350 Years of Jews in America

September 3, 2004

Source: The New York Times

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/09/03/arts/03JEWI.html

On September 3, 2004 The New York Times reported, "as a wide variety of events will convey, the story of American Jews became a tale of the passage from the periphery to the center, from immigrant yearning to mainstream achievement. And the journey ultimately transformed this country's Jews as deeply as it did the aspects of American culture they helped to invent. The diverse community today reflects all that was gained in transition but also what was lost in the process of normalization, as a diaspora people laid its roots and built a home more comfortable and secure than almost any other in its history... The 350th anniversary itself [is] being celebrated in New York this year, beginning on Tuesday with a concert at the 92nd Street Y that opens the first annual New York Jewish Music and Heritage Festival. The festival continues in 15 venues around the city, lasting through Sept. 14, and the Y's celebrations will stretch throughout its entire 2004-5 season. "