Trump declares a national Sabbath

President Donald Trump proclaims Jewish American Heritage Month and calls on Americans to mark a national Sabbath later this month.

By World Israel News Staff

President Donald Trump on Monday proclaimed May 2026 as Jewish American Heritage Month and called on Americans to mark a national Sabbath later this month as part of events tied to the country’s 250th anniversary.

“This Jewish American Heritage Month, we honor the countless contributions of Jewish Americans throughout our nation’s 250 glorious years of independence,” Trump said in the proclamation.

The president said Jewish Americans had shown an “unwavering commitment” to “faith, family, and freedom.”

Trump also called on Jewish Americans to observe a national Sabbath from sundown on Friday, May 15, to nightfall on Saturday, May 16, coinciding with what the proclamation called “Rededicate 250 — a national jubilee of prayer, praise, and thanksgiving.”

“This day will recognize the sacred Jewish tradition of setting aside time for rest, reflection, and gratitude to the Almighty,” Trump said.

The proclamation cited President George Washington’s 1790 letter to the Hebrew Congregation in Newport, Rhode Island, in which Washington wrote that the United States “gives to bigotry no sanction, to persecution no assistance.”

Trump said his administration was “aggressively fighting the violence against Jewish Americans” and working to combat antisemitism “throughout our institutions, especially on college campuses.”

“As President, I will never stop fighting to protect our birthright of religious freedom,” he said.

The proclamation also highlighted Haym Salomon, a Jewish financier of the American Revolution, saying his legacy reflected “the unshakable belief in the American promise.”

Jewish American Heritage Month has been marked by presidential proclamation each May since 2006, when President George W. Bush first designated the month after congressional resolutions calling for national recognition of Jewish American contributions.

Trump called on Americans to observe the month “with appropriate programs, activities, and ceremonies,” and to celebrate “faith and freedom” throughout the year, “especially on Shabbat to celebrate our 250th year.”