[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 159 (2013), Part 11]
[Senate]
[Page 16333]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




        HONORING THE JEWISH COMMUNITY CENTER OF GREATER COLUMBUS

  Mr. PORTMAN. Madam President, today I wish to honor the 100th 
anniversary of the Jewish Community Center of Greater Columbus. The 
center promotes physical, intellectual, and spiritual wellness for the 
6,500 members across Central Ohio.
  Joseph Schonthal, an immigrant from Austria, founded the Jewish 
Community Center in 1913 to assist immigrants from Eastern Europe as 
they settled into their new life in the United States. The center 
provided those immigrants with a community center to learn and to grow. 
Mr. Schonthal also established Camp Schonthal in the center, one of the 
first Jewish camps in the region.
  Today, the Jewish Community Center has several centers located around 
Columbus that provide adult, youth, and early childhood programs. The 
center is home to several cultural events a year and hosts a recreation 
and wellness center.
  The Jewish Community Center recently opened the Columbus Jewish Day 
School to provide children from kindergarten through the fifth grade 
with a general curriculum, while also helping to foster their Jewish 
heritage.
  The Jewish Community Center of Greater Columbus provides the Jewish 
community in Central Ohio with educational and cultural programs for 
members of all ages. I congratulate all who were involved in making its 
first 100 years a success.

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