Season 2, Episode 4
In our fourth episode of the season, presented in collaboration with The Mervis Chair, Borns Jewish Studies Program, Indiana University Bloomington, we explore a series of letters which document a moment in the late 1860s when opposing viewpoints caused a split in the Hebrew Congregation of St. Thomas.
Dr. Laura Leibman, Professor of English and Humanities at Reed College shares about the history of Jews in the Caribbean, and Dr. Judah Cohen, the Lou and Sybil Mervis Professor in the Study of Jewish Culture and Professor of Musicology and Jewish Studies at Indiana University, discusses Jewish life on St. Thomas, the circumstances surrounding the split, and the ways in which this story relates to the complexities of communal identity.
Read the transcript for "The St. Thomas Split."
THE TEAM
Hosted by Aaron Henne
Scholarship provided by Judah Cohen, PhD and Laura Leibman, PhD
Edited by Mark McClain Wilson
Story editing by Julie A. Lockhart with Aaron Henne
Featuring the voices of Joshua Wolf Coleman, Perry Daniel, Joe Jordan, Julie A. Lockhart, Clay Steakley, Jonathan CK Williams, and Mark McClain Wilson
Theme music composed by Michael Skloff and produced by Sam K.S.
Transcription by Dylan Southard
"The St. Thomas Split" Learning Resources
Learn more about:
Through the Sands of Time A History of the Jewish Community of St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands by Judah Cohen
Jews in the Americas 1776-1826 edited by Michael Hoberman, Laura Leibman and Hilit Surowitz-Israel
History of St. Thomas
The St. Thomas (or Sanct Thomae) Tidende archives on Mediestream
History of the Reform Movement
Also referenced in the episode:
Exercises For Educators:
"The St. Thomas Split" for Youth Learners (PDF)
"The St. Thomas Split" for Adult and Teen Learners (PDF)
Watch with captions on YouTube:
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