Awards and Fellowships

As part of its educational and promotional initiatives in the field of American Jewish history, the American Jewish Historical Society encourages interested students and scholars to apply for the following prizes and fellowships, awarded annually to outstanding students and scholars in the field of American Jewish history.

Administrative Committee Prize

The American Jewish Historical Society awards a prize of $100.00 for the best article on local Jewish history submitted to American Jewish History. If accepted by the Editorial Board, the award-winning article will be published in American Jewish History. Submit your article to Eric Goldstein, Editor, American Jewish History, Emory University, Bowden Hall, Rm 221, 561 S. Kilgo Circle, Atlanta, GA 30322. Or by email: egoldst@emory.edu

Ruth B. Fein Prize

The American Jewish Historical Society awards the Ruth B. Fein Prize, a
travel stipend established in honor of a past president of the Society,
to a graduate student to help undertake research at the American Jewish
Historical Society. The award is up to $1,000. To apply, please send a
2-page description of your project, a letter of support from your
graduate mentor and a budget for your travel expenses to Professor
Riv-Ellen Prell, Department of American Studies, University of
Minnesota, 104 Scott Hall,  72 Pleasant St. SE, Minneapolis, MN 55455
Submission date: February 1, 2009 for awards for 2009.

The Sid and Ruth Lapidus Fellowship

The Sid and Ruth Lapidus Fellowship supports one or more researcher(s)
wishing to use the collections of the American Jewish Historical
Society. Preference is given to researchers interested in 17th and 18th
century American Jewish history. At the discretion of the awards
committee, the fellowship funds may also be applied to subsidizing
publication of a first book in the field of American Jewish history,
again with preference given to works in early American Jewish history.
The available amount for the award(s) is $6,000 annually. Submission
date: February 1, 2009 for awards for 2009. Please send proposals of up
to 5 pages to: Professor Riv-Ellen Prell, Department of American
Studies, University of Minnesota, 104 Scott Hall, 72 Pleasant
St.,Minneapolis, Minnesota 55455

Saul Viener Book Prize

The Saul Viener Prize ($1,000) is awarded biannually, with the current competition covering books published in 2007 and 2008. Only books that focus on the history of the Jews in America are considered. Works in literature, sociology, political science, and other fields do not qualify, nor do historical studies of Jews outside of the United States. In order to be considered, books have to be original work in English and not anthologies or other edited works. Books that were supported by or are projects of the AJHS are not eligible for consideration. The deadline for submissions is February 15, 2009. Books that fit these criteria should be referred to the committee. Please send author, title, publisher and publication date to Gerald Sorin, chair, Saul Viener Prize Committee. The committee will contact the publishers.

Saul Viener Book Prize Winners:

Naomi Wiener Cohen, Jews in Christian America: the Pursuit of Religious Equality (1991-92)

Deborah Dash Moore, To the Golden Cities: Pursuing the American Jewish Dream in Miami and L.A. (1993-94)

Ewa Morawska, Insecure Propserity: Small-Town Jews in Industrial America, 1890-1940 (1995-96)

Two books received the prize in 1997-98.

Jeffrey S. Gurock and Jacob J. Schacter, A Modern Heretic and a Traditional Community : Mordecai M. Kaplan, Orthodoxy, and American Judaism (1997-98)

Daniel Soyer, Jewish Immigrant Associations and American Identity in New York, 1880-1939 (1997-98)

Jeffrey Shandler, While America Watches: Televising the Holocaust (1999-2000)

Gerald Sorin, Irving Howe: A Life of Passionate Dissent (2001-2002)

Two books received the prize in 2003-2004.

Deborah Dash Moore, G I Jews: How WWII Changed a Generation (2004)

Jonathan D. Sarna, American Judaisn: A History (2004)

For 2005-2006, two winners were selected:

Eric Goldstein, The Price of Whiteness: Jews, Race, and American Identity (2005-2006);

Cheryl Lynn Greenberg, Troubling the Waters: Black-Jewish Relations in the American Century.(2005-2006)

Also recognized as "runner up" was:

Tony Michels, A Fire in Their Hearts: Yiddish Socialists in New York. (2005-2006)

Wasserman Fellowship

This fellowship was created to reward an outstanding graduate student at Brandeis University in the field of American Jewish history who, during the year of the award, will work at the Society on projects which promote the Society's goals to disseminate information on the American Jewish experience. The fellowship is awarded by the Department of Near Eastern and Judaic Studies at Brandeis University, in consultation with the Society.

