[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 37 (Tuesday, April 9, 2002)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E456-E457]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  IN HONOR OF THE ANNUAL BAYONNE HOLOCAUST REMEMBRANCE DAY OBSERVANCE

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. ROBERT MENENDEZ

                             of new jersey

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, April 9, 2002

  Mr. MENENDEZ. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the Annual Bayonne 
Holocaust Remembrance Day Observance. Co-sponsored by the Inter-Faith 
Clergy and the Bayonne Jewish Community Council, the event will take 
place on April 10, 2002, at the City Hall Council Chambers.
  On Tuesday, April 09, 2002, Jews around the world commemorated 
Holocaust Memorial Day, or Yom Hashoah. The colossal crimes against 
humanity and the unimaginable horrors that cost the lives of 6 million 
Jews and so many others, perpetrated by the world's most evil forces, 
shall never be forgotten, as we commit ourselves to fight bigotry, 
condemn hatred, and foster understanding among people.
  Bayonne's annual observance will feature speaker Jay Sommer, 1981 
National Teacher of the Year, and a Holocaust survivor.
  Jay Sommer, who managed to escape from a Nazi labor camp in occupied 
Czechoslovakia, and arrived in the United States after more than two 
years in a displaced persons camp in Italy, has successfully 
established himself as a successful and well-respected educator in our 
nation. In 1981, he was appointed to the National Commission on 
Excellence in Education established by President Reagan, and traveled 
throughout the United States with the Commission, serving as an 
official spokesperson for the U.S. Department of Education. He is a 
specialist in foreign language instruction, and has taught Spanish, 
Russian, Hebrew, and French for over twenty years at New Rochelle High 
School.

[[Page E457]]

  Mr. Sommer graduated from Brooklyn College, and, in 1982, received a 
Distinguished Alumnus Award in recognition of his leadership in the 
field of education. He earned a Masters in Spanish language and 
literature from Hunter College in 1960, a second Masters in Russian 
language and literature from Fordham University in 1965, and completed 
his course work for a Ph.D. in comparative literature at New York 
University.
  Chairing this event for the fourth time is Alan J. Apfelbaum, who has 
been an active and dedicated member of the Holocaust Remembrance Day 
Committee since its inception.
  I ask my colleagues to join me in honoring the Annual Bayonne 
Holocaust Remembrance Day Observance, and honor those that lost their 
lives, especially during these most difficult times for the State of 
Israel and Jews across Europe subjected to a new wave of Anti-Semitic 
violence.

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