Date: 2012-05-30
Speaker: WASSERMAN SCHULTZ (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr. Speaker. I rise today to honor May as Jewish American Heritage Month. Im so pleased to be joined by my colleagues tonight as we honor our Nations Jewish community through Jewish American Heritage Month. As the first Jewish woman to represent the State of Florida in the United States Congress. I am so proud to be a strong voice on many issues crucial to our community. from tolerance and understanding to tikkun olamrepairing the world. In 2005. members of the Jewish community in south Florida approached me with the idea to designate a month to honor the contributions that American Jews have made to our Nation. As a result. I was the proud sponsor of Jewish American Heritage Month. which the House and Senate unanimously passed in 2006 and has been proclaimed by both President Bush and President Obama annually since then. This year. in 2012. is the Seventh Annual Jewish American Heritage Month. JAHM promotes awareness of the contributions American Jews have made to the fabric of American life from technology and literature to entertainment. politics. and medicine. As we are all well aware. the foundation of our country is built upon the strengths of our unique cultures and backgrounds. The American Jewish experience is the story of the immigrant. the labor movement. the battle for civil rights. and so much more. Jews in America have blazed trails from the battlefield to the Supreme Court. from the sports field and symphony hall to the pages of our Nations history books and our Nations Capital. From the time of the Colonies until today. Jewish communities have played a significant role in American history and telling the American story. Thats why communities across the country have come together to celebrate Jewish American Heritage Month during the month of May. Seven years ago. this idea gained momentum as 250 of my colleagues joined me as original cosponsors of a resolution urging the President to issue a proclamation for this important month. Senator Arlen Specter led the effort in the Senate. and together the House and Senate unanimously passed resolutions supporting the creation of Jewish American Heritage Month. Now. each year. the month of May introduces Jewish culture to the entire country in order to raise awareness and dispel harmful prejudices. Unfortunately. Mr. Speaker. we have seen a precipitous rise in intolerance and antiSemitism. not just in this country but across the globe. It is my hope that by providing the framework for the discussion of Jewish culture and contributions to our Nation we will be able to reduce the ignorance that ultimately leads to antiSemitism. Over the last number of years. I have talked about the impact and the contributions of the Jewish community to our country over more than 350 years of Jewish life in America. It has always struck me that Jews in America are less than 2 percent of the American population. and so as much. many of our colleaguesmost Americansnever actually spend much time around the Jewish community. So our traditions are unfamiliar. our culture and our religionof which we are bothare not something that most folks encounter every day. That is the reason that we honor communities like the Jewish community with a cultural awareness month so that we can raise that awareness and make sure that people who dont usually have an opportunity to get the kinds of information that these months provide can really reach out to one another and learn more so that we can be the melting pot and also the salad bowl that is always debated about the United States of America. Over the last 7 years. we have seen JAHM grow from an inspired idea to a national reality. Weve had a group of committed organizations and museums around the country that have worked to get JAHM into the classroom. on the airwaves. and into the halls of our government. as todays activities demonstrate. Just before votes this evening. President Obama hosted the Third Annual Jewish American Heritage Month reception at the White House. welcoming leaders from the Jewish community into the Nations House. The President told the storynot a really wonderful note in our Nations historyof General Ulysses Grant who. at the time of the Civil War. had actually issued an order. Mr. Speaker. to expel Jews from their homes in the war zone during the Civil War. President Obama went on to also talk about how President Lincoln issued an order rescinding that order. The Library of Congress brought out from its archives all of the documents related to General Grants order and President Lincolns order to make sure that we could protect the rights of individuals and make sure that our commitment as a Nation to religious tolerance and freedom was preserved from then through history. Tonight. Im so pleased to be joined by my colleagues to commemorate the American Jewish experience. From sports games. to concerts. to lectures and films. JAHM is truly an interdisciplinary and multimedia experience. and we want to see these efforts continue to grow. However. its vital that this idea takes hold not only for Jewish organizations. because. after all. were already familiar with the contributions of Jewish life in America. We want to make sure that this month is an opportunity to grow that knowledge and reach out to communities across the country. Its our responsibility to continue this education. If we as a Nation are to prepare our children for the challenges that lie ahead. then teaching diversity and celebrating it is a fundamental part of that promise. Together. we can help achieve this goal of understanding with the celebration of Jewish American Heritage Month. The lessons of Judaism inspire us to do great things. from our commitment to service. to our political advocacy. to our cultural contributions to this Nation. Together. we can and should celebrate our communitys history and values so that not only the Jewish people. but all Americans may go from strength to strength. Now Im delighted to recognize one of my colleagues who has been an incredible leader for the United States of America. for the people of her district in New York. and someone that I am proud to say has been a mentor throughout my time here in the U.S. House of Representatives. Congresswoman NITA LOWEY from the great State of New York. By the way. let me add. Mr. Speaker. that Congresswoman LOWEY is the ranking member on the Foreign Operations Subcommittee of the Appropriations Committee.