As Introduced

134th General Assembly

Regular Session H. C. R. No. 29

2021-2022

Representatives Brent, Weinstein

Cosponsors: Representatives Galonski, Leland, Holmes, Click, Hoops, Crossman, Miller, J., Miranda, Troy, Boggs, Gross, Smith, K., Liston, Boyd, O'Brien, Sheehy, Miller, A., Upchurch, Lightbody, Sobecki, Robinson, Howse

A c o n c u r r e n t R E S O L U T I O N

To request an Act of the United States Congress to designate the Kol Israel Foundation Holocaust Memorial, located in Zion Memorial Park in Bedford, Ohio, as a National Memorial.

BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE STATE OF OHIO (THE SENATE CONCURRING):

WHEREAS, The Kol Israel Foundation (Hebrew for "All of Israel") was established in 1959 in Cleveland, Ohio, by a small group of survivors of the Jewish Holocaust of World War II perpetrated by Nazi Germany. It was formed so its members, who shared a common past and who faced similar problems, could find refuge with each other and provide a sense of community and valuable emotional, psychological, and financial support to themselves and others similarly situated. The organization now boasts hundreds of members, mostly Jewish Holocaust survivors and their descendants; and

WHEREAS, In 1960 the Kol Israel Foundation decided to build a monument in memory of the six million Jewish victims of the Holocaust. The subject monument is believed to be the first of its kind constructed in the United States. The monument was constructed at Zion Memorial Park, a Jewish cemetery located in Bedford Heights, Ohio. The granite monument has human ashes from victims recovered from crematoriums in three concentration camps as well as other artifacts: teeth, hair, and bars of soap made from pure Jewish fat, buried beneath it in six small caskets. Victims' names also are engraved on its walls to honor the dead. The monument was dedicated on May 28, 1961. In attendance at the ceremony were hundreds of people including Cleveland Mayor Anthony J. Celebrezze, military color guard, and other dignitaries, and it is the site of an annual memorial service presented by Kol Israel Foundation each fall with the support of the Jewish Federation of Cleveland. The event serves as an opportunity for families to say the Mourner's Kaddish for departed Holocaust victims who did not receive a proper burial or do not have a known grave; and

WHEREAS, The monument has been expanded, and is surrounded by low granite circular walls where additional names of Holocaust survivors, and their departed family members, have been engraved. One section also contains the names of several American astronauts and one Israeli astronaut, Ilan Ramon, a son of Holocaust survivors, who died in the Columbia Space Shuttle disaster in 2003. The wall also contains the quote of General Dwight D. Eisenhower who upon liberating a concentration camp stated: "The things I saw beggar description…The visual evidence and the verbal testimony of starvation, cruelty, and bestiality were so overpowering as to leave me a bit sick"; and

WHEREAS, The historical significance of the Kol Israel Monument is without question as it is a holy site containing human remains and where prayers for the departed are recited. It signifies the duty to remember the past atrocities of World War II so that they will not be repeated. It is an educational location as well, signifying the events of the war and its victims and stands to remind us of the motto of the Jewish victims-"Never Again"; and

WHEREAS, The memorial received official historic recognition from the Ohio History Connection in 2016, and is seeking inclusion for the monument in the National Registry of Historic Places; and

WHEREAS, The Kol Israel Foundation Holocaust Memorial represents an historical event and captures the essence of the atrocities of the Holocaust of World War II; now therefore be it

RESOLVED, That we, the members of the 134th General Assembly of the State of Ohio, request an Act of the United States Congress to designate the Kol Israel Foundation Holocaust Memorial, located in Zion Memorial Park in Bedford, Ohio, as a National Memorial; and be it further

RESOLVED, That we, the members of the 134th General Assembly of the State of Ohio, request the assistance of the Ohio Congressional delegation in support of this request; and be it further

RESOLVED, That the Clerk of the House of Representatives transmit a duly authenticated copy of this resolution to the Speaker and Clerk of the United States House of Representatives, the President Pro Tempore and Secretary of the United States Senate, the members of the Ohio Congressional delegation, and the news media of Ohio.