[images and captions added by this website] September 06, 2005 World Jewish Congress Global News Katrina rescue mission looks specifically for Jews A SEARCH and rescue mission has been carried out in New Orleans looking for Jews missing since Hurricane Katrina struck the area a week ago. A group of 30 Sheriff's deputies and volunteers from nearby Baton Rouge based their search on a list of fifty names complied by a local Jewish group. They took with them guns and bullet-proof vests. Flat-bottom boats. A doctor. Ice-cold water. And a Global Positioning System, since many of the homes were submerged in water. The group successfully rescued many of the people on their list, whilst others had already been saved by others and still others refused to leave their flooded homes. The story is amplified on a Louisiana TV site: List compiled to help save Jews in New Orleans By Penny Brown Roberts Advocate staff writer NEW ORLEANS -- There were 50 of them -- some typed, some handwritten -- on a spreadsheet. Henry and Navilla Johnson. Alvin and Theone Halpern. Andy Lazar. Rose Leopold. Dorlene Alaynick. Karl Mercker. The names of those still missing or stranded since Hurricane Katrina barreled ashore a week ago. Before dawn Sunday, a caravan of East Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff's deputies and volunteers took that list and headed west to find them. They brought with them guns and bullet-proof vests. Flat-bottom boats. A doctor. Ice-cold water. And a Global Positioning System, since many of the homes were submerged in water. Unlike thousands of others who came to help evacuate the city, however, this group of 30 had a specific mission: Saving some of New Orleans' oldest Jewish residents and reuniting them with their families. The list was culled by Baton Rouge businessman Richard Lipsey and the Jewish Federation of New Orleans. "We started getting calls and calls from families who know they have relatives in New Orleans who are trapped or haven't been heard from," Lipsey said, standing on dry land near Veteran's Boulevard at the Orleans and Jefferson parish lines -- now under water deep enough to cover street signs. "It's disturbing that so many people did not leave." At press time, the team led by Col. Greg Phares had rescued about 12 people. Others on the list already had been freed by others; the condition of others remained unknown. At least one couple refused to leave their Lakeside home. Those plucked from the city were taken to Baton Rouge, where Temple B'Nai and Beth Shalom Synagogue provided shelter and notified family members. One of the crew's first several stops &endash; including Metairie Manor senior home -- indicated that many of those on the list already had been saved. A second trip off Veteran's Boulevard within sight of the levee breech found Alvin and Theone Halpern -- owners of Halpern's Fabrics, two furniture stores and several hotels on Prytania Street -- including the Queen Anne. Rescuers found the elderly couple in their home at 939 Topaz St. -- along with their daughter Jenifer and 15-year-old granddaughter Andie Lazare. But the Halperns refused to budge. Over a two-way radio, Lipsey ordered Halpern to "get in that boat. It's going to be a bad day at sea when all that water goes." But despite being told the bodies of his neighbors were floating in the water around him, Alvin Halpern insisted the hurricane damage was exaggerated, and that "New Orleans will stand forever." Jenifer Halpern and Andie Lazare did escape -- but only after they packed their bags, three cats and a dog. "Grandpa is hard-headed and didn't want to leave," Lazare said. "But I'm happy we left. I'm looking forward to air conditioning." Also among those rescued was Mike Herschman's 94-year-old aunt, a widow with no sight or hearing. The family hadn't heard from her since the storm. Herschman -- the managing partner of Capitol Grocery on Spanish Town Road -- was among the handful of volunteers. "Just to know she's alive is incredible," Herschman said after getting word that one of the rescue teams was on its way to his aunt's Uptown home, built by her father near Clairborne Avenue. "She's been in that house for a week with no facilities and we thought she might not be alive. This is overwhelming." From temporary Houston headquarters, Jewish Federation of New Orleans Director of Community Relations Adam Bronstone said the rescue effort "goes far beyond anything anyone would conceivably do for any community." "For some reason, they're putting their energy and resources into saving a small group of Jewish people trapped in the city when their own city is teeming with refugees," Bronstone said. "I can't fathom that; I can't explain it. They're doing it out of the goodness of their souls and they're literally saving people one by one."

Register your name and address to go on the Mailing List to receive or to hear when and where he will next speak near you