Jewish American Heritage Month Capitol Hill celebration

To the editor:

On May 20, the U.S. Congress hosted the annual Jewish American Heritage Month Celebration on Capitol Hill. This event commemorates the history, contributions and legacy of American Jewry.

Jewish Heritage celebrations were initiated in the early 1980s when Malcolm Hoenlein -- a name synonymous with Jewish leadership, arranged a successful meeting at the White House with President Ronald Reagan to launch Jewish Heritage Week with events held around the country.

In the early 2000s, a resolution was introduced by Representative Debbie Wasserman Schultz of Florida and Senator Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania advocating for the proclamation of an entire month that would recognize the extensive history of Jewish contributions to this country. After the bipartisan resolution passed unanimously, it was officially established by the presidential proclamation of President George W. Bush in 2006.

Every May since, it has been renewed by Presidents Bush, Obama, Trump, and Biden. President Trump this year again has issued a presidential proclamation in recognition of Jewish American Heritage Month.

This yearly Congressional Jewish American Heritage event honors an outstanding individual who has served as a beacon of merit and virtue––contributing to the fabric of American culture and the Jewish community in the United States. This year’s honoree is Joe Ouaknine, CEO of Titan Industries.

Ouaknine is an American of French Moroccan Jewish descent whose life of entrepreneurship, philanthropy, creativity, and success serves as an outstanding representation of American Jewry. He is an active participant in Los Angeles’ Sephardic and Moroccan communities, a leader of various charitable endeavors, and a generous benefactor with a passion for giving back and community-building.

Reflecting upon the contributions that Jews have made to the U.S., this month-long celebration honors the people whose resilience and achievements can be seen as the pinnacle of the American experience. The Jewish American Heritage Month Capitol Hill Celebration will salute American Jewry while honoring them and their outstanding contributions to this country.

Members of Congress, members of the diplomatic corps, major leaders in the Jewish community, business leaders, religious leaders and civic leaders will be in attendance. The co-chairs of the event will be Malcolm Hoenlein, the executive vice chairman emeritus of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish organizations and Marc Jason, a New York–based entrepreneur of Iraqi-British Jewish heritage, who leads a distinguished career marked by entrepreneurship, philanthropy and creative pursuits.

Helena Berry