Rep. Roe: Mr. Speaker, it is with great pride that I rise today to welcome an outstanding religious leader from my Eighth Congressional District of New Jersey, Rabbi Arnold Mark Belzer of Franklin Lakes, who has offered us a most inspirational message in providing the opening prayer to our session today. Rabbi Belzer is with Temple Beth Rishon of Wyckoff, New Jersey, which is also known as the Wyckoff-Franklin Lakes Synagogue. Temple Beth Rishon has served as the spiritual home for a great many worshipers from the greater northwest Bergen County, New Jersey, area for the past 13 years. I might note that when Rabbi Belzer assumed the leadership of Temple Beth Rishon in 1981, the congregation numbered 125 families. Today, through his dynamic and visionary leadership, that number has risen to 360 families and this fine congregation is still growing. And, in addition to his congregational duties, Rabbi Belzer also serves as east coast director of the Sino-Judaic Institute and as vice president of the Mastery Foundation, an ecumenical organization which trains clergy of all denominations. Mr. Speaker, along with coming to Washington to offer our opening prayer here this morning. Rabbi Belzer has one other important mission here, to visit his son, Nathan Belzer. Nathan, who I am proud to say is my page here in Congress, has not only been elected president of his page class while maintaining a perfect 4.0 average in his studies, but also has been selected as the Speaker’s page, accomplishments of which I know his father and mother are justifiably proud. I want to invite you, Mr. Speaker, and all of our colleagues to join me in welcoming Rabbi Arnold Mark Belzer to the House this afternoon.

Source(s)

100th Congress, 2nd Session. C-SPAN.
Congressional Record, Vol. 134, Part 6 — Bound Edition, p. 7665.

Congressional Record v. 134, part 6 – 20 April 1988, p. 7665

Rep. Coughlin: Mr. Speaker, it is truly an honor to welcome to the House of Representatives today Rabbi Seymour Rosenbloom of Congregation Adath Jeshurun in Elkins Park, PA, which is in the Commonwealth’s 13th Congressional District. Rabbi Rosenbloom attended the University of Rochester and the Jewish Theological Seminary of America. He, his wife Beth, and their three sons are residents of Elkins Park. Later this year, Rabbi Rosenbloom will observe the 10th anniversary of his leadership at Adath Jeshurun. During his tenure there Rabbi Rosenbloom has distinguished himself in his service to “A.J.” and to the community at large. His congregation, which was founded over 130 years ago and now includes some 1,200 families, will be celebrating the 10th anniversary of his spiritual guidance later this year. Mr. Speaker, this is a particularly special time for Rabbi Rosenbloom to address the House. First, several dozen members of the congregation are here today to observe the Congress in action and to discuss with Members of Congress the current plight of Soviet Jewry. I know they feel a great sense of pride in seeing their rabbi before the House today. In addition, Rabbi Rosenbloom has just returned from a trip to the Soviet Union, where he, Adath Jeshurun President Arnold Hoffman, and their wives spent 10 days. This group traveled to Leningrad and Moscow and met with a number of refuseniks, including A.J. adoptees Yuli Kosharovsky and Julian Khassin and their families. They saw firsthand the tragedy that befalls those in the Soviet Union who wish to worship freely, study their history and traditions, and pursue their rights to emigrate freely. I make reference to the rabbi’s visit because today, by contrast, he stands before one of the greatest institutions that democracy has ever known. The differences between his environment last week and the one in which he finds himself today could hardly be more dramatic. In one, free speech is suppressed, free worship is a farce, and basic rights are meted out arbitrarily by the State. In the other, symbolized most profoundly by this very Chamber, the free exchange of ideas is not only allowed, but encouraged. All are free to travel or worship as they see fit. Mr. Speaker, we are grateful for the spirituality, the wisdom, and the moral leadership that Rabbi Rosenbloom shares with us today. As his words echo in this Chamber, let us remember also that there are indeed many who are not so fortunate, who long to express themselves freely and whose basic rights are not secured.

Source(s)

100th Congress, 2nd Session. C-SPAN.
Congressional Record, Vol. 134, Part 7 — Bound Edition, p. 9818.

