“Our single destiny must be to strengthen the bonds of concern, compassion and caring for each other. Today, we celebrate this historic and unique alliance between African Americans and Jewish Americans that brought about the greatest social change in the history of our nation.” With these words, Rabbi Marc Schneier launched The Foundation’s 4th Annual Black/Jewish Congressional Awards Ceremony and Reception in Washington D.C. on June 20th. The breakfast brought together twenty-three members of Congress, including:

Shelly Berkley	Alcee Hastings	Nita Lowey	Charles Rangel
Howard Berman	Eddie B. Johnson	Cynthia McKinney	Bobby Rush
Sanford Bishop	Carolyn Kilpatrick	Gregory Meeks	Robert Scott
Julia Carson	Tom Lantos	Jerrold Nadler	Edolphus Towns
Bob Filner	Barbara Lee	Major Owens	Diane Watson
Benjamin Gilman	Sheila Jackson Lee	Donald Payne

Congresswoman Shelly Berkley (D-NV) and Congressman Major R. Owens (D-NY) were honored at the event. In their acceptance remarks, Congresswoman Berkley, and Congressman Owens, paid tribute to The Foundation for its leadership role in bringing the Congressional Black Caucus and the Jewish Congressional delegation together every year. Other speakers included Congressmembers Charlie Rangel, Ed Towns, Tom Lantos and Ben Gilman, who hailed The Foundation for its landmark work in strengthening Black/Jewish relations.

The event was co-sponsored by the NAACP and the World Jewish Congress. Special thanks to our corporate sponsor the AT&T Foundation, and our corporate donors, Arista Records and Keyspan.

Copyright © 2003 The Foundation For Ethnic Understanding
The Foundation for Ethnic Understanding was founded in 1989 by Rabbi Marc Schneier and the late Joseph Papp. We are committed to the belief that direct, face-to-face, dialogue between leaders of ethnic communities is the most effective path toward the reduction of bigotry and the promotion of reconciliation and understanding.

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