America ReFramed

There Are Jews Here

By Brad Lichtenstein and Morgan Elise Johnson

THERE ARE JEWS HERE follows the untold stories of four once thriving American Jewish communities that are now barely holding on. Struggling with aging congregants and dwindling interest, families are moving to larger cities with more robust congregations.

In Latrobe, Pennsylvania, a synagogue manages to say open long enough for the Bat Mitzvah of their oldest member's granddaughter. In Butte, Montana, board member Nancy Oyer tries to do everything in her power to keep things together while struggling with her personal health. In Laredo, Texas, a young interfaith couple is torn between reviving their dying community or leaving it behind. Yet, Dothan, Alabama, hopes to buck the trend by offering financial incentives to those willing to make a new life in their city. An affecting portrait of people who are doing their part to keep the Jewish spirit alive, THERE ARE JEWS HERE celebrates religious diversity in smalltown America.