Jeff Merkley Archives - Elliott Broidy

May 29 2026

Philanthropist Elliott Broidy Presented with Visionary Award at the Jewish Heritage Celebration on Capitol Hill

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WASHINGTON, D.C. — The annual Jewish American Heritage Month (JAHM) luncheon was held May 19 on Capitol Hill, bringing together bipartisan members of Congress, foreign ambassadors, and civic, business, and religious leaders in the historic Kennedy Caucus Room of the Russell Senate Office Building to honor the enduring contributions of Jewish Americans to the United States.

The event was co-chaired by Malcolm Hoenlein, CEO Emeritus of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations and Eric J. Gertler, Executive Chairman of U.S. News and World Report. It honored entrepreneur and philanthropist Elliott Broidy with the Visionary Award, Nobel Prize winning physician Dr. Harvey J. Alter with the Dr. David Nassy Award, and Rabbi David Baron of Temple of the Arts in Beverly Hills with the Creativity in the Jewish Community Award.

In accepting the Visionary Award, Broidy reflected on the values his parents instilled in him — his father a decorated World War II veteran, turned schoolteacher, his mother a nurse — and the lesson they passed down: that success carries with it a responsibility to give back to family, community, and country. He praised Dr. Alter as an embodiment of tikkun olam for identifying a virus that was silently claiming millions of lives, and recognized Rabbi Baron’s work building curricula around altruism and empathy in young people as among the most consequential being done in America today.

Broidy described the luncheon as more than a celebration of JAHM, calling it a reaffirmation of the shared responsibility to confront hatred and protect the values of tolerance, democracy, and human dignity at a moment when antisemitism has risen sharply both in the United States and around the world.

Various U.S. Senators participated in the program, including Richard Blumenthal, John Fetterman, John Hickenlooper , Elissa Slotkin, Ron Wyden, James Lankford, Jacky Rosen, Pete Ricketts, Jeff Merkley, and Tim Sheehy. U.S. Representatives Randi Fine and Ken Calvert also delivered speeches.

Rabbi Pini Dunner of Young Israel of Beverly Hills delivered remarks on the honorees, as did Rabbi Mordechai Suchard of The Gateways Organization and Rabbi Levi Shemtov, Executive Vice President of American Friends of Lubavitch.

The celebration traces its roots to the early 1980s, when Jewish Heritage Week was launched following discussions between Malcolm Hoenlein, President Ronald Reagan, and author and humanitarian Elie Wiesel, later evolving into the month-long observance recognized today.

The event was organized by Project Legacy under the leadership of Ezra Friedlander, whose work has made the Capitol Hill JAHM luncheon one of the most visible annual expressions of Jewish American civic life in Washington. Through Project Legacy, Friedlander has built a platform that brings elected officials, faith leaders, and community figures together each year to recognize Jewish Americans whose lives reflect the breadth of that community’s contributions to the nation. “This year’s honorees reflect a deep commitment to public service, innovation, philanthropy, and the fight against hatred and intolerance,” Friedlander said.

May 21 2026

‘Never been harder time in my lifetime to be a Jew in America,’ Michigan senator says at Capitol Hill Jewish heritage event

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This article was originally published in JNS.

( May 21, 2026 / JNS )

A dozen members of Congress participated in an annual Jewish American Heritage Month lunch in the Russell Senate Office Building, held this year on May 19.

Sens. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), John Fetterman (D-Pa.), John Hickenlooper (D-Colo.), Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.), Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), James Lankford (R-Okla.), Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.), Pete Ricketts (R-Neb.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) and Tim Sheehy (R-Mont.), and Reps. Randi Fine (R-Fla.) and Ken Calvert (R-Calif.) took part.

“I am proud to be here as a Jewish American woman,” Slotkin said. “It’s just never been a harder time in my lifetime to be a Jew in America.”

“As a Democrat, it’s my responsibility to call out antisemitism in my own party, just as I hope that Sen. Lankford calls out antisemitism in his party,” the senator said.

Elliott Broidy, a businessman and philanthropist who was presented with a visionary award, told the audience that he is motivated to give back to his country because his parents taught him that success comes with responsibility.

Dr. Harvey Alter, a Nobel-winning physician, and Rabbi David Baron, of Temple of the Arts in Beverly Hills, Calif., also received awards.

“After years of intensive research, I’ve understood now why there’s such a preponderance of Jewish scientists. It’s because they all had Jewish mothers,” Alter said.

Elliott Broidy, James Lankford — Elliott Broidy and Sen. James Lankford (R-Okla.) at a Jewish American Heritage Month celebration on Capitol Hill, May 20, 2026. Credit: Lenchevsky Images. Picasa

Malcolm Hoenlein, CEO Emeritus of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, and Eric Gertler, executive chairman of U.S. News and World Report, co-chaired the event. “Jewish Heritage Week gives us an opportunity to celebrate the 250th anniversary of this great country,” Hoenlein told attendees.

“This year’s honorees reflect a deep commitment to public service, innovation, philanthropy and the fight against hatred and intolerance,” stated Ezra Friedlander, who organized the event.