[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 44 (Thursday, April 18, 2002)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E574]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 ON THE PASSING OF RABBI ISRAEL MILLER

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                        HON. MICHAEL R. McNULTY

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, April 18, 2002

  Mr. McNULTY. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to Rabbi Israel 
Miller--a great leader of our Jewish Community and a great American.
  Rabbi Miller was a man of vision. As president of the Conference of 
Jewish Material Claims Against Germany, he combined passion with 
dignity in his negotiations with foreign governments. He was able to 
achieve a landmark compensation agreement for the criminal theft that 
was part of the Nazi barbarity against the Jewish people.
  Rabbi Miller played an outstanding role in American Jewish life. He 
served as chairman of the Conference of Presidents of Major Jewish 
Organizations and was its spokesperson on matter relating to Israel and 
international affairs in the United States and abroad. He had a special 
interest in helping the Jews behind the Iron Curtain, as evidenced by 
his national leadership of the American Jewish Conference on Soviet 
Jewry.
  He left his imprint on virtually every major facet of American Jewish 
life as the founding president of the American Zionist Federation, 
founder of the Jewish Community Relations Council of New York, vice 
president of the American-Israel Public Affairs Committee, and 
president of the Rabbinical Council of America.
  Throughout his life, Rabbi Miller sought to build bridges of 
understanding and respect among people of different religious, racial 
and ethnic origins. He believed that every human being should be able 
to live in safety, ``and there shall be none to make him afraid.''
  What a legacy Rabbi Israel Miller left us. He will be sorely missed.

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