The Other Promised Land: Vacationing, Identity, and the Jewish American Dream

The Other Promised Land: Vacationing, Identity, and the Jewish American Dream

Date

Jul 11 2006 - Apr 09 2007
, 8AM- 6PM

JMM Original Exhibit on view July 11, 2006 – April 9, 2007

For more than a hundred years, vacations have been an integral part of Jewish-American life and culture. Whether set against the backdrop of the seaside, the mountains, the countryside, or the city skyline, vacations symbolize the excitement and promise of America. The history of Jewish vacationing provides a glimpse into Jewish values, past and present. Vacations reveal the extraordinary while highlighting the values of the everyday, providing vistas on our idealized selves.

For Jewish newcomers to America, vacations represented the American Dream–escape, progress, leisure, choice, and arrival in the “promised land” of personal and shared desires. Some vacations were pursuits of luxury and abundance, while others emphasized Jewish beliefs and traditions.

Over time, American Jews constructed their own distinctive destinations–Florida, the Catskills, Atlantic City, and sites of Jewish heritage. Large numbers of Jewish visitors went to these places, creating temporary communities of like-minded people. While on vacation, Jews enjoyed the foods, people, and activities they cherished most – reinforcing a sense of Jewish identity while fulfilling American aspirations. Come explore their stories, as we journey into the landscape of Jewish-American dreams and memories.

Photos of Exhibit


The Other Promised Land: Vacations, Identity, and the Jewish-American Dream is made possible with generous support from:

The National Endowment for the Humanities
Williard and Lillian Hackerman
Leonard and Lindley Weinberg
Caplan Family Foundation, Inc.
The Maryland State Arts Council
The Maryland Historical Trust
The Maryland Association of History Museums
The Henry and Ruth Blaustein Rosenberg Foundation
The Jacob and Hilda Blaustein Foundation
The Lucius N. Littauer Foundation
The Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Exhibition Endowment (JMM)
The Rothschild Family Endowment for Exhibits (JMM)
The Hoffberger Family Exhibit Endowment (JMM)
Brad and Amy Glaser
Ed and Sylvia Schechter
Bobbie Horowitz and Friends
Ann Grossman

Lenders to the Exhibition:

Ira Askin
Mark Baker
The Baltimore Museum of Art: The Cone Archives
Isabelle Bierman
Stanley Bleeker
Nancy Bloom
Meyer Cardin and Family
Florence Cohen
Neri and Ilene Cohen
Mrs. Rose Cohen
Rudolph Cohen
Mary-Jo Ford Dale
Robert and Simone Ellin
Mollie Eisenberg
Karen Falk
Barbara Fein
Reva and Jerry Frankle
Allen Frishman
Sue Foard
Edith Baneman Goldschmitt
Eric Goldstein
Jim Goodman
Stanley Greenebaum
Millie R. Greenberg
Ann and Edward Grossman
Doris Harris
E.B. and Allan T. Hirsh, Jr.
Shelli Yeshenko Hutchinson
Paulyne R. Hyman
Clementine Kaufman
Irwin Kramer
Paul R. and Janet Kramer and Lee Labovitz Kramer
Fannie H. Kremen
Stanley Krohn
Larry Belfer’s Famous Rolling Chairs of Atlantic City
Abby Lattes
Dr. Barry S. Lever
The Vicki Gold Levi Collection
Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division
D. Stephen Mayer
Judy Meltzer
Elaine and Terri Morgan
National Museum of American History
Peggy Pearlstein
Allen “Boo” Pergament
Kimry Perrone
Paul and Sally Praver
Bernard Raynor
Ayda Rottman
Jacques Roumani
Robert Ruffolo, Princeton Antiques
Irene Russel
Barbara Sachs
Florence and Bernard Sachs
Sonia Schnaper
Harvey Schwartz
The Collection of Peter H. Schweitzer
Arlene and Stanley Sharlat
Ed Schechter
Brenda and David Silberman
Henry Silbermann
Lyn Stein
Joann Stolley
Twin Brothers Productions, Inc.
Esther and Morty Weiner
Deborah Weiner
Jospeh and Ernestine Wiesenfeld
Hannah Weisman
Gloria Weiss
Jerry Wittik


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