נאריש זשלאָב מענטש<p>"On this day in 1849, <a href="https://babka.social/tags/Jewish" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>Jewish</span></a> <a href="https://babka.social/tags/writer" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>writer</span></a> and <a href="https://babka.social/tags/activist" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>activist</span></a> Emma Lazarus was born in <a href="https://babka.social/tags/NewYorkCity" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>NewYorkCity</span></a>.</p><p>Lazarus is, of course, most famous for “The New Colossus,” the <a href="https://babka.social/tags/sonnet" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>sonnet</span></a> with the famous lines “Give me your tired, your poor/Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free” that’s practically synonymous with the <a href="https://babka.social/tags/StatueofLiberty" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>StatueofLiberty</span></a>.</p><p>The <a href="https://babka.social/tags/poem" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>poem</span></a> — which was written in 1883 for an exhibition designed to raise money to build the statue’s pedestal — gives voice to the Statue of Liberty, which was initially designed by Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi as tribute the Enlightenment and Franco-American friendship. Lazarus’ words transformed the statue into a “Mother of Exiles” who served as a beacon of hope for <a href="https://babka.social/tags/immigrants" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>immigrants</span></a> arriving at New York Harbor.</p><p>“The New Colossus” may be Lazarus’ lasting legacy, but she was far more than just a one-hit wonder."</p><p><a href="https://www.jta.org/2025/07/22/ny/11-fascinating-facts-about-emma-lazarus-the-jewish-writer-who-gave-voice-to-the-statue-of-liberty" rel="nofollow noopener" translate="no" target="_blank"><span class="invisible">https://www.</span><span class="ellipsis">jta.org/2025/07/22/ny/11-fasci</span><span class="invisible">nating-facts-about-emma-lazarus-the-jewish-writer-who-gave-voice-to-the-statue-of-liberty</span></a></p>