[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 59 (Friday, May 10, 2002)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E778]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             CELEBRATING THE WORK OF RABBI MORDECAI WAXMAN

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. GARY L. ACKERMAN

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                         Thursday, May 9, 2002

  Mr. ACKERMAN. Mr. Speaker, it is an honor for me to call to the 
attention of the House of Representatives the work of Rabbi Mordecai 
Waxman, one of America's great citizens, who is retiring from his 
position as senior rabbi at Temple Israel in Great Neck, New York. On 
Sunday, May 19, Temple Israel will hold a dinner to celebrate and honor 
Rabbi Waxman for his 55 years of devoted service not just to the Jewish 
community on Long Island, but to the Jewish community throughout 
America and around the world.
  Well-known throughout New York, Rabbi Waxman will be remembered in 
human history as one of the key figures in the effort to heal the 
painful breach between the Jewish people and the Roman Catholic Church. 
Working with two Popes, Rabbi Waxman played a key role in the Second 
Vatican Council's publication of the Nostra Aetate document, which 
transformed modem relations between Jews and Catholics.
  Rabbi Waxman has not only been a leader between religions, but also a 
key figure in the U.S. Jewish community over several decades. Beginning 
with his ordination at the Jewish Theological Seminary in 1941, Rabbi 
Waxman has continuously sought opportunities for leadership, first, as 
the founding rabbi at Congregation Shaare Tikva in Chicago, Illinois 
and then, only a year later, serving as a U.S. Army chaplain from 1943 
to 1946.
  Following his service to our nation, Rabbi Waxman went on to lead 
Temple Israel, along the way becoming editor of the Journal 
Conservative Judaism, the president of the Rabbinical Assembly, the 
president of the World Council of Synagogues, the chairman of the 
International Jewish Committee for Interreligious Consultation, the 
chairman of the National Council of Synagogues and even the first rabbi 
to become a Knight Commander of the Order of Saint Gregory the Great 
due to his vital role in Jewish-Catholic rapprochement.
  Mr. Speaker, America is not a great nation because a small corps of 
heroes do great deeds. America is a great nation because our charter of 
freedom has enabled thousands of ordinary men and women to do 
extraordinary things.
  Rabbi Mordecai Waxman is just such an ordinary doer of extraordinary 
things. As a citizen, as a U.S. Army chaplain, as a leader of the 
Jewish community in America and internationally, and as a husband to 
the late Dr. Ruth Waxman, the father of Hillel, Jonathan and David 
Waxman, and the grandfather of five wonderful grandchildren, Ariya, 
Amir-Kia, Lailee, Jessye and Avir, Rabbi Waxman has represented what we 
all know is best about our nation and our society.
  Mr. Speaker, I call upon the whole House to rise and join me in 
thanking Rabbi Mordecai Waxman for his contributions to our country and 
its citizens, and in wishing him a retirement of peace, contentment and 
good health.

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