[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 58 (Thursday, April 10, 2003)]
[House]
[Page H3056]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




           CONGRATULATING ST. JOHN'S AND MAGEN DAVID YESHIVA

  (Mr. WEINER asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. WEINER. Mr. Speaker, this has been a great time for student 
athletes from Brooklyn and Queens.
  Earlier this month, St. John's won its record sixth National 
Invitation Tournament with a 70-67 comeback victory over Big East rival 
Georgetown. One cannot help but wonder what they would have been able 
to do if they had been given the bid to the NCAA Tournament that they 
deserved.
  While St. John's has won many titles in its history, I also wanted to 
congratulate a school that just won its first, Magen David Yeshiva. 
This past month, the Warriors won their first championship in school 
history, defeating Ramaz of Manhattan 64 to 48 to claim the 
Metropolitan Yeshiva High School Athletic League crown.
  In the championship game, Charles Chehebar led the way with 24 points 
on 10 for 16 shooting, including 18 points in the second half. Not 
surprisingly, he was the game's MVP. Team captain Maurice Levy added 13 
points, making 63 percent of his shots in the second half, and Ralph 
Cohen also made it into double figures, netting 13 points. Of course 
many other players contributed to this unprecedented victory, and I 
wanted to take this opportunity to recognize these young men--Robert 
Abadi, Jack Beyda, Albert Braha, Albert Dayan, Eddie Dayan, Steven 
Fallas, Steven Gindi, Ralph Hasbani, Joseph Kameo, Isaac Kassin, Isaac 
Mizrahi, Steven Orfali, Irving Sassoon, Ovadia Setti.
  Under the leadership of Head Coach Morris Dweck and Assistant Coach 
Danny Mizrahi, this was a particularly emotional win, since the team 
dedicated the game to the memory of Leo Chalom, a 2001 Magen David 
graduate who passed away less than a week before the championship game. 
A crowd of 1,500 recited a chapter of Psalms in his memory before the 
game, and I am heartened to know that the Warriors' victory was able to 
bring some solace and happiness to the members of the Magen David 
community who are working their way through trying times.
  On behalf of the U.S. House of Representatives and all of the people 
of the city of New York, I offer my hearty congratulations to the Red 
Storm of St. John's and the Warriors of Magen David Yeshiva on their 
tremendous accomplishments.

                          ____________________