Jewish American Heritage Month May 2011 An American

Jewish American Heritage Month May 2011 “An American Journey” U. S. Customs and Border Protection Office of Diversity and Civil Rights (DCR) 1

Jewish American Heritage Month May 2011 At U. S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), we believe that our diversity is our strength. CBP is committed to providing cultural awareness activities and educational information to CBP employees to create and maintain an environment of cultural fluency. This way, we grow stronger as an organization. This presentation is designed to provide you with a brief overview recognizing and honoring the accomplishments and contributions of Jewish Americans. This year’s Jewish American Heritage Month theme is, “An American Journey. ” We hope you find this presentation educational and engaging. 2

Jewish American Heritage Month May 2011 According to the Library of Congress, Jewish American Heritage Month started in 1980 when Congress passed Public Law 96 -237 requesting the President to issue a proclamation designating a week in April or May as Jewish Heritage Week. In April 1980, President James Carter issued this first proclamation, Presidential Proclamation 4752. In this proclamation, President Carter spoke about the bountiful contributions made by the Jewish people to the culture and history of the United States. On April 20, 2006, President George W. Bush signed into law an act establishing May as Jewish American Heritage Month, recognizing the more than 350 -year history of Jewish contributions to American culture. 3

The Start of a Journey In 1654, 23 Brazilian refugees established the first Jewish community in America in the Dutch colonial settlement, New Amsterdam (currently New York City). Since that time, members of the Jewish faith have made significant contributions to American society, culture, and its success. 4

1700 -1800: The Establishment of a Free Nation and a Time of Industrial Change From the earliest days, Jewish Americans played a significant role. Since its birth in 1776, the United States has been a nation based upon ideas of freedom, change and economic prosperity. • 1775 - Haym Solomon serves as a prime financier of the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War against Great Britain. • 1792 - The New York Stock Exchange is established by 24 prominent stock brokers and merchants; including, Benjamin Seixas, Ephraim Hart, and Alexander Zuntz, all members of the first Jewish Congregation in America (1654) Congregation Shearith Israel, New York. 5

1700 -1800: The Establishment of a Free Nation and a Time of Industrial Change, cont. • 1873 -Levi Straus and Jacob Davis begin making copper-riveted “waist overalls” (the old name for denim jeans) in San Francisco, California. Today, Levi’s Jeans have become a worldrecognized form of high quality. • 1883 -Emma Lazarus, an American Jewish poet, pens the poem, “The New Colossus. ” In 1903, lines from this poem are engraved on a bronze plaque mounted in the Statue of Liberty. 6

1900 -1950: A Time of War and Peace The United States and its people are tested by periods of war, and economic depression. We emerge as a stronger nation and society. Jewish Americans continue to make significant contributions in every aspect of our nation. • 1916 - Louis Brandeis becomes the first Jewish Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. • 1912 - Famous Players Studio is established by Adolph Zukor. It is later renamed Paramount Pictures. • 1913 - Harry Houdini, the master escape artist and illusionist, introduces his most notable act, the Chinese Water Torture Cell, in which he suspends upside-down in a locked glass and steel cabinet filled to the top with water. 7

1900 -1950: A Time of War and Peace, cont. • 1918 -The brothers Harry, Albert, Sam and Jack Warner open Warner Bros. studios. In 1927 they produce the first film with sound, The Jazz Singer. • 1920’s- Gertrude Stein, Jewish American poet and writer, coins the term ‘the lost generation, ’ which later becomes associated with the generation of young people in the United States following WWI. • 1933 -Albert Einstein leaves his Academic post in Nazi Germany to reside in the United States. He is most known for his theory of relativity and was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1921. 8

1950 -2000: A Shift in Politics, Ideology, and Modern Day Technology During this time America experiences a period of medical advancements, liberation and the start of the age of information technology. • 1955 - The first polio vaccine is developed by Jonas Salk. In 1962, the second vaccine is developed by Albert Sabin. The two vaccines have eliminated polio from most countries in the world, and reduced the worldwide incidence from an estimated 350, 000 cases in 1988 to 1, 652 cases in 2007. • 1963 - Betty Friedan’s nonfiction book The Feminine Mystique is published. She later becomes credited with sparking the second wave of feminism. • 1964 - The Fiddler on the Roof opens on Broadway. • 1971 - Albert Seedman becomes the first and only Jewish NYPD Chief of Detectives. • 1973 - Henry Kissinger (U. S. Secretary of State (1973 -1977, ) U. S. National Security Advisor)) receives the Nobel Peace Prize. 9

1950 -2000: A Shift in Politics, Ideology, and Modern Day Technology, cont. • 1977 - Harvey Milk is elected to the Board of Supervisors in San Francisco, California, making him the first homosexual elected official in any large city. • 1984 - Michael Dell establishes Dell, Inc. in Austin, Texas. • 1986 - Elie Wiesel wins the Nobel Peace Prize for his commitment to spreading the message of peace, atonement and humanity throughout the world. • 1998 - Larry Page and Sergey Brin establish the search engine, Google, Inc. 10

