Beacon Spring, 2017

A Year that Shook the World: The Crucial Lessons of 1917 We Must Remember This Rebooting Judaism

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Photo: Jenny Isakowitz

Contents

04 Celebrating a Legend 05 A Symbol of Pride 06 My Home, My History 07 Member Memory 08 A Year that Shook the World 11 Seeing the Museum Through My Daughter’s Eyes

12 14 16 18 19

We Must Remember This Rebooting Judaism Our Communities: Newport, Rhode Island Calendar of Events Posing Provocative Questions

Image Above:

On its façade facing Independence Mall in the heart of historic Philadelphia, the Museum has installed new building signage trumpeting George Washington’s celebrated promise of religious liberty to the people of the United States. The Museum—a safe, open space for all—displays this text as a timely reminder of the ideals of inclusiveness on which this nation was founded. Learn more about George Washington’s iconic proclamation in “Our Communities” on page 16.

Cover Image: Jacob Lavin (center) with group of American Expeditionary Forces in France. Lavin was one of the nearly 250,000 American Jews who fought in World War I. Gift of Marilyn Lavin Tarr.

From the Director Photo: Jessi Melcer

Our purpose is 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 all Americans aspire.

— NMAJ H’ S MI SSI ON STAT E ME NT

T H I S E C LE C T I C ED I T I O N O F B E A C O N is an apt representation of the depth and breadth of Museum activity as we preserve, explore, and celebrate the history of Jews in America. From 18th century Newport to the Stonewall Riots in 1969, our Museum tells the far-reaching stories about what makes America America. Our education programs reflect that wide lens. Whether it’s through our work across the nation with Jewish day school teachers or through our annual celebration with students from Esperanza Academy (p. 6), we live our mission statement every day.

In addition, we take you behind the scenes to the making of our forthcoming Leonard Bernstein exhibition (p. 4) and introduce you to one of the beloved members of our senior staff, Kristen Kreider (p. 7). Kristen runs our retail operations, and we are so proud of the merchandise she curates that enables our visitors to extend their experiences of the Museum and to deepen their connections to their heritage. Recently, she made it easier to shop online through judaicashop.net.

When we began planning our 1917: How One Year Changed the World exhibition several years ago, we knew that it would resonate in many ways with contemporary audiences. But we had no idea that current events would make those resonances so uncannily profound.

I invite you all to come visit. If you have been here, even if you’ve spent considerable time—return. Perhaps re-see, as Jonathan Tobin did through his daughter’s eyes (p. 11). If you have not yet been, plan your visit. There is no better time to take pride in Jewish heritage and reinforce your appreciation for how immigrants have shaped, and been shaped by, America.

We’ve also been working to provide more opportunities to connect with us if you can’t join us on-site. Visit Contemporary Issues Forum (p. 19) and our “It’s Your Story” booths. Help us get to know you by engaging with our social media channels or by sending an email to beacon@nmajh.org.

Warmly,

Ivy L. Barsky, CEO and Gwen Goodman Director P.S. We are grateful to the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) for helping to fund our 1917 exhibition and for NEH support to plan our Bernstein exhibition.

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Celebrating a Legend: Leonard Bernstein An Inside Peek at the Orchestration of an Exhibition Opening in 2018

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ext year marks the one hundredth birthday of one of the 20th century’s great artists: the gifted musician, composer, conductor, activist, and educator Leonard Bernstein.

Bernstein’s legacy will be celebrated worldwide, and the Museum is uniquely positioned to honor this American Jewish icon; planning for a 2018 special exhibition, Leonard Bernstein: The Power of Music, has long been underway.

“This exhibition will give Leonard Bernstein deserved kavod [honor] in celebration of his centennial,” says Ivy Weingram, the Museum’s associate curator, who is organizing the exhibition.

Preparations began two years ago. Weingram has been speaking with some of the maestro’s friends and associates, who have offered “a sense of his personality, as well as the smaller moments of a complex and complicated life that might help make his story accessible to a broad public who never knew him.”

Photo: Jessi Melcer

Last fall, the Museum hosted Jamie and Alexander Bernstein, two of Leonard’s children, at a luncheon cohosted with the Philadelphia Orchestra. At least two dozen local arts organizations attended, including the Mann Center for the Performing Arts and the Curtis Institute of Music. “It was very moving to see and feel the love for my father,” recalls Alexander, president of the Bernstein Family Foundation in New York.

Alexander predicts that the biggest challenge will be “finding ways to burrow into particular parts—the music, social justice, education—of his enormous, multifaceted legacy.”

Weingram acknowledges that challenge: “We are applying a specific lens to Bernstein studies for this exhibition—his search for a solution to the 20th century crisis of faith,” she explains. “Bernstein said that was the central and perhaps most significant theme to his body of work.”

Alexander Bernstein notes that Jewish identity meant a great deal to Leonard: “My grandfather was very religious.

He brought my father up steeped in Jewish traditions. My father was not a particularly dutiful Jew, but he sure knew his stuff. He valued learning, studying, asking questions.”

Furthermore, the exhibition will demonstrate how the tragedies of the Holocaust deeply affected the artist and his work.

The Museum is planning an immersive experience, replete with rarely seen artifacts such as Bernstein’s conducting suit and handwritten scores and manuscripts, video and sound installations highlighting many Bernstein classics, oral history interviews and documentary footage, and opportunities to interact with the music itself. That’s as it should be, says Weingram: “There’s a lot to understand about Leonard Bernstein that can’t be put in a case.”

—— For more information about the upcoming exhibition and related programming, please visit NMAJH.org/bernstein.

Jamie and Alexander Bernstein (left to right) stand in front of an image of their father, conducting, in the Museum’s Only in America® Gallery/Hall of Fame.

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The Museum was awarded a planning grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities: Exploring the human endeavor for Leonard Bernstein: The Power of Music. Additional support provided

by Judith Creed and Robert Schwartz; Sandy and David Marshall.

