Founded in 1892, the mission of the American Jewish Historical Society is to foster awareness and appreciation of the American Jewish heritage and to serve as a national scholarly resource for research through the collection, preservation and dissemination of materials relating to American Jewish history.
The American Jewish Historical Society is the oldest national ethnic historical organization in the United States. The Society's library, archives, photograph, and art and artifacts collections document the American Jewish experience.
Visit the AJHS website.
Founded in 1973, the American Sephardi Federation with Sephardic House promotes and preserves the spiritual, historical, cultural and social traditions of all Sephardic communities to assure their place as an integral part of Jewish heritage with its Sephardic Library & Archives, an exhibition gallery, educational and cultural public programs, The Sephardi Report, the International Sephardic Film Festival, and a scholarship fund for Sephardic scholars.
Visit the ASF website.
The Leo Baeck Institute (LBI) is devoted to studying the history of German-speaking Jewry from its origins to its tragic destruction by the Nazis and to preserving its culture.
Dating back almost 2000 years, when Jews first settled along the Rhine, the Jewish communities of Germany, Austria, and other German-speaking areas of Europe had a history marked by individual as well as collective accomplishments in communal organization and welfare, commerce, industry and politics, the arts and sciences, and in literature, philosophy and theology. To appreciate the impact of German-speaking Jewry in modern times, one need only recall such names as Martin Buber, Albert Einstein, Franz Kafka, and Karl Marx.
Founded in 1955, the LBI was named for the rabbi who was the leader of German Jewry during its darkest years. Rabbi Leo Baeck, who survived the concentration camp of Theresienstadt, became the first international president of the institute.
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Founded in 1973, Yeshiva University Museum's changing exhibits have celebrated the culturally diverse intellectual and artistic achievements of 3,000 years of the Jewish experience. The Museum provides a window into Jewish culture around the world and throughout history through its acclaimed multi-disciplinary exhibitions and award-winning publications. By educating audiences of all ages with dynamic interpretations of Jewish life, past and present, along with wide-ranging cultural offerings and educational programs, the Museum attracts young and old, Jewish and non-Jewish audiences.
Visit the YUM website.
Founded in 1925 in Vilna, Poland (now Vilnius, Lithuania), as the Yiddish Scientific Institute, the YIVO Institute for Jewish Research is dedicated to the history and culture of Ashkenazi Jewry and to its influence in the Americas. Headquartered in New York City since 1940, today YIVO is the world's preeminent resource center for East European Jewish Studies; Yiddish language, literature and folklore; and the American Jewish immigrant experience.
The YIVO Library holds over 360,000 volumes in 12 major languages, and the Archives contains more than 23,000,000 pieces, including manuscripts, documents, photographs, sound recordings, art works, films, posters, sheet music, and other artifacts.
YIVO also offers a series of cultural events and films, adult education and Yiddish language classes, various scholarly publications, research opportunities and fellowships.
Visit the YIVO website.
