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For 350 years, New York City has been a haven for Jewish immigrants from around the world, a sanctuary where people in need can live safely, free from the fear that drove them to our shores. New York: City of Refuge - Stories From the Last 60 Years , a special exhibition opening September 14, 2004 at Lower Manhattan's Museum of Jewish Heritage - A Living Memorial to the Holocaust, tells the stories of Jews who arrived in New York City since the end of World War II, fleeing oppression in Europe, the Middle East, and the former Soviet Union. The Museum, located on the waterfront of New York Harbor near the site where the first Jewish immigrants arrived in New York 350 years ago, is proud to host this exhibition honoring the struggles and triumphs of three generations of New York's newest Jewish residents. New York: City of Refuge - Stories From the Last 60 Years is the only major museum exhibition to tell the ongoing story of Jewish immigration, incorporating testimony and artifacts from the 1940s to the present day. Stories of refugees who arrived in New York from all over the world and an original documentary film compiled from immigrants' personal recollections combine to tell the powerful story of Jewish immigration to New York City. "When my mother received an expulsion order, we had to leave immediately and she had to sign papers promising none of us would ever return to Egypt," Jean-Marc Oppenheim, who emigrated from Egypt in the 1960s, recalls in footage featured in the exhibition. "We left with, essentially, one suitcase and the equivalent of $20 each." Some immigrants, like Elie Aslan from Iran, had to adjust to a vastly different way of life in their new home: "In Iran, we would get only three or four flights a week, so just coming into Kennedy airport was astonishing to me. My father got us a nice little apartment on the 15th floor, and my first thought was '15 floors? Who wants to go up and down fifteen flights of stairs a day?'" About the Exhibition New York: City of Refuge - Stories From the Last 60 Years is divided into three distinct periods of Jewish immigration to New York: the years immediately following the Second World War, the Cold War era, and the present day. In all three periods, New York has served as a sanctuary for diverse groups of Jewish immigrants, including survivors of the Holocaust, Jews of the Middle East, and Jews from the former Soviet Union. Much of the exhibition is built around the stories of 23 immigrants, from a Holocaust survivor who emigrated in 1947 to a refugee from the former Soviet Union who arrived in 1994. Quotes from a cross-section of Jewish immigrants are displayed on translucent window panels overlooking New York Harbor, Ellis Island, and the Statue of Liberty. "Our location allows us to bring the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island into the exhibition itself. They not only provide inspiring views, but also meaningful context for the immigrant experience," said Museum Director David G. Marwell, Ph.D. Artifacts on display include the original side panels from the doors of the International Synagogue in JFK Airport, a welcoming sign of shared faith for Jews who arrived by plane from around the world; a dance costume from a Ukrainian Jewish ballerina who was not allowed to open a dance school in her native country because of her religion, but realized her dream of becoming a dancer in New York; vintage foreign-language newspapers; an original documentary film compiled from hours of interview footage; and photographs by Barbara Pfeffer, Mel Rosenthal, and other photographers documenting life in New York for recent Jewish immigrants. Major funding for this exhibition provided by Brascan Corporation and Brookfield Properties Corp. Additional support for the exhibition is provided, in part, by The Blanche and Irving Laurie Foundation, Deutsche Bank, American Express Company, the Nartel Family Foundation, The Nash Family Foundation, Con Edison, and HSBC Bank USA, NA. Media sponsorship provided by the New York Post. About the 350 th Anniversary of Jews in America This year, Jewish organizations across the country are celebrating the 350 th anniversary of the landing in New Amsterdam (today's New York City) in 1654 of a small group of Jews from Recife, Brazil, who were fleeing persecution and seeking refuge. New York has been, and continues to be, a place of sanctuary for refugees from around the world. New York City has not only been a refuge for world Jewry, and a setting for its rejuvenation, but an ingredient in the formation of Jewish immigrant identity. The Museum is pleased to join with its colleagues across the city and across the nation in this year-long celebration. For information about other commemorative events, go to www.jhny.org , www.celebrate350.org, and www.oyhoo.com. Related Programming City of Refuge Opening Concert : Wednesday, September 8, 7 p.m. Tickets to this event are $20 for adults, $18 for seniors, and $15 for members and students . Edgar G. Ulmer Yiddish Film Retrospective: Sunday, September 12, 1 p.m. to 7 p.m. Tickets to all films are free with a suggested donation. Co-sponsored by the National Yiddish Book Center and the National Center for Jewish Film Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco's Sacred Service for the Sabbath Eve : Sunday, October 10, 2:30 p.m. Tickets to this event are free with a suggested donation. Co-sponsored by the World Financial Center and the Milken Archive of American Jewish Music Great New York Writers in Great New York Places: I. B. Singer : Wednesday, October 20, 7 p.m. Tickets to this event are $15 for adults, $12 for seniors, and $10 for members and students. Co-sponsored by The Library of America, the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation, the Merchants House Museum, and the Forward. Songs and Stories: Odessa on the Hudson : Wednesday, November 17, 7 p.m. Tickets to this event are $15 for adults, $12 for seniors, and $10 for members and students. Visit www.mjhnyc.org or call (646) 437-4200 for tickets or more information on public programs. The Museum of Jewish Heritage - A Living Memorial to the Holocaust, located at 36 Battery Place in Battery Park City, uses a core exhibition of more than 2,000 historic photographs, 800 historical and cultural artifacts, as well as 24 original documentary films to educate people of all ages and backgrounds about the broad tapestry of Jewish life over the past century-before, during, and after the Holocaust. On September 15, 2003, the Museum opened its 82,000-square-foot Robert M. Morgenthau Wing, which contains a state-of-the-art theater, memorial garden, café, catering hall, classrooms, and expanded gallery space for temporary exhibitions. For more information, visit www.mjhnyc.org; to order tickets, call 1.212. 945.0039. |
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Copyright 2003, Museum of Jewish Heritage. All rights reserved. |
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