FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Nathan J. Diament
202-513-6484
August 26, 2009
UNION OF ORTHODOX JEWISH CONGREGATIONS OF AMERICA REMEMBERS TED KENNEDY
Today, upon news of the passing of United States Senator Edward M. Kennedy, the leadership of the Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America, the nation’s largest Orthodox Jewish umbrella organization, issued the following statement:
The Orthodox Union mourns the passing of Senator Edward M. Kennedy. Senator Kennedy was a towering figure whose contributions to the United States over his lengthy senate tenure are as numerous as they are legendary.
For our part, the Orthodox Union is proud of and grateful for the initiatives upon which we worked successfully in partnership with Senator Kennedy over the years.
These include promoting religious liberty through the Religious Freedom Restoration Act and Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act; expanding educational opportunity for all America’s children, particularly those with learning disabilities through the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (“IDEA”) and assuring the equitable treatment of students displaced by Hurricane Katrina who relocated to parochial schools; and support for a strong U.S.-Israel relationship.
In recognition of these aspects of Senator Kennedy’s legacy, the Orthodox Union awarded him our “Friend of the Synagogue Award” in 2001.
But the whole of Senator Kennedy’s legacy to America is more than the sum of the pieces of specific legislation he masterfully crafted and enacted, it is a legacy of patriotism, service and dedication to the causes of our fellow man and woman.
The Orthodox Union extends its sincere condolences to Mrs. Victoria Kennedy and the Senator’s children and extended family – and to our fellow Americans with whom we join in mourning his passing.
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