A Symbol of Pride

Museum Receives Gift of Historic Journal from a Pioneer of the LGBT Movement

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ark Segal hopes that young LGBT people who visit the Museum will appreciate—and take pride in—the role American Jews played in the equal rights movement for gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender people.

Segal found himself at the Stonewall Inn in New York one evening in the summer of 1969. He was 18 years old. That night, marked by a police raid and subsequent demonstrations, became known as the Stonewall Riot, a watershed event in the gay rights movement.

Gay Youth’s Gay Journal is a reminder “that the Museum is inclusive—it wants to show all sides of the Jewish experience.”

— M ARK SEGAL, LGBT RIGHTS ACTIVIST AND PUBLISHER OF PHILADELPHIA GAY NEWS

An LGBT rights champion since that summer, Segal has bestowed on the Museum one of four known existing copies of Gay Youth’s Gay Journal, Volume 1, Issue 1. (It had previously been on loan to the Museum.) Segal, the founder and current publisher of Philadelphia Gay News, was one of many American Jews standing up for civil rights in the movement’s early days. “Members of the Jewish community were deeply involved in the pioneering of the gay rights struggle,” explains Segal.

He and his peers created Gay Youth, the first organization of its kind in America.

In 1970, they sent the slim periodical—comprising news, poetry, and manifestos on freedom and equality—to roughly 1,000 high schools and colleges throughout the East Coast.

Before this time, young gay and lesbian adults lacked access to the networks and organizations that older activists were forming. “When I was growing up, there were no role models for, or media related to, young gay people,” stresses Segal.

Gay Youth’s Gay Journal succeeded in helping change that sense of isolation, Segal says. “The youth movement became so busy [with organizing and demonstrating] that we couldn’t put out more editions of it,” he explains. (Gay Youth’s Gay Journal published four issues in two years.)

First issue of the Gay Youth’s Gay Journal, New York, 1970. From the collection of Mark Segal, Publisher of the Philadelphia Gay News.

“We’re so pleased to include this special artifact in our core exhibition,” says Claire Pingel, the Museum’s chief registrar and associate curator. “It allows us to more deeply explore the civil rights movements of the 1960s and '70s, as well as the ongoing struggle of those involved in the LGBT rights movement who work tirelessly to secure equality.”

Gay Youth’s Gay Journal is on display on the Museum’s second floor. “When I see it there, it gives me goose bumps,” says Segal. “It reminds me that I may have done some good and helped some people. That’s part of the Jewish tradition that our parents pass along to each and every one of us.”

—— For more information about donating to the Museum’s collection, contact Claire Pingel at cpingel@nmajh.org or 215.923.3811 x124.

To learn more about LGBT issues in the American Jewish community, please visit http://nmajh-lgbt.tumblr.com/.

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Esperanza’s classrooms. Next, students interview family members, research and write about their families or neighborhoods, and include primary sources, such as census information.

“ There’s a tremendous amount of pride; you can see it in their faces.”

—Z ACHARY ST E E L E , E SP E RANZ A ACADE MY

Zachary Steele teaches Latino and African American History to Esperanza’s ninth graders. He says that for some students, “creating a product [about family] that reflects something so intimate to them is powerful.” In addition, he notes, it helps others “express their pride in their cultural identity.”

Thirty students volunteer to participate in the culminating project, an exhibition of photos, documents, and interviews held each June at the Museum. About 100 students, relatives, and community members attend an opening ceremony at the Museum. Projects remain on display for one month.

Museum Helps Hispanic Students The National Archives in Philadelphia is one of the Explore Their Roots cosponsors of “My Home, My History.” Andrea Reidell, who manages education programs at the Archives, observes that obody in my family had this document!” recalls 10th- “NMAJH’s Education Department shares many of our goals, grade student Tiffany Maisonet-Dejesus. She had including encouraging critical thinking skills and helping unearthed the artifact—her maternal grandmother’s death students to appreciate their role in the past as well as the certificate—while researching her ancestors as part of NMAJH’s future.” She adds: “The Museum has been an absolutely collaborative project with her North Philadelphia high school, fantastic partner in this collaboration.”

Esperanza Academy Charter School. When Tiffany showed —— the document to her family, her mother’s face lit up: “It meant The opening event for the next installation of “My Home, My History” will be held June 6, 2017. Students’ projects will be on display so much.” through July 6.

The project, named “My Home, My History,” offers Esperanza’s mostly Hispanic students an opportunity to explore their family histories. It also introduces them to larger themes related to the immigration experience, including oppression and resilience.

The Museum started this project with Esperanza four years ago. “The program helps us to build bridges to the community,” explains Vera DaVinci, the Museum’s education outreach manager, “and provides experiences that are relevant and responsive to diverse audiences.” All Esperanza ninth graders—more than 200 students—participate each spring.

Each year, “My Home, My History” begins with the Traveling Suitcase, an educational outreach program that the Museum offers to schools around the country. The Traveling Above: Univision reporter interviews a student and her mother. Courtesy of Esperanza.

Suitcase brings museum-quality objects and document replicas Top left: Each June, ninth graders at Esperanza Academy in North Philadelphia celebrate their hard work at the Museum with their classmates, family, and related to the journey of a Russian Jewish immigrant to community members. Photo by Ray Yuan.

My Home, My History

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—member

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A Match Made at the Museum Jillian & Todd Borow

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ewlyweds Todd and Jillian Borow plan to have children someday. When they do, the couple says, the Museum will play an important role in their family life.

“When we have children, we will take them to the Museum.

We will teach them the values of Judaism,” states Jillian, a Young Friends Member since NMAJH opened in 2010. “I want them to understand where they came from, their roots, and how they will perpetuate our people’s history in their own lives.”

“It’s important that the Museum tells the story of Jews in America,” Todd adds.

