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 10 – When 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.
###