[Congressional Bills 112th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 222 Introduced in House (IH)]

112th CONGRESS
  1st Session
H. RES. 222

   Recognizing the 50th anniversary of the founding of the Religious 
                    Action Center of Reform Judaism.


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                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             April 12, 2011

Mr. Nadler (for himself, Mr. Ackerman, Ms. Berkley, Mr. Cicilline, Ms. 
 DeLauro, Mr. Deutch, Mr. Engel, Mr. Filner, Mr. Holt, Mrs. Lowey, Mr. 
    Rothman of New Jersey, Ms. Schakowsky, Mr. Van Hollen, and Ms. 
   Wasserman Schultz) submitted the following resolution; which was 
      referred to the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
   Recognizing the 50th anniversary of the founding of the Religious 
                    Action Center of Reform Judaism.

Whereas the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism was established in 1961 by 
        the Union of American Hebrew Congregations (now the Union for Reform 
        Judaism) and the Central Conference of American Rabbis as the social 
        justice arm of the Reform Jewish Movement;
Whereas President John F. Kennedy dedicated the Religious Action Center in a 
        special tribute in the White House Rose Garden during which he spoke of 
        the lasting contribution of Jews to the moral fabric of American society 
        and the ``happy relations which exist between all religious groups and 
        must continue to exist in this country if we are to be worthy of our 
        heritage'';
Whereas the Religious Action Center building was officially dedicated in 
        Washington, DC, in the presence of guests including Secretary of Labor 
        Arthur Goldberg, Union of American Hebrew Congregations President Rabbi 
        Maurice Eisendrath, Howard Metzenbaum (later Senator from Ohio), NAACP 
        Board of Directors Chairman Bishop Stephen Spottswood, (soon to be) 
        NAACP President Kivie and Mrs. Emily Kaplan, Directors of the Commission 
        on Social Action of Reform Judaism, Rabbi Eugene Lipman and Al Vorspan, 
        and the Center's first director, Rabbi Richard Hirsh;
Whereas the Religious Action Center was home to multiple civil rights and public 
        interest organizations, including the National Conference on Soviet 
        Jewry, American Jewish Committee, American Jewish Congress, the 
        Leadership Conference on Civil Rights, and the Citizens Crusade against 
        Poverty;
Whereas the Religious Action Center participated in the planning of the historic 
        1963 March on Washington for Civil Rights;
Whereas the landmark 1964 Civil Rights Act and the 1965 Voting Rights Act were 
        drafted in the Religious Action Center's conference room by African-
        American, Jewish, and other civil rights leaders;
Whereas the Religious Action Center building was the operational headquarters 
        for the 1987 March on Washington for Soviet Jewry, one of the largest 
        demonstrations in United States history and which contributed to the 
        release of the Soviet Union's Prisoners of Zion;
Whereas in 1995, Nobel Peace Prize winner Bishop Desmond Tutu addressed the 
        Religious Action Center's Consultation on Conscience and thanked the 
        Reform Jewish Movement for its role in the battle to end apartheid;
Whereas the Religious Action Center hosted a 1997 Passover Seder in honor of the 
        Dalai Lama and the struggle for Religious Freedom and Human Rights in 
        Tibet;
Whereas the Religious Action Center has perpetuated the Reform Jewish commitment 
        to social justice through its programs training new generations of 
        leaders, including the Eisendrath Legislative Assistant Program, the 
        Machon Kaplan program, the L'Taken Teen Social Justice Seminars, the 
        England Rabbinic Student Seminars, and the Rabbi Balfour Brickner 
        Rabbinic Seminars;
Whereas the Religious Action Center has been led for nearly four decades by 
        Rabbi David Saperstein, who is a leading voice in support of religious 
        freedom and social justice and a trusted counsel to Members of Congress 
        and Presidents;
Whereas the Religious Action Center is the home of the Commission on Social 
        Action of Reform Judaism, which seeks to apply the insights of Jewish 
        tradition to such domestic and foreign issues as human rights, world 
        peace, civil liberties, religious freedom, famine, poverty, intergroup 
        relations, as well as other major societal concerns;
Whereas the Religious Action Center's biennial ``Consultation on Conscience'' 
        conference has, for more than 30 years, been the flagship public policy 
        conference for the Reform Jewish Movement, featuring a bipartisan array 
        of Presidents, Members of Congress, public policy experts, and human and 
        civil rights leaders;
Whereas the Religious Action Center's biennial ``Consultation on Conscience'' 
        conference this year takes place May 1, 2011, through May 3, 2011, and 
        celebrates the Religious Action Center's 50 years of activism and 
        advocacy for social justice; and
Whereas the Religious Action Center continues to be a leading advocate for civil 
        rights, human rights, religious liberty, and economic and environmental 
        justice in the United States and around the world: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the House of Representatives recognizes the 
Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism, the Union for Reform 
Judaism, and the Central Conference of American Rabbis on the occasion 
of the 50th anniversary of the Center's founding.
                                 <all>