(RNS) — Late Tuesday (Dec. 3), the Senate unanimously passed a bill creating a commission to study the possibility of incorporating the Weitzman National Museum of American Jewish History in Philadelphia into the Smithsonian Institution. Having gained approval from the House in September, the bill is now set to be signed into law by President Joe Biden.
The bill is just the beginning of a yearslong process, but one that has gained urgency with the rise in antisemitism in the United States in recent years.
“It’s a major step in the process of the Weitzman ultimately becoming a Smithsonian museum,” said Philip Darivoff, chair emeritus and trustee of the museum.
The commission of nine experts would have two years to issue a report, establish a fundraising plan and present recommendations to the president and Congress. The commission would also be expected to suggest ways the museum could assist educational and governmental institutions in countering antisemitism.
If the effort is successful, the Weitzman would remain in Philadelphia but would join the Smithsonian’s network of 22 museums, including the National Museum of African American History and Culture, the National Museum of the American Indian, the Smithsonian American Women’s History Museum and the National Museum of the American Latino.
Officials at the Smithsonian prompted the Weitzman Museum to seek the creation of a congressional commission, explained Darivoff, as other museums documenting the history of minorities in America have done. Since 2022, a commission has been studying a proposal for a National Asian-Pacific American Museum.
Darivoff explained that bringing the Weitzman under the Smithsonian umbrella would help broaden its reach and bring new opportunities to partner with educational institutions and deliver curriculums. “It is not a museum about Jews for Jews. It’s a museum about Jews for all Americans,” he said.
But Darivoff added: “We’re rushing to get this done because there is just an epidemic of ignorance about the Jewish people. We have a special sense of urgency and we believe the more people understand who Jews are, how we’ve contributed to this country, how central Jewish text and Jewish wisdom is to American political thought and American society, we think it can be an antidote to antisemitism.”
The bill’s supporters in Congress also argued that transferring the Weitzman to the Smithsonian would send a strong message about antisemitism. In a March press release, Florida Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, who introduced the bill in the House, wrote, “This powerful institutional integration signals a strong commitment to address the dramatic rise in antisemitism by helping amplify the myriad ways Jewish Americans enriched a nation who’s very founding, fittingly, traces back to Philadelphia, the Weitzman Museum’s home city.”
The bipartisan effort to pass the bill was led by U.S. Reps. Mike Turner and Max Miller of Ohio and Pennsylvania Rep. Brendan Boyle in the House and in the Senate by Sens. Bob Casey of Pennsylvania and Susan Collins of Maine. It also receives support from prominent American Jewish organizations, including the Anti-Defamation League and Jewish Federations of North America.
On its website, the Jewish federation applauded the Senate’s passage of the bill. “The vote represents the first key step towards bringing this iconic Jewish museum in Philadelphia — where it would remain — under the umbrella of the Smithsonian Institution. We are deeply grateful for Senate Leadership’s efforts in passing this bill and urge President Biden to swiftly sign it into law.”
Founded in 1976, the Weitzman Museum is home to the country’s largest collection of Jewish Americana. In 2010, the museum moved from the Mikveh Israel synagogue in Philadelphia’s historic district to its current location on Independence Mall. It is currently a Smithsonian affiliate, meaning it has access to its collections and resources to curate specific exhibitions. It also benefits from the Smithsonian experts on conservation.
On Nov. 19, the Weitzman Museum appointed a new CEO, Israeli-born Dan Tadmor, who previously worked on expanding Tel Aviv’s ANU Museum of the Jewish People, to oversee its overhaul.
