ArtsWatch

Steven Spielberg has pledged $1 million for the National Museum of American Jewish History's new building on Independence Mall, the museum said after the Daily News reported the gift. The grant is to be made through Spielberg's charity, the Righteous Persons Foundation.
A peek at the foundation's 2006 tax return shows that Spielberg gives mostly to Jewish organizations, and mostly in relatively modest amounts (the Institute for Southern Jewish Life got $35,000, the National Foundation for Jewish Culture $525,000), so a million-dollar gift for them is a big deal.
The Spielberg money brings to $111 million the museum's $150 million campaign, a spokesman says. The new digs are now expected to open in the fall of 2010.