[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 2 (Wednesday, January 28, 1998)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E40]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




      HONORING RABBI AVI WEISS, THE HEBREW INSTITUTE OF RIVERDALE

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. ELIOT L. ENGEL

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, January 28, 1998

  Mr. ENGEL. Mr. Speaker, Rabbi Avi Weiss and the Hebrew Institute of 
Riverdale this year celebrate 25 years of passion and outreach within 
the Jewish community.
  Rabbi Weiss has traveled far and wide to support the cause of 
Judaism, most famously for his work at Auschwitz where he persuaded an 
order of nuns to move their convent from the gates of that infamous 
death camp.
  He went to Buenos Aires in 1994 to comfort the families of the 
victims of a bomb attack on a synagogue. There he met with Argentine 
President Carlos Menem and was invited to a Cabinet meeting to discuss 
security concerns. And it was at his urging that the International 
Relations Committee of the House of Representatives conducted hearings 
on the bombing when the official investigation lagged.
  Rabbi Weiss was named Rabbi of the Year by the New York Board of 
Rabbis for outstanding service to the rabbinate.
  He also pioneered outreach programs at the Hebrew Institute of 
Riverdale including free High Holy Day Services, a free Passover Seder 
and programs to reach the mentally and physically handicapped as well 
as elderly shutins. It is the only synagogue in the country which is 
barrier free.
  The Hebrew Institute of Riverdale reaches 4,000 families embracing 
Jews of all commitments.
  Rabbi Weiss is a great personal friend and I congratulate him and the 
Center for their great work over these 25 years.

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