The National Museum of American Jewish History in Philadelphia has announced an elaborate poll on their website to determine the identity of 18 of the most important and remarkable Jews in America for an upcoming exhibit on the Philadelphia Mall. The exhibit will be called “Only in America” and will, according to the Museum, “illustrate the choices, challenges and opportunities a select few individuals encountered on their pathways to remarkable achievement.”
I dare you to try to vote in this narrowing of unbelievable Jewish folk.
You pick 24 Jews, or 3 per category, out of a total of 218 Jews. Here are the categories: Sports, Science and Medicine, Religion and Thought, Arts and Entertainment, Business and Philanthropy, Literature, Performance and Politics, Law and Activism. Oh, and in case you think your choice is not too difficult already, you can “write in” votes for famous Jews that you think the Museum forgot to account for.
Your deadline is today, August 6th. Go vote and may the best Jew win.
(Photo of Albert Einstein: Wikimedia Commons)
This was interesting but far too short on female choices.
Really interesting point Matt. Why do you think there are so few women listed? Because there aren’t enough Jewish women to list in the fields or because of a lack of knowledge by the museum exhibition’s organizers?
Both. Neither. Reason C. Some fields could have easily had more female choices, others not so, mostly because of past restrictions or inhibitions. I guess they could be praised for not including fringe females solely to appear PC, but that’s rarely a sole motivation.