[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 36 (Tuesday, March 28, 2006)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E418-E419]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   HONORING THE CONTRIBUTIONS OF THE CUBAN-AMERICAN JEWISH COMMUNITY

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. ILEANA ROS-LEHTINEN

                               of florida

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, March 28, 2006

  Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Mr. Speaker, I offer congratulations to members of 
the Cuban-American Jewish Community who have contributed greatly to our 
Nation. They were elementary school classmates at the Plantel del 
Centro Israelita de Cuba and graduated from the sixth grade on June 20, 
1958. Some of them were part of the Peter--Pedro--Pan Operation, which 
brought over 14,000 children and teenagers from Cuba who came to this 
country without their parents, thanks to the generosity of the U.S. 
Government. These Cuban Jewish children were cared for by the Hebrew 
Immigration Aid Society, HIAS, which assisted them in finding housing 
in foster homes and orphanages.
  Despite the fact that they all left Cuba after 1959, they have 
remained in contact since. Most of these individuals will be 
celebrating their 60th birthday this year and are holding a reunion in 
Miami. It will be their first gathering as a group since they risked 
their lives in search of freedom and liberty to come to this great 
country that warmly accepted them with open arms. They are proud 
citizens and are very grateful for the opportunities they have enjoyed 
in this country such as freedom, peace and prosperity, opportunities 
that our brothers and sisters in Cuba do not enjoy. I am glad to see 
such a wonderful group of people committed to bringing freedom and 
democracy to Cuba.
  Many members of the Cuban-American Jewish Community have had long and 
successful careers that span many years of outstanding service, 
dedication, hard work, devotion, and love for our country. They are 
successful parents, professionals, businessmen, community leaders and 
grandparents. I am proud to recognize the Cuban-American Jewish 
Community for their tireless dedication to

[[Page E419]]

the well being of our South Florida residents. I ask my colleagues to 
join me in congratulating the Cuban-American Jewish Community for their 
wonderful service to our great Nation.
  Below, I have included the names of the individuals that are part of 
this distinguished group. In parentheses are the married names of the 
women.

       Aliva Lipschitz (Mingel), Aron Lew, Becky Gol (Eshkenazy), 
     Berta Perelmuter (Faigenblat), Betty Kozolchyk (Savariego), 
     Cecilia Lurie (Berenthal), David Vainstein, Eli Bick, Enrique 
     Bekerman, Enrique Goldberg, Zolia Eva Becker (Don), Gela 
     Arber (Altman), Isidoro Stein, Jacobo Fridzon, Jacobo Rydz, 
     Jose Kluger, Joseph Roisman, Judy Derechinsky (Feder), Leon 
     Kopel, Leon Papir, Luis Kosobucki, Luis Lidsky, Luisa Kopel, 
     Manny Feinstein, Marcos Kerbel, Mark Faigenblat, Moises 
     Golobovich, Nicky Vaserstein, Perla Radlow (Stein), Polita 
     Rubinstein (Chyzyk), Rebeca Rosenzweig (Shapiro), Rebecca 
     Roth (Glinsky), Richard Novigrod, Ruth Silber (Kurkin), Sara 
     Hochman (Zands), Sarita Zditowsky (Blaugrund), Tere Treibich 
     (Ben Hain), Toni Rosenberg (Taubenfeld), Vivian Celniker 
     (Mechaber).

  I would also like to recognize the loving memory of those who are no 
longer with us: Salomon Milner and Alberto Rabinsky.

                          ____________________