By Donald H. Harrison

The U.S. Senate earlier this week unanimously joined the House of Representatives in asking President George W. Bush to proclaim one month a year as American Jewish History month. So now, a much more difficult debate will begin in earnest.  What month should it be?

The idea behind it is for school children and the general public to be able to learn about the contributions Jews have made to the United States since that September day in 1654 when a small group fleeing the reinstitution of the Portuguese Inquisition in Brazil landed in the Dutch colony of Nieuw Amsterdam, today known as New York City.

So, of course, September is one possibility. But September is the month when the school term is just getting underway. Organizing the class, taking roll, settling the children down after their summer vacations will preoccupy most teachers.  And, besides that, many Jewish children are out of school for Rosh Hashanah which often falls in September. 

Okay, so what about October?  Another possibility, but also problematic.  After Rosh Hashanah come Yom Kippur, then Succot, and then Simchat Torah, each an important and interesting holiday in its own right. Many of us Jews might be so preoccupied with these holidays that often fall  in October, we would have scant time to celebrate our own history month—or to participate in programs to teach others about us.

Well, what about November, that month when our nation holds elections?   Unfortunately,  many historians mark November as the month in which the Holocaust began.  On the night of November 9 stretching into the early morning of November 10, 1938,  Germans carried out the bidding of their Nazi government and burned and looted synagogues throughout the Reich.  That horrible day has become known as Kristallnacht after the sound of all that shattering glass.  True, this happened in Germany, not in the United States, but the coincidence of the date automatically will bring to mind the bitter controversy over why the United States didn't do more to stop the slaughter of European Jewry.  On the other hand, November also is the month when we Americans celebrate Thanksgiving, a holiday that the Pilgrims to some extent fashioned after the Jewish harvest holiday of Sukkot.  These two bookends might make November a very interesting month.

December?  Well, school is out much of this month, and besides what kid would pay any attention, given all the hoopla over Christmas and Chanukah?

January?  That's the month that Jewish history month actually is observed in Florida, the home state of  U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, the Democrat who successfully carried the concurrent resolution in the House of Representatives.  From Florida's standpoint, January makes perfect sense.  The state has a sizeable year round Jewish population which grows even bigger during the winter when "snow birds" from the northeastern states head south for the warmer weather.  But what makes it attractive for Florida may make January unacceptable for Pennsylvania, home state of Sen. Arlen Specter, the Republican who successfully carried the resolution in the U.S. Senate.  January?  Brrrr.  

Now come February and March—Black History Month and Women's History Month respectively.  It makes no sense whatsoever to have the celebration of Jewish history compete with either of these observances. 

So we move on to April.  This is another busy, busy time for the Jewish calendar.  Typically Passover falls in April.  So too does Yom HaShoah, the date on which we memorialize those who died in the Holocaust.

More holidays tend to follow in May including  the Israeli holidays of Yom Ha'Atzma'ut (Independence Day) and Yom Yerushalayim (Jerusalem reunification day)  as well as Shavuot, when Jews throughout the world celebrate God giving the Law to Moses atop Mount Sinai. As the Ten Commandments are considered a cornerstone document in Western law, timing Shavuot and Jewish History Month together may have some appeal.  However, this could lead to efforts to teach the Ten Commandments in school, thereby generating another divisive debate over the constitutional doctrine of separation of Church and State.

Well, what about June?  Traditionally, that's the month students are taking finals or, at least, getting ready for the end of school and the beginning of summer.  It's certainly not an ideal date to try to teach them something new.

July or August?  For the most part, that's when school is out for summer vacation. So neither of those months  makes any sense.

Given all these factors, I believe that  November and May, in that order, are the top two choices.  Currently representatives of Congresswoman Wasserman Schultz and Senator Specter are holding discussions with the White House on the timing of the Proclamation. No doubt, additional considerations concerning the date also will come into play.  How interesting it would be to listen to those discussions.