The Other Holocaust Survivors in North Carolina
By B.J. Davis North Carolina has been home to many Holocaust survivors. Some of their…
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Paul Green’s Jewish Inspiration
By Talia Brenner No work of literature says more about North Carolina than The Lost…
North Carolina Jews Lose a Friend with the Passing of Former Governor Jim Hunt
Jim Hunt, the four-term state governor who passed away on December 18, 2025, was a…
Dr. Eva Salber, Community Health Pioneer and Author
See information about a February 19 event about Dr. Eva Salber: Nasher-Screening-Info By Barbara Pfeffer…
The Rabbis Who Honored the “Lost Colony”
By Talia Brenner “The Lost Colony,” North Carolina’s famous outdoor drama about the 1587 Roanoke…
Cheering the High Holidays
Jews live by two calendars, our Jewish one with its cycle of holidays and…
Gertrude Elion, Nobelist and Inventor Without a PhD
By Barbara Pfeffer Billauer When Jewish research scientist Gertrude Elion arrived in the Research Triangle…
Marshall Rauch: Mr. Public Service (1923-2025)
“May you live to 120” is a traditional Jewish blessing that evokes the lifespan of…
Jerry Sternberg: Asheville’s Native Jewish Son
Jerry Sternberg, who liked calling himself the oldest native-born Jew in Asheville, died on December…
Dr. Hedwig Kohn, Pioneering Physicist Who Found Haven in North Carolina
By Barbara Pfeffer Billauer Who could imagine a world without plasma TV screens? Or a…
Finding Shelter: Hurricane Helene Impacts Jewish Community of Western North Carolina
By Sharon Fahrer On September 27, 2024, hurricane Helene hit Western North Carolina. Winds, felled…
Josh Stein Takes the Oath on a Historic North Carolina Tanakh
As Josh Stein was sworn in as the state’s 76th governor on January 1, he…
Southern Simchas: The Delicacies of Jewish Memory
Multigenerations share hamantaschen at Weldon’s Temple Emanu-el. Photo credit: JHNC “I connect to Judaism through…
Jews and North Carolina Politics: A Long History
This year’s North Carolina gubernatorial election—with Attorney General Josh Stein as the Democratic nominee—has spotlighted…
North Carolina Remembers the Holocaust
Zachor, “Remember,” reads a Holocaust memorial on a wall at Beth Meyer Synagogue in Raleigh. …
New Chabad Center Serves Lake Norman Community
By Jacob Scheer On Sunday Feb. 25, Chabad of Lake Norman held a grand opening…
The Gospel According to Jerry
They call themselves the “alta cockers,” a floating group of Jewish old timers who gather…
Lighting the Way at the Governor’s Mansion
The ceremonial Hanukkah candle-lighting at the Governor’s Mansion on December 11 was not the only…
Unprecedented Times?
Today, North Carolina Jews, like those everywhere, may feel imperiled as never before. In America…
Statesville-rooted Business now Featured on Highway Historical Marker
On October 15, a large crowd gathered in Statesville for the dedication of a Highway…
Affirmative Action’s North Carolina Jewish History
As the U. S. Supreme Court puts an end to racially-based, affirmative action—a case involving…
Temple of Israel: A Ballast Stone of North Carolina Judaism
Recent excavations at Wilmington’s Temple of Israel will dispel misconceptions that North Carolina Jewish roots…
Leon Levine, 1937-2023
Leon Levine, who passed away on April 5, is being remembered as an innovative entrepreneur…
Passover 2023
Passover has been celebrated in North Carolina for more than 200 years, at least. Across…
Have a Spiel on Purim!
