Trump Proclaims Jewish American Heritage Month 2026

WASHINGTON, May 7, 2026 — President Donald Trump signed Proclamation 11025 on May 4, 2026, officially designating May as Jewish American Heritage Month.

The proclamation applies to all federal agencies, which must observe the month through public programs, educational activities, and official recognitions. It reaches an estimated 7.6 million Jewish Americans, the population recorded in recent U.S. Census and Pew Research Center data, along with the broader public that participates in related events at national parks, museums, and schools.

The action changes nothing in statute or regulation. Prior to the signing, no formal presidential designation existed for 2026; the new proclamation establishes the observance for the full month of May 2026, effective immediately upon publication in the Federal Register on May 7.

It continues the practice begun under President George W. Bush in 2006 and renewed annually by every subsequent president.

Downstream, the proclamation requires the White House, Department of Education, and National Archives to incorporate Jewish American history into existing public programming during May. Federal agencies must now align speaker series, exhibits, and social media content with the month's themes.

State and local governments that follow federal observances will schedule parallel events, while the U.S. Postal Service typically issues commemorative material tied to such proclamations. Congress retains separate authority to pass concurrent resolutions supporting the designation.

This marks the 21st consecutive annual proclamation for Jewish American Heritage Month. The original 2006 proclamation under President Bush followed legislation introduced by Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz and Sen. Arlen Specter. The 2026 document, numbered 11025 and published as Federal Register Document 2026-09174, follows the identical ceremonial form used in Proclamation 10740 signed by President Biden for May 2023.

Per the Federal Register notice, the text recounts the arrival of 23 Jewish refugees in New Amsterdam in 1654, participation in the American Revolution, and later waves of immigration that produced Nobel laureates, civil-rights leaders, and elected officials. It directs federal agencies to pursue appropriate programs honoring those contributions.