Weitzman National Museum of American Jewish History To Celebrate Jewish American Heritage Month

This May, Jewish American Heritage Month (JAHM) will celebrate the inspiring history of Jewish Americans, serving as an antidote to antisemitism by amplifying the true, joyful, and powerful stories of Jewish life in America. 

Designated each May by Presidential Proclamation, JAHM is powered by Philadelphia's Weitzman National Museum of American Jewish History (The Weitzman) and a national coalition of more than 200 cultural, educational, religious, advocacy organizations, museums, and library systems across the country.

“Jewish American Heritage Month is an opportunity for organizations and people of all backgrounds to learn and celebrate the integral role Jewish Americans have played in shaping our nation over the past four centuries,” said the Weitzman's president and CEO, Dr. Misha Galperin. “The awareness-building and normalizing of American Jews that happens through JAHM is critical in educating against antisemitism. We encourage individuals, families, communities, businesses, and institutions to join us in countering antisemitism through celebration, education, solidarity, and allyship.”

JAHM Engagement

The website JewishAmericanHeritage.org serves as JAHM's central hub. Stories on the JAHM website offer learning opportunities about who Jews are and how they have shaped and been shaped by America across nearly four centuries. 

Visitors to the site have access to a free electronic toolkit with fresh content and resources, including a resource guide, posters, and downloadable social posts. The hashtags #MyJAHM and #OurSharedHeritage drive social media users to post their own content about how they celebrate Jewish American heritage and culture. 

Free Educational Offerings

Teachers can sign up for free professional development sessions to learn about bringing age-appropriate JAHM lessons into classrooms. Also available are free lesson plans, teaching ideas, reading lists, and more resources. Learn more and sign up here.

JAHM Programming

JAHM 2024 will feature a series of its own signature events and will also highlight the work of its national community partners throughout May. Much of the programming will be presented in person and online in an effort to serve a broad, national audience.

• May 1, 3 p.m. (ET): JAHM Across the Aisle - Bipartisan Discussion with Former Members of Congress

• May 5: AAPI and JAHM Family Day at the Museum

• May 7: Conversation with Helene Jawhara PIñer and Mike Solomonov at the Free Library of Philadelphia

• May 7: JAHM Congressional Luncheon; invitation only, open to the Press 

• May 8: “Code Name: Ayalon” Film Screening

• May 15, 6 p.m. (ET): Jewish American Heritage Concert from the Nation's Capital

  • Live on the Kennedy Center's Millennium Stage and Live Streamed

  • Featuring Frank London's Klezmer Brass Allstars (Eastern European Ashkenazi music), Susana Behar (Sephardic music), Yosef Goldman and Yoni Battat (Mizrahi music from Yemen, Syria, and Iraq)

• May 16, 6 p.m. (ET): “My Life in Recipes” by Joan Nathan Book Release in conversation with Mike Solomonov

  • Live at The Weitzman and Live Streamed

  • A new cookbook from the best-selling and award-winning author that uses recipes to look back at her life and family history

• May 21: Ben Shneiderman in conversation with Sandee Brawarsky

  • Live Streamed

  • Shneiderman contributed to the creation of the hyperlink; the Museum currently has a web exhibition dedicated to his family's outsized impact on 20th century communications and technology

• May 28: Generate Music Panel | Black-Jewish Music and Community Relations with Diane Monroe, Susan Watts and David Gilmore

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.

Jewish American Heritage Month is made possible in part with support from The David Berg Foundation and these national partners, including the Recording Academy and American Association of School Librarians, which are new partners for 2024.

Visit JewishAmericanHeritage.org to learn more.

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. It proudly stewards one of the largest collections of Jewish Americana in the nation. Standing as a joyful bulwark against antisemitism, bigotry, and hate, The Weitzman serves 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.

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