[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 79 Agreed to Senate (ATS)]







109th CONGRESS
  1st Session
S. RES. 79

 Expressing the sense of the Senate in marking the dedication on March 
 15, 2005, of the expanded museum complex at Yad Vashem, the Holocaust 
 Martyrs and Heroes Remembrance Authority in Israel, in furtherance of 
   Yad Vashem's mission to document the history of the Jewish people 
 during the Holocaust, to preserve the memory and story of each of the 
victims, impart the legacy of the Holocaust to future generations, and 
               recognize the Righteous Among the Nations.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             March 10, 2005

 Mr. Corzine (for himself and Mr. Lautenberg) submitted the following 
             resolution; which was considered and agreed to

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
 Expressing the sense of the Senate in marking the dedication on March 
 15, 2005, of the expanded museum complex at Yad Vashem, the Holocaust 
 Martyrs and Heroes Remembrance Authority in Israel, in furtherance of 
   Yad Vashem's mission to document the history of the Jewish people 
 during the Holocaust, to preserve the memory and story of each of the 
victims, impart the legacy of the Holocaust to future generations, and 
               recognize the Righteous Among the Nations.

Whereas 6,000,000 Jews were slaughtered in the Holocaust solely because of the 
        faith into which they were born;
Whereas the Holocaust is seared into the world's memory as the quintessential 
        expression of the evil of anti-Semitism;
Whereas Yad Vashem has become the world's university devoted to exposing the 
        evil of anti-Semitism;
Whereas Yad Vashem's archives contain the largest and most comprehensive 
        repository of material on the Holocaust in the world, containing 
        62,000,000 pages of documents, nearly 267,500 photographs, thousands of 
        films and videotaped testimonies of survivors, and the Righteous Among 
        the Nations (non-Jews who risked their lives to save Jewish people 
        during the Holocaust), all accessible to the public;
Whereas those archives are the witness to both inexplicable acts of cruelty and 
        daily acts of courage;
Whereas the history of the Holocaust, as embodied at Yad Vashem, represents the 
        depths to which humanity can descend and the heights to which it can 
        soar;
Whereas to ensure that Holocaust commemorations in future generations among both 
        Jews and non-Jews have relevance and meaning, Yad Vashem has undertaken 
        an extraordinary expansion of its facilities;
Whereas the centerpiece of this expansion is the new Holocaust History Museum 
        building designed by world-renowned architect Moshe Safdie;
Whereas a central role in bringing the Holocaust History Museum to fruition was 
        played by Holocaust survivor Joseph Wilf of New Jersey and his family;
Whereas through this new museum, Yad Vashem honors the lives of the victims and 
        the Righteous Among the Nations in perpetuity;
Whereas the unique buildings and archives of Yad Vashem ensure that we, our 
        children, and their children will never forget; and
Whereas the Israeli Knesset established Yad Vashem in 1953, founded on the 
        biblical injunction set forth in Isaiah, chapter 56, verse 5: ``And to 
        them will I give in my house and within my walls a memorial and a name 
        (a `yad vashem') . . . an everlasting name which shall not perish,'' 
        and, for more than 50 years, Yad Vashem has steadfastly fulfilled this 
        purpose: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the Senate recognizes--
            (1) Yad Vashem as a trustee of the World's conscience, so 
        that the meaning of ``never again'' becomes the living 
        foundation of our collective humanity; and
            (2) that March 15, 2005, the date of the dedication of Yad 
        Vashem's expanded facilities, is a date of historical 
        significance that will be remembered as such by future 
        generations.
                                 <all>