PRINTER'S NO. 2847
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
HOUSE RESOLUTION
No.
365
Session of
2024
INTRODUCED BY FRANKEL, GIRAL, KHAN, FREEMAN, GERGELY, GREEN,
KAZEEM, SALISBURY, SANCHEZ, SCHLOSSBERG, SHUSTERMAN, SIEGEL,
SMITH-WADE-EL, SOLOMON, WAXMAN, KINSEY, HADDOCK, McNEILL,
PIELLI, VENKAT, HANBIDGE, JAMES, PROBST, HOHENSTEIN, CEPEDA-
FREYTIZ, BOYD, BERNSTINE, CIRESI, MERSKI, MALAGARI,
D. WILLIAMS, DELLOSO, KENYATTA, KRAJEWSKI, KAUFER,
PISCIOTTANO, PASHINSKI, BOROWSKI, O'MARA, GUENST, NEILSON,
HILL-EVANS, D. MILLER, FLEMING, BRENNAN, CERRATO AND DALEY,
APRIL 3, 2024
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON STATE GOVERNMENT, APRIL 3, 2024
A RESOLUTION
Designating the month of May 2024 as "Jewish American Heritage
Month" in Pennsylvania.
WHEREAS, Pennsylvania and the United States have served as
havens of religious tolerance for communities of all faiths; and
WHEREAS, Pennsylvania takes great pride in the varied
religious and cultural traditions of residents of this
Commonwealth and seeks to afford all people in Pennsylvania the
opportunity to better understand, recognize and appreciate the
rich histories, cultures and shared principles of Jewish
Americans; and
WHEREAS, The histories of Jewish Americans and that of the
United States and Pennsylvania are interwoven; and
WHEREAS, Escaping persecution, Jewish immigrants established
the first documented Jewish communal settlement in North America
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in 1654; and
WHEREAS, Since then, Jewish individuals have made innumerable
contributions to American history, culture, military, science
and government; and
WHEREAS, From 1820 through 1924, millions of Jewish
immigrants arrived on United States shores from Europe; and
WHEREAS, One such immigrant, Irving Berlin composed "God
Bless America," which many consider the "unofficial National
Anthem" of our nation; and
WHEREAS, Jewish-American poet Emma Lazarus wrote the poem
that adorns the Statue of Liberty, "The New Colossus," in 1883;
and
WHEREAS, Countless Jewish Americans have bravely served in
the United States military in every American conflict since the
nation's founding, including the 500,000 Jewish-American
soldiers that served during World War II alone; and
WHEREAS, Jewish-American businessman Adolphus Simeon Solomons
along with Clara Barton and others formed the American Red Cross
in 1881; and
WHEREAS, In 1933, Albert Einstein, who was later recognized
by Time magazine as the "Person of the Century," left Nazi
Germany and immigrated to the United States; and
WHEREAS, Lewis Charles Levin served as the first Jewish
member of the United States Congress starting in 1845, followed
by Jewish-American firsts, including United States Secretary of
Commerce and Labor Oscar Straus, United States Supreme Court
Justice Louis Brandeis, United States Supreme Court Justice Ruth
Bader Ginsburg and many others; and
WHEREAS, Nearly all 8 million Jewish people who live in the
United States come from diverse racial and ethnic backgrounds,
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including African-American Muslims, immigrants and native-born
Americans, and represent approximately 2.4% of the country's
population; and
WHEREAS, Today, almost 300,000 Jewish adults call
Pennsylvania home, comprising more than 2% of this
Commonwealth's population; and
WHEREAS, Upon settling in Philadelphia in the 1700s, Jewish
Americans have contributed to communities throughout this
Commonwealth; and
WHEREAS, Lancaster resident Isaac Cohen was Pennsylvania's
first physician; and
WHEREAS, Jewish Americans, including former Pennsylvania
American Civil Liberties Union Legal Director Stefan Presser and
former Philadelphia Citizens for Children and Youth Executive
Director Shelly Yanoff, have advocated for civil liberties and
health care for children; and
WHEREAS, Many Jewish Americans have served in Pennsylvania
elected offices, including former Governor Ed Rendell, current
Governor Josh Shapiro and members of the General Assembly; and
WHEREAS, Jewish Americans in both Pennsylvania and our
country as a whole continue to dedicate themselves to public
service despite persistent prejudice; and
WHEREAS, As the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum has
highlighted, "antisemitism has persisted in many forms for over
two thousand years"; and
WHEREAS, More than 6 million Jewish people, a third of the
world's Jewish population, were murdered during the Holocaust;
and
WHEREAS, Incidents of antisemitic violence and rhetoric are
still prevalent in our country and this Commonwealth, and
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educational initiatives are critical to combating bigotry; and
WHEREAS, It is appropriate to acknowledge and promote
awareness of the myriad invaluable contributions of Jewish
Americans in Pennsylvania and across the country and extend to
them the respect and camaraderie every American deserves;
therefore be it
RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives designate the
month of May 2024 as "Jewish American Heritage Month" in
Pennsylvania.
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