searchSearcheventEventsmail_outlineGet Connected
search
News and Updateschevron_rightpress releases
Press Releases
NEW BEIT HATFUTSOT EXHIBIT ON NEW YORK FEDERATION’S CENTURY OF IMPACT TO RUN FROM MAY 3-24
Exhibit showcases UJA’s work spanning a century of Jewish events from 1900s immigration to the Great Depression, the Holocaust, the State of Israel’s founding, the Six-Day War, the Yom Kippur War, Soviet Jewry, Ethiopian Jewry
May 5th, 2017

TEL AVIV, May 2– UJA-Federation of New York and Beit Hatfutsot-The Museum of the Jewish People, with the American Jewish Historical Society, are collaborating on a new exhibit about the federation’s first 100 years of shaping Jewish life around the world.

The exhibit, UJA-Federation of New York: The First Century, is opening May 3 and will be open to the public for three weeks. An online companion exhibit features interactive elements such as a “Federation City” map detailing all of the UJA partner agencies over 100 years, at: http://www.ajhs.org/uja.

Coinciding with the exhibit is one of UJA-Federation’s biggest Israel missions in its history. More than 300 people from across the New York area are experiencing Israel from April 29-May 5 to celebrate Israel’s independence and the federation’s centennial.

The First Century showcases the lasting impact and achievement of UJA-Federation from 1917-2017. The exhibit features artifacts and photos showcasing UJA’s work throughout major Jewish events of the century including helping to resettle large waves of Jewish immigration to the U.S. in the early 1900s, World War I, the Great Depression, the Holocaust, the creation of the State of Israel, the Six Day War and Yom Kippur War, Ethiopian and Soviet Jewry, the fiscal crisis in New York, 9/11, and Hurricane Sandy, among others.

“Our goal is to tell the story of all Jewish people from around the world,” said Irina Nevzlin, chair of the board of directors of Beit Hatfutsot and president of the Nadav Foundation. “Our task is to give a platform and a home for everybody. It is for that reason that we changed the name from Diaspora Museum to the Museum of all Jewish people. Let’s focus on what unites us and celebrate the future of the Jewish People and Israel’s 69th birthday.”

“This exhibit offers a visual representation of UJA’s vital and far reaching work over the last century,” said Eric S. Goldstein, UJA-Federation CEO. “It provides a stirring illustration of UJA’s impact, and enables us to reflect on how the past informs our future. It also reminds us of the tremendous responsibility we have to ensure our community’s next 100 years.”

The exhibit features a 100-year timeline documenting UJA-Federation’s significant support to social service, medical and Jewish cultural organizations in New York and Israel and to imperiled Jewish communities abroad.