April 29, 2004
PRESIDENT BUSH APPOINTS 9 MEMBERS TO UNITED STATES HOLOCAUST MEMORIAL COUNCIL
WASHINGTON, D.C. — President George W. Bush has named nine prominent Americans to the United States Holocaust Memorial Council, the governing body of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. The Council consists of 55 Presidential appointees, 10 Congressional representatives and three ex-officio members from the departments of Education, Interior and State. The appointments are effective April 16 for five-year terms expiring on January 15, 2009.
The administration has done an outstanding job in selecting individuals who share the Museum’s dedication to Holocaust remembrance,” said Council Chair Fred S. Zeidman. “As the nation’s memorial to the Holocaust, the Museum fills a unique role in American life, bringing Holocaust education to new generations through a wide variety of educational outreach and programming. I look forward to working with the Council toward these important goals.”
James M. Abroms, M.D., Birmingham, AL, is a partner at Abroms & Brandner, M.D., P.C., in Birmingham. Both his mother- and father-in-law are Holocaust survivors. He is active in a number of civic and Jewish organizations and is Chairman of the Alabama Chapter of the Republican Jewish Coalition. He has served on many Boards including those of the Birmingham Jewish Federation, Temple Beth-el and the N.E. Miles Jewish Day School. He is a Member of the Alabama Alexis de Tocqueville Society of the United Way.
Ivan E. Becker, Princeton, NJ, is a Holocaust survivor from Budapest, Hungary, who was rescued by Raoul Wallenberg. He came to the U.S. in 1946, and founded the Edison Plastics Division of Blessings Corporation. He served as Blessings’ President and COO, and later, as its CEO. Now retired, he serves as Chair, Princeton Chapter of the Service Corps of Retired Executives and is a member of the International Executive Service Corps. Active in Holocaust education, he regularly speaks to students about his experiences.
Dottie Bennett, Falls Church, VA, is active in many Jewish organizations and is deeply involved in Jewish education and identity issues. She is Chair, National Council, the American Jewish Committee (AJC), is a member of its National Board of Governors and its Executive Committee. She is Chair of Project Interchange, an AJC project. She also serves on the Board of the United Jewish Endowment Fund and its Grants Committee, and previously served on the Boards of the Blaustein Institute for the Advancement of Human Rights and the Darrell Freidman Institute.
Frank R. Berman, Edina, MN, has been a business litigation lawyer and has served on a variety of governing Boards for many years. He presently serves as a member of the Board of Regents of the University of Minnesota at the appointment of the Governor and Legislature of that state. He has been active in pro-Israel causes and has served on the Executive Committee of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee for a number of years. He has also been a member of several committees of various bar associations and has participated in a number of panel discussions, seminars and presentations.
William J. Danhof, Lansing, MI, is the Senior Principal at Miller, Canfield, Paddock and Stone, P.L.C., and specializes in public law practice. He is the President and Founding Member of the American College of Bond Counsel. He is a member of the Government Finance Officers’ Association, and a Fellow at the American Bar Association Foundation and the Michigan State Bar Foundation. He is listed in the 2003 – 2004 edition of Best Lawyers in America, in the Banking Law and Public Finance Law sections.
Arlene Herson, Boca Raton, FL, is the producer and host of the award-winning syndicated cable program, The Arlene Herson Show. Ms. Herson is currently a panelist on NPR in South Florida. She has interviewed Holocaust survivors for Steven Spielberg’s Shoah Foundation and was a contributing writer for Washington, DC, and East Hampton, NY, newspapers. She is a member of the Florida Bar Grievance Committee and was appointed by President George H.W. Bush to the “Take Pride in America” Advisory Board, and by Governor Jeb Bush to the Florida Film & Entertainment Advisory Council. She serves on the Boards of Boca Ration Educational TV (BRET), the Miami City Ballet and the Will Rogers Institute.
M. Ronald Krongold, Coral Gables, FL, is Principal of Gold Krown Development Company and is also Managing Partner of Krongold and Singer law firm located in Miami/Dade County Florida. He has been active in U.S. – Israeli relations for more than 30 years with a number of organizations, including Israel Bonds where he was Chairman of New Leadership and Vice Chairman of the National Israel Bonds Campaign. He is the recipient of the David Ben-Gurion Peace Award. He also represented the State of Israel in the negotiations of the Trade Understanding between the State of Florida and Israel, which was signed by the then Secretary of Commerce Jeb Bush. Along with Jeb Bush, he was involved in the rescue of Ethiopian Jews with the help of the then President George H. W. Bush.
Stuart P. Levine, Highland Park, IL, is a private investor active in many civic and philanthropic organizations. He is Chairman of the Board of the Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science. He also serves on the Board of Directors of the Lincoln Park Zoological Society, the Illinois Benedictine University, and the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library. King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden knighted Mr. Levine for fostering cultural and economic ties between Sweden and the United States in 1994.
Aldona Zofia Wos, M.D., Greensboro, NC, the daughter of Paul Zenon Wos, a survivor of the Flossenburg Concentration Camp and recognized as “Righteous Among Nations” by Yad Vashem, is active in many civic organizations. She serves on several Boards, including those of the National Conference for Community and Justice, Piedmont Family Services and Hospice & Palliative Care of Greensboro. Dr. Wos is Board Member of United Way of Greater Greensboro and an Alexis de Tocqueville Society member for both the United Way of Greater Greensboro and of Greater High Point. In 2003, she was appointed North Carolina Finance Co-Chair for President Bush/Dick Cheney. Dr. Wos was originally appointed to the Council in 2002 to complete the unfinished term of the late Stanislaus Blejwas.
Created by unanimous act of Congress, the Museum is America’s national institution for Holocaust education and remembrance. A unique public-private partnership, the Museum brings the history and lessons of the Holocaust to Americans from all walks of life through educational outreach, teacher training, traveling exhibitions, and scholarship. Since its dedication in April 1993, the Museum has welcomed more than 20 million visitors, about 6.5 million of them children. For more information on the Museum, visit www.ushmm.org.
