Guide to Jewish Museums

The following is a paid listing of Jewish museums for 2013-2014. Click on the cities below to learn about a Jewish museum near you. For more information or to be included, email museums@jta.org.

Atlanta
Chicago
Cleveland
Cincinnati
Los Angeles
New York
Philadelphia
San Francisco
Washington, D.C.
Woodbine, N.J.

Atlanta

The William Breman Jewish Heritage Museum

The William Breman Jewish Heritage Museum is Atlanta’s Jewish Museum dedicated to the preservation of Jewish life in the South, predominately Georgia and Alabama and educating the community about the Holocaust and Jewish contribution to the arts, culture and history. More

Chicago

The Illinois Holocaust Museum
The Illinois Holocaust Museum tells the story of the Holocaust through interactive exhibitions that both move and inspire. World-class special exhibitions explore broad themes related to the mission of the Museum which aim to foster the promotion of human rights and the elimination of genocide. More

Cleveland

The Maltz Museum of Jewish Heritage: The Museum of Diversity & Tolerance
The Maltz Museum of Jewish Heritage is a lively community space that attracts students, adults, and groups from the community and around the country. Devoted to diversity and tolerance, it opened in 2005 with a simple mission: to build bridges of tolerance and understanding by sharing Jewish heritage through the lens of the American experience. The stories of individuals and families – past and present – come to life through state-of-the-art exhibitions, interactives and films, oral histories, photographs, and artifacts. The Museum includes The Temple-Tifereth Israel Gallery – an internationally-recognized collection of Judaica – and a special exhibition gallery featuring important exhibitions of national and international acclaim. More

Cincinnati

The Jacob Rader Marcus Center of the American Jewish Archives
The AJA preserves and provides access to materials that reflect all aspects of American Jewish life, including records of congregations, organizations, genealogical documents, and the papers of rabbis and individuals. Its repository houses over 20,000 linear feet of manuscripts, correspondence, photographs, media, microfilm, and family records. More

Los Angeles

Los Angeles Museum of the Holocaust
Come visit us in Pan Pacific Park and experience over 50,000 thousand survivor testimonies via the USC Shoah Foundation Institute’s “Tree of Testimony” exhibit. Admission is Free!   More

 

The Museum of Tolerance
The Museum of Tolerance, the educational arm of the Simon Wiesenthal Center will motivate you and your family with many exciting exhibits that come alive from the pages of history and today’s current events. Opening in late Fall, the MOT’s Los Angeles branch will house “Anne,” a new permanent installation on the world of Anne Frank, narrated by Academy Award™-nominated actress Hailee Steinfeld. The installation is done in cooperation with the Anne Frank organizations in Basel and Amsterdam. More

New York

The Center for Jewish History
The Center for Jewish History is home to five partner organizations whose collections span 700 years of history and comprise the largest repository of modern Judaica in the world. At the Center, history is illuminated through scholarship and cultural programming, exhibitions and symposia. More

 

Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion Museum
The Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion Museum in New York showcases the creativity of contemporary artists exploring Jewish identity, history, culture, and experience. Harchol’s animations illuminate the intersection of family dynamics and ethics. Supported by The Covenant Foundation. More

The Jewish Museum
Widely admired for its exhibitions and collections that inspire people of all backgrounds, The Jewish Museum, at Fifth Avenue and 92nd Street, is the preeminent U.S. institution exploring art and Jewish culture from ancient to contemporary. Upcoming fall exhibitions focus on artist Marc Chagall and influential cartoonist Art Spiegelman. More

Philadelphia

The National Museum of American Jewish History

The National Museum of American Jewish History, located on historic Independence Mall in Philadelphia, brings to life the 350-year history of Jews in America. We invite visitors of all backgrounds to share their own stories and reflect on how their histories and identities shape and are shaped by the American experience. More

The Temple Judea Museum
Elkins Park, PA

Through December 15, 2013:
Dear Carl, By (sic) Carrots, Love Mollie: When Jewish Food was the Family Business
A vivid exhibition of art, photographs and artifacts about family lives lived in a world of Jewish caterers, bakers and more.

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San Francisco/Bay Area

The Contemporary Jewish Museum (The CJM)
The mission of The Contemporary Jewish Museum (The CJM) is to make the Jewish experience relevant for a twenty-first century audience. The facility, designed by internationally renowned architect Daniel Liebeskind, is Inspired by the Hebrew phrase “L’Chaim” (To Life). The CJM is dedicated to exploring contemporary perspectives on Jewish culture, history, art, and ideas. More

The Magnes Collection of Jewish Art and Life 
The Magnes is one of the five largest Jewish museum collections in the world and the only one that is part of a major research university. Since 2010, The Magnes is proud to be part of the renowned Bancroft Library at the University of California Berkeley, a world-class university with deep regard for the preservation and cultivation of knowledge. The Magnes engages audiences all ages to participate in making the collection a relevant part of contemporary Jewish life. More

Washington, D.C.

United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
The US Holocaust Memorial Museum’s newest special exhibition, Some Were Neighbors: Collaboration & Complicity in the Holocaust, explores the role of ordinary people in the persecution of Jews and others in Nazi-occupied Europe. Free admission. Timed passes required for entry from March to August.  More

Woodbine, N.J.

The Sam Azeez Museum of Woodbine Heritage/The Richard Stockton College of NJ
Located in northwest Cape May County, just minutes from the beach and the Garden State Parkway. Built in 1893, the majestic building was the largest synagogue in Woodbine. Today, it serves as a museum built upon the town’s rich multi-cultural heritage and a teaching center for the New Jersey Commission on Holocaust Education.

Museum Hours: Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Sunday 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM  More