Date: 2015-12-16
Speaker: AL GREEN (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Mr. Speaker. as I move forward with this Special Order hour. because the AJC has been very close in Houston. Texas. to a leading citizen. the Honorable William Alexander Lawson. I think it appropriate to let it be known that the AJC stands in sympathy with a good many persons with reference to Pastor Lawsons loss of his wife. the Honorable Audrey Lawson. She will be funeralized on Friday at 11 a.m.-that would be central standard timein Houston. Texas. at the Wheeler Avenue Baptist Church. Pastor Lawson has worked very closely with the AJC and many other Jewish organizations. I would dare say that he has been a nexus between various communities and the Jewish community. I am saddened by his loss and want him to know that the AJC as well as my good offices send him our condolences. Today. Mr. Speaker. we are here to present H. Res. 518. H. Res. 518 honors and praises the American Jewish Committee on the occasion of its 109th anniversary. I am proud to tell you. Mr. Speaker. that on the campus today here at the Capitol we have visitors from the AJC. We have Richard Foltin. who is the Director of National and Legislative Affairs in AJCs Office of Government and International Affairs. in Washington. D.C. He happens to be accompanied by an intelligent. beautiful lady. who works with the AJC. Her name is Daniela Erazo. They are here. and I am proud to let them know that we are most excited about their being here on the occasion of the introduction of this resolution. This resolution has been cosigned by a good number of Members of Congress. I would like to. because this is very special to us. give their names so that the RECORD will be clear as to who the cosponsors are. The original cosponsors are: the Honorable ILEANA ROSLEHTINEN. Floridas 27th District. the Honorable EMANUEL CLEAVER. Missouris Fifth District. the Honorable STEVE COHEN. Tennessees Ninth District. the Honorable ALCEE HASTINGS. Floridas 20th District. the Honorable SANDER LEVIN. Minnesotas Ninth District. the Honorable JERROLD NADLER. New Yorks 10th District. the Honorable CHARLES RANGEL. New Yorks 13th District. the Honorable DAVID SCOTT. Georgias 13th District. the Honorable FREDERICA WILSON. Floridas 24th District. the Honorable TOM MACARTHUR. New Jerseys Third District. and. of course. the Honorable DEBBIE WASSERMAN SCHULTZ. Floridas 23rd District. whom I mentioned earlier. This resolution is one that acknowledges the mission of the AJC. which is to enhance the wellbeing of the Jewish people and Israel. and to advocate and advance Jewish rights and Jewish values in the United States and around the world. The AJC is committed to combating racial prejudice. antiSemitism. and sponsoring and supporting issues related to the State of Israel. The AJC has a rich history. It was founded on November 11. 1906. in New York City. by a group of American Jews who wanted to raise awareness about some of the atrocities that were taking place against Jewish people in Russia as well as in other places. This leadership went on to add as its list of duties. I suppose. doing all that they could to help in the fight against racism here in this country. I am proud to tell you that the local chapter of the AJC in Houston. Texas. currently has as its director. Randy Czarlinsky. He is a dear friend. The president is Marcia Nichols. She is a friend as well. But I am also going to mention a friend who was there in 1989. His name is David Mincberg. David Mincberg and I worked together. I was the president of the Houston branch of the NAACP. At that time. we had an unfortunate circumstance occur in Houston. Texas. We had a city council person make a racial slur. The AJC and the NAACP worked very closely together. David Mincberg was one of the leading citizens to stand up and denounce this racial slur that took place and call for the resignation of the city council person. It had been prognosticated by one of our local persons who was in the community associated with political science. He went on to explain that this person probably could have won. I have not mentioned his name. I see no need to. He probably could have won his office because there still was some support for himsubstantial support. I might add. But because David Mincberg and the AJC stood with the African American community. by and through the NAACP and other organizations. this city council person decided to apologize and to resign from office. This is but one example of how the AJC has made a difference in the lives of people who are not directly associated with the AJC. I think all people of goodwill are by virtue of the fact that the AJC is on a mission to do those things that will enhance the quality of life for people around the world. especially as they suffer from discrimination and other forms of atrocities that would cause them to have a quality of life that is unacceptable. To this end. I would like to just mention some of the varied circumstances that the AJC has been involved with. When Hurricane Katrina hit in 2005. the AJC organized a delegation to travel to the Gulf to bring relief and aid to the victims. This was quite an effort that the AJC