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Michael Douglas gets a tour of society’s
exhibits with George Blumenthal, board
chairman of NTL Communications and
Corecomm Communications, and an AJHS
board member.
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Kennth Bialkin (right), society president,
and Adam Barsky
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Erica Jesselson, Robert Morgenthau,
Seth Lipsky |
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Checking out the exhibits are (from left)
Susan Woodland, Hadassah archivist;
Norman and Gerry Sue Arnold, exhibit
sponsors, and Jane Zolot, head of
Hadassah’s archives committee.
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AMERICAN JEWISH
HISTORICAL SOCIETY
You Get What
You Ask
So Always Ask for More
 HEN
the American Jewish Historical Society was seeking funds to
reestablish itself in New York City, where it began in 1892,
president Kenneth Bialkin approached Mayor Rudy Giuliani. The
organization had been housed for many years in Waltham, Mass, near
Brandeis University, where it still maintains a presence.
Gotham being the capital of
the world, the mayor responded, “We’ll do it. How much do you
need?”
At the opening last month
of the society’s new offices, Bialkin confessed,
“I’ll never forgive myself for asking for only $10
million.”
Michael Douglas left
Catherine Zeta-Jones and little Dylan at home to join a horde of
VIPs in dedicating the society’s gorgeous new space at the just
built Center for Jewish History on 16th Street. District
Attorney Robert Morgenthau, Leon
Levy, philanthropist Erica Jesselson, and Adam Barsky, director of
New York City’s Office of Management Budget who represented the
mayor, participated in the opening ceremonies.
American Jewish Historical
Society is the nation’s oldest ethnic or religious historical
organization. Among its collection of 50,000 books,
pre-Revolutionary and federal portraits and artifacts, is the
original handwritten manuscript of Emma Lazarus’s sonnet, The
New Colossus, which adorns the pedestal of the Statue of
Liberty.
Norman and Gerry Sue Arnold
of Colombia, S.C are sponsoring the opening exhibit. He serves on
the AJHS board and she’s a member of
Hadassah’s national board.
Already president Kenneth
Bialkin has ambitions to expand the scope of the society.
“We
intend to open an archive of Jewish sports,” he announced. “We
want to emphasize the remarkable role Jews have played in American
sports.”
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