Strangers in a Strange Land No More BY KENNETH HOFFMAN (A&S ’88, G ’93) DIRECTOR, MUSEUM OF THE SOUTHERN JEWISH EXPERIENCE
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id you know that as a seven-year-old boy, Louis Armstrong was taken in by the Karnofskys, a New Orleans family of Jewish immigrants from Lithuania? They helped him purchase his first cornet, and for the rest of his life, Armstrong wore a necklace with a Jewish Star on it as a reminder of their kindness. This story, while not typical of the Southern Jewish experience, opens the door to new ways of thinking about Southern history. Once opened, you may be surprised by what you find. The history of the South is rich in culture, contribution, conflict, and cooperation that comes with exploring the often-overlooked history of various immigrant groups who came South—strangers in a strange land, if you will. In an effort to tell a more comprehensive story of New Orleans, the Gulf South, and the U.S., the Museum of the Southern Jewish Experi-
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ence will open in New Orleans in early 2021. Located just blocks away from the National WWII Museum, the Ogden Museum of Southern Art, and the Contemporary Arts Center, the museum is poised to become an important educational facility, a heartfelt testament to the legacy of Judaism in the South, and a vibrant center for cultural exploration and understanding. The Museum of the Southern Jewish Experience will be the only museum in the country to explore the history and culture of Jews across the South, from Virginia to Texas, Arkansas to Florida, in big cities and small towns. It’s a history that goes back in places to Colonial times, but one that is both dynamic and enduring, mirroring—and bumping up against—the history of regional, national, and world events. During the Revolutionary War, Mordecai Sheftall, an Orthodox Jew of Savannah, Georgia, became the highest-ranking Jewish officer in the Colonial forces. He helped defend the city from British invasion, lent a considerable sum to the American cause, and served time as a British prisoner of war. By 1900, Jewish communities thrived throughout the South, with more than 125,000 Jews living in hundreds of cities and towns. As merchants, they helped the South recover from the Civil War. As civic leaders, they served as mayors, aldermen, and judges. All the time, they made choices about how to fit in as Southerners and when to stand out as Jews. It is those choices that give these stories their universal appeal and offer us lasting lessons. The museum’s board of directors chose New Orleans as our home based on the city’s vibrant tourism economy, its rich Jewish history, and the presence of Tulane University, with its sizeable Jewish student population and impressive Department of Jewish Studies. Partnering
