[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 115 (Tuesday, July 22, 2014)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1204-E1205]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




          A TRIBUTE TO RAY ALPERT--ON BEHALF OF THE COMMUNITY

                                  _____
                                 

                         HON. ALAN S. LOWENTHAL

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, July 22, 2014

  Mr. LOWENTHAL. Mr. Speaker, our community lost a true friend and 
major benefactor on Wednesday, June 11, 2014 with the passing of Ray 
Alpert at the age of 87.
  Ray and his wife, Barbara, were known throughout Long Beach for their 
generosity and passion for organizations that helped support the Jewish 
community. Over the decades, Ray and his wife Barbara donated millions 
of dollars to the Jewish Federation of Greater Long Beach and West 
Orange County and its partner agencies, the Alpert Jewish Community 
Center, Long Beach Hillel, Jewish Family and Children's Service and the 
Hebrew Academy of Huntington Beach.
  From its inception, the Alpert Foundation has provided the Long Beach 
and Western Orange County Jewish Federation with its largest annual 
gift. In 1997, their lead donation to the Federation was instrumental 
in creating the 85,000 square foot Alpert Jewish Community Center, 
whose comprehensive programs and facilities now serve almost every 
segment of our community. ``The Alpert Jewish Community Center is 
forever indebted to Ray and Barbara for their generosity and caring for 
the Center,'' said Jeffrey Rips, Executive Director.
  Ray's longtime friend, Jewish Federation and Jewish Community 
Foundation Past President, and community leader in his own right, 
Eugene Lentzner, spoke lovingly of his 50 year association with Ray. 
``Ray achieved great success, yet he was the most unpretentious and 
unassuming person I ever know. (And you should also know that comment 
applies to his wife also),'' said Gene. ``He was most comfortable 
outside the limelight; yet he served on many boards, he had a lot to 
say

[[Page E1205]]

about how the agencies functioned, and he never had to have a title or 
office to be the most effective person in the room. And that is why 
everyone who has anything to say about him says that he was our 
pillar.''
  ``He was an extremely generous man and very humble, very down-to-
earth,'' said Deborah Godlfarb, CEO of the Jewish Federation and Jewish 
Community Foundation. ``He really believed in community involvement and 
was active in many non-Jewish causes, as well as Jewish causes. It was 
part of who he was.''
  ``The Hebrew Academy community is saddened by the loss of Ray Alpert 
a giant mentsch in our community,'' said Rabbi Yitzchok Newman. ``Ray 
paved the path to provide a myriad of opportunities for active 
participation in our community. He was a man who cared deeply about and 
invested generously in the future of our community. Ray will be sorely 
missed--may his memory be a blessing for all.''
  Ray was born on April 9, 1927, and grew up in Boyle Heights. He was a 
co-owner of Alpert & Alpert Iron & Metal Inc., a Los Angeles-based 
scrap metal business founded by his father and uncle in the 1930s. 
Eighty years later, the company remains a family-owned business. Ray 
and Barbara moved to Long Beach in 1963 and soon joined Temple Israel.
  ``Through the years Barbara and Ray's passion for youth seemed 
unending,'' continued Lentzner. ``The establishment and endowment of 
the Alpert New Leaders Forum at the Jewish Federation, his lobbying and 
support that literally saved Hillel at Cal State, the founder's 
donation and ongoing funding of CCEJ's Building Bridges camps, which 
brings young people together to respect each other, were all 
indications of this commitment to the next generations.''
  And the list goes on and on: ADL, National Council of Jewish Women, 
Hadassah, the rebuilding of Temple Israel, Ronald McDonald House, and 
the new Fisher House at the Long Beach Veterans Administration 
hospital, providing a place for the family of veterans who are being 
treated. ``In all, they were major funders of over 50 organizations 
every year, lead givers for their campaigns, and have endowed their 
gifts so that their programs will continue on into the future,'' 
remarked Lentzner.
  ``Ray Alpert was a man who was committed to his causes and the 
community,'' said Kathryn Miles, JFCS Executive Director. ``For Ray, it 
was not only a matter of a donation. He found long-lasting and far-
reaching ways to impact programs and agencies, as both a leader and as 
a donor. For JFCS, Barbara and Ray's generosity has had a tremendously 
positive impact on our ability to provide mental health and social 
services to people who have nowhere else to turn.''
  Ray also had a passion for Jewish history and Holocaust education. At 
Cal State University, Long Beach (CSULB), he and Barbara established 
the Barbara and Ray Alpert Endowed Chair in Jewish Studies. ``We at 
CSULB owe them a real debt of gratitude. Ray was not merely an active 
member of the Jewish Studies advisory board. At a moment of crisis, he 
and Barbara stepped up, and through their generosity, saved the Jewish 
Studies Program,'' said Jeffrey Blutinger, Director of the program. 
``Their endowment has not only allowed us to continue offering classes, 
degrees, and our regular lecture series, but also helped us expand our 
programming by bringing artists, performers, and lead scholars to 
campus.''
  Ray and Barbara have also been strong and consistent supporters of 
Beach Hillel, which provides services to Jewish students at CSULB and 
several other universities and community colleges in the Long Beach and 
Orange County areas. ``Through the help of Ray Alpert, Beach Hillel has 
been able to provide free and kosher Friday-night dinners to students, 
opportunities to work for social justice, and various educational and 
social activities that encourage students' personal growth and 
exploration,'' said Rachel Kaplan, Hillel Executive Director.
  ``One issue dear to Ray's heart was building bridges among 
communities,'' said Blutinger. For the last two years, Ray and Barbara 
have funded a collaborative project on campus involving Jewish Studies 
and Chicano and Latino Studies, bringing speakers on campus to 
highlight the longstanding relationships between the Jews and 
Latinos(as) in Southern California. Just a few weeks ago, he and 
Barbara went to CSULB to hear Dr. George Sanchez from USC describe the 
unique nature of the Boyle Heights community of the 1930s and '40s, a 
place where immigrant Jews mixed with Mexican and Mexican-Americans, 
African-Americans, and Japanese-Americans, forming alliances of mutual 
support.
  ``Since Ray was born and raised in Boyle Heights, he was delighted to 
see students from Jewish Studies and Chicano and Latino Studies classes 
come together to learn about his common past,'' said Blutinger.
  Gene Lentzner echoed Ray's interest in connecting diverse 
communities. ``I have to mention Ray's love for the people with whom he 
grew consulted and argued until they got it right, and then did it 
together. And the results were wonderful, often incredible,'' said 
Lentzner at the funeral which took place on Friday, June 13. Ray is 
survived by his wife Barbara, his children, Teri, Alan and Nancy; his 
sister, Janet Farber; and seven grandchildren who will all miss him 
tremendously.
  ``I once asked him what gave him the most satisfaction in life. You 
created a foundation to give away most of your fortune, so it wasn't 
about just making money, or having the best of everything. And he 
simply answered: Helping other is the best reason for the gift of life 
on this earth. That is what my parents taught me. That is what I tried 
to teach my children,'' remembers Lentzner.
  His life was a blessing for all of us. He really knew how to live. It 
is why he was so universally respected and loved.
  Ray's generosity and activism has touched the lives of countless 
people in the Long Beach area and his passing leaves a gaping hole in 
our hearts.

                          ____________________