NJ Jewish Organizations Award Rep. Gottheimer With The 2024 Morris Katz Legacy Award

The Orthodox Jewish Chamber of Commerce recognized U.S. Congressman Josh Gottheimer (NJ-5), the only Jewish member of the New Jersey Congressional Delegation, with the 2024 Morris Katz Award. The award, named for prolific artist and Holocaust survivor Morris Katz, highlighted Gottheimer’s work to introduce and advance the bipartisan Holocaust Education and Antisemitism Lessons (HEAL) Act.

Gottheimer was joined at today’s event by Orthodox Jewish Chamber of Commerce President Duvi Honig, New Jersey Assemblyman Avi Schnall, Bergen County Commissioner Tracy Zur, Rabbi Shlomo Schorr, Director of Legislative Affairs at the New Jersey office of Agudath Israel of America, Teaneck Deputy Mayor Elie Katz, Teaneck Councilwoman Hillary Goldberg, Teaneck Councilman Mark Schwartz, Englewood Councilwoman Lisa Wysotski, among others.

Gottheimer introduced the bipartisan HEAL Act with Representatives Kathy Manning (NC-6), Michael McCaul (TX-10), and Brian Fitzpatrick (PA-1), Co-Chair of the bipartisan Problem Solvers Caucus.

The bipartisan HEAL Act will direct the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum to conduct a study on Holocaust education efforts in public schools nationwide; this will help determine which states and school districts require or do not require Holocaust education in their curriculum.

It will also determine which states and school districts offer optional Holocaust education, identify the standards and requirements schools mandate on this Holocaust education and identify the types and quality of instructional materials used to teach. Identify the approaches used by schools to assess what students learn and report the results of the study to Congress.

Morris Katz, the namesake of the award, was known as a trailblazing artist. In 1985, he broke Pablo Picasso’s record as the world’s most prolific artist. His most famous work, the Presidential Collection, portrayed each president with a historically accurate flag behind them, reflecting the number of states in the country when they led. His artwork celebrates his Jewish heritage and the incredible history of the United States.

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Part of Rep. Gottheimer’s remarks:

“I’m honored to receive the 2024 Morris Katz Award and contribute, in a small way, to the great legacy of its namesake, Morris Katz. I will always stand up to bigotry in all forms and fight hard to protect our core Jersey value of freedom: freedom from fear, freedom from hate, and freedom to worship, live, and learn however you so choose.

“Representing North Jersey in the United States Congress has been the honor of a lifetime. I feel truly blessed to give back to the region where I grew up and more broadly, the country that has meant so much to my entire family. But, leadership is also a great responsibility. As the only Jewish member of the New Jersey Congressional Delegation and the only Jewish member of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, I feel compelled to ensure our voices are heard in the halls of Congress.

I won’t sugarcoat it: the past year has been incredibly challenging. According to the Anti-Defamation League, 2023 was the worst year for antisemitism since they began collecting data in 1979. There were more than 8,000 antisemitic incidents reported in 2023, including more than 5,000 antisemitic incidents reported after October 7. Nearly 1 in 10 of those incidents happened in our state.

“Given the antisemitism we’re seeing on our campuses, online, and in our communities, I truly believe education is the antidote. We all have an obligation to teach future generations about this evil. We have an obligation to try to heal our communities. We have an obligation to teach about this stain of hatred, so that it never happens ever again.

We came together because at the end of the day, standing against hate isn’t a Republican or Democrat issue: it’s an American issue. We will continue to work together — to protect our religious institutions with nonprofit security grants, to stop antisemitism at our institutions of higher learning, and to stand with our key democratic ally Israel in the wake of the deadliest attack on the Jewish people since the Holocaust. We will continue to work together even when it’s difficult because it’s the right thing to do.”