Press Review – Our quote from the press:
Washington – Legislation to recognize World War II hero Raoul Wallenberg with the country’s highest civilian honor was passed unanimously last night by the senate.
The bill, S. 1591, was introduced by Senator Kirsten Gillibrand of New York, in an effort to award Wallenberg with a posthumous Congressional Gold Medal, in recognition of his heroic acts during the Holocaust and is expected to be signed by President Obama shortly.
“Raoul Wallenberg’s heroic rescue of Hungarian Jews during one of the darkest hours of human history exemplifies his outstanding spirit, his dedication to humanity and the responsibility for us all to speak out against atrocities,” Senator Gillibrand told VIN News. “I am proud that Congress has recognized Raoul Wallenberg’s extraordinary and enduring courage by passing my bipartisan bill bestowing him with the Congressional Gold Medal.”
Wallenberg was recruited by President Roosevelt’s War Refugee Board to save Hungarian Jews from deportation in 1944 and was given a diplomatic passport, a large sum of money and instructions to save as many lives as possible, using any means at his disposal. He is credited with saving more than 100,000 Hungarian Jews over a period of six months by creating multiple safe houses, removing Jews from trains departing to Auschwitz, pursuing convoys carrying Jews, threatening and bribing both German and Hungarian officers and issuing forged identification papers, including the Schutzpass, an impressive looking but counterfeit Swedish passport, which spared the lives of 20,000 Jews. Wallenberg was arrested by Russian soldiers in January of 1945 and his fate remains unknown.
Among those who were saved by Wallenberg was the Liska Rebbe, Rabbi Yoizef Friedlander z’l, whose grandson Ezra Friedlander is CEO of The Friedlander Group, which founded the Raoul Wallenberg Centennial Celebration Commission. This national campaign was established in order to commemorate and publicize Wallenberg’s historic and heroic actions in honor of what would be his 100th birthday. Among the RWCCC’s initiatives are the renaming of Borough Park’s 13th Avenue, between 36th and 60th Streets, to Wallenberg Way, as well as a joint educational effort in conjunction with Project Witness to have yeshivas and schools include Wallenberg’s heroic efforts in their curriculum.
“As the world gears up for Wallenberg’s centennial on August 4, 2012, we should remember and celebrate the fact that today, there are hundreds of thousands of American Jews who are the direct descendants of those saved by Raoul Wallenberg,” said Friedlander. “Special thanks are due to Senator Gillibrand for her hard work and commitment to this historic effort, allowing the world to pay tribute to the extraordinary heroism of Raoul Wallenberg.”
A companion bill introduced in the House of Representatives by Congressman Gregory Meeks and Congresswoman Nan Hayworth, both of New York, was unanimously passed on April 16th in honor of Holocaust Remembrance Day.
In conjunction with the passing of the bill, RWCCC hosted a congressional luncheon held on Capitol Hill yesterday, honoring several individuals including Andrew Stevens, (pictured center) a Holocaust survivor who aided Wallenberg in his rescue efforts and marking the sixtieth anniversary of the Claims Conference which negotiated compensation to Nazi victims and their heirs. Also in photo:Abe Biderman, , Ben Hoffman, The Honorable Charles Freeman, Jonathan Zalisky, Ken Abramowitz, Leon Goldenberg, Stanley Treitel, Sidney Greenberger, Senator Frank R. Lautenberg, Senator Orrin Hatch, Peter Rebenwurzel, Ezra Friedlander, David Moskovits, Andrew Friedman, Esq., Michael Birenbaum – historian, The Honorable Emil Fish, Roman Kent – Treasurer, Claims Conference, Julius Berman – Chairman, Claims photo Credit: Shmuel Lenchevsky
The Luncheon featured Senator Gillibrand, who introduced the Wallenberg legislation in the Senate From Left to Right: Sidney Greenberger, Stanley Treitel, The Honorable Charles Freeman, Steve Grauer, Jonathan Zalisky, Abe Biderman, Kathryn Soman, Ben Hoffman, Peter Rebenwurzel, Leon Goldenberg, Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, Andrew Friedman, Esq, Dr. David Moskovits, The Honorable Emil Fish, Ezra Friedlander, CEO, The Friedlander Group
Source: www.vosizneias.com
Congressional Gold Medal for Raoul Wallenberg
On the 100th anniversary of the birth of Raoul Wallenberg, in conjunction with the
commemorative year in praise of his activity of saving lives, following the unanimous vote
of the US Congress in April 2012, the Senate, too, unanimously voted for the Raoul
Wallenberg Centennial Celebration Act on 11 July 2012. In consequence of this, Congress
will present the highest civil award that may be granted in the United States, the
Congressional Gold Medal to Raoul Wallenberg. From among those rescued, the law makes
specific mention of late Congressman Tom Lantos, former Israeli Deputy Prime Minister
Tommy Lapid and Rabbi Yoizef (Joseph) Friedlander, who carried forth the Liska Hassidic
dynasty from Olaszlika in Hungary to the United States after being saved by Raoul
Wallenberg. In his greetings sent on the eve of the vote to the commemoration organised by
the Friedlander Group, Hungarian Ambassador to Washington György Szapáry said it gives
him great pleasure that the US legislature commemorates the 100th anniversary of the birth
of the Swedish diplomat by awarding him the highest medal. By quoting Minister for
Foreign Affairs János Martonyi, he established with regret that „during the Holocaust, the
Hungarian State was weighed, measured and found wanting. It was unable to protect its
citizens and, although under foreign occupation, provided assistance with their
extermination.” At the same time, he drew attention to the fact that, in addition to
Wallenberg, a number of other Hungarian and foreign civilians and soldiers, believers and
non-believers helped to save lives heroically, including Sister Sára Salkaházi, who provided
shelter for many persecuted Jews, and Staff Colonel Ferenc Koszorús, who prevented the
deportation of Jews with military resistance uniquely in the countries of the Axis Powers. In
closing his message, the Ambassador highlighted that, in the context of our national tragedy,
it is our joint responsibility to draw the conclusions of our past and to continue the ongoing
dialogue with our Jewish and non-Jewish Hungarian and American friends as well as with
our friends all over the world in order to fight against anti-Semitism, intolerance and hatred.
Source: 29th Weekly Media Review of Hungarian Communities Abroad – Ministry of Public Administration and Justice
