The Jewish presence in northwest Louisiana predates the establishment of Shreveport in 1836. From the very beginning, Jews have been
part of the city's civic, social, and mercantile life. Pioneer settlers began holding services in private homes in the 1840s, and
by 1858 the community was sufficiently large enough to consecrate a Jewish cemetery and the first Jewish benevolent association, a
forerunner of today's North Louisiana Jewish Federation. In 1859 the first congregation was founded.
Today, there are two congregations
in Shreveport and one in Monroe. For more information, click on these links:
There is also a local Hadassah chapter.
The Federation's service
areas and approximate Jewish population of each are:
Shreveport/Bossier City metropolitan area, 400
Monroe/Ruston metropolitan
area, 80
Texarkana/Southern Arkansas, 30