Six Surprising Facts About Montana Jews
Flying High: Montana-born NBA coach Phil Jackson was mentored by three Jews Image by Wikimedia Commons
1. Henry Jacobs, the first mayor of Butte, Montana, was Jewish.
2. When Helena’s Temple Emanuel was built in 1891, it was the only synagogue between Portland, Ore. and Chicago.
3. Until 2013, Helena’s police force had a dog name Miky (pronounced “Mickey”) who was trained by the Israel Defense Forces and would only respond to commands in Hebrew. His officer, Sgt. John Fosket, had to learn about a dozen Hebrew words to communicate with him.
4. Phil Jackson, the legendary NBA coach who was born and raised in Montana, was mentored by Red Holzman, Jerry Krause and Jerry Reinsdorf.
5. Political journalist and activist Barbara Ehrenreich was born and raised in Butte.
6. “Always,” Steven Spielberg’s 1989 romantic drama starring Richard Dreyfuss, was filmed in Libby, Montana.
A message from our CEO & publisher Rachel Fishman Feddersen
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.
At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse..
Readers like you make it all possible. Support our work by becoming a Forward Member and connect with our journalism and your community.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
