On April 20, 2006, President George W. Bush officially proclaimed May Jewish American Heritage Month (JAHM) to recognize Jewish contributions to American culture over the past 350+ years. President Obama’s 2011 proclamation declares that “this month, we embrace and celebrate the vast contributions Jewish Americans have made to our country… We remember that the history and unique identity of Jewish Americans is part of the grand narrative of our country…”
Over the past six years, organizations in every part of the country — in Miami and Chicago, in Washington and Philadelphia, Detroit and New York — have sponsored lectures, exhibits, plays, films, and other special programs in May to acknowledge the achievements of American Jews in fields ranging from sports and arts and entertainment to medicine, business, science, government, and military service. Several of this year’s events connect to the Jewish Women’s Archive.
For example, the Virginia Holocaust Museum in Richmond is unveiling the Jewish-American Hall of Fame plaque honoring Dr. Gertrude Elion (1918-99), Nobel Prize Winner in Medicine and one of JWA’s “Women of Valor,” who developed the first chemotherapy for childhood leukemia. On May 23rd, in Philadelphia, filmmaker Aviva Kempner will share her latest work-in-progress, a documentary exploring the story of Julius Rosenwald, the son of German-Jewish immigrants who co-founded and was chair of Sears, Roebuck & Co, becoming one of the wealthiest men in America as well as an influential philanthropist.
Read More: @ jwa.org
Readers found more information by searching for:
- stavrakopoulou (1)
You might also like:
- Remembering Dr. Rosalyn S. Yalow, Nobel Prize winning scientist and mother
- Jewish women and GLBT Pride: Who will you add?
- Jewish Disability Awareness Month: What you should know
- Women front and center at this celebration of Jewish American Heritage
- Give Babs a Hand: Barbra Streisand Buys Three Torah Yads