Wallenberg Congressional Luncheon to Celebrate Heroes of Past and Present The Raoul Wallenberg Centennial Celebration Commission has much to be excited about. After tirelessly advocating Congress, the RWCCC obtained two-thirds of the Senate for co-sponsorship of the Raoul Wallenberg Centennial Celebration Act. The bill awards Raoul Wallenberg the highest civilian award, the Congressional Gold Medal for risking his life to save 100,000 Jews during the waning days of the Holocaust. In honor of the momentous occasion, the RWCCC will be hosting, on July 11, 2012 a Congressional Celebratory Luncheon on Capitol Hill. The luncheon will feature prominent senators including: Se. Kirsten Gillibrand, who introduced the legislation, Sen. Johnny Isakson (R-GA-Jr.), Sen. Orren Hatch (R-UT-Sr.), Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR-Sr.), Sen. Daniel Inouye (D-HI-Sr.), Congressman Jerrold Nadler (D-NY-08) and other members of Congress will pay tribute to the heroic efforts of Wallenberg. The event will remind future generations how important it is to look beyond ourselves.
 
The program will highlight Project Witness for its trailblazing and innovative programming geared towards educating the young generation about commemorating the spiritual heroism of the Jewish people throughout the darkest chapters of the Holocaust. A special presentation by Project Witness – an organizational partner of the Wallenberg Commission, will express the sentiments of the community to Senator Gillibrand, in grateful recognition of her role in the passage of the legislation to award Raoul Wallenberg with the Gold Medal. The Luncheon will be chaired by Andrew Friedman, Esq. who serves as a Commissioner on the Los Angeles Board of Fire Commissioners.
 
A special award will be presented to individuals from the RWCCC Board of Governors for their unwavering support of the Raoul Wallenberg Commission. Stanley Black is the co-founder of KB Management and a philanthropist. The charitable William Nussen is the President of Designs by FMC. Ken Abramowitz is cofounder and Managing General Partner of NGN Capital. He campaigns for Israel in the hostile global environment. The NYC Real Estate executive Peter Rebernwurzel’s father-in-law was rescued by Wallenberg. His father provided to the Budapest Ghetto. Abe Biderman is Managing Director of Eagle Advisers, Inc. and chairs Shuvu/Return, a network of schools in Israel for Russian immigrants. Leon Goldenberg, a child of Holocaust survivors, educates the public of the heroism of Wallenberg. Sidney Greenberger is CEO of AristaCare and a strong supporter of legislation relating to Wallenberg. Stanley Treitel, a leader in the Los Angeles community, has advised numerous elected officials on the US and Israel relationship. The Turkish invest banker Erol User is a human rights advocate. Healthplus Amerigroup and Flushing Bank will also be recognized for their corporate sponsorship of the RWCCC.
 
The luncheon, coordinated by The Friedlander Group, will be honoring Andrew E. Stevens, Emil Fish and Dr. David Moskovits. Andrew E. Stevens, originally from Budapest survived the Holocaust by using forged documents. Refusing to hide quietly, Stevens risked his life to forge and distribute false documents to other Hungarians whose lives were in danger. Once, Raoul Wallenberg complained that he ran out of the official forms he had been using to save lives. The Hungarian resistance leader, Otto Komoly suggested forged documents and Wallenberg agreed whereas Stevens delivered them to his office. Stevens detailed his survival and participation in the underground resistance movement in his book Rebel with a Cause, published by Allied Artists.
 
Emil Fish, also a Holocaust survivor, spent the war in the concentration camp, Bergen-Belsen. Sixty years after being liberated, Fish returned to his hometown Bardejov, Slovakia with his wife and son in June 2005. After seeing the disrepair and poor conditions of the Jewish cemetery and synagogue, he founded the non-profit organization, Bardejov Jewish Preservation Committee. The organization restores Jewish properties of Bardejov and advances knowledge of Jewish ancestry and heritage. On December 23, 2009 he was appointed to the Commission for the Preservation of America's Heritage Abroad by President Obama.
 
The third honoree, Dr. David Moskovits is President of the Endowment for Democracy in Eastern Europe. He has also established the American Endowment School, the first foreign national Jewish school in Hungary a former Soviet satellite country. The school’s graduates boast of having an extensive secular education, as well as a strong sense of identity with their Jewish heritage. He is the recipient of many awards around the world including the Jerusalem Price, the first officer’s award of the government of Hungary, and the entrepreneurial of the year award. President Reagan described Dr. Moskovits as “true champion for democracy and humanitarian causes in East-Central Europe.”
 
The RWCCC will be marking the sixtieth anniversary of the historic agreement between Germany and The Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany better known as the Claims Conference. The organization persuaded West Germany to pay restitution to Jewish victims of Nazism. The luncheon will pay tribute to its leaders who continue to press Germany to meet its moral obligation to the Holocaust survivors.
 
A major announcement will be made at the Luncheon regarding the legislation regarding Raoul Wallenberg with the Congressional Gold Medal.