[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 145 (1999), Part 18]
[Senate]
[Page 25657]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]


[[Page 25657]]

            HONORING 150 YEARS OF CONGREGATION B'NAI ISRAEL

 Mrs. BOXER. Mr. President, today I wish to recognize 
Congregation B'nai Israel in Sacramento, California, and to celebrate 
its 150th year of vitality and service to the Sacramento community.
  Congregation B'nai Israel was founded in 1849 by Moses Hyman and 
Albert Priest. At the time, Gold rush-era optimism was everywhere in 
northern California, attracting opportunity seekers from as far as 
eastern Europe, the home to millions of Jews desperate to escape 
violent pogroms and rampant anti-Semitism. With his profound ability to 
organize people and his unrelenting desire to help the destitute, Moses 
Hyman began his congregation in his home, and soon became known as a 
pioneer of California Judaism and father of Temple B'nai Israel.
  Moses Hyman, a major community philanthropist, also founded the 
Hebrew Benevolent Society, which assisted the sick and poor, especially 
during the Sacramento flood of 1850. Following that devastating 
disaster, Hyman purchased burial land and a nearby house of worship 
from a Methodist Episcopal church. Moses Hyman and Albert Priest named 
their new congregation B'nai Israel, which translated into English, 
means ``Children of Israel.'' The rebuilt temple officially opened on 
September 2, 1852 as the first member-owned synagogue west of the 
Mississippi.
  Congregation B'nai Israel has suffered through many hardships. After 
only a decade in existence, its synagogue was destroyed by fire, and 
only a year later, winter floods severely damaged cemetery grounds. The 
congregation was tested repeatedly. They mourned but then regrouped and 
rebuilt, emerging stronger than before.
  By the mid-1900s, the congregation outgrew its existing facilities 
and launched a major effort to build a new synagogue. Thanks to the 
generosity of congregants, its capital campaign was a huge success. In 
addition to a new synagogue, the congregation added an education wing, 
later named after Buddy Kandel, in the early 1960s.
  Congregation B'nai Israel continued to grow. The year 1986 marked 
additional milestones for what had become a community institution. In 
that year, the congregation began construction of the Harry M. Tonkin 
Memorial Chapel and the Sosnick Library. The much-needed addition not 
only led to a change in place of worship, but also an ideological 
change for the B'nai Israel. Tikkun Olam, the Jewish belief in 
repairing the world through good deeds and social action became a new 
found interest of the congregation, pushing further their desire to 
help others in the Sacramento area.
  Members of Congregation B'nai Israel had suffered through tremendous 
hardship in their history, but nothing could prepare them for the 
events of June 18, 1999, when a fire bomber motivated by anti-Semitic 
hatred destroyed their library and severely damaged the sanctuary and 
administration building. In an inspiring gesture of solidarity, the 
entire Sacramento community joined with the congregation and 
collectively vowed not to let violence tear Sacramento apart.
  In a historic event less than three days after the bombing, more than 
4,000 Sacramento residents joined congregation leaders at a unity rally 
to protest religious and ethnic violence. Former president of the 
Interfaith Service Bureau, Rabbi Bloom, called for the creation of a 
museum of tolerance to battle against the tide of hatred.
  Mr. President, despite all kinds of adversity, Congregation B'nai 
Israel has survived for 150 years and has grown into a vital and 
beloved community institution. I send my congratulations and personal 
thanks for all it has done to help a diverse community find common 
ground in the Sacramento area.

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