Katrina’s Jewish Voices

In May 2006, Nathan Rothstein met Bobby Lee while helping to repair her home in Gulfport, Mississippi after Hurricane Katrina. This essay described the way in which some of the people with the most need are getting the least help.

This is an article by Andrea Gilman, a student in the Sol Drachler Program in Jewish Communal Leadership at the University of Michigan. Andrea participated in a Hillel Alternative Break trip to repair homes damaged by Hurricane Katrina in January, 2006. Along with other Hillel students from across the country, Andrea spent a week rebuilding roofs in Biloxi, Mississippi. This is article is her account of the trip.

This is a picture of University of Texas Hillel staff member Margo Sack dressed up for Purim while participating in one of Hillel’s Alternative Break programs. Since Purim fell while students were in Mississippi with Hillel’s Alternative Spring Break, a Purim celebration was held in the tent village where the group was staying. Margo was part of a group of hundreds of college students and staff members from Hillels across the country that spent their winter or spring breaks in Gulfport and...

This is a photograph Congregation Beth Israel president Jackie Gothard speaking to Hillel students about Beth Israel and the New Orleans Jewish Community inside Beth Israel's sanctuary. Beth Israel, a synagogue in New Orleans, was badly damaged by Hurricane Katrina. These students were part of a group of hundreds of college students from Hillels across the country who spent their winter or spring breaks in Gulfport and Biloxi, Mississippi, learning basic construction skills and repairing homes...

This is a photograph of Waffle House sign in Gulfport, Mississippi. The sign is standing next to the remains of the Wafle House restaurant, and in the background are other similarly damaged restaurants and stories. This photograph was taken by George Washington University Hillel staff member Rachael Kansas in March, 2006. She was part of a group of hundreds of college students and staff members from Hillels across the country that spent their winter or spring breaks in Gulfport and Biloxi,...