[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 123 (Tuesday, September 21, 1999)]
[Senate]
[Page S11174]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        A TRIBUTE TO LENNY ZAKIM

 Mr. KERRY. Mr. President, I rise today to pay tribute to one 
of the most inspirational and unifying individuals I have had the 
privilege of knowing and working with. Today, in Boston, people from 
all over Massachusetts are gathering to recognize and celebrate Lenny 
Zakim, Executive Director of the New England Regional Office of the 
Anti-Defamation League, and I rise today to join them in honoring this 
important friend. This evening's ceremony, though, has a purpose far 
deeper and broader than his notable leadership at the ADL. Tonight is a 
reflection of the love that has flowed from this man to the people of 
Boston, and now, it's flowing back to him as he confronts his own 
personal challenges.
  For over 20 years, Lenny Zakim has courageously traveled the world, 
bringing a message of tolerance and respect. Through hundreds of 
meetings, conferences and visits to the countless places of worship, 
Lenny has turned racial and cultural divides into bonds amongst people 
and built bridges between communities. Mr. President, one of this 
country's greatest inspirational figures, Helen Keller, said in 1890, 
``We could never learn to be brave and patient if there was only joy in 
the world,'' and I believe that this quote captures the values and 
goals that have guided Lenny Zakim's life. What Helen Keller was saying 
is that our true nature only surfaces when we are confronted with 
adversity, and, time and time again, Lenny has turned ignorance into 
enlightenment, crisis into opportunity, and hostility into support.
  Groundbreaking collaborations with the Ten Point Coalition and 
Cardinal Bernard Law illuminate the often-overlooked common ground that 
we quietly cherish but celebrate together far too infrequently. His 
public meditations on subjects such as the Middle East, relationships 
between African Americans and Jews, and Judeo-Christian values in a 
modern world elevate our public dialogue and focus our attention on 
some of the most compelling issues of the day. On issues global he has 
worked with Hosni Mubarak, Menachem Begin, Yitzak Shamir, and Shimon 
Peres. I am fortunate to share his vision of a Middle East with a 
sustainable peace, a vision that he sculpted and shared with my 
predecessor, Paul Tsongas.
  Beyond the global dimension of his work, perhaps his most expansive 
and wisest endeavors have been those with children and young adults. He 
is one of the founders of A World of Difference, an anti-bias education 
project that has had over 350,000 teachers participate in lessons that 
bring the lessons of tolerance and cooperation to classrooms for 
thousands of children every day. He also started Team Harmony, the 
nation's largest annual, interracial gathering of youth. Every year, 
thousands of young adults from Greater Boston come together and pledge 
to bigotry and celebrate their support of diversity and inclusion. 
These two programs will allow Lenny's vision of a peaceful and 
respectful world to reach far beyond those that he meets directly. I 
have witnessed firsthand how A World of Difference and Team Harmony 
will help build a better world for all our citizens.
  Tonight's event will bring together Lenny's hundreds of friends and 
supporters to raise funds for the completion of the Zakim Center for 
Integrated Therapies at the Dana Farber Cancer Institute. Collectively, 
we thank Lenny for all of his work, and most importantly for what he 
has brought out in all of us and our communities.

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