The National Museum of American Jewish History Leads JAHM Efforts with more than 75 Partner Organizations from around the United States

PHILADELPHIA, Pa. (May 3, 2021) – This May, Jewish American Heritage Month (JAHM) – established by Presidential Proclamation each year since 2006 – recognizes the indelible contributions American Jews have made, and continue to make, to our nation’s history, culture, and society.

The National Museum of American Jewish History (NMAJH) in Philadelphia leads this nationwide celebration that features a month-long series of events, including a virtual Capitol Hill event and the premiere of an important documentary about a Rabbi who played a key role in the Civil Rights movement. 80 partner organizations across 29 states –  from Alaska to Florida and Maine to California –  will participate in JAHM’s national programming and education campaign.

“For more than 360 years, American Jews have always risen to contribute to society and culture, including science, medicine, sports, business, civil rights, government, and military service,” said NMAJH CEO, Dr. Misha Galperin. “We’re working to raise awareness about those contributions and to stem the roots of antisemitism by bringing stories of American Jewish experience to life.”

Official Documents

Presidential Proclamation by President Joe Biden

Statement by Speaker Nancy Pelosi

Statement by Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz

JAHM’s History

JAHM began as an effort by the Jewish Museum of Florida and South Florida Jewish community leaders. Through the bi-partisan efforts of Representative Debbie Wasserman Schultz (FL-23) and the late Senator Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania, JAHM was established in 2006 by President George W. Bush to honor the contributions and achievements of Jewish Americans and to educate all Americans. It’s been continued every year since then by Presidential Proclamation. Other notable milestones include the formation of a national advisory committee in 2007 to drive the effort forward; NASA Astronaut Garrett Reisman, a New Jersey native and University of Pennsylvania graduate, carrying the original JAHM proclamation into space in 2010, and President and First Lady Barack and Michelle Obama hosting the first-ever White House reception in honor of JAHM that same year. In 2018, NMAJH became the home of JAHM and now leads the nationwide effort.

JAHM 2021 Theme

This Jewish American Heritage Month takes its theme from the ancient sage, Rabbi Hillel’s most well-known saying–“If I am only for myself, what am I? If not now—when?”–and the work of Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel, who marched with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in Selma.

JAHM will highlight historical moments in which American Jewish communities demonstrated remarkable resilience and care for communities outside of their own, and also how diverse communities stood up for Jews in the face of antisemitism. The month will showcase contemporary stories of communities transcending difference to come together in mutual support and solidarity and amplify diverse voices within the Jewish community. JAHM will work to fight not only explicit antisemitism, but also its insidious influences and discrimination against people of all races, religions, and walks of life.

“If antisemitism is a disease, then activities like Jewish American Heritage Month are a vaccine,” added Galperin. “One small step, with a big impact that every individual, city, and state can take right now, is to simply celebrate Jewish American Heritage Month in their communities.”

JAHM Programming

JAHM 2021 will feature a series of hallmark events as well as highlight the work of its national community partners throughout May.

