Jewish American Heritage Month (JAHM) is an annual recognition and celebration of the achievements and contributions of Jews to the fabric of American life and culture throughout our 350-year history in the United States. Held during the month of May, JAHM was first recognized in April 2006 following the passage of resolutions in the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate. Since then, annual proclamations have been issued by presidents, governors, state legislatures, school boards and other governing bodies.
JAHM takes on added significance this year in the midst of an extremely difficult time for Jewish students, educators and their families. Antisemitism has exploded during the last six months and ongoing protests have left Jewish students feeling unsafe.
Please share these resources with your families, communities, and schools.
VIRGINIA
The Jewish South – Newspaper published in Richmond, Virginia 1893-1899
The Levy Family Who Saved Jefferson’s Monticello
ENGLISH / AMERICAN LITERATURE
Podcast with short stories (under 10 minutes) appropriate for elementary school children
Ed Lacy, Jewish pulp fiction mystery writer, civil rights activist
Joshua Montefiore, First Jewish Author to Publish a Law Book in America
HISTORY / SOCIAL STUDIES
From Haven to Home: 350 Years of Jewish Life in America
Exhibit Items from Columbus to 1800
Exhibit Items Confronting Challenges
Bernard Gotfryd photograph collection
The White House Scientist and the Ancient Jewish Book
Moses Levy (1757 – 1826): 1st Jewish Lawyer in Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, With George Washington crossing the Deleware
Francis Salvador, the first Jewish Member of a legislative assembly in American History
As a judge, Simon Sobeloff fought for desegregation across the Mid-Atlantic and the South
Rosa Sonnesschein, publisher of “American Jewess” (1895-1899)
Nina Tarasova, Popular Jewish Russian American singer early 20th century
1942 Photo of Jewish Heritage and American Home:
Truman’s Recognition of Israel
Smithsonian Institute Jewish American Collection Items
Links to a series of hour and half discussions on a lot of topics including:
- America’s Jewish Women: A History from Colonial Times to Today
- Susan, Linda, Nina, and Cokie: The Extraordinary Story of the Founding Mothers of NPR
- The Jewish Justices of the Supreme Court, from Brandeis to Kagan – Their Lives and Legacies
- The Eddie Cantor Story: A Jewish Life in Performance and Politics
- Lincoln and the Jews: A History
- We Called Him Rabbi Abraham: Lincoln and American Jewry, a Documentary History
- When General Grant Expelled the Jews
- Shared Legacies: Honoring the Black-Jewish Civil Rights Alliance
- Supreme Court Justice Louis D. Brandeis and Social Justice
Albert Einstein’s 1939 letter to President Franklin Roosevelt:
9 Current Jewish Political Leaders Who Helped Shape U.S. History
Virginia Holocaust Museum Jewish American Hall of Fame with link to slideshow
ARTS
Roman Totenberg, Jewish American Violinist
Louis J Kahn, Jewish American Architect
Yiddish Radio and Music
- https://blogs.loc.gov/folklife/2021/05/american-yiddish-radio/
- https://www.yiddishradioproject.org/
- https://www.yivo.org/sound
(Good short video introduction to American Yiddish / Jewish Music recordings)
The House I Live In– short film 10 minute 1945 starring young Frank Sinatra stopping elementary aged kids from beating up a Jewish Kid featuring the song “The House I Live In”. (Does contain some anti-Asian bias that is reflective of the attitudes against the Japanese after WWII.)
George Gershwin, “Rhapsody in Blue” at 100, on Library of Congress’ YouTube page
Stan Lee and Jack Kirby: Creators of the Marcel Comics Universe
- https://blogs.loc.gov/headlinesandheroes/2018/11/celebrating-comics-champion-stan-lee/
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Kirby
Copeland’s Fanfare for the Common Man
Arthur Szyk: Artist for Freedom
Irving Berlin
CBS Sunday Morning – Irving Berlin
Irving Berlin singing his “God Bless America” with hundreds of girl and boy scouts
Individual works by contemporary Jewish artists with written commentary
