(By The Friedlander Group)

The Annual Congressional Tribute event marking Jewish American Heritage Month will take place on Tuesday, May 8, in the Kennedy Caucus Room of the Russell Senate Office Building, featuring leading members of the United States House of Representatives and Senate.

Among the members of Congress scheduled to attend are Senators Richard Blumenthal, Sherrod Brown, Maria Cantwell, Ben Cardin, Chris Van Hollen, Representatives John Faso, Joseph Kennedy, Brad Schneider, and the driving force behind Jewish American Heritage Month, Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz.

The Jewish American Heritage Month celebration honors prominent Jews whose contributions to American society are deserving of recognition. According to the Tribute’s co-chair Mr. Greg Rosenbaum, this year’s honorees are a microcosm of American Jewish achievement with an array of charitable and humanitarian contributions benefiting millions of people across the United States and the world.

They include: Joseph B. Stamm in recognition of his 40+ years of service to the community ensuring quality, appropriateness and cost-effectiveness of healthcare services as CEO of MedReview; Martin Handler in recognition of his decades long involvement in the leadership of multiple early childhood education and special education entities, including federal Head Start and Early Head Start programs serving underprivileged children and families living in poverty; Honorable Paul Packer, Chairman of the United States Commission for the Preservation of America’s Heritage Abroad, appointed by President Donald J. Trump, for his accomplishments of the preservation and protection of the cemeteries, monuments, and historic buildings associated with the foreign heritage of United States citizens.

President Donald Trump declared May as Jewish American Heritage Month, following the practice of several recent administrations. The month-long series of events has been held annually since 2006, with exhibits and talks at museums and other cultural institutions highlighting the contributions of Jews to American culture, including the arts, science, medicine, sports, business, government, and military service.

The annual celebration first began in 1980 as a week in April dedicated to American Jewry, and in 2006 President Bush, on the request of Congress, dedicated the month of May to American Jewry. “Jewish Heritage Month affords us an opportunity to pause and to reflect on the important contributions to our great nation by prominent Jews, and simultaneously it beckons us to acknowledge the gratitude that our governmental leaders have dedicated an entire month to celebrate our accomplishments” said Ezra Friedlander, CEO of The Friedlander Group, whose firm is coordinating the Tribute and Stanley Treitel West Cost Celebration Co-Chair.

For more information please email RSVP @ JewishHeritageCelebration.org.