Todd goes on to explain that he and Jillian will also have a deeply personal reason for bringing their kids to the Museum: “We also want them to see where we met.”

When Todd joined NMAJH’s Young Friends group in 2012, he hoped it would provide him with opportunities to meet “a nice Jewish woman.” Two years later, “that’s exactly what happened,” recalls the corporate lawyer.

Jillian and Todd came separately to the Museum’s annual Only in America Gala in March 2014. “I never thought I would meet my future husband that night,” says Jillian, a financial advisor.

Todd approached Jillian and invited her to walk through the Museum’s special exhibition Chasing Dreams: Baseball and Becoming American. Jillian’s friend took their picture at the exhibit (above). “Not too many couples have a photo taken 20 minutes after they met,” she says. “That was the coolest thing.”

Todd and Jillian were married last year on September 18. “The best thing we can hope for,” she predicts, “is that in 20 or 30 years, our children will meet [their spouses] at a Museum gala.”

—— Have your own Member Memory to share? Tell us, in 150 words or less, about your meaningful moment at the Museum. Email it to beacon@nmajh.org.

For information about the Young Friends of NMAJH, please visit NMAJH.org/youngfriends, or contact Liz Faranda at efaranda@nmajh.org.

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P R O FILE

Kristen Kreider

Director of Retail Operations Kristen is responsible for the merchandise and management of the Museum S tore and its Pomegranates Café. A keen eye is her hallmark: If you admire an object in the store, it’s likely that Kristen surveyed dozens—even hundreds—of similar pieces, and that one alone met her standards.

For two decades before she arrived at the Museum, the Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, native co-owned American Pie, a trendsetting Philadelphia fine arts and crafts store. Kristen says that when American Pie opened, Jewish ceremonial objects like menorahs and Seder plates were rarely seen as things to be displayed. But she noticed that Jewish customers were becoming interested in Judaica as objets d’art: “They wanted more alternatives for expressing their Judaism.” She began offering a broad selection of these items while earning a reputation as a merchant who celebrates fine craftsmanship. She brought those skills to the Museum when it opened in 2010.

Favorite part of her job: “I get to witness a lot of pride

in the Museum. Visitors leave feeling hopeful and moved by the beautiful illustration of more than 360 years of Jewish life in America.”

A distinctive collection: The Museum Store’s Ketubah

Gallery is the only stand-alone space anywhere devoted to ketubot, or traditional Jewish marriage contracts. It houses one of the largest collections of ketubot in the United States. Most items in the store are made in the US or Israel; all sales benefit the Museum. In addition, “the store adds another layer to the exhibition; it’s an extension of the educational piece.”

Most meaningful merchandise: Mi Polin, which are

mezuzot made from wax-cast imprints of mezuzot (prayer scrolls affixed to doorposts) stripped from formerly Jewish homes in Poland. “The mezuzot represent a way of reclaiming the history stolen from Poland’s Jews.”

An exhibition of note: As a rock and roll maven, Kristen

was thrilled to select merchandise inspired by Bill Graham & the Rock and Roll Revolution—for example, a menorah made from a reclaimed guitar.

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It was a year of trauma and transformation.

A YEAR THAT SHOOK THE WORLD 1917 tells the story of three events that changed world history, America, and American Jewry 8

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By 1917, the Great War had been killing unprecedented numbers of Europeans for more than two years. In Russia, mass hunger, death, and war exhaustion brought about the abdication of Tsar Nicholas II. In the Middle East, British troops advanced on Egypt and Palestine, dismantling the Ottoman Empire. Jews and Arabs in the region hoped this might mean the realization of their respective dreams of nationhood.

In the US, the massive immigration that had brought nearly 20 million new arrivals since 1880 (including more than 2 million Jews) had been reduced to a trickle by the war and by growing concerns that foreigners might pose a danger to the nation. Then, in April 1917, the previously neutral US declared war on Germany and its allies.

A century later, the effects of these events are still felt around the globe. The Museum’s newest exhibition, 1917: How One Year Changed the World, shows what happened and draws connections to key issues we face today.

“1917 brought chaos and conflict as well as promise and hope,” observes Josh Perelman, PhD, chief curator and director of exhibitions and

Opposite page left: Leslie’s Weekly with illustration, “I Want You For The U.S. Army,” February 15, 1917.

Opposite page right: Zimmermann Telegram, 1917. National Archives, Washington, DC. Left: Decoded Zimmermann Telegram, 1917. National Archives, Washington, DC. Center: Irving Berlin sheet music for “Oh! How I Hate to get up in the Morning,” 1918.

Gift of the Anne and John P. McNulty Foundation in honor of Lyn M. and George M. Ross.

Right: The draft registration card of Irving Berlin. National Archives, Washington, DC.

collections at the Museum. “By focusing on that specific year, the exhibition offers a new lens through which to understand the dynamics of world politics, American life in general, and American Jews in particular.”

This exhibition was developed in partnership with the American Jewish Historical Society (AJHS) in New York, with major support from the National Endowment for the Humanities. It tells the related stories of three world events that took place in 1917: the US entry into World War I; Russia’s Bolshevik Revolution; and the Balfour Declaration, which announced British support for a Jewish home in Palestine. “The exhibition contains incredible primary source artifacts and documents, some of which have never been on public display before in America,” notes AJHS executive director Rachel Lithgow.

At Home and Over There Americans were eager to stay out of war. Until 1917, the US government maintained neutrality. President Woodrow Wilson won reelection on a campaign slogan of “He Kept Us Out of War.” But German provocations—including submarine attacks on commercial vessels and the infamous Zimmermann Telegram, in which Germany tried to recruit Mexico to fight against the US—changed American attitudes and led the country into the war.

1917 explores American stories on the home front as well as on the battlefield, showing how the war transformed the nation and its population. After years of isolation, by

April 1917, “the country was ready to fight a war, something that the . . . majority of Americans would have found inconceivable just three short years earlier,” writes Michael Neiberg, PhD, exhibition consultant and author of The Path to War: How the First World War Created Modern America.

