US President Joe Biden at the White House, Washington, DC, May 31, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein

US President Joe Biden signed into law on Wednesday a bill that would make it possible for the nation’s only museum dedicated exclusively to the American Jewish experience to join the Smithsonian Institution, which would help support its existence for years to come.

Bill H.R. 7764 establishes a commission that will examine if the Weitzman National Museum of American Jewish History in Philadelphia can join the Smithsonian Institution. The commission of eight people must submit a report with its findings to Congress and the president within two years of its first meeting. The bill was sponsored by Jewish US Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL) and introduced in March. It was passed by the House of Representatives in September and the Senate did the same earlier this month. Both votes were unanimous.

Before the bill was passed to Biden’s desk, Wasserman Schultz said in a Facebook post that signing it into law “would help reject harmful prejudices by educating people about the many contributions of Jewish Americans.”

The Smithsonian Institution is the world’s largest museum, education, and research complex, which includes 21 museums, 14 education and research centers, and the National Zoo. If the Weitzman museum, located on Independence Mall in Philadelphia, was to join the Smithsonian Institution, it would become one of the Smithsonian museums in the US dedicated to minority groups such as the African American History and Culture Museum, the American Indian Museum, and National Museum of Asian Art. Museums under the umbrella of the Smithsonian Institution also receive federal government support.

Established in 1976, the Weitzman National Museum of American Jewish History houses one of the largest collections of Jewish American artifacts in the nation, with more than 30,000 objects.

In early March 2020, at the start of the COVID-19 epidemic, the museum filed for bankruptcy because of a a $30 million debt, which stemmed largely from the $150 million construction of its five-story building. The museum settled its debt a year later after receiving a $10 million commitment by former museum trustee Mitchell Morgan, who agreed to buy the building for $10 million and charge the museum rent of just $1,000 a month. The museum also raised money from supporters to help pay off its debt and reportedly had several creditors agree to forgive $14 million in debt.

An eight-figure donation from Jewish footwear designer and entrepreneur Stuart Weitzman allowed the museum to buy the building back from Morgan, and “Weitzman” was added to the museum’s name in his honor.