Albert Einstein made the cut.

So did Irving Berlin, Leonard Bernstein, Golda Meir and Sandy Koufax.

But the National Museum of American Jewish History, whose new home is under construction on Philadelphia's Independence Mall, will also honor some little-known Jewish Americans among the 18 selected for its Only In America hall of fame.

Does the name Rose Schneiderman ring a bell? Isaac Leeser?

In July, the museum invited the public to vote on (and learn about) 218 possible candidates for its gallery. Over four weeks, it received more than 209,000 votes from 56 countries, according to president Michael Rosenzweig.

"I was amazed," he said yesterday. "We didn't know what to expect."

Still, the popular vote alone did not decide who will be featured in the ground-floor gallery when the five-story, $150 million building opens next fall.

The museum's panel of historians and consultants was asked to balance the superstars of American Jewry with Jews whose achievements have been underrecognized, particularly women. Hence, the list includes Schneiderman, an early labor leader, as well as the iconic Einstein. Admission to the gallery "was never a popularity contest," Rosenzweig explained.

The museum is refusing to reveal the poll standing of the 200 who will not be in the gallery. And so the burning question is left unanswered: Who got more votes, Larry or Moe of the Three Stooges?

But the top public vote-getter in each of eight categories, such as science, sports and philanthropy, will be in the gallery.

Barbra Streisand was out of the country when her inclusion was announced. But yesterday her publicist, Dick Guttman, called it "one of the most honorable lists I've ever seen. I'm sure she'll be thrilled."

The museum also plans to add new faces to the gallery over time. The museum has posted its 218 original nominees at survey.nmajh.org/.

Broad agreement on a short list of America's most important Jews is nearly impossible, said Mel Wacks, founder in 1969 of another Jewish hall of fame, at the Judah L. Magnes Museum in Berkeley, Calif.

"I was surprised they didn't include Haym Salomon," said Wacks, a retired electrical engineer and numismatist. Salomon, who lived in Philadelphia, was a leading financier of the American Revolution.

Wacks' hall of fame features 39 individuals (see the profiles at the museum's www.amuseum.org/jahf Web site).

Among those missing from the Philadelphia museum's list: songwriter George Gershwin, Philadelphia educator Rebecca Gratz, historian Elie Wiesel, magician Harry Houdini, playwright Arthur Miller, clothier Levi Strauss and comedian Milton Berle.