Jewish Heritage-NY - Jewish Community Relations Council

PROGRAMS:

Jewish Heritage-NY (JHNY) expanded Jewish Heritage Week more than 25 years ago, promoting year-round celebrations highlighted by the national Jewish American Heritage Month in May.

JHNY, a decades-long project of JCRC-NY, was designed to show how the New York Jewish community’s status as the center of the American Jewish experience has helped to shape the landscapes of New York, America, Israel and the world. JHNY events and activities focus on the history, culture, people, values, traditions, achievements and contributions of the New York Jewish community. It seeks to increase awareness within the Jewish and non-Jewish communities of New York’s extraordinary Jewish heritage and encourages New Yorkers and out-of-towners to visit our wide variety of Jewish cultural and historical institutions.

In recent years, the project has focused on celebrating New York’s Jewish heritage and holidays with elected officials and community leaders, producing explainers about the holidays, and cosponsoring Jewish Heritage Day theme outings at sporting events. We are indebted to Jewish Heritage Week Founding Chair Judith Shapiro, z”l, and JHNY Founding Chair Howard Teich for their dedication to both projects. Howard continued his efforts to recognize Jewish history, landmarks, and New Yorkers, and we encourage you to visit the websites of the Jewish Historical Initiatives that he founded in the Bronx, Brooklyn, and Manhattan as well as the Jewish Historical Societies on Long Island and Staten Island. The Society in Queens was operational from 2005-2017, and its archives are available at The Center for Jewish History.

JCRC-NY also recognizes the national celebration of Jewish American Heritage Month.

For more information, contact our team!

2024

JCRC-NY Theme of the Year: The value of “Hachnasat Orchim” – Embracing Hospitality

Sigd, the Ethiopian Jewish Holiday of Return and Renewal: An Explainer for Community Leaders and Elected Officials

Thanksgiving Through the Lens of Judaism & Reflections from our Staff

Sukkot, Shemini Atzeret and Simchat Torah: An Explainer for Community Leaders and Elected Officials

Yom Kippur: An Explainer for Community Leaders and Elected Officials

Early Celebration of Rosh Hashanah: New York, New Year, New Connections

Tisha B’Av: An Explainer for Community Leaders and Elected Officials

The Toby Nussbaum Jewish Heritage-NY Writing Contest

In 2008, Toby Nussbaum’s family dedicated the long-time annual Jewish Heritage-NY Contest in her memory. We are truly grateful to the Nussbaum family, in particular Bernard Nussbaum, z”l, for his most generous support of the contest, and Dale Nussbaum and JCRC-NY Board Member Michael Nussbaum, for co-chairing the contest.

Toby, JCRC-NY Vice President and Member of the Board of Directors for many years, was a compassionate, accomplished woman who truly represented the best of New York and its Jewish community. The contest, from its inception in the 1990s through its renaming in memory of Toby, highlighted a different Jewish value each year, and impacted thousands of students. It helped shape students’ perspectives on the Jewish people and our contributions and better appreciate the commonalities between diverse ethnic and religious groups.

The contest was suspended in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The legacy and meaningful goals of the contest will continue as JCRC-NY’s launches our new Jewish Education Department. The department will focus on advancing Jewish identity, combating antisemitism, and ensuring the well-being of Jewish students, families, and educators within the NYC public school, State University of New York, and City University of New York systems.

This comprehensive and targeted approach will allow for a deep understanding of the unique challenges and opportunities within the state and city-funded education systems, as well as developing and fostering tailored strategies and partnerships. JCRC-NY is committed to undertaking this work as part of a diverse coalition of New Yorkers standing together against hate and intolerance.

2021

JCRC-NY and the NY Mets’ Celebrate Israel Day!