In 1917, the US adopted conscription and nearly three million Americans were recruited. (A total of 4.7 million Americans served in the war.) An unprecedented 18 percent were immigrants, the result of earlier waves of immigration.

Sergeant William Shemin was one of nearly 250,000 American Jewish soldiers who fought in the war. While in combat in broad daylight under heavy fire with no cover, he risked his life many times to protect wounded comrades. After he was wounded, he refused to be evacuated, remaining with his unit. He was honored for his service, recalls his daughter, Elsie Shemin-Roth. However, she says that her father did experience anti-Semitism. “That was part of the [American Jewish World War I] story,” says Shemin-Roth. It was largely due to her efforts that Shemin was awarded the Medal of Honor posthumously in 2015.That medal, presented to SheminRoth by President Obama, is on display in the exhibition.

Other 1917 artifacts add to the story of Jewish participation in World War I, such as the military orders of Flora Kober, a nurse in the Army reserves, and the draft notice of composer Irving Berlin.

“By the end of 1917,” Dr. Perelman says, “American Jews had become one of the most secure Jewish communities in the world.”

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Left: Draft of The Balfour Declaration, handwritten on Imperial Hotel stationery, 1917. Courtesy of Martin Franklin.

Right: Poster for address by Louis D. Brandeis, Chair of the Executive Committee of General Zionist Affairs, on “The Aims of the Zionist Movement” at Hyperion Theatre on May 9, 1915, Boston, MA. Dedicated in honor of Maya Rosenberg’s recovery by Lyn and George Ross.

All Power to the Soviets The Russian monarchy was crumbling. In February 1917, the Tsar lost control of the military and abdicated. A Provisional Government took over. In October, the Bolsheviks staged a bloodless coup that ended efforts to establish democracy and led to civil war.

Many American Jews loathed the anti-Semitism of tsarist Russia. For a time, some hoped that the Soviets would bring a new era of freedom to Russian Jews. Optimism turned to fear as anti-Jewish violence and policies escalated significantly.

The Bolshevik Revolution also made Americans even more suspicious of leftists and antiwar agitators. Many activists were jailed, including socialist Eugene V. Debs and Russianborn anarchist Emma Goldman. Goldman and her partner Alexander Berkman were among the hundreds deported to Russia due to their radical politics. Others, such as black nationalist Marcus Garvey, were threatened with deportation.

Many Americans grew increasingly resentful and suspicious of European immigrants, which led Congress to limit immigration from Europe in 1917. In 1924, the JohnsonReed Act established strict quotas, especially on immigration from countries in Eastern and Southern Europe. “World War I and the Bolshevik Revolution initiated a chain of events that ended a truly remarkable period of immigration, when nearly 20 million immigrants from around the world were admitted to the US,” says Dr. Perelman.

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A National Home for Jews?

In November 1917, British foreign minister Arthur Balfour issued the Balfour Declaration in a letter to English Jewish leader Lord Walter Rothschild, stating, “His majesty’s government view with favour the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people.” The Balfour Declaration raised hopes of a Jewish home in Palestine, but it also increased tensions between Jews and Arabs, producing suspicion and violence that persists to this day.

Many American Jews supported Zionism, but some were concerned that embracing a nationalist project beyond America’s borders would intensify accusations of disloyalty.

Louis Brandeis, the first Jewish US Supreme Court justice, was a committed Zionist who proclaimed even before the Balfour Declaration, “There is no inconsistency between loyalty to America and loyalty to Jewry”—a view most American Jews came to adopt.

The exhibition features artifacts that shed light on the early efforts to establish a Jewish homeland in Palestine, including Brandeis’s judicial robes, a poster advertising one of his lectures supporting Zionism, and two drafts of the Balfour Declaration. The exhibition also shows that the Declaration had influence outside the Jewish community, capturing the attention of Marcus Garvey, who saw in Zionism a model for his efforts to establish a nation in Africa for the African diaspora.

The World Remade The events of 1917 remade the world map, destroying empires and creating new nations. Those changes are still felt 100 years later, as evidenced by today’s controversies about immigration, the unsettled status of the Middle East, and the US relationship with Russia.

“As a history museum, we are dedicated to exploring important stories of the past and giving them new life for present-day visitors,” explains Dr. Perelman. “This exhibition aims to help us understand our own world as it is, and to gain better insight into how we got here.”

—— 1917: How One Year Changed the World is co-organized by the National Museum of American Jewish History in Philadelphia and the American Jewish Historical Society (AJHS) in New York and has been made possible in part by a major grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities: Exploring the human endeavor.

Major support provided by: Anonymous, David Berg Foundation, and Tawani Foundation. Additional support provided by: Linda and Michael Jesselson; Bryna and Joshua Landes.

Seeing the Museum Through My Daughter’s Eyes

By Jonathan S. Tobin

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hen I accompanied my teenaged daughter on her first visit to the National Museum of American Jewish History, I got to see it through her eyes. As someone who has studied and written about Jewish history, the material was familiar to me, but seeing it with her I was aware of how the exhibits brought to life what may be dry narratives on the written page and turned them into an exciting story about Jewish life in this country.

Showing her artifacts like the George Washington letter that demonstrates the true meaning of religious liberty in this republic—or those from the “Trefa* Banquet” of 1883 that ironically illustrate the moment when the Conservative movement of Judaism began— delighted us both. So, too, were we affected by Above: Menu from the “Trefa Banquet,” a controversial 1883 celebration of Hebrew Union College’s first graduating class of rabbis in Cincinnati. See the menu and learn more about the the displays that spoke to our family’s past as banquet and its significance in American Jewish history on the Museum’s fourth floor. Menu immigrants and participants in the great Jewish for the “Trefa Banquet,” Hebrew Union College, Cincinnati, 1883. The Jacob Rader Marcus struggles of the 20th century.

