WASHINGTON DC (May 2025) – The United States Congress has once again hosted the Jewish American Heritage Month celebration on Capitol Hill. This annual event took place in the historic Kennedy Caucus Room in the Russell Senate Building
Esteemed members of Congress, members of the diplomatic corps, and civic, business, and religious leaders were in attendance. Attendees delivered thoughtful remarks in tribute to the many contributions Jewish Americans have made to the United States.
Every year, the Congressional Jewish American Heritage Event on Capitol Hill is organized by Project Legacy under the leadership of Ezra Friedlander.
National recognition of Jewish Heritage began in the early 1980s when Malcom Hoenlein, a longstanding leader in the Jewish community, met with President Ronald Raegan to launch Jewish Heritage Week.
Fast forward to 2025, Malcom Hoenlein, the Executive Vice Chairman Emeritus of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish organizations, co-chaired the Congressional Jewish American Heritage Month Celebration on Capitol Hill.
After a resolution endorsing the month-long Jewish heritage celebrate was introduced in the early 2000s by Representative Debbie Wasserman Schultz and Senator Arlen Specter passed unanimously, Jewish American Heritage Month was officially established by the presidential Proclamation of President George W. Bush. Every May since, it has been renewed by Presidents Bush, Obama, Trump, and Biden.
This year, President Donald J. Trump once again issued a proclamation in honor of Jewish American Heritage Month as his predecessors have done the past 20 years. It read in part, “[s]ince the time the United States was but a coalition of villages and settlements, America’s Jewish citizens have played an indispensable role in our national story. They arrived as farmers, soldiers, tailors, and merchants, settling quickly and contributing greatly to the fields of law, art, science, and medicine. At crucial moments, Jewish Americans have joined their fellow citizens in working towards America’s unique vision of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.”
Special Assistant to President Trump and Director of Jewish Engagement Martin Marks delivered remarks at the event.
The Congressional Jewish American Heritage event featured as its honoree L.A. based philanthropist Joe Ouaknine, CEO of Titan Industries.
Co-chair Marc Jason, a New York based entrepreneur of Iraqi British Jewish heritage, described his first encounter with Ouaknine, “I was immediately struck and really in awe of his accomplishments, his achievements in the local community, in Canada, in LA, and throughout the world including Morocco. But what really struck me more than Joe’s achievements and accomplishments is just how humble and modest he is,” said Mr. Jason.
Joe Ouaknine is a Jewish American of French Moroccan descent who came to the United States in early adulthood with a vision. His outstanding life of entrepreneurship, philanthropy, and innovation illustrates the best of American Jewry.
During his speech at the event, he recalled an experience from a youth choir performance in Morocco: “One day we were preforming for a group of benefactors from the United States, and the lady took the mic and gave us a speech, and she said she was from San Francisco. That’s the first time I heard of San Francisco–it sounded so good in that moment, that’s why I’m bringing it up. I said there’s no way I could even dream of going to San Francisco. And here I am, living in this wonderful country for the last almost 50 years. It gave me so much opportunity.”
Among the members of Congress in attendance who addressed the gathering included Senators Jacky Rosen (NV), John Hickenlooper (CO), Elissa Slotkin (MI), Jeff Merkley (OR), Tim Kaine (VA) as well as U.S. Representatives Barry Loudermilk (GA), Randy Fine (FL), Debbie Wasserman Schultz (FL), Chuck Fleischmann (TN), Andy Biggs (AZ), Laura Gillen (NY), and Bobby Scott (VA).
Co-chair Jason said, “I’m very inspired by the diversity of the leadership––whether its Congressmen, Senators, officials from the White House who really are here today not only to honor Joe, but to also honor the Jewish heritage Month.”
Representative Debbie Wasserman Schultz who pioneered Jewish American Heritage Month 20 years ago delivered an inspiring statement at this year’s celebration: “There are so many incredible contributions that Jews have made, and we need to make sure that we’re lifting all of those up–that we teach all Americans about our contributions, about who we are as a people, about the notion of Tikkun Olam–the values with which we were all raised to believe in. As Jews, we have a longstanding commitment to that value–to repairing the world, and we take great pride regarding the impact that we’ve made on so many generations and so many generations to come.”
A large number of ambassadors and members of the diplomatic corps were also in attendance.
Mr. Hoenlein acknowledged them, noting the Moroccan Ambassador’s presence at the event as he came to support the Moroccan American honoree. Mr. Hoenlein mentioned a call he received from the Secretary General of the Council of Moroccan Jewish Communities Serge Berdugo who wanted to pay tribute to Mr. Ouaknine.
Mr. Hoenlein also recognized the Azerbaijani Ambassador’s presence and the 2,600-year span of continuous Jewish life in Azerbaijan where Jews and Muslims have lived in total harmony.
Co-chair Hoenlein illustrated the sentiment behind Jewish American Heritage Month as he affirmed, “I think we’ve shown that the world is indeed a very narrow bridge–that when we put aside what divides us and focus on what unites us, we see that what we have in common–the aspirations we have for us, for our children, for our grandchildren, for all the children in the world crosses all boundaries, all languages, all religious and national differences.”
To learn more about the annual Capitol Hill Celebration of Jewish American Heritage Month visit jewishheritagecelebration.org.
Produced in cooperation with Project Legacy.
