John L. Loeb to be Honored with 2015 Emma Lazarus Statue of Libery Award

The American Jewish Historical Society will pay tribute to Ambassador John L. Loeb, Jr. with its 2015 Emma Lazarus Statue of Liberty Award on November 11, 2015, at the Roosevelt Hotel in New York City.

The festive event comprises a cocktail reception, dinner, and program saluting Ambassador Loeb and his steadfast commitment to fostering broad awareness of Jewish contributions to American society-from the 17th century to the present-and promoting religious freedom and the separation of church and state per the U.S. Constitution.

Some 400 guests are anticipated to attend, and all proceeds benefit the American Jewish Historical Society (AJHS), the oldest cultural archive in the U.S., and its diversity of public programs, resources, and offerings.

Ambassador John L. Loeb, Jr. is the founder and chairman of the George Washington Institute for Religious Freedom (GWIRF), headquartered in New York City. GWIRF sponsors civic education organizations to develop curricula, publications, and programs using George Washington's famous 1790 letter to the Hebrew Congregation in Newport, RI, to initiate discussions about religious diversity. In his letter to the Touro Synagogue, the nation's first President pledged that U.S. citizens possessed complete religious freedom and the government rebuked bigotry and religious persecution. http://www.gwirf.org/

In 2009, GWIRF opened the Ambassador John L. Loeb, Jr. Visitors Center on the campus of the Touro Synagogue National Historic Site, in Newport. Some of Amb. Loeb's ancestors were among the founders of the synagogue, established in 1763. He also created the Loeb Portrait Database of Early American Jewish Portraits, which resides on the AJHS's website. http://www.loebjewishportraits.com/home.html

Amb. Loeb is currently chairman of the Winston Churchill Foundation of the United States, a trustee of The American-Scandinavian Foundation, and a vice chairman of the Council of American Ambassadors. He has been a trustee of the Langeloth Foundation, the Educational Testing Service, American University, among other institutions, and served on seven Harvard visiting committees.

He has been chairman of Loeb Rhoades Trust Company since 1979, and was partner of Loeb Rhoades & Co. from 1957-1979. He was chairman of Holly Sugar and a director of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, among other corporations.

From 1981 to 1983, he was the U.S. Ambassador to Denmark and received the Grand Cross of the Order of Dannebrog from Queen Margrethe II. Among his other awards and honors, he is a Commander of the Order of the British Empire, awarded for his work with the Winston Churchill Foundation of the United States.

Amb. Loeb received a B.A. from Harvard College, M.B.A. from Harvard Business School, and, in 1980, honorary Doctor of Laws degree from Georgetown University.

The event will take place on Wednesday, November 11, 2015 with a 6:30 pm: Cocktail Reception and at 7:30 pm: Dinner and Program.

Proceeds benefit the American Jewish Historical Society. For ticketing information, please contact Jacqueline Leitzes, Director of Development, at212-294-6166, or jleitzes@ajhs.org.

The American Jewish Historical Society presents its most prestigious honor, the annual Emma Lazarus Statue of Liberty Award, to an individual or group whose contribution reflects the highest values of the American Jewish community. The Award is named for Lazarus (1849-1887) a Jewish immigrant's rights activist and poet best known for "The New Colossus" with its familiar lines, "Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free..." The poem was read at the Statue of Liberty's dedication on October 28, 1886, and engraved on the pedestal in 1903. The original manuscript, including her handwritten draft of "The New Colossus" penned for an 1883 auction to help fund the pedestal for the Statue of Liberty, is in the AJHS collection. The collection also includes her correspondence, articles, and published copies of her poems.

The American Jewish Historical Society (AJHS), housed at the Center for Jewish History in New York City, is the oldest cultural archive in the country. AJHS provides access to more than 25 million documents and 50,000 books, photographs, art, and artifacts that reflect the history of the Jewish presence in the U.S. from 1654 to the present. We are the future of the American Jewish past.

AJHS illuminates American Jewish history through its numerous archival materials, scholarship, exhibitions, and public programs. Among its holdings are records of the nation's leading Jewish communal organizations and important collections in the fields of education, national Jewish organizations, philanthropy, women, science, sports, business, and the arts. Headquartered in downtown Manhattan, AJHS has a branch in Boston at 99 Newbury Street.www.ajhs.org