JEWISH AMERICAN HERITAGE MONTH STARTS MAY 1

Month-Long Celebration Recognizes the Jewish American People and Counters Antisemitism with Educational Offerings, Events, and More

PHILADELPHIA, May 1, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- This May, Jewish American Heritage Month (JAHM) will celebrate the inspiring history and vibrant living culture of Jewish Americans by amplifying the true, joyful, and powerful stories of Jewish life in America.

Designated each May by Presidential Proclamation, and stewarded by JAHM's co-founder, Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, JAHM is powered by the Philadelphia-based Weitzman National Museum of American Jewish History (The Weitzman) in partnership with a national coalition of more than 200 cultural, educational, religious, and advocacy organizations, as well as museums and library systems across the country.

"Jewish American Heritage Month celebrates the depth, diversity, and vitality of Jewish life in America – a story nearly four centuries in the making and still unfolding today," said Dan Tadmor, President and CEO of The Weitzman. "As the nation marks America's 250th anniversary, JAHM offers a timely opportunity to recognize how Jewish Americans have helped shape our country from its earliest days and continue to contribute to its future. At a time when antisemitism is rising, JAHM is also a powerful response through education, visibility, and joy. We are proud to lead this national effort with partners across the country who are helping more Americans understand and connect with the Jewish American story."

JAHM Programming Highlights
JAHM 2026 will feature a series of signature events while also showcasing the work of national community partners throughout May. To serve a broad, national audience, much of the programming will be presented both in person and online.

All signature events will be listed on JAHM's website here as they are announced.

• May 3 | Live at The Weitzman in Philly: Dual Heritage Month Family Day
  Celebrate Jewish American and Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month with music, dance, crafts, workshops, and tours for all ages. In partnership with American Jewish Committee (AJC) and Pennsylvania Asian Pacific American Jewish Alliance (PAPAJA).
• May 6 | Virtual: 1776: Jews and the American Revolution with Laura Arnold Leibman
  A lecture by award-winning historian and author Professor Laura Arnold Leibman on how Jews shaped the American Revolution and how the Revolution remapped American Jewish life.
• May 7 | Virtual: The First Salute with Laura Leibman and Dan Tadmor
  Part of a landmark virtual series commemorating 250 years of the Jewish experience in America, this virtual event explores the little-known story of a small group of Jewish merchants in the Caribbean whose outsized contributions to the cause of American liberty helped tip the scales in the fight for independence. Presented by the Weitzman National Museum of American Jewish History and 70 Faces Media.
• May 13 | Live at the Library of Congress: An Evening of Sephardic Music with Lily Henley: Singer, multi-instrumentalist, and songwriter Lily Henley brings a rare intensity to the stage, reviving the Sephardic Jewish ballad tradition with a modern spark that feels both intimate and alive. Her work lifts Ladino—an endangered language shaped by centuries of Sephardic history—into the present with striking clarity and heart. Join us for this standout moment in the American Folklife Center's Homegrown Concert Series, where Henley's voice and vision turn cultural preservation into something immediate and unforgettable. Presented in celebration of Jewish American Heritage Month and co-sponsored by the American Folklife Center at The Library of Congress.

The Weitzman's new America 250 The First Salute exhibition – an adventure through America's fight for freedom, where Jewish faith, courage, and persecution collided on the high seas to change the course of history  – is now open.

A new partnership with the Conference of Presidents of Major Jewish Organizations will deliver weekly stories in Jewish American history – from before the Revolutionary to today – now through July 4.

For the third year in a row, The Weitzman is sponsoring "Jewish American Heritage Month (JAHM) Collection Development Grants" for more than two dozen American Association of School Librarians members to create or expand their collection with content to provide context and content that explores Jewish experience, Jewish achievement, and Jewish identity as an antidote to antisemitism. Apply here.

A new collaboration with the Jewish Council for Public Affairs and the American Federation of Teachers will bring The Weitzman's educational resources to teachers nationwide through AFT's Share My Lesson platform, with vetted materials on Jewish American history, identity, diversity, and antisemitism, drawn from The Weitzman's Stories that Shaped a Nation curriculum.

GET INVOLVED WITH JAHM
The website JewishAmericanHeritage.org serves as JAHM's central hub. Stories, lessons, and resources on the JAHM website offer learning opportunities about who Jews are and how they have shaped and been shaped by America across nearly four centuries.

Visitors to the site have access to a free electronic toolkit with fresh content and resources, including a resource guide, posters, shareable social posts, and downloadable graphics. The hashtags #MyJAHM and #OurSharedHeritage drive social media users to post their own content about how they celebrate Jewish American heritage and culture.

Website visitors can access educator-specific resources for in-classroom use and professional learning, which are able to be filtered by subject, theme, and grade level.

JAHM's History
JAHM began as an effort by the Jewish Museum of Florida and South Florida Jewish community leaders. Through the bi-partisan efforts of Representative Debbie Wasserman Schultz (FL-23) and the late Senator Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania, JAHM was established in 2006 by President George W. Bush to honor the contributions and achievements of Jewish Americans and to educate all Americans. It has been continued every year since then by Presidential Proclamation. Other notable milestones include the formation of a national advisory committee in 2007 to drive the effort forward; NASA Astronaut Garrett Reisman, a New Jersey native and University of Pennsylvania graduate, carrying the original JAHM proclamation into space in 2010, and President and First Lady Barack and Michelle Obama hosting the first-ever White House reception in honor of JAHM that same year. In 2018, The Weitzman became the home of JAHM and now leads the nationwide effort.

Jewish American Heritage Month is proudly funded by these national partners.

Visit JewishAmericanHeritage.org to learn more.

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ABOUT JEWISH AMERICAN HERITAGE MONTH
Jewish American Heritage Month (JAHM) is a national month of recognition of the more than 365-year history of Jewish contributions to American culture, celebrated each May per Presidential Proclamation. JAHM lifts up the indelible contributions American Jews have made, and continue to make, to our nation's history, culture, and society. JewishAmericanHeritage.org

ABOUT THE WEITZMAN NATIONAL MUSEUM OF AMERICAN JEWISH HISTORY
Established in 1976, and situated on Philadelphia's Independence Mall, the Weitzman National Museum of American Jewish History is the only museum in the nation dedicated exclusively to exploring and interpreting the American Jewish experience. The Weitzman presents educational programs and experiences that preserve, explore, and celebrate the history of Jews in America. It proudly stewards one of the largest collections of Jewish Americana in the nation. Standing as a joyful bulwark against antisemitism, bigotry, and hate, The Weitzman serves to connect Jews more closely to their heritage and to inspire in people of all backgrounds a greater appreciation for the diversity of the American Jewish experience and the freedoms to which Americans aspire. www.theweitzman.org

SOURCE National Museum of American Jewish History