[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 81 (Tuesday, June 2, 2009)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1273]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   TRIBUTE TO ROBERT D. WEXLER, PH.D

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. HOWARD L. BERMAN

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, June 2, 2009

  Mr. BERMAN. Madam Speaker, I am honored to pay tribute to my friend, 
Robert D. Wexler, on the occasion of his thirty years of service to the 
American Jewish University (AJU), and particularly his service as 
president for the past seventeen years.
  During the first decade of his presidency at AJU, Dr. Wexler launched 
three major initiatives which promote education, understanding and 
peace: the Ziegler School for Rabbinic Studies, the Center for Israel 
Studies, and the Ziering Institute. Under his leadership, AJU started 
its Community Partners Initiative in which the university reaches out 
to the many ethnic and religious communities of Los Angeles. He has 
helped AJU's Whizin Center for Continuing Education become the largest 
Jewish adult education program in the United States with more than 
15,000 participants each year.
  In addition to his work at the American Jewish University, Dr. Wexler 
has served in many community leadership roles. He chaired the Los 
Angeles Federation's Commission on Israelis and the Committee on Jewish 
Education. He has also published several articles, including 
contributions to the Encyclopedia Judaica, the Etz Hayim commentary on 
the Torah, and a volume entitled Israel, the Diaspora and Jewish 
Identity.
  Born in Los Angeles, Dr. Wexler received his B.A. in Sociology from 
UCLA, and was ordained as a rabbi at the Jewish Theological Seminary in 
New York where he also earned a Master of Arts degree in Hebrew 
Literature. While enrolled in rabbinical school, Dr. Wexler also earned 
his M.B.A. from Baruch College in New York City. Following his 
ordination, he spent a year on the faculty of Princeton University, 
teaching in the Department of Middle East Studies. Dr. Wexler later 
earned both a Master of Arts degree and a Ph.D. from UCLA in the 
Department of Near Eastern Languages.
  Dr. Wexler is included every year in Newsweek's list of America's 50 
most influential rabbis, ranking number three in 2008. He has also been 
included on the Forward's list of the 50 most significant American 
Jewish leaders.
  Dr. Wexler is married to Dr. Hana Wexler, the Director of the 
Wadsworth Anaerobe Laboratory at the Veteran's Administration in West 
Los Angeles. They have four children: Daniella, Elisheva, Zev and Nili.
  Madam Speaker and distinguished colleagues, I ask you to join me in 
saluting Robert D. Wexler for his impressive career and dedication to 
the community and the American Jewish University, and to congratulate 
him on the occasion of his thirty years of service.

                          ____________________