• May 8-10: The month of activities will kick off with a two-part event featuring a multi-day free “drop-in” screening of the film, Spiritual Audacity: The Abraham Heschel Story, a documentary by the widely acclaimed filmmaker Martin Doblmeier released for Jewish American Heritage Month about the prophetic civil rights leader.
• May 10 at 1 p.m. ET: Congressional Caucus on Black-Jewish Relations conversation, featuring U.S. Representatives Debbie Wasserman Schultz (FL 23) and Brenda Lawrence (MI 14), and led by journalist Robin Washington, Editor at Large at The Forward and Co-Founder of the Alliance of Black Jews. Participants will discuss the importance of America’s Black and Jewish communities coming together to combat stereotypes, prejudice and hate in all forms. The public can tune in for this virtual event live or on demand.
• May 12, 1:30 p.m. ET: Dr. Misha Galperin, CEO of the National Museum of American Jewish History, will provide the keynote address at The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) Diversity Program. Dr. Galperin will discuss the history of Jewish contributions to America and American culture, his heritage and how it has influenced his life and career, and how NMAJH preserves, explores, and celebrates the history of Jews in America and the diversity of the Jewish community. The public will be able to view a livestream of this event.
• May 16-17, Overnight: Reboot’s DAWN is an all-night culture and arts festival celebrating the Jewish calendar’s best-kept secret, Shavuot. DAWN will provide something for everyone throughout the 12 hours of music, film, comedy, dance, food, and teaching across multiple channels. Reboot is known for its innovative programs that reimagine Jewish tradition.
• May 19: A conversation between Rabbi Angela Buchdahl—the first Asian American to be ordained as cantor or rabbi in North America—on her experiences as an Asian American Jewish leader, with Helen Kiyong Kim, author of “JewAsian: Race, Religion, and Identity for America’s Newest Jews,” in partnership with The Andrew and Ann Tisch Center for Jewish Dialogue at ANU, The Museum of the Jewish People; JAHM and Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month share the month of May.
• May 20, 2 p.m. ET: A program on the historical ties between Asian-American & Pacific Islander and Jewish-American communities in the U.S., leading up to the current discrimination and violence that both groups continue to face on a regular basis through antisemitic and anti-Asian hate crimes. Presented by Jewish Federations of North America, in partnership with the Jewish Federation of Minneapolis, the event features historians, Members of Congress, and Jewish leaders of Asian descent to discuss the challenges AAPI and Jewish communities face, what is being done to address incidents of hate, and actions we can all take to respond and come together. The public can sign up here.
• May 21, 12 p.m. ET: Typically held in person at the U.S. Capitol, this year’s Congressional JAHM Celebration in which legislative, administration, and other leaders honor American Jewish heritage and communities, will be held virtually. Our nation’s legislators will offer their recorded reflections on the importance of honoring and celebrating Jewish American heritage across the country. The event will also honor Holocaust Survivor and authoritative voice on the subject of antisemitism, Abe Foxman, the former longtime director of the Anti-Defamation League. The public can tune in here.
• May 26, 8 p.m. ET: The Blues is an essential form of expression and storytelling, a vehicle for learning, and passing down cultural history and heritage. The immediate predecessors of Blues were the work songs of enslaved people in America, which had their origins in West Africa. During this program, Rabbi Sandra Lawson and Blues musician and historian Jerron Blindboy Paxton—two Americans at the intersection of Black and Jewish identities—will explore stories and lessons of Torah (the Hebrew Bible) that can be uncovered through examining this unique musical form that has influenced just about every genre of American music. The public can tune in here.
• May 27, 12 p.m. ET: A program in partnership with the Combat Antisemitism Movement and the National Coalition Supporting Eurasian Jewry on the lessons of the Soviet Jewry movement for today and how everyday people can leverage the power of their voices to make change. This program will feature Natan Sharansky, the most famous of the soviet refuseniks, former Deputy Prime Minister of Israel, human rights activist, and best-selling author in conversation with Malcom Hoenlein, Executive Vice Chair of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jews Organizations and Founding Executive Director of the Greater New York Conference on Soviet Jewry. The program listing can be found here.
• May 30, 7 p.m. ET: The National Jewish Community Observance of Memorial Day organized by the JWB’s Jewish Chaplain’s Council will feature the stories of fallen Jewish American heroes from the perspectives of their families. The pre-recorded program will also include prayers and messages of hope and comfort from Jewish chaplains, and greetings from leaders of the American Jewish community on the eve of Memorial Day. Details on how to participate will be posted here.
• Additional programs and details will be posted on org as they become available.
• A New Member for the Only in America® Gallery/Hall of Fame: New for 2021, JAHM will feature a nationwide initiative to select the first community-based inductee into the NMAJH Ed Snider Only in America® Gallery/Hall of Fame. Nominees will be Jewish Americans who embody the spirit of this year’s JAHM theme and have been dedicated to helping others and making a difference in the community during the past year. Details on how the public can participate in the nomination and voting process are available here.

Last year’s all-online JAHM efforts reached nearly 400,000 people around the country. It was NMAJH’s first substantial foray into exclusively virtual programming during the pandemic. As the Museum has since honed and grown its digital programming and expanded the JAHM partnership network, it expects to more than double that reach in 2021.

