Rosalie Palter Cohen, 1910-2010

For much of her later life, Rosalie Palter Cohen (1910-2010) was widely considered to be the matriarch of New Orleans’ more observant Jewish community. Well-educated as an Orthodox Jew and a lifelong passionate Zionist, she advocated for the significance of Israel to Jewish cultural survival. She was instrumental in the post-World War II years in establishing a Hillel Foundation chapter at Tulane University, her alma mater.

As the initial chair of the local chapter of Israel Bonds, she brought Eleanor Roosevelt (seated to the right of Cohen in photo here) to the city in 1949 to speak for the organization’s inaugural dinner. Rosalie also graciously helped many non-Orthodox women leaders in New Orleans deepen their Jewish roots as they served the greater community.