National Archives News

Jewish American Heritage Month

NARA is proud to observe Jewish American Heritage Month and to recognize Jewish contributions to American culture, history, military, science, government, and more.

In 2006, President George W. Bush proclaimed May as Jewish American Heritage Month. This was a result of a concerted effort by American Jewish leaders to introduce resolutions in both the U.S. Senate and the House urging the President to proclaim a month specifically recognizing Jews in America and their contributions to the United States.

 

Videos 

When Rabbis Bless Congress: The Great American Story of Jewish Prayers on Capitol Hill

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

Selected Records

Albert Einstein’s Declaration of Intention to become a U.S. citizen

Albert Einstein’s time card when he was working as a consultant to the United States Government during World War II

Albert Einstein's 1939 letter to President Franklin Roosevelt about the possible development of “an extremely powerful new type of bomb” by the Germans.

Holocaust Era Assets

A Mitzvah to Serve: a 1969 Defense Department motion picture about the responsibilities and value of Jewish lay leadership in the armed forces

Baseball player Hank Greenberg’s Official Military Personnel Record

Irving Berlin's World War I draft registration card

World War I poster in Yiddish: "Food Will Win the War"

 

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