Jewish American Heritage Month 2019

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heritage1It’s not as well- known as Black History Month (February) or National Hispanic Heritage Month (September), but there actually is a Jewish American Heritage Month and we are right in the middle of it.

It is annually proclaimed and published in the National Register. This year’s proclamation begins:

“As we observe Jewish American Heritage Month, our Nation celebrates nearly 4,000 years of Jewish history and honors the numerous contributions of Jewish Americans to our country and the world. Rabbi Akiva, a great Jewish scholar, declared that a central principle of the Torah is to “love thy neighbor as thyself.” Jewish Americans have repeatedly demonstrated their dedication to this commandment, helping the downtrodden and pursue justice, sanctifying the name of God, and embodying the best of America.”

For the rest of the proclamation follow this link: https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2019/05/06/2019-09314/jewish-american-heritage-month-2019

heritage2There are scores of print resources to celebrate Jewish American achievement. In addition, many institutions, universities, museums, and organization have online resources. The following is a link to resources on this year’s theme which is illustrators. Some of the most beloved-an often influential – American illustrators are Jewish: Roz Chast, Rube Goldberg, Ezra Jack Keats, Stan Lee, Maurice Sendak, https://www.jahm.us/

The Library of Congress has both real time exhibits and online. From Haven to Home: 350 Years of Jewish Life in America is a Library of Congress online exhibition marking 350 years of Jewish life in America. The 2004 exhibition featured more than two hundred treasures of American Judaica from the collections of the Library of Congress, augmented by a selection of important loans from other cooperating cultural institutions.

For other exhibits related to JAHM follow this link https://www.jewishheritagemonth.gov/

The Jewish Women’s Archive is a comprehensive resource for information about American Jewish women. Follow this link to meet some fascinating females who impacted American life. https://jwa.org/discover/throughtheyear/may/jahm

The following is a selection of books available in our library about various aspects of Jewish American history, culture, and people.   There are scores more on the shelves and on display. They are listed chronologically. J stands for Juvenile books; FIC is for fiction; NF means nonfiction.

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Oren — Joining the Club: a history of Jews and Yale. (1985) (NF)

Goldman — Search for God at Harvard (1991) (NF)

Nathan  —  Jewish Cooking in America. (1994) (NF)

Brodkin — How Jews Became White Folks abd what that says about race in America (1998) (NF)

Baldwin — Henry Ford and the Jews: the mass production of hate. (2001) (NF)

Roth — The Plot Against America. (2004) (FIC), Promised lands: new Jewish fiction on longing and belonging. (2010) (NF)

Michelson — Lipman Pike: America’s first home run king. (2011 ( JBIOG)

Fishman — When Jackie and Hank Met. (2012) (JBIOG)

Sarna — When General Grant Expelled the Jews, (2012) (NF)

Breitman — FDR and the Jews. (2013) (NF)

Goldman — The American Jewish Story through Cinema (2013) (NF)

Ricca — Super Boys: the amazing adventures of Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster- the creators of Superman. (2013) (NF)

Michelson — Fascinating: the life of Leonard Nimoy. (2016) (JBIOG)

Horowitz — Kosher U.S.A.: how Coke became kosher and other tales of modern food. (2015) (NF)

Pinkne — A Poem for Peter: the story of Ezra Jack Keats and the creation of The Snowy Day. (2016 (JBIOG)

Beitz —  The Sundown Kid: a southwestern Shabbat (2016) (JFIC)

Krawitz —  Viva, Rose! (2017) (JFIC)

Henderson — Sons and Soldiers: the untold story of the Jews who escaped the Nazis and returned with the U.S. Army to fight Hitler. (2018) (NF)

Krull — No Truth Without Ruth: the life of Ruth Bader Ginsburg. (2018) (JBIOG)

Perl — All Three Stooges (2018) (JFIC)

Weisman — The Chosen Wars: how Judaism became an American religion. (2018) (NF)

Weisman — (((Semitism))): being Jewish in America in the age of Trump (2018) (NF)

Wertheimer —  The New American Judaism: how Jews practice their religion today. (2018) (NF)

Aronson — Just Like Rube Goldberg: the incredible true story of the man behind the machines.(2019)(JBIOG

Nadell —  America’s Jewish Women: a history from colonial times to today. (2019) (NF)

Blumberg — Open Your Hand: teaching as a Jew, teaching as an American. (2019) (NF)

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