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Avi Decter is the author of Interpreting American Jewish History at Museums and Historic Sites (2016), co-author of Ten Years: Remembrance, Education, Hope [Holocaust Museum Houston] (2006), editor or co-editor of ten books and book-length catalogs on American Jewish history, and author of numerous exhibition and book reviews, articles, and blogs on public history and interpretation. He has served as director of the Museum of American Jewish History and the Jewish Museum of Maryland, as head of education at the H.F. DuPont Museum and Gardens, and as special assistant to the director of the National Museum of American History (Smithsonian Institution). As managing partner of History Now, Decter has consulted widely with local and national history organizations ranging from the National Civil War Museum to the Louisville Slugger Museum and Visitor Center. He served as interpretive planner for the core exhibitions at both The Jewish Museum in New York and the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum and for 25 years as a senior advisor and program developer for the National Foundation for Jewish Culture. A graduate of Columbia College (BA 1964) and Brandeis University (MA 1976), Decter was a participant in the Williamsburg Seminar in Historical Administration (1977). Mr. Decter has overseen development of major exhibitions on various aspects of American Jewish life including projects on Jewish agricultural colonies, dress and fashion, tchotchkes (Jewish knicknacks), foodways, vacationing, refugees from Nazism, a Jewish neighborhood (East Baltimore), small town Jewish life, and the history of the landmark Lloyd Street Synagogue (1841). His exhibitions and programs at the Jewish Museum of Maryland (2000-2012) were supported by major grants from the Institute of Museum and Library Services and the National Endowment for the Humanities. During his tenure, the JMM received four awards of merit from the American Association for
Avi Decter has chosen his treasures of American Jewish history wisely. He has interpreted these 'treasures' clearly and concisely without compromising the complexity of his subject, the more than three and half centuries that Jews have spent on American shores. This book offers a general understanding of American Jewish history and an in depth look into some of its material and documentary treasures, each illustrative of its era. Well done indeed! --Michael Berenbaum, Distinguished Professor of Jewish Studies, Director Sigi Ziering Institute, American Jewish University Avi Decter's exploration of the American Jewish experience is imaginative and ingenious. His engaging book merits the highest praise for making the legacy of the past into something that is fresh and vivid. --Stephen J. Whitfield, author of In Search of American Jewish Culture.