put together. It contributed about $1.9 million in relief funds to help these victims to make sure that they had housing and to make sure that places of worship were rebuilt. I would also add that the AJC. in 2010. received a wonderful honor. Dillard University decided that they would dedicate their new Distance Learning Center in honor of the AJC. as the AJC donated about $200.000 to this university. In 2005. the AJCs efforts with reference to the tsunami relief fund should be acknowledged. This tsunami relief fund consisted of about $900.000 that went to help persons who were the victims of the tsunami in the Indian Ocean. This was a major disaster. I am proud to know that the AJC played a role in helping persons to receive not only what we call relief. but actually an understanding that they were not alone. that there were people in distant places who were willing to stand with them to make sure that they received the help that human beings beset by tragedy richly deserve. In 2004. with the Dominican Republic and Haiti when there were floods. the AJC made a contribution. In 2001. there was an earthquake in El Salvador. and the AJC made a donation. In 2000. with the Lebanese refugees in northern Israel. the AJC made a donation to assist them. And in 1999. with the Muslim refugees in Kosovo. the AJC made a financial contribution. The AJC has been there in most of the major disasters around the world to be a hand to those in times of need. as evidenced by the record that I am building. I would also note that the AJC was there in 1954. In 1954. the NAACP was litigating Brown v. Board of Education. The AJC filed an amicus brief in this case supporting the efforts of the NAACP and the other organizationsthere were manybut the AJC was one of the leading organizations helping us to fight the discrimination that was taking place in our schools. such that the schools would be open to all. that there would no longer be segregation in schools in the United States of America. As a result of what the AJC and the NAACP were able to accomplish. the rest. of course. is history. Brown v. Board of Education was won by the NAACP. with the aid of other organizations. including the AJC. We now have integrated schools. I would dare say that. without the help of the AJC and donations and helping us with some of the test materials with reference to how people are impacted by segregationthe psychological evaluations and the materials related theretowithout these things. we may not have won that lawsuit. The AJC has been instrumental in helping us with this type of invidious discrimination. In 1965. the AJC presented Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King with the American Liberties Medallion for his exceptional advancement of the principles of human liberty. Dr. King. as you know. was a freedom fighter for all. While he was doing this. he had the aid and comfort of the AJC. The AJC was there to help him with marches and with the protest movement. but also there to help him as he went through some of the difficult times. I can remember the Edmund Pettus Bridge. for example. There were members of the AJC who were onsite to march with Dr. King after what we call Bloody Sunday had taken place. The AJC and its members also established the Transatlantic Institute to promote Transatlantic cooperation for global security. Middle East peace. and human rights. This was done in 2004. The AJC is a champion not only of human rights for Israel. but also for Palestinians. The AJC supports a twostate solution. The AJC encourages peace talks between Israel and the Palestinian leadership. The AJC believes that a peaceful solution with the parties negotiating it is the best way to have a long and lasting peace in the Middle East. I must tell you that I have been involved with the Houston AJC as they go through some of these difficult issues and talk through them and work through them. and I am honored to support the AJC in its efforts to bring peace to not only Israel and Palestine. but also to the entire Middle East. The AJC is very much concerned about the diaspora on the whole. but more specifically about their friends and neighbors in the Middle East and bringing peace. The AJC. in 2007. joined me and other colleagues. especially Representative Laura Richardson. in a resolution that we had. H. Res. 826. a resolution condemning noose intimidation. In 2006. we had. at that time. some persons who felt it necessary to hang nooses in various places to intimidate and to incite others to do dastardly deeds. The AJC joined with us to denounce this type of behavior. As a result. while I dont say that there are no nooses being placed in places for the purpose of intimidation. I can say that they are not as prevalent as they were back in 20062007. I am honored at the AJC was there to help us with this endeavor. In 2008. the AJC visited South Sudan to study how Israel could assist in the preparation for South Sudanese independence. I had the honor of going to Sudan myself. I was not with the AJC at the time. but I did have an opportunity to see some of the needs of the people. They were great. they were many. they were varied. and the AJC was there to assist with the independence