[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 16 (Thursday, February 26, 1998)]
[Senate]
[Page S1129]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     IN RECOGNITION OF BEN HALPERN

 Mr. LEVIN. Mr. President, today is the 100th birthday of a 
very distinguished citizen of Michigan.
  Benjamin Halpern was born in Poland 100 years ago today. His story, 
in one sense, is the story of many immigrants who came to this land 
seeking safety and freedom and opportunity.
  He and his wife, Esther, worked hard, raised a wonderful family, and 
contributed to the strength of the country which gave him so much, 
including utilizing his amazing language skills to help immigrants to 
adjust and adapt and become productive citizens, and supporting a 
number of charitable and community organizations.
  Many of his and Esther's family were destroyed in the Holocaust. But 
they and part of their families did more than survive: they persevered, 
and in the process, helped preserve values of family and community 
which so characterize the ancient Jewish people of which they are so 
proudly a part. Along the way, his sense of humor has brought cheer to 
multitudes.
  This wonderful man happens to be my wife Barbara's father, and three 
of his loving grandchildren are our daughters Kate, Laura and Erica.
  They and Barbara's brothers, Irving and Daniel, and many other family 
members and a host of friends will be soon gathering together to say 
Mazel Tov to Ben as he heads toward the next millennium, when he will 
be well into his second century and the third century that he will have 
touched.

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