Perhaps no holiday is enjoyed as much as Purim with its revelries and irreverent humor.…
An Accidental Archaeologist: Eric Meyers Celebrates Fifty Years of Jewish Studies at Duke University
Eric Meyers, founding director of Duke University’s Jewish Studies and past president of Jewish Heritage…
Marking History: Jewish North Carolina’s Hit and Miss
The North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources’ Highway Historical Marker Program has authorized…
Happy Hanukkah! Governor Roy Cooper Presides on 12/14/22
Photo Credit: Office of the Governor Governor Roy Cooper presides at the lighting of a…
Jewish Renewal in Jacksonville
Once a small-town Jewish community dies, can it come back to life? The story of…
Hendersonville’s Agudas Israel Congregation Celebrates 100 Years
Agudas Israel Congregation of Hendersonville observed its centennial with a series of celebratory events. …
A Homecoming in Weldon
Across North Carolina in old mill and market towns stand abandoned synagogues—now churches or residences—which…
High Holiday Atonement, 1941
One mitzvah inspires another is a Jewish teaching. That lesson came home on the High…
On the Menu: Jewish Soul Food in North Carolina
In Edible North Carolina: A Journey across a State of Flavor Southern food guru Marcie…
Eli Evans, Poet Laureate of Southern Jews, Passes Away
Eli Evans, author of the pathbreaking book The Provincials: A Personal History of the Jews…
Southern Jewish Folklore: How’d Your Family Wind up Here?
“How’d your family wind up here in small-town North Carolina?” I’d ask an old timer.…
B’rukhim Haba’im: Stories of Welcome
Burning Coal Theatre will present B’rukhim Haba’im: Stories of Welcome, an exhibit of filmed autobiographical…
A Rabbi Who Touched Hearts
Rabbi Steven G. Sager, Rabbi Emeritus of Beth El Synagogue in Durham and founding director…
Heading to the Beach or Mountains? Vacationing with Judaism
“From Manteo to Murphy” is a phrase that North Carolinians employ when they speak of…
Holocaust Education will never be the same in North Carolina
For a state that historically has had a small Jewish community, at least as a…
Passover Haggadot at Duke University Libraries
By Rachel Ariel, Guest Contributor and Librarian for Jewish Studies, Duke University Duke University Libraries…
A Jewish Photographer’s Journey – Repurposed
By Larry Pearlman, Guest Contributor In my first blog, I described how synagogues in small…
How Jewish Heritage North Carolina Changed Through the Years
Remarks delivered at the Down Home Banner Exhibition North Carolina State Capitol in Raleigh, April…
A Photographic Journey Through Small-Town North Carolina
By Larry Pearlman, Guest Contributor In many small-towns, synagogues are disappearing. Their communities are shrinking…
Having a Ball at Purim
Purim has become a family celebration, often a children’s party, a fun time at temple…
Unscrolling the Past: A History in Velvet and Satin
When Jewish Heritage North Carolina (JHNC) created our multimedia project Down Home: Jewish Life in…
Did North Carolina Jews Own Slaves?
After the 1619 Project and Black Lives Matter, this year’s Black History Month is especially…
The Lost Jewish Colonist
The 115 English settlers who disappeared from Roanoke Island circa 1587 gave rise to the…
The Times They Are A Changin’
Today print journalism is an endangered species, at best a dated indulgence. Perhaps you’ve perused…
From Goodman to Weinstein: The Story of Beth El’s Historic Renovation
By Guest Contributor, Prof. Eric M. Meyers When the prominent architect Percival Goodman signed on…
Anti-Semitic Flyers Strike Greensboro
News that anti-Semitic flyers were distributed in Greensboro neighborhoods on Sunday, December 19 has riled…
Cheers to You: NC Jewish Makers & Distributors of Fine Wines and Liquors
This New Year’s Eve Jews, like other North Carolinians, may perhaps avail themselves of a…
Jewish Women Organize!
This year marks the centennial since the founding of the North Carolina Association of Jewish…
Jewish Brothers Spur NC Economy, Garner International Attention
The Wallace Brothers Herbarium, a fascinating and important Jewish enterprise in North Carolina’s economic history,…
Happy Hanukkah from JHNC
Hanukkah sameach! Happy Hanukkah! During this season as we rededicate ourselves to our Jewish community…
The Renewed Meaning of Chanukah
In December, 1944, in the midst of World War II, The American Jewish Times, a…
NC’s oldest synagogue needs our help
The beautiful Temple of Israel has been a landmark in Wilmington for almost 146 years. Built…
Jews Are One People, Except When Playing Basketball
If North Carolinians share a religion, it’s college basketball. Jews have been part of the…
Jews leave their mark(ers) on North Carolina
Driving North Carolina highways and byways, you have likely noticed silver and black metal signposts…
Down Home in Goldsboro: Jewish Life Across the Centuries
Did you know that Goldsboro’s Temple Oheb Shalom is the second oldest synagogue building in…
Heroics on the sports field… Bravery on the battlefield
A North Carolina Hero The advent of football season and the approach of Armistice Day…
How Many Jews Live in North Carolina (Revisited)?
