Weitzman Names New CEO

By Andrew Guckes, Philadelphia Jewish Exponent November 19, 2024

Image: The Weitzman National Museum of American Jewish History. Photo credit: Barry Halkin/Halkin Photography

The Weitzman National Museum of American Jewish History in Center City announced this week the appointment of Dan Tadmor as its new president and CEO. Tadmor will move to Philadelphia from Israel after serving as CEO of the ANU Museum of the Jewish People in Tel Aviv for the last 12 years. He officially begins his new role in January 2025.

“The Weitzman is the preeminent Jewish museum in America,” he said. “It tells the American Jewish story, and the location could not be more perfect. Our new challenge is expanding our programming.”

Tadmor said he was attracted to the job because the Weitzman already has a reputation as a well-run, competent organization. The museum industry veteran, who was trained in media and content production, said he took to working in this space because it felt like a natural transition with an important mission.

“My background is in content, and that’s what a museum produces and distributes,” Tadmor said. “It’s taking a subject matter and shaping it and presenting it to an audience — [the question is] can we create relevant context?”

Tadmor knows that the methods that a museum uses to spread information are generally outdated in the information era, where most young people prefer their news in viral snippets as opposed to well-researched exhibits. He said his plan is to refresh the museum’s approach to education, exhibitions and programming. He added that, in today’s world, an institution like the Weitzman has an added level of responsibility to combat the rising antisemitism that can be seen across the United States.

“It needs to be addressed, and certainly the preeminent Jewish museum in America needs to expand its programming to meet this new challenge,” he said.

Tadmor also teased an exciting exhibition that will come within the next two years. For the 250th anniversary of the United States’ independence in 2026, the museum will offer programming that explores the intersection of Jewish values, the American Revolution and all that Jewish Americans did for the country during that era.

The museum said in its news release announcing Tadmor’s that the core exhibition on the history of American Jews will take a new direction that includes a more tech-forward approach.

The museum will also look to improve its standing as a center for Jewish life and culture. The Weitzman will also work to become even more of a leader in the national education space as it relates to the American Jewish experience.

“We are proud of all we have accomplished and we are also excited to embrace change,” said co-chair of the Weitzman’s board of trustees, Mark Oster. “We are ready to take the best of who we are and what we do and carry it forward, but we are also poised for a new chapter in which we tell the stories of Jewish Americans in powerful and relevant new ways. That such a respected leader in the field sees the value of our mission and the opportunity of our new direction, and is excited to take the helm and lead us into our next era, is truly energizing. We’re thrilled that Dan Tadmor — a seasoned storyteller and fundraiser with a track record for reimagining institutions — will be leading us into this exciting new era with bold ideas and a fresh perspective.”

This comes as the Weitzman is poised to potentially become a Smithsonian museum. In mid-September, the United States House of Representatives’ Administration Committee voted unanimously to send a bill to the House floor that would create an eight-person commission tasked with investigating the feasibility of converting the museum to a Smithsonian institution focused on the history of American Judaism. Later that month, the House passed the bill. Now, the Senate has to pass it for the commission to be created.

“In the wake of October 7 and the frightening rise in antisemitism that followed it, American Jews and our allies are seeking more engagement with Jewish institutions than any time in recent history,” said Phil Darivoff, the Weitzman’s chair emeritus and trustee. “Our community, nationwide, needs a world-class cultural institution that brings us together, tells our complete story, and counters hate with education about who Jews are. Under Dan’s leadership, and eventually as the Smithsonian museum dedicated to the American Jewish experience, the Weitzman can continue to answer that call.”

Read fully illustrated article at the Philadelphia Jewish Exponent.