Tuesday, March 19th 2024   |

The soon-to-be empty seat at our seder table

At Passover we all sit down and hear the story of the Exodus from Egypt recounted in our Haggadahs. It is the central holiday of the Jewish people in which we celebrate freedom and our right to self-determination.

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Who will sit in this empty seat next year? (Photo by Alan Smason)

In the coming months we will have another exodus from within our own Jewish community that will help to determine our future. The imminent departure of Jewish Federation of Greater New Orleans executive director Michael Weil in September means this is his last opportunity to sit at our seder table in his present position, a position he has held for the past decade.

A committee to replace him has been meeting for some time and their final selection is being winnowed. Weil himself will have no direct input in making his successor’s selection, according to the committee members.

Transparency works well in this important process and we look forward to hearing the announcement as to who will move Federation into the ensuing decade. The fractious atmosphere of the immediate past presidential race has persisted nationwide for the past 100 days of the Trump administration and Jews are finding themselves polarized at a time where the perception of a rise in anti-Semitic fervor has also been noted. There are so many issues that continually confront us, including how we can best support the State of Israel, the burgeoning BDS movement, the continued rise of interfaith marriages, the acceptance of members of the LGBTQ community and how we interact with other, larger faith groups including those from the Christian and Muslim spheres of influence.

There is also the question of how we wish to be free to practice our own faith without fear of retribution from outsiders.

From the beginning of our present Federation founded in 1912, we have seen the importance of leadership. Some early critics decried the centralization of power of all the disparate Jewish community agencies into one body, but it has largely been a benevolent force for good, especially during times of crisis such as that which confronted us during the Hurricane Katrina diaspora in 2005.

Let us hope that the person selected to take over the reins of Federation leadership in September will recognize the importance of working with all segments of the New Orleans Jewish community, whether they be from the Reform, Conservative, Orthodox or Chabad communities.

This also includes your independent Crescent City Jewish News. We stand by committed as always to the future prosperity and continued improvement of our local Jewish community and we look forward to greeting this soon-to-be named important figure.

In the meantime, we wish Weil the best in his future endeavors as he moves to Israel to be closer to his family there. When we read “Next year in Jerusalem” in our Haggadahs this year it will have a more special meaning for him and to us.

 

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