The Federation will work with partners locally, regionally and nationally to advocate and support policies and legislation which combats racism and antisemitism and supports Israel and counters delegitimization in the context of two states for two peoples.

JCFR/JCRC will use our collective voice to foster a strong relationship between the United States and Israel – on the municipal, state and federal levels.  We encourage public officials to speak out against BDS and deepen the alliance between the U.S. and Israel. We will expose efforts to delegitimize the state of Israel.

Jewish American Heritage Month 2024

VIRGINIA

The Jewish South - Newspaper published in Richmond, Virginia 1893-1899

The Levy Family Who Saved Jefferson's Monticello

Virginia Jewish History

ENGLISH / AMERICAN LITERATURE

Podcast with short stories (under 10 minutes) appropriate for elementary school children

Ed Lacy, Jewish pulp fiction mystery writer, civil rights activist

Joshua Montefiore, First Jewish Author to Publish a Law Book in America

Jewish American Authors

HISTORY / SOCIAL STUDIES

From Haven to Home: 350 Years of Jewish Life in America 

Exhibit Items from Columbus to 1800

Exhibit Items from 1820-1924

Exhibit Items Confronting Challenges

Exhibit Items 20th Century

Exhibit Items Conclusion

Bernard Gotfryd photograph collection

The White House Scientist and the Ancient Jewish Book

Moses Levy (1757 - 1826): 1st Jewish Lawyer in Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, With George Washington crossing the Deleware

Ellis Island

Francis Salvador, the first Jewish Member of a legislative assembly in American History

As a judge, Simon Sobeloff fought for desegregation across the Mid-Atlantic and the South

Rosa Sonnesschein, publisher of "American Jewess" (1895-1899)

"Dear Anne Frank", a winner of the 2016 National Honor Award for Letters About Literature, written by 16 year old Erin Allen

Nina Tarasova, Popular Jewish Russian American singer early 20th century

1942 Photo of Jewish Heritage and American Home:

Full hour lesson plan on the only Jewish refugees (a total of 982 people) allowed in the United States during WWII. They were settled in Fort Ontario, NY

Truman's Recognition of Israel

Smithsonian Institute Jewish American Collection Items

Links to a series of hour and half discussions on a lot of topics including:
America’s Jewish Women: A History from Colonial Times to Today
Susan, Linda, Nina, and Cokie: The Extraordinary Story of the Founding Mothers of NPR
The Jewish Justices of the Supreme Court, from Brandeis to Kagan – Their Lives and Legacies
The Eddie Cantor Story: A Jewish Life in Performance and Politics
Lincoln and the Jews: A History
We Called Him Rabbi Abraham: Lincoln and American Jewry, a Documentary History
When General Grant Expelled the Jews
Shared Legacies: Honoring the Black-Jewish Civil Rights Alliance
Supreme Court Justice Louis D. Brandeis and Social Justice

Albert Einstein's 1939 letter to President Franklin Roosevelt:

Important Jews of Color

9 Current Jewish Political Leaders Who Helped Shape U.S. History

Virginia Holocaust Museum Jewish American Hall of Fame with link to slideshow

ARTS

Roman Totenberg, Jewish American Violinist

Louis J Kahn, Jewish American Architect

Yiddish Radio and Music

https://blogs.loc.gov/folklife/2021/05/american-yiddish-radio/
https://www.yiddishradioproject.org/
https://www.yivo.org/sound (Good short video introduction to American Yiddish / Jewish Music recordings)

The House I Live In- short film 10 minute 1945 starring young Frank Sinatra stopping elementary aged kids from beating up a Jewish Kid featuring the song "The House I Live In". (Does contain some anti-Asian bias that is reflective of the attitudes against the Japanese after WWII.)

George Gershwin, "Rhapsody in Blue" at 100, on Library of Congress' YouTube page

Stan Lee and Jack Kirby: Creators of the Marcel Comics Universe
https://blogs.loc.gov/headlinesandheroes/2018/11/celebrating-comics-champion-stan-lee/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Kirby

Aaron Copland

Copeland's Fanfare for the Common Man

Copeland's Appalachian Spring

Arthur Szyk: Artist for Freedom

Irving Berlin

CBS Sunday Morning - Irving Berlin

Irving Berlin singing his "God Bless America" with hundreds of girl and boy scouts

Roy Lichtenstein

Individual works by contemporary Jewish artists with written commentary

Jewish Celebrities of the 21st Century

In order to build upon relationships with the Christian, Muslim and Black communities around issues of mutual interest, and those related to fighting racism, anti-semitism and Islamaphobia and supporting Israel, the Jewish Community must stand together with our friends of others faiths while also building meaningful relationships based on dialogue, coexistence and understanding. This will build coalitions and understanding and further our mission of strengthening our world.

In partnership, the Israel and Overseas department and JCRC will showcase the "intersectional" nature of Jewish history and highlight the story of our people beyond the Ashkenazi narrative that is so pervasive. This will address important growth that needs to occur within the Jewish community to recognize the Arab, Latino, and Black Jews in our midst, while also educating inter-cultural and inter-religious groups about the multi-layered Jewish story and building trust with other minority communities as a result. This is essential in combating the narrative that Israel is a colonial state, and is a teaching opportunity about the ethnic diversity within the Jewish community.

In 2020, The Jewish Community Federation of Richmond partnered with Secure Community Network (SCN) to enhance our community’s safety, security, and preparedness posture. SCN, a nonprofit 501(c)(3), is the official safety and security organization of the Jewish community in North America. SCN works on behalf of 146 federations, the 50 largest Jewish nonprofit organizations in North America, and over 300 independent communities as well as with other partners in the public, private, nonprofit, and academic sectors to ensure the safety, security, and resiliency of the Jewish people.