residents, including its religious minorities, and stands in solidarity with the Biden-Harris Administration’s national strategy to counter antisemitism,” the resolution concludes.

Morrell said “It is important that in the face of hate, in the face of disrespect, in the face of danger and violence, that we stand with everyone in our country, especially our Jewish brothers and sisters, in solidarity.”

Aaron Bloch, director of Jewish-Multicultural and Governmental Affairs at the Jewish Federation of Greater New Orleans, addressed the council, stating that the Holocaust started with “vicious, hateful words,” not gas chambers. “The alarming rise of hate incidents that we have been seeing year after year — including antisemitic incidents — demands our attention and action.”

He said the Jewish community stands in solidarity with all groups facing challenges, recognizing that our fight against antisemitism is intertwined with the struggle against all forms of hate and bigotry. By acknowledging the historical and present challenges faced by the Jewish community, and recognizing the interconnectedness of different forms of hatred, this resolution serves as a powerful reaffirmation of the city’s commitment to inclusivity, equity, and justice.”

That all of the council members were listed as co-authors of the resolution is a powerful message with a significance that can not be overstated,

Bloch said. “It signifies a united front against antisemitism, demonstrating that the city of New Orleans is committed to combating hate and protecting the rights and dignity of all its residents.”

Casey Davis also thanked the council for the resolution, saying her Jewish great-grandmother who lived on the French-German border posed as a German to survive during the Holocaust. After the war, when she married and moved to New Orleans, she had to continue to pose as a German “to survive here without discrimination,” and became bitter about “having to keep up with a lie just to not be discriminated (against).”

Council Member Eugene Green referenced the recently-concluded trial of the Tree of Life shooter, noting how in today’s society “there are people who still choose to discriminate against their fellow human beings based on things they don’t even understand.”

He added that this “is an important and powerful resolution.”

Councilor Lesli Harris thanked Green for mentioning the Tree of Life trial, because her husband’s Bar Mitzvah was there, and part of his family still belongs to the congregation and could well have been there on the morning when 11 congregants were murdered during Shabbat services.

Lindsay Baach Friedmann, South Central regional director for the Anti-Defamation League, said ADL “deeply values the New Orleans city council for their proactive approach in combating antisemitism in our city.”

Rabbi David Gerber of Gates of Prayer, who gave the invocation at the start of the meeting, commented “we are small, but we are part of the fabric of this community. We feel blessed to be neighbors with our fellow people of faith, and honored to be part of the rich tapestry that is the culture of New Orleans.”

ISJL offering tours of Jewish Mississippi

The Jackson-based Goldring/Woldenberg Institute of Southern Jewish Life is offering a chance to become much more familiar with Jewish life in the Deep South, with two tours of Mississippi in early 2024.

“Jews, Blues and Food” will start in Jackson on Jan. 31 and travel to Memphis and the Mississippi Delta through Feb. 5. A longer tour, “Jewish Life in the Most Southern Place on Earth” will highlight Jackson, Natchez, Vicksburg and the Mississippi Delta from Feb. 18 to 25.

Each tour will have between 20 and 40 participants. Staff from the Institute will lead the bus trips through off-the-beaten-path destinations, leading discussions on Southern Jewish history while experiencing Mississippi art, music and cuisine.

The first tour starts with civil rights history in Jackson, then moves to Greenwood and Indianola, before Shabbat evening in Greenville. There will be tours of Mound Bayou and Ruleville, and an evening at a juke joint in Clarksdale. Memphis will include civil rights sites such as the National Civil Rights Museum and Lorraine Motel, and a night on Beale Street.

After time in Jackson, the second tour heads to Natchez and the oldest Jewish congregation in the state, along with antebellum sites. A visit to Vicksburg includes a discussion about Jewish involvement in the Civil War, followed by a journey to Greenville. After visits to Mound Bayou and Ruleville, there will be a visit to Greenwood, where there will be a Southern cooking class and Shabbat. The trip continues with following the footsteps of Emmett Till, then back to Jackson.

Rates, specific sites on the itinerary and additional registration information is available at isjl.org/tours.

Rabbi Pearce returns to ISJL as Director of Spirituality

The Goldring/Woldenberg Institute of Southern Jewish Life in Jackson announced that Rabbi Salem Pearce will be their new Director of Spirituality.

She succeeds Rabbi Caroline Sim, who just completed a three-year stint at the institute.

