Jewish American Heritage Month

Gilbert and Eleanor Kraus never intended to become heroes. But in early 1939, as conditions were worsening for Jews living inside Nazi Germany, the Philadelphia couple embarked on a risky and improbable mission – an effort to rescue 50 Jewish children and bring them to safety in the United States. The couple faced imposing obstacles. The United States government, not to mention a vast majority of the American public, was largely indifferent to the plight of Jewish refugees seeking to escape from Adolf Hitler’s increasing persecution. America’s rigid immigration laws also made it nearly impossible to bring refugees – even children – into this country. The Krauses, who were Jewish, also had to face the risks of traveling into Nazi Germany and dealing with the Gestapo and other Nazi officials in their effort to carry out their bold rescue plan.In the spring of 1939, Gilbert and Eleanor Kraus sailed for Europe and into the heart of darkness. 50 Children: The Rescue Mission of Mr. and Mrs. Kraus for the first time tells the incredible story of an American couple who, against all odds, brought the single largest group of children during the Holocaust out of Nazi Germany and into the United States. In doing so, they transformed themselves from an ordinary couple into extraordinary heroes.

The conflict in the Middle East has been a fraught subject for decades, including in the U.S., and especially within American Jewish and Muslim communities. And for almost as long, interfaith groups have sought to bring those communities together to find common ground. That doesn’t make witnessing and talking about the current war any easier.

Filmmaker Kate Feiffer was six years old when her father told her she was Jewish. Since she celebrated Christmas and never attended synagogue, this information came as a surprise. In Matzo & Mistletoe, Feiffer interviews a fascinating cast of characters, and uses archival footage, illustration, and clips from television shows and movies to ponder the paradox of American secular Judaism.

How does a young person maintain resilience and humanity in the face of vicious racism, unspeakable violence and unfolding genocide? This is the story of Holocaust Survivor Ben Stern, as he explores the question that haunts: how did he emerge from overwhelming physical pain and psychological terror, determined to reject violence, and remain dedicated to a life of courage, kindness and hope? After 2 ghettos, 9 concentration camps, and 2 death marches in Nazi Europe, Ben builds a new life in the U.S.--only to face American Nazis and their plan to march in his adopted hometown, Skokie, Illinois, 40 years later. Ben stands up, speaks out and sparks a fierce public battle over Hate Speech. Despite repeated death threats and even buying a gun, Ben rejects vengeance. He defies many who said, “Stay home”, and builds huge national support. In the end, Ben won - the Nazi march was cancelled. Ben--the mystery and wonder of his life and his story, an astounding and cautionary tale--ignites conversation and inspires commitment to action for social justice – today. And a new generation gets it.

In June 2019, reports of immigrant children detained in cages on the US-Mexico border stunned America. Meet the extraordinary, Jewish people working in peaceful protest to demand change from the ICE.

Two young men represent their final abandoned community of Ethiopian Jews on a fateful trip to America as representatives in an advocacy campaign, with the ultimate goal to enter Israel as citizens.

This segment of Sunday Morning is about Streit's, a major baker of matzo in the United States, and its long-running Manhattan factory.

Ken Burns, Lynn Novick and Sarah Botstein’s three-part, six-hour documentary series, The U.S. and the Holocaust, examines how the American people and our leaders responded to one of the greatest humanitarian disasters of the twentieth century, and how this catastrophe challenged our identity as a nation of immigrants and the very ideals of our democracy.

Jewish Ideas and the American Founders: In a series of eight enlightening and entertaining lectures, Rabbi Dr. Meir Soloveichik explores the Jewish ideas that inspired America’s founding generation and helped make the United States such an exceptional home for the Jews and all religions. How these ideas influenced the Judeo Christian foundation of America.1 - The Yiddish Letter and the Declaration: The Incredible Story of Jonas Phillips, the First Truly American Jew Rabbi Soloveichik traces the life of Jonas Phillips, a German Jew who came to America in 1756 as an indentured servant and became a dedicated patriot who fathered of one of America’s most important Jewish families.