Leo Wasserman Foundation

The Leo Wasserman Student Essay Prize is for the best essay submitted by an undergraduate college or university student and includes a $100 award. The student essay may also be considered for publication in American Jewish History. Submit essays to: Prof. Deborah Dash Moore, Chair, Academic Council, c/o Frankel Center for Judaic Studies, University of Michigan, 3032 Frieze Building, 105 South State St., Ann Arbor, MI 48109. Submission date: July 15th of each year.

Eligibility and Submission of Essays:

Eligible submissions will be papers dealing with any aspect of the American Jewish experience, written by an undergraduate college or university student.  Papers submitted are to have been completed as a requirement in a college course.  They shall be no shorter than 15 pages in length and no longer than 50 pages; distilled versions of longer essays may be submitted in order to meet these length requirements.  Papers for the essay contest must be submitted for consideration during the academic year in which they were completed.  The deadline for submission of papers is July 15 of each year.

Essays submitted should bear the name and institutional affiliation of the author, along with an indication of the course for which and the instructor for whom they were written.  The date of their composition also should be indicated, as well as information about how the author may be contacted.

Other Society-sponsored awards include:

Lee Max Friedman Award Medal

The Lee Max Friedman Award Medal was established in memory of a past Society president and is awarded by the American Jewish Historical Society to any individual, group or association deemed to have rendered distinguished service in the field of American Jewish history. Distinguished service includes special achievements in research, scientific or popular writing, teaching, encouragement and/or support of specific historical projects, or in the field of mass communication.

The following have received the Lee Max Friedman Award Medal.

Isidore S. Meyer* 1960 David R. Pokross 1980
Jacob R. Marcus* 1961 John L. Loeb, Jr. 1981
David de Sola Pool* 1962 Harry Starr* 1982
Salo W. Baron* 1963 Saul Viener 1983
Bertram W. Korn* 1964 Rosemary E. Krensky* 1984
Maurice Jacobs* 1966 Oscar Handlin 1985
Abram Kanof, MD* 1967 Hyman J. Cohen* 1992
Leon J. Obermayer* 1968 Bernard Wax 1992
Philip D. Sang 1970 Henry L. Feingold 1994
Abram V. Goodman 1974 Moses Rischin 1995
Oscar I. Janowsky* 1975 Arthur Goren 2000
Abraham J. Karp 1976 Jeffrey Gurock and
Marc Lee Raphael 		2002
Moshe Davis* 1977 Naomi W. Cohen 2004
Abram L. Sachar* 1978

Gerald Sorin

 2006
Malcolm H. Stern* 1979 Leo Hershkowitz 2008

*Deceased

Emma Lazarus Statue of Liberty Award

The Emma Lazarus Statue of Liberty Award is given to an American who has made a major contribution to improving the human condition. The first recipient of the award was Dr. Abraham L. Sachar, founding president of Brandeis University. More recently the award has gone to Dr. Armand Hammer, Edgar M. Bronfman, Sylvia Hassenfeld, Aaron Feuerstein, Beverly Sills, Sanford I. Weill, 2000, Ambassador Felix G. Rohatyn, 2001, Elie Wiesel, 2002, Mortimer B. Zuckerman, 2003, Hon. Edward I. Koch, 2005, Hon. George P. Shultz, 2007, and Sid Lapidus, 2008.

Awards Sponsored By Other Organizations

American Jewish Archives Fellowship Programs

The Fellowship Programs of the American Jewish Archives currently offer six different programs to doctoral and post-doctoral researchers for one or two month stays at the Archives. For more information, write to the Director of the American Jewish Archives, 3101 Clifton Avenue, Cincinnati, OH 54220, or email AJA@fuse.net.

Chicago Jewish Historical Society's Doris Minsky Memorial Fund Prize

The Doris Minsky Memorial Fund of the Chicago Jewish Historical Society seeks manuscripts in the field of Chicago Jewish history for periodic publication in its monograph series.

