Jewish American Heritage Month is an annual celebration of the achievements and contributions of Jewish Americans during the month of May. In May 2004, the Commission for Commemorating 350 Years of American Jewish History held a highly successful celebration which acknowledged the 350 years since the first communal settlement of Jews was established in North America. More specifically, this celebration honored the Jews who fled Portuguese prosecution in northern Brazil in the 1600’s. The celebration served as a catalyst for pushing a proclamation that would recognize the month of May as Jewish American Heritage Month. Therefore, on April 2006, President George W. Bush proclaimed that May would be Jewish American Heritage Month.
As of 2021, the Pew Research Center estimates that 7.5 million Jewish Americans of all ages reside in the United States. This annual recognition of Jewish Americans’ contributions, resilience, and culture continues to enrich our nation and the University of New Mexico. In the UNM HSC Office for Diversity, Equity & Inclusion, we believe that Jewish cultural enrichment within our country, and more locally, The University of New Mexico, should be celebrated and more recognized widely.
Learn more about Jewish American Heritage Month at Library of Congress - Jewish American Heritage Month
Location: Held virtually on Zoom
Date & Time: Tuesday, May 27, 2025 - 1:00pm - 2:00pm MST
Join Sarah Leiter, PhD (UNM Anthropology) as she introduces participants to her research on Sephardic-descended New Mexicans. Based on over five years of ethnographic research, this talk will explore emergent Jewish identity and how it is experienced among some New Mexicans as part of their physical bodies. And let us consider this: if religious identity can be embodied in this way, what are the implications for approaches to healthcare?
