[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 26 (Thursday, March 1, 2001)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E261]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




      TRIBUTE TO RABBI HILLEL COHN, ON THE EVENT OF HIS RETIREMENT

                                 ______
                                 

                             HON. JOE BACA

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, March 1, 2001

  Mr. BACA. Mr. Speaker, this June, Rabbi Hillel Cohn will be retiring 
from Congregation Emanu El, in San Bernardino, after 38 years of 
service, having served the Congregation since 1963.
  Rabbi Cohn is one of the leading citizens of the San Bernardino area. 
He is known throughout the nation for his outstanding sermons and his 
work as a fine educator, counselor and community leader.
  He is known for inspiring and creative sermons, including ones that 
reference Bob Dylan and the Genetic Code.
  I have been privileged to know Rabbi Cohn, and have found him to be a 
mentor, a scholar, and an inspirational man.
  I have been pleased to know his family, including his nephew, Mike 
Steinman, who served the people of the State of California as a 
Legislative Aide on my staff in Sacramento.
  I have had the pleasure of working with Rabbi Cohn on religious 
issues, and keeping him advised on the progress of legislation, 
including the Religious Freedom Protection Act, which I authored in 
California.
  Rabbi Cohn is part of a remarkable history of wise and gifted rabbis 
who have presided over Congregation Emanu El. The Congregation and the 
San Bernardino Jewish Community trace their history back to the early 
1850's, when the first Jewish Settlers came to Southern California. The 
first Jewish community established in Southern California was in San 
Bernardino, and services began to be held in the 1850's, with the 
congregation formally being chartered in 1891.
  Under Rabbi Cohn, the congregation has risen to great levels of 
prominence, winning national awards for the excellence of its Jewish 
Education program. The Congregation also operates a nationally-
recognized pre-school and elementary school.
  I am very pleased to have worked with Rabbi Cohn over the years, and 
wish him many years of blessed retirement. I am sure he will continue 
to grace the San Bernardino community with his scholarship and learning 
for many years to come. I offer my best wishes to him and his family on 
this occasion.

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