A major promotional launch for the updated series was held at The Jewish Museum where television executives, figures from the political and cultural world, and scholars mingled to hail the venture. Former Israeli Ambassador to the UN and narrator-host of the series, Abba Eban, issued a statement lauding the release “in an unprecedented variety of formats” as a “service to people of all faiths who wish to explore the history, culture and contribution of the Jewish people to world civilization.” He wrote that had he not become a diplomat, he most certainly “would have been a teacher.”

Morris Offit, trustee of both the Museum and Thirteen, who was clearly joyful over the “amazing new educational product” that was about to be demonstrated, introduced speakers whom, with humor and passion, spoke of the importance of the educational potential of the enterprise. Assemblyman Ed Sullivan, Chair of the Higher Education Committee in Albany, predicted that the series with its new emphasis as an “engine of learning” would affect the “whole community,” stimulating curiosity beyond the schools, and “making real” what had hitherto “only been imagined.” Bill Baker, President of Thirteen, pointed out that the original series had always been one of the “big” ones at Thirteen and “emblematic” of what public TV could do. Now, with enhanced technology, PBS could do even more.

John Fox, the Executive Producer and Editor-in-Chief, who worked on the series for ten years, then showed a video snippet from the first episode of Heritage: Civilization and the Jews. Murmurs of appreciation could be heard as choices were clicked into view–among them a word and category multimedia index, an encyclopedia, maps, explanatory essays, streaming video, translated and annotated historical documents, picture captions, built-in help documentation. Eli Evans, of The Charles H. Revson Foundation, which, along with the Estate of Mortimer J. Harrison and The Jacob Burns Foundation, provided major funding for the update, took particular delight in stressing the series as “technology in the service of knowledge” that would extend “the increasing sweep of the Jewish experience.”

Leaving little to chance, Thirteen is also spearheading educational outreach activities to complement the release, including a full educational package designed by Thirteen’s Kravis Multimedia Education Center. The teaching aids will contain a Resource Guide for both the classroom and Web, and Thirteen’s Educational Resources Center is also planning to hold training sessions for educators and group leaders on how best to use these materials and spark discussions for wide and diverse audiences.