[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 147 (2001), Part 9]
[House]
[Page 13027]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



                 TRIBUTE TO THE LATE JUDGE STANLEY MOSK

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from California (Mr. Waxman) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. WAXMAN. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to join my California 
congressional colleagues in honoring the memory of Justice Stanley Mosk 
and the great legacy he left the people of California and our Nation.
  Justice Mosk was in public service for sixty years. He was a trial 
judge on the Superior Court of Los Angeles. He served as the Attorney 
General for the State of California. He was the longest serving member 
in California State's Supreme Court 151-year history. He served on the 
court for 37 years under five chief justices until his death on June 
19, 2001 at the age of 88.
  My colleagues who have preceded me have spoken very eloquently about 
Judge Mosk's contributions to our Nation. I want to take a moment to 
speak of Justice Mosk's personal influence on me as a Jewish American. 
Today, we take for granted that individuals of different racial and 
ethnic ancestry serve in public office. Last year, when Senator Joe 
Lieberman ran on the national ticket for vice president, he was the 
first Jewish American to do so, but his religious and ethnic background 
did not cause a strong reaction in most Americans. He was judged as an 
individual on his abilities, his political beliefs, and his record.
  In the late 1950's, Stanley Mosk was the first Jewish American to run 
for statewide office in California, and his candidacy caused some 
concern and trepidation in the Jewish community. American Jews were 
very active in politics, and they made great public service 
contributions, but there was enormous hesitancy in running for public 
office and assuming such a visible a position. Today, those of us who 
are Jewish and from California feel an enormous amount of pride in 
Justice Mosk because he was one of the premier constitutional lawyers 
in our Nation and he met the highest standards for public officials.
  As a trailblazer in the Jewish community, Stanley Mosk never forgot 
that he helped pave the way for Jews and other minority Americans who 
faced professional and social hurdles. He was an unflagging champion of 
civil rights and individual liberties. he was also a shining 
inspiration to all of us who followed. When I ran for a seat in the 
House of Representatives more than twenty-five years ago, I was the 
first Jewish American from Southern California to be elected to 
Congress, and the first in the State in forty years. It is tribute to 
our Nation that Jewish Americans today represent not only districts 
with large Jewish populations, but those with small Jewish 
constituencies as well.
  Stanley Mosk was mentor to a whole generation of Jewish activists. He 
will be affectionately remembered and sorely missed.

                          ____________________