The Commission for Commemorating 350 Years of American Jewish History STATEMENT OF PURPOSE The Commission for Commemorating 350 Years of American Jewish History exists to foster and sponsor a variety of historical activities that advance our understanding of the American Jewish experience as it marks this milestone anniversary. The Commission is comprised of four research institutions whose collections provide the public with access to the records that document the history of American Jewry: The American Jewish Historical Society, The Jacob Rader Marcus Center of the American Jewish Archives, the Library of Congress, and the National Archives and Records Administration. A Joint Resolution of Congress has been introduced to recognize the efforts of this Commission which strives to honor the past, celebrate the present and anticipate the future of Jewish communal life in North America by achieving the following programmatic objectives during the celebration years of 2004-2005: • An exhibit on 350 years of American Jewish history sponsored by the Library of Congress. This exhibit will include documents and records from all of the institutions in the Commission. • A traveling exhibit on 350 years of American Jewish history that will open in a select number of communities in the United States of America. • An internet website commemorating 350 years of American Jewish history. In addition to marking this historical milestone, the website will also serve as a gateway to the impressive historical resources that currently exist on the internet. • A series of public media productions that advance the public’s awareness of the history of Jewish life in the American nation. • A series of educational initiatives, electronic and in print, that will serve all organizations, institutions and individuals who are interested in the study and teaching of American Jewish history • A Scholar’s Conference that will bring together scholar’s of American Jewish History Through the development and presentation of the foregoing history-based initiatives, the Commission seeks to enhance all peoples’ understanding of the uniqueness of American democracy and culture.