Jewish Institutions Shut Down as Sandy Looms

Sandy Coming: Jewish federations and schools shut down as Hurricane Sandy pounded the coast. Image by getty images

By JTA October 29, 2012

Jewish institutions throughout the eastern United States were closing in preparation for the onslaught of Hurricane Sandy.

The hurricane was set to make landfall late Monday, but rain and high winds already have started to batter the East Coast. The storm is expected to cause massive flooding and major power outages.

The UJA-Federation of New York posted a notice on its website that the building would be closed and all meetings and events canceled on Monday, and that information on Tuesday’s events would be posted Monday night. The Jewish Community Center in Manhattan also announced that it would be closed Monday and remain so until it is safe to return.

Also in New York, public transportation shut down on Sunday night, and schools and offices in the city were scheduled to be closed on Monday. Areas of Brooklyn and the Rockaways were ordered evacuated. Wall Street also shut down Monday due to the weather.

Parts of Maryland, Delaware and the New Jersey Shore also were ordered evacuated.

In the Washington area, the public transportation system stopped on Monday, and schools, colleges and universities also closed due to expected power outages. Some already have announced that they will remain closed Tuesday and possibly into Wednesday, according to the Washington Post.

The Jewish Federation of Greater Washington and area day schools also closed Monday, though the JCC of Greater Washington was scheduled to remain open until mid-afternoon Monday.

The Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia also announced that it would be closed Monday.

The Forward is free to read, but it isn’t free to produce

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward.

Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.

At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.

Readers like you make it all possible. We’re near the end of our Passover Fundraising Drive, and we have a very ambitious goal of $127,000 by April 21.

This is a great time to support independent Jewish journalism you rely on. Make a Passover gift today!

— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO