Another long day

The Federation rescue mission began at 4:00am, Sunday morning. By 1:00pm or so, the vans began returning to Baton Rouge. Beth Shalom was the processing site. We were well prepared as enough Beth Shalom members had volunteered space in their homes to accommodate 25 people. Volunteers from both synagogues brought food so that we could give evacuees lunch while we took down their information. Many thanks to Silvia Dewitt, Mimi Bonadona, Joshua Bonadona, Jeff Dubinsky, Joe and Joanne Kleiman, Susan Lipsey, Wendy Shiroda, and Liz Clubb who staffed our ad hoc reception center.

7 people were taken out of New Orleans and all but two were housed in the homes of Beth Shalom members. The Every family had relatives in San Antonio and Sheila Horowitz was able to get bus tickets for them. She put them on the bus herself.

Nevilah and Henry Johnson also had a relative out of town, a daughter who lives in Maryland, but they did not have her phone number. In this case it is a good thing that one’s privacy can so easily be invaded, because Martha and I were able to track down her unlisted number with a bit of googling and yahooing. It took a few tries but Liz and I were able to get a call through to the Johnson's daughter, Terry. From the reaction I got when I told her that we had her parents and that they were safe it was clear that she had no idea if they were alive or dead. We ran the cell phone down to the social hall (no reception in the building) and I put the phone in Mrs. Johnson’s hand and said, “here, talk to your daughter.” Everybody was in tears. Sheila came through again and helped Terry book a flight to Baltimore for her parents. They went home for dinner and a good night’s sleep with Liz.

Late Sunday night, Martha and Nathan (the Tulsans have arrived) went to get the ZAKA team from the airport. They will try to get to Woldenburg tomorrow to retrieve the bodies of the residents who died during the evacuation. It now seems there is at least one other deceased resident in the building. This woman will be taken to New York for burial.

Gail Kolthoff will arrive from San Francisco on Tuesday. Please come and introduce yourself. She is an incredible worker and a trip.

We spoke with her boss this morning. Rabbi Eric Weiss is a friend and colleague who runs the Jewish Healing Center in San Francisco. He said, “of course you can have Gail. Of course she can go. And, if you need me, I can be there in a week.” Rabbi Weiss is a specialist in bereavement and trauma counseling and he is coming.

I continue to get emails and calls from around the country with offers of help. Jews clearly understand that we are all responsible for one another.

Chazak v’Imatz!
Be Strong and Resolute!