This is a return to Jackson for the Houston native, as she was a rabbinical intern at ISJL in 2017, before her 2018 ordination by Hebrew College.

Most recently, she was the first-ever executive director for Carolina Jews for Justice. Before that, she was Director of Organizing at T’ruah: The Rabbinic Call for Huan Rights.

“I am thrilled to be (re)joining the staff of ISJL and contributing to its vital work,” Pearce said. “Over the past three years in North Carolina, in addition to my social justice work it’s been my privilege to contribute to congregational life in Durham and to lead lifecycle events for Jews across the state. And as a born-Texan, I am excited to continue supporting Jewish life in communities all over the South.”

While in rabbinical school, she also interned with the Synagogue Council of Massachusetts, and was a student fellow with Rabbis Without Borders, American Jewish World Service and T’ruah. She also trained as a chaplain at Bellevue Hospital in New York City.

Before enrolling in rabbinical school, she lived in Washington and worked as a fundraiser for several non-profit organizations, including the Campaign for America’s Future, the Jewish Federation of Greater Washington and the Marijuana Policy Project. She also was a volunteer and board member at the DC Rape Crisis Center, and was a Glass Leadership Institute Fellow with the Anti-Defamation League. It was during the High Holidays in 2011 that she decided to pursue the rabbinate.

The Institute’s Spirituality division, formerly the Rabbinic Services department, serves communities too small to have their own local fulltime Jewish clergyperson. The “roving rabbi” in charge of 13 states does community visits, officiates at lifecycle events, does remote counseling, weekly Taste of Torah emails, and more.

Institute CEO Michele Schipper noted that their rabbi’s role has expanded. Because of the rabbi shortage nationally, they are also serving congregations that normally have a rabbinic presence, but are currently between rabbis and have been unable to find a suitable match.

We thank you for your continued support as we tell our stories — the stories of Southern Jewish Life!

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Activist and friend: Belle Adelman-Cannon leaves large legacy in just 17 years

Nobody really wanted to be at New Orleans’ Touro Synagogue at 3 p.m. on a Wednesday.

Cantor Kevin Margolius said “we should not be here.”

And yet, on June 7, hundreds felt they needed to be there, to say farewell to a unique individual, proudly and vocally Jewish, proudly and vocally queer — and far too young.

Belle Adelman-Cannon was 17, a rising senior at Benjamin Franklin High School and, within days, planning to be a counselor in training at the Henry S. Jacobs Camp in Utica. But on June 3, they were struck by a school bus and died of their injuries.

The incident took place shortly after 3 p.m., after Belle finished a shift at the Grow Dat Youth Farm. They were walking along Zachary Taylor Drive when struck. The New Orleans Police Department is classifying it as an accident, and the 34-year-old bus driver is not facing charges.

The accident stunned the New Orleans Jewish community and the general community, as well as the Jacobs Camp family.

Anna Herman, director of Jacobs Camp, said she was “beyond heartbroken and devastated over the loss of our camper Belle. I want to live like Belle and celebrate,” she said. Herman’s birthday was June 4, and when she woke up that day, “all I wanted was for the news to not be real.”

The Jewish Federation of Greater New Orleans issued a statement on June 5. “Our hearts are heavy with sorrow as we remember the life that was lost and the impact that was made during their brief time with us,” said Aaron Bloch, director of the Federation’s Center for Jewish-Multicultural Affairs. “May their memory be for a blessing.”

A statement from Grow Dat said “we are devastated by the tragic death of Belle Adelman-Cannon.”

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At the time of the funeral, Touro Rabbi Katie Bauman was returning to New Orleans from Israel, where there had been a congregational mission. She related that on Saturday evening in Jerusalem, when they learned about the accident, “our entire group of 65 Touro Synagogue family members have been weeping for Belle and sending all our love to this community” and the family.

Bauman said “Belle was as connected, committed and engaged as a young Jewish leader as anyone could hope to meet in their lifetime,” and

“a compassionate and fiery voice for change in the world.”

She added that Belle was “a center of gravity in our synagogue, at 17.”

The accident prompted the cancellation of the Federation’s Gift of Israel program on June 4, and the tragedy was mentioned at the start of the Survivor Torah program at the Museum of the Southern Jewish Experience later that day (Story, page 18)

Though it is summer break, Ben Franklin opened its doors during the week for students and families who wanted to talk with counselors.

