Welcome to the electronic newsletter of the National Museum of American Jewish History. This newsletter is designed to keep you informed of exhibitions, programs and other activities of the NMAJH, the only Museum in the country exclusively presenting educational programs and experiences that preserve, explore and celebrate the history of the Jews in America.
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Forward Editor Speaks On Jewish Vote

Jewish Americans are less than two percent of the United States population, but they play an outsized role in politics, according to Jane Eisner, editor of the Forward, the weekly newspaper covering the Jewish world and considered American Jewry's newspaper of record."The number of people who have been elected to office is far beyond our proportion of the population. And frankly, the amount of money that is donated from Jewish donors to political causes is far beyond our two percent. So, the Jewish vote is always very important."

There are four main issues those important Jewish voters will be considering in the upcoming election Eisner said while offering her analysis during "The Jewish Community and the Upcoming Presidential Election," a program recently held for 60 special Museum supporters. Those issues are: the Middle East, the economy, Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin, and race. Regarding the Middle East she noted, "The discussion about Israel and her future really is framed more about Iran and the Iran question. That is also something the Israeli government is very, very concerned about and, indeed, all Americans are concerned about. But, I think that the questions about Iran and how the United States will treat a potential nuclear Iran are very, very important to Jewish voters."

The dramatic change in the economy in the last few weeks has led to virtually all national polls, and those in the battleground states, going to Obama, she said. However, she added, "I don't know how the economy is going to affect the Jewish vote." Eisner characterized Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin as a wild card in the race and took note of the intense interest in her from Jewish voters. "I do wonder whether the attempt that the McCain ticket is creating to exercise the more conservative base of the party is having an affect on Jewish voters. We won't know that until the exit polls."

Eisner concluded by saying there is "no doubt that race will play a part in some of the decisions white voters make. I think it's especially true generationally. "Whether or not that trumps other issues that people have on the economy, on the Middle East, on leadership, how that balances out the Sarah Palin factor I'm not sure, but I do think that is what is part of what is going to be unfolding next month," Eisner said.


Auditorium Has a Role in New Museum

Imagine a heated debate on the role of religion in American politics. Steps away, no less, from Independence Hall, where the role of religion in the United States was first debated. Or, perhaps your tastes run to cutting-edge comedy or theater. Maybe it's a performance of songs by great American Jewish composers like Irving Berlin, George Gershwin and Richard Rodgers that you'd like to attend. Or a lecture on assimilation.

The opportunity to attend these types of programs in one place is closer than you think. The auditorium for the new National Museum of American Jewish History being constructed on Independence Mall continues to take shape. Both the concrete perimeter wall of the lower level and the floor where the auditorium will be located has been placed.

The auditorium, a multipurpose venue equipped for films, theater and concerts, was funded by a $5 million gift from Dr. Alexander and Lorraine Dell and the Michael & Susan Dell Foundation. The theater will seat approximately 200 people, including seats for those with disabilities. The auditorium, part of the Museum's education center located in the building's lower level concourse, will be home to a mix of programs, all geared toward making the Museum the preeminent national educational and cultural center celebrating the American Jewish experience.

"Programming in the new Museum will be second-to-none to any cultural institution in the country," said Gwen Goodman, the Museum's Executive Director/CEO. "We will provide a voice for Jewish Americans in all disciplines, artistic and academic, and enable the exploration of American Jewish heritage and culture." In addition to the auditorium and theater, the concourse includes an education center with two classrooms and a resource center. A sliding partition between the classrooms will enable it to be transformed into one large space. The concourse also includes an expansive public area that will be used for programs and special events.

As work continues on the concourse, construction workers and contractors at the site are working on other elements of the 100,000-square-foot, five-story building. A structural steel frame of the Museum is being erected and work on the building's electrical and plumbing systems is ongoing. The Museum is in the midst of a $150 million Capital Campaign for construction of the 100,000-square-foot, five-story building. Nearly $112 million has been raised for the Campaign.

The new Museum is scheduled to be completed in fall 2010. For information on how to support the Museum, contact Irv Hurwitz, the Museum's director of institutional advancement at 215.923.3811 x 133 or by e-mail.


Shop Offers Smashing Discount


The Jewish wedding, much like Jewish holidays currently being celebrated, is a time filled with celebration, tradition, and ritual objects passed down through generations. This kiddush cup (right) sold at the Museum Shop and designed by Gary Rosenthal is made with a compartment which holds the broken glass from the wedding ceremony. Rosenthal's hand-colored glass goblets (left), sold in the shop, are made for his wedding collection. They are available in blue, green and red as shown.

Rosenthal has been sculpting in welded metals for approximately 30 years. Together with a team of talented craftspeople, he creates one of the most popular and unique lines of Judaic art in the country. Combining copper, brass, and steel with fused glass, the collection has a contemporary style inspired by the rich history of the Jewish people. Work from the Gary Rosenthal Collection has been presented to presidents and to celebrities and can be found throughout the world in many fine galleries and private collections.

These wedding items are just a few of the many that are sold in the Museum Shop and online store. Customers who mention these items in the E-Newsletter will receive a 10 percent discount. Visit the Museum Shop to browse the collection or view the items online at www.judaicashop.net.

