|
May 13, 2004
Maryland Governor Bob Ehrlich
Meets With Leaders of Montgomery
County’s Orthodox Jewish Community; Tours
Berman
Hebrew Academy
Today the Union of
Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America, the nation’s largest
Orthodox Jewish umbrella organization, hosted Governor Robert L.
Ehrlich, Jr. at the Melvin J. Berman Hebrew Academy in Rockville.
After touring the facility, Governor Ehrlich met with lay and
rabbinic leaders of the County’s Orthodox synagogues, schools and
the Union itself.
The meeting focused on issues of common concern. They included
addressing the security needs of Jewish communal and other
religious facilities in light of the increased threat of terror,
the funding of education programs in the state, and transportation
and congestion issues which impact upon the community’s residents.
Governor Ehrlich also discussed his recent trip to Israel and his
Maryland-Israel business initiative.
Of special interest was the Governor’s noted support of the
Maryland textbook program which was recently reauthorized by the
State Assembly and expanded to include not only textbooks but
technology as well. While Governor Ehrlich expressed his strong
support for the program as it is currently constituted, he did
point out that he supports increased funding of the program in a
stronger economic environment for the State.
Participants raised the topic of transportation to school for
non-public school students and discussed with the Governor how
addressing this issue could ameliorate the traffic congestion
problems in Montgomery County.
After the meeting, the Governor visited the Sylvia S. Ely
Auditorium, which will soon receive a $150,000 bond financing from
the State of Maryland (SB 155-sponsored by Sen. Len Teitelbaum,
D-Montgomery) for renovations and technical upgrades.
Nathan J. Diament, the Union’s public policy director stated on
behalf of all the participants in the meeting:
The Orthodox Jewish community deeply appreciates Governor Ehrlich
taking the time to meet with us and discuss issues of common
concern. More importantly, we appreciate the Governor’s commitment
to take practical steps to address some of the critical issues
which affect our families and institutions. We applaud his “can
do” attitude and look forward to working with Governor Ehrlich and
his administration to benefit our community and all Marylanders.
###
'Getting to know you' Erhlich meets with area Orthodox
|