Center of the American Jewish Archives.

If we are to convey to our children the importance of maintaining and strengthening Jewish life, it must start with knowledge. There is no more commitment, if supported, can help ensure that the American enjoyable way to acquire that than with an experience like a Jewish saga continues.

NMAJH is a place that should inspire debate and day at the Museum.

I was a vocal skeptic about the decision to build the introspection and a desire to learn more, rather than mere expanded version of the museum. But I think it is important applause or self-satisfaction. With our support, I hope for those who were not supporters of the project to put aside the Museum will continue to strive to do that for the those valid concerns and acknowledge two important points. foreseeable future.

One is that the Museum deserves to be appreciated for —— what it is, rather than viewed through the prism of old Jonathan S. Tobin is senior online editor of Commentary magazine arguments. The beautiful building that looks out at and a former editor of the Jewish Exponent.

Independence Mall is one of the jewels of the city and a vital Leadership funding for the National Educators Institute is provided resource for both Philadelphians and all American Jews. by an anonymous national foundation. Additional support provided The second point is that the Museum can play an by Robin and Bradford Klatt and The Lucius N. Littauer Foundation. important role in the key issue facing American Jewry: how to place Jewish education at the center of communal life. The * Yiddish for “not kosher” Museum’s pioneering creation of its first National Educators ** To learn more about the National Educators Institute, in which Jewish day-school educators participate in a week of presentations, tours, and Institute** in 2016 demonstrates that it knows how to promote discussions led by historians, Museum curators, and educators, visit nmajh.org/educators. a sense of Jewish identity and peoplehood. This kind of SPRING 2017

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WE MUST REMEMBER THIS Light & Noir Explores the Extraordinary Journey of European Jewish Filmmakers, 1933–1950

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ouble Indemnity. Sunset Boulevard. Mildred Pierce.

Scarlet Street. Those are among the famous films that defined Hollywood’s golden era in the 1930s and '40s. These movies share moody atmospheres that led critics to label them film noir (dark film).

Something else links these motion pictures: Many of their writers, directors, actors, cinematographers, and designers came from German-speaking nations. A number were refugees from Nazi Germany. Most were Jews.

The dramatic story of how this émigré film community arrived in—and changed—Hollywood is the focus of the Museum’s upcoming special exhibition, Light & Noir: Exiles and Émigrés in Hollywood, 1933–1950.

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“This show explores the resilience, generosity, and influence of these film professionals, revealing how world events affected their creativity and lives,” says Claire Pingel, the chief registrar and associate curator who is overseeing Light & Noir for the Museum. “It also adds depth to our permanent exhibit on Jews and early Hollywood.” The exhibition was organized and circulated by the Skirball Cultural Center in Los Angeles, curated by Doris Berger, PhD, and copresented with the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

Above: Poster for Double Indemnity (1944), © Paramount Pictures. Courtesy of the Margaret Herrick Library, Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

Shown from left: Fred MacMurray, Barbara Stanwyck, Edward G. Robinson.

Light & Noir combines a rich audiovisual experience featuring extended clips and musical scores from these classic films with original props, costumes, drawings, letters, photographs, documents, and a striking collection of movie posters. Materials were drawn from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences library; the archives of Warner Brothers, Paramount Studios, UCLA, and NBC Universal; and private collections.

The story begins in the late 1920s. Filmmakers in Germany were revolutionizing cinema with unusual camera angles; stark black-and-white shots; edgy, dramatic stories; and witty, fast-paced comedies. After the Nazis came to power in 1933, Jews were expelled from film-industry jobs. Hundreds of artists and workers frantically looked for refuge. Among those who were able to escape and land in Hollywood were directors Billy Wilder, Otto Preminger, and Fritz Lang; actors Peter Lorre, Paul Henreid, and Lilli Palmer; and film composers Erich Korngold and Franz Waxman.

Some German-speaking Jewish filmmakers who had arrived in Hollywood in previous years—such as movie mogul Carl Laemmle, director Ernst Lubitsch, and talent agent Paul Kohner—went out of their way to help these refugees, offering sponsorship, work, and other forms of support.

The new arrivals went on to reshape American movies.

They brought sophisticated film sensibilities and took on complex topics, making their marks not only in film noir but also through dark-edged comedies and anti-Nazi movies.

Their traumatic life experiences played a part, of course. As Dr. Berger observes, “Casablanca would not be what it is if not for the cast and crew, almost all of them non-American, some refugees themselves.” The film’s plot of trapped émigrés in transit “was not that far from reality for many of the people on the film set.”

The exhibition’s notable memorabilia include props from Rick’s Café in Casablanca, Billy Wilder’s “best director” Oscar for Sunset Boulevard, and pages from a scrapbook commemorating Ernst Lubitsch’s 25 years in the film business.

There’s also a dress once owned by Marlene Dietrich, which clearly had special meaning to her: It appears in a 1944 photograph that shows her entertaining the troops as an American actress and émigré, then again in a scene from the 1948 film A Foreign Affair.

Light & Noir has a concluding section on the chilling political atmosphere in the US in the late 1940s and early '50s: McCarthyism had a devastating effect on some émigré filmmakers. “First, they gained freedom when they arrived here,” notes Dr. Berger, “but [during] the McCarthy era,

Still from Harvey (1950) © Universal International, which starred James Stewart as an eccentric whose best friend is an invisible six-foot-tall rabbit. The film was directed by German Jewish refugee Henry Koster.

“ This show explores the resilience, generosity, and influence of these film professionals, revealing how world events affected their creativity and lives.”

— Claire Pingel, NMAJH chief registrar & associate curator

freedom of speech was put into question.” Some former refugees found themselves considering a relocation, to yet another country, for political reasons.

