As High Holidays loom in trying times, key to remember how Jews put the ‘oy’ in toys, industry experts say
Bicycles hang from trusses on a color-changing ceiling and a 10-foot-tall Mr. Potato Head presides above, as light pours through a circular window, which evokes an Alexander Calder mobile, into a vast hall at The Strong National Museum of Play in Rochester, N.Y.“This is the physical representation of the web-based Toy Association Hall of Fame,” Stephen Jacobs, scholar-in-residence at the museum, told JNS of a display at the museum on a recent private tour that ran more than two hours.Clad in a plaid shirt and half-hexagonal, half-rounded blue glasses frames with an accent stripe, Jacobs, who sports a salt-and-pepper beard, retired in July 2025 after 30 years of teaching game and pinball design and history, as well as free and open source software courses at Rochester Institute of Technology’s School of Interactive Games and Media. (He remains professor emeritus at RIT.)“What sent me down the rabbit hole is that one…
An upcoming exhibition at the Strong National Museum of Play in Rochester, N.Y., and related publications will highlight the significant, often overlooked, contributions of Jewish individuals to the toy and game industries. Stephen Jacobs, scholar-in-residence at the museum, discovered a vast number of Jewish inventors and entrepreneurs after a rabbi asked him to help with an exhibit on play in Jewish life. His research revealed that "when I had a list of 100 people and 80 companies over 200 years, I came to my colleagues at The Strong. They said they knew about 10%, but had no idea the number was this large."
- Jacobs's findings form the basis of an online exhibit, soon to be an in-person show, and a forthcoming book.
- Notable Jewish figures include Leslie Berger (Cardinal Industries), Jack Friedman (LJN Toys, THQ, JAKKS Pacific), Arthur "Spud" Melin and Richard Knerr (Wham-O Toys, creators of Frisbee and Hula Hoop), Russell Berrie (Troll dolls), Arnie Rubin (Imperial Toy Company, Funrise Toy Corporation), Stanley Weston (creator of G.I. Joe), Sydney Rosen (Rose Art), Reuben Klamer (The Game of Life), and Lionel Weintraub (Ideal Toy Corporation, which sold Rubik's Cube, Mouse Trap, Ker-Plunk, and Magic 8 Ball).
- Other prominent Jewish contributors include Beatrice Alexander Behrman (Madame Alexander Doll Company), Edwin S. Lowe (Bingo, Yahtzee), Isaac Larian (Little Tikes), Charles Lazarus and Michael Goldstein (Toys "R" Us), Merrill Hassenfeld and sons Alan and Stephen (Hasbro), and Melissa & Doug Bernstein (Melissa & Doug toys).
- Jacobs notes that some in the industry have expressed discomfort discussing their Jewish heritage, especially recently, due to safety concerns or fear of boycotts. He emphasizes that "learning is key to Judaism, making play is key to Judaism as well," and that highlighting Jewish contributions provides role models and educates the non-Jewish world about Jewish positive impact.
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