Jewish American Heritage Month

Posted By richards on May 2, 2014

By Bridget Bowman Posted at 4:37 p.m. on May 1

On the eve of Jewish Heritage Month, members of Congress gathered in the Capitol to honor the life and legacy of Anne Frank as part of Holocaust remembrance week.

Lawmakers dedicated the Anne Frank Memorial Tree Wednesday; it was planted on the West Front Lawn two weeks ago. The sapling derives from the chestnut tree that grew outside of the Dutch home where Frank and her family hid from the Nazis.

From my favorite spot on the floor I look up at the blue sky and the bare chestnut tree, Frank wrote in her diary. I firmly believe that nature brings solace in all troubles.

Due to inclement weather, the dedication ceremony took place in Statuary Hall. Lawmakers and about a dozen Holocaust survivors and relatives sat in the hall as speakers recalled Franks story.

Dutch Foreign Minister Frans Timmermans attended the event and spoke of Franks global effect. Anne Franks diary has become a sapling of humanity, said Timmerman. It has been translated in so many languages. It is read all over the world.

Speaker John A. Boehner, R-Ohio, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., organized the ceremony.

Although McConnell and Reid sat on opposite sides of the podium during the event, the two leaders struck similar tones in their remarks, both saying how it is difficult to imagine Franks world and that we must all strive to follow her example.

House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, R-Va., said the tree would remind Americans that their country rejects the hatred that fueled the Holocaust.

This is your Capitol and that means this will always be your tree, said Cantor.

The rest is here:
Lawmakers Honor Life and Legacy of Anne Frank

Category: Jewish American Heritage Month
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