Jewish American Heritage Month (JAHM) is an annual recognition and celebration of American Jews' achievements and contributions to the United States of America.
JAHM is held throughout May, it is an opportunity to recognize and celebrate the more than 350-year history of Jewish contributions to America and the American culture. JAHM encourages communities across the country to educate diverse public audiences about Jewish culture; and spark crucial conversations about the American Jewish past, present and future.
Eat, Read, Watch or Listen:
Read
Read a book celebrating Jewish culture and traditions. Here are a few resources to find good books.
Jewish books to read by topic
Food
Food is a large part of Jewish traditions, explore recipes from diverse Jewish communities:
- The Nosher:
This website has many traditional and nontraditional Jewish food recipes as well as history on Jewish culinary culture. - Jewish Food Society:
This is a nonprofit organization that collects Jewish family recipes to preserve, celebrate, and revitalize Jewish Culinary culture. - Kosher.com:
Features kosher recipes as well as information on what kosher is and how to keep kosher.
Watch
- 10 Movies Showcasing the Best of American Jewish Life
- The Picture House - 10 Movies for Jewish American Heritage Month
- 14 Binge-Worthy Jewish TV Shows
- Unpacked Short Videos that explore big questions and dissect complex topics on all things Jewish.
Listen
Learn about Famous Jewish People
In-person Events
- After Sunset: JAHM Out After Hours Museum Party | Thursday May 7, 6:00 PM presented by Lillian and Albert Small Capital Jewish Museum
-
Live at the Library of Congress: An Evening of Sephardic Music with Lily Henley | Wednesday, May 13, 6:30 PM presented by The Weitzman American History Museum
Visit a Jewish Museum
- Capital Jewish Museum; Explore the Jewish experience in the national capital region.
- Jewish Museum of Maryland; Located in Baltimore, this museum is for connecting with Jewish life, history, culture, and art.
- The Tenement Museum; This is a museum located in New York that focuses on telling the story of the working class citizens who immigrated to the United States into tenement housing. Take a look at some of their online exhibits.
Explore Additional Resources
American Jewish Committee
AJC provides resources for Jewish American Heritage Month.
Anti-Defamation League
The ADL provides resources for families and educators to talk about the Holocaust and Antisemitism.
Jewish Women's Archive shares ideas for celebrating JAHM.
National Today provides the origin of how JAHM began, as well as ideas for celebrating.
Teacher Resources
Institute for Curriculum Services offers Live Virtual Workshops for teachers.
The Jacob Rader Marcus Center of American Jewish Archives is an educational tool with many primary source documents you can read through about American Jewry.
American Jewish Archives provides resources on American Jewish History.
Jewish American Heritage Month Lesson Plans, a good resource for teaching children about Jewish Heritage.
Jewish Heritage Month Curriculum Explorer is an identity-affirming digital dashboard for educators.