About Us

Jewish-American Hall of Fame

The Jewish-American Hall of Fame was established by Mel Wacks[1] at the Judah L. Magnes Museum in Berkeley, California in 1969, with the support and encouragement of Seymour Fromer, Director of the Magnes Museum. It was planned to fight antisemitism by issuing annual medals and mount Jewish-American Hall of Fame plaques to commemorate the accomplishments of men and women in various fields, historic sites and events.

The Jewish-American Hall of Fame remained associated with the Magnes Museum until 2000, when the museum announced it was merging with the San Francisco Jewish Museum (now The Contemporary Jewish Museum). This “much anticipated union was closely followed by a quickie divorce on grounds of irreconcilable differences” (Magnes Judaica Museum Joins Berkeley Library – Review, New York Times,Jan. 22, 2012)― and the Judah L. Magnes Museum eventually morphed into the Magnes Collection of Jewish Art and Life at the University of California, Berkeley, in 2012. On July 15, 2001 the Jewish-American Hall of Fame became an operating division of the American Jewish Historical Society, located in The Center for Jewish History, thanks to the efforts of Dr. Michael Feldberg, Executive Director of the AJHS.

In 1996, The Jewish-Museum in Cyberspace website www.amuseum.org was founded, featuring the Jewish-American Hall of Fame. Beginning in 2010, the Jewish-American Hall of Fame plaques went on permanent exhibit at the Virginia Holocaust Museum in Richmond. And in 2019, the Jewish-American Hall of Fame Medal Collection was established at the Cincinnati Skirball Museum, located on the campus of Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion.

           Contents

1. Selection of Jewish-American Hall of Fame Honorees
2. Jewish-American Hall of Fame Honorees
3. Jewish-American Hall of Fame Medals
4. Jewish-American Hall of Fame Plaques
5. Jewish-American Hall of Fame Web Site
6. Jewish-American Hall of Fame Induction Ceremonies
7. Fundraising

SELECTION OF JEWISH-AMERICAN HALL OF FAME HONOREES

Mel Wacks, Director of the Jewish-American Hall of Fame, chose each year’s honoree, after consultation with Seymour Fromer and others ― until 2010, when an Advisory Council of Jewish historians and organizational leaders was appointed to determine future inductees. Members of the Council included Diana Cohen Altman, former Director of the Klutznick National Jewish Museum; Michael Feldberg Ph.D., former Executive Director of the American Jewish Historical Society; Gail Twersky Reimer Ph.D., Founding Director of the Jewish Women’s Archive; Daniel Mariaschin, Executive Vice President of B’nai B’rith International; Richard Siegel, former Executive Director of the Foundation for Jewish Culture; and Mel Wacks. Abby Schwartz, Director of the Cincinnati Skirball Museum joined the Advisory Council after Siegel’s untimely death in 2018.

JEWISH-AMERICAN HALL OF FAME HONOREES

JEWISH-AMERICAN HALL OF FAME MEDALS

The first medal was designed in a unique trapezoidal shape by Berkeley sculptor Victor Ries; it honored the namesake of the museum – Rabbi Judah L. Magnes. Every year since, honorees have been chosen. The artists who have been commissioned to create the medals have included winners of two prestigious awards — the American Numismatic Association’s Numismatic Art Award for Excellence in Medallic Sculpture (Eugene Daub, Virginia Janssen, Jim Licaretz, Hal Reed, Alex Shagin, Marika Somogyi, Paul Vincze, Gerta Ries Wiener and Karen Worth, and the American Numismatic Society’s J. Sanford Saltus Award for Outstanding Achievement in the Art of the Medal (Eugene Daub, Alex Shagin and Karen Worth).

Since 1969, over 25,000 Jewish-American Hall of Fame medals have been issued — finding homes in collections, museums, etc. around the world, as far away as China — becoming the longest-running series of art medals in the United States.

Dr. Alan Stahl, currently Curator of Numismatics at Princeton University, wrote in the catalog of the Fédération Internationale de la Médaille (1990, Helsinki) that the Jewish-American Hall of Fame series was “[one of the most] important series of medals in recent years.” And Coin World columnist Jeff Starck, wrote in the July 30, 2012 issue that “A notable achievement of the series of [Jewish-American Hall of Fame] medals is the sheer number of respected and famous artists who have been commissioned.”

JEWISH-AMERICAN HALL OF FAME PLAQUES

The Jewish-American Hall of Fame plaques are large (approximately 10 inches diameter) versions of the obverse (“heads”) of the medals. They were originally displayed by the Magnes Museum. In 2008, the plaques went on exhibit at B’nai B’rith International headquarters in Washington DC, and in 2010, the plaques were transferred to the Virginia Holocaust Museum in Richmond, where they are on permanent display, thanks to the efforts of Museum Executive Directors from Jay Ipson to Sam Asher.

