[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 159 (2013), Part 12]
[House]
[Pages 18107-18108]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                250TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE TOURO SYNAGOGUE

  (Mr. CICILLINE asked and was given permission to address the House 
for 1 minute.)
  Mr. CICILLINE. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the 250th 
anniversary of the Touro Synagogue in Newport, Rhode Island, the oldest 
synagogue in America. Dedicated in 1763, the Touro Synagogue has been a 
monument to the history of religious tolerance in Rhode Island and the 
legacy of religious freedom in America.
  Before construction even began, the design of the building was 
conceived as a balance between European architecture and traditional 
Jewish worship. This synagogue became a symbol of the freedom to 
worship in peace widely promoted across our new Nation in the 17th 
century and championed by Roger Williams.
  In 1790, in a letter reassuring the members of the Hebrew 
congregation of their right to the free exercise of religion, George 
Washington famously declared the values of our Nation at its

[[Page 18108]]

start, pledging that the United States would give ``to bigotry no 
sanction, to persecution no assistance.''
  This weekend, it was my honor to attend the rededication of the Touro 
Synagogue, which remains a testament to the enduring freedoms of our 
Nation and the tradition of religious freedom that began in my home 
State and that is now deeply embedded in the American experience.

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