Stories on the JAHM website offer learning opportunities about how Jews have shaped and been shaped by America across nearly four centuries.

JAHM Partner Organizations

There are 80 JAHM community partners confirmed to-date representing 28 states and Washington D.C.

Alaska Jewish Museum
Alliance for Jewish Theater
American Jewish Historical Society
American Jewish University
American Sephardi Federation
American Zionist Movement
ANU: Museum of the Jewish People
Association for Jewish Studies
Association of Jewish Libraries
Baton Rouge Jewish Film Festival
Bernard Museum of Judaica
Breman Museum
Candles Holocaust Museum
Capital Jewish Museum
Center for Jewish History
Charlotte Jewish Film Festival
Combat Anti-Semitism Movement
Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations
Council of American Jewish Museums
Dallas Holocaust and Human Rights Museum
Derfner Judaica Museum + The Art Collection
Florida Holocaust Museum
Greater Phoenix Jewish Film Festival
Greensboro Contemporary Jewish Museum
Hartford Jewish Film Festival / Mandell JCC
Holocaust Memorial Center
Holocaust Museum Houston
Holocaust Museum LA
Illinois Holocaust Museum
Institute of Southern Jewish Life
Iowa Jewish Historical Society
JCC Association of North America
JDC Archives
Jewish Arts Collaborative
Jewish Book Council
Jewish Buffalo History Center
Jewish Federations of North America
Jewish Historical Society of Michigan
Jewish Historical Society of the Upper Midwest
Jewish Museum
Jewish Museum of Florida-FIU
Jewish Museum of Maryland
Jewish Museum of Milwaukee
Jewish Theological Seminary
Jewish War Veterans / National Museum of American Jewish Military History
Jewish Women’s Archive
Jewish-American Hall of Fame
jMUSE
Leo Baeck Institute
Magnes Collection, Berkeley
Maine Jewish Museum
Maltz Museum of Jewish Heritage
Mayerson JCC of Cincinnati
Miami Jewish Film Festival
Mizel Museum
Museum at Eldridge Street
Museum of Fine Arts Boston
Museum of the Southern Jewish Experience
Museum of Tolerance
National Coalition Supporting Eurasian Jewry
National Museum of American Jewish History
New York Jewish Film Festival
New York Public Library Dorot Jewish Collection
Oregon Jewish Museum and Center for Holocaust Education
Rauh Jewish History Program & Archives (Heinz History Center)
REBOOT
Seattle Jewish Film Festival
Sixth & I
Skirball Cultural Center
Skirball Museum at Hebrew Union College
Spertus Institute for Jewish Learning and Leadership
Tenement Museum
TheirStory
The Jacob Rader Marcus Center of the American Jewish Archives
The Jewish Museum
The Sherwin Miller Museum of Jewish Art
The Vilna Shul, Boston’s Center for Jewish Culture
Touro Synagogue
Washington State Jewish Historical Society
Yiddish Book Center

Visit JewishAmericanHeritage.org to learn more.

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ABOUT JEWISH AMERICAN HERITAGE MONTH

Jewish American Heritage Month (JAHM) is a national month of recognition of the more than 365-year history of Jewish contributions to American culture, celebrated each May per Presidential Proclamation. JAHM recognizes the indelible contributions American Jews have made, and continue to make, to our nation’s history, culture, and society. JewishAmericanHeritage.org

ABOUT THE NATIONAL MUSEUM OF AMERICAN JEWISH HISTORY

Established in 1976, and situated on Philadelphia’s Independence Mall, the National Museum of American Jewish History is the only museum in the nation dedicated exclusively to exploring and interpreting the American Jewish experience. NMAJH presents educational programs and experiences that preserve, explore, and celebrate the history of Jews in America. Its purpose is to connect Jews more closely to their heritage and to inspire in people of all backgrounds a greater appreciation for the diversity of the American Jewish experience and the freedoms to which Americans aspire. https://nmajh.org/

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