All Posts

1896-1991 Butte, MT Born in Minneapolis but raised in Butte Myron Brinig was, according to Gay and Lesbian Literary Heritage , the "first American Jewish novelist to write in any significant way about the gay experience.” Several of his novels, including Singermann (1929) and Wide Open Town  (1931), are set in Butte, with the main character based on Myron’s father, Moses Brinig, a Romanian immigrant, whose shoe store was right next to the iconic M&M Bar. He would study at NYU

life and death dates unknown Montana Territory was a complex cultural landscape populated by diverse peoples with diverse stories. But perhaps among the more surprising of these stories are those of Montana Territory Jews who had fought for the South during the Civil War. According to Jonathan Sarna, the Chief Historian of the National Museum of American Jewish History, of one million Confederate soldiers, only 2,000 were Jewish. In The Jewish Confederates , Robert N. Rosen a

Bridge Street where J.O. Cohen Lived, photo from University of Montana Mansfield Library. birth, unknown, died 1871 Helena, MT From Prussia to rural Texas to battlefields in the Territory of New Mexico and finally to Helena, Confederate States Army (CSA) Private J. O. Cohen seems to have led a complicated life. The 1860 US Census notes Cohen working as a clerk and living with a corn merchant, an overseer and other males in Anderson County, Texas. In October 1861 he joined the

Lewistown Daily News double portrait of Sadye and Samuel Eicoff. 1889-1963 | 1892-1975 Lewistown, MT While the first generation of Jewish immigrants established stores in nascent Montana Territory’s cities or boom towns like Helena and Virginia City, a subsequent wave at the turn of the 20th century found greater economic opportunity in the state’s newer towns. Born in Ekaterinoslav, Russia (now Dnipro, Ukraine) in 1889 Samuel Eichoff was among this second generation of entre

US Army First Lt. Davon Navon, circa 1943 1920-1949 Gates of the Mountain, MT On a spring day in 2001, a helicopter hovered above a steeply sloped gulch on the Missouri River in Montana’s Big Belt Mountains. At the end of the copter’s cable swayed a swaddled 210-lbs. rectangular piece of Georgia white marble with a Star of David carved into its top. The parcel’s destination, a site just yards below the rimrocks that cap Mann Gulch’s now-austere north slope, was adjacent to a

Portrait from Levy's obituary in the Anaconda Standard 1833-1901 Helena, MT The origins and profession of Julius Levy (1833-1901), popularly known throughout Montana as “French” Levy, did not follow the customary paths of those mid-19th century Jews who had emigrated from Germany, Prussia or Poland and who worked as bankers, merchants, clerks, tobacco/liquor retailers, etc. in Montana Territory. Rather, Levy hailed from the French frontier of Alsace-Lorraine, sailed to New Or

Bandmann, circa 1880, credit NYPL 1837-1905 Missoula, MT (and beyond) It is unlikely that the golfers playing the greens at the Canyon River Golf Club deep in Hellgate Canyon near East Missoula realize they are treading on the homesteaded ranch of a famed late 19th century German-Jewish tragedian.  Daniel E. Bandmann portrayed some of Shakespeare’s most complex and controversial characters on stages around the world, but he was equally known for his tempestuous personal life

Hanukkah lights outside Temple Emanu-El STATEMENT OF THE MONTANA ASSOCIATION OF RABBIS (MAOR) AND MONTANA JEWISH PROJECT (MJP) Also published at the Helena Independent Record, among other places. February 4, 2026 As rabbis and faith leaders in Montana, together with the Montana Jewish Project, we stand together at a moment of deep moral urgency. We stand with our immigrant neighbors, and we stand against injustice wherever it occurs. We stand together, fearful for the soul of

Temple Emanu-El, home to future Living Stories exhibits When we announced Living Stories of Jewish Montana  four years ago, we knew there was a lot of hard work to do to bring it to the public. Gathering memories and stories, transcribing them, and fundraising have all been part of this journey. In 2026, MJP is excited to bring to the public the first oral history project documenting Jewish Montana.  We are so grateful to receive state funding through the Montana 250 Commissi

Fanney Neyman Litvin, credit linked 1900-1991 Butte, MT In November 1921, the Anaconda Standard published an article on an extraordinary “Butte Girl,” 20-year-old Fanney Neyman who had petitioned the Montana Supreme Court to sit for the state bar examination in Helena the following month. In the piece, she downplayed her work ethic and solemnity, stating “It took a lot of study and hard work—a pretty constant application—but don’t make anyone believe that I made a sacrifice o

Arlene speaking at the Constitutional Convention, 1972 1926-2024 Great Falls, MT On Christmas night in 1942 in Buffalo, New York, a 16 1/2-year-old girl attended a USO party that she said years later would “change my entire life.”  Not only did Arlyne Cohn’s presence at the party transform her life but it would also, through her decades of public service, transform Montana. Originally, Honor Roll high school student Arlyne and her widowed mother had planned only to dine at th

Helena Community members light one of many menorahs at Temple Emanu-El. This week, Jewish families and communities across Montana are lighting Hanukkah candles together. Here in Helena, we gathered at Temple Emanu-El to begin the holiday. With MAOR, we also helped organize a statewide online Hanukkah Across Montana , and joined with MAJCO for the annual Menorah Lighting at the State Capitol. Tragically, though, Hanukkah began this year with the   horrific attack on a Hanukkah

Montana Jewish Project has received great coverage of our Hanukkah box curriculum. Check out our coverage in a leading Jewish national outlet, the Forward . Hannah Feuer interviewed a teacher who uses our boxes: Heather McCartney-Duty, a fifth grade teacher at an elementary school in the city of Choteau, population 1,700, knows of three Jewish students at her school — and they’re all siblings. That made it all the more important to teach about Hanukkah, she said, both to educ

Rebecca Stanfel with the Magen David window If you've visited Temple Emanu-El recently, you'll have noticed we added a new piece of Montana’s Jewish history to our displays on the third floor: a Magen David window. This Magen David , or Star of David, window was once part of the American Smelting and Refining Company (ASARCO) smelter in East Helena. It might seem strange that a smelter in Montana  had a Magen David window. In fact, the ASARCO smelter had three of these window

Hanukkah box supplies ready to go! In one of our favorite annual traditions, MJP is preparing our free Hanukkah Curriculum boxes to send to teachers all across the state. The boxes contain a complete lesson plan (or two) and supplies to empower teachers to discuss Judaism, bullying, and Montana history (among other things) with their students. Each box contains a copy of  The Christmas Menorahs: How a Town Fought Hate  written by Janice Cohn and illustrated by Bill Farnsworth

We had a vision that we thought would work–to bring together Jewish families from across Montana and with the help of rabbis, community...

In May, I traveled to Washington, DC for the bar mitzvah of my nephew, Josiah Szubin. When Josiah emailed all the guests before this...

There are times when our work here at MJP can feel heavy. Too often, our politics on a state or national level can feel broken.  All the while, antisemitism and hate continue to grow, according to a new report from ADL. How can we make progress in what feels like a permanently fractured world?  

We are so fortunate to receive donations from people across Montana and out of state. Our growing library is stocked entirely with books...

Artists can find inspiration in almost anything, and one Helena artist is looking to fill his artistic vision with his religion.