[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 82 (Thursday, May 29, 2014)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E858-E859]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                          DR. ISRAEL ZOBERMAN

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. E. SCOTT RIGELL

                              of virginia

                    in the house of representatives

                         Thursday, May 29, 2014

  Mr. RIGELL. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to submit a statement on behalf 
of my constituent, Rabbi Dr. Israel Zoberman. Rabbi Zoberman is the 
Founding Rabbi of Congregation Beth Chaverim in Virginia Beach, 
Virginia. Rabbi Zoberman asked me to enter the following remarks into 
the Record:

       At this sacred season for the Jewish community, retelling a 
     searing saga of monumental suffering and heroic survival 
     shaking the foundation of heaven and earth, we are embracing 
     Yom Ha'Shoah's (Holocaust commemoration) crushing burden of 
     sorrow as well as Yom Ha'Azmaut's (the 66th anniversary of 
     the State of Israel) uplifting joy. We acknowledge the 
     Holocaust's helplessness and Hatikvah's (Israel's national 
     anthem) hopefulness. These too are our Days of Awe, no less 
     than the High Holy Days, sanctified by our people's blood and 
     resolve, so close in time and theme to Passover's twin poles 
     of bitter enslavement and ever-beckoning redemption for 
     Israel and all humanity.
       We are the Shoah's wounded survivors and memory's defending 
     warriors. In truth, Jewish progressive ideas and ideals have 
     been a thorn in the side of destructive dictators of all 
     ages, for we have dared declare that every human being is 
     created in the divine image with infinite value; that each 
     human life is unique, indispensable and irreplaceable; that 
     God's divinity and human dignity are forever inseparable.
       I was born in 1945 in Chu, Kazakhstan (USSR), to Polish 
     Holocaust survivors Yechiel Zoberman and Chasia Bobrov, who 
     had met in Siberia. My following poem is in gratitude to my 
     paternal grandparents Zvi and Rachel Zoberman who along with 
     my parents and uncles Norman and Arthur Zoberman, watched 
     over me during perilous times.
       In the 1947 photo taken in Germany's / Wetzlar D.P. Camp, 
     the American zone,/Following an escape from Poland and a / 
     Sojourn in Austria,/ Clad in refugees newly acquired garb/
     Grandparents Zvi (Son of martyred Rabbi/Yaacov and Dena 
     Manzies Zoberman)/ And Rachel (Daughter of martyred Yitzchak/ 
     And Zipora Anker) of Zamosc, Poland,/Gratefully raised me 
     high,/Their little Torah they managed to save/In the face of 
     the many scrolls/ They could not.
       We also observe the 20th anniversary of the Rwanda 
     genocide; mourn the loss at the hands of an American Nazi 
     (what a tragic contradiction!) of three precious lives in 
     Overland Park, Kansas, fourteen year old Reat Griffin 
     Underwood and his grandpa, Dr. William Lewis Corporon, and 
     Frazier Glenn Miller; the fourth year of massacres in Syria 
     claiming over 150,000 lives with millions of refugees; 
     Russia's violation of Ukraine's sovereignty and the abduction 
     of about 300 Nigerian school girls by the Boko Haram.

[[Page E859]]

       The State of Israel, home to most of the Holocaust 
     survivors including my own family remains, at 66 years young, 
     a beacon of light and hope, America's steadfast ally with 
     shared democratic values in a shaky region deeming Israel's 
     and America's Western agenda a threat. Iran's continued 
     nuclear ambitions cast a menacing shadow on Israel, the Arab 
     world and beyond. Iran emboldens Hezbollah and Hamas to 
     persist in their obstructionist course with the Palestinian 
     Authority unwisely joining forces with the latter. I have had 
     the great opportunity to visit the Arab states of Egypt, 
     Jordan, Tunisia and most recently Morocco, building with 
     fellow rabbis Shalom's essential bridges of peace. I was in 
     Morocco from May 11-18, 2014, on a ``Jewish Roots & Diplomacy 
     Trip'' sponsored by The Central Conference of American Rabbis 
     (Reform), connecting to the remnant of an over 2,000 year old 
     Jewish community with a rich history in a Muslim environment 
     that has largely been appreciative and protective. Matt 
     Lussenhop, the Deputy Chief of Mission at the U.S. Embassy in 
     Rabat, Morocco, most graciously addressed our delegation on a 
     host of issues, referring to Morocco as ``A very good partner 
     for the U.S.'' which interestingly recognized the U.S. early 
     on in its independence.

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