Despite the darkness of much of this story, there is light, too: “The solidarity among émigrés was extremely important” to their remarkable story, says Dr. Berger. “People helped one another . . . It was not so obvious that people who came here would be successful.” Many of them were, however, and as Light & Noir shows, they and their movies greatly enriched American culture.

Light & Noir will be on display from September 15, 2017 through January 15, 2018.

—— To learn more about Light & Noir: Exiles and Émigrés in Hollywood, 1933–1950, please visit NMAJH.org/lightnoir.

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ISSUES IN CONTEMPORARY JUDAISM

Rebooting Judaism

Do the Innovative Communities of the Jewish Emergent Network Hold a Key to the Jewish Future?

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n a summer Shabbat in 2009, Rabbi David Ingber stood under a chuppah (canopy) with his son at a synagogue on New York City’s Upper West Side. The celebration was not a wedding, however; it was a naming ceremony for the rabbi’s newborn.

The baby was placed on a stack of prayer shawls inside the open Torah, and blessings were recited in a ceremony described by Rabbi Ingber as affirming that “each child—every human life—is as holy as one of the letters of the Torah.”

This rite, blending traditional Jewish practice with creative elements, has become a staple of Rabbi Ingber’s community.

His congregation, Romemu (meaning “elevated” in Hebrew), began in 2008 with 75 people. Today, it boasts 600 member families.

Rabbi Ingber describes Romemu as a “laboratory for new things, a hybrid of the new and old.” In fact, it is one of a number of innovative new American congregations that are reimagining aspects of Judaism. Four years ago, the rabbis of seven of these unaffiliated communities joined in an alliance they call the Jewish Emergent Network. In addition to Romemu, the other Network communities are Sixth and I, in Washington, DC; Kavana, in Seattle; The Kitchen, in San Francisco; Lab/Shul, in New York; 14

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Mishkan, in Chicago; and IKAR, in Los Angeles (IKAR’s Rabbi Sharon Brous is featured in the Museum’s Only in America® Gallery/Hall of Fame).

“We are taking an alternative approach and saying, ‘Let’s try an experiment and see how it goes,’” explains Rabbi Lizzi Heydemann of Mishkan, whose High Holiday services have grown from 600 to 1,700 participants over the past six years.

“Building community around Shabbat and holidays, learning and justice—we’re not inventing these. This is Judaism. We’re just rebooting it in ways that [resonate] with a modern audience.”

Emergent, but Not a Movement At a time when many congregations are shrinking, the Network communities’ combination of tradition and innovation is appealing to many disaffected and young—though not exclusively young—Jews.

“There is a real demand for the Jewish experiences and learning opportunities these communities provide,” says Jeff Tiell, a program officer at the Jim Joseph Foundation, which funds Jewish education initiatives, including the Network.

“They’ve tapped into something across the age spectrum.”

That’s not to say all seven congregations follow one path.

“There are a lot of things in common and a lot that are different,” says Jessica McCormick, the Network’s program manager. The Network, she says, “is not trying to be a movement.” Instead, McCormick contends, it is intended to “leverage the power of all seven communities to [reach] people on the fringes of Judaism.”

Network leaders say they are reinventing spiritual practices to be more meaningful and accessible. Lab/Shul’s weekly virtual Kaddish conference call is aimed at mourners who can’t make it to synagogue for recitation. In 2012, Sixth & I’s Rabbi Shira Stutman introduced Shabbasana, Jewishinspired yoga and meditation, prior to Friday night services as preparation of the mind and body for Shabbat.

High Holiday services at Mishkan last year supplemented traditional prayers with a leader-produced guide to help members “get higher.” The guide includes quotes from Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi—plus the Dalai Lama, Steve Jobs, Saint Francis of Assisi, and even Glinda, the “good witch” from The Wizard of Oz. And all Network communities combine intensely musical services with a commitment to social justice.

Spreading Their Vision The Jewish Emergent Network grew out of the community leaders’ desire to share ideas and spread their vision of a dynamic 21st century Judaism. This can be most clearly seen in the Network’s 2015 launch of a fellowship/training program for early-career rabbis.

“What’s working well now is not necessarily going to work for the next generation,” notes Jessica McCormick. “We want rabbis who have the skills to answer questions that we don’t even know yet.”

The Network and its fellowship program are backed by a number of organizations, including the Crown Family and the Charles H. Revson Foundation. The Jim Joseph Foundation in San Francisco awarded a $3 million grant to pilot the program. The grant supports the salaries of 14 fellows over a fouryear period and maintains the program’s conferences, site visits, and cohort-based learning.

Is this network of communities doing something unprecedented? No, says Jonathan Sarna, PhD, chair of the Hornstein Jewish Professional Leadership Program at Brandeis University. American Jewish history is filled with stories of reinvention, explains Dr. Sarna, who serves as the Museum’s chief historian. The Museum features several examples of these stories, from that of the first reform liturgy published in the United States in 1820s Charleston, NC, to the story of Havurat Shalom (fellowship of peace) in 1960s Somerville, MA. He suggests that the Network is “the latest example of this phenomenon, and is particularly timely, since we know from surveys that young Jews (like their Christian counterparts) are abandoning established synagogues and institutions.”

“The seeds of tomorrow’s trends in Judaism are being sown by young rebellious Jews,” Dr. Sarna adds, “finding new ways to express themselves as Jews in the American setting.”

—— This article is one in a series on issues in contemporary Judaism, intended to inform Beacon readers about important developments in the American Jewish community.

“ We want rabbis who have the skills to answer questions that we don’t even know yet.”

— J E SSI CA MCCORMI CK, P ROGRAM MANAGE R, J E WI S H EM ERGENT NETW ORK

Above: The Mishkan Davening Team gather with community members for prayer at Get Higher 5777, Mishkan High Holidays.

Opposite page: Inaugural gathering of the leaders of the Jewish Emergent Network, including Mishkan’s Rabbi Lizzi Heydemann (at right), August 2016.

