In 1980 President Jimmy Carter, citing a joint resolution of Congress, proclaimed the week of April 21-28 as Jewish American Heritage Week. Both documents identify April as an appropriate time for drawing attention to Jewish heritage: Passover; the anniversary of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising; Yom haAtzmaut; Solidarity Sunday for Soviet Jewry; and Yom haShoah. For many students today, the reference to Solidarity Sunday will have little or no meaning. This is a wonderful opportunity to teach students about the important role American Jews played in obtaining freedom for Soviet Jews. See our section on Soviet Jewry for more information.
For a full history of Jewish American Heritage Month, see the Library of Congress page.
Each year the president issues a new statement proclaiming Jewish American Heritage Month. This year President Obama issued his statement on April 30, 2015.
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