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An Israeli couple is reshaping ideas about Jewish culture at a historically Black university

JL;DR SUMMARY Israeli artists Neta Elkayam and Amit Hai Cohen have spent the past two years at Xavier University of Louisiana, the nation's only Catholic historically Black university, teaching a course that bridges Black and Jewish cultural understanding through music and memory. A way out west there was a fella, fella I want to tell you about, fella by the name of Jeff Lebowski. At least, that was the handle his lovin' parents gave him, but he never had much use for it himself. This Lebowski, he called himself the Dude. Now, Dude, that's a name no one would self-apply where I come from. But then, there was a lot about the Dude that didn't make a whole lot of sense to me. And a lot about where he lived, likewise. But then again, maybe that's why I found the place s'durned innarestin'.

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Tags

Jewish CultureDiasporaBlack CommunityMoroccan MusicCultural BridgeXavier UniversityNeta ElkayamAmit Hai CohenInterfaith Exchange

Places mentioned

New Orleans, Louisiana, United States
"After two years of teaching, performing and building cultural bridges in New Orleans, the private funding that brought them to Xavier has ended."
Jerusalem, Israel
"For Elkayam and Cohen, who have spent their careers moving along what they call the Jerusalem-Morocco axis, the question is no longer how to live between places, but whether that in-between can become a home."
Marseille, Bouches-du-Rhône, France
"Elkayam, 45, rose to prominence in Israel, Europe and Morocco for her reinterpretations of North African Jewish music, not as preservation, but as reinvention."
Paris, France
"Elkayam, 45, rose to prominence in Israel, Europe and Morocco for her reinterpretations of North African Jewish music, not as preservation, but as reinvention."
Morocco
"Their work is deeply political, but because they communicate through their art, it is harder to flatten them into a caricature or cast them as political adversaries."
Flint, Michigan, United States
"In August, Elkayam and Cohen traveled to Flint, Michigan, where they appeared on stage with their New Orleans band alongside musicians from the National Arab Orchestra."

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Cairo Item ID 71875
Cairo Source ID 42
Retrieved 2026-01-04 18:00:36 UTC
Curated 2026-01-04 19:00:19 UTC