The Museum Shop is open Monday-Thursday 10 a.m.- 5 p.m.; Friday 10 a.m.-3 p.m.; and Sunday 12 noon - 5 p.m. Proceeds from the Museum Shop support the National Museum of American Jewish History.



Museum Sponsors Program With Authors at First Person Arts Festival

Award-winning author and critic Daniel Mendelsohn and journalist and critic Lise Funderburg have devoted years to dissecting the small details of family stories framed by history. They will share their work as part of a First Person Arts' production, Relative History, which is sponsored by the Museum.

Mendelsohn's Lost: A Search for Six of Six Million is a gripping account of six of his own family members, Holocaust victims uncovered through a detective-like search for facts about their lives and deaths. Lise Funderburg's Pig Candy reconstructs the Jim Crow south as she tends to her dying father who is living out his final years in his boyhood home in rural Georgia.

Mendelsohn and Funderburg will read from their works and discuss how family stories personalize the abstractions of history. Funderburg is a journalist, essayist, and critic. She is currently an instructor in creative nonfiction writing at the University of Pennsylvania. Mendelsohn is the author of three books and his essays have been widely anthologized. He teaches at Bard College.

The program will take place on Sunday, Nov. 16, 4 p.m.-5:30 p.m. at the Painted Bride Art Center, 230 Vine Street, Philadelphia. First Person Arts, founded in 2000, transforms the drama of real life into memoir and documentary art to foster appreciation for our unique and shared experience. It has showcased the work of more than 100 artists nationwide.


One Book, One Jewish Community Includes Museum as Partner

The Museum is once again partnering with the Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia for its annual One Book, One Jewish Community: Connecting People project. As a project partner, the Museum's educational program Memory Keepers is included in a resource guide for teachers, community leaders and others who want to have a program for OBOJC. The program, developed to complement the Museum's current exhibition, Shaping Space, Making Meaning, enables students to create their own exhibit related to American Jewish identity using non-accessioned artifacts. The students take on the roles of curator, registrar, and exhibit designers.

One Book,One Jewish Community is designed to bring Philadelphia's Jewish community together through shared conversations, discussions and events inspired by a selected book. This year's book, My Father's Paradise, is by first-time novelist Ariel Sabar, whose work has appeared in The New York Times, the Washington Monthly, and other publications.

My Father's Paradise tells the story of Yona Sabar, a descendent of a lost tribe of Israel made up of Kurdish Jews who lived in the mountains of northern Iraq, so isolated that they still spoke Aramaic and were mostly illiterate. They were self-made mystics, storytellers, and peddlers who lived in harmony with their Muslim and Christian neighbors. Yona and his family were among the 120,000 Jews who emigrated from Iraq in the 1950s after the founding of the state of Israel. My Father's Paradise explores how Yona dedicates his career to preserving his people's traditions, while he and his son Ariel travel together to today's post-war Iraq to find what's left of his birthplace.

Synagogues, agencies and other Jewish institutions will use the novel as a vehicle for conversation, sharing and celebrating not only the book itself, but also the values and issues raised in the story. Ariel Sabar will be at Temple Beth Hillel, Beth El for a OBOJC kick-off conversation on Sunday, Nov. 2 2008. For more information on author Ariel Sabar and One Book, One Jewish Community, visit the Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia's website. For more information on Memory Keepers, please visit the education page of the Museum's site.


Museum and Singer Janis Ian Team Up

Kirkus Reviews called legendary songwriter Janis Ian's new autobiography Society's Child "a juicily entertaining look at an unusual life in show business." The book earned a starred review from Booklist, which said, "fans will love this book, of course, but many non-fans, too, should find this painfully candid memoir hard to put down." O magazine called it "hugely readable." People magazine gave it 3½ stars.

The Museum is joining with Ian and her publisher Tarcher/Penguin to offer free copies of her book to the first five E-Newsletter subscribers to respond to enews@nmajh.org with the words "Janis Ian" in the subject line and include your name and address. Included with the book will be Ian's new CD, Best of Janis Ian: The Autobiography Collection, which includes all of her classic songs, remastered and available all in one place for the very first time.

Ian's first album, featuring the breakout hit "Society's Child," was recorded in 1965. The seminal "At Seventeen" from her second album, Between the Lines, garnered five Grammy nominations in 1975 and she opened the first-ever episode of Saturday Night Live in the fall of that year. At the close of the decade her Night Rains album went platinum throughout Europe, Africa and Australia, making Ian an international star.

In 2002, "Society's Child" was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame, with "At Seventeen" followed in 2008. Ella Fitzgerald once called her "The best young singer in America," while Chet Atkins said, "Singer? You ought to hear that girl play guitar. She gives me a run for my money!" In addition to the autobiography and CD, the Museum is also offering a pair of tickets to Ian's shows at the The Grand Opera House , in Wilmington, DE on Thursday, Nov. 13 and at the Sellersville Theater on Friday, Nov. 14.

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National Museum of American Jewish History
Independence Mall East
55 North 5th Street
Philadelphia, PA 19106-2197
Tel: 215.923.3811 Fax: 215.923.0763
www.nmajh.org