This past fall, the Berman Jewish DataBank, sponsored by The Jewish Federations of North America,…
Upcoming Southern Jewish Historical Society Conference
The Southern Jewish Historical Society will hold its 45th annual conference virtually on October…
138-year-old Congregation Emanuel Restored to Original Beauty
By Guest Contributor, Wendy Gordon Pake On Monday, September 6, North Carolina’s second oldest synagogue,1…
A History of High Holidays in North Carolina
How could Jews in North Carolina observe the High Holidays before there were congregations here?…
Jewish Olympians From North Carolina
The 2020 Tokyo Olympics has come to a close, but for Jewish North Carolinians this…
School Days: A New Normal (Then & Now)
The opening of school, after a year of lockdown and virtual classes, might seem like…
Boone, NC Loses a Great Academic Scholar and Jewish Community Leader
Professor Rosemary Horowitz, co-director of Appalachian State University’s Center for Judaic, Holocaust, and Peace Studies,…
Alon Tal: North Carolina Comes to the Knesset
In the 2020 election North Carolina Jews took pride in noting that for the first…
North Carolina and the Man Who Coined the Word Genocide
As we observe Yom HaShoah, we may not be aware that North Carolina was a…
Jewish Summer Camping in North Carolina
‘Tis the season when our thoughts turn to summer with the added promise of a…
North Carolina’s Century of Zionist Activism
As Yom Ha’atzmaut (Israeli Independence Day) arrives on April 15, North Carolinians can celebrate its…
Passover in North Carolina
Observing Passover in North Carolina has not always been as convenient as today’s easy trip…
Jewish Firsts in North Carolina Politics
By JHNC Historian Leonard Rogoff On election day Nov. 3, Jewish candidates won two of…
North Carolina’s Jewish Population is Booming!
The Berman Jewish Data Bank recently released their 2019 US Jewish population report that confirms…
Confederate memorials, not a Jewish problem?
As Confederate statues fall in battle, North Carolina Jews may feel that we are watching…
NC Holocaust Education
JHNC has contracted with the NC Council on the Holocaust to add a component to…
Jewish Congregational Histories Online!
The JHFNC is contributing its resources to an on-line Religion in North Carolina Digital Collection.…
Down Home: Digital Exhibit
JHFNC is happy to announce the birth of Down Home: A Virtual Museum on its…
A Slave Poet, a Jewish Professor at UNC-CH
And now, from the archives, comes a previously unknown essay by Horton, which sheds oblique…
Harry Golden Takes On The Seersuckered South
In this article from Charlotte NPR by Tom Bullock, the digital “Down Home” exhibit is…
Down Home: Cantata: Listen LIVE on The State of Things
Professor Eric Meyers, Composer Alejandro Rutty, and Conductress Lorena Guillen will be on The State…
Down Home: The Cantata is “Memorable, they say”
Triangle Jewish Chorale Presents a Memorable Panorama of Jewish Life in North Carolina By Ken…
Summering in the North Carolina Mountains of Yesteryear
For those of us with memories of heading to upstate New York for summer camps…
May is Jewish American Heritage Month
Not widely known perhaps, but May is a time to celebrate our Jewish heritage in…
A NC Holocaust Victim
In remembering the Holocaust, North Carolinians may feel a special poignancy in knowing that one…
NPR Interview on Jewish texts
NPR, ‘A State of Things’ recently interviewed Rabbi Steve Sager of Sicha. Click here for…
Read Charlotte Observer Article on Down Home
Click here to read the review of Down Home at the Levine Museum of the…
Sources for local challah
Smelling the fresh challah at the JCC in Durham got me thinking today. Where else…
Looking for a long weekend trip destination?
Check out the National Museum of American Jewish History in Philadelphia-over 25,000 sq. ft. of…
Food memories from our museum exhibit recipe cards
My father would make gefilte fish with his brothers. They also made kosher pickles in…
The Piyyut (Poem) Akdamut Milin: The Enigma and Perseverance of Tradition
In this article, that originally appeared at http://thetorah.com/akdamut-milin/, Duke Professor Laura Lieber gives a fascinating…