Guidelines for Submission:

  1. Anyone may submit a manuscript.
  2. The manuscript must deal with an aspect of Jewish history of the Chicago metropolitan area. It must be essentially a worthwhile contribution to the field.
  3. Manuscripts should normally be between 12,000 and 32,000 words in length (approximately 30 to 80 typewritten, double-spaced pages), although exceptions may be made in this regard.
  4. For annual deadline information, please contact the Chicago Jewish Historical Society.
  5. Manuscripts should be completed work, typed, double-spaced, and essentially ready for publication.
  6. The Chicago Jewish Historical Society committee of readers will be solely responsible for selecting the manuscript to be published.
  7. Resulting publications will be copyrighted by the Chicago Jewish Historical Society and distribution and sales governed by the CJHS. While no royalties can be paid for these researched contributions, the author of the selected manuscript will receive an award of $1,000.00. Publication and distribution costs will be assumed by the CJHS. The winning entrant(s) agree(s) to assign to the Chicago Jewish Historical Society all copyrights to the work.
  8. Manuscripts not published in a particular year may be resubmitted for later consideration.
  9. No manuscripts can be returned unless accompanied by a self-addressed envelope bearing sufficent postage.
  10. Individuals submitting manuscripts will be sent timely notification of the committee's decisions.
  11. Submit manuscripts to: Chicago Jewish Historical Society, Doris Minsky Memorial Fund, 618 South Michigan Avenue, Chicago, IL 60605.
  12. Questions may be addressed to the Chicago Jewish Historical Society in writing or by telephone at (312) 663-5634.

Summer Research Fellowship at the Feinstein Center, Temple University

The Feinstein Center, located on the campus of Temple University, Philadelphia, PA, is pleased to announce its annual summer fellowship--a grant of $2500--available to graduate students and untenured faculty members. Full details and specifications are available on the Feinstein Center web site.

National History Day Award

This $200.00 award encourages high-school students to study and write on aspects of American Jewish history, and is awarded yearly by the Society to the student whose work most merits commendation, as judged by the National History Day Awards Committee. Information regarding National History Day and the National History Day Award may be obtained by contacting National History Day at hstryday@aol.com or through their website at http://www.thehistorynet.com/NationalHistoryDay

  • Publication Prize: The Center for American Jewish History, Temple University

    • The Center, in cooperation with the AmericanJ ewish Committee, invites submissions for the Center's Publication Prize. The prize is a $5,000.00 grant towards the cost of publication by a university press for a dissertation relating to American Jewish history from the Colonial period to the present. Special consideration will be given to topics bearing on the Jewish history of Philadelphia and its environs. Applicants must have completed their dissertation at a recognized university. For additional information contact The Center for American Jewish History, Temple University, 1616 Walnut Street, Suite 2106, Philadelphia, PA 19103.Tel. (215) 732-4000. Fax (215) 732-0963.

  • Rhode Island Jewish Historical Association

    • The Rhode Island Jewish Historical Association is awarding a $1,000 prize for the best student research paper in the field of Rhode Island Jewish history. Both undergraduate and graduate students are invited to participate in this new competition. Essays may deal with any facet ofthe history of Jews in Rhode Island, including religion, arts, humanities, social and naturalsciences.

    Essays should be approximately 20 to 40 pages (double-spaced), including endnotes to document primary and secondary sources. Ideally, the essays should make use of materials in the Association's archives and refer to articles in the Association's journal, The Notes. The winning essay will be published in The Notes, and its author will receive $1000.

    Each student is requested to submit two hard copies of his/her paper. There should be two copies of the title page. Only one copy, which is removable, should bear the author's name and university affiliation. Essays written since September 1, 2000 may be submitted.

    They should be submitted to the Student Research Competition,c/o Rhode Island Jewish Historical Association, 130 Sessions Street, Providence, RI 02906. Additional information can be obtained from the competition's coordinator, Dr. George M.Goodwin: telephone (401) 861-0636 or email geomgood@aol.com

  • Southern Jewish Historical Society Publication Grant

    • The grant is awarded annually for completion of a project in Southern Jewish history and culture.The grant does not fund research, travel or writing but focuses on completion and publication of a project in its final stage. Contact the office for additional information.

    Amount of grant: $3,000 among one or several projects

    Contact:
    Grants Chairperson
    The Southern Jewish Historical Society
    P.O. Box 5024
    Atlanta, Georgia 30302-5024
    Sponsor: The Southern Jewish Historical Society

  • Southern Jewish Historical Society's Student Essay Contest

    • In addition to the above, the Sothern Jewish Historical Society sponsors an annual Student Essay Contest which awards $500 for the best paper dealing with Southern Jewry by a current graduate student, and $250 for the best paper by an undergraduate college student. Submissions should focus on a subject related to Southern Jewish history, use primary sources and appropriate documentation. Papers should be typed double-spaced. The submitter's name, address and academic affiliation (graduate or undergraduate) must appear only on the cover letter and not in the body of the paper. Inquiries should be directed to Essay Contest Chairperson at the address above.

    For more information contact the Southern Jewish Historical Society.