ANTISEMITISM THE FOCUS OF MAY’S JEWISH AMERICAN HERITAGE MONTH

April 27, 2022

The Weitzman National Museum of American Jewish History Leads 120 Partner Organizations from around the United States in Month-Long Celebration of Jewish American Contributions

PHILADELPHIA, Pa. (April 27, 2022) – 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.

Several notable partners include Ancestry, A&E Networks/HISTORY, America 250, Alliance of American Museums, Facing History and Ourselves, Smithsonian Affiliates, Made By Us, American Association for State and Local History, Jewish Federations of North America, JCC Association of North America, Anti-Defamation League, American Jewish Committee, Combat Anti-Semitism Movement, JewBelong, Conference of Presidents of Major Jewish Organizations, Hillel International, Union for Reform Judaism, Orthodox Union, Reconstructing Judaism, and nearly every major Jewish cultural organization around the country have signed on to this year’s nationwide effort.

JAHM is about celebration, education, and awareness, and also at its core about fighting antisemitism. This year’s theme “Can we talk about antisemitism?” underscores the need for awareness of the rising tide of antisemitism and sharing resources on how to confront it.

New for this year, an expanded resource section of the website includes tools from organizations such as JewBelong, Combat Antisemitism Movement, ADL, and others for confronting antisemitism.

A new joint effort among three of those entities–JAHM, JewBelong, and Combat Antisemitism Movement–builds on JewBelong’s hot pink-colored antisemitism awareness marketing campaign during the month of May to spark questions, reach younger audiences, and drive the public to the myriad Jewish American Heritage Month resources available from organizations across the U.S.

There is also a new resource on the JAHM for exploring family history and heritage presented by Ancestry, as well a host of updated resources from partners around the country such as reading lists, online exhibitions, and more.

Philadelphia’s Weitzman National Museum of American Jewish History (The Weitzman) leads this nationwide celebration that features a month-long series of events and 120 partner organizations across 31 states and the District of Columbia – from Alaska to Florida and Maine to California – that will participate in JAHM’s national programming and education campaign.

“It’s our honor to lead this effort,” shared Dr. Misha Galperin, The Weitzman’s President and CEO. “We eat, sleep, and breathe Jewish American heritage 365 days a year. May is an opportunity to double-down on our efforts to educate educate educate and to instill pride in all Americans about what Jews have been able to contribute to this country because of the opportunities that America has provided.”

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 Programming

JAHM 2022 will feature a series of hallmark events as well as highlight the work of its national community partners throughout May.

  • May 1 – National Social Media Launch, images and captions are provided in the JAHM 2022 Social Media Kit
  • May 10When Rabbis Bless Congress with author Howard Mortman and C-SPAN founder, Brian Lamb, will feature Mortman’s book of the same name which offers an unprecedented examination of 160 years of Jewish prayers delivered in the literal and figurative center of American democracy
  • May 11 – Discover the Judaica collections at the Museum of Fine Arts Boston and the New York Public library with moderator Michelle Chesner, the Norman E. Alexander Librarian for Jewish Studies at Columbia University.
  • May 13 – “What Would You Bring?” with REBOOT, an artistic exploration of the immigrant and refugee experience.
  • May 19 – America250 Community Conversation in celebration of JAHM and AAPI Heritage Month.
  • May 25 – Honoring Jewish American Soldiers with Operation Benjamin, National Museum of American Military History and JWB Chaplains Council – JCC Association.
  • May 26 – Joey Weisenberg Album Release in partnership with the Weitzman National Museum of American Jewish History, Hadar’s Rising Song Institute, and CANVAS
  • May 30 — Memorial Day Rebroadcast of May 25 program: Honoring Jewish American Soldiers with Operation Benjamin, National Museum of American Military History and JWB Chaplains Council – JCC Association.

Last year’s all-online JAHM efforts reached more than 1 million people.

