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These Jewish artists are searching for home — at America's only Catholic historically Black university

JL;DR SUMMARY Israeli artists Neta Elkayam and Amit Hai Cohen are deeply immersed in fostering cultural exchange and understanding at Xavier University of Louisiana, the only Catholic historically Black university in the United States. 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

IdentityDiasporaMizrahi JewsJewish Muslim RelationsXavier University Of LouisianaMusic EducationNeta ElkayamAmit Hai CohenNorth African Jewish MusicCultural Bridge Building

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
"It is an unlikely setting for two Israeli artists whose work has been shaped by Morocco, Jerusalem, Marseille and Paris."
Morocco
"Yet Xavier has become a place where their music, pedagogy and personal histories suddenly make sense together."
Marseille, Bouches-du-Rhône, France
"It is an unlikely setting for two Israeli artists whose work has been shaped by Morocco, Jerusalem, Marseille and Paris."
Paris, France
"It is an unlikely setting for two Israeli artists whose work has been shaped by Morocco, Jerusalem, Marseille and Paris."
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."
Israel
"With two young children and a single suitcase, they faced a choice."

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Retrieved 2026-01-06 05:31:08 UTC
Curated 2026-01-06 08:31:46 UTC