In recent months, The Wisconsin Jewish Chronicle published items lamenting a perceived lack of knowledge in our community of Golda Meir (Cormac O’Duffy’s article in the November edition) and expressing a charge to teach about her (Lynne Kleinman’s Letter to the Editor in the December edition). They are both correct.
As a docent at Jewish Museum Milwaukee, I can attest that the thousands of visitors to JMM every year are exposed to Golda’s remarkable life and her connection to our wonderful city. We talk about her activities as a 12-year-old raising money to buy books for the less fortunate, her aliyah and leadership in the State of Israel, and her return visit in 1979.
But more than just an exposition on Meir, the Jewish Museum Milwaukee is an important community resource. Against the background of 200 years of world history, the immigration, activities, and contributions of the Milwaukee Jewish community are portrayed.
JMM covers Milwaukee’s first Jewish presence in the early 1800s, the earliest Zionist activities, the establishment and our relationship to the State of Israel, and our participation in the civil rights movement. A section is devoted to the Holocaust and its connection to Milwaukeeans as well as to the important Jewish concept of “tikun olam” (repair of the world).
I think JMM itself is too often forgotten as a communal resource. We are blessed with an extremely well put together exhibit that is educational and inspiring. No visitor will leave untouched. Take some time and come. I promise you will not regret it.
Lloyd Levin
Milwaukee
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