Generosity of Congregation Remembered<\/p>\n
New York, NY – On Sunday, Speaker Christine C. Quinn spoke before Congregation Shearith Israel to welcome Mary McAleese, President of Ireland, to New York, where she commemorated the historic generosity of the congregation, who donated $1,000\u2014nearly $82,000 in today\u2019s currency\u2014in aid for the Irish Potato Famine.<\/p>\n
In 1847, Reverend Jacques Judah Lyons held a meeting in his synagogue to organize financial support to be sent to Ireland. The congregation\u2019s records report that the Reverend and his congregation felt that the common link of humanity behooved their participation and aid in this humanitarian crisis an ocean away.<\/p>\n
Speaking at the synagogue, Speaker Quinn said, \u201cI want to thank the President and the congregation for their participation here today. This early gesture of humanitarian concern reverberates right to the present. It\u2019s a necessary reminder of the continuing need for cooperation between communities, and the long-remembered benefits of far-flung good works.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are remembering one of the relatively unremembered acts of true humanity, when the community at Temple Shearith Israel reached out the hand of mercy, generosity and compassion to an afflicted people such a long way away in Ireland,\u201d said President McAleese. <\/p>\n
“The Jews and the Irish share a heritage of resilience in the face of hardship, and generosity to others during their times of troubles. So it was only natural that when the devastating potato famine drove so many of the Irish people to our shores, that the members of Shearith Israel would extend their help. They were fulfilling one of the most deeply held teachings of the Jewish faith: To remember when we were outcasts, and strangers in a strange land \u2013 and to be kind and comforting to those who find themselves in similar distress,” Mayor Bloomberg said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Great Hunger changed Ireland forever,\u201d said Niall Burgess, Consul General of Ireland. \u201cBut it also changed New York, providing much of the labour and skills that built this city and many of its great institutions. This weekend is an opportunity to remember that and also to celebrate the deep connections between the Jewish and Irish communities in New York.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are excited to host President McAleese and other dignitaries as we celebrate our long-standing shared history and our ongoing commitment to the underlying values of humanitarian concern that transcend boundaries of geography, religion, and ethnicity,\u201d said Rabbi Hayyim Angel, Congregation Shearith Israel.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe JCRC is honored to be part of this historic event,\u201d said Janice Shorenstein, President of the Jewish Community Relations Council of New York, \u201cwhich bears eloquent testimony to the deep and enduring relationship between the Jewish and Irish communities here in New York.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Great Famine, or Gorta Mor, was a watershed moment in Irish history. Though foreign responses to the famine have been previously acknowledged, the contributions of the Jewish community have only recently been commemorated. Among other attendants of the ceremony were Consul General Niall Burgess, President of the Jewish Community Relations Council Janice W. Shorenstein and Dr. Martin McAleese.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Generosity of Congregation Remembered<\/p>\n
New York, NY – On Sunday, Speaker Christine C. Quinn spoke before Congregation Shearith Israel to welcome Mary McAleese, President of Ireland, to New York, where she commemorated the historic generosity of the congregation, who donated $1,000\u2014nearly $82,000 in today\u2019s currency\u2014in aid for the Irish Potato Famine.<\/p>\n
In 1847, Reverend Jacques Judah Lyons held a meeting in his synagogue to organize financial support to be sent to Ireland.<\/p>\n
…<\/p>\n