Southern Jewish Voices

Check back to see who our next interview will be in late January 2024…

Southern Jewish Voices is a collaborative effort between the Levite Jewish Community Center and Temple Beth-El to present stories about Jewish life in Birmingham and around the South. The program is presented through a series of interviews conducted in front of a live audience and includes a complimentary lunch. Videos of all sessions are archived online.

“Oral stories can help us understand through first-person experiences how and why communities develop as they do,” says Elizabeth Patton, program director at The J. “Southern Jewish Voices shares and celebrates stories of being Jewish in Birmingham with a wide audience.”

Read ‘Southern Jewish Voices expands scope, adds lunch

Season two:

  • October 25 at noon: Ronne Hess, philanthropist and volunteer
  • November 29 at noon: Phillip Ensler, civil rights attorney and state representative for District 74 (which includes Montgomery) — and the only Jewish member of the Alabama legislature

We will release more dates as we schedule them. The final episode will take place in May 2024.

Special thanks to funding from the Alabama Humanities Alliance and the Ted and Marjorie Levite LJCC Fund at the Birmingham Jewish Foundation.


Catch up on season one (2022-23):

Margaret Norman (in blue chair) kicked off SJV’s inaugural season when she interviewed Esther Schuster (see link below).