Four years after being hit with bankruptcy, Philadelphia’s Weitzman National Museum of American Jewish History may become part of the Smithsonian Institution.
Although the Weitzman already has an affiliation with the Smithsonian, becoming one of nearly 20 museums under the Washington, DC-based organization’s umbrella would make it eligible for federal grants and bring greater visibility and prestige. On March 20, a bipartisan group of lawmakers from both houses of the US Congress introduced legislation to review the Weitzman’s potential as a Smithsonian outpost. The bill would create a nine-person commission to study the feasibility of the move, reporting their findings to Congress within two years of the commission’s launch.
“Educating all Americans, across the country, about these amazing Jewish impacts on our nation’s history not only increases awareness, but helps dispel harmful prejudices about our community,” said Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, a Democrat who represents an area north of Miami. he said in the press release.
Other sponsors of the bill include Senators Bob Casey and John Fetterman and Representative Brendan Doyle, all Democrats of Pennsylvania; Representative Mike Turner, Republican of Ohio; Senator Mike Crapo, R-Idaho; Senator Susan Collins, Republican of Maine, and Senator Jacky Rosen, Democrat of Nevada.
When the Covid-19 pandemic began in 2020, the museum filed for bankruptcy protection To offset $30 million in construction debt. They were rescued in 2021 by donations from shoe magnate Stuart Weitzman. The Weitzman, like the Smithsonian museum, which offers free admission, is now financially stable.
The museum’s general director, Misha Galperin, announced last November that he would step down in 2024. In a statement, he said, “A Smithsonian museum depicting the Jewish experience in America would serve as a strong public acknowledgment that Jews are included and embraced by this nation.”
Museums operating under the umbrella of the Smithsonian trust use a combination of federal appropriations and fundraising to remain free and open to the public. Although most are based in Washington, some, like the Cooper Hewitt in New York and the Smithsonian Design Museum, operate beyond the National Mall.
A new generation of Smithsonian institutions at various stages of development are dedicated to chronicling the experiences and achievements of historically underrepresented groups in the United States, from the National Museum of the American Indian, which opened in 2004, to the National Museum of Africa. Inaugurated in 2016, the Museum of American History and Culture, dedicated to Latinos and women in America. (Two other possible national organizations, dedicated to Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders and LGBTQ+ people, have been proposed but are not affiliated with the Smithsonian.)
The proposed legislation comes at a particularly difficult time for American Jews, many of whom were deeply affected by the October 7 attacks by Hamas in Israel, in which approximately 1,200 people were killed and more than 200 were taken hostage. Israel’s military response to the attack has killed more than 32,000 Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, according to local health officials, and pushed the devastated enclave to the brink of famine.it has been very divisive For US Jews, some support Israeli aggression while others call for a ceasefire.
