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About Jewish American Heritage Month
On April 20, 2006, President George W. Bush proclaimed that May would be Jewish American Heritage Month. The announcement was the crowning achievement in an effort by the Jewish Museum of Florida and South Florida Jewish community leaders that resulted in resolutions introduced by Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL) and Sen. Arlen Specter (R-PA) urging the president to proclaim a month that would recognize the more than 350-year history of Jewish contributions to American culture. The resolutions passed unanimously, first in the House of Representatives in December 2005 and later in the Senate in February 2006.
The month of May was chosen due to the highly successful celebration of the 350th Anniversary of American Jewish History in May 2004, which was organized by the Commission for Commemorating 350 Years of American Jewish History. This coalition was comprised of The Jacob Rader Marcus Center of the American Jewish Archives, The American Jewish Historical Society, The Library of Congress and the National Archives and Records Administration.
Leading the way in implementation of the annual celebration is the Jewish American Heritage Month Coalition, formed in March 2007 and convened by United Jewish Communities, the Jacob Rader Marcus Center of the American Jewish Archives and the American Jewish Historical Society.
Jewish American Heritage Month Coalition
About this Year's Theme
The American Jewish Experience
The 2008 theme, “The American Jewish Experience,” was inspired by the Library’s book and exhibition “From Haven to Home: 350 Years of Jewish Life.” According to the book, “the view of America as both a haven and a home reflects the country’s extraordinary hospitality to the civilizations and cultures of the diverse groups of Jewish immigrants who, over the centuries, made America their home. The twin blessings of freedom and opportunity encouraged and rewarded active participation in society-at-large. But persistent challenges to group survival have also been a consequence of this unprecedented freedom, and, in response to these pressures, new modes of group affiliation and identification emerged.”
The American Jewish Experience was one marked by the struggle of Jewish immigrants to “become American” and the challenges and opportunities they found in such a free society. Central to the Jewish experience is America’s commitment to ideals of freedom, opportunity, religious liberty, equality and pluralism.
About the Site
This Web portal is a collaborative project of the Library of Congress and the National Archives and Records Administration, National Endowment for the Humanities, National Gallery of Art, National Park Service, Smithsonian Institution and United States Holocaust Memorial Museum.