Jewish American Society for Historic Preservation

The Jewish American Society for Historic Preservation (JASHP) is an American 501(c)(3) volunteer historical society focused on identifying, interpreting, and preserving places connected with Jewish history, American history, civil rights, military service, immigration, Zionism, and the Holocaust. Rather than operating as a conventional commercial brand, JASHP functions as a project-based nonprofit whose public identity is expressed through historical markers, memorials, educational articles, and partnerships with local institutions. The organization was founded in 1999 after Jerry Klinger discovered Temple Montefiore in Las Vegas, New Mexico, described as the first permanent Jewish house of worship in the state. That discovery led to a broader effort to make under-recognized Jewish contributions visible in the public landscape. JASHP typically works with synagogues, churches, civic groups, historical societies, municipalities, governments, and private individuals. Projects are individually designed and may involve only a few participants or several hundred, depending on the site and the community involved. Its completed work spans 44 U.S. states and nine countries. The projects include markers commemorating early Jewish congregations and houses of worship, Jewish pioneers and military personnel, Holocaust rescuers and victims, civil-rights history, Jewish agricultural settlements, historic cemeteries, Christian Zionism, the founding history of Israel, and American participation in the rescue of European Jews. Examples include the Tuskegee Civil Rights and Historic Trail Marker System in Alabama, markers for early Jewish congregations in states including New Mexico, Virginia, Minnesota, Florida, and Tennessee, and memorial projects associated with the Leo Frank lynching, the Four Chaplains, the SS Exodus, Buchenwald, and Stephen Norman, the last descendant of Theodor Herzl. JASHP's approach combines physical commemoration with contextual interpretation. Its markers are intended not only to document Jewish events but also to show the connections between Jewish experience and wider American civic life. Projects dealing with military service, civil rights, immigration, religious freedom, the Holocaust, and the history of Israel are therefore presented as parts of a shared American and international historical narrative. The society has also sponsored charitable activity, including support for Hero Miles, a Fisher House Foundation program assisting families of wounded, injured, or ill service members. It has received Hadassah's Myrtle Wreath Award, which recognizes significant humanitarian contributions by individuals and nonprofit organizations. Public descriptions characterize JASHP as a small organization with a disproportionately broad reach; its projects have been reported as benefiting more than seven million people annually. The organization remains active in developing new proposals and welcomes collaboration on historically significant sites.

JASHP emerged from a specific act of historical discovery. In 1999, founder Jerry Klinger encountered Temple Montefiore in Las Vegas, New Mexico, identified in the society's account as the state's first permanent Jewish house of worship. The site demonstrated how much Jewish history could remain absent from the visible public record, and it became the starting point for a national program of markers and memorials. The society's operating model is collaborative and decentralized. Instead of maintaining a large institutional infrastructure, it develops individual projects with communities and organizations that have a connection to the subject being commemorated. Partners may include synagogues, churches, historical societies, civic organizations, government bodies, and individual historians or residents. This model allows projects to be tailored to local evidence, local participation, and the significance of each site. A major strand of JASHP's work documents the establishment of Jewish religious communities across the United States. Its marker list includes early or first permanent Jewish houses of worship in Alabama, Delaware, Florida, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Maine, Minnesota, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Mexico, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, and Wyoming. Other projects address Jewish cemeteries, agricultural settlements, frontier figures, military personnel, and Jewish participation in American public life. The society has also treated Jewish history as part of broader American history. In Alabama, the Tuskegee Civil Rights and Historic Trail Marker System uses multiple markers to interpret civil-rights figures and events. Other projects concern the American Navy, the Congressional Medal of Honor, World War I, the Jew Bill of Maryland, Jewish communities in western and frontier towns, and the history of Jewish settlement in the American South and West. Holocaust remembrance and rescue form another important area. JASHP has been associated with memorialization relating to Leo Frank, the Four Chaplains, Herman Stern, Master Sergeant Roddie Edmonds, the Kleine Lager at Buchenwald, and the SS Exodus. Its international projects extend to Israel, Germany, the United Kingdom, and Suriname, and include subjects such as John Henry Patterson, Reverend William Hechler, Stephen Norman, Adam Worth, and the history of Jewish rescue and remembrance. The society's projects are accompanied by written historical material on American Jewish history, Zionism, Israel, Holocaust memorialization, and related subjects. It has also supported charitable activity through sponsorship of Hero Miles, a Fisher House Foundation initiative. Recognition from Hadassah through the Myrtle Wreath Award reflects the organization's humanitarian and educational dimension. By the account presented in reference material, JASHP has completed projects in 44 states and nine countries, with more projects in development. The organization describes its reach as disproportionate to its small size, reporting that its installations collectively benefit more than seven million people annually. The continuing emphasis is on public interpretation: placing historically grounded information in communities where residents, visitors, students, and travelers can encounter it directly.

