A New Initiative from the American Jewish Historical Society
The American Jewish Historical Society is proud to present the American Jewish Education Program, a proposed new initiative that will transform AJHS into a genuinely and actively national organization – reflecting the geographic diversity of its vast collections and engaging audiences around the country, and the world, with the extraordinary history of Jews in the United States.
This initiative will support the expansion of digital-based web content, K-12 curriculum and online learning, podcasts and video content, and academic fellowships and publications; supporting AJHS and its audiences as we embark on a new era of outreach and engagement and seek to expand our national footprint. This initiative will allow us to fully realize our mission and establish AJHS as America’s preeminent resource on American Jewry.
Through this new initiative, AJHS will:
- Expand the Society’s visibility and audiences both onsite and online through increased marketing and distribution for produced content.
- Heighten prestige, garner donor faith and enthusiasm, and enhance our standing, both within in the scholarly community and at large, with the return of the Office of the Historian, a key role that will serve as AJHS’s resident scholar and manager of the relationship with the Academic Council, the American Jewish History journal, the Biennial Scholars’ Conference, and other crucial academic programs. The historian will also be a key partner in public programming, fundraising, public relations, and the cultivation of new collections.
- Develop scalable, accessible platforms and networks that promote AJHS’s vast collections and allow users to find information about American Jewish history and culture, including documentary productions, podcasts and other audio and video content, public lectures and programs, community events, and print and digital publications, as well as classroom curricula and teacher training.
- Foster strategic partnerships with organizations including museums, other archives and libraries, distribution media networks, and educational technology producers to increase AJHS’s footprint and reputation as our nation’s repository for American Jewish history.
- Establish the foundation for the creation and wider adoption of the Jewish American History Network, currently being piloted in partnership with the American Sephardi Federation.
In 2022, AJHS relaunched its website, creating a solid foundation from which to expand digital engagement with the archives, allowing for publication of articles, access to featured collections, production of videos, podcasts, curriculum materials, and more, with ease. Updated to be mobile-friendly across all operating systems and devices, the new website has increased our online visitorship tenfold, reaching thousands of people worldwide.
- Online Content
Robust funding is critical to sustaining our ever-growing digital footprint, supporting growing needs for digital collections, “snackable” video content to engage audiences across all ages, and ensuring the AJHS website is a rich, one-stop shop for researchers of all stripes - lay, professional, academic, family, etc - to learn about the extraordinary history of Jews in the United States. - Podcast Network
AJHS has seen immediate and great success with the launch of our first podcast in May, which augurs well for our plans to grow our media presence; The Wreckage already has listeners in 48 states and 35 countries, including Canada, Israel, the United Kingdom, Spain, Belgium, and Australia, with numbers growing daily. We have surpassed 8,000 listens in our first season, and have now entered the top 7.5% of podcasts, worldwide. We seek to expand into a full podcast network, producing high-quality shows covering a broad variety of topics, and making full use of our collections and the stories they contain.
- Hiring of Historian & Director of Academic Programs
A crucial component of our growth and engagement potential, the Historian & Director of Academic Programs will be responsible for the creation of public-facing content, producing a steady stream of articles, presentations, and other key content for AJHS Digital, AJHS’s online repository for learning about American Jewish history. Additionally, this position will work directly with the AJHS Academic Council on academic programs, including the Biennial Scholars Conference, the American Jewish History journal, ensuring its adherence to intentional, cultivated scholarship, and other scholarly initiatives as identified. - Fellowship Program
As we seek to deepen our relationships with early career scholars, AJHS will expand our fellowship program to build upon the success of the Lapidus Fein fellowships that are awarded to graduate students each year. Adding funding to this initiative will allow us to extend these fellowships to 3 additional graduate students each year, and nurture the next generation of scholars. - American Jewish History Journal and Other Publications
A vital resource and historic in its own right, American Jewish History is one of the preeminent, peer-reviewed journals in our field today. An infusion of support will allow us to reimagine the Journal for distribution beyond the small scholarly community, create additional opportunities for licensing and corresponding digital content, and to partner with and potentially acquire smaller independent journals of American Jewish history, such as the Southern Jewish Historical Society’s annual to expand our publishing reach.
