Jewish American Heritage Month

Posted By richards on April 22, 2013

By Rebecca Soffer April 21, 2013

NEW YORK (JTA) -- May is Jewish American Heritage Month, a commemoration first recognized by President George W. Bush in 2006. Since then, hundreds of programs have taken place nationwide annually to honor the rich contributions of Jews to American culture and society.

President Obama added to the annual festivities by launching an annual White House bash. But this year's party was canceled because of the sequester.

Not to worry:In anticipation of the big month, were suggesting 31 activities to keep you busy each day in May. You'll see some usual suspects, but will also find new ideas in entertainment, food and travel, and overall fun. Were pretty sure youll find something of interest.

If weve somehow missed the mark, feel free to participate in the epitome of American Jewish hobbies: kvetching.

For a rundown of official Jewish American Heritage Month events, visit http://www.jahm.us. You can also follow @USAJewish on Twitter.

1. Make cholent

Our people are into stews. So is it really surprising that the great American Crock-Pot originally was coined the Naxon Beanery All-Purpose Cooker after its Jewish inventor, Irving Naxon? Naxon, who died in 1989 with more than 200 patents in his name, conceived an inexpensive and safe heating element inspired by his mothers tales of making the traditional Sabbath meat-and-potato stew -- a nearly 24-hour process -- in her Lithuanian shtetl (his daughter recently wrote about her family memories for the Beyond Bubbie online food project). Not into the idea of cholent? Toss anything into a Crock-Pot, from lentils to grits to an entire chicken, and thank Mr. Naxon for making cooking so darn easy.

2. Celebrate Hollywoods female showrunners

In case you hadnt heard, Jewish American women are taking the entertainment world by the beitsim. Writer-director-producer Jill Soloway won the 2013 Sundance Award for U.S. Dramatic Directing for her debut film, Afternoon Delight (she also founded the Los Angeles community organization East Side Jews). Allison Silverman, the former co-executive producer of theColbert Report, has been penning episodes for The Office and Portlandia, the IFC show starring hipster Jew Carrie Brownstein. And creator-star-writer-director Lena Dunham, she of the million-dollar book proposal, has turned the HBO series Girls into a cultural sensation along with showrunner Jenni Konner. Buy a movie ticket, subscribe to HBO or tune in to NBC, and thank the ladies for the laughs.

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31 things to do during Jewish American Heritage Month

Category: Jewish American Heritage Month
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