• 1999

  JASHP founded

  [1]Jewish American Society for Historic Preservationen.wikipedia.org

  Jerry Klinger founded the society after discovering Temple Montefiore in Las Vegas, New Mexico.

• National marker program expands

  [1]Jewish American Society for Historic Preservationen.wikipedia.org

  The organization developed markers for early Jewish congregations, cemeteries, military figures, civil-rights history, and other subjects across the United States.

• International commemorative work established

  [1]Jewish American Society for Historic Preservationen.wikipedia.org

  JASHP extended its project activity to countries including Israel, Germany, the United Kingdom, and Suriname.

• Myrtle Wreath Award received

  [1]Jewish American Society for Historic Preservationen.wikipedia.org

  Hadassah recognized the society with its Myrtle Wreath Award for significant humanitarian contribution.

A collaborative, volunteer-led historical preservation organization that uses public markers and memorials to make Jewish contributions to American and international history visible, accessible, and connected to broader civic themes.

• Heritage interpretation · 1999

  Interpretive historical markers

  JASHP's principal public output is the historically researched marker. Markers identify significant sites, people, institutions, and events and explain their relationship to Jewish and American history. They are generally developed with local partners and installed in public or historically relevant locations.

• Historic memorialization

  Memorial and commemorative projects

  The society develops memorials and special commemorations for subjects including Holocaust victims and rescuers, military heroes, civil-rights history, Jewish pioneers, and the history of Israel. Projects may be domestic or international and are adapted to the site and participating organizations.

• Educational content

  Historical research and articles

  JASHP publishes or supports explanatory material on American Jewish history, Zionism, Israel, Holocaust remembrance, and individual historical figures. These materials complement physical markers by providing wider context for the events and people being commemorated.

• Tuskegee Civil Rights and Historic Trail Marker System

  United States

  A multi-marker Alabama project interpreting Tuskegee-area civil-rights history and honoring local trailblazers.

  Outcome. A 13-marker trail system was reported as completed or dedicated with local participation.

  Source
• Early Jewish houses of worship marker program

  United States

  A broad series of markers documents early permanent Jewish houses of worship and organized Jewish communities in numerous states.

  Outcome. Projects were completed in communities including Mobile, Wilmington, Pensacola, Keokuk, New Orleans, Richmond, Memphis, Salt Lake City, and others.

  Source
• American Holocaust memorialization

  United States · Israel · Germany · United Kingdom · Suriname

  A group of projects addresses Holocaust memory, rescue, liberation, and postwar Jewish history, including the Four Chaplains, Roddie Edmonds, the SS Exodus, Buchenwald, and related figures.

  Outcome. Markers and memorials were developed at sites in the United States and abroad.

  Source

• 1999

  Adopt a marker-centered preservation modelStrategy

  Background

  The discovery of Temple Montefiore highlighted the limited public visibility of important Jewish historical sites.

  Action taken

  JASHP was established as a volunteer society that works with local partners to create interpretive markers and memorials.

  Aftermath

  The model expanded into projects across 44 U.S. states and nine countries.

  Source

1. 1Jewish American Society for Historic Preservationen.wikipedia.org
2. 2Tuskegee historic trail announcementtuskegee.edu
3. 3New Roosevelt marker celebrates Jewish rootsnjjewishnews.com
4. 4Here’s How One Man Has Preserved the Milestones of Jewish Historyforward.com
5. 5Christian leader pivotal to Herzl’s work recognizedjpost.com