[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 186 (Monday, November 20, 1995)] [Extensions of Remarks] [Page E2222] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov] A TRIBUTE TO MIRI MARGOLIN, SCULPTRESS OF THE WALLENBERG BUST ______ HON. TOM LANTOS of california in the house of representatives Monday, November 20, 1995 Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, I invite my colleagues to join me in commending an outstanding artist from Israel, Ms. Miri Margolin. Ms. Margolin is the creator of a bronze bust of Raoul Wallenberg, the Swedish diplomat whose courageous efforts in Budapest in 1944 saved the lives of as many as 100,000 Jews. The bust now stands for all time in the U.S. Capitol following an historic dedication ceremony in the rotunda on November 2, 1995. In 1920, Ms. Margolin immigrated with her family to Israel from Poland. She descends from a family of committed Zionists, all of whom have made remarkable contributions to the foundation and endurance of the State of Israel. Her father was famed for his international travels to raise support among diaspora Jewry for the Zionist dream. She and her eight brothers distinguished the family legacy through their own careers of dedication to the Jewish people and its young State. In war and peace, politics, business, and academia, the Netanyahu, Milo, Milikowsky, and Margolin families are known and respected throughout Israel. These families, and many more, traveled across America and across the globe to Washington to honor Ms. Margolin and celebrate her success on November 2. Those family members attending included Mrs. Ceila Netanyahu, Iddo and Daphna Netanyahu, Nathan and Sinai Netanyahu, Zach and Claire Milo, Amos and Anna Milo, Dr. Gil Mileikowsky, Ron and Glynnis Mileikowsky, Hovav and Alice Milikowsky, Mrs. Esther Copelon, Nathan and Rebecca Milikowsky, Daniel and Sharon Milikowsky, Ezra and Ruth Mileikowsky, Nathan Margolin, Shai Margolin, Luzi and Edna Margolin, and Richard and Michelle Harmon. Ms. Margolin's personal story as a sculptor in bronze began late in life. The defining moment came from the tragic death of her heroic nephew, Jonathan Netanyahu, who died commanding the historic rescue of Jewish hostages held in Entebbe, Uganda, Seeking a way to express her grief and feeling for Jonathan, she began to sculpt a bust of the young officer. A ceramic artist all of her life, Ms. Margolin's bust of ``Yoni'' was her first work in bronze. She then began a career immortalizing other heroes of the Jewish people. Her busts of David Ben-Gurion, Yitzhak Shamir, Shimon Peres, and Moshe Dayan have earned her the highest critical acclaim--as have her busts of peacemakers past--Menachem Begin, Anwar Sadat, and President Jimmy Carter. Her bust of Ben-Gurion is on display at the David Ben-Gurion Library at the Kibbutz, Sde Boker. Her bust of Wallenberg, and its placement in the U.S. Capitol, is a crowning achievement. Commenting on Ms. Margolin's work in 1988, then Foreign Minister Shimon Peres wrote to her on the subject of his own bust: ``* * * I deeply admire your creative talent, certainly more than your sculpture's subject. I can tell that you truly know how to infuse stubborn, solid matter with power and content. Your watchful and confident personality gives this item, like many of your other creative works, a dominance bearing vitality, standards which create a new resonance. * * *'' On November 2, 1995, one of Ms. Margolin's most magnificent works, her bust of Raoul Wallenberg, was dedicated for permanent placement in the U.S. Capitol. In a ceremony that included speeches from Speaker Newt Gingrich of the U.S. House of Representatives, Senate minority leader Tom Daschle, Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Speaker Birgitta Dahl of the Swedish Parliament, Speaker Zoltan Gal of the Hungarian Parliament, and Speaker Shevach Weiss of the Israeli Knesset, the life and deeds of Raoul Wallenberg were praised and honored. Ms. Margolin was recognized for her unique contribution to Wallenberg's legacy, and she warmly thanked the Congress for accepting her work. Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in extending our eternal gratitude to Miri Margolin, the creator of the U.S. Capitol's bust of Raoul Wallenberg. ____________________