While investments in digital media are critical to a bright future for AJHS, onsite and live-streamed programs are a core element of achieving our mission. Hosting lectures, symposia, panel discussions, film screenings, book talks, family programs, and other opportunities to bring excited audiences into the building are a key part of bringing this history to life.
- Monthly Public Programs
AJHS is seeking funding to underwrite our robust line of public programs. Since the return of in-person programming after the Covid closures ended, AJHS has hosted incredible authors like Matthew Dallek, Gary Shteyngart, and Pamela Nadell, filmmakers like the late Nancy Buirski, Lynn Novick, and Sarah Botstein, and many more. - Increased Support for Live-Streaming and Recording
Many in-person programs can live on as live-streamed and recorded videos, increasing our engagement and giving us opportunities to partner with media companies like the Jewish Broadcasting Service (JBS) and C-SPAN. Last October’s symposium, Fighting Fascism, re-ran on JBS and was made available to more than 2 million households nationwide.
American history as taught in most K-12 schools does not currently give light to significant Jewish Americans as major players in key historical moments. The Jewish population of the United States is often not accounted for as a presence beyond topics such as immigration in the 19th century or the Holocaust. An intersectional history that includes multiple perspectives from numerous peoples offers students and teachers a more robust and effective understanding of history. Materials easily available for teachers that meet Common Core and other state specific curriculum requirements that include and illuminate American Jewish moments of impact in American history are difficult to locate and limited in scope.
- Curriculum Development
Currently, AJHS has produced one curriculum project that is available online: the Emma Lazarus Curriculum Project which delves into topics like the arts, activism, immigration, and antisemitism and xenophobia. While this curriculum is easily accessible via our website, it reveals the need for a more comprehensive, flexible catalog of curriculum materials chronicling the American Jewish experience. Data released by Project Tomorrow indicates that roughly 50% of teachers customize digital content they find online to meet their class needs. This data also indicates that just 26% of first-year teachers and 33% of teachers who have been in the classroom 11 years or more feel confident regularly using online curricula. By encouraging teachers to use this online curriculum and adapt it to their classrooms, AJHS can have a much deeper impact in K-12 classrooms. - Onsite and Online Engagement With Students
AJHS will develop in person and online sessions with K-12 students to highlight the incredible stories in our collections. These programs will allow AJHS to connect with potentially thousands of students per year, and aid AJHS in gaining an increasingly large footprint in upper elementary and middle schools, potentially reaching tens of thousands of students per school year. Through strategic partnerships with organizations like the Center for Interactive Learning and Collaboration, the AJHS collections and mission will be brought to students and teachers who might not engage with us otherwise or know about our resources. - Teacher Training
Through strategic partnerships with organizations like the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History, AJHS will continue its proven track record of training K-12 educators in the best ways to incorporate Jewish American history into their classrooms. Providing these summer sessions to teachers in social studies, language arts, and other cross-curricular subjects will maximize our efforts in support of our mission: that American Jewish history IS American history.
Sponsors
The American Jewish Education program has been made possible by a generous foundation gift from Sid and Ruth Lapidus.
For more information on how to support the American Jewish Education Program, contact Annie Cotten, Director of Advancement: acotten@ajhs.org.
Thank you to our generous donors who made the American Jewish Education program possible.
