June 8, 2005

U.S. Attorney General Gonzales Hails Work of OU:
Almost 1,000 Attend OU’s 107th Anniversary Dinner; Event Salutes Entirety of OU Programs

Almost 1,000 guests celebrated the success of the OU programs during the past year and looked forward to more to come, as the organization held its 107th Anniversary National Dinner, Sunday, June 5, at the Marriott Marquis Hotel.

U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales was the keynote speaker.

Dr. Shimmy Tennenbaum of Teaneck, NJ was Dinner Chairman. A Souvenir Journal in excess of 500 pages was distributed to guests.

The dinner followed the annual Salute to Israel Parade on New York’s Fifth Avenue. Many of the guests marched in the parade before attending the dinner. In addition, the OU sent large delegations to the parade from its famed National Conference of Synagogue Youth and Yachad programs.

For the first time, the OU held only one dinner this year, rather than a series of dinners supporting different OU programs and initiatives. According to OU President Stephen J. Savitsky, presiding over his first dinner – and whose idea it was to hold only one – “The Orthodox Union is one organization and I firmly believe we should celebrate our achievements as one. This year’s dinner spanned the range of OU programming so that our supporters, who under the past arrangement may have lost sight of the totality of the OU’s work, could now see how each department reinforces the others, how each segment of the OU works with the others, and how the result is a more efficient and effective organization.”

“As a result,” Mr. Savitsky said, the National Dinner honored all of our work in the past year, even as we prepared the foundation for our achievements in the 12 months ahead.”

The dinner highlighted an array of services that only an organization of the OU’s breadth and diversity can provide. They included Community and Synagogue Services; Kashrut; National Conference of Synagogue Youth; National Jewish Council for Disabilities/Yachad/Our Way; Seymour J. Abrams OU Jerusalem World Center; Institute for Public Affairs; Joseph K. Miller Kharkov Torah Center; Jewish Learning Initiative on Campus; and Website and Publications.

An emotional video focusing on these programs opened the formal part of the dinner; a separate banner for each program hung from the ballroom’s ceiling; large posters surrounding the ballroom gave details of each program; and the honorees reflected the variety of the OU’s work. Presentations to honorees were preceded by videos highlighting their life and work.

The Keter Shem Tov Award, the OU's highest honor, was presented to OU Treasurer Herbert (Heshe) Seif and his wife Harriet. The distinguished posek (Halachic authority) of the OU's Kosher division, Rabbi Hershel Schachter, Rosh Yeshiva and Rosh HaKollel of Yeshiva University, and his wife, Rebbetzin Shoshanah Schachter, received the Ezra Ben Zion Lightman, z"l Memorial Award. The Yachad National Founders Award went to Sylvia and Mel David formerly of Far Rockaway, NY, and now of Jerusalem.

The National Kashrut Award was presented to Abbott’s Ross Products Division, manufacturers of Similac for infants and Ensure for Adults, among other nutritious and quality products. The President of Columbus, Ohio-based Abbott’s Ross Products Division, Gary E. McCullough, accepted the award on behalf of the company.

A dinner highlight was a special National Conference of Synagogue Youth dedication in memory of Mikey Butler, z"l, who died a year ago at the age of 24, and whose all too brief life touched so many in the Jewish community. The establishment of the Young Leadership Cabinet was announced, with Charles Harary serving as the first chairman.

In his keynote address, United States Attorney General Gonzales, an American of Mexican heritage, hailed the Jewish community’s example to other minorities, which “has inspired us and challenged us. Your success reminds us of the importance of education, of the rewards of hard work and entrepreneurship, and of the value of maintaining our culture and our faith even as we embrace being Americans,” he said.

The Attorney General devoted much attention in his comments to the work of the Bush Administration and the Department of Justice in support of religious liberty and in the prevention and prosecution of crimes involving religious hatred. “As you know, President Bush believes that government has for too long ignored or impeded the efforts of organizations such as the Orthodox Union and its member groups to provide social services to those in need. We are grateful for all that the Orthodox Union has done to give faith-based groups a seat at the table, including supporting the President’s Faith-Based Initiative.”

Following the dinner, OU Executive Vice President Rabbi Tzvi Hersh Weinreb commented, “Having one dinner disproved the theory that repetition in holding dinners is the key to organizational well being. Do it once, do it right, and you have a great success. Surely, anyone who attended tonight’s event will agree that the OU made clear its message that if an issue touches the Jewish world, particularly the Orthodox Jewish world, the Orthodox Union is involved, and with dramatic results.”

OU President Stephen J. Savitsky presents U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales with a plaque, as OU Executive Vice President Rabbi Tzvi Hersh Weinreb looks on.



Left to Right: Rabbi Weinreb, Attorney General Gonzales, Mr. Savitsky, OU Honoree Herbert (Heshe) Seif, and Dinner Chair Dr. Shimmy Tennenbaum.

The Orthodox Union is led up Fifth Avenue by OU Executive Vice President Rabbi Tzvi Hersh Weinreb.

Members of the National Conference of Synagogue Youth, the OU’s youth arm, show their support for Israel as they march through Manhattan.


The OU float tells the organization’s message.

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The Orthodox Union, now in its second century of service to the Jewish community of North America and beyond, is a world leader in community and synagogue services, adult education, youth work through NCSY, political action through the IPA, and advocacy for persons with disabilities through Yachad and Our Way. Its kosher supervision label, the , is the world’s most recognized kosher symbol and can be found on over 275,000 products manufactured in 77 countries around the globe.

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