American Jewish Tercentenary Celebration

American Jewish Tercentenary Celebration (AJTC) (September 12, 1954-June 1, 1955)

On September 12, 1954, the celebration of the 300th anniversary of Jews settling in America was officially launched. The oldest existing congregation in the United States, Shearith Israel in New York City, also known as the Spanish-Portuguese synagogue, conducted a reconsecration service that was attended by over 800 people. The service included a promenade of Rabbis from various part of the US, Europe, and Latin America, a sermon by Rev. Dr. David Sola de Pool, and a procession of 14 Torah scrolls. The ceremony was broadcast over ABC television, and the first in a tercentenary series by the Jewish Theological Seminary began on NBC radio. 1 For the next 8½ months, a plethora of programs, radio and television broadcasts, exhibits, and publications was made available on local and national levels, the climax of which was a dinner addressed by President Dwight Eisenhower . The following is an illustration of the range and size of this project: 2

The massive three-year undertaking focused on American democratic ideals and Jews' achievements in such opportunities. Although observed in Jewish institutions and conducted by Rabbis and other Jewish leaders, the emphasis was not on Jews' achievements in a Jewish context, but Jews' contributions to American culture, politics, science, etc. The American Tercentenary Committee's emblem, a menorah, had no accompanying Hebrew and used five pointed stars rather than six. 3 A brochure outlining the tercentenary events states;

We do not believe that the Tercentenary should be made a vehicle for propagation of any particular ideology in American Jewish life. Some among us may feel strongly that the identification of a Jew is solely in terms of his religion; others may lean toward a different interpretation. The celebration should not be committed to either philosophy. It should be neither Zionist, non-Zionist, nor anti-Zionist. It should not try to formulate or advance any particular definition of Jewishness. The Tercentenary belongs primarily to five million people who regard themselves as patriotic, loyal American Jews, whatever their definition or their philosophy; it should be broad enough to appeal to 158 million Americansג€¦ 4 Scope and Theme , American Jewish Tercentenary Committee

The image American Jews projected of themselves was both an indication of the world's feeling toward Jews and other minorities, and of future questions American Jewry would address. The threat of communism in the 1950s and the emergence of the United States as a world power developed a need to subdue radicalism and conform to democratic ideals; ideals that stressed civil rights, tolerance, and religious liberty. "Man's Opportunities and Responsibilities Under Freedom" was chosen as the theme for the tercentenary. A criticism could be made of the celebration's timing, a mere ten years after the Holocaust. Small mention is made of the Holocaust in Tercentenary literature. The postwar prosperity gave a boost to American Jews whose fathers suffered from social and employment obstacles. Longheld differences in the Jewish community were fading; class and immigrant/native born distinctions, Zionist and Socialist opinions were being replaced by a shared commitment to the new State of Israel, and a new obstacle: defining one's Jewishness. Did Jews need to downplay Jewish life and culture in order to be accepted as Americans? How could one then connect to the Holocaust as an American Jew? What was American Jews' primary loyalty, United States or Israel? The emission of Zionism, Israel, or Jewish traditions in tercentenary literature prudently leaves these issues unresolved and undefined. 5

Despite the insecurities and open questions the tercentenary suggests, the celebration deeply expressed American Jews' desire to learn more about their history in this country. Although there existed few academic positions for American Jewish Historians in the 1950s, one could say that the same feeling that led to the celebration of the tercentenary came to even greater fruition and expression in the 1960s, with the rise of ethnic studies in universities. 6 Furthermore, the fact Jews could publicly celebrate their anniversary in a country remarkably and unequivocally confirms their place in Society.

• December 1948: Rev. Dr. David de Sola Pool, leader of Congregation Shearith Israel and officer of the American Jewish Historical Society, proposes the idea of a celebration to the American Jewish Historical Society (AJHS)
• May 1949: AJHS 300th Anniversary Committee meets to discuss provisional plans and time schedules.
• April 18, 1950: AJHS calls a meeting of representatives of twenty-eight national Jewish organizations to present the plan.
• May 1951: AJHS approaches the American Jewish Committee regarding funding for a Tercentenary organization to be under the Historical Society's auspices. The Committee on Organization Tercentenary Celebration of Jewish Settlement in the United States, provisional committee, is formed in December.
• October 1951: Rev. Dr. de Sola Pool, Chairman of the AJHS 300th Anniversary Committee, addresses all national Jewish organizations to begin planning their participation in the Tercentenary. A pamphlet suggesting plans is enclosed.
• April 1952: Despite degrees of tensions between AJHS and the American Jewish Committee regarding control over the Tercentenary celebration, the American Jewish Tercentenary Committee, an independent organization, is incorporated and professional staff begins work.
• June 1952: The American Jewish Tercentenary Steering Committee begins formulating policy and financial plans. A finance committee strategizes funding opportunities (funding was provided primarily from Jewish Welfare and Federation Funds, individuals, and foundations).
• November 1952: A membership committee finalizes a National Committee of 300 to represent American Jewry. The steering committee adopts the celebration's scope and theme formulated by the program policy committee.
• April 11 - 12, 1953 : The National Committee of 300 is invited to attend a National Planning Conference, which discusses plans, finances, and levels of community participation.
• July 1953: The Office of Historical Information, a joint enterprise of the American Jewish Tercentenary Committee and the American Jewish Historical Society, begins operations.
• September 12, 1954: The observance is officially launched with a reconsecration service at Congregation Shearith Israel.
• June 1, 1955: The celebration concludes with a Public Assembly at Carnegie Hall. 7

From the guide to the American Jewish Tercentenary Celebration Collection, undated, 1949-1956, (American Jewish Historical Society)