National Foundation for Jewish Culture (U.S.)

The records of the American Jewish Historical Society, the oldest national ethnic historical organization in the United States, include correspondence of officers and staff as well as inter-office memos, multiple versions of the constitution and by-laws of the society, meeting minutes of administrative branches and committees, membership and financial records, reports, exhibit materials, records relating to the society’s library and archival holdings, press releases and newspaper clippings, and publications and newsletters created by the society. There are also materials from various programs, such as meetings and conferences, tours, lectures, awards and dinners, films, and educational programs.

Sephardic House was established in 1978 as a correction to the often-overlooked contributions of the Sephardic community to American-Jewish culture. The Records of Sephardic House documents the administrative, programming, and publishing activities of Sephardic House since its founding. Such documents include financial records, meeting minutes, correspondence, artist portfolios, press releases, photographs, slides, and much more.

Collection sontains the minutes of the Board of Directors (Trustees) meetings, 1972-1975; staff meetings, 1972-1973; background materials and reports pertaining to projects proposed and acted upon; annual reports; financial reports; and miscellaneous publications.

From its inception in 1961, the National Foundation for Jewish Culture (later known as the Foundation for Jewish Culture) supported Jewish scholarship, art, and community services. The collection primarily covers the period between 1959, when the original study proposing the creation of the NFJC was conducted by the Council of Jewish Federations and Welfare Funds (CJFWF) and 2015, when the Foundation ceased operations. The materials document organization’s support for Jewish scholarship, art, culture, and its work in strengthening the relationships between cultural institutions and local Jewish communities. The collection also documents the organization’s shift in the 1980s from scholarship to more involvement in Jewish arts and culture.

The papers of Jewish civic leader Philip Bernstein contain writings and professional papers related to his career with the Council of Jewish Federations and Welfare Funds, including his participation in the establishment of the National Foundation for Jewish Culture and the National Jewish Community Relations Council, and his work with many other Jewish communal organizations, including the Jewish Agency for Israel, the Joint Distribution Committee, the United Jewish Appeal, and the Federation of Jewish Philanthropies of New York.

The Robert Rifkind Papers document the Jewish philanthropic and lobbying activities of Robert Singer Rifkind. Robert Rifkind was born in New York City in 1936 and became a partner at the law firm of Cravath, Swaine and Moore in 1971. He served on the boards of many Jewish philanthropic and activist organizations, including the American Jewish Committee, the Jewish Theological Seminary and the Schechter Institute for Jewish Studies. The collection includes correspondence, photographs and publications from Rifkind’s involvement in these and other organizations, primarily dating from the 1980s to the 2010s.