The Wyner Family Jewish Heritage Center at American Ancestors

🔍: Demonstration for Soviet Jewry led by JCRC and the JCC Soviet Jewry Committee in front of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, MA, August 6, 1972. Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Boston Records (I-123)

Take a trip back in time to celebrate summers at Revere Beach! Join the Wyner Family Jewish Heritage Center in Revere for an afternoon of stories, conversation, and history of the Jewish summer community in Revere Beach. This lively event will feature a discussion about the popularity of Revere Beach as a summer destination for the Greater Boston Jewish community in the mid 20th century, opportunities for participants to share memories, and a kosher ice cream social.

This event is for everyone, including:

- Those who grew up going to Revere Beach
- Those with parents or grandparents who went to Revere Beach
- Revere Beach regulars of today
- Those who are interested in learning more about Revere Beach's Jewish history

Register now: https://hubs.ly/Q04jzQp70

🔍: "Peretz Oppenheim Family, Clothing Firm on Washington Street" Boston, MA, 1900. Milontaler Family Papers (P-553)

We had a blast celebrating Jewish American Heritage Month at our Open House! Visitors were able to get up close with materials, chat with archivists about the JHC collections, learn how to preserve their own important items at home, and make papercuts for Shavuot.

It’s not too late to join us at the JHC’s annual Benefit Dinner on June 4, when we will honor Former CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky with the 2026 Tzedakah Lifetime Achievement Award. Learn more: https://jewishheritagecenter.org/Benefit2026

In the now-available Spring 2026 (Volume 27, Number 1) issue of "American Ancestors Magazine," JHC Historian in Residence Madeline DeDe-Panken begins with a single mandolin from the Wyner Family Jewish Heritage Center archives and uncovers the lives of two women caught up in the “mandolin craze.” Their story reveals how music created connection, creativity, and community for young Jewish women a century ago.

Read the article (members only): https://hubs.ly/Q04hlPyc0

Watch the recording of Madeline's webinar "In Concert: How Jewish Women Built Community Through Music": https://hubs.ly/Q04hlVdB0

Stay tuned 👀

Alright Building 19 fans and former employees, I have a burning question for you. Anyone know what is happening in this photo? Looks like some sort of store event at the South Hingham store. I'm guessing late 70's or early 80's, peak Evel Knievel era. Who's on the bike... and who's under the ramp??

Photo courtesy of the Building 19 records at The Wyner Family Jewish Heritage Center at American Ancestors.

"Prayer is no longer limited to the temple, the synagogue or the Hassidic shul. You will find it, as I did, in the Brighton apartment of five young men."

🔍: "Jewish renaissance," Eleanor Roberts, Sunday Herald Traveler and Sunday Advertiser (Boston Herald,) Boston, MA, October 22, 1972. Boston University Hillel (JHCI-044)

Mazel tov to our 2026 fellows!

We are pleased to announce that Randall Geller has been selected as the 2026 Curhan Research Scholar. Geller earned a Ph.D. in Israel, Zionism, and Middle Eastern Studies from Brandeis University. He grew up on the South Shore in Plymouth, Massachusetts. After initially teaching courses on Israel, Jewish history, and Middle Eastern studies, he has spent nearly a decade primarily teaching and researching U.S. and World History at the university and high school level in the Boston area. His current research focuses on the history of Boston’s Jewish community in the North End from approximately 1880 to 1910.

Learn more about JHC’s funded research opportunities and this year’s fellows: https://jewishheritagecenter.org/education/fellowships

Mazel tov to our 2026 fellows!

Jeremy Menchik has been selected to be the 2026 Genevieve Geller Wyner Research Fellow. Menchik is Associate Professor of International Relations and Political Science in the Frederick S. Pardee School of Global Studies at Boston University and Director of the Institute on Culture, Religion, and World Affairs. He is the author of three books: “The Missionary Impulse in World Politics: Democracy Promotion at the End of American Liberal Imperialism” (forthcoming from Cornell University Press), “Protest Cycles and Radicalization in the Digital Age: The Reopen Movement” (Cambridge University Press, 2026) and “Islam and Democracy in Indonesia: Tolerance without Liberalism” (Cambridge University Press, 2016) which was the co-winner of the 2017 International Studies Association award for the best book on religion and international relations. His recent research focuses on Jewish internationalism, and he will join the JHC for a talk later this year.

Learn more about JHC’s funded research opportunities and this year’s fellows: https://jewishheritagecenter.org/education/fellowships