movement. The AJC does things that go far beyond what. perhaps. many think it should be doing or has been doing. In 2015. the AJC joined the chorus of civil rights groups in condemning bans on Muslims from entering the United States. This is one of their most recent activities. The AJC believes that religion should be respected and that. because a person happens to be of a given religion. it is no reason to conclude that a person can be banned or should be banned from the United States of America. The AJC respects all religions. The AJC is an entity that established a fulltime office in Israel. It did this for the first time such that it would have a means by which it could advocate for peace between the Israelis and their Arab neighbors. so they wanted to make sure that they had an office on the ground in Israel. While it appears to be a Jewish organizationand it isit still wanted to make sure that its presence was immediately known in the State of Israel. The AJC has long supported comprehensive immigration reform. and they want this type of reform done once the security of the Nations borders has been put in place. Once the borders are secure. the AJC wants that comprehensive immigration reform. In fact. it would be great if it could all happen at the same time. and we push for this. The AJC is an organization of goodwill. is an organization that has withstood the test of time. and is an organization that is diverse in every aspect of its existence as its membership is very diverse. and it preaches diversity. In Houston. Texas. the AJC has. on many occasions. talked about the rich diversity of Houston. Texas. In fact. on an annual basis. an event is sponsored in Houston. Texas. wherein diversity is celebrated. We talk about this at what is called Americas Table. We talk about all of the various ethnicities that are at Americas Table. and we talk about how we all came to Americas Table. We talk about the greatness of America. We talk about how there is but one racethe human race. We celebrate our rich diversity such that we can appreciate each other. The AJC has made it possible for people who may not have had an opportunity to meet and to greet each other in an informal setting to sit at the table of brotherhood and to get to know each other in such a way as to not only develop a relationship but as to develop a friendship. The AJC is a supporter of relationship building. but. more importantly. of establishing relationships that can lead to friendships. So I am honored today. Mr. Speaker. to present H. Res. 518. a resolution to help us acknowledge the great work of the AJC. not only this year. but in each year to come. such that this House of Representatives will annually record and recognize the accomplishments of the AJC and its members. I mentioned SANDER LEVIN. who is from Michigan. I may have said "Minnesota" earlier. I want to correct the RECORD. He is a dear friend and a great supporter of this resolution. and he is also a person who has been in the fight for human rights. That means human rights as they relate to all people. not just to some people. I am honored to close with a very brief word about the AJC and what I see in the future. I believe that the AJC. given its history. is going to help us write a future that will bring peace to Israel and its neighbors. I believe that the AJC has demonstrated that it not only wants to be of benefit to Israel. but also to its neighbors. I believe that. with its involvement here and in Israel. the AJC is going to make a difference. I think that the AJC. because of its history. will help us through this immigration reform debate. The AJC does a lot of research. and it has a lot of intelligence on how this type of circumstance. with people living in the shadows. can impact the lives of people beyond their physical existence and also beyond their mental existence. I am proud that the AJC is providing this type of intelligence. I believe that the AJC. in the future. will help us with issues related to police community relations. The AJC is always available to help us when we have these turbulent times. when there are circumstances that must be addressed by communities that are grieving. The AJC helps us to bring the communities together so that we can. at some point. come to a conclusion that is beneficial to the community as a whole and to the persons who have been injured or harmed. In the future. I believe. as the AJC moves forward with its various programs. it will help us with the hopes and with the aspirations of people who are suffering in places around the world from various natural disasters. I think they will do even more to help persons who are suffering from natural disasters. They have done an awful lot in every circumstance that is mentionable to date. but I do think that they will do even more. They have a wide reach. and they make sure that they are present. in some way. in order to be of assistance. The AJC has been there. My prediction is that it will be there and that it will make a difference when it is present. I am honored to have received this time. and I do trust that Members who have statements will place them in the RECORD. Mr. Speaker. I yield back the balance of my time.