[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 50 (Tuesday, April 13, 1999)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E622]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


  IN HONOR OF THE JEWISH COMMUNITY CENTER OF BAYONNE, NEW JERSEY, AND 
           THEIR ANNUAL HOLOCAUST REMEMBRANCE DAY OBSERVANCE

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. ROBERT MENENDEZ

                             of new jersey

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, April 13, 1999

  Mr. MENENDEZ. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the Jewish 
Community Center of Bayonne, New Jersey, on their annual Holocaust 
Remembrance Day Observance.
  The Jewish Community Center, headed by co-chairmen Aaron and Michael 
Kessel, has organized a remarkable program designed to provide 
understanding about the horrors of the Holocaust through education; our 
most important and fundamental tool in promoting the truth about the 
Holocaust. Using the theme ``In Darkness there is Light,'' the message 
is that even at one's lowest moment--when one is stricken with despair 
and sees no way out--even then, there is still hope; there is still 
possibility; there is still life.
  From the eighth grade students who will be taking part in a special 
assembly program to the seventh grade students who will be meeting with 
teacher volunteers to the proclamation which will be given by the mayor 
of Bayonne and honorary chair of the event, Mr. Joseph Doria, this day 
of remembrance and recognition is an all-encompassing event. Supported 
by the city of Bayonne, the Bayonne Interfaith Clergy and the Jewish 
Community Center, the goal is to bring all members of the community 
together to learn and discuss the atrocities of not only the Holocaust 
but the repercussions of prejudice, discrimination, degradation--the 
driving force behind the Holocaust.
  The highlight of the event, however, is sure to be from the guest 
speaker and Holocaust survivor, Mr. Fred Margolies. Mr. Margolies fled 
from Germany to Holland following the ``Kristalnacht.'' At only 11 
years old, Mr. Margolies had to endure unimaginable pains in order to 
survive. Once arriving in the United States, Mr. Margolies made it a 
priority to not let his experiences go silenced. Rather, he was pro-
active in many organizations, serving as former Vice President to the 
Long Island Committee for Soviet Jewry and to the Temple of Shalom in 
Westbury. Presently, Mr. Margolies serves on the New York State 
Holocaust Education and Jewish Advisory Committee of Nassau County and 
speaks extensively on college campuses, public and private schools, and 
community organizations.
  For these tremendous contributions to New Jersey and their unwavering 
commitment to fighting discrimination, I am very happy to honor all of 
the individuals who have worked so diligently on this event. I salute 
and congratulate all of them on their extraordinary accomplishments to 
the Jewish Community.

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