Nearly 200 Partner Orgs – Both Jewish and Secular – Across U.S. Unite in Month-Long Celebration of Jewish American Culture, Contributions, and Diversity

PHILADELPHIA, Pa. (April 24, 2023) – 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.

Philadelphia’s Weitzman National Museum of American Jewish History (The Weitzman) leads this nationwide celebration that features a month-long series of events and nearly 200 partner organizations nationwide that will participate in JAHM’s national programming and education campaign.

“We believe that the antidote to antisemitism is to teach Jewish history and heritage, and to create tangible touch points with Jewish people and culture,” shared Dr. Misha Galperin, The Weitzman’s President and CEO. “May is the perfect moment on the calendar for all Americans to experience the full spectrum of American Jewish life and get a better sense of who American Jews are – contributions, hardships, immigration stories, culinary and musical traditions, varied beliefs and lifestyles, and so much more. By learning about real people, we seek to build community, inspire Jews and non-Jews alike, and challenge antisemitic beliefs.”

Kick Off Event

On May 4, The Weitzman will host a concert to kick off JAHM featuring Frank London and the Klezmer Brass Allstars performing with Joshua Nelson and the Kosher Gospel Singers. The event will be live at the Philadelphia museum and livestreamed to a worldwide audience. Learn more.

JAHM Engagement

This year, The Weitzman has set a goal to engage all 50 states in JAHM programming and recognition. Last year, 31 states had participating organizations. To-date, 167 participation organizations across 46 states have signed for 2023. Partners represent both Jewish organizations and large non-Jewish institutions, such as library systems and state museums. Notable new JAHM partners include 12 public library systems in major metropolitan regions, including Boston, Dallas, Philadelphia, Los Angeles, Salt Lake City, Santa Fe, and others. To bolster engagement, there is an expanded electronic toolkit with fresh content and new resources, including a poster and resource guide, all available to the public in addition to JAHM partner organizations. The new hashtag #MyJAHM joins #OurSharedHeritage to drive social media users to post their own content about how they celebrate Jewish American heritage and culture.

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

JAHM Programming

JAHM 2023 will feature a series of its own signature events and will also highlight the work of its national community partners throughout May. Most of the programming will be presented in person and online in an effort to serve a broad, national audience.

• April 27: Jewish American Heritage Month Congressional Breakfast, hosted by Combat Antisemitism Movement (CAM) with partnership from The Weitzman. Location will be provided with RSVP
  May 4: JAHM Kickoff Concert (live and livestream)
• May 8: Behind the Screen: Standing up Against Antisemitism (livestream)
• May 16: William Shemin and the Medal of Honor (livestream)
• May 24: Uncovering Jewish Collections at Public Libraries (livestream)
• More to be announced soon

Last year’s all-online JAHM efforts reached tens of millions of people.

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, The Weitzman became the home of JAHM and now leads the nationwide effort.

 JAHM Partner Organizations (as of April 21, 2023)

Jewish American Heritage Month is made possible with the generous foundation support from The David Berg Foundation and Leon Levy Foundation and the following national partners:

3GNY

Academy of Motion Pictures Museum

ADL
AEPi
African and Middle Eastern Division of the Library of Congress
Alabama Holocaust Education Center
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 Library Association
American Russian Speaking Jews Alliance
American Sephardi Federation
American Zionist Movement
ANU: Museum of the Jewish People, North America
Arkansas Heritage
Association for Jewish Studies
Association of Jewish Libraries
Atlanta History Center
Auschwitz Jewish Center Foundation
Baltimore County Public Library
BBYO
Belz Museum
Bernard Museum of Judaica
Birthright Israel
Blavatnik Archive
Boise Public Library
CANDLES Holocaust Museum
CANVAS
Capital Jewish Museum
Center for Jewish History
Chicago History Museum
Chicago Public Library
Classrooms Without Borders
Cleveland Public Library
Combat Anti-Semitism Movement
Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations
Council of American Jewish Museums
Dallas Holocaust and Human Rights Museum
Dallas Public Library
Derfner Judaica Museum + The Art Collection
Facing History and Ourselves
Filson Historical Society
Florida Holocaust Museum
Foundation to Combat Antisemitism
Free Library of Philadelphia
Fritz Ascher Society
Goldring/Woldenberg Institute of Southern Jewish Life
Greensboro Contemporary Jewish Museum
Hadassah
Hillel International
Hispanic Star/Hispanic Heritage Month
HISTORY
History Colorado
HistoryMiami Museum
Holocaust Memorial and Tolerance Center of Nassau County
Holocaust Museum Houston
Holocaust Museum LA
Holocaust Resource Center of Kean University
Illinois Holocaust Museum
Iowa Jewish Historical Society
JAHM LA
JCC Association
JDC Archives
JewBelong
Jewish Arts Collaborative
Jewish Book Council
Jewish Council for Public Affairs
Jewish Federation of North America
Jewish Film Presenters Network
Jewish Heritage Alliance
Jewish Historical Society of Delaware
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 Museum of the American West
Jewish National Fund
Jewish Theological Seminary
Jewish War Veterans
Jewish Women’s Archive
Jewish-American Hall of Fame
Jews in ALL Hues
Jewtina y Co.
jMUSE
JWB Jewish Chaplains
Kansas City, Kansas Public Library
Leo Baeck Institute
Los Angeles Public Library
Lowell Milken Center for Music of American Jewish Experience, UCLA
LUNAR The Jewish-Asian Film Project
Maccabi USA
Made By Us
Magnes Collection, Berkeley
Maine Jewish Museum
Maltz Museum of Jewish History
Mizel Museum
Montana Historical Society
Montana Jewish Project
Museum at Eldridge Street
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
Museum of the Southern Jewish Experience
National Library of Israel, USA
National Medal of Honor Museum
National Museum of American Jewish Military History
National Museum of Women in the Arts
Nebraska Jewish Historical Society
Nevada Historical Society
New York Public Library
New York Public Library Dorot Jewish Collection
New-York Historical Society
North Carolina Museum of History
Oklahoma Historical Society
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
Salt Lake City Library
San Francisco Public Library
Santa Fe Public Library
ShalomLearning
Shine A Light
Sixth & I
Skirball Cultural Center
Skirball Museum at Hebrew Union College
Smithsonian Affiliates
South Dakota State Historical Society
Southern Jewish Historical Society
Spertus Institute for Jewish Learning and Leadership
St. Louis Kaplan Feldman Holocaust Museum
StandUpToJewishHate
Tenement Museum
The Contemporary Jewish Museum
The Jewish Historical Society of Fairfield County
The Jewish Historical Society of Greater Hartford
The Jewish Museum
The Lost Mural Project
The Simon Wiesenthal Center Museum of Tolerance
The Statue of Liberty-Ellis Island Foundation
The Vilna Shul, Boston’s Center for Jewish Culture
The Wyner Family Jewish Heritage Center at New England Historic Genealogical Society
Tolerance Education Center
Touro Synagogue
Tucson Jewish Museum & Holocaust Center
Union for Reform Judaism
Washington State Jewish Historical Society
Weitzman National Museum of American Jewish History
West Virginia State Museum
Wisconsin Historical Museum
Wyoming Historical Society
Yeshiva University Museum
Yiddish Book Center
Zioness

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 serves as an antidote to antisemitism by lifting up  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 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/

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