[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 72 (Tuesday, May 24, 2011)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E935-E936]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   A TRIBUTE IN RECOGNITION OF THE JEWISH FEDERATION OF GREATER LOS 
          ANGELES ON THE OCCASION OF ITS 100 YEAR ANNIVERSARY

                                 ______
                                 

                       HON. LUCILLE ROYBAL-ALLARD

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, May 24, 2011

  Ms. ROYBAL-ALLARD. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the Jewish 
Federation of Greater Los Angeles--the hub of Los Angeles' Jewish 
community--on the occasion of its 100 year anniversary.
  Founded in 1911, the Federation is dedicated to ensuring the 
continuity of the Jewish people, supporting a secure state of Israel, 
caring for those in need, and mobilizing its members on political 
issues of concern to the Los Angeles community. In fulfilling its 
mission, the Federation spent more than $50 million last year alone to 
enhance the lives of families throughout Los Angeles County.
  The Jewish Federation is committed to ensuring the quality and 
reducing the cost of Jewish educational experiences by supporting pre-
schools, religious/synagogue schools and day schools. The Federation 
offers financial aid to families to assist them in paying for full-time 
Jewish education. In addition, the Federation sends thousands of young 
Jews on educational missions to Israel each year to enable them to 
fully experience Jewish history and culture.
  The well-being of low-income Jews and seniors is also a core priority 
for the Federation, especially when a senior is a Holocaust survivor. 
The Federation supports an array of programs to help survivors and 
vulnerable seniors, including senior centers that offer meals and 
social activities, as well as in-home services, legal services and 
reparations advocacy. Through its Emergency Cash Grant Program, the 
Federation provides aid for those who need help paying for necessities 
such as rent, food and medical care.
  Reaching out to the broader community, the Federation is dedicated to 
ending hunger in Los Angeles and improving literacy among local public 
elementary school children. The Federation partners with other faith 
communities, civic groups and elected officials to reduce hunger across 
the City by implementing and funding hunger prevention and awareness 
activities. The Federation also operates the City's largest volunteer 
children's literacy program in the Los Angeles Unified School District. 
For more than 12 years, the Federation has trained and placed over 
10,500 volunteers as reading partners reaching over 22,000 LAUSD 
students in high risk elementary schools. Through its many partnerships 
across Los Angeles, the Jewish Federation helps to provide aid to Jews 
and others who need assistance in areas such as job training and career 
counseling, scholarships, school loans, and emergency aid.
  Throughout the course of its history, the Federation has also engaged 
the Jewish community in political advocacy. The Federation's long-held 
commitment to social justice was especially evident during the Civil 
Rights Movement.
  My father, the late Congressman Edward Roybal, always credited 
coalition building among Mexican Americans and Jews as having played a 
major role in his successful election to the Los Angeles City Council 
in 1949, when he became the first L.A. City Councilmember of Latino 
heritage in modern times.
  This unprecedented political alliance was born in part out of the 
history of Boyle Heights in my congressional district, where my father 
lived and I grew up. From 1910-1950, Boyle Heights was the largest 
Jewish community west of the Mississippi, with approximately 75,000 
Yiddish-speaking Eastern European Jewish immigrants living side-by-side 
with neighbors from a variety of backgrounds and cultures.
  Today, 62 years after my father won that landmark city council 
election, I am proud to be part of an effort to preserve the 
community's Jewish history through the restoration of the Breed Street 
Shul. This Shul--built in 1915 and expanded in 1923--is the last 
remaining synagogue of the 30 that once dotted Boyle Height's 
landscape. It is my hope that this ongoing multi-million preservation 
effort, which includes exhibition space, will re-tell the area's 
history for current and future generations.
  While the Jewish community boasts a proud history in the 34th 
Congressional District and throughout Los Angeles, the Jewish 
Federation's centennial anniversary celebration will kick-off a new 
focus on its future. With an eye toward reinventing itself to best 
serve the changing needs of its membership and the community at large, 
Jay Sanderson, the Federation's President, says, ``We must be 
innovative in our work, as well as incorporate new ways to reach and 
engage with our community so we can successfully ensure a strong Jewish 
future in Los Angeles, Israel and around the world for the next 100 
years and beyond.''
  To spur new ideas, the Federation launched its Next Big Jewish Idea 
campaign in January of this year. The effort calls on individuals, 
businesses, non-profits and organizations to submit their innovative 
ideas for programs that will strengthen and benefit the greater Los 
Angeles Jewish community. The winning idea will receive a grant of 
$100,000 and be assisted by the Jewish Federation to bring it to 
fruition. The Federation's centennial also includes a host of events 
throughout the year, including a community trip to Israel.
  Mr. Speaker, as the Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles prepares 
for its May 25th centennial gala, I ask my colleagues to please join me 
in congratulating this year's special honorees: Stanley P. Gold of the 
law firm Gang Tyre Ramer & Brown; Bram Goldsmith, Chairman of the Board 
of City National Corporation; and Nina Tassler, President of CBS 
Entertainment, for their unwavering support for the federation and the 
community. They are

[[Page E936]]

among a distinguished group of Los Angeles residents who make the 
Federation the go-to non-profit dedicated to meeting the needs of our 
area's 500,000-strong Jewish community. I also congratulate Jay 
Sanderson and the Federation's entire staff. They are all to be 
commended for their work to keep the Federation the vibrant and strong 
organization that it remains today and I extend to all of them my best 
wishes for many more successful years ahead.

                          ____________________