The Jewish Museum of New Jersey, Newark

The Jewish Museum of New Jersey, situated within Ahavas Sholom on Broadway in Newark's historic Broadway neighborhood, is a significant cultural and historical institution. Founded in 2003 and officially opened to the public in 2007, the museum is housed in a two-story brick building that has been standing since 1923. This structure not only serves as the city’s longest continually operating synagogue but is also listed on the National Register of Historic Places for its significance in art, religion, and social history, showcasing Classical Revival architecture.

The museum’s location is historically rich, previously hosting one of fifty synagogues in Newark that served a Jewish population of 70,000-once the sixth-largest Jewish community in the U.S. Inside, the museum offers a view of the majestic Aron Kodesh, or Holy Ark, which was originally constructed in the 1870s and is noted as the oldest in New Jersey.

The Jewish Museum of New Jersey is dynamic in its offerings, creating and curating both rotating and traveling exhibitions that incorporate a diverse array of mediums-photographs, paintings, panel displays, artifacts, text, music, and multimedia. These exhibitions often focus on local Holocaust survivors, Jewish immigration in the state, and the history of Sephardim in New Jersey.

Open to special exhibits and programs and also available by appointment, the museum serves as a central repository and exhibition space for the rich Jewish history of the state. Today, the museum stands as a vital resource for over half a million Jewish residents in New Jersey, offering insights into more than 400 years of Jewish history in the state.