Gifts $1,000,000+
Ruth and Sid Lapidus
Gifts $100,000-999,999
Gifts $10,000-$49,999
Hedy Zankel
Gifts $5,000-$9,999
Elizabeth Stern
Joel and Adele Sandberg
Eric Peters
Gifts $1,000-$4,999
Penn Lupovich
Jerry Wyner
Crown Family
Ruth R. Rubin
David and Madeleine Arnow
Alan G. and Elaine Weiler
Nancy and Martin Polevoy
Gifts $500-$999
Harold T. Shapiro
Ira and Beth Rutkow
The Bialer Family
Tom Burnett
Ilana and Jeffrey Previdi in Recognition of Skip and Nancy Karetsky
Carol Levy
Anonymous
Steven S. and Ilene G. Rosenthal
David and Eugenia Hochman
The L.E. Phillips Family
Judith and Roger Widmann
Nan Bases
Richard A. & Amelia Bernstein
Gifts $1-499
Sheryl and Arthur Rosenberg
Kelly and Jacob Jonas
Charles and Alice Kurland in Memory of Marc Kurland
Omri Tubi
Rabbi Robert and Susan Rubin
Berton and Judith Pekowsky
Stanley and Arlene Nivasch
David Band and Susan Klein
Rabbi Raphael M. and Jeanette F. Miller
John E. Gilcrease
Steven and Susan Fisch
Barry and Margery Mitnick
Norbert Wolloch, M.D. in Memory of Zygfryd B. Wolloch
Judith Fox
Lawrence and Sherry Wachtel
David Magier
Rabbi Albert Gabbai
Neil D. and Cecelia M. Spandorf
Sandy Starkman
Hon. Carole Princer Levy
Michael E. and Linda Miller
Robert D. and Toby Reisman
Hillary Sweig & Marissa H. Sweig-Trigger
Irene R. Plotzker
Morton J. and Beverly F. Marshack
Ronnie Fishman
Richard and Sandra Brown
Harvard L. Armus
Tobey H. Shaffer
Norman and Gail Antin
Irwin Rubman
Phyllis Ringel
Beth Adrienne Greenberg
Ira and Carol Rubin
Jeffrey I. and Karen L. Rosenthal
Marvin and Eileen Fishman
Edward C. Tannen
Sally and William Williams
Dr. Eliot and Carolyn Folickman
Alan Brandt
Stuart Kolbert
Robert and Marjorie Solomon
Nancy I. Klein
Robert and Donna
Edward S. Hochman
Jayne Cohen
Basil G. Bernstein, M.D.
Louis Vatman
Esther Joy Schwartz
Dr. Ronald and Ruthe Golden
Larry and Mindy Spiewak
Anonymous
Paul Gordon
Dr. Martin E. and Shaynee Joan Kessler
Jean M. and Lewis C. Hecht
Michael B. Weinstein
Louis Harris in Memory of Linda Harris
Leo and Nancy Sawyer
Olga Avrasina
Zita and Edward Rosenthal
Loren and Marlene Wolsh
Leonore A. Briloff
Elliott Meisel
Anna M. Abrams
Drs. Frederic T. and Marilyn M. Schwartz
Samuel and Renee Fredman
Martin and Amy Melman
Saul and Alla Gorman
Chester Singer
Marc Dittenhoefer
Stanley Fox & Maureen Buckley-Fox
Paul B. Bergman
Merill Losick
Gerald Sorin
Abby Ginzberg
Dr. Stanley and Paula Wolfe
Robert L. and Joyce Blumberg
Laura and Steven Krich
Jerry Meites
David Siegel and Nancy Lazarus
Dr. Eugene and Pastor Connie Shatz
Judith Garcia
Carla Lowenheim
Dr. Robert and Leslie A. Buerki
Nancy J. Goldberg
Andrew Reiner
Dr. Marc G. and Madeleine C. Holzer
Barbara and Gerald Wagger
Alan Shapiro
Michael J. and Klara K. Lewis
Dr. Andrew Kohen
Ms. Barbara M. Bibel
Jules and Barbara Meisler
Roy B. and Sarajane R. Karadbil
Dr. Alice Friedman
Joseph G. and Judith E. Rosenstein
Anonymous
Ted B. and Ann G. Lackowitz
Audrey and Eli Weinberg
Anonymous
S.D. Rosenbaum
Arthur and Betty Salz
Anonymous
Shelley A. and David Y. Jacobson
Michael and Cherie Trachtenberg
Miriam Golob
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Anonymous
Ava F. Kahn
Dan Slobin
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Lionel M. and Marsha S. Schooler
Alan J. and Susan K. Schlesinger
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Avi Feldblum
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Oren Teicher
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Evelyn and Oscar Weiss
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Stewart Fishbein and Peter Aupperle
Randi D. Eckstein
Leslie Montroll
Francine Jacobs
Anne Z. and David T. Casey
Marian and John Borden
Joshua N. and Ricki Lowitz
Drs. Daniel Soyer and Jocelyn Cohen Soyer
Maurice and Barbara Zilber
Barbara Chesler
Rikki Horne and Rudy Petersdorf
Elissa Sampson
Dr. Leslie Verter
Professor Stephan F. Brumberg
Bill Bogatz
Lottie Tartell
Stephen M. Smith
Wayne and Marcia Redlich
Franklin and Bonnie Gold
Joel Spector
Professor Hal Tepfer
Nick Pearson
Myron Koltuv, Ph.D.
