Oral History Collection

The Nicki Newman Tanner

Oral History Collection

As part of JWA’s mission to expand the narrative of Jewish history, we have collected and recorded hundreds of interviews with leaders, activists, and community members across the United States, documenting their encounters with major events and movements of the 20th and 21st centuries and the many ways that gender, class, place, and religious and ethnic identities have shaped women’s lives. With generous support from Nicki Newman Tanner,  Mass Humanities, and the National Endowment for the Humanities, we are proud to make these interviews and transcripts available to the public. All entries include transcripts; audio or video recordings are also available where narrator permissions allow. 

More about the collection

Julie Wise Oreck

Project
Katrina's Jewish Voices

Julie Wise Oreck was interviewed by Rosalind Hinton, on July 2, 2007, in New Orleans, Louisiana, as part of the Katrina's Jewish Voices Oral History Project. Oreck discusses her Jewish upbringing, involvement in Jewish organizations, and her active role in the recovery efforts after Hurricane Katrina, expressing frustration with the government's response but not attributing it to racism.

Sophie Oreck

Project
Katrina's Jewish Voices

Rosalind Hinton interviewed Sophie Oreck on July 2, 2007, in New Orleans, Louisiana, as part of the Katrina's Jewish Voices Oral History Project. Sophie shares her school life, experiences during Hurricane Katrina, finding stability in soccer, benefiting from her connected Jewish family, and her Jewish life, including her bat mitzvah, trips to Israel, and passion for Jewish history.

Zoe Oreck

Project
Katrina's Jewish Voices

Rosalind Hinton interviewed Zoe Oreck on July 3, 2007, in New Orleans, Louisiana, as part of the Katrina's Jewish Voices Oral History Project. Oreck, an eighteen-year-old resident of New Orleans, reflects on her displacement during Hurricane Katrina, her temporary life in Houston, and her changed perspective on government, community, spirituality, and Jewish social life.

Joshua Mann Pailet

Project
Katrina's Jewish Voices

Rosalind Hinton interviewed Joshua Pailet on August 2, 2007, in New Orleans, as part of the Katrina's Jewish Voices Oral History Project. Pailet reflects on his childhood, artistic journey, the atmosphere of New Orleans, his firsthand experience of Hurricane Katrina, participation in the "Torah rescue," the rebuilding process, the importance of grassroots efforts, and his strengthened Jewish identity

Florence Schornstein

Project
Katrina's Jewish Voices

Rosalind Hinton interviewed Florence Schornstein on July 31, 2006, in New Orleans, Louisiana, for the Katrina’s Jewish Voices Oral History Project. Schornstein, a longtime political and Jewish community activist in New Orleans, discusses her involvement in politics, her experiences during Hurricane Katrina, her role in rebuilding the city, and her frustration with national services for their lack of support post-Katrina.

Leslie Simon

Project
Katrina's Jewish Voices

Rosalind Hinton interviewed Leslie Simon on July 14, 2007, in Lafayette, Louisiana, as part of the Katrina's Jewish Voices Oral History Project. Simon shares her firsthand account of Hurricane Katrina, from the decision to evacuate to seeking shelter in the Superdome, reflecting on the storm's profound impact on her perception of home, government, and spirituality.

Julius Simon

Project
Katrina's Jewish Voices

Rosalind Hinton interviewed Julius Simon on July 14, 2007, in Lafayette, Louisiana as a part of the Katrina's Jewish Voices Project. Julius traces his family's New Orleans heritage, recounts his early 20th-century upbringing, service in World War II, encounters with antisemitism in the South, and post-Katrina evacuation to Lafayette, where he settled with his wife Mae after recovering from surgery.

David Smason

Project
Katrina's Jewish Voices

Rosalind Hinton interviewed David Smason on August 27, 2007, in New Orleans, Louisiana, as part of the Katrina's Jewish Voices Oral History Project. Smason discusses his upbringing, community involvement, and the profound impact of Hurricane Katrina on his life, including the struggle to locate loved ones, the damage to his home, and the lasting effects on his academic and personal journey.

Erich Sternberg

Project
Katrina's Jewish Voices

Rosalind Hinton interviewed Erich Sternberg on November 5, 2006, in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, as part of the Katrina's Jewish Voices Oral History Project. Sternberg talks about his experiences of discrimination, his role as President of the Jewish Federation, the impact of Hurricane Katrina on the Baton Rouge Jewish community, and his reflections on the response to the storm.

Sara Stone

Project
Katrina's Jewish Voices

Rosalind Hinton interviewed Sara Stone on February 7, 2008, in New Orleans, Louisiana, as part of the Katrina's Jewish Voices Project. Stone details her early life, activism in the Jewish community of the South, experiences of prejudice, organizing the Women's Division of the Jewish Welfare Fund, and her resilience in the face of personal tragedy and Hurricane Katrina.

Nancy Timm

Project
Katrina's Jewish Voices

Rosalind Hinton interviewed Nancy Timm on August 22, 2007 in New Orleans, Louisiana as a part of the Katrina's Jewish Voices Project. Nancy, a clinical social worker, discusses her New Orleans roots, upbringing, Jewish faith, involvement in various organizations, Hurricane Katrina's disruption including evacuation experiences and her daughter's challenges due to the storm, shifts in her counseling work, and her evolving relationship with Judaism.

Roselle Ungar

Project
Katrina's Jewish Voices

Rosalind Hinton interviewed Roselle Ungar on August 30, 2006, in Metairie, Louisiana, as part of the Katrina's Jewish Voices Oral History Project. Ungar talks about her role as assistant executive director of the Jewish Federation, creating resources for Katrina evacuees, connecting them to aid and facilitating community, and her part in rebuilding the Jewish community in New Orleans.

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Project

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How to cite this page

Jewish Women's Archive. "Oral History Collection." (Viewed on June 13, 2026) <https://qa.jwa.org/oralhistories>.