Who's Who in the Jewish-American Hall of Fame

The Jewish-American Hall of Fame was launched in 1969 by Mel Wacks under the guidance of Seymour Fromer, Director of the Judah L. Magnes Museum. The goal was to combat antisemitism by raising awareness of Jews and non-Jews alike of the substantial contributions made to America - and the world - by American Jews. "Who's Who in the Jewish-American Hall of Fame" features over 50 biographies of noteworthy men, women and historic places ranging over more than 350 years. These biographies are illustrated by plaques that are displayed at the Virginia Holocaust Museum; these (mostly) portraits have been created by leading sculptors like Eugene Daub, Hal Reed, Victor Ries, Robert Russin, Alex Shagin, Marika Somogyi, Paul Vincze, and Gerta Ries Wiener.

The biographies reveal how Emma Lazarus' sonnet "The New Colossus" became a permanent part of the Statue of Liberty even though she did not live long enough to see it; Irving Berlin wrote "God Bless America," America's unofficial national anthem, and many other popular songs even though he couldn't read or write music; Dr. Jonas Salk did not become rich from the discovery of the Polio vaccine he chose to not patent the vaccine or seek any profit from it in order to maximize its global distribution; future Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg along with the other eight female students at Harvard Law School were asked by the dean why they were occupying seats that would be otherwise filled by men; the young Dov-Ber Rasovsky was a rabbinical student but he changed his name to Barney Ross and eventually became a boxing champion; etc.