Congressional Record v. 134, part 7 – 4 May 1988. p. 9818

Rep. Hoyer: Mr. Speaker, it is a pleasure to introduce to you, Rabbi Stuart Weinblatt, of Temple Solel in Bowie, Maryland. A native of Baltimore, he graduated with high honors from the University of Maryland with a degree in history. I came to know Stu Weinblatt during his student days when he served for 3 years as director of State affairs for the University of Maryland student government. In that capacity, he was liaison to the State legislature, where I served as a member of the senate. Stu Weinblatt is no stranger to political activism or to Capitol Hill. In his high school days, he was named a William Randolph Hearst U.S. Senate scholar, entitling him to study for a week here in Washington. As a college student, he sponsored a registration drive which added 9,000 new voters to the rolls. He also served as an intern both to Baltimore Congressman Sam Friedel on the House Administration Committee and to Congressman Clarence Long. Following his graduation from the University of Maryland, Stu Weinblatt attended Hebrew Union College in Cincinnati and studied for 1 year in Israel. Before coming to Bowie’s Temple Solel, he served 2 years at Miami’s Temple Betham. Since coming to Temple Solel in 1981, Rabbi Weinblatt has taken an increasingly active role in a wide variety of community affairs. Most notably, he now serves as the president of the Washington Board of Rabbis. Rabbi Weinblatt has participated in a number of demonstrations in the vicinity of the Soviet Embassy here in Washington on behalf of Soviet Jews. Earlier this year, he traveled to the Soviet Union where he met with Yuli Kosharovsky, who has been a refusenik for 17 years, longer than virtually anyone else still in the Soviet Union. Following his return from the Soviet Union, Rabbi Weinblatt has continued his work on behalf of Soviet Jews. These efforts include a protest he organized in March at the Soviet Embassy in behalf of Yuli Kosharovsky. While meeting with a large group of refuseniks in Moscow, Rabbi Weinblatt also met with several of our colleagues, including Tom Lantos. Following the rabbi’s moving comments at the end of that meeting, Congressman and Mrs. Lantos suggested that…. Rabbi Weinblatt should one day give the invocation here in the House.

Source(s)

100th Congress, 2nd Session. C-SPAN.
Congressional Record, Vol. 134, Part 9 — Bound Edition, p. 12229.

Source(s)

100th Congress, 2nd Session. C-SPAN.
Congressional Record, Vol. 134, Part 8 — Bound Edition, p. 11192.

Congressional Record v. 134, part 8 – 17 May 1988. p. 11192

Rep. Wolf: Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to welcome to the House of Representatives Rabbi Laszlo Berkowits, who offered our prayer today. Rabbi Berkowits lives in the 10th District of Virginia in Arlington and is Rabbi at Temple Rodef Shalom in Falls Church, Virginia. Rabbi Berkowits is celebrating his 25th year in the pulpit of Temple Rodef Shalom and Iam pleased that he can share his thoughts with us today in our opening prayer.Twenty-five years is an admirable accomplishment. It has come to my attention that Rabbi Berkowits has celebrated over 1,000 bar-bat mitzvahs, 500 brisses and baby namings, 200 weddings, 25 confirmations, and 25 years of leading his congregation through both happy and trying times. This would be a lifetime of activities to rest on, however, Rabbi Berkowits continues to be an active part of his community partially spurred by his experiences in Europe as a survivor of the Holocaust. As a concentration camp prisoner at the end of the war Rabbi Berkowits was moved from Budapest to the infamous Auschwitz camp, then as the allies advanced on Hitler’s army he was moved to Ravensburg and finally to Wobbelin where he was liberated by United States 82d Airborne troops. Rabbi Berkowits’ journey to northern Virginia is a truly remarkable story and is an example of the perseverance and unity the Jewish people have exhibited in pulling themselves from under the repressions and atrocities of World War II. I celebrate with Rabbi Berkowits and his congregation in his 25th year in northern Virginia, I welcome him to the House of Representatives and I thank him for opening our session today in prayer. In the prayer, this being Flag Day, Rabbi Berkowits mentioned the American flag. Rabbi Berkowits says that when he was liberated by the 82d Airborne, the first thing that he saw was the American flag, and that is what is specially meaningful, that the rabbi is giving the prayer here today on Flag Day.

Source(s)

100th Congress, 2nd Session. C-SPAN.
Congressional Record, Vol. 134, Part 10 — Bound Edition, p. 14316.

Congressional Record v. 134, part 10 – 14 June 1988. p. 14316

Source(s)

100th Congress, 2nd Session. C-SPAN.
Congressional Record, Vol. 134, Part 18 — Bound Edition, p. 14316.

Congressional Record v. 134, part 18 – 29 September 1988. p. 26512