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OUR COMMUNITIES

Newport, Rhode Island

A City Rich in American Jewish history

M

ay the Children of the Stock of Abraham, who dwell in this land, continue to merit and enjoy the good will of the other Inhabitants; while every one shall sit in safety under his own vine and fig-tree, and there shall be none to make him afraid.

Photo: Jane Sprung

“These words are so meaningful,” remarks David Brodsky.

Five years ago, Brodsky had the honor of publicly reciting the text of George Washington’s 1790 letter during the annual reading at historic Touro Synagogue—the spiritual home of the congregation to which Washington sent that affirming message.The original letter is on long-term loan to the Museum.

Brodsky, a resident of Newport since 1976, has often observed the High Holidays at Touro, the only Jewish house of worship remaining in this small city (population 25,000) on Aquidneck Island. “It’s wonderful to be there. I think about all of the generations who have participated before me, and about Washington’s letter prescribing religious freedom to everybody, particularly the Jews.”

“Newport is not a typical pulpit,” acknowledges Rabbi Marc Mandel, who has served for the past five years as rabbi of Touro’s Orthodox congregation of about 125 families. “We have a dual challenge to maintain normal community life . . . and to maintain Newport’s historic nature.”

Despite these challenges, Rabbi Mandel says, “It ’s a dynamic community.”

Jewish history there goes back more than 350 years. The first Jews who came to Rhode Island from Brazil by way of the Caribbean in the mid-17th century hoped to escape the long arm of the Spanish Inquisition. “Rhode Island was a land of religious opportunity,” says Brodsky. “Quakers, Jews, and Baptists were all welcome.”

Colonial American Jews prospered and prayed in Newport, an important seaport at the time. In 1763, Congregation Jeshuat Israel dedicated the building now known as Touro Synagogue. During the Revolution, many people fled when the British took over the city, but the synagogue’s Loyalist hazan (spiritual leader), Isaac Touro, remained and cared for the site. Years later, his sons Abraham and Judah donated funds to maintain the building.

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Above: Letter from George Washington to the Hebrew Congregation in Newport, RI, August 1790. Courtesy of the Morris Morgenstern Foundation.

Left: David Brodsky, in August 2012, reads George Washington’s iconic letter in Newport, at Touro Synagogue’s annual reading.

In 1790, President Washington traveled to Newport, where dignitaries—including Christians, Masons, and Jews— greeted him. Moses Seixas, a synagogue official, read a letter on behalf of Jeshuat Israel to the President, and presented Washington with a copy of the address. Seixas’s missive inspired the letter that Washington soon sent in response.

Although Newport’s Jewish population declined after the Revolution, it grew again at the end of the 19th century with the arrival of many Eastern Europeans, and the town is now home to several hundred Jewish families.

During his lifetime, Brodsky says, the Jewish community in the town has become smaller. Nowadays, he and his wife Carolyn split their time between Newport and Palm Beach, Florida. But Brodsky points out that Touro has advocates around the country committed to its survival: “While it’s a wonderful tourist destination,” he notes, “we’re all trying to maintain it as a working, vibrant synagogue.”

—— This is one in a series of articles highlighting American Jewish communities across the nation. Nearly 60 percent of NMAJH Members live outside the Philadelphia area.

Happenings at NMAJH This year’s Only in America® Gala honored Ron Rubin (at far right, with wife Marcia) and featured a performance

by Andrea Bocelli. The Museum community is grateful to Mr. Rubin for his tremendous leadership and contributions; the Only in America® Gala held to fete Mr. Rubin raised nearly $1.4 million for the Museum thanks to the generosity of a record number of supporters. Photos by Susan Beard Design.

At right: Ron and Marcia Rubin on Gala evening.

Silvia Fein celebrates her 100th birthday with her sister, former Museum docent Sarah Goldberg, and 37 other family members.

To kick off Bill Graham and the Rock & Roll Revolution, Museum Members and friends rocked out to a live performance by Hot Tuna. Here, Jorma Kaukonen takes on one of the classics.

Photo by Mario Manzoni.

Children and families enjoy our annual Being ___ at Christmas family day of fun.

In 2016, the Museum saw more than 1,000 attendees for this vibrant day of live music, arts and crafts, dance, and more. Being ___ at Christmas is sponsored by the Robert Saligman Jewish Heritage Fund. Photo by Mario Manzoni.

Guests enjoy a Corporate Partners breakfast at the Museum. This new program—launched by NMAJH Board Members Alan Hoffman and Elijah Dornstreich—endeavors to connect and involve the corporate community from Philadelphia and beyond.

For more information, please visit NMAJH.org/CorporatePartners. Photo

by Jessi Melcer.

The Hamilton craze hit NMAJH. Here, Museum employee Kate Beach meets Christopher Jackson who originated the role of George Washington in the hit musical. Kate brought Jackson a copy of the catalog from NMAJH’s very own special exhibition, To Bigotry No Sanction: George Washington & Religious Freedom. Photo by Jason Conner.

Talented students from five Philadelphia-based rock groups banded together for a tremendous night of Bill Graham-inspired music and fun at the Student Rock Band Showcase. Students worked with their music instructors, the Philly Pops, and NMAJH to put on a program that included selections from Jefferson Airplane, Aretha Franklin, David Bowie, Santana, and others. Generous donors to NMAJH’s #GivingTuesday initiative made this event possible. Photo by Jessi Melcer.

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WHAT’S HAPPENING AT THE MUSEUM • SUMMER 2017

Calendar of Events Mother and son enjoy the Museum’s family day of fun on Christmas Day. Photo by Mario Manzoni.