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

Academy of Motion Pictures Museum

ADL

AEPi

African and Middle Eastern Division of the Library of Congress

Alaska Jewish Museum

Alliance for Jewish Theatre

Alliance of American Museums

America250

American Ancestors – New England Historic Genealogical Society

American Association for State and Local History

American Jewish Archives

American Jewish Committee

American Jewish Congress

American Jewish Historical Society

American Jewish University

American Sephardi Federation

American Zionist Movement

Ancestry

ANU: Museum of the Jewish People, North America

Association for Jewish Studies

Association of Jewish Libraries

Atlanta History Center

Belz Museum

Bernard Museum of Judaica

Blavatnik Archive

CANDLES Holocaust Museum

CANVAS

Capital Jewish Museum

Center for Jewish History

Chicago History Museum

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

Facing History and Ourselves

Florida Holocaust Museum

Goldring/Woldenberg Institute of Southern Jewish Life

Greensboro Contemporary Jewish Museum

Hillel International

HISTORY

HistoryMiami Museum

Holocaust Museum Houston

Holocaust Museum LA

Illinois Holocaust Museum

Iowa Jewish Historical Society

JCC Association

JDC Archives

JewBelong

Jewish Arts Collaborative

Jewish Book Council

Jewish Federation of North America

Jewish Film Presenters Network

Jewish Heritage Alliance

Jewish Historical Society of Long Island

Jewish Historical Society of Michigan

Jewish Historical Society of South Carolina

Jewish Historical Society of the Upper Midwest

Jewish Museum Milwaukee

Jewish Museum of Florida-FIU

Jewish National Fund

Jewish Theological Seminary

Jewish War Veterans

Jewish Women’s Archive

Jewish-American Hall of Fame

jMUSE

JWB Jewish Chaplains

Leo Baeck Institute

Lowell Milken Center for Music of American Jewish Experience, UCLA

LUNAR The Jewish-Asian Film Project

Maccabi USA

Made By Us (Smithsonian)

Magnes Collection, Berkeley

Maine Jewish Museum

Maltz Museum of Jewish History

Mizel Museum

Museum at Eldridge Street

Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

Museum of the Southern Jewish Experience

National Library of Israel, USA

National Museum of American Jewish Military History

National Museum of Women in the Arts

New York Public Library Dorot Jewish Collection

New-York Historical Society

North Carolina Museum of History

Operation Benjamin

Oregon Jewish Museum and Center for Holocaust Education

Orthodox Union

Paley Center for Media

PJ Library

Rauh Jewish History Program & Archives (Heinz History Center)

Reboot

Reconstructing Judaism

Rube Goldberg Institute for Innovation & Creativity

ShalomLearning

Sherwin Miller Museum of Jewish Art

Sixth & I

Skirball Cultural Center

Skirball Museum at Hebrew Union College

Smithsonian Affiliates

Southern Jewish Historical Society

Spertus Institute for Jewish Learning and Leadership

Tenement Museum

The Contemporary Jewish Museum

The Jewish Museum

The Simon Wiesenthal Center Museum of Tolerance

The Statue of Liberty-Ellis Island Foundation

The Vilna Shul, Boston’s Center for Jewish Culture

The Weitzman National Museum of American Jewish History

The Wyner Family Jewish Heritage Center at New England Historic Genealogical Society

Touro Synagogue

Tucson Jewish Museum & Holocaust Center

Union for Reform Judaisim

Washington State Jewish Historical Society

Yeshiva University Museum

Yiddish Book Center

Zioness

 

Jewish American Heritage Month is made possible with the generous support of the David Berg Foundation, Leon Levy Foundation, Ancestry, and HISTORY.

 

Visit JewishAmericanHeritage.org to learn more.

 

Download High-Resolution Photos and Credits

 

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 WEITZMAN NATIONAL MUSEUM OF AMERICAN JEWISH HISTORY
Established in 1976, and situated on Philadelphia’s Independence Mall, the Weitzman National Museum of American Jewish History is the only museum in the nation dedicated exclusively to exploring and interpreting the American Jewish experience. The Weitzman 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://theweitzman.org.

 

###

See All Press Releases