Robin and Michael Howald
Paul M. and Susan Hyman
Natalie Hoskins
Arthur Elstein in Memory of Rochelle Elstein
Marcelle Kaplan in Memory of Judge Barbara Colodner
David I. Herschfeld
Joseph and Evalyn Basloe
Melissa R. Klapper
B. Anonymous
Gerald S. and Natalie Levitt
Debra and Eric Ruder
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Dr. Martin and Jean Frankel
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Stanley and Laurie Maurer
Edyce and Allen Rau
Dr. Linda S. Ferber, Ph.D.
Mr. and Mrs. Stephen Solender
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Hal and Marjorie Stern
Judge Jed S. Rakoff
Dr. Hasia Diner
Mark H. Rosenberg
Michael Simon
William M. and Nahma Sandrow Meyers
Michael A. and Margaret Meyer
Florence and Marvin Gerber
Dr. Pamela S. Nadell and Edward D. Farber
Drs. Fredric and Irene Meyer
Judge Howard F. Sachs
Gerald Greenbach
Samuel A. Cohen
Bernard and Ruth Simon
Mark W. and Robin B. Gordon
Barbara St. Lifer
Philip Goldman
Sandra Williamson
Honey Kessler Amado
Drs. Judith and Jonathan Levin
Dr. Frederick Friedman
Harvey E. Rothenberg
Judith Zuckerman
Stanley I. Raskas
Marylin Silverman
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Bernard Weichsel
Paul R. Alter
Rabbi Joshua L. Segal
Andrew S. and Kathy Berkman
Myra B. Levine-Harris
Cary H. and Frieda Weintraub Baer
Richard Altman
Marvin Pertzik
Dr. Howard A. and Kathleen Mirsky
Joseph Graf
Professor David Gersh
Bob and Cynthia Rawitch
Lucy C. and Harold W. Guenther
Bert Brodsky
Gordon Schonfeld in Memory of Gabriel Schonfeld
Daniel Weiss
Helga Ackerman
Peter S. and Leslie P. Levine
Harriet and Myron Bussel
Jerome and Deborah Schwell
Reuben D. and Judith S. Rohn
Leonard M. Wasserman
Andrew J. Edelson
G. C. Simon
Steven Rabinowitz in Honor of Herbert and Minnie Rabinowitz
Nathaniel and Esther Wice
Marshall Grupp in Honor of Seymour and Claire Grupp
Shelley G. Levine and Don M. Jacobs in Memory of Annette Goldstein
Karen and Laurence J. Margolis
Judith Herr
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David J. Hellerstein
Mildred Glaberman
Stephen C. and Elizabeth A. Messner
Judith K. Steinman
Nell Minow and David Apatoff
Theodore and Lynn Kotzin
Kalman and Rhoda Goldstein
Lawrence and Susan Lubow
Bruce L. and Carolyn Anders
Denise and Gary Rosenberg
Robert I. and Annie Mendelson
Ilissa and Paul Warhit
Dr. Gilbert H. Mayor
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Alissa Ballot
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Dr. Sherwin and Selma Radin
Lisa and Ralph Kleinman
Ms. Diana M. Savit
Drs. Edwin and Roselyn Kolodny
Richard S. Leaman
Dr. Edward S. and Daryl L. Shapiro
Natalie Berkowitz
Thomas and Carol Perloff
Ann A. Einhorn
Sholom Sanders
Ilsa P. Klinghoffer and Paul Dworin in Memory of Leon and Marilyn Klinghoffer
Luis Lainer
Lorelei Hammerman
Dr. Lawrence and Rosalie Berman
Paul Katz
Margaret and Howard Fluhr
Reed Schneider
Betty and Stuart Cotton
Adam Offenhartz
Henry Oliner
Rabbi Jonathan Waxman and Sarrae Crane
Jeffrey Levinson in Memory of Richard Levinson
Dr. Elliott E. and Laura Dudnik
Beth S. Wenger