2000 -Present: Tragedy Unites America • 2000 - Joe Lieberman becomes the first Jewish candidate on a major political party presidential ticket. • 2001 - September 11, our nation becomes tested and heroes emerge after terrorist attacks on the Pentagon and the World Trade Center. Three Jewish NYC Firefighters, two being Alan Feinberg and David Weiss were among those to lose their lives that day. • 2004 - In partnership with students Eduardo Saverin, Dustin Moskovitz and Chris Hughes, Mark Zuckerberg launches the social networking site, Facebook. 11

2000 -Present: Tragedy Unites America, cont. • 2004 - Jewish Americans celebrate the 350 th anniversary of Jewish settlement in North America. • 2005 - Michael Chertoff becomes the 2 nd Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security and the first Jewish person to serve in this position. • 2007 - The Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation, established by Nancy Brinker in honor of her sister, Susan G. Komen, celebrates its 25 th anniversary and changes its name to Susan G. Komen for the Cure. • 2011 - Rahm Emanuel becomes Chicago’s first Jewish mayor. He formerly served as senior advisor to President Bill Clinton from 1993 -1998, Democratic member of the House of Representative, and White House Chief of Staff to President Barack Obama 12

Other Influential and Notable Jewish Americans Composers/Musicians/Singers George Gershwin Bob Dylan Arthur Miller Sammy Davis, Jr. Barry Manilow Neil Diamond Billy Joel Beck Pink Carole King Art Garfunkle Paul Simon Paula Abdul Beastie Boys Kenny G Adam Duritz Bette Midler Gene Simmons Actors/Actresses/ Comedians Barbara Streisand Natalie Portman Shia La. Bouf Mila Kunis Ben Stiller Jon Stewart Larry David Jerry Seinfeld Billy Crystal Rodney Dangerfield Jake Gyllenhal Maggie Gyllenhal Al Franken Alicia Silverstone Bill Mahr Jack Black Gilda Ratner Goldie Hawn Jason Alexander Jerry Lewis Joan Rivers Jerry Stiller Sarah Silverman Paul Newman Howie Mandel George Burns Artists/Writers/ Fashion Designers Frank Gehry Annie Leibovitz Ayn Rand E. L Doctorow Judy Blume Allen Ginsberg Kenneth Cole Diane Von Furstenberg Calvin Klein Ralph Lauren Producers/ Journalists Aaron Spelling Jerry Bruckheimer Mel Brooks Woody Allen Judd Apatow Jeffrey Katzenberg Mike Wallace Barbara Walters 13

Holocaust Remembrance Week This year’s Holocaust Remembrance Week is May 1 st through 8 th, and the Day of Remembrance itself, known as Yom Ha. Shoah, is May 1. The United States Holocaust Museum designated this year’s theme, “Justice and Accountability in the Face of Genocide: What Have We Learned? ” for the 65 th anniversary of the verdicts at the first Nuremberg trial and the 50 th anniversary of the trial of Adolf Eichman. Today, as some of the last living Nazis are on trial, we hope to encourage reflection on the role of justice in the wake of genocide and what we can do— individually and collectively—to prevent atrocities now and in the future. United States Holocaust Memorial Museum 14

References • • • Slide 3 - Library of Congress: http: //www. loc. gov/law/help/commemorativeobservations/jewish-heritage. php Slide 4 -5: www. jewsinamerica. org Slide 6: http: //www. levistraus. com/about/heritage; http: //jwa. org/historymakers/lazarus Slide 7: www. jewsinamerica. org http: //ww. j-grit. com; Slide 8: http: //www. albert-einstein. org/. index 2. html Slide 9: http: //www. icsresources. org; http: //nobelprize. org; http: //ww. j-grit. com www. jewsinamerica. org http: //ww. j-grit. com; http: //nobelprize. org; Slide 10: http: //www. google. com/corporate/history. html; http: //content. dell. com/us/en/corp/our-story-company-timeline. aspx; http: //topics. nytimes. com/topics/reference/timestopics/people/m/harvey_milk/index. html Slide 11: www. jewsinamerica. org Slide 12: www. jewsinamerica. org http: //ww. j-grit. com; http: //jewishvirtuallibrary. org/jsource/biography/Chertoff. html; http: //www. noteablebiographies. com/newsmakers 2/2007 -A-Co/Brinker-Nancy. html Slide 13: http: //www. heebz. com/categories Slide 14: http: //www. ushmm. org 15

This presentation was prepared by the Office of Diversity and Civil Rights as part of the continuing series of Diversity and Inclusion Program presentations. Audio provided by the Office of Public Affairs, Visual Communications. THANK YOU FOR VIEWING 16