JEWISH-AMERICAN HALL OF FAME WEB SITE

The Jewish-American Hall of Fame web site was established as a world-wide educational tool in 1996, as part of the Jewish Museum in Cyberspace. As the name of the web site www.amuseum.org indicates, it is meant to amuse visitors as well as enlighten them.
The web site features three sub-sites: The Jewish-American Hall of Fame, “The Handbook of Biblical Numismatics” by Mel Wacks, and “Antisemitic Bigotry on Historic Medals” by Dr. Benjamin Weiss.
The Jewish-American Hall of Fame won the Numismatic Literary Guild Award for Best Non-Commercial Web Site in August 2002, and it was greatly expanded in 2021. The web site features biographies of honorees in the following categories: Business, Entertainment, Literature, Medicine, Military, Music, Public Service, Religion, Science, Social Welfare, and Others.

There is also a book that you can read free: “Medals of the Jewish-American Hall of Fame 1969-2019” by Mel Wacks, and an article “Collecting Medals.”

The Jewish-American Hall of Fame website also includes Archives containing:
• Virtual Tour: History of Jews in America from Columbus to Streisand
• Quizzes: Are You an Einstein?
• Albert Einstein Exhibit: Harry Flower Collection of Einstein Coins & Medals 
• Kristallnacht Virtual Memorial, created by Marika Somogyi
• Jewish American Videos: 1-minute videos of some of the honorees• Elvis Presley, Marilyn Monroe, Elizabeth Taylor and Sammy Davis, Jr. could all be in the Jewish-American Hall of Fame• Free Jewish Crossword Puzzles
• Jewish Baseball Players
• And more

In 2012, the American Numismatic Society and the Jewish-American Hall of Fame Division of the American Jewish Historical Society agreed to transfer the website of the Jewish-American Hall of Fame, www.amuseum.org, to the auspices of the ANS “so that it will survive and remain relevant.”

JEWISH-AMERICAN HALL OF FAME INDUCTION CEREMONIES

The first Jewish-American Hall of Fame induction ceremony was held on September 17, 2006 at the International Spy Museum in Washington DC ― to commemorate Moe Berg, Major League baseball player and U.S. spy.

On May 17, 2017 Astronauts Dr. Jeffrey Hoffman and the late Dr. Judith Resnik were inducted into the Jewish-American Hall of Fame at the Jewish Heritage Center at the New England Historic Genealogical Society.

On July 15, 2018 Hedy Lamarr was inducted into the Jewish-American Hall of Fame in a ceremony at the American Jewish University, attended by over 200 people, including her son, Anthony Loder, who was presented with the Hedy Lamarr medal.

On April 4, 2019, as part of the Hebrew Union College’s Founder’s Day ceremony, Rabbi Isaac Mayer Wise was inducted into the Jewish-American Hall of Fame.

Superman creators Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster were inducted into the Jewish-American Hall of Fame on November 14, 2021. Thanks to the partnering organization, Combat Antisemitism Movement, over 400 people viewed the ceremony ― including presentations made by a distinguished panel ― on zoom, facebook and youtube.

Photojournalist Ruth Gruber, who was instrumental in saving nearly 1,000 Jews from the Holocaust, was inducted into the Jewish-American Hall of Fame on November 13, 2022. A dozen experts talked about photographer, painter, and explorer Solomon Carvalho when he was inducted on November 19, 2023.

FUNDRAISING

The Jewish-American Hall of Fame is a division of the American Jewish Historical Society, a 501(c)(3) charitable organization, incorporated on December 19, 1898.
On June 2, 2009 Gail Steele, supervisor of the Second District of Alameda County, California, presented a commendation to Mel Wacks, founding director of the Jewish-American Hall of Fame, to commemorate its 40th anniversary. The commendation notes, “in its more than 30 years of association [1969-2001], it raised $171,045 for the Magnes Museum.” In addition, “over 20,000 Jewish-American Hall of Fame medals have been acquired by individuals, synagogues and museums around the world … ambassadors of good will that will not decay or disappear with time.”

As of 2022, the Jewish-American Hall of Fame has raised over $300,000 for the American Jewish Historical Society, the American Numismatic Society, the Judah L. Magnes Museum, the Cincinnati Skirball Museum, and other non-profits.

The Jewish-American Hall of Fame is a division of the American Jewish Historical Society, a 501(c)(3) charitable organization, incorporated on December 19, 1898.

In 2022, the Jewish-American Hall of Fame issued a special medal in honor of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, designed by Jim Licaretz; sales raised over $10,000 for charities aiding the Ukrainian people.

REFERENCES

1. “Interview with Mel Wacks: How the Jewish-American Hall of Fame Fights Anti-Semitism.” Combat Antisemitism Movement, December 29, 2020.
2. “The Undefeatable Legacy Behind The Magnes Collection.” The Magnes Collection, December 1, 2021.
3. Rothstein, Edward (January 22, 2012). “A Jewish Museum Shifts Identity.” The New York Times.
4. “Striking Medals: 50 Years of the Jewish-American Hall of Fame”. Cincinnati Skirball Museum, March 21, 2019 – July 28, 2019.
5. “Welcome to the Skirball Museum.” Cincinnati Skirball Museum website.
6. Chayes, Bill (2014). “Victor Ries, Metal Man documentary”