San Francisco will mark Jewish Heritage Month next week with a City Hall ceremony recognizing the historical contributions of Jewish citizens to the city and celebrating the present-day Jewish community.
The city’s second annual commemoration of the event is set for 6 p.m. Wednesday, May 25.
The 40-minute program will feature speeches by Mayor Ed Lee and supervisors Aaron Peskin and Scott Wiener. Dan Safier of the Jewish Community Federation board will discuss the organization’s work in the Bay Area and Israel, and Myrna Melgar, commissioner for the Department of Building Inspection, will share her experiences as both a Jew of color and a San Francisco public servant. There will also be a musical performance by children from Congregation Emanu-El.
Jewish American Heritage Month is a relatively new phenomenon nationally, having started in 2006.
“We realized that we were the last major ethnic and cultural group not to have an event at City Hall,” said spokesman Joe Goldman of the Jewish Community Relations Council.
To further explore the Jewish-San Francisco connection, the San Francisco Human Rights Commission will unveil its latest project, “A Tapestry of Resilience: Wrestling with Our Jewish Experience.” More than two dozen photographs will feature Bay Area Jews reflecting the ages, genders and religious and cultural backgrounds that make up the community.
The San Francisco Jewish Heritage Month celebration is sponsored by the JCRC and the Jewish Community Federation and Endowment Fund. The event is free, but advance registration is required at www.tinyurl.com/JHMSF-2016. — j. staff