[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 45 (Wednesday, April 22, 1998)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E619]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   IN HONOR OF RABBI JOSEPH I. WEISS

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. CHARLES E. SCHUMER

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, April 22, 1998

  Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. Speaker, I would like to take a few minutes today to 
honor and acknowledge a shining member of our religious community for 
his services to the people of the Rockaway Peninsula.
  I ask my colleagues today to join me in recognizing Rabbi Joseph I. 
Weiss on the occasion of his 85th birthday for the many ways in which 
he has enriched his community with his religious leadership and 
adventurous spirit. His sense of civic duty has not stopped with his 
own temple, rather driving him to make a difference throughout all of 
New York.
  Rabbi Weiss has served as spiritual leader of the congregation at the 
West End Temple in Neponsit New York for forty-nine years. He is a 
member of the New York Board of Rabbis and is past president of both 
the New York Association of Reform Rabbis and the Brooklyn Association 
of Reform Rabbis. He also serves as the first Vice-President of the 
National Association of Retired Reform Rabbis.
  The Rabbi has an outstanding commitment to the community beyond his 
temple. He is the holder of the Shofar Award for service to Jewish 
Scouting in recognition for his time as a Board Member of the South 
Shore Division of the Boy Scouts of America. Rabbi Weiss has worked 
diligently to promote interfaith unity and to that end he has served as 
a board member for the Rockaway Interfaith Clergy and has been a hard-
working member of the board for the Rockaway Catholic-Jewish Relations 
Committee. These commitments, plus his position as the Senior Active 
Member of the Rockaway Rotary Club have truly made a difference in the 
lives of others.
  Rabbi Weiss received his B.A. in 1934 from the University of 
Cincinnati and his Rabbinical Ordination from Hebrew Union College in 
1939. During World War II he was an Army Chaplain serving in the South 
Pacific and was the President of the Association of Jewish Military 
Chaplains of the United States. Before joining the West End Temple in 
1949, Rabbi Weiss led Temple Israel in Columbus, Georgia from 1947 to 
1948.
  At 85, the Rabbi remains very active athletically and socially. He 
plays tennis and golf, ice skates, and is a member of the 70 Plus Ski 
Club. He is also a patron of the Rockaway Music and Arts Council. He 
has traveled extensively throughout the world and has made many visits 
to Israel.
  It is my honor to recognize Rabbi Joseph I. Weiss today for both his 
religious guidance and his exuberant service to the State of New York.

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