May

Evolution of Jewish Cooking in America

Then and Now: How 1917 Changed the World

Sunday, May 7 • 2 pm

$10/Free for NMAJH and AJHS Members and PennCard holders Leading scholars discuss the interconnectedness and contemporary resonance of the major world events of 1917 and the themes of immigration, revolution, and Zionism. Featuring NMAJH Founding Historian and AJHS Academic Council member Beth S. Wenger (University of Pennsylvania), with 1917 exhibition advisors Jennifer D. Keene (Chapman University) and Tony Michels (University of Wisconsin– Madison), and Benjamin Nathans (University of Pennsylvania).

Presented with AJHS, and Penn’s History Department and Jewish Studies Program.

Alon Ben-Gurion: Reflections of My Grandfather

Thursday, May 11 • 7:30 pm

Free, registration recommended Join Alon Ben-Gurion, grandson of the first prime minister of Israel, as he reflects on the life of his grandfather, David Ben-Gurion.

In partnership with American Associates, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev—Mid-Atlantic Region

Second Sunday Family Activities FREE

May 14 – Honoring Mothers June 11 – Father’s Day July 9 – Celebrating Independence August 13 – Summertime Fun

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Tuesday, May 16 • 7 pm

See NMAJH.org for ticket packages Featuring prolific cookbook author Joan Nathan, co-owners of Philadelphia’s Zahav restaurant Steven Cook and Michael Solomonov, and award-winning food blogger Molly Yeh. Moderated by Devra Ferst of Tasting Table.

Presented with Jewish Learning Venture’s One Book, One Jewish Community Project.

Curator Tour

Tuesday, May 16 • 10 am

Free and exclusively for Members Join Chief Curator and Director of Exhibitions and Collections Dr. Josh Perelman for a private tour of the second floor—Choices and Challenges of Freedom: 1945–Today.

June

It’s All True: A Play Reading

Monday, June 12 • 7 pm $18/$15 Members

Join InterAct Theatre Company for a one-night only reading at NMAJH about the true story behind Marc Blitzstein’s famous musical, The Cradle Will Rock, on its 80th birthday. The all-star cast features Barrymore Award-winner Scott Greer as Orson Welles.

From Yiddish Folk to Jazz: An Arts Salon

July & August

Independence Day at NMAJH

July 4 • 10 am to 5 pm Free

Celebrate Independence Day and deepen your understanding of how our nation’s leaders made history, influenced society, and impacted the American Jewish community. See an original letter written

by George Washington to the Jewish Community of Newport, Rhode Island; paint your own American flag; and enjoy interactive spotlight talks, story time, and Independence Day arts and crafts projects.

Teen Photography Workshop

July 19, 26, and August 2, 9 • 1:30 pm Free for teens

Inspired by the Museum’s upcoming special exhibition, Light & Noir, this series of classes will introduce teens to the history and practice of black and white photography and photographic techniques.

A Midsummer’s Eve: Celebrating Life, Love, and Tu B’Av

Wednesday, August 2 • 7 pm

$40/$30 Young Friends Members $60/$50 Young Friends Members VIP Ticket Join the Young Friends of NMAJH for the annual summer fête celebrating Tu B’Av, the Jewish holiday of love. Guests are encouraged to dress in white for this breezy summer soiree.

Tuesday, June 27 • 7 pm

SAVE THE DATE

$18/$15 Members

Thursday, September 14

An evening of 1917-inspired dance and music performances curated by award-winning composer and saloniere Andrea Clearfield.

Members’ Opening Reception: Light & Noir: Exiles and Émigrés in Hollywood, 1933–1950

Posing Provocative Questions

to a broad array of current events. A visitor can respond by filling out a card labeled “yes,”“no,” or “um” with their response to a question.

“Would you fight injustice if it put your reputation at risk?” is a question displayed recently in the gallery. One visitor responded, “Yes, I do it every day, as a person of color, Contemporary Issues Forum Offers Visitors a woman, a mother! I fight each and every day!” Another a Place to Speak Up replied, “No, honestly, I’m too scared.”

Visitors are invited to scan their cards before posting he Four Questions usually refer to the Passover Seder. them among other visitors’ answers. “Each card becomes one But on any given day in the Choices and Challenges of Freedom galleries on the Museum’s second floor, visitors voice in an ongoing dialogue that’s taking place in the gallery are asked four different questions that are generally unrelated and in our daily lives. People are reading and reflecting as they compose their own,” notes Dr. Perelman. The Museum to that holiday.

In the Contemporary Issues Forum gallery, a different has collected and stored more than 18,000 cards since it question is displayed on each of the four walls to encourage opened six and a half years ago.

NMAJH educators visit the gallery at the conclusion of reflection on current events related to some of the Museum’s school tours with children in grades 6 and up. Educational main themes—for example, immigration, the opportunities programs aim to connect historical moments to students’ and limits of freedom, becoming American, civil rights, and own values and lives. “The gallery does the work for us,” says civil liberties.

“We provide innumerable historical examples, but all of Ronit Lusky, senior manager of education and interpretation. these themes are part of our lives today,” says Josh Perelman, Answering the questions and reflecting on other students’ PhD, chief curator and director of exhibitions and collections. answers “helps make the Museum experience personally “The Forum offers people who have many different viewpoints meaningful for students, connects them to ‘real world’ issues, on many different issues a way to engage in a dynamic con- and fosters authentic learning.”

—— versation without confrontation,” he adds.

Would you fight injustice if it put your reputation at risk? Please send One question usually relates to the special exhibition your answer to beacon@nmajh.org to have your voice added to the showcased on the fifth floor. The other three questions pertain conversation.

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101 South Independence Mall East Philadelphia, PA 19106-2517 215.923.3811 • NMAJH.org

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Beacon © 2017 National Museum of American Jewish History In-kind support provided by CRW Graphics.

WHAT IS IT ?

Pictured here is an object from our collection.

Can you tell what the object is? Submit your guess to beacon@nmajh.org and be entered for a chance to win a $100 gift certificate to our Museum Store. Watch for the answer to be revealed in our June e-newsletter!