Apr 22, 2013

Jewish American Heritage Month Spotlights Jews in Entertainment

From the Yiddish Theater and nickelodeons to Hollywood and Broadway, the Jewish people have made tremendous contributions to the world of entertainment. Through the month of May, Jewish American Heritage Month (JAHM) honors the Jewish fingerprint upon the nation’s popular culture. The 2013 observance will be held at the Jewish Museum of Florida-FIU (JMOF-FIU), 301 Washington Avenue, Miami Beach, at 2 p.m. on Sunday, May 5.

The free program is co-sponsored by the JMOF-FIU, the Jewish Community Relations Council (JCRC) of the Greater Miami Jewish Federation and Jewish Federation of Broward County’s Community Relations Committee.

Dr. Stephen Whitfield of Brandeis University and Marcia Jo Zerivitz, founding Executive Director of JMOF-FIU, will explore how two percent of the U.S. population has had such a huge impact upon the entertainment industry.

“The arrival of over two million Jews from Eastern Europe a century ago coincided with the emergence of mass entertainment in the United States,” said Whitfield. “This was not entirely a coincidence, as the energies and dynamism of the newcomers and their children were unleashed in the popular arts because so few barriers to entry existed.”

Immigrant Jewish entrepreneurs and their sons were vital to the birth of major Hollywood studios like MGM, Paramount and Warner Brothers. Furthermore, Jewish businessmen were making an impact on the silver screen and were once the heads simultaneously of the three major American networks: NBC, ABC and CBS. Whitfield and Zerivitz will discuss how these Eastern European immigrants made their mark on Hollywood and further examine their influence today.

In 2005, the JCRC and the JMOF-FIU approached Florida Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL) with the idea of creating JAHM. As a freshman Member, she embraced the concept, wrote the language for the bill, obtained bi-partisan co-sponsors, and spearheaded the legislation through the House of Representatives. And on April 20, 2006, President George W. Bush proclaimed that May would be dedicated to celebrating Jewish heritage in America.

JAHM encourages all races, religions, ethnic groups and cultures to learn about Jewish contributions; it provides a rich opportunity for educators to teach diversity and cultural awareness and tolerance – the key ingredients to combating ignorance and hatred.

For more information on JAHM and the national 2013 observance, please visit www.jahm.us.