Whos Who In American Jewry

Author : Mel Wacks
Publisher :
ISBN 13 : 9780578295909
Total Pages : pages
Book Rating : 4.2/5 (959 download)

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Download or read book Who's Who in the Jewish-American Hall of Fame written by Mel Wacks and published by . This book was released on 2022-08 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In 1968, Mel Wacks was appointed as Numismatic Consultant to the Judah Magnes Museum by its Director, Seymour Fromer. In the following year, the Jewish-American Hall of Fame was launched. The goal was not only to raise funds for the Magnes Museum, but to combat antisemitism by raising awareness by Jews and non-Jews alike of the substantial contributions made to America - and the world - by American Jews. Mel Wacks, Director of the Jewish-American Hall of Fame, chose each year's honoree, after consultation with Seymour Fromer and others ? until 2010, when an Advisory Council of Jewish historians and organizational leaders was appointed to determine future inductees. Members of the Council included Diana Cohen Altman, former Director of the Klutznick National Jewish Museum; Michael Feldberg Ph.D., former Executive Director of the American Jewish Historical Society; Gail Twersky Reimer Ph.D., Founding Director of the Jewish Women's Archive; Daniel Mariaschin, Executive Vice President of B'nai B'rith International; Richard Siegel, former Executive Director of the Foundation for Jewish Culture; and Mel Wacks. Abby Schwartz, Director of the Cincinnati Skirball Museum joined the Advisory Council after Siegel's untimely death in 2018. Columnist Jeff Starck, wrote in July 30, 2012 that "A notable achievement of the Jewish-American Hall of Fame is the sheer number of respected and famous artists who have been commissioned [to create plaques and medals]." These artists have included winners of two prestigious awards - the American Numismatic Association's Numismatic Art Award (Eugene Daub, Virginia Janssen, Jim Licaretz, Hal Reed, Alex Shagin, Marika Somogyi, Paul Vincze, Gerta Ries Wiener and Karen Worth), and the American Numismatic Society's J. Sanford Saltus Award for Outstanding Achievement (Eugene Daub, Alex Shagin and Karen Worth). In 2001, the JAHF became a Division of the American Jewish Historical Society, and beginning in 2010, the Jewish-American Hall of Fame plaques went on permanent view at the Virginia Holocaust Museum, in Richmond. All of the Jewish-American Hall of Fame plaques and medals, along with the back stories of their creation are featured, along with biographies of the honorees, in "Who's Who in the Jewish-American Hall of Fame."