Jewish Educators Lead Effort To Replace Houston’s Flooded Libraries
Image by Facebook
By Ari Feldman September 8, 2017
A group of Jewish professionals is spearheading a grassroots movement to help replenish Houston’s Jewish libraries after they were inundated with flooding during Hurricane Harvey, Haaretz reported. The online database they have created lists thousands of books — both those requested by Jewish institutions in Houston and those listed as available to be sent to the community.
“We will need a lot of help. We will need volunteers and resources to make this happen and for people to give their own tzedekah and chesed,” said Sara Shapiro-Plevan, one of the creators of the database, referring to the Hebrew terms for “charity” and “kindness.” Shapiro-Plevan is an educational consultant and the moderator of JEDLAB, a network of Jewish educators on Facebook. The group is now fundraising to cover the cost of shipping the books to Houston.
“We are flying by the seat of our pants here,” Shapiron-Plevan added.
Some libraries in Houston lost nearly all of their books, while some lost less than half. In one synagogue, the floodwaters came within inches of water-logging the Torah.
Contact Ari Feldman at feldman@forward.com or on Twitter @aefeldman.
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.
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 the protests on college campuses.
Readers like you make it all possible. Support our work by becoming a Forward Member and connect with our journalism and your community.
Make a gift of any size and become a Forward member today. You’ll support our mission to tell the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
