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BOROUGH PRESIDENT MARKOWITZ CELEBRATES
JEWISH HERITAGE NIGHT

Photographs by Laura Geiser
Borough President Markowitz welcomes guests to Borough Hall for Jewish Heritage Night.

On Thursday, May 12, Borough President Markowitz and the Brooklyn Jewish Heritage Committee hosted the fourth annual Jewish Heritage Night “Brooklyn Salutes Israel” in honor of Israeli Independence Day as well as the 40th anniversary of the day Israel and West Germany established diplomatic relations. Rabbi Eliyahu Elbaz of the Sephardic Lebanese Congregation offered an invocation while the Yeshiva of Flatbush Chamber Choir and the Hatikvah Choir performed beautiful melodies.

“Brooklyn has the largest Jewish population in the city — almost half a million — including the largest orthodox, Hasidic and Sephardic populations – making us the Yiddishkeit capital of America,” said Markowitz. “In the 60 years since World War II, Jews have emerged as leaders in every aspect of American society. Because despite the fact that Jews were subjected to the worst atrocity of modern history, we have not only survived, we have flourished. Israel represents the transformation of a stain on history into a ribbon of hope for a peaceful future — because just as the United States is a beacon of democracy and hope for those living throughout the western hemisphere and beyond — Israel is that same beacon of hope for those in the Middle East living under dictatorships who long for a better life. One day, and I pray it is in my lifetime, we will secure a lasting peace – not only for the Jewish homeland of Israel, but for the entire Middle East region, which has known conflict for too long.”

Ronald Tawil, co-president of the Sephardic Community Federation and member of Community Board 15, Seema Goldstein, former Urban Affairs specialist for Con Ed and Mikhail Zembel, an active member of the Association of Holocaust Survivors were honored at the event. Con Edison and the Sephardic Community Federation generously supported this event.