Presidential Documents

26959 

Federal Register 

Vol. 87, No. 87 

Thursday, May 5, 2022 

Title 3— 

The President 

Proclamation 10388 of April 29, 2022 

Jewish American Heritage Month, 2022 

By the President of the United States of America 

A Proclamation 

In 1654, a small ship carrying 23 Jewish refugees sailed into the port of 

present-day New York City. Fleeing oppression and discrimination, these 

courageous women and men faced resistance from the colony’s leaders. 

Nevertheless, they secured the right to remain and became the first Jewish 

communal presence to settle on American soil. In so doing, they expanded 

the frontier of religious freedoms that would help define the bedrock principles upon which this Nation was built. During Jewish American Heritage 

Month, we honor these 23 refugees and the centuries of successive generations of Jewish Americans, who—shaped by their own encounters with 

prejudice, persecution, and the promise of a better tomorrow—have 

emboldened our Nation to stand up for justice, equality, and freedom. 

The story of America was written, in part, by Jewish Americans who, through 

their words and actions, embraced the opportunity and responsibility of 

citizenship knowing full well that democracy is not born, nor sustained, 

by accident. Inspired by Jewish American communal leadership, our Nation’s 

first President pledged that our Government will ‘‘give to bigotry no sanction, 

to persecution no assistance.’’ Inspired by Jewish American poetry, our 

shores have welcomed millions with the words ‘‘Give me your tired, your 

poor, your huddled masses yearning to be free.’’ Throughout our country’s 

history, Jewish Americans have proudly served our Nation in uniform, in 

elected office, and on our Nation’s highest courts. They have made enormous 

contributions to America’s cultural, scientific, artistic, and intellectual life, 

and they have marched, petitioned, and boarded buses to demand civil 

and political rights for all—from women’s rights to voting rights to workers’ 

rights. 

Today, we continue to strive to live up to our founding ideals. As the 

scourge of white supremacy and antisemitic violence rises, my Administration remains committed to ensuring that hate has no safe harbor. That 

is why we have created new laws that give us more tools to combat hate 

crimes; developed the first-ever National Strategy for Countering Domestic 

Terrorism; provided assistance to religious organizations, places of worship, 

and nonprofits to protect their facilities and members; and named a new 

Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Antisemitism. My Administration 

will use the full force of our judicial system to confront bigotry and antisemitism wherever and whenever it surfaces. 

The Jewish American story, and the story of our Nation as a whole, is 

fueled by faith, resilience, and hope. It is a story defined by a firm belief 

in possibilities, the resolve to make real the promise of America for all 

Americans, and a commitment to perfecting our Union, heeding the timeless 

words of Rabbi Tarfon, the first-century scholar who taught ‘‘It is not your 

duty to finish the work, but neither are you at liberty to neglect it.’’ 

Three-hundred and sixty-eight years after those 23 brave Jewish refugees 

arrived in America, Jewish Americans continue to help our country thrive 

and prosper. This month, we honor the timeless traditions, heritage, and 

contributions of Jewish Americans that drive our progress as a Nation each 

and every day. 


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26960 Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 87 / Thursday, May 5, 2022 / Presidential Documents 

NOW, THEREFORE, I, JOSEPH R. BIDEN JR., President of the United States 

of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution 

and the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim May 2022 as Jewish 

American Heritage Month. I call upon all Americans to visit 

JewishHeritageMonth.gov to learn more about the heritage and contributions 

of Jewish Americans and to observe this month with appropriate programs, 

activities, and ceremonies. 

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this twenty-ninth 

day of April, in the year two thousand twenty-two, and of the Independence 

of the United States of America the two hundred and forty-sixth. 

[FR Doc. 2022–09869 

Filed 5–4–22; 11:15 am] 

Billing code 3395–F2–P 


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