[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 142 (Friday, October 4, 1996)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1921]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

[[Page E1921]]


   A CENTURY OF SERVICE: JEWISH WAR VETERANS OF THE UNITED STATES OF 
                                AMERICA

                                 ______
                                 

                       HON. CONSTANCE A. MORELLA

                              of maryland

                    in the house of representatives

                        Friday, October 4, 1996

  Mrs. MORELLA. Mr. Speaker, in 1894, articles appeared in numerous 
newspapers and magazines portraying Jews as being unpatriotic. In 
response, Jewish men who had served in the Civil War met at the 
Lexington Avenue Opera House on 58th Street in New York, on March 15, 
1896 and formed a new Jewish veterans organization. They called 
themselves the Hebrew Union Veterans Association of the Civil War 
Veterans, and their mission was to fight the vicious anti-Semitic lies.
  Amazingly, these 78 Jewish veterans, who have been described as ``old 
and infirmed'', not only fought these allegations against Jewish 
participation in the Civil War, but caused Harper's Weekly to retract 
its stories, and won an apology from Mark Twain, who had helped promote 
this lie until presented with the facts.
  Over the years, there have been changes in the organization's name to 
recognize the Jewish soldiers who fought in the Spanish-American War 
and World War I--then calling themselves the ``Hebrew Veterans of the 
Wars of the Republic'', but since that time they have been known as the 
Jewish War Veterans of the United States of America [JWV]. A thread 
that remains from the past, however, is a continuing dedication toward 
fighting anti-Semitism. They have worked closely with the Office of 
Special Investigation in their efforts to prosecute Nazi war criminals 
living in the United States, and in addition they have a JWV Reward 
Fund which dispenses money to individuals who help in the arrest and 
conviction of those responsible for acts of anti-Semitism and racism.
  Remembering that their bond and strength is their experience as 
veterans, the JWV honors their ancestors through the National Museum of 
American Jewish Military History, located in Washington, DC, the only 
museum in this country dedicated to chronicling Jewish participation in 
the defense of this Nation. In addition to the many services they 
provide for Jewish veterans, the JWV has close ties with Israel and has 
built a Soldier's ``R and R'' home in Beersheba. Mindful of the 
discrimination suffered by others, they were the only veterans' 
organization to join the Reverend Martin Luther King in his historic 
March on Washington.
  Mr. Speaker, I honor and salute the Jewish War Veterans as they 
celebrate their 100th birthday. On Veterans Day this November, they 
will be the host at Arlington National Cemetery. They deserve our 
respect and congratulations for all they have contributed to our 
country and I wish them all good wishes for their next 100 years.

                          ____________________