[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 28 (Thursday, March 10, 2005)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2501-S2502]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 EXPANDED MUSEUM COMPLEX AT YAD VASHEM

  Mr. McCONNELL. I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the 
immediate consideration of S. Res. 79 submitted earlier today by 
Senators Corzine and Lautenberg.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report the resolution by title.
  The legislative clerk read as follows:

       A resolution (S. Res. 79) expressing the sense of the 
     Senate in marking the dedication on March 15, 2005, of the 
     expanded museum complex at Yad Vashem, the Holocaust Martyrs 
     and Heroes Remembrance Authority in Israel, in furtherance of 
     Yad Vashem's mission to document the history of the Jewish 
     people during the Holocaust, to preserve the memory and story 
     of each of the victims, impart the legacy of the Holocaust to 
     future generations, and recognize the Righteous Among the 
     Nations.

  There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the 
resolution.
  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the 
resolution and preamble be agreed to en bloc, the motion to reconsider 
be laid upon the table, that any statements relating thereto be printed 
in the Record, without intervening action or debate.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The resolution (S. Res. 79) was agreed to.
  The preamble was agreed to.
  The resolution, with its preamble, reads as follows:

                               S. Res. 79

       Whereas 6,000,000 Jews were slaughtered in the Holocaust 
     solely because of the faith into which they were born;

[[Page S2502]]

       Whereas the Holocaust is seared into the world's memory as 
     the quintessential expression of the evil of anti-Semitism;
       Whereas Yad Vashem has become the world's university 
     devoted to exposing the evil of anti-Semitism;
       Whereas Yad Vashem's archives contain the largest and most 
     comprehensive repository of material on the Holocaust in the 
     world, containing 62,000,000 pages of documents, nearly 
     267,500 photographs, thousands of films and videotaped 
     testimonies of survivors, and the Righteous Among the Nations 
     (non-Jews who risked their lives to save Jewish people during 
     the Holocaust), all accessible to the public;
       Whereas those archives are the witness to both inexplicable 
     acts of cruelty and daily acts of courage;
       Whereas the history of the Holocaust, as embodied at Yad 
     Vashem, represents the depths to which humanity can descend 
     and the heights to which it can soar;
       Whereas to ensure that Holocaust commemorations in future 
     generations among both Jews and non-Jews have relevance and 
     meaning, Yad Vashem has undertaken an extraordinary expansion 
     of its facilities;
       Whereas the centerpiece of this expansion is the new 
     Holocaust History Museum building designed by world-renowned 
     architect Moshe Safdie;
       Whereas a central role in bringing the Holocaust History 
     Museum to fruition was played by Holocaust survivor Joseph 
     Wilf of New Jersey and his family;
       Whereas through this new museum, Yad Vashem honors the 
     lives of the victims and the Righteous Among the Nations in 
     perpetuity;
       Whereas the unique buildings and archives of Yad Vashem 
     ensure that we, our children, and their children will never 
     forget; and
       Whereas the Israeli Knesset established Yad Vashem in 1953, 
     founded on the biblical injunction set forth in Isaiah, 
     chapter 56, verse 5: ``And to them will I give in my house 
     and within my walls a memorial and a name (a `yad vashem') . 
     . . an everlasting name which shall not perish,'' and, for 
     more than 50 years, Yad Vashem has steadfastly fulfilled this 
     purpose: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the Senate recognizes--
       (1) Yad Vashem as a trustee of the World's conscience, so 
     that the meaning of ``never again'' becomes the living 
     foundation of our collective humanity; and
       (2) that March 15, 2005, the date of the dedication of Yad 
     Vashem's expanded facilities, is a date of historical 
     significance that will be remembered as such by future 
     generations.

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