Belle, who identified as gender-fluid, was remembered for their many talents and fearless advocacy, as well as how they made others a priority.

In recent years, legislation targeting the LGBTQ community has been proposed in states throughout the region. Rep. Mandie Landry invited Belle to Baton Rouge to address the legislature, when they were 15.

Belle told the legislators “Every day I choose to live my life as wholly myself because of the way I was raised. I do not cower away from people who hate me, instead I take on that challenge. I want every child to be able to live this way. No child is broken.”

They also were involved in annual walkouts at Ben Franklin over anti-trans legislation being debated in Baton Rouge.

On the day of the funeral, Landry called for a moment of silence in their memory in the Louisiana House. “Make sure you tell people who you are and who you love,” Landry said.

They also started sewing masks in 2020 at the start of the pandemic. They said as people were locked down, it was important to do something meaningful with their time. “People need to help other people in need because this isn’t going to be the last time something scary like this happens,” they said.

A feature about this on WWL called Belle the “Rosie the Riveter of our generation,” and Nickelodeon took the story national.

But aside from those aspects of their personality, there was also mention of their speaking several languages, riding unicycles and stilt walking.

At the funeral, Margolius recounted a story from Midrash Lamenta- tions Rabbah where a horrific tragedy caught God by surprise, and He asked the angels how one could start to mourn what happened. The story teaches “surely, God did not will it to happen and God did not allow it to happen… and today God cries with all of us.”

Three of Belle’s close friends spoke at the service.

Maya Freedman of Jackson was emotionally unable to give her remarks, so Rabbi Todd Silverman stood with her and read her remembrance. She became best friends with Belle at Jacobs Camp, and the times when she could travel three hours to New Orleans for a visit “were my everything.”

Freedman was social action vice president for NFTY-Southern this past year, Belle was membership vice president. In April, Freedman was elected regional president.

She said that Belle taught her to always choose love and kindness, always step out of her comfort zone, use her voice, stand up for her beliefs and advocate for good in the world.

“You changed so many lives in just 17 years. I can’t even imagine what you would have done with more time,” Freedman said.

Classmate Ben Kornman spoke about the typical interactions they had, as if he were writing a letter to them. But he said his talent pales in comparison, as “you don’t really write, words are art supplies and you are the most gifted painter in the world.”

Recalling subjects from anecdotes he had mentioned, he added that he will find reminders of them everywhere. “You’re there in the flowers, you’re there in the frogs, you’re there in the stray cats, and you’re there in every word you used to paint.”

Ava Kreutziger, who worked with Belle at Grow Dat, said that their last words to them were “I’ll see you in 12 hours, I love you Ava, I’ll miss you so much,” but that “was Belle’s departing refrain to all of us every time.”

She said Belle would measure time by time spent with friends and family, and “made the ordinary extraordinary.”

They would drive together from school to Grow Dat, expanding the 10-minute trip into the full hour between the end of school and the start of their shift. As neither had a sense of direction, they would sometimes get lost. Kreutziger said she realized that “I may have not known where I was going, but I had everything I needed. There was no rush to be anywhere, we were just soaking up the moment. Eventually and always, we found our way home.”

Though the reunion 12 hours later would not happen, Kreutziger said “Now it is our turn to say to Belle, forever and always, ‘we love you and we miss you.’ May the time spent with them remain a blessing.”

Margolius said Belle “embodied potential, a future of possibilities,” and now there is a “painful, enormous void.” He added, “Even as a clergyman, this moment tests my own faith and leaves me grasping for answers.”

Margolius spoke of how they embraced their Judaism and brought their own uniqueness to their B’nai Mitzvah service, and that they participated in the recent writing of the congregational Torah. “Belle was multicultural and multifaceted, and their moment at the Torah was theirs.”

They “knew the importance that every individual feel loved and supported in whatever form their body is,” he said, and that they were “uplifting peers with one arm and fighting for justice with the other.”

Belle was preceded in death by grandmothers Carrell Anne Cannon and Lana Weeks. Surviving Belle are their parents, Charles Cannon and Laura Adelman-Cannon; brother, Russell Adelman-Cannon; grandparents, Mary Beth and Stanley Adelman and Stephen Cannon; aunts, Sarah Adelman and Jennifer Cannon; and uncle, Sean (Sabine) Cannon. Memorials can be made to the Henry S. Jacobs Camp.